Chapter 5: His ruthlessness her defiance
1194 Words
ELYSIA
They moved me to a real room. A bed, a desk, even a bookshelf. Almost nice. Almost comfortable.
Still a cage.
A knock. I didn’t answer. Rafael walked in anyway, balancing a tray in one hand. The scent of warm bread and spiced meat filled the air, wrapping around me like a cruel temptation. My stomach clenched, hunger clawing at me, but I forced my expression to remain indifferent.
“Eat,” he ordered, his voice clipped, edged with irritation.
I rolled my eyes. “The guts.”
I hated him. Maybe even more than the King. Rafael was the one who had shoved me onto the cold, unforgiving ground like I was nothing. His face, his voice, even the way he looked at me—it all made my blood boil.
The food sat there, untouched.
It could be poisoned. Or worse.
What was worse? I didn’t know. I chuckled at the thought.
The King expected submission.
He wouldn’t get it.
I crossed my arms, pressing my back against the plush headboard of the bed, refusing to even glance at the tray. My hunger burned, but I shoved it down, gripping onto the only thing I had left—defiance.
The door creaked open again, and I didn’t need to look up to know who it was.
His presence was heavier than the air in the room, thick and suffocating. A silent force that demanded attention.
“You haven’t touched your food.”
His voice was smooth. Too smooth. A trap in the making.
I lifted my chin. “Not hungry.”
His eyes flickered to the untouched meal, then back to me. He stepped forward, slow, deliberate, as if my defiance amused him.
“You think this is a game?”
There was a hint of amusement in his tone, but beneath it, something sharper lurked.
“If it was, I’d be winning.”
His lips twitched, but whatever amusement he felt vanished as quickly as it came.
He pulled out the chair across from me and sat, movements effortless, composed. He didn’t need brute force to be terrifying. His silence was enough.
“You’re being childish,” he said, pouring himself a drink from a crystal decanter.
I tilted my head. “You kidnapped me. But sure, I’m the unreasonable one.”
He took a slow sip, then set the glass down with a soft clink. “You don’t want to eat? Fine. But when your body gives out, don’t expect me to care.”
It wasn’t a warning. It was a promise.
I arched a brow. “So you’ll just let me starve?”
His smirk was slow, deliberate. “I don’t need to break you, Rosa. You’ll do that all on your own.”
That name again. It curled around me, unfamiliar yet suffocating, like chains I couldn’t escape.
Something in my chest tightened, but I forced it down. I wouldn’t let him see it.
I lifted my chin. “Then I guess we’ll see who lasts longer.”
A flicker of something unreadable crossed his face.
“You have fire,” he murmured, standing to his full height. “It’s almost a shame.”
My skin prickled. “A shame?”
He studied me, gaze calculating, cold. Then, with a quiet finality, he turned and walked out, leaving the untouched meal between us.
Leaving me with an empty stomach and a heart pounding for reasons I didn’t want to name.
The second escape attempt failed even faster than the first.
I had mapped out the halls in my mind, timed the guards’ rotations. I thought I had a chance. I was wrong.
I didn’t even make it to the main hall before Rafael caught me.
He sighed, almost bored, as he pinned my wrists behind my back. “You really don’t learn, do you?”
I struggled, kicking at his shin, but he didn’t even flinch.
“Maybe I just like keeping you on your toes,” I snapped.
His grip loosened for half a second.
A mistake.
I bolted.
Didn’t even make it two steps before he yanked me back, spun me around, and slammed me against the stone wall.
Pain shot up my spine. I bit back a cry, gritting my teeth.
We both shouted at the same time—
“What is wrong with you?!”
My back throbbed. I wanted to scream, to lash out, to crumple to the floor. But I wouldn’t. Not in front of him.
Rafael smirked, infuriatingly smug. “You should’ve picked a different man to defy, princess. The King doesn’t play.”
The King.
The words twisted inside me, curling around my ribs like a vice.
I clenched my jaw, rage simmering beneath my skin.
Rafael dragged me back to my room. I wanted to fight, to make him hurt the way my body ached, but it was useless. A waste of energy.
He shoved me inside and locked the door behind me.
I pressed my forehead against the cold wood, fists clenched at my sides.
Twice now, I had failed.
But it didn’t matter.
I would try again.
And again.
Because no matter what the King believed—
I wouldn’t break.
***
It was past dinner time, I had been served, this time I ate without a fight if I didn’t I might not have the energy to plan an escape or execute it.
The footsteps in the hallway gradually stilled, left for the sound of insects and the footsteps of the security.
I lay in bed staring at the ceiling and thinking about the king’s words ‘’your bloodline is a debt unpaid’’.
I know my father had been involved in some kind of shady business and rumors had it that he might have been killed because of it but my mother never confirmed any of those.
I am not my father so even if he did something I should not be paying for it.
I was still lost in thoughts when my door was thrown open, I jerked with fear and sat up.
The king walked in with a thick roll of weed in between his lips, he had a huge coat on and a hat, his shirt was buttoned with the three top buttons left open, his pants trousers were well ironed that they could cut paper.
Seems he had been out
He didn’t come in alone, some men I had seen training were with him and of course Rafael.
I was on my feet staring at them, with my head slightly bowed as a sign of respect.
‘’Take her’’ I heard the king say and immediately he stepped out. The two men grabbed me by each arm and I couldn’t even protest.
They took me out of my room and I caught a glimpse of the king walking ahead, they moved in the same direction and I followed. Not like I had a choice
I turned my head back to find Rafael trailing behind with the same frozen look on his face.
‘’Where are you taking me ?’’ I asked no one in particular and of course I had no answer.
- Writer
