Chapter 1
I'm cold. And uncomfortable. My bed is a lot harder and colder than I remember it. Can I hear someone crying? This is such a strange dream.
Wait. What if it's not a dream?
Groggily, I shuffled and raised my head, opening my eyes to look around. This isn't my room, that's the first thing I notice. Instead, it is dark and damp, with stone walls and a stone floor that I am sleeping on. No wonder it was colder and harder than my own straw mattress. The only light is coming through a slit in the wall, casting a ray of sunshine onto the door, which illuminates the large, iron lock holding the wooden door shut on me.
No, not just me. The sobbing is coming from the dark corner, but with some squinting I can make out a small girl with pale skin and, I assume, black hair as it melts into the shadows. I stare at her, still sleepy, confused. I don't know why I'm here, and this girl seems so upset. What happened?
Slowly, the panic starts to settle in, taking over from the sleepiness. Oh my god, I think I've been kidnapped, and I don't know where I am. I don't know what will happen to me. I don't know if anyone even knows I've gone. I can see my breath in the air. Little puffs. Too fast. My heart wants to jump out of my chest. I feel lightheaded, the rooms starts to sway. I see the girl looking up at me. She looks scared, I look scared. We stare into each other's pale faces.
A loud scraping noise makes us both jump and turn our eyes to the door. Dread rising in me, I scoot over to be next to the girl in the far corner, her body providing a little comfort, but not enough. We watch with huge eyes as the door knob turns. And keeps turning. The door starts to swing inwards. The corridor outside is dark, the person at the door a shadow.
"Get up," he barks.
In fear, we both jump up immediately. His voice is not the sort that can be disobeyed.
"Good, your masters will be pleased that you can follow instructions. Now follow me. No talking."
Masters? What?
Without even checking we were moving, he turned around and started to walk off. I looked down at the other girl, she was much smaller than me, couldn't have been more than 4'10". Her wide, black eyes stared back, her slim shoulders shrugged desolately, and she moved after him. Out of curiosity and of course fear, I followed too.
We were led through stony corridors which slowly changed from cold and bare, with only a few basic torches on the walls, to grand with posh lanterns on the walls, and a deep red carpet underfoot. I noticed these doors didn't have big iron locks on them, and I could hear happy chatter from behind. Just maybe, hopefully, this isn't a bad place.
The other, smaller girl had to almost run to keep up with the man, he kept a pace which required a fast walk from me. I guessed this was designed so we wouldn't have time to look at our surroundings, or remember a way out. The walking was helping the panic, I feel almost calm again now, able to think and be alert.
We stopped abruptly at a door which was almost twice as tall as me, and the man opened the door.
"The girls for you, sir," he said respectfully, and motioned us into the room, closing the door behind us.
Inside the room was a large table, with three men sat around it, and two seats on the other side. The walls were covered in bright tapestries, and these windows had glass in them. The stone floor was covered with a red carpet like the one in the corridors, and a big fireplace burned on the far wall, looking like it had been freshly stocked with wood. Cabinets were places around the walls, holding wooden cups or plates, and candles, other luxuries which I had never seen before.
The three men were dressed in such rich clothing, the man in the middle by far the grandest. He looked spotless, with a red cloak trimmed in fur, and an undercoat with medals and gold adornments. That is not to say the other two were not grand though, they definitely were. The man to his right was almost as large as the man who brought us here, his muscles emphasised by his cotton shit with an purple overcoat. To his left, the man was smaller but still muscled. He wore a shirt and a fur jacket, looking the most casual, but my eyes were drawn to him the most. They were all very handsome, with chiselled cheeks and strong jawlines, and a way of holding themselves that was almost regal. Yet this one was probably the most handsome, with messy bronze hair and these bright green eyes which made me want to melt when he looked at me. Immediately though, I chastised myself for thinking about this in such a situation. If I've been kidnapped, I can't go fancying my captor no matter how handsome he is. He's probably a massive dick anyway, all the rich, handsome ones are.
The middle one cleared his throat, gaining my attention.
"It is polite to curtsey when you meet anyone of a higher station than yourselves, girls," he said, continuing before I could decide whether to curtsey or not, "however, in these circumstances, I will allow it. After all, you are probably a little disorientated. Please, take a seat and we will discuss this situation."
