10 days passed and the queen didn't summon him, nobody summoned him. The only company he got was the food tray being passed through the hatch and taken again once he'd eaten. It was lonely, boring and a torture of its own; he didn't know whether he was waiting to be killed or waiting for her to forgive him for offending her. Every night he dreamt of what would happen if she decided that she wanted him disposed of. The dudgeon would be black and cold, he'd be tied to the wall, dangling in the air and beaten to his death. Or maybe the queen would chop him up into little pieces. The waiting was driving him insane. Alone with his own thoughts was driving him to madness. He'd read the few books she'd given him over and over, he'd look out the window and think of all the things he'd never get to do. The one thing that swirled in his mind was his brother; he'd never get to say goodbye. Elliot probably already thought he was dead though. Nobody went to the Queens castle and came out alive... nobody except him up .. for now.
That was one of the things that confused him. Why had he lasted so long? Prisoners usually came in the morning and where brought out on stretchers an hour later, so why was he alive? he didn't want to get carried away by thinking she might feel something for him but there must have been a reason that she kept him alive this long. It couldn't just be the sex. The way she looked at him and kissed him had changed. She'd become more passionate with him, most gentle. Although she hadn't been herself 10 days ago, she'd asked him to call her by her name. Nobody did that; everybody called her 'my queen' or 'your highness' never 'Ana.'
On the 11th day, whilst eating his evening meal of potato soup and bread, the door opened revealing two guards who he hadn't seen before. He gulped and his heart was beating so fast that he swore he was having an out of body experience. This is it he thought, his chair scraping back as he stood, wondering whether the fight or flight method would be suited right now. He looked at the window covered with barbed wire and thought of all of the times he'd tried to plan an escape. There simply wasn't one. He was trapped in his fate.
"Queen Anastasia has requested for you to be escorted to meet her in the castle garden," the guard announced. Christian was puzzled, the garden? did that mean she wasn't going to kill him? or maybe she wanted a public affair for his death. Without any other options and bowing his head in defeat, Christian moved towards the guards so they could grab his arms. He was walked, in silence, down the corridor and through one of the passageways. He always walked past the various doors and hallways but he was usually taken straight to the queen's en-suite to greet her. The guards moved swiftly, taking him down 2 flights of stairs and along another passageway tiled with black brick, he shivered in the cold atmosphere. Usually, he had the same guards escort him, Taylor and another burly man who would jeer at him and make jokes at his expense but the two men who escorted him were spookily quiet. They made a turn into another hallway and, in the distance, Christian could see the vaguely familiar sights of the outside world. It had been so long since he'd felt glass beneath his feet or the wind swirling in his hair that it almost seemed like a dream that he'd ever been lucky enough to experience it. But sure enough, they were coming closer to an open archway leading to a meadow. It was beautiful, simply a stunning sight. The sun was warm against his face and he had to squint in the light due to spending so long inside the dark castle. His skin prickled with the sensation of the slight breeze brushing his skin through the thin shirt he wore and ruffling his copper hair. It was bliss, pure heaven. The sun, fresh air, the sensation of life around him was something that he would never take for granted again.
The guards walked him down a path until he saw the Queen, sitting on a bench in the middle of the grass, painting the scenery. She was good; very good. Her brush strokes were even and precise as she dipped her brush in the water and chose a new colour. As he got closer to her, he realised that she was painting the garden itself, the luscious pink and yellow rose, the dewy grass and the sparkling sunshine captured in her art.
"Here is the prisoner, your highness," one of the guards announced as they got to her. She didn't turn around, but continued her painting.
"Sit him down and then leave us," Ana said, her voice in deep concentration as she swirled the paint on the canvas. Christian was moved to the bench to sit down next to her and the guards took their leave. He was unsure of what to do, he didn't know whether the queen would be angry if he watched her paint but he was fascinated. He'd never seen anyone that could draw or paint before but he was enraptured by how well she painted every fine detail of the garden and brought it to life on the page.
