#irene rouse

[pseudo-satisfaction]

[digitalfountains]

Irene Rouse

[theneverendingshow]

Irene Rouse via Watch4beauty

[girlsofgmc]

Irene Rouse

[horizongirls]

Simple sentiments

[revehae]

stress toy

pairing ↠ maid!irene x (f) reader

genre .. warnings ↠ smut, dubcon, g!p!reader, sub!irene x dom!reader, power imbalance, unprotected sex

summary ↠ your job is stressful and allows you little time to relax. driven past your limits, you finally decide to put your favorite maid to better use, making her your outlet.

wc ↠ 2.1k

a/n ↠ this is a repost!

don’t like it, don’t read.

life was merely an agonizing pattern, treading through the same golden labyrinth. the cycle never shifted, never changed; you would rouse from bed, a maid would fix you breakfast, you would be escorted to work, and then you would return to your beautiful, golden cage of a home, where plenty of assistants at your service would be awaiting your command. 

maintaining such a luxurious lifestyle required one thing in return - long days and hard hours of brutal work. a woman as hardworking as you, like anyone else, needed an outlet for all the pent-up stress that hours of seemingly never-ending drudgery promised. 

ironically, you had none. 

time was precious and most of yours was spent at a place you loathed. you had hobbies, but they required time you didn’t have. you had friends, but scarce time to spend together. a round of orgasms could likely ease the pressure, but you could hardly recall the last time you’d sex. time might have been the only luxury you simply couldn’t afford. 

irene was probably the main thing you thought about that wasn’t in connection to your work. when you thought of her, you found it difficult to think about anything else. you liked the way her skimpy uniform hugged her body and revealed her skin, leaving little to the imagination but giving you much to muse on all at once. 

the thought of her alone turned you like nothing else. you sat in your study, imagining her legs spread for you, picturing the sight of her glistening cunt just begging to be touched. 

“good evening, mistress,” irene greeted you graciously, snapping you out of your musings. 

you looked up from your desk and shot her a smile back. “good evening, irene.”

perhaps you held some slight favoritism towards irene. noticeably, she was the only maid you called by her name. not because you couldn’t remember the others, but because you adored the way her name rolled off your tongue - and the tendency she had to blush, lowering her head to hide her smile whenever you called her by her name. it was the highlight of your day. 

irene stood behind you, assisting in helping you take off your coat and slipping it off your shoulders before hanging it on the coatrack. then she returned to your backside, hands massaging your back and shoulders as you rested in your chair. “what would you like for dinner, mistress?”

“i’m not very hungry at the moment,” you replied, very aware of her presence. the average person might have immediately crawled into their bed after the day you had, but you preferred to have a couple of moments alone in your study. irene’s presence, however, was even better. 

“oh. whatever you want, mistress,” irene said, secretly smiling when a tiny moan parted from your lips. “is there anything else i can get for you, then? maybe something to drink? i could get you some wine.”

wine would have been amazing. it seemed your maid knew you almost too well. but, staring at her legs in the less than lengthy dress she wore, you had other plans. “you know what i want?” you began, to which she hummed. “i want you to come around here.” 

irene hesitated, but moved to walk around your desk, until you shook your head and made her pause dead in her tracks. “right here,” you said, gesturing to the narrow space between you and your desk. you eyed her, watching with bated breath as she reluctantly slithered in front of you. the moment she was squarely behind the desk, you stood, whirling her around to face it and slightly pressing her over the surface. 

irene felt her dress rising up and reached behind her to tug it down, but you grabbed her wrists in your hands. she stammered, “m-mistress, what are you…”

“shh. you said i can have anything i want, right?” you whispered, leaning toward her ear and pushing strands of her hair out of the way. “i want you.”

irene was silent, breath jagged. her dress rose even more and you were sure she could feel your hard-on against her ass. you rubbed your crotch against her, biting your bottom lip to resist moaning at the friction. all you could hear was her breath picking up pace, speeding up and becoming louder all the while. 

“feel that?” you groaned. 

your pretty little maid nodded. irene could feel you growing harder against her ass, and the tantalizing sensation had her panties dampening by the second. she figured you could most likely see them - and you could easily view the wet patch if you wanted. her uniform was less than lengthy, her lacy, knee-high white socks the main source of sheathing for her legs. 

most of your patience dissipated very quickly and grinding against her ass soon wasn’t enough. you bent irene even further over the desk, ignoring her tiny yelp and slipping your hands underneath the skirt of her dress. you tugged her panties down her thighs, noticing how they were damp with her arousal. intrigued, you decided to run a pair of your fingers through her cunt, chuckling when the contact made her suck in a gasp. you retrieved two arousal-coated fingers, glistening in the light that hung above the room.  

“don’t tease,” irene whimpered. 

you cocked a brow. “you’re going to take whatever i give you.” 

“yes, mistress.”

you fought a snicker and tackled your belt, unfastening the buckle. you were not exactly in the position to tease her, bulge practically prying out of your pants. you tugged down the lower half of your clothes, twitching at the thought of finally getting between those thighs of hers. it was all you had ever wanted, the perfect treat after the end of a hellishly long day. 

irene drew in a breath when the tip glided against her entrance, and moaned when you pushed between her glistening wet folds. the initial thrusts were slow, shallow. they deepened every time you pulled out and pushed back inside, but waiting for you to fill her to her entirety made her whimper out of impatience. 

then, you filled her to the hilt. “okay?” you asked, hands finding purchase in her hips from how how her walls pulsed tightly around you. 

irene bobbed her head needily. “please, move. please.” 

unable to resist it yourself, you began to fuck her, setting a quick pace. you watched the way her body thumped against the desk with every thrust, unable to endure the impact. your thrusts were short but hard, like you were trying to fuck a week’s worth of stress out of your body. even the mere thought of your job melted from your memory, replaced with pleasure, how her pussy sucked you back in every time you pulled out. 

already, you knew this wouldn’t be the last time. 

fucking irene had already been on your wish list from the first time you saw her, climbing in rank as the days turned the months and the months became years. the sight of her in her tiny uniforms always did it for you. sometimes you would sneak a glance whenever she bent over to pick up something, catching a sight of her underwear and imagining what lay beneath. now, you no longer needed to imagine, stretching her little cunt open as you fucked her deeper in deeper. her knees thumped against the desk, nails scraping the surface as a pitchy, prolonged moan tore from her lips. it would seem you found her spot.

“gonna fuck you every day,” you moaned, enticing yourself with the thought of having her sweet cunt to use as a stress reliever every day. “have you waiting for me on my bed, already bent over. maybe i’ll buy you some pretty lingerie.”

