Chapter 22

Dylan POV.

"Hey kiddo, you need to eat. You can't do anything if you haven't got the strength." Carlos had been worried about me all week. He stated that I’m getting worse treatment than even him. The dungeon is cold and dark, the potent smell of mold lingered in the air and my body had become extremely thin frail and weak.

My clothes consisted of a small brown, potato like sack, dress that was draped over my head. It had little holes in here and there and now had a few blood splatters all over. I did have a single piece of rope that I used for a belt but that only showed my underweight figure more. I was extremely dirty, dried blood rested in my hair and on my skin. I hadn't showered in a long time. I smelt really bad my hair was greasy and extremely knotted, and only god knows what my teeth looked like. I had no shoes so my feet were bare and dry, and my lips were cracked from the insufferable amount of times the king had defiled me.

For the last month the king had come down to see me, he would tell me to accept him and when I'd refuse he'd get physical. My legs were shaky from the rape and my body was littered in bruises from his beatings. Overall though the dungeon wasn't so bad, and me and Carlos enjoyed talking to one another, it was nice to have a friend in here.

"I'm not hungry." I stated before chucking my wobbly legs over the side of the bed and placing them on the floor before stretching my arms above my head, which caused me to wince.

"I know the situation isn't great, but life is too precious to just throw away. I don't wanna loose my only friend because you've died of starvation." He's right, but how can I? Life here is worse than what it was back home, the food is disgusting, my body was in agonizing pain and my mental state wasn't great either. Nevertheless I took the small stale slice of bread and put it to my lips.

"How have you stayed sane down here for so long by yourself?" I asked Carlos with a small depressed chuckle, he shook his head as he looked at me through the bars of the cell.

"You have it worse than I do kid." He looked sad, it was nice though, having someone who understood. Someone who doesn't give in over the tiniest circumstance. I loved that this man hated his mate almost as much as I hated mine.

I ate my bread slowly, it was hard and chewy, but I ate it, the corse substance scratched my already raw throat causing me to cough slightly, and the flavor was bland, it was like I was eating a cardboard box.

A few hours past while I stared at the wall. Carlos was asleep, but I wasn't so lucky, sleep was always hard to achieve. I spent most days and nights just lying down on the metal bed, staring at the door in hope that no one came through. I did manage to doze now and again though. Getting about one or two hours a night. I didn't know exactly how long I'd been down there, there were no windows, so I had no idea wether it was day or night, but when the King came down it had to be during the day surely.

Time went on before the king could eventually be heard coming down the dark corridor leading to my cell, the second his voice filled my ears my body tensed. Fear struck me and my heart rate quickened because of it.

I heard footsteps and braced myself, I waited for the doors to open but they didn't. Instead the footsteps walked past my cell and over to Carlos's. I heard his door open which instantly made his snoring stop.

"Hello again baby!" I heard a screechy voice which caused him to groan. "Thank you Josh, me and my mate will be fine now." Carlos's mate came once maybe twice a week so this wasn't new, I know for a fact He was getting raped by her just like I was getting raped by the king.

The Cell door next to mine then suddenly shut and literally a second later mine opened showing the king in his regal uniform. Two guards stood next to him causing me to frown in confusion. Normally he came alone and he never looked so formal when he did.

"Bring her." Was the only thing he said before he turned and began walking away. The two guards then barged into my room and grabbed one of my arms each. They didn't care about me getting my footing as they roughly dragged me out of the cell and back up the corridor. When we got to the steps that brought me down here they lifted me slightly before forcing me up them.

My body screamed at the sudden burst of exercise I was getting just from being half dragged. After god knows how long in the dungeon my muscles definitely became tight and unused.

My shins hit every single step leaving them bruised, bleeding and sore. I was completely dragged to the throne room and thrown to the floor. The king sat in his chair, he meant business as he looked at me kneeling awkwardly on the marble.

The kings parents stood next to him while servents scattered the hall. "What's going on?" I asked, my voice came out shaky as nerves took over me.

"That thing on your arm, is an abomination." I was extremely confused by this point, did the queen regent mean my cast, or my graffiti scar?

"We have arranged for it to be removed publicly tomorrow, once your cast has been taken off and you have washed." King Josh, stated as his eyes bored into the words that were scarred onto my forearm. My heart stopped. How can they remove a scar? Surely it's an impossible task.

