You took a deep breath as you slowly pushed the door open. You stepped in the Rubens room. Looking up, you saw George standing at the very end of the room, facing the window. Softly clearing your throat, you spoke, "George, you called...?"

He turned to face you. "(Y/n)." The corners of his lips tugged upwards.

"Is there a problem?" you asked, giving him a smile back. Sound left the room for a moment. You were secretly nervous, but you had no intention of showing any sign of weakness. "George...?"

He slowly walked towards the table, and took a seat in one of the chairs. "Please take a seat, (Y/n)."

Although you were hesitant, you still sat on the chair diagonally across him. You kept silent and waited for him to continue. Possibilities flooded your mind, your heart racing faster as they add up in number.

"Aurelia told me you had insisted on leaving... and that you even tried to bribed her into taking you out of castle premises."

You stared at him, stunned. So that's what it's about? You felt a slightly boiling anger rise up from within you. It was uncontainable, but you were willing to discuss the matter calmly if George was willing to listen. "That's not true," you answered, letting him know your side before you elaborated. "Her Grace, the Duchess was the one who insisted. She invited me, and told me that she could convince you."

George chuckled before you were even done, which caught you by surprise. "But you still went with it, didn't you?"

You sat still for a few seconds. It was true. You found the offer to be inviting. However, you still believed it wasn't your fault. "I did," you confidently stated, looking at George dead in the eyes. "Please do listen to me, Your Majesty, and don't interrupt. Her Grace had been so kind to offer to take me out of the castle, yes. Despite my reasoning with the fact that you forbid me from ever leaving, she had insisted and reassured me that nothing will happen. I believe that asking nicely for permission isn't a problem, no? Because I believed that's what she meant to do. And yes, George, I do want to leave. I You cannot cut off my connections with other people for your own sake."

"I can."

His simple statement awakened the anger you felt more and more, but you waited for what he had to say.

A sinister smile made its way onto his face. His teeth were made visible as it spread across his cheeks. "Of course, I can, my dearest (Y/n)..." he declared, slowly standing up and glooming over you.

Frightened, you scooted away from him.

He slowly made his way to the back of your chair, his fingers caressing the ears of the chair. The tips slowly tapped on the elaborate baroque scrolls that surrounded the red upholstery. "You may have forgotten why I took you here in the first place... and why you agreed..."

In a moment, all those memories came flooding back into your head. That's right. You were just someone who was forced into a prison because your captor had murdered one of your friends, and took the other one as a hostage. Your eyebrows knitted in the middle as you clenched your jaw. You immediately shot up your seat and spun around to face George.

"How many times are you going to do this?" you asked in a firm tone. You demanded an answer. "How many times are you going to take control over me and play with my emotions, and then say sorry when my emotions become an inconvenience for your hankering?"

For a moment, his eyes were flooded with rage, but he only pursed his lips and shook his head. He smiled, the creepy aura that surrounded him dispersing as he did so. "(Y/n), my love... you're making it look like I'm the bad guy over here. You're hurting me."

You sharply exhaled through your mouth. You couldn't believe how shallow his strategy was. "The audacity you have to turn the blame onto me is incredible, George," you stated. A sarcastic smile graced your irritated face. "Do you think I'm making all these accusations up? What about that time you decided to murder my best friend just to force me to go with you?!"

"Oh, come now, dear (Y/n), I already apologized for that, didn't I?" he chuckled and opened his arms. He walked to your side and threatened to close in on your form.

You only pushed back, glaring at him. "Exactly! You said sorry for it. You made it sound genuine and I was dumb enough to believe you! I thought you would change but you're deranged! You're mad—!" Cutting yourself off, you abruptly stopped and covered your mouth. You had just called the King George III crazy. Your feet felt frozen to the ground, but you still slowly pushed them to step back a couple of times to get away from the man before you just in case he lashed out.

Contrary to what you expected, he remained calm. He sighed, that stupid grin still plastered on his face. "I see you've stepped onto a boundary, love, and I also see that you've realized that..."

Your heart started to beat inside your rib cage as if it was threatening to get out. Your breathed heavily through your mouth, as you got ready for whatever he may have in store.

"However, I'm willing to forgive you, (Y/n). I'm willing to forget everything you just said. And yes, I will also have Aurelia pay for lying about my sweet, beautiful, little (Y/n)," he said, in the most gentle and dulcet voice, "if you would just accept what you currently have — if you will just accept your fate. You don't need those— friends of yours. Look around you."

You clicked your tongue at his words. It was all sugar-coated by his tone. If you hadn't known better, you would have fallen for his charms again.

He gently took your hand without giving you a chance to react, as he placed his other hand on your waist as if you were about to dance a waltz. He kept a firm grip on you, preventing you from escaping. You took a look good at him. Up close, he really did look like a prince charming. His blue eyes sparkled as the sun kept its gaze on them. An adorable smile was on his face, one that could enchant anyone in an instance. The slight folds on his skin merely added to his charm. His fingers gently brushed against your hand, and it felt like wrapping your hand around the finest silk.

