Her Fear, His Obsession

Strong, smart, calculated... She would be no one's

After a while, Alia awoke to a silent room. Even though she had been resting so much these past couple days, she wasn't truly sleeping. She couldn't sleep without her music and when she was taken, her bag with her airpods and music was taken from her. But she didn't care about getting it back- no, the only thing that mattered was getting out of here. She had patients that needed her and a job to do and this crazy man was keeping her from it. Until now, she had remained quiet, allowing him to dictate her communication and most of her actions- she didn't know how angry he could get and she didn't want to poke the bear if she didn't have a plan on how to deal with poking it.

As she looked around, she took note that this was a different room. Maybe this room would have a way for her to escape. She silently slid out of bed and tiptoed over to the window, hoping that no one would hear her outside the room. She pulled back the curtains to see that the windows here were barred shut, just like the ones in the previous room.

She spun around, hoping to use her new vantage point to see a different escape. Looking around the room, she couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of it. A large king sized bed was placed in the center of the room, covered in soft gray sheets and a gray comforter that had been pulled back to the foot of the bed. Two large nightstands were covered in water, food, books, and movies, no doubt placed for the owner's pleasure. She wondered whose room she was in, as her eyes continued to pan the room. Right near one of the three doors was a framed picture of the man who was apparently the King, Luca.

She panicked. Was this his room? Was he here? What happened when she was asleep? She looked over to the bed that was only rumpled in the corner that she had woken up in. It didn't look like he had been on the bed, and noting that, she relaxed and returned back to her original goal.

Sensing that her only way out was one of the three doors, she pondered which door would be the best to pick first. Coming up empty handed, she did the only thing she knew to do when confused- she played "eenie meenie miney mo".

Landing on the door to the most right, she walked up to it and listened carefully on the other side. Hearing no noise, she turned the knob and pulled. She was welcomed by a darkness, but could see silhouettes of clothing, indicating that this was most likely a closet. No exit here. Huffing, she closed the door.

Down to two doors.

She went to reach for the middle door, but something in her told her to pick the door to the left. Walking over, she repeated the same procedure of listening and then opening the door softly. Paying more attention to keeping her feet quiet, she almost didn't notice that two men had stepped in front of the door and kneeled.

"My Queen? How may we serve you?" Startled by the deep voice, Alia looked up to see the two men, kneeling before her with their heads bowed down. Dressed in matching black suits with white shirts and black ties, earbuds in place, and similar short hair cuts of their brunette hair, Alia wasn't sure she could tell the difference between the two.

Shaking her head, Alia silently stepped out and pushed herself up against the wall, sidestepping to the right so she could slink past the men who were still kneeling, their eyes trained on the floor. Without lifting his eyes, the man on the right stood and placed his hand against the wall to the right of Alia, essentially blocking her without touching her.

"My Queen, I apologize for stopping you, but the King wishes that you remain in the room to relax and take a bath. Did the maids inside fail to inform you of this?" He spoke softly, but she could tell that he was holding back. She had no doubt that he could break her in two without breaking a sweat. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the other man stand, keeping his eyes on the ground, as he furiously whispered into his sleeve mic, no doubt appraising the man of her leaving the room.

Ignoring the two men, Alia slipped under his arm and took off running down the hall. Behind her, she heard the man sigh and soon after, heard his feet stomping as he ran after her. This time, Alia managed to make it down the stairs, but she was welcomed by a row of black suited men standing in a line, their hands fixed behind their backs as if they were forming a wall. She slowed down, knowing that running into them would hurt herself more than them.

"My Queen, the King has forbade us from touching you, but he would be furious if you were further hurt by all this exercise. Please return to the room, or allow us to escort you to the King." The man behind her pleaded. Continuing to ignore him, Alia looked at the banister and thought about her injuries if she were to jump over the side with the floor about 8 feet away. Deciding that the risk was worth it, she climbed up onto the banister, and nimbly jumped over the side. She landed on her feet, but felt her left ankle roll inwards- likely a ligament strain that she could deal with later. Ignoring the pain, she began to hobble- run into the hall away from the stairs. She heard the men keeping up with her with ease, but pushed her whole might into running as she scanned the area looking for an escape.

Alia turned into a different hall and continued running, but this time took advantage of the fact that it was a short hall with a lot of detours to lose the men behind her. When she heard no padding behind her, she knew that she had lost them but had no clue of how to get out. She looked around her and found herself in a small room with a queen sized bed, chest of drawers, and no personal belongings.

Deciding that she needed to take a moment to nurse her old and new injury, Alia slid into a crevice between the wall and bed so that she could not be seen by anyone who just stuck their head into the door. Taking her ankle into her arms, she noted that it had started swelling mildly. Using her medical training, she maneuvered it and checked her pulses and once she was satisfied that no lasting neurological damage was present and her ankle was likely sprained, not broken, she wrapped it tightly with a torn piece of the bed sheet that was lain across the bed. Feeling guilt that she had ruined it, she resolved to mail some money to replace the cost.

Some time passed and Alia ensured that her wounds were bandaged. Most of them were already in good shape, no doubt the work of a qualified physician, but her side wound had opened from her jump. She worked to pack the wound and ensure that the bleeding was minimal. Satisfied, she decided to continue with her escape plan. Slipping out of the door, she noted that the short hallway was empty. Continuing on into the hall, she peered into every detour, noting that most of the windows were barred shut and there were no doors that seemed to lead to outside.

Feeling frustrated and sorrow, Alia's panic only grew as she hit a dead end. And then another. This castle was a maze and she had managed to get lost, to the point that she didn't even know how to get back to the room. As the realization hit her, she curled up into a ball and sobbed. She was typically never weak, but right now, she felt helpless.

The second she said those words to herself, a new anger hit her- she wasn't helpless and she would be damned if she were to allow this man to keep her and make her give up. Alia had seen women fall head over heels for dominating men, she had done it once before, and would never do it again.

She was strong, smart, and calculated... She would be no one's...