All Comments on 'At His Majesty's Pleasure Ch. 02'

i love this. it's been so long since i read such an interesting story. keep up the good work. i'm eagerly waiting for the next chapter

I am really enjoying your story so far, but I feel like you should know that a duke is always a very high ranking nobleman. While Disney's Cinderella makes the Grand Duke basically a servant, that is really misleading. A duke is typically just below the king in rank, and depending on when and where, is often a member of the royal family (say, the king's younger brother or cousin). Also depending on when and where, dukes are sometimes more powerful than kings when the king is weak. So, if you want a nobleman of significantly lower rank than she is, you would really want something like a baronet or a viscount.

Brilliant second chapter, can he be redeemed from his warrior ways? Love it, more please. I was waiting in anticipation for this chapter, didn't disappoint.

More more more- I love slow burns

OH MY GOOD LORD

wow. To say I was anticipating this chapter and that my hopes were high is an understatement and holy hell did you girls not disappoint. I'm a bit braindead from the hotness but erm, I can definitely confirm that Al-baby is both evil *and* hot, omg so hot he's making me weak at the knees and my drool almost short circuited my iPhone (am I the only one who is all over the whole phantom of the opera thing with the scar, or even like a reylo vibe with the scar too. Hmmm). What the fuck is it with these tall dark handsome assholes. He's just so fucking bad. I was just sitting there chanting "do her! Do her you evil bastard!" Ahahahaha. I don't actually want him to do her anytime soon because we all know how hot build up and the "slow burn" as the delectable Alice called it is. But also I did want him to do her!. I'm so conflicted gah! Oh my good lord. I'm so grateful that you chicks get the whole long slow build up because already as it is, the sex would be hot as hell. I have a feeling we are in for a bit of a long ride before we get there, which I am thrilled about because I'll probably be completely dying for it by the time it comes but it'll be so hot it's completely worth it. The power imbalance and dynamics are utterly delicious and it's only going to get more so. Also I for one would far far farrrr prefer there to be nothing reluctant or consensual about any of it, and for him to have a long road of redemption ahead, But, I'm happily along for the ride however it plays out and you two have earned my complete trust in that regard. You girls know what you're doing and how to tell this story. Just. I love seeing his capacity for both cruelty and also his infatuation with and capacity for care with her. I love the kind of guy who thinks it's completely acceptable to noncon the main chick whilst coming at it from the angle of she's-mine-I-want-her-she's-gorgeous-she-infuriates-me-I'm-going-to-hurt-her. It's so hot! I'm so so grateful that Alais is as badass as she can be in her situation. I can't take the pathetic heroines of so much of the noncon you see here, and Alais does not give a fuck (to the point where self preservation kicks in at least because another thing is she's not stupid) and it's perfect. Also how she's not this naive and unworldly princess. She was off to help her handmaiden get laid ffs. So yeah. I assume when we get there she won't be all blushing and going "what is a dick! wait what is this strange thing between my legs that I've never thought in all my twenty or so years to check out! what are these strange feelings!" And She doesn't fold and she's feisty and angry and I was dying for her to throw that wine in his face and was so excited when she did. As for him, well, I was dying for him to tie her up and be mean, and he was, omg (rope! Omg. My rope fetish. Yay!). Loved that it's been made clear that he's cruel and frightening and is possibly willing to really hurt her, which makes the stakes so much higher. (I still Don't think he would really tho, but the idea and the potential is so hot and I'm scared for her now, so this is just an awesome development!) Such a complete bastard. I'm so happy to see all my guesses were correct in respect of his identity, her bravery and attitude, and his plans for her. I totally called that he was going to want to marry her and he would use reasons concerning the safety of her country to try to force her hand (maybe not in an earlier comment but to one of my friends I said this she can vouch for me!). You guys are just so fucking amazing. Boy was that hot and everything I was hoping it would be. The only thing I wanted more was for him to really hurt her hand and for her to throw up all over him from that. That would have served him right.

