Page 4 of The Broken Queen

Let’s see, he hates me, he sees me as weak and wishes I was never born. All of the above?“He hates me.”

The man scoffed, “It’s the exact opposite. He wants you to be able to protect yourself. In order to do that, you have to go through this ‘harsh’ training.”

“Can I at least know your name if you’re going to beat me to a bloody pulp?”

The man chuckled and got up. “Kase.”

What a strange name. Guess it fits because he was equally strange.

“Alright princess, it’s time to get up. Show me what you got.”

I tried to move around and wiggle, but my body was so freaking sore. I just wanted to sleep.Was Kase right? Did Father actually care about me? Or was it all a show?

“How about instead, you tell Father that I give up. I’m done. Finished. I surrender.” I threw my hands in the air for a lasting effect.

“Now princess, that’s not how a future Queen is supposed to act. You can do this. Get up.”

Why did this guy have so much faith in me? Was it faith? Or was he up to something else?

With a groan, I rolled over and moved to my feet. “I think I liked you better when you were mean.”

Kase laughed, “Oh, I can be mean. I just think you’re too cute to beat up anymore. You’ve got spunk. Your parents have their hands full, that’s for damn sure.”

“If we’re going to continue having this conversation, how about replacing the lightbulb that went this morning?”

“Out of my control.” I’m sure it was in his control; he just chose not to.

My head was to the point of burning now, but I was done with this guy and needed to prove a point. I wanted him to leave me alone. Slowly, I put my hands up and curled them into fists.

He gave me a wicked grin like he was up to something. “Well then, it’s about time the princess gets what she deserves.”

Before I could blink, he came at me, fast as a lightning strike. My reflexes were slow, but I was able to duck and avoid him. My heart pounded as I moved to stand behind him. I took a breath, and jumped on his back. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and pulled as tight as I could. He struggled, clawing at my arms, gasping for air. After a few minutes of struggling and slamming my back against the wall, his knees fell to the ground. To my surprise, Kase was falling quicker than I thought he would. When I felt he was weak enough, I let go of him and vanished to the darkest part of the room. The pain was still there, but I was doing my best to remain quiet so he couldn’t find me.Maybe if I hid. he would give up and move on?His eyes wouldn’t be able to adjust like mine had, so I would be able to hide.

He coughed a couple of times and tried to catch his breath. A small part of me felt guilty at what I did to him, but the other parts of me that were lingering in pain felt a bit of victory at what I was able to accomplish. Kase was an adult, a big guy, and somehow I was able to “tackle” him to the ground.

Cough.”Well played, Princess.”Cough.“Looks like you’re a fighter.”Did I catch him off guard? Was he proud of how I stood up to him or angry that a little kid got the best of him? I wish I could’ve read his mind.With those last few words, he got up and walked out of the room. He slammed the door shut with a click to the lock, and I was completely encased in darkness again.

My body sagged in relief, not knowing when he or my next challenge would come. I slid down to the floor and let my head rest against the cool concrete. The training Father wanted me to endure would be hard, but maybe I could survive what he had planned. A chill seeped over me as my eyes closed, but a small smile spread across my face.Bring it on.

Day Four of Training

I woke up with a start when ice cold water was poured on top of me. I blinked and tried to move, but my body was tied to a chair and my hands were bound behind my back.How did I get into this chair? Did I sleep through it?Goosebumps traveled across my arms in rapid speed when I was greeted by a man that I now hated with every fiber of my being.

“Hello, daughter.” He smiled as he leaned over me, twirling a small pocket knife in his hands.

I stiffened. “What...what are you going to do with that?”

He stood to his full height, and a mask washed over his face. “This is another part of your training. You’ve seemed to have mastered the art of not eating, as well as putting down one of my best men.” He gave me a pointed look before he continued, “And now you have to master the next task. Torture.”

My eyes grew wide, and my body shook. “No, please, I promise I’ll be good! Please don’t hurt me anymore, Daddy!”Why, why was he doing this to me?

He stopped spinning the knife and it almost looked like he was regretful for what he was about to do, but it quickly vanished and the monster was back. Before I could blink, he sliced the knife across my right cheekbone. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I refused to scream no matter how much it hurt.

I bit down on my lip when there was another slice across my shoulder blade. Blood trickled down to my lips from the wound on my face as he put down the small pocket knife and grabbed a jagged dagger. The anticipation of what would happen next was unbearable. He used the dagger to carve a letter into my stomach, much like a branding to farm animals but different. I pressed my lips together to keep a scream from coming out, but once he had put the dagger away and my head was pushed forward, my lips couldn’t stay closed. A sharp, painful sting hit the back of my neck and it was all over. I didn’t care to showFather how strong I could be. The screams came out of my mouth, and tears fell down my face in waves.That freaking hurt.

My head was shoved back to the chair, and Father’s sinister smile greeted me. He dropped the dagger on the table and left the room without an apology for the pain he had caused.He just didn’t care. Did Mother know the man she married was the devil himself?

The guard, John, came up to me and placed something on my stomach to stop the bleeding and tended to my wounds. His green eyes showed pity and regret, but I was too tired to care what he thought.

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