by Alice Wilde
The water is covering her now, but the blood doesn’t rush back to my brain.
It isn’t long before Roan joins her, but I stay where I am, watching.
I wonder why Roan leaves so much distance between himself and Annalise. If it were me, I’d have her beautiful body as close to mine as possible. I watch as Annalise suddenly seems to be swept by some underwater current right into Roan. They both look surprised and I’m a little dubious of the coincidence.
“Why don’t you join them?” Li growls at me.
“I prefer the view; besides, I don’t want to throw cold water on myself just yet.”
Footsteps. A whisper from one man to another that is so clear to my cat hearing he might as well be shouting.
“Damn it,” I say refocusing my attention on Annalise, savoring the last few seconds before our little adventure is cut short.
Twenty
Annalise
Miriam scrubs me hard in a nearly boiling tub of water, my skin turning pink and raw. More than a couple of leeches had to be salted and pried from my skin.
My leopards weren’t brought to my room, and I’ve been worried sick about them since they left my sight. I’m starting to wonder how I ever lived without them. I just hope they’ll be brought back soon. I don’t know if I could survive another day without them…I don’t know that I’d want to.
“Ah!” I yelp as Miriam’s nails dig hard into my scalp, the lather from the soap so thick it’s now covering the surface of the water and I am no longer able to keep my eyes open. I hear the door open and heavy footsteps approach. I immediately sense that Miriam has moved aside and is no longer kneeling by the tub, but the suds are still blinding me.
A large hand shoves my head underwater, then pulls me up gasping for air. Fingers tighten in my hair, pulling at my roots and bringing tears of pain to my eyes. My head is forced to look up and into Damien’s face. He’s crouched over the tub, but even in this position he is anything but small.
“Don’t think for a moment,” he says, “that today wasn’t a test.”
I swallow, hard.
“I won’t be fooled again. Consider what little freedom you may have had as my wife gone.”
“I…”
He shoves my head underwater again, this time not returning me to the surface right away. I claw at his arm, the pain in my lungs growing as my need for air becomes desperate. Just as I feel I’m about to pass out, I’m pulled back to the surface.
I cough as I try to fill my lungs with air.
“Never. Again.”
I brace myself to be pushed underwater again, but instead, Damien lets go of my hair and moves to position himself behind me his hands engulfing my shoulders.
“This could all be so much easier for you,” he says, his voice low and unnerving, “if you stopped fighting the inevitable. I will have you in the end, whether you like it or not.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to block him out.
“Rosa learned fast enough.”
My eyes fly open and I jerk out of his hands and to the far end of the tub. He doesn’t move to stop me, but lets his fingers trail in the water as he watches me from beneath his brows.
“Oh yes, I had her. She was a very sweet conquest in the end.”
I think I’m going to be sick.
“Of course, she didn’t come willingly, but that all changed in the end. I daresay she won’t try to disobey an order from me again.”
I throw myself against the side of the tub and retch onto the floor.
“Now, now. It won’t be so bad for you. You know better now, don’t you?”
This man is pure evil.
“Don’t you?” he asks again, his voice hard and cold.
“Yes,” I say, hoping he’ll leave.
“Good. Oh, and thanks to your little stunt today, your father has agreed that the wedding will be moved to next week.”
“What?” I gasp in shock.
“I know, I wish it were sooner as well. But I’m sure you can understand what with guests and preparations…” Damien says dismissively as he stands and makes his way to the door.
“Don’t miss a spot.”
The words are directed at Miriam, who immediately begins scrubbing at me again, harder than before.
“Ow!”
Damien smiles darkly at me, shutting the door behind him as he leaves.
My leopards. I haven’t been able to do anything but pace the length of my room since Miriam finally left me alone, anxiously awaiting their return, or to learn their fate. I hadn’t considered what my actions might mean for my pets, but now it is all that fills my mind. Without them, I feel like a piece of me has been left behind.
It’s the first time we’ve been separated from each other for more than an hour since we’ve met, and with each passing moment, I grow more uncomfortable with the separation. I know I shouldn’t be so attached to animals, but in some ways, they feel more like family than anyone else in my life.
There’s a scuffling at my door and I whip around to see a note. I hurry to pick it up, but just as I lean down, I hear a small whisper.
“Annalise?” It’s Rosa!
“Gods! Rosa? Is that really you,” I say, my heart racing.
“I can’t stay long. Are you okay?”
“Am I okay?” The question baffles me. “I’m the one who should be asking you that!”
“I…No, I’m not, but there’s no time for me right now. Read the note. We’ll talk more later.”
“Rosa!” I whisper, but she’s gone.
I snatch the note off the floor and hurry over to the window to read the hastily scrawled words in the dying light of day.
Your father’s being poisoned.
My hands are shaking. Hadn’t father mentioned something to me about Damien concocting various potions for him since he began visiting our kingdom? What if…what if all this time he’s been slowly poisoning my father in both mind and body so he can take me as his bride and become king not long after? My hands are shaking so badly I can barely hold onto the note. I jump up and run to light one of the candles in my room, and then I burn it. I’ll not give Damien the satisfaction of finding another note. I watch as the note slowly turns to ash. Sweeping it into my hand I return to the window and toss it out on an evening breeze.
