MEANDRAMy chest was clouded with intense fear as I shrunk away from the men that approached me. I looked down at myself and I realized that I had no clothes on. I looked up at men in horror.The longer I looked, the more realization dawned on me. They were the faces of the lord that I had stayed with. The looks in their eyes became even more terrifying as they closed the distance between me and them.I attempted to escape, to make a run for it but for some reason that I couldn't yet identify, I was unable to move and I could do nothing about it. They looked hungry and ready to rip into pieces. Lustful and vengeful, the promise that all they would do is take and take was quite certain. I screamed as their hands became imprinted into my skin.They grabbed me painfully.I hurriedly spring into a sitting position. My heart was racing terribly as I struggled to breathe and my senses were slowly coming together as I began to recognize where I was.My eyes fluttered closed as I sighed. I co
MEANDRAThis was a nightmare that in any moment from now was going to wake up. It was nothing but a bad dream but the more I repeated the mantra mentally, the more reality began to set in. This was my life.This was really happening to me. I was forced to parade around the hall in a ridiculously skimpy dress. I could barely use my hands to cover some parts of my body because I was forced to serve drinks. Degrading comments and cat calls were thrown across my way and no matter how much I tried to school my expression into a neutral, it was getting to me terribly and I was becoming even more bad at hiding it.My eyes tried to catch Alejandro's once more but he made it obvious that he was ignoring me as he casually conversed with the other lord. I closed my eyes and sighed.A hand brushed against my thigh as I served drinks. I looked down to see Martin staring at me. My heart was clouded with horror as he made a show of his traveling down the length of my body. I was tempted to make a r
ALEJANDRONo matter how I tried to ignore the tug in my chest, I still felt it. My gaze was fixated on hers and for some reason, I was unable to look away. Her eyes were broken and shattered and I could see the betrayal in them.It was just reputation over her feelings. She was a slave. She had no say. Her words screamed in my head and no matter how much I tried to ignore it, it was stuck there.I claimed to be order and justice and fair treatment but I was neither of those things. Maybe she was right. What I had were double standards.Maybe I was more concerned about my reputation than I was concerned about treating her fairly. Her empty eyes were not so empty anymore. They were broken and shattered and they were begging for mercy. Martin's laughter suddenly rang so loudly in my ears to the point that it was becoming irritating.He looked beyond happy to be here. Too happy.“Don't think too much about it, she knows her place already,” I watched as Martin yanked her forward, raising h
JASQUIREMy face flushed with embarrassment as I made my way out of Alejandro's room. I couldn't believe that he would do this to me. I was in a haze. It was hard to recover from shock as I began to button up my dress.He never even gave me time to dress up quickly before he locked me out. Just when I thought that everything was going according to plan, everything was suddenly ruined by that slave girl. I've never been more humiliated like I was now and all because of a pathetic slave girl that no cares if she lives or dies.At that moment, I was filled with so much hatred that I wasn't so sure that I could function on the spot. It's like ever since he became king. He turned into someone I couldn't even recognize.It was like I lost all trace of existence to him and just when I thought I was on the pathway of getting him back. This slave girl ruins everything. I was almost tempted to face palm myself. Father had give me one job and I wasn't able to go through with it. I hadn't been ab
For years, every kingdom suffered under the regime of tyrant King Elijah. He whipped women, took the men as nothing but drum fetchers. The entire eight kingdoms were under him and he did no good. He was a bad king to his own Kingdom, and a worser one to others. Until six years ago, when he was finally brought down and killed by Lord Alejandro, a child he had undermined so badly. As punishment for him not having a male heir, the Lords took his one and only daughter, Meandra, and declared that she suffers the sins of her father. She’s to serve each kingdom for a year, as a slave nonetheless, tortured and broken just like her father did them. But with one thing never to be touched. Just one.———————-PROLOGUE“Get up,” he sneered at the woman curled against the wall, her hair looking so unkept and covering the entirety of her face.Her head moved in a slow motion, her orbs looking so dead as she looked up at him, blinking once before staring into his eyes. For a moment, he let himself
MEANDRA’S POVI winced at the burning sensation that I felt on the palms of my hand. I don't know how much time had passed and I had no idea how much time would be left if I'm done with feeling the drums. I could hear the not so subtle snickers and the cackling of the guards in the background. I knew my hands were probably going to be swollen in the morning but I couldn't find it in me to care. If anything I anticipated the pain that would follow, each time I pulled the fetcher from the well. I could already feel my body becoming weak with exhaustion but I didn't allow myself to linger on the feeling. I don't know how long time had passed but from the look of the moon, I could tell that it was approaching the wee hours of the morning.“Should probably consider taking her in for the night. Been long since I had some entertainment,” I heard one of the guards laugh. Even though I tried to show no emotion, no matter how much I tried to feel nothing. I still felt the cold shudder trav
