The Sky Kingdom Ch. 20

"Son, this is Arthur, Lord of Seabrook. He and I studied together, and he is now one of the senior sorcerers here."

I stepped forwards and presented my hand to grasp his firmly.

"Lord Seabrook, it is a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for greeting us. I am extremely excited to begin my training at your illustrious academy." I stated formally.

"Welcome, Your Highness. If you are anything like your old man, then we won't want for entertainment." He responded jovially.

"He was entertaining at the academy?" I asked in genuine surprise.

"More like he was a nightmare for his professors!"

"Enough of that," my father said abruptly, "let's go grab a drink while I explain how you should go about his training," he finished as he put his arm around his friend and disappeared into the bowels of the academy, leaving the rest of us behind.

A man and woman cautiously approached.

"Your Highness, would you please follow us? We will begin the formal registration for you and your Font before giving you a brief tour." The smartly dressed woman announced.

I took Emily by the arm as we were led in a different direction and passed through ornate marble corridors elegantly decorated with fine art and sculpture. We soon entered a grand office with high ceilings and ornate floor-to-ceiling windows to take in the spectacular views.

The man sat behind the desk while the woman stood to the side. She gestured for me to take a seat in the chairs at the front. I saw a cushion had been placed for Emily but led her to the spare chair, and she gave me a smile of thanks.

We proceeded to run through the details of my cores, my current levels of training and any areas I also wanted to study. It seemed that magical study was limited to the amount of mana available, so other classes would be required to graduate. They followed up by quizzing me about Emily and her core and strength as a Font which I dutifully supplied.

"We have Royal suites, should you prefer that accommodation. Will you need to keep your Font in the academy holding facilities?" The man asked, pen in hand.

"She will stay with me. What are the other options for accommodation?"

"The other Princes have chosen to stay in the Royal tower. But most students live in the dormitories."

"Can I keep my Font and concubines with me in the dormitories?"

"Concubines?" The man asked, "I'm afraid the rules are quite clear, and students are only allowed a single non-Font slave."

"Is there space in the dormitory for a single concubine and a Font?" I asked with growing worry.

"We have some rooms with paired servant's quarters used in the past for newer students with Fonts. Would you like to see them?" The woman added.

"That would be great. I'd prefer not to be quartered with my cousins. I'm here to expand my horizons," I replied, looking for a reasonable excuse.

The woman led us into the main structure as we climbed towards the highest turrets. We entered what appeared to be a common room area filled with sofas and breakout areas with a roaring fire, keeping the room lovely and warm. There was a large dining table off to one side and what appeared to be a communal study area as well.

She let us down one of the many corridors off to the side, and we climbed up more stairs until we reached a corridor with five doors off it. She pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the room at the end of the corridor with a larger door. We walked into a large ornate room with a beautiful carved four-poster bed beside an elaborate window. The room contained a table and chairs and a seating area where I could already see myself spending the evenings with Scarlett and Emily.

"This is great," I said as the woman initially seemed apprehensive but seemed to relax at my words. I wandered over to the window with Emily and looked out to see the incredible view of the Sky City and the clouds with the distant specs of the lower city below. Given the newfound informality, I released the binds at the back of the belt as Emily's arms came free, and she stretched them accordingly.

"Your Highness, untrained Sorcerers with a Font, are expected to keep them secure." The woman said timidly.

"Do not fear, Ma'am. She is well-trained and won't cause any problems," I replied, and Emily gave me a relieved look.

"The dean won't be happy," the woman added, but I only cared about Emily's comfort at that moment.

"Then we can deal with that problem another time," I replied with as confident a tone as I could manage, "Did you say that there is also a servant's quarter with these rooms?"

"Yes, Your Highness. Please follow me."

She led us through an alcove off the main room to a small corridor with three doors. The first one revealed a homely room with a pair of single beds with plenty of wardrobes and dresses. I did notice that the single beds also had manacles attached to their headboards. The next one contained a smaller bathroom with a grander shower and bathtub than I'd expected.

