"It seems forceful to me."

"It seems forceful to me," I muttered.

"What did you just say?" Master asked.

Oh no, I'm in trouble..

"Answer me, ****."

"I said...it seems forceful to me," I squeaked.

He laughed. "Bullshit. You looked pretty pleasured when you were sucking dick this morning."

"I...no," I said defensively. "I was just...doing what you wanted me to do, obeying you."

"Which is why you played with my balls? And why you looked me in the eyes while I slammed you on my cock to make sure you were doing a good job?" He crossed his arms. "You're in denial."

"No I'm not," I said immediately. "You're just making me do weird things."

"That's the point of being my sex ****. I make you want to do things you normally wouldn't do."

"I'm supposed to be your pet."

"Is that any better? Would you rather be a servant, or a bird in a cage?"

"But I haven't done anything but try to kill you, so I haven't served you."

"No, but you've obeyed me plenty."

"Because I have to."

"No, because you want to. You didn't kill me when you have the chance, so you want to."

"Not true," I said flatly.

He approached me, hands in his pockets. "Are you going to try to hit me?"

"Maybe."

"You should know better than that by now. Dinner?" He picked up my tray and carried it over to me.

I reached out to take it, but he pulled it back.

"Manners."

I reached out and snatched my tray, but he shoved it at my face, hitting me on the bridge of the nose.

I jumped back, rubbing it. "Can I please have my dinner, Master?" I grumbled.

"Of course," he said, and handed it to me. "Enjoy the pudding."

I did.

.

~ ~ ~

.

The Prince chained my cage closed that night.

I curled up in my bed, watching the moonbeam hit the carpet.

I sniffed, holding back tears.

The Prince got up and looked in on me. "What's wrong?" he asked.

I rolled over and ignored him.

"Answer me. What's wrong?"

"Even if you want to keep me protected as a sex ****, you can't protect me from everything. If the King sends you to war, I'll be here with him and his guards."

"I'd take you with me. You'd keep watch for me at night."

"Still."

"Does it make you feel better that if they're going to have you ****, they'll probably have me do it?"

"Well, yes, but you can't disobey the King, and what if he wants to take that idea of creating some sort of...hybrid child...into his own hands, and orders you to give me to him, and rapes me and tortures me and--"

He sighed. "Come here." He unlocked my cage.

I slid out of bed and stood in front of him, my dress glowing in the moonlight.

"How am I supposed to sleep when you're keeping me up?" he asked.

"Sorry, Master."

"No need to be sorry for being scared of getting tortured and ****. If you sleep next to me, do you promise not to kill me tonight?"

I nodded.

"Good. Don't poke me with those horns in your sleep. You have a lot of nightmares."

I nodded.

I fell asleep with him holding me.

.

~ ~ ~

.

I was doing push-ups when the Prince woke up.

"Back to full health?" he asked drearily.

"No," I grunted.

"Let me see those wounds," he said, seeing they were bleeding through the bandages. He rolled out of bed and stripped off my bandages as I gasped in pain. Laying on the ground, I squeezed handfuls of the carpet.

He swallowed anxiously, and grabbed some new ones.

"It's infected," he said finally. "You shouldn't have strained those cuts. How long have you been working out?"

I didn't reply.

"Answer me. How long?"

"An hour or so."

He knelt down in front of me and lifted my chin. I expected him to say something, but instead, he slapped me across the cheek.

"What was that for?" I asked, rubbing it.

"That infection might kill you."

"I've had infections before."

"We don't have elvish medicine." He started sorting through the books on his shelves.

"There's a full moon tonight. Just set me in front of that."

"You're not going to kill everyone in the castle, right?"

"No."

"You better not. And don't do anything stupid like that again."

"Like what?"

"Straining your wounds so that they keep opening until they get infected! God knows how often you've opened those since you got them." The cuts in my flesh from the whip have only gotten worse since the night before last. "Stay in your cage today."

"Why?"

"So you don't strain them even more. Let's head to the washroom so we can get those cuts cleaned up."