Eva blinked open her eyes and sat up straight, grabbing her head with both her hands and squeezing hard. Her temples were aching as she massaged them with extra force to stop the pain from erupting all over her head.
Rubbing her eyes, she looked around for a familiar-looking couch and frowned when she saw the room that she was sleeping in was not the same as always. There was no couch, no black silken sheets, and no balcony door with glass windows.
She was not in Xandria anymore she realized with a gasp and stood up on the ground, barefoot. The clothes she was wearing were not the same as before. Instead, it was a pure white color that made her face look a little too pale for her preference.
Looking around, she tried to spot something of use but it was as if everything that could be used to escape had been removed previously.
Walking towards the door, she started knocking frantically with her fists.
"Is somebody there? Please open this door!" she cried out and by the time, she stopped knocking, her knuckles had grown a bright shade of red.
Surprisingly, any pain she felt, Eva pushed it aside and focused on finding a way to get out.
'At least Theodore had a balcony to breathe in fresh air...' she thought to herself and felt the sudden urge to see him as soon as she could find him.
No matter the things he did, the King didn't ever make her feel suffocated or trapped or powerless. He told her everything she asked, and never took his anger out on her like she had expected him to, which now only made her feel guilty for misjudging him.
She missed him terribly and tried to remember the last memories of the castle before she fainted. Or was made to faint.
Stanley's face appeared vividly in her memory, and she clenched her fists in outrage. Was he the one who had trapped her here? No, it couldn't be! Stanley was the man whom she could talk about anything to from childhood till now. He would never want anything bad for her, right?
But would he go against her will, she asked herself and didn't know what the answer was.
Her back met the soft mattress as she sighed wearily and looked towards the door. All she could do was wait for somebody to open it and then she would ask them where the hell she was.
They say, only when you lose something, will you realize its actual worth. Eva remembered his every stare, his every glance towards her, his every touch, and every time he held her hand telling her that he was there by her side. The times his lips touched hers and she could not match the best of all her moments with that memory. His eyes were imprinted in her brain, and nothing could make them fade away from her memory.
Wrapping her hands around herself, she let go. He wasn't there to catch her but as she remembered all the previous days she had spent with him, his memories were enough to not let her fall.
As Eva was lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the slight creak of the door and a man stepping inside the room.
"Evangeline?"
Eva's head shot up quickly as she wiped off a stray tear that had lingered down her cheek. Stanley was staring at her with a sad look in his eyes but she felt it hard to sympathize with him this time. He had brought her here against her will and she couldn't forgive him so easily for that.
"How could you kidnap me?" she asked, not looking at his face and staring at a blank wall with an empty look.
She heard the stamp of boots and discerned him approaching her. "I did it for your own good Eva— "
"You made me fall for my own good? You went against my choice for my own good?" she questioned and raised a brow in question. Did he think that she was so naïve as to agree to everything he told her?
Stanley sighed helplessly and gripped his stick tighter with his hands. "You don't understand it right now. I am here to tell you some things that you aren't aware of yet, and I hope that you will listen to me with an open mindset. Can you?"
Eva bit her bottom lip hard and nodded, her arms placed on her lap.
"Where am I?" she asked, and finally looked up to see the old man.
"Before telling you that, I—" he hesitated. "I want to show you something. Just know that everything I did was for you. Just don't be afraid, okay?"
Eva resisted the urge to scoff. Was he going to transform into a monster now? Why did everyone around her think that she was so naïve and scared of everything? Did it show on her face somehow, because she certainly didn't feel frightened in her heart!
"Of course," she spoke and watched as he came to stand before her and dropped the stick he was holding. His bent body straightened, which made her eyes widen unconsciously.
Was he showing her how to break his back?
She watched as he started mumbling a few words under his breath, none of which she understood. After a minute, a bright light filled the room and her lips parted open as she shut her eyes close.
Darkness engulfed her vision.