Fate's Pawn: First Bite

Chapter Nine: Dinner with the Servants

I have to admit, I was surprised at how well-kept the servant’s dining area was. Considering the prince hated women I expected it to be a pigsty. The tables were old wood but in good repair. The only person I recognized was Edward and I took a plate as I sat beside him. The fare wasn’t too exciting. Hard loaves of bread, even harder slices of cheese, and an apple on the side.

I alternated the bread and cheese as I eyed the others. Edward was ignoring me for the most part. I was thankful for that. But the others at the table’s gazes were like drills boring straight through me. There were three there at the time. The one on the left on the other side of the table was a blonde with dark brown eyes. He wasn’t my wolf friend, but he had a wolf’s smile as he stared at me. I knew that familiar glint of lust in his eyes. I would have to be careful around him.

Next to him and directly across from me was a brown-haired young man. I couldn’t tell from his looks if he was younger than me or older, he had one of those ageless kind of faces. Hazel eyes assessed me but appeared to find me wanting. I was grateful for that. The least amount of men I had to deal with here, the better.

On the other side of Edward, I spotted raven hair and an amused smirk as he checked me out from behind as he leaned away from the table. His eyes raked over my figure lingering at my curves. My senses tingled, he was even more dangerous than the first. I gulped the hard bread down with the ice cold water. It wasn’t as cold as our water tended to be, but it made my throat numb and I enjoyed the sensation.

None of them tried to talk to me, at least not yet. I knew I would have to deal with them at some point or other. I could never be lucky enough to avoid such matters, and if Orion knew of their interest, I’d have more people to be rented out like a horse and carriage.

“This is the infamous female that escaped the Prince’s no women rule, huh?” Queried a voice from behind me. I craned my neck to look and spotted Orion in the doorway. The strange beside him must be the Prince he had informed me of before. Wild red hair and emerald eyes that sparkled in the natural light. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as his eyes met mine. He didn’t survey my body, but he surveyed my very soul. A grin crept onto his lips and he nodded to Orion. “I see what you mean. You have a deal. Shall we talk details?”

As they ducked out of the room and back away I found myself spinning one of my apple slices around and around. The red-head scared me. Call it his aura, the way he handled himself, whatever you want. But to me, he had the same feeling that Orion himself gave me.

There were a few different categories for those that used me. The first grouping was those that just wanted to sleep with a woman, any woman, without repercussions. Married men, virgins, and just lonely souls fell into this category. They generally didn’t last long, didn’t hurt me, and to be honest were quite sweet. The second group was a bit harsher. Not just any woman would do, they wanted me for the exact way I looked be it my coloring or my curves. They tended to get rough with their body parts of choice but didn’t leave lasting issues. The most worrisome group would be the last, the one I know the red-head would belong to. Men that didn’t want to just have s*x or even obsess over a singular body part or fetish, no these men liked to cause pain. These were the ones that would hold me down and shove things into me or light a candle and let the wax fall on my body just to see my expressions.

“Finish your food, don’t play with it.” Edward’s bored voice brought me out of my self-induced cloud.

“Thank you.” I nodded to him and nibbled on the last of my cheese before munching on my apples. I already had enough on my plate having to handle Orion. I could only hope the other princes weren’t interested in Orion’s services. More and more of my soul was being stolen away with each new person I had to sleep with. None of them was my choice.

All I’ve ever wanted in life is Ash, but I’ve never been an option for him. I finished my apple slices and took my plate to the kitchen area. The staff there didn’t even acknowledge me as they grabbed the plate and left me alone. I sighed. I knew what Orion would expect me to do, return to my room and wait for him. Absolutely no access to Ash, but I wanted to see my Prince. I wanted to thank him for the surprise.

The backside of my body made the decision for me as one of my potential enemies stood behind me. A hand rested on the small of my back and I winced and turned around. The blonde was smirking at me. “Care to go exploring with me? You haven’t begun to see all this castle has to offer. There are so many secret hidey holes that no one will ever catch you in if you want some time alone, or not so alone.” He winked at me.

The smile I used when trying to defuse Orion came naturally to me. “As interesting as that sounds, with it starting to get dark I have to get back to my room. M’lord is worried about me wandering around by myself past this time.”

“If he was so worried he should take you there himself.” His grin widened and he took a step closer to me so his heat radiated off him. He smelled worse than the stables.

“I believe the lady isn’t interested.” The raven-haired one had approached now. Great. He slung his arm around me and leaned his head in almost tapping my own. “Don’t worry, Charles. I’ll take her to her room.”

Charles scowled for a moment before recovering. “On the contrary, Henry. Why don’t we all go together? That way we are sure nothing happens to her.”

I tried to peel Henry’s hands off of me but as soon I touched him his hold tightened almost to the point of pain. I stilled and forced a smile. Maybe if they both went with me I wouldn’t have run into problems with one or the other. I could only pray that Orion never finds out.