Chapter 25

Iris stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, barely reaching, “sorry for smelling, do you still love me?”
“I will love you forever,” King Evander said, a tear escaping his eye.
Iris was confused at his tear, thinking, ‘he must truly love the princess, -me? Will he love me still if he knew the truth?’
“Look what you do to me,” King Evander said, quickly wiping the tear that escaped and looked around to make sure no one witnessed his weakness. King Evander got onto his horse before grabbing Iris’s hand and swinging her onto his horse.
The enchantress and the princess proceeded by foot with guards back to the castle.
The enchantress saw her parents and her brother and ran to them. Tears of joy overtook them.
“You are free to go or stay,” a court officer said, handing them each a bag of coin, “the king thanks you for returning his queen.”
“They are staying, of course, the queen is really fond of them,” the princess gave them a look.
“The queen has her king now, doesn’t she?” the enchantress said, taking her parents' hands and looked over at her brother, “we have been prisoners so long, doing things against our will for so long, time to be free.”
“I agree,” the spy said, taking a bow at the princess, knowing who she really was.
“Why are you bending the knee for her,” the court officials wanted to know.
“I am being sarcastic,” the spy said, grinning at the princess.
“You all will regret this!” Iris spat before stomping off.
“Regret what?” the court officer asked confused.
“Just ignore her, Lacosta made her believe she is a princess, the spell is not wearing off,” the enchantress said, thinking it will be funny to make them all believe she was just a crazy servant.
“Are you hungry?” King Evander asked as he helped his queen of his horse.
“Very,” Iris admitted as the princess starved her, thinking it a good way to finally lose the fat she imagined she always had, without suffering.
“Get a bath ready and you bring a variety of food to my room,” King Evander barked orders, pointing at different servants.
The servants hurried off.
“I can’t believe how quick you fixed this place up again,” Iris said, admiring the castle.
“Better and stronger,” King Evander said proudly.
“Where are your parents? The guard did tell me that he gave you the keys, you did manage to get them out, please tell me you got them out?” King Evander asked.
“I did but they are gone now, I don’t know where they went,” Iris said, not sure what else to say.
“But why would they leave you behind?” King Evander asked.
“Maybe they think me dead,” Iris said.
“You don’t seem to bother about them. I thought you will be happy to learn that I never killed them,” King Evander said.
“Next time you lay your eyes on them, kill them,” Iris said, thinking back on how they tortured her to get her to make the wish.
“What? I don’t understand,” King Evander said, confused.
“You think you can be a monster, trust me, you are nothing compared to them,” Iris said bluntly, continuing to walk.
King Evander just stood there, shocked at her words.
Iris reached the King’s room and immediately took off her rags and got into the bathtub.
“Your majesty, the water is not ready yet,” the servant tried to stop her.
“Does it look like a care,” Iris said, taking the sponge and scrubbing her skin.
The servant took a jug and poured it over her head, immediately realizing that the queen needed to wash away more than just the dirt on her skin.
King Evander walked over to the bathtub and took the jug from the servant, “leave us.”
King Evander eventually grabbed Iris’s scrubbing hands, “that is enough.”
‘What did the wizard do to her?’ King Evander wondered, picking Iris out of the bathtub and carried her wet body over to his bed before pulling the covers over them, holding her tight.
Later the king helped her into a nightdress before feeding her. Even though King Evander wanted to make love to her he knew that she was too fragile so he just held her while she slept. Throughout the night he had to wake her up, reminding her that she was safe.
‘I hope he did not rape her,’ King Evander thought, and then regret filled his own heart and mind thinking back at what he did to her himself.
‘I will have to find out from her servant what went on,’ King Evander thought.

Princess Cerena asked around for the hairdresser and when she was told that Lisa’s body was found under the rubble Cerena composed herself before walking off quickly to the room she was in last with Lisa. Cerena shut the door before breaking down, ‘she was not supposed to be in the castle.’
After a few weeks has passed King Evander came up with a plan to help his queen, “come, I know how to get your soul strong again.”
“I just need time,” Iris said, pulling her hand out of his hand.
“Trust me,” King Evander said, holding his hand out to her.
Iris took his hand hesitantly.
“Guards,” King Evander called for his guards to enter.
“Your guards? Trust me they are the last people that will make feel better,” Iris said, darting back to the bed.
The guards came walking in with armor and leathers.
“Put it on the bed,” King Evander ordered.
“What is this?” Iris chuckled, noticing that the armor was shaped with breast.
“Your armor,” King Evander pulled her from the bed and slipped her nightgown over her head before dressing her in loose cotton followed by the leathers and the armor.
“This is heavy,” Iris complaint.
“Ok, maybe we don’t need all of it,” King Evander chuckled taking all the metal pieces off beside the breastplate.
“Where are we going?” Iris asked when King Evander led her out of the room.
“You will see,” King Evander said.
King Evander stopped in front of the pleasure room and Iris recognized it.
Inside the room, King Evander started to take his clothes off.
“What are you doing? I am ready for this,” Iris said with a frown on her face.
“Here,” King Evander said, taking a whip and holding it out to Iris, “or you can choose any other one. I know this is a pleasure room but there will be no pleasure here, only punishment.”
“I don’t understand,” Iris said, watching King Evander standing in the middle of a contraption and grabbing the two restraints, gripping them.
“Go on, don’t be afraid, you can whip me as hard as you like, I won’t hold it against you. Punish me for everything I have done to you, for all the pain I caused you or endured because of me,” King Evander encourage her.
Iris walked over to him, holding tightly onto the whip.
Iris dropped the whip at his feet before touching his torso with her elegant soft fingers, “I forgive you.”
“You do?” King Evander asked as he let go of the restraints.
“I do,” Iris said in a soft, kind tone.
“If you can’t punish me then there is someone else you might want to punish?” King Evander asked, putting his clothes back on before picking up the whip.
“Ha, they are long gone,” Iris said.
“No, I am not talking about your parents. I am talking about the wizard,” King Evander chuckled.
“Lacosta is here?” Iris asked, the fear clear in her tone.
“You have nothing to fear,” King Evander took her hand and walked her down to the dungeons where Lacosta was already tied up.
“What did he do to you?” King Evander asked feeling her shake.
“He, he,” Iris stuttered as it was not just what he did but also what the princess and her parents did.
King Evander put the whip in her hands, “don’t stop until the pain and fear are gone.”
“She is nothing more than a pathetic serv,” Lacosta spat but got interrupted when Iris brought the whip down on him. Iris whipped him so hard that even King Evander got a fright at the unexpected action.
Iris did not give the wizard the opportunity to speak again as she whipped him until there was no more skin left to whip. Iris was panting out of breath.
“Feeling better?” King Evander asked, looking at her in shock, thinking, ‘thank goodness she did not go through with punishing me.’
“Almost,” Iris said, walking over to King Evander, “your sword?”
“Have you ever killed someone before? You can’t take it back,” King Evander warned her, pulling his sword out of its holder and holding it out to her.
Iris looked at King Evander, thinking, ‘with Lacosta dead who will swop the princess and I back? Not the enchantress.’ Iris turned back to face Lacosta that looked that he was already dead and pointed the sword against his broken flesh.