ARIA.
"You're going to answer my calls whenever I summon you." He said with a wicked smile on his face. "And now, I will not allow you to go back to your chambers. Everything will be taken care of."
"Why are you doing this?" I asked. "You have a wife! You can't just pull me out of my duties and ask me to be your mistress. It is not done that way! I deserve better!"

He took a few steps close to me. "Bold of you to assume that I will leave Sheila. You don't know anything about us so stay out of it and do as I have asked you if you don't want to lose your friend."
With a sigh, I nodded and waited as a few maids were ushered into the room.
I recognised all three of them and they also did because the shock in their eyes, even though short-lived, was evident. They probably had several questions on their mind but were unable to speak for the fear of incurring the King's wrath. I hadn't forgotten how brutal he could be and the best thing I could do was make sure not to get on his bad side.
I was taken away from his chambers in a daze by the maids who were asked to usher me into my new room.
One thing I was still finding hard to understand was the fact that he had brought Daneesha into this because he knew I wasn't going to let another person suffer for my own choices.
It was nothing but manipulative and I had fallen right into his trap.

I tried not to think too much about the bizarreness of this situation as we walked to my assigned room. I was glad that neither of the maids pestered me with any questions. At least, they had enough respect for the King to know not to mess with me.
The door was pushed open and I was ushered in by the maids into one of the most beautiful rooms I'd ever seen in my life.
The walls were painted in the most beautiful shade of lavender and glitters shone on the wall. A queen-sized bed sat at the other end of the room, placed in a cream-coloured bed frame made out of silk and velvet-coated wood. Opposite my bed was a vanity table containing all sorts of oils perfumes and pomades.
The drapes over the window were of two colours. Royal purple and a brighter shade of cream colour that still matched the one in the room. It was pulled at each side so light could pour into the room. This was one thing I lived for.

The luxury that came with being favoured by the King and no matter how uncomfortable and unfortunate my situation was right now, I had no choice but to be happy. At least, he cared enough about me to want me to be treated better.
Of course, this was me settling for less but it was better to wallow in my delusions than actually accept reality which hurt as hell.
"We would love to take off your clothes, ma'am." One of the maids said but I didn't miss the mockery in her voice. It wasn't even up to twenty minutes yet and I was already the most hated amongst these women.
"Oh, there's no need for either of you to worry. I can take care of myself. Definitely."
"Sorry, the King commanded that we clean you up and get you ready for his bed." The second one said, glaring at me this time. I felt like I was being attacked by their words and all I wanted to do was retreat into my cave so I could hear none of their evil statements again.
"I—" A sigh escaped my throat and I nodded. "If you insist."
"Oh, we don't. The King does." The third one, who started to strip me like she was having a fight with me, said with a smile. I couldn't even say anything. Reporting to Lyall was only going to make things worse because I was as sure as hell that he would gravely punish them.
I was taken to the bathroom by the third maid who must have prepared my bath prior to my coming here.
She mixed the water, and dropped a few drops of oil into the water before helping me into the bath.
"No!" I screamed, pulling out as the heat of the water scorched and nearly scalded my skin. "The water is too hot! Did you check it!"
The snickers from outside the bathroom floated into my ears and I turned to the maid beside me, anger written all over my face. "This isn't nice of you to do. This could have burned my skin if I'd stayed any longer."
I could see that she was trying so hard not to laugh but none of this was funny. Not at all!
"But the Queen doesn't complain when this is mixed for her."
I knew what she was doing. She wanted to rile me up. She wanted to make me feel bad for any of this that happened to me.
"Can you make it less hot?" I replied in the calmest voice I could muster, forcing a smile through the tears that burned at the back of my eyes. Even with this much privilege, I was still treated like a dirty rag. I hated that I couldn't mention this to Lyall. It was going to fuel their hate for me if it got reported to him.
"Of course. I can." She picked a bucket and dumped everything in it and this time, when I stepped in, it was barely hot again.
I didn't say anything. Just smiled and thanked her before she began to wash my body. At least, she was gentle this time.
When I stepped out, a dress was waiting for me on the bed.
It was a black dress bold with lace for its arms. When it was taken off the bed and pressed into my body, I knew this was intended for me to seduce the King.
The neckline was really low and I was proven right when it got slipped into my body. It barely fit, tightly hugging my curves and pushing my cleavage out of my dress. I could barely breathe in these but I didn't complain.
A high slit that parted to show my upper thighs on each side as I walked was prominent and as beautiful as this dress was, it didn't make me happy.
I blinked back tears as they rubbed powder on my face, kohl around my eyes and an oil on my lips. I looked like I was made to be paraded around as an exhibition. Like I was made only to seduce the King enough to put a child in me. If this was what it felt like to be a mistress, then I didn't want any of it.
By the time they were done, I could barely recognise myself in front of the mirror. I looked different. Beautiful but in a seductive way. My innocence had been stripped away from me and I could barely even look at myself. Turning away, I watched the maids clean everywhere before they left.
Pushing to my feet, I walked towards the window and looked up at the skies above. It was almost dark. The sunset had completely disappeared, leaving the grey skies that slowly turned into ultramarine. The crescent moon was out and I heard a howl from afar. It wasn't hunting night but someone was definitely hunting.
I took a seat by the sill, finding it hard to be comfortable because this dress was nothing but too tight for me to even move in. All I wanted to do was tear it off me so I could breathe properly but I didn't believe this was going to be possible so I just remained there, really uncomfortable as I wished for this night to end.
A knock sounded on my door and I quickly pulled to my feet, staggering from side to side as I tried to remain standing.
Lyall walked in and shut the door behind him. Because I was in the adjoining room, he was yet to see me so I stood there, watching and waiting for him to see me.
And when he did, he paused for a moment, his eyes raking down my body and if he liked what he saw, I could tell because his expression was nothing but blank.
"I see you're all dolled up for me, Aria." He spoke, stopping a few feet away from me.
"Why are you doing this, Lyall?" My voice shook as I spoke. "Why are you bringing me this low? Why can't you just let me be?!"
"I think I made that quite clear," He muttered, drawing close enough to me as his arm slowly circled my waist in the process. "I want you and that's all that matters. Anything else doesn't matter. I will not repeat myself again."
His fingers grazed my collarbone, moving down to my cleavage and setting me on fire. I didn't have it in me to fight anymore so I stood still, watching him touch me. "You don't know how mad you're driving me. But I'll suggest you stay put and enjoy this moment because I know you want me as much as I want you.”