There was a palpable zeal in the room. Daniela's very presence seemed to reinvigorate the other young women, their guards up, a collective tension thrumming through the air as they felt ready for whatever may come.
Daniela held the glass of champagne, the cool stem resting between her long, elegant fingers. She brought the rim close to her lips ever so often, a practiced pantomime of drinking, but in truth, she hadn't taken a single sip. A deep-seated caution, a vestige of a life both past and present, told her not to trust the drinks, the food, or even the very air she was breathing.
Landon couldn't keep his eyes off her. He watched her every move as she glided around the room, speaking to princesses and the various kings and queens who found themselves curious about her. In this rare moment, he watched her standing alone, the smallest of smiles at the corner of her lips. She looked completely at ease in this viper's nest, seemingly the only one present who didn't look concerned.
He began making his way over to her, his heavy footfalls surprisingly light as he navigated the crowd. Reaching her, he smiled graciously. "Princess Daniela, I am Prince Landon."
Daniela used her glass, raising it slightly in a small gesture in an attempt to hide the twitch in her lips. Up close, she hadn't been able to see him fully until now. He really was a bear of a man. Instead of the rounded ears of a man, his were small and tufted, undeniably those of a bear. His eyes were brown and wide in a way that was oddly adorable. His arms were completely covered in thick, dark fur, along with his back and most of his legs. Yet his chest, impressively muscled and sculpted, was completely exposed, only wearing tailored pants that displayed his impressive abs which seemed entirely void of any hair. It was a mixture of beast and man. Given the namesake of being of the Beastman Kingdom, it only made sense that he would be an absolute blend of the two. He was also tall, very, very tall, with a deep, gravelly voice that truly walked the line between animal and man.
"Prince Landon, I'm honored to make your acquaintance." She executed a low, graceful bow as she had previously, her eyes never leaving him even in the most deferential part of the movement.
Landon felt his Adam's apple bob as he watched her. The way her dress, a shimmering sheath of fabric, clung to her figure, unhidden by the voluminous material of the other ladies' dresses. There was no large hoop skirt demanding that he stay further away from her. This was the closest he'd been able to get to a young lady in his lifetime, her simple skirt not causing an issue.
He felt a loss of words, unsure of what to say. His kin were not adapted to social interactions. You see something you like, you take it. That was really all there was to it. Be strong enough to take it, and honorable enough to die for it.
Daniela noticed how he just stood there staring at her. If it had been anyone else, she would be concerned, even creeped out. But there was something boyishly unassuming about Landon.
"You remind me of my father." She took a small step closer, lowering her voice as if she were telling him a secret.
Even though he knew he would be able to hear her no matter how quietly she spoke, he found himself leaning inward, his bear-ears twitching.
"You both share in your reserved nature. It is a gift not many here possess." She complimented, pulling away slightly and chuckling as she noticed his wide, delighted smile, his dangerously sharp teeth on display. He looked crazed with happiness, but not monstrous.
"Beasts are more built for war than social interactions."
At the intrusion of Deacon, Daniela bowed her head, less than inclined to be near him. He wanted to know too much. She knew his ultimate game was leverage, and she didn't intend to give him any.
"I thought that's what they say about politicians. Everyone likes a fluffy bear," she said back, subtly standing closer to Landon than she was to Deacon.
"With such a sharp tongue, you will do well here, Princess." Deacon clinked his glass with hers, the crystal ringing lightly, then took a sip of his wine. He noticed how she didn't take a sip of her own. "Are you not drinking? Scared?"
"Of course, Prince. I fear the embarrassment of indulgence. I am a woman after all; I should pace myself." Her eyes met his, a hint of steel in their depths.
