Chapter 120: [Bonus ] Hundred And Twenty: Captive But Not Broken
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Chapter hundred and twenty: Captive but not broken
"Why would you tell them I am Queen of the west when I am clearly not?!" Jamie wanted to yell at her companion but she couldn't because of the men standing not very far from them with weapons. So, she settled for a whisper and a deadly glare.
Ursla's face was distorted like she was passing a message with her face "Because it was better than ending up as food for those barbarians!"
"What do you think they would do to us when they find out I am not the bloody Queen anymore!" Jamie inquired with the same expression.
"I don't know, okay? I didn't think so far ahead but at least now we have time to think of an escape plan or... maybe the king will pay their ransom. He might still have feelings for you, Jamie"
Jamie wanted to tell Ursla that she didn't see the look on Alexander's face when he told her that they were strangers. That look was forever embedded in her memory and anytime she got the urge to return to him, she always saw that look and she always stayed away.
Jamie hated that memory as much as she hated the look.
But instead of telling Ursla about it, she looked away and thought of the events that left them prisoners.
Fifteen hours earlier.
Jamie and Ursla walked along the creek. They haven't talked about the major things in their lives ever since they left Namura to the southern hemisphere. They haven't talked about Ursla's imprisonment and Jamie's finding out that the King betrayed her. And Jamie never said a word about her failed marriage either. The girls kept to themselves and tried to survive as much as they could while freeing up slaves and pointing them to the western hemisphere for refuge.
When they were hungry, they hunted wild animals and when they were thirsty they looked for a river. They slept wherever and whenever they could and they just kept moving forward.
It was a simple life that could make any maiden cry let alone a king's daughter and a former disgraced Monarch.
But Jamie never complained and neither did Ursla. But deep down Jamie wondered if she was punishing herself for messing things up with the only man that has ever had her best interest at heart but then she remembered that Alexander lied to her too. He kept the truth of her father from her and allowed her to hate him. And when he finally freed her, he forbade her from ever coming back. Alexander sent her on an exile again except unlike the first exile, this one might last for all of eternity.
It was the worst kind of exile. An exile without the child in Jamie that always found the good in the bad and the little child in her that always saw the little at the end of the tunnel. The child that was resilient and always looked for an escape.
But that child in was far gone, crushed by the revelation that the only man the child had ever trusted more than anything in the world was actually the one that ruined and killed the child. It was the worst kind of death. Death by love.
A death that left the adult Jamie homeless and a hobo, it was the worst kind of death and all Jamie could whisper was rest in peace child.
Jamie's mind must have wandered for hours until they found a spot behind the little southern trees to make camp. Her mind wandered till the point of exhaustion, till the point where she slept off exhausted and it took two kicks on her belly to plunge her back into the reality.
While she slept the southern bandit, the new crime syndicate in the hemisphere found them.
The southern bandits were specialist in kidnapping and ransom demands. And when those demands aren't met, the people they kidnapped always ends up floating in a river or burnt to a crisp but first they take a souvenir, a body part to send to their family.
Jamie didn't even have the time to defend herself when she realized that she was tied up and if they found out she was from nothing. They would kill Ursla and her but after several of the foul smelling bandits had their ways with their bodies.
When Jamie was asked what family she was from and if they were capable of paying, she was mute. Maybe death was a welcomed option but she would soon eat their raw flesh before she allowed them access to her body but before she could make their situation any worst, she heard Ursla's voice.
"She is Queen Janessa of Aradale. She is Queen of the west and if you send word to the king that you found us and you are willing to return us intact to him, he will reward you largely" Ursla's voice was firm and believable.
The bandit believed her and now they were tied to a tree waiting for answer that may never come from Aradale...from Alexander. Jamie was apprehensive about it.
Truth be told, she was more afraid of finding out that the look Alexander gave her was permanent than she was of dying. It scared her so much that it made her heart ache.
Jamie wondered whether her feelings for Alexander had changed too. Does she have feelings for him now? Was that feeling love?
Probably not! She may never know but she missed lying in his arms in a bubble of their making. She missed the smell of his body. She missed his touch and most importantly, she missed his kisses.
