Trapped in a Castle

by Katie Holland

  “Really?”

  “Yep. Just wait until you’ve spent a few days here. It’s actually a pretty good place to live, well except for the fact that you can’t leave. How about I show you around? Maybe between the two of us we can figure a way out of here. Sound good?”

  “Yes,” he said, standing up and putting his dishes in the sink. “I’m ready for my tour whenever you are.”

  “Help me clean up first … please,” I added as an afterthought. Being alone for a month hadn’t done anything to improve my manners.

  Jackson didn’t complain, and we were done in no time. We actually worked really well together.

  We spent the rest of the evening walking around the castle. I could tell he was scoping out different areas that I’m sure he would come back and check out further. He was free to do whatever he wanted. If he could find a way out, more power to him, as long as he took me with him.

  We made small talk as we went through the different rooms. It turned out he was really easy to talk to. I know there was nothing normal about this situation but still. I’ve had my fair share of dates and I know awkward when I see it. Even though we were trapped here, so far there was nothing uncomfortable about spending time with Jackson.

  I was getting tired, so we went up to the second floor. It turned out that his room was directly across the hall from mine. I said good night to him and went to my room. I got Princess settled on the bed and I went to take my nightly bubble bath. I went to bed feeling better than I had since I’d woken up here a month ago.

  Chapter 8

  By the time Princess and I made it down to the kitchen the next morning, Jackson was already sitting at the table eating. I had to stop and admire the way his shirt fit him.

  “Good morning,” I said as I walked in.

  “Morning,” he replied. “I didn’t know when you’d be up or what you ate, so I only made something for myself. Sorry.”

  “No worries. I see there’s coffee and that’s what I need most in the morning. I usually have a bowl of oatmeal anyway.”

  I fed Princess then made my coffee. I sat down with Jackson when my oatmeal was ready. When he was finished he cleaned up, poured himself another cup of coffee and came back to the table.

  “So,” he started, “I was thinking about trying a few things today. I know you’ve already been through the whole castle, but I thought I’d give it a shot. I didn’t want to offend you by not telling you.”

  “Be my guest. I gave up after a few weeks of getting nowhere. I’d be happy to accompany you if you’d like or I can just go about my day, it’s up to you.”

  “What can you tell me about this place?

  “What do you mean exactly?” I asked.

  “Like how many floors or rooms? Or anything else that might be helpful.”

  “Uh, okay. Well depending on where you are in the castle there could be up to five floors and each floor has a different number of rooms. We’re talking probably over a hundred rooms total. After I did my initial search I’ve spent most of my time on the main floor here.”

  “Okay, thanks. If it’s not going to bother you I’d like to do some exploring on my own today,” he said.

  “No problem at all. In case you haven’t noticed there aren’t any clocks here, so I usually just eat when I get hungry. So that means if you want to eat just help yourself. I usually just make a sandwich or something for lunch. It might be a lot easier if we made dinner and ate together, don’t you think?”

  He nodded.

  “That means we need to find a way to find each other or figure out a way to tell time. Any suggestions?” I asked.

  He smiled at me and I wasn’t sure why. He held up his arm and I saw he had a watch on. I wondered how I missed that yesterday, but I guess I was too busy staring at his chest to notice much else. Maybe he didn’t even have it yesterday.

  “How did you get that?”

  “I always sleep with a watch on, so I had it when I woke up here.”

  “Hmm. That’s the first piece of the outside world that I’ve seen here then. No phones, computers, TV’s, or anything. I’m actually surprised that it came with you. Since I don’t have one that won’t be much help. I guess we’ll just see what happens and maybe we’ll meet up in the kitchen eventually. Does that watch have the date on it?”

  “No, unfortunately this one doesn’t. Do you have any idea what day it even is?”

  “Not really. Since I woke up here time hasn’t had much meaning. I don’t even know what day it should have been when I got here. Before you go off exploring I have a question for you. Do you recall what you were doing the day before you woke up here?”

  “Of course, it was only two days ago,” he replied.

  “Can you tell me?” I asked.

  “It was just a typical day. I got up, worked out, and went to work. I spent the whole day at the office. I made myself dinner when I got home. I did some more work and eventually went to bed. What about you?”

  I know I got a sad look on my face. “It seems like the longer I’m here the harder it is to recall the day before I got here. I’m sure I’d been at work and I don’t think I had gone out with my friends that night either. I know I went to sleep in my own bed though.”

  “Well, that’s just incentive for me to find us a way out of here then,” he said with a smile.

  “That works for me.”

  He got up and left the kitchen. I’d been so busy talking to Jackson that I hadn’t even looked to see what type of cookies had been left on the counter this morning. I found that they were peanut butter, which was one of my favorites.

  Princess and I spent the day in the sunroom. I finished the book I’d started yesterday so I went to the study and picked a new one. I always loved starting a new book. When I was ready for lunch we went to the kitchen. There was no sign of Jackson, so I just made enough for me. I went back to the sunroom and ended up finishing the book. At this rate, I was going to finish everything in the study in no time at all, but I was pretty sure there would be an endless supply of books, just like the food.

