Chapter One

I was so nervous on the actual day, I didn't know what to expect. I had finally found a suitable match – a man to marry who was willing to accept me and my past. All I had to do now was wait…wait in the carriage until we go to the venue, then wait to walk down on the aisle, wait for the priest to ask me to say "I do", then wait to walk back down the aisle and get into the carriage.

I had been working so hard for this day, through so much, and it all seemed to rest on todays actions. I wish I could just fast forward to the end, especially past the wedding night, but that wasn't an option. I had to focus on the here and now.

We thought we might encounter some resistance on the road from the war going on. There were guards with us so we didn't expect it to be a problem. Before I knew what was happening the carriage had stopped and I heard a commotion outside.

Once I heard screaming I took out my dagger, the one my father had made for me before he passed. I was headed for the door when a man wearing a black uniform, covered in tattoos opened it and pointed his sword at me. I was debating if I should make a move but then I saw how many men were behind him and knew I couldn't take that many on.

"That would be a bad idea." He teased.

"What do you want?" I ask.

"Come with us quietly and you won't be harmed." He said.

I gave it a moment of thought before dropping the dagger and following him out of the carriage. I had no guarantee that he was telling the truth but I didn't have another option either.

He kept his sword pointed at me, almost touching me, as he urges me into the woods down a recently cut path.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Keep moving." He said in a harsh tone. He pushed me along, hard enough that I almost tripped. It was a few agonizing minutes later when we came up to their horses.

"Get on." He said and motioned towards the horse in front of me.

I put my right foot in the foot holder, pushed my body up a little bit, grabbed the dongle at the top, pulled myself up and used the momentum to swing my left leg to the other side. I placed my left foot in the holder and braced myself while he got up and sat behind me.

I wanted to tell the horse to just go, go as fast as it could but he pressed a dagger to my side so hard I worried even a bump would cause an injury.

Once the other men were saddled up we took off. His arm kept brushing mine as he gripped the reins, it made me want to puke.

I tried to keep track of where we were going, where we had been, but it was several hours through the woods. The path they took weaved and I lost track of the turns we took. I could only be sure the place they took me to was South of my home.

Getting off the horse, I decided to make a run for it. I ran as fast as I could, I thought since I caught them off guard maybe I had a chance. I didn't look back, I didn't want to know how close they might be.

It didn't matter. I came to an immediate halt when I saw the cliff. I looked to see if I could go around or climb down but it was long and steep. I would never make it around and if I tried to go down I could break my neck. I turn around and see the men come through the clearing.

"You've seen you can't escape, now come quietly." He said, annoyed.

I sighed and tentatively took the hand he extended me. He jerked me forward and put me in front of him. He pushed me to move faster.

Once we break through the trees I see the castle in front of me. It was a well maintained, 3-story stone castle with large windows, several balconies, and dozens of large, gorgeous windows. The landscaping was well kept, with several bushes, trees, and various flowers on the property. I stopped when I saw the Britania flag hanging on the side of the castle.

"D-did we cross the border?" I asked him but he just kept pushing me. He took me into the castle by himself, I thought I might see another chance to escape but the place was filled with guards and servants. I let out an exasperated sigh and continued following him.

We went through the front room, up the stairs to the third floor, and down the hall to a bedroom. I started getting more nervous the closer he got but he just pushed me inside the room and the two guards outside shut the door behind him.

I let out a sigh of relief and looked around – it was a large room with a queen bed with end tables to the left, two large french doors on the other side of the room, and a fireplace to the left. There was an armoire, vanity, bookshelf with an arm chair, and a small table with chairs in the room as well.

I went over to the doors and tried to open them but they were locked. I moved the curtains and saw the doors went to a large balcony with an outside table and chairs. The view of the forest and the mountains behind them were breathtaking but I couldn't think about that right now.

I turned around and scanned the room – where to look first? I wasn't sure how much time I had so I went through the end tables, armoire, and vanity first. I looked through everything in the room several times but I couldn't find anything. Then it hit me, my hair pin.

I took the pin out and went to the French doors. I put it in the lock and tried to pick the lock. My father used to be in the palace guard – he taught me how to pick a lock, how to defend myself, and how to use a dagger and sword. I wasn't the best, especially at lock picking, but given enough time I could pick most locks.

I hear that familiar click and let out a sigh of relief. I opened the doors and stepped out. The breeze had a slight chill, it was just now spring but the sun was at high noon and warm.

My anxiety was the highest it's ever been – I knew I must've been taken by the neighboring country, Britania, who we were at war with.

I went up to the ledge and looked out – there were rose bushes on the ground under the balcony which means jumping would land me in a bunch of thorns not to mention I wasn't sure if I'd survive. At the least I'd break one leg maybe two and that would make escaping very difficult if not impossible.

I let out a sigh – there didn't seem to be a way out of this room for the moment. There weren't any extra sheets so I couldn't tie them together and scale down the wall. I turned around and rested my back on the railing.

When I felt the rain I decided to head back in. I sat down on the bed and looked at the shelf – it contained titles I had read before and loved.

How long had I been in this room? An hour, hours? What was I doing here? Would I rot in this room? What would happen to me?

Finally I heard the door start to open and popped up off the bed. A man walked into the room and the guards closed the doors behind him. He was tall with long red hair, piercing gray eyes, a straight nose that slightly turned up at the end, and thin lips. I saw some black tattoos peek out of the neckline of his shirt that I imagined connected to the black tattoos I saw down his sculpted arms.

"Y-you." I said when I recognized him.

A smile spread across his once stoic face. "You do remember me. I was worried."