From Prisoner to Princess [Royal Rebellion Book 1]

"Hush, little one. They will hear you." The Maid shushes as she holds on tightly to the child Princess, her worry filled voice shaking as she does her best to keep the two of them hidden in the shadows. The Princess slowly stops crying, her lips quivering as she hides her face in her Maid's shoulder, letting the woman carry her down the hallway and into the hidden passage only servants use.

The Maid's footsteps are barely audible as she carefully descends the stone steps knowing that if she were to make the smallest noise, the enemies will find them and kill the last remaining member of the Royal Family.

The sounds of swords clashing and gun shots being fired frightens the little Princess, making her cling to her Maid. She knows there are bad men in her home - that everyone is fighting - but no one has told her why. All she knows is that her Maid is taking her to safety.

The stairs finally come to an end with a small passage way leading straight to the way out ahead. The Maid sighs with relief, tightening her hold on the Princess and quickening her steps.

"Just a little further and we will be free." She whispers, the Princess nodding her little head. The Maid's arms are growing sore from carrying the Princess since she found the little girl huddled in her room full of fear, but she has a sworn duty to protect the little blonde girl and as she pushes the door open and the fresh air greets her, she feels a new found strength inside her. With the Princess so close to being safe, the Maid knows that the future of her country will be bright.

The Maid smiles as she rushes into the cold night, sticking to the shadows of the trees as she tightens the cloak on the Princess, doing her best to keep her warm. Finally, she rounds the corner to find who she is looking for - a black horse saddled and ready to take her Highness away from the war filled Palace. A man in armour sits on top of the horse with a young boy in his lap – the Princess's playmate and a Knight in training. The Maid knows that this mode of escape is old fashion but if anyone were to take one of the vehicles they would be tracked down and killed by the rebels. In this high-tech world, the quiet escape on horseback is what will save their Princess.

"Listen to me Princess." The Maid begins, her pace nearly a trot at this point causing her voice to come out breathless.

"The Knight will take you to safety and when the time is right, we will return you home." She places the Princess on her feet, looking into her watery violet eyes as she too does her best not to cry in front of the little girl she watched grow since the day the Princess was born. Reaching into her pocket, the Maid retrieves the necklace that the late Queen entrusted her with, carefully placing it around the young girl's neck.

"This is from your parents. Know that they love you with all their heart." With these final words, the Maid lifts the girl into her arms for one last hug before passing the Princess to the Knight, tears in her eyes as she watches the young green eyed blonde boy wrap his arms around the Princess and hold her tightly.

"Protect her." The Maid pleads, before the Knight looks to the scared children before him. With a nod to the Maid as a silent promise, the Knight flicks the reigns and the horse takes off galloping away into the darkness with the Palace fading away.

♔

The woman jolts awake in a cold sweat, her cell freezing in the winter night. The vivid dream that she has just awoken from begins to fade from her mind as she tries to recall more than just the feel of warm clothes and the sounds of metal clashing. She sighs, her breath coming out as a cloud in the cold air. Its been years since she lost her memory and she feels hopeless, as if she will never remember who she really is.

Looking out the small window of her cell, she shivers and realizes that dawn is hours away. If she wants to have any strength for the day ahead, she will need to get more rest.

Pulling the thin material that the prison calls a blanket around her body, she curls in on herself hoping to conserve warmth. Her hand clutches the small gold necklace that she has had since childhood and she wills herself to fall asleep.

♔

Slamming his fist against the wall, the man screams in frustration. Fourteen long years he has been searching for Her. Everyone kept telling him that she was dead. That she had been killed in the Rebellion. But he knows that is not true. He personally helped her escape so how could she have just vanished into thin air without a trace.

Suddenly the screens light up in alarm and the man rushes to see what has happened, worried that the latest search for a trace of her might have come up empty again – but he is met with something he has dreamt of for years.

Fourteen years of searching has come to an end. Fourteen years of using the small trace of DNA left on her hair brushes finally yielded the results he has always wanted. But who would have thought that she would have ended in a prison of all places.

With a grin he prints the results and stalks out of the room. Who cares how she ended up there of all places. She is safe and its time to return her home.

