Limbo between Kings

Day 7 - Little beast

A thin veil of smoke puffed from Olivia's mouth. The colder each night became, the farther she felt from home. She was stuck in limbo, far from the scorned King and even farther from home. In-between two kings, in-between two evils.

She studied the sleeping giant to her right. The even rise and fall of his chest had become a soothing rhythm, a wordless song.

Is he truely evil too? She wondered.

He had taken her from her home, stolen in the middle of the night, foiled her escape, yet nothing about him screamed malicious. Just a man following his King's orders, a King he refused to kill her for.

He had saved her from two kings in a way.

No, she shook her head in silence. She couldn't think of him as a savior, but only what he really was. A puppet. If his king had ordered without a shred of doubt to kill her, surely he would. There was no safety in him.

His right arm was secured behind his neck with casual indifference. His left thumb hooked into the belt of his trousers, revealing a small portion of his tan skin. There was an innocence about him as he slept, a peacefulness. Nothing seemed to haunt his mind while he lay defenseless beside her.

Did it make him cruel to not feel guilt at abducting her, or did the fact that he talked his king from murdering her in a gruesome way make him feel righteous? Shouldn't he though? Shouldn't he be gloating in her face that her life was thanks to him?

His mouth curled into a smile as if he had heard her thoughts and her heart rate increased at the sight. He was undeniably handsome, painfully so. If Olivia had seen him within her brother's court, she wouldn't have reclused herself into the library as often as she did. Instead, she would have sought him out, begged to learn every secret he held, and hope to be wooed by them. She would have giggled at every idiotic joke he would spew out, turning into the pretentious lady of the court she despised.

She found that she hated how attractive he was, it unnerved her, confused all the senses that screamed danger. His stupid face would be her undoing.

She needed to escape.

Rotating her bound hands, she saw no flaw in the knot. Of course he would be proficient at that too. Slipping quietly from her restraints would be impossible without stirring him awake. The more she tried to separate the bind, the tighter it got, digging into her sensitive skin.

She wanted to scream, to give up and let him take her wherever he pleased. It would be easier, for now at least. Until they reached the king and all hope of her freedom ignited into flames.

Olivia brought her wrists near her face, pounding the closed fists against her forehead to keep from screaming aloud.

A shudder crawled up her spine, her eyes snapping on his hip bone. The only way out of the thick twine was the skinning knife holstered on his left side from the rabbit. It enticed her, whispering for her to reach over him and take it. If her grip was light enough, he would never know.

She could be as silent as leaf in the wind, quiet as a mouse searching for food. She had more than enough experience trying to stay silent and hidden. You can do this, she promised.

Olivia ignored her body's desire to breathe, rising to her knees beside him. The honey of her eyes never leaving the even motion of his chest. Her right leg wrapped over his body, hovering just inches from Silas' pelvis. She wanted to curse at her heart for beating so loud in her chest, surely he would hear its violent rhythm.

Shaking, Olivia crept her wrists closer, clenching the rope dangling suspiciously over his sleeping frame. With nimble -trembling- fingers, she slipped the serrated blade from its sheath, the dry leather cracking from the release.