Captured Witch

XVIII: New Tensions

The sound of people arguing in the room woke me up. I stretched out and sat up, looking around the room as my vision cleared up. I saw Daniel with a guard and Christopher having a heated discussion near the door. Daniel looked over to me and then whispered something to Christopher and the guard and motioned for them to leave. He walked over to the bed and sat on the edge, staring at me. “How did you sleep?” He asked. I turned my head away, still angry about last night. “You tossed and turned all night. Did you have nightmares again?” I slightly nodded my head, still refusing to look at him.

            “I wouldn’t have had nightmares had I been able to wake up when I wanted,” I said, coldly. I stood up and walked over to the running clothes set out and quickly put them on. Daniel walked over to me and tried to touch my face. I smacked his hand away. “Don’t touch me,” I said walking over toward the door. I walked towards the exit, finally getting somewhat familiar with the way around here. Once I got outside, I took off into the woods, not even bothering to see if anyone was following me. 

I heard his footsteps behind me and pushed on harder. The sun was beginning to peak over the horizon before I started running; it was later than I normally started. I heard Daniel struggling to keep up, but I think he realized how pissed I was. I’m not sure how long we ran, but eventually, he yelled at me to stop. I obliged him and turned to face him.

            “I don’t have guards set out that far.” He panted.

            “Isn’t that why you’re here?” He shook his head. “Well, have some of them run with us! I’m not done.”

            “We still have to run back, and it’s well after noon at this point.” I sighed and started to run in his direction, ignoring him as I ran back. Once we got back, Daniel didn’t even bother going inside. He sent a maid to bring us lunch outside. I plopped down in the seat across the table from him and angrily ate my food. “Are you going to speak?” I stared at him angrily, refusing to give him the joy of conversing with me.

            I remained silent for the rest of the lunch while he tried to pry conversation out of me. Afterward, he all but dragged me to his study, where I had to sit for ages while he did his paperwork and met with several people. I wanted to ask him what was happening tonight. I also wanted to see Tam; she had been with me right before the incident. Ugh, why do I have to think of it now? All I can think about is their hands on my body before I passed out, the ropes on my wrists that I had no chance of escaping. I remember trying to crawl across the bed, grasping at the blankets, before I was pulled back by my ankle. I should have fought more but my body was so tired. I was pulled out of my thoughts by Daniel lightly shaking me by my arm. I opened my eyes and tried to adjust to the light in the room. When did I fall asleep?

            “Adalaide, are you okay?” Daniel asked as I sat up. Why am I on the floor?

            “When did I fall asleep? I don’t remember laying down, let alone on the floor.”

            “You fainted a few minutes ago.” Great, another notch on my weak ladder. “What happened?”

            “I was thinking about… about the incident that happened. I started thinking about Tam and how she was with me right before everything happened. One thought led to another and now we are here.” I motioned to me laying on the ground. Daniel helped me up and onto the sofa.

            “Tam, you saw her beforehand?” I nodded. “Is she your friend?”

            “I guess so, I don’t know anyone else here besides you and her. She was actually the one who trapped me in the witch community. We became close on the way back home. After I identified Declan, I asked for her to be brought to the room, hoping she could help me.”

            “Well how about I get her, and your mother and they can meet you outside for tea today?”

            “My mother? What’s brought this on. I haven’t mentioned her at all.”

            “She wants to see you Adalaide. Give her a chance to get to know you.”

            “Fine. Can I go outside now?” He nodded and helped me up. “I can stand by myself” I muttered grumpily. He walked with me outside and pulled out my chair for me before walking back inside. I sighed and leaned against the back of the chair, letting the rays of sunlight warm my body. My mother came first, and I ignored her. She didn’t speak to me but sat across from me. Tam came a few minutes later, running to me and grabbing me in a hug.

            “Adalaide! Are you okay? I wish I could have stayed with you, but they locked me in my room.”

            “I’m fine Tam, really,” I said, ending her babbling. “I’m glad you both came.”

            “We didn’t have a choice.” My mother said, reaching for a cupcake.

            “What do you mean?”

            “Not that we both aren’t glad to be outside, but we didn’t have a choice. When the king’s personal guards come to get you, you don’t get to say no.” My mother explained,

            “I guess not. Well, either way, I’m glad you are here. Spending every second with Daniel is boring.”

            “The kick-off ball was fantastic though!” Tam added in.

            “I wouldn’t know, the first half I spent up in the balcony area not talking and the second half I don’t remember. Champagne treated me well last night until Daniel realized how drunk I was.”

            “You got drunk? At an official event? That was brave of you.” My mother said

            “I like to live life on the edge.” I countered.

            We all spent the next hour talking. Tam asked me what it was like knowing I was going to be the next queen. I asked both of them what the month-long of festivities entailed. After we finished with the tea and cakes I wanted to walk in the gardens, deciding to practice some nature magic. Daniel hadn’t forbidden it and he hadn’t replaced the cuff blocking my magic. Tam went back inside after being summoned by her husband through a mind link. That was one thing I wasn’t looking forward to. Basically, becoming a slave, unable to refuse a single order verbal or not. My mother followed me, walking around the garden with me. I found a small patch of bluebell flowers that were withered. I walked to each individual plant and used my magic to bring them back to life.