"I will toast for you, Princess." Landon easily took her glass out of her hand. It felt so small and soft in his massive paw. He wondered how she was able to do anything with such little hands. He felt as if he needed to be extra careful as he uncurled her fingers from around the glass. With a mild cheers toward Deacon, Landon finished her drink for her. It was the sweetest champagne he'd ever tasted. He wasn't sure if it was because her lips had once touched the glass and he was just tasting her, but he could swear this was the finest champagne he had ever tried.
"Your chivalry knows no bounds, Landon—Sorry, Prince Landon," she said, her voice soft, and she lightly touched his thickly furred arm in apology before pulling away.
"Danny!" Eric called out, striding over, his arms wide as if he intended to give her a hug.
To avoid the obvious gesture, she dropped into a lower bow, her head falling forward, making sure that it kept them at a distance. "Prince Eric."
"Stop it, don't be so formal." Eric chuckled, a grating sound. Grabbing her shoulders, he quickly lifted her straight up, holding her in place for a moment, looking at her properly. She looked so different—no more brightly colored dresses with frills and embellishments. Her new style was peculiar, but she did look... edible.
Stepping back from his touch, a deliberate, immediate movement, she gave a light smile. Though she felt a primal urge to raise her arms against her will, a ghostly echo of her former soul's wants creeping up on her.
"It is only proper, Prince Eric. The marriage market demands more propriety." She wanted to scream. She wished she had something in her hands to distract them. She felt jittery. Her hand drifted to her stomach, right over the last wound. She could feel the raised scar with ease—where he had stabbed her in her previous life, the defining killing blow.
"Are you unwell? Do you need some air?" Deacon was the first to notice the way her hand touched her stomach.
Eric offered the crook of his elbow, quick to wedge his way between the others, solidifying his dominance in the well-established friendship between himself and Daniela. "I will take you for some air."
"No, I am perfectly well. I'm just missing home. Do you know if there are any foods from our kingdom tonight?" Daniela asked, looking to Landon, hoping that he was just assertive enough to get her out of this situation.
"I have yet to sample the delicacies." Landon wasn't too familiar with the Beastmen females' dietary needs. He preferred all of his meat raw, like most men of his kind; their stomachs were far more equipped to deal with such foods, as women seemed to be a bit more finicky.
"Daniela! Come!" Eric took her arm and placed it in the crook of his own, walking off with her toward the food, giving the other two princes a withering look over his shoulder. Daniela was his. They needed to find their own prey.
"It has been hard to speak to you alone." Eric broke the silence, feeling how strange it was. Normally, Daniela would be a flurry of words, having everything and anything she wanted to speak to him about.
"I thought I was clear with our last conversation." Daniela thanked everything that the previous owner of her body had decided to let Eric go, knowing that he required a powerful Queen and she did not make the cut. "Prince Eric—"
"You always call me E." He grinned down at her, his hand rubbing her arm that was in the crook of his elbow.
"Please stop!" As gently as possible, she removed her arm from his, turning to face him head-on. Just over his shoulder, she could see Jasper speaking with the king and queen of another kingdom. But when she looked at him, their eyes met. She didn't know how to make him help. "Get me away from him. "We should find your princess. The one that's not me." With a strained expression, she begrudgingly took his hand, holding his one hand between her two. "I want—I… I want the best for you. Find your princess."
She couldn't stand it—the proximity, the touch. Pulling her hands away, she made her quick escape, walking past him. She didn't think; she just left the hall, walking as fast as possible. She needed to escape. Her feet wanted to run as she made her way, but she forced herself to simply walk at a fast, determined pace. She heard the doors of the Hall open and the sound of footsteps coming after her, but she didn't turn. She didn't give in to the rising panic to run. She just kept walking at her same pace. The second she rounded a corner, she opened the first door she saw and entered, closing it and locking it behind her. She turned, only to see Jasper.
Jasper raised his brow as he saw Daniela enter the room. He was a bit compromised at the moment. Another princess was between his legs, bobbing up and down on his length as he sat on the large desk.
