Penelope went utterly still. Good heavens.
Realization swept over her in a mortifying wave. She did not stumble into danger, but stumbled into a private rendezvous.
Her face burned.
Of all the rooms in this vast estate, she had somehow chosen the one neighboring a hidden alcove occupied by two people who had clearly mistaken the masquerade for an opportunity of their own.
For one dreadful moment, Penelope did not know which was worse: that her carefully laid hopes for the evening had been ruined, or that fate had now placed her in earshot of a scandal she had no wish whatsoever to overhear.
She stood rigid, cloth still in hand, scarcely daring to breathe. And then, a floorboard creaked, much closer this time, which denoted where the noise originated—inside the room. It took her another horrifying moment to realize that someone else was there.
"Oh…" and she gasped, quickly turning away, obscuring herself from view. "Oh… yes! Heavens…n-no, yes! Yes! Oh…"
With every moan, something crashed, something collided, and something shifted. The floorboard creaked violently as the air changed, now compromised by the strong smell of something else, a reprieve now lost.
"Oh… harder… harder, yes! Y-Ye-oh…"
Clash!
Something fell, shattering onto the ground with a hard thud. Right after, item after item descended, wrecked by the pressure of the force, as though someone was being tossed.
Moans, screams, cries…it filled the air. The sound of ass cheeks slapping against one another was far from being gentle. It was savage, a movement controlled by violent precision. A kind that elicited sharp gasps, moans, and curses.
Penelope couldn't breathe. Her stomach twirled in unease… and something she couldn't even dare name. Even as she blocked her ears, she could still hear them. Could hear every gasp that followed, every moan that left her lips, and every item that suffered the sin of someone else.
Oh heavens…
CLASH!
THUD!
CLANK!
CLASH!
CLASH— "Oh…"
Penelope flushed harder in embarrassment. She couldn't accept it anymore. If she moved, there was a higher chance of being caught. The diversion of the room brought her directly in front, and the door was somewhere beside them, leaving her with no option but to endure. She knew she was not meant to be here. That much was obvious. But at that moment, she was not only stuck, but also trapped.
Fishing her skirt that pooled at her side, she took a deep breath. Her heart pounded in her chest. This is...very private, not meant for her ears at all. They would want to cut hers off if they knew she was hearing this.
Despite the fact that she's being forced to watch and listen to the lewd acts right now, reality sank before her but her panic was greater. She needed to leave.
She was a lady! A lady if not of high esteem, but of dignity. Of all places she sought reprieve, did it have to be the one place she never imagined?
Penelope knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't stop herself from carefully pivoting so she faced forward, keeping her movement precise, slowly lifting herself to peek at how far the door was from her. But through the small gap, she saw something far more startling.
It was Third Princess Malisa.
Divine shit.
The once striking features were morphed in pleasure and pain, jaw dropped, eyes bright in bliss as violent flexes kept thrusting from behind—in and out, in and out—faster to the point breathless cries escaped her lips.
What. In. The. Devil's.
Penelope shuddered, and it had nothing to do with the cold. It was the Princess! The Princess! She needed to get out of here now.
Penelope gasped when she felt her eyes unconsciously shift towards her direction, quickly pulling away. Her pulse thrummed furiously, threatening to jump away from her chest. She reached for it, attempting to stabilize the rate of her heartbeat in fear they might hear her.
As one hand held onto her chest, the other clasped her mouth tightly to prevent any sound from slipping. For a moment, shock skyrocketed her in waves, sending a ripple of disbelief crisscrossing through her entire body.
Of all the people… it had to be no one else but the Princess? The realization frightened her, like a criminal caught stealing. If anyone heard about this… if anyone ever came to realize what exactly she saw, Penelope couldn't even begin to imagine what might happen.
And she, at the moment, had been placed precariously at the center of it all.
There's no way she could get back through the doorway without them seeing her. They were close, and it's only the few potted plants that were keeping her hidden.
As if that wasn't enough, the sounds in the room intensify when the Princess seemed to reach her orgasm, and the person slams harshly into her before finally spilling his seed with a grunt.
For what felt like eternity, Penelope suffered the tormenting sexual pleasure echoing inside the room. With the loud orchestrated music booming through the halls, she doubted anyone could hear them, an advantage in their favor and an awful disadvantage to her.
She remained still, hands clasped over her ears and lips pursed into a thin line. One thing she realized was that the Princess wasn't all society claimed her to be. She was far from being… calm.
For a while, it continued, and with every minute that passed, Penelope was certain she could hear no more after this. Suddenly, there was a change in the atmosphere that seemed to disrupt whatever transpired in the room. No more thrusts followed, as a soft moan and heavy breaths echoed in the room.
Penelope could barely breathe. Hopefully, they'll be well and truly done this time, because she was tired and—
"You can leave." came the cold command from a deep voice. Penelope flinched, not just from the sudden coldness radiating from the room, but from the way this person commanded the Princess as though she were his puppet.
Penelope heard a rustling of movements which indicated the Princess's sudden action. It took her not less than ten seconds to get herself together, and she sighed in relief that it had finally come to an end.
"That's it?" She heard her question, catching the faint trace of annoyance in her voice as she scoffed. "Just some cold treatment. I thought we agreed on—"
"It's done, Malisa. Your absence must've been noticed already," he interrupted before she could conclude as he too, seemed to rearrange himself, the sound of his belt clinking. "You wouldn't want the Queen's guards searching every corner and discovering this,"
"I can handle my own mother—" She paused before she finalized her words, obviously as a result of his expression Penelope couldn't see from her angle.
For a moment, silence stretched around the room. Penelope didn't realize she held her breath until Princess Malisa strode out of the room, letting her soft retreating steps occupy the silence before slamming the door shut behind her.
As for Penelope, she was too scared to breathe in the silence, and her heart pounded against her chest like drums. She waited precious seconds, her cheeks puffed out with all the air she was not letting out.
Another minute passed as she waited for the next retreating steps, but it was only silence that answered. Why wouldn't he leave?!
"You can come out now,"
Penelope nearly choked on her own breath. A cold shiver raced down her spine at the merciless tone, and panic tightened around her chest. H-He couldn't possibly mean her… could he?
The thought made her feel dizzy. A second passed. Two. Three. It continued, until the silence felt suffocating—an obvious answer to her thought.
Taking a deep breath, Penepope decided to take a peek. The moment her eyes met his, her blood ran cold.
A pair of piercing grey eyes stared directly at her through an intricately crafted obsidian mask, sharp with irritation and unmistakable fury. He stood near the door, broad shoulders tense, one gloved hand resting against the buckle of his belt as though she had interrupted something sacred.
Oh no.
Penelope's pulse stumbled.
There was something achingly familiar about the visible part of his face—the sharp jaw, the curve of his mouth until recognition hit her like lightning.
H-Him?!
Her eyes widened in disbelief while the stranger watched her in icy silence, his expression darkening at having his secret discovered.