Tony was in the throne room when Alistair was brought there, as well, by the guards. He was thrown in front of the throne, all while Tony looked at him.
"You asked to see me."He mumbled out.
"Y/N is in a critical condition."Tony said, making Alistair look up at him, a look of fear crossing over his face.
"What did you do to her?"
"I did what I thought was best."Tony said, making Alistair chuckle.
"I can't believe you. You do realize, if she survives, she will hate you even more?" He asked, making Tony's jaw clench.
"She will survive. All this time, she didn't speak about your plan. So now, you have the chance to say what really happened."Tony said.
Alistair only shook his head."And I actually thought you could care for her. You did this to her, you almost killed her!"
"You two did this to yourselves."Tony said, holding his head high."And she is my wife, not yours. Keep that in mind. I do care for her."
"You can't care about her the way I care about her!"
"What has she done to you for you to blindly follow her? You've got a wife and you will have a child soon. Why do you still lust after my wife?"
"Can I see her?" Alistair looked at Tony. "Please. Only for a minute."
Tony shook his head. "You can't. The healers are treating her. She could die."Saying those words finally made Tony realize what was happening. You could die. And it was his fault. He had you tortured, without even thinking if you could take it. He could not even imagine how alone and scared you felt. The guard told him, when he saw you, your body was almost frozen from the cold.
"I will tell you what happened."Alistair said."This is the truth. But promise me one thing. You will stop questioning Y/N over this and she will be freed. I don't want to see her in the dungeons again."Tony only looked at him."Well?" Alistair asked after a few moments of silence.
"Talk. I will decide about that."Tony said.
"Well, my plan began from the day I was engaged to Y/N. I finally saw a chance to strenghten my claim to the throne with her by my side. I wasn't sure you would have children, so as soon as we got married, I wanted to give her a child."Hearing this made Tony tighten his grip on the throne. His blood started to boil, but he needed to stay calm on the outside. You were his and Alistair couldn't talk about you this way. If you were going to carry anybody's children, it would be his and only his. "I told her of my plan. From the start, she told me it was dangerous, but I didn't listen. After that... well, I guess she forgot about it. I didn't mention it to her. So, there is no way she could've been involved in this. It was my doing."Alistair lied in his brother's face, but he knew if he had to do it again for you, he would do it without a second thought.
"She truly is innocent, then?" Tony asked.
"Yes. Whatever she told you, it was out of anger."Alistair replied."And she might still be angry at you. Don't listen to her. What I just told you is the truth."
"Very well then."Tony said and looked at the guards."Take him back to the dungeons until I decide what to do with him."
The guards immediately listened to his order, while Tony left the throne room and walked to your chambers. When he was about to enter, a maid carried out bloodied covers and Tony's eyes widened, afraid of what waited for him behind the closed door. He was suddenly having trouble breathing, so he undid one button on his shirt to try to get some air. He couldn't wait anymore, he walked into your chambers.
You were still unconscious on the bed, in a small pool of your blood. The healers were packing their things and Tony felt his heart stop, before he looked at you again. Surely you couldn't be dead already.
"Your Grace-"
"Tell me how she is."Tony cut him off, approaching your side of the bed."Is she alive?"
"She is alive, Your Grace."The healer said, making Tony breathe out in relief."We succeeded at stopping her bleeding, and we fixed as many broken bones as we could. The next few hours are still critical. Her life is still in danger."
Tony looked at you and he felt his heart clench at the thought. "She is strong. I know she can get through this."
When they left Tony alone with you, he took a seat by your side and finally got a closer look at you. He wished he didn't, because what he saw made his heart break.
His hand moved the hair sticking to your face and his thumb moved over the bruise on your cheek. He shook his head and left your side, only to return a few minutes later with a bowl of warm water and a cloth. He sat by your side again and soaked the cloth before he wiped the dirt off your face.
He was careful not to press on the bruises too much, but once he cleaned your face he moved to your neck, then to your chest. He peeled away pieces of your dress and, after he was done cleaning you, took a new dress and put it on you.
After he was done, he placed a kiss on the top of your head before he decided he could forget about his duties for a day, he would spend it by your side instead, making sure you don't die.
Through the night, healers were coming to check on you, but mostly it was only Tony by your side. It was close to the afternoon of the following day when he heard you stir in bed and he walked away from the window and took his seat again. He looked at you as you slowly opened your eyes and found yourself in your old chambers.
You looked confused. Was it all a bad dream? You dreamt that you married Tony and he sent you to the dungeons after that?
The sharp pain in your body reminded you of the reality and your face scrunched up in pain.
"Hey, don't move."You heard his voice, but you convinced yourself you were imagining it. That is, until his face came into view and you felt his hands on your body, helping you get comfortable."You're still hurt."
You quickly pushed him away from you. "Don't touch me."You said.
"Let me help you."He said, but you shook your head.
"No. You ordered this. I hope you're satisfied with the results."You said, trying to move again, but felt a sharp pain in your side.
"You have to know this is not what I expected would happen."
"Then what did you expect, Tony?"You asked."That I would die?"
"No!" He quickly said, making you jump in place when he raised his voice. "You can't die."
