The landing would have been rough had she not landed on a bundle of blankets placed just at the bottom of this crazy tunnel.
"Making a run for it, Lady--"
"I wasn't..." She jumped, startled that she was still alive and that she hadn't fallen into a dungeon instead.
She stood up, looking back at the man who was sitting by the dinning table, some distance away from her.
He was oddly silent and her heart started to race. Was he looking at her and thinking she was absolutely useless?
If so? Good.
"I admit, it was stupid." She chuckled but her mischief immediately died the moment she realized something.
What if he was thinking of making her his dragon's meal and not sending her home instead.
Her breath hitched, trying to rack her brain for exactly what she was still doing wrong.
Too bad, she couldn't figure it out through his face because of his golden mask.
Was he seething in angry or was he boiling over with rage.
Her eyes grew wide the moment she realized she hadn't greeted.
"Your Majesty," she bowed.
"Your name." He requested firmly and she realized that was the thing she had done wrong.
He had asked earlier but she hadn't noticed it as a question.
"Belladonna." She said but his gaze remained fixed on her and she quickly added. "Belladonna Drayzika."
"Come sit."
She started making her way down to the table. The more she moved closer, the more she felt fear consume her.
This dinner might not go as she had planned, after all she had already started on an 'obvious' wrong foot.
The king didn't ask for any more questions, instead he started eating.
Totally not going as planned.
Belladonna paid attention to the food on his plate, there was nothing strange about it. Could it be that he was human?
But then if he was human, what could he be hiding?
How was he even eating with the mask still on his face?
When he was halfway done with the food, he placed his fork down, drank from his goblet then sat back in his chair, throwing his head back like he was bored out of his mind with this dinner.
"Why should I make you my bride?"
She smiled.
It was time to ruin it all completely without making it so 'obvious' this time.
"Because I---" she started.
'Tell him your unique traits.' The training of Lady Kestra rang in her ears and she gladly ignored them.
"I'm just like everyone else. I really have nothing all that special about me."
He raised his head, looking at her like as if she had piqued his interest or was he judging her for going against his question.
She didn't want the former so she believed it was the latter, hoping that it was going her way after all.
"In fact, I don't qualify. Your Majesty, you shouldn't pick me as your bride."
There was silence for a while.
He didn't say anything, just kept looking at her.
For no reason at all, she felt enraged that she was a spectacle for him. That she could be here on this seat fighting for her life, fighting to get back home and not get trapped here, whatever 'here' truly was, all these while she was battling with fear, and he was just there calmly on his seat, looking down at her, watching her struggle while he judged her.
Who was he even?!
"That's alright." She sprang up on her feet, rage rushing through her veins like fire. "Instead of giving a response, you can just sit there like the King you are and judge me."
'Stop, Belladonna. This wasn't part of the plan, Belladonna!'
Her mind screamed at her but she didn't listen.
She was angry, pained and everything combined. All the emotions she had been trying to keep at bay and ignore all week surged into her mind, flooding it and shutting down every sense of reasoning.
All she could right now was feel and all the emotions she had right now, were negative.
"Let me give you more to judge. Something that makes all these feel appropriate." She rested her hands on the table, looking straight at him. Whatever he was thinking, she couldn't tell.
Good thing, she didn't care anyways!
"I do not want to be your bride, oh mighty Dragon King. I wasn't even supposed to be here to begin with. I was supposed to be married to the love of my life. Everything was going perfectly until they..." Her voice suddenly trailed off, she blinked then looked away.
She stood up straight, a hand crawling to her chest as if to stop the pain that was now slowly spreading from there.
"T-they---" she started breathing heavily, her legs felt too weak and she slide to the floor. Her lips vibrating as the realization came open her, finally admitting everything that had happened truly to herself. She banged her hand over and over again against her chest, that part where her heart should be laying beneath.
It suddenly felt too hard to speak, her throat ached from how much tears consumed her. She opened her mouth, fruitlessly attempting to speak over and over again, tasting the saltiness of her tears instead.
"They betrayed me." She finally said quietly. Her hands curled into tight fists against the floor and her eyes became blurry with tears. "Th-they...they all betrayed me!"
She felt to the floor completely, now absolutely drained as she wailed, the memories of that night of betrayal and everything that followed playing in her mind.
Like it all just happened a minute ago.
The numbness that she had locked herself in was now gone and all that was left was pain and heartbreak.
So much... too much.
The Dragon King let out a bored sigh, then he snapped his fingers. Guards stepped out of the shadow, revealing the facr that they had been there the entire time.
"Get her out of my sight." He ordered, his voice cold.
Belladonna was too caught up in her grief to react to anything. She didn't fight them as they dragged her away, out of the dinning hall, down the stairs and finally into her room and tossing her to the floor.
She made no attempt to stand instead, she curled herself up in a ball and wept.
So all those years that she had cared for her family, all those years that she had loved Lytio, all those years that she had picked her sister over herself, all those years meant nothing to them?
Her heart felt heavier and heavier, although there were no phiysical daggers, she felt like many were stuck in her heart, twisting themselves, causing her more pain.
"My Lady, what have you done?" Raquel rushed in, sitting next to her and pushing her fruitlessly to her feet. "My Lady--? Check, Colin. Is she dead?" Raquel voice gasped, horrified. "What did the King do to her, by Ignas. She looks ashened. Is she--"
"Cease the fear, Raquel." Colin stoop low, then lifted her up to get bed while Raquel followed after him. "She breathes."
"Water." She offered, the minute Colin placed Belladonna on the bed.
She shook her head.
"What did you do, my Lady?" Raquel sat next to her on the bed, still checking her to be certain she was indeed alive and not hallucinating. "I heard from Nesta that she heard from Jamin that Jamin heard from Ch--"
"There is a rumour that you angered the Dragon King and that he might make you his next dragon meal."
"Colin, what shall we do?" Raquel stood up, pacing around the room, peeling her fingernails.
"Fear not. I shall write some pleads and send it to Lady Kestra on our Lady's behalf."
"I also heard from Nesta that she heard--"
"That Lady Kestra is also furious."
"Yes! What if she doesn't read it, or beg the King on our Lady's behalf?"
"Then there is nothing more we can do."
"But Colin---"
"Raquel." He cautioned her softly, like one would a child.
"It is happening again, it is happening again." She mumbled underneath her breath.
"Raquel." His voice was a little harsh now.
She immediately lifted her hand to slap herself as usual but he stopped her.
"Whatever our Lady's fate will be, the Dragon King will declare it on the day the chose Bride is to be crowned."
"And what if her fate that day will be death?" Raquel shrieked.
"Then it wouldn't be the first."
Raquel gasped lightly. "Co--"
"For now, we have work to do." He said, dragging her out of the room while they shut the door behind them.
Belladonna fisted her hand against her hammering chest, more tears running down her cheeks.
She had heard everything.
With how much her heart was aching, it felt like a dragon ripping her apart would be no different.