His Abducted Bride (3 page)

“Noel,” Sandy whispered, wondering why the name sounded familiar.

As if he could read her mind, he said, “I’m sure you’ll figure everything out soon enough. I’ll see you at the banquet hall for breakfast in the morning.”

No, he wouldn’t because come morning, she’d wake up in her bed back home and laugh this whole dream off. She couldn’t wait to call Caitlyn and ask her what she thought of this whole thing.

Noel approached her, her long hair seeming almost midnight blue in the candlelight, though Sandy swore it had to be a rich black color. When she made eye contact with her, Sandy swore her eyes were purple. Her fair skin also seemed to have a hint of blue in it, but that had to be an illusion. Sandy rubbed her eyes. She was tired. Exhausted. It’d been a long day and now this dream was manifesting all of that.

“My lady, I will braid your hair and get you into your nightclothes,” Noel softly spoke, her voice almost sounding like delicate wind chimes.

“I don’t think so,” Sandy replied. “I haven’t had someone get me ready for bed since I was a child, and I’m not about to start now. I’ll take care of everything myself.”

Noel’s smile faltered. “But if you don’t let me do this, I will have no use.”

“Sure you will. Do something around this castle. It’s a big place. There has to be a ton of things you can do.”

“There are many things to do, but I’ve been assigned to you. If you don’t grant me the job of being your lady’s maid, I won’t exist.”

Sandy waited for Noel to say she was joking, but the young woman looked pale, as if she was afraid she’d be banished if she failed to do her duty. “Are you saying the king will behead you if you aren’t my lady’s maid?”

“No, my lady. Nothing like that. I only mean that I won’t have a purpose. Without a purpose, I will disappear.”

She thought to argue with her but then decided it was pointless. This was just a dream. Nothing in dreams had to make sense. Finally, she shrugged. “Okay. I guess it won’t be too weird if you get me ready for bed.” She glanced at the open door. “Is he still out there?” Was this one of those dreams where the man watched her undress, get into bed, and then took advantage of her?

“I’ll close the door at once.”

As Noel did, Sandy went over to the vanity table and took a good look at herself in the mirror. Though her blonde hair fell over her shoulders in a disheveled manner, her attention went to her clothes. Her coat was made of gray animal fur, and when she removed her coat, she realized her black shirt and pants were made of wool material that looked like something that came out of the medieval time period.

After a long moment, she realized this was how she had envisioned herself in the book she was writing. A warrior queen. One who was ready to cross over into enemy territory and spy out the land. The whole thing was so absurd that she burst out laughing.

“Is there something wrong, my lady?” Noel asked, approaching her.

“No, nothing’s wrong.” Sandy knew it only confused Noel more, but she laughed harder. “Why wouldn’t I be wearing these clothes instead of my pajamas? Nothing else in this crazy dream makes sense. So why should this?”

Noel offered a hesitant nod but didn’t say anything.

“Where’s my nightclothes?”

Noel turned to the large armoire and opened it. “You can wear any of them that you want.”

Sandy went over to it and examined the wide range of clothes, from morning dresses to evening dresses to nightclothes and all the underwear she’d ever need. She fingered a corset. “A corset? Really? I don’t recall mentioning one in my book.” Like she’d put a torture device in her novel!

“This is the king’s castle. He had your clothes brought in for you.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Sandy replied, thinking a man would love the curves a corset would give her.

“He sought out the best seamstresses in all the land. It’s a great honor.”

Some honor. She got to be nothing more than a doll to look pretty for him. That’d be the day! She’d never dress up to be a man’s doll, dream or no dream. “I insist that the seamstresses bring in pants and shirts. If I am going to be a queen,” at least as long as this dream continued, “I’m going to have things my way. He doesn’t own me. He won’t tell me what I can or can’t do.”

Noel offered a hesitant nod. “Very well, my lady.”

“Good. In the meantime, I’ll get ready for bed.” And with any luck, when she woke up, this strange dream would be over.

