Captured Witch

XII. Threats

I woke up feeling nauseous and more exhausted than before. I sat up quickly, which only served to intensify my ailments. I made a run for the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet in time. I threw up whatever I had in my stomach, plus some, before finally resting my head on the wall behind me. A maid rushed in and placed a cool, damp washcloth on my forehead. I reached my hand up to hold it in place. “Thank you,” I whispered weakly.

            I was still in the clothes I was wearing earlier so it must be the same day. I groaned lightly, finally willing myself to stand up. I slowly walked over to the sink and stared in the mirror. God, I look pale. I ran my hand through my wilder than normal hair. I splashed my face with some cool water and walked out of the bathroom. I noticed Daniel sitting on the couch, but I ignored him, choosing to walk past him toward the bed. I jumped up on the bed and laid my head back on the pillow, closing my eyes. “The silent treatment, it’s so peaceful.” I opened my eyes and jumped at the fact that he was standing right next to my side of the bed. I rolled my eyes and turned away from him, refusing to speak or give in. I noticed that my shattered cuff had been replaced, times two. There was now a cuff on each of my wrists. I groaned in annoyance as Daniel pulled my shoulder to turn me to face him.

            I stared at him hatefully before getting off the bed and trying to walk away, keyword- trying. He blocked my path and I rolled my eyes. “Can’t you just leave me be. I’m tired.”

            “And the 5 hours of sleep you got weren’t enough rest?”

            “You mean the drug-induced sleep that you forced on me? Yeah, turns out that drug-induced sleep isn’t particularly restful.”

            He rolled his eyes. “Well there isn’t time for sleep right now, you have to go to lessons.”

            I did a doubletake at his words. “Lessons? For what?”

            “To teach you how s**t runs around here. All the girls have to take the same lessons, yours will just be focused on royal management, with you being the next queen and all.”      

            I leaned against the bedpost and rubbed my temples. I did not want to go, but I really did not want to spend anymore time with him. “What, are you trying to access your arguing skills?” He said as he pulled my hands from my face.

            “Can’t it wait until tomorrow? I’m hungry and tired.”

            “You can eat and rest afterward, let’s go.”

            I sighed and followed him out of the room. I felt like I was going to throw up again but there was nothing left in my system. I was so sick of walking through these corridors. It was impossible to remember how to get through these, especially when he keeps my brain so foggy. Ugh! I can hardly ever think straight. Since I arrived here, the only thing I really wanted to do was sleep. I lightly dragged my feet as we walked, attempting to show him how exhausted I really was, as if he cared. By time we got to the great hall, which was empty, my legs gave out as I collapsed to the ground. “Please, I just need a moment!” I shouted at him attempting to catch my breath. Daniel rolled his eyes walking toward me

            He squatted down to look at me in the face. “You know, you act so strong all the time but in reality, you are just a weak girl.”

            I pulled myself up, walking away. “Aww, did I hurt your feelings?” He said sarcastically, walking after me.

            I walked back out of the great hall, down the many corridors, trying to remember how to get back to the room, or maybe I would stumble on the exit to this castle. Daniel made no attempt to catch up to me, instead just followed me, clearly enjoying me struggling to find the room. I kept walking and turning corners, but I couldn’t find the room. I knew what the damn door looked like; I just can’t remember how to get there! “f**k!” I yelled, hitting my palm against a wall.

            “Having a hard time?” Daniel called after me, humor in his tone. I glanced back at him then continued walking. I heard him chuckle and continue to follow me.

            “Just leave me alone!” I said, turning around to stare at him. “I don’t understand why you have to f*****g follow me everywhere!” I felt tears begin to roll down my cheeks. God! I must look so damn weak! I have never cried this much in my life, so it was definitely a new experience for me. Daniel began to walk closer to me, but I didn’t want him to come near me, so I did what anyone else would do, I ran. The problem is, I’m trapped in this ridiculous skirt and I’m still super weak from the sedative so, while running seemed like my best option, it turned out to be really difficult.  Daniel caught up to me in no time, grabbing me by my skirt that was flowing behind me as I ran. I stumbled at being caught and fell, catching myself with my hands to prevent hitting my face.

            Falling after running had knocked the wind out of me. I struggled to catch my breath laying on my side on the floor. I started laughing unable to control it. Daniel looked down at me with his eyebrow raised in confusion. “What’s so funny?” he asked.

            “This.” I motioned my arms to my body on the ground. “This whole situation is just so funny to me.” I continued to laugh. Daniel, unamused, bent down and picked me up off the ground, throwing me over his shoulder. I yelped when my hands hit his back, screaming at him to let me down.

