“JC?” a soft voice called from outside his door. He recognized the voice immediately and shot up right looking expectantly at the still closed door. He heard the lock being flipped and blond hair peeked around the door. Then she appeared fully quickly stepping inside and closing the door behind her.

“Ooh my God JC!” she exclaimed when she saw the state he was in. He was chained to the prison wall, his clothes ripped and blood stained on his face.

“Are you ok?” she asked while she fell to her knees in front of him. It had been over a week since the guards hauled him out of her room and this had been the first opportunity she’d gotten to go see him.

“What do you think?” he asked bitterly. He felt betrayed, deceived and she just thought she could waltz in here and that he would forgive her?

“I’m so sorry” she said sympathetically while cupping his cheek in her hand. He jerked away from her touch and jumped to his feet walking away from her as far as his bounds allowed him.

“JC please,” she whispered blinking back the tears. He turned to face her.

“I’m sorry but I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t say I love you although I wanted to. You know I couldn’t, that would have been…” she trialed off.

“The truth?” he cut in. She sighed letting her hands fall into her lap.

“What about me? You just left me to my faith?!” he asked angrily when she didn’t reply.

“I’m sorry… you… I couldn’t tell them the truth”

“Fine!” he said angrily.

“So what will happen to me? To you?” he asked, after a few moments of silence, softening his voice at his second question.

“You um probably will be sentence to live the rest of your life in prison…” JC swallowed hard and she paused before she continued.

“And I um” she dropped her gaze to the floor embarrassed.

“I’ll marry Prince William as planned” tears pricked at the back of her eyes and she started to cry all of a sudden. She couldn’t hold back any longer. JC’s features softened and he fell to his knees in front of her. He loved her; he took her in his arms while she cried. After several minutes she pulled herself together, determined to do what she came for. She pulled back, grabbed the key hidden in her shoe and took one of JC’s wrists. She unlocked the chains quickly.

“JC I love you and I’m not going to let you sit in here for the rest of your life. These are the keys to the gate. That’s all you have to do. I drugged the guards so it will be easy for you to escape. A horse will be waiting for you at the end of…”

“Sam what are you talking about?” he silenced her.

“You’re escape”

“What about you?”

“I’ll stay here” she said looking away from him.

“No! I’m not going to leave you behind” he protested.

“You don’t have a choice!” she said desperately.

“I’m not leaving you behind!” he said firmly.

“But you will die!”

“I rather die than live without you” he stated before sitting down again on the cold floor.

“JC! Please don’t do this. You have to get out of here! My father will punish you severely and I won’t be able to help you!”

“I don’t care, I’m not leaving you here” he said stubbornly.

“JC… please” she pleaded.

“Sam it’s pretty simple, you either tell you father I didn’t rape you or… you say nothing and I’ll stay in here, it’s your choice”

He made it sound so simple. Didn’t he understand or didn’t he WANT to understand?

“But it shouldn’t be! It’s your life”

“What kind of life do I still have? It’s your choice, I don’t have anything to loose. Being a slave for the rest of my life isn’t really something to look forward to” Sam saw it was hopeless to try to change JC’s mind since he was convinced of what he said. It was her choice, how could he say that? She was powerless, she couldn’t choose. She didn’t have a choice! He might think she had a choice but she didn’t.

She left his cell defeated. She’d given him an opportunity to escape but he had refused to take it. He had made up his mind and she couldn’t do anything else then except it, it was the only thing he had left. The freedom of choosing how he wanted to live and he choose that he didn’t want to live without her. Glancing back once more with an apologetic look in her eyes before she closed the door behind her, she didn’t bother to lock it.

“Wake up slave!” JC heard someone say but he couldn’t place it, it seemed far away and he turned away from the voice.

“I said wake up!” the guard hissed kicking him in the side and JC groaned as he slowly opened his eyes.

“What?” he asked bluntly regretting it immediately when he felt the foot, who kicked him in the side before, hit him harder this time.

“It’s your big day” the guard said mock evident in his voice as he settled the tray with foot in front of him on the floor.

