Honey Trapped

Mihre was in a contempt mood and ordered her men to get set for the journey back to Erkhet. A backup group of servants and soldiers were sent by King Oktur. It took three days to reach the imperial capital of Erkhet, Khyargai. Upon her arrival, Mihre had a meeting with her father who inquired about her diplomatic visit to the province of Hengxin with whom they were in a business-political relationship. There was a problem with the trade transaction where the governor lord of that province wanted to make re-adjustments to the trade pact and temporarily refused any exchange of goods between Erkhet and Hengxin. Mihre took a trip personally to settle the matter as Hengxin was the highest exporter of silk, sandalwood, mixia (a magical mushroom used to concoct a hallucinatory potion that can drive a person mad and eventually commit suicide), ningxi (a special flower that changes color; during the day it is orange while during the night its purple and have light sheen;), the wood of the louzhong tree for exquisite furniture making. The problem arose with the ningxi, the magical color-changing flower. Properties of the flower are that if it is harvested during the day then the potion that is made from it can keep one's skin young but if harvested during the night the powder obtained from grounding it can induce revival of memories that are either otherwise forgotten willingly or made to forget deliberately. In the latter case, it mostly works as an antidote to any mind charms which are cast to induce amnesia or any specific memory loss. Mihre being an extremely scholarly woman with vast knowledge was aware of the herb which earlier used to grow in wild and was neglected as a poisonous plant. She with her negotiating skills convinced the governor about the monetary value of the flower but only revealed partial information about it and made him grow it under strict supervision that required the flower to be harvested only during the day. To convince the governor she even held a demonstration forcing a slave to intake both versions of the flower. But tactfully switched the powder made from the night version into an ordinary poison which killed her establishing the fact that if the flower is harvested during the night, will be poisonous. However, there was one mistake she made in her calculated move. She never predicted that the governor will use the night version of the ningxi on one of his maids with whom he had a secret affair and she was with a child. Scared that it will alienate his wife and will bring shame on the clan he wanted to wipe out his infidelity secretly. But since the herb was not what Mihre initially made him believe, it unfolded into a catastrophic situation where the maid did not only not die but she blurted out an old memory where it was revealed that the governor's wife had a prior affair and that his real son isn't actually his. The maid was revealed to be a water girl who previously worked for the governess's family and she accidentally eavesdropped when the family physician revealed the truth, who was eventually killed to be silenced.

Seeing that it had a totally different reaction to what he has been made to believe, the governor became furious and hatched a plan to subdue Erkhet. Not only that he secretly lusted over Mihre as well, but the princess very coldly rejected his advances many times with insulting innuendos. The governor had a long accumulated frustration and anger due to these repeated rejections, especially from a woman. So when the truth was revealed he immediately took the opportunity and swung into action. But he underestimated Mihre who was always ten steps ahead of her enemies. The governor sent an urgent word demanding a meeting with the princess mentioning the truth he discovered about the ningxi flower. Mihre was as calm as a sea and readily accepted his invitation. After reaching the governor's sprawling mansion she proceeded with a meeting as per his demand.

However, Mihre being shrewd beyond the governor's comprehension requested a private meeting in the governor's sleeping chambers instead. The governor was elated with such a lucrative opportunity, especially with the woman he has been lusting over for such a long time. He made special arrangements for the occasion hoping for some passionate opportunities to unfold. As Mihre's convoy reached the main entrance of the mansion the governor welcomed Mihre and led her by her hand which she willingly reached out.

The governor asked in a caring tone, "My princess, welcome again. I hope you had no problems on the way here."

Mihre replied with slight shyness and in her usual honey tone, "My lord, thank you for your concern. I had no problems on the way here. Shall we proceed with our meeting then? Just you and I."

The governor led her with him in his private chambers and they both strictly ordered their maids and bodyguards to not intervene in their 'private meeting'. Once the door was closed Mihre became freer and made herself comfortable ditching the formalities. The governor was beaming with excitement at such a beauty's presence. Mihre herself took an extra effort to doll up herself bathing in lavender and sandalwood the scent of which is driving the governor crazy. The governor invited her to have a seat on the couch to talk about the recent developments but Mihre instead went ahead to sit seductively on his bed and invited the governor to join her.

Mihre said, "My lord, why on the couch when we can both talk on the bed more comfortably?"