“god, please,” irene mewled, clenching around you at the thought of that. you let out a grunt, nails digging into her flesh through the fabric of her clothes. 

you chuckled breathlessly. “yeah? my baby like the sound of that?”

irene gave you another nod, because her mouth was already too busy emitting the prettiest of moans. the way she sounded alone was almost enough to finish you. you could see her face through the reflection of a picture frame sitting on your desk, her mouth parted and her eyes screwed closed. 

and for the love of god, you couldn’t shake how amazing it felt to be buried between her walls. they opened up for you, welcoming you with a wet squelch and a resounding clap as your hips met hers and her cunt clamped down around your length. it was just too easy, sliding in and out. too effortless. she was leaking down her thighs, so wet for you. you figured she wasn’t the only one that had been dreaming of this for some time.

the room sounded like sex, so much that if anyone were to make the mistake of walking by the study door, you wouldn’t be able to deny what you’d done. even your desk was a victim, slightly thudding against the ground. 

you clamped your hand around her mouth, singing, “quiet now. you wouldn’t want anyone to hear you getting fucked like a slut, now would you?” 

you could feel her whimpering into your palm. irene bobbed her head and you moved your hand. she bit her lip, trying her best to stifle her sounds, but there was hardly any point. as long as you were fucking, the sound of you plowing into her wet cunt would give you away.

“you sound so pretty,” you murmured, more to yourself than anything. 

irene blushed. you saw her reflection smiling through the picture frame, cheeks tinted, and chuckled. her reactions to your praise were always the cutest. 

it wasn’t long before you could feel the threat of release approaching. you knew you wouldn’t last very long. not in a cunt that was this wet, this tight. that, plus the combination of her pretty sounds and the look of pleasure coating her face had you teetering dangerously close to finish. of course, irene wasn’t very far behind you. frankly, she was ahead of you. you were fucking her so goddamn good. half of her was convinced that she was dreaming. reasonably so - she had dreamed of you fucking her into oblivion before. on multiple occasions. 

irene whimpered, “mistress, may i please cum?”

her manners made you smile pleasantly. “good girl,” you purred, pressing your lips to the nape of her neck momentarily. “always ask first. cum for me, baby.”

orgasm made short work of her, a loud moan on the verge of a scream involuntarily passing between her lips. her nails clamped onto your desk for leverage, but her cunt clamped around you, pulsing as her whole body shuddered with climax. it was the most astonishing sight you had ever seen - and possibly the most astonishing feeling you had ever felt. 

irene went limp against your desk, but you were still fucking her, chasing climax. “please cum inside me, mistress,” she begged breathlessly, craving it more than anything. needing it more than anything. 

your brows furrowed with pleasure. you were still chasing release, chasing pleasure like it was calling your name. she was positively going to milk you for everything you were worth. 

the sounds of your moans were spurring her on. all irene wanted was to feel you emptying inside her, satisfying her cravings. you weren’t going to last much longer, her bare walls still firm around you. it was all you could do to cling onto your sanity. 

your pace became more vigorous, less rhythmic. irene was still gushing around you, driving you mad. you finished then and there, her name dangling from your lips as you twitched with climax, coming to a sudden halt and emptying your load into her sweet cunt. a prolonged hiss fell from your mouth, and your clamped your nails into her hips, sure there was all types of scratches and bruises on her pretty skin. irene moaned when you painted her walls with your warm cum, unable to get enough. it was everything she had dreamed of and more, and she couldn’t wait to do it again.

needless to say, neither could you. 

you slumped against your chair. irene leaned up, standing straight. she blushed when she felt your cum trickling down her thighs, shutting her thighs and trying not to get turned on all over again. you eyed her, mouth watering as you thought about sitting her in your lap and fucking her on your cock. or having her ride you into kingdom come. 

“i meant what i said earlier. about fucking you every day and buying you lingerie,” you said, smiling partially at the fucked out look on her face. and you were to blame. you tilted your head. “would you like that?” 

irene looked over the moon. “of course, mistress.” 

“drop the ‘mistress,’” you groaned playfully. “next time, i want to hear you moan my name.” 

predictably, irene blushed and smiled.

[afoggymirror]

Devotion, pt. 2

seulrene | smut; concubine Seulgi x feudal lady Irene; abuse; rape/non-con; knife play; blood; angst word count | 4460 parts 1, 3 | AO3

🗡

Yeri’s cold, hitched breath tickled Seulgi’s neck. The girl had, sometimes, when fear began to creep in, taken to sitting curled against her, resting her head on Seulgi’s shoulder, sleeping upright if they were tired enough.

They sat alone on the dim wooden balcony outside the servants’ quarters. A single lantern swung lazily overhead, casting red flickering light into the night beyond. Around it little bugs circled dispassionately. She rested her head on the thin wooden wall behind her, careful not to wake the snoring Seungwan on the other side.

Seulgi and Yeri had finished their tasks before her, and it’d been late afternoon, Yeri already fast asleep on her shoulder, when she saw Seungwan walk in. She’d emerged from the little wooded path leading from the lake, the snow glowing sunset orange, the crunch of her steps nearly rousing Yeri from her sleep. A cheeky smile had flashed on her face and she’d lifted her hands to her mouth, as if to yell directly at the sleeping girl, but ultimately her arms dropped and she stepped quietly into their quarters, still sporting a smirk.

Seungwan could be a handful sometimes – most times, really – but Seulgi was thankful for moments such as these. Underneath all the posturing and the irony and the little games, she felt she could still, occasionally, reach her.

Yeri twitched in her sleep. The day’s tasks had made the girl sweat quite a bit, and Seulgi worried if she was at risk of catching a cold, sitting out here at night.

She pulled on her own robes and covered the girl’s hands a little better. She wondered if they should head inside, if she should draw Yeri a bath, if she should preserve her precious sleep.

Far away steps and a looming red flicker from the lake path announced Sooyoung’s arrival. Her tasks had ended late today.

It wasn’t long, her thick white robes and weird smile emerged ghostly from the dark brush.

“Aww, look at the two little love birds,” the caustic voice made Yeri jump. The girl shifted awkwardly away from Seulgi with a sleepy whimper, rubbing her eyes before hugging her knees.

Looking up, seeing Sooyoung, her breath fogged hotter in the night. The candle light shone angry in Yeri’s eyes.

“Oh dear,” Sooyoung continued, “Our Lady doesn’t like us getting too close…” her smile widened, a nod at Seulgi. “She wants us all for Herself.”

“This kind of thing doesn’t impress her, you know that, right?” Yeri jabbed.

Sooyoung blinked, staring back at her.

“Sorry?”

