After you left,
Nothing made any sense:
It felt like the world was ending,
Yet the Sun kept rising day after day.
—Faraway
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
After waiting for a few more seconds, he cleared his throat and spoke out, "Birdie?"
Silence stretched out and again he waited.
There was no reply and at last, the string of tolerance snapped and he twisted the knob hard in his grip, breaking it and pushing the door open.
The room was bitterly cold and freezing due to the harsh wind which entered through the open balcony doors. An anxious feeling rose in his heart as he looked through the bathroom and everywhere possible where she could be hiding. There was no sign of Birdie anywhere and only her faint scent was present in the room.
His hands clenched tightly by his sides as he stared around the room for any hint whatsoever.
Had she run away? Did she leave him? Did she forget him in her anger and left without a single note of farewell?
Theo had observed Eva up close. She was as lively as a bird when she was not caged within the confines of her poor situation and family. He didn't believe that she would run away without leaving anything behind. She wasn't cold-hearted and emotionless like him.
She was an angel who did not know how to use her wings yet.
Something felt suspicious in this mess. If Eva hadn't run away, there was only one option left. She had been kidnapped and taken away from him.
His demon fought against the last bit of sanity he had left, wanting to free himself and rage down upon the world to find her. Theo placed a hand on the wall to stable himself and gain back some self-control. He needed to use his brain to figure out where she had gone, there was no need to shed unnecessary blood for it.
Running a hand through his already disheveled hair, he strode out of the room and the ground seemed to tremble under his feet. Walking towards a room closest to the King's chambers, he met Leon on the way.
It didn't take Leon too much time to figure out something was wrong. The King looked furious, no, he looked like a man who would go crazy if he didn't find what he was looking for.
"Eva is missing from her room. Send all the guards to search the surrounding areas and make sure that nobody touches a single hair on her body if they don't want their heads chopped off."
Leon nodded without asking any questions. He didn't want his head chopped off so soon. "Where will you be going?" he asked before leaving to follow the given orders.
"I'll scout the area in a much faster way. Though I have an idea where she would've gone."
"She escaped?" Leon didn't believe that the lady would be able to do it alone, by herself. Somebody must have helped her if she had run away.
"I think she's kidnapped," spoke Theo and turned around, heading in the direction of his room's balcony. He knew he would be able to find her faster and he needed to get to her first.
If something happened to her, the world would face his wrath.
He couldn't lose her too.
——
Something sharp pinched her bare arm and she flinched. Slowly parting open her eyes, Eva tried moving her hands to find that they were tied behind her back with ropes. Eva tried wiggling out her hands but it was of no use. They were too tightly tied and she sighed loudly, leaning against the bark of a tree.
Looking around, Eva surveyed her surroundings as memories of the past few hours came flooding back in her mind.
She had been kidnapped and was given something that made her faint. Her head ached a little and her stomach growled as Eva noticed that a whole day had passed without her eating anything except for breakfast.
It seemed as if days had passed when it was just this morning that the King had been teasing her by rolling his sleeves up, showing her his tattoos. She wished she was back in that moment rather than in a forest without anybody but her mind to give her company.
No, she was not alone. Leaves crunched behind her indicating that somebody was approaching. Her body tensed with apprehension when she saw a pair of black boots appear next to her.
"Well, well." the voice trailed on. "Look who woke up from her beauty sleep."
Eva didn't need to look up. The voice was enough for her to recognize the person as she gritted her teeth, feeling more infuriated than she did with the King a few hours ago.
Ken crouched down on his knees and leered at her face with the most disgusting expression she had ever seen. Trying her best not to scrunch her nose in disgust, she leaned as back as she could until the rough ends of the bark dug into her head and back.
"What do you want?" she asked, glaring into his eyes and if looks could kill, the Lord would have been ashes by now.
"Baby, why would you think that I want something from you? You know I love you more than anything." raising his hand to touch her face, Eva jerked away making his face red in anger.
"Look at me!" he hissed and grabbed her hair, yanking her head back. Eva bit her tongue willing herself to stay strong and not shout for help. She knew no one would come for her help in this abandoned area.
"I never thought you would stoop so low as to lick the King's shoes to beg for money. He's taking care of your family, isn't he? I didn't know that you wanted more power. But of course, you should never judge a book just by its glistening cover."
Pushing her head to a side, Eva's temple hit a small sharp branch making her flinch in pain. A drop of blood slid down her cheek landing on her clothes and dirtying them.
"What do you plan on doing with me?" questioned Eva seeing Ken stand up and brush his clothes off.
There was not a hint of fear in her tone and determination flashed through her eyes. She would escape and that too by herself. But not before landing a tight slap on his hideous face. She was coming to understand the King's actions now but that still didn't justify him trying to kill the man.
Redemption was not uncommon in people like him but somewhere, she realized that men like him didn't deserve second chances. They would move from woman to woman, abusing them just like the previous ones and tainting their reputation.
"I'm making you fulfill your promise. We will get married by tomorrow when we reach the village," he told and Eva saw red for a moment before managing to control her seething rage.
"Do you think the King won't find me?" she asked with a mocking smirk and saw a flash of hesitation cross his eyes before it disappeared.
"Don't think so highly of yourself. He has many women who he could play with, I doubt he would miss you." he mocked and Eva balled her fists, wondering how good it would feel to land a punch on his face. Perhaps she could break a few teeth or two?