"You called for me, my king." She curtsied at him and the sarcasm in her tone did not get passed the king who frowned at her.
"This is Lord Damien," The king pointed to the scrawny-looking man in their midst, "After much consideration, he has decided to settle for a marriage with you."
Maeve's eyes widened in shock, 'Settle for a marriage with her?', she knew the king was heartless but not once did she expect him to marry her off to someone like Lord Damien.
He was a short old man with a bald head and teeth that looked like haystacks, making matters worse, he had a very long mustache that looked unkempt and dirty, and he constantly reeked of booze. There was no way she would get married to someone like him.
"Princess Maeve, It's a pleasure to meet you." Lord Damien greeted her, checking out her appearance lustfully in the process.
"What do you mean I'm getting married to him?" Maeve asked the king, snubbing Damien's greetings in the process.
"Don't be such a rude child!" He hissed at her, " Lord Damien here was kind enough to accept you, so be a little more welcoming to him."
"Welcoming? You're selling me off just like that- and to him of all people." Maeve yelled, angry about the whole ordeal.
"Why? Is anything wrong with me? Do you think anyone else would accept an illegitimate brat like you!" Damien yelled at her, angry at her condescending words.
"I might have a different appearance than everyone else but that doesn't make me less of a human. Understand this clearly, I WILL NEVER EVER GET MARRIED TO YOU!... you can both go to hell."
Not waiting for a reply from them, Maeve ran out of the hall angrily right past the laughing twin devils as she curses thrown at her by the angry king. He hated being walked out on but at that moment, Maeve didn't care about that, she just needed to get away from there.
She only managed to catch her breath after getting into her room and slumping onto the ground looking dejected.
"What sort of life is this? This is all your fault…How could you leave me alone like this, Mother?" She cried out to her dead mother.
That was the first time in those nine years that Maeve allowed herself to feel emotions and cry her heart out, contrary to her usual icy outer appearance.
She lay on the cold hard floor for a while until something snapped in her. After she'd endured in the hands of her wicked family, there was no way she would let them have the satisfaction of marrying her off. Not in a million years.
She decided to run away rather than lose herself in that place. The thought had crossed her mind over the years but she was too scared to act on it, that is, until that evening.
Regardless, she knew even if she went missing or died, no one in the palace would bat an eyelid, rather, they would throw a banquet to celebrate so there was no point in staying there any longer.
With determination burning in her, Maeve walked to her dresser and took her mother's journal from it. Despite not being able to understand the language it was written in, she still held it close to her heart because it was the only thing she had left of her mother.
She removed all the jewelry from her body and put on a more comfortable shoe before slowly creeping out of her room, making sure no one noticed her.
After memorizing the runnings of everything that went on in the castle over the years, Maeve knew the carriage truck that delivered fruits to the castle would depart in a few minutes so she hurried to the back and quietly slipped into the truck, hiding herself inside an empty crate.
"I can do this!"
The adrenaline pumping inside her was high at that moment as she held her breath in quiet anticipation, waiting for the carriage truck driver to arrive.
"You warned your sister not to leave the house tonight, right?" A voice upfront said.
"Yes, father. She's fully aware of the gathering going on tonight." Another voice replied.
Maeve's eyes widened, over the years, she had heard stories of a so-called gathering that takes place yearly from palace staff but she dismissed it thinking the concept of forcefully taking girls to act as mistresses was absurd.
However, after hearing it from the two men who were moving the truck a fear rose within her, fear of the rumors being true but by then, she was already out of the castle gate, there was no turning back from there.
Once she heard the carriage truck slow down, Maeve quietly slipped out of it from the back, scraping her arm in the process.
"Ouch." She mumbled.
As she stood up and dusted her dress, her heart became unsteady. The whole neighborhood was silent and not a single soul was in sight.
"Oh god, what if the stories were true?" She mumbled, panic filling her being.
Maeve was like a lost lamb in that neighborhood, that was the first time she was in the outside world and she was so scared and unprepared. Everything was unfamiliar and new.
She wrapped her hands around herself, holding the journal which she tightly secured in her dress.
"I should have brought a cloak." She said, rubbing her freezing hands to try and produce some heat.
She wasn't sure if it was the chilly night or fear that made her cold to that extent.
Just then, she heard the sounds of approaching horses in the distance. Five men mounted on horses slowly made their way toward her like a predator approaching its prey.
Something about their presence under the glowing moonlight made Maeve's senses tingle with danger. She knew she was in great danger being there.
She noticed four unconscious ladies were draped on the backs of each horse and it didn't take a second for her to realize she would be their next victim if she didn't find a way out of there, fast!
Unluckily for her, as she was trying to sneak away without getting noticed, she tripped on a stone in front of her and managed to catch the attention of the men ahead.
"Get her!" One of the men who saw her first yelled.
She ran as fast as her feet could carry her but it wasn't fast enough because soon, one of the men was holding onto her hand tightly, staring at her with a cold gaze that made her body tremble.
"Didn't your parents teach you not to roam around at this time of night?" He smirked devilishly at her.
"Pl-please let me go…" She begged, feeling small and insignificant before the man hovering above her.
"Let you go? I'm afraid I can't do that. You're the fifth girl we need and there's no way I'll let go of a beauty like you." He licked his lips lustfully.
Not even giving her a second to reply, he covered her nose with a cloth and Mave slowly felt herself losing consciousness. The man threw her on the back of the horse just like the other ladies and seconds later, everything went pitch black.