Page 3 of The Princess's Pet

“I could simply kill you and be done with all this soul match nonsense,” she replied calmly.

“You could,” I agreed. “But why would you kill your soul match? We don’t know what could come of us. Don’t you want to know what might be?” I asked.

The moment the last word was from my mouth, her hand was wrapped tightly around my throat in a grip that stopped my breath.

“Never question me,” she growled, her silver eyes glowing brightly. “There will be no bond shared between us. I am Princess Selene Borealis, heir to the throne. You are nothing but a filthy mongrel, a peasant begging for scraps.” Her hand increased in pressure, and I choked soundlessly, tears streaming from my eyes. She held my gaze for what felt like an eternity before throwing me to the ground.

I landed among my strawberries. The small bushes seemed to wilt beside me. It was a new strangeness I would have pondered, if I weren’t gasping for breath on my hands and knees at the feet of a princess I thought about to end my life.

“You must be a fool,” she spat. “But even fools can be made useful,” she said more softly. “I’ll buy you from your father. Five hundred gold coins. We leave immediately; there will be no chance for farewells.”

She bent down, grabbed the collar of my shirt, and lifted me easily to my feet before dragging me away from my garden, away from my home, and towards a large black SUV parked on the road.

I didn’t dare say a word as another guard, dressed in the same midnight-blue uniform, opened the car door. I was roughly pushed inside, closely followed by the Princess.

“Arrange payment of five hundred gold coins to Oceanus Maria for his daughter,” the Princess spoke commandingly. The guard nodded once before shutting the door and heading towards the small blue house on the beach that was my home no more. I once again silently prayed to Poseidon that he quelled my father's temper and that he, Rosemary, and my unborn sibling could live a good and happy life.

I watched the Princess from my peripheral vision, too nervous to look at her directly. My throat ached and my lungs held a phantom burn from lack of air when the Princess’s hand had seemed to be on the verge of crushing my throat.

“Nothing to say now?” The Princess sneered down at me. Even in a seated position, she was taller than me by a few inches, and I felt that height difference, acutely aware of my physical inferiority.

I shook my head, keeping my eyes trained on my hands in my lap, trying to control my breathing and stave off the panic that bubbled in my stomach. One minute it seemed I was humming sweetly to my plants, and the next, everything I ever knew—or thought I might have known—was gone. I could feel panic wanting to consume me, but I would not let it. The Princess was my soul match, and so there was hope enough in me to keep strong.

Her slim hand reached out and tugged my jaw upward, forcing me to look at her. She wasn’t overly rough, but there was no doubt about the power that lay in her hand.

“Look at me, mongrel,” she commanded and I met her eyes. Her face was still slightly twisted in disgust with me. “When I ask you a question, I expect an answer, and to be addressed directly,” she explained, not letting go of my jaw.

“I understand,” I spoke quietly, not wanting to anger her. “I don’t have anything to say,” I added, answering her original question.

The pressure of her fingers on my jaw increased fractionally, her eyes slightly brighter in ire. “You will refer to me as ‘my Royal Highness’ or for you and your new place ‘Mistress,’ or ‘Ma’am,’” she said coldly.

“Yes, my Royal Highness,” I answered, showing I had understood what she expected. She smiled mockingly before forcing my head to the side and leaning towards me. Her nose grazed my neck as she inhaled deeply.

“You smell appetising.” She breathed against my neck, hot air creating gooseflesh to rise. I held my breath. The Royals were known to feed however they liked, from whoever they liked. Blood slaves were an old tradition they kept while the rest of the world had moved on. From the stories I’d heard, and the history I learned when at school, death was better than the fortune of a blood slave. My breath caught in my throat. Is that what I had sold myself into? Had I sold myself to be a blood slave of a princess?

“Lucky for you, I’m not thirsty,” she continued, taking one last long inhale, her nose pressed tightly against the thrumming artery of my neck, before she pulled away and released my jaw.

It wasn’t long before we were moving. I didn’t see the guard return; there must have been another vehicle I hadn’t noticed. The journey was tense; I could feel the Princess’s gaze falling upon me regularly. Like when you know a storm is coming, her eyes set anxiety swirling in me.

After we drove so long the sun began to set and I no longer had any idea where we were in relation to the sea—a new and strange feeling for me—I desperately wanted to ask where we were going and how much longer we would travel.

I turned my head towards the Princess. Her eyes were already on me. “My Royal Highness, where are we going?” I asked softly, not looking away.

She held my gaze, always seeming to hold my gaze, but her thoughts were indecipherable.

“We are returning to my residence at the Royal Sanguis Academy, where I am currently enrolled,” she informed me. I found this strange, the Princess seemed older than me—not by much, but well past school age. Something about my face must have told her of my confusion, and she asked “Is there something wrong with that?” the sneer returning to her tone.

“No, my Royal Highness, it’s just that I thought you were older, maybe past schooling,” I answered her.

She smiled at me as if I were a clueless child. “The common class is entered into compulsory education only until their sixteenth year. The Royal and nobility class receive far greater and more comprehensive education, usually until our twenty-fifth year. I am currently in my twenty-third year and have this year and next left to complete my formal education,” she explained, and seemed to wait for a reply.

“I understand now, Ma’am,” I said, nodding my head. “Is the Academy much further?” I asked.

She made a tsking sound. “You have so much to learn in ways of how to communicate with those so much higher above your standing. But I can appreciate that you are trying,” she said coldly. I wasn’t sure what I had done to upset her. Was it asking questions? Did I not address her right? She turned away from me, not answering my question. I was too nervous to voice the question again.

At some point, I had fallen asleep. I knew this when I was roughly pulled from the vehicle and fell onto my knees on hard gravel. The Princess stared down at me when I looked up, bewildered and confused for a few moments, as to where I wasand what was happening, before I remembered my current situation and scrambled to my feet.

The Princess began to walk up the stairs of an impressive mansion, the likes of which I had only seen or read described in books. I walked trailing slightly behind her. Once at the entrance to the large building the doors opened without so much as a knock. Guards dressed in deep red held open the doors soundlessly, and I followed the Princess into a large lounge area immediately behind the entrance doors.

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