Beautiful Torment *Book One of the Beautiful series*

16) Going Back

Lucy woke for the first time in weeks feeling well rested. Though her muscles were sore, bound in tight knots, she had slept surprisingly well. Something her body thanked her for ten times over.

She blinked around the bright inn room before sitting up in a panic as she recalled what had happened to place her here. Victoria was nowhere in sight, having gone back to Streatham Palace with the princling, Jamieson. Somewhere outside the rooms, a brooding Prince Alexander waited for her, likely ready to take her back so she could answer for her theft.

Stealing the queen's horse...well, borrowing...either way, how could she have been so stupid? She wanted to tell herself that it had been an act of pure desperation, but a tiny voice in the back of her head knew that was a lie. There had been a thrill at the idea of riling the dark prince by taking his mother's horse, wanting revenge for his deception. A lie that had only hurt so much because she might have been attracted to him.

Immediately, she quelled the thought and the blush that followed it. No, it most definitely had not been that. Alexander was a beast. Another captor looking to control both her and Victoria. She could not let him get inside her head like this.

Fool me once...she thought bitterly.

A chill came over her as she stood. It nipped through her light nightgown. She quickly pulled the quilt off the bed to wrap around her shoulders before padding over to the door. About to press her ear against it to listen for anyone on the other side when a sudden knock startled her.

Whipping it open, her heart raced as she expected to be met by the prince's obsidian gaze, but dropped to find that it was simply an inn maid. "G'mornin' miss," the woman chirped in a thick accent. In her hands, she held a pile of neatly folded clothing. "Yer master asked me to brin' these up for ye. He be waitin' in the tavern hall with yer breakfast. Would ye like me to help ye dress?"

Lucy quickly shook her head and snapped, "He is no master of mine," before taking the clothes and slamming the door tight. As she pushed off the door, a part of her felt guilty for treating the maid so brashly. It was not like her. She was not herself anymore and it was his doing. He was changing her, and she did not like it.

Because of the changes...she was going to pay. She hoped whatever punishment he and the Crown had in store for her was a brief one. Be it death or imprisonment. She was inclined to favor the first option as Epsen's prisons were not exactly known for their warmth and hospitality.

The goal now was to dress and join the prince for breakfast to plead Victoria's case. He could do what he wished with her, as long as he spared her young friend. If he promised to hide her among his staff, or even send her home to Granston House, Lucy knew she could rest easy in death.

She set the pile of clothes on the bed, unfolding them one at a time. Surprised to find that not only were they brand new, but they were made of fine, heavy material far too expensive for the likes of her. A dark riding skirt and gray high collared blouse with all the necessary underclothes to go with, finished by a pair of sturdy polished boots.

Lucy stripped before going to the wash basin to clean off the previous night's grime. A shiver crawled over her skin when she caught sight of her mint green eyes in the small mirror. Only to picture the face of the captain she had nearly given her innocence also. Stomach roiling at the memory, she quickly dried off and pulled on the fancy clothing, finding it strange that the prince would bother spending so much coin on a doomed woman.

Feeling refreshed but slightly lightheaded by the time she was finished, Lucy took one final look around the small room before heading out. She took the stairs two at a time and then made a sharp right at the bottom which opened to the tavern area. At this time, at first light, it was rather empty. Save for a barmaid wiping tables clean and ambled between the only three customers in the place. One of them being Alexander who had set his sights on Lucy the moment she entered.