Jamie's wandering mind was interrupted by one of the bandits. Jamie looked around and saw the other bandits whispering too.
"What is going on?" Ursla asked the bandit.
"We received a message from the king" the bandit reluctantly answered.
Jamie turned to watch him intently "What does the message say?"
As soon as Jamie finished talking, she saw one of the bandit approach her. He was holding a whip. The last thing Jamie remembered was looking at the ground and counting backwards, so she doesn't feel the sting of every lash. Then everything went blank.
****
Alexander stood by the balcony and looked out over his kingdom. He has been standing there for a while. The only good news was that it has stopped raining.
Alexander heard footsteps and he waited for the person intruding on him to introduce themselves.
"We are ready to go, your highness. Are you certain you do not want to come with us?" Sir Walters asked.
"Walters, delivering a ransom to southern bandits pretending to be from the eastern hemisphere isn't a job for a king. I have important matters to attend to. Matters I should have noticed" Alexander answered without turning around.
"And you are certain I shouldn't bring the Queen back to Aradale?" Sir Walters asked. Receiving the bizarre request from the king made Walters oddly nervous.
All he knew was that they were attacked in the eastern hemisphere and they had returned to Aradale without talking about it. And Alexander has been different ever since.
"Sir Walters, if you keep repeating my orders to me then it's going to be a very long day but to answer your question, yes. Do not bring back Jamie to the West unless you want to see her head on the chopping block"
Sir Walter knew there was nothing else he could do. The king was certain about his decision.
"Yes, your highness" Sir Walters turned and left. He could still feel the weight of the gold coins on him.
Alexander exhaled as soon as he left. He should be feeling contradicted about his decision but he wasn't. He heard another footsteps and it was smaller and uneven. He recognized the footsteps even without turning.
"Are we going to talk about it, Xander?" Rosemund's voice was soft and teary.
"There is nothing to talk about, Rose. My lead knight is missing and so is the Queen of Koi, I don't have the time for frivolities, sister" Alexander answered firmly.
Rosemund scratched her forehead before she spoke again "I just wanted to protect you, Xander. You are my brother and I just wanted to protect you"
Alexander turned and stared at her. "I am not furious at you, Rose. Let the matter be, sister. I have important issues to deal with"
"It's weird you keep calling me, sister. Xander, it's like you are reminding yourself that I am your sister. It's like trying to control yourself, so you don't lose yourself and speak to me like you would an enemy"
Alexander was mute as she spoke. This particular conversation was beginning to annoy him.
"I was just trying to protect you, Alexander. I was trying to protect the pack"
Alexander moved closer to her, he lifted her jaw softly but Rosemund knew he wanted to ripp her apart. There was anger beneath the brotherly touch.
"Don't talk to me about protection. I have been doing it my entire life"
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Chapter hundred and twenty: Captive but not broken
"Why would you tell them I am Queen of the west when I am clearly not?!" Jamie wanted to yell at her companion but she couldn't because of the men standing not very far from them with weapons. So, she settled for a whisper and a deadly glare.
Ursla's face was distorted like she was passing a message with her face "Because it was better than ending up as food for those barbarians!"
"What do you think they would do to us when they find out I am not the bloody Queen anymore!" Jamie inquired with the same expression.
"I don't know, okay? I didn't think so far ahead but at least now we have time to think of an escape plan or... maybe the king will pay their ransom. He might still have feelings for you, Jamie"
Jamie wanted to tell Ursla that she didn't see the look on Alexander's face when he told her that they were strangers. That look was forever embedded in her memory and anytime she got the urge to return to him, she always saw that look and she always stayed away.
Jamie hated that memory as much as she hated the look.
But instead of telling Ursla about it, she looked away and thought of the events that left them prisoners.
Fifteen hours earlier.
Jamie and Ursla walked along the creek. They haven't talked about the major things in their lives ever since they left Namura to the southern hemisphere. They haven't talked about Ursla's imprisonment and Jamie's finding out that the King betrayed her. And Jamie never said a word about her failed marriage either. The girls kept to themselves and tried to survive as much as they could while freeing up slaves and pointing them to the western hemisphere for refuge.
