[Music Recommendation: The English Affair ~ Howard Harper-Barnes]
Sitting inside one of the rooms, Nicholas pushed the glass of wine in front of him. He could vividly remember the look in Oriana’s eyes as he read the new orders. If left alone, the girl was ready to drive a dagger into his chest with the way she was looking at him.
He had tried to play nice all along, trying to appear as the saint Oriana had always seen him as, but time was running out and he knew he needed to do something about it. Now that he was in power, it wouldn’t be long before he finally made Oriana his own.
"Not for long, Princess..." Nicholas muttered to himself, forgetting that he was not the only person in the room.
Adelaide nodded in reply, "Yes, not for long. I agree with you, and that is why we need to do something about it. If Adric is really alive, then he is going to be on his way soon."
Nicholas let out a tired sigh, "I will have some men instigate a fight with Eridor, claiming to be from Avon. It’ll delay Adric’s return until I find a better plan to hold him off permanently."
"Alright, but you should make plans ready before it’s too late," Adelaide continued, going to sit beside Nicholas.
Nicholas turned to look at the princess, feeling disgusted, he stood up from the chair. And without saying a word to her, he quietly left the room. As he walked through the passage, his feet led him to the chamber where Oriana was now locked in.
The guards in front of the room bowed in respect upon seeing Nicholas.
"Is she inside?" Nicholas asked the guards, listening in, waiting to hear Oriana’s sobs, but there was nothing but silence.
The guards nodded, and one of them continued by saying, "We have orders not to let her leave the room, so she hasn’t left the room, King Nicholas."
Nicholas nodded, "You can leave now. I want to have a word with her." And on his words, the guards unlocked the room and stepped away. Pushing the door open, Nicholas walked deeper inside the room, his eyes searching for Oriana, hoping to see her broken and in pain so he could take the opportunity to comfort her.
"You do know walking inside the King and Queen’s chamber is punishable by death?" Oriana’s voice sounded bold, unfazed by her earlier situation, as she spoke, looking at Nicholas. A glint of disgust shone in her eyes.
Nicholas chuckled, "King? And Queen? The only king now is me, except if you want to be my Queen. I don’t mind."
Oriana’s face scrunched up in irritation as she spat, "I’d rather watch my skin peel in a boiling pot than stay beside you as your Queen."
Nicholas took a step forward towards Oriana, and his hand tightened around her neck, pushing her with force to the wall.
"But you don’t mind being Adric’s Queen? What does he have that I don’t?" Nicholas barked.
Oriana raised her hand, trying to push the hand that now wound tightly around her neck, trying to knock her breath out.
"What does Adric have that I don’t! Tell me... what is so disgusting about me?" Nicholas continued with burning rage as he continued to squeeze Oriana’s neck with force. When he realized what he was doing, he let her go.
Oriana gasped when he finally let go. She touched her neck, which now had a red mark. Her heart beat faster as she tried to breathe properly.
"I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to..." Nicholas raked his fingers roughly through his hair. Looking at his hand with disgust, he said, "Look, I love you, Oriana, but you keep choosing Adric—"
Oriana scoffed, "Love? You don’t know what that means, Nicholas. You don’t love me. You know nothing about me to love me."
"I do. I’m doing all of this because of you. I will be the king that would protect you, someone better than Adric—"
Now standing properly, with one hand touching her neck, Oriana shook her head. "Did you notice that in everything you’ve said tonight, you didn’t skip mentioning Adric’s name? Nicholas, you have an Adric complex! An urge to have everything he has."
Nicholas hit his hand on the nearby wall in anger. "I don’t! I don’t care about Adric... I just want you!! To be mine! Let me see how Adric would survive all alone..." His voice trailed off when he realized what he was saying.
"That’s right, you’re only jealous of Adric. You want everything he owns. This is what this... everything is all about. You don’t care about me... you-" Oriana’s cheek met with a sting that came from the harsh palm of Nicholas touching her face, and she fell harshly onto the cold floor.
Nicholas raised his hand again to strike her, his body shaking with anger. "I said, I don’t want anything from Adric! Even if I do! Now he will have to bow to me and so will you! I am king now!! And Adric isn’t!"
Oriana touched the side of her face, where her lips were now bleeding slightly. She decided not to say anything else so she wouldn’t provoke the man.
"You have the choice to take my hand. I am the only one that can protect you and not Adric!! I am king now! And not Adric!" Nicholas had the rage of a madman in his eyes as he looked around the room, searching for nothing in particular.
He raked his fingers through his hair again. "I am King now and not Adric..." And with that, he stomped out of the room.
Oriana inhaled deeply when the young man left. She felt the sickness again in her stomach, the urge to throw up everything, but she was too weak and had not had anything to eat for the past few days.
Finally managing to get up on her feet, Oriana made her way towards her bed to sleep. When her door opened again, she turned to look at who it was. A tired look on her face, since Adric left she hadn’t had a full day of privacy in her room.
"Lady Oriana, King Nicholas has asked I treat you," the physician who had entered announced.
Oriana sighed, "You can go. I’m fine." She waved the man away.
"I can’t do that. I only obey the King’s orders." Saying this, the man walked straight to Oriana.
With no struggle left in her, Oriana sat on her bed and allowed the man to check her. The man applied a cream on the side of Oriana’s face, then proceeded in checking her eyes then her wrist.
"This is strange," the man muttered, touching Oriana’s wrist. He looked up at Oriana’s face and touched her other wrist. Out of shock, the physician moved back.
"Y-you are pregnant!"
Oriana furrowed her brows. "What are you talking about?"
"You are carrying a baby! I should report immediately to the King!" The physician started packing his tools up quickly.
Oriana, who was still in a state of shock, stood up immediately. She knew that her survival rate was thinning out the moment the news about her pregnancy got out.
"Um.. w-wait! I have something else I need you to give to the King." She ran inside the bathroom, rummaging through the things in there when she finally got her hand on the bathing stone. She hid it behind her and walked back into the room.
The physician asked with a deep frown on his face, "Where is it? I need to leave now!"
"I’m sorry," Oriana muttered, closing her eyes briefly before taking a quick step closer to the man.
The physician moved his face, "What did you say?" Before he could get a reply, Oriana hit the side of the man’s face harshly with the stone, causing him to slump cold on the ground.
"I have to protect my child," Oriana said, looking at the man who was now on the ground. She touched her stomach protectively.
Oriana threw away the rock she was holding after realizing what she had just done. She got down on her knees and checked to see if there was any life in the man. When she noticed the man breathing, Oriana inhaled, grateful that he was alive.
She paced around the room, knowing that soon the guards might notice the man’s absence and everything would come to light. Not knowing what else to do, Oriana dragged the man by his legs into the bathroom. She made him sit, resting his back against the wall.
Feeling overwhelmed with fear, shock, and anxiety, Oriana ran around her room and found a few ropes, which she used to bind the man’s hands and feet before tying the part of his head that was bleeding. Lastly, she tied the man’s mouth so he wouldn’t scream if he eventually woke up.
Having done this, Oriana squeezed her sweaty hands tightly. She didn’t know how long she could keep this up. Touching her stomach, Oriana muttered,
"Adric, come home already. We need you."
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