Chapter 15

He gazed at her with those flaming eyes. Klara had never seen such eyes before and it made her wonder if the rumors could be true.
It wasn't only his eyes, but there was a raw power that emanated from him making fear crawl into her skin. She had fought with many powerful and scary men but this one, he made her terrified when she couldn't even see his face.
"You wanted to say something?" He spoke and Klara froze.
His voice, it was so different from his aura. It was like nothing she had heard before, warm and deep. The silkiness of it felt like an intimate caress on her skin.
"Hey princess, His Highness is speaking to you." Someone called.
Tearing her gaze from his piercing eyes she tried to think. What was it she wanted to say? Yes, she wanted to bargain.
"What do you want of me?" She asked looking up at him.
"I don't know yet but I am sure you will be of great use."
Good lord, his voice. It reached deep inside her and made her feel things she didn't want to feel.
"I will be of more use if you let me go. I will tell my brother you saved my life."
He crouched to her level which took her by surprise. A royalty never did that, especially to the lever of someone they brought as a prisoner or a slave even worse someone who was their enemy.
"Your brother trades slaves and s.e.x slaves over the border. I want to stop that by offering you as an exchange. You will be free as long as you cooperate."
Klara stared at him in surprise. She knew her brother's dirty affairs and she didn't like it, but she wondered why a prince would care about such thing.
Usually, princes supported the s.e.x trade, especially from other countries since they could have mistresses with different nationalities. It surprised her that this prince wanted to stop it.
"Alright." She agreed. If it could buy her freedom and stop the trade why not.
"Alright then." He said standing up and taking his mask off, revealing a face that made her heart stop.



Klara couldn't help but stare at the mesmerizing beauty in front of her. How could a man or a human possible look like this?
She took in every detail. The perfectly sculpted face, the defined eyebrows, the flaming eyes, the sharp nose, lips made to kiss and a flawless skin. And his hair, it was long, thick and black and shone in the sunlight. Klara realized that none of his hair was out of place or dirty even though they had spent the whole day on a battlefield.
The prince leaned down and reached behind her. His scent reached her nostrils, he smelled of spices. He should smell of sweat and blood after killing almost all her men.
After hearing a cutting sound Klara's hands were free. Before she could stand up he grabbed her jaw and made her look at him.
"Don't ever think of running." He warned his voice low.
Klara was never the obedient type but she found herself nodding.
He slowly let go of her face and her body tingled with carnal awareness as his fingertips brushed her skin. It terrified her. She needed to keep a safe distance from this man.
The rest of the day went by quickly. They offered her food and didn't treat her badly. Most of the time they didn't even look her way which was both odd and comforting.
She was used to men ogling or looking at her inappropriately. Most of the time she knew what was on their mind but they never dared to act on their thoughts out of fear for her brother.
When she reached the age of marriage many powerful men had come and asked for her hand but she had denied all of them.
"Sweet sister. You are at the age of marriage but you are denying every man. What do you want me to do?" Her brother would ask time after time.
"They only want me because of my looks, Rasmus."
"Is that a bad thing?" Rasmus would look at her confused. "You should be happy that you are a beautiful lady."
No one understood her. Of course she was thankful for her beauty but she wished someone would see her for who she was.
Klara looked up at the sky. The sun had gone down and the night covered the sky like a black curtain. The soldiers sat around a fire and chatted happily while drinking and eating. Klara sat away from them leaning against a tree. She was tired but she couldn't fall asleep afraid they would take advantage of her. They hadn't treated her badly so far and even offered her food and a blanket to warm herself but she was not the type to trust easily.
"Don't worry. My men will do nothing without my permission."
Klara knew this voice because it brought butterflied to her stomach. She always got the strange feeling of wanting to run and stay at the same time every time she saw the prince.
Sighing he sat down leaning against a tree in front of her. Klara couldn't help but stare at him, he was very pleasing to the eyes.
