Chapter 1

The shoes she wore pinched her feet as she walked. She was used to the prestigious life, the jewellery, the corsets, and the dresses, but she had never enjoyed heels. Her father had always insisted she wear them to increase her height, but even with the tallest of heels, she topped out at only five foot two. She could walk in them with books stacked on her head and a full glass of water on top and not spill a drop, but it didn't stop her from hating them.

Being short was fine with her, it meant less of her was visible and more of her was forgotten. Her father paraded her around like a show horse, trying to entice suitors for years. No one had gone for her, deterred by her small stature and likely difficulty in bearing children, or by the rumours that followed her.

Looking up now at the royal palace her soon to be husband lived in, she could only imagine how much gold her father had used to be rid of her and the curse she carried.

A maid invited her inside and, obediently, she followed.

"The party is in the back garden, miss." She said softly. Dawn nodded at her without meeting her gaze, all she could focus on was how much taller even the maid was compared to her.

She kept her eyes down at the frilled skirt of her green dress walking through the halls, hands folded in front of her in a show of being passive and meek. Her heels made the only sound, echoing around the walls off the marble tiled floor.

Her father had insisted on a jade green dress and gold jewellery for her neck and ears. Her red hair was pulled up, near painfully tight behind her head allowing only a few ringlets out to frame her face. A face that, she reminded herself, needed to be smiling when she saw her husband-to-be for the first time.

Her father had dressed her as extravagantly as he could and had stressed the importance of her not messing up her marriage with his cane. The bruise was hidden beneath the skirt of her dress, a promise that, should she be returned by the prince, her homecoming would be cold and painful.

She walked for some time, letting the maid lead slightly ahead till they came to a set of ornate glass doors. The engagement party, at this point was still small, not everyone having arrived yet but clearly it had started. Tables dressed in white clothes for the meal were set up with fine cutlery as people mingled and chatted with champagne in hand next to them. Everyone was dressed in finery to match or supersede Dawn herself and she did her best not to notice. The maid opened the door for her and the sound of the garden birds and nobility gossip became louder.

"Thank you." Dawn said quietly and stepped out into the garden, her steps were slow as she took in the lush green hedges. She was up a small staircase that descended into the meticulously maintained garden that stretched a great length.

A man approached her as she descended the stairs. He could only be described as average; average face, average brown hair, average build, but he held himself like he was the most attractive man in the room, and not in a way that struck Dawn as charming.

The crowd parted for him easily and eyes followed him, telling Dawn that this was her prince. Once he was in front of her, he took her hand and delicately kissed the back of it.

"Lady Dawn, you look radiant this evening." She forced a smile for him effortlessly, used to doing so. His lips were dry and scratchy against her hand, something she noted she would have to get used to as well.

"May I assume His Majesty Prince Thomas?" She asked softly, her voice quiet, passive, and obedient. He gave her a coy smile, that stunk of arrogance.

"Very perceptive my lady. Shall we join the party?" He asked, offering his arm to her. She nodded, her eyes returning to the silk of her skirt and she gently took his arm, reaching up marginally to grasp it. It was solid under her fingers, but not particularly large in her grip.

He led her around the garden, introducing her to the guests that were there. She dared to look up when they said their names but was met with looks of disdain at best and thinly veiled disgust at worst. She hated the thought that this is what the people dared to reveal to her in their stares while the prince was next to her. Unable to hold their judgemental gazes she again cast her eyes down.

She did her best to be passive and polite without saying much at all. She fought down the part of her that wanted to run away and hide from the pitiful looks she was being given by reminding herself what it would cost her. The bruise on her leg felt numb next to scars from beatings past.

Through the people in the growing crowd, a large man stood, dressed in all black, leaning against one of the garden's decorative marble pillars. He swirled the amber liquid of his drink in his glass as his dark eyes looked across the party at her. He eyed her slowly, up and down, a primal look, as if she were his next meal.