When they were hungry, they hunted wild animals and when they were thirsty they looked for a river. They slept wherever and whenever they could and they just kept moving forward.
It was a simple life that could make any maiden cry let alone a king's daughter and a former disgraced Monarch.
But Jamie never complained and neither did Ursla. But deep down Jamie wondered if she was punishing herself for messing things up with the only man that has ever had her best interest at heart but then she remembered that Alexander lied to her too. He kept the truth of her father from her and allowed her to hate him. And when he finally freed her, he forbade her from ever coming back. Alexander sent her on an exile again except unlike the first exile, this one might last for all of eternity.
It was the worst kind of exile. An exile without the child in Jamie that always found the good in the bad and the little child in her that always saw the little at the end of the tunnel. The child that was resilient and always looked for an escape.
But that child in was far gone, crushed by the revelation that the only man the child had ever trusted more than anything in the world was actually the one that ruined and killed the child. It was the worst kind of death. Death by love.
A death that left the adult Jamie homeless and a hobo, it was the worst kind of death and all Jamie could whisper was rest in peace child.
Jamie's mind must have wandered for hours until they found a spot behind the little southern trees to make camp. Her mind wandered till the point of exhaustion, till the point where she slept off exhausted and it took two kicks on her belly to plunge her back into the reality.
While she slept the southern bandit, the new crime syndicate in the hemisphere found them.
The southern bandits were specialist in kidnapping and ransom demands. And when those demands aren't met, the people they kidnapped always ends up floating in a river or burnt to a crisp but first they take a souvenir, a body part to send to their family.
Jamie didn't even have the time to defend herself when she realized that she was tied up and if they found out she was from nothing. They would kill Ursla and her but after several of the foul smelling bandits had their ways with their bodies.
When Jamie was asked what family she was from and if they were capable of paying, she was mute. Maybe death was a welcomed option but she would soon eat their raw flesh before she allowed them access to her body but before she could make their situation any worst, she heard Ursla's voice.
"She is Queen Janessa of Aradale. She is Queen of the west and if you send word to the king that you found us and you are willing to return us intact to him, he will reward you largely" Ursla's voice was firm and believable.
The bandit believed her and now they were tied to a tree waiting for answer that may never come from Aradale...from Alexander. Jamie was apprehensive about it.
Truth be told, she was more afraid of finding out that the look Alexander gave her was permanent than she was of dying. It scared her so much that it made her heart ache.
Jamie wondered whether her feelings for Alexander had changed too. Does she have feelings for him now? Was that feeling love?
Probably not! She may never know but she missed lying in his arms in a bubble of their making. She missed the smell of his body. She missed his touch and most importantly, she missed his kisses.
Jamie's wandering mind was interrupted by one of the bandits. Jamie looked around and saw the other bandits whispering too.
"What is going on?" Ursla asked the bandit.
"We received a message from the king" the bandit reluctantly answered.
Jamie turned to watch him intently "What does the message say?"
As soon as Jamie finished talking, she saw one of the bandit approach her. He was holding a whip. The last thing Jamie remembered was looking at the ground and counting backwards, so she doesn't feel the sting of every lash. Then everything went blank.
****
Alexander stood by the balcony and looked out over his kingdom. He has been standing there for a while. The only good news was that it has stopped raining.
Alexander heard footsteps and he waited for the person intruding on him to introduce themselves.
"We are ready to go, your highness. Are you certain you do not want to come with us?" Sir Walters asked.
"Walters, delivering a ransom to southern bandits pretending to be from the eastern hemisphere isn't a job for a king. I have important matters to attend to. Matters I should have noticed" Alexander answered without turning around.
"And you are certain I shouldn't bring the Queen back to Aradale?" Sir Walters asked. Receiving the bizarre request from the king made Walters oddly nervous.
All he knew was that they were attacked in the eastern hemisphere and they had returned to Aradale without talking about it. And Alexander has been different ever since.
