All Hail the Queen

Katherine sighed as she sunk deeper into her warm bath that she drew for herself just minutes before. The heat soothed her sore body, and for the first time in what felt like months, she let her muscles loosen as she slowly relaxed and let her guard down.

The bathroom was eerily quiet, but the sound of a single drip of water from the sink every few seconds echoed against the walls.

For some reason, it made Katherine feel uneasy, so she decided to wash herself to distract her from the ticking of the water droplets.

She reached over to the stand that was next to her tub, and grabbed a cloth. She mindlessly dipped it into the water and without turning her gaze away from the dripping sink, she brought the cloth up to her arm and started to scrub.

She dipped it back in the water and looked down at the cloth as she pulled it out from underneath the bubbles that filled the tub.

The cloth was dripping in red liquid. Katherine gasped and dropped it into the tub.

That's when she noticed that her arm that she had scrubbed earlier was coated in the red liquid as well.

She swooped her arms under the water to find the cloth and brought it out of the water again to see that it was still red.

She dunked it, and dunked it again, but the red liquid did not go away.

In fact, the more she dunked the cloth and wrung it to try to rid it of the red, the more the color spread throughout the bath water and bubbles, until she was completely submerged in the red liquid.

"What is this?" she started to ask out loud when she noticed the smell of iron that was filling the air.

Katherine gagged, having realized that she was bathing in blood, and she quickly tried to stand up.

Before she could, she felt a breath on the right side of her neck, just under her ear. "All hail the Queen," a familiar voice said, menacingly.

She didn't have a chance to do anything before two strong hands pushed hard on her shoulders until she was completely submerged under the blood that filled the tub.

She flailed her arms and tried to break free from the man that was holding her under, but it was no use as he was too strong.

Katherine used what little breath she had left in her lungs to scream.

"Katie! You're fine, it's just a nightmare," she heard Jasper shout with worry.

She stopped screaming because she needed to fill her lungs with air again, but the sound of Jasper's worried voice caused her to take in her surroundings.

She was not in the blood bath, but she was still in the hospital bed next to Jasper.

"It was just a nightmare," she repeated in between heavy breaths, and she brought her arms up to see that they were not covered in blood.

The only things on her arms were bruises from her fall when she fainted, and the iv needle and tubes that she was still connected to.

A hand brushed against her right shoulder, and she flinched and quickly turned around.

Jasper had a concerned look on his face, and the sight of him made Katherine's throat tighten unexpectedly.

She swallowed hard and pushed the anxious feelings away. "I woke you. I'm sorry," she sincerely said to him.

His eyes were heavy and Katherine finally noticed the purple bags that were under them, and how he had stubble as if he hadn't shaved in days. His blond hair was ragged, and his cheeks had slightly sunk into his face.

He let out a breath and held his arms out for her. She cuddled up against his chest, and rested her head right on top of where he heart was beating quickly under his skin. She clearly had startled him just as much as she had startled herself.

"You haven't had a nightmare like that in years," he noted once they were settled.

"How would you know? It's not like you've spent the night with me recently," she rebutted sharply.

She instantly regretted it, especially when she felt him stiffen under her. "I'm sorry," she said in a whimper.

"Don't do this, Katie. You know why I can't stay." he said. She could hear the frustration that was mixed with sadness in the way he spoke.

"Can't or won't?" she asked. Her face was still tucked against his chest, and she preferred it that way. Then, she didn't have to look at him when he broke her heart again. She could hide safely in his arms-- one of her favorite places.

"I'm your servant. We're-- I'm technically breaking the law. If the wrong person found out about us, they would shoot me on live television to make an example of me," he said with venom laced in his voice.

That caused her to lean up on her elbow so that she could look at him. "You know I would never let that happen and would kill anyone who ever tried to harm you. Plus, I'm the Queen now, remember?" she said in a sad voice, "I make the laws."

"And what about your marriage contract? You're set to marry that prince from the west any day now. I doubt his parents will let you out of it. Especially to marry someone like me. A Queen denying a prince in order to marry a simple guard? They would consider it a slap in the face, and I wouldn't be surprised if it caused a war between the lands," Jasper scoffed. Hurt and anger was written all over his face.

"I would fight a thousand wars if it meant I got to come home to you every night," she whispered.

His face slightly softened but the anger was still there; he let out a long breath. "I'm not willing to let innocent soldiers die so that we could be together. I love you Katherine, but it's just not enough. Not in the world we live in."

His words felt like a slap in the face, and her chest felt hollow as if someone ripped away her heart.

They had conversations like these before, but something was different about this one.

Katherine felt as if she had finally lost him. He no longer had the drive to fight for them, or the hope that their love stood a chance.

"So what now?" she asked him. She felt like she was going to cry, but she had so little energy that even the act of forming tears was too much for her body to handle.

"We enjoy what time we have together before you marry him. Then we're done. You'll be the Queen of Helios and Eos, and you'll have to let me go."

"What if I can't?" she asked.

Jasper was quiet for a moment before he responded, "Get some sleep. Tomorrow we have to come up with a plan for how to get your mom back."

Too tired to continue fighting, she laid her head back on his chest, cherishing what little time they had left.

She had hoped that after the attack that caused them to have almost lost each other that he had changed his mind, but if anything, it seemed to have torn them even further apart.

Even with exhaustion riddling her body, she couldn't bring herself to relax enough to fall asleep.