"The Queen of Ballad Becomes a Prisoner"

She then realized that it wasn't her bathtub. She moved her body and turned to face the man. To know where she was and who the guy was, she lifted her wet hair away from her face.

Again, the man asked, raising his voice, "I said, what are you doing in my bath? Who are you?"

Ely was just two feet apart from him. The funny thing was, the first thing she looked at was this guy's 6-pack abs. 'So firm and muscular,' she thought. But she knew it wasn't the right time to drool over his body.

"Are you a servant?" the man asked.

For the third time that he asked a question, Ely looked at his face. To her surprise, she's very positive that she had seen him before.

Ely froze and widened her eyes in shock when she examined his facial features, "Adam?"

Those beautiful grey eyes were exactly the same as her dear husband, as well as his beautifully defined nose, his lips, and every detail of his face. The only difference was the length of his black, silky hair. The guy in front of him had his hair up to his waist.

"Adam? Dear, you're alive? Or... am I dead? Is this heaven?" Ely said, with tears falling from her eyes as she crawled towards him.

Ely touched the man's face, making him dumbfounded. He never knew this woman in front of him, and no one in his entire life ever attempted to touch his face.

He felt his heart beating fast, which made him panic. "How dare you? Don't touch me!!!"

The man shouted, echoing around the room full of marbled walls. He shoved away Ely's hand. She continued crying, feeling that she was hated by her own husband.

"Adam... It's me, Ely..." she said in a soft voice, trembling.

The man thought that perhaps, this girl was a spy, an assassin, or a thief. Even though Ely's beauty had made him stare at her for a few seconds, he knew he couldn't be reckless, since his existence was very important. He raised one of his eyebrows and replied with a low voice, "I do not know you, woman."

Ely was shocked that her own husband did not know him. As a desperate move, she placed her arms around his neck, placing her chin on his shoulders. Then, she whispered, "Adam... Please remember me..."

The man was stunned because she was the first woman who ever hugged him intimately, and in the bathing room while he's naked. He refused to have any lover because he concentrated on the nation's peace that his ancestors had worked hard for. He felt that having a family would be a distraction to him being the King. At that moment, he couldn't explain why his heart was beating loud. He was really afraid of Ely's sudden appearance. Taking good consideration for his own safety, he pushed her away, shouting, "I said I don't know you!!!"

The naked man shouted so loud that men with swords and spears came inside the room.

"Your Highness, are you alright?" a man with a bronze helmet asked.

Ely was shocked to see these men with weapons. She stood up and went out of the bath, which she realized wasn't a big bathtub, but some kind of warm spa.

The naked man, with the absence of maidservants at the moment, stood up, walked to the right side of the room, used a towel to dry himself, and wore a robe to cover his body. When he looked at the trembling Ely, who only wore a thin, white nightdress, he realized that his men couldn't help but look at her voluptuous body. He grabbed a towel and a smaller robe from the storage, walked towards Ely, and placed it on her head.

Ely appreciated the man's little action. She used the towel to dry herself up, and while doing this, the man was staring at her, curious about everything about her. After wiping herself, she wore the robe.

When the man saw that she was finished, he said, "Take her away."

He started thinking if she's just insane or she's really a spy. He thought that she's beautiful and sexy, but it was not the time to be turned on.

He's a King that is faced with very great responsibility. Ever since the late King and Queen died, he had been working hard to make his nation the best one. He never once thought that he would be attracted to someone in that odd situation.

"Yes, your Highness," said the general. "We'll send her to the dungeon prison."

The guards held Ely's arms, tightly. As she struggled, she repeatedly shouted, "Let me go!!!"

She was dragged towards the door. "Adam, please, remember me!" Ely screamed in agony. "We swore in front of the altar! Adam, please!!!"

The King looked away. He definitely couldn't remember the presence of anyone when he entered the bath - unless that person had a magic artifact, or had mastered some concealing skills, like assassins and spies.

The general blindfolded Ely. Underneath that piece of cloth, were Ely's wet eyes, and she couldn't stop her tears. She couldn't see a thing, but she could feel the cold floor, sending shivers over her body. She didn't know what might happen to her and where they would take her. But one thing was for sure, it wouldn't be a nice place.

At first, the floor felt cold, and at one moment, Ely felt the warm sand. It got her thinking that she might be in the desert, as her skin felt the sunlight. But when she heard the raging sounds of the wave, she knew where she was.

'Seems like I'm on a beach,' Ely thought. She knew a few beaches in the country, like the one where Adam and she were supposed to spend their honeymoon night at.

"Adam," Ely whispered. She couldn't understand the weird situation she was in. Her beloved husband couldn't remember her, while she was yearning for him all this time.

While Ely was thinking about her husband, she was distracted by the sudden change in terrain. Again, she felt the cold floor under her feet, like stepping on polished stones.

Her blindfold was removed, and then the guards pushed her inside a prison cell. The latch was secured with a strong metal chain.

"Let me out of here!" shouted Ely, as she was knocking the metal gate with her clenched fist. "I'm not a bad person!"

"How did you enter the King's bathing room?" the general asked her. "The palace is under the strict supervision of my men."

"I… I don't know…" Ely said, trembling. "Please, believe me, I won't do any harm!"

"You must be a very skilled assassin if you successfully sneaked in here," he said. "You will be under observation for as many days under the King's order. It will depend on your cooperation."

"But I didn't do anything-"

Ely's explanation was cut, as the general suddenly left. There were three guards who were stationed to observe her.

"Hey, mister." Ely tried talking to the one standing on the left side. "I know that this is weird, but it was an accident, okay?"

The guard was just staring straight, not looking at her. The two guards chose to ignore her, but the one standing on the right side took pity on her, so he struck up a conversation.

"You are a suspicious one. If you reach the trial under the ministers' guidance, that explanation will not work," explained the guard. "Besides, the King is not a forgiving one. He will not take pity on you."

"The King… What's his name?" Ely asked. The King looked a lot like his husband, Adam. She was hoping that they shared the same name and that he would still remember her.

"The King, he's-"

Suddenly, the King arrived. He was so furious that the guard was talking to his prisoner. "How dare you talk about me!" The King's deep, loud voice echoed in the dungeon.

"F...forgive me Your Highness!" the guard said as he bowed down to his knees.

"General Lum," the King said, gesturing to the general to come closer. "Imprison him with the thieves."

They knew how dangerous the thieves' prison was. It was only the day before that when two thieves had died because of violence towards each other. "Forgive me, Your Highness!!!" he pleaded as he was dragged away by his companions. "Please have mercy!"

"Why should I? Those who break my laws should be punished." the King said. He then approached Ely's cell. "As for you…"

"Adam, I'm innocent!" Ely pleaded, crying. The King was near her, so she quickly grabbed his robe and continued explaining. "I don't know why you can't remember me, but I won't harm you! I love you so much, Adam!"

The King was surprised and angry at the same time. He was surprised that this unidentified woman had the courage to touch him, and angry because she was calling him a different name.

The guards pointed their swords and spears towards Ely, making her release the King's robe. His Highness raised his right hand, gesturing them to lower their weapons.

Ely had already figured out that the person in front of her was not her husband. Compared to her gentle and kind husband, this person who they call King was ruthless.

The King continued talking to Ely. "I am not Adam. I am the King of this nation," he said, glaring at Ely. "You are disrespecting a King. What punishment should I give you? Do you want to be thrown to the thieves' prison, too?"

"No… Please…" Ely pleaded. "I'm innocent, King… uhh... what is your name?"

The King furrowed his eyebrows. It was his first time dealing with a person like her, not knowing what was allowed and not allowed in front of him. Seeing that her beauty was exquisite, and she acted weird, he assumed that she was a foreigner. Curiously, he asked, "Where are you from?"

"Skyscraper City," Ely answered.

"Hmm… I have never heard of that place," the King said. He was doubting that the woman might be lying. He looked at her, raising his eyebrows.

"I'm not lying," Ely insisted. After some seconds of contemplating, she realized that something bizarre might have happened to her, or perhaps this was all a dream. "I'm sorry, I was just shocked. Uhm, King… You looked like my dead husband, so I..." she explained, but because she was still emotional about the loss of her husband, tears started to fall from her eyes.

The King, who had no experience in women, didn't know what to do with her. A beautiful woman, who mysteriously appeared in his bath, had been crying in front of him, inside the musky prison dungeon. Everything about their situation was unusual.

"You should stop crying, woman," the King said. "I am going to put you to trial tomorrow, in front of the ministers. Your fate will depend on your honesty and our judgment."

He turned to General Lum, "Tell your men to guard her well."

"Yes, Your Highness," replied the general.

"We'll guard her, sir!" one guard enthusiastically said. He then looked at the crying Ely, saying, "You can trust me, she won't be going anywhere."

The King saw how the guard smirked and looked at his beautiful prisoner. He thought that the guard cannot be trusted. Just thinking about leaving her with the guard made him feel agitated for some reason.

He said, "I… I changed my mind. Take her to a vacant maid's room. She will be under room arrest and nobody can approach her without my permission."

He gave a cold look at the guard who had shown an interest in his prisoner.

"Remember this. She is mine."