Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.
Rachel was left on the bed to wait for the queen to arrive. She ran her hand over the silk sheets. She'd never been this close to such a luxurious fabric.
Her upbringing had been humble. Her two fathers had fallen in love and after much thought, decided that a child was exactly what they needed in their lives. They sought out a surrogate who they paid monthly in exchange for her service. Nine months later, Rachel was born.
Her fathers continued to pay the surrogate while they raised her. While she wasn't dressed in silks or being transported by carriages, she was always clothed and well fed.
At least until her papa got ill. His illness kept him from going into the shop everyday with her daddy and with only one source of income, payments became harder to make.
When all hope had seemed lost, Prince Jesse had appeared. He had been like a knight in shining armor, sweeping in to aid them in their hour of need. He bought her, paying off their debt to the surrogate.
And then he took her away from the only home she knew.
She resisted furiously in the first month, spitting and fighting whenever he came near her. The gag that she was then forced to wear quickly made her realize that aggression would get her nowhere and her physical resistance ended.
It was about 3 weeks into her imprisonment that Jesse told her what he had planned and her refusal to marry him resulted in anger.
He began to restrict her freedoms more so then they already had been, setting her in chains permanently and taking away meals until all she was allowed was a few stale pieces of bread a day.
The next weeks had gone uneventfully, as her body grew weaker and thinner. She began to fight less and cry more yet she never agreed to his proposal.
That was when the beatings started, lasting for hours at a time. He always referred to them as lessons, but she knew better to believe that he was teaching her. Whenever she did something wrong, she was always met with a sharp blow to the cheek and she was all too familiar with the bite of a whip.
She had been conditioned to fear as her resolve was slowly broken with every passing day. While he still referred to her as a spitfire, rebellious girl, she had come to simply comply with demands he made, as it was easier then resisting. Yet, she never agreed to his proposal, causing her torture to continue, stretching into what felt like eternity.
The door opened and she was dragged from her thoughts. Looking up, she saw the queen enter holding a dress that was a soft lavender color.
Rachel silently watched as she approached. The woman gestured for her to stand and Rachel obediently cooperated.
The woman had Rachel remove the towel and when she was naked, she gave her a pair of underwear. Rachel fumbled with the garment before she got it on, her cheeks flaming with embarrassment as if a dragon had scorched them.
Once they were up, the queen began to pull the dress down over Rachel's head.
The fabric felt odd against Rachel's skin. It was made of silk and it was much too big, rubbing uncomfortably and hanging off of her frame. "Turn around, dear," Carole said and Rachel did what she said. Carole began to lace up the back of the dress so the corset would fit better.
When she was finished, Carole took a hard look at the girl. The corset was pulled as tight as possible, yet it still gaped on the girl's frame. Her ribs and hips stuck out painfully, her lank hair was in need of detangling, and the severed shackles still hung on her ankles. Yet, the shade of lavender complemented the girl's skin tone.
"Follow me. Prince Finn is expecting you," she said.
The queen walked out of the room and Rachel followed. She didn't want to be here. She wanted to be back at home, on her bed of straw with her dads.
They walked down out into the dining hall. The woman put a motherly hand on Rachel's shoulder and gave her a gentle nudge into the room.
The three princes were sitting around the table and turned to her with expectant looks on their faces. She took a shaky breath and approached the table, starting slightly when she heard the doors close shut behind her.
The one who had the strange haircut rose and pulled out a chair for her to sit in. She approached with her head down. Upon reaching him, she began to bend into her curtsy, to greet the royals but the Prince pulled her body out of position. He grabbed her hips and forced her to sit in the chair and then he returned to his chair after pushing in hers.
She looked down at the table. She could feel the eyes of the princes burning into her. They practically drove her wild with discomfort.
The first course was brought out. A steaming bowl of broth was placed in front of her. She licked her lips. This was the largest serving she had ever been presented with, even when she was with her fathers.
She looked to the princes and saw they were all eating. Conflicted as to what action she should do, she resorted to what she knew. She folded her hands in her lap and looking into the tempting, swirling liquid and waited.
The well dressed prince looked to her with a quizzical eyebrow raised. "Is it not to your liking?" He asked with a hint of disapproval in his voice.
Rachel squirmed. She hunched her shoulders, and cowered in on herself. "It's not that… I simply do not know when I am allowed to eat."
The brutish prince stopped with his spoon halfway to his mouth and asked, "What do you mean, girl?"
Rachel swallowed as she felt her cheeks flame. "I-I-I was not allowed to eat until Lord Jesse gave me permission, so I would wait until I was given his approval."
The Prince who had accompanied Prince Jesse into the dungeon now took his turn to speak, "Well, you are no longer under his control. You may dine when you wish. There is no need to wait for permission."
Rachel's stomach growled. The princes returned to their respective meals and continued to eat in silence. Rachel picked up one of her spoons and began to eat. She shivered in delight as the soup traveled down her throat, warming her from the inside out.
She began to scarf down the food, afraid that their generosity may not last forever. As she scraped the remainder of the meal from the bowl, she tried to remember the last time she had anything that was this good. She couldn't recall a time.
