The Royal Garden Ep. 03

*Author's note:* This series is my attempt at the spy genre -- be sure to start with part 1. As I go, I'm going to be discussing my process in the comments. I'm eager for feedback, so please join me in the comments section.

(If you want to see my attempt at cosmic horror, check out my series titled "The Practice" -- find it by clicking on my name, and again, begin with Part 1.)

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Orchid work up in the dark and felt a brief moment of panic before she realized that she wasn't bound. A cool breeze blew in through a large open window, the moon shining brightly into the small room. A thin, soft sheet covered her naked body, and when she looked around she immediately realized she wasn't alone -- another figure lay in bed next to her, facing towards the window. A female, by the hair and shoulders.

Orchid shifted her body to slip quietly out of bed, but when she moved her legs she gasped in agony. Her pussy ached from the humiliation the King had inflicted on her the night before, and when she moved the dull throb became a sharp pain. She reached down to touch a soft pillow that had been wedged between her thighs, and the motion stirred up the scent of mint and aloe from what she realized was a poultice intended to soothe her tender skin.

Her gasp made the other girl twist under the sheet and face her. "Orchid, it's ok, you're safe," she said sleepily. Her hair was a very pale blonde in the moonlight, and her eyes barely cracked open.

Orchid was pretty tired of waking up in strange places in the dark, but there didn't seem to be any immediate threat. If anyone had wanted to hurt her, they'd have already done it. "Who are you?"

The girl reached out and touched Orchid's hand. "I'm Lily. I didn't want you to be alone tonight, after what you went through. There's some water on the nightstand for you."

Orchid pulled her hand away from Lily to grab the cup of water and guzzle it before collapsing back onto her pillow. What was that faint aftertaste? "Lily... --"

"Hush, it's ok, we'll talk in the morning," Lily said, gently laying Orchid down and brushing her hair away from her face. Lily laid down beside her and murmured quiet reassurances as Orchid drifted away.

---

When Orchid woke up again she was alone and a heavy curtain had been pulled across the window. She winced a little as she sat up in bed and threw back the curtain to reveal the sun already high above the palace rooftops far below her tower room. People scurried below on their morning errands, and thin trails of smoke rose from the chimneys of the surrounding city as the workday began. She hadn't slept this late since she was a child, and her body felt refreshed and invigorated. Even the soreness between her legs had faded to an uncomfortable twinge thanks to the poultice she pulled from between her thighs.

Orchid stood up naked and stretched in the sunlight. The poultice was wet with her blood and she threw it into the smouldering fireplace. If there were enemies here, she wouldn't make their jobs easier by leaving her blood lying around. She coaxed the fire back to life with the poker and watched as it consumed the poultice and the blood before dying back out.

The room had a closet and a small vanity, and Orchid spent a few minutes taking stock. Makeup, brushes, toiletries, and a small selection of diaphanous gowns, dresses, blouses, skirts, slippers, and even pants. Pants for a woman? Bizarre. None of the clothing looked fit to be worn in public by a modest young lady, but apparently that wasn't her anymore -- and she didn't think she'd be out in public anyway. Orchid took her time washing, brushing her hair, and doing her makeup; the tattooed flower on her left cheek was still sore, but no longer red and throbbing. It's beautiful swirls belied its grotesque nature. She donned a green gown that covered her from neck to wrist to ankle but was so thin and translucent that she hardly felt clothed at all.

By the time she was done dressing her tummy was growling furiously. Half-afraid the door would be locked, Orchid pressed the handle down as quietly as possible and peeked out into the stairwell. Her door shared a small landing with three others, and stairs spiraled up and down. She wanted to get her bearings before snooping around, so she descended on slippered feet past several other landings and numerous small windows, finally stopping before an open doorway at ground level -- the next room was full of people eating breakfast. The stairs continued down below the palace, but Orchid's tummy decided that this was the place to stop.

"It was a disgusting spectacle," a female voice declared. "The King is a barbarian."

