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Courtesan	By : Shelindrea Category: Twilight Series > Het > Jacob/Renesmee Views: 4787 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or make any money from this story.

Chapter List
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- 35
Author's note: The story is amping up to its climax. There is some intense scenes. Be aware that nothing too graphic is coming, but there is some violence. If this bothers you read with caution. Thank you.

Shelindrea

Chapter 35

NPOV

I awoke to a clear day. The sun shone brightly despite my dampened spirits. I rose and washed. I combed and plaited my hair. Each task was performed with a purpose born of routine. I practiced silence. I would have to school myself over the next few days to maintain it despite the crushing pain I felt within my soul, the overwhelming fear that I could not prevail, and the sorrow that I would most likely never live to see Jacob again.

I had been housed in a grand suite that had a large wardrobe filled with gowns. I chose a pale yellow dress and donned it with the help of a palace slave named Didyme. She was tall, blonde and lithe of frame. She occasionally raised her eyes to my own, but she did not speak directly to me until I spoke to her.

"Thank you," I said as she tied the chord which cinched the dress.

"You are most welcome, Ma'am," she said quietly. Then as she made to leave the room she turned back to me and spoke in a more compelling voice. "We are all praying for you, Ma'am… to defeat the master. You are not alone."

I felt the tears well in my eyes, but forced them to cling to my lashes and not fall. "Thank you," I whispered. With that thought clear in my mind I made my way to Caius dining chamber.

He was waiting for me of course, dressed in his finery, seated at a table which held a feast fit for an army. He rose as I entered the room and came to my side, taking my hand in his own and placing a kiss on the back. "You truly are the dawn, aren't you, how else to explain your exquisite beauty?"

I smiled wanly and allowed him to lead me to a seat. He pulled out the chair and brushed his hands over my shoulders as he resumed his seat at the head of the table mere feet away. Caius was dressed in an embroidered tunic shining with golden thread. With his pale hair and sharp features it made him look somewhat pinched and sharp. His ice blue eyes and white blonde hair made him the antithesis of my Jacob and it made my heart ache for my love.

"Please, break your fast," he said with a flourish that took in the entirety of the table.

Everything looked delicious, but the thought of food made my stomach roil. He was watching me with narrowed eyes, and I knew he would insist so I took a fresh baked roll and buttered it picking it apart and nibbling the small bites.

"I thought you and I should get to know each other. I want to show you the kind of life you will live here. I insist that everything in my house is the best. It is in fact the reason I seek for you to join my household." A thin smile graced his face and gave him a leering look. I noticed that he had said the life I would live with a finality that sent chills down my spine.

"Remember your grace, it is not a certainty that I shall ever reside in this residence for more than a few days." He raised a brow in challenge. "Still," I said trying to be conciliatory, "I should enjoy seeing your home."

I had decided in the night that my best chance may be to delay his wrath, rather than provoke it outright. If the girls could get word to Jacob and the king, then perhaps they could arrive in time to spare me the punishment he had planned. I had also thought long and hard about the advice Alistair had given me regarding negotiations and diplomacy. He had advised approaching one's opponent with openness and kindness. I hoped that if I was gentle and accepting of his company that perhaps he would grow to see me less as something to acquire and more a women with actual rights and feelings he would feel badly about trampling; besides Leah had advised me to play to his vanity. She said that I might be able to buy time if he thought I was softening to his desires.

"Shall we begin in the treasure room?" he asked rising to his feet and offering me his hand.

The tour took us through the throne room and into a large room which displayed jewels of every shape and size. I was somewhat fascinated with the prisms of light that the treasures shed about the room and watched the refracted light dance along the golden walls.

"Beautiful," I sighed in appreciation of the light.

"Imagine yourself dripping in diamonds, sparkling in sapphires, encrusted in emeralds," he said holding up each gem as he spoke of it. It saddened me to realize that he saw beauty in the pricey gems rather than in the light they produced, but I smiled and allowed him to continue his tour.

