The Phantom's Princess.

Prologue

Her nose throbbed from the pain of the cloth that had been wrapped too tightly around her eyes.

"Put her in the van," an unfamiliar voice shouted after using the same rough technique to tie her wrists together.

"Stop!"

Alexis' frantic calls fell on deaf ears as the man who held her proceeded to shove a foul tasting cloth into her mouth and then drag her into the back of a van.

No, no, please, please, no, Alexis continued her screams internally, making her best effort to catch a breath between sobs.

The man no longer held her, she was crouched in the corner of the van, bound, and with what must have been someone's foot against her back to hold her in place. She was gagging, partially choking and struggling for that single breath, which stung as it came through her bruised nose.

Where are they taking me? she wondered, trying to take notice of any turnings the van took or how long they had been driving. Of course, it was all a blur. She couldn't even remember what she had been doing when he grabbed her, let alone recognise a single thing that happened after that.

She thought she had been safe. It was her usual hiding place, the place she went to keep out of reach from her dad and out of reach from him - The baker.

She gagged again on remembering him and realised that vomiting would probably not be the best thing she could do. The cloth they'd pushed into her mouth was too big, and pushed her tongue firmly down. She couldn't push it out if she wanted, which meant the nausea she was feeling would probably lead to her death if it did come up.

Death might not be such a bad thing, she thought as the van hit a bump in the road and threw her sideways, knocking her head into its metal walling.

Who would even care if I died right now, she thought as she consoled herself with the thought. The only person who would have cared is already dead, four years now. Maybe I can join you mom?

The voices of the men in conversation disturbed her then as the van slowed to a stop.

"Get her out and take her up to the room."

It was him again, the same man who had grabbed her and shoved the cloth in her mouth. She could tell by the stench of sweat and cigarettes.

"I reckon we should ask double the sum for this," he said to another man. "These Blackthorn pricks would never have caught her by themselves."

"We'll see," his friend responded. "Blackthorn do usually pay good money, that's for sure."

With her feet barely touching the ground due to the lightness of her body as the man effortlessly held her, Alexis was dragged across a lawn and through a door into a warm house that exuded an opulence contradictory to her usual surroundings. Then, she was guided up several flights of stairs before being thrown, once again, into a corner.

Alexis struggled to rise onto her knees as the sound of soft footsteps clicking along the marble floor neared her. 

And then it was a new voice that spoke, "Take it easy boys, she's just a kid."