The Artist & The Dancer

III

*Flashback*
"Cadence! Dan! What are you doing!" Dan's  train of thought only broke when the door to the bedroom burst open. The two love birds both broke away from their kiss instantly and looked up to see the king himself, standing there. His face is filled with rage. They  both stand there in each other's arms, looking at each other blankly, completely stunned from both the kiss and the sudden surprise.
They'd been found.
"Cadence! How did you get down here! Your room is on the other side of the castle. Dan! I expected better of you! You know I need that portrait done for tomorrow! This is against the rules, you should both know this! Guards! Guards! Come here right now!"
Dan hugged Cadence close, his eyes wide with fear. Cadence had been living with him unnoticed for a month! And the letter. He knew that it was a little odd. Why would the king write a letter when he could send a servant to come tell him? Cadence had wrote it himself just to convince him to let him move in. Dan perked up when he  heard the clanking of the armored guards running down the hall. What seemed like his  last moments with Cadence were slipping away. The dancer's huge muscular hands were tracing patterns into Dan's back.
"Cadence. Say something. Please," He pleaded.
"I love you Dan."
The huge men barged into their room to take Cadence away. Dan yelled as they began to grab at his arms, dirty  fingernails digging into his pale flesh. They called in another guard just to pull the hysterical artist away. The person Dan loved more than life itself was being cruelly ripped away from him and there was nothing he could do about it. Cadence didn't stand a chance, the death sentence was as good as his. If he was lucky the king would just throw him into the portal before thinking about torturing him to death. Love like this was forbidden in Daonnachta, they had broken a law that was only punishable by death. Yet, Dan hadn't been punished. Not as bad as Cadence's at least. He was only shackled to his workstation, only unlocked when he needed to use the bathroom or go to sleep. It didn't take him long to find a way to unlock the bindings. He would have gone insane otherwise
Two months had went by. Everything felt so devoid of color when the dancer was gone. Dan could barely work, let alone function normally without breaking down. Dan knew it was bad when he woke up in the mornings and the only thing he looked forward to was going back to bed. Sleep wasn't just sleep anymore, it was an escape. A place to dream about a safe place where Cadence and him could finally be together. Sometimes all Dan could do was lie in his  creaky little bed and hope to fall asleep before he fell apart.
*End flashback*