𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓚𝓲𝓷𝓰'𝓼 𝓡𝓸𝓼𝓮

Chapter Six: A Change In Stature

.•° ✿ °•.

It had been nearly two months since that night, and I still couldn't quite separate reality from imagination. More questions than I could count raced through my mind. Why had the King's orders changed? And, if they had changed, why did he rescue me from Christian? Or, had he even rescued me at all? Had I just hallucinated him, or perhaps passed out, and Christain had returned me to my cell? All I knew for certain was that I wasn't dead, and I was glad for it. Though I was quickly growing sick of being stuck in my cell. The visits to the King had not continued after that ordeal, in fact, I hadn't heard a single word from him.

Without the visits, my days became a lot more tedious. And just as I felt I could not take the ceaseless boredom and constant questions for one more moment, the familiar sound of the prison doors clanging open rang out, filling the musty halls with a metallic echo. And, to my surprise, it was the King, the very man I'd been longing to see for the past two months. My eyes widened at the sight, and I sprang up, ignoring the pain that shot through my still recovering leg.

"Excited to see me?" he asked arrogantly.

"I've so many questions." I said, shaking my head.

"Do you?"

"Yes. What happened that night? And where is Christain now? And why am I still alive? And why haven't we met in two months?" I asked exasperatedly, only skimming the surface of my mass of questions.

"You've been missing my company have you?" he laughed, before nearing my cell, "I will answer your questions in due time. Most of them."

"Why have you come?" I questioned.

"Someone is certainly fond of questions this morning. I've come to inform you of a change in your situation." he stated, unlocking my cell and letting himself in.

"Go on." I persisted.

"No patience at all." he shook his head before continuing, "I've decided that you're to be my mistress."

"What? You can't be serious!" I frowned, incredulous.

"I'm deadly serious, my dear." he smirked, a mischievous look crossing his blue eyes.

"So, what, I've been promoted from your incarcerated plaything to some sort of underrated mistress?" I folded my arms, glaring at him.

"Precisely."

"Why? It's not as though you don't toy with me whenever you please already." I frowned, slightly hurt that the King had seemed to revert back to his old ways of treating me like an object for his amusement.

"Aw, have I offended you? Were you truly growing fond of me? Well, I apologize, my darling, but I only used you to entertain myself. The war, as I'm sure you know, is quite the arduous matter." he said, pretending to be sorry.

"I'm not offended in the slightest. I see you are as arrogant as ever, thinking you actually meant anything to me. And you haven't yet answered my question." I said, mentally kicking myself for being foolish enough to think he saw me as anything but an object.

"Of course, of course. See, it is frowned upon for a King such as myself to toy with a prisoner, people talk, and, well, rumours only grow. If I take you as a mistress, it will be nothing out of the ordinary. Some folk may not take to it, but it isn't entirely shunned." he explained.

"Ah, forgive me, but I fail to see how a prisoner turned mistriss is any different than a prisoner. Enlighten me?" I spat venomously.

"There isn't really a difference, dear, a plaything is a plaything, but, let us just say, it is what's best for my reputation." he winked.