Chapter 9

"May I have something to drink?" Clarisse asked as she adjusted herself for comfort as much as possible given the bound situation of her hands and feet.

"No."

Clarisse sighed and warred with herself over to ask for a reason or to just make the best of it. She was getting tired anyway. Maybe she could just sleep. She licked her lips and then closed her eyes. A hand tapping her lightly on the cheek a few minutes later interrupted her descent into dreamland.

"Oh no Clarisse. No sleeping, no drinking, no eating. Not until you do as you were asked."

"That's not going to happen."

Jacob just smiled, "We'll see."

"So, what are you getting out of it this time? You said last time was curiosity. After everything that happened, I can't imagine there's much left for you to be curious about."

She regretted the question almost as soon as it left her dry lips. Jacob scooted on the bed next to her, his hand beginning to explore her exposed skin. "Oh, but I am so very curious about the relationship you and my brother have." His hand cupped her breast and she tried to move away from his touch with what little wiggle room she had. "But most of all…I'm curious about you. You fascinate me, Clarisse."

The Queen glare was aimed in his direction. "I'm certain my body is not that different from anyone else's. That seems to be the focus of your curiosity."

He chuckled and withdrew his hand. "There's no denying how beautiful you are. I like touching you mostly because it irritates you. Your eyes blaze the most brilliant blue when you're irritated."

"How fascinating."

Jacob's face moved close to hers as he whispered in her ear. "You fascinate me. I agreed to help them again to get out of prison and to see you again."

She honestly didn't know what to say. Were the circumstances different, she might have been at least a little flattered, but as she was being held against her will and attempts being made to manipulate her yet again, she was irritated more than anything else. As a result, she said nothing.

Jacob's face moved away just a bit, but his voice remained low. "You need to cooperate. They're not kidding about forcing you to make the demand video."

She shrugged her shoulders, "And I'm not kidding that even if I agreed to such a ridiculous request, Amelia would never bow to these bullies."

He sighed and moved back to the chair beside the bed. "If she ever wants to see you alive again…she will."

The next hour or so passed by with little activity. True to his word, every time she started to drift off to sleep, Jacob would make sure she did not get any rest. His favorite way was to avail himself of touching her body somewhere that would ensure she snapped back to alertness. The room she was in had no windows so she couldn't be sure of the time, but she knew it had to be the middle of the night.

With each passing hour, Clarisse felt her thirst grow and her muscles begin to cramp. On the positive side, it kept her from falling asleep and stayed Jacob's advances for the most part. It had been a very hectic day before they left for the ballet. She figured she was getting close to at least eighteen hours without water, maybe more.

Jacob watched as the woman in front of him began to slowly fade. He knew she was a fighter so maybe she was just conserving her strength? He hadn't lied to her…not this time. He was fascinated with her. He was also extremely jealous of his brother. Life certainly had dealt them two very different hands.

"Jacob?" Clarisse whispered.

"Yes?"

"Tell me a story."

"What?"

"Tell me about your childhood."

"Why do you care?" His gruff tone might have deterred her, but she needed to keep her mind off of her current situation.

"I want to know about your life. I confess to speculating about it from time to time. Joseph told me that he didn't even know of your existence, so he couldn't tell me anything about you. You're curious about me. I'm curious about you. You're a part of Joseph's past, even if we didn't know it. So, tell me. It's not like we have anything else to do right now."

He leaned forward and smiled a bit, "Are you saying you've been thinking about me."

She shook her head. "You're as incorrigible as he is." Her blue gaze pierced his. "You're more like him than you know."

"Ha! You didn't think that the first time we met."

Clarisse shrugged her shoulders. "You were close enough that you fooled me."

Her statement took him by surprise. He'd never thought of it that way. He'd always suspected she'd been so distracted by all of his attempts to keep her off balance and how hard he worked to get her right where he'd wanted her that he hadn't considered he'd been so much like his brother she hadn't really known…well, at least not until the end. Then she'd pegged every single one of them and knew there were bigger players in the game. "How so?" A very small part of him wanted to believe he possessed at least some of the finer qualities of his brother.

She licked her lips and a pang of regret feathered across his conscience. He'd not liked this order he received. He could think of so many more delightful ways to get her to cooperate. "Joseph has always been very adept at reading me, knowing what I need, and then providing it for me…regardless of what it is or how it might affect him personally. You heard the exchange between us on the night of my birthday. When you/he showed up with an apparent change of heart, I thought that's what he'd done."

"He was a fool for not taking you to his bed at the first opportunity."

"He had his reasons. And, ironically, your presence and influence got him to change his mind." She smiled as the memory of that night surfaced in her mind. It had been a very good night.

"I'm not sure I'm happy about that." Jacob grumbled.

"You should be. Something good came out of that whole nightmare. I no longer felt alone in this world."

