The Cruel Prince's Captive

Chapter 8

He pulled her by her arm roughly and dragged her from the party and towards his chambers. He threw her onto his bed and just stood looking down at her.

“You won’t touch me!” she hissed at him, now finding her fight, she had it burning inside of her, she will fight him as hard as she could.

“No, I won’t, I have no desire to, you might be beautiful, but you still disgust me,”

“Well good! The feelings mutual!” she replied, and he laughed.

“Not possible,” he said.

“Your nature disgusts me!” she added and he made no attempt to respond, he merely walked away from her and to his table where he proceeded to crush up the herbs he would use for his remedy. She watched him and he appeared uneasy on his feet, was he drunk? He put a hand to his head groaning in pain and then suddenly he began to fail, he tried to steady himself on his desk but collapsed to the floor. Tolanda quickly stood and went to him to see if he was breathing. Whatever affliction ailed the prince had clearly come on strong in that moment before he could even get his medicine. She found he was still breathing but unconscious. This was her chance, she hurried to the door and peered out of it for any sign of guards, she might be shackled but she would certainly try and escape or at least hide so she could get some reprieve. Then she heard the prince groan and turned to see him writhing in pain. She felt a pang of guilt as she thought to leave him there on the floor. He was coming to and she tried to fight the urge to help him, even though he had been so cruel to her, she did not like seeing anyone suffer. He reached up to his desk and tried to pull himself to his feet, but the movement seemed to cause him more pain. She made her decision, knowing she would regret it later and she returned to him to help him up. He was helpless right now and allowed her to aide him; she led him to his bed where she helped him into it.

“I will prepare the herbs, how do you do it?” she asked him, and he was wincing from the pain he suffered.

“You’ll do it wrong,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Not if you instruct me correctly,” she said.

“Why would you help me? You could have escaped.” He asked and she sighed.

“I thought about it, but I couldn’t leave you suffering, even if you are a vile man.” She replied, her voice strong.

“Iefyr is right about you, you are an innocent… a good person…” He muttered, “Tolanda?” he asked seeming a little dazed and not quite himself, “I never had any intention of forcing myself upon you. I do not do that.” He said, his voice fading as he did and then he closed his eyes losing consciousness once more. Tolanda looked at him a moment as he slept, he had been so cruel to her, humiliating her, implying he would rape her and now in his weakened state he decides to say he would never do such a thing. Was it because he feared she would try and kill him now that he was helpless, or had he truly meant it?

“Prince Ievos,” she whispered but he did not respond, he looked so vulnerable right now, she thought. She probably could succeed in killing him, but she could not take a life, she knew that now since she could not even leave him to suffer.

“Tolanda…” she heard “Please don’t… leave me…” he murmured. “This is… a really bad turn…”

“I will be here for when you need your medicine,” she said reluctantly reassuring him.

“Th-thank you,” he managed before he once again was rendered unconscious by his affliction. Tolanda felt guilty at previously considering his death, although he had been abhorrent towards her since she had been given to him. She decided she would also sleep for now; she would check on him in the night in case he woke and needed his healing herbs. The blanket was gone from her bed, so she was sleeping in the cold once more. She went to the prince once in the night feeling his forehead and finding that he was scolding to the touch, so she proceeded to dampen a cloth to ease off the heat with cool water from his basin. She dabbed his forehead; his face and neck then moved to his chest and blushed a little although he did not stir as she cooled him. She looked at the prince as he lay completely incapacitated and vulnerable. His hair was wet partly from being overheated and from the water of the cloth she used. He was sleeping with a frown, likely due to the pain and she wondered if she would regret having looked after him, he had done nothing to deserve this. When he was better, would he simply return to his usual temperament and threats? She cursed herself for her need to care for the sick, she always would look after her father or brother when they fell ill, it was almost instinct, even if she was also unwell, she would care for them. She returned to her bed once more and tried for a little more sleep.

                                                                                        ~~

During the late hours of the night, Tolanda stirred when she felt a blanket being placed over her and it was already warm, her shivering stopped. She realised this was her opportunity to thank the servant who was looking after her and she opened her eyes, but nobody was there. She looked over to where the prince slept to see him climbing back into bed. Had he placed the blanket? Had he also placed it the previous night? She was confused as to why he would offer any form of kindness when in waking hours he had been so cruel.

