It turned out that the young man, Belem, was a very good card player. He seemed to always have the perfect hand and was yet quite humble in his response to winning. This was good in my eyes because I had very little competitiveness to offer at the moment. Instead, I bumbled through the games mostly silent and thinking.

He left for a moment and returned with wine, not sure where he got it but I supposed that it must have been bought because it was not of a high grade and tasted a little watered down which was just fine by me as I did not intend to drink much that night.

"I propose we play a game where upon the loser must drink a cup of wine."

I looked at the small cup and decided it couldn't do much harm and agreed. Wine was wine after all. He poured us both a cup of wine at the ready.

We played and I won, to my surprise, and he drank his cup and refilled it and we played again. This time I felt a little more optimistic but, alas, I lost and drank the wine. Then again I lost and drank the wine.

I was in the process of losing for a third time when Ophelos knocked on the door and without waiting for any reply walked in.

"The wishes to be entertained at noontide," He pulled a stopwatch from his immaculate, richly tailored clothes and stopped for a second. "You have little time to drink, roughly half an hour at best to prepare. I will wait outside." He eyed Belem up and down and evidently decided there was something about him that was worthy of disgust, then left.

I turned to Belem and bid him farewell and he seemed slightly upset to be forced to leave so early but nevertheless he must have had a job to do at some point as well.

Besides, had those card games continued and I had been forced to drink more than I could truly take I would have had to dance for the King in an ebrious stupor and I couldn't think of a humiliation worse than that.

With my white costume on and my white paint reapplied I moved into a fast pace behind Ophelos.

There were butterflies in my belly as I walked and I tried to erase the image of the man I would be performing for but it was hard for me. Something about that powerful, broad-shouldered build in combination with those dark commanding eyes and his ability to sentence me to death made my knees turn to jelly... although, I wasn't sure if it was out of fear or interest.

The sun was still shining as I entered through the palace doors, it was darker inside but the occasional stained glass windows threw beautiful colours across the gloomy hallway like a bouquet of bright, colourful flowers.

We stood outside the King's door and Ophelos turned to me.

"Why do you insist on keeping that paint on you?" He asked me.

I turned to him and tried to avoid the question, "Why do you ask?" 

"Because I find it suspicious," He said, with complete bluntness.

"I like the paint."

"Then I find you to be untrustworthy. 'Like' is not enough of a reason to prevent the King from seeing your face. Were it up to me I would scrub it off you for security and for good measure throw you out. His Majesty is being very kind."

I frowned but said nothing, what could one say in reply to that.

He opened the door.

I stepped into the room upon Demosthenes command.

"Welcome," He spoke in that low, barely discernible voice of his. He gestured for me to stand in the centre of the room and begin.

I tried to avoid those careful, formidable eyes. I took the stage, though there was none, and set my lyre upon my hip, played a few chords so that I could think of the appropriate lyrics.

"The sparrows have come," I sang.
"They have brought rain.
In depth and darkness and in pain.
A woman walks far from her home,
Subdued by silence and all alone.
Kuma, of pepper hair and eyes,
Kuma, washed ashore by the tide,
Kuma, your lips are blue with cold,
Kuma, he watches your life unfold.
Angel of death,
Seek to swallow,
Takes your breath,
Over the morrow,
Kuma please, do not follow.
Silly girl, knows not who he is,
Sees lips and hair and eyes of black mist.
Childish girl, Kuma, walks from the ocean,
Slowly drowning,
Following him.
The angel of death likes what he sees,
Observes with glee as her breath leaves.
Laughs and watches her follow him further than ever.
To plant a kiss on Kuma's pallid cadaver."

I did not stop dancing or playing until I felt the tune had extended it's full life span. When I did I felt the room resurface around me. Walls sliding back into place and the floor rising back up to meet me, a much smaller world than was in my head.

I hesitated, not sure what the proper etiquette was from this point forward.

He seemed to slowly realise done, was it possible his cheeks were ever so slightly flush? His eyes were dark and glued to my figure, though they slowly rose to meet my eyes.

He laughed and clapped.

"Well done, once again I am pleased." His eyes glittered as they followed my form from head to toe. "Though I cannot explain your decision in stopping?"

I was confused and knitted my brows. "The song is done Your Majesty."

He narrowed his eyes, "But I didn't tell you to stop. Do you have no other songs in that pretty little head of yours?"

I flushed darkly in response to that though it must have been mocking and not an actual complement.

I shook my head slightly, trying to reason with my unruly brain how ridiculous it would be of me to have feelings for the King, of lust or otherwise. I'm sure my offered bride would have words to say about that.

Although trying to avoid looking at him in that way, those resilient thoughts inevitably lead to me looking at him in that way. I felt my eyes slide over him before I could stop them and immediately turned to look somewhere else.

"You mean, I should continue to play until you will me to stop?"

I felt the rough stare before I saw it.

"Yes," He mumbled as he got up and very slowly approached me. "In the future, you will not stop until I bid it."

His presence brought with it a crackle of energy, something alive that made me nervous and discomposed when he was near me.

"Y-Yes, Your Majesty," I said, trying to be as formal and polite as one could be when trying to keep dirty thoughts from the mind. It was hard not to move away from him but it felt rude back away when he was approaching so I stood there in all my agitation.

"Do you understand?" He asked, I did not look to see his face because the ground had acquired a new level of interest for me, Persian carpets, I think, very expensive.

"Yes, Your Majesty." I said in reply, proud for not stammering, and bowed for good measure. My bow was cut short by his chest, though, and I felt sure that at this point he must be able to hear the beating of my heart from as far as the other end of the room, perhaps even the walls of the castle were currently echoing it.

"Say Demosthenes," He ordered.

My eyes went wide at that request, because it was strange and somehow oddly intimate.

"D-Demosthenes," I breathed out, a step away from crumpling to the floor out of mystification.

He seemed to bare his teeth just slightly before grabbing me harshly and slamming me up against the wall. I let out a startled yelp before he leaned in, branding me with a scorching kiss that travelled all the way down to my toes.

I squirmed beneath him but I made no real move to get away or stop him. There was a heat sizzling inside me to which he was pouring fuel, all I needed now was oxygen and we would have the fire triangle. Perhaps we would both ignite.

His tongue felt its way around my mouth and went where it pleased, I relaxed into the kiss and allowed him to lead the way and treat me as he felt he wanted to treat me. He tasted of vanilla and wine, good wine, wine that made me groan and want to beg for more. His muscular body was pressed flush against mine and I felt dizzy as I pressed my hands up against it, feeling what he had to offer, apparently he had everything to offer.

The world around me spun as Demosthenes finally let me go, feeling somehow fully fucked, despite it really being just a kiss.

I was unsteady on my feet and I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself. When I looked up the King was looking down at me with a gleam in his eyes and the slightest devilish smile.

"No worries, Elpis the Joker, you are relieved for the night."

The King walked back to his armchair and gestured towards the door, a small, barely perceptible, still smile playing on his lips.

I tripped as I walked towards the door, not my usual self-assured self. There was too much for me to unpack and, it seemed, too little time.

The door closed behind me. I brought my fingers up to my lips and tried to calm my heavy breathing as my mind raced a mile a minute. 

[A/N] Please vote and follow me. It makes me feel special.