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I slowly regained consciousness, and awoke to a dark and grimy looking room. My eyes widened as I realized what sort of room I was in. A prison cell. I stood up, cursing under my breath at the sudden sharp pain in my head, and wearily made my way to the iron bars separating me from the hallway. I spotted a guard standing at a post some cells down. He jolted at my sudden movement.

"Oi! Sit the fuck down!" he screamed, striding closer to my cell.

"I just wanted to know - what's going to happen to me?" I demanded, indifferent to the guard's anger.

"Well I imagine they'll hang you, or some such." the guard replied without a hint of remorse, "Shame such a fate might befall such a pretty face." he said, now a small smile tugging at his lips.

I shrank back into my cell, a look of disgust crossing my face. Would I really die here? Maurice, that stupid piece of filth. He'd brought me along for the sole purpose of leaving me behind if they got into a tight situation. He'd known that I would've done whatever it took to prove myself, even if it meant risking my own life. I wondered where the group was now. How many days had I been here? Was the group back in France by now? Alas, it was no use pondering over whether they would come back for me, I knew it well. It had been his plan all along to leave me behind.

I grimaced, brushing aside my blonde hair that had all come out of my once clean bun. I brushed the spot and dirt off of my uniform, and chuckled in spite of myself. What was I doing? Cleaning my self up for... What - My execution?

Suddenly, a loud clang emanated from a long way down the hall, followed by several pairs of footsteps. I heard the guard curse under his breath before greeting the people who'd just entered.

"You majesty!" there was a brief pause in which I could only assume the guard bowed to the apparent royalty standing just outside my cell. "What, might I ask, brings you here?"

"The girl, the soldier you had arrested last week. Where is she?" a man asked, obvious distaste in his voice.

"Oh! She's just over there! Two cells down! Here, allow me, your majesty!" the guard said. My heart stopped. Was I not the soldier girl who was arrested last week and now two cells down? What in God's name did a royal want with me?!

Suddenly, a face all too familiar to any inhabitant of Europe appeared around the corner, King George III.

"What the fuck..?" I muttered under my breath, but he caught it nonetheless.

"A young lady such as yourself should certainly not be using those words. Although, what am I to expect from a woman that calls herself a soldier?" he said, a taunting smile on his face.

I bit back my words, wanting to stay off of his bad side, after all, it was he that would determine whether or not I died. However, I scarcely expected that he might make an appearance in the prison itself. Although, it was my first time being arrested, so perhaps it happened often?

"So. It appears the talk I've heard of you does not fall short of reality." he said, nearing my cell.

"E-Excuse me?" I questioned, unsure of what he could mean by this.

"I've heard from many of the guards that your beauty exceeds that of any other woman. Of course, in your current state, you appear as nothing more than a sewer rat, starved half to death, but with the proper care, I expect the rumours of you might hold some truth."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, not bothering to stay formal.

"You insolent wench! How dare you address the King in such a presumptuous manner!" a man standing behind the King screamed.

"Now, now. Hold your temper." the King said, raising a hand to the man "I think I quite like you, Miss... Rosalie, is it?"

"Yes?" I said, somewhat unsure of what the King was talking about. As far as I knew, this was not how prisoners were often treated.

"Excellent. Well, I have come to investigate the female soldier I've heard so much about. I find my curiosity quite satisfied."

"Is that all? You came to see if I exist?" I questioned.

"Indeed I have, it isn't every day you hear of a woman as... Unique, as yourself." he smirked before turning to the guard, "Open this cell, I wish to speak with the woman without these accursed bars in my face."

"But, sir-" the guard started before being interrupted by the King,

"Open the cell, I said." the King repeated, his tone lowering.

"Right away, sir." the guard said as he shifted his gaze to the ground, unlocking the cell and gesturing for the King to enter.

"Now, leave us." the King said, surprising us all.

"Yer majesty, I don't think that to be a very good idea. She is dangerous, after all."

"I'm sure I can handle myself against a petite, starved woman. Thank you, and adieu."

The guard looked unsure for a moment, before nodding and leaving my cell, the rest of the King's entourage following.

"At last," he said, before closing the distance between us, causing me to back into a wall. Mere inches separated our faces, as he knelt down, levelling with me.

"Hey!" I shouted, trying and failing to push him away.

I felt a considerable amount of heat rise to my face, and I prayed it did not show. He smirked at my distressed and helpless state, which irritated me to no end, before grasping my wrists and pinning them above my head. I struggled to free myself, a task that, under normal circumstances, I might have accomplished. However, I found that in my starved and weakened state, I could not.

"You're mannerisms intrigue me." he smirked, again bringing his face close to mine.

"Fuck off." I spat.

"And still, I am intrigued." he laughed, "I don't think I'll have you hanged. No, you'll stay here for the time being, and I will decide your fate in due time."

"You're sparing me because I insulted and defied you?" I scoffed at the King's strange decision.

"Precisely." he answered, before bringing his lips to my ear and lowering his tone to a whisper, "I might even be persuaded to free you if you indulge me."

"Never. I'd sooner die." I retorted, glaring at him ruefully, my hazel eyes burning.

"You may yet get your wish, Rosalie." he said, his back to me as he left my cell.

My brows furrowed. The King's visit had left me with an odd feeling, a strange sensation in the pit of my stomach. It was indeed strange that he would conduct himself in such a manner, and make such a decision as to revoke my sentence, though I wasn't in any position to complain, I had, after all, been freed from the death penalty, for the time being.

The guard returned, locking the cell, before assuming his post a few cells down. I searched for any sort of way out, anything at all. The room, to my despair, I found to be vacant of anything but a few rocks and some straw. I could not escape, I would be forced to await the King's decision.

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