Combat Healer Ch. 39 (Patreon)

May 13, 2023

NOTE: In case anyone doesn't know, my 'technical' release schedule is Sunday evenings (Eastern Standard Timezone). I often post early, but sometimes life happens, and I can't get a chapter posted until middle of the day Sunday, or even Sunday evening.

Obviously, I'm posting this Saturday evening, but this is still early.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

This chapter does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, but it's worth it.

<< Chapter 38 | Ch 1 (Book 1) | Ch 15 (Book 2) | Ch 29 (Book 3)

- CHAPTER 39: Identity -

Present Day

A balding man, in heavy burgundy robes and metal chest armor that most would expect to see on a knight, carefully rolled up his sleeves as he slipped his hand in the thick murky fluid, unsurprised when the hungry leech immediately latched onto his palm.

Having caught one, he quickly held it up before the others attached themselves to his flesh too, a few of them having grown big enough to nearly swallow up his entire hand.

The balding man wasn’t looking forward to pulling one of those out.

But he knew he didn’t have a choice.

‘Very good,’ a voice rang in his head as he carefully moved over to the much larger tank.

A tank with a much larger leech, this one having grown to nearly the size of a person.

‘Very good,’ the voice repeated, as the man pulled the creature's teeth out of his flesh, and dropped it into the tank.

The murky water was motionless for a moment, only for a massive whooshing to spill some over the edge onto the stone floor, before it grew silent again.

‘Another,’ the voice demanded.

The balding man obeyed, walking back over to the first tank, and sticking his hand in.

He wasn’t fast enough this time, and two latched on, likely because his hand was already bleeding.

‘Very good. More leeches will be ready soon. We are almost finished.’

“Yes,” Grimaldi agreed, speaking for the first time. “We are almost finished. Finally.”

‘And you shall have your reward.’

“Thank you, master,” he replied sincerely.

The voice didn’t respond.

Dropping the two flesh-eating leeches in, there was another violent whooshing as the human-sized leech ate the other two.

‘I must see it,’ the voice unexpectedly demanded.

The balding man hesitated.

‘Now,’ the voice insisted.

“Of course, master,” he mumbled, beginning to take off his metal breastplate.

The fluid was very murky, old blood having long since tinted the thick liquid. However, a special spyglass placed just at the surface could see what resided within. Having set down his breastplate, he grabbed the instrument, and then carefully undid his robes, until his black silk shirt was exposed.

Carefully, he proceeded to step on a stool, placing the end of the spyglass into the water…

And then cautiously held the other end beneath his shirt.

Angling his chest forward a little, wishing he didn’t have to be so close.

The voice spoke again, now that it could see.

‘Ah yes. Very good. It’s almost ready.’

The balding man immediately pulled away, setting the spyglass down, and attempted to redress.

‘Wait. I want to see the other, as well.’

“Of course, my master,” he replied, turning to walk across the massive stone room, ignoring the mutilated corpse that was rotting on the table, the corpse of what was once a young woman, and then proceeding to open a small wooden door. Grabbing the Light Crystal on the shelf, he illuminated it and held it up, revealing the assortment of glass jars.

Focusing on one jar in particular, set directly within the opening of a large black metal shackle, a shackle that was also an extremely dangerous legendary artifact, the balding man began lifting up his silk shirt for the second time.

So his master could see.

The large floating red eye in the jar, with numerous tentacles sticking to the edges of the glass, turned slightly when it sensed it’s companion. The pupil narrowing in response to the light, the iris bright red, as it laid sight upon its matching counterpart, residing buried within the hairy chest of the man standing there with his shirt up.

The voice spoke again.

‘Soon. So very soon, we shall be reunited again. And in the body of a king.’ It laughed darkly. ‘Or at least, in a body that looks like the king.’

Grimaldi didn’t respond.

For, his master was not speaking to him.

Instead, it spoke to itself.

It spoke…

To its other eye, the two longing to reunite.

The two longing to resurrect.

