Chapter-14

4 hours had passed and Lee fell asleep on the floor and I was sitting alone wondering how can he sleep in such a dirty place being a prince. But he seemed really tough and flexible being a prince of such a big kingdom. He was looking at peace sleeping on that floor and he had a fairly light smile on his lips which could easily be confused with a rather blank expression at any time. His hair was pretty long and was falling at one side. That is when I noticed a very faint scar on his forehead. It was nearly invisible. This guy was full of mysteries and as I was getting to know him the mysteries became more and more intriguing. I heard a woman cry out loud and I snapped my gaze from the handsome face to a very gruesome view. I ran towards the gate and saw two guards beating a pregnant woman with sticks. She was on the floor begging a life for her child. I looked around to find there was nothing that I could use to save the poor woman. Then I heard someone say 'psst'. I looked to the side and saw another lady in the cell next to us. She had a bow and an arrow. "I smuggled this in here. I can't aim from here. You do.", she said to me. I was trained in archery. After my dad died my uncle taught me archery as a mode of self-defence before leaving for his own village. Without even thinking twice I took the bow and arrow. I looked at Lee thinking he would wake up with all the noise but he was sleeping peacefully as if he was sedated. I had no time to wait. I took the aim and left the arrow. It went from between the bars and straight into the hands of the soldier who had raised the stick to hit the woman. I took another aim and shot another arrow at the other soldier before he could get himself ready for the blow. The arrow went straight into his leg. Their wailing and shouting made the other soldiers run towards our cells. I had no intentions of killing them or running from here so I surrendered. I just wanted to save the woman. The guards entered our cell and surrounded us. Lee was still sleeping and now I knew something was not right. He didn't even budge when I tried to call him. The guards had their swords pointed towards me when the head entered. All the elderly villagers used to tell us to stay out of the way of the head of the prison, he is a cruel man. He had a scar running along his face and he walked with a slight disability in his gait. But he was very scary.

He came towards me and bent down. "Oh! Let me have look at the next conquest of the majesty and his brother.", he said with so much hatred that I shuddered. I looked down avoiding his gaze. The other guards laughed. "She seems shy, not a taste of our majesty. He likes bold.", he remarked again. I could feel the tears forming in my eyes. One of the guards came and tied my hands. I looked at Lee to see if he was up. He held my hair tightly and pulled them to make me look at him. "You are safe because they didn't die. But I will surely report this to the lord when they begin your hearing.", he said and gave my hair one last pull and threw me to the ground and left. The guards came and tied me up to the bars of the cell. The head turned around and said, "Do show her what she did.", and he gave a smirk and left. I looked at him confused.

One of the guards looked at me with sorry eyes. the other guard entered my cell held my face firmly in his hands and made me face the cell with the pregnant woman. There was another guard holding the woman up and then he placed a sword on her throat. I yelled and wailed for them to stop. But he slashed her throat in front of my eyes. I saw her die. I saw two people die at one time. Tears rolled down my cheek and I could feel my heart sink. They killed her because I attacked the soldiers. Maybe if I didn't, they would have let her go with a few beatings. I was staring at the cell in which a woman died because of me and the soldiers were taking the body from the cell. It was wrapped in a cloth and they were carrying it outside the cell. I could still hear her voice echoing in my ears which was begging for mercy. Her eyes haunted me which had no signs of hope and life. She never begged for her life all she did was to beg for her unborn child to live. And I killed not only an innocent woman but also an unborn child. I couldn't take my eyes off the cell. The blood was being washed off now. I could hear the sounds in my surroundings but I couldn't react to any of it. I was just too engrossed in my guilt-stricken thoughts. I heard Lee wake up, I heard him ask why I was tied to the bars, I heard the worry in his voice when I didn't react to him calling me. I also heard the woman in the cell next to us narrate the events to him. I could feel his worried gaze on me but all that I could do was stare into the cell where two innocent people died because of me. Lee called me a few times but when I didn't respond he sat beside me silently and looked at the cell with me.

The door to our cell opened and the head entered. He was smiling and laughing but this time the guards around him were all quiet and sad. "Oh! The prince is up. How was the sleep majesty?", he asked in a sarcastic manner. Lee got up and pulled him with his collar. "Who asked you to sedate me?", he asked threateningly. "We needed some drama in the cell. The soldiers here get bored too my lord.", the head said. Everyone knew the power the head had was above that of Lee. With a move of the hand, three soldiers came and held Lee down. The head smiled and walked towards me. He ordered one of the guards to open the ropes. Once the ropes were untied, he pulled me up with my hair and pushed my face to the bars. Lee was struggling with the guards to get free. "I hope now you have learned not to intrude in the matters that don't concern you.", he whispered in my ear. I still had my eyes on the cell in which the innocent lady was. "Why.", I whispered. This was all I could manage to say. He pushed me to the ground. "Say it out loud.", he yelled. "Why did you kill her? She was pregnant.", I shouted. Tears rolled down my cheek. Lee now had five guards trying to hold him. The head laughed and bent down. "What is it to you. That was my wife I killed.", he said with a smirk. I gasped. This guy was indeed cruel and a psychopath. "How could you kill your own wife and child?", I asked crying. "I had not one but two reasons. First, she was my wife but that child was not mine. Second, I just needed revenge from someone. So, I took a few innocent thoughts from someone he cared for.", the head said. I looked at him confused. "He killed my first wife.", the head shouted pointing at Lee. "It was an accident. How many times should I tell you that? I didn't kill ajhuma. Why will I? she was the closest thing to a mother for me.", Lee said and now he was crying too. The head went to Lee and slapped him hard. I gasped again. Lee took the slap and punches that followed. The head beat him up till he was bleeding and then threw him to the ground. He came to me and I was looking at Lee with worry. The head just gave me an angry look and left. The guards followed. I crawled towards Lee and he just pulled himself away. I didn't say or ask anything, crawled to the bars and sat there staring at the cell in silence again.