"What do you mean?" My arms shook as I tried to stand up, the lack of energy my body had was a concern to me. And the fact that my muscle mass was somewhat impaired was also a warning sign.

"You are the rightful queen of this world, and quite frankly my patience is wearing thin with your attitude. You will be presented in front of the people and that ridiculous statement will be burnt from your skin. Then I will mark you, live on television." My eyes widened drastically as what he said sunk into my head.

"You can't mark me without my permission." I forgot my place, my anger took over as I shouted at the king. Within a second I was face down on the floor again. Gasping for air after being punched in the jaw, blood quickly filled my mouth as pain took over my being.

"I will force your permission out of you if I have to. I suggest you Give me your consent, if you do I won't make your punishment worse than it will be, for your insubordination." I was shaking with rage by this point, nothing gets through to this guy.

"No punishment you give me will ever be as bad as being your mate..." I spat some of the blood that was collecting in my mouth on the floor directly in front of the king who shot up off his throne immediately.

"Then you will wish you'd never been born!" He marched past me and over to some double doors before slamming them open. My tired body was grabbed again and roughly dragged out behind the king.

I was taken to the hospital wing in the palace and thrown onto a chair. The king just watched from the side of the room while, Two guards stood either side of me as the doctor walked in with a funny looking devise.

"Your grace…” he said slightly bowing to the king before turning to me. the cast was swiftly removed uncovering my suicide attdmpt. The scar from where I had cut my arm was prominent and repulsive, I couldn't look at what the mutts had driven me to do. "Can you please make a fist for me?" The doctor asked, I quickly did so and he nodded his head in satisfaction. "You're hand has healed well, just please don't make a habit of this. We don't want any more broken bones. Your grace!" He bowed to me then to the king before walking back out.

"Should we take her back to her cell your grace?" The king just looked at me while I kept clenching and unclenching my fist, as I got used to the idea of not having a cast on.

"No, tonight she will sleep by my side!" My eyes widened, I've never slept with the king in his bedroom before. Oh sure he's raped me loads of times but never in his room. The last time I saw it was before I tried to kill myself, and I can't say I took any notice of his decor.

"What?!" I didn't want to be left with the king, I didn't want to be anywhere near him to be honest. "No, I don't want to..." All the king had to do was look at me and I shut up, I may have had a scowl on my face but I was silent.

"Get her maids to help her wash..." King Josh then turned to me. "I'll be up in a little while. My queen.” The king walked up to my sat form and placed a single kiss on my dirty head before walking out. I just sat there trying to wrap my head around what happened. It wasn't long before I was grabbed again by two of the guards and was hauled out of the chair.

"I can walk!" I stated as I wiggled my arms out of the grasp of the guards, and began to walk in front of them, only to realize that I didn't know where I was going. So instead I slowly let them walk in front of me and followed them to the Royal floor.

The second I set foot in the corridor I noticed my handmaidens were already there, outside my bedroom, waiting for me to arrive. They curtsied to me and opened my bedroom door to let me in. I didn't even acknowledge the guards as I walked into my room.

The room hadn't changed, everything was the same except for the bedding which was now a cream color. It caused me to feel rather claustrophobic in all honesty. The room was five times bigger than the cell I had been in for a month and yet, the feeling of dread I got from that room crashed through me like a wave. I was more comfortable in the dungeon with Carlos.

"Your Grace, we have drawn a bath for you, we hope it's to your liking." One of my handmaids gestured to the bathroom door, while I just tried to get my breath even as I felt panic begin to rise in me.

"Your grace?" The other handmaiden caught on before I got the chance to even say anything. "Are you alright?" My breathing was quickening, and I was finding it harder and harder to stay on my feet. Before I knew it I was falling to my knees, panicking at what the king might do to me tonight.

"Your grace?!" Within a second one of my handmaids were rubbing my back while the other ran off. I don't know where she went though.

"He's gonna kill me!" I whispered as the thought of everything the king did to me began to weigh me down.

"Shh, if anyone even tries to harm you the king will see to it." That response only made me feel worse, I knew what was going on, I just didn't want to admit it to myself. I was having a panic attack.