Royal Pains

by CN Thornton

  Using some of the money from the photo shoot, we purchased our airline tickets. Then all there was left to do was pack. When we were finished, we sat down and went over the plan again.

  "You’ll be going back with Theodore tonight, so just try and act natural. Be yourself. Make sure your bags are packed and ready to go. At midnight, I’ll be waiting across the street in my car. You get there and then we go." He looked into my eyes, just staring, and I could see the worry in them as I looked back.

  "Everything is going to be fine." I forced a smile. I was about forty percent sure this plan would work.

  Then it was time. A knock at the door brought what little laughter and chattering we had to an end.

  "I'll get it," Bash said as he rose to his feet.

  I listened as his footsteps faded away and then heard him buzz the elevator up to our floor. Seconds later, I heard the unmistakable sound of the front door opening.

  "Welcome. You must be the lucky man who has married my best friend."

  "Who might you be?" I heard Theodore's voice speak tersely.

  "I'm Emmaline's roommate," Bash replied just as they walked into the room, Bash trailing behind Theodore by a stride and a half.

  I rose to my feet. "Good evening, Theodore," I greeted. I felt my face heat up as he glared back at me.

  "It is time to go," he said.

  "I'll walk you out," Bash rushed out as he grabbed my bags for me. I only had a suitcase and my messenger bag.

  "Thanks Bash," I replied, and we made our way down to the parking garage.

  After my things were loaded up, Bash pulled me into a hug and whispered, “Don't forget, midnight.” Then I got into the passenger seat and we drove off.

  The entire trip, I could feel Theodore's tension. His jaw kept clenching and he sporadically gripped the steering wheel tighter. It was only when we were in the seclusion of his home that he spoke.

  "It is inappropriate for a married woman to be living with a man that is not her betrothed," he said as he took off his watch.

  I blushed. "I am sorry. It will never happen again," I said as he began rolling up his sleeves.

  "I know, and I will make sure you do well to remember it."

  Somehow I knew something bad was coming. I turned and started running for the elevator, but he was too quick. Grabbing me by my arm, Theodore attempted to tow me into the other room, but I used my weight and pulled back.

  "Stop it!" I shouted at him as he stooped down and threw me over his shoulder. "Put. Me. Down!" I screamed, hitting every inch of his body I could.

  Twisting upwards, I managed to find his side and bite into it, causing him to drop me as he howled in pain.

  I scuttled backwards as quickly as I could and managed to gather myself to my feet, only to have him grab my ankle and yank my leg out from under me, causing me to fall backwards and hit my head on the floor. For a second, I blacked out. Then I blinked and he was coming at me again. Using what little strength I could muster, I aimed a kick between his legs and watched him drop to his knees, clutching at his manhood.

  "You fucking little bitch!" he roared.

  I tried pushing myself up into a sitting position, but my head kept spinning. I couldn't even fight back when he finally recovered from my kick and half dragged me into the bedroom. After he pulled me across his lap, I felt him pull down my yoga pants and underwear, exposing my rear. Then there was nothing but pain as he blistered my hind-end with his hand.

  Nothing but the sounds of my screams filled the room. I counted twenty spankings before he finally stopped. He moved me aside and then left me to myself while I cried.

  An hour or two passed as I lay across the floor, crying, before I moved to the bed to gain some comfort.

  I hated that man with a passion and couldn't wait until midnight when I would finally have my freedom.

  It was around eight at night when I got up the courage to leave my room. I needed to find my bags, and I had to make sure Theodore thought I was going to sleep.

  Though he hadn't mentioned the sleeping arrangements yet, I crossed my fingers that we wouldn't be sharing a bed. Not only did I not want to sleep next to him, doing so would make it harder to sneak out.

  Theodore was sitting in the living room, reading a thickly bound book. He barely acknowledged my presence.

  "May I get my bags, please?" I asked. "I'd like to take a shower and get ready for bed." I winced as my bottom throbbed from his assault.

