~Nadia~
It was the harvest season, and I finally got a chance to get out of the palace. My grandfather worked in the orchards and was involved in moving the harvest to the cellars or for processing.
I accompanied him along with my nephew, Ethan, who was six years old and loved plants just like I did. Ethan always helped me around the garden as well, and we had a great time moving cart fulls of peaches and apples today.
I watched the sunset on my way back, feeling happy that it was the third and last day without Ian. Another night to go and he would be here tomorrow morning.
I returned to the palace in high spirits, only for my excitement to be immediately cut short.
"There she is!" My mother was delighted to see me which was a horrible thing in itself. I hoped that she didn't sell me off to some foreign merchant while I was away.
Lydia patted my back as if I returned victorious from a war or something.
"What's going on?" I asked, not wanting to know.
"Here's your first proper income sweetheart. You won't believe how much you made!" Julia's mother handed me a thick envelope. I was confused. What did I make this money for? A feeling of dread washed over me.
"Your Prince Charming is very generous. He paid you even for the day that you rejected his group sex invitation. Four hefty payments in total. And he counted all your failed performances as private sessions." My mother said with a proud smile.
"You still shouldn't let go of the opportunity to be his mistress. If he approved all your payments before leaving on his trip, there is hope that he still wants you," said Julia's mother.
She was the reason behind all this mess and my tangled up feelings, to begin with. She was so wasted on my birthday that she had drawn Ian's attention with her babbling, putting an abrupt end to my carefree life.
Until a few minutes ago, I was just lovesick and sad about falling for such a man, but now I was feeling like a true prostitute. Ian paid for every moment I spent with him. If I had any doubts about him feeling something more for me, he utterly cleared them all.
"I love your strategy, Nadia," Julia said, with admiration in her eyes. "It looked like a bad move at first to give up on such a privilege. Did anyone of you guess that the Prince would have taken it as a challenge? A bold trick for sure, Nadia!"
"Yes, and he is not going to back off until he gets what he wants. So, a couple more private sessions and a lot more money. Oh my! I won't be surprised if you make a year's worth in your very first month." My mother was building castles in the air.
They would probably kick me out if I told them how I really felt. Not sure if saying that I felt heartbroken was an exaggeration. Was I really some sort of a challenge for him? The petty ways in which he troubled me a few days back definitely showed that his ego was hurt and he wanted revenge.
So all those things he did, treating me differently and making me special, was just his way to make me sleep with him? And when he failed, he got pissed and decided that I wasn't worth his time. Oh well... I should blame myself for expecting anything different from him. I guess I forgot who I was. I needed this rude awakening.
I went to sleep, thinking about all the plants and garden supplies that I was going to buy with the money I got. I will buy a nice foldable platform trolley for my grandfather. He is too old to be lugging such heavyweights from the orchards to the carts. Ethan and I helped but we weren't really very useful, especially Ethan, because he ate most of the peaches he carried today.
***********
Ian just returned this morning, and his stupid sex party was in the evening. He couldn't wait even for a day before scheduling it.
"You still need to come and watch unless you are sick." My sister reminded me.
"Hmm... I can't really use up all my sick passes." I needed them for when Ian's brothers sent out invitations next week or later. I hoped to go unnoticed as long as possible.
"Are you sure? You actually look sick today."
"I am fine."
I will have to watch Ian fuck other women to get over him. I need everything there is to convince my dumb heart that he was not worth the tears or heartache. I avoided him all day by skipping kitchen duties and spending time in the orchards. But evening came pretty quick and everyone was dressed up and heading out of the courtesan quarters.
I usually sat with the other under eighteen girls to watch these events but it felt different today. Not getting an invitation was a sign of failure. I wasn't supposed to be in the audience anymore, so I could see a lot of questioning and judging eyes when I stood by the large glass window. The viewers were not allowed in the same room to lend some privacy and quiet to the participants.
I hated how my heart sped up instantly when Ian entered the room. His stormy grey eyes made me weak at the knees. With those strong arms, firm chest, and soft sharp lips, his presence made everyone turn flushing shades of red.