"I haven't painted in over 5 years," Ana said in a soft voice. She wasn't facing Christian, she didn't look at Christian, she just continued to paint and spoke, making sure to never move her eyes from the canvas, "for some reason, I woke up this morning with the urge to paint something beautiful. I asked my maid what was beautiful enough to be able to capture on canvas and she told me that the garden would be something of a wonder to paint. I came down here to my private garden a few hours ago and now I want to paint something else, something beautiful," she said. With one final stroke of the paint brush, her art was complete. She didn't say a word as she washed the paint from the brush and moved the canvas to a blanket that had been placed on the floor before picking up a fresh new canvas. She turned her head to face Christian and their eyes met.
"Then I thought of you, cooped up in that room and I wondered if you'd like my garden so I called you down. I want to paint you Christian," Ana said, her gaze softer than her usual heated glances and her voice was calm.
"Yes, my queen," Christian said, not moving a muscle and waiting for instruction.
"Ana," Ana said looking away from him, he watched the slope of the back of her neck waiting for her to turn back to him.
"Call me Ana when we're alone unless I tell you otherwise, ok?" she asked.
"Yes, my q...Ana, yes Ana," Christian answered. She smiled slightly to herself at his nervous mix up and spun her head back to face him.
"Good boy, now, I want you to grab this stool and put it in front of me on the grass and then sit down," she said, pointing to the wooden stool that was sitting next to him. He thought she'd have mentioned something about that fact tat they hadn't seen each other in 11 days. Maybe she didn't care that she hadn't seen him in that long. Or maybe she just didn't want to bring it up. He took the stool and placed in a few feet in front of her.
"move it back a little more," she instructed and he lifted it around 10 feet further until she nodded to him. He placed it down and sat on the stool facing her. She lifted up her paintbrush and dipped it in the water and stared at him intently for a moment, running her eyes over his frame.
"I want to paint you with your clothes off, completely naked in the sunshine with the garden surrounding the picture. I've never done that before and I would like to try. But first, I want to paint your face, so you may keep them on for now so that I don't get distracted," she told him, picking one of the colours. He didn't say a word, he certainly didn't want to take his clothes off out in the garden where anyone could see but he was on thin ice as it was. Plus, thankfully, nobody else seemed to be around.
Ana picked her colour and brushed the canvas slowly whilst looking at his face. She was studying him, even with his slight distance, making sure to get every strand of his hair accounted for and the perfect mix of tones for his complexion. She moved her gaze from him and started to paint. She was concentrating hard, he could tell, so he was a little shocked when she opened her mouth and started to speak.
"My husband doesn't let me paint or draw," she said, her voice void of all emotion. It was almost as though she didn't know she was speaking, like some one else was talking for her as she moved her lips. "He took my paints and brushes from me and locked them in a safe. He told me I should spend my time serving him and the country and not doing stupid paintings. But... I love to paint," he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. Did she want a conversation or did she want to get things off her chest? she was painting him with such careful precision, looking up before she made a line just to make sure it was in the right place and the right depth.
"I find painting relaxing and ... stimulating. You can imagine anything and let your hands do the work. You're free when you paint to do live your life however you want. My husband doesn't want me to be free, he wants me to be locked up in the castle, like you are. I may be a murderer, some may see me as evil, but I still deserve to be free," she said softly, "I don't even want to be queen,"
"What do you want to be?" Christian asked before he could stop himself. Her eyes widened as though she'd forgotten he was even there and then she looked back at the canvas.
"When I was younger, maybe 7 or 8 I wanted to be an author. I wanted to write stories about love and happiness, maybe even have my own store. But then, I was groomed to be queen. My mother said I could do both but my father told me I could be queen and nothing else. He told me that dreams were wasted and I had a job to do. So, I became the Queen," Ana sighed. She continued in silence for a few moments, choosing a new colour and a new brush. Her delicate fingers smoothed over the canvas and then she was back to brushing paint again.
