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Chapter6
Pushing air from my lungs was almost as difficult now as it had been when I thought I’d been drowning.
I inhaled a shaky, shallow breath as my heart tightened in my chest. I raised my clammy hands up, staring at them like I could will them to be still and stop shaking while my mind tried to comfort me and tell me I was trapped in a nightmare. That none of what happened was real.
The feel of cotton brushed at the skin along my neckline. That small tactile moment brought me back to stark reality, kissing my skin like an awakening to my surroundings.
But the kiss was not one of fairytales. Instead, I was awoken from my trance only to find myself still trapped.
None of this was a nightmare.
In fact, after spending the remainder of the day in my room, only having the door opened for the arrival of a charcuterie board that would put any elite upper class in D.C. to shame, I’d expected to wake up back in my foster house. Accompanied by the all-too-common sounds of Darryl hollering about the TV being out again. Honestly, that sound would have been comforting in its familiarity, which spoke more to my mental state than I wanted to delve into first thing in the morning.
I’d collapsed, exhausted after the final of many attempts to pickpocket the lock of the door to my room, just as the sun crept toward the horizon outside my window. Now with the light beaming into my room at full force, I realized I’d slept longer than I had in quite some time, no doubt due to the stress of whatever the hell was happening to me.
I brought my hand down to my stomach. I was tucked beneath an obviously hand-sewn quilt in a room that, while just a spare in this castle, was nicer than any I’d ever known.
And I was kept here to be somebody’s meal.
I searched the room, seeing that I was indeed alone. A small victory if I was a prisoner of sorts.
The door across the room taunted me, beckoning me to make an escape. Maybe they’d unlocked it since last night.
I flipped the covers back and bolted across the room, tripping as I stumbled forward and fell onto the wooden frame. I pushed down on the handle but it stopped immediately.
Locked.
I turned and banged my head once against the door, sliding to the ground. There goes my getaway. Even if it had been open, where would I run away to? I was lost, an outcast here, and those outside the castle walls seemed even less interested in helping me than those inside. Here I had shelter, most likely food. Out there, I had no one.
No allies.
I might be used to being on my own, but that was in the city. Not in some fantasy land of make believe.
I ran my hands through my hair and tugged a few times. Plan B. Perhaps this prince would be easy to befriend. If we were on good terms, he could potentially help me.
I slowly rose from the floor. The wheels in my mind turned rapidly, spinning quickly in an effort to form a solid plan. I approached the bathroom and stared at the gorgeous space.
My own space.
This might not be too horrible after all. Aside from the bloodsucking part.
I swallowed the bile that rose at the thought and pushed past the concern and fear to try to appreciate what was before me. Luxury. Quiet. Cleanliness.
The gold knobs in the shower were loose and smooth, easy to turn, on and the faucet spouted out with water instantly. I moaned as the hot water cascaded down my body.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been in total quiet, taking care of myself.
There were bottles of shampoos, hair products, soaps all lined up in glass bottles with small golden pumps. I ran my fingers across them. Everything was so perfect. So beautiful. So…unlike every part of my life.
I pumped one of the bottles of liquid into my hand and was wrapped in a scent that reminded me of a lush garden. Beautiful floral scents instantly relaxed me and made me feel welcome instead of like I didn’t belong.
The sensation was overpowering and part of me wanted to bask in it, in this warm, flowery heaven, forever.
My fingers wrinkled slowly, puckering up as I glided my hands through the water and tilted my neck side to side.
I couldn’t stay here forever though, despite this comfort I’d never felt before. And I certainly didn’t want Ms. Trapsbury entering while I was trying to get dressed. I’d been humiliated enough here.
Time was up.