"Don't talk about King Eradis like that," said another girl... Lily? "He only does what he has to --"

The first voice cut back in sarcastically, "Yes, his majesty makes such sacrifices for his people. The kingdom would surely collapse if the poor man wasn't so dedicated to fucking his enemies' daughters."

Several girls laughed and numerous people talked over each other, trying to score points, until another girl raised her voice above the din. "Girls! Girls! Be that all as it may, please don't forget to show some compassion to our new flower when she joins us --"

"If she ever wakes up," said someone. "I'd sleep all day, after a night like that," said another. "You just wish you'd had a night like that," said a third, before the group fell back into a dozen simultaneous conversations. One of these girls was a spy? They didn't sound any different than the girls at school.

Orchid stepped through the doorway quietly, trying to avoid notice, but the room fell silent when she entered. She didn't care what these girls thought of her, not at all, but she blushed furiously and froze under their curious eyes. Each girl bore a flower tattoo on her left cheek that matched Orchid's and wore a similar outfit, casting the room in a rainbow of color. A garden indeed.

Lily was the first to her feet. "Good morning, Orchid!" she beamed, entirely too happy and glowing yellow. "Come sit down, you must be hungry." She grabbed Orchid's hand and led her to an empty seat at a large table. There were at least two dozen girls eating breakfast together, and several eunuchs serving without a word.

As Lily offered Orchid a place to sit another girl stood up and spoke somewhat formally -- the honey blonde who had caught her eye last night in the throne room and kept her from fighting back. "Welcome to the Royal Garden, Orchid. My name is Marigold. I know you must be scared, after last night," she said, with a slight wince, "but we're all friends here. We're family."

"Just keep telling yourself that," said a brunette, glowing magenta, with the voice who had called the King a barbarian. To Orchid she said, "You're in a comfy prison, enslaved to the man who murdered your family. If you're lucky, you'll get knocked up with his bastard soon and he'll send you off to a more distant, less comfortable prison."

Lily's pale blue eyes narrowed as she frowned adorably. "Don't mind Hyacinth -- we aren't all so wretched and miserable."

Everyone watched Orchid, as if waiting for her to choose a side. "I'm here now and plan to make the best of it. No one knows what the future holds." Lily smiled and Hyacinth rolled her eyes. Orchid sat down and grimaced as her tender butt sank into the deep cushion, but her hunger overwhelmed the pain and she began to devour the meal set in front of her by a silent eunuch. She'd much rather make useful friends than pointless enemies.The sooner she found the spy, if there even was one, the sooner she could get out of here. She certainly wasn't going to get pregnant, her magic would see to that.

Most of the girls were done eating but they lingered, curious about Orchid. Between bites she asked, "How long have you been here, Lily?" The other girls grew quiet, glowing a deep blue teal.

Lily hesitated. "Well, I --"

Marigold cut her off. "There are only a few rules here, Orchid. First, never displease the King. Second, never talk about your past. Whoever you were, wherever you came from, none of that matters now that you're in the Garden."

"I see..." Orchid said. "And what else?"

Marigold began to list off items from a checklist in her mind. "Except for special occasions, the King summons us four at a time, and there are always four flowers on duty. You won't get called on every day; the Gardener and I work out the schedule. When the King visits us here we must all appear, unless you're on your cycle of course. Keep yourself clean and groomed at all times."

Orchid tried to stifle her reaction as reality hit home: she was the King's sex slave. She dropped her fork as her hand trembled, and Lily put a hand on her shoulder. Orchid asked, "Why do you do it? Why don't you escape? Or refuse? How does this just happen?"

Marigold frowned, light green, and pursed her lips, unsure what to say. A brunette with brown eyes sitting near her answered: "You shouldn't ask so many questions -- just do what you're told. Lots of flowers try to fight or escape, but no one succeeds. You'll be brought back and punished, and then the people in your homeland will pay a worse price."

Marigold said, "Holly is right. Don't cause trouble or many innocents will suffer for it."

Orchid didn't care too much about a bunch of random Delancians, but if she were caught and her identity were revealed her own family right here in the capital might be hurt. Rules enforcing secrecy were going to make it hard to find a spy, and it sounded like every girl here had plenty of reasons to hate King Eradis.

Marigold took Orchid's silence for acceptance. "While you're here in the Garden you can do anything you want."

"Except leave," Hyacinth injected.

Marigold cleared her throat. "You can go anywhere in the palace. We have plenty of books and games. A pool. The gardeners can bring you whatever you need," she said, gesturing to the eunuchs who were clearing the table.

"Do we ever get to visit the zoo?" Orchid asked sarcastically. A couple of the girls glowed teal and yellow in amusement, which actually made Orchid smile a bit herself.

"The King brings some of us when he travels, so, maybe," Marigold trailed off. "There is one more thing. It's a bit of a ceremony that we do, to welcome new flowers to the Garden." Holly handed her a shiny silver object shaped vaguely like a round arrowhead about three inches long and an inch wide; the base held a jewel of bright rich purple. "His Majesty likes us all to wear them, and we thought this color suited you, considering your new name."

Orchid looked at the metallic object in confusion. "Wear it? How?"

"Well," Marigold began, but was cut off by Hyacinth.

"In your butt."

Orchid's eyes went wide and her stomach turned over. "What?"

Marigold pointed to the cleared table. "Lay down on your back."

Orchid was speechless as her head turned in every direction, looking for some escape or excuse, but nothing came to mind. She opened her mouth to stall, but Lily grabbed her face and kissed her. Lily's lips were soft and gentle, and her tongue flicked across Orchid's mouth briefly before she pulled back and said, "It's ok, it won't hurt. You're one of us now. Our sister."

Several pairs of hands grabbed Orchid and pulled her up onto the table while she protested feebly. Once she was on her back a series of girls took turns leaning over her face and kissing her while Marigold spoke. Orchid could barely make out each face before it was replaced by another. Some kisses were light, others firm, and others almost desperate, a cascade of color and sensation enveloping her whole body.

"Orchid, with this kiss we welcome you into our garden," Marigold intoned, and a few voices echoed her. Numerous hands held Orchid's arms down, while others pulled her gown up over her hips.

"We are your sisters now, replacing the family you left behind." Orchid squirmed while girls continued to kiss her and arms lifted her knees up to her chest, exposing her reddened butt cheeks and her aching pussy. Fingers stroked her tender skin while girls cooed over her injuries. More voices raised in unison with Marigold.

"Our pasts and futures are concealed in shadow." Orchid tried to kick her legs when she felt something wet and warm brush against her asshole, but dozens of firm hands and arms held her down, surrounding her. She couldn't see anything past the faces that flew over her, smiling, frowning, kissing.

"All we have is the present, each day lived together." She felt fingers spreading her cheeks and a hard, warm point pressed against her asshole. Panic filled her chest and her body convulsed to evade the penetration, but the point pressed into her, stretching her open. She tried to scream but her mouth was blocked by wet lips and a probing tongue. Every inch of her body cocooned by writhing girl-flesh.

"In our duty, sharing every joy and sorrow." The metal plug's widest portion pushed against Orchid's hole while she squeezed futilely against its pressure. When it finally slid into her ass she felt her body pull it in, grasping at the weight, pulling until the flared base rested up against her tightened hole. She gasped for breath when her legs were released and the smothering crush of girls withdrew. She pushed hard with her butt, but the plug was too thick to come out that easily.

"Till the end of our days," Marigold finished, and every voice echoed hers.

When Orchid's body stopped shaking she stared up at the girls surrounding her. The weight inside her felt alien, and her insides writhed trying to eject it until she breathed deeply to settle herself. She needed these girls if she was going to survive this predicament. Needed them to believe and accept her. Confide in her. She would survive, no matter what it took. Orchid took another deep breath and repeated, "Till the end of our days, sisters."