"The plumbing connects to a central system, but you should aim to shower as early as possible as it isn't pleasant when it runs out." The woman said while laughing at her own comment.

After opening the final door, she turned to me with a shocked face.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. The rooms should have already been cleared, and the previous tenant's furniture hasn't been removed. We can come back later once it has been removed."

"Nonsense, I'm quite happy to see the room now. Please lead on."

I entered, feeling Emily following behind to reveal something I hadn't expected. The room appeared to have been kept as a private Font training facility, and I saw a Font bench and equipment for restraining slaves. There was even a cage in one corner.

"This doesn't look simple to remove, so I'm more than happy for it to be left behind," I said while hiding my excitement at the prospect of using this room with my slaves.

As the woman walked back up the alcove, I pulled Emily into me and whispered into her ear.

"That cage looks perfect for dealing with misbehaving pets."

"You would put me in a cage?" She asked back conspiratorially.

"That is what you want, isn't it?" I whispered back.

"Yes, Master. I want to try it. Can you put me in there now?"

"That's hardly appropriate. We can't play all the time, my little submissive."

Emily looked troubled before dropping to her knees and looking away from me. Concerned for her well-being, I did the same coming down to her level.

"I'm sorry, did what I said upset you? I thought you were enjoying this."

Her head flicked up, looking straight at the cage.

"Please put me in that cage and treat me like your pet," she burst out unexpectantly.

"Emily, I've already said this isn't the time or place. What has gotten into you?"

"Please, Master, at least bind me again. It will help me focus. I need to push the other thoughts out of my head."

"Emily, what do you mean? What thoughts need pushing from your head?"

She started to speak but burst into tears, immediately dropping her head once more. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut at the raw emotion on her face. She pulled her hands up to her chest and wrapped them around herself. I wasn't sure what to say, so I pulled her into me, hugging her tightly while she sobbed.

"Harry, I miss Tam, I miss my dad, and I miss my home. There is a side of me that loves every minute of this, but the other half, she's not ready to let go," she said between sobs.

"Oh, Emily. Why didn't you say? We didn't have to go this fast, and I thought doing so was helping you through this difficult time. The fact that you are now a Font does complicate things, but I'm sure we can do something about finding Tam and speaking to your family.

"No, Harry. These games are the only thing keeping me stable at the moment. Everything is much simpler and easier to manage whenever I am with you or Scarlett. When I am tied up and told what to do, I can focus on what is happening there and then. It is exciting and liberating for me," Emily replied with newfound composure as she calmed down.

"So you enjoy playing with Scarlett?"

Her tear-filled eyes rose to meet mine, but I could also see the excitement appear in them.

"When I play with her, my mind just melts. I can't think. All I can do is focus on her and whatever she is doing to me. It's the same with you; I forget about everything else and just want to follow instructions and please you in any way I can. That's why I want to keep playing. It's much easier than thinking about everything that's happened in the past week."

I felt aroused at the thought of controlling her. But I could also sense the dangers of shutting out all other emotions without addressing the trauma.

"Emily, you can't just suppress everything and forget who you are. Scarlett and I love playing these games with you, and she is determined to have the three of us together for a long time. But it would be best if you didn't lose the other part of you for the sake of that. I still want you to be Lady Emily, daughter of Lord Carrington."

"No, Harry. I don't want to stop. These are also things I've been fantasising about this for as long as I can remember."

"Why not a compromise, then? Why don't we slow down your training and requirements as a Font? You can continue to be the amazing lady I met on the ship. I don't want to lose her. She was fun, and exciting and made my heart beat faster. I'm not saying that I don't also want to dominate that beautiful lady, but I want the whole package."

"You liked the person you met on the ship? I felt like a bumbling idiot the whole time." Emily replied self-consciously.

"You had my heart racing from the moment I heard your voice before we even boarded the ship. It broke my heart when I realised that you were gifted. I'll admit, a part of me revels in keeping you on your knees. But that isn't all I am, nor is it all you are. I don't want you to lose her, and I don't want to lose you." I replied honestly.