Just not in a body matching their old one, as would uncontrollably happen under normal circumstances, no matter who the host was. The very reason why they couldn’t use the king’s body directly.

No, instead they plotted…

To resurrect in a new body…

That would exactly match the sitting king.

At least, once the massive human-sized leech was ready.

Once it consumed the flesh of the king, having already consumed the blood and flesh of several from the noble lineage.

Almost done.

They were finally almost done.

And then Lord Grimaldi…would finally be free.

He would receive his long-awaited reward.

Freedom…from being chosen.

Freedom…from receiving his master’s blessing.

Freedom…from these invisible shackles…that bound him.

* * *

The princess hadn’t said anything thus far as I worked on getting the flesh-eating leeches out of her body, but she finally spoke up now, upon me claiming that she was Chosen by a Legendary Weapon.

Her green eyes were filling with tears, her heavily freckled face scrunched up.

“D-Does that mean I haven’t gone mad?” she whispered.

I focused on her in surprise, even as the old maidservant pulled up the blanket again, covering the redhead’s small breasts, as well as the tattoo marking between them. Not that it mattered, considering I was sitting on the bed between her exposed legs, actively pulling another leech out of her rear.

The princess was waiting patiently for my response, her eyes closed now, the tears having slipped down the side of her face, as she groaned in discomfort. No doubt feeling like she was taking a horrible shit from hell, though I suspected this was much more preferable than cutting them out.

Much higher chance of her surviving the ordeal too.

I finally responded as I dumped the next leech in the metal pail. “What makes you think you’ve gone mad?”

“I just…it just feels like…”

“Like something is calling you?” I wondered.

Her green eyes popped open in surprise. “Yes,” she whispered emphatically. “It’s not a voice, but I feel like I can understand it.”

“And what has it told you?” I wondered.

“That I’m chosen. That it wants to give me it’s blessing.” She grimaced then. “And that…it will free me from everything that binds me. Everything else, at least. Feels…” She hesitated. “Feels like…I would still be bound. But only to it.”

I frowned as I considered that, focused between her legs as another leech slowly began easing out.

She again closed her eyes in discomfort.

Unfortunately, the leeches weren’t getting smaller.

Each one was progressively larger, to the point I’d probably have to soon heal her after each time.

But that was still better than the alternatives.

I was sure the princess preferred this over the other end, at least.

No doubt it would be far more traumatizing to have it coming up from the mouth.

Possibly choking her if it didn’t move fast enough.

So then…this Artifact…

Bound…

Of course, I knew that Mel’s weapon was bound to her.

But what the princess was saying sounded different, as if she would instead be bound to it. And I couldn’t confidently say one way or another, since most Legendary Artifacts were a complete mystery. For all I knew, maybe the princess would truly be bound to it, rather than the other way around.

Sort of a problem, if the Artifact was truly sentient.

Especially when the princess was the only other person in line for the throne. We couldn’t exactly afford for her to become a prisoner to some other entity.

I glanced back at Blake.

She was just standing there with wide mossy green eyes, silently observing.

My tone was gentle. “Please come here.”

Her emerald eyes widened more, before she promptly approached the bed, all of her torso exposed from her neck down to her groin, the navy-blue robe tied snuggly around her hips, but doing little to actually hide her exposure. No, it was all the dried blood over her belly that concealed her the most.

Her breasts were large and plump enough that the draped silk material was held in place just from hanging on them, several of the gold ring piercings visible, as well as the gold chain connecting her nipple rings and the gold chains running between a few of the rings in her hips.

She had gold rings around her belly button too, but they were less noticeable due to the layer of blackening blood covering them.

After calling her over, I didn’t say anything else right away, instead focusing down at the task at hand.

It prompted the princess to focus up at her. “Umm, hello,” she said uncertainly.

Blake hesitated briefly, glancing at me, before responding. “H-Hello, princess Erika,” she said quietly.

“What’s your name?” she wondered.

“Blake, your highness.”