“Here we made you a special breakfast” he said sarcastically while JC eyed the food. Great! Water and old bread, the same breakfast for over a month. Actually the food got bored after the first day but at least they gave him something. He probably should be grateful for it; actually he could care less, he was too listless to care.

“Thanks” he mumbled giving the man a fake smile.

“Hurry up! The trial is in half an hour” the guard instructed and JC reluctantly began eating his breakfast although he had trouble swallowing the food. Not because it was old this time but because of the prospect of the trial.

“Alright time” the guard said as he entered the cell, approaching JC with chains in his hands. He pulled JC up to his feet and unlocked the chains that kept JC bound to the wall then replaced those with the chains in his hands. The guard locked them behind his back to the shackles around his wrists.

Guided by several guards JC climbed the stairs to the palace, entering the court room where the King was waiting for their arrival, with Sam sitting beside him. JC took a deep breath once his eyes caught her trying to look at her without anyone noticing. When the King looked in his direction he quickly lowered his eyes, the last thing he needed right now was get caught by the King when he was staring at his daughter.

There was a big open space in the middle of the court room. Two shackles, similar to the ones on his wrists, were attached to the floor. He got shoved to his knees; his feet were placed in the shackles and then snapped shut. His hands were still bound behind his back and with his feet bound to the floor he couldn’t move an inch. The shackles attached to the floor where there to prevent the prisoners from attacking the King. They were completely immobile like this and it was particularly for the safety of the King and in this case his daughter, Sam, as well.

JC carefully looked around. In front of him on a raised platform were the King and his daughter. He was completely surrounded by guards. He felt uncomfortable, embarrassed and extremely exposed sitting there in the middle of the room with every set of eyes staring at him.

“Let the trial begin” the King announced.

“JC Chasez, you’ve been accused of rape. What do you plea?”

“Not guilty, your highness” and that set of a numerous of questions, most of them he couldn’t answer, giving the King the evidence he needed to make JC look guilty. He didn’t need to prove him being guilty. The King wanted to show his people that he was a fair man, that he wouldn’t convict someone without a trial. But the trial was useless, the King already made his promise to JC to convict him and the King had every intention of keeping his promise. Before he said what the verdict was he gave JC a chance to speak, to confess by saying,

“Do you have anything to say?”

“Yes, please. I um… I want to say that I’m sorry,” the King smiled satisfied thinking he’d gotten a confession although he didn’t really need one to convict him.

“I’m sorry Sam” he continued eyeing Sam.

“I’m sorry for saying this, please forgive me” JC said glancing at her and Sam knew what he was about to do. What did he have to loose? He had to say it, it was his only chance, he’d already lost Sam so what else was there to live for? He’d be locked up for the rest of his life so he took the chance. Before she had a chance to stop him he said,

“I love her, I love your daughter your highness. I’d never do anything to hurt her and I didn’t rape her. I swear to you that I wasn’t trying to either… I love you Sam” JC ended his explanation leaving every people in the room shocked except for Sam.

She averted her eyes for a moment, choking back a sob before she stood up out of her chair and rushed over to JC’s bound form. She fell to her knees in front of him and kissed him on the lips. She admired his courage for saying this and she couldn’t pretend any longer. She couldn’t pretend he was some sort of animal that had tried to rape her while he was the best thing that had ever happened to her. JC leaned against her and she pulled him closer. It didn’t last long though JC felt a knife against his throat and he stayed completely still as Sam was being pulled away from him.

“Let her go!” the King commanded.

“Sam is it true?” the King asked as the guards released her. She nodded,

“Yes father. I’m sorry but I love him. He wasn’t trying to rape me I… I wanted it”

“Leave us!” the King commanded.

“And not a word to anyone about this” he added before he dismissed the guards in the room with a wave of his hand. JC waited impatiently, the rest of his life, his faith and Sam’s would be decided now. Once everyone shuffled out of the room the King stood up. He slowly walked towards JC; Sam looked fearfully as her father approached the man she loved.

