The Truth About Cinder

by Alta Hensley

  "Do not look so surprised. The prince was planning on turning Casen into a secondary harem until the war with Jaden hit. So there are some necessary harem training tools here. I believe an exam should have been performed on every harem girl upon entering Casen, but for now we will start with Elbi."

  Elbi quickly did as she was asked. The harem girl training in her was still very clear.

  Cinder went and stood next to the table as directed by Mistress Tula's hand gesture.

  Mistress Tula gloved up and spread Elbi’s legs even more. "Scoot your bottom to the edge."

  Elbi did as she asked, glanced at Cinder and then closed her eyes. Her face was bright red, and she grimaced as the first implement went inside her. Cinder didn't want to look at the metal tools going into Elbi’s vagina. They scared her, and since she was probably next, she really didn't want to know what was going to go inside her own body. Some things were better not known.

  After a few moments, Mistress Tula broke the silence. "You are not a virgin anymore! And I know everyone the prince has ever been with sexually, and neither of you are on that list!"

  Elbi sat up instantly, looking stunned at the accusation.

  "You are no harem girl! You’ll be cast off from here!" Mistress Tula stood up, with fury burning in her eyes. She looked over at Cinder. "Are you still a virgin?" The anger made the woman look crazy.

  Cinder nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, Mistress Tula." Panic sank in, and she had no choice but to lie. She was too scared to admit the truth. Cinder wasn't sure what all this meant that Elbi wasn’t a virgin… had she also had sex with Donte?

  Intense jealousy took over.

  No. Not with Donte. He was hers! Hers.

  But was he?

  She looked at Elbi, who still sat with her mouth open and eyes wide.

  "Elbi, stand up and lean over the bed this instant!"

  Elbi quickly scrambled off the exam table and leaned over as directed. She stuck her bottom out—she was no novice to being punished. Mistress Tula walked over to a trunk against the wall and pulled out a leather belt. Cinder swallowed back her fear. She was about to watch her friend get whipped by a belt.

  Mistress Tula wasted no time and offered no warm up. She rained lash after lash of the belt on a howling Elbi. She offered no mercy as the welts criss-crossed poor Elbi’s ass. Elbi rose on her toes and screamed out with every whip of the belt.

  Cinder had never seen anyone punished so severely. Over and over, the belting continued. Cinder cried for her friend and struggled not to step in to save her. She stood helpless, not sure what to do. Not sure if she was next. Not sure of anything except that her friend was getting the punishment of a lifetime. Elbi screamed and pleaded, begging for mercy. But Mistress Tula continued. Just when Cinder was going to run screaming from the room for help, as foolish as that might have been, the beating ended.

  "Both of you get on your arms and knees. Face down and asses high in the air. Now!" she screeched, when Cinder and Elbi hesitated.

  The two women did as she asked, never glancing at each other for fear of what Mistress Tula would do. Cinder knew what this position meant. Something was going to happen anally. Any question of that was quickly remedied by Mistress Tula walking around them.

  "You girls must be cleansed. Clearly it’s overdue." And with that, a nozzle for an enema was shoved into Cinder's tight hole. She couldn't help but cry out. Mostly due to the surprise, but also because it appeared no lubrication was used, and the entrance past her puckered skin wasn't very smooth. Elbi gasped a second later, as the same intrusion happened to her.

  Mistress Tula started to pump the nozzle in and out of Cinder's dry anus. By the sounds of Elbi, it seemed as if Mistress Tula was doing the same to her with her other hand. She was relentlessly ass fucking both of them with the enema nozzles.

  "You will take these enemas while I go find the prince and tell him of Elbi's deflowering." Mistress Tula punctuated each word of her sentence with a thrust of the dry nozzle. Each aggressive thrust rubbed Cinder's puckered hole raw. She gasped and wiggled, but she tried her best to take the invasion without complaint for fear that she, too, would get a belting.

  Mistress Tula stood and turned on the enemas. It wasn't long before the cool fluid began to enter Cinder's channel. She hated enemas, but if this meant no more ass fucking by a plastic nozzle, then she was happy to receive it.