It's so intriguing how you're both writing from each character's perspective. It's really well done because when you said previously you were doing that I had assumed you meant the actual POVs and we hadn't gotten to Alexander's yet. But if what I understand to be your comment to Alice on chapter one is right, you're both writing each scene and when each character comes in you swap over so you can both write what happens and neither of you know for sure what the other character will do. It sounds like it shouldn't work, but you've done it so seamlessly that I can't even tell that two people are writing it. The only time I've read a collab that worked well before was Enhanced Interrogation, and that was amazing that story, but usually it's not so easy to do, so wow good on you for managing it so well here!

Okay I'll scuttle away and force my hubby to do me so I can calm down a bit. sorry for the TLDR. but like. If you take one thing from this please let it be that you need to hurry the fuck up and give me moar. My sanity depends on it.

PS this chapter I'm gonna go ahead and call that Alexander's really good at oral. Like. Really fucking good. 😝

PS x2 I'm so excited he's going to cook her a cake! Yay! I love dudes who can cook! Omg can't wait to find out the context! still hope she throws it at him/etc.

PS x3 I promised my friend I would wait to read this with her but she didn't show up tonight and I saw it and saw the subheading and couldn't control myself and jumped in and couldn't stop reading it I'm sorry omg Alice I'm so sorry please don't kill me please I swear I'll wait next chapter for you sorry

I do hope you write again soon! I am in agony over what her response will be! Well done!

Very good! Please don't let us wait long, post the next part quick! I love your story and drama!

Rape that poor little lost boy up the arse with something that will lacerate the sphincter in such away that he will never be able to close his anus again. No, do this after she married him, lavished him with 'how it could have been' until he can't live without her and changes his primitive ways. Then let him know that she is breaking his heart into a kerschmillion-ziltrion itsy, bitsy pieces by raping him up the arse with a pineapple and leaving him to bleed to death as his soldiers were most probably doing to the women in the countries he attacked (not by pineapple, but you know...).

One could also fry his genitals...no bugger frying...he can bloody-well chomp on them raw, and make him write down the taste and texture of it in a note to leave for his soldiers to find after the coward snuffed it. The useless tool. The unevolved territory-bitch. The nit-picking power-enslaved. If Stalin's whimsical feminas opted on killing him rather than themselves and Hitler's whores knew what real power meant, the world could maybe have been less fucked. But noooooo. Let's have a repeat of the last 10 000 odd years. Let's get fucked by the schizophrenic dill-tool who can't talk his way out of an argument because he forgot his brain in the womb.

Phew. That feels better. Thank you. I've needed to do that for some time. Like every woman, I of course also think he'll be a good story-fuck, hope she will ensnare him, and that his heart will become one with hers, changing him for the - but could she at least poison him to vomit for a week so he dies from dehydration. Or give him a massage with itchy-oil so he scratches himself till he bleeds to death? Or mix something that causes flatulence with his consumables, so people drive him into the night because of his rude odour and he falls off a cliff in the dark? Or stab him and increase the amount of sex so he never gets time to clean the wound, develops gangrene and rots away? Anything! Dear doG, ANYTHING!!!

I will from now on lie awake waiting for your next installment. You can do what you want, as long as you make me angry again. I live for it and you do it so well.

I can't wait til the next chapter!!

The princess is, so far, a much more enjoyable character than the usual kidnapped royal. I like the way that she pragmatically accepts kneeling for instance, not bein undone with humiliation or some such nonsense. I am crossing my fingers that when the sex happens she doesn't turn in to an idiot. She so far seems to be able to reconcile finding him attractive despite his being evil. My hope is she can take whatever he dishes out and effectively say "Sure my body responds to you, you are still an evil bastard and I hate you."

I thoroughly enjoy stories with a good development and this has it in spades.

I concur with the last post in that she stays defiant and doesn't come to actually like him. That would spoil it.

One point on timelines. With both of you writing something has gone slightly awry.

How long was she actually travelling. She was force fed for days yet only wandered the palace gardens the night before. Easy to make an error and it didn't detract from a very enjoyable story.

Roll on three.

