The Royal Contract

Once the lights were turned on, the darkness that hid him from her earlier was flooded with bright light, finally revealing his position. She had easily spotted him sitting behind a beam. 

She noticed that he was hardly moving. She could only see a partial portion of his face and body from where she was standing. 

Maybe he was sleeping, or he might have been badly beaten, she could only guess. However, she had to find out as she moved toward him.

"Alex, are you ok?" Dani shouted, running in his direction, but one of the men stopped her, blocking her path and grabbing her by her arms.

She struggled against him, shouting, flailing her arms, and even kicking, but it had been no use. The man was big and strong compared to her. But she did not give up as she continued to defy him.

It would seem that all her efforts did not even hurt him a bit. He did not even flinch when her elbow connected to his ribs. He was all solid muscles while she was skin and bones.

"Not so fast, my princess." The man she despised the most spoke behind her. "You see, your prince over there is currently sleeping like a baby. He would not be able to hear you."

He had him sedated after he had taught him a lesson or two. Now, his enemy sat unconscious on the floor, leaning on the wooden beam in the middle of the old barn, unaware of his visitors.

He could not let him see her. That would only give him hope. At the same time, he could not allow her to think that they could escape together. He wanted to teach her a lesson too.

"Let me go, you dumbass." She yelled at the man holding her, referring to him as all muscles but no brain. "You are really are a bastard, aren't you, Nick?" Directing her ire to her oppressor.

She would love to beat his ass again if only she could get an opportunity. But with his men protecting him, it would seem to be an impossible task.

"Easy, my princess," Nick smirked at her, proudly showing her that he had the upper hand. He would not make the same mistake by lowering his guard down around her. 

"I am sure we can arrange something if you will only cooperate with me." He added before she could make another outburst.

He grabbed her chin and tilted her head until she was staring into his eyes. He could see her defiance, the strength of her will to fight him. But soon enough, he would break that.

But instead of agreeing with him, she spat on his face, letting him know what she thought of his suggestion. "You are really not making this easy on all of us." He said, wiping her saliva on his face with the back of his hand.

He walked further inside the room, stopping before her husband. With just a wave of his hand, his men followed, dragging her along with them. 

Her heart dropped from what her eyes witnessed. Her husband was unconscious, with his face bruised and battered, with blood splattered all over his shirt and pants. 

"What did you do to him?" This time, she could not stop the tears from falling down her cheeks. "Let me go. I have to check on him." She shouted and fought against her captor, but he did not even slack his grasp.

She could only imagine what they did to his body. He could be covered with bruises under his clothes, even some broken bones. She focused on his chest, assuring herself that he was still breathing.

"Well, I just thought of giving him a warning." He said, kneeling before him, tapping her husband on the cheeks. "He was indeed a tough one." He complimented before returning back on his feet.

"If you want to keep him alive, you already know what to do." Nick turned around and faced her. "I can have my doctor checked on him right away. Give him all the medical attention he would need."

He walked towards her while she remained silent, probably thinking of his offer. "I am a reasonable man. I am sure we can come up with a compromise." But there was no compromise. 

He only wanted her to believe that she had a say in his decision. Everything was a trick to make her do what he pleased, nothing more and nothing less.

"It is all up to you now." He put his hand along the side of her cheeks, letting his fingers graze her skin.

"Just let him go." She was supposed to add that she would do what he wanted, but the words were stuck on her lips.

Her mind and her heart battled deep inside her, wanting to save the man she loved against self-preservation. Could she give up her freedom for his life?

In her final attempt, out of desperation, she wriggled her body out of the man's grip. But she only managed to hurt herself as he tightened his grip even more. 

She finally did the one thing she thought she would never do. "Please, let me go." She uttered, barely making a sound, begging him. "Please, please, please. Let me see him." She repeated as her voice cracked from her despair.

She could feel her body losing strength as fear and agony took hold of her. Her fight earlier had finally deserted her as she felt the uncertainty of their situation.

Hope was the only thing keeping her together, but even that was slowly dispersing in the wind. Doubt had finally crept into her mind as anguish started to reside in her heart.

"What?" He asked, wanting her to say it louder. Most importantly, he wanted to hear her say the words. It was the only way he could break her.

"Please let me hold him. Help him. I will do what you want." She finally said louder in her broken voice as a sob escaped her lips.

"That was not so hard, wasn't it?" He mockingly said before signaling his man to let her go. "All you have to say is please."

His phone vibrating inside his pocket interrupted the moment. He quickly pulled the phone out of his pocket and saw the caller on the screen. He figured it must be something urgent. 

"Watch her closely." He ordered the two men guarding her. "I just had to take this call." Not wanting her to eavesdrop on his conversation. He immediately moved away from them.

The man finally released his grip on her, but the suddenness made her lose her balance. She ended up bending on the floor. On her knees and hands, she inched her way closer to her husband. Taking advantage that Nick was preoccupied.

"Alex, this is all my fault." She gently touched his bruised face with shaking hands, and then her fingers grazed his broken lips. She wanted him to open his eyes, so she could ask him how he felt, but that was simply impossible.

Then again, in his condition, maybe being unconscious was a blessing in disguise, she thought. At least he would be spared from the pain of all his injuries.

Her tears only intensified when she realized that she might never see him again. If that ever happened, then would her life even be worth living. 

"Alex, stay with me. I do not want to live without you." With trembling lips, she kissed him, afraid to lose him. 

Then, she concluded that if she ever ran out of options, she would probably have a higher odds of being happy with him in the afterlife than continue living without him.