by C. J. Pinard
“No, miss. We are allotted our own food. Lewis takes the table scraps to see if it will help his wife’s health improve.”
“So tell me, Shawna. Where is ‘the hole’?” Mariselle asked, unsure if she wanted to know the answer.
“Uh, it’s a place under the floor. Just dirt, no light. One meal a day, if you’re lucky. You can’t stand and you can’t lie down. It’s torture,” she finished on a whisper.
Mariselle stared at Shawna in horror. Her father had been a sheriff, and she had seen the cells inside the jail, and even the sight of those when she was a child had made her shudder. But at least they had a bed and a toilet, and sunlight from the windows. They were fed twice a day and allowed to bathe twice monthly. “That’s despicable. I feel sick.”
Shawna sighed. “Poor Lewis. I am going to have to make sure Amelia is cared for while he’s in the hole.”
Mariselle got up from the chair. “Lewis isn’t going to the damned hole. I’ll make sure of it.”
Shawna’s face lit up in hope. “Really, miss?”
“Yes,” she replied with a sigh. “And please call me Mariselle—for the tenth time!”
Chapter 15
Hecate watched the young lovers writhing around on Alexander’s massive bed. She smiled to herself, having also heard the conversation Mariselle had had with the two kings. She was proud of the young woman for standing up for herself, and refusing to be treated like some kind of pawn in a chess game.
“You’re so tight and wet,” Alexander panted out, gripping Mariselle’s bare hips and thrusting his up to meet hers. “Your breasts are perfection.” He reached up to grab one, and when he grasped her perfect pink nipple between his fingers, she cried out, throwing her head back as she continued to ride him.
The feel of his cock buried deep inside of her was indescribable. She leaned her arms back on the bed, rolling her pelvis as fast as she could to bring herself to another orgasm. Alexander had already given her two, and she could tell by the feel of his erection that it wouldn’t be long before he blew his load inside her. She wanted to get as much time with him as she could.
So, she pulled her arms off the bed and then leaned down and pressed her chest against his, still lying on top of him.
“You’re so beautiful and perfect,” he murmured against her lips. “You fuck me perfectly. I don’t want this to ever end.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, the building low in Mariselle’s belly burst between her legs and she screamed out as a gush of pleasure hit her most sensitive spot.
Alexander couldn’t hold it any longer. His cock exploded, spilling all his seed deep inside her. She cried out, a tear escaping down her cheek as the last rush of hormones raged through her. She collapsed on top of him, and he wrapped his arm around her back. With her face buried in his neck, and his fingers strumming slowly over her back, she said, “That was amazing.”
“Mmm,” he murmured, wishing he could stay inside of her forever.
Once she slowly rolled off of him, she draped her leg over his thighs and laid her head on his chest. “I think I’m in love with you, Alexander.”
He glanced down at her, and a smile he couldn’t control lifted his lips. “And I know I’m in love with you, sweet Mariselle.”
Sighing contently, she closed her eyes and began to drift to sleep.
Hecate left the chamber, floating through the wall and stopping in the solar room. The day had turned into night, and she stared out of the window to the front of the castle. A full moon shone down on the choppy water of the massive lake that sat in front of it. The moonlight glinted off the waves and she sighed.
Thinking of her encounter the day before with Gaylen made her sad. She remembered back to when they had been happy. It had been a mostly sexual relationship, and she knew it wasn’t to last, but she had longed just to relive that time, if only for a night. It was for this reason that she had agreed to spend the night with Gaylen after finding him in the woods the day before. She had made him do a cloaking spell so he didn’t look like the old white-haired, wrinkled wizard that he was. She, in turn, had to take on a fully fleshed human body. But they had made it work. In the aftermath of their lovemaking, she had suggested that he do a spell to make Mariselle want to move to the South Haven castle, to get away from King Alexander. She found out that Gaylen knew about Mariselle’s possible fertility, but thought that it was probably a fluke.
“Why should we move her to another Rothhaven Castle? What if she becomes pregnant with one’s child?”