So much of his palace was gilt it made me wonder if he truly saw himself as the God of the day. It appeared as if he wanted everything to shine like the sun. It seemed a pity, because it might have been a lovely home were it not bathed in such harsh light.

After walking and viewing statues and paintings, stables and ballrooms, kitchens and quarters I was growing weary. We rounded a corner and stepped out into a beautiful garden. Huge rose bushes lined a picturesque walk and the aroma assaulted my senses. It reminded me of home, and in turn, of Jacob. My heart sank. I felt like just accepting Caius' hospitality was a form of betrayal. Still I had to have faith in those I loved to intervene.

I wandered over to sit upon a marble bench and took in the splendor of the flora about me. "You must employ an army to tend such a vast garden, Sir." I observed.

"Not at all, I have slaves and an overseer to see to the palace's edification and beauty. I must say you appear quite fetching sitting among the blooms. Then again, your beauty outshines them at every turn. I am surprised that they do not wilt for shame in your presence."

"Flattery of such kind is a paltry art, your grace. Let us speak plainly, shall we? We both know you have no true affection for me. So why is it so important to you to win me?" I asked what had been plaguing me since his proposition.

He smiled at me in what appeared to be genuine delight. "You are truly a remarkable creature for a woman, so alluring, yet so sensible. Where did you learn to focus on what many women would deem an insignificant point?"

"I studied at the scholar under Captain Whitlock and Alistair. They taught me that an opponent's motivation sometimes was more telling than his desired prize. So again I ask what exactly is it about me that would motivate you to work so tirelessly to gain my submission? Surely you could have your pick of women to meet your needs."

"What I desire cannot be had in most women. Slaves bore me. There is no challenge to acquiring or possessing them. They will lie down in the street displaying their wares to every passing free-born soul and thank them for the privilege. It is repellent. Free women are not that much different in my opinion. They are all concerned with how a match can benefit them. They refuse so much that a man finds pleasurable on the grounds of propriety and decorum. In truth they have no sense of pleasure and are content to lie still and accept a man only to bear children. If a slave is repellent, a free woman of this ilk is sickening. No, what I seek, what I desire is a woman like you, one who is trained to understand and accept pleasure. One whom I am certain can be coaxed into receiving pleasure as well as giving it. You are such a woman, aren't you, Renesmee?" As he spoke he leant into me and brushed my cheek with the back of his hand. I blushed, not because of anything Caius said, but because I remembered Rosalie explaining the art of seduction in exactly the same way, and then thought of Jacob's face as he watched me reach my peak. He always seemed satisfied only when I too received pleasure from our coupling.

"Ah, you see. Your cheeks color with the mere thought of taking your own pleasure. Tell me, have you ever been the one to take your own pleasure? Have you reached for a man before he actually reached for you?"

Again my memory of Jacob's reaction to my exploration of his manhood filled my mind. I had never been more enflamed than when he allowed me to explore the pleasure of his form. I remembered how frightened I had been at first, and then how bold I became knowing he was enjoying it.

Apparently my face betrayed me for his eyes lit with intrigue and delight. "Ah, so the kitten enjoys being pet. How delightful. Tell me what tempts you my beauty, and it shall be yours."

"You cannot give me what tempts me, your grace, for it is not in your possession."

"Name it and you shall have it," he vowed.

I shook my head sadly in his direction. "I desire the freedom to choose he whom I desire."

At once his face clouded with fury and he grasped my wrist tightly in his fist. The pressure I felt there was painful and I realized that he meant it to be. "So how is one to become that man?"

"I desire a man's heart to love me. A good and kind heart I can love in return."

"I have two more days to attempt to do just that. I would prefer not to need to win this wager for you are far too fine to mar with the bite of my lash. Have you experienced much by way of punishment?"

I wanted desperately to pull my wrist from his grip, but he was unyielding. I did not at first answer him, and he did not appreciate my delay, for he gave my arm a yank until my eyes were locked in his gaze.

