-Jade-

The king gladly left her and William alone.

"What do you want, Jade?" William asked when the door was closed. "Did you come to apologize?"

Jade almost laughed out loud due to his stupid comment and he saw it.

Who does he think he is?

"No." she answered and could barely keep herself from laughing. "And I will not apologize for what I did... I came to tell you how immature it was of you to make me eat alone." She continued.

William eyebrows rose a bit when he seemed surprised by her words.

"Interesting words coming from the one who tried to run away today..." William answered and locked eyes with her. "Under which circumstances would I ever dream to eat with you after that?" He continued with a smooth but condescending tone. A discreet arrogant smile rested upon his lips as well.

Jade inhaled nervously as she listened. There was something about him... His gaze made it hard for her to focus.

"Why does it matter if you dined alone, if you want to leave?" He asked when she didn't answer him. "You clearly don't want my company."

Jade lowered her eyes but felt one of his fingers underneath her chin almost immediately. When she looked up but she avoided the deep blue eyes. William raised her face even more so that she had to meet his gaze. It sent an exciting bolt of warmth through her. The sudden feeling of attraction bothered her immensely. Especially when he was being rude.

"Answer me, Jade." He said darkly. Jade struggled to not let him get to her.

"It just does." She answered. A very poor and not so convincing answer to his question. She truly couldn't focus.

His dark blue eyes were piercing every thought that crossed her mind and turned them into useless clouds in her mind.

"Well, I thought you would like some time alone since you clearly don't want to be here..." William said and his finger disappeared from Jades chin. She tried to make sense of what he said and her own thoughts.

What does he want? Is he going to throw me away now? She wanted to scream at him but at the same time she wanted to take a step closer. He stood quite close but she still wanted him closer for some strange reason, and it left her thoughts in a chaotic mess.

It felt like her body was betraying her when her hands were longing for the touch of his.

"Did you lose your tongue, Jade?" William asked her when they had been silent for a minute. "You usually seem to have so much to say..." he continued and walked back to the armchair he had been sitting in earlier.

He offered Jade to sit in the other one with a simple gesture with his hand. It stood a meter to the left from his.

What is happening? Why is he inviting me to sit? Jade thought as she walked over to the armchair and sat down. Unsure but watching his every move she studied him.

"I guess I am tired... your grace." She answered and put her hands in her lap. William drank from a cup that stood on a round little table to the right side of his chair.

"Why were you out in the streets Jade?" William suddenly asked and Jade was not prepared for such a direct question. She wanted to ask him things. Ask him what he thought he was doing. Who he thought he was to speak to her like a child.

"Why do you care?" she asked provocatively. His eyes were fixed on his beverage. She wanted him to look at her again, badly... She wanted to see if her crude behavior could drive him as mad as he had been at the gate today. She needed to know what made him angry. "You have been gone for weeks..."

"What does my absence have to do with anything?" he asked and locked eyes with her like he had done before. It went straight to her core.

It felt like a thundercloud roared inside her. Somehow William managed to talk directly into her soul with that dark voice.

Stay alert, Jade! She hissed at herself when she felt her eyes linger on him. Jade studied his expression for a while before answering.

"What does it matter to you what I do when you are not here?" Jade asked. "Am I not allowed to do anything?"

A chuckle erupted from William and Jade's head sunk while she kept her eyes on him. She couldn't believe that he had the nerve to actually laugh at her right now.

"Did something I said amuse you, your grace?" she asked provocatively.

"Don't call me that." William said after his chuckle had died out. His voice was stern but not as stern as it usually was.

There it is... she thought to herself... A way to agitate him.

Jade got up from her chair and walked over to his chair so that she had him on her left side and the front of her body facing the way out. William looked at her, and she at him.

"I'll call you whatever I want until you learn to speak to me like I am not a child... Your grace." She said with an equally stern voice and left him there. She felt content. She had gotten the last word...

"I will not accept this crudeness from you." She suddenly heard him say as she had taken two steps away.

Jade turned around with her mind a total blank.

"Excuse me?" She scoffed.

William walked up to her and locked eyes with hers. She swallowed. He didn't answer her.

"I will speak to you as I see fit." She hissed and didn't let him out of her sight. She did her very best in sounding stern but on the inside she was shaking like a leaf. "You haven't exactly-"

"You will do as you are told, Jade." William growled and towered over her. He looked down at her and she up at him.

