**DAPHNE**
I feel Ash tense, and a much darker blanket of energy than before ignites about the room.
“Ash is about as royal as you are. You may direct all your whisperings to me.”
“I apologize, Majesty,” I say with a bat of my lashes, flirting terribly, but it seems to work its magic. The king winks at me and continues to eat. “Did you say faerie?” I inquire.
He laughs, “Ha! Yes. Faerie. They are more than fiction, sweet. You may have heard them told as bedtime stories growing up, but I have met one. And I did conquer it. Perhaps I will tell you the tale tonight after supper. When we are alone.”
I swallow the bile in my throat and smile. That cold shadow of a moment ago gone with the wind. “I’d like that very much,” I lie, but it seems to please the king and the meal goes on.
There’s more than one way out of here. Suddenly, I am determined to be free. I would rather die in the forest of starvation than at the hands of one of these “royal” monsters.
The rest of the meal is unremakrable, except for Ash who has been sitting quietly, sipping his wine. I try to get his attention with the tap of my foot, but he does not look at me. Deciding to try something else, I slide my foot part way up his leg, beneath the table. He doesn’t so much as flinch. Instead, he finishes his wine and leaves.
*Damn it!*
King Hadimere lets out a loud belch and then grins at me. “Go and rest yourself, sweet. You will need all of your energy tonight.”
I force a smile and curtsy. “Until tonight,” I say and turn to leave.
“That’s the spirit, aye!” The king hoots and he and the nobles laugh at my expense.
I feel like I may vomit, so I race for the tower on my own, not waiting for the palace guards to catch up, although I notice they follow close behind.
“Pigs,” I hiss as I enter the bedroom. I throw myself on the freshly made bed face first and scream into the mattress.
“What are you upset about?” A cold voice sounds from the far corner of the room.
I jolt upright.
Ash.
He is beautiful and like a breath of fresh air. His silver eyes, glowing in the sunlight. But he isn’t smiling as he barricades the door with one heavy chair.
“What are you doing in here?” I ask.
“You invited me, did you not?” He remarks, coldly. “Little dove? Or should I call you, sweet?”
I grimace and seal my eyes shut, shuddering disgustedly at the memory of the king’s hand.
“It’s good that you are enjoying the king’s advances, I suppose,” he hisses at me, nastily.
I open my eyes to see the contempt in his. “I enjoyed none of that.”
“Really?” He laughs. “Could have fooled me.”
“Good,” I reply. “If I fooled you, then I probably fooled him too. What do you care anyway?”
His jaw clenches. “I don’t. I absolutely do not.”
“I believe you,” I say sadly. “There doesn’t seem to be much that you do care about. I was wrong to ask you here, please go.”
Anger flashes in his gaze, and he steps toward the bed. “Let's get one thing straight,” he whispers. “The king will have you, whether you want him to or not, it is going to happen. I cannot save you from this.”
He was glaring at me, distaste clear in his eyes. And as much as I want to pretend it doesn’t bother me, it does. A terrible sense of defeat drenches my voice when I speak, “Why not?”
Softening slightly, he sighs. “What?”
“Why can’t you save me? Y-you said that if I needed you, to call your name. So, why can’t you save me from him?” Rebellious tears fall free from my eyes now and I hiccup them back, covering my mouth. “I want to leave here. I want to escape.”
It appears he is battling with something as he shakes his head and unbuttons the cuffs of his shirt. Rolling them up halfway, I am given the pleasure of viewing his muscular forearms. My chest heaves as he gazes down at me.
“You are a strange one, Daphne. One day you are ready to die, the next day you are not. Do you no longer fear for your sisters’ lives?” He asks, stepping slowly toward me.
“I do,” I say. “But I thought, maybe, if I were kidnapped, the king would not seek to punish them. Maybe if I wait until he marries them off, I might escape.”
“It would never work. In fact, he will seek you out tonight and if you do not please him completely, then not only you, but your sisters, will be doomed.”
I close my eyes knowing he speaks the truth. I can see no way out now.
“Unless of course,” he says, so softly I almost do not hear him. “Unless you carry his heir.”
I gasp. “W-what?”
“You are afraid of him, are you not? You don’t want him to be your first? Is that why you are so scared?”
My mind begins to reel, thoughts coming in at a mile a minute as I contemplate what he says. “Are you saying I should aim to be his queen?”
He laughs and takes a seat next to me on the bed. “No little dove. That odious fool would never make you queen, but if you became pregnant with his heir, it would ensure you and your sisters’ safety.”
I can feel his body heat as he inches closer to me on the bed, the weight of him as he leans my way. “He doesn’t have to be your first, you know. I can help you to fool him. I can-” he sighs, “-teach you, how to please him.”
I stare up at him as he gently presses me down into the bed, one tensely sculpted leg sliding between my own. The top of his thigh touches my core, and my hips jerk upward of their own accord, a strangled moan, escaping my mouth.
“Not that I want him to touch you,” he says against my ear, and I shiver. “I most certainly do not want that, but it may be the only way.”
His body hovers over me now, his gray eyes fixing on my lips. He is much more handsome up close. I reach my hand up unconsciously, touching his face and he turns, kissing my hand with his open mouth.
Sparks ignite along my body, and I feel his erection, thick and hard against my stomach. Then, as if he has decided upon something, his eyes fall down my body, caressing me with a silver light.
“I will have you first Daphne. I will teach you, to not be afraid. I will teach you to save yourself from him.” Then, ever so slowly he kisses my eyelids and all I can see is black.