ALL US VILLAINS

Chapter Eleven

Diana's stomach is tying itself into large, thick knots when she awakens the next morning. Her body is heavy with stiffness and nausea, pinning her limbs to the mattress. Her headache is less severe than it had been the night before, but it still makes its presence known.

The baby dragon she had brought inside from the western woods is curled into a tight ball on her chest, resting peacefully. Small tendrils of smoke emit from its nose with every breath it releases.

It takes far more effort than it should for Diana to peel her eyes open and stare at the ceiling above her. At least she is experiencing this post migraine in a warm room on a soft mattress. At least she can request for a meal at any time and someone will eventually bring it to her.

The door to her bedroom bursts open with a loud thud. Diana barely has time to register the sound before someone seizes her arms and rips her off of the bed. Her knees ache from her landing. Last night's migraine leaves her too slow and sluggish to properly defend herself.

She snaps her head up just as a guard places a shackle onto her wrist. "What is the meaning of this?" She demands. Anger and resentment reflect in her voice, making the question sound more menacing than she originally intended.

Despite her struggles, the second guard manages to shackle her other wrist. "You know what," the first guard claims.

Though she knows the effort is futile, Diana attempts to use her magic to force the guards to release her. Her powers do not respond, weakened by the shackles around both of her wrists. Her next option is to struggle, which prevents both of the men from removing her from the room.

The small dragon releases a cry while it claws up one of the guards' legs. It slips underneath his shirt, now digging his claws into the guard's torso. Soon, he is forced to release Diana so that he can smack his body to get the creature to stop its tyranny. He lets out cries of pain whenever the dragon bites his skin from underneath his shirt.

With one less guard trying to drag her away, Diana is able to fully resist the guard before her. That is, until he kicks her leg with a force strong enough to break the bone.

The sorceress crumples to the ground from her pain. Then, her head whips to the side from the hard punch that she receives, temporarily blinding her.

Stars dot her vision and her head spins. She is not given a lot of time to recover before the two men seize her arms once more. This time, they are able to drag her to the door with no resistance.

The group passes Rosalie in the hallway, who is carrying a gold tray full of breakfast foods. The smell of pastries and fruit would normally make Diana's mouth water. Currently, she only has the desire to throw up from the horrible nausea she is feeling.

"What are you doing!?" Rosalie questions.

The guard that broke Diana's leg bats his hand at the woman. "Go back to your business," he orders.

She walks alongside the man, unbothered by the dismissal. "She is my business. I have strict orders from Prince Liam to guard her."

"And I have strict orders from the king to have her arrested for the murder of Lord Tymbrick's son."

Ignoring the pain in her eye, Diana lifts an eyebrow. "Who?"

The guard to her left jerks her like she is nothing more than a broken toy. He makes her stumble a few steps onto her broken leg. She cries out in pain from the movements, barely able to keep upright from the current pain she is in. "Shut up, witch!" He shouts.

Rosalie continues to walk with them, her tray of breakfast bouncing in her hands. "And when did she allegedly murder this man?"

With each step Diana is dragged forward, she can feel the pain in her leg grow worse. Jf she does not see a healer soon, then she is certain that the healing process will be a lot longer and more painful.