The princess had not said anything since she reached one thousand sentences an hour ago.
Tom had tried to talk to her, but she wouldn't speak. She wouldn't even acknowledge him. She was stoic and zoned out, staring straight forward.
Tom wanted to cry. It hurt him so badly to see the princess so terrified. He wanted her to talk to him, but he knew he had to be careful and couldn't push her.
The men, for the most part, ignored them after she had finished her "lesson." It made Tom want to throw up. He couldn't imagine how Y/N must feel.
He didn't want her to be embarrassed or ashamed, but he knew that was probably how she was feeling. Tom remembered the bruises littered on her body when he first met her. He was sure that the princess felt like she had no choice but to say the sentence. He wanted to hold her and tell her that it was alright and that he had a plan to get them out of this.
But, he didn't. He had no idea how to get out of this situation. He felt completely helpless. They were simply outnumbered. Not only that, but these people felt very strongly about the royal family. There was no way he'd be able to convince someone to help them.
He sighed, defeated. He decided to try to talk to her again.
"Y/N," he whispered. "Are you alright?"
The princess didn't say anything.
"Hey, I know you're scared, but it's going to be okay. We are going to get out of this."
She remained silent.
"Please talk to me, Y/N."
Slowly, she turned her head to face him, the first time she had done this in two hours. Tom smiled kindly.
"I'm...okay," the princess said softly.
Tom could tell that she was indeed not okay, but he was working with what he could get.
"Okay. Everything's going to be fine, alright?" He reassured.
The princess nodded glumly and then looked down.
"Okay, brat, it's time to keep moving," James taunted as he walked over to the princess.
Tom clenched his jaw as he did the best he could as not cussing the guy out.
"Don't touch her!" Tom shouted impulsively.
James laughed and a few other men sauntered over, noticing the commotion.
"Don't touch her? What do you mean 'Don't touch her.'?" He mocked. "Don't touch her like this?"
He ran a violating hand through the princess' hair as she sucked in a breath.
"Stop." Tom pressed.
"Or don't touch her like this?" He spoke while grabbing her chin harshly, surely hard enough to bruise.
"I swear to god if you don't get your hands off of her, I'll-"
"You'll what? What are you going to do, Mr. Tom Holland? You seem to be in a pretty low position to be making threats."
Tom didn't know what to say. He knew he was right, but his blood was boiling. Y/N's abuser had his hands all over her and Tom was right there, but he couldn't do anything about it.
When Tom didn't reply, James laughed. "That's what I thought. Boys, let's keep moving."
Before long, cloth bags were being thrown over their heads as they were pulled roughly through the forest. Tom's feet began to ache after awhile, but he was sure the princess was doing worse.
When Tom had first met the princess, (what had seemed like a lifetime ago) she didn't have any shoes. And unfortunately, the only shoes they were ever able to find for her that he could afford were crappy worn down sandals. The princess didn't seem to mind, but he had felt bad that he couldn't get her something better.
Now, he really wished he had. He was pretty sure they had taken her shoes away from her, and he saw during the time tied to the tree how bloodied her ankles were from being dragged through the shrubbery. And to make it worse, every now and then, Tom could hear her whimper to the side of him, like she had stepped on something sharp, causing one of the men to shove, kick, or hit her.
Tom was reeling. He had to find a way to get them out of this. Anytime he thought about how she endured this treatment for months, it brought tears to his eyes. How could people be so cruel?
Sure, he had problems with the royal family. And if someone gave him the opportunity to beat the crap out of the King, he can't say he wouldn't take it. But, kidnapping someone? Torturing them? He wouldn't be able to stomach that.
It wasn't until several hours later that they stopped. Many of the men took turns relaxing by sitting in the wagons, but Tom and Y/N were forced to walk. They were never given water and never given a break.
When they finally did stop, the sun was setting. The two were once again tied to a tree next to each other. The night was beginning to cool and Tom started to remember why he hated this region of the kingdom. Sweltering hot days with freezing nights did not make great traveling weather.
He smiled at the princess when the cloth was finally removed from their heads. She managed a smile back but he could see the exhaustion and anger in her eyes. He also inspected her feet and ankles and cringed when he saw what he expected was correct.
She had blisters and cuts all on them and they were caked in dirt. Seeing this, only fuel his anger even more.
They stayed quiet, waiting for the group of men to settle down and stop paying attention to them. Before long, most of the men were huddled around a few fires, eating some sort of stew.
