by K. Lyn Hill
Damien was going to argue, just like he knew he would.
“Why? Because she’s actually showing me affection instead of you?”
Rubbing a hand over his face, Siel tried to reason with his obnoxious flesh and blood. “This has nothing to do with her giving you affection. She isn’t acting like herself. The way she talks, acts. Her hands aren’t even scarred. She is not Aerity. I think she is the real princess.”
Damien rolled his neck like he was getting ready for a fight. The collar strained as his veins bulged. “The idea of another world is preposterous. What you speak of is insane. OOOO her evil twin is here to control the world. Honestly Siel. It’s ridiculous.” Siel was too agitated to note the signal Damien was trying to send him. He must have known Siel was about to say something stupid because he cut him off. “Or maybe almost losing her life has changed her.”
Undeterred, Siel spat. “You’re acting like a fool. Your completely blinded by her touch. She is not the same girl! It is imperative that you listen to me. I don’t know what she is planning but it won’t be good. That is not the same Aerity!”
Damien shook his head in disgust. “Why is it so hard for you to believe that maybe she has finally seen me for who I am and cares for me? Why can’t you just be happy for me?”
Siel scoffed. “Seriously? How can you honestly believe she sees you when you still do not see her! That is not our Aerity!”
Frost filled the air between them as Damien stood a little taller. In a deadly voice, he responded. “If you know what is good for you, you will let this drop. She is not OUR Aerity, Siel. She is MY Aerity and she is finally seeing who I am. I’m done with this conversation.” Damien shoved him in the shoulder and walked past him to the crowd.
Spinning around the corner, he heard Damien’s voice soften. “Did you miss me that much, love?”
Siel’s veins ran cold. She had to have heard their conversation. Now she knew he didn’t believe her game.
Shoulders back, he threw on his cavalier walk and rounded the edge to stand by them. Leaning against the wall, he casually smirked their way. The Princess’ expression went from one of love to frigid ingenuity when her eyes left Damien and landed on Siel. She had heard everything and now he would be her next target. Was that why Damien acted as if he didn’t believe him? Did he know the Princess was standing there listening?
Throwing her another one of his trademark smiles, he winked at her and turned to head back down the corridor. “Enjoy your evening.” He tossed over his shoulder. It didn’t matter either way. His Aerity was somewhere out there, possibly hurt and he was running out of time. He would find her and he would bring her home with or without his brothers help.
∞∞∞
Damien
At first, he was willing to admit that she played her part rather well. She simply stayed in bed with a bandage wrapped around her waist. The same healer he had seen, came and went. Damien never noticed her wound opening, nor did he see the healer ever peel away her bandage in front of him. Then the healer deemed her safe to move around the castle. Damien wasn’t blind or stupid to the fact that Aerity was acting completely different. The first few days, she limped around, pretending to be hurt, all the while still insisting to dress in intricate gowns, that clearly accentuated her features. Now, she must have given up on that notion or had forgotten the fact that knife wounds take far longer than a few days to heal.
Damien watched as she fluttered around the room, smiling at all the courtiers, charming them in the only way a princess would be able to. Where Aerity had avoided all the court snobs, (as she would call them) the princess reveled in it. This was her environment. She was used to pretending.
If that wasn’t evidence enough, Carly was in the serving hall and eyed her with the same contempt that he himself felt. They could all sense the change and he wanted to know why. As absurd as the concept seemed of another world, it was making more and more sense as he stared at the same princess that he remembered meeting all those months ago in the throne room. Now having been around the other Aerity, there was a stark difference that anyone with eyes could see but he couldn’t let her know what he knew. He needed to find out what her plan was first and figure out where the other Aerity had gone. It was not as if he held many cards. She was, after all, his true betrothed. What power did he even hold?
He caught eyes with his brother from across the room and could tell Siel noticed the difference too. He needed to control his emotions, or the princess would know she was caught. Then there was no telling what hell would break lose.
As Siel was busy blowing their subterfuge, Damien had spotted the Princess standing in the corner, hearing every word they said. Cursing Siel for his stupidity, he tried to send his brother a hint.
It didn’t work.
By the end, Siel was flustered and the princess saw everything that transpired.
“Is everything alright with Siel?” She asked with buttery sweetness. He wanted to laugh at how unlike Aerity, she truly was. He honestly was the biggest fool in both worlds for not seeing it earlier.
“He will be fine. He’s just jealous of our love.”
She forced a smile. Everything about her now made him queasy.
He shoved it down.
Sliding closer to him, she placed her hand on his chest, adjusting the collar to his shirt. He focused on keeping his breathing steady. Peering up at him through long lashes, she whispered so only he could hear. “I don’t know what I ever saw in him. You are so much more in every aspect.” Her mouth grazed his ear and he had to force down the bile from her touch.
Grasping her hand, he played along. “There are people here my darling. Maybe we should save that for the wedding night.”
She stuck her tongue out to lick the side of his face. He had to suppress his gag. “What if I don’t want to wait?” She asked.