  He glanced up at me momentarily and gave a nod. "Take a bath. Soaking with epsom salt with help remove some of the sting." From his tone alone, I knew he wasn't making a suggestion but giving an order.

  I stooped to pick up my bags from the floor and then turned to head from the room. Pausing slightly, I turned back to look at him. "Do we... you know, since we are married?"

  "Since you are already my wife, yes, we could have have sex. Though it is inappropriate for a woman to do so with a man that isn't her husband."

  I nodded my head. "So we aren't sleeping together?"

  Theodore closed his book and set it on the small table beside him. "If I wanted to have you right now, I could. That is one of the responsibilities of a wife in Linacre."

  A look of disgust crossed my face. "So even if I said no, you would still fuck me if you wanted to?"

  Theodore rose to his feet and crossed over to a small table that was adorned with a small silver bucket, several decanters and a few cups. "If I wanted to, absolutely." He paused to pluck a few ice cubes from the bucket and drop them in the glass before pouring amber liquid over them. "Will I, though? No. I am not a monster. Please do well to remember that."

  A heavy weight lifted off my chest. He finally had some boundary I could respect. If I didn't want to have sex with him, he wouldn't force me.

  I rolled my eyes as I turned my back to him and closed the door behind me. After everything he put me through these past couple weeks, he didn't think he merited the title of a monster. I silently agreed to disagree with him on that.

  After my long bath, I braided my hair and climbed into bed. I set my alarm clock for midnight, just in case I fell asleep, and made sure it would only vibrate when it went off. Then I closed my eyes.

  It was about ten-thirty when I heard my bedroom door open. For a second, I feared he had changed his mind and decided he would be sleeping in my bed with me, but then it closed and his footsteps faded away until they were replaced by the sound of another closing door.

  As the clock neared closer and closer to midnight, I slipped out of the bed and pulled on my shoes. I gathered my bags and at ten minutes till, I slipped from the bedroom and made my way to the front door, quiet as a mouse.

  My heart pounded in my chest and every breath I took felt like announcing my presence through a megaphone. When I finally reached the foyer, I clicked the elevator call button and waited. It arrived with a ding which caused my heart to drop, and I quickly pressed the button for the ground floor.

  When the doors opened again I jumped as a man in a suit stood before me.

  "Sorry, miss," he said as he stood to the side to allow me to pass.

  I smiled quickly and strode off in a hurry towards the front doors. Just as I took in a breath of the fresh night air, I heard my name being called—only it wasn't from in front of me, but behind.

  I glanced over my shoulder and felt my heart drop. Theodore. I quickly looked around for Bash's 4Runner and found him directly across the street. Without waiting for a safe pause in traffic, I ran out into the street, dodging cars as they slammed on their breaks and honked at me.

  I didn't stop running until I reached Bash's car. We had barely sped off when Theodore reached the car and started tugging on the door to try and open it.

  The last thing I saw was him still standing there, staring after us.

  Finally, I was able to relax.

  "You know the airport is probably the first place he’s going to look, right?" I said to Bash as we got onto the highway heading in the direction
of SeaTac.

  He grinned. "I know. That's why we’re flying out of Portland." He tapped the side of his head. "I thought things through very carefully. Just relax, okay? You deserve it."

  I reclined the seat and closed my eyes. Minutes later I fell asleep, only to wake up to Bash shaking me.

  "Rise and shine, sleepy head. We have a plane to catch."

  I yawned and got out of the car to retrieve my bags. After the past week, with everything that had happened, this little bit of freedom was starting to scare me.

  As we headed into the airport I kept looking over my shoulder, half expecting to see Theodore striding towards me. But he wasn't there.

  He wasn't there as we printed our boarding passes. He wasn't there as we went through airport security. He wasn't there as we found our way to our terminal. He wasn't there as we boarded the plane.

