Her Fear, His Obsession

The world was never going to be the same...

Luca had heard her tossing and turning all night, so he knew that she hadn't sleep. Between that and the rain, he felt like it would hurt her to go to the garden. But she wanted to go to the garden. Thinking he could just ask her to not go, he did. She quietly nodded and stood quietly near the door.  Luca wanted her to rest, so he tried to pick her up and was rather surprised when she began to squirm, thinking that she had already gotten used to him carrying her. The frown on her face suggested otherwise.

"My love, you need to rest," he scolded her as she tried desperately to get out of his reach. Luca's firm grip was too strong for Alia to fight against in her injured state. She gave in and sat there with a frown on her face. She didn't want him to carry her, he couldn't even give her something as simple as going to the garden.

Knowing that he had made her upset,, but wanting her to say it, Luca gently asked, "My heart, what's wrong?"

His words made her sob even louder. He sounded so gentle and kind but she knew it was an act. She knew that is was only a matter of time before his true colors came out, all men have these true colors, of which she knew all too well.

This made Luca panic. He needed to distract her, but how?

Looking around for inspiration, he thought of the library next to his office. A tour of the things he had changed in the castle would be a perfect distraction. He reached back and grabbed Alia's hands, "Shall we go on a tour, my Queen?" He asked with hope and desperation clear in his eyes.

Alia's eyes lit up at his suggestion. Maybe she could find a new way out of here or at least have some time to be free before going back to the room she thought of as her prison.

She slowly squeezed his hand and hopped up, bounding out of his reach. Alia was determined to walk around herself.

Luca grumbled. He didn't like that Alia was walking but he knew he couldn't win every fight and besides, his Queen wished to walk, who was he to deny her of her pleasure. Motioning to everyone else to stay behind, he followed her like a faithful puppy, his eyes constantly moving about assessing for any danger to her while also admiring and adoring her every movement. Her hair was still wet and wild from her shower but it created beautiful ripples all the way down her back that bounced with each step.

Allowing Alia to take control of where they went as he had already had the maze sealed off, Luca followed her through the halls, showing and explaining all the tapestries that she gazed on. Trying to keep his explanations short, he almost sounded like a tour guide and it made Alia laugh. Eventually, they made their way to Luca's office and Alia's newly designed library.

Gesturing her to step inside, Alia was welcomed by a sight. Feeling the soft fur under her bare feet, she was shocked to see a room that looked like it was made for her. Bookshelves filled with books lined the left wall with floor to ceiling shelves in between filled with puzzle boxes and Lego models in between. A sliding ladder was attached to reach the top of the 20 feet wall. Directly in front of the door against the opposite wall, a bay window with a seat covered the whole wall. A television mounted to the ceiling faced the window seat. A table with a plush chair was shoved against a rather large indoor window that allowed Alia to see into Luca's office on the right wall.

As she walked inside and read the book titles, she felt a pang of familiarity hit her. She owned most of these books and they looked to be in similar condition to hers. Turning back, she looked questioningly at a concerned Luca, who seemed to very carefully monitoring her for her reaction. Seeing her confusion, he spoke, "Liam brought your things from your apartment, including your books and puzzles. The rest of these books were purchased based on those books. If you want other ones, I will replace them immediately. I wanted you to have things that would keep you happy near you at all times."

Her eyes filled with water without her desiring it. Even though he was her captor and a scary evil man, no one else had thought about her and her happiness as thoroughly as he had. 

Seeing her tears, Luca's heart fell. The point was to make her not cry and he had failed. He fell to his knees and took her hands in his, holding them up to his forehead. "Oh, my Queen, my heart, I beg your forgiveness. I failed in keeping you happy, punish me, my love. Tell me what to do to fix it, I'll do it right away. I'm so so sorry, my dear heart. I'm not worthy of your forgiveness, my love, but I beg for it..." Alia continued to stare, impassively. By then, a small crowd had formed, hearing the Queen's sobs and the King's pleas. They were not prepared to see their King on his knees, begging his Queen for forgiveness. The cold-hearted, ruthless man they knew had been reduced to a slave at the feet of his Queen. 

The world was never going to be the same for this obsessed King and this unwilling Queen.