"And how would I know you wouldn't give them permission?"
"I am asking you to help me stop a s.e.x trade. Why would I ask my men to **** you?"
Well, that was true.
"What's your name?" She asked unable to stop her curiosity.
"Lucian."
Klara thought she liked his name. Even though she didn't want to admit she liked everything about this man. She liked how he looked into her eyes when he spoke to her instead of scanning her body.
"My name is Klara." She told him.
He just nodded.
"When I have helped you, how can I trust you will set me free."
"You see...you have no choice." He retorted.
"Why do you want to top the s.e.x trade?"
"I just don't like it." He shrugged. Klara had the feeling that there was more than him not liking the trade but she didn't ask any further questions.
Lucian leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
Klara watched him as he went into a deep slumber. He looked even more beautiful when relaxed. Somehow she felt she could trust him so she closed her eyes as well and fell asleep.
The next morning Klara woke from the sunlight poking her eyes. Blinking several times she looked around and found that everyone was awake and ready to leave somewhere.
Standing up she grabbed a soldier. "Where is the prince?" she asked.
He nodded behind her. Turning around she found Lucian standing there.
"Have you eaten something?"
Klara shook her head. Why? Had she lost her voice? She was really mad at herself for acting like this and feeling this way toward her enemy.
"Give the Lady something to eat." He ordered.
"Yes, Your Highness." The soldier nodded and left to bring her food.
"We need to leave quickly so that we can reach the border before sundown." He explained.
Klara found herself nodding again. Maybe she did lose her voice after all. The soldier came back with a sandwich which he gave to her then he took Lucian to the side and spoke to him about something. Lucian just nodded a few times then looked her way. Were they speaking about her?
Looking away she began to eat her sandwich. Klara was still not sure whether to trust Lucian or not. She contemplated escaping while they traveled but if they caught her this time they wouldn't leave her to live. Maybe she should just do as he says.
When she was done Lucian came riding on his horse "If you are done we should leave." He said.
"I am done."
He reached his hand out. Taking it she jumped on the horse and sat behind him, then they rode off. It felt strangely intimate to ride with someone Klara thought, especially when she had her arms wrapped around his waist.
After hours of travel they finally reached the border which was near the cost. Getting off their horses they entered an old large ship.
"Is it here?" Klara asked confused.
"Yes. Slaves get shipped through the ocean from different countries to this place and this is their main ship. This is where they register the slaves, buy and sell them."
"Oh..."
As they walked through the ship's hallways the old wooden floor made a creaking sound. They passed a few slaves tied and sitting on the floor, some of them were wounded while other seemed hungry. Klara saw girls her age and some even much younger, sitting there looking both scared and starved.
Klara's stomach began to hurt. What were these innocent peoples fault? She didn't like this at all and would scold her brother once she gets back home. But unfortunately, as Lucian spoke to one of the sellers they found out that her brother didn't own the trade anymore.
"Lord Rasmus didn't want it anymore and sold it to Lord Nicholas." The seller explained.
Nicholas was the king of the Eslarian Kingdom. He was known to be the only decent king, it surprised her that he took over the slave trade.
"Lord Nicholas has opened the trade for everyone. Are you here to buy or..." He looked at Klara his eyes gleaming with l.u.s.t "..sell?"
Dear Lord. She was in trouble. Now when Lucian had no use of her what if he sold her. These men wouldn't believe that her brother was a king before they defiled her.
Looking around Klara thought of a way to run but Lucian grabbed her arm as if he knew what she was about to do.
"Neither." He said.
"Just name the price...any price." The man said licking his lips.
Lucian ignored the man and dragged Klara out of the ship.
"Let's go." He said getting on the horse.
Klara got on the horse and held onto him tightly.
"Thank you!" She whispered as they rode but where was he taking her exactly? "Where are we going?"
"I am taking you back home." He said.
"Really?! But I haven't done anything to help you." She said surprised by the disappointment she felt. She should be happy to be going home.
