John Chase led me back to the hall that had previously barred me from entering, in my heart anger boiled, my blood burned. Just before the doors to the Great Hall opened he pulled me by the waist possessively in front of everyone, his touch on me, even through the thick fabric of the dress, sending an electric current through my body. I felt my legs quiver under the dress and my heart raced again, as we walked through the room with eyes from everyone on us, I tried to free myself from him, but he pressed me closer to his body. Then suddenly, with a smile, he released me, leaving me disconcerted by his attitude.
With a curtsy he walked away, not before grinning at some inside joke.But what a hateful man!When he was gone I took a deep breath, still feeling his touch on my waist. This distraction didn't allow me to see in time another man approaching me, when I noticed it was already too late.The man was Dimitri Sidorov, the other wretch who was vying for my hand.I smiled politely at him. Dimitri was tall, not as tall as John Chase, he was broad shouldered and his hair was a shade of translucent blonde, his skin very pale, a characteristic of his native Mihan, where it was almost always winter, his eyes were icy blue. He was an attractive man, his beauty was overshadowed by his actions, he was a noble of Mihan who learned of the tournament from the princess of the kingdom of Shivia, his actions in the battles were brutal, and I couldn't even imagine if marrying him and leaving my country for the icy lands of Mihan.He curtsied to me, his eyes lingering on my breasts for too long and embarrassingly.— It is an honor to finally be able to introduce myself to the princess. My name is Dimitri Sidorov, her faithful servant.His kind words didn't match what I could see in his eyes, and what's more, that perception of the people who had been with me since always was alerting me again, because even if I was blindfolded, that energy he exuded... like a fog, as if he was all wrapped in a fog trying to mask his real feelings, and I felt a hostility emanating from him.It made me sick. And it was for this reason that for many years I preferred to stay in my quarters, every time I encountered soldiers who had some part in wars I was hit by their dark energies and I could never reveal this to anyone, princess or not, I could be accused of witchcraft. And in Shivia the witches burned at the stake.— It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Sidorov. - I said and before I could escape, he grabbed me pulling me to him suddenly.I tried to protest, but before I could alert the guards he whispered words in my ear, and suddenly, I froze.A wave of energy began to course through my entire body as soon as his fingers touched the back of my neck, I felt him jab me with the sharp tip of his nail, and then his command reverberated inside me:- Be still and listen. -His voice... inside my head... - Walk to your quarters in a few minutes. Say you're feeling sick, in case anyone questions his departure. Arriving at your quarters, there will be two guards at the door, call them in, keeping your back to the door, after that follow me without a word and obey me.While he was saying these things in my mind, he would lead me through a dance in a completely natural way. Dimitri danced with me twice and I had no control over my will, every time I thought about screaming and asking for help, a strong headache hit me making me want to squirm on the floor.- Stop trying to resist my commands, it will make everything more painful for you. - He whispered in my ear.He released me and walked away with a brief bow. I was completely paralyzed watching him walk away, I tried to scream, run or have any proper reaction to what had just happened, but to my horror, my body wouldn't obey. It was as if there was another will inside me and it commanded my steps.I walked around the room and greeted people, drank wine and after a while, said goodbye to everyone. I walked with my guards to my quarters, and once inside, I figured I'd be able to act normally, but I couldn't, I was still under his invisible command.I watched helplessly as I called my guards myself, drawing their attention to the room, pointing to a nonexistent rat under my bed. As they entered worriedly, with their backs to the door, I watched in horror as a figure surprised them from behind.The man quickly erased them without any sound, then faced me.— Write a letter now. - Then he ordered me every word of the letter. In it I said in my own handwriting that I was in love with Sidorov, that I was eloping with him to marry me because I couldn't bear the uncertainty of the tournament and the possibility of him dying.- Let's go now.My body obeyed him immediately, and I followed him out of the room, sneaking silently through the hallways. Until we stopped in front of a painting with the face of the ancient King Charles I, my father in his youth, Dimitri approached the painting and ran his fingers over it, then pushed it aside, revealing a small door. He slipped a key into the antique lock and turned it, with a swish, to reveal a staircase that descended into complete darkness.He grabbed a torch from the wall and took me by the arm, so we plunged into the darkness inside.Dimitri held me by the arm amid the flickering light of the torch in his hand. We quickly went down the stone steps until we reached what looked like a warehouse, then he let go of me and went straight to another door that with another key he opened, came back and he pulled me again. And we started walking again, this time down a long, cavernous corridor and even darker, I could hear the bugs and rats passing close by us. And if it weren't for the fact that I was being kidnapped, even supposedly for the rest of all I would be eloping to marry, I could care about the rats running in the dark. I tried to talk to him, I really tried, to force my mouth open and protest against it, but my body wouldn't obey me, I was just an observer in my own body, and that was terrifying. The panic of the whole situation starting to settle in my heart, my heart beating fast, my legs shaking... I wanted my body to react and fight with it, I assumed that it would be better to die here fighting for my h
