Her Fear, His Obsession

They all would pay dearly... for their disrespect

Alia lay on the bed, tossing and turning. Even though she was alone on the bed and she could see Luca laying on the couch, she didn't have her music, so there was no way she was going to sleep. For the past 12 years, short of her falling asleep from exhaustion, Alia's brain would never stop racing long enough for her to get tired. So, she used music as the distraction her brain needed to slow down on all the other racing thoughts.

Over the past two days since she had been kidnapped, she slept when her injured body demanded it, but she was nowhere near exhaustion right now. Without her music, she resorted to counting the stars and had some mild success, before a light noise would distract her and start her racing thoughts again. She cursed to herself about not asking Luca for her phone back before she went to bed, but at the same time, she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of asking him.

Time passed and after what seemed like hours of staring at the ceiling, Alia caved. She was getting hungry and restless lying in bed and all of her training screamed at her to get out of the room. Looking over at a snoring Luca, she quietly slipped out from under the covers. Tiptoeing about the room, she made her way to the front door and slowly opened it, hoping to avoid any creaking sounds. As expected, the door was well oiled and was seamless in opening, providing Alia the perfect slit to make her way through.

As she exited the room, she made sure to gently close the door behind her so that Luca wouldn't wake from it. He would not be a fan of her wandering about so late, but she was bored. Alia whipped around and was met with a group of 6, kneeling on the floor with their heads bowed down. Three of the men were dressed like guards, and the other man and two women were dressed similar to the maids she had met earlier. Not really sure of what to say, Alia quietly began walking down the hall. She knew that soon they would stop her, but right now, she wasn't interested in running away, right now, she was bored.

"My Queen? How may we serve you?" One of the women spoke behind her. They all had stood and began to walk behind the Queen as she walked from the door, but no one had the guts to directly confront her from leaving the King's room without the King's permission, again.

"I'm just going for a walk. I can't sleep." Alia softly explained. She hoped that explaining this time would keep them all from freaking out about her trying to escape.

"You cannot sleep, My Queen? Is the bed not sufficient? Are you not comfortable? Are you hungry? thirsty? Have we done something that is not to your liking, your Majesty?" The group rushed to her attention, questions flying from all of them. Alia felt a little overwhelmed and honestly didn't know how to answer.

"Nope, just not sleepy." With that, she began walking down the hall again.

"My Queen, if you tell us what you wish, we can arrange for it here. The King will be very upset if he wakes up and you aren't there."

Alia rolled her eyes, she was bored and daring enough to give this adventure a try. "I'll figure it out and I'll be back soon," Alia shrugged.

"Your Majesty, we insist that you allow us to accompany you. He will stay here to notify the King." One of the guards stepped up, pointing to the timid man who wasn't a guard.

Alia shrugged her shoulders and and continued walking. She could initially hear the pit patter of the feet behind her, but she felt the noises disappear as she was entranced by the castle. Even though Luca had shown her so many beautiful things already, Alia's eyes were wide as if she were drinking it in for the first time. Electric candles lined the hallways with tapestries delicately painted on the walls. Each tapestry told a story of a battle or celebration, and Alia wanted to know of it all. The pillars with intricate designs and ornate decor stood guard in between the tapestries with their heights looming over to the detailed crown molding barely visible to Alia in the night sky.