Chapter 85 - Well Played

Evanna and the prince stood staring at one another in the dark, dank dungeon. They were close enough to each other that they did not need the light from the torches to light up their faces. Arawn watched her intently and did not miss her eyes flash wish realisation and a spark of anger before her own mask of composure covered it up.

She raised her chin defiantly, "I want to see them."

Arawn's features somehow hardened even more; she thought his skin might crack and break like a doll. He narrowed his eyes slightly, "I have already given you my word-"

"Your word does not mean anything to me until I see actions backed behind it, your highness," Evanna replied in a clipped tone.

Arawn appeared stunned at her words, his eyes were wide and lips parted, but he masked it immediately with an icy stare. However, Evanna refrained from smiling. It seemed the prince could create other facial expressions other than a glare or a smirk.

But she suddenly became nervous when the prince leaned forwards, his towering form becoming more apparent as she tilted her head back into the bars. "Your words wound me, Evanna," He placed a hand on his chest, indicating the pain of what she said, but his eyes were hard like stone.

Evanna could tell the prince did not like where things were going. She could sense the darkness within him emerging as his face fell, and he searched her eyes with an intensity that sent a shiver down her spine.

"Do you not think me a gentleman? My word is nothing to you?" His voice was deep, filled with a simmering temper just below the surface of his sculpted skin. But she did not let it faze her. She knew her friends were not captured.

"Your highness, it is not that I doubt you are a gentleman," She paused a moment as her eyes flashed back to the privacy of his chamber where he shamelessly asked her to kiss his cheek. When she glanced back at the prince, a smirk was formed on his face as though he knew exactly what she was thinking. But it quickly dropped as though it was never there. So, she continued, "But I am your prisoner. You only seek one thing from me. Why would I trust my captor?"

Arawn leaned his hand on the bars behind her, bringing his face even closer to hers. So close, his minty breath fanned her face. He watched as her cheeks blushed from their proximity. Then, with amusement flashing behind his eyes, he played with her, bringing a cold finger to the side of her face. 

He softly slid it down from her forehead and down to her rosy cheek, then chin. Her face was flushed from the heat of his touch. She gazed at him curiously, but then he brought her focus back to him when he hummed, "Because I just gave you reason to. I will help you any way I can."

Evanna's eyes flickered between his. "If you have the gem, then you have no further use of me. Or my friends you claim to have."

Arawn chuckled, and although it was from malice intent, it sounded like music to her ears. "Claim to have?" He asked with a smirk as he removed his hand  from her face and gazed down at her in amusement.

Evanna met his gaze coolly. "As I have said, if you have retrieved the gem, then I might as well go back to my cell and wait to be beheaded."

Arawn narrowed his eyes slightly and replied in a voice so low, she nearly did not catch his words. "You will not be beheaded." He pulled back abruptly but halted after she replied instantly.

"I have seen how you treat your own people. Why would you treat me, a prisoner, a HUMAN any differently? I have caused you much pain. It is apparent from how much you want that gem. It is also clear, your highness, that you do not have my friends nor the gem." Evanna kept her eyes fixed on him, refusing to look away. They stood there in a heated battle of staring for a while, causing her heart to pound rapidly and her hands clammy as she looked into the abyss of blue hues.

The prince chuckled, but there was no humour behind it. "Well played, Lady Evanna."

She blinked profusely from his words. Did he just announce that he was playing her? The confusion must be on her face because he chuckled again and turned on his heel, walking the way they initially came. The princess was quick to follow him; she did not want to be in that dungeon any longer.

His long stride was quick, and she had to double her steps a few times to keep up with him as they walked through the halls. The silence between them felt chilled, and she wanted to fill it up, but what could she possibly say? When she glanced at his face, he looked angry, murderous even. Anyone they walked past only bowed their heads; there were no greetings from people, only their gazes were lowered as they steered clear of the prince.

Much like when her father was in a mood or a rage, the people here knew when to move out of his way and not talk for fear of any reprimand possibly involving a whip or maybe dismemberment. Evanna kept her own gaze lowered slightly ahead of her so she would not walk into anybody, but with the prince's intimidating aura, she doubted anyone would bump into her. They suddenly stopped, and Evanna looked up. They stood in front of ceiling-high double doors of a light wood carved intricately with the Flori emblem engraved beautifully, showing its grandeur. 

"If you will excuse me. I have duties to attend to," Arawn said without looking at her. She watched as his demeanour became even colder. "Guards." Two guards from the sides of the door came forward at his quiet command, and their spots were instantly filled.

"*Follow Lady Evanna. Do NOT engage with her. If I so much as see her with a weapon in her hand, your families will be the ones to pay. Understood?*" His voice chilled her to the bone, and she watched the unfortunate guards who had the duty of babysitting her, pale at his words. They bowed their heads without uttering a word. Evanna was about to protest, but her words got caught in her throat. She did 'not know what they were saying'.

The prince did not look at her as he took a few steps forwards, and the grand doors opened. Evanna stayed rooted on the spot. The guards lingered in front of her, almost keeping her away from the great hall.

And what a grand hall it was. Although, in the short time she could peer into the room, her eyes were glued to its beauty. But the doors shut in her face.

From her small glimpse into what lay behind the doors was the throne room. But it was magnificent, no extraordinarily stunning. It could hardly be called a room though, once again the sides where the walls should be were filled with white trees curving towards each other to make arches. The floor was of some type of pink marble; she could not tell from such a small glimpse.

But what stood out the most was the throne at the far end. There were no windows, walls, nothing behind it, but what seemed to be a great fall if you got too close to the edge. And standing beautifully, almost seemingly merged with the throne, was a white crystal type tree, its roots deep into the ground.

"Lady Evanna?"

Evanna snapped her gaze away from the closed doors and back to the two guards standing in front of her. "Erm, can you show me around? This palace is rather big.."

Arawn never said she couldn't roam the palace. But, after today's escapades, it made her want to escape the Flori's grasp. Or, more like, the prince's grasp. He was far too intelligent, and soon enough, he will get the answers he seeks, which she could not allow. But, there was also something about him, something she couldn't put her finger on, that made her very nervous.

His touch made her feel things that frightened her, and she knew to someone like him, it was all a game. A game to try and find out more about the gem and to enjoy her squirm and blush. If there was some distance between them, then she could think more clearly, and she could keep her wits about her. But it wasn't just his overbearing presence in her personal space that made her lose her cool, but his words too.

In a few days, he already found out her real name; she was a noblewoman who had a sister and lived in the Kingdom of Dunhurst. With those worrying thoughts filling her mind, she scanned her surroundings, adding more details to the map she drew inside of her head from the times she and Cilv scouted the place.

If there was any chance of escape, she was going to take it and happily leave such a wretched yet beautiful place.