"What did you want to be when you were younger?" she asked suddenly. Christian, not expecting her to speak again, cleared his throat trying to think of an answer in his mind. He was muddled, and not used to human interaction having gone nearly 2 weeks without any kind.
"I wanted to be the first man on the moon," Christian said and Ana broke out into a fit of hysterical laughter. It was so unexpected, so rare, that Christian couldn't help but smile as her musical chuckling filled the air. She wiped underneath her eyes to catch a drop of moisture that had fallen in her laughter and watched him with a slight smile on her face and a gleam in her eye.
"I haven't laughed like that in ages, it's a nice change to have somebody to talk to," she told him seriously.
"I'm glad I'm my dream occupation when I was 8 years old is an amusement to you then," Christian said with a slight smile. She giggled again turning back to her portrait.
"First man on the moon? I don't think anybody will ever manage to get to the moon," Ana smiled, her gaze on her painting.
"Well if they do, I'd like to be the first," Christian said and Ana smiled at him, not a forced smile, not a condescending smile. A real, compassionate smile that made him feel warm inside. She really was beautiful and he found himself smiling back at her. She ran her brush twice more along the canvas and then dropped it to the pile picking up the portrait and inspecting it. The gleam in her eye was still there and he was happy to know that he was the cause of the first smile he'd seen her do.
"It's finished," she announced, looking at him with raised eyebrows.
"May I see?" he asked. She smirked at him and turned it over quickly so that he could see what she had produced. She really was very talented, the portrait did look a lot like him and there was a great amount of detail.
"What do you think?" she asked, looking shy all of a sudden.
"It's amazing my q... Ana, you're so talented," he smiled and she was happy that he approved. She liked spending time with him, maybe it was because she knew that he couldn't leave her like everybody else did.
"Now," she said, putting the canvas down on the blanket and retrieving a new one. "I think I said something about wanting to paint you naked,"
He gulped; he hoped that she had forgotten about that part of her command so was dismayed to hear that she wanted him to take his clothes off, in the middle of the day, in a garden where anybody could come across them. She noticed his nervousness and stifled a laugh.
"Christian, it's fine, nobody ever comes out here, the only reason the guards would come is if I summon them, the guards of the watch tower aren't looking at us, they're guarding the castle. It's just us," she said, walking towards him and stopping in front of him searching his eyes. She reached up and he flinched slightly. She frowned at him for thinking she was going to hit him and grabbed his face. She reached up on her tip toes and directed his face downwards so that they were almost level and pressed her lips softly to his. Had it really been 11 days since they'd last kissed? Christian reciprocated her action, tangling his tongue with hers and resting his hands on her hips. After a minute or so, Ana pulled back and let go of his face. Her eyes assessed his body before coming back up to meet his eyes.
"Now, let's get you out of these clothes so I can draw you," she licked her lips and her fingers went to the top button of his shirt, carefully unbuttoning it before moving to the next one. His hands went to help her but she batted them down again so they rested at his side.
"This is my job, you're my muse for the day," she told him, moving down his buttons until she could pull the delicate material from his shoulders relealing his muscular form. She looked at him hungrily, moving her hands to his chest and stroking them downwards slowly, allowing herself to feel every inch of skin in her path. She unbuttoned his trousers and unzipped them letting them fall to the floor and then did the same with his undershorts allowing them to pool at his feet. She licked her lips as her eyes wandered all over him, paying particular attention to his impressive erection that had been threatening to burst through his trousers since he'd heard her giggle. She wrapped her hand around him and squeezed causing him to groan. She smirking, stroking him twice more before letting go.
"It's been a long 10 days," she said with lust in her voice as she turned around to go back to her easel. He was surprised by her admission. Maybe she had missed his company? maybe she did feel something for him after all.
"Sit down, handsome," she told him. He did as he was asked, sitting on the stool. Her gaze was fixated on the large piece of equipment standing proudly between his legs and she bit her lip causing him to twitch. She looked back at his face and smirked slightly in amusement.
