~Nadia~
I needed to go as far away from Ian as possible. I feel disgusted by him to the core. Once a playboy, always a playboy. Such a fool I was to wait for him, hoping he would come one day.
Where was the map that grandpa uses? I needed to get out of Ivaris and go somewhere up north. I changed into more comfortable clothes and packed some food and clothes as quickly as possible.
Poor Andreas, I wrote an apology note for him as well and another note for grandparents and Giselle. I left part of my earnings along with the letter, hoping that Andreas continues to send them my allowance, at least for Giselle's sake.
I ripped the letter meant for Ian into a thousand pieces and left home. The train station was in Ivaris Central, which was only a mile away by the shortcut grandpa showed me. There was a long line of people at the ticket station because of the rush hour.
As I stood in the line and marveled at the granite facades lit with giant lanter
~Ian~I reached Ivaris Central in no time, and the first thing I noticed was a large group of people surrounding something and a lot of commotion. I pushed my way through to find that Andrew was beaten to a pulp and my men were in a heated argument with a handful of commoners."What's going on here?" I helped Andrew off the floor and asked him."That woman in the barracks, she's Noah's accomplice.""Which woman?""She's pregnant now. She ran after him while we were chasing him. I tried to stop her, but she concocted some cock and bull story and got me beaten.""Where is she now? Did you hurt her?""She ran after him, that way." He pointed to the tracks."I saw her get into the train that left just twenty minutes back." Another one of my men told me.I went to the ticket counter to ask which train she might have taken. Only two trains left in the last thirty minutes, one going to Arcadia and the other to Krems
~Nadia~"Do you have any idea the kind of hell you put Seb through?"What was she talking about? She had a wedding ring on and a baby bump, probably in her second trimester."You can write such articulate letters to strangers with pen names but don't have the guts to confront the father of your child? So what if he rejects you? At least you would have tried. You deprived him of seeing the baby grow inside you and the satisfaction of being there for you. You made all decisions for the three of you.""I saw him with you at the ball. You were all over him as always." I couldn't remove the bitterness out of my voice."I love him, and there was no sign of you anywhere for months. You can't expect me to be a saint and sacrifice him for you. You should have confronted him, fought with him, and claimed him back if you really wanted him that bad. You ran like a little kid, making him dig into the entire Prussian spy network and operations."I w
Nine months later (Mountbatten, September 30, 1836) ~Nadia~ "Sorry, I can't help being rough with you today," he said, gripping my hips tighter. "Me neither!" I bit into the skin near his collarbone and sucked on the side of his neck. We were dying to be alone and as loud as we wanted for almost a week now. He pushed me up against the wall, capturing my lips in a passionate kiss and moving his hands under my blouse. A sharp, angry cry resonated throughout the entire home. "Oh, that little brat!!" Ian made a sulky face as he went to check on Leo, and I followed him laughing. Leo stopped crying as soon as I rubbed his chin with my finger. Just like Ian, he wanted me to brush his hair with my fingers. Ian admired his sleeping little daughter. Oh yes, we had twins, Mabel and Leo. "Look at my angel, sleeping so peacefully, allowing us some quality time. Such a sweet darling." He moved the tiny r
~Ian~ Is she for real? Did she really say no to me?! I was the hottest guy in the kingdom, rich and powerful. All my life I have only met smitten women who liked to flatter me or beg for more. They meant nothing to me but bodies to conquer and move onto the next. This woman was born in a pleasure house. What else does she think she existed for? I called her into my room to punish her for disobeying me yesterday. I expected her to have a good reason for refusing my offer. "Please, sir! I will send my sister to you." Her eyes were brimming with tears like her worst nightmares had come true. I pinned her to the wall and caged her between my arms, with our bodies separated only by a few inches. She was scared-stiff to move as if it was a sin if her body accidentally grazed against mine. Her reluctance only made my cock grow hard, very hard. "Look at me!" &nb
~Nadia~ My sister loved to be whipped and spanked. She was kinky, like most other courtesans that I knew. Sometimes I wondered if I got accidentally swapped when I was a baby. Women in my family were strikingly beautiful, my sisters, mother, cousins, and aunts. Gorgeous curves, seductive faces, and the worked hard to keep in shape. I was an exception. I had the potential to look sexy if I tried hard. The thought of orgies and polyamory didn't excite me, it disgusted me to the core and I wanted to run away. But life was harsh and I would probably end up in a brothel sooner or later if I pulled such a stunt. It's a man's world and all men were assholes. At least the royal assholes had money and treated us with some respect. Life in the palace was great for me until my 18th birthday, almost great, except for one thing—the live demos that I had to watch—group sex demos. People of my kind were trained from a young