“Our lady. She’s not giving you your old job back list this.” Yeri’s raised her eyebrows, “She mentioned you the other day, I believe her exact words were ‘the gossipy cow, Sooyoung.’”

Seulgi swore she could see a vein on Sooyoung’s forehead.

“Seulgi, my darling, tell me,” her gaze moved to the other girl with the grace of a dying elephant, “did She really say that?”

A hint of a smile couldn’t help but form on Seulgi’s mouth.

“I am so sorry, you know I’m not at liberty to share what Our Lady says in private.”

That was confirmation enough for Sooyoung. She nodded angrily and stomped past them into their chambers.

“Bitch woke me up…” Yeri pouted while rubbed her eyes.

“See, you’re learning,” Seulgi began to get up. Yeri held her robe,

“Can’t we stay here a while longer?”

Seulgi smiled down at the pleading girl. She looked so small, fair skin and white gown shimmering in the dim lantern light against the cold evening.

“Sure… but let me grab a blanket, I don’t want you catching a cold.”

🗡

She awoke, one night, with little hands pushing on her arm, a little voice calling her,

“Seulgi… Seulgi, wake up, I need to show you something…”

They traversed the path to the lake, shivering in the night cold, wind rustling the leaves around them. Yeri held on to Seulgi, more familiar with the terrain, leading the way through the dark. The girl’s urgency calling her here seemed to have taken a back seat, her heart beating fast as she hugged Seulgi’s arm in anxiety.

Seulgi’s legs knew where to go, but her eyes failed her. It’d been so long since she’d had any reason to take the stroll to the lake, nice on a bright day but immaterial to their daily tasks, the ghastly night dyeing the snowy leaves and verdant flowers black made the path all but unrecognizable.

In time, the thick foliage opened onto a quaint stone landing, a small, open gazebo, surrounded by unlit lamps, further back Her Lady’s lakeside bench. Seulgi wouldn’t dream to sit on such a noble bench, she adjusted her robes and knelt on the stone overlooking the water, the moon reflected vividly. Yeri immediately sat on the bench.

She fumbled with her robes,

“Ok, I need to show you this…” eventually she fished out a small, shoddily bound notebook. It was familiar to Seulgi, but she had to pull from the corners of her memory to remember from where.

“Is… is that Seungwan’s?”

“She writes in it sometimes,” Yeri said, tone conspiratorial as she handed the notebook down to her.

“You shouldn’t take that…” Seulgi took it.

“No, listen,” the girl eyed her intently as she thumbed through the pages, “it’s written in her native language, but I showed Aeri from the kitchen staff, and she understands a little.” Seulgi eyed the little scribbles, all in neat horizontal lines. “Oh, Seulgi, you’ll never guess…”

She looked up at Yeri.

“Seungwan and Sooyoung are in love. They schedule their chores in order to meet away from prying eyes. If Aeri translated this right, they do it so often they probably watered this whole garden by themselves.”

Huh, Seulgi thought, I guess I was always so distracted, I’ve never noticed.

“We can use this, Seulgi,” Yeri beamed, “they won’t bother us again.”

Seulgi felt a little dirty.

“I… I don’t know if this is right…” the notebook seemed to grow heavier and heavier in her hands, “this seems really important to them, we shouldn’t play with it.”

Yeri stared away from her, sights lost on the moonlit stone.

“You’ve been important to me… I don’t like the way they talk to you.”

“I’m alright, Yeri… and you’ll be too,” Seulgi held the girl’s knee gently. “Just leave them alone, okay?. You don’t have to participate in their games.”

“Y… you participate, though. I see how proud you are that Joohyun made you her favorite.”

It was true. She didn’t just love her place next to Joohyun, she loved that she’d taken it from Sooyoung.

“I’m her favorite because I love her honestly,” Seulgi couldn’t look Yeri in the eyes. “I don’t need to stoop to their level to prove it.”

Yeri reached, took the notebook and stood up,

“Well, I’m keeping this,” the disappointment turned to decisiveness in her voice, “I’m not scared of standing up to them.”

Seulgi was left kneeling by the moonlit water, left pondering wether she could say the same.

🗡

“WHERE IS IT, YOU LITTLE CUNT?” the voice echoed around the entire grounds.

Seulgi elbowed her way through the servants’ courtyard, squeezing around the kitchen girls and the crowd of twenty or so guys from the security staff. From within the mass of people, Seungwan’s voice boomed,

“YOU ARE FUCKING DEAD! I AM GOING TO FUCKING END YOU!”

A sharp, continuous scream underlined the words.

“Seungwan, what are you doing!?” Seulgi pushed around Minjeong, bursting into the circle of people gawking at the scene.

Seungwan straddled Yeri, a fistful of the cowering girl’s hair in her hand.

“Stay the fuck out of this, Seulgi,” she shook Yeri’s head violently. “She’s my direct underling, I have the right, by Her Lady’s word, to treat her how I want.”

She couldn’t argue with that. Seulgi had the highest position among the concubines, but it didn’t give the the right to impede on what Seungwan did with her own inferiors.

“She took something of mine and I will kill her if she doesn’t give it back.”

“Do you want to tell everyone what I took?” Yeri spat, pushing away Seungwan’s arms. “Maybe I should tell them…”

“I am going to fist you so hard you’re paralyzed from the waist down,” Seungwan punctuated the words with punches around the girl’s defenses.

“That’s enough, Seungwan!” Sooyoung appeared from between the onlookers. With no hesitation, she made her way to Seungwan, and shoved her to the ground.

Seungwan looked up, confused,

“D… do you not understand what is happening?” Seungwan was right to be afraid. If it came out that they kept their relationship secret from Her Lady for so long, their punishment would be unimaginable.

“No, I understand. I just don’t see how you’ll solve this by beating her up.” Seungwan huffed. She got up,

“Alright, you solve it then,” with one last, dejected kick at Yeri, she stormed off.

The girl caught her bearings slowly, face red from the abuse and the shame of being gawked at by the entire staff. Sooyoung’s hand reached out to help her up, and, despite herself, she took it.

“I meant it. We’re not scared of you, I stopped her because I really think we shouldn’t be fighting like this,” Sooyoung’s voice almost sounded genuine, “I’ll talk to Seungwan and see if I can get her to calm down.”

“T… thank you…”

As Yeri walked off, Seulgi caught the glimpse she took of her, hurt evident in her eyes… should she have stepped in?

🗡

The entire house felt odd that night. It wasn’t often they would wake up to Joohyun screaming.

Security staff moved fast, Seulgi heard their foot fall before she was even fully awake. Her beloved Lady screamed again, and she was up on her feet, running blindly into the frozen night.