Her statement got his attention. "You rule thousands. You were married to a king and had two sons. I've seen how much Genovia loves you. No way were you ever alone. I know what it feels like to be alone in this world."

Her eyes closed. "You can be in a crowded room, surrounded by a throng of people and still feel alone. The Queen is never alone. Clarisse has felt an emptiness in her heart since her one son moved away and the other died before his time."

"The King didn't love you?" Jacob couldn't believe how every man that had ever met this extraordinary woman wouldn't love her.

"We were fond of each other, perhaps 'loved' each other, but weren't in love. Does that make sense? He loved me for helping him take care of Genovia and providing heirs to the throne."

Jacob shook his head. "I guess. Are all men in Genovia such fools?"

Clarisse offered a small smile. "Dating a queen is rather complicated."

Several moments passed before she spoke again. "Your turn."

He stood and paced the room a few times. "Not sure what to tell you. I was a raised by a woman who wasn't my mother, because she didn't want me. We're identical and she picked him over me. That's a hard pill to swallow."

"I'm sure it would be hard for a young child to understand why your mother made the choices she did, but as an adult surely you've come to understand she knew she couldn't take proper care of both of you. You were babies. She loved you both and I know giving you away was the hardest thing she's ever done."

He stopped pacing and turned toward her, anger heating his face. "How would you know that? She gave me up and never gave me a second thought."

"That's not true. Joseph told me he'd often catch his mother sitting on the porch, crying. When he'd ask her, she would say her heart hurt for that which she lost. When he asked her what she meant, she would just pull him close and give him a hug and tell him that it was not his burden to bear. At the time, he had no idea what she meant, but as we've been talking about everything, he believed she was mourning giving you up."

"So why didn't she come look for me?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I could only think about what I would do in that situation."

"Which is?"

"Believe that it would be selfish of me to insert myself back into your life. I would have imagined that you had a wonderful life, with loving parents, and by finding you and telling you the truth, it would only hurt you and cause you pain. I wouldn't want to do that to someone I had loved enough to entrust to someone else."

He had no response to her honest confession. He'd asked himself a million times since he'd learned the truth. He'd always thought his mother had been selfish for not coming to find him. He hadn't ever considered the opposite.

"How did you find out about Joseph?"

"When her Majesty Queen Clarisse visited Puerto Rico. It was big news. There were pictures and footage of you everywhere."

"And Joseph…" she finished the thought.

"And my identical twin brother. I confronted my adoptive mother who finally told me the truth."

"Was your childhood not good?" She'd wondered when Jacob had started down the dark path that had brought him into their lives.

"We were poor. I had very little growing up and very little options when I became an adult."

"Sounds like Joseph."

His gaze widened as he took in her face trying to decide if she was playing him or telling the truth. "No way. He lives in a palace."

"He left home when he turned eighteen. Joined the military, worked hard. Served in the navy and worked his way through the ranks. Because of his hard work, he won the respect of those he served. When my father-in-law, King Edward, was abroad visiting some of our allies, he mentioned he was looking for security for the royal family. Joseph was recommended. They hit it off and he was brought to Genovia. They decided he would be my personal security and body guard."

Jacob sighed. He didn't want to believe that Joseph had the same obstacles and challenges he had. Joseph obviously had made better choices.

Movement on the bed brought him out of his self-incrimination. Clarisse was grimacing in pain as she moved her legs in an effort to get more comfortable. The dehydration was moving into the next phase. "You need to do what they ask. This is only going to get worse."

She offered a small smile. "You and I both know that's not going to happen."

Before he could say anything further, a man in a dark cloak came in. "Any progress?"

Jacob shook his head.

"Perhaps your reputation is no longer warranted."

"Perhaps you underestimated the resolve of the Crown yet again." Clarisse managed between spasms.

The man moved toward her and before Jacob could react, he slapped her across the face. To her credit, other than a gasp of surprise, she didn't react. "You have been a thorn in our side since you rose to power. The sun is about to set on your reign and your granddaughter will fall in line one way or another."

"She will still be queen. Renaldi blood runs through her."

He struck her again, but this time she didn't react despite the red hand print now surfacing on her cheek. Jacob wanted to put the man down where he stood. What kind of man struck a woman tied to a bed?

"Then perhaps Renaldi blood will be spilled if she refuses to cooperate and do as she's told. We tried the peaceful route through abdication, you both refused."

"You're going to burn in hell for the treason you're committing against your country."

The cloaked man turned toward Jacob. "I suggest you persuade her and soon. I grow tired of this."

Once he was gone, he moved closer to her again. "Are you alright?" He couldn't keep his fingers from brushing her cheek.

"It took my mind off the cramping in my legs."

His fingers drifted down her cheek to her neck and to the swell of her breasts. "I can provide distraction if that's what you want."

