head. “I will come peacefully. I just need to get my pet.”
He scoffed at my sleeping mouse. I gathered my bag and Gus and followed him out into the hallway. I laid him gently in the sack. When I was in the crowd of men, a hand slipped across my butt. It patted, harder than I would have liked. I jumped forward, they all laughed. I was dwarfed by them all, child sized compared to them. Another hand brushed the front of my dress. I struggled in the sea of groping hands. Unscathed apparently didn’t mean to them what it meant to me.
The big man, who had come into my room, gripped my arm and led me to the carriage. Everyone in the streets gave me a disapproving look. I was a common criminal to them.
I bowed my head in shame and let myself be shoved into a carriage.
I sat in there with two men. The big man watched out the window but the other man sat next to me, watching me. He reached over, thumbing across my breast. I sat, frozen and scared of the fate I faced.
He smiled, making me shudder. “Too bad the ride isn’t longer, I might get a wank in, hey Tom?”
The other man lifted his face. He nodded. “She can give us a wank.”
My stomach dropped into the pit of my belly until Tom finished his thought. “When the king says it’s all right. I’ll put a special request in for ya.”
The other man moaned into my hair. “I am gonna fuck you so hard. You a virgin?”
I pulled back, feeling my face blush. He shrugged. “I don’t like virgins.”
Tom scoffed. “Speak for yourself. I like an untouched cunny.” His eyes narrowed when he looked at me. “Though, I’d say someone has been there already on this one. She has that look about her.”
I looked down, praying the king would take pity on me when I explained my story. The man thumbed my nipple several more times. “Aye, you’re right. She ain’t no virgin.”
The carriage halted suddenly. Tom got out but the man grabbed my hand and placed it on his trousers where his rigid cock was. “You feel how thick that is, you’re getting it, tonight.”
I pulled back just as Tom reached into the carriage and dragged me from it. He pulled me up the long stairs and through the doors. A man, not much older than me, stood in the hall. Tom dropped to his knees, dragging me with him. “Your Grace, the girl you wished for.”
“Leave us.” His deep voice was cold.
Tom stood and walked away. He turned on his way out. “Sire, if it’s all the same to you, we would like to have her in the guard room later if she is to be put to death.”
The king laughed, snapping his fingers. A woman brought me to my feet. The king walked to me, I was surprised at the look of him. He lifted my chin with one of his thick fingers. “No. It is not all the same to me. I have plans for her.” He nodded and the room was emptied, apart from the woman holding my arm. He tilted his head. “You have a choice, obey me or entertain the guards.”
I bowed. “I will do as you say, Your Grace.”
He chuckled. “I knew you would.” He snapped his fingers again and the woman led me from the room. The hallway where we went was wide but not well lit. I could barely see where we were going.
She opened a large wooden door to a room that took my breath away. It was lit and beautiful. The bed was large and the room had huge windows. I had never actually seen a room as exquisite or spacious. It was finery to a level one would assume a king would be given. I froze and looked at the lady. “Is this the king’s room?”
Her cheeks blushed. “These are his quarters, for . . . uhm . . .”
I put a hand on her shoulder. “I understand.” I hung my head low and entered the room.
“Bathe, and ready yourself for him.”
All of the possibilities of being free, ever, had been sucked from my spirit. I didn’t have anything left inside of me. The near miss of being assaulted in the carriage had been one thing to frighten me, but this was a whole other predicament. This was a king. I gulped
Darrin Zeer, Cindy Luu (illustrator)