⚠️*trigger warning. Violence*⚠️

Princess Victoria

"Where is she?" He asks me, holding the whip in his hands, caressing it as if it is his pet he loves dearly. My blood drips off the leather instrument and onto the exposed pavement floor.

"I don't-" I take a deep breath. "Know."

He hits me again, this time across my bare stomach. I scream out although I am not even sure it pains me anymore. My skin is raw and shredded from being slashed repeatedly. I am almost positive I have passed out a few times from the pain. Though, I can not be certain.

"You know where she is." He states.

"No!" I shout, tears streaming down my face. They hit my toes as they fall. "I don't! I would love to know where she went! I need my mom!"

I want to fight him. If I was able, I would grab his sword and kill him with it. The irony would bring me joy. To see his blood spill on the floor would bring me great joy after what he has done to myself and Serena.

But I can not fight him. I can't even defend myself or Serena from his attacks. I am tied to a wooden pole holding the ceiling up above my head. My wrists are cut and slashed from the rope scraping against my skin every time I move slightly.

I am pretty much unable to move. I stand here as he wails on my body over and over. Occasionally I cry out in pain. Most of the time, no noise even comes out.

Sometimes he asks me questions about my mother. I never have the answers. This makes him angry and causes him to beat me more. He thinks I am lying. But I am not. I have only told him the truth.

"Do you know where we are?" He asks.

I shake my head, hanging it. I can not hold it upright any longer. "It was too dark for me to see."

"Does your brother know where we are?" He continues asking pointless questions.

"I don't know. Why don't you go ask him yourself?" He lifts my chin, digging his fingernails into my cheeks.

"I'm going to kill you." He growls.

"I know." At this point, I know I am going to die. I just want to know how long it will be until it happens. How many more beatings will I have to live through before he does me a favor and ends my life and suffering?

I glance over at Serena. She is slumped over in the corner, sleeping off her latest round of abuse in which she was repeatedly thrown into the brick walls.

"How much does your friend know about the Queen?" He peels my eyes open.

"Nothing." I spit blood out of my mouth, tiny bits landing on his face.

He clicks his tongue. "Are you lying to me?" He laughs.

That was stupid of me. I have just rendered Serena as useless to this man. There is no doubt he is going to kill her now.

I shake my head. "She is important to the king. You can use her as leverage."

"Why do you think I took her in the first place?" He laughs at me. "If she knows nothing, I don't need her."

"You do need her." I cough, tasting blood. "When Henry comes for us, which he will, you can get double for us." He nods his head, seemingly enjoying my plan. "And you can let her go but still have me as a hostage, giving you even more leverage against him." I continue to fuel his plan against my family, trying to make sure I keep Serena alive in any way I can.

This is not her fault. I am going to make sure she gets out of here alive.

"Give me information about the Queen and I will consider your plan." He holds the whip up to my cheek. "Real information or else I'm going to use this on her."

I nod my head. He drops my face. My chin drops to my chest. "My mom went missing shortly after Henry's fifteenth birthday." I sigh. "She took her horse out to my dad's grave and then she spent the night at a cabin in the woods she called home for a short while when the castle was taken over by people who wished to kill her. After that, she was never seen again." I explain everything I know. "She was declared dead two years later and Henry was crowned king in another."

He nods. "Are you aware your mother was seen just weeks ago?"

"What?" I lift my heavy head to look at him.

"Oh, you didn't know." He pouts. "I guess you weren't lying when you said you had no information." He circles me like a shark. "You can try to outsmart me, princess. But I am smarter than you. I will always win. When I return, I will kill you. You are no longer of any use to me."

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