Reaver's Unmentionables
I leaned back against a tree with my arms folded behind my head, enjoying the shade. The sun seemed unusually warm. Of course, it didn't help that most of my clothing was black. My doberman, Brutus, laid on his back panting. The city was busy around me. Shop keepers shouted at the people passing by, attempting to persuade them to purchase something they probably didn't need. A bard stood nearby playing his lute and singing about something mundane. People stood in small groups, happily chatting about anything and everything. A gentle breeze nudged my blonde locks across my face. I pushed them aside.
My peace was disrupted by approaching footsteps and an excited squeak, "Excuse me."
The light blinded me for a moment when I opened my eyes. Slowly, a short brunette came into focus. She rubbed her hands together as she stared at me anxiously, her eyes sparkling.
"Can I help you?" I asked hesitantly.
"Yes, please! I have a bit of a problem. You see," she took a deep breath and bounced a bit, "I absolutely adore Reaver." I flinched at the name and could feel a blush begin to creep across my cheeks. Memories of a recent encounter with the man flooded my thoughts.
"My, my, my. More busy little bees here to steal Reaver's honey," His voice was alluring yet stung, enough to forever haunt a person's thoughts, "So industrious. So committed. So bloody annoying. When will you people learn to enjoy life?" I looked around the bars of the cage I was hanging from. Even though his face was hidden behind a mask, something about him still made my stomach twist. I slipped from the cage, landing awkwardly on the ground below. Page retorted angrily, "I'll enjoy killing you. Does that count?" I struggled to my feet as Reaver spoke again, "Oh you're just full of spunk, aren't you? A true heroine." My gaze traveled up to the ledge the man was standing on as Page pulled out her pistol and fired. With unbelievable speed he deflected the bullet with his cane. It landed on the floor with a pinging sound, bouncing several times before coming to rest at our feet. "Oh, my dear girl, why not stop all this bickering?" his voice was smooth and slightly amused, "The three of us could go up to my quarters and have a private party." The blood instantly drained from my face. It seemed to fuel Page's rage even further, "Do you have any idea who this is? It's Logans's sister. The princess." "The king's sister a bona fide Hero..." he mused, "Well, I wouldn't dream of coming between siblings. Well, that's not strictly true... Anyway, best of luck with this whole revolution lark." And with that, he simply turned and walked away.
She ignored the obvious distance in my gaze, "I have all sorts of Reaver stuff: a doll, some paintings, a handkerchief with a bit of blood on it..." I was positive I heard her mumble something about a restraining order.
"But what I really want," she continued in an airy tone, "is a pair of his underpants!" The horror I felt must have shown, she quickly went on, "I know, I know! It's a bit...strange. But I really want a pair of his undies!"
The girl was so giddy I was beginning to worry about her mental well-being. She dropped to her knees, her hands joined together, pleading, "Oh, please say you'll help me! I will make it worth the trouble, I promise!"
I couldn't imagine she actually had the means to do that. Before I had come back and threw Logan from the throne most of Bowerstone was living in poverty because of ridiculously high taxes. People were only just beginning to recover. Not only that, but she was asking me to break into a man's home and steal from him. There was nothing she could offer to possibly make it worth my while.
"Look, Miss-" I started.
"Benjamina," she interrupted with bright eyes.
"Eh, Benjamin," I tried again, "I can't help you with this. What you're asking me to do isn't even legal."
She pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow. I knew what she was thinking. It's not like I hadn't done anything illegal before but that was completely different. Right?
"Don't even give me that look," I made sure my annoyance was clear, "It's not happening."
The night was pitch black by the time I arrived at the mansion. I hid behind some large rocks and dense bushes a short distance away to observe. There were no lights in any of the windows and there was no sign of any movement. I crept forward, being careful to avoid anything that could make a lot of noise. The steel gates to the manor drive were standing open. I didn't know if that was normal or not. After I passed through the steps leading to the house were only a few feet away. I froze for a moment, debating whether or not to continue. Some amount of guilt rose at the thought of breaking my word to Benjamina. Stupidly, I reached for the door handle and pulled.
The door wasn't even locked. I opened it only far enough to squeeze through and shut it quickly behind me. The faint click seemed to echo painfully through the entryway. I slide into the closest room in case someone came to investigate. But no one did. I squinted into the darkness, trying to figure out where I was. I could see the outlines of a large table and a pantry cabinet not far from me. I must be in the kitchen. I strongly hoped I wouldn't find a pair of his underwear in here.
