Arc One: Juliet's Day

People who knew anything about her often had trouble figuring out how to respond to her. It had been that way since her family lost their titles.

Monarchy and divine favor were concepts that were intertwined. The King ruled by divine favor, and if the divines hadn't intended for him to rule, then they wouldn't have made his royalty in the first place.

This applied to a lesser extent to the aristocracy as well. Gods don't make mistakes and see more than humans do. Ergo, no matter how incompetent a noble, the divines must have plans for him, and therefore, commoners can't remove him.

It led to an outlook where aristocrats and commoners were treated as though they were members of different species, and if they were different species, then can anything change that?

Could the words of man turn a lion into a sheep? Could the strokes of a pen change a wolf into a cow? Could the edict of a king turn a noble into a commoner?

Normally, this wasn't an issue. A noble didn't lose his titles. When their fiefs were taken away, it was after the entire line was executed and the house condemned to extinction.

Juliet was an anomaly in that regard. The mercy shown to her was uncommon. She was fortunate, in that sense.

But the edict of the king, stating that she was no longer a lady, was an edict. It didn't reach into her veins and tear the noble blood out of her. She remained, biologically, who she had been since birth, and everyone knew it.

So how should she be treated? As a commoner? As a noble ward? As something else?

Juliet had never addressed the topic, so people came to their conclusions. Some were deferential. Others avoided her. And others gloried at her fall. At seeing a noble torn down to their height.

"-looks like ten guys have been to town on her rear." A giggle caught Juliet's ear and caused her to look up from where she had been scrubbing herself clean. She wasn't surprised to see who was gossiping.

Tara and Jade were two of the more mean-spirited maids. Neither woman was particularly attractive, and if they had any money or family connections, they wouldn't be maids. Their lack of gifts meant that the odds of them being swept off their feet by a prince charming was slim, and they were aware of that.

With no means of lifting themselves, the two had found some comfort in tearing others down. They picked on nearly all the help, but Juliet was their favorite target. She had been born with everything they had been born without- money, looks, family connections- but had been brought down to their level by a strange twist of fate. It was too much for them to resist, most days.

Today wasn't one of those days. If it had been about her, they would have confronted her by now. The hyena must have ferreted out some detail about another of the maids.

Juliet wondered whether it would be amoral of her to participate in this farce, if only by listening in. It felt like violating the poor girl's privacy. Juliet decided to spare the stranger.

Straightening on aching legs- she must have pulled something while looking after the Lady- Juliet began to dry herself off. While she moved briskly to listen to as little of the gossip as possible, she could hardly turn off her hearing.

"And her breasts," Jade replied. "There's a bite mark on them."

Juliet could swear that Jade had glanced at her as she spoke, as though daring her to join the conversation. Participating would forfeit her moral high ground, giving them ammunition to use against her the next time she intervened in one of their schemes.

"Why are you protesting now?" Juliet could imagine them asking. "You were perfectly fine to join us last week.

Juliet wasn't rising to the bait. She maintained her silence as she dressed, but as it turned out, she needn't have worried. Their voices dropped an octave as they whispered to each other hurriedly, probably trading plans and plotting to ruin the girl's life.

Juliet felt a flash of pity for the mystery girl as she turned to leave, and resolved to help her if the opportunity came.

The first step towards leaving, however, was accompanied by a familiar ache. Wincing, Juliet put off her thoughts of playing knight in shining armor, for more practical concerns. She wondered if she could fit a trip to the spa into her schedule.

She had been meaning to visit anyway, and a massage might take care of the pain.

"Oh come now, I won't tell anyone. You know me well enough to know that I don't gossip."

"Then why are you asking?" Juliet's voice is muffled. She's lying face-down in the pillow, her bare back exposed to you. She had come in, complaining of leg pain and asking for a message. You'd been happy to get your hands on the beautiful maiden once more.

Hands roam her ass, playing with it like gelatin. The marks of the last time you had 'played' with her are still there; the red marks darkening into blacks, and blues, and molted yellows. It was undoubtedly the source of her pain, and with this visit, you would be adding to it.

The pain hadn't been without reason, however. The question nags: Had the plan worked?

"I don't get very many visitors." Try to pull at her heartstrings. "Most of the nobles that visit are too good to talk to a peasant. I'm curious if they treat you like this."

Juliet snorted. "Just because we live in the castle doesn't mean we're not peasants. To the nobles, we might as well be furniture. They ignore us as much as they do you."

"That must be tough."

"There are plenty of other servants to socialize with. Being ignored by the nobles isn't so bad."

"And the servants? What are they like? What have they been talking about recently?"

"A mixed-bag, mostly. Some are nice; others aren't. People will be people." A pause. "Though I have noticed that more than a few have been acting oddly recently."

"You can't just leave me hanging, Juliet. That would be too cruel! How have they been acting oddly?" Try not to sound too eager, but it's hard.

"I think one of the maids is having an affair," Juliet revealed.

A smile crawled onto your face. Heart started to pound.

You tried not to get too excited. It might be a different maid. It didn't necessarily mean that people noticed your handiwork with Julia.

"And are maids not allowed to have affairs?"

"It's not- we're not slaves or anything. Our bodies are our own. It's just that with the lord's visiting-"

"Fears of a bastard?"

"Fears of a bastard," Juliet confirms. "The oddest thing about all this was that no one seems to be willing to tell me anything. I haven't sought out information because I wanted to respect the maid's privacy, but normally, I would have gotten at least some information even if I didn't want it."

That would be your commands. You had surrounded her with a magic aura to keep anyone from telling her about her marks. "Then in respect of her privacy, let's end things here." Punctuate your statement with a particularly harsh grope.

The squeeze draws a groan from Juliet, "Not so rough," she requested.

No can do. The marks that you had so painstakingly left on her body had started to heal and fade. You needed this evidence to last far longer.

Mouth moves near her ear as though to whisper a secret. "It'll feel good soon enough," you whisper. "Trust me."

The words do their job and she relaxes again. Brush her hair to the side, exposing her creamy neck. Bite down hard enough to leave a hickey.

More marks. More marks were required- and you'd be happy to place them. For Lady Liv William's sake, of course.

Notes: This chapter was a commission for MSquared for March 2021.