-Karen-I could hear familiar voices talking around me. I rubbed my face with my right hand and then moved it to site where I was viciously stabbed. Ugh… My neck hurts. I blinked a couple of times and realized that Conor was sitting next to me on the bed. He looked extremely concerned. Don’t feel! Don’t let your emotions in! I instantly pursed my lips and started to crawl away from him as fast as I could. I need to get the hell out of here!He grabbed my ankle. Let go! “Hold on!” I kicked him in the face and made my way to the other side of the bed. I heard Joanne gasp. “That really hurt, Kay!” Conor snapped angrily. Hmph. Good! Maybe you’ll figure it out finally. For a prince, you’re pretty dumb. “Don’t call me that. That’s not my name!” I snapped, glaring at him coldly. At least my bad choices don’t affect an entire empire. I walked around the bed and towards the door without even looking at the three of them. He ran to the door and stood in front of it with his arms outstretched
-Karen-“She exists! I know she does because she started out walled up just like this and I had to bust my ass to break those damn walls down. And in the blink of an eye, that wonderful woman that I fell so hard for vanished right before my eyes.” He countered, pulling me back and cupping my face. I miss that warmth. But I can’t! I don’t belong here. “I’m trying to find her from a dream I had a long while ago.” He whispered in my ear. “It was the hardest thing to watch her cry thinking she was in a dream when she could easily reach out and touch my hands or cling to me so I could wrap her up in my arms.” He kissed my cheek and nuzzled my neck. No! Stop this insanity! I pulled away from as best I could as soon as he nuzzled my neck. He pulled me back to him just as quickly. “I promised her that I would find her if it were a dream and I would die looking for her if I had too. Here I am searching for her. Please help me find her.” He whispered in my ear. Stop talking like that!“You can’
-Karen-“You had me doubting there for a moment! You’re the most amazing but stubborn woman I’ve ever met.” He said sweeping me off my feet. Eek! I clung tightly as he snickered. “I want to fight next to you someday. I promise to teach you how to use a sword. I bet you would be great with a rapier!” He mused walking over to the table that was next to the armoire. He gently set me down on the tabletop and cupped my face coming nose to nose with me. “I have something that I absolutely need to tell you now that I have your surrender in hand.” I watched him in silence wondering what he had to say now. I told you so?He looked me in the eyes and whispered, “Karen Anne Elizabeth I have feelings for you. Not feelings of lust- Genuine feelings.” I felt my face get hot. “You’ve freed me from the pain and solitude I have felt for the last several years because of what my family wants me to be. I have felt so alive in the last several months because of you. You don’t try to change me or make me
-Karen-“Karen, that room you were in this morning, was that your servant room?” Joanne asked curiously. Bart gave her a sharp look and she looked down. It doesn’t bother me Bart.“Yes. That was my room. I forgot how cold it could get in the winter.” I answered with a grin. “That was an upgraded room too.” Joanne’s eyes got wide as I nodded. “Some servants have to share a room with bunk beds. And the only space they would get was a basket that hangs off the end of the bunk. Those are either four or six people to a room. It’s usually for servants that are in a family. I was in one of those rooms with a mother and her two daughters when I was really small... Although it didn’t make a difference because she stuck us on the top bunk and made us share the thinnest blanket while she took the other three.” I recalled thinking about those poor girls. They had it just as rough as I did.“That’s horrible.” Bart replied shaking his head. “Some people shouldn’t be parents.”“It’s in the past.” I
-Karen-I got up before anyone could stop me and I opened the door slightly to see if I could find the cause of the screams. That presence is stronger now… It has to be one! I watched as a shadow demon lunged at a servant and bit him with its venomous teeth. He fell to the ground screaming in pain for twenty seconds until he didn’t move anymore. I felt a horrible sense of dread as I saw the demon look right at me and its eyes turned blood red. I snapped the door shut as it charged at the door. I took a step back as it clawed and punched at the door. Crap! That’s super bad!“Kay! Get away from the door!” Conor yelled. “Do you see any swords Bart? Or guns?” Those won’t work on them.“Think! Think girl!” I hissed trying to focus under pressure. “Where is the King’s study in relation to where we are?” I heard the wood start to crack under the unrelenting pressure. “I have to try to get it…” I can't let them get hurt! No matter what price I pay! I won’t let them die right when I’m standing
-Karen-I could feel Joanne’s terror as she clung to Bart with her white knuckles shaking. Bart gave me an uneasy look as he held onto her. I looked back over at Conor who had a look of concern on his face. Those feelings again… I looked down feeling the same emotions from earlier well up in my chest. I started to turn away when Conor grabbed my wrist. “Are you hurt?” He asked me.I was taken aback by his question. “Even if I am, I’ll be fine.” I looked over at Joanne again and saw that she had been injured at some point though I didn’t know how. Might have been when I punched through that rock wall. A rock could have flown at them when I got really angry. Might have had a lapse in concentration on the barrier. Her right shoulder was bleeding from a cut. I stepped over to her and placed my hand gently on her shoulder as she flinched at my touch. I felt horrible for scaring her and even worse that she would think I would harm her. She looked like she was going to burst into tears.“You
-Conor-“I know… I hope she doesn’t but if she does, I’ll take care of her. After all, I love her and want what’s best for her.” Conor replied. He picked up her left hand and saw that the marks had diminished to cover just her fingers. “The marks she had earlier are almost gone. So, that’s a good thing.” He climbed over Karen and lie down next to her resting his right hand on top of hers. “This world only has twenty hours in a day. So…” Conor thought about his plans for that night. “Can you come back around eight and if she is up, we can go through our plan?” He asked looking over at Bart.“Yeah, if not I will make a note of this in her file so we can keep an eye on her.” Bart replied as he took Joanne’s hand.“Oh! By the way Bart, did you ever find out the results of what I asked you a couple weeks ago?” Conor asked as he inched closer to Karen. Please say yes. Please say yes…“Oh! Yes I did. I’m sorry I forgot to tell you between all the extra brawls going on. According to the multi
-Karen-“Like cheesecake?” I asked grabbing a fork and cutting off a small piece from the center and eating it. They laughed at the unexpected look on my face. “That was not cheesecake… But it is delicious!” I started to cut another piece when Conor stopped me. “Hold on, Kay. You have some presents to open first.” Conor instructed pulling my hand away from the cake. “We bought thank you presents for protecting us from the demons but now that we found out it was your birthday. They can be both.”“Presents? But I-” He stopped me talking by shoving a piece of chocolate in my mouth. “Chocolate wins.” He motioned to me to sit down in my chair as he handed me a tiny box with a purple ribbon tied around it. I gave him a look and opened it. In the box I found a pair of drop earrings that had a large purple stone surrounded by tiny gray stones. “These are beautiful!” I giggled at a thought that crossed my mind. “It’s almost like it’s us…” I said lightly touching the earrings. Joanne came over