You let out a scoff and rolled your eyes, turning away from Tony. For the next moments, the chambers were silent.
"Do you... uh... do you want me to take you back to our chambers?" He asked and you turned, only to glare at him.
"I'll stay here. I can't stand looking at you, let alone sleeping in the same bed as you. When I recover, I want to annul our marriage."Tony looked up at you when you said the last part, his eyes widening.
"You won't do it."
"Why? Did you find new ways to torture me?"
"Why do you have to be so stubborn?"Tony was growing annoyed by your behaviour."I'm trying to apologize for my actions. I didn't think they would do this to you. I thought you would confess before allowing this to happen."
Before you could send him away from your chambers, the door opened and a girl walked in. You both looked at her and you noticed how her gaze immediately went to Tony. Her hands were shaking when she approached you and she put the tray with food on the table.
"This is for you, Your Grace."
"What is your name?" You asked her.
She kept her gaze on the floor, avoiding to look at either of you."Alice."
You looked at Tony, who looked at the girl, but it was like he couldn't remember where he knew her from. He noticed your gaze on him and turned to look at you, a questioning look on his face.
"You slept with her, didn't you?"
"What?" Tony asked.
"Tell me when it happened, Alice."You turned to the girl, who looked terrified of what was about to happen.
"T-Three weeks ago. The night the King ordered for you to be taken to the dungeons."
"You couldn't wait, could you?" You asked Tony.
"I-" He looked at you, then at Alice. He knew there was no point in denying anything now. "It just happened. I don't know-"
"Stop lying."You interrupted him and he was surprised by how calm you were."Leave us."You ordered to him and he had no other option than to leave the chambers. You were left alone with the girl.
"Please forgive me, my Queen."She looked up at you, trying to wipe off the tears from her cheeks."It wouldn't happen if I didn't come into your chambers that night to leave a dress for you."
"It is not your fault, Alice."You said.
"No man will take me as wife now."
"When I recover, I will find you a husband."You nodded at her."Now go. Stay away from him, he is unpredictable."
She quickly nodded and left your chambers. As soon as she left, Tony entered. "I see you have not murdered her."
"Why would I? What happened wasn't her fault, but yours."You replied as he took his seat by your side."But you seem to prefer to blame other people for your actions."
"You're not jealous?"
You turned your head to glare at him."Do you truly think you're that much important for me to be jealous of every woman who breathes the same air as you?"
"I would kill whoever dared to put their hands on you in that way."He said, trying to move a strand of your hair but you pushed his hand away."It is getting late. May I sleep next to you, my dear wife?"
"No, you may not."You replied and got comfortable under the covers, wincing when you felt sharp pain in your chest.
"Your condition is still critical, I have to watch over you. And I can't spend the whole night on this chair."
"Oh, my sincere apologies. I forgot your royal self is not used to feeling uncomfortable. I'm not forcing you to spend the night here. I would be glad if you returned to your chambers, actually. It is your fault I'm in this condition. Spending the night on that chair is nothing compared to how those dungeons felt past three weeks!"
He went silent for a few moments. He only looked at you in the bed as you closed your eyes and were about to fall asleep, when he spoke up again."You haven't touched your food."He noticed, his gaze falling on the untouched tray full of food.
You let out a sigh and opened your eyes."You love to torture me, don't you? I want to sleep."
"You must eat."Tony said and left his chair only to take the tray and bring it over to the bed.
"I'm not hungry."You replied.
"That was an order."He said, making you send him another glare.
"Do you think you can command me as you do to those people?"
He said nothing. He only helped you rise in the bed until you were sitting. Then, he adjusted the pillows behind your back and placed the tray of food in your lap. "Eat."
"My fingers were broken, how do you expect me to hold a spoon?" You asked.
"Right."Tony remembered and took the spoon in his hands.
"What are you doing now?"
"I will feed you."
You let out a chuckle. "Absolutely not."
"Why?"He asked as he held the spoon up to your lips. You rolled your eyes before you parted your lips.
"This is not happening, I'm in a nightmare."You mumbled out when you swallowed a bite.
Tony was patient with you, he could see you had trouble swallowing food. What would only take a few minutes, now took a whole hour. At the end, you finished your food and the fruits that were brought to you.
"Can I sleep now? Or will you find new ways to torture me?" You asked, your eyes following him as he placed the tray on the table and returned to sit by your side.
He smiled down at you and his hand reached out towards your face. You felt his thumb wipe something from the corner of your lips. He then sucked it off his thumb and looked into your eyes. "There. Now you can sleep."
You rolled your eyes and sunk under the warm covers, closing your eyes. Tony smiled when he realized it only took a few seconds for you to fall asleep. He knew you were exhausted. He placed the covers over your body, making sure you were warm.
Through the night, he was reading a book brought to him by the guards, but he still kept a close eye on you. He found himself thinking about how you wanted to annul your marriage. He knew he couldn't let that happen, he cared too much for you to let you go now.
What Tony had in mind for Alistair would only drive you even more away from himself, and he knew it, but it had to be done. He would figure out how to earn your trust again. But he would think about that later, for now he wanted to enjoy your presence next to him.