Chapter Text
Once a fortnight, Her Royal Majesty, Queen Vladilena Milize hosts a royal council meeting, in which all her subjects may gain an audience in order to settle their grievances. It is seen as an opportunity for anybody, from farmers to merchants to townsfolk, to have their disputes mediated by their benevolent, fair, and beloved ruler.
It is on such a day that the Queen finds herself sitting for hours on her throne, with sore, aching muscles from staying in one position for such a prolonged period of time. While the work is tiresome and mundane, she would never complain, as she is a servant to her people. If the people are willing to stand for hours in line at the royal palace waiting just to see her, it is her duty to meet their expectations of her.
The next subject that is sent into the throne room is a middle-aged man with a graying beard and plain clothes, though he is clean and polished. He bows reverently to her.
“Long live The Queen,” he greets with a low-born accent.
“What is your name, kind sir?” she asks him kindly with a smile.
“Gentry of Thirsk, Your Majesty,” he introduces himself earnestly. “I am the owner of the Bear’s Pub in town. I…er…”
It is not unusual for one of her subjects to become nervous in her presence, but this one seems to hesitate for another reason. Gentry shifts his eyes around all her royal guards and servants.
“You may speak freely here, Gentry of Thirsk,” the Queen states.
Gentry immediately falls to his knees, shaking uncontrollably. “My apologies, I beg your forgiveness, Your Majesty. M…my dispute is with…one of your generals. Or more specifically…General Shinei Nouzen.”
At this, the Queen raises both of her brows in shock. General Nouzen is not only one of the five highest ranked commanders within the royal army, but he also bears the title of her personal Knight. He is an honorable and trustworthy man, one who would never disgrace her name or reputation.
The Queen sneaks a quick glance in the direction of General Nouzen standing by her side. As always, her Knight’s handsome, noble features remain neutral and calm.
“I see,” she says after a short moment. “Please continue.”
And so Gentry of Thirsk recalls how his modest, humble pub was completely ransacked from a fight in his pub several nights ago. Most of his property, from bar stools to tables to countertops, were destroyed, along with a year’s wages of alcohol. His eldest son, who has been working at his family’s pub for years, was seriously injured from the brawl, even though he was a bystander that attempted to intervene and stop the fight. He has since been bedridden, and it will take weeks for him to recover.
The instigator of the fight was General Nouzen.
The Queen’s first instinct is to deny the accusation. Her Knight would never do such a thing. But she has long since learned how to be responsive to situations rather than reactive. Most likely, this man has misidentified the culprit, which is no fault of his own. Gentry must have been under considerable stress in the last several days, especially with his own son injured and bedridden. She would resolve this for him and his family.
“General Nouzen,” the Queen calls for her most trusted servant. “Are this man’s accusations true?”
“They are, Your Majesty,” General Nouzen admits.
For a long while, the Queen is left speechless.
“You don’t deny these charges?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Do you have anything to add?” she asks, trying to help him defend himself.
“No, ma’am. The pub owner’s account is accurate.”
“Why did you instigate a fight in public?” she asks him.
At this, General Nouzen finally turns to her and looks her dead in the eye. She can’t deny the resolve in his intense, ruby eyes. She understands now that he has his reasons and does not regret his actions.
“Then you understand that a punishment must be in order,” she warns him.
“I do, Your Majesty.”
The Queen turns to her master of coin and finances. “Compensate Gentry of Thirsk for all property and goods damaged during the fight, in addition to a year’s worth of wages,” she commands. She then turns to another royal advisor. “See to it that the royal doctor pays a visit to this family’s home. I would like Gentry’s son to receive whatever treatment is required for his recovery.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” her servants obey.
“As for you…,” she trails off, turning her attention to her knight.
“I will accept any punishment My Queen commands.”
—
When the Queen walks into the antechamber to the throne room, she is accompanied by one of the royal interrogators, Captain Isuka, who is otherwise known as the vulture to many. A few of her Queensguard and other officers accompany them, but no one else. She will not have her personal knight be publicly beaten. As always, she has taken care to choose wisely, as this Captain is outside of the royal army’s chain of command. As such, it can be made clear that steps were taken in order to ensure the least amount of conflict among her subjects.
Isuka will be the one to give General Nouzen’s punishment.
“Before he begins, General Nouzen,” the Queen begins, then hesitates for a brief moment. “Shin.”
She uses his preferred name, one only those closest to him would use. When they’re alone, she refers to him as such. But Shin glances around the room warily, uneasy with others watching. But his Queen either doesn’t notice his concern, or more likely, she chooses to ignore it.
“If there is another side to this, please tell me now. I’m sure you had a reason, and I can spare you from the pain you’re about to endure if only you would tell me,” she pleads with him.
