Chapter 3

Aerasume POV

We ride all day to reach elven borders and I've had time to think and plot. Maybe if I am a horrible mistress he will send me back home. What does a mistress do exactly? I heard little stories, none of it good. Males treat mistresses worse than their dirty boots. No one ever goes into details. How can I prevent that? I can barely look at him without quivering and becoming scared. I will not be treated like garbage or the garderobes. ( Toilet). I wanted to ride right up to him and ask, but instead he rode up to me.

"I want to explain your duties to you," he growled. "You will make yourself available to me anytime, anyplace and anywhere. When I say drop everything you stop what you are doing and come."

"Your majesty when you say make myself available, what does that mean?"

He looks irritated by my lack of knowledge, " coupling, mating, fucking," he yelled.

I gasp, "you want to force rut me. No my lord pray you cannot."

"It will not be forced, you are my mistress, you will do as you're told."

He wants to rut me like an animal.

"Please your majesty I didn't know a mistress did that."

"The duties remain the same."

"My lord... " I didn't get a chance to finish, he slapped me so hard that I fell off the animal. I fell hard on my side with a humpf. Cain and the other guards ran to help me but a bark command from him had them backing up.

"Now listen to me, dark one," his red/maroon eyes staring into my lavender ones. I look up terrified. " Your majesty please have mercy," I said knowing what he's capable of.

He bent down and grabbed my chin, "you will do whatever I ask of you, do you understand."

"Your majesty I'm soiled, dirty, why do you want me in that way." I look deep into his eyes for the answer.

"You want me," I breathe out.

"Yes," he said, picking me up off the ground and placing me back on the arroch.

"But why," I said.

He turned glowering eyes toward me."

I raise my hand up, " sorry my lord." I wince at my side and my cheek. He's no different than my aunt and uncle. Why can't I find someone to love me other than Hershel and he might not be around for long. I hope the medic tells him something good. I just want to be loved and love in return. I want to have a baby some day and I'll shower it with all the love and affection it can take. Sometimes I just want to give up. I'm soiled and used and my betrothed couldn't handle that. I would have loved him and any child we would have had.

"Your face's emotions are changing frantically, what are you thinking about," ask the king.

"My future and children."

"You want children."

"Yes,! a whole cottage full. I want a male who will love me and I him in return."

"Stop with the notion of children and future males, that won't happen for you. You can help raise mine and my future queen children."

"But surely I can leave one day and start my own family."

"No, I'll lock you up first before that happens."

I gasp, " you will enslave me." He looks like he's thinking about it.

"My lord I ask that you do not enslave me and do not use your powers on me."

"Why not," he asked curiously.

"Because I don't have any to use on you, it's unfair."

"That's a fair request."

"Can you pinky swear it, " I said holding up my pinky.

He grabbed his pinky with mine and I wince, he's so strong.

"Your majesty do you think I can get some time to adjust to this new life before I have to make myself available to you?"

"No!."

"Well how soon do I have to start," I ask appalled.

"As soon as we make it to the palace."

I become silent. What else can I do or say? I agreed to become his mistress, no matter that I didn't know that a mistress is rutted on like an animal and is never loved. I'm soil, I was forced into coupling and he still wants me. Why?.

I will not have a husband or children. I silently cry at this. I gave up everything I had, which wasn't much. I really didn't have a choice on the matter, he was taking me by force whether I agreed or not. I was never really shown any kind of love. All my life the people in the village looked at me like I was an anomaly. They are skinny and tall and I'm short and thick.

We make it to the gates of Aelasar. The elven people built this wall around their kingdom. It's rumored to be huge, so big it's a planet on its own. The elves have always been magical, so no one knows how big the city is or how it got that way.

The gates open and my eyes grow big with surprise.

I turn to Cain, " you have transporters."

"Yes."

"Why didn't you come to my village in one."

"We were trying to respect your laws."

"We see them flying all the time at market and you could have saved yourself a day's journey on the arroches, I mean horses. "

"You telling me," he said and smiles, "but they needed the exercise, they have been going crazy with boredom. "

The king eyes us and what I see there doesn't bode well for me. He looks so evil that the goddess herself wouldn't touch him. I'm so terrified of him. I drop my eyes and look back at the city. It has big tall and some short cottages.

"What are those," I point to the tall cottages.

Cain said, " those are called buildings."

It's rows and rows of buildings and further back is trees and I can't see beyond that. After the rows of buildings is a palace that sits on a hill high up. I've heard about them, nothing good goes on in a palace.

"Your majesty do you think I can have my own cottage."

"No," he growls out.

Why is he so angry?

I drop my eyes terrified and chest pounding with uncertainty. I'm trying to make the most of this but I'm scared, and I can tell that's making him more angry but I can't help it. I want my own space. I'm three and twenty I should have my own by now. I'll ask again when he's in a better mood.

As we make our way through the city I'm in awe of the number of species here that are not elf.

"You let others in that are not elf.

"Yes," Cain said. "Elves has a specific mate and it's not always another elf."

"How do you know when you've found your mate."

"It's very overwhelming I hear. The more powerful the elf the worse it can be. From the stories I hear, the first sight can be possessive, sometimes forceful. A sense so strong that some turn deranged and mad with it," said Cain.

Suddenly I'm snatched from my horse and placed before the king on his. "If you want to talk and ask questions you ask me," he said angrily.

" Yes your majesty," I said a little scared. Maybe if I talk to him he will stop being so angry.

"How do you keep it all together and organized," I asked.

"My kingdom is sectioned off into four main areas. I appointed lords to those areas and they oversee that area. They are in charge of keeping intruders away also. We have guards around the perimeter and if an intruder comes near a certain spot I'll know. My family and I have a mental barrier around the entire kingdom."

"Wow," I say. He is so powerful, he could kill me with just a thought probably.

"You're afraid," he stated.

"You're so powerful my liege and I..i.. just want to live. This is all new to me and I will make mistakes and I'm afraid you don't understand that."

I think he agreed with me because the ride after that was silent. Speaking of riding this one is taking a long time. I become more depressed by the minute. This is all my fault. If I would have run away from my acurse village years ago none of this would have happened. I would have been a great explorer like my mother.

We finally made it to the palace and I'm glad, not all the looks I received were friendly and I had enough of that in my own village. I wonder how soon Hershel would leave and return. The king dismounted and turned and helped me down. There was a line of servants welcoming him home.

"What is this nonsense? Since when am I welcomed home," he asked.

"We were anxious to see the reason for your journey on horseback."

He nods, " this is Aerasume. Take her to the room next to mine and bathe and clothe her for tonight's dinner and festivities, Jai ."

A female servant steps forward and nods, " right away your majesty."

I nod and follow her and another servant through the doors.