Godwynn and his men had finally made it back into the shadowlands, it was another 2 Day's ride to his Father's kingdom, soon to be his kingdom. It wouldn't be much longer before he would ascend to the throne himself. His father, having sat upon it for nearly 1500 years, was ready to shed the weight of the crown. They came to a clearing which he and his men regularly used to set up camp when travelling or training.
"We will rest here for the night" He declared, Handing the princess to Novus before dismounting. Within an hour they had all assembled their tents and bedding for the night. A storm could be heard in the distance, as it began to roll in from the west, the thunder slowly getting louder as it closed in. They had laid the princess on the ground near the fire. And had originally planned to leave her there. But her condition would worsen if she were left out in the rain. "Ugh…put the wretched girl in my tent for the night" the prince growled. Novus chuckled "I didn't know you like them nearly dead, sire."
"Shut up Novus, you pig" the Dark prince quipped, rolling his eyes. Some of the other men found the exchange humorous, laughing at the prince's demise. The prince settled himself on a large log in front of the fire. Watching the Wild boar one of his men had slaughtered rotate over the fire. Cooking on a fire-spit which they had brought to this location many moons ago. The skin of the boar was popping and sizzling while the juices dripped into the flame, and the aroma was mouthwatering.
They hadn't eaten in over 3 days, and so the hunger had become uncomfortable. The Hungry dark elves sat waiting patiently. Their mouths salivating uncontrollably. They split several bottles of Elven Rozenberry Brandy amongst themselves. Each taking a few large swigs then passing it on to the next.
Before too long the men were on the edge of being drunk and were beginning to feast upon the roasted pig. The prince gathered a plate to take to the princess in case she was to awaken, her lighter wounds and bruises had healed by the time they arrived at camp, so her waking up was a possibility if she was of pure royal blood.
Upon entering the small tent, the prince froze, as he noticed a pair of Amber eyes staring back at him. The princess had indeed awoken, as he had predicted…and she didn't seem very happy about the situation she found herself in. "Good evening highness" The dark prince muttered…the aroma of alcohol apparent on his lips. She glared at him, "How dare you" She replied.
Godwynn laughed at her rebuke "How dare I what?" He asked…lowering his voice slightly to infer a warning. No one, especially a little High Elf Princess was going to speak to him like that, but he would entertain her for a moment as he was curious about her. In the end however, He would have no problem putting her in her place and cutting out her tongue or ending her life for that matter if she became too unruly. She huffed at his response, and retorted as quickly as she could "How dare you touch me, how dare you take me from my people, you have no right, just who do you think you are?!"
The Dark Prince Sneered at her "I am Royalty, same as you, and I will do as I please. And if I want a Pet Princess, I shall Have a little pet Princess" said the prince cockily, shrugging his shoulders as if it was a fact. At those words, the princess became enraged and lunged at him "I'll teach you, scum!" knocking the food from his hand, and spilling the goblet of brandy the prince had brought for her. She did her best to tackle him, raising the small dagger she had kept in the fold of her royal robes above his head, ready to stab this Evil creature and be done with him.
The princess had unwittingly knocked the prince Sober. He grabbed the dagger from her hand and slung her to the other side of the tent. "Why you little Bitch!" he Roared! She scrambled trying to get up, her feet not quite working fast enough when the prince tackled and pinned her to the floor. Straddling her chest and holding both of her arms in one hand. He glared at her as he held the knife she had once wielded up to her throat. "I should kill you."
Amora's eyes widened, he had bested her so quickly with no effort on his part, fear shot down her spine like a sudden jolt of electricity. The possible consequences of her actions sinking in, she held her breath as she looked the Dark Prince in the eyes. His eyes were almost a solid black and he was seething at her. He was quite intimidating. But he was also…. Attractive? Gosh Yes, incredibly attractive.
As fearful as she was, she couldn't help but burn his image into her mind, tears forming in her eyes from his heated gaze. She couldn't help but stare, The perfect set of his masculine jaw, the blue cerulean ring in the dark depths of his eyes, that you could barely make out, surrounded his irises. His Smooth lips, begging to be kissed, his black hair falling into his face as he looked down at her.
This is horrible timing Amora thought, scolding herself.
The princess waited, frozen, for the Dark one to decide her fate. But he simply sat there…staring at her. His cold stony expression slowly fading away, as she stared back with large golden eyes, dumbstruck by him.
Novus peeked his head inside the Tent, "Everything Ok highness?" Godwynn looked up snapping out of his stupor. "Yes Novus! now leave!" His drunken right-hand man snickering at the sight of the Dark Prince having a wrestling match with the high elf princess. "If you say so" taking his head back out of the tent.
The prince turned a shaking Amora to lie on her stomach, still pinning her to the ground. His armor bit into her unforgivingly, causing her to wince. "Ow!" He took rope and easily bound her hands and feet together behind her back. How humiliating she thought to herself. She tried to fight him, but he only gripped harder and knotted the ropes tighter… "Now that you are obviously awake and capable of being a pain in my ass, it looks as if I'm going to have to keep you restrained." He huffed.
