Bondage (formerly Escape from the Obstinate Prince)

“We can’t run away,” Ami said.

“And why not?” Jack frowned.

“We’re surrounded by miles of water!” Ami waved her hand towards the shore where they landed hours before.

“How do you know?” he squinted at her.

Ami crossed her arms. “Cheffy the Cook said so.”

“Miles? I think that’s an exaggeration,” Jack crossed his arms, “and we can always steal a boat or maybe swim part of the way-”

“I can’t swim,” Ami studied the dirt on her torn slippers.

She noticed that Jack’s shoes were dirty and torn as well.

“I’ll teach you.”

Ami’s head snapped up. She had dipped her feet in water when she was a little girl, but she never fully submerged at a river or beach. Swimming was practically hearsay in Rhone.

“I found a lagoon. I saw it when we were walking here from the ship,” Jack said. “We could practice there.”

“But swimming,” she bit her lip.

Jack clenched his teeth together in a sad attempt for a grin. He didn’t glare. He didn’t hiss. Or make a snarky comment about her inability to swim.

Instead, he pleaded silently, as if teaching her to swim was his way of saying sorry.

“Alright. When do we start and what should I wear?” she looked down at her dress. She certainly wasn’t going to wear layers of weighty material, but she definitely wasn’t going to wear anything less.

“Tomorrow breakfast starts at the third bell. We could start before the first bell has a chance to ring,” he said, “and as for your outfit…”

He walked circle around her. Ami wondered if her dress was bunched up. What if he sees and laughs at the dress?

“Steal Eric’s clothes. He’s still scrawny. And then you can just roll up the pant legs and shirt sleeves.”

Ami breathed. That would work. Although she cringed at the thought of showing any ankle or leg. What would Mother say if she knew I was showing ankle? Ami shook her head. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

“What if we get caught? Will Lars lock us up again?” she asked.

Jack rolled his eyes. “Forget about Lars. He’s a big phoney who isn’t half as big as he thinks he is.”

“I don’t want to be locked up.”

“We could take a chance and be free,” he took hold of her shoulders. “Free, Ami. Imagine. Lars will be locked up as well as everyone else involved on this little island, and we’ll be free and back at the castle, living-”

He stopped mid-sentence.

Ami looked at his guilty face. Living where in the castle? Together? Apart? Was he working on repairing their relationship? Or was it just another ploy to get what he wanted? Don’t get your hopes up, Ami, she sighed. He never showed any genuine interest before — why would he now?

“Alright. I’ll do it. But how will I take Eric’s clothes?”

“He surely has an extra pair somewhere. Maybe check the drawers. He surely has something somewhere.”

Ami nodded.

“In the meantime, we should get some sleep,” Jack kicked some nut shells out of his path.

“I still need to return these to Cheffy, and I haven’t eaten anything since noon. My stomach hurts for lack of sustenance,” Ami put a hand to her stomach and grimaced.

Jack picked up the bowl of nuts and herded Ami towards the main kitchen.

The kitchen looked small from the outside — only a bit of room to bustle around in. Especially for a big woman like Cheffy.

“That took you long enough,” Cheffy snatched the bowl from Jack and wrinkled her nose at Ami. “You took too long for supper. It’s all gone.”

“Why that’s ridiculous!” Jack protested.

“Jack, darling, wait,” Ami grabbed his arm. “Cheffy, I am nearly starving and if I don’t get fed, I might eat poison berries — on accident of course, but I might mistake good berries for bad ones, then I’d die and your master would have no ransom money.”

Cheffy fumed. (Ami was surprised to see that there was no foam at her mouth.) “You insolent brat,” Cheffy walked over to the fire and scooped some slop onto a plate, then shoved it into Ami’s hands.

“Am I to eat this like a pig?” Ami inquired.

Cheffy gritted her teeth, then slammed the spoon into the plate. “Now git. I don’t want to see your face till morning.”

She slammed the kitchen door in their faces.

“You conniving little girl,” Jack stared at the door.

Ami cackled and sat down on the step leading to the kitchen.

“I don’t suppose Cheffy would appreciate me knocking at the door and asking for food,” Jack gazed at her food.

“I don’t suppose she would,” Ami shoveled a bite of beans and potato into her mouth.

Jack sat down next to her and sighed. “Your food looks good.”

“Tastes good too.”

“Aren’t you going to share?” he asked. “My stomach needs food too.”

Ami ignored his plea and stuffed another bite into her mouth.

She hid her grin from Jack. His chin sat in his hands, and his fingers tapped his cheek.

