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Oswen I - The Way of The Empire
Chapter IX - Marriage of Annoyance

Chapter IX - Marriage of Annoyance

Hera II

I am so bored! I’ve been stuck in this castle for weeks! I miss drinking, I miss sex! The only pleasure I get here is tormenting my so called future husband. If only my bitch mother had a heart, she wouldn’t curse her heir with a lifetime of boredom.

Sitting at a table in the dining hall, Hera puts down the book titled “Reign Fire”. She only make it through a quarter of the book to realise it is about some old king that tore down an entire city out of anger.

Slamming it onto the table out of boredom, she looks around the empty room. Not a person in sight, yearning for excitement. When the door opens.

“My lady.” A solder enters, Hera has come to know him as Terri, one of the Kings Elite. Although he was by far the youngest. A new member, Hera assumed.

“Yes?” She asks looking at him, dressed in his Kings Elite blood red armour. Not a scratch on it.

“Princess Fleor would like to speak to you.” He says holding the door open.

Hera looks behind him and sees the young girl standing there, her entire presence looks nervous. With a smile Hera replies.

“Send her in.”

Terri turns around and whispers something to the young girl before Fleor enters the room.

“Hi.” Fleor whispers out whilst walking towards Hera.

“Hello princess.” Hera replies with a smile.

The young princess approaches the long table and sits beside Hera. Dressed in a pretty pink dress, Hera still can’t get her head around having to dress like this every day.

“How can I help you?” Hera asks.

“I’m turning sixteen soon.” Fleor stutters out, “And I have been told that that makes me a lady.”

“Whatever that means.” Hera replies with a laugh.

“That is what I wanted to speak to you about.” Fleor whispered, her eyes fixed to the ground. “I have my mother and my handmaids that give me advice, but you are a women, an outsider from the capital and you seem to have a pretty good hold of everything.”

Hera smiles to herself, She looks up to me?

“I just do not understand what is going to be so different from being fifteen to being sixteen.” Fleor whispers out.

“Well princess, being a woman, as far as I believe is the norm in the capital, means that you are going to have to marry.” Hera tells her.

“I know that, although I do not want too.” Fleor tells her.

“Tell me about it.” Hera laughs out. She grabs a piece of ham from her plate, swings her leg around the chair and looks at Fleor in the eyes. “Listen, you are part of the royal family. That’s a gift and a curse.”

“What do you mean?” Fleor asks, finally looking at Hera in the eye.

“You can have everything you want, but you also can’t.” Hera tells her.

“That does not make sense.” Fleor says with a little chuckle.

“You’ll learn that not much makes sense. On the Isle-Of-Erst, men and women are supposedly equal. However, I still have to be told who to marry and men look down on me for fighting.” Hera tells her.

“So you do not want to marry Harry?” Fleor asks her.

Hera knows that she has to choose her words carefully, not wanting to cause any further trouble.

“Your brother seems like a good man, but I was never asked about it. Hell, I had never even met him before the decision was made!” Hera tells Fleor.

“I expect that is what is going to happen to me.” Fleor tells her, once again moving her stare to the ground.

“Hey, look at me.” Hera says in a firm tone. “My mother is the ruler of the Isle-Of-Erst, don’t get me wrong, many bad things can be said about her. But she was forced to marry my father, a man she had never met and the two had a life together and in their own sick way, they were happy.”

“So, I might be with a good man?” Fleor asks, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

“What I’m saying is, you don’t have a choice who you marry. What you can choose is how you life that life. You can choose what power you let that man have over you, if any. Do not let any man tell you how to act.” Hera tells the young girl.

“Good luck with Harry then, he is always bossing me around.” Fleor laughs back.

“He is going to need more than just luck with me.” Hera jokes back, enjoying this moment with the young girl.

“I wish I was like you.” Fleor blurted out.

“Why’s that?” Hera replies.

“You can dress how you want, the way you speak, you just speak your mind. It is,” Then she pauses to think, “Refreshing.”