Dimitri walked across the room and lay down on the bed, took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He stood there silently, eyes closed for several minutes as I watched him. - Then? Don't you want to ask any more questions, princess? - he asked, after the long silence. I walked over to the window, trying to keep some distance between us. - Why are you kidnapping me? - I'm not kidnapping you, you're running away with me because you're in love. I glared at him in frustration. - Okay, Princess, you don't have to make that sad face. I am kidnapping you to become my wife. - And why didn't you fight for my hand? There was only one man missing and you with that gift that makes people obey you, he wouldn't stand a chance. It's not too late to earn my hand honestly. - I said, the diplomat in me coming to the surface. He sat on the bed and faced me. - If John Chase were an ordinary guy, princess, I sure as hell wouldn't need to be kidnapping you. I took a few steps closer, sensing that t
I woke up with sunlight burning my face. When I opened my eyes, I saw that I was on the commander's horse, his strong arms were around me guiding the animal down a road. " Good thing you woke up, princess." he said behind me. " Where are we going? " " To the palace, of course. Don't worry, nobody knows you ran away. Your stepmother, Hera, the queen found your letter and banned the floor of your room, saying that you caught a very contagious virus, and that only her maid would take care of you. Of course, with Dimitri gone, I assumed he had kidnapped you, and this was confirmed when I saw the Queen's personal guard being secretly ordered to search outside the palace. " So, Hera had covered it all up... I didn't like her, but her smart attitude had saved me from coming back under great embarrassment. Then something bothered me. " What did he do to me? He jabbed his thumb into the back of my neck and since then I haven't been able to resist him." " Dimitri was born with what
When I returned to the palace I spent the next few hours listening to the Queen’s speech about how my lewd behavior could cost me and the image and reputation of the royal family, which thanks to the kindness of Commander Chase I had returned without causing further harm. I could try to tell her that I had actually been kidnapped, but she was unlikely to believe it, had no way of explaining what Dimitri Sidorov had done to me, it would look like witchcraft, which would only make it worse, She’d think I’d been stricken with evil and call priests to an exorcism, which I don’t need.So I was content to hear your endless complaints." I really hope that you kept your honor intact, because if you didn’t..." she stared at me looking worried and furious at the same time." My honor is intact." I assured, uncomfortable with the course of the conversation.She analyzed me for a few seconds trying to see if I was lying, finally said:" I hope you’re telling the truth, meet me in the healer’s ch
I looked at myself in the mirror in my wedding dress, it was long with a huge train, all white, studded with precious stones, the neckline was heart-shaped, and a tiara full of diamonds was on my head, my black hair fell like waves around me, some braids had been made in it. The whole day the palace was full of servants running from one side to the other, all busy with the preparations for the wedding of the princess and Commander Chase, the ceremony would be held in the south tower hall, that was where the church was, a priest would perform the ceremony, after the two signed the marriage contract everyone would go to the great hall where a big wedding party would be held. I really wasn't prepared for this, but what choice did I have? The door opened and the queen personally came to fetch me to the south tower, I stood up from my chair and looked at her. " Have you come to make sure that I won't run away on the way to the church Your Highness? " I pinned. " Does such a possibilit
I widened my eyes and my heart began to pound in my chest, immediately feeling the heat rise up my neck and burn in my cheeks, even though I didn't want to do it it was inevitable to look away from my own hands. Commander Chase had been straight with me in a way that no man ever had, and that was completely disconcerting. I shifted in my chair uncomfortable with his audacity, how dare he say that? I armed myself with courage and self-confidence and looked up to meet his eyes. " How dare you insinuate such vulgar things?" He pressed his hands further onto my thighs and now our faces were so close that his forehead brushed against mine. " I'm your husband now, I'm going to dare much more than that, princess." saying this he brusquely turned away and drank more wine, ran his hands through his black hair in a provocative way, then looked at me again. " You blush so easily?it's been so long since I've seen a woman do that." His gaze was a fascination that I couldn't explain, so lik
John held me even tighter against him, his look was amused, he was laughing because I was drunk." Get me out of here." I mumbled, holding on to him. He walked with me through the hall, and at every table we passed, all the guests stood up, and the men began to celebrate, many of them shouting that it was time for the consummation of the marriage, and laughing with satisfaction. Even though I was beside myself, I found it embarrassing. At the end of the hall John turned and waved to the king and queen, all eyes were on us and there were many voices around us. He held me by the waist supporting most of my weight and led me into the hall. When we left the hall and found ourselves in the empty corridor, with only the background of voices and music coming from the hall, he looked at me and still holding me asked: " Would you like to walk for a while in the night air? Or do you prefer to lie down?" " I prefer to lie down. " considering that I couldn't even walk. I wanted to protest, to
I was still in the crosshairs of that dark and intense gaze. I couldn't tell if Commander John Chase could see in my eyes, in the half-light of the room, the horror and shame that now filled my thoughts and heart, and if he could, what did it do to him?He took a deep breath." Don't you know what to say, princess?" asked Chase.I sighed in the face of the inevitable." How can I look into your eyes without seeing the blood you have spilled?"" And who did I spill this blood for?" asked the commander.His question was completely unfair, I didn't ask anyone to fight for my hand." How dare you try to put this blood on my hands? You killed for power!" I shouted at him.Suddenly, his hands pushed me backwards onto the bed, his weight crushed me on it, I gasped for breath, but then his mouth claimed mine again. This time more aggressively, his hands went inside my dress and that drew a horrified scream from me, would he really do that?I tried to resist, trying to turn my face away from hi