DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of The Royals characters, however I own some original characters that you'll get to know them one by one.
I'm back with another chapter! I can't get enough of this! And don't worry, I'm not forgetting Hypnotic ;)
Thanks for all the reviews and alerts, they mean a lot...
The song in this chapter is "Skin" by Rae Morris.
HERE WE GO:
Chapter3_Drowning
The masked man came in, carrying her lunch, and put the tray down on the table. Eleanor huffed before she finally gave up and asked: "Where's the other guy?" The man faced Eleanor but kept quiet and she pressed: "Where's Jasper?"
She hadn't seen him since the night he put a joint on her table and vanished. That was two and a half days ago and there was no news from him. Eleanor simply ate, bathed, and watched TV the whole time, but she was bored, and needed someone to talk to, or at least yell at.
The man shrugged and left her alone, again. Eleanor pouted and sat down and started eating her food even though she was upset. She mostly wanted to see Jasper to ask some more questions and get some new information. Why there was still no news of her going missing? She didn't know why their parents would do such a thing.
She ate half her chicken and grabbed her lighter and played with it. She kept it close these last couple of days since it represented just a tiny bit of her old life. She turned on the TV out of boredom again and changed the channels but nothing interesting was on so she turned it off.
It was then that she heard tires screeching from outside and curiously went by the window but saw nothing. She could hear some vague shouts, coming from far, but she couldn't make out the words even when she concentrated.
She suddenly heard some movements coming outside her door and then the door got opened and Jasper walked in. Eleanor couldn't help but smile a bit when she finally saw him and went to say something that she saw his frown. His face was dead serious and Eleanor found herself not wanting to talk at all.
He started explaining: "We're making a little video today. You just have to sit in front of the camera and cry, got it?" Eleanor opened her mouth in surprise and Jasper went on: "Let's go." Eleanor was stunned so Jasper grabbed her arm and started pulling her towards the door.
Eleanor finally found her voice: "Jasper? Where are you taking me? What kind of video?" They were out the door when she heard that creep's voice: "Not the kind of videos you get threatened with all the time, Princess…" She recognized his voice, the man in charge, and she saw him leaning against the wall in front of her.
His face was masked but she could clearly see his smirk and it made her stomach turn. Eleanor turned her head towards Jasper as he dragged her across the hallway and pushed her into a room. She gave him a nasty look but he wouldn't look her way to see it.
He pointed to a chair and ordered: "Sit." Eleanor sat down obediently, although that was not what she wanted to do, but she really didn't have any control over herself. The creep walked into the room and circled around her, just like that first day, while Jasper fiddled with the camera.
She asked hesitantly: "Why are we making a video?" The man answered playfully: "To show the world, of course." Eleanor let out angrily: "What do they care? No one knows I'm gone anyway." The man grinned maliciously and said: "We're gonna change that."
Jasper gave the creep a nod and he grabbed her shoulders and made her sit up straight. He whispered in her ear: "Now, make sure to cry, and beg for your parents to come and save you, alright?" Eleanor almost elbowed him in the stomach right before he pulled away.
He marched across the room and stood next to Jasper and announced mockingly: "Action!" Jasper turned on the camera and gave Eleanor a nod but she didn't do anything. She didn't cry or beg, she couldn't even open her mouth.
The creep huffed and turned off the camera and walked to Eleanor, ordering: "We're shooting this video, Princess, like it or not, so you might as well get on with it, if you want to eat." Jasper sighed and for the first time, looked at Eleanor.
His eyes pleaded, like he wanted to tell her to go along with it, and somehow she felt she was convinced. Jasper maybe was an asshole who kidnapped her but he never did anything to hurt her, to a degree.
She nodded and the creep walked back again and turned on the camera. Eleanor looked right at Jasper when she started: "I'm Eleanor… Princess Eleanor… I'm being kept by a bunch of people I don't know… They're not letting me go… Dad, Mom, Liam, if you hear me, please, get me out of here… Please save me…"
Tears started running down her cheeks as her voice broke down but she managed to see Jasper close his eyes and turn off the camera. The creep clapped loudly and exclaimed: "Great acting, Princess. Now, let's go back to the cage, shall we?"
He went to take her arm that Eleanor stood up and moved away from him yelling: "Don't YOU touch me!" He raised his hands in surrender, and then said: "Jasper? Seems like the Princess would prefer your company. Get her back to her room, please."
Eleanor watched as Jasper came closer but she didn't want him around her either. She started walking ahead so he wouldn't drag her but felt him walking right behind her. She walked into her room but turned around before Jasper could enter.
"I want to be alone." She said, quietly but firmly, and felt his hesitation hanging in the air. He wanted to come in but she really didn't need him there. She just wanted to curl up in a ball and die in her tiny bed. Jasper went to say something that she ordered loudly: "Lock. The. Door."
Jasper pressed his lips together and Eleanor walked back as he closed the door and locked it. She took a deep breath and then threw herself at her bed and let her tears come out in full length. No amount of drugs or drinks would ever erase the humiliation she felt at that moment. Nothing would erase this.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Deep in the core of a broken one
I spy the light of a wounded sun
That keeps you from drowning
Keeps you from drowning
There was a quick knock on the door, his signature knock, and a moment later, Jasper walked in and was faced with endless darkness. He spotted Eleanor lying on the bed, but due to her unsteady breaths, he realized she wasn't asleep.
