Chapter 5:
“Is it possible for my life to get any worse?” I muttered to myself taking a deep breath. I so wasn’t ready for this, I don’t think anyone would be in my situation.
“You could be dead,” Jayson answered for me reaching for the handle.
“I’m already dead,” I breathed. I nodded to him. Ever since my hopes of escape were abolished I had become dead inside. Why live when I am trapped for the rest of my life with a man who tortured my mother? I would never be ready for what’s going to happen, but there is no way of stopping it. Jayson pushed open the door and held his arm out in front of him, his palm facing the ground.
Butterflies attacked my stomach and my heart pounded in my ears. I placed my hand on his and we walked out into the ballroom. It really was a beautiful place. The light wood underneath my feet was polished to perfection gleaming in the light. Glass, French doors and mirrors were placed next to one another to form the room. The ceiling was high and painted with clouds and cherubs. A large and very beautiful chandelier hung down glittering with dangling crystals and jewels. Above and in between the doors and mirrors were gold walls that with the sunlight seemed to make the room glow. Through the doors lush, green gardens were visible with gardeners trimming the leaves into shapes and animals. I wonder if Annalisa’s father is among them. Further out was a white fountain, water bursting from the top and raining down.
The room was incredibly large with a platform in one of the corners for where the orchestra would play. But what caught my eye the most were all the gorgeous woman standing in front of the king. They were dressed like I was, in expensive clothes and jewellery, their hair pulled into fancy curls and ponytails. Some were overdressed with too many brooches and necklaces, their faces caked in makeup. I guess they really wanted to marry the king.
Guards stood at the edges of room and I couldn’t help but smirk when I saw a few with bandages on cuts and bruises from my attack earlier on. Most people were dressed in light colours but I was one of few in black. When the King heard me enter he smiled brightly at me with another emotion in his eyes. All the woman’s head turned to look at me, some looking jealous and others sad. Their eyes were ringed with red showing the tears that they had shed. I felt sorry for all these woman but if I knew what the king was thinking then they would all be out of here soon enough.
“Clair!” the king’s voice boomed holding out his hand. I took a quick glance at Jayson who stared straight ahead, his posture impeccable, his face emotionless. My smile had disappeared a few seconds ago, probably when I saw the Kings face. Jayson’s hand dropped and he moved to the edge amongst all the other guards. I kept walking, my head held high, no smile on my face and I walked up to the King not taking his hand. His eye twitched but his smile never faltered. He took my hand from my side and held it in his. He squeezed it hard and my knees buckled and hit the floor.
I winced averting my eyes from the group of women staring at me wide eyed. I don’t think they’ll be argumentative anymore. Sparks of pain shot down my arm making me shake. Where did he get this strength from? It felt like my fingers were preparing to break. He eventually let go and I pulled my hand into my lap cradling it. It was red and pins and needle shot through my hand as the circulation returned. Shit!
I got to my feet shooting a nasty glare at the king. I walked to the edge of the group and stood silently. The king chuckled at me before clapping his hands together and making the women jump.
“Hello again, ladies. I hope your stay here so far has been satisfying?” no one answered him. “Good. I have called ally you here to say why you are staying in my kingdom. I didn’t get to say last time due to a certain person interrupting it.” The king glanced at me briefly. “You all are the finest of the village that I rule. Beautiful ladies who deserve so much more than they have and only one of you shall be getting a new life with riches and unlimited presents. One of you shall become my bride.” My head bowed.
He had told me this before but now that everyone knew it, it seemed to make everything feel so much worse. I couldn’t breathe, the corset was too tight, the dress to heavy. Some women gasped and some seemed to giggle in delight. I felt disgust towards those who were happy. But they were probably as heartless as he was. They can have him for all I care.