This is so so so so gooooood and I need more in my life like ASAP!! The writing is phenomenal for this category and I love love LOOVE how you're developing that slow burn! I LOVE Alais and I love to hate Alexander while also loving him it's complicated Lol. I can't express how glad I am that something's filling up that hole in my heart so soon after Last Tritan got taken down, because this is totally up there!!!! I will say that it's interesting and unique in its own way that Alais is going to have more agency than the average lady protagonist of these types of stories I mean, he wants to MARRY her instead of ENSLAVING her, right? You can't mess with your wife and queen as much as you can mess with your slave in a master/slave dynamic

but I guess only you guys would know that for SURE! Looking forward to how all these delicious little boundaries are pushed !!

Great story! Can hardly wait for the next chapter.

Was so excited to see the next chapter ! I even went to the bathroom at work to get a sneak into the beginning ! Can't wait for more :) although I didn't like that he *actually* hurt her again and made her bleed ... Please don't get too violent in that aspect.

You have no idea how happy I am when I saw the update!

I just love love love the story. I just love how.... Realistic Anais réaction is. Usually the kidnappee react in two ways; either overly rebellious borderline on annoyingly stupid, or so easily accepting that's it's insulting.

But I just love the 'fuck it, now's not the time to be prideful. I would like to keep all my fingers thank you very much.' -attitude from the heroine. Wait for the right moment to strike. Don't be stupid.

And I sincerely hope that this story have a happy ending, even though I know we're really early in the plot. There are so many ways where it could go wrong.mainly because Alex is being a murderous asshole right now.

But yeah. Imagine Alexander the second: mom, dad, how did you meet? Well, son, I kidnapped your mom from a ball and dismembered her savior for our first date!

Ok I had high hopes for this story but I really don't like how this is turning out. There was actual potential for romance between the duke and Alias, I thought maybe the king was forcing him to do this, but no here just completely destroyed it. He's basically forcing her to being his wife and there's nothing romantic about that, he's violent and a psychopath. There's no way she can actually give real consent in this situation. That you would try to peddle this as erotica is pretty disgusting and you should think about what you story is actually entailing here.

Haha! Toussaint! It seems that somebody is a Witcher fan :)

Story and writing looks very promising so far and I'm looking forward to future chapters, great work!

this is the non-consent/reluctance category. what did you expect? // can't for the next chapter!

Even in Sci/fi this would have been mediocre. The plot is practically nonexistant, the dialgoue is so bad it makes me laugh and the characters don't have the IQ of a squirrel. So bad..........

Great chapter, I want to know more about alexander's real motivations, because I don't think he went into alk the troubles just to force alais to marry him. He must have some other plots in his mind. I also find alais's reactions realistic and hope she will get a chance to revenge, maybe poison him in the wedding night =))) I can't wait for the next chapter. When will we have it? Because I'm so impatient, I keep checking this site for an update :))

Keep going! Ignore the haters; unless the criticism is constructive then it's just squabble. I am also always confused by readers of non-con/reluctance that write comments of disgust and disapproval - go to another section. I love the build up but the tension is killing me!

Firstly, WoW. You girls are spoiling us!!!!! I'm salivating for the next chapter already.

In this chapter, Alexander comes off as a psychopathic man baby. He enjoys others' degradation and pain, requires complete obeisance, and rules through fear. But what can you expect of a dumbass who's pro slavery? I get a strong feeling that he's over compensating for something (like being the second brother, being told since birth he wasn't destined to rule), and possibly enjoyed beating and mutilating animals as a child. I'm assuming he revived all the sick bits of Obsivian history out of some warped nostalgia and misunderstanding about what makes a nation 'great.' ... Wowza, he sounds like Donald Drumf! So far, he sounds like a talented general, and a hack of a ruler. It feels like might is what he understands and respects best, so it's what he uses. While he may not be naive when it comes to the importance of alliances, his choice to rule through fear shows what an incompetent ruler he is.

I like that you guys didn't have him cut off Alais' finger. It's in line with his view of her as a shiny bauble. Someone who's made so brittle and volatile by pride wouldn't want any scratches on his toys. That moment and everything leading up to it was great - there really was doubt of whether or not he'd maim her, and until he released her hand, I thought he would. Obviously, you guys are influenced by The Song of Ice and Fire, but be careful your story doesn't go for shock factor like the show and series does. So far, everything is pretty consistent and character driven, and I absolutely love that! It makes the story something I can steep myself in, and the tension palpable. When gnarly things in a story are random, they don't seem like consequences so much as desperate and ridiculous ploys for interest and attention. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you guys not indulging in torture porn.

