Chapter 11 - Blue            After I had been pushed out from the throne room, the guards led me down the narrow hallway in the castle. We travelled through the maze of stone, up and down endless staircases and bustling people. The castle was alive inside the walls as I watched maids scurry from room-to-room cleaning as they went, and guards watching them longingly as they swept by them. We passed a large kitchen, where loud banging of pots and pans and loud voices could be heard as they prepared the kings next meal. The scent of freshly baked bread and roasted chicken hit my nose as we passed, and my stomach screamed at me involuntarily. The last thing I had to eat was that soup from the doctor, and that seemed like days ago, even though it had only been just a few hours.The guards continued to walk me through the castle until we reached our destination. A small wooden door glared down at me, and had a larg

Chapter 13 - Trapped                   I was woken by light streaming through pale blue sheer curtains. The sunlight bouncing off of the colors, and making the entire room look as though it was underwater. I groaned, and rolled over, pulling the soft covers above my head to block out the brightness that was invading my senses. Warmth surrounded me and the large fluffy pillows molded around my body, if I could, I would happily die in the heaven that was this bed. I was just drifting back off into sleep when two loud bangs sounded on the door, causing me to shoot up out of bed. Heart pounding in my chest. I listened for the normal creaking and grinding of the iron lock shifting, but when it never came, I inched closer to the large wooden door. A small piece of white paper was laying on the stone by the door, obviously slid under through the small gap in a hurry. I picked it up and u

Chapter 15 – A New Development We continued to train on the field every morning at seven am. After about two weeks of Devin showing me how to correctly punch, kick, and block; we moved on to simple escape moves from a standing position. Devin was still as intolerable as ever, but the information he has was useful, and I was getting better every day. I was able to get out of a simple wrist grab, and could get someone off me if they grabbed me from behind. Our training became longer, and Devin had actually begun to speak to me humanly, and not as if I was some sort of demon. I still hated him, and he made it clear he was forced to be there, but I actually started to look forward to our time together instead of dreading it.   My body was taking nicely to the intense work outs too. In two weeks, I could feel the muscles start to form in my arms and legs. The little belly fat I had was barely noticeable, and my butt had

Chapter 17 - Sparks Marcus found me still sitting at the immense dining room table, staring at the full plate of food I hadn’t touched.  Luckily, Simon was still not around, and Marcus gave me the time to gather myself before taking me back up to the room. Walking in slow comfortable silence instead of pushing me to hurry along.  When we arrived, he lifted the large bolt and pushed the door to the room open for me. I went to step inside, but he stopped me with a hand. I turned to look at him, and he placed a large warm hand on my shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. Marcus didn’t seem to be great with feelings, but I gave him a watery smile at the attempt to comfort me. He stepped aside so I could walk into the large bedroom, and he pulled the door closed behind me. As soon as the lock clicked back into place I sprinted to the bathroom and threw up the contents of my stomach into the toilet. Hugging the cool ceramic as

Chapter 19 – HeatI struggled against Devin, attempting to twist and pull my arms from his grasp but it was useless. He held firm with one hand wrapped around both my wrists pinning them above my head, and moved his right leg in between mine, pressed his hips down onto me. He dipped his head down, bringing his lips against my cheek, and causing sparks to scatter down my body.“Stop fighting, and calm down.” He whispered into my ear, his hair brushing against my neck as he used his free hand to reach into his pocket. He pulled the iron bracelet out, and reached up to my trapped wrists, locking it into place around my left arm with a loud snap. I winced as the cool and unforgiving metal grazed the thin skin, leaving its usual trail of burns as it slid down my arm. “Take a deep breath Aspen.” The prince mumbled into my cheek. I inhaled deeply, the smell pine and lavender filling my senses, and making me lightheaded. Even when I hated him