He laughed. It was a deep rich sound that made her insides melt.
"You sound disappointed."
"No I am not. I just...I just wonder what you will do now to stop the slave trade?" It was partly true. She was curious to know.
"I will take care of that." He said shortly then they continued riding in silence until they reached the border of Gatrish.
Lucian got off the horse and helped her down.
"Can you find your way from here?" He asked.
Klara nodded. "Yes, thank you."
She still couldn't understand why he saved her. He didn't seem impressed by her beauty and if he was he should have kept her. Maybe he was just a decent man. An utterly handsome decent man.
Sadly she had to say goodbye already, now that she finally met a man that intrigued her.
For the first time, his eyes traveled down her body but there was nothing l.u.s.tful in his gaze. It must have been because of her dirty torn clothes she thought. Taking his cloak off he wrapped it around her and Klaras heart fluttered inside her chest.
"Thank you." She whispered.
Without saying a word he got on his horse.
"Be safe princess." He said and rode off.
I hope to see you again, she thought.
"Klara!!" Astrid ran to her and enveloped her in a tight hug. "Thank god you are safe. I thought something terrible happened to you. We have been looking for you everywhere. Where have you been?" Her sister asked without breathing once when Klara reached back home.
"I am fine Astrid. I'll explain everything if you just let me rest. I am very tired." Klara couldn't feel her legs and her eyelids had become heavy.
Astrid pulled back and scanned every inch of her sister's body. "You are not hurt are you?"
Klara could understand her sisters worry but she was too tired to cooperate.
"Klara!" Someone shouted.
Oh no. Now it was her brothers turn to search her body and ask a thousand questions. Rasmus came hurrying toward her. "Are you alright? Who did this to you?" He asked grabbing her shoulders and searching her body.
"I am fine, alright. I am not hurt or anything. I am just tired, hungry, thirsty and I need a bath."
Astrid and Rasmus looked at each other for a while then nodded.
"Prepare a bath for her, bring food...." Rasmus began ordering the servants around hysterically.
"Hurry!" He ordered.
Astrid grabbed Klaras arm and dragged her to their room.
"By the way sister, You look awful," Astrid said as she helped Klara change. "Next time you listen to me when I say you won't go to war. Do you understand?"
"Yes, yes."
"I am serious Klara. Do you know how scared I was?"
"I am sorry." Klara apologized. She really didn't want to fight with her sister when she had already made her worry so much. Astrid was the only person Klara loved above anyone else. She wasn't only her sister but her friend. They had shared everything even their mother's w.o.m.b.
Klara didn't know what she would do without her sister.
After bathing, changing, eating and drinking Klara lay on her bed to rest. She couldn't stop thinking about Lucian. She kept hearing his voice and his laughter, she kept seeing his eyes, she kept remembering the feel of having her arms around him and how his touch made her body tingle. What had he done to her? Maybe she would forget about him after a while but she didn't.
As days went by she only thought more and more about him and slowly she realized he was someone she would never forget because he...he had stolen her heart.
"Are you thinking about him again?"
Klara woke up from her daydream and looked around. Astrid stood in the middle of the room a smirk on her face.
"Who?" Klara said pretending to not know but Astrid knew her too well.
"The prince who saved your life."
Klara had told Astrid and Rasmus about Lucian. She hadn't given them details but she had told them that he had saved her. Both her siblings were surprised that the dangerous prince had saved her instead of killing her.
"I wonder why he saved you." Astrid said thoughtfully as she sat beside her sister. "Maybe he was bewitched by your beauty."
"I don't think so, Astrid. He never looked at me the wrong way and he didn't even try to touch me. He was a total gentleman and ...and he is a good person."
Astrid arched a brow. Of course, she had a hard time believing that the prince who killed without mercy, who was rumored to be the devil's son, whom everyone feared could actually be a good person.
"If he was bewitched by my beauty he would have had his way with me but he didn't. Instead, he took me home, why? And sister he covered me with his cloak and told me to be safe." Klara explained.
