Wrecked

Chapter 4

Notes: Trigger warning: attempted/interrupted sexual assault

The following evening Prince Rum low sent for Princess Aria. Lord Rollins knocked on the door loudly before throwing it open. He found her sitting at her dressing table, Rogers brushing her hair. She looked up and smiled at coarse man.
"Evening, Lord Rollins, I trust that it finds you well?"
He cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably. He hated the way her innocence and beauty affected those around her. Rogers was her simpering lap dog. And even his Prince was charmed by her to an extent. But instead of responding to it, he rebelled against it. His attraction perverted into revulsion and anger. She unsettled him, in a way he couldn't place.
"Fine, princess. The prince is ready to receive you."
"Steve, my crutch please?"
"One last pin, my princess." He finished pinning her hair with a lovely pearl comb.
Rollins scoffed. "Are you her lady in waiting, Rogers?"
The blonde shrugged. "I do whatever my princess needs."
"Your princess?" Again, that insufferable shrug. Perhaps, it was time for his loyalty to the crown to be tested. He and Prince Rumlow had suspicions about Rogers before the voyage. And now, they trusted him even less.
"Aria?" She stood and tucked the offered crutch under her arm. Steve looked at Rollins. "Her feet are bothering her today. The crutch was a gift from Lord Stark. He wished the crown to know of his generosity to the Prince and his."
Rollins pursed his lips. "Duly noted." Then he turned and they were off, leaving Steve to stare after her, his belly a twisted jumble of worry and jealousy. Rollins didn't look after her to make sure she followed, nor did he adjust his stride so she could keep up.
The guards to the Prince's quarters open the double doors. "Lord Rollins and Princess Aria of Sevonsee." The man flinched at her close proximity. She offered him that stunning smile that made his belly drop in an unpleasant way. He sneered at her, which did nothing to temper her smile.
"Thank you, Jack. You made leave us."
"But-"
"I said leave us!" Rollins flexed his fists then nodded once and left prince of land and princess of sea alone together. "Drink, princess?" He held up a tumbler of amber liquid. She shook her head. They sat in silence before the prince pinned her to the chair with his hard gaze. "Did you enjoy your swim last night?"
Her immediate concern was Bucky then Steve. "I must give it to you, princess. To be so bold as to feign attraction to me while fucking some commoner, in the openness of my royal harbor, that takes gut, kid." He sipped his drink. "So here's what gonna happen. You're gonna marry me and give me your dowry, and you're gonna give me the merman who followed us in. Or I'm gonna kill Rogers and Stark. And I'm gonna make you watch as I catch the merman then skin him alive. Understand?"
Aria frowned, flexing her hands. "You feel pretty powerless right now, don't you? You can't speak but you can understand me. You can't run because you're crippled. I see your hands flexing." He gestured to her opening and closing hands. "But you can't touch me or you'll be dead. And so will Rogers." Rumlow smirked. "I can't figure out who you care for more. Rogers or the merman."
"I know you harbor some attraction to Rogers because he rescued you. But it was at my behest. Never forget that, princess. I wonder. Did the merman save you from drowning when your ship sunk?" He leaned forward. "Or is he your mate? Pinning for you on land."
Aria stood carefully. Steve had warned her against coming, but she'd insisted anyway. Prince Rumlow swept up and grabbed her around the throat, lifting her into the air. Her toes barely touched the polished wood of the floor. She fought her innate defenses. She clenched her jaw, cutting her own mouth open on her too many teeth. Her spines quivered unpleasantly in their sheaths. He was provoking her.
"You see. I have my suspicions about you." His hard face morphed into a wicked grin. "Let's find out if I'm right." He kept his grip on her throat as he shoved her to the bed, stumbling over her feet. Pain shot through her. He grabbed her arms and tossed her onto the bed. His pelvis held her down. "See, you ain't my type, princess. You're a fighter. I've seen that fire when Rogers gets out of line." He wrestled with her skirts. "I like my women demur, weak, broken." His hands gripped her bare thighs and his eyebrows shot into his hairline but he recovered quickly. "But I think you just need the right man to break."
A loud knock interrupted the prince as he reached for his laces. "What!"
The guards on the door opened it just enough for Rollins to step in. His eyes narrowed at his prince nestled between the princess's thighs. "Admiral Fury is demanding an audience."
"It can wait."
"Your highness, he's being rather loud and adamant."
Rumlow groaned then grabbed Aria's face and turned it to him. "Say nothing to Rogers or he's a dead man. I'll give you until the end of the week to agree." He kissed her, closed mouth and hard, then flung her away as he climbed off her. "Send for Rogers to come get her. I don't want to see either of them before the end of the week."
"Yes, my prince." Rollins didn't hide his smirk or his triumphant air as he looked at Aria. The doors shut firmly behind the pair.
Aria didn't move from where he'd left her. Her rage simmered just under the surface. It felt like forever before the doors opened and Steve stepped into the room. His jaw tensed and he walked toward the bed with careful measured steps.
"My princess, are you alright?"
"Get my crutch please, Steve." He retrieved it from the chair she'd sat in. His weight dipped the mattress as he sat next to her. "I do not wish to stay in the palace tonight."
"What happened?"
"We will discuss it when we leave."
"Are you alright, Aria?" Her eyes flashed at his defiance but beyond his concern was a something hard and vicious.
"Yes and no, now take me to quarters. Send word to Anthony that we will be coming tonight." Aria let her legs fall closed then sat up. She carefully rested her feet on the floor, wincing at the throbbing pain. It was worse than it had ever been. That horrid witch. The pain was no price worthy of having legs. She used the crutch but her knees buckled with the intensity of the agony that flared up her lower body.
Steve caught her. "Let me carry you, my darling." Aria had no choice but to let him do so. He swept her into a bridal carry and hurried back to her rooms. He laid her on the bed then sent word to Stark and sent for a carriage.