Bondage (formerly Escape from the Obstinate Prince)

Struck by lightning. That was how she felt. Stunned, ecstatic, petrified. Jack held Ami tight with a vicious grip. As soon as she knew what was going on, she shoved Jack away.

He stumbled a bit, backing into the bed. He frowned.

Ami stood there, hands at the side of her and against the wall for her support. “What just happened?”

Jack stood up and rolled his eyes. “What did it look like?”

“I didn’t exactly have a chance to look,” Ami’s big blue eyes bore into Jack’s.

He looked away guiltily.

What exactly did happen? she put a hand to her head. Was Jack actually interested in her? Was he interested in putting their past behind and starting a new friendship? She wanted to smile at the thought. Maybe we’re getting somewhere. After all, they say that you’re your true self when drunk. Please don’t be a dream.

Could this be a new beginning? If only he’ll stay that way even when the honey mead wears off.

“If you wanted to start over you could have just said so,” Ami offered Jack.

Jack coughed out a laugh(it sounded half between a snort and a choke). “Is that what you thought I was doing?”

“Well, why else-”

“I was only going to kiss you because it was a bet. Madison bet me five hundred sovereigns that I wouldn’t be able to kiss you on our wedding night. I bet him I could. Which I did,” a triumphant smile crept up his face, making Ami want to scrape it off using her nails after they had been sharpened, “and when we’re back, I’ll get my five hundred sovereigns.”

Ami breathed hard and glared at the insolent man, who unfortunately happened to be her husband. “I am done,” Ami wished she could set him on fire by snapping her fingers. Or at least slap his ridiculous face. (To think just a minute ago she believed it to be handsome!) “I am done with you and your stupid tricks! I’m done trying to be nice! And I especially am done trying to be your friend! You never tried to get along, it was always me. Me, me, me. Ami, trying to be nice, Ami trying to start a conversation, Ami trying to be friends but no! Selfish Jack, is a stupid, idiot, pigface who can’t tell the tail end of a donkey from the head! You don’t even try. You hate me and have no desire to make this work, you don’t care if my life is miserable because of you, you just care about yourself and how miserable you will be. It’s always about you, isn’t it?” she shook her head and banked off slowly. “Prince Jack this, Prince Jack that. Do you even care? Two countries are depending on us and you couldn’t care any less.”

She grabbed the skirts of her wedding dress and ran out the door, not bothering to shut it. Teardrops clouded her eyes. Why is this so hard? Why is he so mean? Can’t he be nicer like Cedric, the King, Madison or even Lars?

She didn’t know if she was shaking from tears or from running so hard. She didn’t know where she was going to go and she submitted to the fact that she was probably going to get lost. Worse, Jack would probably look for her and when he finally did find her, he would complain and tell her what a terrible wife she was and that would result in a fight. Their marriage was off to a terrible start.

They still had to face the King and Queen and explain why they had run away and looking at their disappointed faces would be more than Ami could handle. She shook her head and ran faster.

The dark trees surrounded her, and although they looked harmless during the day, at night they turned into menacing figures - or possibly creatures.

One bird called to another. A thing scuttled across her path. An owl hooted. Something moved out from behind a tree.

Something moved? her eyes darted left to right like a nervous rabbit. A bat. It must be a bat. Bats live here, don’t they? Please don’t be a tiger or lion. Do they live in this forest?

Something seized her, a hard rock hit her head and a hemp bag thrown over her head.

“Ow!” she squirmed against her captor.

The rock struck again.

She stopped squirming, her head hurt too badly to do anything other than stay conscious.

The person carrying her heaved her over a horse like a saddle.

Voices could be heard. Some were panicked. Footsteps thumped on the woodland’s floor.

“Get him too,” the captor said in a harsh voice.

A screech of another human being was heard, the scrambling of boots on the dirt and lush summer greens suggested that there was a whole band of kidnappers. Or in this case, abductors. (As Ami was not a child.) What was that screech from? Ami’s head hurt too much to think at all, or to piece any thoughts coherently together.

