The Dark Prince

Chapter two

Drake stared at the unconscious body for a while. She looked so much like Juliet, but there were some differences. Juliet was much older and looked more mature. But what intrigued him the most was that this girl dressed like a boy! In pants and a funny shirt. The sleeves just about covered her shoulders and it did not have a collar or buttons. Strange. Intriguing.

As much as Drake wanted to believe that this was Juliet he was beginning to realize that she wasn't. He was becoming more aware of the fact that she might not act like Juliet. He was beginning to think that giving the boy up was a mistake. He shook those thoughts off. Now what was done was done. He could work with what he had. The mere presence of this girl seem to brighten his mood. 

As he watched her, memories of Juliet flooded his thoughts. Her smile, her laugh, her touch. She was s beautiful. Thinking about Juliet  brought him great pain so he diverted his attention back to the unconscious girl.

"Edrick!" he called to his butler. "Take the girl down to the dungeons."  He said giving the girl to the servant. She was not Juliet and would probably run away or do something stupid if she was allowed to roam free in the castle. He concluded that he did not really have any attachment to this girl so he felt no need to give her any special treatment. In fact he felt he should not have any attachment to this girl. He could not possibly betray Juliet. She was the love of his life. 

Anica woke up in a dirty cell. There was dirt and moss everywhere. She had a throbbing pain in her neck and flinched when she touched the wound. Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks. What had she done to deserve this? 

The cell was dark and smelled bad. Rats scurried around and there was barely any ventilation. The only ventilation she had was from a really small window at the top of the cell wall. Standing on her toes she just about managed to get a peek at the outside. Huge waves crashed against rocks just below her. Her cell was underground and surrounded by hard rock. And then there was the roaring sea. There was no way she would manage to dig her way out of this. She wrapped her arms around her knees and cried herself to sleep.

When she woke up she was starving. She desperately needed something to eat. Anything would do really. She was just so hungry. She felt her way around the dark cell searching for something to eat. Nothing. She screamed. Hoping someone would hear here and come to her aid. She crawled to the bars and yelled on top of her lungs. She had never been more afraid in her life. It was hard to believe that only few hours ago she was sitting in class doodling on her notebook. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever imagined that she would end up in a situation like this. She cried out again, her voice filled with desperation. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Somebody help me!" 

She screamed till she could scream no more. Exhausted she gave up. She slumped in the corner and sat there for what seemed like hours, until finally, a tall figure came down with a plate of food. 

She cringed away from him, thinking he was the fanged monster.  "Eat." He said, sliding the plate under an opening in the bars of the cell. "Master will see you shortly." The very thought of him brought tears to her eyes. If only she had not gotten onto that STUPID bike. If only she had listened to her mother and not talked to strangers. If only she had not been so keyed up to save Ray that she had stopped thinking rationally. If only... But there was nothing she could do about it now. She had already done all those things and now she was stuck here. In this cell. Alone in the dark. In HIS house.

She ate her bread silently. Savoring every bite. She did not want to finish it too quickly. She had been given a piece of bread, an apple and a glass of water. That was all. If she was back home she'd have made faces at the food and would have refused to eat it but she was just so hungry that she did not care that the food was not grand.

Thinking about home sent waves of emotion through her. What will happen to her family when she does not return from school. Were there people searching for her? She doubted they would ever find her.

The reality was beginning to set in. She was never going to be found. She was going to be stuck here forever. She looked up and rested her head against the bars. She felt so helpless. It both upset and angered her. She wanted to get out and escape, but she was too much of coward.

She knew that she lacked both the courage and planning to escape. 

Anger flooded her. She scream and flung the plate through the grills. She screamed some more before collapsing on the floor. She shoved at the bars. They didn't budge. Her energy was leaving and helplessness was filling her again.

She was never going to leave. She was quite certain of it.