Quest of the Bounty Hunter: Kidnapped

Klieria

After Klieria had safely wrapped up the potion in an old dress and locked it up in the chest in her closet, she pulled out her sword to polish it, like she did every evening. It only took a few swipes before the weapon was shining.

Sword in hand, she took a few steps across the room and walked through the secret passageway to Marie's room.

Klieria knocked politely and waited.

There was no response.

Klieria knocked again. Where would she be at this time besides her room? Dinner was over. Of course, she was the princess. She had the freedom to do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. But Klieria knew that every evening she'd write letters and look over charters at her desk. That's where she always was at 7:00 at night.

Klieria cracked the secret door open an inch and peered through into the room. All seemed normal until she saw the state of Marie's desk. The chair was knocked over a few feet from the desk. Her inkwell had tipped and spilled ink as black as the night sky all over her parchment and across the smooth mahogany. The feather quill lay peacefully on the ground, but it was bent in half.

Klieria gasped softly as she took in the scene. This definitely wasn't a mere accident. Something had happened. She had to alert the king immediately.

As quickly and quietly as she could, Klieria tucked her sword in her belt underneath her skirt into her waistband just in case something went wrong. She hurried out the door and down the hall towards the kings room.

Klieria was about to raise her hand to knock on the thick oak door when she heard shouting from within the chambers. She knew she shouldn't eavesdrop but the curiosity was overwhelming.

Klieria quietly slipped around the corner to where a large decorative shelf was positioned under a high window. It would be risky to climb it, but it was her only choice.

Carefully, Klieria stepped up each shelf in hopes that it wouldn't break under her weight and pulled herself up onto the top, just under the window. With her back against the wall, she slowly turned to face the window, without falling off or causing the shelf to tip over.

Klieria peered through the glass and widened her eyes as she saw the king standing in the center of the room shouting as someone cowered against the wall.

The king was supposed to be deathly ill in his bed. Had he lied to his whole kingdom? It appeared so...
Everything started to make more sense as the pieces fell together. Zaphina's fear of the king. The letter on Marie's desk. Klieria could feel dread rising up in her like a burning flame.

Klieria learned closer to make out the words the king was spitting out violently.

"I don't have time to wait for your stupidity! I need them now!" His hand flew out and struck the figure across the face. As they fell to the ground and King Ewill stepped back, Klieria saw that it was Marie!

Her hand flew up to cover the red mark as she crawled further back along the wall away from her father.
Her lips moved but Klieria couldn't make out the response.

The king obviously didn't like the answer though because stepped towards her again and kicked her face.
Klieria's blood boiled and her heart twisted with the urge to break through the window and attack King Ewill with every ounce of strength in her body. He had no right to abuse Marie!

Klieria could see now that Marie was crying and as she clutched her nose, blood was dripping between her fingers.
"You're a useless swine! I wish I had never had you! If you don't get those dragons here by next week, I will destroy everything you love. And everyone."

With that, he pulled her roughly to her feet, punched her face so hard it pushed against the wall violently, and kicked her towards the door.

"Get out of my sight!" King Ewill screamed as Marie dragged herself out the door.

Klieria couldn't get off the shelf fast enough. She slid off with a deafening thud as she hit the ground. She quickly scrambled around the corner to where Marie sat hunched against the wall, tears running down her face.

"Marie! I don't even know how to process what I just saw but, are you okay? Let me take you back to your chambers and clean you up."

"Klieria!" Marie whispered, "Please, no, don't help me. No one is supposed to see me like this."

"Marie, stop resisting. You're bleeding badly." Klieria insisted as Marie started to slowly sink to the ground.

"Klieria... please...don't tell anyone what you saw..." Marie whispered as she lost consciousness and fainted across the marble floor.

Oh my god... Klieria didn't know what to do with the situation she just witnessed. Should she tell Elizabeth? Could the king put a wrench in their plans?

Klieria glanced down at the unmoving form of the princess, bruised and battered and covered in blood. She carefully picked her up, surprised at how light she was, and headed back towards Marie's room.

After awkwardly maneuvering into the room, Klieria placed Marie softly onto the bed and hurried to the bathroom to get water and towels.

When she returned, Klieria began to wipe the blood off of Marie's nose and soaked the cloth in ice water to place across her injured eye which was already turning black and blue.

Once Klieria made sure Marie was comfortably in bed and her face looked better than it had five minutes ago, she sunk into a chair beside the bed. The events of the evening had taken a toll on her and with a weary sigh, Klieria settled in for a long night.