“While I did have a reason, Your Majesty, Gentry’s charges against me are legitimate. My actions led to the destruction of his property and the injury of his son. I’ve shamed you, and for that I deserve this,” he tells her with a gentle voice.
The Queen sighs deeply before she nods at Isuka. “Very well then. You may begin.”
—
Shin receives a beating without making any sound. As the queen, she does not outwardly display any distress, but each time he is struck, she cries out for him inwardly.
The onyx haired general’s hands are bound behind him, and each time he’s about to be beaten, the thick muscles in his neck tense in anticipation. She can tell that his body has gone rigid and hard as a rock in order to attenuate the severity of each blow. As a warrior, he has long since trained his body to withstand such physical strain.
She understands as she looks into his ruby eyes, staring at her intently the entire time, that this is his display of loyalty and devotion to her. He withstands this pain and humiliation for her.
An overwhelming feeling of pride, possessiveness, and something else consumes her in that moment.
—
Once it’s over, the Queen commands everyone to leave.
“Captain Iida,” she calls out to the commander of her Queensguard. “Ensure that no one enters this room without my permission.”
Iida glances back and forth between her Queen and the General for a moment with a dubious look before she replies. “Of course, Your Majesty.” Right before she shuts the door closed behind her, she grins wolfishly. “Try not to eat him alive.”
—
Once they’re alone, Lena approaches Shin and leans down to touch his cheek gently. He stood proudly the entire time he was being punished, but now he is on his knees, looking worn and fatigued.
“Are you alright?”
“I’ll be fine,” he replies, but his breathing is ragged and his voice is strained.
Lena frowns at this in concern and runs her hand through his hair to help soothe him. He immediately leans into her touch.
“Can you tell me what happened now?”
Shin sighs and looks to the side in uncertainty. For a second, Lena thinks his cheeks start to redden. “The men I beat up in the pub…they were speaking ill of you, Your Majesty.”
Lena raised a brow at this. “How so?”
“They were saying…very lewd comments, I’d rather you not hear it. I wasn’t going to sit there and let them disrespect their Queen that way. Though I guess I got carried away…”
That explains why Shin wouldn’t defend himself in front of her council. If he had given his perspective, he would have been questioned on the specifics of why he instigated a fight in public. He didn’t want those comments spoken in court in front of everybody, as it was gossip that people enjoyed latching onto, and quickly. And he would never be the one to start gossip about the Queen.
Lena gave him a fond smile. “So you were defending my honor then?”
“Always, my Queen, it’s my-”
But she interrupts him when she presses her lips to his. His lips are dry and chapped, and she can taste faint traces of blood from the beating. He freezes for a second in shock, but after a moment, he presses forward and kisses her back.
This is hardly the first time they’ve kissed, and Lena plans to do much, much more to her loyal servant. For enduring such a harsh punishment, he certainly deserves a reward.
When she pulls away, he tries to lean forward for more, but she’s no longer in reach. His hands are still bound behind his back and Lena decides that she wants to keep it that way. She slowly starts to unbutton the undershirt that he was stripped down to so his uniform jacket would be left unscathed. Each button exposes a few more inches of his bare skin, revealing the taut muscles underneath. New wounds litter his upper torso and will be accompanying his many old scars. Lena is familiar with each of them, and will be sure to remember these new ones as well. She runs her finger down his chest, navigating around each minor injury.
“Should I send for the doctor?” she asks him.
“Later,” he replies. His breathing has started to quicken again, but she suspects that it isn’t because of the beating anymore.
With Shin still on his knees, it’s easy for Lena to lean over him. She appraises him then, looking down at him and seeing her faithful, obedient knight fully devoted to her. He showed her and the world today that he would do anything she commanded, all for her. His shirt falls from one shoulder, exposing more of his neck and chest as well.
Her heart swells.
Lena gently cups his chin so that he looks up at her, and she smiles. “You’ve been so good, Shin.”
—
Shin’s quite convinced that he’s done nothing but bring shame to his Queen, but he doesn’t dare argue with her. Not when she’s like this.
And he truly is completely at her mercy when she’s like this. Not that he’s complaining.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice is telling him that this is wrong. So, so wrong. He is her servant, and servants should never know the touch of their masters so intimately. But he’s become adept at ignoring that long ago.
He’s addicted to her warm touch, her silver-bell-like voice, her presence. And he’ll take anything she gives him.
When she orders him to stand, he does.
Those pretty, soft hands of hers slowly and delicately trace patterns across any bare skin they can find, careful of his new wounds. When she caresses the side of his face and runs her hands through his hair, he leans down to kiss her again. He normally isn’t so bold, but he craves the taste of her lips. She allows this action and he happily drinks her in when she kisses him back with equal ferocity.