"Compassion is what I'm hoping for."

He let his hand enjoy the warm flesh for a few moments longer remembering when he'd free access to all the treasures he'd sampled when he was pretending to be his brother. "If I show you compassion, we'll both be dead." He sighed before pulling away.

Clarisse couldn't be sure how much time had passed, but she knew she was in trouble. Her muscles were in constant pain, and it was getting worse. She knew different systems and organs in her body would be severely damaged if she wasn't able to hydrate before too much longer. She'd tried to get through to Jacob but had failed. Unless Joseph found her soon, she would die knowing that she left so many things unsaid to the people she loved. And she would be alone. She wanted to cry…if she even could at this point but didn't want to give them the satisfaction of breaking her.

Loud commotion outside the room brought both her and Jacob's attention to the door. Several cloaked men arrived a moment later. "Untie her. We need to move her."

Jacob went to work but looked in the direction of his employers. "Why? What's happened?"

"Our inside man overheard they had located her via some kind of tracking device. Before he could learn anything more, he was discovered and arrested. They're on their way here."

Clarisse tried to hide her smile, but Jacob caught it and moved in front of her face. "I know you think this is good news, but it's not." He whispered.

His words sobered her and her relief at having her bonds removed were short lived as he pulled her to a standing position. Her legs folded the moment they were asked to hold her weight and she crumpled to the floor as pain fired throughout her long limbs. A moment later Jacob scooped her into this arms. "Hang on."

She willed her arms to cooperate as she put them around his neck. Since everyone was busy with their escape, she let her eyes close and pretended it was Joseph's strong arms carrying her to safety. The illusion would be brief but for now, it brought her a small measure of comfort.

The chill of what had to be a secret passageway seeped into her bones as she heard a door being opened. Jacob had stopped and had adjusted her in his arms, but she had no idea why.

"Hurry!" one of the other men demanded.

Jacob moved forward again but stopped to shut the door behind them. Icy tendrils of despair closed around her at the sound. A moment later they were moving again. Further, she assumed, into whatever structure they intended to use to hide her away from the world. From Joseph.

Would the tracker be able to penetrate the walls? They called them secret passageways for a reason. It wouldn't be easily identified from inside the house. Would Joseph be able to still track the GPS chip? She kept running through the same questions in her brain as they represented her last hope for getting out of there alive.

After what felt like several minutes of walking, she was deposited on a cot. "Find that tracker and get it out of her now!"

Clarisse's eyes opened and widened in fear. Would they be able to find it? How would they get it out?

"How do you propose I do that? I don't have that kind of equipment on me.

A gun appeared seemingly out of nowhere and was pointed at Jacob's head. "Then your services are no longer needed."

"Wait! Wait!" He shouted. "I have the necessary supplies in my room. I'll be back in ten minutes."

"Make it five." The cloaked man turned to another man in a matching outfit. "Go with him. Make sure he doesn't try anything.

Clarisse's body shivered involuntarily. The material of her dress offered little in the way of warmth. The chill did nothing to ease the aches in her body, in fact made them worse. She licked her lips, noting that there was very little moisture to go around. She prayed Joseph would not only find her but that he would do so soon. She would never give in to their demands, so it was either be rescued or die at the hands of these mad men.

A few minutes later, Jacob was back. He started fiddling with the instrument in his hand and Clarisse worried that it wouldn't take long for them to find it. Her gaze captured the glint of what appeared to be a very sharp knife. She swallowed hard against the rising fear.

"I need you to go into another area until I find the chip. Any other metal in the area will make it give off false readings. I'll call once I've located it."

The gun was pointed at his head once again. "See that you do. We want to be here when it's removed."

Clarisse paled at the suggestion. Besides the fear of her thigh being sliced up, the thought of those men watching while it happened threatened to make what little food she'd consumed take an unceremonious exit from her body.

Once they were gone, she grabbed Jacob's hand. "Please don't do this. They're going to kill us both, whether they get what they want or not."

He shrugged. "I'm a survivor. I'd wager that you're one too. Hopefully that brother of mine arrives in time to save you."

Her grip tightened. "I'm begging you. Please don't do this."

Jacob broke away from her gaze and started running the scanner slowly over her body, starting at the top, down each arm, over her ribcage and over her abdomen. He gave her a grin. "Looks like my brother decided to use an unconventional location. Very clever. He lifted her gown and took in the long, beautiful legs. "I remember vividly how wonderful these legs felt wrapped around me." He let his hands slide up the inside of her leg, marveling at the strength and ignoring the trembling. This time he let the scanner do its work. A soft beeping noise was heard when he waved it over her right thigh. His gaze snapped to hers before she closed her eyes.

At that moment, her body started jerking as she writhed in pain. The sight caused his heart to constrict, the knife of guilt burrowing deep within his chest. He took a few deep breaths before pulling her into his arms in an attempt to calm her. "You need to be brave. Don't let them break you." He whispered.