Sandy rolled over in bed the next morning. In her dreamlike state, she sighed in contentment and smiled. She couldn’t remember the last time she had such a good night’s sleep. The dream was still vivid in her mind. She could still see the detail of the bedchamber in the castle, still feel the king’s black armor that felt like liquid when she touched it, and still hear the crackling of the fire in the fireplace that warmed the room.

It was the most realistic dream she’d ever had, and it was one that had some promise in it. Maybe she could write a story based on it. She’d make it another fantasy. Perhaps King Blackheart from her current book could have a distant relative who captured the queen to avenge King Blackheart’s death. It could be the sequel to the book she was about to finish!

Excited, she bolted up in the bed, ready to grab a notebook to jot everything from her dream down. But as she threw the blankets off of her, she realized she wasn’t in her apartment. She blinked and rubbed her eyes before venturing another look around the room. It couldn’t be! This wasn’t possible. There was no way she could still be asleep.

With a groan, she fell back on the bed and brought the pillow over her head. What was going on? Sure, she’d had dreams that spanned days—years even—in dream time, but the lapse of time in this dream seemed different. Events were happening at the same pace they did when she was awake. She threw the pillow off her head and pinched herself. Well, that didn’t work. But why would it? She didn’t really believe that nonsense about pinching oneself to get out of a dream anyway.

She released a long breath and slipped her pillow back under her head. If this was a dream, she might as well keep sleeping. There was no reason to get up. She reached for the blankets and pulled them up to her neck, getting as comfortable as she could. Smiling, she snuggled into the sheets and closed her eyes.

About ten minutes of bliss passed before a soft voice called her name. Frowning, she opened her eyes and saw that Noel was peering over her, a concerned expression on her face. Sandy didn’t understand it. Why was she still dreaming?

“Are you feeling ill, my lady?” Noel asked.

“No. At least I don’t think so.” Sandy rolled on to her back and tried to figure out why she couldn’t wake up. She’d never had a dream that she couldn’t come out of by willing it. And was she ever willing it!
Wake up, Sandy. Come on. You can do it. Wake up.

“My lady, should I get a physician?”

Looking at Noel, she shook her head. “I don’t need a physician. I need to wake up.” Reluctant, she sat up, her shoulders slumped. “But I get it. I can’t so I might as well continue on with this whole thing.” At the very least, it could give her more ideas for her second book. “Okay. I’ll get up.” Recalling the wardrobe given to her by her abductor, she added, “But I’m wearing my own clothes until I get shirts and pants.”

“The gowns you have are beautiful, the finest in all the lands,” Noel argued, following her as she plopped down in front of her vanity and picked up a brush to work through the tangles in her golden hair. “My lady, far be it from me to overstep my bounds, but the material he acquired to make your clothes aren’t easy to come by.”

Deciding not to answer her, Sandy continued brushing her hair. She didn’t care how expensive or elaborate the clothes were. The king had no right to treat her like a doll to be dressed up to please him. He also had no right to take her here—wherever
here
was—and insist that she marry him at some point if she didn’t give into his demands. And that bit about her giving him an heir… That was never going to happen, no matter how much he wanted it. She slammed the brush on the table.

Noel jerked away from her.

Sandy turned to her. “I’m sorry, Noel. I didn’t realize you were right behind me.”

“I’m supposed to fix your hair, my lady.”

As much as she wasn’t comfortable with anyone catering to her this way, she realized it meant a lot to Noel that she let her do it, so she handed her the brush. “Very well.”

“I’d like to help you dress for the day first.”

“Where are my clothes that I came here with?”

“My lady, will you please pick out something from the armoire?”

“I might be stuck in this dream, but while I’m here, I insist on being comfortable.”

“Wool isn’t very comfortable. You’ll be better off with one of your dresses.”

“If this is my dream, then I want to decide what to wear. That’s fair, isn’t it?” When she saw Noel wince, she added, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’ll tell you what. I’ll tell the king that you insisted I wear the clothes he got me but I refused. Okay?”

Noel looked as if she was ready to protest but then nodded. “As you wish, my lady. I’ll help you into the clothes you want to wear.”