Chapter 1

The sounds of shuffling, banging and screaming coax me from my sleep, my body shivering from the cold air as I slowly become alert. Its morning time judging by the small amount of light that filters through my window and soon the Guards will be forcing me on my feet.

"Get up girly, its time for fun." Banging on the bars to my cell, the Guard takes one look at me as I push myself into a sitting up, trying my best to keep the thin blanket wrapped around my body to try and keep warm. My warm breath becomes fog in the air as I yawn, slipping my feet into the prison issued slippers and standing from my bed, if that's what you could call the thin mattress on a concrete slab.

My cell doors open and I throw the blanket onto my bed before slinking out to join the others. As I line up with the others that were caught as thieves, I think about how I ended up in Lady Pricilla's Prison for Troubled Women.

♔

I race across the street heading to the alleyways that would take me to my hide out and to safety. I dodge the cars and bikes that drive by me, my bag slowing me down with the weight of the food inside. But I needed it if I wanted to survive the winter this year.

"Stop in the name of the Crown!" Ahead of me a man shouts while pointing in my direction. The Police Officer causes the pedestrians to look in my direction with fear and disgust as they part to the side and give him easier access to where I stand. Rolling my eyes, I turn right and head into the dark alley beside me.

I know these alleyways like the back of my hand, know them better than I know myself. Growing up in the Slums after loosing any memories I had before age six, I learned that the world is not for a lone child and that to survive I have to be fast and learn faster.

I keep to the shadows as I run through the back alleyways, always zigzagging in hopes of confusing the Police pursuing me. Past crumbling walls, under clothes hanging to dry that were washed earlier in the day by the ladies of the Slums, through backyards baren and ruined from years of neglect.

Finally, I stop and slink into a dark hollow door way and take a moment to catch my breath before checking to see if I have lost my pursuers. Thankfully, I find the coast is clear and decide to make the final stretch to my house, if that's what you could call the run down single room Shack with an attached bathroom I found at eight years old.

The way to my Shack is uneventful, my eyes and ears alert for any movement that indicates the Police have found me, luckily no one has. With a grin, I stop just before the current alleyway ends and look down both sides of the rundown street. Small bungalows make my little rundown Shack look out of place, but it is enough for me to know that no one would think to check the unassuming building that I have been putting work into making it a decent home. With the coast clear, I run the short distance towards the back door of the shack, slipping silently inside and shutting the door before locking it. I am safe now.

Smiling, I make my way to the small dining table and place my bag on top of it. The first thing I do is sort the food, placing the cans on the small shelf above the minifridge before removing the money and jewels I managed to secure from some rich woman in the shopping district. Taking a deep breath, I remind myself that I am one step closer to being able to leave the Capitol - Zalaris - and buying my own piece of land where I can live a good life. I just need to hang on just until spring next year.

Taking the money and jewels, I carry them to the bathroom where I lift the loose tile behind the toilet and take out the small tin cookie box. Placing it on the counter, I open the lid with my free hand and sigh at the money and jewelry that greets me. I add my haul to it before securing the lid and hid the cookie tin once more. Making sure the tile is secured in place, I head back to my food stash and take out a few piece of fruit I had stolen today, deciding a small fruit salad is a meal fit for celebrating a good haul. With the diced fruit in the bowl and the scraps in my small compost bin on the table, I make my way to the cot I call a bed and sit down, enjoying the sweet taste of the fruit. Suddenly the power goes out just as I finish the last bit of my meal, causing me to curse in the dark. I swear the weather here sucks.

Placing the bowl on the bed, I stand and make my way to the door. Storms are problematic in the Slums, always cutting out the power that we get here. I had thought I fixed this issue when I placed a solar panel on the roof of my hut, something I had stolen three years ago when I got sick and tired of the power cutting out for days, but clearly I need more to keep the power steady here.

a sigh, I exit my home and lock the door before I go to see what I can do to restore power. The fall rain pelts down on my body, causing me to shiver as I make my way to the right side of my shack where the power box is. Reaching it withing a minute, unease settles inside me when I notice the wire to the solar panel has been cut, its stored power that would usually work unable to connect to my power box.

Realizing that I am in trouble, I turn and try to run back inside to the safety of my shack but I am too late. Strong arms wrap around my neck forcing me back against a sturdy body, one I know I have no chance of fighting against.