  I genuinely smiled as we took off, because he wasn't there. And he wouldn't be. Not in my life, not anymore.

  . . .

  "Would you like anything to drink?" the flight attendant asked as she came to a stop beside our plush economy seats.

  "Can I get three shots of whatever whiskey you have, some red wine, and that should be it for me," Bash said, handing the woman his card.

  She gave him a disapproving look but completed his transaction and then repeated her question to me.

  "Ginger ale will be perfectly fine." She passed me a can and shot Bash another stony look before continuing on to the next row.

  Once she was out of earshot, I began giggling. "I wonder what’s up her butt," I said to Bash.

  "Probably nothing... for a very long time." He took a sip of his whiskey. "She probably just needs to get laid."

  "Yes," I laughed, "cause that solves everything."

  "It does. I shit you not, before I lost mine I was a monster. I had no filter on my mouth."

  "Oooooh." I laughed. "So you’re saying you do now?"

  "Absolutely." He looked smug.

  "You make me laugh, Bash."

  "I do my best. Now, how about we toss back these drinks and get some sleep? That drive killed me."

  We split the remainder of the alcohol, got some eye masks, reclined our seats as far back as they would go—which wasn't much—and went to sleep. I hoped that when I woke up, we would be there.

  CHAPTER NINE

  The turbulence shook me awake as we began our descent into Queensland, Australia. The "fasten seatbelt" sign was illuminated, so I was unable to relieve my bladder just yet.

  Leaning across Bash I glanced out the window to see the country below us. I smiled at how beautiful, green and lush it was. From up here, I could see not only the city below but the rainforest as well.

  "Bash." I shook his shoulder. "Look, look out the window."

  It took him a minute to wake up enough to acknowledge me. By then, the rainforest was well behind us, but there was so much to see.

  "We’re here," he said as he pulled me into his arm.

  "I know, and I still can't believe it."

  In another couple minutes, we had landed and taxied into our ending terminal. Once we got off the plane, we made our way to the food court and ordered some food, since we hadn't eaten in just about thirteen hours.

  "So, plan," Bash began as he nibbled on the end of a fry.

  "Uh, we need a place to sleep, so let’s go with a hotel until we find a place to rent."

  "Good. Then we need to find some internet so I can message my parents."

  I let out a sigh. I could only imagine the messages my mother must have left me. I wondered what they were doing by now… Had Theodore returned to his country and forgotten about me, or was he conducting a hunt to find me?

  . . .

  We booked a room at the Pacific Hotel Cairns. The second we’d settled into the room, I pulled out my laptop and connected to the internet so I could check my email.

  Just like I’d thought, my mother had written me.

  "I cannot believe what you have done! How could you be so selfish! I got a call just after midnight from Theodore, only to have him tell me that you had run off with your roommate.

  We have been looking for you all night! Get yourself back here if you know what is best for you or so help me God, when I find you I will make sure you are punished the way a Linacrean woman should be punished. "

  I quickly deleted her message and opened the next. It was from an unknown email address. Three guesses as to who it was.

  "Emmaline, I can't even fathom this little stunt you have pulled. Do you know how this makes me look? I had to report back to my father—the king—to make him aware that I won't be returning on the original date, and then I had to tell him why.

  When I find you, which I will, there will be serious consequences. I won’t be surprised if my father decides to deal with you when we return to Linacre, as this stunt you have pulled is a great offense against the country…"

  The letter rambled on and on, but I deleted it just like I had my mother’s. I wanted nothing to do with them. I decided that I needed to disappear. I needed to remake myself.

  "Bash..."

  "Yeah?" he responded, not looking up from his laptop as he rapidly typed.

  "Do you think there are any stores nearby?"

  . . .

  I made my way to the store a few blocks over in search of a few things. First was brown hair dye—I stuck out easily with my platinum-blond hair. Second was a prepaid cell phone, because I had tossed my old one in a fountain to prevent anyone from tracing me with it. And third was a sweatshirt, since it was a bit nippy outside.