  "I’ll be back. Neither one of you move, or a whipping will follow." Footsteps were all that could be heard until the closing of the door.

  As the door closed, Cinder asked, "Elbi, are you all right?" Elbi was only inches from her, so she didn't have to speak very loudly.

  Elbi lifted her tear-stained face and said, "Yes. I’ll be fine."

  "I've never seen someone get punished so badly. Are you in pain?"

  Elbi shook her head. "I'm fine. Please don't worry." She grimaced as no doubt the cramping in her lower belly began—as it did with Cinder.

  Cinder moaned, suddenly wanting to evacuate her bowels. She breathed through it and tried to continue talking. "You aren't a virgin?" She couldn't help but worry whether Elbi would indeed be cast out. She also didn’t want to picture Elbi being with Donte intimately.

  Having his baby.

  Being… his.

  Did he claim Elbi as his just as he did with Cinder?

  Did he say that to all the women of the harem?

  "No, I'm not. My virginity and my body belong to one of the head guards of the palace. He’s one of Prince Donte’s commanders now." She smiled and huffed. "I don’t even care anymore. I love him. So if I get cast out for love, then so be it."

  Cinder released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

  Thank God. Thank fucking God. Elbi did not lose her virginity to Donte.

  "Well, why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you stop her from whipping you?" Cinder couldn't believe what she was hearing. Elbi was in love, and prepared to face whatever consequences were in store.

  "I was shocked. I wasn't prepared to tell anyone. And I wasn't sure if the commander wanted the information to be shared. He’s so busy with the war preparations that I don’t believe he has told Prince Donte yet. Maybe he has. I just don’t know, so I remained quiet."

  The fluid seemed to stop flowing from the nozzle in her ass, but that meant it was all inside her now. The cramping grew worse, and Cinder needed to release the pressure soon. She rocked from side to side and moaned. She couldn't focus on Elbi anymore. Just when she thought she couldn't take it any longer, Cinder reached under her body and began rubbing her lower abdomen. The position was awkward, since she was still on all fours, but she had to something.

  "Just take deep breaths," Elbi soothed. The massage seemed to help—but not enough.

  "Ahhh I can't! I can't hold it any longer." Cinder panicked. She knew that if she released her enema, a belt lashing would follow. And she knew she was not nearly as strong as Elbi in taking severe correction. Clenching her bottom only made the nozzle of the enema feel more intense. But if she didn't, she feared what would happen.

  Cinder removed her hand quickly when the door suddenly opened. Mistress Tula came storming in and placed two buckets in front of both of them. "Evacuate your bowels in the buckets. Two guards are on the other side of the door to take you both back to your quarters." She walked away and back to the door. "Training to be a soldier or not, there are rules of the harem. Remember that." The door slammed closed behind her.

  Cinder didn't waste any time, nor did Elbi. They both sat on their buckets and allowed the explosive release. Even though Cinder was doing this in front of her friend, the humiliation was excruciating. She tried not to look at Elbi, even though their buckets were almost touching.

  As they both exited the room in shame, neither said a word to each other. Cinder had no choice but to head to Donte's quarters and hope this incident would just disappear.

  25

  "Thank you for bringing her home," Donte told the soldier escorti
ng her to the door.

  "Not a problem, sir." The soldier started to walk away, then stopped and turned around. "There was an incident between her and Elbi you may want to talk to her about," he said, crushing any chance Cinder had of hiding it from Donte. "I do believe Mistress Tula handled it, though."

  Donte tilted his head and examined Cinder, who'd suddenly frozen in her spot. "Thank you again for escorting her home." He then reached for her hand and pulled her inside the small quarters.

  She glanced down and blushed, reaching up to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear.

  "Would you like to tell me what happened today?" he asked, wasting no time.