There's only one little thing - it's a little too soon to introduce anything that's soft about him - the part where Alais felt shocked that he didn't mock her for being emotional about her past at that castle didn't ring as true compared with the rest of the chapter. By then she's so leery of him, it doesn't make sense that she took his restraint for kindness. It felt like she should've read it more like a trap, or at least potential ammo for him to use against her later on. However, that he did restrain himself made sense to me. Alexander seems most comfortable when people are afraid of him. I'm guessing seeing her moment of weakness would've put him at ease enough to not continue trying to get a rise from her. Alexander is so messed up I wonder if he was abused severely as a child. Or maybe he had a similar upbringing as Vladimir the Impaler. How did he come to value the more gruesome and nearly archaic parts of Obsivian culture? Once again, he reminds me of Donald Drumf and extremists. You hear about those people, but they're so insane it's hard not to think of them as mythical even when you know they're real!

I guess that's what I'm most excited about in this story - how is crazy supposed to be dealt with? Alais is basically under his thumb - avoiding and ignoring him is not an option for her. You guys did such a great job of establishing her backbone and the potential consequences she might face! I'm really looking forward to seeing her creativity come into play. It's easy to imagine her constantly blindsiding him once she gets her feet under her again. Alexander's understanding of the world centers almost exclusively around the sword, while Alais is more dynamic. Of course, there are only glimpses to how zany she can be right now, and I'm guessing her need to adhere to protocol had something to do with that. I'm really hoping to see her turn into a giant in her own right. All the rules she had to live by have been stripped away to be replaced by the single adage of Don't Tick Off the Over Sized Psychotic Baby. It's plenty terrifying, but compared to her life pre-abduction, that's actually a lot simpler and provides a ton of wiggle room she wouldn't have had before. In this chapter she's the bird banging about her cage. I want to see her turn into Hannibal Lector in terms of resourcefulness, screwing Alexander over even as she sings prettily in her cage. Ah- I'm ready to see her go bonkers. I really am.

As you guys can probably tell, I'm not very impressed with Alexander right now. Once again, a lot of that has to do with how well you two wrote. You guys have me thinking of him more like I would a real person, and less a erotica trope. It makes me wonder if there will be romance at all in this story, and if so, how messed up it's going to be. At this point, you guys have me thinking nothing romantic is possible between Alais and Alexander. How can any genuine love sprout between a psycho and his victim? I'm really interested as to where you guys will take this. People can and will always change, but you guys made things look so bleak in this chapter! What's going to happen?! Is a creature like Alexander capable of any tenderness, let alone love? How will Alais ever come to care for him? That narrative is actually more interesting to me than a straight up political maneuvering or cloak and dagger game. It's much more complex and delves into a broader range of human emotion.

It would be fascinating to see Alexander's world view shift and then seek redemption. Anyone ruling with fear is ruled by fear themselves. Plus he'd done so many messed up things. No one wants to look in the mirror and see a monster there. Regret and remorse can feel absolutely crushing. I can't think of any story that shows a person going from abhorrent to decent. Most redemption stories show the main character's past as not really his/her fault, which really sucks a lot of the drama out. Durr - I'm getting ahead of myself. What I'm trying to say is, with how screwed up everything is, I'm interested in how things play out from here.

Writing wise, you guys need to trust yourselves more. You guys are very successful at showing rather than telling, so don't tell on top of that. For example, on page 3: "Without any concern for whether she might fall or be dislodged from her chair, he gave a vicious pull - eliciting her gasp in the process - so that her trapped hand was just before him." Just say that he pulled her viciously, that she had ended up on her knees for her trouble of trying to avoid ending up on his lap, tells us plenty how little regard he has for where the rest of her body ends up. You guys didn't need to say out right that he didn't care, because you already showed it. Same thing for dialogue. You guys paint such a clear picture, it often makes a lot more sense to use 'said' instead of a fancier word. These are only small suggestions for tightening a few nuts and bolts. The quality of writing is already really high.