"Ok, I want you to lean back slightly so that I can get all of your muscles in view," she said and he leaned back a little, making sure to keep his balance. She moved the end of the paintbrush to her lips and bit it as she studied his pose.
"Right, now... part your legs slightly," she told him. He spread his legs apart so she had a good view and waited for his next instruction. He thought it would be an awful experience to be naked in the middle of the grounds, but Ana was right, nobody was around and the breeze felt nice as it waded over his bare skin.
"I want you to reach down and touch yourself, wrap your fingers around cock," she said in a sensual tone. His eyes burned into hers as he moved his hand from the stool to his manhood, wrapping them around the thick base.
"Perfect," her voice was a breathy whisper and she was slightly flushed even in the cool breeze. He was a stunning creature; godly out in the beautiful garden with the sunlight highlighting every curve and indent in his body. She couldn't get enough of him if she tried. She was too distracted to paint now that she had him in front of her, but before she could act on her desires, she needed to put them on the canvas. She dipped her brush into a nude colour and stroked a line watching him. Their eyes were locked; dusty blue into charcoal grey, a heady trace of lust filled want and need for each other. She continued to caress the canvass with her delicate hand as her eyes moved to his chest, and then his shoulders, and then his torso and finally to his groin and thighs. She paid careful attention to that place, nearly blushing as she painted his more delicate area. She concentrated hard on finishing the portrait, wanting it to be perfect so she could look at it whenever she wanted to. She'd hide it, like all of her other paintings, away from her husband.
"You want to see it?" she asked when she had completed it. He nodded and she showed him the painting. He couldn't help but be a little embarrassed at her vision of him. It was so detailed, every inch drawn with such precision.
"I don't want to paint anymore," she said, biting her lip and putting down the canvas with the others, "I want to feel you inside me," she pulled her dress over her head and revealing her naked body. She was so different from how she was the other night. The coldness was gone from her voice and there were no commands only desires. She sauntered over to him as he traced every part of her body with wild fascination and straddled him on the stool.
"I've always wanted to go riding in my garden," she smirked, sinking down on his large erection and taking him inch by inch into her tight warmth. They both groaned once he was completely buried inside her, relishing the slow burning sensation after going so long without it. He grabbed her hips and encouraged her as she started to move, going faster with every thrust.
"I missed this, fuck you're hot," she moaned, throwing her head back as his lips devoured her neck. Christian groaned his assent, moving his hips at a different angle to hit the spot deep inside of her that only he could reach. She whined, gripping his hair in her hands and panting as he sped up his relentless thrusts and moved his lips to her chest, taking a pebbled nipple between his lips and sucking.
"Oh! Christian! ... mmm... faster," she moaned and he complied, slamming her down harder and faster onto his waiting erection. It was too much; his lips on her breasts, his glorious movements. She came hard, shouting his name to the sky as he continued his rhythm as long as he could before he let go, coming with a roar. She rested on his shoulder as she caught her breath and giggled. He raised his eyebrows at her as she lifted her head and she giggled again.
"It's freeing isn't it? the fresh air on your skin," oh the irony. He was locked away as her prisoner and she was talking about freedom. But he couldn't help agree with her to an extent. The fact that he was outside the castle made him feel a little less trapped. She lifted her head to look at him and pecked his lips.
"It's nice to be outside," he replied, leaning his head back slightly to catch the sun.
"I did say that you could walk the grounds with the guards you know? you just didn't ask, I wouldn't have deprived you of this." Christian nodded. She smiled at him slightly and got off his lap. Ana felt giddy and reckless and dare she say it... happy? that was the most fun she'd had in ages and it was with her 'plaything' no less. What was he doing to her?
"Get dressed, I want to go to bed," she said, pulling her dress over her head. He pulled up his trousers and she helped him button his shirt. To his surprise, she grabbed his hand, before walking back down the path he had been brought down before and through the arch way where the guards were standing.
