Fates

DAPHNE

I am left standing there like some rare species of animal. Hunted then, put on display.

You can do this! You can do this! It is going to be fine.

I feel a hand on my back and the tingles that erupt have me shudder. The scent of a pine forest invades my nostrils.

Ash.

“It’s okay,” he whispers, soothingly. Almost like magic, I feel my body relax. “Have a seat,” he says, and I open my eyes.

He is holding a chair back for me and it is as if I am in a trance in the way I stare at him. I don’t move.

“The king will not be joining us this evening after all.” He says, his eyes darkening and his silver gaze falling toward my low neckline. “He has suddenly taken ill.”

This shocks me and I finally take my seat. “Ill?” I ask, as he seats himself to my left.

“Yes, ill. It’s the damnedest thing, really. Perhaps his lunch didn’t agree with him.” He smiles then and his eyes seem to sparkle. His silky hair appears damp and freshly washed. I inhale his scent deeply as he leans toward me. “You really should work on this little staring problem you have. The king will not like seeing me as the object of your desire.”

“I’m sorry,” I say. “The object of my what?”

He sighs, his eyes dancing around my face. Suddenly, I feel a warm hand slide over the top of my thigh that is hidden beneath the table, and I nearly jump out of my seat. “You haven’t looked away from me since I stepped into the room.”

I instantly snap my eyes shut and avert my gaze. “I apologize,” I whisper, yet his hand stays on my leg. The heat from his touch is burning through the velvet of my gown.

“Ah, the lovely Daphne,” Prince Hayden chimes and the entire room stands for him as he takes his place on my right. In the king’s chair. “My father sends his apologies. He is resting.”

“Strange thing, that.” Ash chuckles on my left.

“I’m sure, Daphne will get over it,” the prince smirks, throwing a wink my way. “Although I am a poor substitute for my father, perhaps I will grace your presence this evening, instead.”

Ash’s hand tenses over my thigh and I swallow, thickly. Beginning to feel like I am underwater, I concentrate on taking one slow breath at a time.

“That would be a terrible idea,” Ash states, while grabbing his wine goblet with his free hand.

“Nonsense,” Hayden hisses.

Ash takes a deep drink of wine, then offers it to me. I take it gratefully and down its contents. The bittersweetness of the liquid warms my throat and calms my nerves in such a way that I reach for my own goblet to the right of my empty plate.

“No!” Ash snaps and I instantly snatch my hand back to glare at him. “You’ve had enough.”

I open my mouth to protest but I am cut off.

“Let her drink,” Hayden quips.

Ash’s eyes stare deeply into mine as he answers, “She doesn’t need anymore. Just look at her. She’s flushed. Have you ever had wine before sweet Daphne?”

I shake my head, my eyes still locked with his.

“She’s had enough,” Ash says simply, his eyes finally rising from mine to look beyond me.

I hear the prince scoff.

What is happening?

What am I? A new plaything for these two?

Oh, sweet God.

What is next?

ASH

When I first entered the dining room, after a bath and fresh dress, I was struck speechless by the vision that was Daphne. Dressed in finery, that I was certain she wasn’t used to, with her hair coiled and braided into a modern hair dress designed to lengthen her neck, she looked like a princess.

The dirt had been scrubbed from her porcelain skin and her sprinkle of freckles gave her the appearance of innocence that was sure to have every male in the place hard as stone. Her curves were simply glorious. The velvet gown she wore hugged every inch of her body, step by bloody step.

The moment we sat down together, I had need to touch her. So, I did. I still was. It didn’t help that she stared at me with such longing and admiration that it heated my body from head to toe.

Dinner had been served, yet I couldn’t bring myself to release her thigh, so I was eating stealthily, and with my left hand. Fortunately, I have use of both in equal measure.

I didn’t expect this. Didn’t expect to feel so possessive of the young human the way I did. Maybe I am just horny.

Glancing to my right I lift my knife and serve her the slab of venison from my very plate. She smiles at me shyly and begins to eat. Watching her full lips work as she chews is disturbingly sensual. I begin to draw small circles over her thigh with my thumb. She shivers delightfully and I slip my hand, just an inch or two, closer to her core causing her to gasp slightly.

I signal for more wine, and after it is poured, once again I urge her to drink from my cup. Hers is tainted, I can smell the poison easily. The prince, no doubt. Probably dosed it to have her compliant and at his mercy.

Well fuck that.

The more I pictured the old, wicked king or the spoiled little prince stealing her virtue, the more it upset me. So, I paid the king a visit before dinner. Strange coincidence that he fell ill shortly after. Prince Hayden, however, I would deal with upon even ground.

“Must she drink from your glass? She is in possession of her very own.” Hayden says snidely, glaring at me over her head.

I smile while looking at her and say, “I like the taste of her lips on my goblet.”

At this, her eyes shoot toward me, a deep blush forms along her cheekbones and wetness pools at her center. Yes, I can smell this too.

“Is that a fact,” Hayden laughs. “Perhaps she shall drink from mine as well.”

For some reason this statement enrages me, and I am forced to remove my hand from her leg for fear of crushing a bone. I quietly take her goblet and pour the contents into Hayden’s.

“There,” I say simply. “Now she can use hers.”

Hayden is seething. He nods at me as he signals for a fresh glass of wine. Then he smirks at me over his cup, as if to say, game on.

Her eyes become frightened as she realizes what must have been in her goblet. I lean down and whisper, “There are some fates worse than the king.”

“Thank you,” she sighs, and I am momentarily frozen.

Don’t thank me just yet, little dove.

For I am one of those fates.