I quickly crossed to the other room off the entrance hall, glancing to make sure I was still alone. I was, thankfully. But when I entered the room I almost ran right into a tall, solid shadow. Before I had time to react, the shadow reached out and wrapped a gloved hand around my neck. He whirled me around, pinning me to the wall, and squeezed tight. My hands instinctively rose to my throat to try to pry his hand away. I didn't have to see his face to know who had caught me.
"Tisk, tisk. A persistent bunch, you are. I suppose my earlier lesson wasn't quite good enough." Reaver's voice sounded too loud in the otherwise dead silence. He used his thumb to turn my face toward the moonlight filtering through the window, "Well, princess Hannah. I must say I didn't expect to see you back so soon, or under these circumstances. It appears as though those rebels will be your downfall."
I tried to shake my head but it was a wasted effort. His hand tightened around my throat. Not enough to cut off my breathing completely but it was increasingly difficult. I pulled at his fingers, but my efforts were fruitless. And all attempts to speak were a waste of precious air. My vision was beginning to get fuzzy around the edges and my head was beginning to spin.
"Reaver..." I finally managed to force out. It was so quiet I was afraid he wouldn't even hear it. But he must have because he raised an eyebrow and his grip loosened enough for me to speak more freely. Before I said anything more, I used the opportunity to take a few deep breaths, "Your invitation, last time I was here. With Page."
He pushed his eyebrows together as if deep in thought. Maybe he didn't even remember. What would I do then? I tried to keep my concern hidden. But Reaver's lips turned up in a small smile, "Ah yes, the private party."
My hands began to tremble, "I accept..."
A strange look appeared in his eyes, which only added to my anxiety. I looked away. His hand released my neck and his fingers traveled upward to my chin, pushing my head up so I had to look at him. The tiny smile had turned wicked and his eyes swallowed me whole. For a moment I thought he was going to have his way with me where I stood.
The thought of being bedded by this man was terrifying. My legs began to quiver and feel weak. Reaver smirked, he knew I was frightened and he knew the reasons for it. Unfortunately, especially in this situation, he knew me better than I wanted him to. He was well aware that I was intimidated by him and that I hadn't yet known a man's touch. Because my brother would have shot anyone who tried. Even my time with Elliot involved nothing more than the exchange of kisses.
My stomach sank. Whose idea was this anyway? Reaver peeled me away from the wall and gently lead me back into the main hall, up the stairs. Every step increased my nervousness, the hallway seemed to stretch as we walked. Along the way I had a disturbing thought and blurted out the associated question before I could stop myself.
"Reaver, you never did...this...with my mother, did you?" He snorted, as if I had just asked him a question with an obvious answer. It took me a moment to realize that we had stopped. And he was pushing open one of the large wooden doors, motioning for me to enter first. Hesitantly, I did.
The sun was beginning to rise by the time I finally was able to leave the lavish mansion. In my rush to escape, before he decided to keep me any longer, I failed to dress as neatly as expected and think I may have left something behind. My fist was tightly closed around a corner of the item I had originally gone for, a "memento" he called it, to forever remind me of what had happened that night. And the crazy woman who had talked me into the mission was sitting on her front steps, waiting for me no doubt. Had she been there all night?
"Oh, wonderful! You're back!" Benjamina paused as she took me in, "What happened? You look dreadful."
I shuffled by her, not even looking at her as I passed, "I don't want to talk about it."
She made no attempt to follow me, but she called after me, "But what about my undies?!"
Luckily, the door to my bedroom was on an outside wall of the palace so all I had to do was sneak through the garden without being seen by Logan, or anyone else that would report my condition to him, which was not all that difficult to do. The door slammed shut behind me and I let out a groan. I was so sore and all I wanted to do was take a warm bath. Before anyone decided to barge in, I ran over to my wardrobe and tossed the undergarments in to the back corner so I hopefully wouldn't have to look at them any more than absolutely necessary. But as I was walking away I remembered that Jasper regularly visited my wardrobe to take care of my clothing. I retrieved the keepsake and decided to hide it under the mattress of my bed instead, where even I wouldn't have to look at it.
You have obtained a pair of... Well, what happened was, you managed to acquire... Benjamina wanted... Look, you know what you did.