by K. Lyn Hill
Blowing him an air kiss, (Which she thought was a bit nicer than the middle finger) she wheezed out, “That’s why she sent two guards to feed me, bitches!” She really wished she had a microphone to drop after that line, but she was kind of running for her life. She would have to improvise for now.
One of her hands threw up deuces while the other hand wrapped around her now completely bloody, gaping wound.
Not cool.
Ignoring the pain radiating throughout her body, she scrambled around the room for a weapon. The guard’s furious screams sounded behind her, but she couldn’t care less. He was in there and she was out here.
Sounded pretty good to her.
But soon someone would hear their shouting.
She stifled the urge to go back and share her peace with the guards who took a part in drugging her but she didn’t have the time.
Taking one last glance around the room, she took hold of the staff resting up against the wall. She was a bit curious why that was even there. A broken broom perhaps? Not that there was much cleaning going on around here. Now she was just getting off topic.
So that was her weapon.
An oversized stick.
Woohoo.
It was going to have to do.
Dragging her half-crippled body towards the stares, she froze when she heard female clicks on the stairs headed towards her. She could seriously not catch a break. Searching for a hiding spot, she came up short. Maybe she could slam the Princess with the stick and lock her in the cage.
Actually, that sounded pretty brilliant.
She dodged back to just outside of the cell she used to occupy, out of reach from Mr. Grabby Hands.
The slop that was to be spoon fed to her was still sitting in a pile on the floor from the previous scuffle. Shrugging her shoulder’s, she scooped it back in the bowl and rushed back to the footsteps headed her way. Laying the food on the desk, she waited in the shadows. As soon as the familiar red head came into view, Aerity wrapped the staff around her neck and squeezed as a screech filled her ears. The Princess struggled against her as she began to lose her breath.
“Not so tough when it’s you on the other end of things huh?” Oops. She spoke too soon. A head came back and tried to bash her in the face. Thankfully she saw it coming and jerked back in time for it to only skim. She might have a slight bruise later but at least her nose wouldn’t be broken, like how the rest of her body felt. Grabbing the staff tighter, she felt the princess’ fight wane. When she felt she could release the pressure, she grabbed a handful of the slop and stuffed it down her throat.
Eh, if she choked on it, one less evil wench in the world.
With fingers pinching her nose and a hand over her mouth, Aerity forced the princess to swallow. After a few moments of being oxygen deprived, the princess became so desperate and heaved in the effort to get air into her lungs, swallowing the gruel. She choked and sputtered but it was too late.
Just one more minute.
“I’m going to kill you for thiiiiiis.” The last word was slurred as the food began taking effect.
“I’ll be looking forward to it.” Aerity replied dryly to her now unconscious twin, who was currently hanging limp in her arms.
Geez, was she this heavy too? She needed to go on a diet after all this was over.
The cell next to the angry guards looked nice with a big pile of dung in the center of the floor. A piece of crap for a piece of crap.
How quaint.
Sliding out of sight of the guards, she stripped the princess down and she herself followed. The bleeding at her side worsened. She ripped a piece of fabric off and tied it to staunch the bleeding. It was coming out too fast, there was no way it was stopping. She needed to get stitched back up before she passed out from lack of blood. The woozy feeling started enveloping her head, she shoved it
down. She just needed to focus a little bit longer so that she could find help.
After switching their clothes, she not so gently tossed the princess in the dank prison. Once she was nicely locked away, Aerity took a moment to look down at herself. Sucking in a breath she was rewarded by the sight of the disgusting grime that had built up all over her skin. She knew there were guards stationed at the top of the stairs. They would take one look at her and know something was wrong.
Think think.
Aha! Light bulb!
Grabbing the remaining brown slop, she splashed its contents all over her face and arms. She severely hoped this stuff doesn’t seep into the skin.
That would just be highly inconvenient and a bit counterproductive.
Reaching the top of the stairs, she fervently shoved open the door. The guards stationed at the top of the stairs paused to inspect her. The corner of their mouths twitched as they resisted their laugh. Well at least they weren’t questioning her appearance. “Get out of my way you dolts! One of your cursed guards dumped the prisoner’s food all over me. It’s positively rubbish!” Oh yeah, she could talk all fancy like too. Their lips immediately tipped down as their faces turned a bit green. Huh, they didn’t like the idea of keeping girl’s hostage?
Interesting.
Without time to dwell on it, she made it a point to storm and stomp her feet until she rounded the corner and out of the guard’s sight.
She wanted desperately to go to Siel but she was closest to Damien’s office and she needed medical attention fast.
Racing down the hallway, she arrived at the room.
Please be in there. Please believe her. She had to warn them about the Princess’ plan.
About to grab hold of the door, she stopped short when she heard a familiar voice speaking to Damien on the other side. She wanted to cry out with joy. About ready to yank open the door, she froze when she heard her name pop up in the conversation. “Didn’t you try to convince me the other day that this was a different girl?” She could tell that voice belonged to Damien; it was laced with confusion.