When the servants took empty bowls away, Rachel felt content and happy. With her belly full and her body clean, she expected to be brought to her bed and left there, but the princes appeared to have other plans for her.
The tallest of the princes began, addressing her by name, "So, Rachel, I believe we should explain what will happen now," he began. She nodded, biting her tongue and listening attentively.
"We are going to attempt to get you back into a satisfactory state of health. I have sent for my serving girls and my medic. You will be turned over to them upon their arrival so that they can assess you condition," the Prince said, an air of authority ringing in his tone.
"Once your condition has been assessed, we will keep you on a highly regulated regimen so that your health will return. We've taken the liberty of putting in a fabric order so that some proper clothing can be made." As the young male spoke he stared at his nails, appearing to admire them.
Rachel nodded, but bit her lip as a question bubbled in her mind. The prince looked up from his nails and asked what was troubling her.
She chewed her lip more as she carefully chose her words. "What will happen after I am deemed healthy, my lords?" She then looked to Finn. "After all, you did purchase me."
The tall Prince shifted in his seat. "That remains to be seen." A pregnant pause filled the air as the future of her fate remained to be decided.
Rachel shrunk further into herself and spoke in an even quieter voice. "May I be told your names, so I know how to properly address my lords?"
The Prince with the authoritative tone spoke, "I am Prince Noah, of Titanium."
With a sweep of his hand, the well dressed prince introduced himself. "Prince Kurt, of McKinley, second in line for the throne."
Rachel then turned to the young man who had paid for her. He cleared his throat and spoke "I am Prince Finn, of Mckinley."
Before anything else could be said, the doors of the dining hall were opened. I short man with raven black haired entered, followed by a man carrying a large box.
Upon their entrance, Prince Kurt's lips broke out into a wide grin that stretched from ear to ear. He stood to greet the new comers. Shaking the older man's hand and enveloping the younger man in a passionate embrace, Kurt spoke "Blaine! I am so happy you could come on such short notice."
The dark haired boy nodded. "We came as fast as we could. I had actually been on my way here but your messenger intercepted me before I arrived. I had to go back to retrieve my father."
The father of the boy then spoke. "Yes, and I still do not understand the urgency of the situation. Could any of you be so kind as to explain what is occurring."
Prince Finn stood and extended a hand towards the man. "Sir Anderson, a pleasure as always. We require you to undo a lock."
A hearty chuckle filled the air. "Well I assumed that much, my lad. I just don't understand the urgency of the situation."
"Well that is a bit of a more complicated story, my friend. Perhaps I could just show you-"
"- And then you can explain as I work. Now what will I be opening up for you?"
Puck then cleared his throat drawing attention to himself. He waggled a finger in Rachel's direction. "There she is, sir."
Sir Anderson turned to look at Finn. "Son you must be joking."
"I wish I was sir." Finn gave Rachel a pointed look. She stood, her head bent to stair at the ground as she dropped into her curtsy, properly greeting the new comers. As she bent her legs and twisted into her uncomfortable bow, her dress crept up her leg, exposing the cuff of a shackle. "She was kept as a prisoner. We were unable to remove these ankle cuffs."
Sir Anderson's mouth opened in understanding, as Rachel quickly returned to her place in her chair. He set his box on the table and opened it, fishing out a few different devices and getting to work.
As he settled on to his knees in front of the young girl, he looked at her. He picked up the hem of the dress and asked "May I?" The girl only nodded in response of he took it as an affirmative.
He dragged the hem up over her knee so that he could have a clear view of the cuff, turning the tool in his hand into the proper position. Sir Anderson worked diligently, concentrating on his task.
While his father worked, Blaine and Kurt animatedly chatted. "… I swear, he didn't know the horses head from its ass."
Kurt laughed as he responded. "You're joking. I knew I should have gone to the fair."
Noah snorted. "How would you expect to go? Wear a disguise?"
Kurt's eyes widened with excitement as a devious grin stretched across his face.
Finn cut in quickly, "Don't even think about it."
Rachel listened to the banter halfheartedly. She was more preoccupied with the man trying to free her ankles. She knew that he was trying to free her but whenever he shifted the cuff, a sharp pain ran up her leg. She bit her tongue though, knowing there was no way to avoid it.
After what Rachel assumed was a quarter of an hour, the man wiped his brow and smiled up at her. "Just one more twist and they should be good to go." He picked up a long, pointed tool, inserted it into the key hole, and, with a sharp twist, released the cuff.
It clattered to the ground, causing an echo to resound throughout the room. The eyes of every person were set on the piece of metal that lay in a heap on the ground. Sir Anderson quickly showed the other a similar treatment and it followed its brother onto the ground.
All eyes immediately traveled to the girl's legs. Her ankles bore angry red marks where the cuffs had been. The skin around the marks was tattooed with deep bruises.
As Sir Anderson stood, he picked up one of the cuffs and handed it to Rachel. She looked at the offending piece of metal that had been one of many symbols of her imprisonment.
She looked up when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Prince Finn was smiling down at her and she gave an involuntary flinch but did not shy from his hand as she had done earlier.
"Congratulations, Rachel Berry. You're free."