"No, sir, I have not."

"Imagine it," he said moving round me and grasping my shoulders from behind and whispering in my ear. "Your bare back exposed to the room, the cool air licking your already stinging nerves. Then there is the anticipation wondering when and where the strike will land. My particular instrument is a cat o' nine-tails. It will sing through the air and then land nine spikes of searing fire into your tender flesh."

I felt my stomach clench as his fingers bit into my arms and he pulled me closer. I could feel his hot breath on my neck. "You will scream in agony if you make me break you. There is no hope of your remaining silent, and that saddens me."

"I will do whatever it takes to do so," I said trying to lean away from his intimate embrace.

"Resign yourself to being mine and you need only enjoy. Fight me, and I will ensure I win."

At that moment a servant arrived and informed Caius that the nun had arrived and was awaiting her audience. He bid the servant show her to us in the garden. Then he released my arm and stepped away from me.

The Mother Superior was an impressive woman. She stood about five feet nine inches and had a gentle face and soft body of a woman in her early sixties. She wore the habit of the local religious and she walked with authority and purpose. Her bright green eyes sparkled with an air that she was not someone to be thwarted.

"Good day, Sister," Caius said by way of greeting.

"It might have been had I not been summarily summoned to your palace. What can I do for you, your grace? Come, come now, I haven't all day."

"I have need of your impartiality, Sister. This young lady and I have made a wager, and it is for you to determine who has won," Caius explained.

The nun looked me over with a critical eye. I was not certain what she saw, but she turned to Caius and raised her lip in derision. "Leave us," she ordered him.

"I beg your pardon…"

"You certainly should. Now do as I said. If you want my help you will allow me to speak with this unfortunate child. Now!" her tone said she would brook no refusal.

Caius glared at her, but he did retreat leaving me alone with this formidable woman. Once he was out of sight she turned to me and looked at me down her patrician nose. "So… What has that scoundrel done to you to make you agree to a wager with him?"

In a moment I knew I liked her, and felt instantly that she was someone to be trusted. "Oh, Sister…" I gasped feeling the first hope I had felt all day. "His grace arrested my dear friend and sentenced her for a crime she did not commit. He threatened her with a flogging and I could not allow it. We struck a bargain. I agreed to take her punishment."

"Why would you do that, child?"

"Because Alice has been a godsend to me. You see, Sister…"

"Chelsea," she corrected, "you may call me Chelsea."

"Thank you." With that I told her my tail of woe. I explained how Alice had been the one to teach me how to be free and how I loved her as a sister. I explained her past and the nightmares that still plagued her sleep. Finally I told her that I had bartered for the freedom of those I love and ensured that only I would be risked in this endeavor.

She listened intently, her eyes boring into my own. She shook her head at several points in the tale, but made no comment until I had concluded.

"So you see, you are here to judge whether I cry out while he whips me."

"Dear God, child," she exclaimed on a breath. "When is this atrocity to take place?"

"I have one more day. He hopes to convince me to forgo this and simply agree to be his."

"I presume that is not something you are willing to do."

"No, Chelsea, it is not. I will do all within my power not to become his."

"Who is he?" she asked, those green eyes seeing far more than she should.

"My former master," I confessed. "He loves me and has asked for my hand. So you see I cannot lose this wager."

"Child, no matter how much you may want it, I cannot imagine that you can survive a lashing without a sound. Surely your young man would understand if you submitted for a moment and saved your friend and yourself," she advised.

"He might, but I would not. I do not care for Caius. I have spent the last several months learning what freedom means, and submitting to a man for whom I do not care is not freedom. I deserve better than being used as he would use me."

I was adamant and Chelsea took pity on me, wrapping me in a maternal embrace and saying soothing words to me. She feared that there was no avoiding taking the lashing, and swore to look out for me. We spent much of the evening praying and talking.

