4 Princes

XXX

Elaina
"You know Rook will come, right?" I was irritating, but that didn't bother me. It just bothered the two men in front of me, and that's all I needed.

Hans rolled his big ugly blue eyes. I wished they would roll right out of his head.

Hours ago, I was crying and screaming. They had me gagged and knocked out so they could keep me both quiet and confused. I was terrified.

And then I realized they weren't killing me. Or torturing or raping or anything of the sort. They were simply, keeping me.

Once I realized I was, for lack of better words, safe, I felt okay enough to cease crying and begin trying to see what they were up to.

"Of course we do, that's the whole point. We need him here, Elaina."  The question of the hour was why Hans wanted Rook so badly. It didn't add up to me.

"That's if he still cares about me, I hid a secret from him, about his mom."

Hans's eyes widened. "Now that might be interesting to hear."

But I wasn't going to say it out loud. I refused to believe the curse was enacted. If I never say it, maybe there's a chance we'll be ok. Maybe the curse didn't happen at that time. I wasn't willing to push my limits.

He could torture me, and the words would never caress my lips. This was a secret worth dying for.

I was tied down and sitting in a chair. My arms were stretched behind me, and all around me, there was a tent tinted black. I couldn't tell if no light was seeping through, or if it was just night outside.

Outside. I didn't know what lied outside. I didn't know where I was. One moment, I was fighting to get to Red, and then next I was blindfolded and tossed on the back of a horse, arms wrapped and tied around some man I didn't know.

Hans stalked towards me. The place reeked of fire and soot. He placed his hands on either side of me, caging me into the chair. I wasn't very claustrophobic, but this was too much.

He tilted his head, his hair was unmoving and his eyes uncaring. "What secret did you hide, Elaina?"

I leaned towards him, trying to be brave. The true fact was, I was terrified. I wasn't like Hera, or Red, or even my stepmother. I was scared. I didn't have the know-how to get out of this. I felt tiny, sitting in this chair, trapped like a fly in a cat's clutches.

There was no escaping.

I love you.

I didn't get to say it back. But it was true. Everything about him was true. He was never different around or for me, he was himself and he was honest and he cared. He was gentle, and kind, he had the guts to be different.

I love you too.

If the only reason I was brave was to make it out of here and say it back to him, it was enough.

Hans smiled at me and used one long, slender, finger to put my hair behind my ear. "Was it about the witch? And your stepmother? And Prince Rook?"

I widened my eyes in surprise. How did he know about that? That was a situation that only should have been talked about amongst me, the witch, and my stepmother. Now, Rook as well. Hans was a young prince a part of a different kingdom. Queen Carmine's death didn't shake his world as it did with us.

Hans rested his hand on my cheek and I tried to pull my face away but I had little to no wiggle room. "How do I know? I see it in your eyes, you're wondering. Do you think this, my cause, lives and dies with me?"