Astrid looked at her sister with a worried expression.
"What is it?" Klara asked. She didn't like when Astrid looked at her that way.
"Nothing," Astrid said shaking her head. "Just don't think much about him and try to forget him. You know Rasmus would never give you to the enemy."



I woke up feeling sore. Sleeping on the floor wasn't the most pleasant thing when you were used to sleeping on luxurious beds.
Klara sat leaning against a tree with eyes closed. Was she asleep? It looked really uncomfortable to be sleeping that way. Yawning, I tried to get up but almost yelped as a sharp pain stabbed my leg. Sitting back down quickly I looked at my foot, it had swollen more.
"What happened?" Klara was suddenly next to me.
Grimacing in pain "My leg has gotten worse." I said.
She looked at it closely. "I think we need to take you to a doctor."
"Is that possible?" In the current situation, it would be difficult to find a doctor.
She ran her fingers through her hair. I could see the confusion on her face.
"We have to. You could lose your leg since we don't know what caused the swelling."
She stood up and gave me her hand to help me up. Then she helped me walk to the horse.
"We need to get to the city." She said as she helped me climb the horse. "We might find a doctor there."
Getting on the horse herself we rode into the city. On the way, Klara bought us some food and asked some locals where we could find a physician.
"You will find a little white cottage around the second corner to the left. There lives an old man called Robert. He might help you." An old woman told us.
"Thank you." Klara said and we moved on to find doctor Robert.
Abruptly Klara stopped and turned her horse.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"My brother's men." She whispered and the began to ride as fast as lighting.
"Oh god..." I held onto her and shut my eyes tightly.
I could hear the sound of galloping horses behind us. They were getting closer by each time.
Klara sped up even more and I gasped as the air whipped my face with such force. I didn't have enough strength to hold onto her especially when the dizziness was coming back and my stomach threatened to hurl.
"What are you doing? Hold on!" I heard Klara shout but before I knew I was falling until I hit something hard and groaned in pain.
"Really?!" Klara said irritation in her voice as I felt her grab my arms and help me stand up.
"Stop being so weak."
Weak? I hadn't had enough sleep or food for days and my whole body was aching with pain.
I grabbed onto her until the spinning stopped and I was looking into her crystal blue eyes.
She frowned. "Are you alright?"
I nodded.
"Well, you won't be alright for long." She said looking around.
We were surrounded by soldiers in blue.
"Your Highness." One of them spoke coming forward. A higher rank soldier from the batch on his arm.
"Sergeant Jonathan. I don't want to fight you so take your men and go back." Klara ordered.
"I don't want to fight you either Your highness so please come with us. His majesty is worried."
"I am not coming with you."
"Then I have no choice but to force you." Jonathan said.
Klara placed herself in front of me and took her sword out. Jonathan took his sword out as well and stood in the middle of the ring created by the soldiers. Lord, why could we never get a rest?
Klara walked to the middle of the circle and began to fight Jonathan. I knew she was a skilled fighter but she seemed to have a hard time defeating him. Maybe she was tired, hungry or was she maybe hurt? She had to be because she had killed several men alone back then.
Jonathan knocked the sword our of Klara's hand.
"You have lost. Remember I was the one who trained you." He said.
Klara was panting as she shook her head. "I am not coming with you."
Jonathan ignored her words and nodded toward the soldiers. "Bring them both."
The soldiers began to move toward me and Klara. Callum was right. There was no way out and sooner or later we would all die. If these men took me back to Rasmus he would kill me without hesitation for escaping.
Two soldiers grabbed Klara's arms and were about to drag her when they fell to the ground. Soon after the other soldiers fell to the ground as well.
Klara and I looked at the bodies on the ground with confusion then at each other.
"What happened?" I asked appalled by the situation.
Crouching, Klara shook Jonathan's body lightly. "Sergeant Jonathan?" But he still lay unmoving on the ground.