“There are some tests that you all have to complete before I announce who has been chosen. There will be a knowledge test and an agility test. Once those have been completed I will spend a period of 5 hours with each and every one of you.” A knot tightened in my stomach. What was he going to do to us in those 5 hours? I clenched my teeth and rubbed my sore hand which had begun to ache. A woman beside me seemed to be in her teens like me but younger. She had to be at most sixteen. I know I was only seventeen but a year difference was a lot in my books. Poor girl. She was shaking life a leaf and she gripped her elbows desperately hugging herself. She had pale skin and her lavender dress matched the tone perfectly. She had lovely blonde hair that cascaded down her back in gorgeous curls. She was skinny and fragile looking.
I shuffled closer to her touching her arm with mine. She looked up at me and her shakes seem to calm. I nodded my head giving her a small smile. “Don’t worry, if you fail every one of his tests and don’t go near him that night he shouldn’t pick you,” I whispered. She sighed taking it into consideration. “I’m Claire.”
“Amy,” she whispered back. Her voice was so angelic; I think she was younger than sixteen.
“The first test will commence after lunch with me. Please make your way into the hall through that door,” The king pointed to the door behind us. “And there will be an assortment of dishes for you all to consume.”
All the women hesitated before making their way to the door. We all went through the door; a few of the flirty women bumped me sending me flying into the wall. I glared at them as they giggled. Now I really hope one of them wins. I was now one of the last of the group, walking at the back still holding my hand. Someone grabbed my arm and pulled me back. I went to kick them and then I realised it was the king; I actually wanted to knee him more. His expression was hard and cruel as he looked at me, his face close to mine.
“Don’t play around with me, Claire. You will do what I say and if you don’t I will do worse than just crush your hand. Do you understand?” I swallowed loudly before nodding my head. He backed me up into a wall and a flirty smile returned to his face. He looked me up and down before staring at my lips. “You look absolutely gorgeous in that dress, Claire. I can’t wait till those 5 hours with you.” He made a moaning sound in the back of his throat. His hands went to my waist and he pulled me roughly to him making me gasp. I tried to struggle but he just held on harder making me cringe. “So beautiful.”
The King pressed his lips against mine moaning at the instant impact. His tongue darted out and into my mouth and I tried not to gag. I felt so disgusting, so violated and dirty when he did this to me. I wanted to die more with every waking minute. I hated him with all I had. His hand moved up and cupped my breast massaging it slightly. That’s when I pushed him away with all my strength. It gave me enough time to escape his grasp and run down the hall and into the room where all the woman were.
I wiped my mouth quickly before entering, trying to look as normal as possible. There was so much commotion going on that no one noticed me enter and sit down, that’s except Amy. I went and sat down next to her for comfort. “I saw what happened,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
I smiled like nothing had happened. “Let us not talk about such matters okay? Let’s eat.” But I had no intention of eating the very appetizing food. My stomach had too much of a knot to process food. Amy had the same feeling because she was only able to nibble on a few grapes and strawberries before sitting patiently beside me. “How old are you?”
“I’m turning fifteen in a few months.”
I almost choked. “Why the fuck would he take you? You’re barely a teenager.” She looked at her plate sadly a tear rolling down her rosy cheeks. I placed an arm around her shoulders pulling her into me. “Don’t worry Amy, if he has any decency he won’t pick you.” I really hope he has some because this is already sick.
After about an hour, once everyone except Amy and me had had our filling the King entered wearing his well known smile. I glared at him the whole time wishing that he would somehow drop dead. I hated him so much it was sick. I wish I could drive a knife through his stomach and watch his suffer in the last torturous minutes of his life. Maybe I could do that. I took the butter knife, the only sharp thing on this table besides a fork, and slipped it up my sleeve. Amy watched me wide eyed but I ignored her. I was probably the only one able to do this.
“Ladies, you will be led into the next room one by one to complete the knowledge test. After would you will be returned to your room where you will change into the clothes provided to take the physical test.” He pointed to the girl closest to him and she got up and walked into the room. Five minutes later she came out looking pretty proud of herself but slightly confused as well. Another girl went and took her place and so forth. Amy and I were last but she went before me.
