"Can't I just stay with Tamara?" Astrid asks in the morning as they eat breakfast.
"You want to stay in my sister's service instead of living on the favorite's floor?" Loras asks while pushing a weird-looking pastry, covered with something red into Astrid's mouth.
"No way. It looks disgusting!" She protests, but he doesn't move.
"Try."
She relunctly opens her mouth and her eyes lighten up.
"Amazing!" She tries to say with her mouth full. He chuckles. He was born a prince and he grew up to be a king. Not even his sister was so care-free around him. The protocol was always followed and no one left their guard down. But this one... This little slave from the barbaric tribes of the north. She looks him straight in the eyes. Like no one did before.
"And yes," She continues, not aware that he has been staring at her. "I like spending time with Tamara. It's not like she gives me a lot to do. Enough not to get bored. I hate sitting around all day."
"Then you can go to the garden. Take walks."
"How much can one person walk without a purpose?" She asks, rolling her eyes.
It's not like she would have to live on the favorite's floor. After all, she can just go to Tamara when she wakes up and spend the day with her anyway. But living there means living right next to Lanna and she doesn't feel like facing her friend yet.
Fortunately for her. the king doesn't insist and just tells her to do as she pleases.
In the soft morning light, with his hair down and his nightgown half open down to his abs he looks... heart melting.
Astrid can't resist the temptation and as a thanks for letting her continue to live with Tamara, she places a soft kiss on his cheek. The gesture comes so naturally, it surprises both of them.
The king smiles and brushes his fingers over her lips. His hands are worn and calloused, like he is used to holding swords, not delicate bodies, but the shiver that they send on Astrid's back is truly pleasant.
"Soft. Like I imagine them." His voice comes out hoarse, lower than usual like he fights the temptation inside him.
He clears his voice, and when he draws his hand back, Astrid can't help but sigh.
"Can I see you again? Tonight?" She asks, filed by the dareness of the moment.
He is half turned with his back to her, but she can sense his smirk.
"I will send the eunuch in the evening. Prepare." He answers and with that, he goes to get dressed for the day.
Today, she doesn't run out of the room. She doesn't run or hide. Her steps are slow and guided as she goes back on the Golden Path, as she would try to prolong the feeling she has.
Her lips seem frozen in a smile and her body feels like it’s floating.
Until she meets with Lysa.
Astrid bows down, out of habit, but this time Lysa doesn't stop her. Favorites don't bow to each other, but Lysa sees herself above anyone else anyway.
"Don't get your hopes up, little slave. After tonight, he will forget about you."
"Tonight?" Astrid asks, confused.
"Tonight is a full moon. The sacred night that the king can spend only with his most favorite in order to conceive a blessed child. And once I touch him again, he will erase you from his mind completely."
Astrid doesn't say anything and simply takes her leave. The king asked her to prepare, but maybe he forgot what day it is? She feels her heart aching at the thought of him sleeping with Lysa, but she has to remind herself he is the king. He has a harem by law. He has to have many children to secure the dynasty.
All she can be is another woman... Will she be able to be happy with only a piece of him? Or will she crumble and have nothing?
With that in mind, she opens the door to her room, only to see Tamara there.
"That excited to find out what happened?" Astrid asks.
"I could hear the laughter from my balcony in the morning, I have enough. I wanted to apologize. I pushed you even though I promised I won't. And I want you to know that I didn't do it because I don't care about you, but because I can see you like him too and I would hate to see you throw that away for people that wouldn't do the same for you. That being said, I am here to gossip, not as his sister, but as your friend." Tamara says, with a solemn tone.
Astrid hugs her. She is grateful to Tamara. And she knows the princess actually cares for her beyond being a tool for her own schemes. She saw the way Tamara treats her maids and the other slaves. She is kind with everyone and is a genuinely good person.
They sit down and talk for a while. Tamara doesn't ask too many questions and Astrid doesn't give a lot of details.
"And he said he will send someone tonight."
"Tonight?" Tamara asks and her jaw drops on the floor. "You sure you heard him right?"
"Yes." But Astrid leaves out the part where she asked to see him tonight. "Although when I met Lysa in the morning she said she is the one going tonight so I don't know what to think."
"We have to wait and see, because if he sends for you tonight..."
"On the sacred night?"
"Not only it's the sacred night. It would be the third night in a row. It's not something that happens every day. My brother likes solitude. He usually can't stand to not have any moment alone more than a day or two, so he never calls anyone three times. Not even Lysa."
"But what is Lyas though? Everyone keeps calling her the most favorite. It's that an actual position?"
Tamara looks like you just squeezed a lemon in her mouth.
"The mother of the heir is called a faustia, which means the most fortunate in the old language. The faustia is a rank. The leader of the harem. Lysa calls herself the most favorite and not the most fortunate to point out that the king favors her, not fate."
So Lysa truly has more rights to go there tonight than Astrid's.
Tamara is fast to notice that Astrid got saddened by it.
"Don't worry. In the harem, everything can change so fast. It's all about what the king wants. No laws can impose anything. Not who can go on the sacred night. Not who can be named faustia."
Still, Astrid's hopes are not very high. Lysa is beautiful and she knew him for so long. Astrid is a girl he met a month ago, who doesn't want to sleep with him. Anyone can do the math.
Still, what can she do except for getting ready and waiting.
And wait.
And wait...
And wait until almost midnight, when the palace is quiet and everyone had went to sleep.
He said evening, so it's obvious he won't call for her at this point. But she can't change. Her heart refuses to take down the dress and the jewelry. She refuses to slip into her nightdress and climb into bed like promises weren't made in the morning.
A solitary tear smears her makeup.
Could she? Could she fall in love so fast? She didn't want to... But the heart can't be controlled.
She walks out on the balcony to get some fresh air and clear her mind. She didn't expect to see him.
He doesn't notice her right away, instead, he stares in the distance, lost in his own thoughts, with a small smile hanging on his lips. Astrid wonders how such a beautiful smile can be so heartbreaking when his eyes suddenly fall on her.
She bows down, respectfully, and he nods in her direction. Astrid tries to read his face but now it's cold as a stone.
"Lady Astrid?" A eunuch appears from behind and scares the living days out of her.
"Yes?" She tries to pull herself together.
"The king requested your presence."
Astrid is shocked and turns back to look at Loras, but he has already gone back inside.
At this hour? Why so late? Was Lysa there earlier? No... He wouldn't. That's disgusting. I mean, maybe she can accept to share him, but two women in one night. Is he that type of man?
A million questions race through her mind as she stares at the now-empty balcony, but she won't find the answers there.
This time, her way on the Golden Path is more tense and is paved with uncertainty, doubts and hope.
She can only pray it won't be the last time she sees those halls.
The heavy doors open and in the silence of the night, their sound feels like a lonely heartbeat. Astrid takes a few steps inside the room before they close behind her, sealing her fate."Your Majesty..." She says, kneeling down, but her tone is cold and distant, nothing of the nervousness of last night."Come closer, Astrid. Let me see how beautiful you are in the moonlight." He says and his honey-covered voice almost makes her lose her determination.She takes his hand and they walk on the balcony. The full moon is shining brightly over the sea."Why is the full moon night sacred?" She asks, not wanting to open the subject directly."Shh. Listen carefully."She does as he asks and hears the dragon. His growls are not scary tonight, they sound like a melody. A song filled with melancholy and sadness."He is the last of his kind. When the moon was full, dragons mated. Now, he can only sing, hoping a mate would come. It's a sacred night because a dragon child conceived in this night wil
Now that she took this decision, Astrid has to talk with her friend. If they are to compete for the heart of the same man, she wants to do it openly, not behind Lanna's back. She owes her at least that much.She wants to go to Lanna's room directly, but her appearance is still a little messy since that... kiss. Her heart beats like a drum when she thinks about that. How lost she was in the moment. How amazing his touch felt. How soft and sweet his mouth was.She shakes her head. A bath will clear her mind and as it's still quite early in the morning, no other favorite is awake, so the bathhouse is empty.As she lets the water pour over her body, Astrid hears steps behind her. She doesn't bother to check as she thinks it's probably a maid, here to take an early bath before the work begins.She doesn't really have time to react when someone grabs her by the hair and smashes her head on the wall. The adrenaline hits and Astrid turns around and pushes the person off her."Who are you?" Sh
Astrid is grateful to the medic. The trip to the Summer Baths was long and every move of the carriage was extremely painful. She would have gone insane if the medic wouldn't have given her drops of a potion that made her sleep most of the time."She is a fighter." Loras stares at her almost amused under the worried look."She is, Your Majesty. I didn't expect her to recover and even on the road..." The medic answers while Astrid looks at them in silence. How boring it is to listen to a conversation and not be able to join. This is why she is so grateful to Loras. When they stop for breaks, the pain is manageable so she doesn't have to sleep. Loras stays next to her and reads her poetry so she wouldn't feel lonely. The sound of his voice is soothing and the looks on the guard's faces when they see their king reading poetry to a slave are priceless.Astrid sees the sun almost lost under the trees. Evening. When she last fell asleep it was only noon.She stares at the window and then at