"Do you think they are going to feed us?" He asked quietly so that only the princess could hear.
She chuckled softly, "No. I only got fed every other night."
Tom's eyes widened. "Every other night? What about breakfast or lunch?"
"Nope. Only a half portion of dinner. Every other night."
Tom sighed and leaned back, attempting to get comfortable. He was so annoyed with the group of people around him.
With the attention of the men off of them, the princess and Tom began a simple conversation, trying to keep their minds level. Tom also was using it as a tactic to keep the princess from zoning out or panicking.
"So, what's it like living at the palace?"
The princess smiled at the mention of her home. "It's wonderful! I think the best part is probably all of the delicious food. The head chef there acts like my older brother. I really miss him."
The princess had started so cheerfully but grew somber as her story ended. Tom winced.
"You'll see him again." He stated firmly.
The princess smiled again and commented, "I know."
There was an awkward moment of silence before Tom asked another question.
"So, you're the princess. What happens when your father gives up the crown or dies or something?"
The princess sighed and Tom could see her start to visibly relax, the day catching up with her and enjoying her few moments of peace.
"That's actually quite a complicated situation. You see, my father believes that a man should be running the country. What he wanted to happen was when my cousin came of age, to renounce the crown and pass it on to him. Leaving me as the princess," She began.
Tom furrowed his brow and made a funny face. "That's dumb."
Her eyes widened like she was excited he agreed. "Right! Well, anyways, my mother completely disagreed with that. And although my mother doesn't win many battles against my father, she won this one. Therefore, when I come of age, my father is to renounce the crown and pass it onto myself. Leaving me as the Queen and if I were to marry, my husband the prince consort. Basically, I'd be in the most powerful position."
Tom nodded. "Wow. So you're going to be queen then? Everyone has been wondering what the situation would be."
"Yeah, I'm not sure why we haven't publicly stated what's going to happen yet, but I guess now that all depends on me getting home," She explained, "My birthday is in 4 months, but my cousin's is in 1. I wouldn't put it past my father to assume the worst about me and convince my mother to pass the crown to him."
Tom smiled, "I thought my family was complicated."
—
The princess was getting colder as time went on, but she enjoyed having Tom's company. Sure, they were in a horrible situation, but at least this time she wasn't alone.
He had helped her a lot this morning by giving her time to collect herself and then reassuring her everything would be alright. He made her insides feel warm and fuzzy.
And not only that, he's attractive.
The princess knew that she probably shouldn't be getting feelings for the boy helping her, but it was hard not to. He was sweet and gentle and cute. She couldn't help but wonder if he felt the same way about her.
Thinking of Tom and her parents and her home was what got her through the long tiring day. The thoughts distracted her from her aching feet and grumbling stomach.
"It's getting colder," she commented once their previous conversation died down.
Tom sighed, "Yeah, it is. I wish we were by a fire."
"Me too."
It was pretty obvious at this point that the both of them were growing sleepier as time went on. They did walk a lot that day and fatigue was catching up with them.
Without meaning to, as the princess' eyes began to droop involuntarily and her brain lost focus, her head tilted and fell softly until it was resting on something to the side of her.
Her thoughts were floating now as she drifted off into sleep, the cold night enveloping her, but a warm surface providing comfort to her head.
—
The princess woke up naturally when the sun started to shine through the trees. She noticed that her head must've actually fallen on Tom's shoulder and she blushed a dark shade of red.
She would've jumped and gotten off of him if it wasn't for the fact that his head was resting on top hers. She didn't want to wake him, so she savored the moment and embraced the warmth that came with him and the rising sun.
When the sun finally rose above the horizon, the camp began to stir. James was up bright and early and walked right over to the princess and Tom, who had woken up and lifted his head but did not shift away from her.
"Dang, you're already awake. I wanted to scream to wake you both up." James taunted.
Neither of the two said anything, just stared at him straight-faced.
"Welp, we better get moving along. Our buyer is meeting us in the next town."
The princess froze. What had he just said?
"What?" She asked bravely, considering she usually never spoke to him.
James began to laugh. "Did you think we were keeping you forever? That's why we freaked out when we noticed you were gone. Oh no, we can make a fortune off of you, darling."
The princess tried not to panic as she felt Tom grip her hand through the ropes.
"But...who?" She managed out.
James smirked and paced menacingly. "Don't worry about that. All you need to know is that where you're going will make being with us seem like heaven."