“Dad?” she asked, the King didn’t respond but kept walking towards JC. JC tensed up as the footsteps halted in front of him.

“So you love my daughter?” the harshness was out of his voice when he asked the question.

“Yes, your majesty I do” JC replied keeping his eyes to the floor.

“Look at me” the King instructed. JC slowly complied with the order doubting if he could break one rule to follow another. JC gazed up at the figure in front of him. JC’s eyes read sincere, he was sincere, the King saw it.

“How long has this been going on?” he asked his daughter.

“Um… a while” she answered lowering her eyes, ashamed of lying and deceiving her father.

“What?!” he asked shocked and JC as well as Sam cringed, this couldn’t be good.

“Sam, you know the rules about slaves… and what about Prince William?” he said strictly.

“I’m sorry father, it just happened and…. is there a possibility I won’t have to marry him?”

“Absolutely not! All the arrangements have been settled, everything is ready for the wedding, and it’s only three weeks from now!”

“Please father, I’m too young to marry some stranger…” she tried but her father only got angrier.

“Sam!” her father interrupted, his tone warningful.

“You will marry Prince William and that’s final! You can’t marry JC, you can’t even see him. I forbid you to see him and if I ever see you two together I’ll have him killed, you understand?” Sam started to cry and JC’s eyes bulged out at the new information.

“Daddy! NO! PLEASE NO!” Sam screamed, begging her father to let JC go, to let them be happy together, but her father wasn’t going to consider it. He was too angry that she lied to him and jeopardized her marriage with Prince William.

“Sam, stop this right now!” her father warned and Sam shuddered at the tone in his voice. She’d never seen her father this angry and immediately stopped screaming.

“Can I at least say goodbye?” she asked in almost a whisper, defeated her father didn’t budge. He nodded shortly in confirmation before he turned towards his chair on the raised platform. Sam knelt in front of JC and lifted his head up to look him in the eyes.

“I’m sorry JC” she said sobbing, her tears coming back when she realized this would be the last time she was able to see and touch JC.

“No, shh,” JC interrupted.

“I’m sorry Sam, I shouldn’t have said it. I love you” he continued swallowing hard, trying to get rid of the huge lump that had formed in his throat. Sam put her arms around him and whispered in his ear,

“I love you too, I’ll always love you and no one else. Please forgive me for marrying William, I’ll never love him I promise” she stated resting her head on his shoulder.

“I forgive you, I understand. I want you to be happy Sam” he replied, through his tears before he pulled away slightly to look into her eyes once again.

“Just don’t forget about me alright” he said with a small smile.

“Never” she said before pressing their lips together. They kissed and held onto each other for as long as possible, till the King yelled,

“Guards!” several guards entered the room not knowing what they would find, they saw two figures desperately holding each other on the floor. One of them, the prisoner, still bound to the floor while the other one was quietly sobbing into his shoulder. The King sat on his thrown gesturing for the head-guard to approach him and so he did.

“Yes your Majesty?” the guard questioned while he leaned in closer.

“Take him away, give him extra work and keep him away from the palace,” the King instructed the guard. “Tell Mr. Norton I’ll give him further instructions later”

“Yes your majesty” the guard bowed obeying the command. He nodded to several of his men. Two of them approached the future queen, gently grasping her by her arms and pulled her up, away from JC. She didn’t let him go that easily and the guards struggled slightly against a protesting princess who was desperately trying to hold onto the man she loved.

“Your highness,” one of them addressed her, urging her to let go. Reluctantly she let him go and JC followed her with his eyes while two other guards unlocked the shackles around his feet and removed the chains in between the shackles around his wrists. However the shackles on his wrists remained locked, JC was still a slave, he was free of the charges of rape but he remained a slave, property of the King.

The guards pulled JC up from the floor and practically dragged him with them to the door; JC’s eyes never leaving Sam’s and he reluctantly disappeared through the door. Sam made an attempt to run after him but the King stopped her, firmly grasping her arm while tears ran down her cheeks. She tore away from his grip and fled away. Heading outside, through her secret passage and down to the lake where she fell in love with JC.