Now, I just have to find a way to prove my father’s being poisoned, but first, I need to find a way out of this room. I spend the next hour testing the lock on the door, touching every stone and object for hidden doorways and poking my head out of all the windows I can possibly fit through, but there’s nothing. Not that I had honestly expected to find anything, but in all my books there was always a way out. Good has to triumph over evil.
I slump down in the bed I’d made for my leopards and me. I wish they were here. I wish I didn’t feel so alone. I wish I were stronger.
A key turning in the door sends my heart into my throat. The door opens and in walks Damien, my three leopards trailing behind him. They’ve been washed, and from what I can tell by the red still staining parts of their white coats, punished as well. Their leashes have once again been replaced with heavy chains.
“Miriam will come to feed and dress you each day. You will be bathed each night in rosewater and milk. Licorice tea will be given to you to drink before you sleep. Your…” He pauses from the list he’s been spouting off to me like I’m some child and looking at the bedding strewn across the floor in distaste. “Your bedding will be replaced each morning. You will not leave this room again until our wedding.”
“But that’s a week from now!” I say, fighting my immediate urge to kick him in the shin, although I have no idea how I’d do that from my place on the bed.
Damien continues, pretending he didn’t hear anything. “At that time, you will be dressed in red and escorted to the Great Hall by my guards. Your leopards will remain here, and you will never return to this room again.”
A cold chill runs down my spine. I hadn’t thought about that. Leavi
ng my room for good. Of course, I’d had a different room while mother was still alive, but ever since I was moved here, I hadn’t thought that one day would be my last here. Never coming back to this room doesn’t particularly bother me in and of itself, I’d always thought of this room…no, this palace as more of a prison than a home, at least after mother died.
What does bother me is why I won’t be coming back. Not just because I’ll be trapped in a room with Damien, his property by law, but because I get the impression he’s also expecting me not to see my leopards again once we’re married. Of all things, this is what worries me the most.
“My leopards?”
“The leopards,” he corrects, “are simply here to keep anyone else from trying defile or harm you. Seeing as they’ve barely managed to do that, and I will be able to keep you from others once we are married, they’ll no longer be of any use to me.”
“But what will happen to them?”
“That is none of your concern,” Damien snaps, throwing the heavy chains to the floor. “You’ve been informed of your duties from now until our wedding. See that they are met.”
Damien storms from the room, slamming the door behind him, the lock clicking into place.
He is beyond insufferable. I want to scream.
No, I want to fight back.
I get up and remove the chains from my leopards, inspecting each in turn for visible damage. Besides the blood stains, there are no wounds to be found and I’m left feeling perplexed. I touch the amethyst-eyed leopard’s collar, trying to find some way to remove it. He growls at me, fangs bared, and I reel back on my heels as he slinks away from me.
“I didn’t mean to scare you.”
I want to be angry, I want to fight against the tyranny of my betrothed, but I don’t know how. I haven’t even found a way out of this room. One of the leopards nuzzles the back of my neck as if to say it’s not my fault, forcing a sad smile onto my face.
“I’m so glad you’re back,” I say. “I just wish I knew what to do to get us out of this.”
I wrap my arms around the leopard’s neck and he purrs. I kiss his head. He purrs louder.
“Oh, how I wish I could just turn into a leopard and run away with you…and you…and you,” I say, laughing as I kiss the two leopards still next to me in turn.
“Now, what do you think? Shall we try to plot our escape from this dungeon together?”
They purr in harmony.
I stretch and look up into the gorgeous face of the green-eyed, red-headed male, and he gives me a playful side-smile back. I must be having another dream. I wonder what it says about me that I personify my leopards in my dreams, and not just personify, I make them literal sex gods in my dream world fantasies…Not that we’ve had sex in my dreams.
Gods, why am I thinking like this? An arm reaches around me and pulls me away from the redhead and for a split second my body wants to resist, but then I’m looking into the stormy eyes of the angelic blond. No, to call him an angel would be a disservice, as terrible as that sounds. He’s rough, far too masculine to be likened to the softer connotations of an angel. His long hair is braided on one side, the rest left loose and falling over half his face as he positions himself over me.
“Annalise,” he says, his voice low and smooth. With just my name, I am putty in his hands.
“Really, Ero,” the red-headed male says, pulling me back to his beautifully freckled chest. “You can’t just go around charming the lass with her own name.”
“Just because you’ve had bad luck with the ladies doesn’t mean you have to go around insulting my natural charm, Roan.”
“So, your name is Roan?” I ask the red-headed male.
He looks at me startled. “Yes, but…”
“And you’re called, what was it…Ero?” I ask, my face still pressed against Roan’s smooth body.
“You can understand us, girl?” the blue-eyed male asks, turning me over to face him.
