7. The King is back

In an obscure corner of the dark dungeon, a vulnerable girl wearing a tattered gown was sitting with her frail body stuffed in her arms. Her eyes were filled with tears of helplessness, due to which the person standing in front of her was blurry. She had bruises on her body and blood was bleeding from the corner of her lips as she had just been brutally beaten up with a stick. She could neither scream nor could she cry. With her broken luck, she only wishes every day that her wandering life should bring some ray of hope.

"I sent you to kill him but you were enjoying the beauty of the world. I will leech you alive in the furnace and then feed your beef to hungry and wild dogs." Fenton Dyer's eyes were even more dark and frightening than the darkest night.

"No. Don't do that." She cried and urged.

"Shut up. I got you married to him and you feel that you are free?" He roared.

"No..."

"I will never let you sleep peacefully until after you kill him and give his child to me."

"Father."

Fenton Dyer raised up his stick and hit Jane Dover's body.

"Ahh. Please leave me. Please… Don't hit me. Please… Ahh…"

As her voice began to reverberate in the bedroom, Darius Simard opened his eyes and got shocked after seeing her panicking in her sleep.

"Jane…" He held her shoulders and shook them in panic.

When her dream broke and she opened her eyes, she felt his warm palms on her trembling shoulders. His presence was enough for her dread to run away and she threw herself in his arms quickly.

"Darius…"

By the tremors of her body, Darius Simard had speculated how badly she was frightened. She was neither able to breathe nor could she speak. Darius Simard looked at her trembling palms, which were trying to hold his collar but could not. There emanated so much sympathy in Darius Simrad's heart that he tightly held that frightened Jane Dover in his arms.

"Calm down. I am here." He stroked the back of her head and said in a comforting voice but she kept crying for a while.

"Save me, Darius."

"I am here. Do not stress." Darius Simard sighed and held her more consolidated in his arms for a while and let her calm down.

"Darius…" After a while, Jane Dover raised her tearful eyes and looked into his blue eyes.

"You are in my arms. You shouldn't be afraid." His seductive voice made her senses numb and she realised that it was a bad dream.

"Darius…" She kept staring into his affectionate eyes and he wiped the sweat from her forehead then held her small and pale face in his genial palms.

"Look at me."

Jane Dover blinked her eyes and looked at him earnestly.

"Darius…" She fell into a daze and her anxiety went away after a while.

"You are fine."

Jane Dover nodded slowly and sighed deeply in relief. It was a nightmare and she had realised the truth.

"I am sorry. I disturbed your sleep." She spoke in her slim voice.

"You can do it, after all, I have given you this right."

"Had I become more terrible?"

"Forget it. That was a nightmare. Look at me and..."

"And?" They looked at each other passionately.

"Call me by name again."

"Again?" Did she call him by his name right now?

"Yes."

"Did I just call you by your name?" She was dubious.

"Yes. And not once. You did it many times..." He beamed.

"Please forgive me. I had lost consciousness." She lowered her gaze sadly.

"No one is allowed to call me by my name except you. And the truth is that… I like it." His deep voice made her hysteria.

"I cannot do this." Her voice was suppressed due to the weight of shyness. Darius Simard held her white palm gently and put it on his heart. Jane Dover trembled and looked at him with surprise.

"Call me by my name once and feel its speed." His seductive voice made her melted away and she swallowed saliva in a daze.

"Jane."

He called her from the bottom of his heart and she shivered due to the electricity passed through her body.

"D…"

No, she could not.

"Jane…" He leaned and they slept on the bed slowly. She knew that she was below him and his blue eyes had turned vibrant which was a terrible feeling for her.

"Jane… Call me." He buried his face in her neck and she clenched her fists tighter on the bedsheet.

"Darius…"

He kissed her neck.

"Ahh… Darius…" It was an experience that was new to Jane Dover, but more than that, there was a thrill in this affair. She did not know how it felt to be touched by a man and when she felt that touch, Jane Dover's breath became plump. A while ago, the reason for the trembling in her body was fear, but the trembling that happened now was excitement. The heavy breath and soft embrace of the man whose soft lips were rolling on her innocent neck were enough to give this unique experience to Jane Dover. She was not in a state to react rationally as she was not skilled and proficient. She was just a victim tonight.

"Are you afraid?"

"I am afraid of you."

Darius Simard raised his face and looked at her red face sincerely. Her eyes were closed and it seemed that she was lost in her sanities. He brought a slight smirk on his red lips and placed his finger on her forehead near her hair trace and slowly wiped it behind her ear.

"I am afraid of your bottomless eyes and dreadful smile which makes flutter my heart."

Darius Simard's peaceful smile turned dark when he saw tears rolling from the corners of her eyes. Jane Dover turned her head and looked straight into his eyes. Darius Simard could not guess why exactly she was sad but he could see that the reason behind her tears was fear.

