To be back on that blasted horse after a short night of sleep was not something she welcomed, but she was happy to have gotten sleep at all.

Things turned hairy yesterday, but her fragile bones saved her. The results of the prince's pushy behaviour appeared to have spooked him, interestingly enough, and she was left alone for the rest of the night. But tempting him to bruise her before bedtime was not a tactic she could keep using. An amorous night with him was unavoidable if he wished for it. Unless she managed to escape before that time. And that was exactly what she had to do.

They were not going to take any breaks before reaching their final destination, what meant she had to escape wherever that destination was. But having to escape from the cave of the tiger only made her chances of getting away smaller. She'd also have to roam around in a country she'd never been before, from people who knew this land like the back of their hand. Maybe it would help if she wore a disguise? Though, a disguise would not help against dangerous wild animals, if there were any.
Getting away from this nightmare was not going to be a stroll, the multiple scenarios she played off in her mind gave her no reassuring conclusions. She had to assume the worst with this boy, it would likely decrease the chance of making fatal mistakes. But the only thing she knew that worked with him was being humble and charming. Then again, that didn't quite work out for the unfortunate, widowed king back at the ball. She really didn't want to keep on charming him, either. Give an egomaniacal man compliments and they'll cling onto you, wanting to hear more. Last night was a clear confirmation; he chose her with the intend to keep her, even though there was no explanation given why he picked her. He didn't care to answer that question.

The queen felt the prince's arm holding her tightly against his body, again keeping her from getting launched off the horse. Was he still alright with her, despite the rejection he received last night? She could only guess she had something he desired.

The sun was setting. They had been riding for many hours again, but the men looked as lively as they were when they started the journey. Like they were made of iron, they were unstoppable. In their presence, she felt even older and weaker than she already was. She nearly collapsed of hunger, thirst and exhaustion. She couldn't remember eating that much in the past few days to begin with. Meat was a rare addition to her diet, since her kingdom lacked the animals, so whatever nutrition she could get was the bare minimum. This never mattered, she never kept herself busy with hard physical work, but now it was taking a toll on her.
The sky added to her suffering and turned gloomy. It wouldn't take long until heavy rain would fall and they'd get drenched with cold, salty water. The inconveniences kept adding up, hopefully they were going to take shelter somewhere..

Eventually, a huge castle appeared in the distance. It was made out of black stone and easy to describe. It was like an enormous unflattering brick that touched the dark sky. There was no beauty, its only goal was to be big and intimidating. Like a certain someone. The landscape itself wasn't that thrilling, either. There was tall grass everywhere, but not a single tree, rock or house to be seen. Surely there had to be people living around here, but then they were far away from this castle. Not an unwise decision.

"Cool, we'll be home before dinner! And bedtime." the prince announced. Bedtime. That word echoed through her ears, it had a most unpleasant ring to it. If it was for sleeping, she would've been all for it.

The closer they got to the castle, the more clear it became how big this thing truly was. When they arrived at the foot of it, it was impossible to see the end. The roof seemed to disappear in the dark clouds.

"Don't snap your neck in half starin'." the prince joked, "Would be a waste of that extra dinner plate."

He jumped off his horse, then picked her up and placed her onto the ground. The long, exhausting trip made it difficult for her to stand and she almost tumbled over. The prince decided to spare everyone the silly scene and picked her back up.

"Really, you don't have to do that, my legs are just sleeping.." the queen said.

"So, I DO have to do that." he replied, and carried her inside. Again, the boy did what he wanted.

The inside of the castle looked a whole lot more decorated than the outside. In fact, the place was quite beautiful and tidy, though the large hallways felt like a journey. How was she going to escape this place if she was out of breath before she could even reach a door?

"I'm gonna go ahead and ditch you at the dinner table, but I'll be right back." the prince said.

While still in his arms, they entered a huge room with a long table. At the far end of the table was a large throne-like chair and at the side of the entrance a smaller one. Regular chairs inhabited the rest of the table, but they didn't have any plates, besides the one chair next to the smaller throne. The prince placed her on said chair and then left the room.

"Wait for me, muffin!" he called back at her.

And so, there she was, all alone.
Alone, with no guards watching her.
In total silence.

Being alone in her new environment awakened something inside of her and a sudden burst of uncontrollable panic started entering her mind. Now was such a perfect time to escape, but there was not a single window in this room! But she had to get out of here! She had to go before she'd get stuck in his bedroom-embrace again! She was willing to just go for it; be stupid and run out of the only exit, straight through the hallways, and back outside..! Whatever or whoever she'd see on the other side didn't matter, she'd just run past them. But what if someone were to enter right now? Or now? Or right now? Now?

She stared at the door, her legs trembling of excitement and fear. Obviously her body was preparing itself to perform the foolish sprint, but her mind was struggling. With every second that passed, she regretted not going for it. But.. what if someone were to enter right now? Or now? Or right now? Now?

What if no one would come in for another thirty minutes and the other side of the room was completely empty? She didn't hear any sounds, maybe the guards were meeting up somewhere. That meant this was the perfect opportunity. But would the prince really trust her that much to leave her alone like this? This soon? Honestly, that was implausible, yet the place sounded so empty. It was tempting her. But what if someone were to enter right now?! Or now? Or right now? Now?

But the door was still closed and the castle still quiet. The queen clenched her fists. It hurt her bruised shoulder as she did so. It had to be today, she simply couldn't stay another night with this prince, let alone stay forever to play his wife! Maybe she could sneak a peek through the door and check if the coast was really clear. If someone were to catch her looking, that didn't necessarily mean she was about to escape, right..? She'd have to make up an excuse beforehand, in case someone caught her, and hope for the best.
She took a deep and long breath, and stood up from her chair. Her restless feet tip-toed towards the door, trying their hardest not to start running and attract possible nearby attention. Her hand reached for the door handle, but before it made contact, the door suddenly flew open. She yelped and became petrified upon seeing the prince's father standing there.