Way beneath the weak surface of it all
I spy a girl only three foot tall
That keeps me from drowning
She keeps me from drowning in it all
He turned on the light and saw her wince and shut her eyes in response. His eyes moved to the table and he wasn't surprised to see that the food was untouched. He walked to the bed and waited for her to face him but she never did.
With the will to stay
And the will to stand still
We break the rules and listen to our own skin
With a visible scar in a broken sidecar
He shifted in his place awkwardly and then said: "Sorry…" Eleanor was surprised to hear the sincerity in his voice and managed to let out: "That means nothing to me, you know." He sighed and pulled a chair close and sat on it and watched as Eleanor finally opened her eyes and gave him a look that he was unable to read.
We break the rules and listen to our own skin
We break our hearts and pretty much everything
"The video's gone viral." He announced, all of a sudden, and Eleanor finally had a reason to sit up. She asked: "Can I see it?" He frowned before asking: "Why?" She shrugged and waited for him to take his phone out of his pocket and find the video.
He gave her the phone and she watched herself, sad and broken, pleading her family to rescue her. Her eyes moved down to the comment section and read what someone wrote: "Is it another one of her publicity stunts? That bitch is so fake. I'm sooo over her." Then she read the responses to the comment in which a few people defended her but most of them made fun of her and said they hated her and that she deserved this.
After the dark and endless wars
I realize that I'm fighting a cause
That ends with us drowning
Ends with us drowning in it all
Jasper realized what must've happened and swiftly took the phone away from her but Eleanor lunched herself forward to take it back and she almost landed on him. He stared at her face up close and she slowly pulled herself away and sat on the bed again.
With the will to stay
And the will to stand still
We break the rules and listen to our own skin
With a visible scar in a broken sidecar
He put the phone back in his pocket and said: "Don't worry about what they say." Eleanor's face went blank when she said: "But maybe they're right… Maybe I am a bitch who only sees herself and cares about herself… Maybe I deserve this…"
We break the rules and listen to our own skin
We break our hearts and pretty much everything
Jasper ran a hand through his hair and after a moment of hesitation, he pulled out another joint of hers out of his pocket. He ignored her look of disbelief, grabbed her hand and put the joint in it. His warmth reached her hand and found its way to her heart and tingled it.
We break the rules and listen to our own skin
With a visible scar in a broken sidecar
He slowly pulled his hand away, stood up and went to leave but stopped for a moment to whisper: "No one deserves this, Princess…" Eleanor's eyes darted up to him and he gave her a sad smile and left her alone with her thoughts.
We break the rules and listen to our own skin
We break our hearts and pretty much everything
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"SIMON! STOP!" Helena shouted as her husband shattered yet another expensive vase on the floor. The King shouted back: "SHUT UP!" Helena shook her head and said soothingly: "We'll find her, Simon. I promise you. We will." The King let out a sound, between a cry and sneer, so Helena sat down disappointed on the couch, next to Liam, who was holding his head in his hands.
She put her hand on his back but he shrugged it away angrily, yet the queen didn't give up. She put her hand firmly on his back and whispered to her son: "Liam, you have to understand, worrying you was not necessary. Your father and I…"
Liam pulled himself away and interrupted her loudly: "My sister is kidnapped. She's God knows where, doing God knows what, and you thought you shouldn't worry me? I found out she was gone along with every other FUCKING person in the world. What kind of a brother that makes me, huh? TELL ME!"
The King, who seemed like he was going to calm down, drank a glass of water and threw the glass across the room. Helena gasped as she heard the shatter and was unable to answer Liam right away. He stood up and went to his father to try and calm him and Helena fisted her hands to stop them from shaking.
There was a knock on the door and Ted walked in, looking like he hadn't slept in a week, which was actually true. He bowed and announced: "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but we couldn't find the original host that spread the video. They hid their trail pretty well."
The room was filled with silence as the rest of the royal family was staring at Ted and he looked down in return. Liam asked confused: "But how is it possible?" Ted explained: "Apparently, they're very good with computers and hacking. They can make themselves disappear, in a way that no one in MI5 or MI6 can track them down. But I can assure you, we're not giving up, Your Highness."
The King nodded for him to leave them alone and after Ted was gone, he went to sit behind his desk, and opened his laptop. Eleanor's video was right there, ready to play, and his heart ached when he saw her face again.
Liam knew what he was going to do so he warned: "Dad… You shouldn't watch it again…" Helena nodded her head in agreement but the King wasn't listening. After a quick moment of hesitation, he clicked on the video and they all heard her broken voice coming from the machine:
"I'm Eleanor… Princess Eleanor… I'm being kept by a bunch of people I don't know… They're not letting me go… Dad, Mom, Liam, if you hear me, please, get me out of here… Please save me…"
Soooo, what did you think of this chapter? Sad, eh?
Oh! And did you notice the song and also "Don't YOU touch me!"? You see what I did there?!
Leave a review, lovelies!
Love,
S