Chapter 2 THE CURSE

The deadly gaze of the prince promised things that made me shiver in fear. I watched him as he undressed me with his proud arrogant eyes. We were the only two remaining in the palace hall and what followed was an uneasy silence. I could not think of anything to say because I was still reeling from the shock of being given away. Discarded. I gulped nervously as I fought back tears. I was feeling a pain that was hard to describe.

"Wipe your tears, princess," Said the prince. His voice was abrupt and jolting. It was very cracked and vibrant but it held a deadly edge of a being who was used to being obeyed. "You have no reason to cry yet," he added.

I numbly cleaned my eyes with the back of my right hand. The prince rose to his feet and headed towards the entrance without a word. There was nothing left to do except follow him, so with great reluctance, I got up and followed closely behind.

I was awestruck by the long line of carriages waiting outside. The carriages were attached to the most magnificent of horses I had ever laid eyes on. They were black in colour and shiny. Even more amazing were the heavily armoured men with giant swords strapped to their sides. The prince brought a small army with him.

The prince led me to the biggest carriage located in the middle of the royal convoy and entered first. I stepped up the stairs and walked inside. It was surprisingly spacious inside and the interior was made with soft velvet sheets and cushion. I sat across the prince and the door of the carriage closed.

I heard the sound of whips and the neighing of horses. The carriage began to move as the steel wheels began to rattle on the hard cobblestone floors.

The aura of the prince was over powering and almost chocking the space between us. It was very difficult to ignore him as his eyes never left me. He looked at me like he had all the right in the world. And in a way, he did.

I looked out the window of the carriage and for the first time saw just how barren the land was. The grasses were brown and the trees were withered. I saw the villages and some handful of old farmers hopelessly bent over, toiling away on the soil that they knew was going to yield nothing.

I understood why father did what he did but I just could not accept how cold he had been. I swayed in the carriage as it trudged through my kingdom. It was really bad.

"You look surprised," The prince said, shattering my inner thought.

"I had no idea things were as bad as these," I found my voice, although I could not look him in the eye.

The prince raised his eyebrows in mild surprise. "You sound as if you have never stepped out of your palace," he said.

My face heated up in shame and I looked down. "No, this is my first time," I whispered.

"You are telling me that all your life, you have seen your own kingdom and its people?" Prince Styx asked in disbelief as he watched me with renewed curiosity.

"All my life, I have been locked away in my room," I replied in a shaky voice.

"Interesting," Prince Styx murmured.

Nothing was said for a while as we both swayed to the movement of the carriage.

"So, this means that you have not been...touched?" Prince Styx abruptly asked me.

"I...don't know what you mean...,"

"Do not lie to me, Princess, it will do you no good," Prince Styx warned.

I nodded, too humiliated to speak. His question was an intimate one and it was so uncomfortable to talk about.

"Perhaps you are worth something after all," The Prince said with a sneer. "Come sit by me." he said as he gently patted the seat beside him.

I was sitting across him by some feet apart. This was because there was abundant space in carriage. With great reluctance, I stood up unsteadily because we were still in motion and swayed left and right before I reached his side.

I sat down with a heavy plop, wracked from head to toe with nervousness. His presence was affecting me more as I sat near him. I could feel the soft hum of the power coming off him. Even my father did not elicit this kind of aura.

Before I could fully settle in, prince Styx grabbed my jaw and brought my face closer to his as he looked me over. He turned my face to the right and to the left, as he closely examined me like I was a thing he just bought from the market. In a way, he did buy me. He let go of me and I massaged my jaw as it ached from his hard grip. His hands were gloved in a white leather.

He removed his gloves and reached for me again. I inched away from him in fear. He raised a questioning eyebrow. "You had no problem with me touching you earlier, princess, what changed?" he asked.

I could not answer him. I had no idea if he would believe me. I did not even know how I was going to explain to him. But what I knew was that it was dangerous if he laid his bare hand on me.

His hands shot out and he grabbed neck in a hard grip, chocking me.

"Never recoil from me again, Princess," He growled silently. "You do not have that option."

As I chocked, I felt pins, plenty of them of them prickle into my skin.

This was how it always began.

My Curse was taking a hold of me again and it happened whenever I made physical contact with someone.

My eyes rolled back into my head and a terrible convulsion took over my body. I began to violently shake as a horrible vision came to me.

I saw the prince dying a horrible death.