The Untamed Princess

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Unforgivable Violation

Prince Li Jun's hawkish smile spread across his sharp features as his eyes raked over the young woman on the floor in front of him.  He had noticed her leaving the great hall earlier that day and had instructed his man, Chuanli, to follow her, little knowing at the time that his impulsive decision would have an even better result than he could possibly have hoped for.

Being a good servant and knowing his master's thoughts exactly, Chuanli had quickly spotted an opportunity to make a move while Ming Yue was alone and distracted, and when he had arrived at the prince's chambers to tell him that the woman was currently restrained and helpless in a distant location in the palace, Li Jun had wasted no time in making his way over there via a little known, overgrown pathway not far from the palace boundary walls.

"There's no use calling for help, I'm afraid," he said.  "This place was designed by my grandmother as a summer house, but no one ever comes here anymore.  I assure you, we are in quite a remote part of the palace, and there is no one else around."

Ming Yue had already surmised as much in any event, and had decided not to waste her breath crying out.  Instead, she narrowed her eyes at the eldest prince for a moment, before deciding that she would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her afraid or vulnerable.

"Your Highness," she said, relaxing her features and keeping her tone light.  "What an unexpected pleasure.  You really didn't have to go to all this trouble.  A simple note requesting me to stop by your mansion would have been more than sufficient."  She continued.  

"Unfortunately, I am a little tied up at the moment so I cannot pay you the proper respects.  Please forgive my informality."

Li Jun let out a bark of laughter.

"Ha! You are an impressive one.  I knew it from the moment I saw you with my brother."  His tone turned sharp.  "But you're all mine now.  There is nothing that Weisheng has that I cannot take from him, and I'll enjoy teaching you a lesson or two in my own time."  He moved forward slowly.

Ming Yue shuddered and used her heels to push herself away from the prince and closer to a large window, the beginnings of a desperate plan forming in her mind.

The prince knelt down in front of her, and she swung her right leg to aim a kick at him.  He caught it easily, and suddenly his body was covering hers, and she let out an involuntary cry before sucking in a deep breath.  At any other time, the scent of lavender from his robes would have been pleasant, but now it was sickly and overpowering.

Unwelcome memories of a similar situation flooded into Ming Yue's mind.  "Please, not again!" she thought, and cursed her persistent bad luck when it came to encounters with the opposite sex.

Unfortunately for her, Li Jun was stronger and in better physical shape than the man she had grappled with at the inn, and she immediately knew that she was dealing with someone a lot more dangerous.  This was confirmed when she felt the fabric of her robe tear, and a sharp pain when the prince bit down on the exposed flesh near her collarbone.

Ming Yue cried out again at the sudden brutality of the assault, and frantically tried to move her legs, but they were firmly trapped by the prince's own.  Feeling his hands start to move downwards from her shoulders, she changed tactics.

Turning her head, she tried to get hold of Li Jun's ear with her teeth, thinking that to rip it from his head would be extremely satisfying.  Unfortunately, the prince was quick as well as strong, and he pulled his head back before she could get a good grip.

"Naughty, naughty," he said, and Ming Yue shuddered at his tone.  "I was hoping to do this while you were still conscious, so I could see the look in your eyes.  But, if you aren't going to play nice..." he tailed off, then, without warning, slapped her fully across the face with his right hand.  She felt a warm trickle of blood running down her forehead, where a ring on one of his fingers had caught on the skin near her hairline, and it was enough to bring her anger to a level where she was about to act purely on instinct.