The King’s Prisoner

~Tori~ Being in prison was the least of my worries. It was the reason. It was my family, friends, and my job. Within the last four hours, I went from being Victoria Adwell, RN to Victoria Adwell, prisoner. I walked down a flight of stairs with two armed guards at my side. Only one light was on in the entire stairwell. My bare chained feet were greeted with the cold wet floor as they slowly dragged me towards my new living quarters. No one else would be down here, only me. When they told me I was prison, I never imagined that it would be in a dungeon. One guard took out his key and unlocked the door. The creaking sound of the cell door was really loud in my ears, causing me to wince. “Go in,” that guard demanded. I didn’t move and for that, I was aggressively pushed inside the cell by the other guard. My body met the floor and pain surged through me. I peeked up at them and their expressions were of anger. Who could blame them? Their king was dead. “The New King will determine your fate, murderer,” that same guard spat before something sparked in his eyes. He looked at me with a predatory glance before a smile displayed on his lips. “Perhaps, we can have some fun with the little commoner. She’s as good as dead anyway.” He was talking about me as if I was dirt on the bottom of his shoe. That guard came closer and tilted my head up to meet his brown eyes. “But you sure are a beautiful commoner,” he growled. He trailed his finger down my cheek and stopped at the top of my shirt where my cleavage was visible. My hands were chained so I couldn’t hit him. I felt as dirty as the blood that covered my skin. As he was about to go into my shirt, the other guard spoke. “Okay, Victor, that's enough. The king needs to see us now.” The other guard rolled his eyes and turned his attention back on me. “Until we meet again, murderer.” Closing and locking the door, they both walked away leaving me all alone in a cold and molded cell. I don’t know how long I sat there lost in my thoughts. I didn’t even know what time it was. I just knew that I was here for the wrong reason. I thought about what my family must be going through. I haven’t heard from them since last night, before everything went bad. My mind flashed back to the conversation I had with my sister, Giana. Flashback.. Four hours earlier “Tori, please? You haven’t been out in ages.” She pokes her lip out pleading with me to go to the bar with her and some of our best friends. “I really don’t feel like it, Gia. This is officially my first night off in days. I just want to relax and sleep.” My sister are very close. We’re both nurses in the ICU at the local hospital here in Adenville. “Oh come on! You have another four days off afterwards.” I rolled my eyes. “You’re really not going to give up until I agree.” She smiled knowing she was going to get her way as always. “It would really make me the happiest big sister in the world.” Reluctantly, I agreed. The next moment, loud music was playing and we’re taking shots after shots of alcohol. Present time.... The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs jolted my head up. I knew the new king was supposed to determine my fate. As people approached the cell, I could hear the voice of someone giving instructions. “I will speak to the murderer of my father.” Yep, that’s the new king. Although he wasn’t facing me, he tone alone was filled with anger. The guard nodded his head but stood near the new king as if I could overpower him. He finally glanced in my direction and for some odd reason, I felt myself becoming a little nervous. His stance screamed commanding. He frowned at me with eyes full of hatred and his jaw clenched. The one light slightly illuminated his face, but not enough for me to see. “Get up!” He commanded. I scrambled to my feet but didn’t come close to the cell. I stood there unsure of what to do. Do I bow before him? “Come closer, I want to look closely into the eyes of my father’s murderer.” I slowly walked towards him, the chains were sliding making a loud screeching sound. As I got closer, I started to see more of his features and damn he was one handsome man. His defined cheekbones had a dark stubble. His dark eyes squinted and he wrinkled his nose in disgust. We were as close as two people in love and the only thing that separated us was the cell. “Do you know who I am?” He asked with an a slight accent. It was a mixture of Adenville and another European country. I nodded my head, but that only made him angrier. “Speak, commoner,” he hissed. I blinked several times as I tried not to react to him. Then I realized that I’m the innocent one and he, King or not will not speak to me like that. I straightened my shoulders and looked deep into his eyes. “Your Majesty, I know exactly who you are and I didn’t kill your father.” ~Adrian~ I’ve always looked up to my father. He was a man of duty, man of honor, and wonderful father to my brother and I, and wonderful husband to my mother. So now that I’m staring at his murderer, I want nothing more than to avenge him. “So you claim that you didn’t murder him yet you were covered in his blood. You were standing over his body, so don’t you bloody lie to me!” My voice was authoritative, but she seemed unfazed, just staring down at her feet. The cell was the only thing blocking us and I wanted so badly to be on the other side. I wanted her to suffer the way my dad did. I wanted to see the color drained from her face as she begged for me to stop. She looked up at me, meeting my eyes. Unexpectedly, I was taken back by how beautiful she was. Her gray eyes held mine but behind them were emotions of something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Her black messy hair was all over her head, occasionally falling in her face. “There seems to be something wrong with your hearing, Your Majesty. I’ve stated several times to your incompetent guards that I. AM. A. NURSE and I was trying to help your father. He was bleeding badly and lost a lot of blood due to his injuries.” She shifted her position as the chains made a screeching sound in the ground. Her smart comment made the vein in my neck throb. I narrowed my eyes at her. Who does she think she is disrespecting me, the king and my royal guards? I could easily have her killed right now. I would not let anyone, especially her, get away with that. “In fact,” she continued. “If they would’ve just let me save him, then he would’ve been alive. Maybe your guards should be the one behind this moldy ass dungeon.” My fist tightened and I quickly grabbed her by her top as her body hit the cell. “Listen here little commoner, I can just have you killed right now for my father’s death. Be grateful that we’re breathing the same air,” I whispered harshly. I could feel her heart beating really fast and pleasure soared through me. She didn’t expect me to snap so quickly. That’s right, fear me. “You better control that pretty mouth of yours as your life is literally in my hands.” I let her go and she stumbled a bit. When she looked at me again, I saw a different expression. I raised my eyebrow and gave a smug smile. I turned to walk away, but not before I said one more thing. “Oh by the way, you will pay with death, I just get to choose when that day come.”