“Stick with me kid, I’ll show you how to handle yourself in this man’s world.” Hera says putting her hand onto the princesses shoulder and smiling back at her.

“What is going on here?” A man’s voice calls out from the doorway.

Turning their heads, Hera sees her Harry stood there staring at them. A boring, disapproving look on his face.

Oh look, dressed in the same royal attire as always, how original. Hera thinks.

“We are just talking.” Fleor tells him.

“Fleor, go back to your sowing, now.” Harry orders walking into the room.

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“Don’t speak to her like that!” Hera shouts at him, keeping her hand on Fleor’s shoulder.

Stopping in his tracks, Hera is happy that her words have seemed to get some form of shock from Harry.

“Unless, you want me to beat you in a fight again?” Hera mocks and Fleor bursts out into a high pitched laugh.

“Fleor!” Harry shouts again staring at his sister.

“Okay,” Fleor grunts and looks at Hera, “Thank you, speak to you later?”

“Of course.” Hera replies and stands up with the princess and watches her leave the dining hall.

“What were you talking about?” Harry questions, still standing a few feet away. His back arched up as though he has a stick up his arse holding him up.

“That’s girl talk, none of your business.” Hera says with a smile and walks over to Harry.

“Fleor is young and still learning.” Harry says out angrily, “I would appreciate it if you do not distract her.”

“What is your problem with me?” Hera shouts out, standing only a foot away from the prince.

“Excuse me?” Harry stutters out.

“What? Not used to a woman talking back to you?” Hera says sternly.

“You are unbelievable.” Harry grunts out and turns around, but before he leaves the room Hera shouts out.

“Run away little boy!”

This sentence forces Harry to stop dead in his tracks. Staring at the back of his perfectly combed brown hair, Hera begins to worry if she has gone too far.

Ever so slowly, Harry turns his head until he is staring back at his wife to be. In haste, he walks towards her.

“You are an unruly woman if I have ever seen one.” He barks out at her.

“Well get used to it husband to be.” Hera says with a laugh. He doesn’t reply and Hera continues, “What’s wrong? Too much of a little man to talk?”

“I am not a little man.” Harry shouts at her.

“Oh really? You’ve never been with a woman,” Hera mocks, “And you jump out of your skin every time I talk back to you.”

Frozen still, Hera’s insides laughing as she approaches him further, standing only inches away from his body. She raises her hand and places it softly onto his arm.

“Why don’t you be a real man and take me? I’ve seen you staring at me, I know you have imagined what I look like without my clothes on. Why don’t you grow a pair of balls and be a man.” Hera tells him.

Just as her hand moves lower, Harry’s fingers grip onto her wrist. Startling Hera with his aggression. He leans in close so that their noses are just a hair width apart.

“I would not disgrace myself by putting myself on a woman like you. The gods cursed me the day that I was betrothed to you.” Harry whispers, yet his tone angry, like a volcano simply waiting to combust.

“A woman like me could show you a thing or two.” Hera whispers, staring Harry dead in the eyes. Feeling his hand gripping onto her skin, Hera begins to feel an unexpected excitement.

Before giving him a chance to react, Hera leans in and places her soft lips against him. His grip on her wrist not lighting up, Hera bring her other hand to grab onto his thick hair and pulling him into kissing her.

For a brief moment, Harry’s lips return the kiss. Hera can feel him pushing back against her and her grip on his hair lightened up, only for him to not move.

Three, maybe four seconds later, Harry jumps back and Hera opens her eyes to see him staring at her in shock. Whipping his lip he shouts out.

“You are a harlot of a woman.”

“Judging by your hard cock, you seem to like harlot’s.” Hera says with a laugh, copying Harry and whipping a slight bit of saliva from her lips.

“I am done with you.” Harry barks out and turns around and rushes out of the room.

Alone, Hera sits back on her chair. Her mind feeling light and empty.

Prince Harry Thine, maybe there is a man in there after all.

Finishing her meal, Hera stands up and makes her way back to her room. For a few hours she sits in silence and reads.

After a while of solitude, a knock appears on her door.

