It went on like that for the next few days. The twins would come visit you in the morning, feed you despite your protest, and then disappear for the rest of the day. You grew more worried since Micah never visited you.

On the fourth day of being confined to your bed, something inside you broke.

Aiden sat on the bed and was talking about something having to do with the masquerade and Connor was writing things down near the fireplace.

You leaned towards Aiden as much as you could and looked at him with wide eyes, "Aiden please! I can't take it anymore! I need to move, I need to do something. Get me out of these cuffs. I feel like I'm going to go crazy!"

Aiden looked at you shocked before cupping your cheek and smiling, "Dear. We've done this for your own good. I think you're slowly realizing as well that you care for us. That's all we wanted."

Connor came over and knelt down beside the bed, "(Y/n)? Is there something you want to say to us?"

"I love you." It just rolled off your tongue effortlessly at this point. Four days of constant asking lead to saying it without a second thought.

You watched as they both smiled.

"Well, I think we've trained her well." Connor said as he put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small key.

Your eyes lit up, "You're going to unlock me!"

Aiden laughed, "There's another face I enjoy. You look so happy dear."

You watched as Connor inserted the key into your right handcuff and turned it. Suddenly the weight you had felt around your wrist for days fell away and you moved your arm around. Connor smiled and did the same for your left one.

You looked down at your wrists, joy filling you. "I'm really happy..."

Aiden smiled and pulled you into him, "I love that look dear."

You wrapped your arms around him, smiling into his shirt.

"I'm here too, dear." Connor said as he crawled onto the bed and joined you two.

You sat like that for a few moments before you pulled away. "Thank you." You whispered.

Connor looked at you lovingly, "Of course dear."

You tentatively stood up and almost fell to the ground. Aiden caught you and held onto your arm, "Are you okay?"

"I guess not walking for a few days affects your legs." You sheepishly said as you balanced yourself against Aiden.

"Take your time." Connor said as he watched, waiting to catch you.

You slowly took a step, stopped for a moment, and then took another. You continued doing this until you could comfortably walk. Aiden hesitantly let you go and you made your way to the door.

"Where are you going to go?" Connor inquired, still watching you.

You frowned, "I'm not sure. I just want to go somewhere."

"We'll come with you." Aiden offered, coming up next to you.

You turned to them and smiled, "Alright!"

Connor got up and stood on your other side, "Lead the way my dear."

You nodded and walked down the hall, not really having a destination in mind. A familiar figure stood up ahead.

As you got closer their blue eyes widened, "(Y/n)!?"

You smiled and waved, "Hey Micah!"

"What happ-" Micah started but the twins pushed you past him.

"Go work on the assignment we gave you." Aiden snapped, cutting him off, and continued pushing you away from Micah.

"...(Y/n)?..." Micah asked and you waved happily before you turned a corner and he was cut off from your gaze.

"Where are we going?" You asked as the princes pushed you down another hallway.

"Far away from him." Connor growled as you walked down the main hall.

"Why?" You were confused.

"Dear. Say it, please." Aiden asked as he looked at you with worry.

"I love you." You smiled and relief flooded his eyes.

You all walked through the main entrance and you took a deep breath. Fresh air.

"Where are we going?" You repeated as they turned you to the right.

Connor glanced at you, "Wouldn't you like to see Reed?"

Your eyes lit up, "Yes! Oh thank you Connor!"

He smiled and you guys walked down the gravel path. The stable came into view and you saw Reed leaning against one of the pens.

"Reed!" You called out as the three of you walked towards him.

He smiled as he saw you, but it faded as he saw who you were with. "(Y/n)...Princes Connor and Aiden...What are you doing here?"

You hugged him, "The princes told me I could see you! Isn't that wonderful?"

He pulled away and looked up at you, "What was keeping you from seeing me before? Micah said-"

Connor pulled you back towards them, "Reed. Go bring out the horses. Aiden and I are going to go riding."

Reed raised his eyebrows, "Dressed like that?'

Connor's jaw tensed, "Yes Reed."

Reed furrowed his brow in confusion before something crossed his face, "Alright. (Y/n), can you help me grab a few things?"

You looked at Aiden questioningly and he nodded.

"Yup!" You said as you followed him inside the stable. He went to grab two blue and white saddles off of the rack before turning to you.

"(Y/n). Where do you need to hide?" He asked, concern evident in his voice.

You looked at him confused, "What do you mean?"

"Micah said you disappeared 6 days ago after you warned him to hide. He told me the truth. We weren't playing hide and seek. Then he found Florence's body. but he couldn't find you and the princes wouldn't let him near your room. They're obviously keeping you hostage."

You furrowed your brow, "Nothing's happened. Neither of you should worry. I think I just finally realized that the princes are pretty nice."

He grabbed your arms and looked up at you, "(Y/n). Your eyes are different. They look distant and not like you. The old you wouldn't be saying this. You're scaring me."

You laughed and bent down to his level, "Reed. I am fine. The princes helped me figure out everything. I like them. Stop worrying, silly!"

Horror crossed his face before he shook his head and handed a saddle to you. "Fine...just take this outside. Mei's in the pen and I'll bring out Aiden's horse." He disappeared into a stall and you happily walked outside.

"Was everything okay in there?" Aiden asked as you came out.

