CHAPTER 21: BOW OR BREAK

The moment Ravenna's eyes landed on him, her breath hitched. Shock flickered in her gaze, but she quickly masked it, lowering her eyes.

Caspian leaned back slightly, catching the brief betrayal of her composure. Interesting.

It seemed she recognized him....

"Bow to His Royal Highness—" Malcolm began, but Ravenna fell to her knees with a dramatic thud, her head pressed to the floor.

"Your Royal Highness," she murmured, her voice steady despite the storm in her chest. Her thoughts raced as she prayed he didn't recognize her.

Caspian's gaze lingered on her. His sharp nose caught the faint scent of blood, and his lips twitched upward. "Rise."

Ravenna stiffened, her heart pounding. "Please, Your Highness, allow me to remain as I am. It is only fitting for a lowly slave," she replied, keeping her head bowed.

Malcolm's jaw dropped. "did she just—"

Caspian raised a brow, amused. A lowly slave who escaped my grasp once before? How bold.

"You've grown polite," he said casually, a faint edge to his tone. "But I wonder, is this the same girl who didn't bow to me the last time we met?"

Her blood froze.

' oh no ! '

Malcolm glared at her " indeed your highness... "

"Enough," Caspian interrupted, waving him off. "She's clearly learned her lesson." He paused, his voice dropping slightly. "Or perhaps she hasn't?"

Ravenna's fists clenched against the stone floor. "Your Highness, I—I am but a slave. If I have wronged you, I beg for forgiveness."

The prince's lips curved into a small, wolfish smile. "Forgiveness? Is that what you sought when you fled the dungeon, too?"

Her head snapped up involuntarily, her green eyes locking with his for a split second before she cast them downward again.

"There it is," he mused softly, his voice barely above a whisper. "The fire behind those eyes."

He could tell she was extremely smart. Though she would have still been caught even if she escaped the palace, he had intentionally put her in a difficult situation, to see if she would choose between escaping and returning to the dungeon and seeing the unquenchable fire in her eyes, he could tell she had only forfeit escaping for another day.

Ravenna swallowed hard, her mind racing for an escape. "Your Highness, I assure you, I—"

"Enough," he said again, his tone sharp but controlled. "Speak out of turn once more, and you'll find that I'm far less forgiving than the dungeons were."

She nodded quickly, her heart hammering in her chest.

Malcolm's hand hovered near his sword on hearing of her escape, but the prince raised a hand to stop him. "Leave her. She's… amusing." His eyes lingered on her one last time. Her body was tense and she didn't dare move, she stole a peek at him and her heart almost jumped out when it met his eyes.

She looked away, shame casting it's shadow on her, she couldn't tell if he recognized her and was wondering how to punish her or if he was just curiously staring. luckily he dismissed her with a flick of his wrist before she would break from the pressure his eyes exerted.

As she was escorted out, Caspian chuckled to himself. "What a strange girl, Those eyes looks strangely familiar. " he murmured, already plotting their next encounter.

The air of mystery around her, the guarded demeanor of hers and the tough facade she wrapped around herself. He had seen it all in one glance, there was just something about her...

Watching the prince's eyes glow with a hint of mirth Malcolm just sighed to himself, wondering how the Crown prince had picked one of the habits of the second prince after just one night of seeing him from Faraway.

' This was why they had to be separated '

Outside the room Ravenna had so many questions

Now what ?

She was confused, was she being escorted back to the dungeon ?.

Had she been discovered ? ,

was she going to die ? She was just confused, the fact that she couldn't even tell what the prince was thinking bothered her.

He was probably planning her death.

She thought to herself, sighing.

She was in deep trouble.

Nothing angered her more than having to die alone even though she hadn't commited the treachery act alone.

or the thought of not being able to get revenge before her death.

Her eyes just stared at the back of the two servants escorting her back. They hadn't even spared her a glance and she didn't care, her thoughts were all over the place and a splitting headache was now settling in.

They now passed by the large hall, but from the way it looked, like the building had been there for for thousands of years— she could tell this was either the servants quarters or the slave quarters, They just kept on walking till they got to the last building. It looked nothing less to the dungeon except with food and mats for them to lay on.

' Of course, this was it ' Ravenna rolled her eyes.

Without a word from either of the girls escorting her, they just threw her another pair of sack cloth and pointed to the bathroom.

Ravenna didn't even spare another second, she immediately entered the bathroom. Taking of her clothes to check on the injuries she had carelessly re-opened again.

Getting into the cold bath that was almost similar to a pool, she raised her head, watching the starless night lost in her own thoughts.

She didn't want to think about whatever went down tonight. Her thoughts just trailed off to her family

She wondered how her mother was faring now, and her sister Ceryl. She needed to escape this palace as soon as possible—else , her sister would go out to hang missing posters.

' That girl ' A ghost of a smile coming to settle on her face. Even though it had been long since she last spoke with her family, she still watched them from afar. Occasionally writing a letter to her sister. It was their own little secret.

She didn't want her sister to be worried or do something drastic that would put her in trouble. In the name of searching for her. She sighed, exhausted.

Light shuffling footsteps caught Ravenna's attention and she froze, listening carefully.

" Ravenna , Ravenna" She heard a soft voice whispered and she saw a shadow moving about with a lantern behind the sack curtain where she sat in the stone pool.

The voice sounded too farmiliar and Ravenna frowned.

" Maurice? " When the girl had her name, she paused with a smile before rushing towards the bath house.

" Ravenna " She ran and hugged her upper body that was out of the water, her face a mixture of worry and excitement.

" I'm so glad you are safe " she sighed and Ravenna just rolled her eyes. Her body stiff in the embrace of the younger girl.

" Are you okay?

What happened ?

Did they hurt you?

Let me see ? "

The girl was already back to being all chatty, her worries piling as she questioned endlessly.