1 Prologue

"Grandma! Look at this huge sum of money I won from being The Bellby Farm Queen!" Blake excitedly announced when she went down from the stage after winning their local pageant. She approached her Grandma who was sitting in the front row.

"I'm proud of you darling, but you don't have to do this. I know we might lose our farm but I think we'll be fine," her grandma said with a mix of pride and sadness.

Blake took off her The Bellby Farm Queen sash and her plastic gold crown and sat beside her grandmother. The people have already dissipated and left the open hall after congratulating her. She was wearing a plaid dress paired with a cowboy hat and boots.

"That will not happen, Grammy. We will not lose the farm that you and Grandpop started. We better not or else Grandpop will kick me in the butt from the heavens. If only mum did not pawn it off," Blake firmly stated.

Her grandma tried to smile but failed. Her mother, who left her with her grandparents when she was still a toddler, went off to try her luck as an aspiring actress. Failing to mention that she supposedly "borrowed" the land title of the farm as a collateral to financially support her endeavor.

"Why don't we get some nice meals before we go home, Grams?" Blake invited when she felt her Grammy was becoming teary-eyed.

Her grandma smiled showing her fully wrinkled face. "It's nice to finally see you dressed up like a lady aside from your baggy working clothes," her grandma commented with a hint of laughter which was supposed to tease her.

Blake laughed in reply. "Yeah, maybe that's why I won. People didn't expect it."

"Well, better get ready dealing with boys from now on," her grandma teased.

"Yeah, like Joshua, didn't know I existed until now," Blake shared.

"Joshua? The boy you've been crushing on since forever?" Her grandma asked in amusement.

"Crush? My God, Grammy, no! He's like the dumbest person I've ever met." Blake retorted as she noticed that more people were greeting her along the way.

She got more conscious when people started to crowd in front of her. Being The Bellby Farm Queen doesn't make you any special at all. As a matter of fact, girls her age are likely to avoid it since they think it is uncool and outdated. So the attention that she was garnering was suspicious. She almost thought that maybe people would start to bully her or something.

She grabbed her grandma's arms to take another direction instead. Then, in an instant, flashes of camera started to blind her. She instantly felt fear and confusion of what was going on. She then remembered her grandma.

"Grammy? Grammy?" she called out to her grandma as she shield her face with her hands from incessant camera flashes. When she got no response, she panicked then pushed the photographers in front of her and ran away.

Fortunately, it was Carnival day so a lot of other people were gathering and she thought of blending herself into the crowd. When she thought she lost them as she hid in the back of a tent, a large hand covered her mouth and grappled her in big muscular arms.

She was caught off-guard so she was unable to fight back immediately. She tried to break free but the person was really strong. She was dragged into a black van waiting on the road at the back of the tent.

Her whole life flashed before her eyes. She immediately thought of the things she had done in the past to deserve this. She had done nothing that evil aside from holding a grudge and hating her mom for abandoning her. The rest, she was a loving and caring granddaughter to her grandparents who practically raised her.

It was pitch black inside the van. The man who kidnapped her plastered a tape on her mouth and around her hands and feet. She mustered all her strength wiggling her body in an attempt to break free for a long time. But all of it was futile. Tears break out from her eyes and sobbed silently. She just hoped that whatever will happen to her, her grandma is safe.

She started to gain consciousness. Her fears disappeared thinking she was already dead. She found herself lying on a softest bed she ever slept on. The air was cool and smelled like fresh lavender.

Is this what heaven felt like? So, did I actually go up to heaven? She thought.

When she opened her eyes and sat up, a magnificent sight befell before her. She was in the nicest and grandest room she ever saw and been to: a large, four poster bed draped with luxurious velveteen bed fittings; wooden furnitures that speak regality; and furnishings that spell luxury. It is basically an exquisite room that surely made the cover of a lifestyle magazine.

She tried to slap her face many times to make sure those were all true and not part of a dream. Her attention was directed to the red marks on her wrist and ankles. Those still hurt. Probably, everything was real.

She jumped on her place when the large wooden door opened at one end. Entering was a an old man in black suit. He opened the door for a tall man in a royal military uniform. The ones that the Crestia monarchy wears. The King, Princes and court officials of the country wears. The tall man looked familiar to her.

Is that Prince Theo? She asked herself. Am I in the Royal Mansion?

In a deep, full voice, Prince Theo look-alike spoke.

"Is this her? Amelie's daughter?" He asked the old man who was probably the butler.

"Yes," the butler's short answer was almost a whisper.

He looked at her with disgust and contempt.

She can't still comprehend what was she doing in the Royal Mansion. She needed to find out if that was real. Or maybe she was drugged and was having hallucinations.

A hallucination indeed since she felt a shocking shot of pain in her brain, with everything in twirling motion. Her brain hurt like hell can't even compare. She tried to pull her hair as she felt her brain being cracked into two. It sent her to insanity that she jumped off the bed and ran to the door until she bumped into Prince Theo person. She pushed him hard to move away but Prince Theo person grabbed her to contained her in his arms.

With all her strength, she jumped up and down to break free. She successfully did. When Prince Theo came after her, she punched him hard on the face.

She was surprised of the striking pain her knuckles felt after the punch. She then dropped to the floor and shook her hand to lessen the pain but it didn't. Prince Theo person dropped back his head in disbelief of Blake's boldness, wiping the blood on one side of his lips.

In Prince Theo's rage, he pinned down Blake on the floor, her hands on top of her head, with Prince Theo's weight in top of her waist. She was nailed down with no chance of escape.

Prince Theo closed the distance between their faces and stared directly at her eyes. He looked blurry to her with migraine still fucking her brain but she could feel her warm breath on her lips.

She was ready to spit out saliva to him until a group of people entered the room that took Prince Theo away from her. Then, something pricked her arm. She suddenly felt sleepy and started to close her eyes.

Before she blacked out, Prince Theo shouted, "Get her out of my face before I kill her."