  When I decided it was dinner time I headed back to the kitchen. I ran into Jackson on the way.

  “How did your day go?” I inquired.

  “Not so well. As you probably suspected I didn’t find a way out. I really can’t understand how that’s even possible. I mean, we’re here, we had to get in here somehow.”

  “I know. I’ve been over that in my head endless times.”

  When we got to the kitchen Jackson started taking things out of the fridge and pantry.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, genuinely curious.

  “Since you made dinner last night I thought I’d make it tonight.”

  “That’s …” I was at a loss for words. I’d never had a man make me dinner before. I tried again. “That’s really nice. This is a first for me,” I said deciding on honesty.

  “What is?”

  “A man making me dinner.”

  “Really? I find that hard to believe,” he said.

  “Well it’s true. I’ve never had a serious relationship before. In fact, if I remember correctly, I’ve never had more than three dates with anyone.”

  “Huh,” was all he said.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Well, it’s just that you’re beautiful, have a great body, and you seem to have a good head on your shoulders. That makes for a very attractive package.”

  I think I was blushing. Don’t get me wrong, I knew I wasn’t bad looking but I think this is the first time I blushed at a compliment. I don’t know what it was about Jackson. He was just … different.

  I watched him move around the kitchen. I have to say I found it very sexy. He really knew what he was doing. I wasn’t sure what he was making but it certainly smelled heavenly. Jackson told me to sit at the table while he dished up our plates. He poured two glasses of wine and brought everything to the table. I took a bite and actually moaned. That made him smile. It was reall
y, really good.

  “You can cook for me all the time,” I told him.

  That only made him laugh. I loved his laugh. We finished eating and cleaned up together. We spent the rest of the evening in a room I called the den. It had a huge fireplace and an extremely comfortable couch. He made a fire and we sat on the couch and talked. I know I’ve only known him a couple of days, but he was really easy to talk to. We talked about nothing in particular and I never even thought about being bored. I wanted to keep talking but I found myself yawning.

  We parted ways for the night and Princess and I went to our room. I pulled the covers up over me and laid my head on the pillow. I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

  Chapter 9

  True to my prediction the castle had provided a workout room for him. He spent an hour in there every morning. He would get up early, workout, and then meet me in the kitchen. I loved the days he came straight to the kitchen before showering. He always wore a tight shirt that showed off his wonderful muscles. I tried not to stare but I wasn’t usually successful.

  The days eventually turned into weeks. Jackson continued to search every corner of the castle. I often only saw him at breakfast and dinner.

  We took turns making dinner every night. I still loved watching him move around the kitchen, it was very sexy to me. Truthfully, everything he did was sexy to me. Some nights we shared the cooking. Every time we accidentally touched I’d get a warm tingly feeling, I loved it.

  Jackson was way more thorough in his search than I was. Like me he found the secret room and was disappointed when it wasn’t the way out. And even though he looked in every nook and cranny, he didn’t even find a hint of a way to escape.

  But to be honest, leaving here was starting to become less and less of a thought for me. My life before the castle was great but it was missing something, and now I think the missing part was Jackson. I know it sounded crazy, but I was just so comfortable around him. That had never happened to me with a man. I still missed family and even though it made me sad, I was starting to accept that I might never see them again.

  When Jackson finally exhausted his search, we spent a lot of time together. We wandered the halls on a daily basis, spent a lot of time in front of the fireplace and of course there was dinner every night. It felt like we were here on vacation.

  Last night we were walking down one of the many hallways when he reached out and held my hand. I’m pretty sure I blushed when he did. I felt like I was back in the eighth grade when the boy I had a crush on talked to me. My heart started beating faster and my stomach had that butterfly feeling. I think I had a smile on my face all night.

  Despite the very strange situation we were in I think I was the happiest I’d ever been. And I was pretty sure that had a lot to do with Jackson. He was so easy to be around. To be honest, I think I was starting to fall for him. He was funny and charming. He was an excellent cook and a great listener. His smile was enough to make my knees feel week. And I think he loved Princess as much as I did. It was like he was my ideal man. I didn’t know how he felt about me but sometimes he looked at me like he might at least have some kind of feelings for me.

  I’d never been in love before. Don’t get me wrong, I’d thought I’d been in love when I was a teenager, but I’ve learned differently since then. I’ve been in lust many times, but what I was starting to feel for Jackson was different.

  It had been a few weeks since Jackson arrived and every day he did or said something that made my insides do a flip. It was the way he smiled at me or a look that we shared for just a little too long. It was the way he was with Princess or watching him move a certain way. And listening to him talk, I could do that for days. It was never big things, but I loved them all the same.

  I woke up this morning feeling great. I wanted to make Jackson an extra special breakfast, so I got up and hurried through my shower and ran downstairs. I quickly fed Princess and started whipping up the batter for waffles. By the time he arrived in the kitchen I’d made bacon, eggs, and waffles with fruit and whipped cream.