When it was her time to go I told her again to fail. Amy smiled and walked shakily into the empty room. Five minutes later she came out looking really confused and a little shaky. Geez, what are they asking? When Amy sat beside me I got up and walked around the table to the room. I made sure to turn my hand into a fist so the knife didn’t suddenly drop out. I would be burnt at the stake if they catch me with this; treason is the worst possible crime to commit.
The King smirked at me as I passed him. I entered the room and the door closed behind me. It was a small white room with a single window, a desk and two chairs. It kind of felt like I was going into a doctor’s room. One of the guards sat behind the desk with a sheet of questions in front of him. He held a quill and black ink sat beside his hand. I sat down in the chair folding my arms over my chest. I could feel the cold metal against my arm making it feel uncomfortable. I was grateful it wasn’t too tight around the wrist because it would be too visible.
The guard was as identical as all the rest; with the same uniform, same burly figure and same hard expression. I had no doubt that he could break every bone in my face with just one punch. He eyed me briefly before scribbling something down onto the page.
“What is one million plus one million?” he asked. I let out a choked laugh. I can’t believe that’s a question.
“Two hundred million,” I said with a fake smile. I knew I was wrong. That was my plan. His mouth twitched and he wrote down something. I looked at the sheet and caught one word.
Liar.
“What do you do if the King stops breathing and his heart stops beating?” I knew the answer was C.P.R but I wanted to answer like one of those thick skulled women outside.
“Which King?” I said innocently. The guard rolled his eyes.
“Our king, the one in the next room.”
“We have a king?” I gasped. I was really resisting from laughing out loud. God this was so easy and I was getting suck a kick out of doing this.
He sighed and I think he wanted to bash his head against the wooden desk. “Let’s move onto the next question.” He scribbled something down again and I knew he knew I was lying. “Why do we have Christmas?”
“So we can get lots of pressies and eat lots of food,” I answered.
“No, whose birthday is it on Christmas?”
“Is it the King’s?” I wondered putting a finger on my chin.
He scribbled something down. He was clenching his teeth and his spare hand. “Why do they call this place a mansion?”
“Because ‘man’ means a man lives her and ‘sion’ I guess is the name of this place.”
“No it doesn’t you silly girl. One million plus one million is two million, when the king dies you get help or you do C.P.R on him. Yes we have a King and Christmas is to celebrate our Messiah Jesus and this place is called a mansion because it is freaking huge. Now did that get through your thick skull or am I going to have to beat it into you?”
“Take a chill pill bucko; don’t get your panties in a twist. I know all those answers but I don’t feel like telling them to you. So run along and go tell the king but if you do I promise I will lie and say you touched me inappropriately.” I smiled at him slyly and his face went red. He scribbled down something on his sheet and took a deep breath calming him down slightly.
“Okay, last question. What would you do if you see an assassin trying to get into the Kings room?”
This answer was easy. “I would help the poor guy and even cover his tracks so no one will know it is him who killed the King. I hate the King with a passion and I would make sure that nothing stands in the assassin’s way. So why don’t you write on that stupid piece of paper that I got the question wrong but if I find out that you told the king my answer I will kill you as well.”
The guards brows rose but he didn’t say anything. I don’t think he was intimidated but who would them King believe, an innocent woman or a male guard who could kill the King with his bare hands? “You may go, miss.” He said through clenched teeth. I gave a little laugh before leaving the room. That was actually fun.
**************
When I was personally escorted by my guard, Jayson, I had finally come to terms with the wedding...and I was seriously freaking out. I was twisting my fingers and hands around anxiously my shoulders shaking occasionally. My heart was continuously pounding loud in my ears and because of it I was feeling nauseas. Jayson just kept a straight face as he led me to my room. I felt even worse when I realised the King was following about ten feet behind us.
I couldn’t help but sneak hasty glances over my shoulder and whenever I did he would smile evilly and scary chills would ride down my spine. He was so disgusting. His looks only just covered the horrible being he was underneath. It almost made me believe that he wasn’t human. No person could be that generally horrific.
