Word Count: 1804
~Kiva
I run. Fast.
Not once do I look over my shoulder, keeping my gaze pinned straight ahead. I need to put as much distance between Ark and me.
My shoes are drenched as I trek through the snow, dodging through trees, guided only by the moonlight. My lungs are burning, my breath's coming out in rasping breaths.
I don't know where I'm going, but eventually I emerge from the forest, seeing the glittering lights from a village on a distant hill.
I nearly collapse in relief. I'll find a place to hide out for the night then make my way back home in the morning. Father will immediately send people out to find Ark, he will be captured, and imprisoned.
And I'll finally be safe.
By the time I make it to the village my limbs are hideously cold to the point my joints groan with each step. My lashes are frozen, my lips raw and my fingertips and toes numb.
No one is lingering around this small little place at this time of the night, so I risk knocking on the door of a sweet home at the edge of the village.
I pound on the door, hoping I haven't stumbled upon a murderers house.
The door creaks open, a pair of wary blue eyes staring through at me. They widen at the sight of the meek, frozen, wet and frightened girl standing at their doorstep.
"Is everything okay?" The ask.
"I...I don't know where to go." I don't know what to say to deserve refuge, but if I'm forced to spend a night without shelter, I'll die from this horrendous cold.
They swing the door wide open, examine me. It's a woman in a bright blue dressing gown, her hair all mussed from sleep. I swallow my guilt for waking her at that hour.
"You're not Princess Kiva, are you?"
I rub the back of my neck. "Can I sleep here? I'll take the couch, I just need a place to spend the night."
Part of me suspects she might be a part of the rebellion, hating me for something I don't even know I've done wrong.
Instead, her expression morphs into a wide smile.
"Absolutely. It would be an honour." She steps back, motioning me inside.
Warmth immediately embraces me as I wander into the small living area. Embers smoulder in the fire pit, luring me straight to them. I can feel the life returning to my limbs, the ice and snow that has gathered on me starting to soften and melt away.
"Thank you so much. I will have my father repay you handsomely," I assure her, rubbing my hands together.
"Housing a Princess is enough for us, don't you worry," she assures me.
I smile gratefully at her. "Thank you so much."
I want to take off my jacket, but I fear Ark may appear at any moment and I'll have to make another run for it. He shouldn't be able to find me here, in this particular house, but his job has been tracking and killing people, so I'm going to assume that the worst is ahead of me.
"Let me make you a hot drink."
"You don't need to," I brush off uncomfortably, although getting hot liquid into me is tempting.
"I want to." She pours water into a kettle, setting it down on her gaze stovetop. "Is everything alright? What brings you to this village?"
I don't even know what this village is. I feel bad because I was partially ruled over this territory before I married into Caspian's. I should have been here before...
Maybe Ark and the rebellion is right about me.
"My transport crashed and my escort is missing. This was the first place I saw," I tell her quickly. I hate lying to someone who seems so kind and hospitable but I can't exactly tell her I'm being hunted down by a crazed mercenary.
"How terrible. I'll have you taken back home by tomorrow," she says, steeping a bag of herbs in the boiling water that she has poured into a pretty cup.
"Thank you..."
She comes back, handing me the hot tea. I take a few sips before my attention drifts to the open curtains. Something about seeing nothing beyond the darkness, not knowing who may be looking in is unnerving me.
Ark isn't here, but I can feel his presence all around me. He's screwing with my head without actually doing anything...
"Can I close these curtains," I ask nervously.
The woman nods, watching me draw the curtains closed with unnatural urgency. A dark chill skitters down my spine as I chase away the thought of Ark being around.
He will come to this town...I just hope it's not tonight.
"Everything okay?"
"The dark makes me nervous, that's all." I sit down on her couch, picking up my tea from her coffee table again.
"I promise there is nothing in the dark," she assures me, laughing a little.
I raise my brows. "I wouldn't be so sure."
The woman informs me her name is Mae and dutifully supplies me with a blanket and a pillow. I'm finally warm although I'm still wary about taking off my layers, or even my shoes.
She wishes me a goodnight and leaves me to settle under the blanket under candlelight.
For a while, I can't sleep.
