-Karen-Bart sighed and chuckled under his breath. "I will mention your concerns to him again… But as long as I have known Conor, you would have a better chance of trying to stop this planet from spinning around its star than to attempt to sway his mind now." He said as he stood up and walked over to me. "Take a step back and give him an honest chance, Karen… I know you dislike him, but maybe you should try to see how good he is doing. Well, at least what he is trying to do…" Bart patted my shoulder. He looked at his wrist, "It's about three, so you will have plenty of time to think about all of this during your bath." He left the room, leaving me standing there, trying not to panic from my spiking anxiety.I looked down at my hands and then over to the pretty gown. But… What do I do? It would be stupid to kill the only nice person I have met… But he is the enemy! He has been fighting to get me well again… But he is lusting for me… I don't know what to do! I only had to wait a few min
-Karen-I zoned out as Bart gave me pointers on how to proceed with the dinner and opened the double doors myself. It looked the same. At least this room had not changed since I was last here. I heard Bart gasp in surprise as I moved into the small hall, and he followed me.Conor was sitting down, and our gazes met as I entered the room. He stood up immediately and walked over to us. He flashed a charming smile, took my left hand, and pressed his lips to my soft skin. Eh!! I felt my cheeks get hot at the gesture. He was wearing an outfit identical to Bart's. "My Lady," he murmured. His eyes grew darker by two shades while my heart pounded away. Lady? Far from it.Instinctively, I curtsied to him, saying, "Your Majesty." I felt incredibly nervous but fought bravely to keep my nerves in check. He is pretty handsome. Why must you be a prince? Why must you be an enemy? I don't know what will kill me first tonight—my nerves or my lack of etiquette…Conor led me over to the intimately set t
-Karen-I froze up entirely as panic crept through every inch of me. "It's fine, Lewis. I bet all that alcohol is finally hitting her… I told you not to drink it all at once," Conor said, standing up and chuckling softly while I sat there trying to maintain the glass-like facade. I wish that were the reason for my silence. There's not enough wine on this planet to calm my nerves from him."I must respectfully disagree, Your Majesty. You should receive a prompt and concise answer if you ask a question." Lewis stated harshly as I stared at the table, trying not to breathe. I think I'm going to die. I felt a heavy boot smash my right foot and managed not to show any pain despite the sharp tinges running up my leg. I need to breathe. I feel like I can't even do that right now."Well… Yes, that's true- But she's had a lot to drink tonight, too, Lewis." Conor rebutted, walking over to my left and offering his hand to me. Please, take me away from him!As I started to accept, Lewis said, "Yo
-Karen-The first blow came swiftly, followed by about thirty more that I could count. I stopped counting after that. I felt the sole of his boot dig into my back as I heard the sharp crack of the whip he always carried with him. The whip! A horrible, searing pain ran through my right shoulder. Block the pain! Block it all out! Numb yourself so it hurts less… Blow after blow, I did my best to block the pain out as he continued his brutal assault. He was venting incessantly about how I was nothing more than a dirty whore and that no one could ever love someone like me, and how I was so worthless it was hard to come up with reasons to keep me as part of the staff, among his many other pointless complaints.I felt my bones start to crack under the constant barrage of blows until I felt a rib on the right side pop. Instantly, I let out a yelp and began to struggle with my breathing. It was hard to see anything through the bloody mat of hair that was covering my forehead. While he took a s
-Conor-"Check her pulse, Jo," Bart ordered as he stitched another rib together. No! Don't let go, Karen!"She has one, but it's fading, Bart. We must get her to the medical ward before it fades entirely." Joanne answered, hurriedly stuffing the tools back into the bag."Right. Conor, please pick her up, and let's get down to the ward. I'll have to put her on a machine quickly." Bart said, grabbing his bag and heading out the door after Joanne. Conor picked up Karen and cradled her carefully as they ran down to the medical ward below.As soon as they arrived, Bart and Joanne went into overdrive as Conor placed Karen on the metal table and stepped out of the way. Don't fade away… Her breathing had become very shallow, and her lips were bluer than earlier. "I bet she has a collapsed lung, among other serious issues," Bart commented as Joanne got an IV injected into Karen's right arm and started adding several bags containing medicines to the main tube. After she was done, Joanne placed
-Conor-"I'll revive her, but I need to let her heart have a break. We've used more of those stimulators than I am legally supposed to use on anyone, Conor. I'm not supposed to use more than five. As you know, the heart is a muscle, and if it gets stressed out from over-stimulation, it could be bad in the long run. It can also make the stimulators ineffective." Bart explained as he continued to work on her."She better not die," Conor murmured as uneasiness washed over him. Please just hold on… Fight woman!"She's died seven times already, Conor… Every time the heart stops for more than four minutes, death has, technically, taken hold." Bart commented as he glanced at his watch. Joanne gave him an edgy look as he repaired a hairline fracture in Karen's face. Once he finished, he gave Karen the last stimulator. After a full minute of tense silence, the machine started beeping again. They breathed a collective sigh of relief.After another hour, there were no further issues with her hea
-Karen-I heard logs crackle in a fire as I slowly regained consciousness. I felt like I had repeatedly smashed between the heavy throne room doors and then tossed off the roof into the forest behind the palace. My body felt as if it had been set on fire as the pain came and went, but I was cold at the same time. I looked around the room as best I could and saw a roaring fire to my right. My servant's room didn't have a fireplace… So where am I now? The burning wood smelled terrific, and the warmth I was getting helped with the frozen feeling in my bones. I've had this frozen feeling before… It's been a while since the last time."You're awake?" A familiar voice to my immediate left whispered in my ear. It took a moment for me to swing my head over to see the concern in his gray eyes. Conor looked like he had been up for several days. I could see the exhaustion was engraved into his face."Is that you, Conor?" I whispered. I could see him nod as his warm hand caressed my right cheek g
-Karen-His intense heat was making me sleepy, but even though I felt hesitant, I moved as close to him as I dared. I felt more blankets piled on us as he arranged them over us. I felt his skin touch against mine as he pressed himself even closer. He's too close for my comfort. But his heat! I need this warmth- My life depends on it. I had no energy to protest against how close we were. "So warm. Like fire." I murmured, shivering against him. I could stay here in his grasp forever."You're like ice…" He whispered. He held me tightly as his body heat seeped into my cold skin. It felt wonderful despite my reservations about being so close to him. He wrapped his legs around mine, making sure to surround me in his heat as much as he possibly could. The warmth dragged me down while I drifted in and out of awareness. I can't stay awake for much longer.I opened my eyes for what I guessed to be a couple of hours later to see him watching me. He looked flushed from the heat, but I was still c