Alora tugged her shift down, trying to make the gesture look less self-conscious. "I should have known it would be you," she growled, stalking toward the bars of the cell until the chain went taut. "It wasn't enough to get the kingdom legitimately by marriage, was it? You had to steal it all, to get it for yourself. Well, you won't get away with it! Tell me where my sister is!" If she could get close enough to him, she could wring the treacherous bastard's neck.
But he didn't look intimidated at all by her. She had to admit she couldn't really blame him. She was in a jail cell, chained to the wall, and wearing nothing but a burlap sack. The weave was open enough that he could probably get a clear look at her breasts, and by the way his eyes were running up and down her body, he seemed more than aware of that. Before he spoke, Tariel nodded to the guard, who unlocked the cell door, and withdrew beyond her sight. "My beloved fiancee is perfectly well," Tariel said, making a thin smile. "In a far more gilded cage than this. Of course, she doesn't need to stay that way..."
She didn't want to ask, but she hardly had a choice right now. She was a captive audience, literally speaking. More to the point, she owed it to the stepsister she was charged with defending to find out more about her situation. But he was going to tell her anyway, just by the way he was talking to her. Maybe she could try and get some more out of him by provoking him, "How dare you threaten your rightful queen! Â I won't let you hurt her, you worm! Take me to her, I command it!"
Tariel only laughed at her, which stung, of course. "As if you could stop me from doing anything, like this. But as it happens, you do have the power to keep your beloved step-sister from harm. If you comply, I'll let you see her. You simply need to do a terribly simple thing for me." Alora couldn't hold back a growl at the Prince's smug grin. But she couldn't say no to whatever he wanted, if there was even a chance that it would keep Lucette from harm. But she couldn't bring herself to even tell him to go on. She just nodded. That was enough to broaden his smile. "The famous beauty Princess Alora. But not even a real princess, you were given the title when your mother married the King, because he thought it would please her. And because you were raised away from court, nobody ever thought to teach you how to behave. Instead you chose to play at being a knight. But you're not even a real knight, are you? A real knight would have died before letting battle reach her charge...."
Alora pulled at the chain again, growling with fury. If she could just reach him... But if Tariel even noticed, he certainly didn't act like he cared. Instead, he continued his smug little speech. "There's only one thing left for someone who's failed at being a princess and a knight, isn't there? If you want to see your sister again, take off that dress."