It took Dawn a minute to feel his eyes on her, feeling the hair on the back of her neck go up. Her fiancé was talking to her, or about her, or perhaps just next to her, as there were other people around but she was no longer hearing the words. She glanced up from the ground needing to know the source of the feeling of being watched, of being hunted, and she saw him.

Her eyes locked with his and the intensity of his stare made a shiver go down her spine. The darkness of his attire matched his hair and he stood out greatly from the brightly coloured guests around him. He did not smile, his face serious and intense as his eyes burned into hers. She wanted to look away as she had with the others but his gaze demanded her attention. He had not given her permission to look away yet. She felt his eyes on her body in a way that seemed to pass through her clothes and skin. Her soul was bared to this man and she had never even been in arms reach of them.

She stifled a jump when her fiancé tapped her on the arm.

"Darling, are you even listening?" Annoyance coloured his tone. The stranger kept his eyes boring into her and she had to blink several times, tearing her eyes away.

"Forgive me. I-I was lost in thought." She lied quickly, looking into her soon to be husband's eyes. She found nothing nearly as captivating within them, only a similar expression of annoyance that she knew well from her father. She did not find comfort in that similarity.

He sighed, sounding exasperated and continued spewing about unimportant details about the wedding, clearly he enjoyed hearing the sound of his own voice.

She did her best to listen and pay attention, but she could feel the stranger's eyes still on her, tempting her to look again. She wasn't sure the feeling it was stirring inside her was good as it felt a mix of the fear right before panic and the calm right before sleep.

Seemingly out of nowhere, he pushed himself off the pillar and walked towards her through the crowd, his eyes never leaving her. She didn't look at him and her fiance didn't turn her attention to introduce him, he just moved past her, his hand just barely brushing against hers.

It was just the lightest of touch but it transferred so much more information to her than whatever her fiancé was carrying on about. She noted the warmth and the smoothness of his skin in half a second and then his touch was gone. She resisted the urge to look over her shoulder at him and inwardly she chastised herself.

She was a stranger here to everyone, so the only person she should be paying attention to was her soon-to-be-husband. And yet, this mysterious man had stolen her attention as if it only belonged to him. Unable to resist the temptation any longer, she looked behind her at the way he had gone, wanting to know something only not sure what that was. But, by the time she turned her head around, he had disappeared into the crowd.

"Perhaps we should move to somewhere less distracting." Thomas said with annoyance that bordered anger. She felt his hand grasp her wrist and her eyes turned back to him quickly. He pulled her away through the crowd with a grip on her arm that looked slightly more than gentle to an onlooker but vice like to her.

She cowered in on herself. She had already made him mad. Would he back out of the deal with her father? He wouldn't take too kindly to her fumbling up the only offer she'd ever had.

Thomas pulled her inside and through the silent corridors of the palace until he pushed open a set of doors into a bedroom. He led her into the room then let go of her with force. She pulled her hand away from him quickly to rub at her wrist without looking up at him.

"Since the party was too distracting for us to get to know each other, I thought we should continue here." His eyes scraped down her body and she did her best not to tense.

"I'll just go offer my father our excuse since we left before he arrived. Just a moment, I'll be right back," He turned away from her and she let out a silent breath, not having him looking at her any longer. He closed the door behind him and she was alone in the room.

She turned away from the door to use the light from the window to look at her wrist better. It had hurt, but no bruise was showing yet. Fear and guilt crept into her chest. She should have been paying attention to him talking. Would he beat her, she wondered, lowering her wrist to her side. He was forceful but maybe he was just passionate, maybe he wouldn't be as bad as where she had come from.

She hugged herself and took a shuddering breath. She needed to believe it would be better here, away from her father and his estate. She just needed to keep herself under control and all would be fine.

The door behind her swung open and she turned, expecting Thomas, only to see the stranger in black. Her heart started racing in her chest seeing him again. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the door frame. After a moment he spoke up, his eyes still on her, taking her in.

"I've never seen a more reluctant bride…" His voice was deep and rich. It held the inflections of a begrudgingly educated man.

