Safe

Chapter 2:

I watched how happy everyone was and wondered what it would be like to live like them. I smiled softly as a few children were dancing with each other playfully. The music was upbeat and professional violinists played a big part in the orchestra. I closed my eyes as I sensed good and bad people. I enjoyed watching the children play and be free. I wished so badly that I could be like that.

"You look bored, princess." I heard a man's voice say. I looked up to see a man with slicked back, blonde hair and brown eyes who looked to be about twenty-eight or even thirty. He had a devilish smile as he stood in front of me. "I'm the prince of the Southern Kingdom's advisor, Lord Trenton." He said as he bowed to me. I bowed slightly to him and he laid out his hand for me to take. "Would you like to dance?" Lord Trenton asked in an obnoxiously nasal voice. I looked over at my father who was giving me the 'if-you-don't-you're-dead' look. I gave him my hand and he pulled me up and we danced to the slow song that was coming up next.

I was very uncomfortable with the vibe that came with this guy. He kept looking directly in my eyes and giving me a sickening smile. He kept taunting me with words of "affection" and would try and move his hands places where they shouldn't be. I tried to get away from him, but he had a death grip on my hand and back. I struggled, trying not to let my father see. This guy wouldn't leave me alone. Suddenly, after minutes of begging for him to stop, a man came up behind Lord Trenton and tapped him on the shoulder.

"May I have a turn to dance with her highness?" The man asked, when I looked up to see who it was, I realized that it was the guard who escorted me here. Lord Trenton scowled at the man, but left after he got a threatening look from him. The man bowed to me and hesitantly, I bowed back. He gently took my hand and put his other on my shoulder blade where it should be. I still didn't feel right about the guy I was dancing with now, however, I felt a lot more safe with this guy than the man I was dancing with before. At least this masked man was polite and had manners. We danced for a few seconds before he finally spoke to me.

"Are you okay, princess?" he asked. I nodded and he just stayed silent after that. I then saw my father keeping an eye on me and I was getting very nervous. I stopped dancing and I looked at the guy I was with.

"I'm sorry, I need some fresh air." I said before running out and into the courtroom. I stopped running at the balcony where the garden was. I walked down the steps and headed to the garden. I knew my father would beat me for being out beyond where he could see me, but I needed to get out of that castle. I walked over and sat on the fountain and I picked some flowers before taking the heads off of them and placing them in the water as I watched them flow with the waterfall of the fountain. I kept questioning why I was the one who was left here alone and why my father hadn't just killed me and let me be with my mother once again. I wondered where Luka could be and what he was doing at that very moment. I missed him and his tricks. I missed shocking each other with magic when our father wasn't looking.

All of a sudden I heard a few people talking behind me, when they saw me, they walked the other way. When I looked back towards the fountain, I screamed and fell back, only to be caught by the guy who scared me in the first place. That guy that danced with me. He had changed his clothes into a more ripped and flowing version of commoner's clothes. They were all black and grey. He put his hand over my mouth and then dragged me into a cave. He threw me against the wall and I fell to the ground, knowing that if I screamed, no one would come and help me since they all wanted me dead anyways. The man pinned me to the wall and put his hand over my mouth and then put a dagger to my throat. I didn't move because unfortunately, this has been a situation that I have been in many times before.

"Look, I really don't want to hurt you so I will give you two choices." He said. That was definitely not what I thought he was going to say. I held my breath before finally deciding to use my voice.

"Put down your... Scandonavian Broadseax... and I'll answer whatever choices you have." I said as I examined the dagger. He looked a bit shocked that I knew the name of the weapon. Of course I know the name of it! The only thing to do in that chamber was ask James a bunch of questions about the different weapons that were on the shelfs. The man looked at me with a threatening look.

"Do you know what I am capable of?" He asked me. My eyes widened but then I calmed myself, sensing a source of magic within him. I used my magic to get the dagger away from my neck. The man looked a bit taken back by my actions. I just stood there, unsure of what to do next. I was shaking and holding my hand in front of me in self defence, in case I needed to use my magic against him. "So you are a Devlios?" He asked me. I stood with my back far up against the wall.

"What's it to you?" I asked him. He smirked and then bowed dramatically to me.

"I'm a Devlios as well... as you can see, I do not play around with my skills." He told me, using magic to restrain me. "Look, I was hired to kill you and your father there inside. So here are your choices..."

"Which are?"

"You can either come run away with me and fake your death, or you can let me kill you and your family." he said. I thought about it for a moment before answering him. I thought about the chances of me being free in the castle versus being free with this man who is clearly an assassin of some sort. I had made my decision.

"Sir, you may think that you can scare me by taking my family away from me and killing me, but you see, I don't have a family, a life or even someone that I can consider a friend. I have never used my magic outside of my room before and therefore have never known the extent of its power. Sir, I have nothing else to lose. If I die, so be it. I would much rather be with my mother than be down on this hell they call 'Earth.'" I stated. The man stared at me with his arms crossed. He raised his eyebrow and nodded slightly.

"Fair enough. However, that didn't answer my question, doll." He said before putting his hand against the cave wall next to my head and getting a good distance from my face. "What's your decision?"