            “I miss that.” I heard my mother say behind me. “Being able to grow things. Using my magic to bring things back to life.”

            “I’m sure I can talk to Daniel about getting father to allow you to use some magic.”

            “Don’t bother, I haven’t even used my magic since before you were born. I doubt I would do anything useful.”  She paused for a moment before sighing. “ I have to go now. I hope to see you soon.” She said as she walked back toward the castle entrance. I sighed, now completely alone, except for the guards. I debated staying outside but it started to get chilly and I didn’t have a jacket. I walked back inside, accompanied by the four guards that followed me around when Daniel wasn’t with me. I walked straight to Daniel’s study, where I knew he would still be doing work, and knocked.

            “Come in” I heard him say. I walked in and he looked at me, surprised to see me come back. “You don’t need to knock, for future reference.” I nodded and sat down in a chair beside his desk.

            “Tam and mother got summoned back and I got bored,” I said, feeling like I owed him an explanation for why I was back. He nodded and kept working. I sighed and leaned against the back of the chair before meeting his disapproving gaze and sitting back up. He went back to working and every time I did something “un-ladylike” he made me fix it. I was so angry that I was being treated like a child all the time.

 Finally, Daniel stood up and walked to the door, and I followed him. We walked back to the room and I found yet another ball gown laid out and plenty of maids ready to make me up. I groaned and glared at Daniel. He pushed me towards that sofa and walked into his closet. The maids quickly undressed me and slid the floor-length, baby blue gown over my head. The gown had long sleeves, coming down to cover my wrists. The neckline was high, coming up around my neck and the bodice was decorated with beading in the designs of flowers. My hair was done up in a half-up crown hairstyle after being blow-dried straight. The rest was curled in big loopy curls. After my makeup was done and Daniel emerged in his typical evening wear and dismissed the maids. He stared at me like he wanted to rip the dress off of me. He motioned for me to spin around and I obliged, twirling as he inspected me. He grabbed me and pulled me close to him.

“I wish we didn’t have to go anywhere. I would rip that dress off of you and do things that you could never imagine.” I gasped as he moved his hand down my waist and onto my ass. “There’s always after dinner though.” He said walking out into the hall. I gathered my composure and followed him.

 Tam explained that tonight was a dinner with many people attending.  She would be there, and so would my mother because they were married. As always, the women were expected to stay silent during dinner. Daniel and I walked in and sat first, him at the head of the table and me sitting to the right of him. Dinner was a slow and painful event, filled with loud men and way too much food. Daniel severely limited my alcohol limit to one drink, not wanting a repeat of last night. He stared at me occasionally. In between courses, he placed his hand on my thigh, a bit higher every time. I struggled to keep my face from lighting on fire. After the last course was served, over an hour had gone by. Daniel looked at me as I struggled to keep my eyes open.

            “I’m going to say that all the women are going through to the next room. Can you behave?” I nodded.

            Daniel stood and suggested that the women go through so that the men could talk about more important things. A door opened and I stood up and walked through, the rest of the women following me. I quickly found Tam and my mother and sat down at a table closest to the wall. Women came over to congratulate me, their faces donning smiles but also a sadness behind their eyes. Tam and my mother kept the conversation light, talking about how nice it was to go outside today. I didn't talk. I kept my eyes on the door, waiting for him to come through. Soon the men came through, husbands finding their wives and bachelors walking about admiring some of the women. My father and Tam’s husband came over and both Tam and my mother stopped talking and looked down. I rolled my eyes looked at my father.

            “I didn’t get the chance to see you last night. Congratulations on your engagement my daughter.” I smiled with anger hidden shallowly.

            “Thank you, father,” I said, remaining calm. Daniel walked behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders. I relaxed at his touch, feeling safe for some reason. He leaned down placed his mouth right next to my ear.

            “Ready to go back?” He whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear. I nodded, feeling lightheaded. I said goodbye to everyone I was with and walked out with Daniel. We headed back to the room, where maids were preparing the room for nighttime. We were obviously earlier than expected. He dismissed the maids and I watched as they left. I stepped into the room and took a deep breath. I had been sleeping here since I met Daniel, but it felt different tonight. Probably because I knew his plans for tonight and if I was being honest with myself, I wanted this. He was so cruel when we first met, but now he has softened a bit.

            “Can you help me with my dress? There are so many buttons and I can’t reach a lot of them.” I asked, meaning for it to be an invitation. I felt awkward. I mean I wasn’t a virgin, but I also wasn’t experienced. He unbuttoned my dress slowly, almost teasingly. Once he was done I slid my arms out of the dress, revealing my slip and bustier. He slid his hands around my waist, pulling me closer to him.

            “So,” He whispered in my ear, “Where should we begin?”