~Nadia~ Thoughts about him caused the familiar tingling sensation all over my body. I went into my bedroom and plopped on my bed. My body was aching with need like I had never known before. I rubbed my happy button thinking about his erection. He told me that I turned him on. That got my juices flowing. I rubbed harder and faster, imagining his tongue running over it. "Nadia?!" Ugh! My mother was looking for me. "I'm here!" I got up and ran to see what she wanted. "It's almost dinner time for the royals. Why aren't you in the kitchen?" I told the head chef how passionate I felt about cooking and she gave me an opportunity to watch her cook and help her out with preparing sauces sometimes. But most other responsibilities that she gave me were useless to me. Take coffee to the Prince's bedroom, serve dinner, and wait at th
~Nadia~ I was terrified that Ian was going to rape me. His eyes were filled with lust and longing. He locked the bedroom door and pushed my back against it. I squirmed in his grip trying to reach for the doorknob. "What's wrong with you? Calm down!" He said sternly. He sounded unhappy that I was reluctant. It must be strange for him to see someone who actually doesn't want him that way. At least I would like to think that I didn't want him. But my body was a traitor and it was enjoying his closeness and towering presence. "Sir, please! I w..." "Ian. Call me Ian." I was confused. He wanted to punish me for rudeness but also wanted me to address him by his first name? "We are equals in the bedroom, except when I tell you we aren't." He said, roughly caressing my cheek. He grabbed me by the back of my neck and wrap
I rushed back to the courtesan quarters looking for my cousin, Julia. She was a year older than me but much prettier and bolder. She made a lot of money at a young age by initiating sex all the time and being present at every orgy. "Where have you been? It's almost midnight so mom was wondering if you snuck out or something," said Lydia, my sister. "I had to go to Prince Ian's chamber and..." She clutched my wrist in excitement before I could finish. "Did you do it?" "No. I couldn't." "What's wrong? Anyway, did he ask for me then?" She ran to the mirror to get ready, frantically brushing her hair. She had jet black wavy hair just like me, much shorter than mine. She carefully put on eyeliner to enhance her already large dark eyes. "He asked for Julia. I can't find her though." "Julia?!" She scrunched her face in annoyance which slowly changed to a disappointed expression. "I will go look for her first b
Nine months later (Mountbatten, September 30, 1836) ~Nadia~ "Sorry, I can't help being rough with you today," he said, gripping my hips tighter. "Me neither!" I bit into the skin near his collarbone and sucked on the side of his neck. We were dying to be alone and as loud as we wanted for almost a week now. He pushed me up against the wall, capturing my lips in a passionate kiss and moving his hands under my blouse. A sharp, angry cry resonated throughout the entire home. "Oh, that little brat!!" Ian made a sulky face as he went to check on Leo, and I followed him laughing. Leo stopped crying as soon as I rubbed his chin with my finger. Just like Ian, he wanted me to brush his hair with my fingers. Ian admired his sleeping little daughter. Oh yes, we had twins, Mabel and Leo. "Look at my angel, sleeping so peacefully, allowing us some quality time. Such a sweet darling." He moved the tiny r
~Nadia~"Do you have any idea the kind of hell you put Seb through?"What was she talking about? She had a wedding ring on and a baby bump, probably in her second trimester."You can write such articulate letters to strangers with pen names but don't have the guts to confront the father of your child? So what if he rejects you? At least you would have tried. You deprived him of seeing the baby grow inside you and the satisfaction of being there for you. You made all decisions for the three of you.""I saw him with you at the ball. You were all over him as always." I couldn't remove the bitterness out of my voice."I love him, and there was no sign of you anywhere for months. You can't expect me to be a saint and sacrifice him for you. You should have confronted him, fought with him, and claimed him back if you really wanted him that bad. You ran like a little kid, making him dig into the entire Prussian spy network and operations."I w
~Ian~I reached Ivaris Central in no time, and the first thing I noticed was a large group of people surrounding something and a lot of commotion. I pushed my way through to find that Andrew was beaten to a pulp and my men were in a heated argument with a handful of commoners."What's going on here?" I helped Andrew off the floor and asked him."That woman in the barracks, she's Noah's accomplice.""Which woman?""She's pregnant now. She ran after him while we were chasing him. I tried to stop her, but she concocted some cock and bull story and got me beaten.""Where is she now? Did you hurt her?""She ran after him, that way." He pointed to the tracks."I saw her get into the train that left just twenty minutes back." Another one of my men told me.I went to the ticket counter to ask which train she might have taken. Only two trains left in the last thirty minutes, one going to Arcadia and the other to Krems