            “Let me go you giant brute!” I screamed. Daniel ignored me again. Too worn out to do anything else, I gave up, even though my mind wants to keep arguing and fighting, my body wanted me to give in and sleep. Unfortunately, Daniel made it clear he wouldn’t allow that. After crossing through a few doorways, I was finally thrown down on a sofa. I bounced up a bit before finally settling down. I sat up leaning against the back of the sofa and drawing my knees to my chest. Daniel looked at me and rolled his eyes, clearly displeased with how I was sitting. A man suddenly appeared from a doorway on the other side of the room. “Well, is this the little girl who has been causing so much trouble?”

            I shot a sharp stare his way. “I’m not a little girl,” I said through gritted teeth.

            “Feisty, the rumors are true then. We’ve got out hands full then. Let’s begin!” He sounded way too excited about this. I was lifted off of the sofa by my arm and made to stand on the other side of the sofa from Daniel. The man finally let go of my arm and motioned to Daniel. “Let’s see what needs to be fixed!”

            Daniel looked at me almost like he was ready to laugh. “Come here.” He demanded. I looked at him furiously. Of course, a part of me wanted to give in and just do as he asked, but the majority of me wanted to fight, charged with anger from the last few days. I picked up the glass vase on the table next to me and threw it at Daniel. He ducked, only catching a few flowers in his face in the process. The vase crashed on the wall behind him, shattering into a thousand small shards. Daniel raised his hands in an I-told-you-so manner. The man next to me motioned for him to do it again. All this silent communication s**t was pissing me off.

Daniel looked at me again. “Come here.” He said, slightly more angrily. I had to fight harder to not go to him this time but still being able to resist. I pick up the table that the vase was on and throw it at Daniel. He barely dodged that one as the table hit the same wall as the vase and broke in a few pieces. The man next to me began to laugh as he motioned toward me again.

Daniel looked at me angrily, clearly from my actions. “Come. Here.” The part of me that wanted to give in was too strong now for me to fully resist. I struggled to take one step forward, part of attempting to stay where I was. But my body seemed to move against this resistance on its own. I wanted to drop to the ground, but his demand made me continue to walk. Before I knew it, I was standing in front of him, staring him in the eyes. I was entranced, unable to look away until the man behind me loudly clapped his hands in amusement, I jumped slightly, forgetting he was there.

“So interesting. It’s strange seeing as she’s not even married to you, but she just can’t seem to resist an order for long. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“She’s definitely,” Daniel looked down at me, “different.”

I tried to step back, no longer wanting to be here but was held in place by Daniel’s sudden strong grip on my arms. “Let me go!” I yelled.

“She never behaves. Can you see that now, Jacob?” Daniel looked at the man behind me.

“We definitely have our work cut out for us,” He said.

“Stop talking about me like I’m not here!” God, I sound like a child.

Daniel laughed and picked me back up to throw me over his shoulder. “I can walk you know!” I screamed, beating my fists against his back.

“Carrying you is quicker, and easier. Less fighting this way. See you tomorrow Jacob!” He yelled as we left the room. I struggled to keep my head up to see where we were going, hoping I could figure out these halls and have an escape plan. Unfortunately, everything looks the same to me.

Daniel finally stopped in the dining hall and set me down in the same chair as this morning. “Try anything again like you did this morning and I will bind your arms to the chair and have a servant feed you.”

“I’m glad to hear you call them servants and not slaves.” I snarked back at him.

“Oh, some of them are slaves. Most of the slaves were sold to me by there parents, looking for money. But some work here willingly.” He shrugged. “Now, can you behave, or shall I stick you in the nursery with the children for dinner?”

I thought about it for a second. “I’ll behave, I suppose.” Daniel smiled.

“Good, now no talking and we will do our best not to provoke you.” I leaned against the back of the chair slouching down. Daniel grabbed my arm lifting me to sit up straight. “You will sit up during the meal.”

I sighed and adjusted my posture to his liking. The only way I was going to get a full meal and not drugged was if I listened. The dining room filled when Daniel motioned for the doors to open and everyone sat down. The servants brought in plates of food and set them down in front of us. Everyone began to eat and make small talk with one another, even Daniel was conversing with a few people near us. I, of course, remembering this morning, sat quietly, and ate. Some of the men eyed me warily, most likely remembering my outburst this morning. I did my best to “behave” as Daniel put it. Not going to lie, it took a lot for me not to yell across the table at some of these conversations. Daniel seemed impressed with my ability to control my temper. No one spoke to me or about me. Then, Edwin walked in, shoulder amazingly all healed up. I immediately tensed up and Daniel noticed, keeping his eyes on me. I held a death grip on my silverware and took a deep breath. Daniel put his hand on my wrist and gave it a warning squeeze.

            “Remember what I told you? I will not hesitate to drug you again if you cause a scene.” He whispered lowly to me. I stared at him and nodded. I really did not need to be drugged again today. I set down my silverware and placed my hands in my lap staring at the table.

            “I’m impressed, your majesty,” Edwin said loudly, causing everyone around me to stop their conversations and stare at him.

            “Oh? And why is that Edwin.” Daniel spoke up in answer.