He can feel her hands slowly run down his neck, across his shoulders and down his arms, bringing his shirt down along the way. He would like to simply throw it off to the side, but it bunches and catches on his forearms where his hands are still bound behind his back. His Queen doesn’t make any indication that she’ll be removing those any time soon, so he supposes his shirt will just have to be left hanging there. With more skin exposed to her, she continues to trace his back, his chest, his stomach, until she dips even lower and he feels a gentle tug on his pants. When she dips her fingers underneath the waistline it sends a shiver up his spine and he breathes her in deeply.
She makes quick work of his belt, and he can’t help the groan that escapes him when he feels her hands on his exposed cock.
“You’re already so hard for me,” she whispers into his ear.
She takes him in the palm of her hand and starts to pump up and down, slowly, so agonizingly slowly. It seems that the pleasure he feels today is heightened when contrasted by the pain he can still feel from the lashes he received. He bows his head down and shuts his eyes, trying to stifle any sounds. They’re too close to the throne room, too close to so many guards and servants. While his Queen has chosen to bed him on several occasions already, he knows that he can never be anything more than a side tryst, a plaything. So he remains as discreet as possible.
His Queen uses her other hand to grab him by his hair to bring his head up, and she orders him to look at her. When he opens his eyes, he watches her gaze on him travel across his body, helpless to how vulnerable he is in this moment.
Shin immediately widens his eyes in shock when she lowers herself to her knees in front of him. “Your Majesty, you shouldn’t-”
He sucks in a breath to stifle a loud groan when he feels her warm lips on the tip of his cock. He has to employ every breathing technique he’s learned to keep his mind from devolving into an uncontrollable mess when she takes him in deeper, and deeper still until he can feel the back of her throat. She’s taken him in before like this only a few times, but always in the comfort of bed, and never on the cold, hard floor like this. His Queen shouldn’t be disgracing herself in such a manner, but language has ceased to function properly for him and the words never make it out.
Shin can’t believe the sight he sees. The most beautiful, loved, feared and powerful woman in the land is on her knees in front of him, her head bobbing up and down as she sucks him until he can’t even think a single coherent thought. His knees buckle and she grabs him roughly by the back of his legs to keep him steady.
Heat and electricity pool in his groin and he can feel himself climbing higher and higher. It takes every last ounce of his willpower to keep from spilling into his Queen’s lips.
“Please,” he begs, in a voice so thin and shaky he doesn’t recognize it, unsure what it is he’s asking for.
She slowly releases his cock from her mouth and looks at him with half-lidded eyes. His body is aching at the emptiness and screams for more. He’s so close. This time, when his knees buckle, the Queen lets him fall to the ground and pushes him backward until he lays on his back. She climbs over him until Shin can feel the warmth of her breath on his face. He instinctively leans up to try and capture those bewitching lips in his, but she moves just out of reach and he’s left chasing after her.
“Your reward,” she tells him in a low voice. “I’ll let you choose. Will you come inside my mouth or inside me?” she asks him.
Reason and thought left him some time ago, and he’s left with only his pure instinct and uninhibited desires.
“Gods, in you, let me come in you,” he pleads. He immediately thrusts his hips upwards but her skirt is still in the way.
His Queen chuckles and smiles down at him fondly. “Tell me, who do you belong to?”
That is an easy question. “You,” he answers immediately, without needing to think. “I’ll always belong to you and you alone. My life is yours until the day I die, and even then, my soul is yours.”
He’s not able to ponder on it at this moment, but something shifts in her eyes then. One day, he’ll eventually recognize it for what it is, but for now, he simply sees it as her desire.
Shin is amazed when he feels himself sliding into her heat with so much ease. She’s already so wet. When she starts moving, he can tell how much she enjoys the feeling of him inside her, with her flushed cheeks, the roundness of her lips, and the melodic moans and sighs that escape her.
He was already close before she started riding him on the floor, so it doesn’t take him long until his climb erupts and he falls, releasing deep inside her. She leans down to drink in and swallow his long, drawn out groans. He can feel the last of his throbbing subside.
Once he’s fallen from the high, Shin realizes that he came so quickly she never satisfied her own desires. A pang of guilt immediately rushes through him.
Apparently, she can tell what he’s thinking just by looking at the expression he makes, and she places a finger to his lips to quiet his concerns.
“This is your reward, my wonderful knight,” she tells him tenderly, her voice raised in pitch. She hasn’t pulled away from him yet and he knows her body is still aroused. “Rest now. And tonight, come to my bedchambers,” she commands him.
Shin nods his head, determined to please his Queen tonight. He slowly drifts away into a dreamless sleep, feeling the woman he cherishes the most in this world running her fingers through his hair gently.
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