YOU KNOW IT'S REALLY GROOVY PLACE
AND IT'S JUST A LIITLE BIT OF A SPANISH CASTLE MAGIC
--Jimi Hendrix
For the last several years, the House of Chasez had been obsessed with finding the perfect bride for Prince Joshua. The Prince had to be married by the second new moon after his 21st birthday according to kingdom law and he was already 20 years old.
The perfect princess had to be of marriageable age, from a suitable family with a proper wedding trousseau, she needed to be well learned in running a household since she would be Queen someday. In addition, she had to be a virgin whose family had many male offspring and there could be nothing tainting her or her family.
King Roy attempted to help his son enter into a marriage contract with a Princess of the House of Simpson, but negotiations stalled, then broke down all together when the Princess was found to be a simpleton who’d never handle running a household or rearing children.
While the Royal household was working on finding the Prince a bride, Prince Joshua’s haram continued on as it had before. The Prince had 20 pleasure slaves, having sold some that the Prince had tired of and acquired new ones.
Lance, the steward, was in charge of the day to day upkeep of the haram. Along with Christopher and Joseph, he was in charge of preparing new slaves for the Prince’s predilections. However, Justin had quickly become the Prince’s favorite.
“Up.” Lance said, balancing a tray of fruit, cheese, and bread and fruit juices while trying to wake Justin from his pallet.
“It is no use; he’ll only wake when he feels like it,” Said Christina tuning the harp in her lap. She had a perfect ear and often would spend hours tuning all the instruments in the Royal Household.
“He’s a spoiled brat,” Said her twin Britney.
The twins, as they were usually referred to, had been traveling performers in their previous life before being sold off to cover bad debts. Both girls were well trained in prose and poetry, music, dancing and singing.
Often The Royal Household had them entertain guests so they were required to maintain those skills as well as take care of their duties as pleasure slaves.
Christina handed her sister the harp.
“He is a brat.” She agreed.
Lance set the tray of food down on a low sitting table and the others sat down around it. They said a small prayer of thanksgiving to The Motherand began to eat. Christopher gave them both looks.
“You two are jealous because you’re no longer the Prince’s favorite.”
Christina gasped.
“We are not.”
“Yes, you are.” Christopher said, nodding, “No more special treatment, no more waking up with the Prince in the mornings, no more trinkets”
“I can see where these attacks are going,” Britney said, rising to her feet, “Come, elder sister, Let us go and practice.”
The others watched them go. Christopher shrugged and then continued eating.
“They’ll be gone for sometime now,” Joseph sighed, “I suppose I won’t be getting any loving today.”
Christopher placed a hand on Joseph’s thigh.
“That’s not necessarily true. Christina isn’t the only one that warms your bed.”
Pleasure slaves had a fluid sexual understanding between themselves. No one was beholden to another. They freely shared their love and their bodies with everyone in the harem. The only rule that was enforced came down from Prince Joshua, no one was to experience Justin’s rump, but him.
At that moment, Justin sighed and rolled over, his silky sheet falling away from his upper body. Unlike the others, Justin slept nude. He liked the feeling of his silky sheets on his body, or so he said. Not that any of the others minded as they watched Justin’s muscles ripple under his smooth, golden skin. The sheet covered only a portion of his round ass, his curls were tousled, and his mouth looked red and used. The others studied him for a moment.
“Do you think he does that on purpose?” Lance asked, adjusting himself.
“Probably,” Christopher answered, finishing his cheese and helping himself to some fruit, “He knows that we know we can’t have him. If we want to have sex with him, he has to bugger us. So he tortures us with that beautiful body.”
“I bet it’s like heaven between those cheeks.” Joseph said. Lance rubbed himself through his tunic.
“I’m sure it is.”
*
After many false starts, a proper bride for Prince Joshua had been found. Princess Mya met all the qualifications that King Roy had set forth: a dowry from her family had been settled upon, a wedding contract signed by proper parties. She was of marriageable age, and was said to be a woman that could be counted on to look after the House of Chasez as well as produces many sons.
