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She cringed at the sound of her raspy voice, just now she felt how dry her throat and lips were, desperate for some drops of water. Where was she? Her gaze wandered through the room, wooden flooring and walls surrounded her, it appeared as if she had indeed found her way into the cabin, but against her free will.

“Hello?” Once again she called out into the dark, but nobody replied, keeping her chained to a chair in a strange cabin. The past few hours, perhaps even days, felt like a fever dream, and where was Jasper?

Had he been successful in shaking the guards off? Was he still searching for her?

Fear simmered inside of her, what if he was hurt? Oh god, he would probably never find his way back to her, by now the guards must have dragged him back to the castle, killing the fugitive for helping the criminal escape. He must pay for her sins - (y/n)’s heart clenched at the thought, it had been her fault. Her own, stupid fault.

Her fear turned into anger, red, burning anger that now flooded through her body. Unnoticed by her racing mind, she balled her hands into fists, vocal cords shaking from the pressure she put on them, screaming her pain right out of her system. The shrill sound overpowered the nearing footsteps, distracting her, not able to focus on whoever was about to enter the cabin.

“Good morning, sweetheart. We were waiting for you to wake up.” It was the guard from the forest, speaking to her with a smirk widening on his lips. (Y/n) couldn’t make out his features, he was wearing a mask, hiding his identity from her. The moonlight was streaming into the cabin, finally allowing her burning eyes to rest for a couple of minutes, “Where is he? Where is Jasper?”

The guard didn’t spare her words a thought, his boots met the wooden ground, silver armour clashing together with every step he took, carrying him closer to the fuming woman. Her anger radiated off her, filling every inch of the wooden walls, creeping into them like a parasite, biting its way straight through the wood.

“Now, don’t you worry about that. Let me ask you something,” his gloved hand met her jaw, grasping her cheeks tightly, leaving fingerprints behind, “Where is your daughter?”

(Y/n) didn’t reply, she stared at him with wide eyes, wondering why in God’s name he was asking about her daughter, “Sweet Wren, I bet she’s missing her mommy. Sweet, clueless Wren.” Before he could speak another word she spat at him, saliva meeting his cheeks, running down his skin.

For a moment or two silence engulfed them, leaving her shivering in fright and anger. The guard threw his head back, laughter rumbled through him before he slapped her across the face, head thrown to the side, “He warned me, told me that you’re a brat. But fuck, sweetheart, don’t you ever do this again.”

He? She wasn’t sure who he was talking about, perhaps her husband? Shudders ran down her spine as another gust of wind blew through the cabin, dancing along her tied together limbs. Her body was tired, drained from running through the forest, from being held prisoner in the castle and now in this god forsaken cabin.

“What do you want from me?” Exhaustion dripped from her words, she was fighting against her sleep slowly overtaking her body, no longer able to properly pronounce her words. Once again his palm met her cheek, ripping her right out of her drowsy state, “Tell me where your daughter is.”

If pain would buzz through her body, (y/n) would scream at him, threatening him, but she couldn’t, couldn’t even reply. Her heart called out to Jasper, hoping that he would wake her from this nightmare. With a sigh slipping from his lips the guard stepped away from her, having to realize that she wouldn’t speak to him, at least not in her current state.

Almost soundlessly he left the cabin, speaking mumbled words to whoever was standing outside, waiting for him to return. Silence followed the words, allowing her to shut her eyes, to collect her thoughts and to take a deep breath. (Y/n) couldn’t come up with any explanations as to why they were looking for her daughter, wondering what her husband had told them about the small child.

Minutes seemed to fade by and the guard didn’t return, leaving her in peace and quietness - as if he was pitying her. Sleep slowly overtook her system, running up her limbs, straight to her pulsing head, tucking her in with its warm embrace. She needed a few hours to recharge, to come up with any ideas on how to make it out of her new prison.

But sleep shouldn’t cozy her along just yet, (y/n) jumped in her chair as the door fell open, another man’s frame filled the doorway, staring at her with golden eyes, “Jas’?”

Her heart skipped a beat, shaking her awake as she began to struggle in her chair, wanting to reach for him, to feel his body pressed against hers. Jasper looked rough, probably just as rough as she did, his hair was a mess, like his clothes, dirty and muddy, desperately needing a wash, “Hello, darlin’.”

All pain seemed to let go of her as Jasper crouched in front of her, hands placed on her thighs, thumb stroking along her skin, “We need to hurry, they will be back soon.” She tried to reason with him, waiting for him to untie her, to free her from the ropes that were burning into her skin, about to leave bloody wounds that would most likely lead to an infection.

“Sh, I got you, I’m here now.” Their eyes met, sharing longing gazes, but Jasper didn’t move, kept his position. “Untie me, please.” (Y/n) begged him, moving around on the chair, trying to loosen the rope. Tears burned in her eyes, “Jasper, untie me.”

But he didn’t. Jasper kept quiet, combing his fingers through her tangled hair, wanting for her breathing to calm down, “We should wait here, I heard them leaving, they were called back to the castle. You need to rest, darlin’.” Finally he began to work on the rope, kissing her lips. A sob threatened to slip from her lips, freed hands reaching for his shoulders, not wanting to let go of the one she clung to.

(Y/n) didn’t see the pained expression that tugged on his features, didn’t notice that he wasn’t grasping her as tightly as she thought he would. Finally she could give into her exhaustion, falling into a deep slumber. Jasper let go of her, stepping away from her with his eyes flickering towards the door.

Jasper’s POV

He should leave, take off running to forget about his dark thoughts, the need to rip whoever was coming too close to him to shreds. His eyes stayed hooked onto her features, she was silently sleeping, not making a sound while he fought against his mind trying to give into his nightmares.

It didn’t take long for his headache to snap in, buzzing through his head with its tight grasp. Jasper’s teeth pierced through his lip, keeping his groans from rumbling through him. Panic arose in his system, settling in his bones with its poisonous touch.

“Don’t, please don’t,” Ella’s voice hallowed through the night, eyes wide as the man rammed his knife into her chest. Jasper couldn’t do anything but stare, watching young Ella tumble to the ground with blood seeping out of her chest, “Ella!”

His voice sounded strange, as if somebody else had called her name, the sweet name of the sister he had watched grow up from the second she had been born.

For a second his head snapped towards the woman that was standing a few feet away from him, frozen just like he was, not daring to look at the heaving girl. Finally his instincts kicked in, forcing him to run towards her, tumbling to the floor right next to her. Tears ran down Jasper’s cheeks, dripping onto her hair, while his arms stayed wrapped around her bloody body.