The world around me seemed to be spinning from the sheer fear that practically climbed up my spine, my heart beating wildly in my chest. What was Arthur doing here? And why had he locked the door?
I jolted in fright and backed up when he took a step towards me, his brows pinching together while his eyes narrowed, as if he couldn't fathom why I would do such a thing. "What are you afraid of, my Lady? I plan to do you no harm. There is no reason why you should be frightened of me."
I gulped, my eyes darting around the room as I attempted to find a quick exit. "If you mean me no harm, then why is it that you locked the door? If there is no ill will intended, you would have left it open." I gulped again, my heart dropping when I realized it was too far of a drop for me to escape through the windows.
I then frowned when the man began pulling off his jacket, my brows pinching together in bewilderment. What in Mary's name was he doing?
"I merely wanted to...get to know you. You are our future queen, after all, and I saw the way you had looked at that guard when I interrupted you. I mean, if you are so easily available, then why not give me a simple taste?"
My eyes widened in realization as my heart dropped, my stomach shriveling when I began to feel sick. "I-I assure you, there was nothing going on then. I am loyal to William and only him."
His shirt dropped to the floor, and the strings to his trousers were loosened. "Why deny it, my Lady? I know of William's preferences, surely he isn't satisfying you in the way God intended. And I know very well what I saw. There was lust within those beautiful grey eyes of yours, there's no need to lie to me. Now," he took another step in my direction, "do us a favor and take off those dreadful clothes of yours."
Once he was close enough, I shot my knee up and managed to smash it between his legs, causing his face to go white as I ran around him and attempted to run to the door, only to gasp when the man tackled me from behind, causing my face to slam against the floor.
I was lucky the floor was padded, else I probably would have broken my nose from the force of the fall. I struggled when he grabbed both of my wrists and pinned them to the floor, the man forcing me onto my back. I then opened my mouth to scream for help, because surely, there had to be someone nearby, but the dreadful man shoved one of his hands over my mouth, causing my scream to be muffled.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Arthur warned, his eyes dark as his free hand went to the front of his trousers, the man completely untying the strings before he went to mine.
At this point I began sobbing, terrified of what was to come as he pulled my strings loose. Was this really how I was going to lose my virginity? Not by the sweet caresses of my lover, but by the cruel hands of a man who was forcing me against my will? "P-Please, I beg of you, do not do this! I-I won't tell anyone, I give you m-my word! Just please don't do this!" If only my pleas were not muffled by his hand.
But I knew the man had heard me, for he tore his hand from my face and shoved his shirt in its place, causing me to cry much harder as a cruel grin formed on his face. My heart began hurting when he pulled the length of him from his trousers, before he began pulling mine down, revealing pale flesh. I closed my eyes, not wanting to witness this as I shook like a leaf for what was about to come. I-I just prayed that he didn't hurt me too badly. I didn't like pain.
"What the hell?"
I opened my eyes, taking note of the horrified stare on Arthur's face, his skin stark white as disgust swirled within those hateful blue eyes. And then it dawned on me. He had believed me to be a woman...he pretty much expected it, really. And since I wasn't a woman...this could be my chance to escape!
I bit my bottom lip...well, tried to anyway with the shirt still in my mouth, and balled up my hand before I swung it as hard as I could towards Arthur, smacking him right in his face once he had loosened his grip. Surprised, he fell flat on his back as I darted on my feet, holding up my trousers as I unlocked the door and ran as fast as I could back to my room.
Once I was within the safety of those four walls, I immediately made a beeline for the king size bed, hiding under it as tears continued to leaked down my face. I couldn't believe he had been about to...to force himself upon me. Even after my muffled pleas to keep quiet. He stilled tried, and had I actually been a woman...
I shook my head and curled up into a ball. No. I didn't want to think of such horrid things. And while that entire event terrified me...what also scared me was the fact that he knew. He knew I wasn't a woman. If he decided to go to King Henry and tell him...my entire family would be tried with treason. I would be killed. My brothers would be killed. And my parents would share the same fate.
I whimpered and threw my hands over my mouth when I heard the bedroom door open, my eyes watering as heavy footsteps sounded, my heart pounding as I tried to figure out who it was. Was it William? Anthony? Or had Arthur followed me to finish the job? How would I know who it was? I didn't want to risk peeking out and the intruder seeing me. I could call out, but even then...what if whoever answered me wasn't William or Anthony?