The short walk to my room seemed to take forever. The seconds dragged on like my feet on the rug. I felt sick. When we arrived at the door Jayson bowed at me and I quickly slipped into the room locking it behind me. I shivered freely remembering the Kings eyes. I could hear someone stop outside my door. I watched the shadow from under the door holding my breath and hoping that he would disappear. Eventually he did and I let out all the oxygen. Now that is freaky.
I turned around and spied the neatly folded clothes on the dresser top. I grabbed them and saw that it was a simple, white blouse with black, high waisted shorts. I was so grateful for the change in clothing. I really didn’t like these dresses. They were too heavy with jewels and expensive materials. I felt like the whole world was on my shoulders every time I wore one. I slipped out of the dress and pulled on the clothes. I pulled off the head band and jewellery and pulled my hair into a ponytail. I looked through all of my closet searching for comfortable footwear to run in. The only pair I found were boots with no heals that went past my ankle. Grey laces entwined through each hole pulling tight so it wouldn’t fall off. I hesitated by the door my fingers on the handle preparing to twist and pull open. But I just couldn’t seem to do it.
What if he was waiting outside? Waiting to pounce on me once again and violate my mouth and body. I winced at the memory wiping my mouth automatically. I checked the light under the door not seeing any looming awaiting shadow. I took a deep breath and pulled the door open. This is unbelievable. What was I doing in the Kings castle? Why was I one of the few women picked to become his bride?
Jayson stood off to the side, his hands behind his back with an observant look on his face. He eyed me up and winked. “You look pretty good. You do know he is going to be thinking the same thing?”
I groaned. “Don’t remind me.” I hugged my shoulders trying to cover up my bare skin. This was such a revealing outfit. It was so unladylike. We always had our skin covered, looking modest and perfect but this was just whore-ish. I pulled the bottom of the shorts down but they eventually made their way up again when I walked.
“Sorry. How do you think you did on the test?”
I remembered the test and burst out laughing. “It was the best test I have ever completed, not that I necessarily got anything right.” I smiled slyly at him and he let out a chuckle.
“I kind of guessed before you went in. No offense but it was pretty obvious to everyone when you almost skipped out of the room with a dizzy smile on your face.”
“You smile when you’re happy and I was happy.”
“Yeah but I am pretty sure the King suspected something...maybe he won’t consider your test,” Jayson commented shrugging his shoulders.
I froze. Shit! I groaned. “Way to ruin a good mood, Jay. One hour, that’s all I wanted.” What if he didn’t take the test into consideration? Then what? What if he still picks me?
Jayson made a sorry face but continued walking. I ran to catch up to his long strides. I wonder what we are going to do in the agility test. I hope its running, I’m not good at running, well I am but after a few strides I’m dead. We arrived too quickly to the ground floor, compared to my journey up here with the King on my tail. Guards lined the walls their heads straight but their eyes followed our every moment. I had the sudden urge to run for my life, but I was pretty sure I would have no hope. I quickened my pace which really wasn’t much compared to Jayson’s.
We rounded a corner and I was met by a sudden bright light. Once my eyes had adjusted I say the garden through a French door. This must have been a fast way to the garden. Two guards stood beside the doors. One pulled it open for us and we both exited. The sun felt nice on my skin after so long, the warmth brought some comfort to me before I realised where I was. Potted plants lined the white gravel path until it met with a maze door way. Huge hedges one and a half sizes of me created the doorway on either sides that stretched for hundreds of meters and then rounded the house.
Through the hedge opening I could see a huge patch of roses. There were pinks, whites, red and yellows. Butterflies flew over the area and bees buzzed in the flowers sucking out the pollen. I couldn’t help but drop my jaw in amazement. The air was filled with mixed scents that seemed to work so well. I inhaled deeply and sighed feeling every tense muscle in my body relax.
How could something so beautiful come out of something so ugly?
theres another chapter, i hope you all enjoyed it :)
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love from Hayley Zippy