            “Well, you managed to keep her quiet and behaving this whole time. For a while there I thought she was untrainable.”

            I took a deep, shuddering breath in an attempt to calm myself down. He was clearly doing this to provoke me and it was starting to work. How could I possibly let him refer to me like a dog? Daniel kept a firm grip on my wrist, less of a warning, and more of a threat. “Thank you for your input, Edwin,” Daniel said as if that was all that was going to be said on the subject of, well me. Daniel rose from the table as did everyone else. He grabbed my arm and looped in under his and led us into another room as the others followed.

            I sighed as we entered the next room, thinking I was going to get to relax. Daniel bent down to whisper in my ear, “Still plan on behaving?” He asked. I nodded, my throat feeling dry. “Good. Now go sit over there,” he said pointing to a table by the wall, “and don’t speak to anybody unless I tell you to.”

            I walked over to the table and sat down, looking into the crowd of men. This is boring. I wish I could just go to sleep. I sat quietly and tapped my foot on the hard ground. Daniel stared at me before walking over to sit with me. I instinctively shifted myself to sit further away from him. He chuckled and looked at me. “Why are you behaving so well?” He asked.

            I glared at him, not answering. He leaned in closer to me. “I asked you a question.”

            “Because I don’t really feel like being drugged twice in one day. Is that a good enough answer for you?” I said sharply to him, causing him to smile.

            “So, fear, that’s what keeps you in line?”

            “Nope. Not fear. Just a general feeling of self-preservation.”  I said with a sarcastic smile.

            “At least it’s working. I like this quiet you, it’s very submissive.” He whispered, placing his hand really high up on my thigh. I tried to shift away but his grip pulled me closer to him. I looked around the room panicked, but who was I kidding. He could do anything to me, and no one here would even blink an eye, let alone help me. He continued to move his hand up my thigh and then grabbed my waist and pulled me on top of his lap. I struggled against his grip but to no avail. “Stop trying to fight me all the time.” He whispered in my ear. I slowly stopped struggling but refused to look at him, instead, I chose to look at the wall. “Now, I’m thinking we can go back to the room and you will not argue with anything I do for the rest of the night or I’ll just stick you with this.” He pulled out a syringe filled with the drug they’ve been injecting me with. I tensed up and tried to get away from the thing he held in his hand. “So, do we have a deal?” He asked.

            I nodded and took a deep breath as he placed the syringe back in his pocket. I wish I could use that against him, but I have no idea if it will even work on him. I sighed as he set me down on the floor and grabbed my arm and looped it under his again. We began to walk out when Edwin appeared in my line of sight. I rolled my eyes and tensed up.

            “Your majesty, if I may I would like to have a few words with you, privately.”

            Daniel looked at me and then back at Edwin. “Stay here.” He ordered me as he walked away with Edwin. I thought for a bit if stay here meant this exact spot or if I was allowed to sit down. I decided that I wouldn’t risk it when I felt someone brush their hand on my lower waist.  I jumped forward with a yelp.

            “Oh, calm down. You know for someone who put on quite the show at breakfast this morning, you sure are a jumpy little girl.”

            “Why does everyone insist on referring to me like that!” I hissed, turning around to see who it was. I recognized him immediately. He was with Edwin that day in the hotel. The one watching the television. If Edwin took Daniel away, then they must be planning something. I took a few steps back. He chuckled and closed the space between us with one step.

            “Come on, doll. I know you aren’t innocent so why don’t you just come to my room and we can discuss some things.” He said grabbing my arm tightly. He started dragging me out of the room. “If you scream, I have a surprise for you.” He said slightly pulling out a similar syringe to the one Daniel has. I didn’t want to go with him, but I couldn’t be drugged again. I planted my feet on the ground, but he just dragged me behind him.

            “Please, let me go!” I half-whispered. I was fighting back tears.

            “Oh, come on. It’s nothing you haven’t already done. It’ll be over before you know it.”

            I dropped all of my body weight to the ground and he stopped. “Seriously?” He bent down to pick me up, but I kicked him in the stomach. I was proud of the force I used that caused him to double over. I took off running in the direction we came in. Hopefully, we didn’t make it far from the room we were in. I got lost in the hallways. I ended up in a dark hallway. I sunk down against a wall and drew my knees up to my chest while I caught my breath. “Adalaide” I heard someone call in a sing-song voice. I froze and listened for the footsteps. I had to get back to my room, but I had no idea how to get there. I saw a guard and ran up to him breathlessly. “Please. You have to help me find my room.” I hadn’t realized I was crying. The guard looked at me and nodded. He reached out to grab me when someone called after us.

            “There you are! How dare you run away! I’ve got her from here, Thank you.” The guard nodded and walked away. I went to run but his strong grip on my arm pulled me back. “Now, are you going to come, or do I need to drug you?” I slumped down and he dragged me behind. How do I get out of this situation and go back to an equally bad one?