Marrying For The Throne

“What the hell is taking them so long?” Savannah sat on the uncomfortable plastic chair of the prison visiting room, thinking to herself. She caught her reflection on the glass pane that separated her side from the prisoners and blew the strand of her blonde hair away from her eyes, scoffing at her appearance. In all her twenty-five years on this earth, Savannah had never seen herself as beautiful. Since college, she had always covered herself up with baggy clothes. The only thing she couldn’t really cover up were her crystal blue eyes, but then again, a lot of blondes had blue eyes. Savannah’s impatience grew by the second. Imagine her relief when the buzz of the prison doors opening reached her ears. A prison guard led a prisoner to the chair opposite Savannah’s. “You have ten minutes, Morgan.” The guard sneered as he spoke. He took the handcuffs off of Morgan and walked away, spinning them with his finger. Savannah reached for the telephone, and Morgan did the same. “You know what they’re doing is hardly fair. The standard visiting time is an hour.” Morgan Reid groaned and gave Savannah a tired smile, “You shouldn’t concern yourself with such things cupcake. Just be glad we at least get to see each other three times a week.” She sighed and gave him a weak smile in return, “How are you holding up, Dad?” “Oh you know, the usual. The inmates aren’t that much of a hassle, it’s the guards you gotta watch out for.” Savannah gritted her teeth as she thought of him locked up in a cell like a common criminal. “I can’t believe they would treat an innocent man like this.” “You can’t blame them hon, they’re on the Graham’s payroll for a reason.” he sighed in defeat. The wrinkles below his eyes creased as he talked. Savannah’s blood boiled as she heard that cursed name. The Grahams. They were the reason for all of this, all because she refused to idolize them. But that wasn’t all there was to the story, there was also the fact that Richard Graham, the heir to the Graham corporation, was humiliated by Savannah when she refused his proposal. “I promise you Dad, I’ll find a way to get you out of here.” Her fingers clenched around the telephone to show her determination. “Just let it be, Savannah. You can’t fight these people.” her father stated slowly. His eyes shook with fear, and he cautiously glanced from side to side. “But dad…” “No buts, Savannah. It’s just a five year sentence, I’ll be out before you know it.” He gave her a small smile, but she could tell just how scared he was. “Just carry on with your life, hon. What about your dream of owning your own fashion store.” “Fashion brand, dad.” Savannah rolled her eyes and sighed, leaning back into the chair. “And becoming a designer isn’t as easy as it sounds.” “I’m sure. But if anyone can do it, it’s you, cupcake.” He smiled. A genuine one this time, and Savannah couldn’t resist smiling back. All Savannah could do was stare at her father in his orange jumpsuit while he sat at the other end of the glass and tried to look strong for her sake. “I swear I’ll make you proud, Dad.” she promised, meaning every word. Morgan raised his hand up to meet hers. “I’m already proud… to call you my daughter.” Morgan went on to ask Savannah about her life and work, and then he told her about his new friends, Pierre and Ross. “...so there we were, out in the courtyard. Pierre had managed to grab a pigeon and tied a note to its leg. He’s standing there, dead serious, holding out a crumb of bread, and says, ‘Alright, little guy, fly on out of here. You’re our ticket to freedom.’ The pigeon takes the crumb, looks Pierre dead in the eye, and flies straight into the guard tower window.” he stifled a laugh, “Ross then goes, ‘Well, there goes our escape plan, Houdini.’ and I lost it!” Morgan busted out laughing, tears hung at the edge of his eyes, and Savannah couldn’t resist chuckling at his story, “Seems like Pierre’s quite a character.” “Trust me cupcake, you have no idea.” he managed to say as he calmed down and slowly wiped the tears from his eyes. “I’m happy you managed to make some friends. The thought of you alone in there gave me nightmares.” “I already told you Savannah. I’m okay.” He answered, holding her gaze with a warm smile. “Alright, times up, Morgan.” a voice called out. Suddenly, a guard reached out and grabbed Savannah’s father’s arm forcefully, making the telephone fall out of Morgan’s hand as the guard roughly pulled him up. “Hey, don’t you dare hurt him!” Savannah snapped at the prison guard, slamming the telephone back into its cradle. The entire visiting room went silent, and everyone turned to see what was going on. The guard sneered at her as he pushed her father toward the exit door. He bent down and picked up the telephone, his eyes slowly moving to the telephone on the Savannah’s end. As she picked it up, his mouth began to move. “I wouldn’t be too hopeful if I were you. A lot of terrible things can happen in five years. Hell, a lot can happen in a week.” he said calmly while his cold eyes held Savannah’s gaze. Savannah felt a chill run down her spine as the guard’s words reached her ears. He had a strange glint in his eyes, and the smirk on his face told a very scary story. As the guard put the telephone back in its cradle and walked away laughing, the severity of the situation finally dawned on Savannah. They were going to kill her father. Fear immediately gripped Savannah’s heart, and she found herself rushing out of the visitor’s hall. It didn’t take much to understand that if something wasn’t done, then her father would die in prison like a rat. Savannah removed a very old model of an iPhone out of her purse and began tapping on the screen. It was a bit hard to do because the screen was terribly cracked, but she was relentless, until a name flashed on the screen. The seconds it took for the person to pick felt like hours to Savannah, and when they finally pickled, she sighed loudly in relief. “Hello?” a male voice spoke from the other end. “Aaron, please help me stop them. Help me stop them from hurting him.” She cried softly, afraid to be heard as she walked through the prison. “Savannah?” Aaron’s panicked voice came through Savannah’s crappy phone speaker. “Are you okay?” She closed her eyes, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill out, and answered in a whisper. “No Aaron, it’s my Dad. I didn’t know who else to call.” “Your father?” Aaron replied, “What’s going on Savannah? What’s wrong with your father?” “It’s bad Aaron, really bad. They’re going to ki…” “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” said a gruff voice that interrupted Savannah. She turned toward it, and her eyes locked onto the dark eyes of a security guard leaning by the prison wall. Only then did she realize that she had walked out of the prison building. The guard seemed to be on some sort of break. The smell of cigarettes lingered in the air, and he had such a scowl on his face, like she was disturbing his small moment of peace with her tears and wails. “The Grahams wouldn’t really take lightly to someone tarnishing their name by associating them with something as tacky as a prison murder. Especially if it’s coming from their troublesome son’s ex-girlfriend.” He scoffed and dragged the cigarette in his hand, which made Savannah’s brows furrow in annoyance. “...Savannah?” Aaron’s voice reached Savannah’s ears again, and she remembered that she was on a call. “Savannah, are you okay?” his voice came again. “Aaron, I’ll call you back,” she spoke into the phone, and before he could say anything else, she cut the call. “And who the hell are you?” Savannah snapped at the guard, and he chuckled at her pretend moxy. “Well, aren’t you a feisty one?” The guard kept his smile, “I’m someone that can be of great help to your current… situation.” “How could a prison security guard possibly help me?” Savannah raised her eyebrow in pure suspicion. A smirk crossed the guard’s face, and he let the cigarette fall to the ground before stepping on it. He then put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a card. The letter K was boldly embroidered on it. His eyes locked onto Savannah’s as he spoke. “I’m sure you’re familiar with the Keningstons?”