Ten meals go by, and he hasn't visited me once. The lack of sunlight is making me irritable, and the guard remains stoically silent. My leg wound is healing, but slowly at a rather annoying mundane speed. I sit up, grab one of the books the guard has been bringing in, but they all seem dull. Time passes, and another guard enters with a bucket of water. Finally, some fresh water. He places it in the corner of the room where I've been doing my personal hygiene. He hands me a white nightgown and a piece of fabric, the only clothes I have now. I look at the corner where the previous gowns hung—five of them.
If I bathe after every three meals, I've been here for about 5 to 10 days, assuming they give me three meals a day, though with my lack of activity, they might be giving me just one so I can assume it has been 15 days max. I finish my bath and put on the nightgown, then sit and wait for my dinner, but nothing comes. The guard opens the door, signalling for me to move out. I step outside into a corridor where four more guards join us. We walk silently through the hallway until we reach the top of a staircase. I look up and see the moon, a half-moon tonight. I wish I had noted the moon the day I was taken to have a sense of time.
We walk quietly behind the guards and arrive at a large door. I'm announced not as Princess Daniella but as a guest. ''your guest is here,'' says one of the gaurds as he pushes the door open. I walk in and see the King of Cai, Mako lying on his bed, separated from the rest of the room by a net. He waves at the guards, and they leave, shutting the door behind them. I stand in the middle of the room, wondering why they brought me here.
"You are a very beautiful woman," he says, his voice chilling. I make a face of disgust. He gets up and walks toward me, forcing me to back up a little. His face is wrinkled, but his body is built like that of a young man. If it weren't for his gray hair, I couldn't tell his age. He grabs my face and pulls me in.
"Your father refused my proposal to marry you. I sent my son, and you still rejected him," he says, squeezing my cheeks tighter. I push him off slightly, creating some distance between us.
"A feisty one," he says with a cocky smile. He grabs my hand and pulls me close, wrapping his hand around my waist and holding me tightly. He scans my body and face with a lustful look. He slowly unravels the string on my shoulder holding my nightdress together. I grab the unraveled side firmly, avoiding his gaze. He chuckles as he lifts me off the ground, throwing me over his shoulder and onto his bed. I try to scream, but the collar around my neck stifles my voice. I try to ack away as quickly as possible, but he pulls me in.
Fear and disgust twist in my stomach as the king's grip tightens around me. His cold, calculating eyes bore into mine, and I fight the rising panic within me. Despite my efforts to resist, I feel helpless and vulnerable.
"Stop protecting you innocence and just enjoy," he says, his voice dripping with menace. He climbs onto the bed, pinning me down with his weight. I struggle, trying to push him off, but his strength far surpasses mine. Tears of frustration and fear well up in my eyes. I need to find a way out of this. My mind races, searching for any means of escape, any sliver of hope.
He grabs my hands and pins them above my head, his weight pressing down on me. His other hand slides down to my knees, slowly lifting the hem of my nightgown. He stops for a moment, his gaze locking onto mine.
Panic surges through me, and I want to scream. This isn't happening—this can't be happening. "No," I manage to say, my voice trembling.
"Relax," he says, his voice cold and unsettling.
Desperation and fear cloud my thoughts. I struggle against his grip, trying to push him away, my heart racing. The gravity of the situation hits me with full force.
Just then, the door bursts open, and a figure storms into the room. I close my eyes to the sound of a gunshot. I keep them shut until someone pulls me off the bed. "Daniella, we need to go now," says Prince Malo. I look down and see the king's body on the floor. He looks up at Malo with anger.
"This is treason!" the king yells, but Malo doesn't pay attention. He grabs my hand, and we race down the corridor, with the sound of countless footsteps following behind us.
I look up at Prince Malo and point at the collar. "Sorry," he says, "I almost forgot." He grabs my neck and pulls the collar off me as if it was just a thread on my neck. Slowly, I feel the magic return to me, but my voice is still absent. We continue running as guards chase after us, their footsteps echoing through the halls.