Chapter 11: A petty prince
Sometime in the night, she felt a stir in the bed. It woke her up. As far as she knew, Kai wasn’t a restless sleeper. Then again, every night except tonight, she had been knocked out by their drugs.
Kai seemed certain Juniper was asleep. She watched as he crept towards the door and opened it. She couldn’t understand what was going on, but she could tell the voice at the other end wasn’t the big burly giant of a guard, nor was it the voice of Stasia. It was another female.
As he left the room with her, Juniper suddenly felt very territorial. How could he? He said he saved my life, so it is his to take. Now he was sneaking off into the night with another woman! How dumb do you have to be to make me stay in the same bed as you?
Juniper’s blood boiled. It may have only been a few minutes, but there wasn’t a clock in here, and it felt like at least an hour had passed before Kai snuck back into bed.
Juniper stayed in the same position. She pretended to sleep, and he sank back into bed. He lay there for a short second before she felt his hand creep to her hips.
The dip in the bed shifted as he neared closer to her as if he wanted to cuddle. Her heart felt conflicted. She wanted to cuddle and be close to him but was angry that he left for another woman in the middle of the night. Still, she tried to pretend as though she were sleeping.
His hand crept upwards as his lips made it to the weak point on her neck. His breath ran down her skin, causing a tingling sensation. He softly kissed her neck as his hand trailed up and massaged her breast. Juniper couldn’t help but let out a soft pant.
“Juniper,” he whispered in her ear. His hand went from feeling her boob then moving to her downstairs. As much as she felt aroused, she couldn’t shake the feeling that this was all wrong.
Letting him have the upper hand now could only cause her problems later. She stopped his hand from touching her.
The problem was that the words that came out of her mouth were not what she wanted to say.
“Don’t touch me. If you feel the need to sneak out in the middle of the night to get your dick wet.” Even Juniper cringed at her comment.
His hand that was touching her lifted in the air. What he had to say came out as a snarl, “I am a prince, and you are the lady of Sala. You do not make such crude comments.”
That was the wrong thing to say. Juniper was on him like a gasoline fire. “No matter the circumstance. My subconscious is still attached to my mind, meaning this is my body to control. I will never let a man degrade me by sneaking out at night to do who knows what, then come here to get a little attention from me. NO! You would do well to return the respect you demand.”
“When you are done with your tantrum, you MAY go to bed.” his words filled with the anger of a boy with an ego. He abruptly stood and stormed from the room.
It was hard for Juniper to fall back asleep, but when she did, it felt like she blinked her eyes. One second she closed her eyes. The next, she opened them. To a bed all alone and a significant headache as if she stayed out drinking all night.
Even the knock at the door seemed way too loud. Was she allowed to answer it? With a quick shout for Kai, she slowly went to the door to open it.
“Hello,” her voice hinted at having just woken up.
She was unexpectedly pushed back into the room with so much force she nearly fell over. “Lady of Sala, you mustn’t open the doors like that!” being rudely awakened, she let out her last sleepy yawn before snapping back.
“Like what?” the lady didn’t dare to look in her direction and instead pointed at her chest. “You must cover up! Before Prince Kai sees you, I only pray I’m doing the right thing. Please hurry and cover your mark. By law, he could rightfully have all of us killed. Including his right hand, master Dayton.”
“Dayton is here?”
“Yes, now, Lady of Sala, please cover up.” With a huff, Juniper went to the closest and found something to cover her body better. “Okay, all decent. Better?”
The lady looked in her direction and made a frown of disapproval. There was another knock at the door. “Come on. I’m covered. Answer the door.”
The lady went to the door with her head bowed. She didn’t open the door all the way and stood there speaking in their language. Juniper stood there confused as Dayton eased the door open and pointed for the cart of food to be pushed in.
The burly man still stood at the door. “Lady of Sala, you are not wearing proper dress attire. Do you still permit these two into your room?”