What a blessing and a curse to be confined in a dark, wet cave with the king.Most of the time he is semi-naked and protests when Astrid asks him to put on some clothes. Her argument is that it's inappropriate, his argument is that she is his woman. His argument is better, but truly, she can't tell him that the real reason she wants him to put something on is that she isn’t constantly drooling after him.Well, an option is not to look, but she realized fast enough she can't..."Aren't you cold?" She tries again."No." He answers, containing a smile, as he always does."How about...?""No."She is done! If he's going to play this game, no reason for her not to win.She strips down and throws her dress on the ground. He gives her a curious look, but says nothing.For the next hour, she just walks around, naked as the day she was born, and enjoys seeing him covering his hardened manhood. She expected this to be harder, as she is not the type that is comfortable sitting like this, even if
The weather is warm, so when Loras rips her dress off, Astrid doesn't feel cold. No, the burning pleasure of his every touch makes her body burst into flames of pleasure. He kisses her neck, with his teeth, gently nibbling her soft skin. His hands explore her exposed chest, making her moan when he rolls his thumb over her nipples again. Then one hand goes down slowly, touching her belly, her hips, then grabbing her ass. Her breaths are starting to get shorter and shorter. And when his hand touches the soft skin in between her tights, she screams.The sensation was so sudden, so electrifying. She never felt anything like this before.Astrid looks at Loras. He moved his hand, grabbing her ass and pulling her closer to him. She gasps for air, wanting to say something. To beg him to stop or to continue, she is unsure herself."Shh..." He whispers in her ear, covering her mouth. "There's no one to hear you here. Only I exist for you."When she was about to protest, she takes a big breath.
"Under no circumstances!" Astrid protests."It wasn't a question. I said you will join me." Loras says already exasperated."Or what?"Loras gets closer, trapping Astrid in between his body and the wall."Or else I will tie you up to my bed and have you over and over again, not once giving you the satisfaction to finish. Until you beg me to end your misery. Until you agree with my every word." He says in her ear, with his typical arrogant smirk on his face.And it's truly, not the threat itself that makes Astrid agree, but that sparkle of excitement in his eyes that makes her believe he wants her to say no."Fine." She looks away, as her face gets red. "But I don't want to talk to him.""He's not allowed to address a member of my harem first, so if you don't initiate, he won't either."Sirius, The Lord of the South. One of the bastards that thinks it's okay to drag people out of their homes, murder their families and send them as "gifts" like they are some objects you can play with.A
"Your Majesty... It's inappropriate for a slave to give punishments to the lords..." Lord Sirius says. This man can't keep his mouth closed to save his life."What is even more inappropriate, Lord Sirius is the blatant disrespect for my orders that you showed. And because of it, because you seem to not care about respecting the rules, the rules won't be applied to you. The slave will decide." Loras responds and his voice leaves no room for arguing.Lord Sirius looks at Astrid with a mixture of fear and disgust and she realizes that no matter what she wears or what she'll become, in his eyes, she will always be below him.Astrid clears her voice. She would like to teach him a lesson, to pretend for a moment that she can change his mind by showing him how it feels like to be powerless, at the mercy of someone that doesn't care about your screams. But it would be pointless as people like him could never understand."I know, my lord that most of your money comes from slave trading. The wo
Loras takes his sword out and pushes Astrid behind him."Show yourself!" He shouts in the direction of the bushes."They asked for help!" Astrid takes a step forward, but he stops her."With so many people around searching for the witch, thieves might be lurking around, too. They use this type of thing to lure victims into an isolated area and rob them." Loras explains as he slowly approaches the bushes."So do we just ignore it?""Does it look like I'm ignoring it?"Fair point, but if someone is hurt, they don't have time for being cautious."Loras!"He pushes the leaves away with the sword. Behind the bushes, there's an old lady laying on the ground."Help me!" She begs.Astrid rushes to her as Loras looks around. But the fabric that binds the two together is too short for her to reach the woman."Loras! There is no one around!" Astrid insists and after he takes one more look around and sniffs the air, he puts his sword down."Madam, are you alright?" He asks, kneeling down next to