Hecate had smiled up at the wizard while lying on his chest. “Don’t you see? She clearly cannot get pregnant. And even if she did—can you imagine the division it would cause amongst the kings should the youngest brother get the first heir? It would be a disaster!”
Gaylen had thought about her words and slowly nodded his head. “You may be on to something. It would cause great distress in the land for the youngest to get the first heir. Ruin the orderly running of things. Besides”—he reached down and brushed a strand of black hair from her forehead—“if she gives birth to anything, I will just kill it. Syracuse needs to die out. Don’t you agree, my queen?”
Hecate gasped and looked up at him. Not only at the mention of him killing a future Rothhaven baby, but him calling her his queen. “What did you just call me?”
“Once the land is barren, and the Rothhaven bloodline has died out, you and I can rule. I’ll conjure a spell to break the current one, and the people of Syracuse will once again be happy and able to procreate. They will worship me for their prosperity and fertility. They’ll crown me as king, and you will be by my side as queen. Maybe we could even have a child ourselves.”
It figured this would be his bloody plan, Hecate thought. And to have children with him was out of the question. Instead, though, she just smiled up at him. “That is deviant and maniacal. I love it.”
But Hecate didn’t love it. She hated it. As she stared out the castle window, she could see the breeze blowing the trees below, but she couldn’t feel it. As she flew out of the window, she could hear the young lovers begin to go at it again inside the king’s chambers. She smiled and floated down to the stables.
With his thick cock in his hand, Zackary began to stroke it up and down. He lay on a blanket on top of a bed of hay in one of the empty stalls. A pillow of cotton was under his head.
“Do you need some help with that, Your Majesty?”
Zackary’s eyes popped open to see Emily standing at the foot of the stall, wearing nothing but her cowboy hat. His cock stiffened even harder, and he nodded. “Yes.”
Smiling in triumph, Emily pushed the king’s legs apart and began licking up his thighs. Once she reached his tight sac, she ran her tongue along its seam and moved his hand away from the shaft, replacing it with her own. He groaned loudly as she continued to pleasure the blond king with her warm mouth, tongue, and throat, watching the top of her cowboy hat. Along with her hums of pleasure, and what she was doing with her hands and lips, he couldn’t hold off any longer. He blew his load, grunting loudly and in relief. He then rolled her off and they both lay there panting.
She was glistening with sweat and smiling as she wiped the corner of her mouth with her finger. “Your manhood is quite impressive, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you, Emily. Now, if you don’t mind… I need some sleep.”
Emily stood, removed her hat, bowed, and replaced the hat before walking off with a smile on her face.
As soon as her fine, plump backside had disappeared behind the stable walls, Zackary closed his eyes and wished he could fall into a deep sleep. Truth was, while Emily had been servicing him, he could only picture Mariselle there, her sweet mouth and tight pussy milking him. He knew one day it would be her, and he would be sure to take his sweet fucking time with that little peach.
“Good morning,” Emily said with a coy smile as Zackary passed her in the stables. He had just come from the morning meal inside the castle, which had only irritated him.
Mariselle and Alexander had sat during the entire meal making eyes at each other. They had barely acknowledged him at all, so he had quickly eaten his porridge and bacon so he could go back outside.
Zackary thought of Emily’s tight little body and smiled at her. “Morning, Emily.”
“Which steed would you like today?” Richard asked, eyeing the young king.
“I’ll take Midnight out again. He’s easy to ride, and strong.”
“Very well,” Richard replied, disappearing into the stables to fetch him.
Zackary stood and stared at Emily. “Did you sleep well?”
She nodded and ran her finger down her jaw, neck, and stopped at her breast. “Oh yes, I slept very well. I am also hoping to sleep well tonight, too, sire.”