"Allison of the Slums, you are under arrest for crimes against the citizens of the City Zalaris including larceny, theft and burglary." A man shouts in front of me, the Police Chief appearing from behind the large Oak tree beside my Shack. With that, I am forced onto my knees as a group of Police Officers surround me, their guns painted in my direction while another Officer comes to handcuff me. Secured and in their grasps, the Officers pat me down – more like groped me – checking me for any weapons before dragging me to the back of a transport van leaving me alone and left in the dark with my fate unknown.

♔

That is how I become prisoner number four-zero -four-five. There was no trial. No Judge to decide my fate. To the law, I am an unwed fertile female in need of correcting. I needed a strict hand to guide me in becoming a proper female for society.

With a sigh, I find that I am last to line up with the other and take a chance to look at the girls in the corridor. Many are like me, here for petty theft or burglary hoping to make a living and find some form of escape from the hell called the Capital Slums. After our meal, we will be sent to the many facilities to work either in the mines, the textile shops or the farms where we obtain the food we eat. But this is work only for thieves.

For prostitutes, their fates are worse.

If you were caught and arrested as a prostitute and sent here, you have one of two options. Accept the help to change right away and be sent to what we call the "Plush" room where you will be trained as a proper lady before being sold to the aristocrats as a mistress. Or be defiant and endure the Guards taking turns raping you until you break and are forced into submission. From there you are sent to the Palace and the Regent – Juden Trilavantas - decides your fate. Although I hear that the fate he chooses for you is worse than being sold as a mistress.

Rubbing my tired eyes, I count the number of prostitute in line up – four. These are the ones that were screaming last night, their first night in this prison. These are the ones that said no to being sent to the Plush room and after a night of the Guards treatment, were given a chance to reconsider their options and by the looks of their hunched over, wobbling figures, they choose to repent and be rehabilitated. They will be enjoying the plush room from now on until they are deemed worthy to leave.

With a sigh, I follow behind my line as the Guards order us to move, watching a primly dressed woman approach the four broken prisoners and guide them away. For some reason I find myself being thankful that I stole to survive instead of selling my body as I watch their listless bodies move towards another corridor.

Chapter 2

"Thanks Artie." I smile at Aurther the head chef of the prison, a gentle giant of a man who got stuck here after killing a man in self defense. Everyone loves him. He is friendly, polite and always helping those that don't cause him any trouble. The best part is if you are kind to him and help him in the kitchen, then you'll earn extra desert in this hell hole.

"Not a problem Alli Cat. Also, take this." Holding out a cupcake to me, I quickly reach over to receive the treat and place it onto my tray, my necklace slips out from under the collar of my shirt and catching the light as I do so.

"You better hide that or some one will try to steal it." Aurther states quietly, motioning to the simple chain with a locket. With his warning, I quickly reach for the necklace and tuck it back into its hiding spot, praying that no one else saw it as the insignia on it is the only clue to my past. That and a photo of me as a baby placed inside with the note 'my darling, my world, my princess' written by a feminine hand, one I believe to be my mother's. After confirming with Aurther that no one saw, I thank him and his staff once more before taking a large bottle of water at the end of the que and make my way to the lone table in the corner.

Not many like to sit here with the corner table being isolated from everyone else, but I prefer this table. It gives me the advantage of looking around the room to see who is left here in this Prison and who is new. Of course, not many have left since my last time in solitary confinement, but ten new girls have joined us this morning. The new ones are the hardest to deal with. They are either scared and jumpy, crying at the drop of a hat or arrogant and thinking they rule the Prison when really that will just earn them a beating or solitary confinement. And they always come for me since I sit alone.

I take a deep breath and close my eyes; three more months and I will be out of here if I stay on my best behavior. If I can stay our of solitary confinement this week, then I will not have to worry about another one being added to my sentence.

"Hey, bitch I like that necklace I saw earlier." Comes a snarky voice before me. The room goes silent, the clinking of silverware on plates stopping as everyone most likely turns to stare. A good show will begin for those watching on.

Slowly I open my eyes and look at the curly haired redhead in front of me and stop myself from sighing. Prostitute my mind registered, taking in her looks from her slightly bruised and messy body to the arms crossed under her large breasts that the shirt barely hides hickies under. Guards must have had fun trying to break her, so why is she here and not the plush room.