She was from the House of Wright, the niece of King Jonathan. She’d lost her parents years before in a sandstorm and the King had raised her as his own. Princess Mya and her family arrived exactly one moon before the wedding. This arrangement allowed the families to interact with another prior to the wedding and if one family felt something was amiss; the marriage contract could cancel honorably.
Prince Joshua met his bride only momentarily before they were married. Princess Mya, like any honorable virgin, wore a white veil that covered her from head to toe. He could kind of make out her features as she curtsied to him and he bowed to her, but the only thing he saw clearly was her eyes. Her eyes were soft, brown and intelligent. She walked away with Queen Karen and Joshua watcher her. She looked back at him once before walking out of sight.
*
Justin was summoned to Prince Joshua later that day. From the moment he set foot inside until her left hours later, sore but sated, he was pushed to the limits of his endurance. The Prince met him at the door, shoved his penis at Justin’s mouth and Justin automatically opened. He spent many moments licking from behind The Prince’s balls, lavishing extra attention on The Prince’s shaft then finally made his way up to the tip.
Sucking and licking the way he found The Prince liked the most. Before he could finish The Prince off, he was pushed onto his stomach while oil was drizzled onto his hole. The Prince didn’t give him a moment to prepare himself before thrusting in completely with a satisfied grunt.
He felt The Prince’s balls slapping his ass and tried to relax. Soon he was panting and straining along with the other man.
“Ah ah ah ah.” He panted.
“Mnn. Mnnh. Mnnh.” grunted The Prince.
Justin’s hand jerked his penis as The Prince gripped one place on his hip and one place on his opposing shoulder, pushing, grunting and thrusting until he yelped and collapsed heavily on Justin’s back.
It seemed like mere moments before The Prince had gotten off his back, wiped himself thoroughly and then turned Justin onto his side. More oil was poured and The Prince went at him again. Usually The Prince wanted to give pleasure to his slaves as well as receive his own pleasure, but not this time Justin determined, taking the thrusts.
He was turned and twisted over and over until The Prince had burned out whatever lust had consumed him. Only then was Justin allowed to leave.
“What in the name of The Mother has happened to you?” exclaimed Christina. The others followed behind her.
“The Prince…would not stop. He was consumed with lust.”
Justin sat gingerly down on his pallet. His ass didn’t hurt, but it certainly felt used and tender.
“We’ll fix you up,” Lance said, quietly. The Prince must have been very bothered to take his lust out on his pleasure slave.
Justin could barely keep his eyes open. He murmured something the others couldn’t understand and then promptly fell asleep.
*
The wedding of Princess Mya and Prince Joshua was the most lavish and the largest event that anyone could remember. All kingdoms sent at least one member of their House to act as a representative. The nobility and merchant classes jockeyed for position in order to receive a precious invitation.
Reputations and business dealings for years to come were made and lost off the receiving or the not receiving of an invitation. The official wedding didn’t begin until noon, but the families came together at dawn to worship The Mother and have a meal.
Princess Mya spent an extra hour in prayer at her shrine to The Mother while her mother and servants chanted and burned incense to ask for many male offspring and good luck for the future. Her wedding dress and veil were red. Red for luck. Prince Joshua’s outfit was gold. Gold for fortune.
Princess Mya came into the great hall, lead by her uncle, King Jonathan. A trail of red and golden flower petals had been laid at her feet for her to tread upon up to the altar. He uncle embraced her and gave her to Prince Joshua. The priest began speaking in low, rich tones welcoming all that had gathered for the blessed event.
Soon The Prince pulled the veil off the face of his bride. Her back was to everyone so only he and the priest would see her face before she was officially a married woman. She was as beautiful as he thought she would be. Long, dark hair, beautiful eyes, lovely skin and lovely mouth.
*
Like any well-bred Princess, Mya soon became a part of her new household. Her virginity was verified from the bloodstain on the bridal sheets and she became with child within a few months of her bridal night.