A line of security guys blocked the balcony to Their Lady’s chambers. By the the time Seulgi faced them, Her screams had ceased, and her thoughts burned with unspeakable scenarios.

“She may pass, Our Lady said so,” one of the security staff, Seulgi knew him as Jaehyun, voiced to the others around him.

The line parted and she walked, shivering, past them. The garden to her side rested tranquil in the dark, cloaked in snow, sparkling the moonlight above, a few red poppies uncovered by the wind.

The curtains to Her Lady’s chambers were drawn, bitter light from the oil lamps glowed orange inside. Seulgi hesitated, despite her hurry, facing the doors, the hatred emanating from within paralyzing.

She slid open the doors and, before she could even kneel – as was custom – her eyes locked onto the blood-smeared Joohyun.

Seulgi ran to her. Her Lady sat on one of her intricate wooden chairs, black robes closed, a hand stained red holding up her cheek, staring at the figures a couple feet in front of her.

She knelt in front of the chair. Panicked, she pulled Her Lady’s hand and held it tight. Scratches ran across her face, more down her neck towards her collar bone, seemingly more within her robes. None too deep, though deep enough that flowers of blood sprouted from her pristine skin.

Her hands shaking, she brought Her Lady’s stained fingers to her lips and kissed them,

“Are you okay?”

Joohyun didn’t answer. Her sights were locked on the struggling bodies beside them.

Seulgi looked back. A security guy – there were so many, she could barely recognize this one – held little Yeri immobilized, the girl’s hair disheveled, her face red and swollen, cheeks glistening with tears.

“She attacked me,” Joohyun said coldly, “Seulgi, the little bitch attacked me.”

“Yeri…”

The girl struggled in the man’s grasp. More than fear, more than pain, Seulgi sensed heart break in her eyes. Heart break that Seulgi, who’d cared for her so dearly, now knelt diligent against her, next to Her Lady.

“We can’t live like this, Seulgi. We can’t live like this.”

For a moment, Seulgi softened. The girl seemed to shrink in her red-stained gown. She looked so vulnerable, every bit of resilience she’d built in her time here chipped away, leaving only the wounds.

“She brought a fucking knife,” Joohyun said. Her icy expression cut through Yeri.

At this, the girl’s eyes widened.

Shaking, her vision strayed from Seulgi, to Joohyun, to Seulgi. She looked desperate, like someone ready to bet her life.

With the little arm movement she had, she reached into her gown, pulled out the knife, and haphazardly tossed it onto the floor.

The security guy reacted fast, making to shove Yeri, but she dug her nails into his arm, and they tumbled to the ground, wrestling.

Seulgi, dazed, picked up the knife.

“Help! Reinforcements!” the security guy yelled.

Her mind caught up. This was Yeri’s last hope, that Seulgi joined in her mutiny,

“Seulgi… I beg you…” the girl pleaded between grunts, struggling to look her in the eyes, “she brainwashed you. She’s not God. She’s evil. She just wants to torture us…”

Seulgi stood up, trembling. Joohyun now looked up at her, expression blank as ever, although… is… is she afraid…?

“We can run, Seulgi… we can start again somewhere better,” Yeri’s voice shook with tears and struggle, “you don’t have to hurt for her…”

She eyed the knife. It was plain, probably taken from the kitchens that morning.

The truth was, it didn’t matter if she had to hurt, if Joohyun was divine or mere nobility, if her motives were perverse. She’d welcomed Seulgi, when everyone else had shown dishonesty, and Seulgi had loved her, when everyone else had shown fear.

Joohyun had gotten up by then. She faced Seulgi with one hand outstretched, stepping back tentatively.

Oh God… oh God, I’m scaring her, she threw the knife to the ground, as if it burned, taking her shaking hands to the sides of her head,

“I… I’m sorry for scaring you…” by then her throat had began to close, her eyes had began to burn. She made a deep, desperate bow.

“Seulgi…” Joohyun’s voice warmed her ears, “oh, Seulgi…” she cupped Seulgi’s cheeks, bringing her into a kiss.

Her hands reached for Joohyun’s figure, trembling at first, then pulling her with passion. Holding her tight, she allowed the tears to fall.

“Oh, my Seulgi… for a second I thought…” Irene whispered into her.

“No, I never…”

“Those vultures keep telling me awful things,” Joohyun’s hands held the back of Seulgi’s neck, and she brushed the cuts on Joohyun’s cheek, softly. “Seungwan and Sooyoung. They said you loved this girl. They would have me believe you loved her more than me.”

Seulgi turned her eyes to Yeri again. The girl lay curled on the carpet. Her last hope of escape gone, she sobbed, the fight had left her. The security guy stood redundantly, awaiting his next orders in concern,

“Leave,” said Joohyun, and so he did. It was clear from her tone she wanted no other witnesses.

🗡

Seulgi could sense the fury emanating from Joohyun as she picked up the knife and approached Yeri. The girl recoiled further, tear-soaked hair spread wide on the carpet, looking up at Her Lady through her hands. Clearly, she sensed the anger too.

“You have some balls,” Joohyun’s knuckles turned white around the knife.

“Please…” Yeri begged, crying behind her hands.

Joohyun lifted her leg and stomped hard on the girl’s head. She blocked she brunt of it with her wrists, but her head did hit the floor with a dull thud. Joohyun pointed at a table in one corner, upon which rested a length of crimson rope,

“Tie her.”

Seulgi lowered her head. It would do her or Yeri no good to question orders.

The girl posed little resistance. Seulgi almost wished she would have. Kick and scream, raise Hell, protest in any way that reassured she wasn’t already completely broken.

Instead, her feet just quivered meekly along with her sobs, as Seulgi tied her legs together. She let herself be disrobed, and her arms were easily led behind her back, as Seulgi tied them together from wrists to elbows. Her chest heaved passively as Seulgi sat her up to weave rope between her breasts, behind her shoulders and around her neck, in one of the patterns Joohyun liked so much.

The whole time, Seulgi didn’t dare look her in the eyes.

Joohyun sat back on her chair, hair falling lazily over her shoulders, one hand moving in a slow rhythm within her robes, another fiddling with the knife,

“On my lap.”

Seulgi hugged the girl awkwardly to lift her, tears wetting her shoulder. She dropped Yeri on her knees next to Joohyun, and raised her to be laying on her stomach across Her Lady’s thighs. She knelt, away from Yeri’s gaze.

Joohyun’s fingers ran over the girl’s shoulder, grazing the back of her neck lightly, the folds of her reddened skin where her tied arms bent backwards.

“You have some fucking balls…” blunt, she grabbed a handful of the girl’s hair and yanked it back. She raised the knife to Yeri’s cheek. The girl winced, tried to shake her head away. Her expression had turned from hopelessness to profound fear.