The redhead nodded, focusing down at the girl’s exposed body. “And…you’ve come with the Ambassador?”

I finally chimed in. “She’s one of the concubines belonging to your brother. He’s given her to me, and she’s sworn loyalty to me.”

Blake looked at me in surprise at that last part, only to nod confidently. “Yes, I have,” she agreed firmly, speaking specifically to me, wanting to emphasize that my words truly were her commitment.

Erika’s face pained. “I am…so sorry,” she whispered.

Blake looked back down at her in surprise. “Oh. Umm, you have no reason to apologize, your highness. You are not your brother’s keeper, and he’s never touched me before today.”

Erika’s gaze finally lowered to focus on the visible blood. “Did…he…”

“Stabbed me. A lot. Nearly killed me.”

“My God,” the older woman hissed in shock, readjusting the metal pail in her grasp. “This has gone on for far too long.”

I sighed heavily, ready to change the subject. “I’m going to try to rescue you from here, princess. But it won’t be easy. It would be safer to wait until nightfall, but I fear the situation is too dire to risk it. So our measures will have to be probably more extreme than you would prefer.”

“I’ll do anything,” she whispered. “Please. I don’t want to die.”

I nodded. “First of all, I don’t think we can risk seeking out this bound weapon. Not now, at least. Perhaps when you’ve ascended to the throne, you can find it.”

Her expression pained at that.

Specifically, the last part.

“My sister was supposed to take the throne.”

“I know,” I replied gently. “But she’s gone, and nothing can be done about that. Right now, we just need to focus on getting you out of here.”

Of course, I’d considered the possibility of trying to use Domain of the Goddess to bring the other princesses back to life, but there were numerous problems with even trying.

For one, reviving them would be pointless while the current king was in power, since it would likely just result in them getting killed again. There seemed to be far too much corruption among the knights to guarantee their safety.

Never mind the fact that everyone in the kingdom would be alerted to the spell when I attempted to use it.

However, there was even a bigger problem.

Not only did I have zero idea if it would work, not only did I have zero idea where their bodies even were, but I also didn’t have Lyla with me. And her Angel’s Blessing skill had been vital last time. Both in letting the Domain become so large, as well as vital in helping me maintain it until I could fully cast Divine Restoration.

So yeah, for now at least, it was probably impossible without Lyla by my side, and I didn’t want to even suggest that I might be able to do such a thing, only for it to give them false hope. Because I really had no idea if the skill could resurrect someone who died months ago.

The petite redhead’s green eyes began filling with tears again. She sniffled, reaching up to wipe the wetness of her freckled cheeks. “Okay,” she whispered. “What must I do?”

I nodded, my tone firm and absolute. “As of right now, you are no longer Erika. Your name is Jasmine. And you are no longer a princess. You are one of the concubines the young king gifted to me.”

The old woman stiffened at that.

Blake looked at me in surprise.

“Okay,” Erika whispered.

The old woman didn’t respond, looking away.

I continued. “Once we’re done with these parasites, we’re going to pierce your body everywhere, so you look the part. I’m also going to cut off most of your hair. The red is too unique, and needs to be hidden.”

The old woman abruptly turned away, visibly trembling.

“Okay,” Erika whispered again.

“We need jewelry, especially rings and chains similar to what Blake is wearing, but necklaces will do too. Nothing worth too much. Pretty but simple. And ideally, we need robes or cloaks with hoods. You will need to be exposed like she is, to ensure no one doubts you’re a concubine, but we also need to conceal your hair and face.”

Erika nodded, grimacing as another leech got closer to coming out. “Madam Hilda, please retrieve what he’s requested.”

The old woman sniffled, trying to hide her tears, setting the bucket of dead leeches down without looking at anyone, and began walking toward another doorway, one that was likely a closet of some kind. Her voice was almost inaudible as she departed.

“Very well…Jasmine,” she whispered.

I focused up at Blake. “You too,” I said seriously. “No more ‘princess,’ or ‘your highness.’ Call her Jasmine. Practice, so you don’t slip up.”