Despite the Royal Physician’s recommendation for confinement, Mya began walking the gardens daily, picking flowers, gossiping with the Queen and learning more about the House of Chasez.
Even thought she was The Prince’s wife, future mother of Prince Joshua’s children and future Queen of the House of Chasez, in a lot of ways, soon Princess Mya found out that she was of no more importance than a household servant.
In fact, it was from the servants, that she found out that her husband had a harem and had pleasure slaves to provide him with sex. When the servants would come to clean her room, they would talk of the usual household gossip. They would talk quietly amongst themselves, but talk they would.
She was a proper princess, but even she had heard through gossip of certain members of the nobility or merchant class whose wives had been shamed by such goings on. However, she never thought it would happen to her.
One morning she got turned around while in the Royal Garden and ended up in another garden with servants she did not recognize. She approached a servant girl who was wearing only a chemise, though she looked vaguely familiar.
“Who are you and what are you doing here?”
Christina froze, not knowing how respond for once in her life. Her sister, Britney saw The Princess speaking and ran off to find Lance. Lance found one of The Prince’s regular servants and alerted him to what was happening in the gardens.
“There you are Princess,” he said, “We’ve been looking all about the palace for you. Let us go back to your chambers.”
“Who are these servants?”
He knew, as did the others, that it was against the laws for a common or low birthed person to lie to a noble birthed person. When the Princess realized she was not going to be getting an answer from her husband’s personal attendant, she followed him back into the palace. Once she became familiar with her surroundings, she purposefully lost Lance and went to see her husband.
What in the name of The Mother is going on here? She thought as she hurried along the corridors, Why have I never seen those servants before?
She did not bother to announce her presence at Joshua’s sleeping chamber and was shocked at what she saw when she opened the door. There in front of her was her beloved husband. Also with him was a male servant she had never seen. The servant was performing a sexual act on her husband.
“O Holy Mother,” she shrieked, “What is going on….”
At being caught with Justin, Prince Joshua fell out of the other man’s mouth. Lance stuck his head through the door as the Princess fainted.
“Call the physician,” Prince Justin told Lance.
He sent Justin back to his quarters and waited. The physician examined the Princess and found no injury to her or the unborn child.
Queen Karen arrived right at the moment that the physician pronounced the Princess to be sound of body. The King explained the situation to her and she sighed heavily. She knew that this day would come for the Princess as it had come for her so long ago.
“Take the Princess to my chambers.” She instructed.
Once they had carried the unconscious Princess out of the chamber, The Queen turned her attention to her son.
“I shall handle this.” She said turning and leaving so abruptly that her skirts rasped against the stone floors. She hated this part of being of Royal Birth and just for a moment hated her husband and her son. Her servants had left a vial of smelling salts on The Queen’s bedside table. The Queen administered the salts to rouse the Princess.
“Where am I?” she asked.
“You are with me, child.” The Queen replied.
“Queen Karen…I…I saw Joshua…”Mya began before bursting into tears.
The Queen held up a hand. She had a fairly good idea of what the Princess has seen. It seemed as if it were only a moments ago that she had had this same conversation with The King’s mother. Fortunately, she had not caught her husband in flagrante.
“Mya, I am so very sorry that you witnessed your husband, my son, in such a compromising situation.”
The Queen began to pace, her long skirts trailing behind her.
”The servants that you saw in the East gardens, those are my son’s pleasure slaves.”
“Pleasure slaves?”
“Yes.”
“Am I not enough for him?”
“It is not that, May dear. Men have stronger urges for pleasure. That is why he has them …to…to service those urges.”
“Well, I will not stand for it. It is either I or they.”
Queen Karen sat on her chaise and took her daughter-in-law’s hands within her own.
“Mya, do not be foolish. My son loves you, he just needs an outlet for the things that he will not ..can not…ask you to do. It is your decision to leave; however, you cannot take the child with you.”
She softened her tone.
“When I married The King, I had a similar conversation with his mother and I am sure some day, you will have this conversation with your son’s bride. It is not pretty, but unfortunately, it is the way things are.”
