Chapter Six

Emily's POV

A sigh escaped from my lips which made Aiden stare at me with a look I didn't quite understand.

“Why do you hesitate?” He asked me.

“Many reasons.” I responded. 

“Care to tell me?” 

“Well, I thought this would be my final resting place. A place I can live in until I die.”

“Well, you will die if you get involved with my brother so snap out of your feelings and do the right thing.” He said sharply.

“And the right thing to do is for me to leave this place.”

“Ditto.” Aiden said after me which made me nod and exhale.

“So… how do I escape? Your brother could kill me when he finds out.” I said and Aiden nodded.

“Just leave this to me, I'll find a way for you. In the meantime, act normal around others. But make sure your things are packed just in case. And don't take too much stuff with you.”

“Okay,” I said and he nodded.

“Wait, what about the gate pass? I don't have it,”

“You can steal it from my brother somehow.”

“Leaving the risky business to me, why would I risk my life to get the gate pass?”

“Because Aiden sees you as his soon-to-be queen. He thinks you have no idea of what he's about to do to you. It's way easier for you to use that ideology that he has against you, for your good.”

“Fine,”

I was about to leave but then he grabbed my hand, causing me to turn towards him with my hair dancing all over my back. I met with his eyes.

“Remember this, even after you leave this place, you can't trust anyone.”

“I can't?”

He nodded. 

“And what about you?” I asked.

“Dang, don't trust me too.” Then he leaned in and kissed my lips. I was too stunned to move, and when he pulled away, I touched my lips and looked at him.

“Why did you do it?” I asked. “What if your brother smells you on me? What then?”

“If my brother didn't see you first, I'd definitely develop a crush on you.”

I blushed but then I wiped my lips with my index finger.

“Don't ever do that again.”

“Okay,” He nodded. “I just thought of something,”

“And what is that?”

“Well, it's not easy but you should do it.” He said. “There is a safe apartment where whores in the kingdom reside. You should go there and disguise as one of them.”

“Where is the apartment?”

“It's at least a mile away from here. But they'll come here on Sunday. When they do, I will get you one of their outfits, and you can leave when they do.”

“Okay,” I said.

“You can head back now.” He said.

“Fine,” I said and headed back through the passageway, then I passed by the hallway until I got into my room- the room Alan has me live in. When I got into my room, my heart started beating fast. “Holy moon, help me.”

I shut the door, stripped out of my clothes and went to the bathroom. 

As soon as the water hit my skin, I shuddered and started crying out loud, but with the water pouring onto me, no one could hear my tears and this made me feel more comfortable. This was a moment of truth, the moment of vulnerability that I had drifting over me and there was no one but me to bear witness. It was beautiful.

Tears rolled down my cheeks and I sobbed some more.

“I have no home. No family. I'm alone in this world. Would this pain last forever?”

Soon, I turned off the shower and put a towel around me as I walked to my bedroom. 

What was the use of crying? It did nothing for me but made me feel weaker. I kept my head up high and walked in front of the mirror. Alan's scent had left me now. I dropped my towel and put on a red dress. I looked beautiful in front of the mirror but I wanted to be more. More than just my looks.

There was a knock on the door which made me frown.

“Who is it?” I asked but no response.

Then I walked over to the door and turned the door knob. When it twisted open, I took a step back in fear. It was the king, Alan. I tried to act normal around him but my heart could not stop pounding after the words that I heard from his twin brother, Aiden.

“My queen,” Alan said coolly.

“M-my Liege,” I responded, bowing slightly.

Alan invited himself into the room and looked around as though sniffing for if anyone else was in the room.

“My liege, what are you looking for?”

Alan turned back to me. His eyes were hollow and this made me frightful of what would happen next. I did not expect him to come to me by this time. Didn't he have other things to do?

“My liege?” He said questionably. “What did I say to you the other time?”

“That I should call you Alan when we're alone.” I said quietly.

“Then why aren't you doing that?” 

I sighed. “W-well.”

Alan closed the distance between us and lifted up my chin so I was staring up at him.

“Beautiful.” He said. “You'll do well as my queen. What do you think?” He asked, grabbing my wrist and pulling me to stand in front of the mirror.

“W-well, I haven't really thought about it, my liege.”

“You have nothing to think about because I rarely take no for an answer.”

I felt goosebumps all over my body and this made me somewhat scared. Was Alan going to show me his true colours before I became his queen?

I didn't want the situation to escalate so I decided to put on a show. I smiled and turned around to face him only for my gaze to slightly fall on the gate pass which was on his side.

Gently, I pushed Alan onto the bed and watched as he smiled gently at me.