Something Beautiful

Chapter Four

Chapter 4

(Elle)

I walk outside of the ballroom, using one of the many exits to get outside. It was hot and crowded inside, with everyone saying goodbye, so I figured I would just leave using a shortcut.

The rest of the evening had been pretty boring after my dance with the prince. I still wasn't exactly sure why he was being so polite to me after what he said yesterday, but then again, who knew anything about boys?

I'd spent the rest of the night getting orders from other tables. Most of the guests looked down on me, me being a servant and all, so I really wanted to leave as soon as possible. But I was glad that people were having fun, at least for Maria's sake.

I get the feeling that someone's watching me, and I turn my head briefly. I see a group of men, probably somewhere in their late twenties or early thirties, following me. I get a bad feeling in my gut and quicken my pace, hoping to get away from them and inside the servants' quarters as soon as possible.

I hear them talking, loudly. I assumed they were drunk, and the sounds of their obnoxious laughter made me almost entirely sure of my assumption.

"Well, what do we have here?" I hear one of them say.

"Is she the one? The one he wants?" another one of them says.

"I think so," says a bigger man.

What the hell were they talking about?

I'm about to turn and go inside a random door, just to get away from them, when one of them grabs hold of my wrist. "Now, I don't think you want to do that," the man says.

"Let. Go. Of. Me!" I say as forcefully as I could, and pull my arm away from his loose grasp.

"Ooh, a feisty one, aren't we?" another man says, laughing evilly.

The group starts surrounding me, and I punch one of them in the jaw. He rubs it with his palm, clearly surprised by the amount of pain I'd given him with just one punch. The group was stunned, and I used the momentary hesitation to duck underneath their arms. But I didn't exactly get away, and one of the bigger men pins me to the wall of the castle.

I scream loudly, but the man covers my mouth with his hand easily. I bite down, but his other hand holds me in place. He caresses my cheek, and I flinch at his touch. He moves in closer and closer, so close I can smell the alcohol on his breath. The man's grip on me tears the sleeve of my dress.

He traces the shape of my lips with his finger, making me shudder. "It's too bad he needs you... If he didn't, oh, the things I'd do—"

I scream again. "Somebody help!"

"Shut up, you little bi—" another man yells, but the man who was pinning me against the wall interrupts him by injecting something into my arm.

“I guess we couldn’t do this the easy way,” he says.

I feel a blackness coming onto my eyelids, and a feeling of peace and weariness washes over me. Despite my tiredness, I recognized the injected poison as venotism, a drug that causes extreme sleepiness and makes you pass out. It was developed by the Royal Scientist about fifty years ago for an anesthetic.

I couldn't pass out! I had to stay awake, and the words kept chanting through my head: stay awake.

But I was so tired... No! Stay awake, Elle. Who knows what these men will do to you if you fall asleep? I told myself. I fight off the feelings and keep my fluttering eyelids open, when suddenly I feel the man pinning me on the wall let go.

I slide to the ground from sheer exhaustion, crumpling to the ground, still fighting the venotism effects. I see Prince Will above me.

"Get away from her," Will says angrily, his gorgeous blue eyes wild and bright. "If I see you or any of your friends here again, I will personally throw you in the dungeon myself."

The man scrambles off of me, and disappears into the shadows, but I hear the guards' shouts. I know the group was caught.

"Miss Meridal?" Will asks.

"Your hi-hi-Highness," I manage to say, the drug making it hard to talk. "The ven-ven-venotism—"

"You're still awake? After venotism?!" he exclaims. "C'mon, I have to get you to the infirmary." He offers his hand, but when I try to stand up, I stumble and fall again.

"I... I don't think—"

"Don't worry. I'm going to pick you up, okay?" Will says quietly. He didn't sound at all like the boy who was interrupted by a servant when he was making out with another girl yesterday. Will almost sounded tender, compassionate.

"Ok-ka-kay." I struggle to stay awake. He sweeps me into his arms bridal-style, and starts to walk very quickly towards the castle.

"My God, you're tiny," I hear him murmur.

I shiver, struggling to keep my eyes open. His arms tighten around mine, and I whimper from the cold, autumn air. "Shh, it's going to be okay," Will says. "We'll be inside soon. Stay awake for me, okay?"

I nod, curling my body closer to him and closing my eyes. I feel warmth on my bare arms, the sleeves ripped off by the men. We must be inside. I open my eyes, finding myself in the infirmary.

"We're here, Miss Meridal," Will says, laying me on a bed.

"Miss Meridal, drink this!" a nurse says, handing me a golden liquid. "It will counteract the effects of the venotism."

I swallow it quickly, feeling the drug's effects weaken. "Thank you," I tell her, finally saying something coherently.

I look over at Will. "Your Highness," I say. "Thank you so much. If you weren't there, I…I don't know what could've happened," I say breathlessly.

"Let's not think about that." Will smiles slightly.  "They won't do anything like that again, I promise."

"I hope not," I murmur. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome. And I'm sorry about what happened yesterday. And how I insulted you. Are we even now?"

"Of course, Your Highness," I say softly. "Though the insult is far less important than you saving my life."

"I would still like to apologize." he smiles.

"It's fine," I say. "Don't worry about it." I yawn. "If you don't mind, Your Highness, I really better be getting some sleep."

"Of course, Miss Meridal. Have a good night."

My eyes flutter shut before I can even respond.

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Hi, guys! Chapter Four, completed! I hope you liked the action in this chapter, and if all goes according to plan, Chapter Five should be from Will's POV.

I still haven't gotten any comments yet... Could someone comment please? Thanks!

-Mimi