Hamstung Imperial Palace
The early morning dew filled the air, making it look like a cloud of mist.
The hush of dawn, the air cool. Joya stepped out, with a wooden bowl clutched against her hip, the scent of dry grains rising faintly from it.
The soft rustle of her skirts brushing the dew-strewn ground as she shoved her hand into the basket of grains and scattered the feed with practiced flicks of her hand.
The grains rained down on the soil, tapping against the stone and earth. Almost instantly, the hens stirred to life, ruffled feathers, soft clucks, and quick darting beaks pecking at the food.
She continued to throw the feed on the ground until she had emptied the wooden bowl. She was wearing a plain white gown, the maid's uniform.
The quiet was filled with the flutter of wings, the occasional crow of a rooster in the distance, and the rhythm of pecking on stone. She mindlessly continued to throw the grains on the ground, and the hen clustered around her, pecking endlessly.
Her mind drifted to the dream she had last night. She blinked her lashes, trying to push them away, but they pressed on. Visions flashing in like broken records, blurry…whispers of voices of people she had never seen.
Her skin began to prickle with heat as sweat began to glisten. Once again she shoved her hand into the wooden bowl, but her hand landed on an empty space. She looked down and saw that the grains had finished.
She turned around and walked inside, taking a dark alley before arriving at the busy kitchen. The maids were always up early to prepare the meals the royal family feasted on.
"Joya, take this soup to Prince Vagor's chamber; he likes it steamy and hot, served early in the morning." A maid said, passing a tray of hot, steamy soup to Joya.
Joya looked down at the soup, then turned around, making her way to the vast hallways of the royal palace. She got to a double door at the end of the hallway.
Using her elbows, she pushed the door gently, and it gave way; it wasn't locked. Her blue eyes roamed around the chamber as she placed the bowl of soup on a table in the chamber.
She walked around, bypassing the different sections of the chamber, but Vagor was nowhere to be found.
After checking around thoroughly, she gave up and decided to leave when she heard the sound of a sea horn blowing. She tilted her head, then turned around fully, making her way to the window in the chamber.
She peered through the window and saw a masculine figure, seated by the outside court, worshiping a carved statue of a golden idol.
The burning incense dwindled in the air; an old man standing by his side blew the horn softly, and Vagor lowered his head to the ground in worship, mumbling words that only he could understand.
The small temple was a setting in the outside court; a small canopy hung over the idols of women wrapped with serpents, some having wings.
Outside the small temple, there was a mat laid on the ground; this was where Vagor knelt down, his head touching the mat as he worshipped.
Joya turned away and swiftly made her way out of the chamber. She ran along the hallways until she got to a staircase. She climbed down the stairs and walked through a door before arriving at the section of the temple.
She waited for minutes, standing aside, as she watched Vagor complete the ceremony. Once he was done, he rose to his feet; the ancient necklace jingled on his neck.
Wrapped around his waist was a thin white material, reaching down to his knees; apart from that, he wasn't wearing any other clothes.
When Vagor walked out of the arena, the priest that had been standing beside him rolled up the mat and lit up more incense. Vagor walked past Joya but paused and turned around….
"Your soup…it is ready, my prince." Joya stuttered, avoiding his gaze. " He didn't say a word; he turned around and walked into the castle, and Joya trailed behind him until they arrived at his chamber.
She presented the food to Vagor, then turned to leave.
"Wait until I have finished my meal." He said, and Joya felt her knees weaken. She obediently stood aside, watching him eat; at intervals he would divert his gaze in her direction before focusing it on his food.
When he was done eating, he simply rose to his feet; he loosened the white linen wrapped around his waist, and it fell to the rugged floor.
Joya's eyes almost popped out of her sockets, a small gasp escaping her lips. She looked away… breathing heavily, eyes tightly shut.
"Forgive me, my prince. I didn't know…"
"Come here." Vagor said, and Joya fluttered her eyes open. She slowly fixed her gaze on him; he was naked… It was inappropriate, yet she couldn't defy his orders.
She made her way to him and stood right in front of him. His gaze was locked with hers as he trailed his hand up her thighs.
"Please…please, I beg of you." Joya was quivering like a drenched cat.
"What is your name?" The prince questioned, his hand landing on a lot of gauzy material between her thighs; he dragged it off, and it fell on the floor.
"Joya, you are very beautiful." He whispered in her ears, walking her to his bedside. He bent her over, then began to raise her dress; her beautiful ass was now facing him.
Joya had long stopped begging him to stop; it was hopeless.
He dived in, his giant pipe pulsating inside of her. Joya's mouth hung open; although he was doing this without her consent, she couldn't help but moan.
He began to bang her from behind, and Joya clenched the sheets of the bed, moaning softly. His testicles slapped against her dripping pussy, making a sloppy sound.