Her green eyes widened, as she focused down at the girl. “Oh, umm. Okay. Umm, nice to meet you, Jasmine.”

The redhead simply nodded, closing her eyes as the discomfort increased.

I spoke to Blake again, even as I started pulling out the largest leech yet. “Come around, and kill this one.”

Blake immediately did so, picking up the knife from the bed and then stabbing it a few times when I put the leech in the bucket.

I continued, directing my words to my companion in a low voice. “I need to be honest with you about my intentions, Blake. Saving this girl has to be my priority. That means I am going to look for an opportunity to do so, and it is very likely you won’t be going with her, when I do find that opportunity. The only way you’re going to leave this place, is if the king doesn’t change his mind before I leave.”

Of course, in truth, if the king did ask for her back, then I was probably going to find the opportunity to steal her away that very night, but I didn’t want her to have that expectation. Not when I might be forced to make a hard decision that wasn’t for her benefit.

There was too much at risk to be careless.

“I understand,” she whispered, trying to hide the pain in her eyes.

“I still need you to do your part though. Help ensure that she’s not discovered as the princess.”

“I will,” she promised quietly.

I sighed heavily, focusing up at her, seeing that her expression was somber now. Still committed to do as I asked of her, but wishing there wasn’t the risk of her being taken back. And perhaps…a longing, as well, one that couldn’t easily be put into words.

Dammit.

I sighed heavily. “I will try to resist him taking you back,” I whispered.

“Really?” she asked just as quietly.

“And if he does, I will come find you, likely in the dead of night.”

Her tone was hopeful. “Promise?”

I inclined my chin. “I promise. And if I don’t personally save you, then my servant will be happy to.”

“Servant?” Erika wondered, having been listening absentmindedly.

“Yes,” I replied, realizing that Wren might need to be involved in the rescue anyway to make it work. “If I find the opportunity to introduce you, I will. So that you’ll know she is a friend you can trust. And that you have no reason to be afraid.”

Erika’s thin red eyebrows furrowed, the redhead’s green eyes popping open to focus on me between her legs. “Why would I be afraid?” she asked in confusion.

I gave her a small smile. “Because my servant is a monster.”

Blake tensed, Erika’s eyes widening in shock.

Neither of them said anything.

And they remained tense as the old woman, Madam Hilda, came back with two black silk robes, both with hoods, as well as a tray full of jewelry and delicate silver chains.

Her tone was flat, almost sounding drained. “Will this be sufficient?”

I nodded. “Blake, I need you to start with the piercings. I’m going to have to start healing her regularly anyway, so might as well get it all done at the same time.”

It looked like she was about to ask what I meant, but as the princess gritted her teeth in pain, and then as I held up the most recent leech, covered in fresh blood, she understood.

“I…I need a needle,” she whispered.

The old woman held up one, large and thick.

Blake accepted it and moved the tray closer, beginning to climb on the bed as she grabbed a ring, got a silver chain attached to it, and started going to work, beginning with the nipples first. The princess of course winced, but seemed to soon disregard the piercing of her skin as she instead became absorbed in the pain within her bowels.

Blake was quick about it.

Got both nipples pierced, a silver chain running between them, only to then proceed with inserting rings in other locations that might possibly be visible, getting a few around her navel – Erika’s overall belly much smaller now – as well as on the skin at the front of her hips, where she worked on attaching another silver chain.

Blake then moved up to the girl’s face, piercing her bottom lip in two spots, inserting silver rings, and then getting her nose pierced as well, which surprisingly seemed to be the most painful so far for the redhead.

“We should add paint,” Blake unexpectedly said. “Just in case anyone catches sight of her face. It might help disguise her.”

The old woman immediately turned to leave again, retrieve what was requested of her, even though the person requesting was a lowly concubine.

Within another few minutes, I was working on the second-to-last leech, even as Blake was carefully applying a sort of black cream around Erika’s green eyes.