  She took a deep breath and decided that the only chance of this evening ending well was to be honest. "Elbi ended training because she said she didn't feel well, but when I asked her about it, she said she was fine. But then she told me she had heard some scary information while eavesdropping on some soldiers, and I was trying to find out what it was." Cinder realized she'd been holding her breath while telling the story, and forced herself to exhale slowly. She knew she was rambling, but she was trying to say as much as she could before losing her courage. "I guess we got the attention of Nico and Mistress Tula, and well…" She took another deep breath. "Mistress Tula took us to the main building."

  "For what purpose?" Donte walked over to a chair and sat down, a contemplative look on his face.

  "To examine Elbi, to make sure she wasn't ill."

  "Why did she have you come along?"

  "She wanted to make sure I didn't catch anything from Elbi, I guess."

  "Is that all?"

  "No. Mistress Tula discovered that Elbi was no longer a virgin. She whipped… actually, more like beat Elbi for it. She then made Elbi and me wait while receiving an…" Cinder couldn't get out the last word. Humiliation washed over her.

  Donte raised an eyebrow, anger clearly forming on his face. "What? While receiving what?"

  "An… an enema." If embarrassment could kill, Cinder would be dead. “She told us she was looking for you to tell you the news about Elbi.”

  He slammed his hand down on the table and stood there, with fury in his eyes. Cinder took a few steps back in fear.

  "I want you to lock the door behind me and stay here. Do not leave or allow anyone in. Do not defy me!" he shouted, heading for the door without any explanation, slamming it behind him.

  Cinder was mortified at his reaction, brought to tears even, when he stormed from the quarters and left her alone. She sat down on the end of the bed, her fingers trembling with fright. What had she done so wrong? Surely, he was upset with her now. She could only hope that whatever punishment he decided to dole out to her for her wrongdoing would not be too harsh. And what of poor Elbi? Was he on his way to banish her from Casen? Where would she go? What would she do?

  She buried her face in her hands, doing her best to quiet her tears, to stop their flow. Her shoulders shook gently, all the shame and humiliation from the day rushing at her all at once. She did not hear him come back into the room, nor did she hear the soft groan of the door as he opened it over the sounds of her own sobs.

  The next thing she knew, his arms were wrapped around her, pulling her against his body, stroking her hair, soothing her. Her hands pressed to his chest, her cheek against his shoulder, she continued to cry, unable to stop.

  "I didn’t mean to upset you. I'm sorry," he said, his voice strong and smooth as he held her. "Seeing you crying like this breaks my heart to know I caused it. I never meant to frighten you. It was the last thing I wanted. I lost my temper, and I am sorry for that."

  "It's all right. I am sorry for getting in trouble." She sniffled, feeling quite foolish for being so upset over something like this. She really did want to work on not crying all the time.

  "No, it is not all right. Mistress Tula had no place, or directive, to do what she did. And you are mine to handle, not Mistress Tula’s."

  She looked up at him, her face streaked with tears, her eyes still glistening. "I belong to you? Not the harem? Am I not to follow the rules of the harem?"

  Donte nodded. "As long as you reside with me and are under my protection, yes." He reached down and rubbed his thumb over her cheeks, wiping away the stray tears that threatened to fall from them.

  She sighed gently when he touched her face, looking at him with compassion, taking his hand in hers and lacing their fingers. "Am I in trouble? Are you going to discipline me?"

  "Do you believe you did anything to be disciplined for?"

  Cinder shook her head. "No. It was confusing why we were being punished by Mistress Tula."

  "Then of course I am not going to punish you."

  She bit her lower lip, her eyes drifting to the floor. "But you were angry with me. You shouted and left."

  He stroked her hair with the back of his hand. "I was angry with Mistress Tula and left to address the situation with my commander." Cinder looked at him with her eyes wide. "He is not pleased either and will be handling it," he added. “I knew of Elbi’s situation, and though I wasn’t pleased at first to hear of one of my guards being intimate with one of the harem girls, I don’t hold it against either of them now. Hell, in this dark world, we need some romance and love around us.”

  Cinder felt complete relief in knowing her friend wouldn’t be banished or even punished for her love affair. Prince Donte was clearly a merciful ruler, and for that, she was grateful.