Thanks again for another great chapter! Can't wait for the next!!!

You know, I don't think Alexander is actually that bad, relative to his time. I mean, he is still bad, but not AS bad as if this were happening in the modern day...but given that this is medieval seeming, this sort of stuff happened pretty regularly. Like people accused of treason got drawn and quartered as a matter of course, and it was just more barbaric in general. Not that this excuses him but gotta remember his behavior is relative...

I like that Alais has her moments of vulnerability. It would be very easy to write her as a spunky heroine who's immune to fear and stuff, but she manages to be subtly brave without compromising her intellect and realism.

I loved this even more than the first chapter and I think I will continue to love it more as y'all go. I love your characters! I really believe they make or break any story no matter how interesting of a plot there is. I love how smart they are about their words and just how real they seem. I love Alexander's evil personality afterall I really enjoy stories with powerplay. Ah I don't know much about midievil times but I honestly picture what it's like when y'all write. I disagree with Chumbo on the bit where they say that you just need to state what happens. I feel like the way y'all write and make the characters speak adds that olden time feel and makes it more unique. Overall I'm very happy with the story and love where it's going. I actually read it entirely this time and I know I commented last time about the length and lack of "erotica" but I could care less about that now. Y'all got me. lol Well happy writing and please keep up the great work y'all rock. c:

Another psychotic freak to win the love of his hapless princess with nothing but murder and magic rape cocks.

It's really surprising me how most people like this but there's a couple intensely vitriolic comments per chapter that just seem to come out of nowhere. I mean, this is very standard stuff in noncon and stories that are much worse don't get anything of the like. But it occurred to me that it's probably because this series has gotten a ridiculous amount of love and popularity within the short time it's been up (seriously, considering the amount of chapters and days it's been up, the number of followers it has is actually crazily disproportionate)...and that's bound to draw attention. So hence people targeting it.

The vast majority of people, as evidenced by the ratings and comments and number of favorites, really love it, so don't let a few sour grapes ruin it. (I'm so scared that you guys will be turned off by the dumb comments and stop writing, pleeease don't!!!)

@Anon, “fun story, small nitpick”

Thanks for letting us know! We were going for a noble who was still fairly respectable, with his own island region to look over, but yes, certainly lower ranked than a princess. We’ll keep that in mind going forward!

@Anon, “loving it even more”

So flattered that you were anticipating the story, and doubly so that it didn’t disappoint!

@xxClarexx

Oh my god, we looooved your comment! (And if Alexander were reading it, I’m sure he’d be smirking up a storm, the asshole - ahaha.) It’s never tldr, we eat up thoughtful comments. But yeah, I think you really picked up on how he operates in different ways depending on his mood. Sometimes he'll be charismatic and indulgent, but other times he'll suddenly be vicious/cruel, and it's that unpredictable dichotomy that partially keeps people on edge around him. He's not unstable, per se, as his cunning isn't compromised, so it's kind of him consciously being an asshole when he feels like it, haha. And you nailed Alais too! We wanted to give her a backbone without going into the plucky and fearless heroine stereotype - she stands up for herself, but without throwing self-preservation out the window!

But yeah, we wrote in a pretty unconventional way! We discuss the overarching plot and story a bunch with each other, but for each particular scene, we don’t have much planned out. It’ll be Daisy writing something Alais does, then I write Alexander’s reaction, and so on. The result is more organic, though you’re right in that it takes a lot to edit to make sense from a normal narrative perspective!

Aaand Alexander may or may not be good at oral. >.> You’ll have to wait and see!

@evebroughtanaxthistime

Bahaha, that was such a vivid and creative set of revenge stories! Remind us to never get on your bad side. (The pineapple one was my favorite though.) But yes, Alexander is an infuriating and unrepentant asshole, so I don’t blame you! There’s a lot more dickishness where that came from, so I’m sure there’s no dearth of reasons to be angry going forward!

@KindAsCake

Glad you think so! Yeah, we intended for Alais to be pragmatic and intelligent, and know when to cut her losses. There’s a time to be defiant, and a time to be realistic and know that defiance isn’t the most cost-effective choice in a particular occasion. Similarly, she finds hims superficially attractive, but as you said, this does not compromise her overarching feelings towards him.

