8Hours and hours had gone by and their journey took no name to end. Renai sighed loudly as her back started to hurt by sitting in a single position. She rounded her neck and squared her shoulders to unload the aches brewed in them. It was strange that the carriage was awfully quiet. No one had initiated a conversation in such a long while. She was waiting for someone to speak so that she could talk to them and feel less bored, but all of them were painfully silent and their faces were curled down as if they were going against their will. How could they be thankless for such an opportunity? These women were going to be taught skills that would help them in future. Either they were slackers or their parents forcefully sent them. She took another long sigh and closed her eyes. Ten minutes later, the carriage finally came to halt, prompting her to open her eyes. She bit her lip as excitement to see the workshop coursed inside her. She rubbed the palms of her hands together and pulled a
***It was time when the King had to take the princess to his room. For she was his concubine and it was a tradition to consummate the bride and show her virgin blood to the elders of their royal family to prove the innocence of the princess. The priest ended the sacred prayer and graced the couple with his blessing. Arlet was now sitting beside the king, who was now her husband. Deep down, she knew he would be her first one but she would be among one of the countless ones. For the king could have common women to seek mental pleasure from but a true princess shall keep her virtue safe for her husband, and that’s what princess Arlet tried to do. She tried to keep her innocence for the one man who could have anyone he desired and marry many women of his choice. And no questions would be asked because he was the powerful and mighty king. The thought of sharing him killed her merriment a little. “I shall command you to take your pure wife and seek pleasure out of her as a reward of thi
9Zebian marched to his chamber in all his glory and excellence. His confident gait spoke it all. He was enjoying the undoing of Azura. Call him a barbarous devil or downright sadist, he was satisfied to see the obsessive fear in Arlet’s eyes. She didn’t see her downfall coming, but wasn’t that the whole plan?Despite having some serious temper issues and twisted comportment, he was a charming king in the eyes of people. He seemed to inherit the beams to impress people from his father; who left no stone unturned in pleasing his people through his mercy and just ruling. Whereas Zebian pleased them through his strict law, undisputed defeat and steely personality. The greatest trick behind his success was his cunning nature veiling all his evil wrongdoings and making them believe he was a kind-hearted man like his ancestors. Right now walking back shirtless, nobody could resist sparing him a glance and drooling over the sight but being the king, every servant kept their eyes low, not da
He knew if he did, he might get weak in his motive and that was the least that he wanted. He wanted to punish her, make her feel what he felt for eight years without her. She left him bleeding. She trusted the world over his protection. She backstabbed him like a coward and ran away with no trace of her soul. His chest bag heaving heavily. Whatever he did to her, she deserved it. And it was just a start, he would do much more. He wouldn’t back off. “You will kill her,” his heart screamed at his insane notions. “Just the way she killed me,” His mind smirked. “She is the woman you love, you found her after years of yearning for her, Zebian. Don’t do this,” His heart took the side of her. “She is the same woman who made me what I’m today,” The fight between his heart and mind coursed a shiver down his spine. Everything aside, he wondered how she looked now. The question dramatically changed the aura around him. Suddenly, he began longing to look at her. Was she the same bubbly girl
10Zebian woke up in his bed all alone. Despite her presence having an imperative effect on him, he couldn’t submit himself to let bygones be bygones, in fact, such theories weren't a part of his beliefs. His eyes shot open as his mind evoked images of her body and face. He drew a sigh as his heart confessed she grew up more beautiful, her long tresses were longer in contrast to years back. His stomach did a somersault.He further went on assessing that if Rose had stayed with him, she would have been enthroned beside him. They would have been married by now with at least four children. Two boys and two girls. He would have been a sane emperor like his father with a woman of his life. But damn for notions only resting in his mind. She ran away and that was enough to sabotage all of his aspirations. The thought chafed his mood. The next he grunted in displaced aggression, tossed the duvet and hurled out of the bed. His body reacted sorely due to the whippings of that day. He strod
