Chapter 225

Carol’s POV

I was surprised when one of the guards came into my room and uncuffed me. It was officially morning, and I spent most of the night crying and praying to the Goddess that Aiden would find me soon and rescue me and our baby. When my wrists were finally free, I took a deep breath and placed my hands on my belly, hoping to feel the baby kicking. He was much bigger now and it worried me because it was unnaturally done. Whatever drug was pumped into me was what caused this baby to become as big as he was. Now I worried that he wasn’t okay, but the worry subsided slightly when I felt his little feet kicking against the palm of my hand.

I let out the breath I had been holding and slumped against the bed.

“Why are you releasing the cuffs?” I asked the guard after he got the second cuff off.

He glanced at me, a frown marring his lips.

“Queen's orders,” he muttered. “She said she finally finished enchanting this room so you can’t escape even if you wanted to. Your magic won’t work here. So, don’t try anything funny.”

I wanted to protest, but I wasn’t sure what to say in response, so I kept my mouth shut. He left moments later, locking the door behind him. The first thing I did as soon as he was gone was quickly get out of bed. I nearly fell to the ground right away because my legs were asleep after I hadn’t used them in days. But I managed to recover quickly and rush to the window. It was morning so the sun was just rising, casting an orange and pink hew across the forest. I couldn’t exactly tell where we were; there were no signs of houses in sight, which was strange if we were still in the Capitol. I don’t remember seeing many forestlands around the King’s empire; but here, it didn’t look like there were any signs of civilization.

Panic set in; was I going to be able to find my way back to Aiden once I got out of there?

I grabbed onto the edge of the window and pushed up, but the window wouldn’t budge. I tried the locks, but they also wouldn’t budge.

The words from the guard came back to me and I sighed in defeat. There was no escaping this place unless the Queen granted it. She was the one in charge; of course, she wasn’t going to make it easy for me.

I slid down the wall and pressed my knees to my chest, burying my face in my lap. Tears burned in my eyes, and I allowed them to fall because at least I had control over them. I’m not sure how many minutes, or hours, passed.

But my head shot up when I heard the door unlatching. Someone was entering the room. I thought it was going to be one of the guards, or maybe Queen Elizabeth, but when I saw Jenna standing before me, all the color drained from my face.

“J… Jenna?” I asked, wiping at my wet cheeks with my sleeve.

She smirked as she shut the door behind her, but not before I noticed her slipping the guard outside the door some money. She paid him to let me in; my heart hammered against my chest wildly and I felt sick to my stomach. She walked over to me with her arms folded across her chest.

“You look so pathetic,” she sneered. “And you think you’re so special just because you have Aiden, and my father wrapped around your little finger.”

“What?” I gasped. “I never said I was special.”

She let out a bitter laugh and curled the corner of her lip.

“And now even my mother disowned me because of you,” she hissed. “This is all your fault! I’m losing everything because of you!!”

She stormed the rest of the way over to me and I quickly got to my feet, not wanting her to be in front of me.

“I didn’t do anything,” I replied. “You losing everything had nothing to with—”

Her hand went across my face so fast; that I didn’t feel the sting until after I heard the slap. My cheek went numb, and I felt warmth spreading across my features. Her eyes were red with fury, and I stood shocked that she was bold enough to slap me out of nowhere.

I wanted to protest and say something, but I was too stunned to come up with anything clever to say. I touched my cheek, my mouth hanging open.

“You are nothing but a goddamn liar,” she seethed through her teeth. “And I’m going to make you regret ever crossing me!”

Before I knew what was happening, she grabbed my hair and yanked me to the ground, I hit the ground hard, crying out as pain shot through my entire body. I instinctively wrapped my arms around my stomach, needing to protect my baby as her foot came crashing down on me.

……

Third Person POV

Raelyn had spent most of the day in the suite; with her newfound freedom, she wasn’t really sure what to do with it. Aiden hadn’t been back since that morning when she tried to seduce him; he said he had things he needed to take care of and left in a hurry. She hadn’t seen or spoken to her mother since yesterday and she was getting nervous in the pit of her stomach.