Considering I was casting Heal after each leech now, all her piercings were already healed as well, as if they’d been there for months instead of minutes, but she still had spots of blood around most of them.

I spoke to Hilda again. “Please retrieve some water, so both girls can clean up. The blood is going to cause suspicion otherwise.”

She immediately left to do so.

Now on the last one, this the biggest yet, taking forever to slowly work its way out, Blake was working on cleaning the princess up, ensuring no crimson remained on the girl’s pale body, only to finally undress and begin to get the blood off her own skin.

The last leech truly was taking forever though, not enough to grab yet, so I decided to do my part.

Grabbing the knife, I moved to the top of the bed, gathering up all of Erika’s thick red hair and then began sawing through it, until I had most of it off. Leaving her with red locks that barely covered her ears.

Looking her over, I was surprised that she truly did look different enough to possibly not be recognizable. Between the paint around her eyes, the piercings on her face, and the short red hair, I honestly might not recognize her with only a glance. At the very least, she definitely looked like a prostitute now, instead of a princess.

A prostitute who expected good coin in exchange for an evening with her.

We weren’t quite done yet.

The final leech was almost out.

I helped it the rest of the way.

And the redhead was beyond relieved once it was finally over, feeling the relief as I cast my final healing spell.

“Thank you,” she whispered sincerely.

“You’re welcome, Jasmine,” I said emphatically. “Now, get dressed. This has probably taken longer than expected.”

She began doing so, climbing out of bed as if she’d never been ill, accepting the black silk robe that Blake handed to her. Without hesitation, she put it on, covering her head with the hood, but otherwise leaving the front open, exposing everything in the middle of her body. Her inner thighs, her belly, all the silver piercings and chains, the sides of her small breasts…

The small midnight tattoo.

I realized we needed to paint a symbol on her to cover it.

One simple request, and Blake was immediately working on it, most of her body hidden from me while turned away. These black robes were designed for women, and thus only went down to the middle of their thighs, leaving only their legs exposed from behind, their feet bare.

Their arms and shoulders were completely covered, as well as their faces hidden, so long as they kept their head inclined downward, with only a portion of their fronts exposed for all to see. The part that mattered, the part that would make their identity as concubines undeniable to anyone who saw them, especially when they saw the jewelry.

Hopefully no one would ask.

Hopefully it would be as simple as informing any inquiring individuals that they were a gift from the king to the visiting Ambassador.

Hiding the truth…

In plain sight.

As I waited for Blake to paint a design on Jasmine’s chest, I spoke to the older woman again, my voice low as to not cause a distraction, though they could all certainly hear.

“If the princess disappears, how long until it’ll be discovered?”

Hilda grimaced. “If Lord Grimaldi is truly capable of tracking her location with that marking on her chest, then within a few days.”

I was surprised by that response, figuring it would be found out by tomorrow midday at the latest, hopefully after I’d already departed.

“And if he can’t?” I wondered. “If being able to track her is a ruse?”

She frowned. “We can hide the truth for perhaps a week. Maybe two weeks, if Lord Cassian and his trusted men continue to guard her at night, as if she were here.”

My brow furrowed. “They truly don’t check on her more often?”

She shook her head, clarifying. “No one who wishes the royal family misfortune checks on her more often.”

I understood now.

“If her absence is to be eventually discovered, it would be best if a pig or some other creature is slaughtered in her bed to make it look like she is dead. There will need to be an excuse for why there is only blood, and no body.” I paused, realizing that there could be a body. “Or actually, I am sure there are young women her size who have died in the last week within the kingdom. Possibly due to illness, an accident, or even from a curse like the Plague. Have Lord Cassian secure one such body and ensure it is unrecognizable enough to be mistaken as the princess. Keep the leeches to make it more believable.”

The woman grimaced at that, before nodding.

I continued. “This ruse may not protect you and the other maidservants. If the truth is discovered…” My voice trailed off.

Her gaze was hard. “I am aware.”

I simply nodded.

We were both quiet after that, while Blake continued to paint an elaborate symbol to cover the tattoo.

