The King's affection

The first spark

Clangs of swords, grunts, thuds and shouting sounded all around Anderson. He stood of, aiming an arrow at a target ahead of him as others on either side of him did the same. He took a deep breath, closed one eye, and focused on his target. He released his breath as he did his arrow, hitting a perfect bullseye.

“Great shot, Max!” Malik cheered off to the side, running to pat him on the shoulder. “What aren’t you good at? I mean, you’ve mastered archery, swordsmanship, and hand to hand combat in the few weeks we’ve been training. You’re a jack of all traits! Climbing up the ranks faster than anyone in the history of the Elyrian army.” He continued.

Anderson ignored his praise as he went to drop off his bow.

“Private Pierce!” He looked up to see Ryan – their Lieutenant, “A visitor is here for you.”

Anderson frowned, wondering who would have come to see him. He knew the only person who would was his father, but the man was busy with royal duties. “Did they say who they were?” he asked.

“Your mother,” Ryan said.

“Wait, WHAT?” Malik exploded. “You have a mother? You said you only had a father and brother?”

Anderson clenched his jaw, before storming off and following Ryan.

He walked into the room to find his mother seated – back straight, chin raised like the queen she is. He sighed and took steady steps towards her. She heard him approaching, so she turned to face him completely, her eyes twinkling with recognition.

“Ander-,”

“It’s Max,” he interrupted her.

“Pardon?”

“My name. I go by Max, remember?”

“Right, I forgot. You wanted to be incognito,” Allison breathed. “You look different without your usual clothes and longer hair. That short hair makes you look so grown, I cannot get ove-,”

“What are you doing here?” Anderson asked as he sat down, interrupting her for the second time.

“I wrote to you, and I never got a reply. I thought maybe your letter may have gotten lost in the mail, so I came myself,” she stated.

“It didn’t get lost. I burned yours without reading it,” he grunted.

Hurt flashed across Allison’s face. “Ander-,”

“Max.”

“Max. You may be angry at me, but I am still your mother and your queen. You cannot keep disrespecting me like this!” she whisper-yelled.

Anderson’s eyes hardened and he fisted his hands into the fabric of his pants on his lap. “You’re also married to my father, yet you cuckold him – with his trusted advisor, no less. I hope you’re here to give me what I asked for before I left, otherwise we have nothing else to talk about,” he said, standing up and turning to leave.

“My letter. I wrote to inform you of your engagement when you come back home,” she stated, causing Anderson to freeze in his movements.

He turned back to look at her. The woman who had given birth to him. He studied her features and loathed how much he looked like her from his striking blue eyes, milky skin – which he was grateful was tan from being in the sun too much, and silky black hair.

He shook his head in disbelief, scoffed, and then simply walked away, leaving his mother there by herself – her smile dropping slowly. She didn’t know what to make of his response to the news. He wasn’t jumping for joy, nor was he directly refusing. She accepted her defeated gracefully and left.

Later that evening, Malik found Anderson sitting by himself – clearly lost in his own thoughts. He walked over to him and plopped down next to him.

“Whatever’s on your mind, you don’t have to carry it alone, you know?” he said, lightly nudging him. For a while, there was silence, and Malik began to wonder if Anderson heard him at all. He was about to say something again when Anderson finally spoke.

“I hate my mother. It doesn’t help that I look more like her than my father.” Malik was stunned for a minute. “Is she a horrible person?” he finally asked when he regained his composure.

Anderson nodded slowly.

“Before I came here, I found out something that’s been weighing heavy on me since then. I’m not ready to share what it was yet, but it’s what made me realize what a horrible person my mother is.”

“Well, if you don’t like yours, we can share my mom,” Malik said, grinning.

Anderson turned to look at him for the first time since he sat next to him, his eyes wide with surprise, “I wouldn’t want to intrude-,“ he started to say, before Malik interrupted him, “Oh please,” he waved a dismissive hand. “She has a lot of love to give. She’d be happy to have you. She might even use you to replace me,” he laughed.

Anderson’s eyes softened and he smiled solemnly.

“Now, come on. Let’s go eat. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse,” Malik said, causing Anderson to burst out laughing.

---

Esmerelda was exhausted after running drinks, food and tobacco pipes on high heeled shoes all night. She was walking to her room barefoot, the shoes in her hands as she dragged herself along the halls of the VIP lounges after making her final delivery for the night.

Sounds from an ajar door broke her trance. She watched the thin ray of light streaming out of the gap, contemplating if she should just ignore whatever is happening and go to sleep, or just take a peep to make sure everything is alright.

Curiosity got the better of her and she snuck to the gap, her eyes widening at what she saw.

Daisy, one of the courtesans, was topless and on her knees in front of a man. Esmerelda only recognized her from her ginger curls as she faced away from the door. The man, on the other hand, was facing the door, however, his face was turned up to the ceiling, one arm draped over the back of the upholstered sofa he was sitting on, while the other was across his face – likely covering his eyes.

Daisy’s head was bobbing up and down over the man’s thighs as he muttered curses. He finally looked down at Daisy, the arm that was over his face moving so that his hand was stroking her hair. “Yes, just like that. Good girl, Daisy,” he grunted.

Esmerelda watched on as Daisy continued to bob her head, until the man spoke again, “Come ride me.”

Daisy immediately got off her knees, briefly exposing that she’d been bobbing over the man’s privates, which seemed to be standing upright. Esmerelda watched on as Daisy lifted her skirt, straddled the man, and he buried himself into her. Daisy released a light gasp before the man grabbed her chin, bringing their lips crashing together as she sat on him.

The sound of lips smacking, moaning and grunting drifted into the hall where Esmerelda stood, watching.

The man placed his hands on Daisy’s hips and slowly started to bounce her up and down on himself. Both he and Daisy moaned and groaned in pleasure. The sounds and actions happening in front made heat rush to her core, making her clench her thighs together so she could apply some pressure.

She was intrigued by the feeling she was getting. Instinctively, she started to move her hand to her nether regions to apply the pressure that she seemed to need so desperately, when she felt a light tap on her shoulder from behind.

Startled, she squealed in surprise, causing the people inside the room to stop what they were doing – their heads whipping to the door.

Madam Lee popped her head in, “Excuse me. I just happened to notice the door. Please, continue,” she smiled as she slid the door shut completely.

She turned to face a pale Esmerelda in the hallway, a look of disappointment on her face.

“Really, Rae?” she said, shaking her head. “Go to bed, your shift is over.”

Madam Lee started to walk away when Esmerelda’s question made her stop, “Will I ever have to do what Daisy was doing?”

Madam Lee looked at her over her shoulder, “Of course. It’s what courtesans do.” Then she walked away, leaving a stunned Esmerelda behind.