Chapter 14
1655 Words
Lynna dismissed the servant with a sharp, impatient wave of her hand.
"Leave us. Now."Once the door clicked shut, she didn't hesitate.
She turned toward Vaelith's wing, her fingers already working frantically at the laces of her gown.
Silk and satin pooled on the cold stone floor as she walked, a trail of discarded fabric marking her path like breadcrumbs leading to a trap.
By the time she reached his door, she was completely bare. The castle air was freezing, biting at her skin, making her n*****s harden into tight, painful points.
But the chill was nothing compared to the thrill coursing through her veins.She pushed the door open.
It was unlocked. Foolish, or perhaps arrogant on his part. Or maybe he just never expected anyone to dare.
She climbed onto his massive bed, the sheets cold against her back.
She lay back, spreading her legs wide, her bare p***y exposed and facing the doorway, a blatant invitation.
Her heart hammered against her ribs, a mix of fear and a twisted, desperate excitement.
She waited, her fingers tracing slow, teasing circles over her own skin, imagining the look on his face when he found her like this. Imagining the moment he finally gave in.
The door opened without warning.Vaelith entered, his presence filling the room instantly.
He halted at the foot of the bed, his silhouette dark and imposing against the firelight.
His gaze dropped to the naked woman spread across his sheets. There was no shock.
No desire. No hunger.Only cold, flat indifference.Lynna smiled up at him, a desperate, manic sound escaping her lips.
She lifted her hips slightly, arching her back, reaching out a trembling hand.
"Come here," she whispered, her voice thick with lust and desperation. "I know you want me.
I know you do."She pushed up onto her knees, leaning forward, her lips parted, ready to force a kiss upon him.
Vaelith moved faster than a snake strike.
His hand shot out, clamping around her throat with brutal force.
He shoved her back down onto the mattress, his fingers tightening until her breath hitched, until black spots danced in her vision.
He pinned her there, effortless, his face a mask of pure contempt.
His eyes were dead. Empty.
"I would rather bury my c**k in any slave, any servant, any f*****g animal in this castle than touch you," he said, his voice low, dangerous, and utterly devoid of mercy. "
At least they know their place. At least they behave with some shred of decency."
He leaned down, his face inches from hers, his breath hot against her skin."
You?
You spread yourself like a cheap w***e, hoping I'll forget what you are.
Hoping I'll forget that you're a spoiled, entitled child playing with fire she can't control."
He squeezed. Hard.Lynna's vision sparked.
Stars exploded behind her eyes. She clawed at his arm, gasping for air, tears pricking her eyes.
He held her there for a terrifying second longer, then released her.
She collapsed onto the bed, coughing, choking, clutching her throat.His stare never wavered.
It was a glare that could freeze hell itself."If you come near me again," he said, each word distinct and deadly, "if you ever step into my chambers again without permission, I will slice your cunt open.
I will cut your c**t off with a dull knife.
And I will feed both pieces to the wolves in the woods.
Do you understand me?"
Lynna lay pinned beneath his glare, her throat burning, her body trembling, her legs still spread wide in a pathetic display of vulnerability.
He waited, his silence more terrifying than any shout.
She scrambled off the bed, naked, shivering, humiliation crashing over her like a wave of ice water.
She didn't even bother grabbing her clothes.
She bolted out of his chambers, her bare feet slapping against the cold stone, tears streaming down her face.
She ran through the corridors, ignoring the shocked stares of the few guards on duty.
She ran until she reached her own chambers, slammed the door, and locked it.
Then she screamed.A loud, primal scream of rage and humiliation that echoed through the entire wing, shaking the walls, terrifying the servants outside.
The palace woke before dawn. And with the sun came the gossip.By breakfast, the story had spread like wildfire.
Every slave, guard, stable hand, and kitchen worker seemed to be discussing the same thing.
Princess Lyanna.
Elara first heard it while collecting water near the kitchens.
Her hands froze around the bucket handle.
Two slaves stood nearby, their voices hushed but frantic.
"I swear I saw it," one whispered, her eyes wide."Saw what?" the other asked, leaning in."Running."The second slave frowned. "Running where?""From Commander Vaelith's chambers."The second slave's eyes widened. "No. You're lying.""Yes! I saw her with my own eyes!"
The first woman crossed her arms, shivering despite the warmth of the kitchen.
"And she wasn't wearing a stitch. Completely naked. Bare ass running down the corridor."
The bucket nearly slipped from Elara's hands.