MEANDRA’S POVA gasp escaped me at the feel of the cold icy sensation that pierced through me. My eyes fluttered open almost immediately and I hurriedly adjusted in a sitting position. My heart was suspended in a state of frenzy and panic. When I was finally able to get a hold of my bearings. I raised my head to look up at the guard that glared at me like I was the filth of the earth. My eyes shut closed for a moment as I tried to regain some composure. I shivered as what was left of my clothes glued to my skin.I was soaked and drenched in ice water. I bit hard on my bottom lip to stop my teeth from going to have to get some sort of control. “Are you just going to keep sitting there or am I going to have to drag you out, my fucking self,” he growled, baring his yellow teeth at me. I was heavy with exhaustion and my muscles screamed in protest as I forced myself to rise up from the ground. This wasn't the time to allow my mind to linger on the exhaustion that threatened to consume
ALEJANDRO’S POVI was certain that I had stopped breathing for a moment. My heart raced within the confines of my chest. I could barely comprehend what was going on in front of me. My gaze lingered on the beautiful swell of her breasts and they trailed down her supple, soft, beautiful, pale skin. “What the hell do you think you're doing?” The words slipped from my lips, harsh and laced with growing frustration, as I tilted my head slightly to the side. My gaze swept over her, taking in every inch of her still, silent figure. But it was her face that held me captive—her expression, which was devoid of any emotion. No fear. No surprise. Not even a hint of hesitation or regret. It was as though she were completely indifferent to everything around her.That hollow, unreadable look in her eyes unsettled me more than anything. Something about it gnawed at me, twisting my insides in a way I couldn’t quite place. Why was she so... blank?I waited, expecting some kind of response, but she re
JASQUIREMy face flushed with embarrassment as I made my way out of Alejandro's room. I couldn't believe that he would do this to me. I was in a haze. It was hard to recover from shock as I began to button up my dress.He never even gave me time to dress up quickly before he locked me out. Just when I thought that everything was going according to plan, everything was suddenly ruined by that slave girl. I've never been more humiliated like I was now and all because of a pathetic slave girl that no cares if she lives or dies.At that moment, I was filled with so much hatred that I wasn't so sure that I could function on the spot. It's like ever since he became king. He turned into someone I couldn't even recognize.It was like I lost all trace of existence to him and just when I thought I was on the pathway of getting him back. This slave girl ruins everything. I was almost tempted to face palm myself. Father had give me one job and I wasn't able to go through with it. I hadn't been ab
ALEJANDRONo matter how I tried to ignore the tug in my chest, I still felt it. My gaze was fixated on hers and for some reason, I was unable to look away. Her eyes were broken and shattered and I could see the betrayal in them.It was just reputation over her feelings. She was a slave. She had no say. Her words screamed in my head and no matter how much I tried to ignore it, it was stuck there.I claimed to be order and justice and fair treatment but I was neither of those things. Maybe she was right. What I had were double standards.Maybe I was more concerned about my reputation than I was concerned about treating her fairly. Her empty eyes were not so empty anymore. They were broken and shattered and they were begging for mercy. Martin's laughter suddenly rang so loudly in my ears to the point that it was becoming irritating.He looked beyond happy to be here. Too happy.“Don't think too much about it, she knows her place already,” I watched as Martin yanked her forward, raising h
MEANDRAThis was a nightmare that in any moment from now was going to wake up. It was nothing but a bad dream but the more I repeated the mantra mentally, the more reality began to set in. This was my life.This was really happening to me. I was forced to parade around the hall in a ridiculously skimpy dress. I could barely use my hands to cover some parts of my body because I was forced to serve drinks. Degrading comments and cat calls were thrown across my way and no matter how much I tried to school my expression into a neutral, it was getting to me terribly and I was becoming even more bad at hiding it.My eyes tried to catch Alejandro's once more but he made it obvious that he was ignoring me as he casually conversed with the other lord. I closed my eyes and sighed.A hand brushed against my thigh as I served drinks. I looked down to see Martin staring at me. My heart was clouded with horror as he made a show of his traveling down the length of my body. I was tempted to make a r