  “Good morning,” Jackson said, as he came in the kitchen. “What’s all this for?” he asked standing really close to me.

  “I just felt like a big breakfast,” I said, but the look on his face said he wasn’t sure he believed me. “Let’s eat.”

  We each made our plates and sat at the table. After we were finished I started cleaning up, but Jackson stopped me. He turned me around, so my back was against the counter and put his arms on either side of me, effectively caging me in.

  “Eve, the entire time I’ve been here you’ve eaten oatmeal every single day. Now, I’m going to ask you again, what was with the big breakfast?” he looked at me with those intense blue eyes.

  I swallowed before I answered. “Um … well, I just woke up really happy this morning and you’re the reason, so I wanted to do something nice for you,” I said quietly.

  “I make you happy?” he questioned.

  “Honestly, yes. I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy in my life,” I told him. Saying that made me nervous.

  Jackson didn’t say anything for a minute and that had me rethinking what I’d just told him. His face was only inches from mine, I wanted to kiss him but if he didn’t return the feeling I’d look like the world’s biggest idiot. I was about to push him away when he leaned in closer.

  “I like that I make you happy,” he whispered. Then he kissed me.

  I’m pretty sure this was the best first kiss in history. I felt like fireworks were exploding in my chest. His lips were soft yet firm on mine. I opened my lips wanting more. His tongue found mine and I couldn’t get enough. I put my hands on his shoulders to keep them from ripping his shirt off. He finally pulled back, so we could breathe.

  “Eve, that was …” he stopped.

  If he said a mistake, or horrible I was going to lock myself in my room and never come out.

  “That was incredible,” he finished and had a silly grin on his face that I was sure matched mine.

  “I have to agree. Let’s do it again,” I giggled.

  But I wasn’t giggling for long. Jackson’s lips landed on mine and we were both lost in the sensation. I was sure I could kiss him for days. I could only imagine what more would feel like. That thought brought heat to my core and a smile to my face.

  Chapter 10

  As the days turned into weeks Jackson and I fell into a routine but not one single day was boring. He still worked out every morning and then we would have breakfast. After that we would spend the day together doing different things. Usually we went to a different room in the castle and tried to figure out what it would have been used for. The bedrooms were easy and so was something like the ballroom.

  As we were exploring the ballroom we found an old record player. Jackson turned it on. It was a song I didn’t recognize but it had a slow, rhythmic beat.

  “Dance with me?” Jackson asked me.

  I nodded. He put his arms around my waist and my arms naturally went around his neck. We swayed to the slow music. My head ended up resting on his chest. Even though we weren’t really moving that much, the way Jackson moved was really sexy. I sighed in contentment. When the song was over Jackson stepped back and I looked up at him.

  “Eve, I think I’m falling for you,” he said in a gentle voice.

  “Oh,” was all I could say. I felt the same, but the words wouldn’t come out, so I tried to show him with a kiss. As with any previous kisses this one had my toes tingling. We both came away breathless. We continued to hold each other, swaying to the music until it ended.

  * * *

  Every day we picked a new room and tried to figure out what it had been used for. Sometimes we had no idea, so we’d end up making ridiculous scenarios for their use. Like this room was where the Queen got her feet massaged or this was where the King’s servant trimmed his beard. Silly reasons, but we had a lot of fun.

  One of the stranger things about the castle was that there were no elect
ronics or real technology. The lights seemed to be electric and so did some things in the kitchen but that’s where it ended. I’d thought about watching TV or movies but nothing like that ever appeared. Jackson’s watch had even stopped working a few days after he got here. I didn’t quite understand it, but it was another one of those things that I just got used to.

  Over the next few weeks the main floor transformed into an almost modern house that matched the kitchen and bathrooms. At first it was strange that when I thought about something I wanted, it happened, but it gradually became normal. I realized that was extremely unusual but it’s just the way it was here, and I’d become used to it. We now had a games room, a living room and a whole library.

  But by far my favorite thing was the pool. Yep, we now had an indoor pool. I’d been thinking about how much I missed being outside and then one day it was just there. It wasn’t huge, but I thought it was big for an indoor pool. Jackson said it was about thirty-feet long and about sixteen- feet wide. I didn’t really care how big it was, I just loved getting in the water, which was always the perfect temperature. And the best part was that the walls and ceiling were painted to look like the outside. Grass, trees, flowers and a beautiful blue sky. Once we found it I swam in it every day. It was an extra bonus on the days Jackson decided to join me. I couldn’t get enough of staring at his mostly naked body. He had a body that women would drool over and I had him all to myself.

  “Eve, I’ve got a surprise for you,” Jackson told me one day as I was finishing my afternoon swim.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “If I told you it wouldn’t be a surprise. Now hurry up and change so I can show you?” he said with a smile.

  I couldn’t help but smile back. I went into the little change room next to the pool and dried off. I put on my yoga pants and t-shirt and slipped into my shoes. I put my hair in a messy bun and stepped out of the small room.