The other girl immediately pulled out a chair and sat, so I thought I had better too. Sitting, I realised these chairs were much lower than the ones they were sat on, meaning they were looking down on us. It was a very uncomfortable feeling.
The man continued, "Good, I was told you two were obedient. It will serve you well here." He paused, breathed in, "I am your King Carlisle. These are my sons, Edward and Emmett. Of course, you should be familiar with this information, yet I would hate to assume. Well, you probably have many questions – ah I see you nodding, not yet my child. You must allow me to speak first, then I will allow you to ask your little questions after, if I do not answer them.
"Your families were struggling, as was mine. Both my sons are of age to take a wife soon, and we cannot have a royal marriage which breaks down. We must take precautions against that, and my father found a perfect solution which worked with me. And you two, it also helps you, and your families. Isabella," he said, looking into my face, "your poor, poor father, struggling to feed the both of you. He didn't tell you, but his debts were piling up, he may have lost your house. And Alice," he turned to look at the other girl, "that institution you were in was so in need of money, we wouldn't want someone using it up who didn't really need it. In exchange for you two girls, the people that were in your lives will live in comfort for the rest of their days. There is even money to give your mother that gravestone, Isabella.
"So perhaps you want to know why we have bought you. That is simple, for my father found that it is helpful to have some practice before a marriage. You girls will provide this practice, of any kind that your masters require. If you do your job well enough, my sons will have perfect marriages with happy wives, and lots of children. Think of your job as a personal maid to a prince, a position many would envy. We even give you free food and lodgings here, at the royal castle.
"But we are not dictators. Admittedly yes, we drugged you before bringing you here, but that was only as to not attract unwanted attention. You have our deepest apologies for that. We want you to wish to remain here and serve the family. You girls must sign a contract, to give your consent to whatever we wish while you are here. Here are the contracts," he brought out two pieces of parchment and laid them in front of us, "no need to read them, just sign. Now, any questions?"
He smiled at us warmly, clearly thinking he had made everything quite clear. I was indignant, I wasn't going to sign up to become someone's glorified sex slave, or maid, or whatever.
"Yes, actually," I said. "I'm not going to be your slave. No way. I have rights, and you can't do this. If you don't want to force us into anything, you're going to have to let me go"
The King chuckled, "A feisty one, I see. Of course, you have a choice my child. If you don't sign, we can drop you outside the castle. Unfortunately, the only place we can offer to leave you is at the heart of the woods though. But if you girls know how to fight off bears and wolves, at night, be my guest. Remember, you always have options"
He smiled warmly at us again, with a smug look in his eyes. He enjoyed my anger, I could tell. But he made himself quite clear, sign a contract letting them do whatever they want with me, or be mauled to death by a bear. The forest was deadly, especially at night. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the other girl, Alice, pick up the pen. Shakily, she signed her name on the parchment. The King smiled wider, and picked up the parchment.
"Alice, you will be Emmett's. Emmett, take your girl off. Get acquainted with her."
The bigger man stood, and took Alice's hand, leading her out of the room. I saw the glint in his eyes as he left with her, and I didn't want to think about what he'd be doing with her. I felt sick.
"Well, Isabella? I don't like to be kept waiting."
I swallowed. I clearly only had one real choice, so slowly, I nodded. I felt disgusted with myself, but at least I am helping my father, if I believe what they tell me.
"Perfect, I knew you'd see some sense. Edward, take her away. And maybe show her how we do not appreciate our offers being taken for granted. You have been given an opportunity, Isabella. Appreciate our kindness."
Edward was stood at my shoulder, I stood up. He put his hand on my shoulder, and somehow led me out of the room even though I couldn't feel my legs. We went down a few corridors, into a room with a large bed in the middle with a canopy and fluffy pillows. I turned back to look at Edward, who was grinning at me excitedly.
"Welcome, my Isabella. I'm going to have some fun with you."
Hi readers, thank you for reading the first chapter of this story (if anyone actually reads this). I hope you liked it. This is the first story I have put on here, so it would mean a lot to me if you could take some time to review my work. I accept any constructive criticism :)
I'm hoping to upload a new chapter every week but due to life this may not happen.
- Cara