"This is your first time, right? Precious slave" The Queen"s small hands moved across the slave"s bare skin, and Artemis watched Shani"s eyelids grow heavy with l.u.s.t as he gaze flickers over her body, drinking her, savoring the taste of the new bed slave. "Don"t worry, you"ll enjoy it" She a.s.sured as she placed soft kisses on Artemis"s back, and teased her folds with the warmth of her lips.
Artemis let out a m.u.f.fled groan, tried to wiggle at least, but something apart from the Queen gauged her to the ground. Shani ran her fingers through her hair, then yanked it, "Perhaps I should allow you to move...maybe not" She let go of the handful of her short blonde hair, and watched her hit the floor with a thud.
Shani continued with her foreplay, nibbling, sucking, smacking, licking until she was ready for the main course. "I wish I could just grab my sword and slice your head off" Artemis was flaring. Her eyes were overflowing with tears of pain, outrage, and dread. The queen could do whatever she wanted, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Soon, Artemis felt something big pressing into her opening. Her eyes augmented once the Queen"s abhorrent laughter filled, but before she could thrust and break her walls, Darren charged into the room, panting like he"d run a far distance.
Queen Shani hissed. Her sharp nails sunk into Artemis"s hips and the sudden burst of the girl"s tears were triple the quant.i.ty of what trickled down her cheeks before. The Queen pulled her hand back and left some scratch marks, then blood slowly seeped out.
"What is the meaning of this Darren?!" She hollered, however Darren didn"t worry about her, his eyes were fixed on who was supposed to be Armin.
"Am I in the wrong place? Where"s Armin? Who"s the girl on the floor?"
Despite his presence, Shani couldn"t help but grope Artemis repeatedly. She wanted her desperately, but Darren just had to interfere.
The tension amidst them hummed louder and louder, while the odd silence continued to dominate. Artemis waited for Darren to help her, Shani also waited, but it was for Darren to leave her to what she"d already started.
A cold, tingling kind of numbness spread over his temple, into his mouth, and cheeks.
"Could it be…?" He wondered. He couldn"t speak because the muscles in his mouth were paralysed from the blow the shocking truth gave.
Shani was losing patience, "Are you just going to stand there?" Her voice boomed, and he shrieked, repositioned his body and mind to the ladies.
He gulped, then parted his lips, "Queen Shani, you"ve broken the hidden law."
Her eyes augmented, but she brushed his words off a few seconds later "Your father is a close friend. He"ll let me go free, it"s just a slave after all" She smacked Artemis"s back, leaving her hand mark then continued to nibble on her neck shamelessly. The slave"s tears coursed down her pale cheeks ceaselessly.
She tried her best to avoid eye contact with Darren because of the humiliating situation she was stuck in. Now he knew the truth…who knows what will happen next.
"It"s my household"s slave!"
"Why don"t you wait for me to finish with her, then you can press charges against me." The Queen suggested. Darren didn"t plan for any of this. It was too soon. He went on his knees and his forehead kissed the ground afterwards. His next plan might not work, but he was willing to give it a try.
"Your Highness, I plead for the release of the slave. You are aware of the law, so why do you do this?" She was part of those that thought he was the same narrow-minded wolfboy who could be fooled easily, but he"d changed too much to fall for a fake version of herself she"d tucked in bed.
It was a perfect copy, but he knew too well from his past recollections. The Queen slept with her eyes half opened.
Darren continued to speak, "I doubt my father will let you get away with this because he was the one that brought the slave to the household. Pressure is on him nowadays, the senates are looking for any means to drag him. Letting you roam free will tarnish his image, and the ideal laws he set in place himself. He"s your friend, think about him too, and not just your s.e.xual wants." He hoped he didn"t sound too rude, and that Shani would think about the grim side of sleeping with another beastman"s slave.
Shani didn"t say a word, and her face stayed solid with her eyes glazed over. Artemis felt her throat tighten and her breathing became short. "Was it enough?"
The Queen looked at Artemis" tears drenched face one more time, then locked her lips with hers before getting up. She was about to leave when Darren called her back again, and Artemis" brows furrowed, "Why didn"t he just let her go?"
"The gem."
"You interrupted my love making and think think I"ll simply hand it over to you? How pathetic!" She hissed, but Darren followed her.
"I"ll tell her."
The Queen"s head swiftly whipped around and she threatened, "don"t you dare! She wouldn"t even believe you."
"it"s not the first time. She believes you"ve changed, but you"re still the same Queen that forces people to sleep with her."
"How dare you!" She stomped to his front until they were an inch apart. She glared down at him, then raised her hand, but he stood still, looking boldly into the sovereign"s eyes.
She dropped her hand then turned, putting on her red robe, "Tomorrow I"ll give you the gem in exchange, you mention nothing to her. I"ll be waiting for you at the break of dawn, rise early, take the stupid gem, then leave."
She would"ve crushed him in seconds, but she was indebted to his father, and she respects his household, that"s why she overlooked Darren"s rudeness. If it was anyone else, she would"ve fed them to her man-eating dogs.
Now that she was gone, Darren switched his gaze back to the trembling girl on the floor. Before Artemis could look at him, he"d already gone. She wiped the tears from her face as she struggled to get back on her feet and lock the door again, but Darren hurried back in time.
"Wait!" He screamed. Artemis couldn"t look at him and had nothing to say. Standing naked and being molested in front of him was already demoralizing enough. She bit her lip, and more of her tears continued to course down her face.
"Huh?"
"You said you wanted a new cape." While he was out, he stopped by a store, and spotted a raven black cape, then remembered what Artemis rudely asked for. He had the money, so nothing was stopping him from buying it.
Artemis remained there humiliated by his benevolence and wondered why he wasn"t questioning her true gender and the deceit skill that was finally broken. She wanted to ask him why he wasn"t reacting the way he was supposed to, but a sudden rub of her head halted the words she wanted to spill.
"I should have looked out for you more. I"ll make it up to you tomorrow. You can have whatever you choose." He smiled, and Artemis felt insulted. She shoved him out of the room, then closed the door before falling to her knees. A great sob escaped her, and she covered her face with shaking hands.
Zircon floated to her side and poked her with an edge.
"Zircon…" her voice quavered, and she wiped away a few of her tears before reading what the book needed to say.
"Everything will be fine," Zircon a.s.sured. There was something important he had to state about a theory he"d been suspecting for a while.
"Artemis. I think I understand the reason behind your conduct now. You don"t like Darren, not because he"s weak, but because he"s a righteous person. You don"t want to think there are other beastmen like him out there. You want to kill all of them because you believe they deserve their deaths. I believe it"s time you apologize to Sir Darren, he saved you. Don"t forget that."