“Prince Ievos,” she said, and he looked over to her. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“You showed me a kindness I felt I should repay it,” he stated, the moonlight was shining through the balcony and reflected off his silvery white hair.

“What about the night before?” she braved, and he looked away.

“That was a servant,” he muttered, and it was confirmed, he had given her the blanket he could not meet her eyes at this, he lied.

“Thank you,” she said again, “Prince Ievos… this affliction of yours, does anyone know why you suffer so?” she asked him.

“My mother thinks it’s my elven side fighting my Dragon side. She has always encouraged me away from accepting the half of me that is dragon. She loathed my father. It was an arrangement of politics their marriage. He was the dragon prince and my mother princess to the elven. It was an alliance, but that alliance died with my father. It was soon after their marriage that both were elevated to king and queen over elven and dragon kingdoms. Although, my father fell in love with another elven woman, Iefyr’s mother.”

“And does Iefyr suffer from the same affliction?” she asked.

“He has showed no signs of having inherited the dragon traits,” Prince Ievos said. “Both my brother and I, you may have noticed, are a little larger in build than most other elves. That is inherited from our father. The dragon race, at least the race my father belonged to, are large of build as they are a warrior race,” She was relieved Iefyr didn’t suffer the same pain as his brother but she did feel a little sympathy for the prince despite his cruel treatment of her.

“I have never seen a dragon before,” Tolanda muttered.

“You are a simple village peasant of course you haven’t,” he spat.

“What makes them a dragon if they look human?” she asked him.

“They don’t look human, Tolanda, I don’t know where you got that notion. My father had horns on his head, he had the ability to use fire from his hands and when he changed into a dragon, he could breathe that fire.”

“That’s amazing,” she whispered.

“I suppose it would seem so to your kind.” He said and she did not respond as she felt she may be pushing her luck with the prince if she tried to continue this conversation for too long.

“Do you need your medicine?” she asked him.

“No, the pain has subsided,” he replied, and she lay her head back down on her bed.

“Good, I’m glad,” she said, and he appeared surprised and looked to her leaning forward on his own bed.

“Throughout my life I have never experience true kindness, my mother is cold, she tried to love me but I believe she is incapable, and others do things for me out of obligation and not out of kindness,”

“Am I supposed to feel sympathy for the poor, lonely prince?” Tolanda asked bitterly.

“It is not your sympathy I seek, Tolanda, yours is the first kindness I have experienced, you had the opportunity to escape your enslavement, to escape me and yet as I suffered you remained to help me.”

“Does it confuse you so much, prince Ievos?” she asked lifting her head again.

“It does,” he replied.

“I simply do not like to see people suffering,”

“You are a kind soul,” Ievos smiled softly she could see it from the moons shine beaming through the window casting its glow over him.

“There is enough evil in this world… I am not some simple peasant girl who knows nothing of the world. I do know there is too much evil, I would hate to contribute to that evil.” She said.

“I am grateful for your kindness… the pain is… unbearable at times,” he replied.

“Would the pain stop if you embraced your dragon side?” she asked him, and he shot her darkened eyes.

“I think that my mother would kill me in a fit of rage. She despises my father and his dragon race.”

“If your father was a dragon, how is it that humans came to kill him?” she asked.

“I don’t know,”

“Would it be worth seeking out your father’s people? They may be able to help you,” Tolanda suggested forgetting her previous caution about pressing the matter.

“Again, my mother would probably kill me,”

“What if she didn’t know?”

“And how do you suggest I lie to my mother?” he snapped.

“I don’t know.”

“Another question, how do you suggest I disguise myself from the humans I may meet along the journey?”

“How do your people usually do it?”

“We don’t, we venture into the human forest because hunting is good there but aside from Iefyr our hunters are careful and do not usually cross paths with your kind and when we do the human is killed.”

“That is a harsh law,”

“Yes, I suppose it is,”

“If you hid your ears under a hood, wore plain clothes and kept to less used roads, do you not think a simple human would be fooled?”

“Possibly,” he said thoughtfully.

“You hurried me out of that party. You felt that turn coming on, didn’t you?” Tolanda asked.

“Yes, and it came on too fast and too strong. I fear it is getting worse,”

“Is that why you are so cruel? Because you are scared?” she asked and he glared at her, lacking the energy to properly scold her insolence.

 “I must rest now.” He said and she agreed he had been unwell and needed his strength.