She moved her body to his rhythm, enjoying the feeling of his cock inside of her. However, Vagar began to manhandle her.
He pulled out of her, abrasively turned her around, and then pushed her on the bed; he tore off her dress, and her breast came into view.
He spread her legs and dove into her again with full force. Joya groaned, feeling pain instead of sexual excitement. When both his hands flew to her breast and pressed it, she felt her breast would pop.
She cried out in more pain than pleasure as the bed creaked. Then suddenly she felt him pulling out; she moaned softly before jamming her legs together, but the pain that shot through her made her go numb for some minutes.
Vagor walked around the bed, his tail wagging side to side, reached out for a jar of wine, and poured himself some red wine. He sat on the edge of the bed, the cup of wine still in his hand, backing Joya, who played numb on the bed.
I am sorry." He apologizes.
Joya was stunned. She tilted her head to face him, her body still in the opposite direction.
At first she didn't know what to say. Should he even be saying this? Apologizing to a maid—how ironic.
"You should be." She didn't know when boldness engulfed her, and she sprouted those words. She was raped; even if she enjoyed it just a little, it didn't change the fact that he had defiled her.
Vagor was quiet; he brought the cup of wine to his thin lips and then drank from it. He savored the taste on his tongue and pressed his lips together before turning to look at Joya.
"You moaned… Didn't you enjoy it?" His question was simply too straightforward; it baffled Joya.
"Only a little." Joya's eyes were cold and lifeless, her voice low. She was being honest with him.
Vagor sighed, then dropped the half-filled cup of wine. He swung both his legs on the bed and sat up, just beside Joya.
"I…do not fancy women."
"You do not fancy me… I am a maid. There is a difference." Joya grunted in annoyance.
"You don't seem to grasp the meaning of my words." Vagor said, looking frustrated. He was a handsome man, with light green eyes and dark short hair.
He had an aquiline nose and thin rosy lips, but his abs…so catchy. His handsomeness had caught Joya off guard when she had set her eyes on him the first time she got to the palace. But now she felt only disgust for him and resentment.
"I do not like women… I enjoy lying with men." He said in a whisper. Joya was stunned…speechless for a while. It now clicked in her brain that she didn't hear him groan in pleasure; he manhandled her mercilessly.
"The weight of your words…"
"I trust you, and that is why I told you this. No one must find out, or else my birthright will be seized." He retorted.
"You trust a maid? Why?" Joya asked for seating.
"Because I do not have anyone else to share my thoughts with. A problem shared is half solved."
"Not this one." Joya quickly said.
"You will be asked to take a wife; what would happen then?"
"What will happen? I will perform my duty as a husband, and she will bear children for him; that would be all. There will be no affection.
"That woman will be very unfortunate." Joya muttered, sighing between.
"Why then did you sleep with me?" You are into men…
"Shhhh! Vagor said, looking around.
"Your voice is high-pitched." He complained, and Joya rolled her eyes.
"Sorry." She mumbled, and there was silence for a while.
"You are very beautiful. I thought…maybe if I slept with you, I would generate pleasure or feel attracted, but that wasn't the case." He admitted it, and Joya's face scrunched up in disgust.
"You used me as a… experiment?"
"When you put it that way, you make me look bad." Vagor answered nonchalantly; he was discussing with a maid. Things were already complicated.
"Don't you have a lover? A male accomplice."
"He left me. He was afraid we would get caught, and then he would be put to death." Vagor's gaze flashed with anger, his veins reflecting on his skin as his jaws clenched.
"Understandable. If I were in his place, I would do the same." Joya said, and Vagor glared at her, a murderous gaze. She was frightened; she looked away and then climbed down from the bed.
"I trust that you would protect the secret with your life." Vagor's voice echoed in the chamber.
"I do not stand to gain anything if I tell anyone. Your secret is safe with me." Joya reassured him. She walked up to a folded bed sheet on a chair in the chamber, then wrapped herself with it.
She turned away…when the sound of coins jingling reached her ears. She looked down at her feet and saw a bag of coins on the floor. Vagor had thrown it at her.
"For the service." His voice echoed from across the chamber.
Joya glared at the bag of coins, a tempting offer, but she was no prostitute.
She kicked the bag of coins away.
"I did not give my body willingly or bargain for any amount of coin. I will not accept this money; it is an insult to my dignity." She said, walking out of the chamber, leaving Vagor taken aback by her words.
As Joya walked along the hallway at a fast pace. The memory of her promising her mother, Mira, that she wouldn't be defiled by any man again surfaces in her head.
She felt pained; more than anything, she felt disgusted by her own skin. The things she had to do to survive…
What Vigor didn't know was that he had broken the chains of her weak spirit for good.