It was amusing how she was offering him everything he had ever wanted but it would be fake. Her using him for her own end game. The other Aerity didn’t use people or manipulate. She showed her true colors, whether they were good and bad. If nothing else would stem from a relationship with her, at least he could count on her honesty. All things considered, he had to count his blessings. If Aerity hadn’t ended up here, he truly would have married the evil welp in front of him. At this point, he was thankful she ran but now he had to deal with her return while searching for the other Aerity.
His Aerity.
“I want to make love to you the right way. On our wedding night.” He needed to push her away. She had been desperate all week to get him alone and, in his bed, he could only guess her motivation for doing so.
“But we haven’t even been alone all week. Maybe we can just go somewhere private for a little bit?” Her voice grew whiny. Nails to a stone slab. He had to fight against rolling his eyes.
Why was she so insistent on getting him alone? This was the woman who didn’t want to marry him. It only made him more suspicious. He needed to placate her for a little longer, so he could discover her true plan. “I promise we will get time alone soon, but sadly for now, I must attend to our guests.” Hopefully that would hold her a bit longer. Her lips formed the perfect pout but he could see the aggravation shining in her eyes.
Hold on Aerity. I’ll find you soon. He silently swore to himself.
Chapter Twelve
Aerity
There was a rat.
She named him Fur Harrington III.
He was a good roommate, keeping to his side of the cell while Aerity was on hers. Not that she would be able to move anyway. Still stuck in the same position with her tongue dangling out of her mouth, unbecoming drool sliding down her cheek, she smirked internally.
She must be one sexy beast at the moment.
At least now she had feeling in her face and could actually tell there was liquid there.
After they drugged her, there was no telling the level of sexiness she achieved because she was so far from reality that it was silly to even try and deduce w
hat was going on around her. But it was about that time where her surroundings became less blurry and the pain slowly crept back in reminding her that she was in fact alive and possibly lying-in week-old vomit.
Good times.
Beady little eyes stared at her as his nose whiskers twitched. Even he could tell something wasn’t quite right with her. The clicks on the wall, signaled that in a few minutes, she would be on her way into dream land again. Guards would soon shove the foul food in her mouth, and she would once again be blissfully unaware. But for now, she just had a staring contest with the piercing red eyes in the darkness.
He began to take one step in front of him as if testing the waters before diving right in, but then he thought better of it and stepped back into the safety of his bubble.
Smart man.
I wouldn’t wanna be near me either. She thought to herself. Thank goodness her nose wasn’t properly functioning because that would act as its own means of knocking her unconscious.
She almost felt bad for the guards for needed to get so close to her.
Almost.
After all, they were helping the Princess to poison and keep her hostage.
Her sympathy only went so far.
She could feel the effects of the drugs slowly seeping out of her as the familiar creek of the upstairs door sounded through the silence. Except where she expected to hear men’s boots clomping on the cement, instead she was greeted by the sound of light, dainty footsteps. By this point, she had enough movement in her face for her lip to curl up into a scowl.
As soon as she could move...the princess would pay.
Speak of the devil and she shall appear. The princess stepped into the limited moonlight seeping through the miniscule torch, hung up and peeking around the corner. Then came the slapping of heavy feet on the stairs behind her.
And there were the guards. She mused. They couldn’t have the precious princess unprotected around the drugged up, dangerous criminal behind bars. Fools.
“Well hello there. How are you doing down here?” The princess asked with false sincerity, her peppiness giving Aerity an even bigger splitting migraine.
She tested out her lips to see if it was even possible to reply. When she deemed it safe to try, Aerity said, “Oh ya know, not much to complain about. Although my neighbors are quite noisy. I mean really, couldn’t they cough and use the bathroom somewhere else? So rude.” Her words came out a little slurred, but she didn’t care. She was just proud she was able to speak at all. Apparently, the drugs wore off pretty quickly if not administered immediately on schedule. Feeling had begun coming back in her fingers and toes. Even if it was an uncomfortable tingle. At least she knew they hadn’t cut off her arms and legs while she was out of it.
That would be quite inconvenient.
It was at that moment that one of the other prisoners sneezed and Aerity almost laughed. Almost. Maybe she would have attempted it if the feeling in her stomach hadn’t began to ache. Laughing would be no good with a knife wound in the gut.
“Yes, I’ll have to look into that for you. Shall I also bring you a bed? Maybe some nice dresses?” The princess said dryly.
“That would be fabulous. And you can also bring me one of those strawberry croissants. The chef bringing me food is really slacking as of late.” The tingling spread up into her calves and she wiggled her toes, curling them on the tip. Ah how she wished her body could function normally. But on the bright side, at least she didn’t feel the pain from her stab wound.
“I’ll add it to my list of tasks I need to do today. Speaking of tasks, I thought I would keep you posted on how things are going up top. You know, since you’re a bit under the weather the past few days.”
Aerity rolled her eyes. This was the first time in the past few days that the princess decided to show back up and needless to say, the visit wasn’t welcomed or heavily anticipated.