  Her gaze met his just moments before she found her lips captured in a passionate kiss. She had never been kissed before. Not like this, at least. His mouth pressed firmly, dominating hers as only Donte could do, but his tongue pushed past her lips with the gentlest entrance, softly dancing against hers. She returned the kiss with the same level of passion. Not because it was her duty to do so. Not because she was a harem girl trained to please her master, but because she had never wanted something like this before. Something so simple and yet so powerful at the same time.

  26

  The sun broke over the horizon, casting a gauzy yellow glow over the earth below. Birds preened in their nests atop the house, their shrill chirp more than enough to wake her. Cinder was getting used to being up early and, though her body screamed in defiance, the sunlight woke her nonetheless. She felt something warm over her hip, something heavy. Tilting her head, she glanced downward, seeing a tanned arm tossed over her. A smile graced her lips, her teeth scraping over them with a sigh.

  She reached down and gently removed his hand from her hip, sliding the cover down so she could sit up. Just as her cheek lifted from the pillow, she felt something wrap around her waist, pulling her back down, pressing her against that warm, hard chest. She couldn't help the smile that crossed her face, the little giggle that escaped her lips when she felt his kisses on her shoulder.

  "Good morning," she breathed, his touch sending a thrill through her that she struggled, in her inexperience, to hide.

  "Good morning." His voice sounded so smooth, so easy, so different than it had the day before when he'd been angry with Mistress Tula. "How did you sleep?"

  "Fine… I slept fine. I, uh, I am going to go make some breakfast." She wasn't ungrateful for how sweet he was being to her, quite the opposite in fact, but she was very confused about how to act the next morning. She pulled away from him, sitting up and seeing her silk where she'd left it lying the night before. She stood and dressed quickly, rushing from the room as her cheeks began to burn red, leaving him as fast as possible to hide her awkward embarrassment.

  Soon the smell of bacon and coffee assaulted her nose, her stomach growling to remind her of how little she'd eaten the night before, but she didn't worry about it right now. No, she had other things on her mind.

  At the sound of the bedroom door opening, Cinder looked over her shoulder to see Donte casually leaning against the frame. His eyes were fixed on her, her every movement, he seemed to be mesmerized by her. She blushed at the silent attention.

  She offered a sheepish smile as the bl
ush grew on her cheeks. "Breakfast will be ready soon."

  He nodded at her, starting towards the door without any hesitation. "I’ll be back shortly. I’m going to inform Nico that the harem needs a day of rest from training. I don’t want exhaustion to take over. Plus, my commander has items he needs to address, as do I. I won't be long, stay inside," he warned again before he disappeared out the door, leaving her standing alone.

  She desperately wanted to go outside and find Elbi, but she couldn't risk it. She was dying to know what had happened with the commander and Mistress Tula, but if Donte's concerns were well-founded—well, she didn't want to die by having a Jaden spy or assassin get her. She resigned herself to staying put. For now, she would busy herself cleaning his quarters, and feeding him the best breakfast she could. She went right to work on the dishes, setting everything she'd cooked out on the table, before turning to the basin where a few dirty plates still lay. She searched the room for a bucket of water, but found none, much to her dismay.

  Cinder vaguely remembered seeing a well outside, near the door, and made up her mind, forgetting his warning in her haste, to go and get the water herself. She collected an empty bucket she found and opened up the door, stepping out into the little yard in front of the quarters. Her eyes took in the large desert dunes in the distance, silhouetted in the early morning sunlight, expanding as far as she could see.

  She found the well not too far from the door, and before very much time had passed, she had drawn herself a bucketful of water that would be sufficient to clean the dishes inside the room. Hefting it up by the rope, which bit terribly into her delicate fingers, she carried it back inside the quarters, pausing only to collect a few desert flowers which were growing near the door to liven the place up.

  It was some time before Donte returned, a bit more tense than he'd been before he left, and obviously hungry. He didn't waste any time moving over to the table and making himself a plate, offering her a wide smile as she came to sit across from him, until he saw the flowers in her hand, which she was arranging in a little jar she'd found.