30 I Do Not Agree

"Oh, I feel faint," an older woman exclaimed while covering herself with a fan, "someone guide me into another room."

She stumbled and collapsed into an attendants arm. He caught her by her shoulders and reassured, "Madame, please rest at ease."

In the meantime, I was still sandwiched between Rayas tender body and the cold floor. We interlocked our hands and she kept pressing me down.

"Stop resisting," she shouted.

"That's a hard order to follow."

Just as she was about to overwhelm me, I let my strength fade, causing her to slip and fall onto my bosom. While she was trying to regain her balance, I kicked her feet away. Due to the sudden lack of support, she fell again and her face was buried deeper into my chest.

Without giving her a chance, I wrapped my legs around her slender waist and held her tightly. I also interlocked my arms around her head to keep her face as close as possible to mine.

Her hot breath was scraping my delicate skin.

Her ample breast rubbed against me, everytime she tried to resist.

Her silky, black hair was disheveled and the bun has lost its original shape.

"Let go of me," she demanded and frantically kicked her legs.

"Why," I laughed, "are you not having fun?"

Steadily, I began to build up sweat. One more time, she tried to break free, but I wouldn't let her, causing her to slump over lifelessly.

Her resistance gradually weakened, so I turned us around and our positions were switched. I now sat on top of her, putting my weight on her ribs and forced her arms downwards, while she lied on the ground, grinding her teeth.

Due to her height, she would have been able to escape easily if she used a bit of her strength.

But she didn't. Instead she only clumsily fidgeted with her legs.

She stared at me. Her eyes were red, her nose too. She had cried too hard.

The girl stopped biting her thin, red lips. Rather, they jutted forwards, making an adorable pout. Her eyebrows didn't crease anymore and she let them rest. Her face had shown her frustration and indignation, but also how she had given up resistance, noiseless, breathless, she stopped fighting.

My breathing on the other hand was erratic, and I felt the blood rush to my head. Drops of sweat trickled down my face. Unknowingly, my garments had fallen loose, revealing my bare shoulders.

I started giggling, and revealed my fanged smile.

The ecstasy I felt from staring at her face was simply addicting, and before I noticed, I had already shown my most alluring state to her.

Rayas eyes widened and her cheeks, unbeknownst to herself, flushed brightly, the moment she laid her gaze upon me.

I brushed strands of Rayas hair away, revealing more of her face and clasped my hands around her soft cheeks.

She blushed, but then winced out of embarrassment and tried turning sideways, but I didn't let her.

I moved closer and faintly heard her whimper. A whiff of air escaped my mouth coating her ear, when I whispered with a low voice, "We should do this more often."

I audibly inhaled and exhaled. Everytime, warm vapor hit her again, and again.

With my fingers, I gently stroked that girls lips. Her eyes were fixed on my face and I replied with another smile. I felt our heartbeats, and how Rayas was growing more rapid. As it reached the zenith, I lightly nibbled her reddened ear.

She desperately held back the noises trying to escape her throat, so I pried her mouth open with my hand. She started panting.

I felt her tongue briefly touching the back of my hand, and just as she was about to vocalize her thoughts, I was forcefully pulled away.

I turned around to see that a group of people had already assembled around us, trying to separate me from her. I hadn't even noticed them approaching, and I guessed that Raya didn't, either.

Several people grabbed me by my clothes and tore me off her chest. With relative ease, I was lifted by my waist, like I was only a kitten.

Seeing me disappear, she sulked and reflexively reached out to grab my arms, but managed to return to her senses before she did it. The inertia of her action made her leap up, while I was thrown to the ground.

She wiped the saliva from her mouth and was unable to believe what had just occurred. I gave her a cheeky grin, which she reciprocated with eyes full of hatred.

I thought we had a moment there.

A gruff voice broke our shared illusion, flinging us back into reality, "someone carry Raya back."

A friend immediately rushed out from the crowd, supported the lethargic girl and weakly dragged her away amidst the scrutiny of the bystanders.

"Father," Raya uttered thinly.

"That was an embarrassing display," he sternly said.

When I looked at his icy expression, I found it slightly reminiscent of mine.

Raya flinched, but did not retort. Her face was dark and she silently retreated.

In only one day, I had seen a rainbow of emotions displayed by her. It was quite enjoyable.

"Agnes, do you take me for a fool?"

He tried intimidating me the same way he did with Raya, but I wasn't particularly frightened at all. Still, everyone listened attentively in anticipation of what might happen next.

"Why would you think that," I asked him, not understanding his question.

"My daughter has only met the prince briefly, there's absolutely no connection between the both of them."

"I would of course also like to believe that, but have you not heard her yourself?"

The man massaged his glabella, "it was merely an exaggeration. You have to excuse her, as she can be quite temperamental," I could see a glint in his blue eyes, "however if you were to think about it in an objective manner, you should realize that a brief meeting where they only exchanged words once cannot bud any love or compassion. Of all people, to connect these two together is simply a bizarre hypothesis."

Some started talking again. After the initial commotion had dissipated, everyone was able to discuss the matter more calmly.

