Sana stood in the middle of Masrur's chamber with her arms wrapped around herself. Her fingers gripping the sleeves of her pale green sweater so hard that her knuckles were turning white. She didn't know how long she had been standing there trying to keep herself from panicking after what had happened earlier with Sinbad had ordered two of his general's to bring her to the room she was currently in to await- what exactly?
She didn't know. Nor did she understand the sudden coldness of everyone around her when they had been acting so friendly earlier.
Had she offended someone somehow? Was that what this was about? And if so- why hadn't she simply been allowed to apologize and go to the room that Sinbad had given to her to stay in while in Sindria?
Exhaling a shaky breath, she decided to look around a bit since she was stuck for the moment, and lifted her head to see the room more clearly. It was exactly what one would have expected of a general's quarters. Truly it was. There was a massive bed, two tables, a carpet lay draped over the floor. And that was about it aside from the richly colored silk curtains hanging from the ceiling over the bed.
Red and gold.
Masrur's colors.
Such beautiful colors- And so fitting... She thought when she became vaguely aware of the door opening behind her and felt the bottom drop out of her stomach as Masrur stepped into the room carrying a small jar and a leather pouch and quietly shut the door before looking at her.
This was the part of his job that he hated as he took a moment to stare at Sana.
She looked so small and fragile to him. Like a child really. And as someone who had seen so many children die at the hands of monsters who did what he had been ordered to do by his king... It was sickening.
Sana's violet eyes met his own and he inwardly sighed as he hardened his gaze, his expression impassive as he pushed away from the door and walked over to the table where he kept his wine and set the leather pouch and jar down beside a trencher and took a moment to try and steel himself against what would shortly take place.
"Masrur?" He heard her say his name tentatively, cautiously as she took a small step forward. The sound of her bare feet reaching his ears and making his heart pound. "D-Did I do something wrong earlier?" He closed his copper colored eyes and made an inaudible hissing sound under his breath and grabbed a wine cup and then the leather pouch and pulled at the string to open it so that he could get at the drug inside, wishing all the while that he could use the damn stuff.
He wanted no memories of what was going to occur here tonight.
"Masrur?" She tried again, one of her hands very gently touching his bicep causing the skin underneath her palm to warm and tingle. And he suddenly felt as if he couldn't breathe.
Turning quickly he grabbed her hand and removed it from his arm before he broke down and started crying. His eyes going to her pale face, partially hidden by shadows as he said in a raspy tone, "Go sit down." She frowned as he released her hand and looked as if she wished to argue with him for a moment but at the last moment seemed to think better of it and moved away from him.
Leaving him to mix the drug with some wine before he turned around to see where she was and found her sitting on his bed. Perfect. He thought as he picked up the wine cup and moved to kneel in front of her and pushed the wine into her hands and watched as her numb fingers grasped the cup- yet she made no move to drink any of it.
"What's going on? Why is everyone acting so strange?" The question was so innocently asked that it twisted his heart in his chest.
"Never mind that right now. Drink." Drink and become oblivious... Please- He thought to himself. After all only one of them needed to be tormented by tonight's events, and he would much rather it be him than her.
Sana glanced down at the wine in her hands and frowned, wondering why Masrur appeared to be so tense as he repeated himself, "Drink." Sana cast a quick, wary glance down at the wine in her hands- yet again made no move to do as he had bidden her.
Masrur waited several moments, trying to give her a chance to drink the drugged wine on her own but in the end realized that it was pointless. She wasn't going to move unless he told her something.
And given what he had to do the last thing he needed was her to go into hysterics. So instead of sitting there and waiting for her to drink- he reached out and took the cup from her while leaning in simultaneously and slipping one of his hands under her dark hair, to her nape, and brought the cup up to her lips and tried first to force it down her throat.
Which didn't work due to the fact that she began to struggle, her small hands smacking against his armored chest and shoulders- trying to push him away. Causing him to spill some of the wine down the front of her shirt, his eyes automatically going to the thin rivulets of red, and almost growl at her in frustration as his cock hardened at the thought of licking it from her skin.
But right now he needed to focus. And she needed to do as he bid her if she didn't wish to have nightmares for the rest of her life.
However he was relentless in his task, and after several moments of forcing the wine down her throat- he finally pulled the cup away and peered into it to gauge how much she had taken in and noted with some satisfaction that she had taken in at least half of what had been in the cup. It wasn't enough to knock her out or send her into a trance like state like it was intended too.
But it was enough to keep her somewhat lucid and relax her body.
A small mercy, Masrur supposed as he set the cup down next to him on the floor and used the thumbs of his hands to wipe away some of the wine that had spilled. Noting that Sana's skin was already beginning to heat up and her eyes were starting to glaze over a little bit as he used his hands to turn her head so that she was facing him again and leaned in and brushed his lips along hers.
Gently. Lovingly before deepening the kiss.
His heart aching, his lungs burning for air- I don't want to do this! His mind cried. Doing as his king had bid him would destroy not one person but two. It's so unfair- He thought as he came up off of the floor, his arms going around her as she toppled back, allowing him to pin her slender body to his bed under him easily as he lifted his mouth from her own so that he could take a moment to look her in the eyes.
She had such lovely eyes... Like most beautifully polished stones- yet so clear and innocent looking... He wished that they would remain innocent, even after this night. He wished it so damn much that he gripped the sheets on either side of her body hard enough to turn his knuckles white and rip them to pieces as he loomed over her like a great, hulking shadow for several moments- almost afraid to move or breathe.
His indecision to carry out his king's orders felt as if it were invisible chains, quickly wrapping around him so that they could weigh him down. However he was a member of his king's household. And as such, he could not go against orders or he might be cast out and become homeless. Landless.
Or worse, a gladiator or slave again. And while his king had long promised that he would never do such things to him...he couldn't help but wonder if the impending war with Al Tharmen had somehow changed his king since those idealic days or peace.
He felt a small hand against his cheek, the contact making his mind go almost blank enough to forget what he was supposed to be doing as he gazed down at Sana as she asked him if he was alright, and very nearly visibly cringed as he blinked down at her before shifting his weight slightly so that he could take hold of her arm in one of his hands (God's it never ceased to astonish him how small she was compared to other women. Would she even survive tonight in his bed?) and lifted her wrist to his mouth and laid a kiss over the veins there in an sub conscious act of swearing his fealty and fidelity.
Because tonight was the night that they would both fall from grace.