"Shall we take the prisoner back to his room, your highness?" one of the guards bowed, about to sieze Christian. Ana grabbed Christian's arm in her hands before the guard could touch him.
"No Taylor, we will be in my quarters and I would like our dinner brought to my room tonight," Ana said. Christian was surprised but didn't say anything. The guard looked between them in amazement.
"Yes your highness," he bowed, opening the door for them. Ana led them back to her room and shut the door leaning her back against it and watching Christian who stood helplessly in the middle of the room. She smiled at him and he smiled back.
"I'm not used to company but I want you to join me for dinner," Ana said.
"Well... since you asked so nicely," Christian said and Ana giggled.
"I like it when you make me laugh, I haven't laughed in a long time, it's ... nice," he smiled at her.
"Here's what's going to happen," she said, starting to walk towards him, "we're going to eat, then we are going to have a long, orgasmic bath and you're going to tell me all about your life before I met you, and then we're going to have sex, lots and lots of mind-blowing sex," she leaned forward to kiss him and he moaned against her lips.
Christian had never seen so much food in his life as he watched being carted into the Queens bedroom. They'd been kissing and touching each other for the past half an hour and talked for a little bit before the food had arrived. Every kind of meat you could imagine was layed on a makeshift dining table which had been transported into the bedroom. There was wine, cheeses, chocolate fondue, so much fruit, eggs, bacon, bread... it was an endless list of delicious food and the minute they sat down, Christian started to devour it.
"Wow!" Ana giggled a little startled by the ravenous behaviour he was showing, "you'd think I hadn't been feeding you,"
"This is amazing," Ana watched in amusement as Christian ate as much as he could before slowing down and taking a sip of wine.
"You'll give yourself a stomach ache, and I've got plans for you,"
"I'll be ok, my mom used to say that my stomach was a bottomless pit when I was younger," Ana laughed and threw a grape at him and he managed to catch it in his mouth making her laugh more.
"Are you done?" she asked after a moment. He nodded and rubbed his full belly.
"Come on then," she took his hand and lead him into her bathroom. The tub was already full to the brim with bubbles and bath salts. Christian cringed when he saw the steam coming from the bath and thought of how much pain he was going to be in as he tried to get in. Ana watched his anxiety over the temperature of the water with amusement.
"Get in," she said directing him towards the bath. He gulped and put a foot in, immediately withdrawing it and squealing in pain.
"Oh for goodness sake, you big baby," she scolded, coming around the bath to turn the cold tap on, "I'm only putting in a little cold,"
"Thank you, my q... Ana," she smirked at him.
"You need to stop doing that, I've said it is fine to call me Ana when we are alone and I meant it. I like having company and I like the fact that we've talked and laughed today. I don't want us to be strangers," Ana told him.
"I understand, Ana," she smiled before turning the cold tap off and directing him once more to get in the tub. He winced again as his foot touched the water but it wasn't at boiling point anymore. After a few winces and groans, Christian was sat in the tub getting used to the temperature of the water. Ana went to the cupboard to pull out some towels and then submerged herself in the water with her back to him, resting on his chest. He moved his hands to smooth down her upper arms and she sighed in relaxation.
"So Christian, tell me what you were doing on the streets the day I picked you up," he sighed and moved his hands to wrap around her stomach.
"My brother and I lost out jobs, the company shut down and after the banking crisis, we had no money and nowhere to go. We'd been on the streets for about a month trying to survive when you came along," he said.
"What did you and your brother do as a job?" she asked, laying her hands on his forearms.
"We were entrepreneurs, but the companies under our wing went bust so we went into liquidation and with the banking crisis on the bloom, we lost everything," Christian answered honestly.
"What was your childhood like?" she wanted to know everything. She wanted to know him well enough that they could talk to each other like this all the time. She needed some one and he was who she wanted.
