The Serpent's Chains

Sabine

I knocked on the bedroom door. "Is anyone out there!?"

A hollow echo greeted me back. I'd heard from the maids that when Prince Cole left the palace, his wing was barely attended. He didn't like people getting into his business when he wasn't there. No one was there to hear me but I still called out every few hours.

My eyes shifted to my bedroom window for the thousandth time. I hauled myself up, leaning on the door. My legs trembled slightly as I walked across my suite. With each step, my stomach gurgled and growled.

I put a hand on my stomach to steady it. This wasn't the first time I'd endured starvation. It was the first time I'd been denied water.

Shortly after arriving in the palace, I learned that if one wanted to take a bath, they had to send a request to the bathhouse where the water was heated and pumped through the pipes to the appropriate room. Turning the knobs did nothing if there wasn't water waiting.

I was completely cut off.

Sighing, I leaned against the bedroom door frame to catch my breath. I licked my dry, cracking lips, my tongue like sandpaper. My mouth tasted like ash. I smacked my lips, searching for any kind of moisture. There was none.

I got to the window, resting between each step and leaning against whatever was close by. My fingers slipped from the lock again and again. I plucked at the fastener but couldn't get a grip on it. All the strength was gone from my fingers.

Groaning, I slammed my fist against the windowsill.

"Ouch," I hissed, biting the inside of my cheek. My dry, brittle skin tore on the wooden frame. Warm blood oozed down my wrist.

I tried the lock again and it loosened. The window popped open and fresh air whooshed in. I gripped the windowsill and breathed in the air. My mind cleared and I felt a surge of strength. I could do this. It wasn't that far of a climb down to the ground.

Quickly, I scanned the area. There was a ledge I could drop down to and from there, a tree I could reach.

My heart swelled and I swung my leg over the window sill. I just needed to hold it together a little longer...

"Ahh!"

I flew off the windowsill, landing hard on the bedroom floor. Electrical shocks crackled from my collar down my arms and legs. My muscles twitched uncontrollably.

I whimpered, my body jerking with electrical shocks, and the metal against my skin burned blisters around my neck. This is what happened when a slave tried to escape. I lay as still as possible with my muscles spasming, willing the pain to end.

If the prince didn't return soon, I was dead. I threw my arm over my eyes and wondered if this was all a dream. It couldn't be real, could it?

A soft tap, tap, tap prickled my ears. I squinted my eyes closed. Whatever it was, I didn't want it. I put my hand on my aching stomach and tried to swallow, my mouth tasting of sand.

Tap, tap, tap.

"Hello...?" a soft, gentle voice called.

Great, I was so hungry I was hallucinating.

Light footsteps echoed through the stone floor, vibrating in my skull like a drum. I pulled my arm away from my eyes and saw a pair of curious blue eyes peering at me.

"Are you okay?" her eyebrows shot into her hairline.

I shrugged and closed my eyes. Overwhelming fatigue and weakness wrapped around me and dragged me down like it was pulling me straight to hell. I closed my eyes and finally gave in to it.

...

"I think she's waking up."

I knew that voice. I strained through the darkness to remember where I'd heard it but the only image my mind conjured was a pair of bright, blue eyes.

Warm, soft fingers curled around my wrist. Instinctively, I recoiled.

"It's okay. We're not going to hurt you." That voice was so soft and friendly. She spoke to me like I was an equal.

"You don't need to be here, Rosalie. The healers said she'd be fine once they got some food and fluids in her." That voice, I knew.

I pried my eyes open and stared into the surly, scowling face of Prince Cole. He arched an eyebrow at me and I immediately looked away.

"Oh good, you are awake!"

I flicked my eyes in the direction of the gentle voice. A young woman sat at my bedside. Her strawberry blond hair was swept back in a long braid and her bright blue eyes twinkled. Those were the eyes I'd seen just before passing out.

"Excuse my rudeness. I'm Rosalie, Prince Cole's younger sister. It is nice to meet you, Sabine." She smiled warmly and looked like she was expecting me to reply.

I glanced at the prince.

"I'm gone for a few days and you nearly starve to death. Don't you know how to take care of yourself?" he scoffed and crossed thick arms across his chest.

"Stop it, Cole. When I found her, there was a chair outside the door, like it was meant to barricade her in. I don't think she did this to herself."

The prince pursed his lips. He came up to the foot of my bed and rested his hands on the carved, wooden footboard.

His presence surprised me. I was no more than an annoyance to him. Why would he be here to see if I was okay? Why would he care if I took care of myself?

