HIS QUEEN
Chapter 28

I stood with Lily as we waited for the cars to pull up front. The hot bath helped with the soreness but I still wobbled and felt pain if I walked too fast or stand up abruptly. Two black cars pulled up and Noir came down from one. "Is he going with us?" She looked panicked.

"Yes. For security" she muttered under her breath.

"Let's go" I held her hand as we walked to the car. Noir opened the front for her to get in. She looked at me with pleading eyes. I didn't know what was going on but something had happened between both of them and Lily was running away.

"It's fine. I want her to sit with me" he clenched his jaw and nodded stiffly. Lily let out a sigh of relief beside me and we entered the car. Noir shut the door and strode to the other side of the car. He got in and started the engine and he drove off. The car ride was a silent and tense one with Noir and Lily stealing glances at each other and me trying to catch one of them looking.

We got a few toiletries and lots of clothes for myself and Lily. She was still tensed and I figured it was because Noir was behind us the whole time. I wasn't enjoying the outing and neither was Lily. And we weren't going to enjoy it as long as Noir was there. "We're going to the bathroom" Noir nodded. I took Lily's hand and pulled her to the bathroom. I locked the door behind us and looked for an open window. I found a windowless stall and pulled Lily inside.

"We're leaving here" I whispered.

"Is that safe?" I shrugged.

"I want to explore" I climbed the toilet seat, sat on the window sill. I pushed my legs out and jumped down. Lily climbed after me and I helped her down. We ran through the back and into the busy crowd. We were dressed plainly so, we wouldn't be easily discovered. I pulled her through the crowd to the front were some children were performing. We cheered along with the crowd and dropped few coins.

Lily looked a lot happier as we moved into stalls. Looking at the beautiful artifacts and watching the people perform. A few times I spotted one of the royal guards but we moved away before they could notice us. Lily had gotten us lavender to douse ourselves in to hide our scents.

It was dusk now and we were exhausted. We had joined in a dance competition. We didn't wait for the announcement and moved to another stall. The crowd had not reduced at all and I was feeling dizzy. We decided to take a stroll towards the waterfall. The wind blew heavily as we climbed up the mountain. I wanted to ask Lily about Noir but she looked so happy and I had a feeling it was going to make her sad.

A rag was pressed on my nose as an arm held me tightly. I struggled with my attacker but the drug on the rag was making me dizzy. Lily was the last thought in my head as I blacked out.

My head was pounding as I woke up. I tried to move my hands but they were tied tightly behind the chair. I opened my eyes and darkness greeted me. I didn't know if Lily was here or they left her.

"Lily. Lily"

"Esme? Are you there"

"Yes. Are you okay?"

"I'm good. Are you hurt"

"No" we kept quiet at the sound of a gate opening. Footsteps descended down the stairs and the door to our cell opened.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't our queen and her little toy"

"Who are you? What do you want" he laughed. He flicked a switch and light flooded the room. I closed my eyes because the brightness hurt my eyes. I opened them slowly and looked into the familiar face. "Roman" my jaw cracked as he punched me.

"You don't get to call me by my name you filthy whore" Lily was sobbing quietly in the corner and I tried to hold back my tears.

"Now you had to get me angry" he wiped my tears with his thumb, his smelly breath in my face. He kissed my cheeks and stood straight.

"I'll be back my little loves" he laughed sickly as he locked the door behind him. He locked the outer gate and I began to work on my ropes. Back at home, I had a penchant for loosing knots. I worked on the knot with my fingers, my arms ached but I didn't stop until the knot got loose. I quickly pulled it out and loosened my leg ropes. I ran to Lily and worked on her ropes.

"Here's the plan. Once he comes in and turns on the light, I'll hit him from the back. While he's down well make a run for it. It might not be enough but it's worth the try" I grabbed my chair and stood behind the door as the gates opened. I held the chair nervously as the door opened. He flicked on the switch and I attacked. I slammed the chair on his head and he fell.

Lily ran for the door and I followed behind her. We ran up the stairs quickly and I heard a scream.

"Fucking bitches" Roman was running up the stairs behind us. We ran out the gates and into an empty hallway. Stupid dog. There was no guard in the hallway. Lily pushed open a door and ran outside. Just as I was about to leave he jumped on me and slammed my head into the ground. "Stupid whore" he kicked my stomach and stepped on my ankles. He grabbed me by my hair and pulled me up giving me a backhand. I knees him in the balls and gave him an uppercut. I ran out while he was groaning in pain, holding my fist tightly. My ankle was throbbing badly but I had to get away from Roman.

I was running down the mountain and I looked back to see Roman charging after me. I turned quickly and missed a step, I tumbled down the mountain. A hand held me up and I looked up into Thane's furious face.