Godwynn stood up and carried her to the bedding on the side of the tent he had made for her. "I originally fixed a plate for you princess, trying to be a good host, but you've ruined that. Now if you are hungry, you can eat off the damned floor…if you can reach it." Then he stormed back out of the tent, muttering obscenities under his breath. Amora sat there…her ribs hurting. Angry tears threatened to fall from her eyes, but she fought to keep them back. "I'm going to kill that prince…if it's the last thing I do." She whispered to herself…
Her head was still pulsating from falling off the horse, she knew she had cracked her skull. Her back and ribs were very sore, Getting knocked down by the prince probably didn't help matters. In all honesty, she had probably broken her ribs at first, but at least she could feel her body beginning to heal itself, by tomorrow afternoon she would be well again. A fall that bad, would have killed a human instantly. But her blood contained old magic. And her body was more durable than her human counterparts. She groaned, annoyed at the rough rope biting into her flesh.
She looked over to see the cooked meat, and the plate he had brought lying before her sprawled on the dirt. She honestly wasn't very hungry at the moment, and she definitely would rather starve than eat off of the floor. Lying there for a few moments longer she decided the best thing to do would be to rest and regain her strength, she would definitely need it if she was going to kill the Dark Prince.
Her sleep was hard fought, but she eventually succumbed to it.
Later that night Godwynn still sat on one of the logs lying around the fire, most of the others having made their way to their tent to avoid the coming storm, but a handful were still moving around, half drunk. Novus sat across from the Dark Prince. His friend was looking back at him, eyes the color of pitch. A concerned look on his face. "It seems you let your guard down in front of that High Elf, highness… surely you know better" he stated. Godwynn grunted at him…knowing he was right, it had taken everything in him not to kill her… that was, until he saw her fear.
He had killed many men and women, it did not matter to him, elf, human, druid, or dwarf, he had seen their fear…never had it affected him, if anything it had always goaded him further, to be harsher…like a predator after his prey. But to see it come from her…gave him pause, it was like a kick to his chest. He couldn't help but study her face at that moment. Her eyes the color of a raging fire…weren't meant to harbor that type of fear. The way her jaw set as she patiently awaited her fate. Stubbornly turning her chin up, as if she were uncaring of her fate in his hands, but her eyes gave her away… tears had made their way to the corners of her eyes…as she fought to keep them from falling. The purse of her mouth, and the quiver of her bottom lip. Caused him to feel something. And he didn't quite know what it was. He wasn't sure he liked it either…
Novus sat back watching his best friend, something had happened in that tent. And he wasn't completely sure what it was. At first glance it seemed the prince had swiftly put the Princess in her place, but now Godwynn seemed off, not his usual cruel self. Normally he would have made a hostage starve or had someone else bring them scraps. Not take them a plate of fresh food and fine Elven Brandy, and he definitely would not have brought it himself. This was out of Character. Was he just intoxicated? Or perhaps he treated their royal hostages a little better? They had never needed to take a royal hostage before, so it was a possibility.
No... That wasn't it… the Godwynn he knows would have brutally killed that woman just now, just for speaking down to him…let alone attacking him. If he allows her to live through the night, He pities her, for the prince will pass a harsh judgment on her in the morning when he is completely sober. Novus stood up as the rain began to finally come down…lightning flashing overhead… "My liege, I believe it's time we turn in for the night…we have a 2-day journey ahead of us" he called as he bowed to the prince and headed towards his tent. They would be rid of her soon, Novus thought to himself.
Godwynn stood up and stared back at the tent, he could see the shape of the royal hostage lying on the floor of his small shelter. Her breathing was even…she was asleep again. He brushed his hands off rubbing them on his mithril clad pants and walked to the entryway, his dark armor clinking with each step…the fire in the pit was starting to struggle under the rainfall, he watched it for another moment over his shoulder before ducking inside. He stood there silently and waited, watching again to ensure that she was indeed fast asleep, before removing his wet armor and damp under-clothing and lying down. He knew he had to distance himself from the she-elf, she would not be allowed to use her abilities to manipulate him. He decided she was using some unknown High Elven Magic to make him…feel whatever this feeling was, he conceded to himself that in the morning he would correct himself and put her in her proper place. Godwynn fell asleep shortly after coming to his conclusion.
As the storm raged throughout the night, Amora awoke as the temperature in the shadowlands began to drop. The cold damp ground had become most unbearable, all she had for bedding was a horse blanket under her, nothing to cover herself with. Her teeth chattering, Amora froze when the prince suddenly moved close and nestled into her, he was fast asleep, and unaware of what he was doing, she couldn't help but relax as his sudden warmth enveloped. He unconsciously covered her with the blanket he had kept for himself. She caught herself before she began to protest. It was too cold for her to risk losing the body heat he now provided that alleviated some of her misery.
Lying there so close to the prince she couldn't help but notice he smelled of Cedarwood, sweet amber, and the campfire. Warm and smoky…why do dangerous things seem so inviting? She thought. She knew this was all going to end badly. Her fate in the Dark Kingdoms, would be death, there was no getting away from it. She wouldn't last long as a High Elf in the shadowlands subjected to the evil here, and yet here she was, in the middle of the night, allowing the one who would most likely take her life, to embrace her while she was just trying to stay alive. Her reality suddenly hitting her…tears began to stream down her face. She sat silently crying to herself back to sleep…praying that her death was swift, whenever it finally came.