"Well, well, look at that. About to go somewhere?" he smirked.

She didn't reply. She couldn't. The anxiety was too great and forced her to swallow the words she had prepared for herself. The king's grin was drilling into her and looked all too familiar. He and the prince were very much related, as if there was any doubt before. She stepped out of his way as he entered the room and shut the door with a satisfied smile.

"And that dumb idiot trusted you, too. Just imagine what he'd do if he knew you were about to boot it."

Hard to believe the prince actually left her unsupervised, but why would his father lie? More importantly, why did the prince do that if it were true? Was she not his prisoner? A terrible fact of life was that this must've been the first time someone fully trusted her and she abused that trust. She felt odd about it. Ugh. Curse her parents and the indoctrinated mind they gave her! She wished she didn't value character and reliability so much, these things had always done her more harm than good. This was not the time to eat herself up about it, she had greater things to worry about right now, she had to deal with this king character!

"It's n-nothing like that!" the queen stuttered, "I.. have been waiting for a while now.. I was merely curious what kept everyone.."

"Ooh. Good save, good save. You're a good liar. You're gonna need that in this barftastic marriage." he mumbled, as he slowly strolled over to the large throne at the end of the table. There he sat down with his hands behind his head.

The queen decided to head back to her chair as well. She wasn't going anywhere now. To think there was an opportunity made her a bit upset, but if the king was waiting for her to leave through that door, maybe his claim was not entirely true. Indeed, he looked quite happy to have caught her in the middle of her escape and obviously didn't buy her excuse. He knew her intentions as well as she did. What was he going to do with this knowledge?
It was clear he didn't want her to marry his son, but she wondered why he didn't let her leave. He was the king, the owner and boss of this castle and this land, he could've lead her to the exit, just like that. Both their problems would've been solved. He even could've gone for a more character-fitting approach and killed her, yet he talked about what the prince would do to her and he readied himself for dinner. It didn't make any sense. But when did anything make sense with these people?

For at least another two minutes she had to share the room with this man. It felt longer, but she knew the time frame exactly, as she kept herself occupied counting the seconds. She always did that when in a nerve-wracking situation. She's counted alot in her life. The king just sat there, staring deep into his target's soul. He had the same black eyes as his son, but his expressions were easier to read. His face was filled with good old classic loathing.
Then suddenly, the doors flew open and the prince triumphantly walked in with many servants following him. They all carried plates of food that were obviously too much for just the three of them, but this was one of those benefits that came with power and success.

"Sorry for the wait, but thanks you stayed for dinner!" the prince smiled at her. As if she had a choice.. Did she have a choice?

The queen took a quick glance at the king. He returned a dangerous smile and sat up straight when his order was brought to him. It didn't look like he was going to reveal her attempted escape to the prince. Yet.
Most of the food was placed in front of the queen, and soon, the entire half of the table was covered with random meals. The king only had three plates of something, and while they were big ones, there was a noticeably large difference between the two table sides. Maybe he was more sensible and only ate what he could swallow. After most of the plates were put down, the prince took a small leap and crashed himself right onto this little throne. She couldn't be impressed by his stylish little trick, it was a careless move, he could've missed the target and broken his arm. She never liked the sight of thought of broken bones.

"It's good to be around my two favourite people of all time! My sexy almost-wife.. and myself!" he then announced.

The laughter over his own joke filled the room and made king Bobby roll his eyes while he chewed on his giant bird. Every time these two were together, the family situation became more clear to her. Neither men enjoyed each other's company much. The queen wondered what she did to deserve the title of "favourite person of all time", nevertheless, she rewarded the prince's silly joke by giving him a quick smile, which he seemed to appreciate.

"Come on." he said, as he gestured to the table, "Dig in, whatever you want, you need some meat on those bones. You can use your hands and everything."

"Thank you, young prince.." she replied.

The prince took a sip from his wine cup and placed it back down with a more serious face.
"Stop calling me 'young prince'."

"Oh, I'm very sorry, it was not to offend your maturity. I shall." the queen quickly corrected herself.

"Nah, it's nothing like that. It's super cute, but you're my chick now.. so, just call me by my name."

"Alright.. prince Larie." she replied.

"Larie."

"Ah, yes, eh.. yes.."

"Larie."

"Yes.. uhm."

"Larie."

"Y-Yes.."

"Larie."

"Jesus Christ." said a voice from the other side.

"..."

"You're not gonna die when you say my name, there's no creepy-ass voodoo curse on it."

She didn't want to say his name. Getting personal was like an unconscious chain that would tie herself to his leg. This was not the moment to start any kind of relationship with him, she had to keep seeing herself as the abductee and the prince as her monstrous capturer. These were the facts. She knew she was a sucker for politeness and she didn't want to get brainwashed by his kind words, kind offers, or his kind face. This prince was not kind and she had to keep that in mind. But he was still waiting for her to perform this simple task of saying his name. His face was a combination of patient, but also eager, and his hands were folded the same. It was like some heavy load would be lifted off his back if she said it.
There really wasn't much else to do now. Hopefully she wouldn't forget the urgency of her escape and end up drinking tea and playing chess with him.

Please, let her remember how unredeemable he is.

"Alright.. Larie."

The prince sat up and had a smile bigger than his face could handle.
"Yeah! No problem.. Anna-Marie."

"You may call me Ann."

Shoot.