Jade felt her heart start to beat faster and faster. It almost felt like it was going to come out of her chest.

"You. Do not. Own. Me." She enunciated every word and was very clear. "I am not one of your many possessions."

William inhaled deeply through his nose. No answer. Still.

"You had no right taking me from my home." She hissed. If she was going to tell him off, she might as well give him a piece of her mind. Or all of it.

"And yet here you are." William said in the same dark voice as before.

Jade slowly blinked at the sound of it but quickly came to her senses again.

"Just because you want something, doesn't make it your right to take it!" Jade exclaimed in frustration. He was so cold and distant that it made her want to explode.

"Something?" He asked and lowered himself closer to her. She took half a step back when he towered over her.

The deep blue eyes affected her in some strange and unsettling way. Somehow she wanted more of them.

"I thought you said you weren't some possession." He continued in a low but controlled tone. "Make up your mind. Either way, you're here now aren't you?"

He is angry... she deduced from the fuming dark blue eyes.

Jade tried to push him away. It proved futile. The two strong hands grabbed her wrists and pulled her close to him so she had to look into his eyes. She jerked her arms but he was too strong. She barely moved even though she tried.

His jaws were clenched and the eyes still fuming.

However, there was something else between them now... Jade could see it in his eyes as well. There was a strange tension between them that she didn't necessarily deem as despicable as his behavior.

"You're vile and I hate you." She spat the words out.

Something flashed before his eyes and he let her go roughly.

"Leave." He muttered and walked back to where he had been sitting before. Leaving Jade feeling like the loser of their argument.

Later...

Jade woke from a deep slumber in the middle of the night. She turned around and pulled the warm, delightfully soft, cover around her and fell back to sleep.

Suddenly the sound of her door opening woke her again. Afraid she sat up in her bed and covered herself with a pillow. She was only wearing her bottoms and didn't want the person to see her half naked.

"Hello?" she asked nervously and listened. There was no answer but she could hear the door slide open, it screeched a little. Jade's heart started beating faster and harder as she became scared. "Hello?" she repeated herself but louder this time. She looked around for something to defend herself with and only found small candelabra. She grabbed it.

Now there was a figure standing in the doorway and she felt her fear rush through her whole body.

There was no telling who the figure was.

"Who are you?" she asked and got out of the bed and got a thin robe of silk around her. The figure didn't answer, instead it took a step against Jade and she held her poorly chosen weapon in front of her. "Do not come closer, I will scream." Jade hissed and hoped that if she screamed that someone would hear her.

How did this person even get here? She wondered as she could hear her blood throbbing in her head. I should have locked the door!

Suddenly the figure ran towards her and Jade spotted a knife that briefly shone in the moonlight. The person sprinted over the bed to reach her.

Terrified Jade threw herself to the end of the bed and ran towards the door. A pair of hands grabs her by her robe and somehow tripped her. Jade hit the stone floor hard and screams as she tried to break her fall with her wounded hand. She still hit the floor very hard and lost her breath. A sharp pain erupted from her knees as they had also caught her in the fall. The person dragged her away from the door and forced Jade onto her back.

"No!" Jade screamed and tried to fight the person off her but it didn't budge. "

"Lay still!" It was a woman's voice. "It's not fair!" she screamed and Jade trembled at the anger in her voice.

Once again Jade saw the knife glisten in the moonlight and a cold feeling shot threw her.

I'll die, almost naked on the floor by some stranger's hand!

Jade cried out in complete despair and covered her face with her arms to protect herself. The woman sat on top of Jade with the knife ready to plunge into her chest, when the door suddenly flew open with such force that it stunned her attacker.

"JADE!" A voice bellowed. It was William. The woman took her last chance and started cutting Jade wherever it was possible. Jade felt the knife cut the skin on her arms repeatedly and she screamed in pain.

Footsteps stormed the room and in the next moment an army showered them. Jade was pushed to the side while the woman was pinned to the floor a couple of paces from her.

A warm body was covering Jade's and she felt hands around her face. Someone was covering her entire body with their own. She searched the person in the darkness and it was William lying on top of her. The dark blue eyes screamed at her, scrutinizing her face and then her eyes. William was wearing nothing but his undergarments and he had a little cut on this cheekbone. His face was drenched in fear and panic. Jade realized the cut was from when he had thrown himself at her and the woman to protect her.

