SGE Their Never After (Rophie)

PART 7 THE RECKONING

A sound startled Rafal awake and he lurched up in bed, blue eyes narrowed to slits as he stared around in suspicion.

The room was dark and looking out the window above the bed Rafal found that it was nighttime.

He and Sophie had shared an intimate moment together shortly after they'd arrived at the kingdom of PifflePaff hills. Rafal felt a sense of contentment arise in the pits of his stomach as he turned to look down at Sophie laying bare back to him on the bed, her naked arms were thrown at her sides, cheek smushed against the pillow as she slept soundlessly. He reached out to trace his fingertips along her spine remembering the feeling of her skin against his, and a smile found its way upon his face.

The sound came again from outside the room, a low screech like the sound of something being dragged across the floor and the faintest of voices.

Rafal felt irritation flare within him as he threw the covers off of his bare body, quickly dressing in the dark and tiptoed to the door, eager to discover the source of what had exactly awoken him in the dead of night. He threw the door open to the fire lit hall and stared about, assuming the noise belonged to a wakeful guard or maid yet to go to sleep, but it was empty.

Rafal stepped out of the room and softly closed the door behind him as to not disturb his queen before he set off to investigate further.

The sound of footsteps echoed down the flight of stairs and Rafal spun towards the sound struggling to see through the shadows. He found a lit torch hanging next to a portrait of a former defaced queen and picked it up to light his path down the shadowy steps.

"Who's there?" Rafal hissed intending to punish the person who had dared to awaken him as he began his descent down the stairwell.

There was no response but Rafal could hear whispering coming from the landing and he paused, listening attentively. Before he could approach the sound and unleash his wrath upon the owners of the voices, he felt a sudden presence behind him. Spinning around he could scarcely make out the cloaked man cast in shadows in the torchlight before the man threw out his arms causing Rafal to lose his balance and tumble down the stairs.

Before Rafal could comprehend what had just happened and why this mysterious man had pushed him down the stairs so purposely he made out two other figures approaching him in the darkness. Two figures—two people he'd thought he'd been rid of for good. But this was the last thing Rafal saw before he felt darkness close in around him like a cocoon and he blacked out without warning.

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Rafal found it difficult to open his eyes, for his eyelids felt heavy as if he were sleepy. But when his blurred vision cleared he found he was in a room. It had a woodsy smell to it and when he struggled to move he discovered his hands were bound with rope. He could hear the murmuring of voices flitting from outside and clamoring and he strained to see out the dirt stained window.

There were houses built outside, a book shop and a pub too. People dressed from dirtied old rags and ugly dresses hurried about the square, trying to rebuild some of the structures in their village that had been burnt down weeks ago.

Rafal knew where he was. For how could he not when he'd only flown to this very village for years to kidnap readers to go to his schools in hopes of finding his true love someday...He was in Gavaldon. The same place his wife had grown up in, the place she had resented since she was born. He could tell the small village was quite uncanny with its pathetic peasants and crumbling shops, and he understood why Sophie hated this awful place.