"Furthermore, would it not be your own fault, if by mere talking, you'd fall out of the prince's favor. Can you really blame Raya for showing basic hospitality? Rather is it not because you didn't properly hold onto him that it had turned out this way? Honestly, if that was all it took, it could have been anyone."

As expected of adults, they could handle silly claims like these more easily.

"I'm more interested in where you heard these baseless rumours," his tone turned sharp, "if we take into account the improbability of the prince and my second child being associated with each other, then those alleged rumors you mentioned ought to be nonexistent either. Could you explain this inconsistency?"

He laid out one fact after another, dismantling what I said with ease. Many soon began to see flaws in my story on their own, and began dissecting the information.

He snapped his fingers again, to quieten the audience. With only one hand, he controlled the atmosphere in this room. It was like he lead a circus act on his own.

The stares which I had just avoided, returned back to me.

"It is as you said," I admitted. And I heard gasp all around me.

He sighed, "why would you do such a thing?"

I placed my index finger on my forehead, pretending to think, "hmm, if you ask so suddenly," I paused, letting the suspension build up, "to pass time, I guess."

"Don't screw with me," a high-pitched voice cried out.

It was the friend who had pulled Raya back to their group. A girl around the same age with similar features as her. She was sucking in her teeth and held Raya tightly in her arms.

"You demoness," a different girl screamed and threw something that shattered on impact.

People started shouting insults and began to hurl one thing after another at me,

while I stood calmly in the center, amidst the broken bottles and dirtied food.

"You were all standing by, ready to lynch her, and now you change sides again. Truly a fickle group."

Someone spitted in my direction, "you have no right to judge us, scum," he yelled.

A woman continued, "you belong in the slums, disgusting girl."

"Even beggars have more dignity and pride than you."

"You are no human, you spawn of hell."

"You mistake of our family, you black sheep."

"Banish her, banish her."

"She is a demon, a demon."

"You demon." "You demon." "Demon." Demoness." Devils child." "Demon."

Demon.

Underneath the frenzied chanter, I noticed Raya looking at me with an inexplicable gaze.

She listlessly murmured, "you have not changed after all." Her sentence however, was drowned out by the crowd.

I raised my hands like a conductor presenting their show, "what's the matter, is this not to your liking," I joked, "you dolls, lumps of flesh, who only came to enjoy a show. Now, have I not given a show? What's more, I even let you join the fun," I laughed out hard, "albeit it was the role of a clown."

"Off with her head, I cannot bear watching her talk anymore."

They threw out their fists.

"O, head of the D'Anele household, please judge accordingly."

Rayas father, who had watched the whole act, sat unpertubed on his seat.

No, there was a slight glimmer in pupils. For the first time, he did not stop the crowd and their behavior.

Instead, he stood up and with a deep, but clear voice announced, "Agnes, the daughter of a commoner. For playing with the pure hearts of the innocents, I will have to punish you."

"Oh, sounds interesting, what do you suggest."

"For prematurely breaking off the engagement and endangering our whole family, I sentence you to nunhood at the periphery of our territory. You will never step outside a church, until further notice," he smirked, "in additon, for shaming our household, and showing improper behavior as an aristocrat and maiden, I strip you off the title of nobility. You shall from now on live your life as a commoner. Lastly, for breach of etiquette, I impose 30 lashes with a horse whip on you."

"Serves you right, girl."

A girl sighed in relief, "I'm glad we do not have to see her anymore."

An old man said, "such is the consequence of acting without proper backing."

Rayas father said to me, "do you have anything to add."

I shrugged my shoulders and raised my hand, "yes, I'd like to ask, who died and made you king?"

He pursed his lips, "is there a meaning behind this question."

I walked towards him, not minding the shouts chastising me. A young adult threw a slab of meat, which hit my eye.

The meat quickly fell down leaving only it's bloody juice dripping down my face.

While that occurred, I marched forward, not hesitating the slightest. Only after I felt I had reached a reasonable range, did I stop.

I pointed my fingers at him, and pitifully said, "it means I do not agree."

His brows furrowed and deep lines appeared on his forehead.

In a stoic manner, he asked, "have I heard correctly? Do you not agree with the crimes I listed?"

"Nope, these are alright. I disagree with the punishment you decided on."

For the first time, he screamed, "Incomprehensible, you dare question my decision? You dare talk back to me? You dare look at me with these eyes of defiance?"

His eyes bugged out unable to comprehend what I have said.

"That's the gist of it. I'm glad we reached an equilibrium," I gave him a thumbs up.

With wrath that couldn't be contained, he hit the wooden table, causing it to crack. His elegant hairdo, became undone and flew into his face. I saw the veins from his eyes reaching his forehead protruding and popping.

His chest rose and sunk rapidly. A deep, guttural tone came out of his mouth and he howled, "do you think yourself equal to a man?"

His voice shook the room and everyone quitened down.

"You seem to have misunderstood me. As far as I know, the head of this household is not you, but your father. You may act as his representative, but as long as he is not dead, the decisions are not yourself to make," I twirled my finger around, "in other words, I do not have to listen to you."

He stomped on the ground, "I have changed my mind. I will bludgeon you to death, right here, right now."