"Are you sure William said Melani would be in his rooms?" I sighed in relief when I recognized Anthony's voice and scurried out from under the bed, startling both him and the servant. "Melani? What on earth were you doing under the bed? Wait...you've been crying." He gently grabbed my chin, teal eyes filled with concern as he stared at me. "What happened?"
His concern only made me cry harder as I practically fell back into his arms, clutching his shirt tightly as I soaked the dark fabric with my tears. "I-It was Arthur," I huccuped, "he t-tried to force himself upon me. I-I tried to escape...but he's much faster than I am."
Anthony pulled my face away from his chest, his eyes wide and filled with worry. "He didn't...did he?"
I shook my head, placing my hands over his. "No, thank God. When he began...pulling my trousers down, he saw my anatomy a-and...I managed to get away." I stared into those teal eyes, my lip quivering as more tears threatened to fall. "I was so scared, Anthony. I-I was terrified of what he was going to do to me."
"Shh, you're alright. I'm here now." Anthony reassured me, pulling me back to his chest. "We need to inform William and King Henry of the atrocities Arthur has attempted to commit. Arthur will pay for what he tried to do." He bit his bottom lip and cupped my cheeks. "I assure you, that bastard will not walk away from this."
I sniffled and gave him a small smile, before the man gently grabbed my hand and began leading me out of the room and down the hall. "William is in a meeting with His Highness, but I'm sure they will give us an audience when they hear that the future queen's life was placed in danger."
It didn't take us but a few minutes before we were barging into the conference room, everyone hushing their conversations before staring at us with shocked eyes. William's sage eyes were seemingly staring into my soul, while Marvin's and the other royal guards still stared with shock. Henry looked between Anthony and me, and stood up, placing the palms of his hands against the large table. "Lady Melani? Locke? What is the meaning of this?"
Anthony stepped forward, bowing before he straightened back to his full height. "I apologize for this interruption, but I assure you, it is with good reason." He stepped closer to me. "Lady Melani was assaulted-"
"What?!" William stood from his place and immediately rushed over to me, taking my face into his hands as he seemed to inspect me for any injuries.
"Lady Melani? Is this true?" Henry asked, those blue eyes softenening.
I nodded and nibbled at my bottom lip, not liking all of this attention on me. "I-It was Lord Arthur who attacked me, Your Majesty. H-He cornered me in William's training room and tried to f-force himself onto me. I managed to get away."
When I mentioned where the other man had cornered me, William's face blanched, the poor man looking sick as he placed a hand over his mouth, tears beginning to form in those gorgeous sage eyes. "I-I shouldn't have left you. I-I should have stayed-"
I placed my hands on his cheeks, gently rubbing my thumbs against the sides of his face. "You couldn't have known, William-"
"I shouldn't have left you. He could have hurt you, o-or worse..."
"Guards!" Henry spoke, his voice filled with authority, "Bring me Arthur Ainsworth immediately."
The guards placed a fist against their hearts, bowing for a second before they immediately left the room. And Elliot, who was also in the room, scoffed and stood up, staring at Henry in disbelief. "Do you honestly believe this...this woman, Uncle? Surely Arthur would not do such a thing. Perhaps she is the one who tried to force herself into his trousers!"
"I would do well to shut up if I were you," William growled, throwing a dark look towards the other blond.
Henry looked at Elliot. "Yes, do shut up. Lady Melani is not that kind of woman, mind you."
He then turned and began conversing with the blond guard Marvin had been sitting next to. And Marvin stood from his seat and made his way over to me, giving a small nod towards Anthony and William before he stared down at me in concern. "You said you got away, yes? So he didn't manage to hurt you?" He wondered, lifting a hand before he hesitated and dropped it back to his side. Yet, the sheer intensity of the concern in those bright eyes had my heart clenching as I shook my head.
"He had pinned me to the floor, and had undone the...the ties to my trousers when he..."
Marvin and William alike frowned, their bodies growing taunt. "You mean he....knows?" William was the one to ask, the man gulping when I lowered my eyes in shame. "This will be bad if he tells Father...What are we to do?"
They both fell silent and I could hear my heart as it raced in my chest, the fear nearly paralyzing me when I realized that they were right. What were we going to do? More importantly, what was Henry going to do? Would he force me to prove my womanhood in front of everyone? What was I going to do?