"Is he dead?"
"I hope not." She said as she pressed her fingers on his wrist.
"Don't worry. He is just taking a nap." A familiar voice spoke.
Turning my head to where the voice came from I found Irene walking toward us wearing a red cloak with a white dress underneath. She looked beautiful as usual.
"Irene? How...what...what are you doing here?"
"Do you know her?" Klara looked at Irene suspiciously as she stood up.
"How did you find me?" I asked Irene.
"Magic my dear." She smiled as she walked closer.
"What did you do to my men?" Klara interrupted.
"I just put them to sleep." Irene stated simply then turned her gaze back to me. "What happened to you?"
I knew what she meant. I was wearing torn clothes and had mud all over my face and body.
"Nothing much just hurt my leg." I said lifting my dress up slightly, showing my swollen leg.
"Oh dear." She said taking a closer look. "This is awful. You must be in a lot of pain."
If she only knew.
"We need to take care of this." She said.
"First we need to get away from here." Klara spoke looking around for more threat.
"Yes, right. Let me fix that."
Irene raised her hands in the air and closed her eyes. She began to hum words in some unknown language as the wind slowly began to blow wildly causing me to almost lose my balance.
Klara stood with her arms crossed, looking unfazed by the whole situation until a black iron gate appeared out of nowhere.The gate opened with a creaking sound and Kara and I looked wide-eyed at each other.
Irene turned to us. "Let's go." She said.
Klara looked at Irene skeptically then turned to me.
"We can trust her." I assured.
Klara raised one brow. "She is a witch."
"She is a friend."
Klara still looked skeptical but she didn't argue.
"Shall we?" Irene gestured toward the gate.
"Where will this take us?" Klara asked.
"Somewhere safe. My home. You don't have to come if you don't want to and if you do just follow me." She said then turning around she entered the gate.
"We can trust her." I told Klara. She looked hesitant for a while but then followed me inside.
As soon as I entered I felt a pulling force throwing me off balance and I fell flat on my stomach. I groaned in pain, tired of falling all the time and hurting myself.
"Are you alright?" Irene grabbed my arms and helped me up.
"Where are we?" Klara asked as she dusted herself off. She must have fallen to.
"Welcome to my home." Irene smiled as she gestured toward a big white mansion.
Wow, it was beautiful. The mansion hovered proudly behind a big blue Iron gate which opened with a wave of her hand.
"Come on in."
Irene entered first and we followed her inside. As we entered we were confronted by a beautiful garden. Short trimmed grass, rectangular beds of flowers, aromatic leaves, and the air, it was scented by the sweet fragrance of several flowers.
We walked on a looping stone path which led to a threshold. There stood a white marble fountain and birdcages hang from the roof. Further ahead stood the white mansion, flanked by several trees and bushes gently swaying to the warm spring breeze.
It was a very simple looking mansion with its garden yet there was something magical about it. Was it the melodic sound of gurgling water combined with the singing of birds or was it the sweet scent of flowers carried by the soft breeze?
Suddenly a crow came flying out of nowhere, startling both me and Klara then landed on Irene's arm.
"This is V. One of my many pets." Irene explained as she stroke it's black feathers.
"My Lady?" someone spoke.
Turning my head, a tall blonde man was standing at the threshold holding a black cat in his arms.
"I was just about to come looking for you." He said descending the marble stairs and walking up to us.
As he neared I realized how strikingly handsome he was. His blonde hair cascaded down to his broad shoulders and his eyes were a beautiful forest green.
"Oh Enoch, this is princess Hazel and princess Klara and this is Enoch." Irene introduced. "He is...my...my cousin. "
Averting his gaze he looked at me then at Klara.
"Nice to meet you." He said while stroking the cat in his arms.
"Enoch, why don't you take Klara to a nice room and I will tend to Hazel." Irene suggested.
Klaras eyes widened as she looked at me. I nodded to reassure her.
