Color of Roses

Prisoner

Chapter 25

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness."

I step out of the carriage to see the man in glasses standing at the castle steps. A luxurious castle made of dark colored stone and black rooftops towers over me and I'm in awe at how much larger it is than my own. My eyes return to the man with glasses who gives me a mischievous smile.

"You're little knight couldn't protect you I take it? Pity he had a weakness for you."

I want to lunge at him but Nico's grip on my wrist stops me. "Ignore him."

I glare at him while he laughs and Nico pulls me into the castle. Stairwells in every direction line the main entryway and doors leading to many rooms scatter the walls. Nico pulls me up a flight of stairs and through a hall leading to the back of the castle. Curious faces watch me and I feel myself becoming anxious as to what will happen to me. Who was King Byron and why did he want me?

Nico stops outside a double set of doors lining a wall with a large open balcony overlooking a large garden. I hold my breath as he knocks softly at the door. Moments later it opens and we step foot inside and I completely forget how to breath as a gorgeous, raven haired man greets us from a large desk.

"Welcome, Princess Aria." His voice is smooth like velvet and I can't stop staring. "I suspect you're exhausted from your long trip here, yes? Nico show her to her room."

Nico bows. "Yes, Your Majesty," he says and turns to leave the room. I stop him and face the man. "Are you King Byron?"

He looks at me with an emotionless face. "Indeed I am. I thought you knew that already."

"Why do you want me here? What's your purpose for all of this?" I ask bluntly. He raises his eyebrow at me and I realize one of his eyes is covered by a thick patch of leather. His hair brushes across his face as he rises from his chair and walks over to me. He paces around me, his hands behind his back.

I swallow nervously as his eye examines me. He stops in front of me, once again expressionless. "You'll need to be fitted with a dress for our ceremony tonight."

"Ceremony? What are you talking about? I demand to know what you plan to do with me!"

He brushes a loose strand of hair behind his right ear and smiles softly. "I plan to make you my wife."

My eyes widen and my lower jaw falls open. His wife!? This is the first time I've met him and he expects me to accept that he kidnapped me to be his wife? There was no way in hell I would marry someone so tyrannical.

"What if I refuse?" I say.

"That's not an option," he says and returns to his seat. "Nico, take her to her temporary room."

Before I can get out another word, Nico ushers me out of the room and shuts the door. "Do you have a death wish? Do you realize who you're speaking to? That's King Byron. He's feared by many countries and kingdoms. He's one of the most powerful men in the world and you decide to argue with him?"

"I can't marry that man! He's scum!"

Nico covers my mouth with his hands and lifts a finger to his lips. "Shut up," he hisses and pulls me down the way we originally came and takes a different turn down a hall lined with doors. We stop near the end and he opens it to display a large room lined with gold and crimson décor. The bed rests adjacent to the door and a large crystal chandelier dangles from the ceiling.

"This is where you'll be staying for now."

"For now?"

"Once the marriage goes through you'll be staying with His Majesty."

I grip a chair to keep myself steady. Not only was I supposed to live under the same roof as a crazy king but I was supposed to sleep in the same bedroom as him too? What did I get myself into?

"I'll send the tailors up to get you fitted for a dress to wear tonight. I suggest you get your act together and hold your tongue. King Byron isn't the forgiving type."

He closes the door and I hear a faint locking sound from the other side and I realize I'm stuck in here. I walk around the room until my legs give out and I fall to the bed. I hadn't realized I've begun to cry and just lay there staring out the window as the tears keep falling down my cheeks. I was a prisoner now and I'd never see Alyn again.