"The last girl who said that to me ended up in the hospital wing" and I found myself in solitary confinement. I retort with, thinking the last bit to myself. Taking a bite of my cupcake I size up the redhead and her two blonde goons on either side of her. Looking at the first one – a platinum blonde with pin straight hair and tanned skin - I notice similar bruising on her and just about rolled my eyes out of my head. After turning to look at the raven haired girl with pale skin I confirm my suspicions that all three sold their bodies, but it still doesn't tell me why they are here in front of me. I wonder if maybe they were being kept by a handler and that's why they were with my group and not in the plush room. The thought alone makes me chuckle as I finish my cup cake.

"What's so funny?" Platinum Blondie asks, giving me a glare as she sizes me up. I ignore her in favor of taking a bite of my sandwich, deciding that if these three bimbos try anything that will land me in solitary confinement, then I might as well go with a full stomach.

"Maybe she is a little slow." Raven girly answers, scoffing as she throws her hair over her shoulder. Red just stands there, trying to look intimidating as her hands move to her hips.

"I don't care what she finds so funny, I just want that damned necklace." Red growls out, surprising me. Who knew humans could growl like wild animals.

"Like I said earlier, the last girl who said that to me ended up in the hospital wing. Now go sit down and eat your food." I sigh out, feeling like I am talking to children. Actually scratch that, the children I used to keep an eye on in the Slums listened better than these three idiots. My words seem to be the trigger for their short fuse as if on que the three move to lunge at me over the table. With quick movements, the hand I kept under the table lifts it up, flipping it into their faces and creating a nice lovely crunching sound. It seems these three will need a nose job later today.

Before they can react, I push myself to my feet and move to the right, getting into a fighting stance in case they try anything else, but the sounds of boots on concrete catches my attention and I relax. Guards will be here soon to break up what ever fight has started. Frowning, I feel something touch my foot and jump, looking down to find my water bottle. I take a chance to pick up the bottle and chug the drink. With the Guards on the way, I want to finish the drink just in case I don't get anything for a while in solitary confinement.

"Can't say I didn't warn you." I shrug nonchalantly after wiping my mouth clean. Guards have entered the room by now, creating a circle around the three ladies and me. I quickly put my hands up, dropping my water bottle as I do and slowly get to my knees. Looks like my fun is ruined and I will be back in solitary confinement. Yippee.

The Guards order the three to their knees, Red seeming to defy them as her goons comply easily. I scoff, enjoying the Guards man handling Red out of the common area with her kicking and screaming while the other two are cuffed and escorted out with dignity for complying easily. Someone takes my arm and yanks it behind me none to gently, making me wince as cuffs are placed onto my wrists before I am hauled to my feet.

"Move you slut." The Guard behind me orders, pushing me towards the door. I wince, wanting to glare at the man but I know better. Glaring will get you a smack across the face. I know where I am being taken to though, it's the same place I am always taken to after getting into a fight I did not want to be in – solitary confinement.

With a sigh, I move towards the path that will lead me to the black room with little to no light inside. But something feels off, like a looming danger is just around the corner. With unease inside me, I look back to notice only one Guard following behind me. Usually there are three, one to keep me in sight and two to shoot me if I fight back. My stomach churns and I am getting ready to run when strong arms grasp the cuffs keeping my wrists together, using the force to push me into the nearest wall.

"You always get into trouble missy." The Guard begins, pushing himself against me.

"So since you want to act like a tough girl, how about we see just how tough you really are." He continues, flicking his tongue along my earlobe and causing me to shudder with disgust. I try to struggle as his hands move from my wrist and snake around my body, slowly feeling along my waist as one moves to grope my breast while the other holds me closer to him. I keep trying to throw him off of me, to try my best to get free but the man presses his hips against my ass, and I feel the tell tale lump of his erection. I am doing nothing but turning him on further.

Fear takes hold of me as I slowly come to realize that my struggling is futile. That if this man wants to take my virginity, then he will. Nothing will stop him from hurting me and with a silent tear, I pray that some guardian angel sends help my way.

"Unhand her at once!"