The Bed Wife

Chapter Four

Luana, along with all the other "honored" maidens, was escorted to the lower levels of the castle deep within the mountain.

Each young lady was given a milk-and-rose water bath. They had their hair washed and styled into several loose braids that crowned their heads and gave birth to a single long serpentine fishbone braid - the traditional style for a bed wife.

They were then garbed only in a sheer, pearl white robe with an indigo jeweled sash. Surely this was to inspire their suitors, letting the men breed with the women quickly without too much clothing to get in the way.

All the bed wives were lined up, preparing to enter the main part of the castle. Each girl had obviously been chosen for her beauty. They were all very young, with slender bodies and long hair of blonde, raven or ginger. The youngest, the girl from Rivermouth, could not be sixteen. Looking past the redness of the girl's tear-stained face, Luana could appreciate the beauty of her deep brown eyes and long brown curls. Even in her own fear, Luana wanted to comfort the girl but they had been instructed not to speak to one another.

The group was escorted up a labyrinth of halls and stairs to be taken to their new bedchambers. These chambers were where they would spend the majority of their lives. The sad young lady from Rivermouth cried silent tears as they ascended a stairway. However, the remainder of the women had actually believed the speech of how honored they were to be chosen and appeared to be excited. There were neither tears nor excitement on the face of Luana. She knew there was no great honor, merely an excuse to lay with women without the burden of marrying them.

Luana was the last of the group to be placed. She was led to a vast room with a large open balcony that allowed the moonlight to spill in and fill it with a milky glow. The room was lit with nearly a hundred candles, giving a warm glow against the cool moonlight.

"You will wait here for Prince Baylin," the guard ordered.

"Prince Baylin?" She repeated in an angry tone. It was he who chose me, she thought.

"Yes," the guard said through a sly smile. "You have been bestowed a high honor, bed wife. Your son could very well be the King of these lands someday, so spread your legs for the Prince and take his seed within you."

A defiant anger came over her. It must have shown because the guard laughed at her as he locked her in the room.

She stood in silence for a few minutes, absorbing the realization of what was happening. She had been sold. Her father had sold her off like one of his goats to slaughter.

Luana cringed as she began to hear cries coming from another room somewhere nearby. The crying was most likely the poor girl from Rivermouth. 'Just another bed wife doing her duty.'

The girl's terror must have excited whoever had chosen her because they were followed by his loud moans of ecstasy along with laughter from what, she could only assume, were an audience of guards. Fear gripped her as her mind raced. 'Am I going to receive the same treatment? Could he really do such a thing to me?'

Luana tried to distract herself by observing the general splendor of the room. It was considerable in size, with the same smooth stone floors as in the great hall that the celebration had taken place in. However, this room had a warmer lived-in feel. There were shelves filled with books, a writing desk and a small table that was most likely for meals. It also had several fur rugs throughout—in front of the blazing hearth, beneath a padded settee bench—and a massive fur covered the floor around the bed.

The bed was immense! It could have slept six or seven young ladies from her village, let alone herself. It was covered in great pillows and blankets of linen and fur that most certainly would keep the night's chill at bay.