<You shouldn’t be surprised to see me.> A wicked grin spreads across the woman’s face. The woman who tried to kill her—and would have succeeded if the thief named Radjerd hadn’t intervened. Except, he wasn’t here. It was just her, and Freydis. Cordelia attempts to grip something beneath her to help her out of her situation, but all her fingers are met with is the tile floor.

<You shouldn’t have fucked with me, Princess.> Her growl becomes menacing as the look in her eyes go from playful to serious within a second. Cordelia scurries to the door but Freydis smiles. <Getting Rad on your side was a mistake—he will regret using his gifts against me.>

<I never asked him to, but I’m glad he did. Who on earth would want to die?!> Cordelia braces herself against the floor, carefully keeping an eye on the woman above her.

<A pittance?! Do you even know how much your life is worth around these parts? You’re the god damn princess. You’ll pay for your ignorance.> Freydis lunges forward, Cordelia dodges out of the way. She's relieved that her training paid off—it made her nimble enough to avoid Freydis directly. Cordelia grabs the table, shifting it in front of her to use as a barricade between the women.

Freydis climbs over the table, grabbing a fistful of blonde hair. She seethes, <You’re not escaping me this time. I made sure to tell Alteus who you really were—poor man seemed sympathetic to your situation but he agreed to withhold Rad for me—we can’t have him interfering a second time.> Freydis leans forward, the grip on her hair tightens.

Cordelia gathers her saliva, spitting it in Freydis’ face. The woman is taken aback, looking fairly amused with her act.

<Now, I’m not as reckless as I was back at the Locke Manor, dear princess.> Freydis unbuttons her shirt, Cordelia’s eyes peeled to her soft, tanned breasts. With one hand she forces Cordelia on the ground. <While I want to rip your hair out for what Rad did to me, there are other ways I can silence you.> Freydis bites the edge of her cheek—no, there’s something underneath her tongue. Cordelia’s eyes widen when Freydis leans closer. <I can see why I was betrayed—a cute little thing like you with those plump lips of yours. You’re bewitching my men, and myself.>

She couldn’t have said Branton—god—he was working from the inside? Is that why he was interested in her? If the thief named Radjerd hadn’t knocked him out—would Branton have sneaked off with her that night?

Regardless, she had to escape.

Freydis pins Cordelia’s shoulders to the ground—she was too strong to fight back. She might have been nimble as a dancer, but her strength was pitiful. Freydis leans in, her wicked smile growing wider as she leans her mouth against Cordelia’s, taking the blonde’s lips with her own. She muffles, feeling the weight of the woman atop her, the taste in her mouth was anything but saliva—it tasted like honey, with a bit of tartness mixed in.

<What did you just do?> Cordelia barely whispers in fear.

<You’re not going to be yelling or screaming much after this.> Freydis pulls away. <Now I can finally explain what’s going to happen—without having an unexperienced gel like yourself try to best me. Honestly, why even try—it’s going to get you nowhere.> She shakes her head in exasperation. <From how you floundered under my weight the last time, I was quite disappointed that your parents hadn’t taught you how to defend yourself—you're royalty for god's sake!>

<My parents had knights that ensured my protection—and if you must know, my father had wanted me to learn, but my mother stopped him from teaching me.> Cordelia wasn’t sure why her honesty spilled so fast from her lips. This was her killer—she owed this woman nothing.

<If I had listened to Leanna, I’d be married to Rad and living a pauper’s life—which isn’t exactly my style.> She lowers her brows. <I’m not a fan of listening to one’s ma.>

Cordelia swears she’s heard a version of that line come from the thief’s mouth.

Cordelia hisses, <Now let me go before I scream.> Her eyes flash in horror when Freydis doesn’t draw her blade, in fact, whistles to call her henchman back in. <If you even try, I will make you regret it.> Her sea blue eyes scan the Princess accordingly. <You see, plans have changed. The man who wants you dead offered a considerable amount, but it seems that the King and Queen of Wellspring want twice the amount for their daughter’s safe return. Now, I’m not letting you out of my sight until you willingly agree that you will accompany me to your palace, saying that I alone rescued you from your kidnappers.>

Cordelia won't. She’d take death over going back—she wouldn’t be married off. Her mother would see Cordelia as damaged goods, and send her off before either kingdom could ask any questions. Her cold, uncaring mother—it was a fate worse than anything Freydis could do with her blade. Cordelia’s exasperated when she can’t move her body—her arms are all she can manage.

<I can see your angry eyes, I can’t say that I blame you. If the damn King and Queen only came out with that decree of theirs a little sooner, I could have saved myself a ton of grief. You see, your jewels only bought me so much. But I suppose you’ll get my full meaning momentarily—I can see that the elixir is working.>

Cordelia hates how accurate the woman is, her head spins with delirium. It’s sudden, hitting her as her eyelids grow heavy. She hears Freydis ushering Branton’s name, and, her body being lifted from the floor. Her arms dangle in the air as she’s carried out of the room. The rest could only be described as a hazy dream.

