"Oh bless all the spirits and their mothers," I groaned and grabbed his dark hair. He chuckled and continued, his head slowly moving up and down. "Aki, you've got to stop."
Aki looked up at me and placed his arm on my knee, resting his chin on it, wiping the side of his mouth with his thumb. "What's wrong?"
"You know you're torturing me." I ran my hand through his hair again, and he straightened to his full height. He grabbed my hips and shifted me further up the bed.
"Am I torturing you? And here I thought I was pleasuring you." He chuckled and spread my legs apart, walking on his knees on the bed.
"What you do with that wicked mouth of yours is both pleasure and torture," I murmured as he lowered his body down on top of mine.
"You don't think it's torture, my prince," he whispered and softly kissed my throat. He pushed against me, and I gasped, digging my fingers into his back. "This is all pleasure for you."
"Oh gods," I groaned loudly.
"My prince, if you keep yelling like this, everyone will know you have a guest in your chambers." He pulled up, resting on his elbows on either side of my head.
"Oh no, then the whole stronghold will know of my impurity. How awful. You've stolen my virtue."
"Quinn," he laughed and kissed me, jerking his hips hard. "All I'm saying is maybe we should be a little more discrete."
"I honestly couldn't give less of a fuck." I grabbed his ass and pulled him forward, making him groan loudly this time.
Aki's fingers slowly ran through my hair, untangling some knots in it. No one could get it nice like he could. The curls in it were so tight, it was sometimes impossible to even get a comb through it. But Aki was a magician with it. How a guard got this talented in haircare, was a mystery to me. How such a pretty man ever became a guard was an even bigger mystery.
It was also one I didn't particularly care about, to be perfectly honest. Aki was a distraction. A very sweet one, but he wouldn't be much of a distraction if we indulged in personal matters. Now it was effortless. We didn't talk about court or all the drama it followed. It was perfect.
"Are you looking forward to the party?" he asked as he got another knot untangled.
"It'll be fine, I guess. I think my sister is more anxious than anyone."
"I guess I would be too if I was to become the head of a country in such a young age."
I looked up at him and arched a brow. "She might be young, but she'll be a damn good queen."
"I have no doubts about it. She has always been kind to me."
I sighed and pressed my face to his stomach. I didn't wanna hear him talk. I just wanted him to play with my hair. And then fuck me again a little later.
"Are you working at the party?"
"Yeah, gotta make sure you all are safe, don't I?"
"I do feel safer with you around." I smirked up at him. "Who'd ever try and hurt me with you protecting me?"
"They could try, but they'd be hugely unsuccessful." He smirked back and urged me to sit up. I spread my legs over his lap, and he ran his hands over my thighs.
"Oh, I am so helpless too. So defenceless. I'd need a big man like you to make me feel truly protected."
And that's all it took for him. He grabbed me and turned us around, almost violently, before showering me in kisses.
I did like parties around here. They were fun, and I got to just blend with the rest of court. Most still had too much respect for my late father to be disrespectful to my face. So it wasn't like the castle bastard was ill-treated. Not to mention Al still held me dear and would throw a tantrum if someone talked trash about me. I had to admire her determination on that subject. I didn't mind it anymore. Not truly. I was terribly sad about it when I was a kid, but now it didn't matter. My sister was becoming queen, and I'd be right by her side, helping her. Always supporting her. That was my role to play, and I didn't mind it. As long as no one asked me to park my ass in that ugly chair, they called a throne, I could die happy.
The ceremony was boring. Al had to recite a bunch of shit in the old language and then be blessed a billion times by the high priestess before we could finally go to the thrown room and celebrate. She had to be fashionably late though, so I was entertaining myself with a couple of our distant cousins. I didn't get to see them very often, and they were nice. I would've like to see them more often. Maybe I could run that past Al at some point.
Music announced my sister's arrival and my cousin grabbed my arm, gasping.
"She looks so pretty, doesn't she?"
I smiled at her and nodded. No one could ever deny that Al was a beautiful queen. The dress she wore was flattering and modest without being prudish. Her crown was an intricate design of small chains laying like a net on her dark hair that had somehow been pressed flat for today. Usually, it was way more curly, kind of like mine.
"Didn't expect to find you here, councillor Charred," I said as the councillor stepped up beside me.
"It's my duty," he replied a little coolly and met my gaze. "New clothes?"
I ran my hand over jacket and nodded. "Yeah, gotta look fancy when your sister becomes queen, right?"
He smiled faintly. "Of course." His gaze wandered a little before it met mine again. "You look good, my lord." He offered me a nod and stepped back again.
I couldn't help but smile a little goofily. There was something about that guy that always excited me. He was older, powerful and very, very easy on the eyes. And he kept sending me these looks. And giving me these subtle compliments. This one was not subtle at all. It made my cheeks very hot, and I had to briefly fan myself a little with my hand.
I looked back up at my sister, who was still getting ready for her big speech. Her maids were arranging her hair a little, making sure she was absolutely perfect.
Al finally turned to the crowd and opened her mouth, getting ready for her speech but was interrupted by a loud noise. She caught my gaze and mouthed my name and then everything turned upside down. And white. Very white. I couldn't see a thing or hear anything but a loud ringing sound in my ears.
I had also fallen down. I couldn't focus on anything.
My vision slowly cleared, and the ringing sound subsided in one of my ears. I wish it hadn't. All I heard were screams of pain. I looked around the throne room, but it looked nothing like it had just moments before. Rubble was everywhere and a hole behind where the throne has been was gaping at me. My sister was nowhere to be seen.
"Al!" I groaned and pulled myself up on my knees. "Alvina!" I slowly got up and rubbed my eye. I think my eyebrow had a gash in it, blood running into my eye, making it burn.
I called out for my sister again, slowly making my way towards the throne.
"My lord," someone said from behind me and grabbed my arm.
"No, I have to find my sister," I said and tried to slip out of their grasp. "We have to find the queen."
"You don't get to decide that."
I looked back and saw a stranger. He wasn't even wearing the right guard's uniform or formal wear at all. He was dressed in this red uniform with buttons down one side. I had never seen a uniform like that before.
"Who are you?" I asked, my voice shivering.
"We're the revolution." He punched me hard in the face, and it was lights out for me.
Something was dripping on my head, and it was so annoying. I groaned and pried my eyes open. Something crusty was covering them, and it was hard to force them open. I couldn't move my arms either. They were chained above my head, numb from having to hold up my entire body weight and from just generally draining of blood.
I found my footing and coughed. Something in my ribs felt... Broken, and my head ached with a passion.
"My prince."
I looked up from the floor and tears started streaming down my cheeks. "Aki. Please, help me. I think my ribs are broken."
"Yeah. That tends to happen when you fall hard on them." He came further into the room. There were no windows here, so the only light source was the lantern in his hand. The light was cutting in my eyes, and I had to look away.
"Please... I'm in so much pain..."
"You need to answer some questions. Then I'll free you. Understand?"
I nodded.
"Where is the queen?"
I looked up at him again and frowned. "She... Was in the throne room. I didn't see where she went. Is she alright? Please tell me she's alive."
"I ask the questions here. Tell me where the queen is and stop playing dumb."
I softly cried, and my legs couldn't hold me up anymore. They buckled under me, and my wrists were screaming at me from the added weight.
"I don't know anything. I promise."
"We'll have to see about that. Obviously, you just need to stay here a little longer. To get that tongue working."
"Please, Aki, I don't know anything!" I whined pathetically as he exited the door.
"We'll see," he said and looked back over his shoulder. "Just tell the truth, Quinn, and they'll let you go."
He closed door as I roared at him. Cursing him.
"Let's do this one more time. Where is the queen?"
Tears were streaming down my face, and I was so tired. I just wanted to sleep. I hadn't slept properly since the explosion, and I hadn't been unchained a single time. I couldn't feel my hands anymore.
"I don't know," I softly cried.
Aki cracked his knuckles and then slammed them against my cheekbone. I didn't scream anymore. I was too tired and my throat too dry.
"Quinn, how many times do I have to tell you that it'll be so much easier if you just cooperate? Just tell us what you know, and it'll be over. You can go back to your life."
I sobbed and shook my head. "I swear I don't know anything. I swear."
Aki sighed deeply and turned back to the door. He knocked on it a couple of times, and it opened. A man I didn't know came into the cell, grabbed my chin and lifted my head up.
His almost black eyes swept over my face. I was panting, praying they'd let me go now. I just wanted to lie down. Have a bath. Most of all, I wanted to not be chained to the wall anymore.
"The bastard knows nothing," he murmured. "He's a snivelling child. He wouldn't be able to withstand torture this long and not break. Has he said anything of use?"
"He has confessed to a lot of things," Aki said with a shrug. "Nothing we can use, though."
"Release him. Get him cleaned up and properly dressed. Have a doctor look him over. We can't lose another." The man looked back down at me with a faint smile. "Your Highness, as of now you're the only confirmed surviving av Stál. You're the king regent, head of the Andaheim empire."
"My sister is dead?" I whispered.
"Yes. She's assumed dead."
I closed my eyes, and he let my chin go. Aki came forward, and I shied away instinctively.
"Relax, I'm unchaining you now." He unlocked the cuffs, and I would've fallen down if he hadn't caught me. "It's okay now, Quinn." His voice was so soft, and I clung to it and him.
He carefully lifted me off the floor and carried me all the way back to my chambers. He undressed me and led me into the washroom. The tub was already filled, and he helped me get into it.
"There. That feels better, doesn't it?" Aki asked softly and knelt down beside the tub.
"Yes, thank you," I whispered and pressed my knees to my chest. My wrists were horrendous. And my hands were paler than the rest of me.
"It's gonna be better now, Quinn," Aki murmured.
I whimpered and tried to suppress it. I didn't want him to touch me, but at the same time, I craved affection. I craved a hug. I couldn't figure my head out, and the only thing I kept thinking about was the fact that I didn't want anymore pain.
I just didn't want to be in anymore pain.