Ella: 

"Please," he sobbed, blood dripping down his nose, his cuts, and maybe if the poor man tried hard enough, his eyes. 

"Isn't this enough?" I croaked to my husband, who for once didn't give a damn about his appearance. From his smirk and his clothes soaked in blood, it didn't take a genius to see he was a sadist. 

"It's never enough," Raymond replied coldly, a leering smirk on his face as he picked up scalpel. Oh Stars- to their credit, even the guards looked a bit queasy. 

When Raymond pressed the blade to the poor man's shoulder, whose sobs and pleas turned into screams, I threw up. 

When I finished, I found my husband looking at me, "My father would consider that weak, you know." No remorse was evident in his voice, but his smile, for now, turned into a frown. Raymond reminded me of a displeased child.

I barled my teeth into a snarl, "Is it weak to have empathy and a heart?" I demanded, "Surely you have better things to do than to torture this man!" 

Raymond hummed thoughtfully, "Well since you're so desperate to have me in bed with you, I guess I'll make this quick." 

My eyes closed in fear- bed? Who said anything about that. I felt an urgency that couldn't be suppressed growing, as he said, "I do recall my promise to you from before." 

And when he smiled at me then, his clothes stained with so much blood, a fear I had never known seized me like I was a doll. 

I didn't allow myself to fully comprehend his words as I turned my attention to the lifeless bodies. Hundreds of cuts must've littered that poor guy, and it didn't help that Raymond dipped his blades in salt water every ten minutes. His expression was fixed into a scream, and I thought that for once, maybe death was better than living. 

Maybe I was in shock, because I didn't remember being escorted out of the dungeon, just a vague understanding that Raymond had walked me to my room across the palace grounds to my room, had a few words with my maids, then left, saying he was going to take a shower. He'd call for me, he said, when he was ready. 

My maids gently took off the jewelry and the heavy dress, and guided me into a steaming bath. Despite the fact that I had already taken one a few hours ago, of course. I said nothing as Lucy ran a rose scented soap bar over my care skin, and allowed Jayce's relaxing fingers scrub the shampoo into my scalp. Looking out of the window, I saw the beautiful gardens, and beyond that, the tall and jarring palace gates. 

"Will you still be my maids if I were to becoming Queen?" I asked out of the blue, my gaze still focused on the horizon. Jayce's fingers stilled and Lucy lost her grip on the soap bar, and scrambled to retrieve it from the soapy waters. 

"Of course, my Lady, if you want us, then certainly," Jayce said at last, beginning to rinse off the bubbles in my hair. 

Lucy curtsied and left to prepare my outfit- no doubt Raymond had put in a request. 

As Jayce washed away the shampoo, I began with the questions to pass off time, "So, has Raymond ever had any girlfriends?" 

The young girl hesitated before nodding, "A few." 

I arched an eyebrow, "How much exactly, is a few?" Raymond definitely did not seem like the type to date just a few, he was a player. 

"U-uh 23 official ones?" Jayce squeaked, her cheeks turning pink. 

"Including you," I said as an observation, not an accusation. Jayce's face flushed with embarrassment had ducked her head, before hastly finishing washing my hair, leaving the bathroom. 

As soon as the door clicked shut, I hoisted myself out of the tub, wrapping one of the many fluffy towels around my soaking body. A glance in the mirror showed sunken cheeks, hollow eyes, and that I had a lost a significant amount of weight since the ball. 

A lone tear fell from my eye as I thought of how happy I was with James... and how broken I was without him. 

"My lady, are you done in there?" Lucy voice floated from behind the door. 

I opened the bathroom door in silence, and allowed them to put me a dress that was pretty much covered nothing, and made me wonder why bother with the cloth. I noticed that it was pretty easy to tear the fabric as well. 

Then, Jayce began to work on my face, giving me an innocent look, and curling my hair ever the slightest. Lucy brought out subtle jewelry that must've cost a fortune. Emeralds, pearls, rubies, and sapphires decorated my wrists, neck, and hair. At last, Jayce slid a rose behind my ear (thankfully free from thorns) and went to open the door. 

"He's ready for you," Jayce said quietly, as she turned back. 

Lucy handed me a robe and I gratefully took it. Finally, I had a false sense of security. To my surprise, no one paid much attention to me, to them, I was just the High Prince's plaything, and nothing of value. But, I refused to think on it. 

His chambers was all the way across the hall and I walked across, silent in barefoot, as my accompanying guard lead the way, his boots loud against the marble floor. The man rapped on the door briskly, before stepping aside. The door swung open to reveal a Raymond void of blood and insanity, "Come in, my love." 

For the first time, I entered my husband's room. Thankfully, during our wedding night, an emergency called him away and I pretended to be dead asleep when he returned. To my surprise, it looked like a normal royal bedroom. 

A comfortable looking bed was in the middle, king sized and there was a few lava lamps scattered among the room. Stacks of books littered one side of the room, and a few weapons, here and there, scattered in plain sight. 

Then, there was a desk, close to the balcony doors, overflowing with papers. The door clicked shut behind me, and for once, I felt trapped, and the overwhelming urge to run away never felt more urgent. 

"You've been waiting for this, haven't you?" Raymond cooed, his breath tingling my ear, and his fingers finding his way to the knot of the robe.  

I had absolutely no idea where my newfound courage came from when I looked the High Prince in the eye and said, "No, I haven't."