B E N E F A C T I O N

P U N I S H M E N T

The King

"I told you."

It's been but a week since Constance was taken down to the dark place for betraying me. I refused to be anywhere near her, but today is the day of punishment. Steex will speak to her first, getting her confession and then I will present her with a whipping to the delicate soft skin of her back.

Oh, how I long for things to be different. For Maxi, one of my most fierce warriors to be within the gates of my Kingdom, and not exiled on the other side. How I hope that this would all end up being a dream, and the woman who seemed to be the key to all my happiness, had not let another taste her. And how I prayed that Marlie would.......

"Shut the fuck up." I snap as I turn to glare at her. She wears a regal outfit, something a bored, postmodern Queen would wear, not Constance. Even in the wake of her unforgivable actions, I think of her often, ache for her touch, and to feel her soft skin on the tips of my fingers.

"You act as if I speak lies!" Marlie screams in my face and I lose it. With a growl, I give her the back of my hand and she stumbles to the ground. All week the bitch has been yapping at my back about Constance.

About how a woman from the slums could never rule. How she is a whore who deserves more than a punishment. If she had it her way, Constance would be hanged naked in the courtyard for all creatures to see.

"You dare strike me?" She cries a she fumbles to find her footing. "You've never been this way with me. Not before you lay with that bitch! Can't you see how she has changed you? How she has come in-between our love!?"

"Love!? Is that what you call this?!" I seethe as I get in her face. "What we have is a business transaction. You had your chance at the throne and you stomped on it. Stomp on it because I wouldn't give you the finest of golds and silk, which is nothing compared to the fact that you cannot give me a child. I've said it once and I'll say it again Marlie, and I want you to hear me. You. Were. A. Mistake."

Marlie's eyes fill with tears immediately.

"You were never meant to be my mate. Never meant to bare my mark, and you know it as well as I do, so stop the fucking game." I grit out through clenched teeth.

"Now leave, you are not needed here."

"But I am the Queen! It is in my rights-"

"YOU ARE NOT MY QUEEN!" I snarl before following it with a roar that has Marlie kneeling. Neptune and Pluto--who both accompanied me to the dungeon--both fell to their knees also. My dominance seeping into the dark hall around us. With a wave of my hand I dismiss all three before standing and continuing to walk.

The closer I get to her cell the more I can smell her lemony scent. It is my favorite, that's why I had her bathe and shower with it when she first came home to my mansion. The body wash and hair products enhanced her smell, and I love it. But now, although I can smell Constance, it's but a soft caress of my nose.

Tevilla is the first person I see. She's standing outside the glass that looks into Constance's cells, tears streaming down her face.

"Sister-" She holds up a hand to silence me and shakes her head. Tevilla is the only woman who has been able to do me that way since the passing of our mother. Her head turns and she gives me those fierce eyes, before speaking.

"For a week you have starved her, only had them give her water one a day. You had her chained with silver knowing that it would cause her pain. Now you come down to see your artwork before you lay your whip to her skin?" She lets out a bitter laugh. "Well, you have come at the right time brother. Steex has come, and he will be using his gift to get the truth that we all know, but you don't dare face!" Tevilla says as she moves and allows me to investigate the cell. When I do, my heart seems to break a million times. My wolf howls within me, my knees buckle.

Long hair is matted to her face. Her cheeks are hollow, her body is naked and frail. She looks off into the distance like her mind has left her. Constance's once thick and curvy body is thin, lacking nurishment.

"I..." I begin to speak but my words leave me.

"You." Tevilla says with a shake of her head. "This is all you. Once you hear the truth, know that her forgiving you will be a task. You'll have to live with knowing you did this to her, knowing she was tricked."

"We don't know that for sure."

"I knew the moment you told me what happened! Maxi, although fierce and strong, was a piece of fucking shit, and Marlie was fucking him!" My hands are around my sisters throat as I growl at her, but she doesn't react. She only glares.

"Hi Constance, how are you?" The sound of Steex speaking to Constance snaps me out of my rage. I let go of Tevilla's neck and turn my head to look at the exchange going on in the cell. Steex is kneeling beside the frail woman, his eyes filling with tears.

"I know you don't deserve this, and I want to help you." He speaks warily as he leans down to Constance mouth. "When I kiss you, you will speak your truth, okay?" She nods and then Steex gently lays his lips against her. The peck only last for a brief second and when he pulls away, Constance sits up straighter as her eye begin to glow.

She in a trance.

"Tell me what happen to you Constance."

"I thought Maxi was the King. He came to me as the King."

"How?"

"Looked like him. Except for his eyes." Constance responds her voice clip and monotone.

"What was wrong with his eyes?" Steex asks as he stares at the fragile woman.

"Cherry red. They weren't sun-kissed like my King's but I have seen the King's eyes flash a red color, so I thought they had changed on their own accord."

"And what did Maxi do to you?"

"He tasted me, but I thought he was the King. I asked Ladonna to fetch the King for me. That I wanted supper alone with him."

"Did you know before the King burst into your room, that Maxi was the one in-between your legs." Constance breaks out into a sob as her thin body begins to shake.

"No!" She wails. "I would have never done that to the King." Her eyes then look out of the cell window as tears continue to fall from her beautiful face. "I am meant for him; he is meant for me!"

I watch, my throat dry, heart in the pits of my stomach as Constance comes back to her natural state. She looks to Steex and dries the tears from her eyes.

"I was meant for him, but I will find another who is more deserving of my love. My devotion. Someone who will believe me when I tell him or her that I did not do something. And if I can't have that, then let me rot. Let my body wilt away here, until I am nothing." 

"Bravo my King. It seems as though you just lost the love your life." Tevilla says softly before leaving me to stand at the window of the cell....

Alone.

Short and simple

Do you think the King will be able to win back Constance's affection.