Or, her worst nightmare.

***

Alteus lingers by the doorway, a delirious Radjerd comes to—the performance! He attempts to leap from his post, but his wrists are chained to the post—where the hell was he—the storage room? He demands to know what’s going on—and what the price for his head was. No, he remembers what had transpired. Branton—that son of a bitch, he had faked his injuries and snuck into Radjerd’s room—knocking him out by holding him down, forcing him to ingest one of Freydis’ elixirs. He had thought that it was revenge for taking the princess away from him, but it turns out his plans were much more sinister—he was working with Freydis to capture Deely. He reported that Alteus knew of the thief’s crimes, and chained Radjerd away before any became the wiser.

Now he was face to face with Alteus, his friend’s worried eyes are upon him.

<Why weren’t you honest with me—that your so-called wife was the princess?! You didn’t have to lie.> His friend’s hands clench into fists. <You understood the repercussions—if it wasn’t Freydis who followed you here, things could become disastrous. I have a family to consider—and you put them in danger because you didn’t think. You never think about the repercussions, do you Radjerd!?>

<I was in a tight spot.> Radjerd says under his breath. <I didn’t know what I could have done. Freydis almost killed her the first time—I couldn’t let that happen. I had to do something. I remembered your establishment, assuming we could hide out here until we came up with a better plan. I never meant to get you involved.>

<That’s hardly comforting. You’re a fool, and a traitor.> Alteus sighs. <I’m fortunate Freydis is the one who came to me first. If it was the Delteans, my place would have been destroyed from ceiling to floor—all because of you.>

<I know.> Radjerd’s guilt bubbles to the surface.

<Here’s the thing—I don’t think you do.> Alteus shakes his head, his tresses caressing his forehead. <Freydis is with the Princess now, so all is back to normal.>

<What!?> Radjerd rattles the handcuffs against the wooden pole. He can’t break free. <Freydis is going to kill her! Let me go, please—let me save her!>

<She’s not going to kill the Princess—but she can’t trust you. After what you did, I can understand why. It was stupid of you to abandon your mission—I thought you wanted to get out of poverty?>

<I still do. Not all of us are as lucky as you to have an inheritance gifted to you.>

<Now I’m going to stop you there.> Alteus stomps his foot. <You know I’ve worked hard all my life to get where I am. Yes, I got a little bit of help from a spontaneous source of income, but I was smart with it, making it work for me.>

<And you don’t think I would have been smart with an inheritance? Hell, I had to stretch a copper for all that it was worth all my life!> Radjerd spits. <Don’t tell me that you’re not lucky.>

Alteus frowns. He knows he can’t argue. <I’m not the one on trial here, you are. You’re damn fortunate Melandra wasn’t hurt. If your foolish actions had put her in danger, which they easily could have, I would gut you myself.>

<Alteus, I’m sorry. Look, I didn’t know where else to go.>

<I understand that.> He lets out a frustrated sigh. <I locked you up here so you wouldn’t do anything stupid. It’s just best to let her go. She will be back in the arms of her parents soon enough.>

<No, Freydis wants to kill her!>

<Not anymore. She’s bringing the Princess home—Her Ransom has gone up considerably since the week the two of you have been here—I thought you would have heard about it.>

Radjerd breathes a sigh of relief, his pulse lowering from Alteus’ words. <I try not to make note of every person in search of her.>

<But why did you rescue her, Radjerd? Why not let Freydis kill her—why not profit from your work?>

<I don’t know why I interfered. All I know is that I couldn’t let Freydis take Deely’s life.>

<Deely?>

<It’s what she called herself when we first met. I won’t call her anything else.>

Alteus frowns. <Your tone concerns me, Radjerd. Your act was far more convincing than it should have been—you have an attachment to her.>

He falls silent, disgust forms on his face. Alteus wasn’t wrong—he did.

<Does she know?>

<Don’t play the nice guy here—you’re aiding Freydis. Why!> Radjerd’s anger returns.

<Because Freydis wants to return her to Wellspring. While she does that, you can’t interfere.>

Radjerd had heard Alteus’ words from before, but the implication hit hardest at that moment.

<Radjerd, what kind of a life would you give her?>

<Alteus. That’s not what this is about!>

<I can hear it in your voice. You want to be the one who she commits to, but are you really doing her a favour? The two of you will be forever in hiding—you’ll never live a normal life.>

<I know that I’d be foolish to think we could live a normal life.>

Alteus sighs, <I’m glad to hear that. This is the best thing that you could do for her. Let the Princess return home, where she belongs.>

Radjerd curses under his breath. Deely wanted nothing more than to stay away from the Palace of Wellspring. But Alteus was right. It was foolish that the two of them could have made a life together. All because he got used to her company, her fiery spirit, and, her bedroom manner. But, maybe Alteus was right.

Maybe it was for the best.