@Masterfuljim

Thank you! Yes, development is important to us, both in terms of the characters and the story. And you’re right, that was something we forgot to edit out! She’s been traveling for a few days, to clear up the confusion.

@Anon, “OMG!!”

Thank you so much! “Love to hate and also love” is a great description as far as Alexander goes, ahaha. You make an interesting point with respect to their dynamics - although he holds a lot more cards, it’s still worlds above what her situation would be like if she were a slave instead of a queen. Here she has some room to maneuver, and he has (ostensibly) limits. But we’ll see how much he respects that!

@Anon, “Yay”

Aww, that’s really flattering! And we can’t spoil too much, but I will say that the story’s focus isn’t on Alais suffering heavy duty violence, so hopefully that eases some of your concerns!

@Anon, “Pleeeaaase continue”

Yay, so gratified to hear that! I totally agree that I can’t get into stories where the heroine is either wackily plucky or utterly spineless - we’re trying to tread a realistic line between the two, giving Alais personality and spirit without compromising her sense of intelligence and self-preservation. And ahahaha yes, it would be the most romantic anniversary ever! Though Alexander would totally be egoistic enough to name his kid Alexander the Second...

@Anon, “Total disappointment”

We’re sorry you feel that way! Like @dev_pafr and others said, though, this is the noncon category, so these themes probably should have been expected!

@Anon, “Just plain bad”

That’s too bad, we hope you find what you’re looking for! (By the way, IQ actually measures human intelligence, not animal intelligence, so squirrels do not have IQ scores. Animal intelligence is usually measured using EQ, or Encephalization Quotient, which is the ratio of brain to body weight ratio, corrected for body weight. Squirrels have a pretty high EQ of 1.1, compared to 0.2 for the opposum, 0.4 for a rat, 0.3 for a hedgehog, and 1.0 for a housecat.)

@Anon, “Great chapter”

Thanks! You’re right - Alexander definitely has other plots cooking in his mind, with this plan. He likes Alais, but he wouldn’t have gone forward (at this point) without other calculations. The next chapter will hopefully be done sometime next week, and we’ll keep you posted here in this comments section when we do submit it!

@Anon, “Loving it!”

Thank you! Comments like yours always cancel out the haters anyway! :D

@Chumbo

Chumbooo! We always love your detailed and thoughtful commentary!

So, I totally don’t blame you for your feelings toward Alexander. He’s intended to be callous, arrogant, violent, selfish, power-hungry, domineering, sadistic, and spiteful...among other things, so what’s not to hate, haha! He’s (very very) loosely inspired off figures such as Napoleon, Caesar, and Alexander the Great (har har) - brilliant military minds, prone to bouts of megalomania, vicious/cruel in their treatment of enemies and occasionally friends, and detested by the aristocracy but beloved by their soldiers and the masses. Alexander’s streak of impulsiveness particularly comes from his namesake - but as I mentioned up there in my comment to Clare, most of his moods are not so much “crazy” as they are calculatedly malicious (which actually probably makes it worse). That’s all to say I would respectfully disagree in characterizing him as incompetent or a psychotic man baby - without spoiling, I will just say that he’s a little more complex than that, and the way he conducts himself as a ruler will be established more in future chapters! He is flawed though, yes. Very very flawed.

Oh also, we were probably confusing on this point, so we’ll clear it up in future chapters! Alexander didn’t singlehandedly bring about slavery - Obsivia is kind of like Ancient Rome (but worse), where slavery has been just kinda established/expected by the culture. They’re also just generally known for being barbaric...though Alexander has certainly made it worse in recent times!

Totally feel you on what you said about The Song of Ice and Fire! I’m a fan of show and series for sure, but writing gratuitous torture for the sake of it has never been something that particularly appealed to me. Same goes for shocks for the sake of shocks. It’s much more interesting if things are, as you say, driven by the characters. Feel free to let us know if you ever think we’re deviating from that!