Her heart skipped a beat.The maids continued, their voices dropping even lower."
They say the commander threw her out. Literally threw her out.""
I heard she was screaming like a banshee.""
I heard she tried to seduce him, and he slapped her."
"I heard he threatened to kill her."
The women looked around nervously before lowering their voices to a whisper.
"Imagine rejecting the princess."A nervous, hysterical laugh followed.
"Imagine surviving after rejecting the princess.
The Commander is either the bravest man alive or the stupidest."
Near the barracks, the guards were no better.
A group of soldiers stood warming themselves beside a brazier, their faces grim but their voices filled with malicious amusement."
You should have seen her," one guard grinned, mimicking a running motion.
"Running through the corridor like her hair was on fire.
Naked as the day she was born.""Naked?" another asked, eyebrows raised."
Fully naked. Everything out. The Princess of the realm, running bare-assed through the castle."
The men immediately burst into laughter, slapping each other on the back.One guard wiped tears from his eyes.
"Gods, I wish I had seen that. That's worth getting executed for."
Another shook his head, still chuckling. "She's been chasing him for years. Years.
And he still won't touch her. Not even a finger."
The youngest soldier whistled low. "
That has to hurt. Rejected like that? By a subordinate?
"An older veteran immediately smacked him on the back of the head, hard."
Keep your voice down if you enjoy breathing," the veteran snapped, his eyes darting around.
"You think this is a joke?
If Princess Lyanna hears you..."The laughter died instantly.
The air grew cold.Because everyone knew one thing,if Princess Lyanna heard these conversations...
People would lose their tongues. Their hands.
Their lives.By midday, the story had spread throughout the entire castle.
Every version became more ridiculous, more exaggerated, more damaging.
Some claimed Commander Vaelith had physically carried her out by her hair.
Others swore she had spent the entire night begging outside his door, screaming his name.
One servant even insisted she had tried to climb through his window and he had cut her clothes off with his sword.
Nobody knew what was true.
Nobody cared.
That didn't stop them from talking.
The castle was a machine built on secrets and scandals, and this was the biggest fuel it had received in years.
Inside the royal wing, however, nobody was laughing.
The atmosphere was suffocating.
Princess Lyanna stood before her mirror, staring at her own reflection.
Her hands clenched into fists at her sides, her knuckles white.
Her jaw was tight, a muscle ticking violently in her cheek.
Every servant in the room kept their eyes lowered, terrified
. No one dared speak. No one dared breathe too loudly.
The air was thick with fear.Because Lyanna had already broken three expensive vases that morning.
She had smashed mirrors. She had thrown chairs.
The sound of laughter drifted through the open window from somewhere in the courtyard below.
Probably guards. Probably servants.Her expression darkened.
Her eyes narrowed into slits of pure hatred.She knew.
She knew exactly what the palace was saying.
Exactly what they were whispering.
Exactly what they were laughing about.For the first time in her entire life,
Princess Lyanna had become the joke. The punchline.
The pathetic woman who chased a man who wouldn't touch her.And she hated it.
She hated them.
Commander Vaelith had embarrassed her before the entire palace.
He had humiliated her.
Rejected her. Called her a w***e. Threatened her.
The memory made her stomach twist with rage, a bile so bitter it tasted like poison.
A slave accidentally dropped a hairbrush.
The sound echoed through the room like a gunshot.
The girl immediately fell to her knees, trembling violently. "I'm sorry, Your Highness!
I'm sorry!"Lyanna stared at her.
For several long, terrifying moments, she said nothing.
She just stared, her eyes cold and dead.
Then she smiled.
And somehow, that smile was more frightening than any scream.
It was the smile of a woman who had just decided that someone needed to pay."Get out," she whispered.
The servant practically crawled toward the door, sobbing in relief as she escaped.
As soon as the door closed behind her, Lyanna turned toward the window.
Her hands gripped the sill until her fingers turned white.
She looked toward the northern guest wing. Toward the chambers occupied by Commander Vaelith.
The humiliation still burned in her chest, a fire that wouldn't go out.
The obsession still remained, twisted and dark.
And now something else had joined them.Resentment.
A dangerous, toxic resentment.
The kind that could ruin lives.
The kind that could start wars.Her eyes narrowed, and a plan began to form in the darkness of her mind.
You think you can reject me? she thought, her lips curling into a sneer.
You think you can humiliate me and walk away?No, Vaelith. If I can't have you, no one will.
- Writer