Her hand shivered with anger as she dragged the knife slowly across the girl’s face. Yeri’s shrieks cut through Seulgi, an accursed sound.

Blood began to flow, though the cut wasn’t deep, maybe just enough to leave a noticeable scar. Joohyun had developed an eye for these things.

Yeri squirmed. Words had largely left her, but a few despondent begs of “please” would sometimes leave her lips.

Joohyun brought up the knife and licked it. Tasting Yeri’s blood, her eyes closed, she looked blissful. Often Seulgi wondered if she honestly just liked the taste, or if it gave her some heavenly kind of pleasure only someone like her was capable of.

She grazed Yeri’s neck with the knife, transfixed,

“How ever will I tame you, little girl?”

“P… please.”

“‘Please, oh please,’” Joohyun mocked. “It’s too late for ‘please.’”

Pulling Yeri’s head further back, she cut just below her neck, far from any artery, but surely close enough the girl’ mind flashed with danger. Her bound legs convulsed as much as they could, body flailing to inch away from the knife.

“As a matter of fact, I think apologies are in order.”

“I’m sorry!” Between the shrieks and ragged breaths her voice came out deep and pained and rushed, “I’m sorry I don’t know what came over me I’ll never do something like that to you ever again please I’m sorry!”

“Hm…” Joohyun found the fear in her words cute. “I’ll make you believe that.”

“I’m sorry! Please, I really am!” Yeri bawled as Joohyun made another, deeper cut, from her collarbone down to her upper chest, along one of the ropes. The words turned to more wails.

“That’s it, my little girl,” another cut along the side of her chest, “say it like you mean it.”

She didn’t. It was all the girl could do to whine and squirm in pain.

Joohyun’s breath became ever heavier, the rage in her smile well infused with something more.

“Seulgi, the paddle.”

The paddle – Seulgi was intimate enough to know where to find it – rested in a drawer in one of the heavy cupboards adorning the chamber’s walls.

Though she had often seen Joohyun rummage through the whips and toys and lose torture implements, this might’ve been, she realized, her first time holding one.

It felt heavy. She fumbled a little picking it up.

When Seulgi got back Joohyun was a few more cuts in, thin streaks of blood drizzling from the girl’s upper body. Yeri’s nails dug deep into the palms of her tied hands, her weeping continuous, muffled by waves of tangled hair enveloping her face. Joohyun had released her head to carve cute little patterns into her flank.

Seulgi began to kneel, to give Her Lady the paddle,

“No no, you hit her.”

She did a double take.

Their eyes met. A hint of conspiracy sparked on Joohyun’s smile.

This was the first time Seulgi had ever been asked something like this. Is… is this a test? She truly didn’t want to cause the girl any pain. A promotion…?

The wood weighted in her grasp. Yeri’s ass caught Seulgi’s gaze, shivering just below the girl’s clenched fists, glowing skin mocking, scatological.

She swiped the paddle at Yeri, hesitantly. The girl grunted a little.

“Do it right!” Joohyun laughed. Her tone was half rage, half childlike joy. She’d taken to cutting parallel lines just below Yeri’s ribs, “I want her to leave here with her ass purple.”

Right…

She closed her eyes and took a breath.

Please forgive me, Yeri…

She struck Yeri as hard as she could. A harsh whimper left the girl’s lips.

“Hmm…” Joohyun’s breath deepened further, “more.”

Seulgi hit again. Waves rippled through Yeri’s skin.

The girl’s quiet sobs erupted for a second in a hoarse scream.

Doubt flashed through Seulgi for a second, and she raised her gaze to Joohyun. Her Lady was in a world of her own, one hand already deep inside her robes, the other carving increasingly sloppy lines into Yeri. She exhaled, hypnotized by the blood flow.

Seulgi struck Yeri’s ass, harder than before. She couldn’t fully comprehend it, but regardless of Yeri’s pain, this strange revenge scenario was sure to give Joohyun profound pleasu­re, and this took precedence over all else.

She hit again. It was shocking to her how fast one gained bruises when struck with the right material.

Like fire, the girl’s skin grew from gold to red to blue. Joohyun’s moans grew hotter also.

When it looked like she was close to climax, when Yeri’s back and sides were a mosaic of crimson and her bottom black, when the girl’s voice was gone and her cries were suffocated whistles, Joohyun kicked her from her lap.

She tumbled to the ground in awkward thuds. She began to curl but Joohyun was fast on her feet and kicked her shoulder so she’d lie on her stomach.

Lowering herself to her level, Joohyun sat on her heaving chest.

Through a curtain of messy hair, the girl’s eyes were full moons. She averted her gaze anywhere but into Joohyun’s, until her chin was seized and her face was made to look.

Half grinding on the girl’s wide chest, Joohyun cleared the hair from her face with the knife.

“Maybe I don’t have to tame you,” her grin was unnatural, frenzied, “maybe I just have to keep punishing you over…” a cut right between her breasts, “and over…” one at the base of her neck, “and over…” one on her cheek.

“I’ll be good!” Yeri managed, her voice a hoarse, tortured croak, “I understand now, I promise. I’ll be good for you.”

Joohyun rode her faster,

“Have I finally broken you in, my little girl?”

“Yes!” her tears welled up again, “please believe me, I’ll be a good girl.”

Joohyun’s hand snaked between her robes again. She leaned forward, half-lidded eyes an inch from Yeri’s panicked gaze, hazy smile breathing into her, hair a dark night falling around her.

She licked the blood from the girl’s cheek, half shaking in delight as she did. She kissed the tears and the snot and the spit and the cuts, marking her as property in bizarre, hungry degradation.

Satisfied, she leaned back and let her hair fall over her shoulders as she look back,

“Seulgi,” she waved with her knife hand, “come. I want you to have her mouth.”

For a moment, Seulgi was paralyzed. The guilt she felt was only surpassed by the honor.

This wasn’t a test, it never was. Joohyun wanted her to share the pleasure she felt in the girl’s torment. It was a gift.

But could she really enjoy it?

Shyly, Seulgi disrobed. She joined, hesitant, positioning herself above the girl’s head and across Her Lady.

She still couldn’t bear to look Yeri in the face, she just sat on it.

Joohyun still rode her hand through her robes, sat on the girl’s stomach, her thighs touching Seulgi’s, her robes and her hair spread in a lazy black halo, complete delight on her face.

“Pleasure her!” she hit Yeri’s ribs with the handle of her knife. Seulgi felt the girl bury her face into her, tongue lapping out like a scared dog.

It felt strange. It’d been so long since she’d been allowed this kind of feeling, and now it was at the expense of her poor, traumatized companion. It didn’t feel right.