She brought her arms up in a way to cover her chest despite being completely dressed, in defence of this alluring threat.

"M-my fiance will be back soon." She stammered trying and failing to hide the fear in her voice. There was something intimidating about him that went beyond his muscular stature.

"You don't sound like you want him to be back." He said, dropping his arms from his chest and taking slow, long strides towards her.

"I-I..." she gaped for words like a fish out of water, stepping back into the room till her bottom hit the end of the bed, her eyes glued to the advancing stranger.

He stopped once he was standing right before her, looking down on her, his massive frame dwarfed her as he leaned down, his lips grazing her neck. Her body shuddered under the touch and goosebumps raced down her flesh.

"Say the word, and I'll take you away from here" His words were carmel in her ears and her eyes went wide open. She wasn't seeing anything, just feeling and hearing this man and she felt a rush of heat through her body despite herself.

"...A-Away?" She whispered, still stuttering her words from nerves. His lips grazed her skin again. They were soft, so much softer than her fiance's. His hand skimmed her jaw, a phantom of a touch that made her shiver again.

"Somewhere safe." He assured her.

"B-but... Thomas..." She could hardly say anything to this man. Every nerve in her body was alight with fear or anticipation but his words fell over them like a warm blanket, utterly entrancing her.

No!

If Thomas returned with this man on her in such a compromising position he'd beat her then tell her father then her father would beat her! She needed to push him away!

"He means nothing. Forget about him. What do you want?" His smooth voice passed over her again, rumbling low in his chest, and it made her pause. No one had ever asked her what she wanted.

"I … I want to be safe...." She said so quietly she barely heard it. Tears pricked at her eyes, what was happening to her? Who was this man? Could he really take her away from here? From everything?

He stepped back and stood to his full height, extending his hand to her. "Take my hand and I'll take you from here." He whispered.

She looked up at him utterly terrified of the choice she had just been given. Could she really leave? Her thoughts were interrupted before she could decide by someone clearing their throat in the doorway.

"Duke Atlas, have you confused what's mine to be yours?" Thomas's voice came from the doorway, that Dawn couldn't see behind the hulking man. Atlas let out a small sigh and closed the hand he had been offering to her into a fist and let it fall to his side. He huffed an amused laugh, loud enough for Thomas to hear.

"I don't believe so. Just wanted to see the famed woman unlucky enough to be tied to you for the rest of her life." He teased with little humour in his voice. It was so strange how different it sounded, formal and casual, hardly any remnants of the molasses that had coated it only moments earlier. He moved his hands behind his back.

"You two bolted from the party before I could make proper introductions." He lied so easily and Dawn gapped up at him, Thomas still blocked from her view, shocked at how quickly he switched facades.

"Quite a jewel you have here. It would be in your best interest that you treat her well." He said, voice dipping to a tone that bordered a threat as he finally turned and made to walk out of the room.

"How I treat my things is none of your concern, Duke." The word Duke was heavy in his tone, a tone that was reminding someone beneath him that they were in fact beneath him.

Dawn did her best to school her emotions. She was overwhelmed with these two strangers, one, she was to marry, the other, asking her to run away with him.

"I'll be sure to remind you of that when I'm forced to clean up your mess." Atlas said with a wave of his hand as he passed Thomas and exited the room, acting as if he was bored of the conversation. Thomas glared at the man's back before turning to look at Dawn.

"I'm sorry, on his behalf, for intruding on you." Thomas said, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. "Duke Atlas seems to think he owns the castle since his father and my father, the king-" He paused at the word 'king' to make sure she was processing that he was the prince and very important. "-are very close." He finished his sentence. Dawn simply nodded, schooling her features back down to meek and obedient.

"Now shall we finish acquainting ourselves?" He said with a heavily implied lust. Dawn again nodded her head and again looked to the floor. It was not the first time a man had laid with her but she had yet to lay with a man she actually wanted too.

She began to undress.