"Sir Walters, if you keep repeating my orders to me then it's going to be a very long day but to answer your question, yes. Do not bring back Jamie to the West unless you want to see her head on the chopping block"
Sir Walter knew there was nothing else he could do. The king was certain about his decision.
"Yes, your highness" Sir Walters turned and left. He could still feel the weight of the gold coins on him.
Alexander exhaled as soon as he left. He should be feeling contradicted about his decision but he wasn't. He heard another footsteps and it was smaller and uneven. He recognized the footsteps even without turning.
"Are we going to talk about it, Xander?" Rosemund's voice was soft and teary.
"There is nothing to talk about, Rose. My lead knight is missing and so is the Queen of Koi, I don't have the time for frivolities, sister" Alexander answered firmly.
Rosemund scratched her forehead before she spoke again "I just wanted to protect you, Xander. You are my brother and I just wanted to protect you"
Alexander turned and stared at her. "I am not furious at you, Rose. Let the matter be, sister. I have important issues to deal with"
"It's weird you keep calling me, sister. Xander, it's like you are reminding yourself that I am your sister. It's like trying to control yourself, so you don't lose yourself and speak to me like you would an enemy"
Alexander was mute as she spoke. This particular conversation was beginning to annoy him.
"I was just trying to protect you, Alexander. I was trying to protect the pack"
Alexander moved closer to her, he lifted her jaw softly but Rosemund knew he wanted to ripp her apart. There was anger beneath the brotherly touch.
"Don't talk to me about protection. I have been doing it my entire life"
Chapter hundred and twenty: Captive but not broken"Why would you tell them I am Queen of the west when I am clearly not?!" Jamie wanted to yell at her companion but she couldn't because of the men standing not very far from them with weapons. So, she settled for a whisper and a deadly glare.Ursla's face was distorted like she was passing a message with her face "Because it was better than ending up as food for those barbarians!""What do you think they would do to us when they find out I am not the bloody Queen anymore!" Jamie inquired with the same expression."I don't know, okay? I didn't think so far ahead but at least now we have time to think of an escape plan or... maybe the king will pay their ransom. He might still have feelings for you, Jamie"Jamie wanted to tell Ursla that she didn't see the look on Alexander's face when he told her that they were strangers. That look was forever embedded in her memory and anytime she got the urge to return to him, she always saw that look and she always stayed away.Jamie hated that memory as much as she hated the look.But instead of telling Ursla about it, she looked away and thought of the events that left them prisoners.Fifteen hours earlier.Jamie and Ursla walked along the creek. They haven't talked about the major things in their lives ever since they left Namura to the southern hemisphere. They haven't talked about Ursla's imprisonment and Jamie's finding out that the King betrayed her. And Jamie never said a word about her failed marriage either. The girls kept to themselves and tried to survive as much as they could while freeing up slaves and pointing them to the western hemisphere for refuge.When they were hungry, they hunted wild animals and when they were thirsty they looked for a river. They slept wherever and whenever they could and they just kept moving forward.It was a simple life that could make any maiden cry let alone a king's daughter and a former disgraced Monarch.But Jamie never complained and neither did Ursla. But deep down Jamie wondered if she was punishing herself for messing things up with the only man that has ever had her best interest at heart but then she remembered that Alexander lied to her too. He kept the truth of her father from her and allowed her to hate him. And when he finally freed her, he forbade her from ever coming back. Alexander sent her on an exile again except unlike the first exile, this one might last for all of eternity.It was the worst kind of exile. An exile without the child in Jamie that always found the good in the bad and the little child in her that always saw the little at the end of the tunnel. The child that was resilient and always looked for an escape.But that child in was far gone, crushed by the revelation that the only man the child had ever trusted more than anything in the world was actually the one that ruined and killed the child. It was the worst kind of death. Death by love.A death that left the adult Jamie homeless and a hobo, it was the worst kind of death and all Jamie could whisper was rest in peace child.Jamie's mind must have wandered for hours until they found a spot behind the little southern trees to make camp. Her mind wandered till the point of exhaustion, till the point where she slept off exhausted