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Beryl stood there in the courtyard and stared at her father's dead body. It laid crumpled on the ground while his head laid in the dirt. It had rolled off the platform after the executioner had chopped it off with his large axe.
She was eight years old when Lord Baros was put to death. It was the first time she was glad she was a bastard, and no one knew she was his daughter. She knew that would save her now and keep her from being linked with him and his treachery. At least, that was what King Peloponnesus had called his actions.
She stood watching the man who denied her as his blood congealed on the ground with morbid fascination. He was a hateful man, but he'd taught her one important lesson. Power was something you took for yourself. No one was going to give it to you.
Her mother taught her another lesson she took with you. Never trust a man. She was furious with Lord Baros after he'd promised to establish and keep her as his mistress. When she got pregnant, he tossed her out and said he had no use for her. He even accused her of cheating on him so he wouldn't have to claim the child as his own.
She turned to leave and saw Prince Elis standing there, shaking his head at her dead father. She skirted around the edges of the courtyard to attempt to figure out what he found objectionable. Lord Zaphros aided her in her desires since as she had been crouched behind a barrel for a few minutes, he came over and whispered to Elis. "Your father's a fool. He shouldn't have killed him. He should have praised him."
"He's weak in his old age and is afraid of going to war. I agree with you. We shouldn't have bent to their will and had him killed because he managed to take over that region. We should have kept it and gone to war. I would have been able to lead the men in battle."
Lord Zaphros smiled, "Yes, I think your father's afraid of that. The people know you're the one skilled at war. He knows he's losing his people's trust. I believe he's afraid of you."
"He should be. It's time for this all to end. Sadly, we couldn't save Lord Baros. The time crunch was too short."
"True, but you'll save men like him in the future. Ones that will make other nations fear us."
Prince Elis smiled and said, "It's almost time."
Five days later, the King died. He fell from his horse when he was out riding and broke his neck instantly.
Beryl had watched as the King's dead body was brought back to the castle. She managed to hide her glee. She knew the truth. The King had been murdered, and Elis covered it up. Now Elis was King.
Beryl was more discerning than her mother, and she learned young how to use her body best to get what she wanted. The first time she had sex, she found an older man that she knew was very experienced. She traded her virginity for lessons on how to please a man. He was more than happy to oblige.
She went to him often, and she was a swift learner. What helped her the most was the fact that she saw sex as a way to get more power. She was willing to do and try anything.
When she turned from learning to going out and amassing power, she found the perfect man to help her. He was the second son of a councilman in King Elis's court. He had two things going for him, his mother was pressuring him to find a wife, and he had a voracious sexual appetite.
One night she went to his room in the palace and slipped into his bed, naked. She then explained her terms to him. He was to marry her, and she would give him anything, sexually, he wanted. She also told him that evening was a test run for him to try her out and see if she could satisfy him. If she did, they would marry, and she would let him have mistresses, and she was even up to threesomes.
He let his desires out to play that night. When he was finished fucking her in every way he could think of, he smiled at her and said, "I find I'm looking forward to marriage to you, Beryl. It will be most satisfying."
They married two months later. Six months later, his brother died after falling from his horse. She figured if it could work for a King, it could work for an heir. Now her husband was the sole heir to his father's vast fortune.
At eighteen, she was picking out gowns and walking the halls of the palace as a lady. She was pleased with how everything was turning out.
The one thing she wanted but was out of her reach was Prince Endymion. She burned for him and constantly fantasized about going to his bed.
He wasn't like his father, though. He seemed to hang out the most with his four best friends, and no matter how hard she tried, he wouldn't give her his attention.
She had been marginally content with that until her husband messed with her plans, got a horrible fever, and died. She was pissed. Fortunately for her, she was able to make her tears of frustration look like tears of sorrow. And when she spent time in her room pacing, cursing him for ruining things, everyone assumed she was alone weeping for him.
After that, Endymion's ambivalence towards her was all the more acute. She wasn't married, and she was practically throwing herself at him. She did everything but show up in his bed naked.
What she did accomplish, though, was to get the King to notice her. He liked her body, and she'd been wearing provocative clothes around Endymion that had pleased the King.
One night after drinking, he called her over to him. He caressed her backside as he said, "I can't help but notice what a beautiful woman you are. Your husband used to brag about how… uninhibited you are."
Beryl instantly grew wet. As much as she wanted Endymion, power turned her on, and he was the King. "I'm always up for a good time."
"I'm up for one right now after looking at your body all night. I was hoping you'd join me in my bed tonight." He raked his eyes over her body, and he licked his lips.
"I'll be in your bed naked when you arrive, Your Highness."
He gave her a lust-filled smile, "I look forward to you."
Like her deceased husband, King Elis was very pleased with her sexual abilities and what she would allow him to do. He kept her around, and after seven months, he began to hatch a plan. He would impregnate her and make her Endymion's wife.
He liked the idea of fucking his son's wife whenever he pissed him off. To be honest, that would be a lot for him. His son constantly let him down. He was sure that while Endymion was younger, Beryl had a sexually deviant side that Endymion wouldn't ever be able to satisfy. He liked the idea of her coming to him when his son couldn't satisfy her. Also, he'd seen a cunning in her that he liked. He wanted her influence on his son.
So he approached her with the idea of her remaining his mistress in secret as she pursued Endymion in public. She'd readily agreed, and he promised to help her any way he could.
So, later, when Endymion showed up married to the Moon Princess, he was furious. The whole solar system had known about their wedding. There had been a large ceremony on the moon, and the people of Earth had known nothing about what had happened until it was over.
He realized the disadvantage of cutting off all ties with the other planets. They were able to keep secrets from him. He was livid.
When he demanded more information about Princess Serenity and her guards, he wasn't able to learn anything. No one in the Silver Millenium would give them information, and everyone on Earth, he'd managed to conquer the whole planet after his father's death, knew nothing about any of them.
That night, he raged to a sympathetic Beryl, "They don't even know what they fucking look like! Not only that, but you know that idiot son of mine will make us part of the alliance. I will not have my legacy be destroyed and have it governed by the moon!"
"She has to die!" Beryl screamed.
Two weeks later, Metalia showed up, and offered the power to Beryl.
While Endymion was off with Serenity, King Elis and Beryl's pseudo-relationship was no longer a secret. He reveled in being able to fuck her whenever he wanted and not having to hide that she was in his bed.
She not only had the power that Metalia had given her, but she also had the power of being his acknowledged mistress. It felt good.
All she needed to do now was figure out who Serenity's guardians were and kill them, leaving her unprotected. She wanted that woman dead by her own hands. She'd dared to take what Beryl wanted, and that didn't sit right with her at all.