"Harry, I don't want to lose myself either. But it's much easier to embrace that side of me. I'm not sure I'm ready to do anything else right now. I just want you to use me, to lock me in that cage and tell me what to do."

"Tomorrow, we will have a proper conversation about what is troubling you. But tonight, I'm going to leave you unbound, and we will finish here and head back to the hotel. We're going to have a normal dinner together, and then I'm going to take you to my bedroom, tie you up and punish you for your misbehaviour."

She gave a little squirm of excitement at my words.

"Harry, can we do more than just a punishment?" She asked abruptly, "I'm still waiting for you to take my innocence. I want you to use me like you do, Scarlett."

"Emily," I said slowly, taken aback by her vehemence, "I could take you for a proper date before that, and we can spend the evening as lovers enjoying each other's company."

"No, Master," She began, and I was alerted to the title change. "I want you to take me as your slave and use me in any way you want."

I was struggling to hide the tent in my trousers by this point. It wasn't going to take much persuading for me to do as she asked. I just needed to ensure Scarlett was involved, as I knew she only had Emily's best interests at heart. I paused a moment, deciding how I wanted things to play out.

"Then come my little sex slave. Let's head back to Scarlett and see what she can do to make it just how you want it to be."

I stood and reached out to take Emily's hand, pulling her to her feet. I didn't let her go and held on tightly while leading her out of a room I intended for us to spend a lot of time in.

The woman was waiting for us, and based on her bored expression, I assumed she hadn't heard what we'd been discussing.

"Your Highness, are these rooms to your liking? There are more impressive rooms in the Royal tower."

"These rooms are perfect, and I will have my belongings delivered over the next few days. When is the term due to start?"

"It is due to start in just over a week, but you can move in any time. Typically, students arrive earlier to meet their classmates before the term starts. Please follow me, and I will escort you back to the dock."

We arrived to find my father was still busy with his friend, so we mostly waited, gorging ourselves on the abundance of fresh fruit, a luxury given the season. My father finally arrived, somewhat inebriated with his usual fresh insults delivered while the ship transported us back to our hotel. Fortunately, he found other distractions and didn't even seem to notice that I had allowed Emily greater freedom. However, he invited himself and his entourage to our room again, much to my displeasure.

Scarlett came rushing out to greet me as I entered with a big smile on her face, which quickly slipped away as she saw we still had guests.

"There is the slave I was looking for. Come here." My father ordered.

Scarlett hesitantly walked towards him, trying to meet my eye, but once in range, he lunged for her arm and pulled her into him as I held myself back from overreacting. He immediately began inspecting his handiwork around her neck, and I felt a surge of his magic and jumped forwards to stop him from hurting her. Luckily, I needn't have worried as he released her almost instantly, and I saw that he had been merely strengthening the glamour. Scarlett, with a panicked look on her face, still had the presence of mind to take Emily by the hand as she scurried past and towed her away to the fragile safety of the bedroom.

"Alright, I'm bored now. Take me to the auction houses. I need to make a purchase." My father announced as he walked out of the room without saying goodbye.

Jasper caught my eye as I saw he wanted to speak before leaving.

"Jasper, how are you?"

"Henry, I'm quite well, but there is a quick matter we need to discuss."

"Please go on," I replied, happy to see the last of my father's entourage disappearing out the door.

"Firstly, your father might have claimed the idea, but your mother asked me to arrange an escort for tomorrow morning to take you directly to her castle. You should stay there until the term starts and things have settled down a bit more."

"We had already intended to do something similar, but is it really so tense here? It's not like I've made a deliberate move against my uncle."

"Your mother believes the king is paranoid and sees you as a direct threat to his throne and legacy, given your magic's strength and versatility. I suspect the fact that you now have such a powerful Font, albeit for your weakest core, has raised the stakes. She wants to protect you now more than ever."

"She's hardly been in my life for the past ten years. Why is she suddenly paying me so much attention?"

"That's not for me to answer, but I have a feeling you may understand a little more once you've been to visit her," he replied as I quietly listed the plethora of questions I needed to ask her myself.