Enoch looked at Klara. "This way My Lady." He said and she followed him hesitantly.
"Lets go inside and take a look at you injured leg." Irene smiled once we were left alone.
"How did you bring us here through that gate." I asked.
"Oh... I will tell you all about it."
Klara followed Enoch through the halls. She still didn't trust this Irene so she had her hand on her sword ready for anything that might happen.
"No need to be scared. We don't hurt our guests." Enoch spoke as he walked in front of her. How did he know?
Enoch stopped in front of a wooden door and opened it.
He looked her up and down but he didn't seem to like what he saw. "There is a bathroom inside and clean clothes in the closet." He said then gestured for her to walk inside.
Klara entered the room, her face red with embarrassment. She could only imagine how awful she looked and how bad she smelled after being on the run for days. She turned around to thank him but he was already gone. Strange man, she thought but he was good looking.
Klara wondered around the room for a while, opening the closets, testing the bed, looking out the window then she decided to take a bath. After the bath, she slid into a blue chiffon gown that she found in the closet then began to dry her hair. Now she only needed some food and some sleep, she thought.
After drying her hair she exited the room and went to find Hazel. Klara had to make sure Hazel was safe and that this Irene could be trusted. But as she wandered around the halls she realized that she always came back to the same place. Was this some kind of magic? Was Irene keeping her away from Hazel?
"Mwew mwew..."
Klara turned to find the black cat that Enoch held earlier. Walking closer Klara crouched down and stretched her arms toward the cat.
"Come here.." She smiled but the cat just stared at her before it ran away.
"No wait..." She began to run after the cat but it was already gone.
Klara sighed. She was too tired to walk around that she even contemplated to go back to the room and sleep for a while. But she had to find Hazel.
Walking around, looking and getting frustrated by each time Klara came to a halt as she noticed something strange. It was a room, entirely made of glass, the walls, the roof everything. Entering the room she found green plants everywhere, kinds she had never seen before and animals. Different animals in cages. Some she recognized, hamsters, rabbits and frogs and some she had never seen before.
Klara found another glass room or more like a glass box. It was filled with water and fished swum inside. She had never seen anything like it before. Caught in studying the beings inside the box she suddenly felt something touch her feet.
Looking down she screamed in horror as she found a snake slingering around her. Kicking wildly she ran while screaming at the top of her lungs until she hit something hard and fell backward.
Groaning in pain her eyes landed on a pair of black boots then her gaze traveled up long powerful legs encased in a pair of black pants. Skimming over powerful arms and broad shoulders covered by a black silk shirt her gaze landed on a pair of beautiful Hazel eyes. The amber in the middle contrasted beautifully with the bright green on the edge. Those eyes were breathtaking.
"My my what do we have here?"



Dark l.u.s.trous black hair framed a strong, defined face and pink soft lips were curved into a smirk.
"My my what do we have here?" His voice as smooth as his caramel skin held a mocking lilt.
When Klara didn't reply or move he arched one dark brow.
"Do you find it comfortable sitting on the floor?" He asked.
"Huh? Oh... no..." Her face burned with embarrassment as she got up and adjusted her dress.
Why was she acting like this? Irritated with herself she looked at the man in front of her. Good lord, he was enticing, a feast to the eyes. She guessed that he might be from the tropics because of his tanned skin and exotic looks.
"You seemed to be in hurry?" He spoke.
Yes right, she forgot. She was running from a snake. A snake? Klara looked behind her. Luckily the snake hadn't followed her.
"There was...a... a snake...in there," Klara said pointing.
The man chuckled. "It's harmless."
Harmless? How could a snake be harmless? She had heard how people died immediately if they got bitten by one.
"What is your name beautiful?"
Klara blinked a few times in surprise. No one has ever dared to call her beautiful even if they thought she was but of course, this man didn't know who she was otherwise he wouldn't dare.
"Klara. "
"Oh...you are the warrior princess." He said.