The Prince and the Slave: Book One

The Prince and the Slave Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

William nudged open the door to his room and carefully laid his charge onto his bed. She remained in the same position she had lain in the corridor after her attack, as the Prince knelt by her side, stroking her hair. She was sobbing quietly to herself, and it was almost too much for William to bear, seeing her like this.

“Sh, you're alright now” He tried to comfort her. They stayed like this until Abey's sobs had stopped, and she only let out the odd whimper, her arms still wrapped over her head. “Abey, will you let me see...” William gently moved her arms down to her side and slowly prised her hand away from her cheek.

Her face was red and swollen, and there were two large gashes along her cheekbones. William thought of the two large rings Georgiana always wore on each hand, and winced internally has he thought of them slicing across Abey's face. “Don't move, I'll be right back” he told her, moving to get some water, much like he had that first night she arrived.

She didn't say anything, just blinked slowly and continued to stare ahead. William came back and placed the bowl of water and cloth on the floor. “Are you able to sit up?” He asked. She tried to push herself up, but cried out and grabbed her ribs where Georgiana had kicked her, falling back down onto the mattress.

“Hey, hey, it's alright.” William stroked her hair again as tears started to fill her eyes once more. “But let me look at your face.” He carefully rolled her towards him, and started washing the dried blood from her cheek and hands. The gashes from Georgiana's rings had stopped bleeding, but he could tell they were probably going to leave a nasty scar.

“There we go, much better” William smiled sadly when he had finished. Abey closed her eyes and sighed, drifting off into a deep sleep. Although she was still in some pain, William was pleased to notice she didn't seem as shaken or afraid anymore.

He glanced up at the window and saw that it was going dark, almost evening. He knew he'd missed dinner but he didn't care, he didn't want to face Georgiana anyway – he wasn't sure if he'd be able to stop himself from doing something he might regret later.

Instead, he slowly moved the bed sheets from underneath Abey's sleeping form and laid them across her. “Sleep tight. You're safe now.” He whispered as he kissed her forehead and brushed the stray hairs out of her eyes. He went round to the other side of the large double bed, took off his shoes and climbed under the covers. He leant on his elbow just watching her sleep beside him. She seemed so peaceful, it was hard to imagine her going through this kind treatment on a daily basis.

The skies grew darker still as the evening turned to night. After watching her for what felt like hours, William felt his own eyelids start to droop and become heavy. Eventually, he extinguished the candle and settled down to sleep, his mind still focused on the girl lying just a few feet away from him on the other side of his bed.