CAPTIVE by the Prince

Chapter Two

He had ordered his healer to remove the arrowhead and heal the unconscious female he had brought back to the castle at Elfiro. Then he commanded the guards to place her in the bottom dungeon—a place they solely reserved for their most vicious enemies: the vampires.

Prince Ivan of the elven kingdom gazed down on the motionless female sprawled on the floor of the dungeon. His prisoner's jet-black hair framed her small comely face. He noticed she was dressed very oddly. She wore tight pants, like those favored by the witch tribe, only the cloth was of a different material. Her shirt that clung to her body like a second skin was hitched upwards exposing a flat smooth belly.

The image before him made him clench his fist. Vampires were known to be lusty creatures—fornicating was their pastime. The female in particular used pheromones to seduce their captives or anyone they fancy. But this little vampire sprawled before him was a bit odd. She was too scrawny to be a seductress. Her allure was her innocence, he realized as he stared at her face. It was enough to even tempt him to allow the vampire to try her wiles to gain her freedom, like most of what female vampires would do. Or maybe he was just a four-hundred-year-old elf who needed to get a woman between his sheets. Badly.

Never! Never with a vampire! he reminded himself vehemently. He jerked his head to the elves guarding the cell, making a silent command. One guard grabbed a bucket of water and threw the contents on the prisoner's face. The alarmed and shocked look from his captive was priceless.

***

"What the hell!" Ana screeched. She shivered due to the cold water that almost drowned her face. She tried to lift the weight of her body off the floor but failed when she felt the excruciating pain in her right shoulder.

"Dammit!" she groaned as she surveyed her bandaged shoulder smeared with blood. She eyed her surroundings and only then noticed the peculiarity of the place. The cold flagstone floor beneath her was covered with mounds of dirt. There were no windows along the bricked wall. And a sheer light came in between the set of bars that separated her from the rest of the room.

Three looming figures caught her attention. Among the three, the one in the middle captured her eyes. He was the tallest among the three, arresting and strikingly beautiful. He was wearing a gray cloak on top of his immaculate white tunic and pants that could not hide his massive chest, arms that were rippling with muscles and powerful thighs, looking very much like as if he stepped out a medieval period. A brown leather sword belt slung on his waist; a silver hilt was poking out of the scabbard. She moved her gaze up and let out a gasp when she realized who the man was.

He was the beautiful angry angel she saw before she fainted! Only now, when she took a closer look, his hair was silver and not just a trick of light like she thought before. A thin, braided silver hair on one side was tucked behind his... pointed ears? He was no angel. He looked like a frickin' elf!

All in all, he reminded Ana of Legolas straight from the Lord of the Rings. She let her eyes scan the rest of the place, expecting to see Gandalf pop in with the rest of the hobbits and maybe even some dwarves. Legolas here looked very much angry at her for no apparent reason.

She noticed his gaze was directed at her chest. Her shirt was drenched with the water thrown at her, causing her shirt to cling on her skin, the outlines of her bra visible. She hastily crossed her arms to shield her chest and glared at Legolas. You naughty Legolas, you.

Legolas approached the bars and stared down at Ana's face. "What is your name, vampire, and state your reason why you were in the meadow. Are you there to spy?"

For a moment, she was mesmerized by his deep voice. She shook her head and pulled herself to reality. And did he just call her a vampire? "What made you think I'm a vampire? The last time I checked, I don't sport any fangs. But I could be a mermaid. The name's Ariel," she answered, amazed with her bravado.

"It is possible you haven't passed your transition yet. But I can never forget that face. You look exactly like the rest of them—the Valentins."

"Look here Legolas, stop all these stupid accusations about me being a vampire. I don't know any Valentins, and I am not a vampire. If I was, shouldn't I turn into ashes when I was on the meadow? I was chased earlier by god knows who those people are, somehow got myself in this shit of a place, and have Legolas here accuse me of being a vampire! Crap! Listen, just point me back in the right direction so I can go home so I won't be late for work tomorrow."

"I did not understand half the things you just said. I wasn't aware the vampires speak the way you do. I don't know what you mean by 'crap' and 'shit', and I don't recall anyone I know of with the name Legolas. However, I will not tolerate such insolence and disrespect from the likes of you." He spun around and walked away. He halted and looked over his shoulders. "Guard the prisoner well. We will use her to ransom back my brother." Then he ascended the steps leaving a hysterical Ana.

"You come back here Legolas! It's dung! It's dung you jerk! Let me out of here!"

***

Prince Ivan moved past the hallway and made his way towards the wide archway, leading him to the throne room. Two large silver thrones were atop the dais where his parents, King Lianthor and Queen Elora sat.

He approached the throne and knelt on one knee and placed his right fist over his heart. He rose after he was given the leave to do so.

"Ivan," the Queen started. "I've heard you held a vampire captive?"

Ivan nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty. As we speak, the vampire is held in the lower dungeon. It's a female Valentin."

Queen Elora let out a gasp. "Is this true? Are you sure about this? There was never a female Valentin other than the reigning Queen Talya." It was a known fact that the wives of the Valentins conceive female newborns so rarely. The last time a female was born into the Valentin family was a millennium ago.

"I'm not mistaken mother," Prince Ivan insisted. "The female captive looked exactly like Kristoff if she was born a male. We found her on the meadow in the middle of the battle. The female hasn't had the transition yet." All encantos and encantas—a general term they used to call all beings from different races in the realm—hit their transition at a certain age in their life where they fully develop their characteristics as true ecantos or encantas. In the case of a vampire, they begin feeding on blood and become susceptible to the sun.

The king and queen exchanged knowing glances.

"We must inform this immediately to the vampire king," King Lianthor said. "He must answer why he kept this certain information from the elves."

Why would the elves even need an explanation from the vampire king? Ivan thought. "My king, we must not make haste. We need to plan well so we can use the female to retrieve my brother Adam," Ivan said.

King Lianthor sighed and motioned for his son to approach him. "Believe me, Ivan. I want to get Adamar back from those vampires. But we cannot use the female."

"What do you mean, father? How can you say that? Your son is suffering from the hands of those vile creatures!"

"Ivan," the queen started. "There is something you must know." She looked at her husband, and when he nodded, the queen proceeded. "Before you were born, before Viktor was crowned king, your grandfather made a blood oath with the previous vampire king in the hopes that the war will be put to an end. Five hundred years ago, they agreed that a Valentin princess will marry the eldest elven prince. My son, if what you say is true, then that female is your future bride."