I decided that I would write a series of letters to be held in her care in case of the worst scenario. Interestingly enough Chelsea and I did not agree on what the worst was. For me there seemed no worse choice than being made to honor my wager and give myself to Caius. Having tasted freedom and the wonder of love I found myself craving the alternative horror, and that concerned Chelsea greatly.

To her mind death was the worst thing I could face. She kept telling me to seek my heart for acceptance and to remember that if I perished I would hurt everyone whom I left behind. Still, I could not face the thought of having to remain in Caius' arms while Jacob lived and found a life without me.

On the dawn of the next day I was resolute. I would face my fate and master my voice. No amount of pain would rest a sound from me. I dressed in a simple peach day dress and plaited my hair so that it fell down my back. I walked to Caius' breakfast room and stood before him.

He could sense the change in me and looked up. "Good day, my beautiful Renesmee."

"Good day, your grace."

"Please have a seat, my dear. Break your fast."

"No thank you, Sir. I feel that we should proceed with this wager, and I cannot imagine that a full belly will assist me in my cause."

He eyed me sizing me up. He seemed disappointed. "You are determined then?"

"I am."

He stood and began to circle me with desire evident in his ice blue eyes. "You know I too am determined. I would rather have you acquiesce than your pain." He slithered an arm about my waist and pulled me to him. "Are you certain I cannot persuade you in a more mutually pleasurable way?" He moved in to kiss me and I held him off firmly.

"I am. I am determined to end this. I will never yield, so let us stop pretending that I will."

"Oh you will!" he growled.

"No, your grace, I will not. I would rather be flayed alive than give you the satisfaction," I all but spat at him. I was trying to free myself of his grasp, but each movement merely caused him to tighten his hold.

"You will cry my name and beg me to take you before I am through!"

"Never! My dying breath shall be spent with the name Jacob Black. He shall always have my heart, and will be the only man to have my body!"

Suddenly his eyes darkened to a stormy blue. "Very well, if you need to feel the lash to move you then feel it you shall!"

Within short order he had called for a whipping post to be moved to his throne room and for Chelsea to be brought. He was fuming and I suddenly felt certain that I must loose myself in my mind and endure anything not to bend.

When all was prepared I was brought into Caius by two large guards, each holding tightly to my upper arms. Chelsea stood by, her face gaunt and her eyes sad. The guards moved me to stand before Caius and then stepped away.

"Utter silence that is the wager. I require you to swear it before these witnesses and to sign the document."

I nodded and affixed my name to the form as did Caius and Chelsea. Immediately I was turned and marched to the whipping post and my hands were tied to it to prevent my escape. My back became arched as my hands were raised above my head. I felt someone behind me and then heard Caius' softest voice in my ear. "I would not infect the wounds you will endure," he said and then I felt a blade split the back of my dress. He tore it from my flesh until I stood before him naked and trembling. His hands skimmed my body, cupping my breasts and pulling my backside flush with his manhood which was standing at full attention. "You see what you do to me? I will take you in every possible way, and when I am done, I will take you again."

"Only if I cry out, and I assure you I will not."

"You will!" he roared and then he stepped back and I heard the whip sing as he slashed it through the air.

He was toying with me, and I knew it. He knew exactly the effect of the sound on my raw nerves and he prolonged my anticipation. I bit my lip trying to brace for the impact, but when it came I was unprepared for the biting sting that ripped across my shoulders. I flexed away from it instinctually, but before my breath could ease the burn of another strike tore across my back. I bit my lip until I tasted blood and I focused on Jacob's face as he promised to love me for eternity.

JPOV

We entered Port Angeles at full speed and meant to storm the palace. Jasper had been at my side the entire ride reminding me that we would succeed and that Nessie would be well. As we rushed into the palace servants ushered us to the throne room, but what we found made my blood run cold.

The doors were barred and a nun, in full habit was beating upon them screaming at the top of her lungs. "You will kill her! Good God man, you will kill her!"
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Courtesan