Chapter 0 - Prologue

The first thing Jayna Blake felt when she opened her eyes was something cool weighing down her right foot.

Curiously, she lifted it slightly, only to discover that it was bound by a heavy metal ball. She moved her legs and heard the clanking sound of chains clattering against each other.

She had no idea where she was.

The sheets she was lying on smelled like they had been freshly washed. The thick curtains on the other side of the room only allowed faint rays of sunlight to seep through. The room seemed both familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time, giving Jayna a strange sense of déjà vu.

“Jay, this is the room I’ve prepared for you,” she remembered him saying.

Jayna chuckled, recalling the expression he had made while showing her this room. His eyes were misty and his face was like that of a puppy’s, waiting to be praised.

I think I understand the situation, more or less, she thought to herself.

In an attempt to find out what time it was, she painstakingly made her way toward the window, amidst the clinking and clattering of her restraints. It had to be around midday, judging from the bright sunshine that seeped in despite the thick curtains. She could not confirm her theory, however, because of the short chain tugging her backward. Although there was only a little distance left to cover, she found herself retracing her steps back to the bed.

Inwardly lamenting how uncomfortable she was, she climbed onto the bed. As she did so she came to a sudden realization. The shackles were loose around her skinny ankles. Since they had been wrapped in multiple layers of cloth to prevent bruises, it should be possible to widen her shackles even further.

I think I can manage to break free if I do it right, Jayna thought to herself. Sure enough, the shackles came off easily after only a few attempts to wriggle her feet out.

“Success!” she cried in excitement. She felt as if she were the main performer of a great escape stunt in a magic show.

She put her feet on the ground and made fast strides toward the window again. Jayna scowled at the strong sunlight that poured in as she pulled the curtain aside. A moment later, she decided to try her luck at the window. She hesitated, thinking that no matter how careless her captors were, no way could they have been sloppy enough to leave the window unbarred.

To her astonishment, the window gave in at the slightest push and swung open. A cool breeze swept in from outside and ruffled through her light-pink hair.

Jayna leaned over the edge of the window, basking in the calming scent emanating from the lush green stretch of forest ahead. She stood there, enjoying the pleasant feeling until a certain noise interrupted her.  

The door slid open with a loud creak and a voice called, “Jayna!”

“Oh, Theo. How—” As she was raising her hand to wave at the familiar intruder, she suddenly lost her balance. Her body leaned dangerously out of the window frame and, like a drowning person, her arms flailed in a vain attempt to regain her balance. She screamed, scolding herself for not having cultivated some muscle strength through exercise.

Jayna shut her eyes tightly as she reasoned with the voice inside her head.

This room is only three stories high. I wouldn’t die even if I fell down, right? But wouldn’t I fall on my head at this rate? If that were to happen, no way would I be able to survive it. I don’t want to die! 

A strong arm wrapped around her back, pulling her away from imminent danger. Theo’s arm steadily pulled her back to safety. He couldn’t hide his shock as he stared at her with an ashen face.

“Thank you, Theo,” Jayna said, smiling.

To her disappointment, Theo turned away instead of answering. He dragged her along and threw her onto the bed. Rather, he only made a show of roughly shoving her, when in fact, he was being very gentle as he placed her on the mattress. He was, no doubt, afraid of hurting her. Janya thought he was being cute, and raised her hand to pat his head. It was no different from how she usually behaved, but Theo dodged her touch.

 “Theo?”

Theo wordlessly collected the chains off the floor without sparing her a look before saying, “I was too careless.”

“Hm? About what?” No sooner had she finished asking her question than her ankles were captured inside the shackles again. This time, they held her ankles more tightly and securely than before.

Theo raised his head, his silver eyes glistening like luminous beads of glass. “I did expect you to try and escape.”

“No, Theo, I-” she protested but was interrupted mid-sentence.

“I tried to respect your nature but I just couldn’t continue to watch you put others’ safety before your own.”

Something about that didn’t sound right. He must have misunderstood her intentions. She deeply cared about her body and feared getting hurt more than anything else.

“It’s okay if you hate me,” he said ominously.

Hold up.

“Your hatred is a small price to pay in exchange for not losing you.”

“Theo, why don’t you calm down first and we can calmly talk about it?”

“No, I don’t want to talk anymore.”

Why wouldn’t he listen to her?

“Jayna Blake, if you try to escape again, I won’t let you off. You will never be able to get out of here.” Theo’s expression was frigid. His reddened ears, however, betrayed him, and Janya’s lips twitched at the sight.

“I won’t lose you to anyone ever again,” he proclaimed, staring at Jayna with teary eyes. 

With that said, he picked himself up and exited the room. Only then did Jayna allow herself to burst into laughter.

He’s so cute. It’s driving me crazy. Look at that satisfied expression of his, she thought as she lay flat on the bed.

Her dream had finally come true. Her dream of creating the perfect happy ending. Or rather, the perfect bad ending.