**** Pain was the first thing that welcomed her back. Her eyes weakly blinked and then set apart only to see darkness engulfing her. She dragged a breath with all her strength. She tried to move but winced when her back throbbed like someone poured acid. It was excruciating and nerve-shattering. A tear left her eyes as she whimpered before flipping to the other side of an assumed bed. Her wails broke when her back rubbed against the sheet’s fabric, slicing her cells with stabbing pain. More tears trailed down. Her hand speedily lifted to reach her back out of pain, her fingers brushed the rough patches that were ingrained on her skin. She hissed and immediately dropped her hand. That’s when she noticed her hands were untied, she brought them under her gaze and realised she could see them. Her eyes widened in surprise, she thought she had become accustomed to darkness before noticing a light coming from behind her.She turned her head and found the lantern on the table. Her mouth inh
11- the calm before the storm -The mask of deception veiled all the venom from Zebian’s face as he strode toward the royal chamber with his concubine. He was holding her cold hand, Arlet walked beside him like a lifeless toy. The terror of his words still skirted on her face till they reached outside the dining hall. Zebian halted a step before the doorpost and turned to her. His cold expressions sucked all the courage that was knitting up within her. “A word about last night and your region is gone, keep that in mind before you feel courageous to speak.” He lazily laid his finger on her chin and drag her face to meet his cold eyes."Understood?" He said, impassive. Arlet gulped and nodded halfheartedly. “Good. Now, put on a big blushing bride smile and let everyone know my concubine had a wonderful night,” Zebian teased with an evil smirk. Despite feeling a whirlwind of hatred for him, she failed to be the defender of her self-respect. Zebian put a hand behind her back and enter
Her hands quickly came to hold his shoulder for support as she limped while he greedily lapped on her lips. The fire of agony abated a little. Renai was numbed by his sudden action and somewhere so was he. A part of his subconscious made him do that. He didn’t remember how he used to write in his journal about kissing her the second they would reunite, but his subconscious reflexed. His hands fell on her love-handles as he smashed his mouth more into hers. Renai, who was already lacking oxygen, opened her mouth which was intruded by his warm tongue. For a second, everything faded off for him. Every night of agony, every day of pain that ripped him, every second of cruel loneliness and every devastating flashback that numbed his ability to love someone other than her.At this moment, all he knew was that she was here and he couldn’t be enough grateful for it.He madly sucked on her tongue before roaming his own around her cavity. His eyes were closed. Too hazy to remain in his senses
******All the royal children were present in the hall. The hall was echoing with chirping voices. Little birds were spread everywhere until the king and queen’s arrival was announced. The boys back-stepped on the left and the girls took to the right lane. Zebian and Renai treaded between them and took to the stage. They settled on their respective thrones. The instructors rushed close to the stage and bowed. Zebian nodded and permitted the class to begin. They explained the moves and coordination to the children and showed how to combine the steps. After that, they paired the couple. Zenia was paired with Aurelio and that happened on the king’s order. He wasn’t unaware of her daughter’s interest in his sword of honour’s son.Lucian glanced at Zebian and smirked. Zebian smirked back and watched the pair stepping closer. The instructor told Aurelio to place his hand on her waist and grab her hand. Zenia put her hand on his shoulder and began swaying along to the music. She was deeply
Stepping inside the hall, the announcer proclaimed their arrival and both of the kids stood from their seats in respect. Rebian, who turned fifteen last month, was on the right side of the table along with his sister. Zenia will turn ten next week. The youngest one watched her parents advancing close with blurry vision. She wiped her tears with the back of her hands and dashed toward them. Zebian stepped faster and kneeled with his arms open. Zenia hurriedly slammed into his chest and hugged him tightly. He lifted her in his arms and stroked the back of her head. Her soft muffling caught him cooing. “I missed you so much, papa,” She mumbled against his neck and wept. Zebian smiled and closed his eyes. “Papa missed his angel too. Now, why are you crying?” He asked as a tear smeared over his skin. He tried to pull her face away but he snuggled into him and shook her head. “You didn’t come to meet me last night,” Zenia grumbled. Renai smiled and watched Zebian grin. “I thought you w
Bonus Chapter “Oh…oh…oh..ss…s…stop it, you are…t…tickling m…” Renai held his head and tried to pull it away but her husband was keen on sucking her neck while tickling her belly with his unforgiving cold fingers. The queen was erratically wobbling underneath him and he was chuckling against her skin, making it more hard for her. Zebian undid his lips and pasted a mischievous smirk before glancing down at his artwork. It was raging bright and purple sitting on the side of her neck. He was proud of every mark he owned on her body. “Will you ignore me again?” He aligned himself outside her entrance and gritted contemptuously. The mushroom tip was massaging her clit. Renai bit her lip to press her smile and nodded her head, doing hard to keep an offensive frown on her forehead. Zebian lifted his brows and stared at her in amusement. “Are you sure, my queen?” He leaned closer to her face and locked her gaze with his stern one. “If it comes to our children, I shall be ignoring you f