“Of course, I can understand you,” I say, laughing. “You’re in my dream after all.”
He and Roan share a look, propping themselves up. Their bodies now too far away for my liking.
“How?” Ero asks Roan.
“Should we wake Li?”
“Who’s Li?” I ask.
They both look at me before shifting their eyes to a third male.
Oh yes, how could I have forgotten about him, even in a dream? The third male. He’s sleeping, strands of his jet-black hair escaping the bun at the top of his head. His golden skin glistening in the moonlight. He’s curled up in the exact same way my leopards sleep when they’re alone. I want to touch him. The desire is so great I reach out, but Ero’s hand has found mine, pulling it back and placing it flat against his own velvety skin. It’s even softer than their fur in waking hours. The sensations are so vivid and much more real.
“I want you,” I say, startling myself.
“Of course, you do,” Ero replies, grinning.
“No, you want the idea of Ero, but you actually want me,” Roan says teasingly, trying to pull me to him.
“Pretty sure she said she wants me, Roan. So, sorry, she’s mine.”
I push myself away, however reluctantly.
“No. I am no one’s but my own,” I say, knowing he didn’t mean any harm by it. “But, if perhaps the two of you wanted to be mine…”
Shock crosses over their faces as they look at me and then each other before shrugging.
“I’ll have you any way of your choosing, as long as I can have you,” Ero says as he shifts his body against mine.
Roan rolls his eyes, but moves closer, his arm sliding across my waist. I want them to kiss me, I want to feel the love and desire I had wished for so long as a child. I want them to hold me.
“Enough,” a deep, commanding voice says as Ero and Roan are shoved aside.
Deep violet eyes look down into mine. He places strong, gentle hands against my temples, massaging my head.
“Sleep, Annalise.”
And I do.
The sound of birds wakes me and I sit up, stretching. The warm, soft bodies of my leopards still curled up beside me. Well, at least two of them are.
Across the room, looking out one of the windows, is the third. He turns when he hears movement but doesn’t approach me, instead padding over to my other bed and curling up on it.
A shiver of delight runs down my spine as I remember the pleasure of last night’s dream. I just wish my dreams wouldn’t end so abruptly. If I can’t escape Damien, if I have to be bound to him, then my mind could at least do me the courtesy of giving me one full dream to hold on to. At least then I could imagine my first time had been with a being…beings I cared for.
The familiar key at the door alerts me to Miriam’s arrival and I stand, waiting for the day’s ritual to begin. Although, why I have to be dressed and fussed over when I’m not even allowed out of my room…
Miriam enters and places a plate and mug on a table, then hurries over to me and removes my nightgown, replacing it with a long shift, and then a heavy white dress. This time the sleeves dangle to the floor, nearly dragging. I can’t imagine how anyone could be useful wearing something like this, but I suppose I won’t be doing anything useful anytime soon. My hair is wrapped but kept down in two long braids. Miriam huffs, and I take that to mean she’s done with me for now.
I go to pick at the food that’s been brought to me while she starts taking up the bedclothes from the floor. Then I understand why. Damien means for me to stay awake all day, locked in this prison of a room with almost nothing to do, even the choice to sleep has been taken from me. My appetite is gone, replaced with burning rage.
The sound of jingling keys announced Miriam’s departure. I inhale sharply.
“Keys!” I nearly shout at no one in particular.
My leopards shy at the sound, startled.
“Sorry,” I say, “but I’ve just figured out how we’re going to get out of here.”
They look at me cu
riously, their heads cocked to the side as if waiting to hear what I had to say next.
“Miriam. Miriam has her own set of keys. All I have to do is find a way to take them while she’s not paying attention, and then we can escape when the castle has gone quiet for the night.”
Relief and excitement wash over me like a warm summer rain. All was not lost, not yet. I spin around, my stomach unclenching at the prospect of escape. I return to my meal and finish it, savoring every sweet bite.
I spend the rest of the day trying to read one of the few books still hidden in my room, but my mind is racing. Where will I go? How will I get there? What should I bring? What about my leopards? Then I remember the note Rosa gave me. Father.
I can’t just leave. As much as I want to run as fast and as far away from this place as possible, I can’t. If the king really is being poisoned, I have to try to help him. My heart sinks and my stomach knots again. But, and my heart lifts slightly, if I bring the poisoning to my father’s attention and save him, perhaps he will call the whole marriage off. I have to try.
“Sorry, my pets,” I say. “Looks like we’re not going to be running away, not just yet.”
I replace the book I’ve been trying to read and start hatching a plan on how I’m going to get to my father. I know it’s risky, but I can’t just leave if there’s even the slightest possibility my father can be saved. He’s the only family I have left.
I walk the length of the room, my leopards still watching.
“If only we could really talk, not just in my dreams.”
I stop and turn to face them, pointing my finger at the emerald-eyed leopard.
“You’re Roan.”
Even if it was only a dream, the names were nice and it made me feel closer to them.
“And you,” I say shifting to point at the blue-eyed leopard. “Let me think. Yes, you’re Ero, right?”