Chapter Three: I Think I Can Fix You
Alyssa's pov
I opened my eyes, blinking sharply when bright light invaded my sore pupils. I reached my hands up to rub them, then yawned and looked around.
I was in a small room, with the only light from a small bulb hanging from the wooden ceiling that creaked uneasily every other minute. A lumpy sofa with a holey blanket was my resting place and a small little cubby hole in the wall held my few belongings. Well, almost all of them.
On my little walk, which had ended in me blacking out to my maid screaming, I had carried with me a picture of a friend of mine, Ethan, my lucky anklet that my grandmother had given to me before she passed, my watch, all of my medicine and the schedule on which to take them, and my mother's necklace she gave to me when I was a baby. My anklet, watch, and necklace were gone, along with my pills. My jacket and the picture and the piece of paper were resting next to a glass of water, with ice floating near the top.
I could hear men shouting to one another as they passed above. As my room rocked a bit, I realized where I was.
A boat. A ship, to be more precise. A pirate ship.
Standing, I reached for and gulped down the ice water, then placed the glass back in it's place. I picked up Ethan's picture and placed it in my pocket, along with the schedule. I wrapped my jacket around my shoulders and started for the door when it slammed open.
Two men stood there, one blonde, one brunette. They took me by the arm and led me to. . . somewhere. They said not a word, and I, of course, didn't either. We went up some stairs and across a polished deck, where several men were staring. The ocean waves confirmed my earlier realization.
The men opened another door and down some more stairs. In the very end room, three people sat, the two women on the sofa, and the man behind a desk. I was seated in a softer armchair and the men stood behind me, looking like soldiers.
"Very good, Emmett, Jasper. You may leave to your women now." They nodded and left the room, shutting the door quietly behind them.
I was shaking slightly, staring at the trio. Two were older, the man, another blonde, and one of the women, who was beautiful with caramel hair. The other, younger woman, had darker brown curls and was equally, if not more beautiful than the first. They gave me friendly smiles and I relaxed a little. But not too much. Never too much.
"Hello. I am Carlisle Cullen. It is nice to meet you. I am captain of this ship. This is my wife Esme." He pointed toward the older woman, then the younger one. "And my daughter-in-law Bella." Then he looked back at me. "And you are?"
He wanted me to answer? So he didn't know about my condition. Everyone in the kingdom knew of the disabled princess, so either he didn't plan to take me or didn't know I was the princess. I placed a hand on my throat, the universal sign that I couldn't speak. He looked confused. Then it dawned on him.
"You can't speak?" When I shook my head, he looked perplexed. He handed me a pad of paper and a pen. "Can you write?" I put my hand in the air and moved it side to side to show I could a little. He nodded. "Write what you can and we'll figure it out."
I wrote my name sloppily on the paper and showed it to him.
Princess Alyssa Matthews.
"Princess?" He looked shocked. I nodded.
Why am I here?
"One of my men found you on the sidewalk, bleeding from the head. He brought you back here and Rosalie, our nurse and my other daughter-in-law, healed you. You've been out for three weeks."
Three weeks?
He nodded. "After Rose was done, Damien, the man that found you, watched over you and checked on you all the time. He's a good man, Damien. A little hard to be around, but loyal and honest. Now, about your problem. Were you born not able to speak?" When I nodded, he grinned, excited. "I think I can fix you!"