Once she was finally finished, she set everything down, briefly checked herself over and then turned toward me, even as the princess also looked up at me with doe-like green eyes.

Damn, the short red hair and piercings truly did make a huge difference in perspective.

I was almost convinced this redhead was about to tell me how much a ‘night with her’ was worth.

Her rounded freckled face was so innocent looking, her eyes so bright with the black around them, the exact kind of thing I’d expect to see in the Red District, the kind of girl who charged twenty silver for her time, a full gold coin, instead of only one silver. The girl who valued herself the same as spending twenty times with the cheapest prostitutes.

Instead, she simply looked up at me, waiting to be told what to do.

Blake’s tan skin looked darker against all the gold jewelry on her body.

Erika’s pale skin looked fairer with all the silver jewelry, framed by black silk.

And I realized, that I too had to play my part.

These were my concubines.

Nothing more, nothing less.

I focused on Jasmine, my newest pet. “Keep your head down.”

She immediately obeyed.

I focused on Blake. “Ensure she doesn’t have need to raise her head.”

The girl nodded, reaching out to grab Jasmine’s hand, even as I grabbed my navy-blue robe to slip it on, before heading out of the room without another word. Not even a goodbye to the old woman, who stood there as she watched us leave.

My concubines followed behind me, one leading the other.

To be fair to Blake, she could probably get away with charging twenty silver too, if she worked in the Red District back in Delanor, but I’d never seen her in any other setting thus far. Alternatively, with this other girl, I’d walked into these chambers to lay eyes on a beautiful innocent princess, and was now leaving with a high-end harlot.

Something that would clearly work in our favor, as a random maidservant ran down the hallway with a bucket of water, focusing up at me in surprise, but not even giving the girls with me a second glance. Having no idea that one of them was the princess, the last in line to the royal throne.

The timid servant girl was still waiting for us in the latrine.

Given that I’d come with only one girl, her dark brown eyes widened in shock when I entered the tight space with two girls with me.

“P-Prin–” she started.

I cut her off. “These are my concubines. There is no princess here.”

She looked up at me with wide eyes, only to duck her head without a word and crouch down by the square hole in the floor, using the rope to slip back down. It was only then that I realized this timid servant girl must have made her first trip through the sewers with me, at least today, likely having navigated the passages a few times to practice, before waiting on me this morning.

Reason I suspected that was because both ropes had been clean, despite her feet getting shit on them. It meant she didn’t travel through the sewers to come meet me, since she would have likely used her feet to climb up the rope, and thus gotten it soiled in feces.

And the reason the rope was likely clean on this side of the palace was because none of us had used it to climb, with me pulling the servant girl up by the hand.

Once she was down and had her small Light Crystal lit, I eased myself into the sludge below, and was then reaching up for Blake, instructing her to go first.

The reason?

Because I trusted she could hold onto me better, getting her ass on my shoulder as I prepared to reach up for my other concubine.

“Grab my hair,” I instructed my brunette companion, when she seemed uncertain of how to hold on.

She did so, holding onto a fistful as I wrapped my hands around the redhead’s extremely thin waist and carefully pulled her down, turning her around to readjust her on my arm.

Realizing what I was doing, Blake began shifting her weight, even as I spoke again to her.

“Slide down a little.”

She did, and then I was holding both of them in my grasp, one in each arm, their rears against my bulging muscles, their thighs against my chest, their flat stomachs at face-level. Both of them now had a hand on my head, their other hands on each of my shoulders, even as I started moving to follow after the timid servant girl.

We were all quiet for a long few minutes, moving with haste now.

Blake spoke up hesitantly. “I thought…I would have to walk.”

“You thought wrong,” I said simply. “I have two concubines. Neither is more important than the other.”

Her fingers tensed slightly on my head and shoulder.

We were silent again.

I decided to share the plan I’d been formulating. “Jasmine,” I began simply.

“Yes?” she whispered.

“First of all, you are not to speak unless spoken to by me. Specifically me.”