Governor, "Ahhhhh of course my princess it will be my pleasure."

Mihre replied, "Let me pour a glass of wine for my lord."

With that, she reached to the nearby table and poured two glasses of rare ginseng wine, and offered one to the governor. They sipped and started their conversation.

Mihre, "So my lord what is it you want with the ningxi's night version?"

The governor replied, "I want to harvest the flower and sell the powder as an antidote to the distillers to make antidotes for mind spell-induced amnesia. And it will be me who controls the market and production of the flower. I have enquired that it is only our province of Hengxin that these flowers grow because of the temperate climate throughout the year."

Mihre tapped her fingers on the golden wine glass and she gave a mild smile that was intoxicating. Then she spoke,

"Does my lord wants just that? Or is there something more that you may desire?"

The governor let out a laugh and said, "Princess is smart I must say. Well, I will increase the purchasing price of the ningxi flower by ten percent. I hope you understand the situation dear one because if I start selling the flower to other provinces you know much profit I can make. I am also aware that Erkhet is powerful enough to make the other provinces not buy the flower but then since you decided to have a private meeting like this which your father has strictly prohibited you to do during official visits I wonder what will happen if the word gets out. Also, I have heard of a strange rumor about your sexuality and your father's distaste for that as well."

Mihre's demeanor turned dark but soon she controlled the unspeakable fury against such subtle yet deep threats and kept up with her usual foxy charming face and replied,

"My lord I understand that we have a situation but you need not to go to such extent. I am sure we can settle this out without hurting each other's interest. How about I fulfill your desire which you have been wanting and in exchange you let go off this ningxi flower matter?"

The governor's eyes glistened and he asked, " I am listening my love."

Mihre then proceeded and did something which caught the governor off guard. She took off her princess attire to undress in front of the governor in a very seductive way. She then stopped, wearing just her undergarments, and took steps in a way to entice the man who was at his peak of temptation to grab the beauty in front of him. And while he was about to act, Mihre stopped him and spoke in a silky voice,

"How about another glass of wine My Lord!?"

The governor replied in a husked voice, "How can I refuse" and kissed her lips before letting her go.

Mihre reached the table poured wine into two glasses and after handing it over to the governor she teasingly asked him that they drink from each other's glasses by each other's hands. The governor readily agreed and they both drank the wine from the glasses and each other's hands. After they are done the governor, now intoxicated, grabbed Mihre and started to fondle and touch her as he pleased. He kissed her vivaciously. Mihre pushed him away a little and asked him in a provocative way that she likes men who are rough and overpowering. She licked her own lips and asked the governor,

"Bite my lips My Lord"

The invitation was like a spark of fire and he immediately grabbed her and kissed her until she was bleeding from the corner of her lips. He then in the bid to undress Mihre completely and quickly tore off her undergarments and at that moment it happened. There was a shocking change in the governor's appearance. He suddenly became kind of disillusioned and tried to grab Mihre once again but this was in a different way. He hissed at her and started to scratch and hit her leaving marks on her jade-white skin. Mihre started to scream for help she grabbed her clothes which were on the floor and wrapped it clumsily before running to the door banging on them fanatically. Soon it was opened and her guards entered witnessing the horror. The guards of the governor too came in and they restrained him who was now like a complete lunatic hissing and cursing Mihre, who was crying her eyes out. Her maids came rushing in and helped cover her up. The guards took the governor away but he suddenly let himself free and charged at Mihre ferociously. He reached her and viciously attacked her ripping off her clothes and at that moment Mihre's bodyguard swiftly came forward and pushed him away from her. The governor tumbled and fell backward before getting up with tumbling steps, screaming violently looking at Mihre as if he is looking at a demon. He then went so crazy screaming that saliva started to drip from his mouth yet he couldn't speak a single word. He then proceeded to snatch a sword from a nearby soldier standing on guard and charged at Mihre attempting to attack her but her bodyguard soon came forward and with one strike of his sword cut off the governor's head. As soon as the scene unfolded there were shrieks and gasps from everyone around witnessing the unexpected incident. Mihre was in total shock and was taken away by her maids guarded by a few bodyguards. As soon as they left the scene Mihre, unnoticed by anyone, turned around to see the headless body of the governor, and a faint wicked smile appeared on her tearful face.