His Abducted Bride (8 page)

“I hate to admit it, but even with all the things you’ve done to keep me prisoner, I never thought you’d use magic to force me to marry you.”

“Now you know what it feels like.”

“Now I know what
it
feels like?”

“You had me slaughter innocent people and destroy villages against my will. I protested it each and every step of the way,” he pointed to her, “but you made me do it. So yes, now you know what it feels like to be forced to do something against your will. It’s not very pleasant, is it?”

“There’s a big difference between you and me.”

“Besides the fact that you’re stubborn to a fault?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “If I’m stubborn, I have good reason to be. I am the author of this story. And not only am I the author, but I’m real. You are a work of fiction. Once I’m back in my world, you will cease to exist.”

Because she’d make sure the first thing she did was delete him from the story. She no longer even wanted to kill him off. The sooner she was done with him, the better, and there was no quicker way to be rid of him than to delete the entire book. At this point, she was fine with the thought of quitting the insane notion of writing a book altogether. It simply wasn’t worth the aggravation. The last thing she needed was another psychotic character abducting her.

“I was able to go into your world to bring you here,” King Blackheart said in a low voice that demanded her attention. “If I could materialize in your world, I’m real.”

She stared at him but didn’t say anything. She refused to give him the satisfaction of wondering how he managed that feat, especially since he wasn’t supposed to be real.

“It doesn’t matter what you think or what you want,” he continued with a shrug. “The fact is, our kingdoms are united now, and the story is finally going in the direction it should have gone from the beginning.”

“And how does your version of my story end? Do I fall off the wall because I’m miserable?”

“Why do you insist on killing people? Is your life so morbid you have to enact such violence?”

“My life is just fine, thank you very much.” Not that anything she did in her
real
life was any of his business, but she might as well humor him and tell him why she was happy. “I have a decent job, a nice apartment, and good friends. The only reason I was writing was because I had a dream that needed to be written down.”

“Protest all you want, but I sense an emptiness inside you.”

“That’s because I’m stuck here. Send me back and the emptiness will go away,” she said through gritted teeth. She didn’t know why his words irked her as much as they did. They were just words. There was no validity to them, none that she could see anyway.

“If you let me live, I’ll send you back.”

After a long moment, she shook her head. “The story isn’t yours. It’s mine.”

“Then you’ll stay here.” Taking a deep breath, he straightened and extended his arm to her. “I’ll escort you to your bedchamber so Noel can help you dress for our wedding dinner.”

“You’re not getting into my bed.”

“I don’t believe I mentioned doing so.”

“I meant tonight or any other night. You might have used magic on me to get me to marry you, but if you so much as use magic to—”

“Enough,” he interrupted, his eyes growing cold. “I know you take me for a villain, but I wouldn’t make you do something that personal against your will.”

“You made me marry you. From where I stand, that’s pretty personal.”

“I married you for political reasons. It has nothing to do with affection.”

“If I remember right, and I’m sure I do, you mentioned me having your child the night you brought me to this prison.”

“In due time, I’m confident you’ll see the error of your ways and will either write the story as it should’ve been written in the first place or will fall in love with me. I’m not opposed to the love story aspect, but I’ll take the first scenario if we end up going our separate ways.”

“You are taking a lot for granted.” She decided to leave their conversation on that note. At least she was assured he wouldn’t be forcing himself on her in bed, and right now, that was enough to ask for. “You may escort me to my bedchamber, but I’m not touching your arm.”

Without another word, he led her out of the throne room.

A very long week passed, and Sandy wasn’t any closer to getting back to her world than she’d been when she first got trapped in her story. When Blackheart wasn’t around, the guard was her ever faithful companion, and from what she could see, he didn’t even blink. He stared at her, as if he was afraid she’d suddenly disappear. Blackheart could say all he wanted about him not being a villain, but it was obvious that his men showed a healthy amount of fear—or respect—for him. They didn’t dare do anything to disobey him.

As had become her habit, she went for a walk along the wall surrounding the castle. And she glared at Blackheart as he and his men practiced their skill with their swords, but like always, he refused to look in her direction. She stopped her leisure stroll and watched the men practice their sword fighting, another thing that had become her habit.

She had to find someone to sympathize with her plight. But who? She scanned the courtyard below her. She didn’t think any of the men would sympathize with her. Well, they might feel sorry for her since she was imprisoned here, but they wouldn’t do anything to free her. What she needed to do was think outside the box. No one was going to save her. She needed to save herself. But how?

Spying the magician as he walked toward his quarters, a smile spread across her face. Of course! The answer was so simple. Why hadn’t she thought of it before? She glanced over at the guard who was talking to another guard. Good. He was distracted, and better yet, since she hadn’t run off before, he wouldn’t expect her to make a mad dash for freedom. Now was the time to act.

She inched toward the stairs, her gaze going to the guard as she did so. He laughed at something the other guard said. The other two guards lining the wall didn’t pay any attention to her, probably since they were used to seeing her every day. She studied the men one more time to make sure they were distracted. Once she was assured they were, she broke into a run down the stairs, making sure she stayed close to the wall so no one would see her.

She slipped in through the door that led to an underground tunnel that would take her to the castle. Who knew all her weeks of exploring the place would prove so beneficial? The only reason the king hadn’t prevented her from having free rein over the place was because he assumed one of his guards would always be watching her. Well, his guards were bored of their task, and that boredom made it easier for her to escape.

She paused as she came to the place where the tunnel separated into two parts. The torches lining the walls gave her ample light to proceed, but she had to remember which way led to the room where Blackheart organized his battles. The magician kept his quarters close to that one. The wrong way would take her to the servants’ quarters. Finally, she decided to go right, praying she chose the right path.

