Helen entered the chamber, her bun with not a hair out of place. She brought with her a pair of beige trousers and a lightweight, sleeveless cloth shirt.
“My Lady,” she said with a small bow. “I’ve brought the gentleman some fresh clothes.”
“Gentleman?” Eric growled.
Helen’s whole body tremored. My heart skipped a beat.
Eric continued, “Call me what I am! A prisoner! A captive! Do not dare call me what you have stripped me of!”
I put a hand on his knee, and he recoiled.
“Eric,” I said, “please calm yourself. This isn’t good for your recovery.”
“Blast my recovery!” he shouted. “You sit here pretending to care for me like the wretch that you are! You will not fool me! I am Eric, third son of King Vadon, youngest prince of Oakheart. And mark my words, Vanessa Blake, I will escape these chains, and I will have my revenge…”
Eric started to cough, and I bunched more blankets up around him so he wasn’t lying directly on the iron bars.
“I understand there is a great anger in you, and you must be confused by my actions, but please trust that I have a reason for holding you here,” I said to him.
I made everything up as I went along. Of course, I didn’t want Eric captive, but I also didn’t want him free when he might slay me, or rush headstrong into a situation that would endanger him further in his current state.
I looked at Helen and said, “Please bring us porridge and tea. He needs to eat to regain his strength.”
Helen nodded, left the clothes near Eric, and said, “Yes, Lady,” before racing off.
Eric glared at me and shook his head.
“I know not how the pendant works,” he muttered.
Even scowling, his face was extraordinarily handsome, and someone could easily lose themselves in them. Someone like me.
In a soft, sympathetic voice, I replied, “I’m not after your pendant. Please hear my words.”
Eric scoffed, “Yet your hand was around it when I woke up with you against me. You went through the trouble of sleeping by my side to get it, but I see through your ploys.”
I sighed and leaned back, giving him some space.
“If my hand touched the pendant,” I said, “it was a coincidence. The actions I took last night were only to see that you got healthy.”
Eric clamped the pendant in his hand, and I could see some of its ornate, golden details. I recalled that in the book, Vanessa secretly imprisoned Eric with hopes of unlocking the power sealed away in the pendant.
The problem was, nobody in this world knew how to unlock the pendant’s magic. In the book, the pendant had only unlocked its power once Vanessa had thrown Eric off the cliff. I tried to think if there were any hints in the story that might suggest another way to get the pendant open, but the mere effort soon gave me a headache.
It seemed my memories of the book and its details were imperfect. Was it just because I read it so quickly? Or… were my former life as Lily and my new life as Vanessa blending closer into one?
Helen arrived carrying a silver tray. On it sat a big bowl of steaming porridge, along with a ceramic tea set. She opened the cage and set the tray down next to us.
Helen opened her mouth as if to go to say something, but I shook my head slightly and shot her a look. Eric was still too frail to eat by himself, and whatever Helen wanted to say would need to wait.
She glanced at me once more, then pursed her lips and remained silent.
I handed the bowl from the tray to Eric and said, “Here. You must eat.”
Eric huffed, “You don’t believe I’m so stupid, do you? Your plan to strip the pendant from my neck while I slept didn’t work, so now you try and gain my trust with false kindness. This food is no doubt poisoned, and you’ll chop off my dead head if it means obtaining my mother’s pendant.”
“No,” I pleaded, shaking my head, “you have this all wrong. There are no tricks, Eric! I only wish to see you get better.”
Eric sneered, baring his teeth, “And why is that, Vanessa?”
Outrage erupted in his eyes… but I suspected a glimmer of something mysterious hidden in those attractive blue irises.
Was it… hope?
I licked my lips before saying, “I care for you, Prince Eric.”
Then I stuck a spoonful of porridge into my mouth, chewed it around, and swallowed. I poured myself a cup of tea, blew the steam from it, and drank that, too.
“See?” I asked, smiling. “No poison to be found.”
Eric’s eyes widened, and he almost looked like he wanted to chuckle at my demonstration; but then he turned it into a grimace, and nodded curtly.
I inched myself closer to him, and the blankets covering me slipped slightly, revealing my bare shoulder. Eric glanced at my skin before looking away. I kept my shoulder uncovered, hoping he might take another glance at me.
I scooped another spoonful of porridge and guided it to his mouth. He seemed hesitant—and despite his internal war with his pride, both of us knew he was too weak to lift the spoon himself.
He opened his mouth, set his lips down upon the spoon, and slid the porridge into his mouth, all while looking me in the eyes.
My heart fluttered, and it took everything for my hand to not shake the porridge into his lap.
Against my will, my stupid mind ran wild with imaginings of his lips on mine, and us spending another night together, though this time in the large bed of my private quarters.
I exhaled deeply and Eric teasingly asked, “What’s the matter, Vanessa? Do I make you nervous?”
I pursed my lips and blew steam from his next spoonful of porridge.
With my best attempt at alluring charm, I responded, “Prince Eric, you are a man who makes me feel many, many things.”
At this, a smile finally cracked. I continued to feed him until the porridge bowl was empty.
“Lady Vanessa,” Helen squeaked from the corner of the room, her voice high and nervous. “May I have a word with you, alone?”
I poured Eric another cup of tea and told him, “Drink this when you’re able. Don’t push yourself.”
I set my hand to his forehead once more to see if he was hot, and he wasn’t.
“Your fever has broken,” I assured him.
He gave me a small nod. I put on my robe and walked with Helen out of the lower chambers.
When we were out of earshot from Eric, Helen said, “May I remind you, Lady, that you are to meet with Lord Falcon shortly.”
My throat went dry.
“Yes, of course,” I replied—knowing all too well how devious of a character Falcon was.
Taking a deep breath, I set off down the corridors toward my room.
“Helen,” I said, “prepare my daytime attire.”