In another life, Daniela would have been shy and maybe even hurt. But they were adults, and she didn't care who sucked him off, as long as she became his Queen. She heard the door rattle behind her and was quick to head over to Jasper.
"I'm so sorry! Keep enjoying this. I just need to hide!" She huddled behind the large desk, making sure to keep herself out of sight.
Jasper felt as if he would need to explain himself, to do some sort of damage control between himself and Daniela, but she was impeccably reasonable.
As the door handle rattled again, he smirked to himself as the girl between his legs attempted to pull his length from her lips. But he only held his hand at the back of her head. "Keep going!" he hissed, a deep sound of demand.
Taking a deep breath, he detached a piece of his soul, an inky black substance traveling down his arm until it reached his fingertips, spreading out onto the large desk before slinking onto the ground, slowly taking form and creating a perfect copy of his own image.
"Do you have the necklace I gave you?" his clone asked Daniela as she hunched behind the desk. She nodded, but didn't speak. "Put it on."
Doing as told, Daniela didn't want to be discovered, and if his price was to wear this necklace, she didn't mind. She clasped the chain around her neck.
Lifting his hand, his clone's eyes turned fully black as he lifted his hands in the air, moving them in a way that felt very purposeful, like he was weaving something. Daniela couldn't see it, but she felt it. Something was surrounding her. She reached out as if she could truly touch it. She felt something—a barrier, a pressure, stopping her from pressing any further. Lowering her hand, she remained still.
The only sounds in the room were the vigorous sounds of sucking and the light, muffled moans of a princess doing her very best. But Jasper was quiet. She looked between the Jasper that was sitting on the desk getting his cock sucked and the Jasper that stood walking towards the door and wondered what exactly was his power.
As the clone pulled the door open, Daniela was quick to hide behind the desk fully, crouching low.
"What do you want?" Jasper's gruff voice spoke in an unfriendly tone to the unwanted visitor.
Eric's sharp gaze took on a new edge as he heard the wet, rhythmic sounds coming from inside the room. He would kill Jasper if he was debasing his poor little Dani. He shoved the door open, only to see that it was another princess sucking off the only Demon Prince. It was just the four of them in the room.
Technically speaking, the three. But Jasper had obviously made a clone of himself. To what end, Eric would never know. Someone as lecherous as him could only have evil plans in mind for the young princess on her knees.
"Where is Daniela? I smell her." Pushing past Jasper, he checked the room, every inch of it. He almost wanted to pull the young princess up and make sure it wasn't Daniela, but he knew it couldn't be her. The dress was wrong, and her hair was brown.
"She's not here! And I am clearly busy!" Jasper on the desk smirked, then his clone did too.
Eric was always disgusted when this happened. It was bad enough dealing with one Jasper, but when he was creating his illusions, it was double the irritation. Turning on his heels, he left the room, slamming the door behind him. Looking down the hallway, he decided he would check each room until he found her. Daniela needed to understand she was the princess that he was going to marry, no matter what. He knew she still loved him—the way her lips quivered when she said she wanted the best for him, he knew. That she was apprehensive. She wanted to be the best for him.
Daniela felt the breath she was holding finally release. She could hear his fading footsteps.
"Thank you. Do you mind if I stay here for a while, just to make sure he's gone? I will not get in the way." As she spoke, she looked back and forth between the two versions of Jasper. Knowing there was a third back in the ballroom, she had so many questions, but he was entangled. "Are you two not friends?"
Looking around the room, Daniela looked over her shoulder at the clone. She hadn't expected him to speak to her, considering his current predicament.
"You don't need to entertain me. Enjoy yourself."
The two Jaspers smiled at each other. She was definitely the exact kind of queen they wanted. The Jasper not being pleasured walked over to Daniela, looking at the book she held in her hand.
"I am quite adept at multitasking." He led her to the small couch in the corner.