Surely by now, the guard would realize she was missing. He’d either send out an alarm or quietly try to find her. She hoped it’d be the latter. If he didn’t want to disgrace himself by letting the king know he lost her, then it’d take everyone longer to find her. With any luck, by the time they spotted her, she’d be in another form.

When she reached the end of the tunnel, she climbed the steps. Behind her, all was silent. That was a good sign. The stairs ended at a wooden door, and she opened it a crack, suddenly mindful of the fact that the guard might be waiting for her. But luck was on her side. Blackheart’s planning room was vacant. Relieved, she slipped into it and shut the door which faded into the wall. No doubt, that was the magician’s doing.

She hurried to the window and peered down at the courtyard, careful not to expose herself as she did so. As she suspected, the guard was too proud to tell the king he’d lost her. At the moment, he was going in through the door that led to the tunnels. Good. That should buy her just enough time to do what she came here for.

She made it to the door and slowly opened it. Since there was only silence, she quietly stepped out of the room and softly closed the door. Glancing both ways down the hall, she saw it was clear and proceeded to make her way to the magician’s quarters. The magician hadn’t been important in her story, so he shouldn’t have received quarters in the king’s castle. But Blackheart had changed a few things around, and in this version of the story, the magician probably played a better role.

She continued to scan the dim corridor on her way to the magician’s door. When she finally reached it, she tapped on it, hoping the magician’s hearing was good because she didn’t dare knock any louder in case someone else heard. In agonizing silence, she waited.
Please be here, please be here.
If that guard found her before the magician granted her request, she’d be in trouble. Blackheart allowed her enough freedom to check out the entire castle, but he’d probably have her confined to her bedchamber if she was caught.

After what seemed like an hour, the magician finally opened the door. His eyes grew wide when he saw her. “My lady, what are you doing here?”

She pressed her finger to her lips and entered his room, not bothering to wait for an invitation. This was a matter of servitude and her freedom. Good manners could wait. She motioned for him to shut his door.

With a shrug, he obeyed and turned his attention back to her. “What does the queen need with me?”

“You owe me a favor,” she told him. Yes, that was a good way to begin. Make him think he didn’t have an option.

“Do I?”

“Yes. You used magic on me to make me marry the king. That was against my will. Since you did that, you owe me enough magic to do something I want.”

He clasped his hands in front of him. For a moment, she thought he was going to refuse to help her, but then he said, “Fair enough. What do you want?”

“I want you to change me into something that can leave this castle undetected.”

“You don’t like being the queen here?”

“You force me into a marriage I didn’t want and have the audacity to ask me that?”

“You haven’t been married for long. I thought in due time, you’d come to be content. It’s not a bad place to live, my lady, and King Blackheart is more than fair.”

She grunted. “That’s your opinion. Now, will you change me into something that can get out of this place or not?”

“I will.” He went over to a shelf lined with vials of different colored liquids. “Will anything suffice?”

“Anything that will hide my identity and make it easy for me to get out of here.” As an afterthought, she added, “I want to be able to change back into me.”

“Very well.” He scanned the wall and picked out a purple and black vial. “What you require is simple enough, but you only have twenty-four hours until this potion wears off.”

“I understand.” Excited, she watched as he mixed the liquid into a cup. This was it! She was going to get out of here. Recalling her apartment, she asked, “Do you know how I can get back to my world? The world that King Blackheart abducted me from?”

“No, I don’t know how to move between worlds.”

“Is there anyone besides the king who does?”

He poured the mixture into a new vial and handed it to her. “Let me check.”

She studied the triangular vial filled halfway with the swirl of purple and black liquids while he went over to a book resting on his bookshelf. She brought the vial to her nose and sniffed it. It didn’t smell bad. A little tangy but sweet, too. How intriguing that this should contain a potion potent enough to change her form so she could escape. But she only had twenty-four hours. She hoped that was enough time to find her way to her apartment.

The magician opened a book and sorted through the pages until he found the one he was looking for. “Ah, there it is. There is a creature who knows the portal that will take you back to your world. He isn’t easy to find, despite the myths and legends that abound about him in this land. You’ll have to find the unicorn whose name no one knows.”

Recalling the legend Gen Evermore told her, she stared at the magician in disbelief. “But this unicorn is neither here nor there, and the only one who can control him is the person who knows his name.”

Closing the book, he placed it back on the shelf and turned to her. “I urge you to give the king a chance. He is not the monster you made him out to be.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You would say that, considering the fact that you’re his magician. You’ve sworn allegiance to him, have you not?”

“I have, but that doesn’t negate my concern for your safety.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m the author of this story. Nothing bad can happen to me. Well, nothing physically bad.” While she might have to marry King Blackheart, she couldn’t die here. This world, while real to her characters, was still a work of fiction. Since she originated outside this world, she wasn’t really a part of it. “Now, how do I find out the unicorn’s name?”

He shook his head. “I can’t. In all good conscience, I can’t lead you into certain danger.”

“But you could marry me to the big oaf?”

“I didn’t marry you.”

“No, not technically. You just made it so that I agreed to the stupid marriage like a lovesick teenager.” The whole thing still made her want to gag. “Whether you want to admit it or not, you had a crucial part in enslaving me to him. Now, I demand you tell me how to find the unicorn’s name. If you won’t obey me because of your guilt, then obey me because I’m now you’re queen.”

“If you were writing this story, you could make up any name and it would suffice, but that isn’t the case here.” He paused. “My lady, you don’t know what you’re asking. You’d have to go to the Lake of Many Woes, and there’s no guarantee that you are invincible in this world. Only the unicorn survived the lake, and things didn’t go as he planned.”