Chapter 2: Till Kidnapping Do Us Part

Emilia's POV 

Something scratched my cheek. 

I reached up without opening my eyes, expecting to find the soft edge of my silk pillow, but my fingers closed around something dry and rough instead. I jerked my hand back and opened my eyes, only to find myself staring at a ceiling made of crooked wooden beams. 

For a moment, I simply stared, too confused to make sense of what I was seeing. Then the smell reached me, thick with dust, old wood, damp straw, and something sour that I really did not want to identify. 

I pushed myself upright, and my head immediately started pounding. I looked down at what I had been sleeping on. 

It was not a mattress. 

It was a pile of straw. 

Actual straw was poking through my wedding gown and sticking to my hair. 

My mouth fell open. “No.” 

I brushed at my dress, only making more straw cling to the expensive fabric. I looked around the small, filthy room and finally understood. 

Someone had kidnapped me. 

The thought had barely settled in my mind when I heard voices outside the door. 

"It's been almost a day, man." The voice sounded worried. "She hasn't eaten anything since we brought her here. You should probably give her something." 

“She is fine.” 

I knew that voice. Deep and rough, the same voice that had said I take you as my wife in front of the nobles. 

“Kylo, come on. You should feed her.” 

Kylo. 

The name sounded familiar. I was sure I had heard it somewhere before. 

I searched my memory for a few seconds before it finally clicked. A hallway outside the throne room, only a week before my wedding. I had been passing by when I heard Father speaking to Sir Rowan. 

“Double the guards around Emilia. There is a man named Kylo moving through the villages. He is leading a rebellion. He has been gathering people against the crown.” 

I had barely thought about it afterward. Father talked about rebels all the time. There was always someone trying to challenge his rule. 

“She is not going to starve in a day.” 

“That is not the point. You said nobody gets hurt. Starving someone counts as hurt, you know that, right?” 

"Dane." 

"I am just saying." 

“And I am just saying she is not my problem.” Kylo’s voice hardened. “Her father starved half the northern villages last winter, and nobody in that palace missed a single meal because of it. She can wait like everyone else had to.” 

“She is not her father.” 

“She is his daughter. That is close enough.” 

My face burned. 

How dare he speak about my father like that? Father had ruled this kingdom for years, and I had always known him to be a good king. He had never been cruel to me, and I had never heard of him treating his people the way Kylo described. 

Of course, a rebel would say whatever he needed to make himself look like a hero. Accusing the king of starving his own people was certainly a convenient way to justify a rebellion. 

I pushed myself to my feet and pulled a long pin from my hair, wrapping my fingers around the sharp end. If Kylo wanted to treat me like an enemy, I would not walk out there completely defenseless. 

I crossed the room and reached for the door, but it swung open before I could get my fingers around the handle. 

I stumbled back a step. The man in the doorway stopped just as suddenly, and for a second we both stood there staring at each other. 

I had only seen his face for a few seconds when I lifted my veil. Three seconds, maybe less. 

But somehow, that had been enough. 

There was no way I could forget that face. 

Now it was standing in front of me again, except this time, he was holding a wooden bowl in one hand, steam curling from it. 

“You,” I said. 

His gaze dropped to my clenched fist, then shifted to the pin between my fingers. One eyebrow lifted. 

"You planning to stab me with that?" 

“You kidnapped me.” I said it slowly because I wanted every word to land. “You actually kidnapped me. Wow. Do you have any idea how stupid that is?” 

“Hello to you too, Princess.” 

“It’s Your Highness.” I lifted my chin, ignoring the straw caught in my hair. “If you’re going to address me, at least show some respect.” 

Kylo raised an eyebrow. “Your Highness.” He dipped his head in an exaggerated bow. “Better?” 

Not even close. The way he said it made the title sound like an insult, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing he'd gotten under my skin. 

He stepped into the room, and a second man appeared behind him. He was a little on the heavy side, with round cheeks and a worried look on his face. Unlike Kylo, he looked almost uncomfortable being here, as if he already felt sorry for me. 

This had to be Dane, the man I had heard Kylo talking to outside. 

“Where am I?” I demanded. 

“Safe.” 

“That is not an answer.” 

“It is the only one you are getting.” 

“Fine.” I lifted my chin. “Name your price.” 

Kylo blinked. “What?” 

“Gold. That’s what this is about, isn’t it? So tell me how much you want.” I waved the hand holding the pin, making Dane flinch. “Ten thousand crowns? Fifty thousand? My father will pay by the end of the week. Let me go, and I’ll make sure the guards only hang you instead of doing something worse.” 

The silence that followed lasted long enough for me to wonder if I had misjudged him. 

Then Kylo laughed. It was short and flat, with nothing friendly in it. 

“Hang me instead of something worse,” he repeated. “That is generous.” 

“I am being reasonable.” 

“You are being something.” He set the bowl down on top of a crate with more care than I expected. “You actually think I want your gold?” 

“Everyone wants gold.” 

“Is that what they teach you in that palace?” 

“It is what I know.” I looked him up and down. “Father said you were leading a rebellion. I suppose your little rebellion needs coin too. Is that what this is? You steal a princess so your little army can eat for a month?” 

“Little army.” He huffed out a breath. “Sure.” 

"Do not laugh at me." 

“I am not laughing at you.” He leaned a shoulder against the crate. “I am trying to figure out if you are always like this or if the straw is getting to you.” 