I’m hoping that the relationship between Alexander and Alais will be complex and fascinating. I can assure you right now that there won’t be any silver bullets - like all of Alexander’s actions being “excused” by some trauma that happened in the past, for example. That’s not to say he hasn’t suffered before, but if he did, it wouldn’t be (and couldn’t be) something that excused him. I will also say that though he has sociopathic tendencies, he’s not a sociopath per se, as he is able to feel emotions - he’s just sliiiightly more detached than the average person.

And thank you for your feedback on our writing! I think you’re right in that we can be a little sparing of certain phrases now and then. We’ll certainly keep that in mind going forward!

@Anon, “Context”

Agreed! That’s not to say Alexander isn’t still a massive asshole, because he is! But murder and brutality and everything was much more commonplace in this world, so this behavior does not deviate aaasss much as one would think. And I’m glad that Alais is coming off as subtly brave, because that’s what we were going for!

@Phreshly

Aww, thank you so much! I’m glad you like our characters enough to read the whole thing - we’ll try to sustain that interesting going forward! ;) Definitely more explorations of power dynamics coming up.

@Anon, “Sick”

“Magic rape cocks” is a hilarious term, though I can assure you that rape will not magically equal love in this story!

@Anon, “Weird vitriol”

Ahhh thank you, that’s a very flattering way to look at it! I don’t know if that’s the case, but either way, we appreciate your vote of confidence. And pshh, don’t worry! We’re not so easily scared off by a couple of mean comments. Especially when the rest are so nice! You’ll be seeing plenty of us, I’m afraid.

We’re loving all the comments - thank you so much for your readership and encouragement! It makes us so excited to release new chapters and see what you guys think! Chapter 3 may be a liiiittle slower to come, as one of us is going out of town for spring break, but we’ll definitely keep you posted in this comment section as to its progress. Aiming for releasing it sometime next week.

Specific replies to comments follow down below, as before!

This chapter wonderfully kept up the promise the first held. I love that you made Alais a smart heroine who analyzes each opportunity and (mostly) acts accordingly. The part where she realizes the lone knight will be useless and tries to send him away before harm can come to him gutted me. Daisy, you've done an incredible job at making her a character we connect to right away.

Scarlett, you've done a great job at making Alexander someone we "love to hate / hate to love" (as someone mentioned above), especially considering that we know so little about him. Well other than he's deliciously evil. The kind of bastard whose head I'd want on a pike in real life but love to pieces in my noncons. And I'm so glad you mentioned in your replies that Alexander’s actions won't be “excused” by some trauma that happened in the past. If there is affection to be had at the end of this make him earn it. Slowly.

I'm curious why he had to kidnap her to propose. Seems like her country was in a bind and he could have forced her hand politically, instead of physically. I'm not forgetting that Alexander killed her husband, which would definitely make her loathe to agree, but she's going to be even more inflamed at his proposal after the kidnapping and brutality. I'm confident you'll address his reasoning in the next chapters.

A request - please cancel all vacations, spring breaks, time away from writing. You've gotten us hooked and salivating for more. :)

What a plot twist!! I kind of suspected that he was the king but it still came as a surprise to me! I love the direction in which the story is heading and both of you are extremely well-versed. The story has a nice flow and geez I have mixed feelings about Alexander, in a good way. He's so charming yet so cruel and if I were Alais, I would marry him but at the same time, I would be very hesitant about marrying such a cruel man.

and thought he wanted to marry Alaia. I don't understand why he would go through all the trouble of kidnapping her, though. He could have just said marry me, or it's war and she would have agreed. Then he could have appeared to court her. Or drug her, threaten her, then bring her back, saved from 'unknown vagabonds'. He would appear to be the good guy, rescuing her and ensuring her safe return. If she chose to marry him after that, it would make sense and her family wouldn't question it. Why have her whole family angry and prepared to fight for her? No one will believe she is marrying by choice now.

Looking forward to finding out more. I'm enjoying your story.

By happy circumstance, I put off reading the first chapter for several days. When I finally had time to read it, and consequently became engrossed and enamored, you had already posted chapter 2. Happy happy me!