Part of me wished to run toward him, to stroke his silky strands of hair and kiss that tight angular jaw. I remembered the way he had closed his eyes last time when I ran my lips over his face. The sight of his muscled bareback, and the thought of how those little stubbles on his face poked my skin was turning my panties moist. I needed to get ahold of myself.
What I watched next scarred me for good. He ripped the black lace off Julia's pale skin and pressed her face into the bed before pounding into her savagely. Her whimpers of pleasure soon turned into screams and the bedpost started to shake. His ragged breathing and low grunts reminded me of our time together when I was the one pleasuring him, his breathy words replaying in my head. It hurt like hell that it wasn't me he was pounding into.
Next, he was riding the other girl who turned eighteen on the same day as me. He flipped her over and wrapped his arm around her neck. I closed my eyes, not wanting to know if he pulled her into him. I couldn't stand the thought of him looking into her eyes.
His sex was always rough and animalistic, but I found it extremely arousing before. I was jealous of all those women of course. Unlike those countless lonely nights when such visuals made me orgasm, they cut me like a sharp piece of glass this time. I wanted to be the first and last thing that he touched and tasted. Some other woman trembling under him and gripping at the sheets made me burn up with anger.
I wanted to push myself to see it till the end, to soak it all in no matter how bad it hurt. My vision turned cloudy with tears spilling out endlessly. Unable to stand on my shaky legs, I ran down the hallway, accidentally knocking a couple of tall ornamental vases.
"Whoa, easy there, lady!"
Someone loomed up ahead of me, blocking my way.
"I am sorry, I will have it cleaned."
I looked back to see if I created too much mess. He didn't move out of my way. I wiped my tears to get a good look at him.
"Who are you? And what's going on? Is there a problem?" He asked in a concerned voice.
I introduced myself but failed to give a logical explanation to his other two questions. I never saw him before but he sounded nice. Unlike the younger men in my family, he had a warm, friendly aura.
"Very well. I am Noah, Chief Grenadier of the Assault Operations wing."
"The army?"
"Yes, the army," he chuckled.
"Nice to meet you. I have to go now, excuse me."
"Can I walk you to wherever you are going?"
Um... "Okay. Tell me more about yourself. Are you married?"
"Will you have sex with me?" I asked Noah, who was now standing outside my bedroom. "W-what?" He said with a dazed face. "You heard me. I feel a little fucked up right now, and I think a good fuck will help me." "Nadia... The risk is too high, you know that right?" "I won't tell anyone. I had a boyfriend for a year and even my sister didn't know about him, not even his name." I reached out for his hand, but he moved away. "I'm sorry, I can't." When I was sixteen, Julia was caught with a man who wasn't a Royal. They both were sentenced to death but my cousin lied that he had forced himself upon her. She was spared because of her good acting skills. This was one of the reasons why I could never find a man. Even my boyfriend back then was too scared to do much and then he drifted away. I have to be deemed unfit to be a courtesan first, and that isn't going to happen until I cross twenty-one or twenty-two, depending
He didn't flinch when I slapped him. Instead, his soft lips crushed harder against mine, forcing a moan out of me. The deep hunger in his eyes left goosebumps all over me.Get a grip on yourself, you fool! He doesn't feel anything for you. I reminded myself about last night and my temper began to rise again. But the more I fought him, the more he kissed me. I would be lying if I said that his kisses didn't calm me down. It was black magic for sure.I wanted to close my eyes and relish the warmth of his lips. The stinging sensation when his fingers dug into my skin felt like it was his way of saying that he missed me. That's where the problem lied; he never said anything about missing me. It was all in my head because I only saw what I wanted to see. The one thing he ever said was that he wanted to fuck me, and that shouldn't even be remotely flattering to me.I needed to get his hands off of me before I lost my mind. I pressed my body against him, causing him to
"Nadia, wait!" The head chef stopped me at the entrance to the main hall.I asked her early in the morning about taking a day off today to avoid seeing Ian. Instead of approving my leave, she gave me an earful about taking yesterday off. So I just disappeared without waiting for her permission."Where the hell were you all day? Did you resign from your job without telling me?""I am sorry, something came up, and I couldn't come back any sooner.""What came up? You look like you played with the pigs in th---" She stopped when she saw Ian return from the stables, looking muddier than me."Oh my! Your Highness. I will let Nancy have someone run the bath for you."He nodded and walked away. She grabbed me by the arm before I could escape for a shower."Why do you both look like this?" She asked in a low whisper."The Prince picked me up when I was on my way back, and we fell off his horse.""Oh really!" I was startled when I