“Tell me when you’re close,” Joohyun slowed down her own rhythm, “I want to do it with you.”

Now it felt right.

Seulgi pressed down against Yeri.

Joohyun dropped the knife and lifted her hand to join it with Seulgi’s.

Daring, Seulgi leaned forward to kiss her.

Her kiss was salty, with a faint taste of iron. It was perfect.

🗡

The union with Her Lady pushed Seulgi closer and closer. All guilt for the squirming girl underneath them burned away by Joohyun’s passion.

Soon she was calling out into Joohyun, and Joohyun fastened her pace again. They finished together, Seulgi’s hands shaking against Joohyun’s collar bones, Joohyun’s clawing at Seulgi’s shoulder blades.

There they sat, panting, for a while. Only when Yeri’s muffled cough rang out from beneath her did Seulgi jolt up, in alarm.

“I should have a doctor look at her in the morning,” she paced back to the heap of her robes on the ground.

Joohyun giggled and, herself, stood up.

“Seulgi?”

She turned around, eyes bouncing on the reddened, gagging girl on the floor for a beat before locking onto Joohyun,

“Yeah?”

“Can you sleep here tonight?”

Her face burned even hotter than it did before.

“Y… yeah, of course, My Lady.”

Joohyun smiled a sweet smile, the heat and hatred gone.

Seulgi freed Yeri of her ropes, and draped her loosely. She barely had the energy to stand, so Seulgi threw one of her arms over herself and carried her through the courtyard.

The whole time, no words disturbed the cold, white silence.

Arriving at the sleeping quarters, all lights were gone but one, and faint, distant snores echoed from the dark.

Seulgi knelt and helped Yeri down to sit on the wood. The girl was burning, like a sudden fever had assailed her.

She thought, for a second, of something to say. That she had to do it, that the plan to escape wouldn’t work, that this was the only way.

For the first time in what must have been hours, Seulgi mustered the courage to look Yeri in the eyes.

The girl wore an expression of the most profound hatred.

[kingsmovies]

Irene Rouse

[pseudo-satisfaction]

[digitalfountains]

Irene Rouse

[theneverendingshow]

Irene Rouse via Watch4beauty

[beastsovrevelation]

This screenshot makes me think of Sanguis... The scene where she loses consciousness, and Valak rouses her with magic. He's so distressed his own powers wound him. Now, Irene looks at him with teary joy in her eyes. Her skin is till cold, and laced by damp. She's finally coherent enough to comprehend what happened. He's back by her side.

Grrr, my heart. I should pick up the pace on Chapter 3.

[ehalejandro-blog]

¡Echa un vistazo!

[afoggymirror]

Devotion, pt. 1

seulrene | smut; concubine Seulgi x feudal lady Irene; abuse; rape/non-con; deepthroating; whipping; blood; angst word count | 3090 parts 2, 3 | AO3

❁

A whine from across the dark room roused Seulgi from her sleep.

Curled onto her side, on the same hard wooden floor as her, the new girl shivered, muffling her sobs.

Seulgi crawled over. She’d seen this before. Sooyoung came from the provinces, and Seungwan was shipped here across the ocean, adapting hadn’t been easy for them either.

She knelt over the figure and gently touched her arm. The girl recoiled, the touch fire on her skin. Seulgi understood. The girl had been summoned to Her Lady’s chambers for the first time today. The first few times always felt violating.

Shaking, the girl turned her head. She was pretty, even in the dark and even through her tears, a delicate chin and full lips. They got a really young one this time.

Seulgi, slowly, as if tending to a wounded animal, adjusted the girl’s gown to cover her cold arms. She took off the socks she’d bought last time she went into town, and shifted to put them on the girl’s bare feet. Seulgi earned enough to afford another pair, but she knew the girl would have to save for months.

“What’s your name, honey?”

She hesitated, still shaking.

“Yeri.”

“Yeri…” Seulgi didn’t look her in the eyes. “I’m Seulgi.” She rested her hands on her lap. “I know the start here is hard. If there’s anything I can do to help you adjust, don’t be afraid to ask.”

With that, Yeri’s posture seemed to soften a little.

“C… can I have a pillow?”

Seulgi smiled sadly. She crawled next to Yeri’s head and offered her lap. Soon the girl was in a deep, pained sleep, while Seulgi sat back against the flimsy wooden wall and drifted in and out.

❁

The first days were tough on Yeri. She was the new toy, and Her Lady had a habit of breaking new toys. Last night the girl’s screams could be heard well into the morning hours.

Her leg threatened to give out. The large basket of produce she was carrying tilted, and a potato dropped out. Seulgi sighed. She picked the root from the snow and put it back with the rest of the vegetables.

“Here,” she reached over and took the basket from Yeri. It was heavy, much heavier than the girl should be expected to carry after a heavy night with the Lady.

“Thank you…” Yeri shook her arms in relief and sidled behind Seulgi.

Seulgi was eager to help. She couldn’t bear the thought of Yeri hating her new life here. She was sure to make it easier in any way she could.

They worked their way up the path leading from the front gate, their thick flats leaving prints in the snow, the crunch the only sound to break the pristine morning silence.

Seulgi waddled a little carrying the basket up the stairs behind the main garden. As servants they weren’t to use the garden, their passage was a little trail hidden beyond the foliage, out of sight. Through the leaves Yeri could glimpse the colorful flowers and the topiary and the fountain, all covered in a delicate white sheet. Overlooking the garden, Her Lady’s chambers.

The path snaked past the main section of the building toward the back of the property, the servants’ quarters. As the rickety old balconies emerged from amid the trees, a bright, vaguely menacing smile greeted them. God fucking damn it, Seulgi thought.

“Oh Seulgi!” Sooyoung called. “I was looking everywhere for you!” She looked at the basket with a feigned look of confusion. “Are you delivering that to Yizhuo in the kitchens? I thought that was little Yeri’s job today.”

With a grunt, Seulgi put down the produce. Yeri looked between them in genuine confusion.

“You’re right, Sooyoung. I must have made a mistake.”

“Oh my… Our Lady hates it when we mess up our schedules…” Sooyoung pouted as though that wasn’t a threat. “Well, I won’t tell. Because we’re such good friends!”

“Thank you, Sooyoung. I sure owe you one,” Seulgi said with a small bow.

Having gotten what she wanted from her, Sooyoung turned her attention to Yeri.

“Well, come on!” Her fake smile never faltered. “We can’t leave the kitchen girls waiting.”

Yeri looked at Seulgi, lost, meeting only her downcast look.