“Before!” Dayton interjected, stopping Juniper from responding. “You answer questions the guard is asking you. You should know your answers are considered legally binding. By accepting us to come in, you accept responsibility for Kai’s wrath if he were to have one.”
“Will he have a rath?”
“Not today. Kai has sent me to help you. Once you learn everything, you should and shouldn’t do. That may be a different story.”
“Please allow my guests to come in,” Juniper told the guard, using the most princess tone she had picked up from the movies. It rewarded her with Dayton giving her one of those silly frowns that made his eyes twice as wide. It was meant to be a look of approval.
“Two nights with the prince, and he has you talking like you were born for it. Castle life might suit you well.” He sat as he leaned against the back of the sofa, taking in her sight. She felt very aware of his eyes. Behind him, the maid hustled to make a table full of breakfast foods. “Come, let’s eat. You have a lot to do today.”
“What will I do today?”
Dayton smiled his evil smirk and jumped over the back of the sofa to land in the seat. He patted the spot next to him. “Come. Sit. I’ll tell you as you eat.”
Juniper sat, and Dayton handed her a cup of coffee. “Let’s see where to start… well, we have a meeting with the priest again. He will give you your second markings now that your first has shown up.”
Juniper gulped her drink. “I don’t want to be in pain again.”
“Nooooo. I mean, of course, you will be in pain but not as bad as the first, and eventually, you will get used to it.”
“Why do I need to go again?”
“To receive an extraordinary mark that King Sala himself has banned, and only a few exceptions are allowed to bear the mark.”
“What is it?”
“The gift of tongues,”
“I’ll be able to speak your language?”
“And many more languages like it.”
“Why would such a marking be banned?”
“Oh, you know, if the king says one thing, we are supposed to believe it at face value. So it is, so we do not become lazy. We need to know the languages outside this realm. But between you and me, I only say this so you catch on quickly to this life. He doesn’t want us fraternizing with the enemy. No need to let the enemy fill our brains with nonsense.”
“Will it knock me out as the last had?”
“Oh gosh, I hope not. We still need to do so much today.”
“Like what?”
“Starters, we need to enroll you in school, get you all your needed supplies, and then you and Stasia will have the rest of the afternoon for shopping and girlie things.”
Juniper took a bite of the sandwich that was laid out for her.
“School?”
“Yes, Kai believes it will help integrate you into our society.”
Juniper couldn’t help but hear a slight huff in his breath and how he brushed his delicate stubbly chin with his hand as if he was slightly frustrated.
She couldn’t help but ask. “You don’t agree?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think. Come, finish your sandwich so Teresa here can help you prepare for today.”
Teresa was a shy girl roughly around the age of Juniper but refused to look Juniper in the eye. She only spoke when spoken to; if she could, her responses were grunts and moans instead of worded answers.
Teresa seemed more nervous than anything. As she braided Juniper’s hair, this time a much more intricate braid than before, their eyes met in the mirror for only a second. The girl was beautiful, with warm brown eyes. Her beauty was hidden behind the worn-out clothes and the dirt she must have accumulated while cleaning. She was not dressed like the maid in the movies, who looked equally stunning as the princess they helped. When their eyes met for a second time, Juniper could feel the fear in this woman’s eyes.
“I-i’m all done, Lady of Sala,” she said as she bowed.
“Thank you, Teresa. You did a wonderful job.” Juniper went to step out of the bathroom, but before she could, she was stopped. Teresa had frightfully grabbed her hand, preventing her from leaving.
“Forgive me, Lady of Sala.” She said, letting go of her. Under her breath, she spoke. It was quieter than a mouse, but if it weren’t for the petite maid’s odd behavior, Juniper would have missed it. “You have a friend in the scale.”
“What?” Juniper asked. She was met by Teresa’s soft brown eyes looking into hers, the flames not nearly as energetic as Kai’s.
“Nothing, Lady of Sala. You had lint on your dress. You best hurry now. I don’t want to keep Master Dayton waiting any longer.”
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone