Page 22 of Treasured By the Fae Royal
I lead the glamoured servant into my quarters and lock the door behind me. “Please, have a seat wherever you’d like. Get comfortable. I won’t hurt you.” I make eye contact with her and release the glamour, then I repeat my words again.
She peers at me in shock, then screams and tries to escape my quarters. She bangs on the door and tries to unlock the deadbolt, but it’s too high for her to reach. The poor frightened thing.
I grab a bottle of wine and sink into a plush chair, then I uncork the bottle and gulp the red liquid down. All the while, the girl continues screaming. But I’ve played this game before, and I’m certain she’ll eventually tire herself out and calm down. She’s not the first servant girl I’ve brought to my quarters under the pretense of savagery.
“As I’ve already said, I won’t hurt you.” I take another swig of wine.
The screaming continues for another half hour, until finally the girl falls quiet and slides to the floor with her knees tucked to her chest. She regards me warily.
“Fear not. I’m not going to violate you.” Is it wrong that I brought her here so my soldiers would think I was doing just that? I remind myself that if we’d stayed in the receiving hall for much longer, her hysterics would’ve drawn an even larger crowd. A crowd that expected to witness the splattering of blood on the stone floor.
Yvette. During the last week, I’ve been second guessing my orders and actions when it comes to dealing with humans. All because of her. It’s like she’s caused me to grow a fucking conscience.
I’ve ordered fewer humans to death during the last week than I normally would, pardoning so many runners that the soldiers are starting to whisper. Runners are the citizens who try to flee a city in the aftermath of its capture, and my people typically slaughter most of them and keep just a few as slaves. And yet, for the first time in my history of leading the Summer Court army, I’ve pardoned runners.
I peer at the servant girl and wonder if I should glamour her into screaming some more. No doubt all the soldiers and dignitaries in the receiving hall could hear the girl’s screams. If she starts screaming again, they’ll believe I’m having another go at her.
“Are you truly not going to hurt me?” The servant girl finally asks, her voice hoarse and thick with emotion.
“I’m not going to hurt you. I swear it. I prefer my females willing.” I don’t mention that it’s been ages since I entertained a female companion.
Hope tempered with caution flares in her eyes, and she gives me a long look. “If it’s not fucking you want, why did you bring me here, sir?”
“Would you have preferred I left you to the bloodthirsty crowd in the receiving hall? Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to show fear in front of my people? Especially don’t break down sobbing. It’s more provocative than showing your tits.” I finish off the bottle of wine and set it aside.
“I’ve heard the stories, of course, but I couldn’t help crying. I honestly thought you intended to kill me, sir.” The girl wipes away the last of her tears and takes a deep breath.
“What’s your name?” I ask.
“Amelia, sir.”
“Hello, Amelia. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I straighten in my chair and give her a pointed look. “Tell me, have you ever been in love?”
Her mouth falls open. “No,” she eventually says. “I’ve had crushes, but I’ve never been in love. I’m promised to an old lord who lives on the edge of the kingdom, though I haven’t met him yet. We’re supposed to be married next month. I doubt I’ll love him, but my father says he’s a decent man. I hope we can become friends.”
“Are you certain your old lord survived the battle?”
“Oh yes. He sent his sons to fight in his stead. My father received a missive from him two days ago informing us of his survival. Sadly, his sons both perished.” Her face grows red. “My mother says he’ll want to be getting me with child as soon as possible since he’ll be needing to create an heir before his time in this realm comes to an end.”
I marvel at how talkative Amelia is when she no longer believes her life is being threatened, or that she’s about to be violated. She’s talking to me with more ease than most of my advisors. Even General Dalgaard, whom I’ve served beside for several centuries, is far too formal with me.
“Tell me, Amelia, what could this old lord of yours do to make you fall in love with him?” I fetch two more bottles of wine and uncork them. “Surely you’re not opposed to loving him just because of his advanced age, are you?” I approach the servant girl and hand her one of the bottles, and she accepts it with a grateful smile.
She takes a long gulp of the wine and wipes her mouth on the back of her hand. “Well, sir, I suppose he could treat me with kindness. How he treats others is also important to me. If I see him beating or berating a servant for no good reason, I think I would find it hard to love him. I guess what I’m trying to say is that he must have good character.” She sniffs the wine before taking another long gulp.
“What about gifts?” I ask, thinking about my father’s habit of presenting my mother with elaborate gifts whenever they have a disagreement. “Are there any sort of gifts the lord might give you that might soften your heart toward him?”
Amelia grins. “You’re sweet on someone, aren’t you, sir? And you want to know how to win her affections. What’s her name, then? You can tell me. I can keep a secret, sir, promise I can.” She takes another long gulp of wine, and it occurs to me that she might be getting drunk already.
Gods. It never fails to surprise me how little alcohol it takes to bring down a human. I doubt if Amelia were entirely sober she would be speaking so boldly. However, it’s nice to have someone with whom I might speak openly, even a drunk servant.
“Yes, Amelia, you are correct. I am sweet on someone. I’m sweet on a young human woman named Yvette, but I’m afraid she wants nothing to do with me because of who I am. She views me as the enemy, but she’s also attracted to me.” Of course, now I will have to glamour the servant and erase her memories of our entire conversation. But before I send her on her way, I don’t see any harm in extracting any useful information about the wants and needs of human females from her. Perhaps she’s in possession of some great wisdom that will help me win over Yvette.
Amelia giggles. “I knew it!” Her visage grows serious a second later, and she jabs a finger in my direction. “Here’s what you do, sir. You take your lady on moonlit walks, tell her you think she’s the most beautiful woman in the entire realm, and perform acts of kindness not just to her but to people she cares about. If you can make her family and friends like you too, then she’ll more easily fall in love with you. As for gifts, you don’t want to go too large at first, as you don’t want her to accuse you of trying to buy her love. So, start small, and try to make it personal. A bracelet made of beads the color of her eyes, or a box of candies from her favorite shop.”
I return to my seat, set the now half-empty bottle of wine aside, and lean forward with my forearms resting on my knees. “What else can you tell me?”
Amelia lifts her eyebrows and gives me a bold look. “That depends, sir. What’s going to happen to me? After I leave your quarters, are the scavengers downstairs going to come after me for a turn of their own?”
