LOST

Chapter 10- Arrival

Celestine

"Isn't the back, ahem, a little too...swooping?" Aiden's voice finally declared. I was standing with my back to the royal family as they approved of my clothing.

 "I clearly remember telling the dressmakers to not do that," Aiden growled, glaring at the three women on my side. All three of them paled at once.

"I told them to do it," the King's voice thundered. I bit back a groan.

"Why?" Prince Odin asked, bewildered.

"Because, Odin," his father drawled, "Her scars need to be shown." Odin remained silent.

"It's magnificent," the King said to the dressmakers. I shuddered and struggled to stand straight. The dressmakers bowed deeply and left the deck. The King turned his attention back to me.

"Now, my dear, all we need to find is your escort," he said, stroking his beard.

"I would love to escort the lady to the ball," Prince Odin jumped in. I felt a rush of gratitude course through my veins but it was quickly turned to nothing when the King spoke again.

"No, son. You are too eager and you have greatly disappointed me by calling the prisoner 'lady'," he said. Prince Odin's expression paled. "She is our prisoner- nothing more. If in the future, I feel that you have taken pity on our prisoner again, you will wish you'd never been born." I flinched. The King proceeded to look at his eldest son.

"Aiden, I trust you to escort the prisoner to the ball," he said. Aiden visibly shook with anger but he was smart enough to not argue with his father.

"Yes, father," he managed through gritted teeth. The King flicked his fingers toward me once and said, "Dismissed." I bit back a million retorts that crawled up my throat and headed towards my cabin.

"Two more days," I mumbled to myself. "Two more days and it'll be okay."

Two more days of this meaningless torture. Two more days left to finally unite with my family. It was, truthfully, the only thought keeping me sane at this point.

The heavy security system of Kythia was well known all over the Kingdom of Orpath. Even though I had tried to come up with a plan, there was always something or the other that would obstruct my intentions. Breaking out of the Erini would be comparatively easy but I had no idea whether I'd be leaving my family to open attack. Of course, the King of Kythia wouldn't be able to harm my parents but the King had already threatened to go after Karthur. And even if I did escape, I would be hunted by the Kythians like a fugitive. Was that the kind of life I wanted to live? A life where every second that I breathed was spent in danger? I had decided that the answer was no.

If I managed to stay strong long enough, Satian would win the war and all this would be over. I tried to focus on problems other than my escape. The first name that came to my mind was Aiden. I groaned and plopped down on my bed. Just as I did, the door to my cabin burst open. Aiden walked inside. He looked like a jungle cat looking for his next meal. As soon as he spotted me, he marched over to me and roughly gripped my right wrist. I tried to struggle against his vice-like grip.

"What the hell, Aiden?" I snarled without thinking. The next thing I knew was that Aiden had raised a hand in the air and smacked me hard across my cheek. My cheek burned and tears welled up in my eyes.

Did he just...slap me?

His eyes were red with anger and they showed just how livid he was.

"That's Prince Aiden to you," he snarled as he tugged my wrist towards my bed and cuffed me to it. He let the handcuffs close into my skin, making me bite my bottom lip until it bled. I looked at the blood-forming pool on my wrist as the cuffs bit into it. I held my tears back. I wouldn't let Aiden have the satisfaction of seeing me cry. He, thankfully, didn't even seem to notice that I was on the verge of a breakdown. He leaned forward till his face was inches from mine. His eyes were filled with pure hatred. One of his hands twisted my free arm while his other fisted my hair, forcing me to look up at him.