"Did you just get thrown out of his room?""I guess..."Lydia was passing by the corridor and found me sitting on the floor trying to understand what he said about rubbing something in my face."Pull me up." I reached out for her hand."What happened in there?" She asked, grabbing the tray with coffee spilled all over."I forgot to put sugar in the coffee.""He got so mad about just that?""And I might have put buttermilk in it instead of milk by accident," I chuckled inwardly as I said that."No shit! I am surprised that he didn't throw you down the stairs.""Pfft..."I brushed my messed up hair with my fingers, and Lydia found his fountain pen's cap entangled in it. She burst out laughing."Now tell me the truth. What did he do? Did he bend you over his desk?"The door to Ian's bedroom flung open, and he appeared with an empty breakfast plate, which he set into the tray that Lydia was holding
I wasn't very sure that Noah would want to talk to me after all my rudeness and weirdness the other night. If my mom's words about my forgettable face are true, he would probably not even recognize me as it has been several days since our first meeting."Hello hello! What a pleasant surprise Nadia.""Hi, good to see you as well.""How have you been? And what brings you here?""Doing well, I guess. I have to deliver this message to someone.""Ah, running errands for the Royals.""How do you know this is from the Royals?""It's rolled vellum. We common people can't afford parchment and vellum; we use paper instead.""I see, that's something new I learned, thanks! Is Mason around?""Which Mason? We got three of them.""I am not very sure which one. Field officer?""Mason, the field officer. There's only one of his kind. He is not here at the moment, but I can pass it on to him when he's back.""Er... Ho
"Ian, listen to me. I am just the messenger---""I don't care. I don't want you delivering this kind of message. You have one fucking job, and that is to let me fuck you. You have the nerve to say no. But then you go around running such bullshit errands. Are you really so low on money?"He was seething with anger. His grip tightened around my neck, and the weight of his body pushed me against the wall. He pressed my cheek to the cold, smooth surface while my back burned up with anticipation.I was too restrained to move. I wanted to turn around and kiss him slowly. His kisses had such a calming effect on me when I was mad. I was sure he would forget his anger too, if only he allowed me to touch him.Wrapping his other hand around my waist, he pulled me into his hard length and whispered in my ear, "Guess I have been too gentle with you, a bit too accommodating."The menace in his voice should scare me, but it made my pussy pulsate with evident crav
I returned to the courtesan quarters in a daze. Was Ian really going to punish me as he said? He knows it was not my fault. He looked furious, not just at Mason but also at me.I quickly changed into plain clothes before my mother or aunt got suspicious. Everyone who was around my age was in the common room in the quarters, listening to every single word that Julia's grandmother had to say. She was a superb storyteller and the oldest member of our community."Which battle is she talking about?" I asked Lydia."The Napoleonic Wars and the Congress of Vienna.""Ugh! I will go take a nap."The old lady's voice boomed through the hallway as I walked away."...the King and his father had returned victorious. The Battle of Waterloo ended Napoleon's rule as the emperor of the French. And that was the War of the Seventh Coalition in 1815. The Allies exiled Napoleon to a remote island called Saint Helena, where he died six years later.""Didn'
"I said unsweetened. UN-sweetened. How hard is it to not mess up something so simple?" I lashed out at the new trainee and tossed the sweetened whipped cream back at her.I am not particularly known for my foul mood, but I couldn't however help it right now."This is too dense!" I complained and asked for a different sponge cake."It doesn't have to be perfect, Nadia. If it is dense, slather it with a layer of jam and call it a Demel's torte once you pour the icing on. You know this better, stop stressing," Marley said.She was much nicer to me now after dealing with several frustrating newcomers who sucked at the dinner table or when taking food upstairs to the Royals.I was coating the cake in a dark chocolate icing when Ian walked toward the kitchen. I froze instantly, thinking he was looking for me. On second thought, it was better to be at his service tonight than being with one of his brothers. I was dreading this after-dinner party.