Chapter Thirty Three ~

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My eyes fluttered open and I released a groan as a head-splitting headache erupted through my body. Everything was on its side and I realized I was on a stone floor. I sat up, a hand going up to touch my forehead. The room was dark and smelled of mildew. Only a couple lanterns on every few columns provided light sources. I rubbed my face as if I could rub the headache away. But something was off. Was it my head? Was my skull cracked? No, I was just fine. And then I realized.

The ring.

The ring was gone.

Panic surged through my body. "No, no, no," I stammered feeling around in the dark for a cold, metal ring. Tears threatened to fall from my eyes as my hands skimmed over the dirty, stone floor. I began to feel sick. Everything was going to go wrong now. Aaliyah was going to fail. I was going to let my parents down.

The boys.

My dirt-covered hands went to my head and pulled at my hair agonizingly. I began to hyperventilate. They weren't safe anymore. They could die. They could be gone forever. It would be my fault. They wouldn't even know what happened. I choked on a sob, falling to the floor in a shaky mess, much like I had the day before.

"Miss, be quiet," a voice whispered to me in the dark.

I looked up, startled, and as my eyes adjusted the small amount of light, I could make out bars. Cell bars. Ones that you'd find in a dungeon. I noticed two little hands gripping them and a pair of big, green eyes staring at me. A little boy.

"They'll hear you and whip you," he continued. He turned his head and I followed his gaze to a sleeping guard, propped against the wall by a large metal door as he sat in an old wooden chair. His snores echoed off the wall. I gulped when I noticed a long, coiled rope at his side.

I looked at the boy and scooted closer to him. He had brown hair that reached the bottom of his ears and the ends curled upward. "What's your name?"

The boy looked back at me, his emerald eyes filled with uncertainty. He blinked twice before answering. "Bo."

I grinned. "Well, Bo, I'm Eve."

The guard stirred, causing the young boy and I to look up. The guard just murmured something about his lady and crossed his arms. I waited for a snore to escape him before I resumed our conversation. "Why are you here? Isn't this a dungeon?"

The boy nodded. "Pa and I were here. He died, though. They killed him."

I had pity for him. "My dad is dead, too." I decided to save him the specific details, though. I reached my hand through the bars, palm facing upward. One of his hands left its place on one of the bars and placed itself in mine.

"We got in trouble for hiding refugees in our house. The King didn't like it. He told us we were traitors. I don't know where I'm going to go." The boy's fingers intertwined with mine and squeezed. I squeezed back reassuringly.

I racked my brain for kingdoms where citizens were fleeing. Several came to mind but when I tried to single any out, my headache throbbed even more. I gave up. "Where are we, by the way?"

"Desdemona."

My heart stopped. My breaths got short and the boy noticed. "You're not from here," he murmured. "You sound different."

My hand left his and I backed up to the dirt wall. My headache pounded and the tears began to fall from my eyes. The boy got on his knees and scooted the back of his cell to be by me. "They said you were a queen. I heard them. You're a very pretty queen."

My throat closed. I couldn't answer.

"Why are you here if you're a queen? Does the King not like you, either?" I felt a hand grab at my clothes. I noticed I wasn't in the dress I remember being in. Instead, I was dressed in thin linens. Peasant attire. Whoever had taken Taehyung's dress away from me would pay, especially if it was ruined in any way.

"Miss- Queen- Eve, are you okay? The King doesn't like a lot of people. It's okay. He won't hurt you. You're a queen. A pretty one. Like in the storybooks."

I was cold. I was dirty. I was in pain. I was afraid. "I can't stay here. I have to get out. I have to get out. I have to get out."

"Hey! Who's talkin' over there?" a gruff voice growled. Loud, heavy footsteps started to make their way toward Bo's and I's cells. We both looked up to see the once sleeping guard peering past the metal bars at us. His hand was on his whip, a silent warning. "Hey, looks who's up now?" He gave a short laugh before walking over to the metal door. He flipped open a small window and shouted through it. "Aye, the queen's awake!"

Bo looked at me, scared. "Don't let them take you away. They did this with Pa. He never came back. Don't go. Please."

I found Bo's hand and squeezed it. "I won't. I won't, Bo. I won't."

More heavy footsteps. Chains clanking together. Murmuring. Laughing. Bo scooted away from me when my cell door opened, his warm, frail hand slipped away from mine. Four guards came in and looked at me, cracking a few jokes about how a queen should never find herself in a situation like this. When one grabbed at my arm, an overwhelming amount of adrenaline surged through my veins and tried to pull back, much like a horse would when its reigns are pulled. I tried to fight against the one guard, and he just laughed at me. Was this a joke to him?

"Pathetic," the guard snickered before pushing me back forcefully into another guard who immediately chained my wrists together. "Let's get her to the King. I'm sure he'll have a laugh, too."

As I was being dragged away, I looked back into the cell that had been by mine, hoping to see Bo for one last time. But all I saw was an empty cell with no boy inside. I began to cry harder.

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ok so i've written more chapters for this and since i didn't have any homework for once so i thought i should update. 

i should be studying for pre cal and financial lit but ohhh wellllll

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