"So, who did this to you?"

I bit my tongue, holding back my words. Pointing the finger at a noblewoman would do more harm to me than it would to her. I had no right to speak the name of anyone higher ranking than me.

"Your silence tells me that whoever did this is of higher rank than you. Likely someone higher than a servant, groundskeeper, or guard," the prince surmised.

I rolled my lips in on themselves and kept my eyes down. The other night when he watched me eat, he'd seen right through my attempts at subterfuge. He was too good at reading me.

The prince breathed out heavily and tilted his head back. "Sabine, I'm ordering you to tell me who did this to you!" His voice was firm and uncompromising.

A shudder ran through me and I grabbed the bedsheets, pulling them closer. Like those would protect me against the Great War Dragon.

"This is useless. Just an empty shell that won't even stand up for herself." The prince scoffed and turned away from my bed.

I saw his shoulders tremble, tension rising in his muscles. What would he do if I continued to disobey him? How far would he go to get answers from me? His fists clenched and shook at his sides.

"You're being too hard on her, Cole. There's a good possibility that Sabine doesn't know who did this to her. She hasn't been here that long and doesn't know everyone by name."

Rosalie delicately touched my wrist again. I tensed but she didn't release her hold this time. Why was she being so nice to me?

"She'll never say anything with you making excuses for her, Rosalie," the prince ground out through gritted teeth. "I don't have time for this."

He tossed me an angry look through slitted eyes and stormed off. The door slammed and I winced. I had a feeling my silence would have consequences.

"Don't mind Cole. He can be a real grump sometimes." Rosalie giggled. She stood up and fluffed my pillows.

Shocked, I leaned out of the way. This was unusual treatment from a princess.

She sat back down and shrugged. "You know, you don't have to hold your tongue around me. I'm not my brother and, well, you're the most interesting person to come to the palace in years."

A dry, hoarse laugh escaped my lips. My throat ached.

"Here, have some water." Rosalie handed me a chalice.

I grabbed it and drank greedily. The cool liquid soothed my throat and mouth, streaks running down my chin. Sighing, I set the empty chalice aside.

"Thank you."

Rosalie's eyes lit up. "So, you do talk. Good. As my brother's personal attendant, we're probably going to see each other a lot and it would be easier if we were on speaking terms."

"What happened after I...?"

"Passed out?"

I nodded and reached for my collar. Rosalie grabbed my hand and pulled it away.

"You... got badly burned from the collar. A healer put on a magical salve to speed up your healing but it still has a way to go. She left some salve for you to apply twice a day." She nodded to the bedside table.

Beside the chalice was a small ceramic pot filled with a greasy, waxy salve.

"I came by to meet you and it is a good thing I did because you were in rough shape. I already told the maids to bring you extra meals for the next few days."

I chewed the inside of my cheek, and my stomach twisted. "Thank you. That's very kind of you, Your Highness." I bowed my head.

Rosalie laughed a sweet, bell-like laugh. "I'll admit, it was a bit selfishly motivated. It's so unusual for my brother to show interest in anything or anyone, other than Talon and the battlefields. I was here looking to meet you and figure out how you charmed him."

I smoothed out the wrinkles in my comforter. She kept speaking to me like we were friends and her kindness was hard to ignore. For as long as I could remember, anyone offering something that seemed too good to be true couldn't be trusted.

"I didn't charm the prince. Ever since I got here, I seem to be more of an annoyance than an asset to him."

"Don't take that personally. He's like that with everyone, even our father. Trust me, if he didn't want you here, you wouldn't be."

I wasn't sure if that was supposed to make me feel better about the situation. If what she said was true, what did the prince want with me? It couldn't be anything good.

"Thank you for... helping me." I caught Rosalie's frown when I glanced at her face.

"He said you lived a pretty rough life. Is it common for people of your status to not have friends or anyone to look out for them?"

I sighed. "I can't speak to that. However, that was my own situation with my former master."

"I'm sorry," she gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. "That sounds very... lonely."

"It's all I ever knew."

New light returned to Rosalie's eyes and she grabbed my hand. "Not anymore. We can be friends."

"No, we can't. You're a princess and I'm a slave."

"Pfft." Rosalie dismissed my concerns. "You're the crowned prince's personal attendant. Who better than to be friends with a princess than someone who will be working closely with the royal family?"

A smile tugged at my lips. Rosalie was sweet and kind. I wanted to like her but there was a nagging pull in the back of my mind telling me to be cautious. Royalty and slaves didn't mix.