“Okay,” she whispered.

“If someone else speaks to you, do not answer them. I am your master, and you will only obey me, understand?”

“Okay,” she repeated quietly.

“I am supposed to meet with Commander Demetri within a few hours, perhaps sooner. I will bring both of you along with me, and simply explain that the king gave me a gift. Keep your head down, and do not react if he suspects who you are. Even if he lifts your head up and looks directly into your face, do not react as if you have been found out. You look different enough that I should be able to convince him you are just some random girl. Understand?”

“Okay,” she whispered again.

I continued. “There is something I need to show him that I was not able to bring into the palace. Both of you will accompany me when I take him to see this object. It is at that time that I will try to get the elves with me to take you. Don’t be afraid to accompany them. You can trust them. I will ensure they understand who you are, but I need you to only do what I say.” I paused to make sure she had time to let all that sink in, before continuing. “Do not try to go with them unless I command you to do so. Stay where I tell you to stay, come when I tell you to come. If I’m concerned it won’t work out, then I will bring you back with me into the palace, and look for another way.”

“Okay,” she agreed softly.

I paused, taking a second to glance up at her, surprised that I could tell that her face was lightly flushed in the darkness, her emerald eyes focused down at me tenderly.

I cleared my throat, focused ahead. “Who are you?”

“Umm, Jasmine. Y-Your concubine.”

“Exactly,” I said firmly. “Think that. Become that. Even if someone suspects you are the princess, you must believe yourself to be this new person. Even if someone looks you directly in the face and claims you to be her, you must believe you are Jasmine. A girl who was in the king’s harem and has been gifted to me.”

“Okay,” she whispered, her fingers tensing on my head and shoulder.

Blake spoke up hesitantly. “Master,” she whispered.

My tone was just as quiet. “Speak.”

“What if someone figures out that he only gave you one girl?”

“I have some ideas of how to avoid it, but I will need to speak with Lord Cassian first, to figure out if such ideas will work. However, so long as no one questions the king directly, so long as no one mentions the exact number of concubines with me, then it is unlikely this ploy will ever reach his ears. At least, not today.”

Hopefully.

My brow furrowed as I considered another solution, though there was a reason why I was concerned it might not work out as well.

“Blake, I may need to leave you in the chambers prepared for me, and only take Jasmine to meet with Commander Demetri.”

“Why not…” she hesitated. “Please forgive me, master, but why not just do that? Since I’ll be staying either way?”

I sighed. “Because of the knights at the front gate. If I have two of you, and offer my comrades to have one, to play with, then it will seem reasonable to the humans. But if I only have one of you, and offer my single concubine, then they may find that suspicious. In fact, they would probably find that very suspicious. No doubt they would want to hold us while someone verified with the king himself that he’d given me a concubine, and even if the king confirmed that was the case, they might want to look her over closely. Much more closely than they would have done otherwise.” I took a deep breath. “Overall, I feel like there is less of a chance of them being paranoid when there are two of you, and when I offer one.”

“Makes sense,” Blake whispered. “Even if only I went with you, and you gave them me – your only girl – I think they would find that strange. The king also might take offense, upon finding out.”

“Exactly,” I replied simply. “And if at all possible, I don’t want such news to reach his ears. Not today, at least. Not while we’re still here. No doubt our ruse will be discovered eventually, but there’s no other option. And if they can successfully fake her death, then it’s possible the issue will be forgotten.”

Neither responded, and we fell silent again.

Part of me wished we could just wait until nightfall, but technically I didn’t even know for sure that my chambers would have windows, meaning having Wren fly the princess away wouldn’t be easy to accomplish. But then, there was the fact that her absence might truly be discovered before this evening, and that only gave me a limited amount of time to get her out of these fortified and heavily guarded walls.

Preferably without revealing my true power.

I knew I probably hadn’t thought everything through, and I knew there were a lot of things that could go wrong, but I felt like this was our best option right now, and there wasn’t time to waste.