It was on the tip of Sandy’s tongue to assure the younger woman that she wasn’t as mean as she probably seemed, but who knew if Noel would even believe her? And did it matter? Noel was part of her dream, a mere figment of her imagination. With a sigh, she let Noel help her into the clothes she had on the night before. Noel spent a half hour brushing and decorating her hair, something Sandy thought unnecessary since all she was going to do was eat breakfast. Noel pulled back the sides of her hair and pinned them back. Then she curled her hair. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes when Noel wove some pearls into her hair, Sandy waited another half hour until she was done.

“There. Now you’re ready to face the king,” Noel said, a pleased smile on her face.

Sandy forced a smile. “How exciting.” Though she tried to keep the sarcasm out of her voice, she was afraid Noel picked up on it. Without waiting for Noel to reply, she stood up and turned to face her. “Will you be showing me where I can eat breakfast or is someone else supposed to do it?”

“I’ll be happy to take you to the banquet hall.”

“Banquet hall? Wow. Talk about a room sounding more important than it is,” she joked.

Noel glanced at her as they walked out of the room, her eyebrows furrowed. “I don’t understand, my lady. Did I say something funny?”

“No, it’s just,” she shrugged, “how my mind works.” Even in her dreams, she couldn’t tell a good joke to save her life. Turning her attention to the hallway, she noted the stone walls lit by flaming torches. “Is the whole castle this dark?”

“There are windows further ahead, but some passages are enclosed to protect us in case of an attack.”

“Are you attacked often?”

“We’ve had our share of battles, my lady.”

“Is there any danger of battles right now?” she pressed, wondering if this dream was going to take a more adventurous turn.

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“On you.”

Sandy halted and stared at Noel. Whatever did her lady’s maid mean by that?

“Oh good. You’re awake,” someone called out.

Turning in the direction of the voice, she saw a man standing further down the hallway, just out of the light’s reach. Even if she couldn’t see him, she recognized the voice of her captor. “Yes, I am awake,” she said. “It seems that I’m stuck in this dream.”

“Are you still going on and on about the dream nonsense?”

“You have a better explanation for why I’m in a castle that looks like it came right out of the medieval time period?”

“I worked with what you created from your imagination.”

How cute, she thought. Granted, everything in her dream did stem from her imagination, but even so, she didn’t think he’d say something like that. “Well, since this is my imagination, I insist you let me leave so I can finally wake up.”

“It’s not quite as simple as you think,” he replied.

“You’re right. It’s not. In other dreams, I can control what happens, but in this one, I can’t.”

“You have a tendency to control everything, don’t you?”

She crossed her arms and exhaled. “I see you’re quick with a comeback.”

“I’m being honest. You haven’t been listening to me or anyone else around here.”

“You’re part of a dream. An annoying part, but still a part of it. There’s no incentive for me to listen to you.”

“You’re not dreaming.”

She huffed and stepped closer to the torch on the wall so he’d see her roll her eyes. “Sure, I’m not. I just stepped into a world that parallels mine.”

He finally came into the light so she could see him, and her jaw dropped. He had dark wavy hair with bangs that hung partially over his forehead. His full lips were accentuated by the five o’clock shadow growing along his strong jaw. But it was his blue eyes that stood out more than any other facial feature. Her gaze went lower, and she saw the regal black clothing he wore with boots to match. She turned her attention to the top of his head, noticing the gold crown he wore with rubies embedded into it. He was the exact image of a character she created.

“King Blackheart,” she whispered, not believing her eyes.

“I see my reputation precedes me,” he replied with a bow.

“But you wear an onyx crown.”

“Only when you write the book. While I love the colors black and red, my crown of choice is gold.”

Sandy glanced at Noel before turning her attention back to the man. “Is this some kind of joke?”

“It’s no joke.” He walked up to her, his hands clasped behind his back. “Everything you see is real.”

After she took a moment to gather her composure, she crossed her arms. “I find that hard to believe.”

“Hopefully, you won’t find it hard to believe for long.” He turned to Noel. “You are relieved of your duties at the moment.” Extending his arm to Sandy, he said, “I’ll escort you to the banquet hall.”