Chapter 4 - Death

~Arielle~ 

My eyes fluttered open lazily, taking in the morning glow that filtered through the raised curtains. This did not seem like my room, I thought. Not until realization hit me. My life had turned around in the span of a day.

Yesterday, I'd been dressed up to please the masked prince. I'd remembered his words–if I wanted to survive, I'd have to please him. My eyes trailed my legs beneath the sheet, seeing the various marks that had married my skin. 

Last afternoon…he'd taken my innocence, plunging into me without a care for whether I was hurt or not. What had happened  after? I couldn't remember. Had I slept throughout?

I bit my lip hard, my eyes coated with glaciers. 

The door swung open in the next second, and he walked in, his long legs striding towards me. 

“Ahh! Let me go!” I yelled, biting my lip even harder, tasting the blood that had seeped out. 

He pulled me out of the bed, tousled hair, swollen lips, swollen eyes, and a bunch of hickeys marking my skin. 

He'd dragged me through the hallway, the maids casting disgusted gazes at me. As though I'd done something wrong. 

“Let go of me!” I yelled, trying hard to yank the man's grip off me. 

“Shut up if you want to keep your tongue,” He threatened, his voice low as his footsteps stopped, his gaze turning to me. I shivered, meeting his gaze from beneath his mask. For a moment I actually believed he could do what he'd said. I could only keep shut and endure the humiliation. 

My head drooped, pushing back the tears that had started to glisten in my eyes. I wasn't going to cry. And I wasn't going to let him treat me like some garbage either, using my body whenever he wanted. 

Thud! 

My body hit the ground as the man tossed me to the floor, making me hiss at the sharp pain that had shot up in my waist. And then I raised my head. 

Along the elevated seats in a grand hall sat a row of old men and women, five in total. The elders. Their robes were lined with embroidered symbols, their faces stone-like, unreadable. I swallowed hard, hearing my own heart thud in my chest.

He strode forward without hesitation, his mask still hiding his face. And then, as if I were nothing more than a rag, he yanked me to my feet again and forced me to stand beside him. I hissed at his rough handedness. 

“She is the one,” he said simply, voice sharp but confident. The hall fell into a long, heavy silence. I kept my head low, every inch of my skin feeling too exposed under their gazes. I didn't want to be here. I didn't want this at all. 

“You know the rules, Prince Darion. A concubine chosen by a royal must possess either high breeding or rare beauty. This girl…” Her gaze swept over me slowly, with barely concealed disdain. Breeding? I was meant to be some breeding machine for some prince? 

Damnit! My breath caught in my throat. I wanted to scream—to tell them I hadn’t chosen any of this, that I’d been thrown into this world against my will.

“She is nothing special,” she added, making a little hope bloom in my heart. Perhaps if he just rejected me, I could return home? 

Please just reject me. I clutched the hem of my dress, praying silently in my heart. 

“She is mine,” he repeated firmly, the deep echo of his voice reverberating through the room.

 “And no one questions what I claim.” My heart dropped, and my stomach churned with something unfathomable. I could feel the sound of my own heart shattering in my own ears. 

“Then it is settled,” an elder said, jolting me from my reverie. And just like that, I'd been claimed by a man who'd never shown me his face–Prince Darion. 

…

Sinking myself into the bath tub that had been prepared for me, I felt the hot liquid caress my skin, making me sigh. This wasn't the cold I had at the maid's chamber last time. This one smelled so much of lavender and something I could not describe. Yet, my thoughts still drifted to my father. Perhaps if I could escape this place? My thoughts ran wild. 

Stepping out of the tub, I wrapped myself in a bathrobe before returning to the room. 

The maids dressed me yet again, giving me a whole breakfast of beef and some soup. I ate in silence, my utensils clanging as my eyes focused on the door. Perhaps I'd expected him to come and find me? I thought he would, but even after breakfast, he didn't come. 

Night time came once again, and I clad myself in the transparent night wear I'd been handed, wrapping my arms tightly as I settled in the bed. 

And then…the door clicked. Footsteps echoed. He got closer, and I felt the bed dip behind me. 

I gasped when the man yanked me towards him, his breath hot on my neck. 

“You smell so good,” he muttered, his lips trailing my neck, making me shiver. His hand slipped under my nightgown, making my stomach churn. His touch was different. Slow…intimate. Almost as though he'd changed in a span of hours. It wasn't like his hurried kisses from yesterday, it was tender. 

And then the torches flickered on, making me gasp. My head spun, catching sight of Prince Darion's mask in the doorway. I was stunned. If he was over there, then who…

 I whipped my head back to the man beside me, my eyes widening in shock.

“Brother, I must say…your woman must taste nice. Too bad you caught me before I got a taste of her,” he muttered, making my eyes bulge. 

“Get out,” Prince Darion ordered, and I caught sight of the way the man licked his lips, casting a sly smile before brushing his shoulders and walking out. I couldn't miss the coldness in Prince Darion's eyes once the man whispered something in his ear before leaving.

Then he turned to me, his eyes bearing into mine. My breath caught in my throat. I could feel the sense of impending doom rising in my chest. 

“Do you know what it means for my concubine to hook up with another man?” he asked, his tone ice,  and my gaze darted.  

“Death,”