Mya sighed heavily and left The Queen’s sleeping chamber. When she reached her own chamber, she gave her servants strict instruction not to allow anyone in to see her. She knew not how to make such a decision.
Either she left and went back to with her family, but she’d be forced to leave her child behind or she could pretend that she did not know that her husband was taking his pleasure from others.
When she awoke later, Joshua was sitting on her bed.
“I made your servants allow me in to see you,” he began, “Mother tells me that you want to return to the home of your uncle. “
“I have been thinking about it.” She replied, turning her back to him.
“I do not wish for you to return. I love you.”
“If you love me, then how can you take your pleasure from another?”
Justin was silent for a moment.
“That is all it is, pleasure. When we take our pleasure of each other, its more than just pleasure. We are making love. Our child was formed in love…”
“Do not speak to me of our child.” She said sullenly.
“I do love you, but I will not give up my harem. I need them. I need them so I will not force myself upon you…”
“Perhaps I wish to be forced upon!”
Joshua shook his head, though his wife could not see it.
“I…no…you will be the mother of my child, I could not ask you to…no.”
He got off of her bed and smoothed out his clothing He sighed deeply.
“If you wish to return to your uncle’s home, speak to my father and he will break the marriage contract.”
Joshua walked towards the door. As he let himself out he whispered that he loved her once again.
Like a ghost, Mya swept around the palace, speaking to no one and having contact with few. She spent most of her time thinking in the gardens, walking around, her long garments flowing out behind her, hands resting on the unborn child that was in her womb.
She had sent a messenger to her homeland and her aunt had come immediately by transport. She explained the situation to her and had expected a wholly different response than the one that she received.
“Yes, little one,” Her aunt had sighed, “Such is the fate of women.”
“But Aunt…”
“Joshua loves you. Do not throw everything away on foolish pride.”
Mya began to pace.
“But Aunt…”
“Sit down little one.”
Her aunt smoothed hair off of her face as she sat next to her, pressing her forehead to that of her niece, a woman that was like a daughter to her.
“Your uncle…”she faltered then cleared her throat, “Your uncle…”
“Oh Aunt …why…how do you?” Mya asked pulling away.
“It does not mean that he does not love me…”
“…he just needs someone else to…to…”
Mya found that she could not finish her thought nor did she want to.
“That is just the way that things are, Little One. I wish that they could be different, so you would not have felt this pain, but they are not.”
Mya lowered her pregnant body so her head rested on her aunt’s lap. Her aunt smoothed her hair like she did when her daughter had been a small child.
“Choose wisely, beloved niece. For you cannot erase what you do.”
*
After her aunts departure, Mya only left her sleeping chambers for her morning walks in the Royal Gardens. She was walking quietly about one morning, gathering flowers for her chambers when Joshua appeared next to her.
“Good morning, My Lady,” he said quietly, taking the bouquet from her hands.
“Good morning.”
“Your servants tell me of your walks in the morn.” He said falling into step with her.
“They do.” She replied lapsing into silence.
They walked together in silence for a moment. When they rounded a corner in the Royal Garden, Joshua pulled Mya onto one of the benches. He laid her bouquet down carefully and took her hands within his own.
“So have you made a decision?” he asked gently.
She nodded, unable to speak.
“Are you staying?”
She nodded again. He tipped her chin up to him.
“You are staying?”
“Yes.”
“You do not know how happy this makes me.” He said engulfing her in a hug.
The decision was simple. She could not leave her child behind and as much as her husband had hurt her, she could not leave him behind either. The only thing that she could do as the wife and mother of the future heirs of the House of Chasez would be to stay, to fulfill her duty.
As far as Joshua was concerned, she did not not love him, she only loved him less. A portion of her heart had been closed off to him. She did not know if it would ever open to him fully again.
Author Notes: Continuation of a story from the 100 Ways Fic Challenge. That story does not need to be read in order to understand this one. Also borrowed from another of my old stories DutyBound © 2001.