She knew that soon she would need that potion to ward off the darkness that surrounded her. If Aiden saw that darkness, he would know she wasn’t the real Carol. She swallowed the lump in her throat and threw on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. She put her hair in a pony, examining her face. She did the makeup that the Queen’s maid had given her and taught her how to use it. She didn’t look half bad; she needed a bit more meat on her bones, but overall, she was decent-looking.

A small part of her thought of maybe getting pregnant with Aiden’s baby and being a happy family with him.

She shook her head; living a happy life with anyone seemed like a ridiculous dream to have. She wasn’t meant to be happy or have anyone close in her life besides the Queen.

Queen Elizabeth had given her a mirror for her dungeon cell so she could look to see how pathetic she was every day. But when she looked at herself at this very moment, she barely recognized the girl staring back at her. She had this darkness swirling around inside of her, wanting her to be angry and lash out. It wanted her to use her dark magic to their advantage, but all she could feel was sadness.

She took a deep breath and pulled her eyes away from the mirror. With hasty steps, she quickly left the suit and went all the way across the manor, toward the infirmary. She kept her head down during her walk, hoping not to draw attention or run into Aiden and the King. She didn’t want to come up with an excuse as to where she was going; she wasn’t sure what she would say.

She retraced her steps from when she was in the infirmary before. As she passed by the front entrance of the manor, she paused for a moment when she got a glimpse of outside. Once again, she found herself wondering what it would be like to step outside and feel the cool breeze on her face, and breathe in the fresh air.

She sighed, knowing she couldn’t leave this building. At least not yet. Not until her mother, the Queen, permitted her to do so.

She continued down the corridor until she reached the entrance to the infirmary. When she pushed the door open, she saw Candance seated at her desk, typing on her computer. She lifted her gaze when she saw Raelyn, whom she thought was Carol, standing before her.

She looked surprised to see her back so soon and Raelyn wondered if Carol often visited her or not.

“Hey Carol,” Candance said, standing to her feet. “Is everything okay?”

Raelyn swallowed and gave a fake smile.

“Yes,” she answered, trying to mask her nervousness. “Uh… my father needs to see you about something.”

She looked alarmed by this.

“The King?” She asked. “What does he want?”

“He didn’t say,” she said quickly. “But it sounded urgent.”

She nodded and quickly rushed towards the doorway.

“Okay, I’ll go see him right away,” she said. “Hopefully I hadn’t done anything wrong.”

She paused before running out of the room and turned to face Raelyn.

“It’s nice to hear you call him your father,” she said with a smile tipping the corner of her lips.

Raelyn realized that calling the King “father” wasn’t something Carol did, and she immediately cursed herself for being stupid. It would only be a matter of time before they figured out the truth if she kept on with the mistakes like this. Raelyn didn’t say anything in response; she only nodded and watched Candance quickly run out of the room, leaving her alone.

She let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding.

She looked around the infirmary, trying to find that potion or any potion. She had trouble locating where Candance kept her potion. She had to work quickly because soon Candance would realize that the King didn’t need her for anything and that Raelyn had lied. If she returned and Raelyn was surrounded by darkness, she wasn’t sur what she would do.

She rummaged through each cabinet and drawer that she could get her hands on. Then she finally reached the wardrobe on the far side of the room; when she opened it, she looked pleased when she saw all the potions laid out on shelves. It was a beautiful sight and it Raelyn with such ease that she calmed slightly.

She glanced at the labels, hoping to recognize one of them. She remembered what it was called, but she wasn’t sure how it was spelled. Her eyes finally found a spot in the cabinet that sounded like the one she needed; however, it was empty.

“Looking for this?”

Raelyn froze entirely. Her heart hammered in her chest when she heard Candance behind her. She swallowed and slowly turned around only to find that Candance wasn’t alone.

“What the hell is going on here?” The King asked, astonished when his eyes narrowed at Raelyn.

Aiden folded his arms across his chest and narrowed his eyes.

“Your daughter, I’d like to formally introduce you to your daughter…” he said, shaking his head as he glared at her. “Raelyn.”