"It was great." Christian smiled, "my brother and I had a fun childhood. My father was a landlord and my mother always let us play around the house and in the huge garden with the kids from the neighbourhood. But she died when I was 19 and it broke my heart," he went quiet for a moment, unsure why he was revealing this story and showing emotion in front of his capture. Why did she care about his childhood. "My father went into a deep depression after that and he ... died a few months later. He left us some money in the will and we used that to start our business," Ana smiled.
"What about you?" Christian asked. Ana went stiff in his arms and he was worried that he'd said something wrong.
"What about me?" she asked.
"It... it's nothing, it doesn't matter," he answered softly.
"No, Christian, tell me what you wanted to ask,"
"I... I was going to ask about your childhood but... I don't mean to pry, you don't have to tell me anything," he said softly moving his hands away from her body. She caught them before they could stray too far and wrapped them back around her, closing her eyes. Nobody had ever asked about her childhood before. She knew she didn't have to say anything, he held nothing over her; she was in the more powerful position. But part of her felt the need to tell him, maybe it would help him understand her better and not be so... afraid of her.
"I didn't really have a childhood," she whispered, "my father, King Raymond, didn't let me outside much and he'd beat me every chance he got." she swallowed and he held her a little tighter. "All I did was school work, I was on my own all of the time, I have no siblings and my mother and father were never around. We had a nanny but ... she didn't like me much. So I was lonely all of the time. Then, when I was 12, I was told that I was soon to be Queen and that I would marry a man who would be King and we'd preside over the country. So from that moment on, I was groomed to being Queen." She opened her eyes for a moment, desperately trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes.
"My mother and I knew that my father was dying so he sent for a husband for me. I had no choice but to marry Prince Jose of Spain. By the time I married Jose, my father had died and we were King and Queen. He should have been prince but my father wanted there to be a King on the throne to granted us equal status. He was ok at first, he was clingy but always polite in front of my parents. But then, on our wedding night, he beat me and made me feel like nothing more than a body to him, all I knew was pain, all I've ever known was pain. He was always rough. That's all I know. He only stayed a week and then I didn't see him for 6 months. Every time he comes back he does the same thing and I'm... I'm scared of him. I never wanted this life, I told myself I'd try to make the most of it but loneliness turns you mad," Ana wiped her eyes.
At that moment, Christian felt like he had just discovered the real Ana, not the Queen, but the human being. She'd never had... anyone. Everybody who she'd known had used or abused her; she was vulnerable and scared and had no one there to comfort her. He kissed her temple, hoping it was a reassuring gesture and she turned in his arms. All she saw was worry in his eyes and it made her heart race in her chest. She leaned down to kiss him, loving how safe she felt right now. It felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders by telling some one about herself. It felt amazing that some body actually knew her; the real Ana, not just the Queen of England. She kissed him again and reached between then to grab his soft member. She wrapped her hand around him and squeezed, rubbing her thumb over the head of his cock. He groaned in pleasure, thrusting his hips into her hand and moving his fingers to her centre to stroke her.
After a few moments, she positioned herself over his now hard penis and slid down slowly, taking every inch inside her tight walls. She was wet; she was always so wet for him. He aroused her like nothing else. She looked into his eyes and grabbed his hands for leverage as he looked back at her, pure unadulterated lust in his eyes.
"I need this slow," she whispered. He nodded and allowed her to pull herself up and slam herself down slowly on his throbbing cock. Hands stayed clasped and eyes stayed locked in a passionate trance as she circled her lips, bringing them both closer to euphoria. No words were spoken; none were needed. Their eyes and movements did all of the talking as they rode the waves of pleasure together, collapsing in the warm bath to catch their breath, peace and serenity surrounding them. For the first time, sex wasn't a painful chore that her husband forced upon her neither a show of her power over Christian. It was blissful.
AN - I rewrote this chapter so many times and still don't think I got it right ... but I wanted to post today so I just closed my eyes when I uploaded it :) 3 more chapters to go!