“Yes, please do. How are your plans to take over the world?” Aerity played along. Procrastinating was the best way to gain back her body’s basic functions and maybe, just maybe, she could fight back and get the hell out of there.
“I do believe you put far too much faith in your boys. They are both clueless that we switched places.”
“Your lying.” Shivers began to wrack her body.
“Am I? Siel and I already were reminiscing about the time you got caught in the rain with the carriage ride. We have been quite close the past few days, if you know what I mean.” The princess sent her a saucy grin, suggestively shrugging her shoulder. She didn’t do sexy well. It looked like a cat trying to lick its butt. As much as Aerity enjoyed that image, she focused on the words.
“Did Siel tell you about the carriage ride?” They had never ridden in a carriage together so if Siel brought it up, then there was hope that he realized something wasn’t right. Hope that he would be looking for her.
“Yes and Damien is still as beastly, jealous as always. I just thought you should know. We shared quite the kiss. Things are going quite nicely.”
She gritted her teeth at the thought of Damien’s lips on hers but then focused on what was said about Siel. If she couldn’t get out on her own, there was still hope. A chill slid down her spine and she fought against the shaking of her body. Her wound was beginning to scream and she didn’t think it had been checked in a few days. With how filthy the cell was and the lack of warmth, infection wouldn’t be long to follow.
But she kept focusing on what she had said. As much as the Princess thought that she won, Aerity knew the truth. There was no doubt about it. Siel would come for her. If no one else, he would find her.
“Good thing I have Fur Harrington III to keep me company then, huh?”
The princess scowled. “Who?”
Aerity smirked and then gently nodded her head to the rat who was now eying her up like she was a delicious snack. The Princess’s face paled as she stared at the offending creature. Aerity began viciously cackling now that she knew her voice was working properly.
She earned a glare in respond. “You won’t be laughing soon.” She threatened but it only made Aerity laugh harder, despite the fact, excruciating pain was beginning to spiral and fissure in a spider web effect.
“Go get her boy.” She tried to encourage the rat. “Attack!” Fur Harrington III looked from her to the Princess and hissed, getting ready to pounce.
They were clearly best buds now.
Either that or he was just seeing fresh meat that wasn’t tainted.
The princess began shuffling backwards and then radically scampered to get out of the rat’s way.
Well that was one way to get rid of her. Aerity grinned to herself. Unfortunately, her amusement was short lived because the princess did end up being right about something after all. Where the princess disappeared, the guards remained and Aerity’s laughter died as soon as they entered the cell, holding her down while shoving the poisoned slop down her throat.
She began fading once more.
The final thought before she lost lucidity was that Siel would be coming for her but then her dreams shifted to black and no laughter dared follow into the darkness.
She was a fighter, but she still had her limits. An uncared-for wound, in a dirty, freezing cell would take its toll on any normal human being.
But Siel would come.
He had to.
Because she didn’t know much longer she could hold on.
Chapter Thirteen
Siel
Sleep alluded him. He had searched the castle for most of previous night after leaving the dinner, in hopes of finding some clue to Aerity’s where-a-bouts, only to come up lacking. There was no trace of her. Nothing pointed to there being a scuffle. She simply disappeared, with a changeling in her place. Or her evil twin. How ever one wished to look at it.
He was sick of waiting around!
While tossing on his normal uniform, he made sure to don his sword that mostly never left his side. Determined, he marched out of his room on a mission
to find the Princess. He didn’t care what it took to make her talk, nor did it bother him that he would join her latest target list.
Finding Aerity was more important and he couldn’t sit stagnant anymore.
With a new sense of purpose, he entered his sitting room and placed his hand on the grip of the doorknob, when a movement in the corner caught his eye. Reaching for the sword at his side, he spun to meet his intruder. Green eyes met his, which only moved him to grip his sword tighter. Her eyes trailed to his hand and back up again, this time with a storm brewing in them.
“There is no need for that.” The princess spoke confidently. Her voice steady and her chin tilted towards the air. Her leg was crossed over her other in a way that made her look like she belonged there.
It made him hate her even more than he already did.
“Care to tell me what you’re doing in my room?”
She tsked. “Siel, I thought you would be thrilled to wake up to a woman in your room. Of course, that’s the reputation I keep hearing about you. Are the rumors untrue?”
He glanced around the room purposefully. “Sure, let me know when you find one.”
Her eyes darkened but a menacing smile played at her lips. “That is not very nice to say to someone who knows where your true love is, but I suppose we will be family soon and siblings don’t always get along, so ill forgive you.”
Her words sent a chill down his spine. “Where is she?” His voice was cold and hard.
“Really Siel, that’s all you heard out of my sentence? Men. They have such selective hearing. You missed the entire part about my mercy.”
He ground his teeth together so tightly that his jaw began to ache. “Enough of this!” He growled. “I tire of your games. Tell me where she is!”
She stared at him a moment as if in deep contemplation of her next words. “I’ll tell you what. We will make a deal. I’ll tell you where your little girlfriend is and you drop this nonsense about convincing Damien I’m a different girl.”