Doris woke in a bright room. Fresh silk sheets were soft beneath her skin, she slowly tried to sit up but her head ached worse than anything ever had. She closed her eyes tightly and gripped the wound that made dizzy.
She expected to feel blood, but her hand came away dry. It still hurt like hell and for a moment it made her forget what had happened before she got her head smashed in. What happened... Prince Martin happened. He was the one that sent his guards to take her and kill all the men that tried to protect her.
Guilt swelled in her chest. If she had gone with William, this would have never happened. Those men would still be alive and she wouldn't be in a strange room. No one would have had to die just trying to protect her-she didn't deserve to be alive over anyone.
Doris looked around to see a fancy room, but it didn't look like the ones at the palace. She'd been in almost every room and not one of them looked like this. It was fancy, but it wasn't in a royal way. It wasn't grand or golden, it was clean and crisp.
This one was light and bright rather than deep and golden. The walls were coated in flowers that looked hand painted with care. Pinks, blues, greens. It looked as if an entire garden was painted on her walls. It almost looked like the one she used to walk through back at the palace.
Even the bed she was in had floral bedding. Doris slipped out of the sheets and almost fell right to the ground. It felt as if the room was spinning, she gripped onto the nearby dresser to hold herself up but it all only made her sick to her stomach. This time, she didn't think it was because of any morning sickness.
When the world stopped spinning, she glanced down at her nightgown and saw herself dressed in a light pink set that was almost too beautiful to touch. It felt like a silky cloud-who dressed her in this?
Her cheeks heated at the thought of Prince Martin doing it. Doris hurried to the window and saw it was bolted shut. It didn't matter, she looked as if she was several stories off the ground anyway. She would never survive a jump like that.
The outside wasn't much of a view at all. It looked like they were in the middle of some forest with nothing else around for miles. This was not the palace, it didn't look remotely close to the views from the palace. Doris went to the door and yanked on it as hard as she could, but it was locked too.
Panic coated her thoughts like a poison. She circled the room and touched every wall to see if there was a hidden door or vent she could crawl out of but-nothing. There was nothing, she was locked in here like a prisoner.
"Cordelia?" She whispered.
Nothing. No stirring, no presence, nothing. It felt like her wolf was asleep inside her again like it had been when she was injected with that drug-
Oh no.
Doris closed her eyes and tried to shift into her wolf form. She screamed for Cordelia in her mind, begged her to come forward and take over her body-but nothing.
Her wolf was gone for the time being, she was completely alone.
Doris hugged her stomach. "I can do this, I can survive." She whispered and furiously wiped away her tears. She crossed the room and opened the closet to find it stocked with beautiful dresses in every color... all in her size. Even the soft slippers and boots were in her size. Every single pair.
She picked out the most practical and comfortable one and tore off her delicate nightgown. She needed to be prepare, she needed to think straight. There was no time to admire anything beautiful when it was all a beautiful decoy to what was really happening.
Prince Martin's grin came back in her mind as she braided her own hair to get it out of the way. She wanted to take him down the minute she saw him-but she knew she couldn't do that. Not when she didn't have her wolf... not unless she found a weapon to overpower him. Something this room clearly lacked.
What did he do to her best friend? Beth's terrified face made the guilt twist in her gut like a knife. If anything had happened to Beth, Doris would never forgive herself. She would never live a day without blaming herself. Her best friend... she had to be okay.
Doris circled the room when she was dressed. It was bigger than any room she had ever been put in, besides Prince William's. A large book case filled with brand new editions of books lined the shelves. On a table by the window was a tray of desserts that normally would have excited her. Now she looked away in disgust.
Nothing here was safe to trust, nothing would be safe to eat. If they had already drugged her, she didn't trust them to not put anything in her food just to knock her out again.
She continued her tour of the room that was now her prison cell. How many times would she be taken against her will? Just when she thought she would never have to go through something like this again, she fell right back into a new cell, a new prison, a new cage.
Doris had enough. Nobody had come by yet, she didn't have forever to wait when her friend might be in trouble now. She crossed the room when her thoughts became overwhelming and started banging on the door.
"Hello? Is anyone out there!" She banged harder. "Open this door!"
Nothing. Not a sound, as if nobody was even standing guard at the door. Doris wondered if there were any guards around... was it possible Prince Martin had gone back to the palace?
Did William even reach the palace before all of this? What if he was captured, what if he was here too? Doris desperately pushed and pulled on the door but nothing came of it. She kicked it in her frustration.
She couldn't handle the thought that William was out there somewhere. He could have been hurt or he could have been captured and imprisoned for the war. What if Prince Martin wanted to torture him?
Doris backed away from the door and wiped her tears. Suddenly, she heard the click of a lock. The door swung open and Prince Martin himself entered the room with a small smile on his face. She wanted to smack it right off him.
He quickly closed the door behind him before she could even think of running past him-not that she was stupid enough to try. He was so much bigger than her.
"Where is Beth!" Doris shouted. Prince Martin held out his hands as if it would calm the beast inside of her.
"She's just fine, I have her in another room." He said calmly. He spoke conversationally and she didn't know why it irritated her so much. "She woke up hours ago. I believe she's enjoying a nice tea and a book."
Doris narrowed her eyes at him. She highly doubted her friend was calm enough to read a book at this moment. She probably paced the room so many times, the carpet would have worn down by now.
"I want to see her right this minute. I don't trust you."
Prince Martin had the nerve to look wounded. "Doris, I would never hurt your friend. I know how close you two were at the palace. She has nothing to do with the war, I would never dream of harming someone innocent."
"Then why did you hold a knife to her throat! Why did you even take her? You could have let her go!"
"I did all of that to get you to surrender." Prince Martin said. "I watched you fight. I didn't expect you to take out those guards as if it was nothing. I saw Beth poke her head out of the tent and I knew that I had to do what needed to be done. I never would have hurt her. You have to know that, Doris."
"I don't believe a word you say. Why did you take me here? What is this place!"
"Do you not like it? I had it decorated just for you." He took a step towards her, she took one back.
"What are you talking about?"
"I made this room for you. I thought you would have liked it. I made it bright with flowers, I had all of your favorite food and books. All of this is for you."
"I-I don't understand. What is this place?"
"This is our place. This is where we can be together."