"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
A while ago she wished, like any naive, young girl to find love, to build a happy family like the one she saw her parents had. Then, when they died, she wished she could die and join them. Then she wanted Loras. But now? There isn't much she isn't contempt with. Of course, she could ask Lanna to forgive her. Ask to know who wants to kill her. But if you have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a wish in front of the witch that so few have the luck to meet... she feels like she doesn't have an important enough wish for such a chance."I don't know..." She answers sincerely.The witch doesn't seem surprised."You are not the first one. But don't worry, you will not lose your chance. When you have your wish, come find me.""How will I find you again?" Astrid asks."When your heart will find your wish, call my name and I will guide you." She answers.They hear some people coming and the witch rushes to say her goodbyes and vanishes yet again, leaving Astrid and Loras alone in the dar
"Back to the dungeon with you!" the guard that drags Lanna says with a cruel smile."Such a waste though. She has a nice body." The other answer looking at Lanna up and down before his partner smacks his head."Don't be stupid boy, punishment or no punishment she is the king's woman. Those kinds of words will get you killed.""Come on! She will be exiled anyway, who will care or know if I have my way with her. I certainly will feel like a king."They both laugh as Lanna looks at them with pure terror in her eyes."Pl...please... I swear! I did nothing! I didn't hit her that bad! Please!" Lanna begs.One of them threatens her with something, but Astrid is too overwhelmed to hear. She looks at Loras again, searching for answers in his cold expression."Should I give you my crown too?" He asks the younger guard, the one who was still looking at Lanna in a disgusting way.The guards freeze when they hear the sound of his voice coming from behind them. They don't even there to turn around
"It can't be!" Astrid answers. "She wouldn't."Lanna may have been an asshole to Astrid a few times since they both became favorites, but to pay someone to kill her? That is too much. They have been here for too little, this place didn't have time to corrupt her that deeply."How sure are you?" Loras asks."Very. And if you don't believe what kind of person she is, if you didn't see how shaken she was last night, then think about it logically. No maid would have agreed to help her. She was here for one night. I was here for three nights at that point, including the sacred day.""So you think you are too superior to Lanna for any maid to try and kill you for her." Loras asks looking amused."I think no maid would have risked your anger for someone who already looked like they lost your favor. I disagree with the harem hierarchy. But I'm not too dumb to understand it." Astrid rolls her eyes. Not everyone has his sense of superiority."I agree." He answers, getting serious again."You do
After Tamara leaves for the party, Astrid decides to do something stupid.Well, not stupid-stupid, even though Tamara would argue that it is, but something not so smart.The few soft knocks on the door are met with silence. Astrid knows she's inside, but..."Lanna... It's me. Please open." She pleads with her.This conversation is long overdue and even though Astrid knows it's too late to salvage the friendship, Lanna still deserves some explanations. If it wasn't for her, Astrid would have died on that ship."Lanna..." She tries again. But still nothing. Maybe for the best...She's about to give up when she hears some movement. The doors open.Lanna looks better, but that sparkle in her eyes is still gone. The events of the past week transformed her into a shadow of the girl she was when they arrived here. Astrid feels a lump in her throat thinking how contagious and carefree her laughter was when they played at the fountains."I just want to talk..."Lanna looks at her for a moment,
Astrid gets up, the pain in her ankle, nothing compared to the one in her heart. Looking down at the dark abyss below her, she feels nothing. No fear. Why would she? Down there is only death. She laughs to herself. Here she is again, in the same point she was on her first day here. All the hopes, the drama, the broken friendship and the fights got her back to the beginning. "Only one step and it's over." She says to herself taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. Hell no! There's a reason she didn't die then. Her life means something more that the love of a man. And after all, no matter how heartbroken she is, taking the easy way out was never something she did. "Lady Astrid?" A eunuch comes in without her hearing a sound. She jumps out of her skin. No matter how long she stays in the harem, she can't get used to how silent they move. "Yes. I am on the balcony." She answers. "The king ordered me to see if you are alright. Did you hurt yourself?" Such a confusing man... Sen