"Excuse me?" 

“Nothing.” His eyes flicked toward the door, where Dane was still hovering, then came back to me. “You know what you should be doing right now? Saying thank you.” 

I stared at him. “Thank you.” 

“Yeah.” 

“For kidnapping me.” 

“For not marrying him.” He leaned a shoulder against a crate and shrugged, completely relaxed. “The prince could not even fight to protect himself yesterday. Three of my guys walked into his room, and he sat down in the chair on his own. A man like that is not going to protect a wife. You should be thanking me for that alone.” 

It took me a moment to process what he had said. Then I tightened my grip on the pin. “What did you do to Matt?” 

“Nothing. I let him go a few hours ago.” 

“Nothing,” I repeated. “You kidnapped a prince, and you did nothing.” 

I took a step toward him, my anger finally drowning out every warning in my head. 

“Do you know how long I sat in that dressing room waiting for a groom who never came? An hour. I thought he was late. I thought he was being careless.” My voice trembled, and I hated that it did. “And all that time, you were the reason.” 

I swallowed, fighting to keep my composure. 

“You took the prince, you ruined my wedding, and then you took me. All because you think the crown owes you something?” 

“The crown does owe people something.” 

“Then demand it like a man instead of hiding behind smoke and masks.” I lifted my chin, refusing to back down. “A real leader wouldn’t need to kidnap a bride just to make himself heard. And what exactly has your rebellion accomplished? Since it began, soldiers have been marching through villages that were peaceful before. You call it a cause, but all I see is innocent people suffering because of your fight.” 

His expression went still. 

Then he moved. 

I barely saw him cross the space. One second he was standing near the crate, and the next my back hit the wall hard enough to knock the breath from my lungs. One of his hands braced against the wall beside my head while the other closed around my shoulder, not squeezing, but holding me firmly in place. The pin slipped from my fingers and landed somewhere in the dirt. 

His face was close. Too close. I could feel the warmth of his breath against my skin, and the muscle in his jaw jumped as he clenched his teeth. 

“Kylo,” Dane said quietly from the doorway. 

“Stay out of it.” 

“Man, maybe...” 

“Dane.” 

Dane went silent. 

I pushed against Kylo's chest, but he barely moved. “Let go of me." 

“You want to know something?” His voice was low now, and somehow that was worse than shouting. “You talk about suffering like you have ever had to watch it happen. You have never stood in a village with empty houses and hungry children because your father took everything they had. You have never watched people beg for food while the palace keeps its tables full.” 

My throat tightened. “I do not...” 

“You think I am dragging people into my fight?” His jaw flexed. “They were already suffering long before I showed up. I am the reason some of them are still alive.” 

I stared at him, unable to think of anything to say. 

“So no, I do not care that you are angry about your wedding. I do not care that you think I ruined your life. And I sure as hell do not care what you've been told about me.” 

His eyes flicked toward the bowl on the crate before returning to me. 

“I could have left you here without food. I could have treated you the way your family treats people who have nothing. I chose not to. Clearly, I should have.” 

I was breathing hard. My shoulder ached where his hand held me, and my eyes were stinging, but I would rather have died than let him see that. 

The wall was cold against my back. His hand was warm against my shoulder. I focused on that instead of everything else, because I did not know what else to do. 

I was a princess. I was not supposed to stand there and let some stupid rebel make me feel small. 

So I lifted my eyes and held his. 

“I will not eat anything from a stupid rebel,” I said. 

Something flickered across his face. It was quick, and I could not read it. 

Then his hand dropped away from the wall. 

He stepped back and picked up the bowl from the crate. For one stupid moment, I thought he might throw it at me. Instead, he just stood there, staring at it with a look of pure disappointment. 

“Fine,” he said. 

“Fine.” 

“Starve, then.” 

“I will.” 

“Great.” 

He turned and walked out. Dane gave me one long, uncertain look before following him. 

The door slammed shut behind them, making me flinch. 

I stayed where I was, pressed against the wall, listening to my own heartbeat. My hands were trembling, so I pressed them flat against my skirt until they finally stopped. 

Outside, boots scuffed against the gravel. Then Kylo's voice came through the wooden boards, loud enough for me to hear every word. 

“I told you. I told you she would be like that.” 

“She is scared, man.” 

“She is a spoiled, ungrateful, stuck-up little...” 

“Kylo.” 

“She is a damn princess, Dane. That is the whole problem. They are all the same.” 

“You could have just left the bowl and walked out.” 

“And let her throw it at my head?” 

There was a pause before Dane spoke again, his voice quieter this time, almost careful. 

“You know she is not just a hostage, right? Legally, I mean. You said the vows. The officiant made it official. In the eyes of the court...” 

“Don’t.” 

“I am only saying, she is technically your...” 

“Dane. I swear to God. Do not finish that sentence.” 

Their footsteps slowly faded outside. 

I barely noticed. 

My mind drifted back to the wedding, replaying the veils, the vows, and the officiant declaring us husband and wife, everything I had tried so hard not to think about since waking up in this place. 

And Kylo standing where Matt should have been. 

“No. No, that cannot be...” My legs gave out, and I slid down the wall, staring blankly at the dirt beneath me. 

I had been kidnapped by a man who had dared to challenge my crown. 

And somehow, that man was now my husband.