He leaned down, closer to your face. "You have me, (Y/n)."

He started moving towards you, causing you to step back. The action repeated a few times before you realized that you were both dancing slowly. He swayed you from side to side as he took you spinning around the room.

"You have this humble king at your disposal.. You have this whole castle to yourself... You have servants that will serve you for the entirety of your life... You have guards that will protect and die for you... And finally," he stopped right beside the window and looked out at the city outside the palace walls, "everything you see from this window is yours."

It was such a beautiful day. The clouds were like cotton scattered around the blue sea above. And in the middle, was the golden sphere that shone on you both as you stared at the horizon. It generously spread its light along the whole country, revealing all the riches that the place had to offer.

A richly verdant yard covered what laid in front of you, decorated with trees and bushes galore. It had been a few days since winter bid farewell, and the scene started to grow more and more colorful and vibrant. Small buds started to grow on the bushes, while some had already bloomed, adding more life to the yard. Looking past the green paradise before you laid the county of Berkshire — a beautiful place, it was. Buildings of different heights bordered its busy streets. The washed-out paint on its walls only showcased its history, while its people continued to keep it alive at present time.

Your gaze shifted from the window to George. "Don't even try bribing me with such things. I have no interest in becoming the queen of this country, or owning its riches. It's beautiful, George, it really is. But I think I'd rather enjoy it from afar with those I care about. It's much more pleasant that way, wouldn't you agree?"

Contrary to what you were expecting, George merely pouted like a baby who somehow didn't get what he want. "You're so selfish, (Y/n)!" he whined as he tightened his hold on your waist.

You immediately panicked, and started pushing against him. You exerted all your effort to get away, pushing every part of him that could possibly let you go, in a way that wouldn't hurt him, of course. You tried prying at his his chest, his elbows, his wrists, and his fingers, but to no avail. You scoffed at him. "Let. Me. Go."

A grin spread across his cheeks. His grip remained unyielding, even placing his other hand on your left arm.

You became more frantic and started squirming around. You conserved even greater energy to try escaping in one turn. However, the moment you pushed through with your plan, he let go of you completely, and you only sent yourself towards a chair that faced away from you.

The king gracefully spun around and caught you by the waist. Pulling you back up, he whispered, "You should really be more careful, love."

Your hurled yourself away from his hand to face him, which made you take a few steps back as you almost lost your footing. You held onto the chair's back with one hand. "Please don't get any closer to me... Please... Don't— Don't talk to me again."

You had pushed the words out of your mouth in between deep breaths to calm your poor heart. You wanted to say a lot more, but something told you that if you do, you would face more consequences than your actions have already brought upon your way. You covered your mouth and let out a soft sob before storming out of the room, leaving George alone.

It had only been a few days since your abduction, but it already felt like the rope around your neck that was slowly tightening. There were two choices: you succumb into devotion and force yourself to live in the castle with George, or resist all his attempts to lock you inside. Either way, you figured the rope would not stop — not until you escape to somewhere he can't control, at least.

As you ran across the castle halls, you started feeling weak in the knees. You placed your hand on the walls to keep yourself from falling. You were already exhausted from attempting to escape the drawing room. And thinking about your escape made your head hurt more than it was supposed to. You had hit an impasse. There were no open doors laid down before you, and no people to offer you the keys. You were trapped.

You looked ahead. The face of pure joy graced your face as you saw someone you could trust. You almost sobbed there and then, but you regained your composure. Sarah made her way towards you, and you have never been so thankful to see her.

"Miss (L/n), what are you doing out here? I thought you were supposed to meet the king at the drawing room," she stated, seeming a little proud, but it all dropped down as soon as you almost fell onto the floor. She caught your arms at just the right moment.

"Are you ill, miss?" she continued, this time genuinely concerned. "What exactly happened at the drawing room that has gotten you exhausted? Come, let's get you back to your room."

The maid stood by your side and assisted you by your arm. You took up her help as you did not have the physical capacity to walk without any assistance at that very moment. Not to mention, you grew afraid of being alone in the castle. The very thought sent chills down your spine, and you held onto Sarah, fearful of what George might do if the two of you joined together in an empty room once again.

Sarah seemed to notice. "What? Tired of His Majesty already, Miss (L/n)?" she chuckled.

You didn't utter a word.

Her face grew serious as she looked ahead once more. "I apologize," she simply muttered as she placed her other hand on your arm. It wasn't much, but it surely made you feel a little safer as you both trod through the castle halls.

====[Author's Note]====

Psycho: Hello, everyone! I hope you're all doing well! Unfortunately, due to online classes, I might put this book on a hiatus. We are about to start our classes, and I cannot afford to lag behind. I do hope you all understand.

Additionally, I know that it might be too much, but please support my art on twitter if you can! My username is @BrieCheesh. Thank you all so much!