"The second part I wanted to speak with you about relates to the pleasure slave you're trying to acquire. I think I found a way to persuade Lady Vivian to sell, but she insists on being able to see her slave before everything is finalised, and that could be weeks away."

"I did also discover that your fears may have been correct, and Matilda is indeed a spy, albeit an unwilling one," I replied, feeling protective of her despite the revelation.

"Henry, that always seemed obvious, but if you know she is a spy, you can't take her to your mother's castle. She already knows too much and will only create bigger problems."

"So what do you propose?" I asked in exasperation.

"We complete the purchase but leave her in the city until it is finalised. I'm sure there's a household owned by your family that we can leave her with." Jasper replied.

"I don't trust or know anyone in the city besides you. I want to keep her safe; she is mine now. Can you not look after her in my absence?"

"Henry, I don't have time to babysit your pleasure slaves."

"I didn't say anything about babysitting. Let Matilda look after you. I didn't know what to expect with Scarlett, but I have enjoyed it immensely."

"I cannot. I still have others to think about." He shot back.

"Jasper, I must insist. Try to see how it goes, and I will be back next week to sort things out properly. If you don't want her around, I will make other arrangements and take her with us. I can't bear to see her return to Lady Vivian; she is mine now." I added with some desperation.

"Henry, you'll be the death of me. I'll collect her once you set off in the morning and keep her safely away from your father. But I will only look after her. There is no need for anything more."

"Thank you, Jasper. Could you also do me a favour and speak to the academy? They have a policy only allowing one non-Font slave in the dorm rooms. I will not let Scarlett leave my side, but I also want Matilda with me."

"I'll see what I can do. How silly was I to persuade you to take a pleasure slave in the first place?" he asked rhetorically.

I looked up earnestly at Jasper, "That's the best gift anyone has ever given me. I now can't imagine my life without her."

Jasper turned to me suddenly, much more serious.

"Henry, someone of your station can't fall in love with a slave."

The word love hit me like a blow from a cudgel. Was I falling in love with Scarlett? She was my perfect little goddess and everything I wanted or needed.

But there was also Emily, innocent, sweet, stunning and my submissive. I wanted to wrap them in my arms and take them somewhere safe.

"I'm not in love with anyone," I stammered unconvincingly.

"Please be careful, Henry. Pleasure slaves are conditioned to give an impression of affection that might not be real."

"I will be," I fired back in a defensive tone, not wanting to see any truth in his words.

"Henry, you must never be so unconvincing with your father," he replied in response to my evident over-protectedness, "Any sign of weakness like that and your slaves will be the ones to suffer. He has already been seeking marriage matches for you since we arrived in the city."

"Marriage?" I spat out in shock.

"Henry, you are the only direct heir to the Dukedom of Carrara. He wants to ensure his legacy, and a marriage alliance strengthens his position in court."

I panicked at the thought of someone else. Scarlett was the only person I could imagine sharing my bed and life in that way. I felt a trust with her I'd never considered possible with anyone else. She was not just someone I wanted to dominate...I could trust her to be in charge, to take the pressure away from my own decision-making.

It felt painful to imagine that she didn't have the same feelings. I'd felt a lot of what she did, but the idea she'd been conditioned scared me.

"I must go. Spend the night here and be ready to leave early tomorrow morning," Jasper finished before turning to leave.

"We will be ready," I replied, lost in my thoughts.

Scarlett dashed out of the bedroom and straight into my arms as the door closed. I hugged her tightly against me, feeling nothing but reassurance from her presence. I hadn't expected her affection, and I drew her back and cupped her cheek, pulling her lips to mine. I felt an explosion of passion and sensation as my tongue delved into her mouth. This was the person I couldn't stop thinking about, and she was there with me, kissing me back.

"Master, I've missed you all day. Did you miss me?" Scarlett asked after drawing herself back. Her innocent question took me back.

I gave her a heated look in response and could think of nothing but slipping the dress off her shoulders and enjoying her beauty.

She felt my interest in her and ran her hand at my thigh and over my crotch, and I felt myself coming to life as she took a sudden grip of my cock through my trousers.