Chapter 10: Here comes the bride

16th century. Jamie's eyes fluttered severely before she opened them. Everywhere she turned to look, as either too dark or too bury. She held her head as it wouldn't stop pounding, and it was making her nauseous. Wait! Where was she? She forced herself to open her eyes wider. It couldn't be. It just wasn't possible. "The sleeping beauty is finally awake!" The voice that talked sounded unfamiliar and taunting. Jamie tried to reach for his weapon- a small dagger with a drawing of a dragon on it, but she couldn't. Her hands and feet were bound with the same rope. The rope was tied in a fashion that if she struggles, it just tightens more. Think Jamie....Think! Maybe her kingdom was invaded at night while she slept, but she wasn't a heavy sleeper. Chloroform! It explained all her symptoms: the headache, the blurred vision, and the memory loss. "Who are you? I demand that you release me at once!" She tried to keep her voice steady. Panicking was not going to make her situation less haunting. Jamie had consolation that by now, Ursla would have noticed that she had been kidnapped and her father would be alerted. She just had to endure for a little time until her father found her. "I said, release me at once! I am a princess. You have no right or standing to hold me against my wish. Return me to my father at once and plead for mercy." She could hear loud laughter as she spoke. She wondered whether they were looking at something amusing. But as the laughter persisted as she spoke, Jamie realized they were laughing at her. "Not here… you are not,ot" the ugly man with a scar above his eyes told her. "A princess, I mean. Jamie of Namura, you are King Alexander's prisoner.ner" Jamie felt her whole body stiffen. The next question she asked confirmed her fears. "W-where am I?" "Western hemisphere. Now, be a good little girl and be quiet. The devil of Aradale wants you to be brought to him without a scratch, and if you keep trying to free your Princess, Princess Jamie of Namura, you will leave a nasty bruise on your wrists" Jamie felt her eyes swell in tears, but she also felt rage. It was two powerful emotions. Jamie was sure that the king of Aradale had asked for her to be brought to him unharmed, so he could have a flawless trophy to display and a subject to inflict his perverted ways upon. Jamie threw up a little in her mouth at the thought of the old, disgusting, vile man touching her. She would sooner plunge a knife into his chest than let him have his Way with her. She looked at the part of her body that was within her eyes' vision range. She still wore her tunic and pants. Good! It would be easier to fight. The sound of bells and humans told Jamie that they were close to the castle. She took time to examine the place she was placed in. It was inside a big cage. The king probably made it for them. First, he drove her quiet, beautiful sister insane enough to run away, and now he was holding her captive. The blasted creature! The castle was bigger, almost three times bigger than Namura. Then the cage opened, and she was dragged out and forced inside the castle to a place she could only describe as the King's court. Then she saw him, standing near the throne with a scroll. He was a gnarly son of a tooth. His face was wrinkled and sagging. It appeared he had a bad vision as he brought the scroll so close to his face to read it. He wasn't pot-bellied; he was crouched over like he had a bad back. The ruthless king was so irritating that Jamie wanted to give him a little tap at the back of the neck to send him right to sleep. The type he won't be able to wake up from. "Your highness, it is in your best interest to send me back to my kingdom. Namura doesn't want war, but if you keep me against my will, there will be one." "What makes you so sure that your kingdom knows I have you? Namura could be on fire, right now, her Majesty." Jamie was startled; the voice that replied d her didn't come from the old man. It came behind her. She turned promptly to take a look, but then she realized too late that the ignoramus who had chained her also placed a rope around her neck, too,o and with the force she used to catch a glimpse of the voice behind, she had just cut off airflow to the rest of her body. But she didn't lose consciousness before she gazed upon the voice. It was simply not what she had imagined. Jamie blamed the lack of oxygen for her hallucinations. When Princess Jamie came to after passing out, it took a considerable amount of time for Jamie to realize where she was and what had just happened to her. She looked around slowly. She wanted to assimilate as much as possible into her new situation. Good, she was alone! She wasn't in the King's court anymore but in a bed in the most spacious, darkest room she had ever seen. Well, now she can plan her escape. If Namuraneeded him, he wouldn't be found wanting. She sat up and ran her hand over her body; She was clothed in a strange outfit, not like the one she was used to. "Try not to move so much." Jamie looked around in fear... twice. It was the type of voice that makes one curious to meet the owner. "Who are you? Show your face or I won't be held responsible for maiming you". Jamie searched her ankle for the tiny blade that he had placed there, but it was gone. Then one of the huge curtains was pulled apart, and strong rays of sunlight entered the chamber. "I am sorry, Milady. I tend to forget that not everyone has my perfect eyesight." The voice emerged from the shadows. Jamie looked around the chambers now with curious eyes, looking for possible escape routes. She didn't know whether the voice was sincere or insulting. First, the voice apologized, and then it insulted her eyesight. Jamie wished she was with her fighting stick to knock him on his ass. "You can look at me, Janesa". "It's just Jamie." Jamie turned here and for the first time, she saw him. She had been around fine,e me,n but this king was different. His short black hair was neatly combed to the back. He was almost as tall as her father, and Jamie was baffled; she had never seen anyone as tall as her father. Elliott came close but not quite. He looked like a sculpture with his chiseled jawline and distinctive straight nose. His eye color was confusing, it had a shade of both blue and green and...brown. Good God! They were hazel. He was on the bed now, moving closer to where Jamie was sitting. His high cheekbones looked man-made and too perfect, his lips delicious and tempting. Come on, Jamie! No sinful thought about him! When he was close enough to her, she pulled the smaller blade from his waist with so much precision and speed that the king did not see it coming. "Try not to move, his highness. The blade is pressed near your vital artery, one nick and you will be dead in less than a second." Jamie held the blade tightly to his neck, yet the man appeared unaffected and nonchalant. "This is no way to treat your husband and king, Janessa," he whispered so softly that it almost sounded like he was trying not to spook her. "What happened to my tunic and pants, his highness? Who undressed me? Might I advise you to choose your next words carefully?" "I asked for your tunic and pants to be burnt. And I should have a word with your father, don't you think? He shouldn't have let you run wild and dress in male clothing like a hog hag. You weren't even wearing a corset" "Ahhh? How did you know that? Did you spy on me when I was undressed?" The king laughed like she had made a joke. "Spying would take a considerable amount of finesse, I can assure you I don't have." "Then explain to me how you know I wasn't wearing a corset, King." "Because you are undressed, you think I would let someone else handle my new wife?" "I should kill you right this moment," Jamie said through her clenched teeth angrily. Then suddenly she was on her back with the king on top of her, with a huge blanket covering them.