and it took two kicks on her belly to plunge her back into the reality.While she slept the southern bandit, the new crime syndicate in the hemisphere found them.The southern bandits were specialist in kidnapping and ransom demands. And when those demands aren't met, the people they kidnapped always ends up floating in a river or burnt to a crisp but first they take a souvenir, a body part to send to their family.Jamie didn't even have the time to defend herself when she realized that she was tied up and if they found out she was from nothing. They would kill Ursla and her but after several of the foul smelling bandits had their ways with their bodies.When Jamie was asked what family she was from and if they were capable of paying, she was mute. Maybe death was a welcomed option but she would soon eat their raw flesh before she allowed them access to her body but before she could make their situation any worst, she heard Ursla's voice."She is Queen Janessa of Aradale. She is Queen of the west and if you send word to the king that you found us and you are willing to return us intact to him, he will reward you largely" Ursla's voice was firm and believable.The bandit believed her and now they were tied to a tree waiting for answer that may never come from Aradale...from Alexander. Jamie was apprehensive about it.Truth be told, she was more afraid of finding out that the look Alexander gave her was permanent than she was of dying. It scared her so much that it made her heart ache.Jamie wondered whether her feelings for Alexander had changed too. Does she have feelings for him now? Was that feeling love?Probably not! She may never know but she missed lying in his arms in a bubble of their making. She missed the smell of his body. She missed his touch and most importantly, she missed his kisses.Jamie's wandering mind was interrupted by one of the bandits. Jamie looked around and saw the other bandits whispering too."What is going on?" Ursla asked the bandit."We received a message from the king" the bandit reluctantly answered.Jamie turned to watch him intently "What does the message say?"As soon as Jamie finished talking, she saw one of the bandit approach her. He was holding a whip. The last thing Jamie remembered was looking at the ground and counting backwards, so she doesn't feel the sting of every lash. Then everything went blank.****Alexander stood by the balcony and looked out over his kingdom. He has been standing there for a while. The only good news was that it has stopped raining.Alexander heard footsteps and he waited for the person intruding on him to introduce themselves."We are ready to go, your highness. Are you certain you do not want to come with us?" Sir Walters asked."Walters, delivering a ransom to southern bandits pretending to be from the eastern hemisphere isn't a job for a king. I have important matters to attend to. Matters I should have noticed" Alexander answered without turning around."And you are certain I shouldn't bring the Queen back to Aradale?" Sir Walters asked. Receiving the bizarre request from the king made Walters oddly nervous.All he knew was that they were attacked in the eastern hemisphere and they had returned to Aradale without talking about it. And Alexander has been different ever since."Sir Walters, if you keep repeating my orders to me then it's going to be a very long day but to answer your question, yes. Do not bring back Jamie to the West unless you want to see her head on the chopping block"Sir Walter knew there was nothing else he could do. The king was certain about his decision."Yes, your highness" Sir Walters turned and left. He could still feel the weight of the gold coins on him.Alexander exhaled as soon as he left. He should be feeling contradicted about his decision but he wasn't. He heard another footsteps and it was smaller and uneven. He recognized the footsteps even without turning."Are we going to talk about it, Xander?" Rosemund's voice was soft and teary."There is nothing to talk about, Rose. My lead knight is missing and so is the Queen of Koi, I don't have the time for frivolities, sister" Alexander answered firmly.Rosemund scratched her forehead before she spoke again "I just wanted to protect you, Xander. You are my brother and I just wanted to protect you"Alexander turned and stared at her. "I am not furious at you, Rose. Let the matter be, sister. I have important issues to deal with""It's weird you keep calling me, sister. Xander, it's like you are reminding yourself that I am your sister. It's like trying to control yourself, so you don't lose yourself and speak to me like you would an enemy"Alexander was mute as she spoke. This particular conversation was beginning to annoy him."I was just trying to protect you, Alexander. I was trying to protect the pack"Alexander moved closer to her, he lifted her jaw softly but Rosemund knew he wanted to ripp her apart. There was anger beneath the brotherly touch."Don't talk to me about protection. I have been doing it my entire life"