“Yes and now I changed my mind.”
“How did you change your mind? You were so adamant about finding her.”
“And now I figured out that this is how it’s meant to be.”
“What do you mean by that?! You don’t care that Aerity is missing?”
“That’s saying you believe her little story. If there really are two girls, then she was never meant to be here anyway. Now all can go back to normal.”
Her mind began to race as she took in what Siel was saying. He knew she was missing and didn’t care? The pain radiating from her chest distracted her from the blood soaking through the fabric at the waist.
She pressed further against the door as Damien voice grew heated. “How can things go back to normal when we don’t know where Aerity is?! How can you sit back and continue like normal? I thought you loved her!”
Damien was defending her? How was this even happening?!
Siel released a humorless chuckle. “Oh, brother that is absurd. You know as well as I do that I have a new woman at the start of each week. I get bored. Aerity and I had a good run but I’ve grown tired of her. She’s all yours. That’s all you ever wanted. I’m on to newer and better.”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. All the time she had spent in her cell, she had thought Siel would be the one to save her.
Turned out he doesn’t care at all.
The ripping in her heart threatened to slice deeper than any knife wound. Betrayal leaked through her body like salt shifting through a sieve.
Slow and desperate.
Her knees threatened to collapse under her weight but she refused. As much as her body shattered and her soul was crushed, she would get out of this. No matter if she had to drag herself down the walls of the castle with nobodies help but her own.
“What if she is hurt somewhere? You don’t care at all?” Damien asked.
“She’s not the princess, so I don’t see how that’s my concern.” Siel replied.
She couldn’t hear any more. Ripping her ear from the d
oor, she glanced around and realized how dazed she had been listening to their conversation.
Stupid. So stupid.
She was thankful there had been no one around.
Sprinting down the hallway, she suppressed the desire to fall apart. As she got closer to the gate, she cursed under her breath.
Eli.
She had to find him.
He wasn’t in a cell with her though, so he had more time. Aerity knew she would only last so much longer. Pressing a hand to her side, she quickly removed it when servants passed her in the hallway. A few shot her questioning glances after taking in her food smothered dress. She ignored them and continued to rush towards her freedom. Picking up her speed, she rounded the corner.
This was it.
The final lap.
The finish line.
And then she crashed into him.
Aerity caught her breath as they collided. The impact sucking the air out of her lungs. She tried to act natural and poised but she was miserably failing with the now unbearable stabs that were hacking at her injury. The drugs were almost completely worn off, so recognition hit her like a bulldozer. She was trying to keep to her confident attitude but with the look he was shooting her, she was only convinced of one thing.
She was totally screwed.
∞∞∞
Damien
Damien practically shook as Siel walked to the door. He had never heard his brother spewing such nonsense. Warning bells rang in his head. He had to be missing something. There was no way his brother would speak like that about Aerity. Damien knew Siel loved her, so he was completely winded by their conversation.
Right before Siel reached the door, Damien saw his brother pause and bend over to retrieve something from the floor. As he stood, his fingers ghosted over a white piece of paper, like they were itching to open it. Before he had the chance, Damien reached him in three strides and yanked the paper out of his hands.
“What is that?” Siel asked curiously.
“I don’t know. I haven’t opened it yet.” Damien retorted.
Siel’s eyebrows furrowed. “Do you plan on opening it?”
“Yes. After you leave my office.”
Hurt flickered in Siel’s eyes right before he cast another curious peek at the paper in his hand and backed up. Without another word Siel reluctantly opened the door and stepped into the hallway.
As soon as he left, Damien unfolded the note with an unsteady breath, focusing on what was written on the piece of paper. The answer to his question to Carly.
Where is she?
Well he finally was getting his answer and it was like a punch to his gut.
One word was written on the paper. Just one word that scrapped at his insides and burned all his vital organs.
Dungeon.
A knock on the door dragged his attention from the note, his mind spinning as Elias peeked his head into the room. “We received word from his majesty. The negotiations are complete. The king is leaving today for his return.”
Damien’s stomach soured even more so than it had when he saw that little word written on the paper. There was no coincidence that the princess returned almost immediately prior to the king’s journey home. He finally knew what she was plotting.
The princess was waiting for his father to return. She had just locked Aerity away to bide her time until the true plan could take effect.
Damien didn’t need to second guess what his father would do if he found the princess’s twin. The king didn’t ask questions or find out facts before he slaughtered mercilessly. Aerity would be killed in a matter of minutes and there would be no way for Damien to save her.
Not only did he need to get her out of the dungeon under the radar without raising any alarms, he needed to get her out of the castle.
It was the only way to give her fighting chance.
In a matter of days when the king arrived, she would no longer be safe behind these stone walls.