Sleep came to him after two weeks. After bending fate in his favour, he finally had her sleeping in his arms. His eyelashes fluttered as he woke up to her sight. Her soft petals slightly parted, her nose twinkling in pink hues. She was breathing peacefully as if she knew she was safe and protected. His heart drummed quietly against her left shoulder as he brought the back of his fingers to trace the outer-rim of her jaw. He keenly swirled his route down to her chin, grazing it with his thumb. As if her body acknowledged his touch, her lips got closed. He softly smiled and danced his hand all the way down to her stomach, underneath the duvet. He placed his hand on the bare surface and drew circles on it. She was only wearing gauze on her shoulder, the rest was her skin. Closing his eyes, he imagined caressing their baby. How much he dreaded losing him when she was injured by the arrow. That time he thought he would lose everything. Him, her. Every single hope to live.His heart walls
******Renai was being taken to the king’s chamber which was also hers now. Her chambermaids had dressed her in a black nightie and a gown concealing her beauty. “Her Grace, the Queen,” the announcer said. It felt oddly good to the queen as the doors opened for her. The king who was no other than her husband was gazing out with his hands tugged back. He was wearing a silk black gown like her. She stepped inside and the door shut behind her. Her gaze fell on the envelopes. Was he planning to tease her again? She wondered.He turned around. “My queen,” He stepped toward her and curtsied. Renai smiled amusingly. “You may rise,” “With all pleasure,” He straightened, both of them grinned.“You are holding something?” She mentioned. “Your wedding gift,” He presented it to her. She frowned. Wedding gift? Was it really a wedding gift in an envelope?She took it from his hands and took note of his reaction. “Open it,” He jutted his chin. She inhaled deeply and opened it. It was a paper
*****She squeezed the nosegay in her hands. Her palms were sweaty and she was slightly shivering in nervousness. She lifted her anxious eyes and glanced at the children dressed in royal suits and gowns ahead of her. They would escort her to the altar where she was going to marry the most powerful man in the world; who also happened to be her childhood best friend. Then why was she feeling so nervous? She didn’t know it herself. “My lady, it’s time,” Evelyn put a hand on her arm. Renai glanced at her with tears filling her eyes. She didn’t know why she was feeling mawkish. This was the biggest day of her life, it was supposed to make her happy. “This is the last time we are calling her ‘my lady’,” Cora piped in. Renai chuckled out of the blue and a tear tripped down as she closed her eyes. Evelyn smiled warmly and pulled her in a sisterly hug. “He will love you with his life,” Evelyn whispered in her ear.“You think so?” Renai whispered back.“I believe so, we all have seen in hi
Three Months LaterRenai detached the baby’s mouth from her nipple. His tiny lip formed a pout as he rubbed the back of his fist over his right eye. She purred seeing his little move. Her eyes admired his round, chubby sleepy face as he perfectly snuggled in her embrace. She brought her fingers and moved his fist down before bringing them to his cheek and lightly grazing his skin to the chin. The baby sighed in peacefully, coaxing a smile on his mother’s lip. She leaned down and placed two pecks on his cheeks, settling him on the mattress after that. She shielded his body by stuffing pillows around him as she had to leave him to take a bath. A chambermaid would be here to take care of him but she still chose to keep them for the safer side.Renai stood straight and was about to turn around when she heard the indistinct voices swinging from afar, coming through the window. It was early morning but she had been hearing these voices since last night. She smiled and thought to glance out
Renai had seen Zenner killing people. She first saw it when he was taking her to Calmia on Gordian’s—Bancroft’s Sword of Honour—command. She woke up in a carriage after she passed out in her house, looking around she discovered she was not in Sebria anymore. They stopped in a market. A few minutes later, she heard a commotion, she glanced outside the window and saw Zenner stabbing an old man for not giving him the apples on the rate he demanded. It was her first time witnessing a murder. She never recovered from it. Neither had she the courage to see people getting butchered by him. She also didn’t want him to hurt Zebian. King or not, Zenner was close to him. He could have easily killed him. “He said if I told you anything, he would behead you and your people would turn up against you. I didn’t want that, I never want you to get hurt,” Renai flitted her misted gaze at him and snivelled. Zebian was over the moon. His insides were dancing in happiness. The effect her words had on him
She was staring at his face as he blew air on the hot soup. His eyes were swollen and he looked exhausted. Of course, the war and fighting had tired him out. Her heart was filled with pity for him. He lifted his lashes to her mouth as he fed her. “You c..cried?” She asked, gulping the brew. His eyes flicked to her eyes. If only he could tell how many sleepless nights he had spent beside her, praying for her, feeling dreadful whenever he thought she would give up on him. If only he could sob in her lap and tell her how powerless he felt in all these days of misery.“Did you make it?” She asked him to change the topic as he was only staring at her face, it was making her feel awkward. A soft smile crossed his lips as he forwarded the spoon. “Who else could make it with such fine perfection, my beautiful?” He sneered, keeping his gaze on her sparkless orbs that still held the whole world for him. She looked self-conscious. A small bubble of wrinkle sat between her brows.“I’m not beau