MEANDRAMy chest was clouded with intense fear as I shrunk away from the men that approached me. I looked down at myself and I realized that I had no clothes on. I looked up at men in horror.The longer I looked, the more realization dawned on me. They were the faces of the lord that I had stayed with. The looks in their eyes became even more terrifying as they closed the distance between me and them.I attempted to escape, to make a run for it but for some reason that I couldn't yet identify, I was unable to move and I could do nothing about it. They looked hungry and ready to rip into pieces. Lustful and vengeful, the promise that all they would do is take and take was quite certain. I screamed as their hands became imprinted into my skin.They grabbed me painfully.I hurriedly spring into a sitting position. My heart was racing terribly as I struggled to breathe and my senses were slowly coming together as I began to recognize where I was.My eyes fluttered closed as I sighed. I co
ALEJANDROIt's been a long day but as I closed the last file and placed it on top of the file, I felt satisfied. The day has been nothing short of productive.Except from the time that the guard had abruptly brought Meandra in. I had managed to scan through every file on my desk attentively without interruptions. As I stood up from my seat, a slight wave of exhaustion hit me.I couldn't wait to retire to bed for a good rest. Elias was with me. He stood at the other side of the room with his hands folded together as we made discussions every now and then about the feast.He was still convinced that Malachi was clearly acting out of malice instead of the good of the kingdom. A part of me considered listening to whatever it was that Elias had to say.I have always respected the man's advice since I was a child but the other part of me didn't want to make any decision that would look like I was showing Meandra compassion.I had a reputation to protect. As the Lord with the highest author
MEANDRAAll I could register was the burning sensation in my scalp as the guard pulled me towards the direction of Alejandro's office. I was certainly bound to get a headache after.A terrible headache. Just when I thought the day couldn't possibly get worse. I didn't regret pushing the guard away, I didn't regret threatening him either. I've had enough of people thinking that they could touch me freely and get away with it. “You're going to pay. I promise,” the guard growled as he continued to roughly drag me along. I let him.I was too tired to struggle anyway. The only thing that I was certain of was that I wasn't going to allow anyone to touch me.i was tired of letting people think that they had their way with me.Finally we reached Alejandro's office and Alejandro paused mid conversation as he snapped towards the direction of the door. His eyes fixated on the both of us. I also recognized the man that he was talking to. It was the kind man from earlier. Elias.He looked surpris
MEANDRAAll that I could feel was raw and unbridled pain. The nauseating emotions that I felt within the confines of my chest threatened to consume from the inside out. Each time I tried to convince myself that I could take and endure.Something intense happened. The more I shattered. The more I paid for the sins of my fathers, the more I was forced to accommodate the consequences of my father's wrong doings.Sometimes I wanted to believe that I was in a nightmare. I wanted to believe that this was all a dream and hopefully it was going to end soon but unfortunately, I woke up every morning and It became more clear that this was my reality now. I have become nothing.From a princess who was secure in the comfort of her room and territory, to a slave who went to bed hungry and spent the night in a cold cell.The irony of it was almost overwhelming to think of. I don't know how long I remained in the comfort of Belle's arms but I didn't want to leave. It was ridiculous but somehow the a
MEANDRAMy hands are swollen as usual, my back ached from standing so long but I didn't let my mind linger too much on the exhaustion. It was already something that I was accustomed to.The guard was not too far away, monitoring me but at the same time he seemed to be invested in an intense conversation with the other guard. To my relief, it wasn't the guard that tried to grope me the previous night.He paid no sort of inappropriate attention to me except when I spent too much time pulling up the fetcher from the well. I froze when I heard a subtle whistle. The hair on the back of my neck suddenly stood on end.Someone was there. Against my better judgement, I let my gaze travel across the tall grass there. My gaze met Belle's. I froze. Shantai stood beside her. I watched as Belle raised her finger to her lips signalling for her to keep quiet.I was suddenly engulfed with dread. I was caught in-between telling the child to leave me alone and indulging her. I didn't want to get into mo
ALEJANDROSomehow I couldn't think about it. All of it. The ghost of a smile still remained on my face as I remembered the day she looked at me before she walked up to the guard.She has been fearless and dismissive and for some reason, I had been intrigued instead of offended. I walked through the doors of my office with Elias behind me. Malachi was waiting in front of my table.“Greetings my Lord,” he bowed subtly.“I've been waiting for you. Forgive me, I am not complaining but you took quite a while,” he said. His brows furrowed in confusion as he looked at me and I wondered if he could see it.If he could see the intrigue on my face.“The girl spoke back to the lord today,” Elias finally spoke up, breaking the silence and answering the silent question that Malachi didn't ask out loud. Malachi went still and his face morphed into absolute confusion.“What girl are you talking about?” He said. I headed over to my table, making no effort whatsoever to contribute to their conversatio