Chapter 1, Part 2

Part 2 of 2 of chapter 1

Two Weeks Earlier

From the first moment I could remember, I was a dreamer. As a young child, I dreamt of flying to the moon, sailing around the world, and exploring my native country of Morlear. As I got older, however, I dreamt only of one thing: being royalty. Carrying the Loury name meant only one thing in the capital of Cortmere, my home city, and that was royalty. Hundreds of years ago, Morlear had been divided into seventeen clans for the seventeen states by Malachy and Oriana Loury, the very first Monarchs of Morlear. The Battle of Iverwell Flat, however, shattered this monarchy and turned my country into a democracy. The seventeen clans that ruled the states faded away as Parker Elling, first President of Morlear, took reign of the country. Many of the clans could still be found today, through digging up old paperwork and investigation from any information found. Most clans today still resided in their former lands of reign, including my own.

I had been so captivated by my family history and name that I conducted hours, months, and even years of research into the past, from the seventeen clan names, to the thirty-three Loury Monarchs, even to royalty specifics and ways of life. I begged my parents to take me to Byrne Castle, the living quarters of the Loury Monarchs, but they always refused. Excuses such as “no money” or “no time” would always come up and I did my best to not be too disappointed. I still always ended up upset, however, and held onto those emotions for years. I felt as if my parents were keeping me from my past and I felt that it was unfair. And when the time came that they finally agreed to take me to Byrne, they were gone. On August 15, 2008, my beloved parents drove home early from work to pick me up for my most anticipated journey. But what started out as a few minutes of waiting turned into years and I never saw them again.

The disappearance of my parents hit me like a wall of cement and I dropped everything that had to do with my name, blaming it for the loss of my family. My research was shredded, deleted, and destroyed and I vowed to never look back. Having no other family, I jumped from foster home to foster home, wondering what I had done in life to be punished so cruelly. As time went on, though, my misery went numb and my loss turned into an empty void on my chest.

I was shaken from my thoughts when a hand grasped my shoulder tightly. I looked up to find my childhood friend, Ashley, whom I had invited to meet me at the library I currently sat in.

“Hi!” she declared cheerily and sat down in the dusty chair beside me. A librarian from around the corner shushed her, but Ashley only giggled. She never took anything too seriously.

“So, first thing’s first,” she said in a lower voice. “There’s a guy I want you to meet. His name is Lucas. Super cute. I think you guys would go well together.” I plainly stared at her before rolling my eyes and letting out a quiet groan. Since before I could remember, Ashley had been trying to set me up with someone. I didn’t understand why she thought I needed someone but I never argued, knowing she had my best interests at heart.

“I don’t know. I don’t know if I want to date right now,” I replied. She in turned mimicked my eye roll and groan and I smiled.

“Ugh, but you never do! Come on, Ken, live a little! You haven’t dated anyone for a few years now. You’re almost twenty-two, it’s time to settle down with someone,” she explained.

“Oh like how you’re ‘settled down’ with James?” I teased with a smile. She smiled and threw her blonde head back as she laughed.

“Hey, he’s one of a kind. Amazing…in all aspects,” she told me and winked. We both smiled and laughed again as the librarian once again shushed us, briefly pausing as we took in the moment.

“Really, though,” I finally said. “I really don’t know if I’m ready to see anyone.”

“At least think about it?” she stuck her lip out into a pout and her blue eyes glistened.

“Alright, I’ll think about it,” I sighed. “But no guarantees.” Regardless, she smiled, most likely already planning ways to set me up.

 

Later that night, I decided to clean the mess that was my apartment. Although my three-hundred square foot space was small, it was nice and I loved it. As a child, my family and I had lived in the city of Lochdell. The moment I turned eighteen, however, I packed up my things and marched out of the children’s home I lived in and moved to Wivern, a location I knew and didn’t want to admit that the royal Loury family used to reside. 

Cleaning through my drawers, I found something that caused me to stop in my tracks. Pieces of research from when I was a child that I must have forgotten to throw away. Without even realizing it, a few tears rolled down my cheeks, I wiped them quickly, reminiscing on nostalgic feelings of my parents. I shook my head quickly, trying to clear my head. Rather than throwing the research away, I did what I hadn’t done in a while: sat down and read through the pages I had once been so fascinated with.

The particular research I held in my hand was information about some of the clans that once helped rule Morlear. The names Carner, Abernethy, Montgomery, and Loury, the four most powerful clans, were sprawled all over the pages. The rivalry between clan Carner and clan Montgomery as well as the mysterious alliance created between clan Montgomery and the royal clan Loury were what interested me the most. Because of an unknown force, clans Carner and Montgomery had been rivals for a century. They so badly disliked each other, there was war between them in the early months of 1754. A year before that however, Loury mysteriously allied with the Montgomery clan, so when the time came for war, the Montgomery’s were able to hold onto their land.    