“Back to the ship!” yelled one of the captors and they took off on their horses.

Ami discovered she hated riding horses like a sack of potatoes, and she especially hated being where she was. Wherever that happened to be. The bag was still over her head and her captors had heaved her over their shoulder and after they climbed a ramp, it seemed as if they had walked down some steps.

Now she was sitting on something hard and stiff, and not comfortable in the slightest.

A muffled groan sounded beside her. Ami jerked in surprise. Wherever she was, she was not alone.

“Hello?” she said, keeping her voice at a whisper.

She felt a slight rocking. Was the earth shivering or was she on a boat?

“Hello there?” she tried again, a bit louder.

She heard the sound of moaning again.

“I say, is anyone there?” she said, slightly annoyed at the lack of response.

Whatever she happened to be sitting upon, it moved in a swaying motion, making her a bit dizzy.

Well that thing isn’t going to answer me anytime soon, she leaned against the wall and her thoughts strayed back to Jack.

A crashing wave of panic overwhelmed her. Jack was nearly drunk and if he even cared enough to search for her, he would not find her in the forest. If she was indeed on a ship, then she would be gone before he could form a proper search party. Assuming the ship left whichever dock it was ported in.

She didn’t know who had captured her or why they even had the notion to do so, but she was already vexed and agitated - as she thought it would do better to be angry than afraid. If she let herself think about it, she could have made herself sick just thinking about all the horrible possible outcomes and possibilities.

The groaning blob sounded again. This time the creaking of wooden steps could be heard and a loud whump followed. Accompanied by a loud “Owww! What was that for?” it was unmistakably Jack’s whine.

Good Father in heaven what is he doing here? Ami remembered she had heard another person being captured. It must have been Jack.

The bag over her head was taken off, though her hands remained shackled with thick rope.

She was indeed on a ship, on a lower deck to be sure, as the amount of light was close to null and she could hear (now that she put her mind to it) waves beating against the frame of the sea vessel.

A man stood in front of her, holding the bag that once imprisoned her eyes from seeing. He looked familiar, like she had seen him in a dream.

“Robert,” she gasped and recoiled.

Jack (she had the pleasure of sitting next to him) rubbed his head and eyes on his shoulder. “What the devil is going on? You!” he apparently remembered Robert as well.

“What’s going on, Robert?” Ami attempted imploring with her eyes. “What’s the meaning of this? Where are we?”

“I demand you untie me at once!” Jack yanked at his bounds, then promptly groaned again, placing his head between his knees.

“I’m sorry to inform you that your head may not recover for a long while,” Robert shrugged.

“What did you do to him?” she asked, shocked, if not horrified.

“Made sure he was unconscious. That’s all.”

“You heathen sailor!” Ami tugged at her ropes, temporarily forgetting she was mad at Jack. “You could have killed him!”

Robert shrugged again and walked back up the steps, locking a door behind him, leaving Jack and Ami in the damp prison.

What am I doing here? No one even knows we’re here. Madison probably thinks we’re still at the house and no one will find us until it’s too late, she buried her head in her knees, the horrible dread of her fate sinking in. No one would save them. No one even knew they needed saving.

She glanced up at Jack. He was in the same position she was. Figuratively and literally. Both were captured. Both had their heads buried in between knees.

She sat where she was (not like she could remove herself from the ship) sulking until the moon made its rounds and the sun began to peek over the land, casting light over the early rising flowers and the damp grasses.

A faint light shone through the tiny window in her temporary bedroom.

Jack was still slouching next to her, his head on top of his knees. At least he wasn’t dead. A steady rise and fall told that his life wasn’t over.

The thumping of heavy boots jerked Ami’s attention away from Jack.

The wooden door was opened at she saw a face that she never imagined to set eyes on for the rest of her life. She gasped. He grinned.

Lars.