The King's Women

Moans were heard muffled behind the wall. Someone dressed like a warrior with a star emblem on their shoulder furrowed their brow, as they shouldn’t be hearing such sounds in this room.

“My Lord!” The voice was heard again, accompanied by a long moan. It was clearly a woman’s voice. Although the voice wasn’t very loud, the guardian heard it clearly. He was suppressing his hysterical scream, immediately signaled the companion who was also on guard to approach.

“What’s wrong?” His friend whispered.

The party was in full swing, ministers were greeting each other and talking with wine glasses in hand. Laughter filled the room, but none could match the increasingly intense moans that the guardian was now hearing. They had come here to guard the room against unwanted incidents regarding safety because the top leader of the Arthanavia country would give a speech regarding the inauguration of the new multipurpose building for the people. The guardian glanced anxiously at the wall behind them. It seemed to be a janitor’s room or something, as it was covered with cloth to avoid disrupting the carefully arranged decorations for today’s event.

The approaching companion finally heard the moans, which had now become almost like a scene from a blue film. They covered their mouth with their hand before ensuring that not many important people were present in the hall. However, they felt extremely unfamiliar with such a situation. Usually, they were trained to hear any suspicious sounds, such as the clinking of weapons in a crowd or the nervous footsteps of an attacker. The guardian swiftly grabbed their walkie-talkie and spoke in a code understood only by the recipient of the message. Their superior, who heard it, furrowed their brow. What on earth was happening? Was someone engaging in indecent behavior at an event attended by King Reginald?

The leader finally decided to intervene personally in order to uphold the reputation of the Baldwin royal family, who had ruled the Kingdom of Arthanavia for five generations. Arthemis Thompson, the leader, headed towards the hall where the king’s welcoming speech was scheduled to take place. As they arrived, many important individuals approached them, offering greetings. They could be merely polite or sycophantic, Arthemis knew, but they didn’t want to engage in small talk. Their arrival was supposed to coincide with the king’s arrival, which was scheduled for another ten minutes.

Arthemis simply stated that they were inspecting the situation before the king’s arrival to a few inquiring individuals, giving a wink indicating that they didn’t want to be disturbed. The ministers and other officials continued their conversations, ignoring Arthemis. The man reached the guardian, who was now sweating profusely as the sounds were far from being as subdued as before, accompanied by the sound of some objects falling. Arthemis rolled his eyes. He immediately spoke into the walkie-talkie, ordering the ministers and officials to sit at their respective chairs and tables, away from their current location, which was hidden behind the hall.

In a matter of minutes, the guests and invitees hurriedly took their seats, and the host promptly started the event, even though it was earlier than scheduled.

Arthemis and the two soldiers tried knocking, but it seemed that whoever was inside wasn’t listening at all, as they were occupied.

“My Lord!” shouted a woman, accompanied by moans. “This drives me insane!”

“Ah, damn!” Now the voice of a man could be heard. “Are you going to come?”

“Almost, almost,” the woman replied in a strained and breathless voice. “Ah!”

“Make it together, Baby.”

“Yes, Darling. I... I just can’t... hold it any longer.”

Arthemis, hearing the man’s voice, held his breath. He knew exactly whose voice it was. It truly stressed and disturbed him. As the leader of the military in the city of Gaia, the capital of Arthanavia, he had met all the important people in the country. The man inside, clearly, was not a stranger to Arthemis.

The mayor instructed the two soldiers, who were listening with a worried and curious expression, to leave the area. He didn’t want to add more problems by having someone else discover who was inside.

“You’re truly skilled at satisfying a woman.”

“You’re the one who captivates me, Darling.”

Then there was a moment of silence before the woman’s voice was heard whispering, not clearly audible to Arthemis.

Finally, the game ended. Arthemis waited impatiently, even though his walkie-talkie buzzed several times to announce the arrival of the king. Arthemis would explain to King Reginald later. The king was accompanied by his personal guards, and his deputy would soon take over to greet the king when Arthemis was not present.

The door opened, and the curtain covering the janitor’s room was partially unveiled. A woman in a red dress with disheveled hair quickly ran out without looking in the direction of a surprised Arthemis.

Then a man in a black suit came out, adjusting his pants. His expression appeared smug with a grin that Arthemis found annoying. Arthemis immediately blocked his path.

“Good evening.” The man displayed a row of well-maintained and clean teeth, a result of renowned dental care in the city of Gaia. “You... Arthemis, right? Respectful greetings, Mayor Thompson. I apologize if my activities disturbed, uh, your activities.”

“You shouldn’t be doing that HERE.” Arthemis’s reprimand was uttered through clenched teeth. He glanced at the guests who were still focused on the event, and King Reginald, who had entered the hall. The booming sound of loud music playing as the king entered the room provided the perfect cover for the sound that made its members go hot and cold.

“Oh, come on. Haven’t you ever been young, huh? Admit it, Arthemis, having a little fun won’t disturb the atmosphere of this event. Look, everything is going smoothly, isn’t it?” The man raised an eyebrow.

“To be honest, I’ve never cared about WHAT you do. It’s a personal matter. I’m just wondering why you MUST do it here. At least you could have BOOKED a more suitable hotel.”

The man ran his fingers through his beautiful chestnut hair and looked at Arthemis with his sparkling blue eyes. “Ah, she doesn’t mind wherever we do it. She doesn’t even know who I am.”

“You have tarnished not only your own reputation but also that of your family.” The reputation of the man standing before Arthemis was now well-known throughout the country. So he was not surprised that an incident like this had occurred.

The man glanced at the hall, then grinned again. “There’s nothing to worry about, Mayor. And you should speak politely to me, right? Where is your etiquette in front of the royal family?” He raised an eyebrow. “But I won’t make a fuss, I’ll leave now.”

Mayor Arthemis Thompson stood in the man’s way. “It seems you should accompany me to be held accountable for your actions, Prince Henry Baldwin.”