I smiled for a second, remembering how mesmerized I used to be by this all. Still today, it was still interesting and having read my papers brought up so many feelings of needing to know more. With the decision to think about doing more research once more, I placed my papers on the bookshelf next to my bed and peacefully fell asleep.

 

I woke the next morning to the blaring sound of my phone ringing. I turned over towards my bookshelf and checked the clock; 8:02 in the morning. I jumped out of bed, realizing I had less than an hour to be ready for work. My phone stopped ringing but started up again five seconds later. I jumped over to grab it from its charger.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Good morning, stranger!” Ashley exclaimed on the other side of the phone. “Have you thought at all about Lucas?” I frowned as I realized that I really hadn’t given any thought to that situation.

“No, actually. I’m sorry. I got busy last night,” I said honestly.

“That’s ok! But I was wondering if you’d like to go out with him tonight? You don’t have to if you don’t want to, please don’t feel pressured, but he asked late last night if you would maybe agree to a date in Byrne Park.” Byrne Park. The community garden center that resided only a mile from Byrne Castle. I thought hard for a second, thinking about what Ashley had said the day before as well as the events of that night. Was I ready for change? Could I possibly be in need of someone to share my life with?

“Alright,” I breathed finally. “Maybe it’s time I take a chance.” I heard a squeal on the other end of the line.

“Yes! Does 6:15 work?” she asked. I agreed that it did and she told me that he would meet me in the park at that time. We hung up and butterflies immediately filled my stomach at the realization of having a date later that night.

The rest of my day went by in a blur. I was nervous for my date tonight but told myself I needed to at least try to enjoy it, for Ashley’s sake. I got off from working at the library at five and went home quickly to change and get ready for my date. I contemplated calling to cancel but scolded myself for being so nervous.

As scared as I was, though, I arrived at the park three minutes early. I looked around, both looking for Lucas as well as a place to sit. Although Ashley had shown me pictures of Lucas, I didn’t quite remember what he looked like and I feared he might not show.

“Kenna?” someone said softly behind me. I turned to face a striking tall man. He was much more handsome in person; jet black hair, dark brown eyes, and a brooding smile. He towered over my average-sized frame. Wearing a blue button down shirt and fitting black jeans, he almost matched my own blue shirt and dark jeans. I pushed this coincidence to the side and smiled.

“Hello, yes. You must be Lucas,” I said happily. I stuck my hand out and Lucas gripped it firmly with a gorgeous half-smile.

“You look very beautiful,” he said coolly. “Are you hungry?”

Letting Lucas guide me, we walked and talked and ended up at a small café not too far from our meeting spot. We ordered coffee and continued to talk. He asked me questions of my family and took a large interest into my name of former royalty. He avoided questions about himself but as I had already been charmed by his sweet manner and smooth personality, it didn’t bother me. I wasn’t annoyed of his questions about my heritage either. I gladly answered him, feeling giddy that someone was taking an interest in the past like I had. He avoided questions of my immediate family, most likely a tip off by Ashley, and I appreciated the minor gesture. Time seemed to fly and before I knew it, it was already eleven at night.

“Let me walk you to your car,” Lucas told me and I accepted with a smile. As we left the shop and made our way back to the park, Lucas reached for my hand and I blushed. We walked slowly but eventually made it back to my car. He turned to face me.

“I had a great time with you tonight,” I told him and he grinned at me.

“I did, too. You’re a very interesting girl,” he told me and took a step closer to me. Surprise caught my breath but it quickly turned to joy as he leaned down and pressed his lips against mine. In that moment, I didn’t think I could be any happier. Finally having taken a chance seemed to have paid off well.

 

Two days later, Lucas called and asked if I was busy later that night. When I told him I was free, he invited me to Byrne Castle, as a tribute to my ancestry we both found so fascinating. Worried about the location of the date, I still agreed. He picked me up around 4:30 and off we went.

The closer we got to the castle, the more nervous I got. After my parents’ accident, I never tried to visit the castle again and never thought I would. But here I was, taking yet another chance. The drive was quiet yet sweet and Lucas even reached over to take my hand. We arrive to the castle quickly and I’m immediately overwhelmed with the size of the fortress. Big, beautiful grey-blue stone, four tall towers, and a massive green front lawn, the entire building was very well thirteen acres. I had seen that number on paper but it was nothing compared to actually seeing it in person. Everything about the castle: the walls, the lawn, even the furniture inside, were preserved as authentic as possible. Plaques regarding history lay on stands in almost every room and I was absolutely spellbound by my magnificent surroundings. We toured eight of the ten stories and almost all one-hundred rooms inside the castle. Three hours later, Lucas surprises me with a nervous question.

