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.

Here's an unexpected update for you guys because I love you so much!

Episode 6... I mean... WOW... I won't say anything so I wouldn't spoil it for some of you who haven't watched it already, but I mean, WOW...

Chapter5_Freedom Has A Cost

"I'm so sorry, Liam…" Ophelia whispered as she sat down in front of the next King of England. He nodded his head and said tiredly: "I just don't get it, you know… Who can dare to kidnap the Princess of one country? Who are they? What they want? But nobody knows anything. No one is telling me anything…"

Ophelia put her hand on his and squeezed it gently before saying: "Look, I know you may not believe me, but I'm sure Eleanor will be back soon, safe and sound. She's a smart girl. I'm telling you, she can find a way to escape." Liam chuckled bitterly and asked: "Do you really believe that?"

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Eleanor stood up breathlessly and tiptoed to the door while looking at Jasper who was still whispering on the phone. She grabbed the handle blindly and pulled it down and swung the door open. Fresh air hit her face as she finally stepped out and suddenly she was filled with more courage than she ever felt in her lifetime.

She started running for her life and didn't even look back. She got past the tree house when she first heard him yell her name: "ELEANOR!" It didn't slow her down since all her energy was focused only and only on her feet and the path in front of her.

She finally reached the forest but didn't stop to look around. With Jasper hot on her trail, she had no other choice but to run, endlessly. Trees were all tall and blocking the sun and she didn't have a proper clue about where she was heading.

She felt his voice get closer and closer, echoing around, and she did the one thing she promised herself not to do. She turned her head around. She didn't even get to see him clearly when her foot crashed into an old root and she was thrown across the ground.

She groaned when she felt her whole body ache in response and tried to get up but she didn't have to put any energy behind it since she was pulled up by Jasper. He was trying to catch his breath while he held on to her top.

She looked up at him and saw his expression that was a mix of anger and confusion. He grabbed her arm and started to drag her towards the cabin. Eleanor pleaded: "Jasper… please…" She didn't know what she was begging him for, since she didn't know what to expect from him at that moment.

Jasper kept quiet the whole walk back but had a firm grip on her. Eleanor fell silent shortly after they started moving but she quietly shed a tear every once in a while. Jasper's grip loosened when they were near the cabin and he even let her walk in before him.

Once they were inside, he asked calmly: "What were you thinking?" Eleanor could feel the burning rage underneath all that coolness he was showing. She opened her mouth to answer but there was really nothing she could say.

Jasper ran a hand through his hair and whispered to himself: "I never should've done this." Eleanor found her voice only to whisper pleadingly: "I'm sorry…" His voice was firm when he spat: "You better be." Eleanor sniffed but said nothing in response and waited to see what was coming next.

"Let's go." He ordered quietly and she knew what he meant, so she begged: "No… please… I want to stay here… I don't want to go back to that room…" Jasper frowned and asked harshly: "Do I need to drag you there?"

Eleanor shook her head slowly and started walking towards the hallway and Jasper followed her. She walked into the room and waited for him to come in but he stopped before the door frame. He announced: "I'm going to be gone for a while. I'll send someone to take care of you."

Eleanor's eyes widened in fear when she realized someone else was coming, someone like the masked man. Jasper noticed her fear immediately and added: "And I'll make sure they behave themselves." Eleanor sighed out of relief uncontrollably and wanted to thank him that he shut the door in her face.

She heard him lock the door and walk away from her room and her knees stopped working and she sat down on the floor. Fresh tears started pouring down on her cheeks as she heard the car getting started and moving away from the cabin.

Once again, she was all alone, and it was all her fault.

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"Seriously, just tell me you're not hungry next time. You realize I cook these things, huh?" The new guy whined but Eleanor turned her around and watched out of her window. It's been three days since Jasper left her with him and she was counting every moment until he came back.

The new guy kept on whining and she shut her eyes so she could imagine she wasn't there. His voice faded away and images started to appear in front of her closed eyelids. Images that she kept going back to helplessly, since he left.

Music played in the background soothingly, she said something that touched both of them, and then he leaned in to kiss her. And every time his phone rang in her head, she was filled with unexplainable sadness.

She wanted him to kiss her and she wanted to kiss him back, she was sure of that. She didn't know why she felt that way and she kept trying to find a way to fight it or explain it, but she came up empty-handed every time.

It was ridiculous. The whole situation was ridiculous. She wasn't supposed to have feelings for someone who kept her inside a room and didn't let her out. He was someone who was keeping her a prisoner. Yet she couldn't erase these little moments they shared.

He was nice and she knew he didn't genuinely want to hurt her. And even though he didn't let her run away, he didn't like to keep her there either. But then again, he was a human being. He wasn't forced to do this. He could change his mind anytime he wanted.

Conflicts started in her head, again, and she opened her eyes so she wouldn't witness her mind win in this war. The new guy was gone so she sighed out of happiness and kept staring out the window again. And to her surprise, she saw a black SUV reach the cabin.

Her heart pounded itself to her chest and her breathing quickened when she saw Jasper get out of the car. A frown was fixed on his face when he looked at her room's direction and saw her looking out the window, right at him. She gasped and quickly pulled her head down, but she knew it was already too late to do that.

She expected him to come and visit her but he didn't. She sat there, waiting, but after an hour she heard the car start and drive away. He came all the way to the cabin, after three days, and didn't even come to check on her.

Eleanor was pissed so she strolled out of bed and turned on the TV to get her mind off of him. Her own image appeared in front of her which was no surprise to her anymore. Since the video went viral, every channel was talking about her and she figured they wouldn't stop until she'd come back.

But when was she going back? No one told her anything yet and apparently no one was going to. Jasper was the only one she could get some information out of, but he didn't want to see her. And before she could stop herself, her mind went back to that day again.

