The King's Daughter

4 Meeting Their Leader

Staring into his eyes, I gulped and then frowned, not quite registering what he just said to me.

"Aren't you going to say something?" He asked in obvious amusement.

He was enjoying how confused and scared I was. The fact that he wasn't just slicing my throat like I thought he would was making me even more nervous. Did he have something bigger planned than killing me right away? I knew he was going to kill me. He never left those he came in contact with alive for long.

"Please, sir. Take me home." I murmured, my voice shaking and my eyes still tearful.

I felt completely powerless and vulnerable beneath his intense stare, not to mention the other men behind him who were looking on. I hated feeling helpless like this.

"Why sweetheart. You are already home." He laughed, reaching out to me.

I literally could not move away or slap his hand away, for I was so paralyzed with fear. To be honest, I felt like I might faint as he carefully took a strand of my light red hair and slid his fingers through it.

"Please take me back to the palace." I asked him, flattening myself against the door even more when he moved his face closer to me.

I could see through the holes in his mask that he had clear blue-green eyes. Why didn't he take the mask off? Was his face disfigured? I shuddered at the thought.

"Princess, let me make something very clear to you." He tilted his head, his mouth an inch away from my own. "You are not going back to the palace. This is where you will stay, understand?"

Inhaling quickly, I shoved him away from me and shook my head. "You can't make me stay here. Don't you realize who I am? The kingdom needs me!"

Before I could even blink, he had snatched my wrists and was holding them over my head. His mouth no longer held amusement and I knew I messed up.

"Let me make something clear. You never lay a hand on me in violence. You do as I say and you won't get hurt. If you're obedient and cooperative, you'll have nothing to fear from me, but, if you fight against me? You'll have plenty of things to worry about. We wouldn't want that flawless porcelain skin of yours to get marked up now would we?" He purred, sliding a finger down my face to the bare skin of my neck.

His threats hit home and I held my tongue, afraid of what he could do, because I knew he could do a lot.

"Now, it's been a long day. Why don't we all get some sleep and finish this conversation in the morning?" He announced so everyone could hear and then let go of me.

"But..."

He looked back at me and leaned on one leg. "Remember, you disobey me, and I won't hesitate to punish you."

I cringed at the word "punish."

"Come with me." He held out his hand while his men began shuffling away, glancing back at us now and then.

"Why am I here?" I wanted to know, taking a timid step toward him.

"I'll save that information for a later time. Just come here." His hand was still held out for me.

Trembling, I took another step near him, but didn't take his hand. "Please, I need to know why you kidnapped me."

"And I told you, I'm saving that for another time. Now let's go to bed." He snatched my hand and proceeded to pull me along to the curved staircase.

Having no choice but to follow him, I let him lead me up the marble steps and down the hallway, back to the first room they had put me in.

But once he had forced me inside and shut the door with a slam, I jumped and stared at the bed in fear. What was he planning to do with me tonight? Would he force himself on me? The thought struck terror in me and I wanted to cry.

"Princess, you can change into this to sleep in." He went to a dresser and opened a drawer, pulling out some clothing that I didn't want to even touch.

"What are you going to do to me?" I asked him, hating the way my voice shook as if I was going to cry any second. I was the princess. I needed to stand up for myself.

Pausing, he walked up to me while I backed away. My legs met the edge of the bed and my heart stopped.

Standing there looking down on me, he simply held the clothes out to me. "What do you mean?"

"I mean... I've heard stories about you. And what you do to women. I... I don't want to be a victim of you." I whispered, taking the clothes and holding them to my chest.

He stared at me for a second. "Take these clothes and go put them on in the bathroom. You have ten minutes to be back out before I'll come in to see what's taking so long."

Nodding slowly, I walked past him and rushed into the bathroom and closed the door. Breathing a sigh of relief that he was no longer there to intently watch my every move.

The bathroom was large for a simple house bathroom, but it didn't even compare to my own—mine was three times the size. There was a shower and large round tub with wall to ceiling windows overlooking the gardens which were blanketed in darkness. The rain still pounded against the house making it creak and groan.

Quickly, I removed my dress and went to put on the clothes he gave me. I didn't even know his name, or what he looked like for that matter. He probably had a terrifying wrinkly old face underneath his mask.

He had given me a thin night gown that wasn't see-through, but it was close to it. My shoulders felt bare and exposed, having only thin straps to cover my skin.

What was he going to do to me out there?

I needed to escape. But how?

Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door. "Two minutes, lovely."

My heart beating faster, I hurried to the toilet and relieved myself, washing my hands after.

And then the door opened and I held my arms over my chest because I felt too exposed and he looked inside. "Times up. Come on out."

My whole body shaking, I willed my feet to walk, but they refused.

Sighing, he came in and took my hand, pulling me out the door and into his bedroom. At least it was dark so he couldn't stare at my body, which was provocatively outlined by the night gown.

"You'll be sleeping with me. So, get in the bed." He gestured to his giant bed which he had turned down the covers on.

"Please don't-"

"Get in the bed or there will be consequences." He ordered somewhat annoyed.

Wanting to burst into tears, I climbed on the bed and went over to the far side, sliding under the covers and holding them up to my chin. When I felt his body weight shift the mattress, I held in a sob. Would he hurt me? Make me do something I didn't want to do? He was ruthless. There was no telling what he'd do to me.

"Go to sleep. You have a big day tomorrow, Princess." He said in the dark.

He didn't touch me as we both lay there. He didn't even say anything more. I was left to lie awake and think of all the worst possible scenarios for tomorrow as I struggled to gain control of my fear.

When he began breathing evenly, I glanced over at him and realized he had removed his mask. Squinting, I couldn't make out his features. It was so dark. Plus his face was turned slightly away from me.

Holding in my whimpers, I turned away from him and closed my eyes, trying to sleep, but knowing I wouldn't sleep a wink tonight.

The royal family was probably in an uproar right now searching for me. I knew they would find me soon. Maybe I only had to wait and make sure these men didn't hurt me and I'd be rescued soon.

I was about to wonder if Felix was close to finding me, but then I remembered.

Felix was dead.

They had killed him. And that just reminded me that I was in the hands of someone who didn't value human life. He could kill me in a second if he felt like it and probably wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

One thing was for sure, I was in an incredible amount of danger, and I needed to get out of here.