A Royal Pain (Scarlemagne x reader)

Chapter the tenth

My eyes slowly fluttered open. It must have been midnight when I woke up.

The room would've been pitch black if not for the single candle on the vanity mirror glowing brightly in the dark.

I looked down and saw that I was splayed out across a rather large and cushy duvet. My shoes had been taken off but I still wore my dress and, unfortunately, my corset.

My eyes rolled to the left. Tied loosely to the bed post was my leash. Thankfully, the effects of the pheromones were beginning to recede which granted me some mobility, albeit limited in that regard.

I tilted my head sideways. The leash stirred, slowly beginning to unravel.

"Just a little more," I thought.

The sound of footsteps clattering down the hall made me flop back into position. I closed my eyes tightly.

"Did you do what I asked?" Scarlemagne asked, voice low.

"Yes sir!" Gerard quickly responded.

Their voices could heard clearly now as they came to the foot of the bed.

"Seeing as my humans have been unruly as of late, I shall have to punish them appropriately."

A shiver ran down my spine at the word 'punishment'. Everyone on the surface knew that Scarlemagne wasn't partial to torture.

"I won't be in bed for a few hours at most. As such, you and four other guards are to be stationed outside of my quarters until then."

"And, Gerard..." his tone was venomous.

"If you let her get away, I'll have you fed to my flamingoes. Understood?"

"Yes sir...Scarlemagne, sir!"

"Good. That will be all, Gerard."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next few hours involved a lot of discomfort on my part. For starters, I had to make sure I didn't stir or make any noise. Which proved to be an arduous task.

Sleep was also completely out of the realm of possibility for two reasons; the squadron of brawny, mouth-breathing primates situated right outside of the entrance. And, secondly, the sound of Scarlemagne's chosen method of torture.

He made the humans dance. For three hours.

I tried my hardest to block out the deafening tune of the piano. But it was of no use.

My head throbbed, my throat was sandpaper-dry. I prayed to some higher force, begging that the suffering would soon end.

Then, as if by magic, everything went silent, I felt each muscle in my body relax.

"I do hope you've all learned your lesson!" Scarlemagne's voice boomed from below.

"Now, go and make yourselves busy! There's plenty of work to be done..."

There was a moments pause.

"...And I must retire to my chambers."