Deciding to check in with Wren, I saw that she’d already responded to the possibility of me revealing her to the two girls with me, having snuck onto the Royal Grounds and currently hiding to see where I eventually ended up.

It would be nice if she could also sneak out with the princess, but she’d already been required to use her unique skills to avoid detection, including Stealth and Stalker, ultimately being forced to fit through a crevasse that no normal person could squeeze through.

A crevasse the princess would never be able to squeeze through.

Which meant, my current plan was the safest bet.

Because above all else, even more important than saving the princess, I couldn’t let Wren get discovered. The demon elf girl could do things alone that she couldn’t do when trying to carry a person. Including lunging into high places and using her claws to cling to odd surfaces, her entire pitch-black back, including her black hair, allowing her to be nearly invisible in dark shadows when it was just her.

When we finally got to the other square hole after the long trek through the sewage, I had Blake hold on while I carefully lifted the redhead up first, and then I lifted the other, only to carefully reach up and hoist myself through. I was already washing my feet off in the bucket of water, thankful they had bars of soap, when the timid girl finally spoke up, not having tried climbing from the sewers.

“B-Bye,” she whispered loudly, sounding almost like she was silently crying.

My redhead looked up at me, her green eyes beginning to fill with tears.

I gave her a nod.

She quickly peeked down into the hole, her freckled face scrunched up in grief. “I love you, Tiff. Thank you for helping save me.”

The servant girl sobbed. “I love you too. Please be safe.”

“We…” she choked on her words. “We’ll meet again someday. If I can…If I become queen, you’ll attend to me once again. I swear it.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, a sob almost cutting her off.

“Bye,” Jasmine said somberly.

“Bye,” Tiff echoed, the light finally disappearing back down the tunnel.

There was a cloth for me to dry my feet off, and I was just getting my leather pants on when I decided to speak, my tone gentle but serious.

“Gather yourself. You need to have control of your tears.”

The redhead sucked in a shaky breath, sniffled, and then took a few more deep breaths, beginning to reach up to wipe her face.

“Wait,” Blake hissed, grabbing her pale wrist firmly, and then pulling it away. She then proceeded to carefully dab at the redhead’s painted eyes with the edge of her silk robe, before speaking. “Let the rest dry to the air. Otherwise you’ll mess up the paint.”

Jasmine nodded and said nothing else, grabbing the edge of her silk hood to lower it a little more as she took a few more deep breaths.

Blake turned to me as I began getting my boots on, with me looking up at her just as I saw her green eyes widening, her face starting to visibly flush, as she stared at my bulging muscular thighs in the leather. She then looked up at me, meeting my gaze, her face flushing even more, only to immediately lower her face entirely.

Not a reaction I was expecting in this situation, especially with the putrid scent still potent in the air, but I supposed we’d all gotten a little used to it at this point.

Fully dressed now, checking my dark blue silk robe to make sure the edges hadn’t gotten any filth on them, I untied the hanging rope to bundle it up and then used my boot to cover the hole with the piece of rotting wood. Of course, I hadn’t been asked to do so, wondering if someone would be by afterward to take care of the evidence, but didn’t want to risk someone seeing the moved covering.

I was then ready to leave.

Stopping next to the closed door for a few seconds to listen outside, I finally glanced down at the redhead, whose short red hair was thoroughly hidden by the hood.

“Who are you?”

She didn’t look up, her voice a whisper. “Your concubine, Jasmine. A gift from the king.”

“We are about to see people you know. Ensure you don’t forget who you are now.”

She simply nodded, not looking up at me, keeping her head down.

I opened the door, relieved by the fresh air…

Immediately distressed by the two knights standing there.

Neither of them Lord Cassian.

Fuck.

FEEDBACK: Thoughts on the italicized part? Lots of potential revelations happening there. Lots of hints and foreshadowing.

Thoughts on his plan to rescue the princess?

I think the next few chapters are going to be fun.

Chapter 40 >>

LIST OF STORIES >>

LIST OF ARTWORK >>