She ate another spoonful.

“How can you eat so calmly when your husband is dying from starvation?”

Husband. Just a seven letter word, yet contained so many experiences. We’re married. We’re stuck together on an island, captured by our common enemy. Who knows if we’ll ever see home again. Maybe they’ll get fed up and kill us both. I’ll never see Mother or Father again.

“Ami?” Jack snapped his fingers in front of Ami’s face.

She swatted his hand away.

“Food? Did you forget?”

“What am I supposed to do about your predicament?” she frowned.

“Feed me? Give me a tiny bit to eat? I haven’t had any food since this morning,” he mustered his best “pitiful” look (which happened to be quite convincing.)

“Oh alright,” she said.

She scooped a heaping spoonful of food and jabbed it into Jack’s eager mouth.

“Owww that huwt,” he scowled.

“You asked for it.”

Ami smiled. Her smile grew at the sight of Jack’s pain. Jack decided that to get more food, he would not say anything snarky.

Ami pushed aside the tattered rag and found empty space in return. It wasn’t in that drawer either.

The sun’s nonexistent light did not help. It’s probably almost the first hour and the sun hasn’t shed a single beam. What’s wrong with it? she sighed.

She looked at Jack. He shrugged. She closed that drawer and started to open the next. Squuueeeeeeaaak. Ami let go of the drawer. She looked at Eric. He was still sound asleep, as were all the other male servants.

A mere flimsy curtain separated the men’s quarters from the women’s, Marie, Jardia, and the rest of the female servants lay on the other side.

Her heart beat fast. She slid her hand inside the drawer.

Empty.

She looked back at Jack. He shrugged again. Ami rolled her eyes and turned back to the drawer.

She closed it, only squeaking the slightest bit.

She stood up. I can’t find anything, she mouthed.

Jack crossed his arms. There has to be something, he mouthed back.

They stood in silence for a minute longer.

Jack pointed to the side Eric’s bed. Underneath his bed, lay a pile of clothes — presumingly his.

Ami snatched them from under his bed and tiptoed out of the servants quarters. She breathed a sigh of relief when she was out in the open. The sun was not yet visible. Only a dim hue illuminating the horizon. “Lead the way,” Ami said.

Jack smirked (she wasn’t sure why) and started walking.

The path was not hard to follow, but the sharp rocks and thin slippers made for sore feet. After twenty minutes of walking, her blistering feet started to blister.

“Here we are,” Jack pushed past the brush.

Ami followed his footsteps, which resulted in her face getting whipped by the plants Jack had pushed aside. “Thank you for that.”

“What?” he glanced back.

Ami shook her head at her poor excuse of a husband.

Thick trees and bothersome plants clogged the path to the lagoon, and caught Ami’s dress with their claw-like branches.

After slinking through the plants, the dirt and rocks turned into sand, and the thick vegetation cleared out.

The lagoon was clear blue, and the sand underneath was a soft cream.

“You can see the sun rising from here,” Ami gawked at the soft orange light that kissed the water.

“That’s because we are in Svenland, and facing a different direction than if we were back home in Carenthia,” Jack said.

“Yes, very good. Well, you uh-” Ami held Eric’s clothes to her chest.

“Yes, yes, I’ll turn around and promise not to peak, if that’s what makes you feel safe, darling,” Jack exaggerated a sigh and turned his back.

She quickly slipped out of her restricting dress, and into the borrowed trousers and shirt.

“All right, you may turn around,” Ami straightened her new attire. The pants were none too tight, and boarded the looser side.

“Hah,” he looked at the loose fitting pants. “Good luck swimming in those loose things.”

Ami narrowed her eyebrows.

Jack held up his hands. “I’m sure it’s doable…maybe. Anyway,” he gestured to the water, “care to test it out?”

“Not particularly,” Ami stepped towards the water. Then stuck her toes in. “That is-”

“Warm?”

“I was going to say cold.”

Jack was already three feet in front of her, wet up to his knees.

“Are you sure this is safe?” she waddled in until her ankles were covered with water.

Jack snorted. “Yes, and if you start to drown I shall save you — as I have done before,” he snickered.

“You’re not comforting,” she kept walking. “Am I the only one who finds this water uncomfortable?”

“Just move around and it’ll get better,” Jack said.

He fully submerged. Ami could see him clearly and watched him swim like a fish through the water.

Gentle waves hit Ami, gradually getting her more and more wet.

Jack came back up, ptoo-ing water off his face.

“Care to join me?” he called.

“Underwater? Not especially,” Ami grimaced at the water around her. It was not getting warmer.

