Royale (Book #1 Royale Series) {Under Revision}

Chapter 34: Juliana vs. The Rebels-Final Round

Juliana's POV

I've always found it funny how in just one moment, your life can change forever. One small second and then boom! Everything is different. It's even weirder how unexpected these moments can be. In just in the blink of an eye, your life can unfold before you.

And then you think, how could this have happened? If I had done just one thing differently, would I be where I am now?

That's the funny thing. Life is full of moments that can change everything. But when everything hits the fan, can you even pinpoint which moment it was? What was the exact moment that led me here?

I didn't know the answer, but Lord knows I tried to find it. It was the easiest thing to think about. I couldn't think about how my body ached from being kicked around. Or how my skin burned from the tightness of the ropes that kept my hands bound behind me. Or how no one had any idea where I was...not even myself.

One minute, I was walking through the gardens, trying to find Aspen and beg him not to give up his crown. The next, big, hairy hands had my mouth covered so I couldn't scream. With their other hand, they had grabbed me. I knew I wasn't going to be able to get out of their grasp, but I still tried like hell. And then, out came another person, this one dressed in all red with a matching mask, beating me into unconsciousness. The pain was so awful, I just wanted to collapse, but I was currently forced to sit upright, tied to a chair.

I couldn't scream because there was a cloth in my mouth tied around my head to keep me from doing such. Not that I thought anyone would be able to hear me anyway.

This wasn't the same place that I was taken to when I was dealing with the Albionian rebels. I could tell that that place was underground. This place, however, had very high ceilings. The room I was in was completely empty of furniture. The walls were an almost blinding white while the floors were marble. This was definitely a building of some sort. And that thought scared me. Austin Maddox, the leader of the Albionian rebels, ran his rebellion independently. These people, whoever they were, if they resided in a building like this, this had to be an organization of some sort. Which meant that they were more powerful and would be less likely to make a deal. They want me, not something that I could offer them.

Austin Maddox was an enemy, but he wasn't out for my blood. For the most part, he reached out to me peacefully. Leaving secret notes and a trail of rose petals so I could find him. He let me go unharmed when I told him that I'd offer him what he wanted, which was one of my eggs.

These people had abducted me from my home, beaten me, and had me locked and tied up in a room. Blood stained my white dress and bruises ran up my arms and legs. Who the hell were these people? What did they want from me?

I struggled against my restraints, trying desperately to wiggle my wrists from the rope, but all that accomplished was more rope burn. Blood trickled down my arms and so I gave up trying.

I surveyed the room. It was large, but it had no windows. There was only one large door at the front of the room, well, the front from where I was sitting. There wasn't a doorknob, I noticed, which meant that it could only be opened from the outside.

I searched my brain for some way I could possibly escape, but I came up short. What was I going to do? There's no telling what they would do to me once they came back and judging from the blood and the bruises, my body wouldn't be able to take much more of their torture.

Suddenly, I heard the locks on the outside of the door being messed with. Someone was coming in. A woman wearing a silky, white dress walked in and shut the door behind her. She wielded a gun.

Fear rose up in my chest. This was it. I was going to die. There was no way out and I had no defense against a gun. I could feel hot tears running down my face. This isn't how I wanted to go.