"William?" she whispered in shock. The dark eyes examined her face again and then her body.

"Are you hurt?" he asked. The voice was no longer hard or stern. It was worried, on the brink of upset.

William was out of breath and was still using his own body as a shield over hers. Jade shook her head in answer to the question.

"You're bleeding." William exclaimed in a whisper and sat up. He held her arms up in front of himself and they were dripping with blood. "We need to get you to a doctor." He lifted her from the floor and into his arms without effort.

They left the room in a hurry and the last thing Jade saw of her attacker was how the guards roughly pulled the woman up from the floor while growling at her.

William almost ran through the castle in the darkness. He turned every corner perfectly and knew where every door led.

"Who was that?" Jade asked.

"I don't know." William answered and Jade could hear rage boiling inside of him. When they passed a servant Jade realized she was only covered by the silk robe she was wearing.

"William, I'm not wearing any clothes." She whispered embarrassed and tried to cover her breasts as much as she could. He met her gaze but kept his eyes above her chin. The expression on his face told her that he was well aware about her situation, and she could see in his eyes that he did not care at all.

William brought Jade to the room where the priest had brought her on the day she arrived. When he put her down by the tub she saw how much she was bleeding. William's chest, neck and arms were covered in her blood.

"I will... Elizabeth..." he mumbled but didn't finish his sentences. "Stay here." He breathed and exited the room.

William roared as soon as he put one foot out the door. Jade flinched at the volume of his voice and soon she heard voices and footsteps everywhere. Sleepy servants were running around and William didn't stop screaming until he was sure that everyone was awake.

Soon there was a whole group of girls surrounding Jade. One of them had brought her a new robe and covered her in it while three others fetched wet rags and started cleaning the blood of her.

"What happened?" Jade suddenly heard Elizabeth scream from the corridor.

William was standing in the door and it seemed like Elizabeth had seen him.

"It's Jade." He explained and let her through the door.

When Elizabeth entered the room she screamed again, in fright at the sight of Jade, bloody and confused. Jade was sitting on the edge of the tub with bloody rags at her feet and the girls all around her.

"What in the name of the Lord?" Elizabeth screamed and ran to Jade, pushing the girls out of her way. "OUT!" she screamed and started ripping off pieces of fabric from her dress and wrapped them around Jade's arms. "What happened?" she asked and looked Jade straight into her eyes.

"I don't know." Jade answered silently. "A woman-"

"Someone tried to kill her." William said and Jade hadn't noticed that he had stepped into the room now that the servants had left. Elizabeth turned around but paid him no notice; instead she kept tending to Jade.

"I'll have to fetch more..." she breathed out in stress when she had used up the strips of fabric from her skirt. She went past William without a word. He was looking at Jade with agony in his eyes.

"What is it?" She asked. "You don't have to be here. Elizabeth will take care of this now..."

"I'm not going anywhere." He growled and kept a watchful eye on the corridor outside the door. Jade grimaced when she could feel and see the fabric on her arms turn wet and red with her blood.

"William could you..."

"I am not leaving!" he shouted and punched the door hard. Jade flinched. His eyes had turned dark. She had never seen them like this.

"You don't have to shout." She breathed out in fear. Her arms started to ache something terribly and tears started running down her cheeks. "My arms..." she whimpered. He looked at her in despair but someone called on him.

"Your grace! You are needed in the courtyard." A voice called on William.

"I am not leaving until you figure out how to do your job!" he growled. "Send four, competent, guards to look after her." He snarled and then walked over to Jade. He kneeled in front of her and saw how her blood was drenching the temporary bandages.

"I feel strange..." Jade whispered and it felt like the room was spinning a little. William's face and eyes expressed deep concern for her after she'd spoken. The right hand cupped her cheek carefully.

"Why has it not stopped bleeding yet?" he whispered in panic and grabbed her hands gently. His eyes were focused on her bleeding arms.

"Your Grace." The guard wasn't asking this time. William's presence in the court yard was demanded.

Jade raised her eyes at the door but no one stood in it. It was however, possible to get a glimpse of the tip of someone's nose, peeking out from the side of the doorway.

It must be one of the guards William had called for. The poor man is too afraid to show himself... Everyone seemed to be either a lot or completely terrified of William.

"I have to go." William said to her. "Tell Elizabeth to call on me if there is something you need. I will be back later."