Jack sighed and swam to her.

She took another itsy bitsy step. Now she was wet almost up to her waist. Jack watched her like a hawk would its prey. She glanced at him. He smiled at her.

Before she could figure out what he was scheming, Jack flung water at her. “Jack!” she squealed.

Another wave of water hit her in the face, and drenched her entire outfit.

Ami let out a squeak, and shielded her face with her hands.

Jack didn’t stop.

Ami backed up and stepped into a dip in the sand.

She lost her balance and fell underneath the water. Ami panicked, and tried to breath, but water - not air - met her nose. Please, dear God, don’t let me die like this.

She felt utterly lost in the blue abyss. Powerless to prevent herself from dying, no matter how frantically she flailed.

Jack’s firm grip pulled her above the water.

She coughed, spewing water back into the lagoon. “Jack! I could have drowned! You know that I can’t swim why-”

“Calm down, woman,” Jack said. “You’re perfectly fine and you did not drown.”

She pulled her wet hair out of her face. “I couldn’t breathe down there. I almost drowned!”

“Fat chance! Your body naturally floats. Look at this,” he took a deep breath, sank into the water into only his head was exposed, and floated on his back.

Ami gaped. “How…”

“Here, I’ll show you,” Jack stood back on his feet. “All you have to do is take a deep breath, and sink into the water. But you’ll float of course.”

She glanced at him. If she did start sinking, he’d catch her. Right?

She hesitated.

“Here, I’ll even put my arms underneath you, just for the first bit,” Jack held his arms out behind her. “Just take a deep breath and lie in my arms.”

Ami took in a deep breath and fell into his arms.

Water engulfed Ami. Her first instinct was to tense up and panic.

“Just relax. It’s alright if water gets in your ears,” Jack said.

For being such a prig, his voice calmed Ami.

She found that she didn’t sink beneath the surface of the translucent liquid. Or else Jack was good at supporting her.

Ami let out some air, and started to sink.

She thrust her body up, and tried to get her feet planted on the sand, before she drowned.

Jack sighed and helped her to her feet. “We have a long way to go.”

“I’m doing it!” Ami repelled water with her arms one last time. She stood back upright in the water and clapped. “I did it!”

She was used to the water temperature, now that she was moving around, the sun was high in the sky, and warmed her back.

Jack smiled. “Yes, you did. Now try it without me right by your side.”

Ami frowned. “But then I-”

“I’ll save you if you start to drown, stop your worrying,” he backed up several yards. “Now try it.

Ami breathed in. I can do this.

She pushed forward with her toes, and used her arms and legs to push past the water.

She repeated the motion until she was a foot away from Jack. “Look! I did-” Ami gurgled, and started sinking from lack of air. Her arms reached for Jack but came up nothing but water.

Jack latched onto Ami with haste, and dragged her close to his chest.

Her heart raced. She had too many close calls in one day.

“What would you ever do without me? This is the third time I’ve had to rescue you from the deathly clutch of water,” Jack laughed, but made no move to push her away.

“I must admit I’d be dead,” she said.

“Wouldn’t that be a shame.”

Ami wiped the water off her face, and looked up at Jack.

The sincerity in his face unnerved her. He was not smirking, and he definitely was not intoxicated. He looked as if he meant every word.

Here she was, stuck in her husband’s arms. Just where she ought to be. Unless that husband happened to reject her ideas of an existing God and Creator.

She looked back down.

Jack’s finger tilted her head back up. “Ami, I was thinking, back when I was stuck in the brig, and yesterday when I was stuck chopping wood for hours, and,” he looked up at the sky, wondering if the blue yonder could put his thoughts into words.

“I was thinking a lot,” he said.

She looked up at his perfect jawline and dashing features. He has such dark long eyelashes, Ami’s stare was met by his eyes, which no longer seemed so cold.

“I don’t know how to even say this,” he murmured.

“Say what?” she asked.

“Oh, just forget it.” Jack huffed, leaned down and his lips pressed against hers.

Ami stood still — stunned, without any clue as to what was happening.

Was this the same Jack back at the shack in the woods? Was this a scheme to weasel money from Madison?

Or was it real? Did Jack care at least a fraction about her?

Ami’s heart hammered in her chest, and every rational thought was erased from her mind.

His grip on her waist tightened, and drew her closer. She put her hands on Jack’s shoulders. They stood in the crystal water, letting it swirl around them.

“Look! There they are!” a shout came from the trees.

Ami pulled away and looked at the source.

Lars, and a band of angry men.