Command And Vanquish Ch 04

"Prince Jaimeth?" A guard knocked deftly on his door. "Present for you, Sir."

Jem sat up on his bed and impassively laid down the report he'd been reading. The guard swung the door open to display a pair of similar looking slave girls dressed in silken green bikinis. Each had her arms tied behind her back, and were led into the room heads down, each striking a tantalizing pose. They were nervous, frightened, untrained, new to slavery. Jem wasn't sure whether to be annoyed by their inexperience or pleased with the charge of breaking them in.

"Hmm...lovely...a gift from whom?"

The guard pulled a note out, eyeing it humorously before responding, "the note says, 'Love, Lord Rayth.' Doesn't say where they're from or why they've been sent."

Jem's succulent mouth curled into a smile. The note didn't have to say it. His friend, even though away to visit his new property, knew all too well of Jem's mounting unhappiness. From all perspectives, life should have been marvelous: the war was over, his inheritance larger, richer, more powerful than ever. He loved his friendships with Navin, Rayth, and a few of his guards, all keeping him grounded but always entertained. His brother, his baby brother, was home, and the experience emboldened a keen interest in political affairs. His sisters were happy as ever, joyfully spoiling their soon to be sister-in-law Lady Mia...

Mia. His future queen; he inwardly cringed. She was nice, he told himself. She was kind, refined, and extremely pretty by any standard. All the things a man could want. So why didn't he want her? He's tried so very hard. At Navin's urging, he's tried including her in meetings. Her wide-eyed looks of confusion and overwhelm almost boiled his blood with anger. But why so angry? As he shook his head to clear it, the molten anger cooled into a hard pit of pain and disappointment. It wasn't supposed to be this way. Not for him. He was Prince Jaimeth, damn it, holding life by the horns in a wild ride of action, excitement, and success. He had no need or want of taming.

"Marvelous. And where my beauties do I have the pleasure of receiving you from?"

One cleared her throat. "Master...this is all a terrible mistake. We're not supposed to be slaves. We're nobility. Our fathers..." she choked on a sob, "...they may have wronged Pangain, but we're not to blame." She fell on her knees, "Please, Master, don't shame us for crimes we didn't commit."

The guard who brought them in laughed, as Jem's smile widened to a flash of white teeth as he stood from the bed. "Oh, you're nobility?" he took on a look of feigned sympathy (the guard realized his pretense, the slaves did not) "Of course," he paced around them, "certainly you're to be treated with the utmost respect and care." He grabbed the one who spoke from behind by her tethered arms, and guided her with his body to lie face down, bent over his bed. He jammed his middle finger hard into her raw ass, she screaming and squirming as he calmly bent to her ear and cooed, "come now, all that fussing isn't fitting for a well-bred lady...show me the lady you claim to be..."

"What do you want with us?!?!" She screamed, crying, struggling to get away.

His face sobered. He looked calm. Too calm. "Perfection..." he whispered, running his hands unabashed down her bound body. "You're going to serve me, with all of your body, all of your being. I promise, my dear, you will beg me to touch you soon..." he ran his fingers over the length of her cunt and smiled. "Especially here, and in here..." he placed a finger inside, and his eyes danced with a pleasant discovery. "Slave? You're a virgin? No man has yet taught you want you were made for?"

She cried. "No...please...I don't know how to do this..."

"Shhh, lovely..." he couldn't stop smiling, "I'll walk you through every step, everything you need to know..."

He moaned low in his throat, silently thanking Rayth for the two reminders that not all his pleasures were gone. He might have a sedated future ahead of him with Mia, which he half accepted, half rebelled against. Mia was a wonderful woman, he said to himself. Kind, shy, but deserving. He would treat her well, lavishly spoil her like he did with...

...dare he even think about her? She was gone. Not coming back. No one would replace her in his heart or mind. And no one dare try. A new fire of rebellion welled inside of him. He would not be beat; he'd forge his own excitement.

Jem pulled back his hand and delivered a terribly hard slap to the tender flesh of his slave's plump bottom. "Do you know what it means for a man to fuck a woman? Do you know how fucking happens?"

"N..n..no, ..M..master..."

"Ahh...well...I'll make these lessons easier on you since you're new. Let me teach you both at the same time." He threw the other slave to bend over next to the first, then kneaded the flesh of both their asses, one in each hand. He removed his clothing, and pressed the hard, hot length of his cock in between the first slave's legs, then the other. He alternated pressing his searing cock against their dripping sex as he explained, "Feel that, sluts? That's what I'm about to drive up inside of you. Do you know where I'm going to put this?"

From the crack of the door, Lady Mia had seen enough. She whirled around and shut her eyes tightly. "Damn it," she thought to herself. Why does she let it hurt? She knew he didn't love her from the start, and bless him for trying, but it hurt every night he didn't invite her to stay with him. Perfectly lovely outings would end abruptly once they stepped foot back into Prince's Hall; he'd joke with Navin and Rayth while a guard discreetly ushered her away, back into solitude, unseen, unnoticed. Some nights she would creep to his room, as she attempted to do this night, to wish him a pleasant evening and hope for an invitation to stay. Other nights, she knew all to well he'd rather do anything than acknowledge association with her.

Unshed tears stung as she moved to make her way back to her room, unloved, sleeping in a cold bed alone. She abruptly turned and smacked into a hard, warm blockade. Startled, she felt a strong set of hands steady her by her arms. Shyly and afraid, never having acquired a comfort with Jem's personal staff, Lady Mia lifted her eyes to the cool stare of the captain of the guard. The corners of Navin's smooth lips were subtly upturned.

"Excuse me, Madam," he said with sincerity. "I should be much more careful."

Her eyes turned worried, "Oh, no, please sir," she plead weakly, "it was clumsy of me to..."

Navin's heart mildly broke as he watched her rant. She was so lost, thrust into a sticky situation: an unfamiliar world attached to a man who didn't love her. And someone should love her. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help himself. He was entirely drawn to her, increasingly more so every time he watched her, saw her, went anywhere with her. But she could never be his. She was Jem's. And Jem didn't even want her. Navin silently cursed the young Prince.

She was finished, and looked up at him to accept her apology. Looking in her eyes, and unsure of how to respond, his mouth went dry. He managed to hide his thoughts, as always. "Really, my Lady, there's no need for all of that. I came to see Jem...I take it he's still awake?

"Um, yes..." she fidgeted.

"How is he this evening? Did he say where he'd be going tomorrow?"

"No, um...I didn't get a chance to speak with him yet..." she chuckled softly, trying to clear the lump in her throat. "He was busy."

His eyes squinted in question before relaxing in realization. "That's my boy," he silently said to himself, smiling inside, passive outside. But poor Mia, she didn't know what to make of it. Isabella had always just understood and accepted it. Hell, sometimes she picked out his girl for the evening. But Mia was different, sweeter...more suited to himself.

He heard himself speaking without thinking: "Well, Madam, while we're waiting, we might as well have a drink. Have you eaten?"

"No, Sir," she replied nervously.

"Me neither," he lied, extending his arm. "Care to join me?"

She blushed, biting her lower lip, and placed her hand in the crook of his arm. Her hand jumped back a bit at the feel of his obvious strength, but then nestled back in to absorb his warmth. Although nervous with Jem's men, she couldn't help but be grateful for their kindness out of pity for her.

"You're an idiot for this," Navin's mind shouted at him overtop his assurances that it was entirely appropriate for the captain of the guard to escort the future queen anywhere she wanted to go.

*******************

Rayth was looking over the daily news while finishing his breakfast. During his stay the new Espinan property Jem had given him, he ate alone most mornings, allowing Lady Alenya the new found pleasure of sleeping in late. He smiled at the thought of her lying so sweetly in his bed. She had been such an integral part of his life for so long, constantly with him, sharing thoughts, the two of them knowing each other inside and out, that the transition from Master/slave to Lord/Lady was relatively smooth.

His main challenge was to discover her free choices for pleasures; the relationship thus far had been rather one sided in that respect. She knew what fabrics he preferred to wear, his favorite desserts, his taste in music. His strategy to close the gap was enjoyable: spoil her, give her everything, take her everywhere, and see what lights up her eyes the most. He smiled over his coffee mug as he slowly sipped the hot liquid, thinking about the lovely day he'd planned for them. No rush, he thought. It will be a long day, quiet morning; let her wake at her leisure. He drank and continued reading.

Suddenly two of his supervisors rapidly strode up to him, and he eyed them curiously. The each took a knee in deference, and looked up at him, their irritation apparent. "My Lord," one of them began, "may we speak with you a moment?"

"Of course."

"Sir, we're here to seek the execution of one of your slaves. We would like to have simply rid of her, but she's your property. Only you can decide what to do with her."

"What has she done?"

"We can't explain why, sir, but ever since your arrival here, she's grown boisterous, rebellious, time and time again refusing to work and demanding to speak personally with her Master: you, Sir. We've tried everything to break her: whip her at least once a day, we've starved her, assigned her extra work, not let her sleep, but she just won't quit. The bitch sometimes, too weak to stand, just lies down STILL refusing to work until she speaks with you. You don't need this kind of problem on your hands, Sir. Let us rid of her for you."

"Odd she would take continued whippings and starvation to insist on speaking with me. Do you know what it's about?"

"No, Sir. She appears quite terrified of you. Any time we're out working in eyesight of you, she shakes and can barely speak or work. We can't figure out why the hell she keeps on insisting. Allow us to take care of this disturbance; she won't cause you any trouble once she's buried."

"No, don't kill her," Rayth said dispassionately. "Bring me my whip. I'll meet with her, and see if I can't, um, 'talk' some sense into her. She probably wants to plead with me for freedom, and once she gets it out of her system, she'll be fine. Go get her."

"Yes, my Lord."

Once Rayth had his whip, he sat on one of his couches and sprawled his legs out to wait. He'd only ever cared about one slave, and she was free now. The rest of his slaves, most gifts from Jem, usually were of little concern to him. Why then, he asked himself, were the hairs standing on the back of his neck? A slave putting herself through torture simply for an audience with him? He had an unsettling feeling, and had actually decided to meet with her more to ease his own mind than extend his mercy.

The noise from the hallway alerted him that they had her. He sighed once heavily, mildly stretched, then took up a dominant sitting position, both feet firmly planted on the floor, reclining back. The doors to the room burst open, and he remained placid as two guards dragged a terribly skinny, partially clothed woman with a shaved head between them. She couldn't hold herself up, let alone hold her head up, and slumped forward by their support until they literally threw her at his feet.

He was mildly shocked at the sight of her, not sure what he was expecting, but not this. They said this woman was a fighter, but she looked too weak and beaten for additional punishment. He sat there for a moment, assessing her, unsure of how to react.

He didn't have to, since she abruptly made the first move. All three men, somewhat stunned, watched as she pathetically pulled her body across the floor on her stomach towards Rayth. Feebly, she reached out and desperately clutched at one of his legs with both hands, using whatever remaining strength she had to hold on to him and bury her face at his ankles. Her desperation manifested in tremors that overtook her body, and through her muffled sobs she cried out two words: "Please, Rayth."

The crime of speaking her Master's name was instantaneously punished as the two supervisors sprang on her, pulling her away from him. Rayth shot to his feet and held back the whip, his face confused and angry. "Hold her," he told them, "hold her between you." He waited for them to position her for a whipping and cocked back his arm. She should know better than to touch him or use his name.

But when they pulled her to her knees he saw her face, and something in his heart wrenched. Something was too familiar, and he froze as the weak, crying slave lifted her eyes to his and softly begged, "Please no, Rayth, please don't do this...not to me..."

His face went white as his world spun. Two seconds passed that seemed like an eternity before the wide-eyed, jaw-dropped Lord screamed a desperate, "LET HER GO! FUCKING HELL, LET ISABELLA GO!"

The maddening realization that Isabella was alive was far too overwhelming for him to know what to do first! Scrambling to her, he wildly clutched at her whole body, lifting her small, weakened frame into his arms and holding her tightly. Feeling her limp frame, half of him broke into sobs while the other half laughed with the greatest joy he'd ever known! She, on the other hand, poured her tears fiercely into his shoulder, afraid that if she let go of him she'd be sent back to her world of misery. "Please Rayth, please don't hurt me, please don't let anyone else hurt me,"

He half cried and laughed at her request, kissing her head repeatedly, "No, no, my sweet angel, no one's going to hurt you, shhh, there you go, hold on to me, I'll never let anyone hurt you again..."

She cried in relief, still clutching him. Before explanations could be made, the two stunned work supervisors turned pale, and began to panic: they had unknowingly severely beaten Prince Jaimeth's true love. "Um...Sir? We'd like to beg your mercy Sir, and that of the Prince...Sir, we had no idea that she was..."

Rayth rapidly shook his head, "Neither did I, and I'm just as guilty as you are; don't fear." He pressed a very hard kiss into her head, then murmured into her ear, "Did you ever tell anyone who you were?"

Sobs still overwhelmed her and broke up her speech, "No, no I didn't tell anyone....when I found out that Jem wanted me dead, I..."

"Wait, WHAT? Iz..." he held her tight and rocked her like a child, "What on earth are you talking about? Jem never..."

"I saw the order, Rayth, for the death of all the Royal family of Espinan, and I wasn't to be shown special leniency," she cried.

Rayth couldn't believe his ears, "How did you see that? You weren't supposed to. We did that so your family wouldn't use you against us, or hurt you to get to us. You saw only the written order sent out; every Pangain soldier had verbal orders to find and protect you. Iz, I thought you were..."

"No, I ran and hid," she sobbed, realizing the last year of personal hell didn't have to happen. "When they let me out of jail, I thought I'd be killed by Pangain or Espinan, whoever found me first, so I cut my hair, disguised myself, and..."

Rayth let out a long yell of frustration, then, "All this time?! My sweet beautiful girl, all this time... Jem's been a mess since... we've ALL not been the same since you disappeared! Oh, but I'm so happy," he squeezed her once tightly, then pulled her away from him to look at her. Red eyes and tears from the two of them assessed each other, and remembering their old, close friendship, Rayth laughed, "you look like shit."

Isabella laughed and cried, and hugged him again, "I've missed you so much. But it's strange, Rayth, when you...owned me...I was so scared of you."

"Iz, I'd NEVER hurt you," Rayth tenderly pushed stray strands of hair from her face, "even if Jem's direct order really WAS to do something disgustingly awful. But sweetheart, Jem loves you so incredibly much, we have to get you back to him. I want it to be a surprise...but we need to get you cleaned up, I can't let him see you looking like this. You know our boy and his temper, if he finds out anyone hurt you, he'll lose all reason, and throats will be slit."

The two supervisors still in the room gasped. Rayth laughed, "you're dismissed, and don't worry about Jem, I'll take care of him." They left.

"Does that mean," Isabella was afraid to ask, "does that mean he still loves me?"

Rayth smiled warmly holding her close, "He'll never love anyone else with all of his being like he loves you." He sat her away from him again, "But let him tell you that for himself. Let's get you cleaned up...and fed. My heavens, girl, don't they feed people better than this? You're too thin, I'll have food sent while they're taking care of you."

"Rayth, please don't leave me, I don't want to be away from you."

"Easy, love, will you be alright with Alenya? She'd be able to help you, take care of you, better than I." He called over his shoulder to an attendant, "Go wake Lady Alenya and tell her I request her presence immediately."

Isabella's eyes questioned, "'Lady' Alenya?"

Rayth's eyes sparkled, "So many changes. You probably won't believe it, but Jem freed her for me. He gave me my love, and now I'm returning his. I think we call that..."

"My Lord," Lady Alenya said sweetly, coming in the room smiling, "I don't know what all the commotion you're making is about, but it woke me before you called. What is..." Alenya froze, seeing Isabella in his arms. Half of her heart broke seeing the terrible condition Isabella was in, the other half beat a million times per minute with excitement that her friend was alive! "PRINCESS!!!" Alenya cried, running to join Rayth and Isabella in hugging one another.

"Oh my goodness, Princess, what has happened to you?" Alenya cried.

"I don't know that you can call me Princess anymore, Alenya. Espinan is gone. Unless by my engagement to Jem that counts as..."

Rayth and Alenya exchanged tense, sad looks. How were they going to tell her?

Isabella, perceptive as always, realized something was wrong. "What is it? Rayth, you said Jem still loved me, as I love him with all my heart...what..." she drifted in thought. "He hasn't...well... has he?"

Alenya smoothed her hair, "Madam, please let me draw you a bath and help you clean up. You were so kind to help me when I was a slave, allow me to return the favor, and bathe and dress you for Prince Jaimeth. I'll explain the situation while we're cleaning up, but rest assured, it's you he loves, not..."

"Not who? He's with someone else?"

Rayth nodded slowly. "The Queen wouldn't rest until her line was secure. But please, Iz, any way you look at it, Jem needs you, would die for you, would set the world on fire to have you. You need to go to him. Please, go with Alenya. I'll have food sent to you, then make arrangements for us to leave as soon as you're ready."