Royalbound

Chapter Three

THE DARK ROOM filled with the stench of dried up blood and rust.

Rose wrinkled her nose, the smell nauseating. She felt the ropes fall from her hands before she was tossed into a cell. She staggered but caught herself before she fell. She heard the cell close and lock behind her. Quickly, she tore the cloth from her lips and stomped towards the men.

"You can't keep me here!" Rose shouted, "Release me this instance!"

The men look at each other before they burst out in laughter. Rose gaped at them. How can they be laughing? She was being serious! "That's for the prince to decide." One of the men said. He had a huge scar that crossed his right eye. He leaned towards her, the bar only separating them. "A piece of advice hun. Spill the truth if you don't want to stay here any longer. Who knows, the prince might pardon you and set you free in one piece."

Anger rose within Rose. Why do these people keep demanding what she doesn't know?

"I didn't do anything wrong!" Rose cried out. She raised her hands in exasperation. "I don't even know where this place is or who you people are. So just let me go please." She begged, trying to reason with them.

The man with the scar sighed and nudging his buddy, "C'mon let's go man. We don't have all day here." The other man nodded before they both walked away, leaving her alone in the room.

"Where do you think you're going?" She called out. "You won't get away with this you bastards!" The sound of the door closing echoed through the empty space.

Rose slumped to the ground. There was no hope of getting out of this. She couldn't help but wonder what they were going to do to her. Would they torture her? Cut off her limbs and feed them to the hounds? A shiver went through her spine. She had to get out of there.

She patted her jeans to check if she had anything she could use. A phone maybe. But to her disappointment, she felt nothing.

Rose placed her head between her hands, feeling defeated. "Dammit!" She shouted, letting out a string of curses.

"You really have a foul mouth, don't you?" Rose jumped back, startled at the voice.

She looked up to see a beautiful young woman emerging from the shadows. She wore a red dress which clung to her figure. Her black hair fell around her oval face in waves, stopping at her shoulders. Her red stained lips turned up in a smirk. Rose gaped at her beauty. She must be a temptress. No way the men here are not falling to her feet.

"You can stop ogling me love. You're starting to drool." Chuckling, the woman walked towards her.

Rose moved her hands to wipe her mouth but found nothing there. The woman laughed this time, the velvety sound filling the space. "So gullible. You fell for that."

Rose scowled, "Who are you? How did you get here?" She did not recall hearing the sound of the door after those men left.

The woman smiled, revealing her white set of teeth. "Revealing myself will spoil all the fun." She twirled her hair around her finger. Bending down to my head level, she said, "The question you should be asking darling, is why am I here?" Her grey eyes pierced through mine.

Something about her stare made Rose feel uneasy. It was like she was looking into her soul, finding pieces of her and collecting them. Rose couldn't keep up and shifted her gaze to the wall, feeling unscathed.

"What do you want?" Rose finally spoke, not meeting her gaze.

"Now we're talking." Rose heard her say, "You see Rose, what I want from you is not much. Just for you to do a simple task."

Rose faced her, eyes widened in shock. "How did you know my name? I never mentioned it to you." She asked, demanding for an answer.

"Shush! Don't interrupt me, I'm still talking." The woman growled at her, almost sounding inhuman.

Rose's mouth clamped shut on instinct, eyes shifted to the ground. Rose heard her say something under her breath but couldn't pick the wordings.

She cleared her throat. "As I was saying. I need you to do a simple task for me. This would guarantee you your freedom." Rose perked up at the sound of that. "Now, now dear. Don't get too excited. You haven't heard the rest." She chuckled. "The kingdom will be coronating the next king in three months," She said, "the crowned prince of course to take the place of his father, the current king."

Rose titled her head in confusion. Kingdom? Which era do these people live in? Rose thought. The woman rose her eyebrow, daring her to interrupt. Rose bit her lips, remaining quiet.

She continued, "But we don't believe he is fit to be king." Who's the we? "Unfortunately, he's first in line to the king, making him next to the throne." She looked down at me.

"So what is my role in all of this?" Rose asked, curious as to where this was leading to.

The woman smiled, giving Rose a bad feeling. "This is where you come in, child. The prince is interested in you. He might not seem that way, but he is." She sniggered. "So the plus side is that he wouldn't kill you off." Rose scoffed.

Like that is supposed to make me feel better. She thought.

The woman carried on, "Since you're not from here, I'd give you an identity. We'd sort that out after you make your choice." She waved off.

"Wait, wait," Rose cut her off. "What do you mean I'm not from here?" She asked, puzzled.

The woman paused and stared at Rose, "Where do you think you are child?" She arched an eyebrow at her.

"I don't know! I woke up surrounded by trees after a fatal accident, no clue where the fuck I am, only to be kidnapped by a bunch of so called royal bastards." Rose clutched the cell bars, glaring at the woman. "All I want is to find my way home. Go back to my family and go on with my life since this is my second chance at living. I have no business here or with you."

Rose's chin was suddenly grabbed with so much force, her jaws throbbed. The woman's face contorted with unleashed anger, her eyes glowing a dark shade of red.

"Unfortunately for you darling, there is no home for you in this world. Even if you manage to get out of this shit hole, you'll never find your way back. Why? Because you were summoned here. And your only ticket home is me." She snarled. "So either do as I say or be stuck here till you take your last breath." She said and released her.

Rose let out air she didn't know she was holding. Although she could not comprehend what the woman spoke of, Rose did find it strange. If she had an accident, why would she end up in the middle of nowhere? The prince and the palace too. Even this woman. It all seemed like a fairytale. A dark fairytale. Though it all seemed confusing, she needed to get out of here and this woman was offering her help.

"What do you want me to do?" Rose asked, looking up at the woman, with a determined look on her face.

"Make sure the prince doesn't get to sit on the throne." She simply stated.

Rose lifted her eyebrow, "And how will I do that?" She asked.

The corner of the woman's lips tilted up, "Simple. Kill the prince."