“Come in.” Hera calls out.

Oh fuck me, what have I done wrong?! Hera thinks to herself as Lady Janet enters the room. Her black dress and her pale face just emphasizing her misery.

“We need to talk.” She says closing the door.

“And how can I help you today?” Hera replies in a sarcastic tone.

“We are going to be leaving to go back home soon.” Lady Janet tells her, the words are like music to her ears.

“Really? When?” Hera says with glee, sitting up from her bed.

“After the princess’s birthday. We will head back and make the required arrangements for your move to the capital.” Lady Janet tells her, the news of leaving bringing Hera joy, but the realisation that she will be coming straight back is like nails on a chalkboard.

Knowing that anything she says to Lady Janet will be a waste, it’s not like Lady Janet has any control either. It is all just orders from her mother, Hera remains silent.

After Lady Janet leaves, Hera follows but instead she goes to her brothers room. Without knocking, she enters and catches Logan completely naked, fucking a naked woman from behind on his bed.

“Logan, for fuck sake!” Hera shouts closing the door.

“Oh, hey sis!” Logan replies with a laugh, not stopping with the woman.

Looking down, the woman is looking at Hera in shock, yet she is unable to hide her moans.

“Are you nearly done?” Hera asks.

“Just give me a few minutes.” He tells her.

Huffing, Hera leaves and stands outside the door as she waits for her brother to be done with whoever that was.

After a few minutes, the door opens and the peasant girls emerges, red faced and scruffy hair. Giving her a smile, Hera walks past and back into Logan’s room.

“Who was that?” She asks.

“Some girl from the brothel not far away.” Logan says with a laugh, wrapping a bed sheet around him, “What do you want anyway?”

God I miss sex. Hera thinks to herself.

“We’re going back home in a few weeks.” She tells him.

“Oh yeah, Lady Janet has already told me.” He tells her sitting down on the bed.

“And you didn’t think to tell me?” Hera asked back in anger.

“She said she was going to tell you after me, sorry.” He replies, although his voice showing that it isn’t a real apology.

“I can’t wait to get back home.” Hera tells me planting herself on his bed.

“I know how you feel.” Logan replies, putting his hand on her back.

“Get that off me! You haven’t washed yet, who knows what you just put on me!” Hera shouts pushing his hand away.

“Sorry, my bad.” He replies.

“Urgh,” Hera grunts, “At least you get to stay home when we get there. I am just packing to come straight back to stay.”

“Actually, I need to talk to you.” Logan says, his usual joking tone gone and replaced with a serious one.

“What?” Hera asks, looking at him.

“I’m signing up to go to Pakrias, to join the holy war.” Logan says and like a boulder hitting her chest, Hera feels like all of the air from her lungs have been pushed out.

Hera stares at her brother in disbelief.

“You’re not serious?” She asks.

“I am, I’m coming back to Erst with you. Then I am sailing for Pakrias.” Logan tells her.

Hera can feel a lump in her throat, her eyes start to well up and she has to fight back from crying.

“Don’t do this.” She whispers.

“I… I have too.” Logan replies quietly.

“Have to?!” Hera shouts, standing up and staring at him, “You don’t have to do anything!”

“Hera,” Logan says before Hera interrupts.

“No Logan! You are leaving me to join a pointless fucking war! Why?!”

“Hera, you are marrying Harry. You’re going to move here and when Mother finally dies than you are going to rule Erst. What do I have to stay for? I have no lands, no power, no one to follow me.” Logan says standing up.

“You have me!” Hera shouted, “You’re leaving me! I thought we were a team?!”

“We still are!” Logan shouted back, “You are having to due your duties for the kingdom, I… I need a purpose.” Logan tells her.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this.” Hera pushes out, holding back her tears.

“I’m sorry Hera.” Logan whispers, but his words are no help to Hera.

“Don’t be!” she shouts, leaving his room and slamming the door shut.

Getting back to her room, Hera lies down and places her head into the pillow.

How can he do this? That selfish bastard! My life is falling apart and I’m powerless to do anything!