~Nadia~I needed to go as far away from Ian as possible. I feel disgusted by him to the core. Once a playboy, always a playboy. Such a fool I was to wait for him, hoping he would come one day.Where was the map that grandpa uses? I needed to get out of Ivaris and go somewhere up north. I changed into more comfortable clothes and packed some food and clothes as quickly as possible.Poor Andreas, I wrote an apology note for him as well and another note for grandparents and Giselle. I left part of my earnings along with the letter, hoping that Andreas continues to send them my allowance, at least for Giselle's sake.I ripped the letter meant for Ian into a thousand pieces and left home. The train station was in Ivaris Central, which was only a mile away by the shortcut grandpa showed me. There was a long line of people at the ticket station because of the rush hour.As I stood in the line and marveled at the granite facades lit with giant lanter
~Ian~"Seb, did you like it?"I forgot what Caty wanted me to try. She put her hand on my back."It's good," I lied."I knew it!"Every time she laid even a finger on me, I could hear Nadia yelling at me. I can't forget that night she got drunk and ran onto the street because I hurt her. Even though she left me, I still felt loyal to her.I gently slid Caty's hand off of me, but she wrapped her other arm around me."Won't you dance with me?" She whispered in my ear."Maybe after we eat dinner. I'm not in the mood right now."I turned around to eat one more of what Nadia loved. I would give everything I had to get that night back when she was in my room, talking about baking and why she loved plum jam turnovers so much.Those large brown eyes staring into mine every time she lifted her head up after burying her face into my chest. Knowing enough about her now, I know why she did that back then. She was feelin
~Nadia~Putting Giselle to sleep was a daunting task today. Her snuffles didn't stop long after she closed her eyes. I pushed all thoughts of Noah away until she was off to bed, but now that I was the only one awake in the house, I went into Noah's room and burned those two letters addressed to Johann Barnekow.Was that really Noah under the streetlight today? Did he escape from the prison and come to see Giselle? Why would he not come home unless he was a fugitive on the run?I don't want to side with a spy, no matter how good he is to me. Do I want to deprive Giselle of her papa though? Certainly not. I have to do my part so he's able to come back to Giselle one day, sooner than later.I guess he would have talked to me and his daughter today if Andreas wasn't with us. He was always there when I was low. Why couldn't he be the simple, honest man I thought he was?What if Ian never came for me because of Noah? If he was in the prison as some Barne
~Nadia~"Oh, wow! What kind of sorcery is this?" I was staring at the model of an automobile with my mouth wide open. Andreas told me it was an electric carriage made by someone from Scotland.Giselle wanted to sit inside the model because it looked like a perfect toy on wheels.Ivaris was holding a three-day fair as part of the first harvest festival of the year. Arcadia fairs never had all these engineered models on display. Here, people could watch science in progress, touch prototypes of future inventions, and even volunteer to take part in some of these ventures where developers were conducting surveys and handing us forms to fill."Do you like it?" Andreas asked Giselle as if he was gifting her one. He was really excited about these model designs and talked about random facts nonstop."Inventors are trying to make one powered by an internal combustion engine. So we can go to the beaches in Colchis, take a trip to the Macaby caves and sp
~Ian~After visiting Ivaris for a second time, I met their Crown Prince and went hunting with him. Ivaris was one of the best hunting places I have known with lots of freshwater, feeding spots, and some kind of game breeding throughout the year. The last time I was with Andreas was in February when I couldn't stop thinking about Nadia. It was the first time I thought about someone who was not Caty.On one such day eight years ago, Andreas and I met Caty when we were up north in his kingdom, hunting for some Alpine Ibex. Visiting Ivaris always brought back memories of her, and the good times we spent together. Just a few kisses from Nadia made me forget Caty, who was on my mind for many years. I wanted to stay mad at Nadia for pushing me away for some nonexistent future husband. I left without telling her because it really hurt my ego. Little did I know it was Noah she wanted to save herself for. Months later, I still can't stop thinking about
~Nadia~ As I entered the second trimester of my pregnancy, mood swings became extreme and so did my food cravings. I hardly ate two meals a day ever since I left the palace. Until recently, despite trying my best to take care of myself, my appetite refused to return to how it used to be. But now, I had the opposite problem. I felt hungry all the time. After eating an early dinner, I got hungry within an hour and wanted more. Snacking on cheese and crackers had become a routine habit at midnight. Noah's grandparents were at times afraid to talk to me because of how badly I snapped at them. Only Giselle could handle my tantrums, despite being so little. The coffee shop was overly busy because the Prince sent everyone this way. It exhausted me to death by the end of the day, but the pay before leaving kept increasing day by day, and it was the end of the second week already. Today was a good day for a change because I got done early with work and