Chapter Sixteen
Aerity
She glanced behind to see several guards reach out to grab her arms. The man in front of her sneered as he relished in her wince when the guards behind her finally made contact in a vice like grip.
He was one of the guards she had knocked unconscious when she first got here.
Damn, karma’s such a bitch.
“Well, well, well. Look at the little predicament we find ourselves in again.”
She tried to smile but it probably just looked like she was constipated. Speaking of which, she had been eating prison food the past few days. It wasn’t a far stretch.
“Hiya.” With her pretending like they are best friends, his scowl only grew. Ok that didn’t work. She tried a different tactic. “I do hope we can let bygones be bygones and forget all the turmoil in our past.”
He glared.
Apparently not.
“I’m sure this is all just a big misunderstanding. Let’s go to the kitchen and eat milk and cookies. Who can resist cookies? Am I right?” She was obviously getting nowhere except closer to the dungeon. She tried to ignore the blood flowing from her wound as they dragged her closer to hell. The corridor seemed much shorter now than when she escaped. She couldn’t help but think about Siel’s words. He wouldn’t be coming for her and Carly could only do so much.
She had to get out of this herself.
No one would be there to save her this time.
As they approached the door, her guard knocked three times, paused, knocked twice and then once more.
“Awwww a secret knock. It’s like a club.” Probably not her finest timed words. She heard a growl from behind her as the door swung open revealing the other guard she knocked out. How had he gotten out of the cell?
“Other guards heard our yelling and let us out.” He answered without her even needing to ask her question out loud. “We were kind to you before but now you just earned additional punishment.” The malicious smile on his face did nothing to ease her temperament. If drugging her had been kind, she didn’t really want to learn what his mean was.
She began to fidget.
It technically wasn’t her fault.
Afterall, they were trying to lock her in a dungeon.
So here she was wrestling to get loose from four different guards with a gaping stomach wound.
Not her best odds but she wasn’t about to go out without a
fight.
Slamming her head back in one last attempt to break free, she heard a loud crack along with a curse. One of her guard’s hand gripped her arm tighter as a second hand slammed into her neck and yanked it back against a flabby chest.
Her head bounced just a bit before settling still.
Um ewwwww. Man boobs. Moobs. Her face pinched and she couldn’t tell if it was in laughter or pain.
“You little witch!” He seethed into her ear.
One would think the smell of the dungeon trumped all bad smells but oh no, his breath won in that little contest.
“Grab her feet and help me get her downstairs! The princess is furious. Hurry before someone sees!”
She really didn’t weigh all that much. Could he seriously not carry her?
She must have said that out loud.
Oops.
“You’re going to regret that.”
She felt a painful grip on her leg as she kicked and wiggled, trying to escape. “Why didn’t you just drug her again?” Winner winner chicken dinner. Wasn’t that the question of the night.
“Because I want her to be fully awake for this.”
Well, that didn’t sound ominous at all. Too bad all she wanted to do was poke him in the belly like the Pillsbury dough boy and yell woohoo!
Somehow, she didn’t think that would help her case.
Shame.
“What do you want her awake for?” That caused her curiosity to return as she waited for the Flabby Abby holding her to answer.
“I’m going to make it physically impossible for her to escape.”
Ooo
ooo dun dun dun!!!!
It was her time to make a threat. “Technically it was impossible to escape before when you were drugging me and had me locked in a cell wearing manacles. But I’m like Chucky from your worst nightmares. I just keep coming back, bitches!”
The threat was a bit hallow seeing that they had no clue who Chucky was, but it still felt good to say it.
“You won’t be escaping this time. Mark my words on that.” Stinky breath spat again. It was highly unnerving how bad his breath smelled.
“Oh, I’m going to get out, and when I do, you will have a lot more damage than the egg on your heads from last time.”
Well wasn’t this sucky. Using their grip to hold her up, she kicked both feet behind her trying to get a jump on them. She had no idea how she was even going to get out of the castle, let alone escape the guards, but she had to fight kicking and screaming.
She wouldn’t go back to that dungeon.
No way, no how.
The third guard joined the ranks, grabbing hold of her legs. She tried to slam her head against the men at her back but only succeeded in snapping her neck out of place. Screaming in frustration as the guards manhandled her, she let out a slew of curses that would have made her mother blush. “Let me go!”
As she was drug thru the hallway towards the room that nightmares were inspired by, she tried the one last name she could hope to save her from her fate. “Eli! Eli! El.....” She barely was able to finish the third scream of Eli’s name before a fist bashed into her face, causing her vision to blur and her teeth to mash. Blood dropped from her nose as she trained her breathing.
That was when she knew what he meant by his comment from earlier.
That hit was just the first of many more to come.
∞∞∞
Carly
There was blood on the floor as she slipped the note under Damien’s door. And it had been fresh.
Where had it come from? Part of her was afraid to even know. She had been too distracted by the conversation happening between Damien and Siel to think further on it.