“Would you like to go back to my house?” he asked. I stare in slight surprise, knowing what he had meant. I was not offended by the offer; we were both having an amazing time with each other and had begun developing obvious feelings for each other. However, I had never had sex before and was extremely nervous even of the thought of it. Regardless, I looked at him with a smile, feeling almost pressured to go and said, “Yes, I would.”  I followed him out of the wonderful building and to his car.

The ride was once again quiet, but Lucas seemed to be more focus as he stared dead ahead on the road. The more we drove, the darker the sky grew and the more streets that I didn’t recognize.

“Um…are we almost there?” I asked. My head was spinning with confusion. My heart began to pound and I began to panic as Lucas answered with locking all the doors. My mind and emotions seem to completely shut, freezing in panic, as we continue to drive for another hour. The trees towered over us and engulfed us in darkness. Before I know it, Lucas stops the car in front of a small cabin that is falling apart. The wooden walls are crumbled and decayed and the roof is covered in moss and broken branches. Lucas hurries out of the car to my door and opens it. Before I can run, he grabs me and I scream.

“Help!” I cried. “Why are you doing this?” Lucas continues to ignore me as he drags me towards the cabin. As I continue to scream for help, Lucas punches me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me. I gasp for air as I feel like someone has closed a fist on my lungs. Still, I continue to fight. I try to wrestle out of Lucas’s grip but he grabs a handful of my hair and I cry out in pain, backing off from defending myself. He drags me into the cabin and inside I see a small bed that lay in the middle of the room. The inside of the room was just as rotted, if not worse, than the outside. The roof appeared to be caving in, debris littered the floor, and every piece of furniture inside the room was shredded and broken.

I continue to be dragged towards the bed and regardless of my fighting, Lucas throws me on the bed and ties my wrists and ankles down. I scream loudly again, so loud it hurts my own ear drums.
        “Shut up!” he growls and slaps me across the face before tying a gag in my mouth. Tears run down my face as I continue to not understand what is going on. Lucas is silent for a second before turning to me.

“I’m sorry for hitting you. I just couldn’t imagine losing you,” he told me and I stared in fear. “I love you Kenna. The moment I first saw you in person. I saw you, months ago, in the library. You were so beautiful. And I knew you had to be mine. I became friends with your closest friend and convinced her to set us up. I’ve been watching you, too. At work, at home, with friends…I just know you love me too. You just have to stay here to figure it out. It will be alright. We can make it.” I stared on in horror as he explained this to me. I didn’t understand what was happening, what I had gotten into. What had happened to my chance?

Lucas leans over me, covering my face with a white cloth. My head begins to go numb and my eyelids heavy. The last thing I hear before falling unconscious is Lucas saying, “We will be together forever.”

 

The days and hours melted together and I wasn’t sure how long I had been under capture and with every passing minute, my doubt for help grew stronger. I was covered in bruises and other injuries as Lucas invested in physical punishment if I didn’t cooperate. With every day, I could tell he was becoming more frustrated with me and I feared it would be too late soon. Very rarely was I given food or water; only enough to survive, and I could feel my body beginning to eat at itself. I was sure I had already lost at least ten pounds, and I had been fairly small to begin with.

At certain times in the day, Lucas would leave. Sometime he would during the day and other days at night, but every time he was gone for at least a few hours. Every time he would leave, I would tug at my wrist restraints until blood streamed down my arm but I couldn’t care less. I needed to get out of here and find someone, anyone, who could help. The more I tried, the more I wanted to give up with each passing failure. I felt hopeless. Until it finally happened.

“Good bye, Kenna. I will be back soon,” Lucas told me before slipping through the door and locking it. The moment the door shut, I let out a loud sigh of desperation and tugged once at the tight rope around my wrists. I expected nothing to happen just like every time before that, but this time was different. The rope gave up and my arms slammed down next to me. They ached from being held above me for so long and my wrists were bloodied and covered in bruises. I shakily removed the gag from my mouth and fumbled with the ties around my ankles. I hesitated only for a second before jumping up and heading for the door. It was locked and I quickly looked around for something to break the doorknob with. My eyes darted around before I set sight on an old candleholder on a table across the room. I ran to get it, ignoring the pain that radiated through my body, and returned to the door. I raised the object above my head and right as my arms came down, the door opened.

The candleholder struck Lucas in the chest and he stumbled back, creating enough space between himself and the door for me to get through. I started to run as fast as I could, body numb to the damage that it had endured. I cried for help but received no other response than Lucas running behind me.

“You can’t get away, love, I’ll make sure of that,” he said. I ran faster after feeling him reach for me. Although the night was dark, I saw a light and ran to it. But to my extreme disappointment, it was only an old car shining the reflection of the moon off its window.

“Out of options are we?” he teased. He steps towards me and I take a step back, pleading for him to let me go. I had begun to panic even more than before.

“You were with me two hundred and sixty three hours, Kenna Loury. And you’re not going anywhere this time,” he said, lunging, and with that, we fell.