When Seulgi had gained Sooyoung’s position as first concubine, Her Lady had graciously allowed the old favorite to keep some of her duties. Particularly, Sooyoung was still responsible for scheduling the girls’ tasks, something she would often use in little power plays like these.

Yeri grunted as she picked up the basket. Her legs were visibly shaking and a look of pain crossed her face.

❁

The screams were louder that night. Angrier, too.

They stopped at some hour. Shortly after, a knock on the servant’s sleeping quarters. The voice of one of the security staff called for Seulgi.

Soon she was back on the balcony to Her Lady’s chambers, after what felt like years, her heart running like the first time.

She took off her flats, took a deep breath, and slid the door open.

She closed the door and knelt before anything else, as was appropriate. She might not have come here in weeks, but she wouldn’t forget her customs.

After settling, her sights immediately found Her Lady. Delicate Joohyun, perfect as ever, clad in an open pink robe with black details, hair flowing over her shoulders, crouched in stark contrast to the pathetic figure she tormented: little Yeri, crumpled and tied with thick crimson rope, face red and puffed, eyes bloodshot.

Joohyun came to her. She straddled Seulgi’s lap, pulled her into a kiss with gentle but strong fingers.

“Oh Seulgi. Light of my life,” she whispered into her. “I have missed you.”

She still couldn’t believe it. A hundred years could pass and she wouldn’t believe it. It was so utterly surreal that Her Lady, this divine being, perfect in every sense, would want her.

“I’ve missed you too,” and oh, she had.

“The gossipy cow Sooyoung told me you were helping that one with the chores,” she nodded her head back to the sad little bundle in the corner. “Seulgi, tell me, how do I tame this brat? I don't enjoy brats.”

“She just hasn’t seen yet,” Seulgi rested her head on the crook of Joohyun’s neck, beautiful hair brushing against her face, Yeri barely visible in the corner of the room like a languid old piece of furniture. “She'll learn to love you.”

She felt Joohyun’s face form a smile. She was pulled away, the sides of her face held gently, as she was made to gaze into Joohyun’s serene eyes.

“Seulgi… I called you here,” a severe tone tinged the glorious moment, ”to show her how she’s expected to behave.”

❁

When Seulgi undressed, a soft gasp came from the corner of the room. Right, Seulgi smirked, Yeri hadn’t seen me like this yet.

Seulgi’s lower back, torn apart by scars and marks, revealed itself as her worn out night gown fell to the ground. Her shoulder a little crooked from when it’d been dislocated.

She felt proud being seen like this. Like a beast to complete Her Lady’s beauty.

Joohyun kicked her hard on the side.

She kicked her again, hard enough that her arms gave out. She barely had time to feel pain. Next thing she knew, her face was flat against the carpeted floor, a heel squeezing down on her neck.

Seulgi could scarcely breathe. She felt a knee against the small of her tortured back. Her legs were being bound with hard, unyielding rope.

Her world was Joohyun’s foot against her neck, Joohyun’s knees against her ribs, her cheek against the carpet, rope skillfully snaking up her body.

She struggled for air, in vain. Her sorry close-up view of the carpet had begun turning to black when Joohyun got up. She gasped some scattered breaths while Her Lady moved, just outside her vision, throwing rope around with delight.

Soon her ankles were being pulled. Then her stomach, her chest, her face, all chafing painfully across the carpet. Her legs were being hoisted. Joohyun had set up a pulley. A cold hit her stomach as she felt herself lift off the ground.

She squirmed, only to realize her arms had long been bound. Blood began rushing to her head. Seulgi looked at herself. She hung upside down, a pig for the slaughter, tied with complex knots, red rope crossing through her like wounds.

Her vision finally focused on Joohyun’s body in front of her, fair skin already glistening with sweat from the effort of lifting her.

Joohyun, even in all her glory, knelt. She held Seulgi’s suspended, straining head in her loving hands.

She kissed her. Their lips met in an awkward, upside-down embrace.

“You’re so beautiful,” Joohyun breathed, meeting her mesmerized eyes. If Seulgi’s face wasn’t red from the blood pooling, it certainly would be now.

The hand cupping her cheek retreated. The next moment, pain hit her face. She found the room spinning wildly in circles around her.

Her head felt full already. Every circle she completed, she’d catch a glimpse of a hint of a smirk in Joohyun's stoic face.

When the nausea started creeping in, she was stopped. Joohyun grabbed her hard by the arm, her other hand brushing down Seulgi’s toned abdomen, tickling slightly, making her fidget against her restraints. The rope burned, she felt it dig into her skin in intricate patterns from her collar bones to her ankles.

Joohyun’s hand rested on a dark scar, just below Seulgi’s ribs.

“I was so proud of this one.”

She kissed the scar, her lips soft clouds. She kissed up Seulgi’s stomach, her hips, then bending to kiss her breasts. She could already feel it. Joohyun was getting eager.

She reached down and grabbed a handful of Seulgi’s hair. She jerked it backwards, all Seulgi could do was bend awkwardly, the pain in her scalp a fair trade for the blood relieving her head.

Joohyun pulled a toy from her robe and shoved it down Seulgi’s mouth like a plunger. She barely had time to react, before the thing rammed against her throat.

She coughed. Joohyun’s grip got hungrier. The vile noises coming out of Seulgi only served to embolden her.

From between the pounding and the coughing and the mounting saliva, Seulgi wrangled a tattered breath. The more she gagged, the more her body convulsed, the more her ropes shifted and sunk into her skin.

“Come… on… swallow…” Joohyun punctuated each word with a harder shove of the toy.

Seulgi collected herself. Over the years, she’d gotten very good at reminding herself that, no matter how uncomfortable a situation might be, Her Lady’s orders took first priority.

She relaxed, the bizarre position leading the toy past the back of her throat.

“That’s it… good girl.”

Chills ran down her spine, as the toy found a lighter rhythm in her. She could tell Joohyun was pleased.

Her hair was released. Seulgi dangled clumsily back and forth, toy still lodged in its place. From the corner of her eye she saw Joohyun walking off, and returning with something in her hands.

She was caught again. Seulgi felt a whip lightly brush against her skin.

“I was so distracted with that brat,” Joohyun grabbed her waist, her breasts, kissed her body with ever growing fervor, “I forgot how good you were for me.”

What few breaths could squeeze around the toy and out the corner of her mouth would carry with it thick drool, she felt it beginning to drip down towards her eyes.

Joohyun took a few steps back, away from her view, her stare still burning on Seulgi’s back.

The first hit of the whip caught a little off, the tip reaching around and bouncing off a rope near her ribs. Still, it was sure to be red tomorrow.

“Count.”

“Mhone…” Seulgi managed to say around the toy.

The second lash hit true, stinging all the way across her stomach. A long, pained grunt emerged from deep within her.