  "I see you've dyed your hair back to brown, and it hasn't fallen out," Bash said as I began towel-drying my hair.

  "Yeah, I weighed the risks and honestly I would rather be bald than stand out. If he comes looking for me—"

  Sebastian set aside his laptop and rose to his feet. "Em, don't think about him. He won't find us. I explained to my parents what was going on and despite them telling me they want me to come home about a billion and a half times, they’ve helped us. They set up a new bank account for us and moved a couple grand into it."

  "Your parents are wonderful."

  "I know." He grinned. "So, what do you want to do today? I was thinking maybe we just relax in the room and plan out a new program for our photography business."

  I tossed the towel into the hamper and took a seat on his bed. "I was thinking about going to the beach, relaxing in the sand, and then planning out a new program for our business."

  Sebastian looked thoughtful. "Yeah, that does sound more appealing. See, this is why I’m glad I brought you."

  I scoffed. "You wouldn't even have a reason to be here if it weren’t for me." And we both began laughing.

  Instead of a beach, we ended up finding the pier. It wasn't what we had hoped for, but the scenery was beautiful—the sky a lovely blue, clouds placed in seemingly perfect positions. The smell of salt from the sea wafted on the crisp, Australian winter air, carrying with it occasional bouts of sea spray. The humming voices of many people sang beautifully through the breeze. It was perfect.

  Bash and I found a bench in solitude out at the end of the pier, overlooking the harbor. For a while we watched the boats come in and the water sparkle. Then we turned our attention to our business.

  "First thing, we need to find our focus. Since the majority of our experience is in fitness, swimsuit, and boudoir, I think we should focus on that. When we advertise, it needs to be for one of the three."

  I nodded my head in agreement.

  "I think the second thing we need to do is scout for shooting locations. After that, we can research our competition and make a game plan."

  "Yeah, I can already imagine the competition." I had seen some noteworthy photographers in magazines from Australia, and they were scary good.

  "We are going to need some damn-good advertisement. We need something new. Fresh. A photo shoot. We need a face for our business." He began looking up and down the pier, as if the
very person we needed would walk up at any moment.

  "Why don't we just hold an audition or something? We can do a model casting call and go from there."

  "Yeah, I was thinking about that, but I don't want to be paying any random stranger until we get a steady flow of business coming in." He paused, looked at me, scrunched up his face for a moment as if he were concentrating deeply on something… and then a wicked grin appeared.

  "No! Absolutely not!" I replied before he could say a word. "I am not going to be the face of the company. I don't photograph well at all."

  "Oh, come on, Em," he pleaded. "What if it’s just a trial? We can do the shoot, put together the brochures and distribute them. If it doesn't work well, we’ll find some other face. It's just for now."

  I sighed. "I don't know. Isn't it a bit risky to promote your product with yourself? Isn't avoiding that like the first rule of having a successful business?"

  "Don't be ridiculous. Look. It's just a couple shoots of each genre we specialize in."

  "Exactly," I said as I rose to my feet and moved to lean against the railing. "I am not a fitness model. I don't have the skill."

  Bash joined me. "You don't need it. All we have to do is get a good shot of you faking it and we are golden."

  I frowned. "Fine. It's the least I can do, since I got us into this mess."

  . . .

  Over the course of the next week, we spent time shopping for the props and outfits we needed to pull this off. The boudoir would be simple, tasteful, the bikinis not too revealing and the sport something I could easily pull off faking.

  "Come on out!" Bash called from the outside of a private, weather-worn beach house we had rented for a couple hours.

  I was wearing nothing but lacy, black lingerie with a matching garter belt and sheer, black tights that came up to mid-thigh. My hair was in waves and my makeup was dark and seductive, with red lips.

  "I look like I belong in Munich's red-light district," I said as I walked out. The second the air hit my skin, I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself.