• A sinister smile crossed the woman's face. Her white skin glowed faintly in the darkened room, as if she hadn't seen sunlight in several days. That glowing face was marred, however, by a dark streak the stank of iron. Looking to her side, she giggled lightly and moved away from the table she had been near, "Well, I can barely see, now. I think I'll have to stoke the fire." He voice was that of a girl, no more than seventeen. As she placed another log on the fire, it slowly brightened the room, showing the squalor she currently lived in.

    The brick walls were stained with reddish brown hand stains, the floor looked like it had once matched the walls original gray, but now it was splattered with what was obviously old blood. Chains rattled faintly and her surprisingly clear, bright green eyes moved to the three 'friends' she had in here. They had been accused of being spies by her king, a man who had once shared her bed. She would be forever loyal to him, though not because of that. When her family had beaten her and tossed her out, he had taken her in as his mistress. And now that he had married his queen, he had given her a job where he would still see her. However, he had rarely bedded her of late.

    Bringing her attention back to her 'friends', the smirked. They were chained in various places; one was on the table she had been next to, another was haning limply from the ceiling, and the final was chained against the wall, his back resting on dully sharp spikes. She had been playing with them for several days now, having learned how to make this last. Another giggle passed her rosy lips as she bent and placed metal pokers to heat in the coals. "Well, my pets, I believe I'm nearly done with you all. But maybe His Majesty will let me keep you, once you confess. My pets are rare that I still want to play with you. And then, I'll eventually have to let you go off to the Hang Man. He always steals my toys." The pretty pout that she gave made it quite obvious why she had been the mistress to a king.

    Her eyes moved to the woman who was hanging from the ceiling, a smile showed her straight white teeth, "You are the only female I've gotten that has lasted so long. Tee hee, you are the one I want to keep the most... Your Majesty." Her smile turned dark with dislike, not because she had stolen the King from her, she had never expect to keep him as long as she did, but because the Queen had married him then tried to kill him. "I'll save you for later, and let you watch as I continue with your lover. After all, the lovers of royalty should be friends, shouldn't they?" When the Queen's blue eyes met her own green, she ran a hand along the chest of the man on the table, loving the fire that sparked in the Queen's eyes.

    Moving away, she went back to the fire and grabbed one of the pokers, looking at it and grinning to find that it glowed whitely in the dark room, "Ah. Perfect." Moving back to the table, she placed the white metal upon the man's shins and closed her eyes as his screams filled the room once again, easily covering the Queen's own, single whimper. Removing the poker proved that he was sticking to the melted skin. With a roll of her eyes, she pulled it off without touching the now red heat. When the man saw where it was going, he confessed to planning the assassination of the King with the Queen and the other man, begging her with his hoarse voice to spare him. But, with a sickened smile, the woman put the heated poker to the man's crotch and his screams, somehow, became louder and echoed more. As she pulled the poker away this time, the man then, understandably, passed out.

    A growl escaped her as she tossed the poker back towards the fire, not even caring if it made it as she turned her glare upon the Queen, her eyes darkening with anger. The steel door then clanged open and in walked a regal man, his smile saddened as he looked from his Queen to his Mistress, his voice ringing out in a deep baritone, "I see... So my Queen plotted against me? Very well... You shall be put to death on Shame's Gallows in three days." Moving to the pale woman who had gotten a confession, he kissed her cheek lovingly, "You did well, my Ember."

    Joy flitted across Ember's face as she turned her face to the King, "I'm sorry that things happened like this, My King." She leaned her head slightly into his hand as he rubbed the old blood off of her cheek. "I had hoped you all the happiness being married to such a beautiful woman could offer. But she betrayed you and proved that she had not deserved your devotion." A radiant smile that she only showed to him crossed her face and caused him to grin, in spite of the fact that he was soon to be a widower due to having his wife try to kill him.

    His deep, blue-green eyes moved to the sight of the queen, who's face was now marred with tears as she stared at the king, as well as at the man on the table. Her lips parted, quivering as she tried to speak. It took two tries, however, before her broken voice emerged, "I wish I had succeeded. Otherwise, I simply should have killed your little prostitute there and watched as you pined yourself to death. You say I didn't deserve his devotion? What devotion was there to be had from a man who, whenever he was in bed with you, thought of another woman? A woman who's life revolves around the pain of others? How could I ever be happy knowing the man I was married to is in love with a monster who can't compare to me?"

    Arching a cool brow, Ember chuckled and sighed, "I'm only a 'monster'... Because the King asked me to do this. Once I could no longer be his mistress, once he decided to devote himself to you, he wanted to make sure that I could make a living. This is just a job that needed filling." Feeling a tug around her shoulders, she let the King bring her away from the carnage, saying over her shoulder, "I suppose we'll see you in three days, Your Majesty." At that, the door slammed shut behind her and her King. Looking down, she realized the state of her apparel and grimaced, "My King, I believe I need to freshen up so I might be presentable."

    Turning her face back up towards the man she loved, she merely smiled as he kissed her lightly, "Very well, my Ember. I suppose I should wait a bit before I take you back up as my Mistress anyways. No need to have half of the court upset with me. Go and freshen up, my lady. Within a week, I'll have you back where you belong." Glancing back with a sorrowful look, he sighed heavily, "I had given you up to be with her. For the good of the kingdom. I doubt that I shall ever do that again, since I have a young prince from her... We had needed that alliance." With a final sigh, he kissed her forehead and left, leaving her at the door to her rooms, which still resided within the palace.

    A sigh of her own echoed after his as he left and she turned, opening her door and looking at her room. It was green and blue. Looking to her servant, a loyal woman named Ruby, she gave a kind smile to the woman, "Ruby, my dear, I believe I am in need of a bath. Could you possibly fetch one for me?"

    "Of course, milady. And let me say, it is a pleasure to finally have you back. You won't have to do that... Job for a while now, I hope?" Ruby watched Ember, wringing her hands lightly.

    With a weary smile, Ember nodded, "I don't believe I'll have to be Pain's Mistress much longer, my dear." The smile she gave managed to brighten the room and comforted her servant, who left to do as she was bid. "I'm glad it's finally over."