Bonded

Chapter 5

"Sofiya," Lord Tarquin stood up and addressed the woman closest to the table. Jza noted the interaction between the two of them still trying to grasp the concept of a harem. It was unheard of in her country but she knew customs in countries around them varied wildly. In Lord Tarquin's country uttering a woman's first name was considered sinful and yet keeping a harem was not. It was so baffling it hardly seemed true.

"Do I need to even say anything?" Lord Tarquin announced to the room which had grown silent. Jza looked back to the woman and found herself already being scrutinized. The beautiful woman was utterly expressionless but her eyes radiated an unpleasantness difficult to ignore. It was fortunate that Jza did not have any problem with pointless posturing and gave the foreign woman a challenging look of her own. This was her domain after all and these people were mere interlopers. 

"But the dessert-" One soldier protested still holding onto his spoon.

Lord Tarquin sat down on his chair and crossed his arms. Whatever look he passed to his men instantly made them jump up, some even letting their chairs fall backwards. They quickly evacuated the room in a stampede of wildness. The women took up some of the places vacated by the men.

"And ladies, what brings you here?" Tarquin eyed the new arrivals sternly although his tone was much softer.

"Where ever you go we follow. It shouldn't be so difficult to understand, Tar," The woman called Sofia crooned coyly. Jza snorted highly unimpressed especially since she was the sister of the famous beauties and they could teach anyone a thing or two about looking coy.

The man closed his eyes as if summoning patience from a non-existent spiritual place deep within his heart but when he opened them back it was obvious it had eluded him. His eyes narrowed in annoyance observing the five finely dressed women in front of him.

"This is a warzone, Sofiya. It is still too dangerous to be frolicking in such a volatile area," Tarquin uttered, sounding as if he had little interest in their safety.

"And yet you find yourself wining and dining with one of the local beauties at great ease," Sofiya gave a short, condescending laugh before picking at someone's leftovers from the plate in front of her.

"Hardly," Tarquin gave Jza a bored look. He focused his attention back to the women and started asking about the climate back home. The Princess tried to follow the conversation but the two started speaking in an odd mixture of what was her own language and theirs. She caught a few words but not enough to form a coherent story.

The other silent woman continued to eye their King's captive with beady eyes but Jza ignored them for her own meal. She absentmindedly looked around and was startled when a hand fell on her shoulder.

"We are leaving," Tarquin stood up and sharply tugged Jza's arm so she had to stand up in consequence without much free will. The rest of the women remained in their places.

"Boris will have your rooms ready," Tarquin announced curtly and Sofiya gave a subtle nod. Jza didn't have the chance to even look back at the harem members before being dragged back to the room. A few loitering soldiers saluted as he whisked her through the corridors. A guard opened the door for them and she was shoved inside.

"I've ordered some tea. We shall have it before getting ready for bed," Tarquin informed her as he closed the door behind him and Jza wondered where she was to sleep. The man was settling down for the night and there was no talk of letting her stay elsewhere. There was only one King sized bed in the bedroom so she imagined he would make her sleep on the floor and if he wanted her to be anywhere closer then she would have to put up a fight. A gentle knock on the door disrupted her most violent line of thought.