She knew Jasper was angry too. Not because she escaped, no, but because she did it only after they were about to kiss. Eleanor could understand that, she would be pissed too, but she had no choice. It was then or never.

But even after all that, she expected him to pay her a visit and have a word with her, but she was always told she had high expectations of people around her, and that's why she was always let down. The only one who never disappointed her was Robert and he was no longer around to comfort her.

The pain of losing her brother was still fresh and under her skin and even though she fought it hard, his memory would slip in her thoughts every once in a while. The image of Robert brought Liam and her father in as well and the Queen followed.

She sighed as the screen showed one of their old Christmas family photos. They were all smiles and wearing red goofy sweaters. Robert was sitting between the King and Queen and Liam and Eleanor were standing behind them.

She focused on herself and how simple and girly she looked when she was only fifteen years old. Her hair was shorter, her face was free of any make-up, and she knew she was actually smiling for the camera and not just faking it.

She didn't exactly know what happened to her that turned her into a cold-hearted Princess who had no friends except her drugs. Somewhere along the way, power and money attached themselves to her, and she never got the strength to wipe them clean.

After spending a week with no alcohol or drugs, she was finally getting to see everything clearer. Sounds were sharper to her ear and colors were talking to her. And after so long, in her own rehab center in the woods, she felt her heart warm up that day.

Jasper filled her mind again as she remembered how badly she wanted to kiss him. As time passed by she regretted her action more and more but she knew she shouldn't. But then again, she had nothing else to do but compare her options and blame herself over and over again.

If she didn't look back, maybe she could've escaped and left all of it behind. She knew she'd gladly go back to her old life and drown herself in so much booze and drugs that she'd forget all about him and the cabin in a day.

And her sober mind told her that was not a good choice, yet it wanted her to be free as well. And her heart was encouraging her to talk to him and make him forgive her because it was starting to feel so many things after a long time of being left alone.

There was a knock on the door, his knock, and Eleanor couldn't help but jump a bit. Wasn't he gone? Her mind started making theories but the door opened, he walked in, and everything on her mind was suddenly wiped clean.

He wasn't frowning but he wasn't smiling either as he walked inside and shut the door behind him. Eleanor stood up awkwardly and waited for him to start the conversation. He put the tray he was holding on the table and Eleanor couldn't help but ask before he spoke: "Weren't you gone?"

Jasper's eyebrows shaped a frown when he asked as he tried not to directly look at her: "Do you want me to leave again?" Eleanor stuttered: "Nnno! I just heard the car drove away and…" Jasper nodded in understanding and explained: "That was the new guy. He went out for shopping."

They both stayed quiet though the sounds coming from the TV was keeping them occupied. Jasper scratched the back of his head and asked: "So… how have you been?" Eleanor shrugged and tried to sound calm: "Good, I guess."

His eyes traveled to the screen and they both saw one of her pictures from the video. He asked: "Can I turn it off?" Eleanor nodded and stood back when he moved forward, grabbed the remote, and turned the TV off.

Eleanor rubbed her hands nervously together and watched the expression on his face change from annoyance to calm. He put his hands in his pockets before asking: "So, is he good to you? Are you feeling comfortable with him?"

Eleanor nodded frantically since the new guy was nothing but nice yet she wanted to tell him how he was no Jasper and maybe, just maybe, she wanted him to be around more often. But like all the times that she had to swallow her own thoughts and opinions, she stayed quiet.

He opened his mouth to say something and she was sure it was kiss-related, but he fell silent as well. However, Eleanor knew someone had to say something about that day, and it might as well be her. So she gathered all her strength and before she could stop herself, she blurted: "I wanted to kiss you."

Jasper's mouth fell open in shock and she felt her own cheeks turn red quickly. He grabbed a hold of himself and warned quietly: "Princess…" But Eleanor didn't pay attention and went on: "I really did but I could get out of here as well. You know I had no other choice but to run. I could've been free. You could've been free too, you know."

Jasper raised his eyebrows and she continued without letting it affect her: "You could've been free of doing this. You could've lived your life and I could've lived mine. And maybe, we could've left all of this behind us."

Eleanor finished her speech with a passion she didn't know existed deep inside her. She was breathing rapidly and her eyes were shining and Jasper felt his own breath vanish just looking at her. He shifted in his place and asked somewhat sarcastically: "Is that supposed to be an apology, Princess?" She threw her hands in the air and said helplessly: "I don't know… I just… I want you to know, even though it's too fucked up… I regret it… I regret running away…"

Jasper was hit with a huge amount of sincerity he hadn't seen and felt in a very long time. All the anger and confusion he felt in the last few days seemed to fade away in one single breath. And all the times he paced around in his room and cursed himself were wiped off from his mind.

The air in the room felt familiar. It was heavy, just like that day, and they were both breathless and standing in front of each other. The same song started playing in her mind and she waited for him to do something.

But the only thing Jasper did in that moment was to say: "You did the right thing..." Eleanor felt confusion wash over her as he turned around and walked out the room. As she heard the lock on the door, the bubble burst and the music stopped.

And she was alone, once again.

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"Mother, I told you, I don't want to hear this." Helena said tiredly but the Duchess went on: "You have to. There's a small chance she won't make it, and you have to consider that." Helena raised her voice: "That's my daughter you're talking about, remember? Your favorite grandchild?"

The Duchess smiled sadly and said: "My second favorite, actually. Since Robert's dead, it doesn't mean I forgot him." Helena pressed her lips together and said fiercely: "I'm not letting another one of my children die because of them. I won't." Her mother nodded her head and sat down before saying: "Honey, I'd love to see you try."

So, on Eleanor running away, half of you guessed right and half of you guessed wrong ;) What did you think of the chapter?

Stay tuned :)