Aline

Chapter 1

It was cold even though the wind was silent. The damp air felt made the walls and floor surrounding her feel wet even though they were dry. Night sky rained over her head blackening out her surroundings.

Aline sat snugged in the corner between the walls hugging her knees to her chest as her head rested against them.

Even though she was trying to gather warmth in the cold air suspending her wish. She wasn't able to. The warmth that her body obtained left through the cold cobblestone at her back.

You made this choice. The voice told her repeating in her head over and over as if to drive her to hysteria. She wished the voice would stop but it kept repeating. But she knew the reason the voice was saying that is because it was entirely her fault that this happened so she would have to be content with the consequences of her decision.

She wanted to give up. Give up and just stay there for eternity, until she could repent for her mistake.

—-

Aline was always the center of attention wherever she went.

After all, she was the only daughter of Duke Spindle-wood. It was expected that she would be the flower of society.

There were always those types of people at the academy who started conversations with her while they hid behind them their intentions to use her to their own advantage. But rarely there was that one person who was actually genuine wanting to become her friend and wasn't two-faced.

Aline von Spindle wood only ever wished to serve her kingdom to the fullest. She had seen what happened to the people of territory when their Lord didn't take care of their duties and just lazed around in the capital spending money too and fro. The commoners ended up starved and other nobles looked away when someone who dallied in that province or territory was mentioned.

Lady Aline walked; her next class was on management, for that when she did inherit the Duchy she'd be able to rule it properly.

Aline took her classes seriously. Always arriving at her classes as soon as she could so that she would not create a habit of being late so that in the future she would not lose any information. It happened to her father, and it cost their family half their territory.
Aline certainly didn't want to repeat the tragic surprise that lay in the past.

She breathed a sigh of relief, first to class yet again. Aline was proud of herself that she yet did not disregard her goal of being on time.

Like always Aline had gotten there before all the other students as well as their teacher. She took her studies very seriously at the Royal Academy so she always tried to do her best to be on time.

Aline sat down at the spot she sat in every day when she entered this class. In the second row next to the window, Aline glanced out the trees in the garden were blowing east fiercely. The winds were horrible today. Why had they not been like that earlier when I was walking through the courtyard? Aline was puzzled.

She looked away rubbing her eyes as if she had just woken up from a bad dream. She looked out the window one more time. The winds stopped; the trees stood straight up and none of their branches were moving. She scrunched her eyebrows confused at what was going on and all the abnormalities that she was hearing.

Delicate footsteps could be heard behind her. People must've been arriving at class. As there was no clock in this room Aline could only tell the time by looking at the sun through that wasn't much help since you could never tell a minute to minute basis with the sun.
The footsteps got louder but Aline didn't notice off in her own world staring at the board in front of her that the teacher used to mark class assignments.

Her eyes were forcefully shut as someone kept them close with their hand covering a cloth that also snuggly covered her mouth and nose. Aline's breathing felt chalky like the smell of old chalk on erasers was being shoved down her throat. Whatever was on that cloth was making it deathly hard for her to breathe.

Even her struggling was failing she had tried ripping, digging her nail into the persons' skin but it was in vain. The gloves they wore were thick leather, the type that one would wear if they didn't want their fingerprints to leave marks on objects.

Her fear of what could happen was catching up to her as Aline felt her heart beating intensely ready to jump out of her chest, breaking through bones and tearing through her skin. She was scared and didn't have a clue what to do.

Not knowing what to do her clammy hands once again tried to break free by pulling the hands off her face. Her face and all her muscles felt weak like she wanted to dose off into oblivion forever. Her only thoughts were: What was happening? Could this really be a kidnapping?

A kidnapping was much scarier in real life than she had read in novels.

Her whole body calmed down her limbs dropped heavily no longer holding her perfect posture. Aline fell unconscious.