7

ISABELLE's POV

“No Belle. I don’t want to escape from this palace. I don’t feel trapped here and I don’t want to return to my previous life. I am happy here and you should be too”. She tells me. In her eyes I see honesty. I can see that whatever she is saying is true. She is really happy here.

“But why?” I ask her. I cannot understand why does not she feel trapped here. Why does not she want to escape?

“Are you asking why I am happy here?” She asks me. At her question, I nod my head a little.

“Who would want to leave when here you get clothes to wear, food to fill the stomach and you are not worried whether you will have food for the next day or not? You don’t have to worry about anything here.

I have no family, Belle. My parents died when I was nine years old. I have no siblings. I am alone in this world. Before coming here, my life was a mess and I was living in poverty. I hardly had clothes to properly cover me. I hardly earned money to have one loaf of bread for the day.

At nights in winter, I would freeze to ice. At night my mind was filled with thoughts of what will I eat tomorrow or will I have to starve. I had to starve for days. There was fear of death always lurking near me but look there is nothing like that here”. She tells me happily with a smile. In her eyes, I see satisfaction.

I am beyond shocked by her words. I am still trying to understand what she just said. My mind is unable to comprehend how someone can be like this. How can some value these things above freedom? There is nothing more valuable than having a life in which you can live according to your choice.

Even if you have no proper clothes to wear and no food to eat, at least your life is not controlled by someone else and you are not caught in a cage. You are allowed to roam. What she does not understand is that in exchange for these things, the king has taken her freedom. She cannot leave this palace.

“At least you had freedom”. I say to her with a bitter smile.

“Yes, there was but at the cost of living like a poor person with poverty. There is no point in having freedom when you suffer every day and wait for your death to come. Look, Belle. You should accept your life too. You should accept that now this palace is your home and you cannot leave it.

You are treated like a special person. You have a separate room and you have caught the king’s eye. What more do you want?” Ivy says in annoyance. I look her in the eye.

“Freedom. I want freedom and my life which I had before coming here”. I say to her with determination and hope. What I think will never change. I want freedom and nothing can change this. She sighs at my answer.

“It is futile trying to make you drop the idea of escape. I have brought food for you. You had not eaten anything since morning”. She says gesturing towards the tray filled with food in her hand. I look towards the mouth-watering food but I don’t feel like eating. My hunger has died.

“I don’t want to eat”. I tell her and look towards the other side of the room.

“If you will not eat then I will have to spend this night in the dungeon. It is Lillian’s orders. Please Belle, eat this”. I look at her sad face. Lillian knows my weakness and she knows that I will not let Ivy be in the dungeon because of me. She knows how to force me to do things that I don’t like. She always targets my kindness.

I take the tray from her hand. “Is it night?” I ask her while eating.

“Yes”. She replies. So, I was right. I was locked in this room the whole day.

After I ate, Ivy left my room, and this time she did not lock the door. It does not matter now. I don’t want to leave my room either. I don’t want to talk with anyone. Ivy’s thoughts have saddened me to an extent that I just want to sleep. I want to sleep to forget all this. I want to sleep to erase all my sadness. What is better than sleep to remove all the bad thoughts?

I blow out all the candles except one and then lay on my bed to sleep. Complete darkness scares me. I hate being in the dark, that's why I always leave one candle. I hope deep sleep soon engulfs me so that I am away from this world at least for some time. I can be free from this life. I wish to dream about the happy life I once had.

ERIC’S POV

I finish my dinner and bring the wine-filled goblet to my mouth. I look around me. I am in the great hall right now. All the servants are standing at a distance from me with their heads bowed. A smell of burning wood is lingering in this Great hall because of the fire hearth. Winter is approaching and soon snowfall will start. There is complete silence here just like how I like. I like this silent atmosphere. It brings peace.

I look towards the empty seat in front of me and my thoughts wander to my precious slave, my Belle. Soon she will be here having meals with me. I cannot wait for those days. I wonder what she would be doing this late? I did not visit her the whole day. There was so much work to do as I had returned after two years.

I look toward Lillian. I think this is the perfect time to see her. My eyes are dying to see her beautiful face. My fingers want to touch her soft skin. I want to be in her presence.  

“Everyone leave! Lillian, you stay!”. I ordered. All the servants bow their heads and leave the Great hall. Lillian has become sacred. She must be thinking why have I stopped her. I gesture with my finger for her to come a little closer. She hesitantly takes a step towards me and then stops.

I look towards the goblet in my hand and twirl it a little. “Before leaving for the war I had given you responsibility. Have you taken care of her or not?” I ask her, still looking towards the goblet. I look at her and she is skating with fear. She is looking toward the floor. Her shaking with fear indicates that there is something wrong. I will kill her if something has happened to her.

“Y-Yes my king. I have taken full care of your possession. She is exactly like you left”. She speaks. Her voice is filled with fear. Her answer made me smirk. I cannot wait to see her.

“Where is she?” I ask Lillian.

“As it is quite late so she will be in her room, your majesty”. I nod. She must be sleeping right now. I should visit her.

I stand up and start going towards the Harem. “Come with me”. I ordered Lillian.

“As you order, my king”. She says obediently and starts coming behind me. I feel the excitement inside me as I take steps toward her room. How much I waited for this day.

I enter the harem and silence surrounds me. There is complete silence here. All the slaves are sleeping and expect a few candles there is no light. I pass the harem and go towards Belle’s room.

“You stay here”. I order Lillian and open the door of Belle’s room. When I enter the room, I see complete darkness. My eyes scan the room and then falls on the bed. There is a candle lit near the bed. My eyes fall on Belle’s face and I feel something inside me. I feel as if my heart started beating. I quietly take steps toward her and stand beside the bed on which she is sleeping. I don’t want her to wake up.

She is looking like an angel. Her face is glowing in this dim light. Nothing has changed. Her beautiful hair is sprawled on the pillow. How can someone be this beautiful? How can God bless someone with beauty like this? I am mesmerized by her beauty. I want to claim her and make her mine but this should be special for her. Our first night together should be special. I caress my finger lightly on her soft glowing skin.

“I will make you mine soon Isabelle. Soon you will be in my chambers with me”. I say to her as I caress her cheek.

As I was looking at her face, I noticed her dried tears. I smirk at this. “Soon you will be under me begging me in pleasure when I will be claiming you with passion. You should save your tears for that night because I will not stop and claim you the whole night. I will continue to claim you until I feel satisfied”. I say to her kissing her cheek.

As I looked more at her, I saw some differences in her. She has gotten weak. Has Lillian not given her food?

I look at her one last time and then leave her room. Lillian lowers her head when she sees me. So, her fear was not meaningless.

“Why has she gotten so weak? Have not you given her proper meals?” I ask Lillian angrily.

“No-No, your majesty. She has proper meals. I- I don’t know about how this happened but-“. She says with fear frantically.

“From now on, take care of her, or I will cut your limbs”. I order her and was going towards my chambers when Lillian stopped me.

“My king, if you want, I can send the mistress. She will help you to relax”.  Lillian asks. A smirk appears on my face. Yes, this is a good choice.

“Send her”. I order and start going towards my chambers.

……………………………