"There's no need for that." Jade said quietly. "I'll just-"

"Don't argue with me, Jade." He said and gave her a kiss on her cheek. As he rose to his feet their faces grazed against each other softly. William's and Jade's eyes met briefly.

"William, I-"

"Stay here." He demanded in a whisper.
Jade caught her breath, stunned by the look he had given her. There had been warmth in those dark eyes of his...

He cares about me. She thought to herself. I haven't been imaging it.

William walked to the door and a servant handed him a new clean shirt and then a coat. He didn't turn around to look at her. Instead he started giving out loud harsh orders about how Jade wasn't going to take a single step without being watched by at least four guards. He also uttered a warning about what would happen if they failed... Jade stopped listening because she didn't even dare dream of what punishment William had for them if they failed.

-William-

On the courtyard the woman was shackled and in iron chains. He recognized her. She was a servant in the castle. She had been working in the staff for a couple of years.

William felt his blood boil from rage and he had a very hard time to keep himself from killing her where she stood. How dared she attack Jade? He rushed down the stairs.

The guards stood by her sides. One of them held the chains attached to the shackles around her wrists.

"What is the meaning of this?" he growled at the woman.

"She's not speaking, your grace." One of the guards answered him and pushed the woman forward one step. She almost tripped because of her shackles.

William felt his chest expand as he took a very deep breath and tried to keep his temper to himself. It wouldn't help to scream at this scum of a human being. Her eyes were lowered and he could tell that she didn't regret anything. He just needed to know why.

From nowhere William's father appeared to his right side. He was draped in his biggest and warmest coat and his beard was a bit messy.

"What is happening?" he muttered at William and nodded at the group of people in front of them. He was visibly tired and had been sleeping before this incident. "Why is your mother's servant in shackles?"

"She is mother's servant?" William growled and his father nodded.

"Yes." He answered. "Why is she in shackles?"

"This..." William struggled not to shout as he spoke. "servant just tried to kill Jade in her sleep." William answered. His father's eyes widened in shock and his jaw dropped. It actually surprised William. His father seldom let his true reactions slip past the mask of calmness he always bore.

"What? Is she alright?" he gasped. Willian nodded.

"Yes. I heard the commotion from Jade's room. Loren and I got there just in time..." William said in low voice so that no one else would hear him. "I want her punished. Severely." He added but made sure that the woman heard him now. Still her eyes were at the ground. What was it going to take to get her to shudder from fear?

"Very well." Father answered and put his hands behind his back. "Loren." He said.

Loren, William's personal guard, straightened up and looked directly at his king.

"Yes, my king." He said with a clear voice. He was about William's age but two years older.

"Have this woman executed by dawn. I trust that you will inform my son of her death as soon as you are done." He said and walked away without a word.

The woman looked up and William couldn't hinder the foul smirk that appeared on his lips. He felt more than content with her punishment, be it very severe. Father must be furious if he took such a drastic decision on the spot. He usually took days to decide if he was considering taking someone's life.

"No! I don't deserve this!" the woman screamed at the top of her lungs.

William tilted his head to the left a bit, eager to hear her reasons.

"The girl is not of royal blood. No one will accept her or her half-blood offspring!" she spat the words out and William was immediately set afire. He clenched his jaws as she continued.

"The queen forbids it!" she added snarling and stood upright.

Did mother arrange this attack? William thought.

"What did you say?" He growled when she mentioned his mother. "Did my mother have anything to do with this?" he asked and took two steps towards the woman. Her lips closed and she realized her mistake. She had said too much. "Loren." William growled with a dark and furious voice.

"Yes, my prince."

"Kill her. Now."

"But, your father..." Loren's voice died when William looked at him. "Yes, my lord." He said and ordered the others to escort the woman away.

William turned around and went back inside the castle. Had his mother really been behind this attack? Did she knowingly send a woman to her death just to get rid of Jade?

How could she, if it was her, order someone to kill Jade? Does she not want me to be happy? Is it solely because Jade is not of royal blood or is it revenge because I rejected the girls she wanted me to marry?

William couldn't keep up with his thoughts. All he wanted to do was to see if Jade was alright, but he was too upset. He didn't want her to see this side of him. Not yet... Tired he looked around the great entrance hall and could hear servants talk to each other in the other rooms. In a sigh he looked down on himself and noticed stains of Jade's blood on his skin and shirt.

"I need a bath..." he mumbled and pressed his hands against his face.

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