Zackary swallowed hard at her wanton behavior. Emily was a pretty girl, with a fit, tight body and not a whole lot of inhibitions. If she was this forward with him, Zackary knew she surely had been with Alexander. Not that he cared. He just hadn’t pegged her to be a castle whore. And maybe she wasn’t. Maybe she was just assertive and could take it where she could get it. He briefly considered having her meet him tonight, too, but then decided against it. Should word get back to Mariselle or Alexander, he’d be even deeper in the shit than he probably already was. He knew Mariselle would be worth the wait. He knew she would be his shortly. And he didn’t plan to share.
Just then, Richard arrived with Midnight tethered to a rope. “He’s all yours, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you, Richard.” Zackary mounted the horse, nodded at Richard, and then threw Emily a wink before riding off into the forest. He needed to clear his head.
Chapter 16
What Mariselle had told Alexander about Lord Henry had been bothering him all day and night. Surely Henry wasn’t capable of mistreatment—abuse, even? But, in his short life, Alexander had seen the worst of the worst. He once had a loyal trusted friend whom he had knighted and made him a Sir named Adam. He soon learned, however, that every maiden Alexander would bed, Adam would soon seduce the same maiden and force them to be with him and him only. One on occasion, there was a maiden named Evangelina he was growing fond of—against his better judgement—and he had spent several weeks being monogamous with her. She was gorgeous with flawless skin, bright blue eyes, and golden-blonde hair. Her body was something men killed for, and he was beginning to develop real feelings for her. But soon thereafter, she had ended up dead in a terrible freak accident on the drawbridge in front of the castle. Alexander had mourned Evangelina’s loss more deeply than he thought possible. It was then he had learned of Adam’s betrayal and that he was most likely responsible for the beautiful maiden’s death. He’d banished him from Syracuse. He should have had him killed, but didn’t want any more death in the North Haven.
Soon thereafter, he had appointed Henry. They had become fast friends, and he seemed to have a way with people, not to mention the older man had been one of his father’s right-hand knights. And needing someone to take charge of the help, he had appointed Henry with the task. In the two years since he’d taken over, Alexander hadn’t heard one negative word from the staff nor the castle elite.
Alexander was, however, skeptical of anyone due to his past mistakes with appointing friends and knighting them, that he felt he needed to investigate himself. He had asked Mariselle what she had meant by him abusing them, and she had just said that she had witnessed his cruelty, but wouldn’t elaborate. He could tell she was upset and maybe a little traumatized by what she had seen, so he didn’t push.
So, hoping Mariselle was wrong and he was just being paranoid, he took off his crown and shaved off his beard completely. He looked at his reflection in the metal mirror and frowned. He looked too young and so unlike himself without the thin, black facial hair. Turning away, he then dressed in a friar’s robe. He pushed the hood of the robe over his head, slipped his feet into some brown sandals, and made his way out of the turret and down the stairs.
Being that the staff was busying themselves with cleaning up the evening meal, they barely noticed when he walked through the kitchen with his head down, making his way toward the servants’ chambers.
Alexander reached the quiet hallway on the bottom level of the castle. The stone, torch-lit halls were quiet, save for a few murmuring voices. He continued to shuffle down the hallway, his sandals whispering over the rough-hewn rock floor. Peering into a large room with no door, Alexander could see it was a sitting area for the staff. Children who appeared to be nearing their teen years, along with who Alexander assumed to be their parents, sat around at tables playing card games or chess. Others sat with books in their laps, reading. Some sat around talking. It seemed pretty peaceful, and Alexander was glad they had an area for some recreation.
He continued to walk down the hall and came to a door that was closed. There was, however, a hole in the wood, and he pressed his eye to the hole. There, he could see Shawna, Mariselle’s chambermaid and someone he suspected was like a mother to Mariselle, sitting on her bed and looking up at someone. Fear etched her features, and she was wringing a tissue in her hands as she stared at the looming man.
“You know you want to,” the man said, and Alexander immediately recognized Henry’s voice. He could only see the back of him, but had no doubt it was his friend.
“I told you, sire, that I’m married,” Shawna said quietly.