"We had once been friends. But the marriage market requires a certain level of distance." She wouldn't tell him the truth: that she despised Eric. But at this very moment, she wanted to rip the skin off her arms that he had touched. That she felt defiled by just his touch alone. In a room with the sound of gagging and slurping, she felt cleaner than any interactions she could ever have with him.
Grabbing her chin, his fingers cool on her skin, he pulled her closer toward him, looking into her eyes. "I know a lie when I hear one."
"Good. It is a necessary skill, Jasper." She smiled lightly, learning so much about this man. She didn't think he was someone that could be seduced. He seemed dispassionate about everything but intrigued about so many other things.
As they stared into each other's eyes, the other Jasper grunted, a low sound of satisfaction, as the girl beneath him squeaked. They both turned to watch as he released her head, his impressively long cock slipping out of her throat, then sliding down her lips and chin as she pulled away, coughing as she tried to clean the milky cum off of her face as dignified as possible.
The two just watched, as the other Jasper's head was pulled back with a look of satisfaction that could be found in any hobby.
"You don't look like you like sex," she said to the Jasper next to her, while looking at the one who had just reached completion.
"Demons are fueled by sex. It helps strengthen us." He shrugged, the motion fluid.
"You sound rather pragmatic." She mused, looking back to the Jasper beside her.
"I beg of you, do not speak a word of this time you witnessed. I will be disgraced and removed from the marriage market if anybody were to know of this indecency. I beg you, Princess. I swear I will align myself to your cause. I will protect you. I know you are a cripple—"
"It is a talent to beg and call someone a cripple in the same sentence." Daniela chuckled, the sound husky and deep.
The other princess was crawling on her knees across the carpet, her silk dress rustling. She rested her head against the ground, her position of prostrating was excessive for Daniela's taste.
"I don't care what you do. I won't tell anyone."
"Thank you, you are so charitable. I will never be able to repay you." Tears of joy fell from her eyes as she stood to her feet, quickly correcting her body and form to make sure that there were no telltale signs of her devious actions, and quickly left the room, the door closing softly behind her.
Now it was just her and the two Jaspers.
"Why do I have a feeling you would be far more entertaining than the mouse that just left," the Jasper on the table said, his eyes looking as if he was still hungry for his meal.
Instead of responding to that Jasper, she turned to the one next to her, leaning in close. "I would ruin you. And you would beg me to do it again." She spoke the words into his ear, the warm puff of her breath tracing the curve of his helix. As she pulled back, her eyes met that of the Jasper on the desk. She leaned forward and kissed the one before her. Her lips were firm and hungry as she feasted on him, or perhaps he feasted on her.
A low, gutteral moan rumbled from deep in his chest as his mouth opened beneath hers, welcoming the deep, hungry press of her tongue. She leaned into him, her hands clawing through his scalp, her nails digging painfully. Yet, he made no protest. The sound of the kiss was loud, a wet, smacking rhythm that filled the silence left by the departed princess. She tasted sweetness and a metallic tang, like dark honey and ancient iron. She gripped his hair tighter, pulling his head back to deepen the angle, their tongues wrestling and dancing in a silent, passionate duel.
Jasper on the desk was transfixed. He felt something in him stir, a deep, quiet current that had been silent for his entire life. Even the Jasper that was still in the hall being chastised by his parents felt it, his eyes no longer seeing the hall, but watching as Daniela kissed the copy of his soul.
As his still hands began to rise around her waist, a slow, deliberate movement to pull her flush against his lap, Daniela pulled back, the smack of their separation echoing in the room. Speaking to the Jasper on the desk, her voice a low, satisfied purr, she said, "Consider this my thanks for earlier."
Getting up, she left the room, tossing a small wave over her shoulder. She was quick to re-enter the large hall. As she entered, she looked toward where Jasper had been before, and he was exactly where she had seen him last. His eyes looked hungry as he followed her with his gaze.
She winked at him provocatively. Now she knew that every version of Jasper could see through each other's eyes. They could probably all feel each other, too.