Every gust of wind or animal rushing around outside makes me still, hearing out for any evidence of roaming rebels.
At some point, though, I feel myself drifting off. It's impossible to fight after the nightmare I have been through.
I'm not sure how much time passes as I shift in and out of sleep before a loud pounding on the door has me scrambling off the couch, blankets winding around my legs.
Mae rushes into the room, rubbing her wary eyes.
"Don't answer it," I tell her sharply.
"Why not?" She pulls her dressing gown around her tighter, her face pale from fright. The pounding is so incessant, rocking the foundation of the home.
"It could be anyone," I whisper.
She looks between me and the door. "Maybe they need help."
"They probably don't," I say. I can't tell her it's a mercenary that may kill her for keeping me hidden and is threatening my life too. "Please go back to bed, I'll feel safer if you don't answer it."
The pounding isn't lessening, but she seems as frightened as me.
"Alright then. Goodnight Princess."
She rushes from the room, closing the door behind her. I sit on the couch, staring at the door as the pounding continues. It seems to be timed with my rapid heartbeat, and is so aggressive I'm certain the door is going to collapse.
And then, it stops.
The silence is almost as deafening as the knocking. There's nothing, no sound. Whoever was there is gone, and no matter how hard I try to concentrate, I can't hear them on either side of the house.
A cold feel of dread trickles down over me.
Maybe it was a member of the rebellion and they walked away. Or maybe it was just an innocent civilian who had an emergency and has walked off.
Or maybe it's Ark, and I'm sitting in this house, waiting him out.
Getting up, I quickly find a kitchen knife before I head back to the couch, laying down. I slip my hand under the blanket, clutching the handle tightly. I should be safe inside, but at any moment Ark could kick the door down.
All of a sudden, out of nowhere, someone is on top of me.
My scream is cut off by their hand slamming down over my mouth, their other hand holding my wrist down.
I know exactly who they are based on the weight of them pressed against me, of the strength they use to pin me down.
"You think you can run from me? Did you forget who I am?" Ark growls in my ear.
Gritting my teeth, I thrash my limbs around, trying to displace his weight. He's rendered the hand that has the knife useless, although I use the other to push at him, managing to fight him off enough to get out from under him.
I shake myself from his grip, stumbling away from him.
He straightens, hair slightly mussed, eyes pitch black as he looks at me. "I hunt and kill for a living, Kiva. You can run for as long as you like, I'll always find you."
"Fuck you," I snap.
We circle around the couch. I can't see any weapons on him, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. I'm hoping he won't hurt me, but with everything I've been through, I'll slice him with this knife if I have to.
"I'll kill you. I'll do it..." I threaten.
He shakes his head. "I'm your mate. You won't do it."
I scowl. That stopped meaning anything to me when I found out who he really is. It's not like I can go on being his mate when he wants to harm my father and my reign.
"Stop chasing me." I try not to make it sound like I'm begging, but it's hard to avoid.
"You're coming back with me. Whether you like it or not." He says it so calmly it's disturbing. There is no fear with his smooth gait, hands tucked behind his back that suggests he does not think I can escape.
My voice is shaky. "Please. Walk out that front door and leave me alone. I promise I won't go back to my father."
"I'm afraid that's not an option," he exclaims darkly.
"You're scaring me, Ark," I breathe, backing away toward the door, holding the knife out in front of me.
All I need is for him to take pity on me for just a second.
His gaze softens a little. "You're safe with me. I promise."
"Promises mean nothing without trust," I grit out. How can he not see how ridiculous this is? He expects me to trust him when he has drugged me and taken me to his rebellion? He's lied to me enough.
"I'm sorry Princess, but I'm afraid we don't have time to negotiate." He folds his arms, nodding at someone behind me.
I didn't even realise someone was in the house too until they wrap their arms around me, shaking the knife from my hand.
Ark just stands and watches solemnly as a bag is shoved over my head, shrouding me in darkness.
This time, I don't know if I'm going to get another chance to escape.
🖤••🖤
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! and as always it is available 10 chapters ahead on Radish!
THE DARKEST TEMPTATION— OUT NOW ON WATTPAD!!
~Midika 💜🐼