You smiled, "Yup!"

Behind you, Reed brought out a similar white horse, the saddle already on. He tied the horse to a post before taking the saddle from your hands. He whistled and Mei came running from the other side of the pen.

"Hello Kia." Aiden said as he petted the horse that Reed had brought out.

"Okay. Your horses are ready." Reed muttered as he started walking back towards the stable.

Connor patted Mei's nose before turning to you, "Do you want to ride?"

You smiled and shook your head, "No thank you! I'll wait for you guys to be done."

Connor smiled and nodded before getting up on the saddle.

"We'll be back dear." Aiden said as he mounted Kia. You waved as they rode off.

"(Y/n)." Reed called out and you turned to look at him. "Go see Micah. I think he'll be the one to talk sense into you."

"Sense? I have plenty of sense." You laughed.

He glanced at you, "Yeah...Go see Micah."

You wrinkled your nose, but went down the path.

~~~~

"Do you realize how worried I was?!" Micah yelled as he paced in front of you. You were sitting on a stool, watching him silently.

"Florence....Florence is gone." He choked on her name, "The only real mother I had is gone and then the person who I swore I'd protect disappears. Do you know what that does to your mind?!" He stopped and looked at you, his expression was one of pure worry. You noticed the dark circles under his eyes.

"Micah..." You trailed off.

"They wouldn't let me near your room. I thought they had killed you and were hiding the evidence I thought...I thought..." He tugged at his hair and fought to steady his breath.

You reached out a hand and touched his arm, "Micah. It's okay. I'm fine. See?" You smiled. "You shouldn't have worried. The princes took care of me."

He scoffed, "Those princes would never take care of you."

You frowned, "Oh but they did! They were so kind...feeding me and amusing me. It was very fun at some points."

Micah looked at you, "(Y/n). What's wrong with you?"

You gave him a confused look, "Reed asked the same thing. What's so wrong about loving the princes?"

Micah's face paled, "Love? Since when did you 'love' the princes?!"

You realized what you said and blushed, "W-well...after they explained that they were handcuffing me out of love I guess I started thinking about it." His eyes widened, "Oh but Micah! If you spend a few days with them you'll realize how lovely they really are!" You smiled at him.

Micah bent down in front of you, "Angel. What did they do to you? Handcuffs? Please...tell me."

You waved your hand dismissively, "It's none of your concern. It's over and done with. My perseverance shows that I really do love them."

He blinked a few times before pressing his lips firmly together. "(Y/n). Please forgive me." He said.

"Forgive you for wha-"

Micah's hand flew across your cheek and you looked at him shocked.

"What was that for?!" You yelled as you tenderly touched your cheek.

"You're talking nonsense! Those princes took everything from you. They killed Florence! They were going to kill me and Reed! What has gotten into you?!"

You stood up angrily, "They only did that because I was being mean to them! Stop making them seem like bad people! I was being a bad person, not them!"

"They are bad people!" He growled, "Listen to yourself! You have no right to love people who don't love you." He grabbed your arm and pulled you towards the mirror.

"Stop!" You yanked against his arm, "They love me just as much as I love them."

Micah threw down your arm and pointed at the mirror, "Then explain that."

You looked at the mirror and your eyes widened. Your cheeks were sunken in, your eyes looked hollow and it was obvious that you'd lost weight. Bruises lined your neck and collarbone, all varying shades of a sickly blue and purple. You glanced down at your wrists to see faint red rings where the cuffs had rubbed against your skin.

"What happened to me?" You breathed as you reached out to touch the mirror.

"Them." Micah stated angrily.

You looked at him, bewildered, "But they love me. Why would they do that?"

Micah growled in frustration, "They don't love you. Get that through your head!"

"But they made me say 'I love you' every day! They smiled when I said it!" You yelled, looking back at your reflection. It even seemed as if your (h/c) hair had become a more dull color.

"(Y/n)..." Micah trailed off as he went to touch your arm.

You backed away, "No! You're lying! Why else would they tie me up? Why else would they force me to say that every day. They love me Micah! They did it out of love. They wanted me to realize my true feelings."

Micah looked at you horrified, "(Y/n). Snap out of it! They're making you think this way! Angel...Come back!"

You wrinkled your nose, "Stop calling me that. I don't need a nickname from someone unimportant. The princes wouldn't like it."

He looked as if he'd been crushed and he sank to the floor, "Unimportant...? Am I unimportant..."? He looked up at you, "(Y/n)...Florence left me...please...please don't leave me too. You're my angel, my gift...my purpose...I don't understand why you're acting like this."

"I said I'm not your angel. Stop it. Only Aiden and Connor can give me nicknames." Something screamed in your head to stop, but you were only saying the truth.

Micah looked up at you, his blue eyes filled with tears, "(Y/n)...Don't...Don't do this to me. You can't. You don't love them." He choked out. "You want to leave this place. You want to help your family and your friends escape. You don't want to stay with the princes like a pet."

You scoffed and turned towards the door, "You dont know what I want. I think this is the last time I see you for a while Micah...Until the masquerade. Bye." Your footsteps echoed through the room and the door shut softly behind you.

Micah sat on the floor watching the door, hoping with everything he had that you would come back in and embrace him. You didn't. His fist hit the ground and he let loose a heart-shattering scream.