"You are strong. You are a warrior. People say you are a womaniser and lavish."

Darius Simard kept listening to her.

"You can use and throw any woman. I am afraid of that moment when you would throw me. I am afraid about where will I go and how will I live. I am afraid I will not be able to see this world and will be caged in the dungeon. I am afraid you will kick me out."

When she paused to breathe, he placed his warm palm on her cheek and looked at her seriously.

"And why should I kick you out?"

"Because you are Prince of Winsonland and I am nobody." Her voice was husky and suppressed.

"You remember that I am the Prince of Winsonland. But you have forgotten that we are married. And so, you are the Princess of Winsonland. Jane, you are my wife." His seductive words pierced her heart into pieces and from his warm breaths, she froze and regretted being his wife. Today, she realised that she should not marry this man and should have lived in a dungeon even after getting beaten by her stepfather. She would have to kill this man even if he respected her as his wife, not as a woman, but as his woman.

Jane Dover kept looking into his eyes and slowly her palm reached on his bright cheek.

"Darius." Now, she frankly called him by his name which made flutter his heart.

"You are afraid that you will not be able to see this beautiful world in future. You are afraid that you will go to that dungeon again, but Jane, I promise you that I will not allow anything like this to occur again. I will never let the bad days that you have spent in that state repeat."

"Oh, Darius." She wrapped her arms around his neck and broke into tears.

"Do you trust me?" She nodded twice speedily and Darius Simard held her face in his palms to look at her for a while.

"Then smile for me."

"Darius." She smiled brightly even if her chest was heavy and her eyes were filled with tears.

Darius Simard could not hold back his affection towards her and put his lips on her mouth then kept kissing her passionately. It was as if the breath was not reaching her lungs. Her hands came down from Darius Simard's neck to his chest, but when her palms began to push his chest away, Darius Simard held both of her wrists tightly above her head and blocked Jane Dover's breath in her chest. Pity thing. She was unable to handle the sudden sweet wave coming from her body, but Darius Simard was kissing her sweet lips with full enthusiasm. His tongue had tasted every corner of her mouth, and now those delicate lips were starting to swell a little. Her chest began to jump in the air, which was buried under his chest. As soon as Jane Dover became completely intoxicated by the desire, his palm left her wrist and went towards her chest, and alas then...

Knock… Knock… Knock…

Darius Simard raised his head and looked at his wife while panting. It was almost dawn and he was disturbed in the middle of romance. He did not want to leave it in the middle of the state but the person on the door was damn bad.

Knock… Knock… Knock… Knock….

Jane Dover opened her eyes and looked at Darius Simard while panting. He slowly wiped saliva around her lips and sighed in relief.

"Darius…"

He placed his palm on her cheek and looked at her slightly swollen lips.

"I will be back in a while." He said in his hoarse voice and covered her with the quilt then grabbed his coat and went near the door.

Knock… Knock… Knock…

"Prince, there is an emergency." It was Morries.

Knock… Knock… Knock…

"Prince."

"Morries, what is it in the dawn?" His voice was heavy.

"I would like to apologize for the discourtesy but your dire need has come. A message has come from the north that the king is coming back."

Darius Simard's gaze turned serious and he opened the door quickly.

"What?" He looked at Morries in shock.

Jane Dover held the quilt tighter in panic while looking at Darius Simard's back.

"You have to be prepared for the future." Morries reminded something to Darius Simard and he turned his gaze and for a while, looked at Jane Dover seriously. Her innocent and gentle gaze gave him strength and he looked at Morries confidently.

"Let's go." He got out of the bedroom and Jane Dover kept looking at the closed door of the bedroom. She had heard that the King of Winsonland was ruthless and deceiving. He was a great warrior with great powers and no one could beat him till now. Even if he had got aged, warriors used to get afraid of him after hearing his name. It was true that as attractive as Winsonland was, its king was equally severe and dangerous. She had heard many terror stories about the king, which presented the bravery of that king, but at that time she always had the question that Darius Simard, the son of such a king, could be so weak? But now Darius Simrad, with whom she lives, is much better than the king.

Jane Dover got up and leaned back on the bed in worry. Why his arrival was serious for Darius Simard? Did the King know Darius Simard had married Jane Dover? Jane Dover had just come new to Winsonland and had to go to the dungeon as soon as she arrived because Darius Simard had left her over there. But only after coming back from war, he brought her back to the palace and let her stay with him. It is true that Jane Dover was afraid of going back to the dungeon but now she had faith in Darius Simrad that he would never let this happen again because he had just promised this to Jane Dover. But what if… Jane Dover stood up from the bed and went to the balcony. Her eyes fell on Darius Simard who was riding hoarse and leaving the castle speedily, Morries was following him. Jane Dover sighed and kept looking at her elegant husband. After all, she had to trust him. His eyes were spirited and unsuspecting.