“Yes, I know. Your Oscar is still cooking for King Griffin in the East Haven, isn’t he?” Henry chuckled cruelly. “Not much of a marriage, if you ask me.”
Shawna had no response. She just looked down at her hands, and Alexander could see that she wanted to cry.
“So, Oscar won’t ever know. You and I could have fun.” He reached down and grabbed his crotch. “You must be missing this, huh?”
Shawna stared up at him in horror. “No, sir. I wish to be left alone until I can see Oscar again.”
Henry laughed again. “I bet I can arrange that. The king trusts me. I could have you moved. Just one night in my bed, and you’ll get what you want.”
Alexander could see that Shawna wanted to say something back, but was too fearful to do so. Instead, she just kept her head down.
“Meet me in my chambers at nineteen hundred hours. Don’t be late.” Henry turned to leave.
“No,” she said softly.
He turned around. “What did you just say to me?”
Alexander couldn’t believe what he was witnessing. He’d never seen this side of Henry. He became enraged.
Shawna did not repeat her rejection, so Henry raised his arm and slapped her hard across her face. Then, when she fell onto the bed with a cry, he pounced on top of her and began pawing at her dress while roughly kissing her.
Alexander had seen enough. He pushed the door open, ran over to the bed, and yanked Henry off of Shawna.
“What the f—“ He didn’t finish his sentence before Alexander had thrown back his hood, reared back his arm, and punched Henry in the nose.
“What the hell!” Henry roared, his hand going to his face where blood gushed down into his mouth.
“You’re fired, arsehole!”
Shawna, shaking with fear, stared wide-eyed at Alexander. She immediately stood on shaky legs and bowed. “Your Majesty.”
He reached for her hand and helped her to stand. “No bowing. I’m sorry this cretin was harassing you. He’ll be banished.”
Shawna’s eyes welled with tears and she began to sob. “Thank you, sire.”
Alexander embraced her in a hug while staring at Henry. “You’re going to pay for this.”
Henry sneered at the king, raised his fist, and shook it. “You’re nothing but a little snot-nosed, spoiled Rothhaven brat. You don’t know shit about running a kingdom. I hope you all die out.” Henry then put up his middle finger.
“Guards!”
Within seconds, two armored knights appeared in the room.
Shawna felt weird being comforted by the king, so she gently untangled herself fr
om him.
“Arrest him,” Alexander demanded.
By now, the rest of the servants had heard the commotion and were watching the interaction, crowded in Shawna’s doorway.
“Yes, sir,” the knights said, almost sounding happy. One produced a length of rope seemingly from out of nowhere and bound it Henry’s hands behind his back.
Blood still poured down his nose and onto his chin, staining his tunic. “You won’t get away with this.”
Alexander chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “Yes, I will. You’ll be dead before the end of the week. And… I rescind your knighthood, Mister Henry Edumunsen.”
Henry hollered, “You can’t do this! I’ve served you for over two years! I served your father…”
Alexander nodded to the guards and they took him away, all while he was still hollering. The crowd at the door parted so the knights could exit.
He looked at the staff and said, “Has he been treating you all like this the entire time?”
After they all bowed, nobody spoke. They all looked fearful.
“Tell me!” Alexander roared.
Shawna spoke up. “Yes, sire. He has. The abuse was relentless, unfair, and endless. There is a man in the hole as we speak.”
Alexander’s face turned red. “What hole?”
Daniel, the senior cook, said, “I will take you there, Your Majesty. Follow me.”
Alexander followed Daniel to the end of a hallway he didn’t know existed. In the floor was a trap door of some kind. It was secured with a padlock.
“Where’s the key?” the king asked.
“Sir, only Henry has the key.”
“Break it!” Alexander snapped.
Two servants ran off and came back quickly with a large mallet. They swung it until the lock broke free. Daniel leaned down and opened the door.
King Alexander peered down and saw a young man balled up in the fetal position. He looked up at the king with red-rimmed eyes, but then they widened. He dipped his head. “Your Majesty.”