Clarisse forced her eyes open, the voice so much like Joseph's, but she knew it wasn't. What game was he playing at? She blinked several times and took deep breaths in and out to force her body back into submission. Once she'd managed to relax somewhat again, he lowered her back to the cot.

"I found it." He stated as his gaze captured hers again. There was something in his eyes, but her everything hurt too much to try to decipher it. He'd played her for a fool time and time again. She couldn't be fooled again.

"Where is it?" Cloaked man asked with an almost gleeful tone.

Jacob shrugged. "Standard location. A little disappointing really.

Behind closed eyes, Clarisse tried to wrap her muddled brain around what game Jacob was playing at. Was he just going to cut up…wherever he was going to pretend the chip was. It wouldn't take long for the ruse to be discovered. Seriously, what was this man playing at? Did he just want to carve her up and leave her body scarred and shriveled from dehydration?

She opened her mouth to say something, but felt a gag being put in her mouth. "Don't want anyone to hear your screams," Jacob smiled as he tightened the binding around her head.

A moment later, she did indeed scream as he used one hand to hold her arm and the other to slice into the tender flesh on her bicep. She would have bolted off the cot if it weren't for Jacob's body leaning against hers and holding it mostly in place. She wasn't sure she could take much more of this and feared what would happen when his search came up empty.

She felt a sharp stab of a different kind as Jacob's fingers dug around in the exposed flesh of her arm. A moment later she heard Jacob's voice filter through the haze of pain. "Here it is. One GPS tracker."

Clarisse opened her eyes to see some type of chip, covered in her blood, being handed to the man apparently in charge.

"Well done. Now there's no way they can find her." He dropped the chip to the floor and ground it into nothingness with the heel of his boot.

Clarisse felt Jacob nudge her and she realized she had to play her part. She turned her head away from the men and tried to curl into her own body. She wanted to show they had deflated but not defeated her.

She felt herself being pushed onto her back again and the gag being removed. "You ready to make that video now."

"Go to hell!"

The gun that had only been pointed at Jacob before was now being pointed directly at her. "You first."

Jacob gave Clarisse credit. Other than the widening of her eyes as she stared down the barrel of the mad man's gun, she showed no fear. He remembered his final moments with her before his brother swooped in to save her. He'd been about to force himself into her and she'd shown no fear, only sadness. Something inside of him had broken that day. She'd voiced her disappointment in who she believed to be his brother, but he felt the chords of her judgment striking to the very center of his heart. If Joseph hadn't hit him over the head with the vase and knocked him out cold, he couldn't be sure he would've went through with it.

Casting a look at the beautiful woman just a couple feet away from him, he admitted he might have followed through just to feel her body become one with his one time.

Knowing he needed to do something, he pushed the gun barrel away from her face. "Look I know you're upset at the monarchy, but do you have any idea the manner of holy hell that will be rained down on your head if you kill the Dowager Queen?"

"I'm open to suggestions. She refuses to make the video. We need that girl to understand her idea of progress is not what Genovia wants."

"Perhaps it is you that doesn't understand what Genovia wants." Clarisse offered in a quiet voice.

Jacob had been missing the spark his defiant queen had always shown – at least since he'd known her. He looked closer at her and noticed her eyes lacked their normal sparkle, her lips dry, and her face drawn tight and pale. He realized in an instant with all the excitement with the gun, he hadn't bandaged her arm. So, besides hydration issues, she was dealing with blood loss.

Commotion from outside the room they were in drew the mad man's attention. "What's going on?"

"Someone from a watch station reported they saw several cars, including the one owned by Joseph, heading in our direction."

He turned with fury toward Jacob. "How is that possible?"

Jacob raised his hands, "I got the GPS chip out, but it's not like we moved her far. They know her last location. I'm assuming you brought us in here because it was safe, and we wouldn't be discovered."

The man sat down, "I'm getting too old for this. They shouldn't be able to find us in here. They'll think we abandoned the house when we heard they were on their way."

Jacob cut Clarisse a look. Her eyes were closed and her breathing shallow. "I need to bandage her arm."

The man stared at him with cold, dark eyes before relenting and giving him a slight nod. Jacob rummaged around in his bag that he'd brought from his room and found some bandages. He might not have been the boy scout that Joseph was, but he tried to always be prepared.

Clarisse felt a stab of pain as Jacob started to tend to her arm. She wasn't sure that it mattered at this point. She'd heard them say Joseph and the royal guard were on the way, but if they were right that the signal couldn't be located in here, it was a moot point. They would have no way to find her. Even if she could hear them down the hall, she wasn't sure she had enough strength left to call for help, but rest assured she would do whatever she could to attract their attention…even if it was the last thing she did.