“Hmwo…”

“How high should she count?” Joohyun’s breath was noticeably heavier.

“Please stop…” Yeri sounded scared. “I promise I’ll behave…”

“Oh, shut the fuck up.”

The sound of the whip cut through the air. It hit Seulgi square in the hip.

“Mhree…”

“See? She loves it.”

Dark began to creep around the edges of her vision. Her jaw exhausted and her face covered in drool, she felt blood start to trickle from the last two lashes.

The next hit across the second. She would have doubled over in pain if she was free to.

“Mhour…”

“I’ll keep going until you give me a number.”

“Five, please, five!” Yeri pleaded.

“Hm…” Joohyun considered. A lash hit Seulgi’s rib, just missing her breast. “Too low.”

“Hwihve…”

“Ten! Please stop at ten,” Yeri’s voice faltered.

The next lash went a little further and hit her side, around her waist. She twitched sideways in pain.

“Mhix…”

“Sounds good,” Joohyun's voice could barely hide her excitement. Sure, she’d never let the facade crack in front of the new girl, but Seulgi knew her enough to tell.

At multiple times over the last lashes, Seulgi felt close to fainting, only to be awoken by the searing pain of another lash. She knew, tomorrow, her body would be a mess of open cuts and bruises. It didn’t matter. Joohyun loved this too much for it to matter.

When the “mhen” had left her mouth, Joohyun threw the whip to the side, and walked over to her. She grabbed Seulgi’s slender waist with greed, kissing her cuts, licking the blood. Almost as an after thought, she reached down and pulled the toy from Seulgi’s throat.

A torrent of thick, slimy spit fell out, it was all Seulgi could do to angle her head back so her face wouldn’t be completely covered. She coughed, wheezed, gasped desperately for the first real breath she’d taken in minutes. Her throat felt so strained, she was scared it’d never recover.

Looking back up, she saw the toy now inside Joohyun. Seulgi’s dangling body was hugged close, a hand kneading her hip violently, kisses on hers scars like she was meant to be devoured.

Joohyun knelt slowly, marking a path down Seulgi’s chest and down to her collarbones, to her neck. Her robe fell on the disgusting puddle of spit on the ground, she didn’t seem to mind.

She stared into Seulgi's eyes.

“You look so pretty.”

She didn’t. She looked a repugnant, drooling mess. But damn if she didn’t feel pretty.

“You’re prettier,” Seulgi’s voice came out strained, on her face an enamored smile.

Joohyun moved the toy fast while grasping Seulgi’s hair, breathing heavier and heavier into her.

Her head fell backwards with a profound sigh. She pulled out the toy and walked to one corner. Slowly, Seulgi was lowered to the ground, her hair pooling under her, along with all the spit.

She lay on the ground when Joohyun came back. She was still bound, but at least now she could bend her legs. She’d lost track of how numb her body had gotten.

Wordlessly, Joohyun put her hair to one side, and straddled Seulgi’s face. She prepared to hold her breath again. It was clear from the look on Her Lady’s eyes she might not stop even if Seulgi passed out.

Her face was pulled in. The spit covering her mixed with Joohyun’s wetness. She put out her tongue, pushing back. Her hair was being pulled so hard she felt like she was getting scalped.

The sighs reaching Seulgi’s ears turned to panting, turned to moans. Joohyun’s hips pushed harder and harder, grinding into her.

With a high pitched whimper, she held Seulgi’s head hard in place, her back arching into it, as she came. Her posture softened, head falling backwards, catching herself with a hand on Seulgi’s stomach. She let go of Seulgi’s hair.

They stayed like that for a while. Seulgi looked up at Her Lady, as entranced as she ever was.

She couldn’t believe her luck, that she’d gained the favor of someone so perfect, so heavenly. If Joohyun took pleasure in putting her through Hell, she’d go with a smile on her face. And she knew Joohyun loved her for that, for her devotion.

❁

“She can’t do this to us, Seulgi,” Yeri dipped the rag in water. “She can’t fucking do this to us.”

The girl held the rag against the cuts covering Seulgi’s abdomen. Seulgi grunted.

“She’s our superior but she can’t just abuse us like this.”

“Stop.”

“Seulgi, I’m serious,” Yeri’s eyes were fixed on hers, more than a tinge of despair behind them. “She’s not actually God, you know that, right? She’s not divine, she’s just some noble woman who bought us.”

Seulgi slapped her.

For a moment, Yeri kept her eyes down. When she looked back, something else had mixed with the despair. A hint of resentment.

“Here…” Seulgi reached into a shelf next to their sleeping areas. “It’s an ointment I bought in town a while ago.”

She pulled up Yeri’s gown, revealing a constellation of harsh, dark bruises going up the girl’s legs. Yeri looked in suspicion, but allowed her to apply the lotion.

“How can you afford all that stuff?” Yeri picked at a finger nail. “My pay is barely enough for food.”

“Our Lady, in all Her wisdom, has made me first concubine.” She took care to touch Yeri’s leg only very lightly, to not cause pain. “Our pay is dependent on our rank.”

Yeri sighed, posture dropping ever more.

“I hadn’t realized you were her favorite.”

Seulgi busied her hands, avoiding the girl’s downcast eyes.

“You haven’t learned how to conduct yourself here. Those things you just said…” she came to a pause, “if you say any of those things in earshot of other staff, or God forbid Sooyoung or Seungwan…” she continued, a begrudging sense of pride creeping into her tone, “they haven’t taken well to losing Her favor.”

Yeri lifted her eyes, then averted them, then lifted again. She was shaking.

“Seulgi, I don’t know what to do,” her voice cracked.

She broke down. Her head fell on Seulgi’s shoulder and she wept. Seulgi hesitantly held the girl in her arms. This was her first time seeing this kind of emotion from another of the staff, she wasn’t sure what to say.

“Seulgi, please don’t let her hurt me again.”

She couldn’t make that promise.

[kingdomofbellows]

Can the royals play any traditional instruments from their culture? How many & what are they? :3c

"Ah! A question that I know the answer to! Irene and Dustine don't play anything. Dustine went to sea before he faced the tutors, and Irene was too busy with queen lessons to learn so I learned them all for them! I mostly play the piano, but I can also play a bit on the zither and on the Pipa. I've also played on the harp but I'm not as good. Oh! I also had a rousing kazoo solo once! I do adore kazoo's they're so fun to play hehe~"

"But Bellows has a great many instruments that are all lovely. I want to attempt a special flute made in one of the villages they call a wizzle..it's made out of a special reed that only grows there and apparently has quite the haunting sound that's associated with ghosts. It'd be great fun I think!"