Excellent writing I must say. The wit and banter between Alexander and Alais was endearing and clearly Alexander is going to need all the endearing qualities you can summon for him. I loved the haples fop of a knight. It's those brilliant and seemingly inconsequential character driven touches that make a story beloved.

I almost always have a nit or two to pick and yet I arrive here in the comment section with nary an out of place comma to complain about.

Well done! You are my new most favored author. If you write and post quickly, you will be my all time most favored author! Incentive galore!

Please don't cheapen this story by head jumping from Alais to Alexander. I know that many authors resort to this tactic when they can't find a way to reveal the thoughts, feelings and motivations of other characters but that doesn't make it right. You and your writing partner clearly have talent. If you put your minds to it you will find a way to make Alexander more fully known to the readers.

I have a personal dislike of this head jumping tactic and find it a cheap trick for talentless authors with stupid readers. As such, I avoid those authors. So I beg you, do not go there with this excellent story!

I feel in response to the comment below about POV switching that these authors should be encouraged to write and tell their story how they want to. Many people seem excited about the prospect of reading Alexander's POV, me included. It's a fairly common thing to do - ASOIAF does it constantly with its billions of characters by way of one example, most of us have probably read those stories, and so many more of my favourites do the same. It's not for talentless hacks or for stupid readers. It's simply a stylistic choice and something many readers enjoy because they get to see directly inside the head of a character. In noncon, the opportunity to see right inside the asshole male protag's mind is something I particularly love. I get to be that evil dude for a bit. And I can only imagine the fun of writing someone like that, if you're the author of a great story such as this. Furthermore, reading the sex from the guy's POV is frigging hot. If loving getting to read the guy's POV makes me stupid then sign me up for being dumb AF.

To the authors - I'm sorry in my last comment I begged for more stuff quickly. You're writing and publishing so fast and I had no right to do that. My excitement got the better of me but I'm super ashamed about it now. You take your time, enjoy your holidays and come back to this when you're good and ready.

I'm so intrigued; pls don't abandon the story

Yeah,I kinda knew/was hoping he was Alexander. Cannot wait to see how this plays out given that his is a bit of a sadist,but charming as well!! I really want them to find happiess together! 5 *****!!

Will reply to comments when it's not so late in the night, but just wanted to let you guys know that Chapter 3 has been submitted! It'll usually take Literotica a couple of days to process.

@AEisMe

Love that you're digging the characters! We tried to have Alais be mostly genre savvy and avoid the pitfalls of the usual naive/ingenue princess (or alternatively, the unrealistically fearless kind). And "deliciously evil" is exactly what we were going for with Alexander. :D Definitely no excuse for how he's acting - he's selfish and cruel, and that's that. Certainly there may be reasons for why he is the way he is, in addition to his natural attributes, but I've always found it cheap in stories where the character does not take responsibility for his own actions.

As for why he kidnapped her instead of just coercing a marriage - that's a great question! And one that Alais will pose in the next chapter. We didn't quite cancel our vacations, haha, but we managed to get it submitted!

@Anon "Oh my"

Glad to have surprised you! We did try to throw you off by saying "the Duke of Lourbon was a childhood friend of the King's" (which is technically true, as will be addressed later), so I don't blame you! There are plenty more twists to come. :) Charming and cruel is the right of it when it comes to Alexander, and he's probably not going to ease up on either of those attributes anytime soon!

@cantfightfate

You're asking a good question, and it's one Alais will be wondering too during the next chapter! All I'll say is that Alexander has his reasons, though his tactics tend to be particularly aggressive. As for the plan of pretending to rescue her from vagabonds - it might work for someone else, but his reputation for violence/duplicity would lead to Vvaria not buying it.

@LadyParts

Ahhh, thank you so much for your kind words! We will endeavor to write consistently with such high stakes on the line. :D And I'm glad you enjoyed Ser Emille - we love putting in occasional side characters to flesh out the world.

I understand where you're coming from as far as switching character perspectives - I've come across some stories where it does seem like it's a cheap way to info dump without adding more to the story. I would respectfully disagree that that's always the case, though! Like @Clare mentioned, a lot of great classics do it deftly, and it's a fairly common staple among novels. In my opinion, it's more of how you use the perspective-changing device than the device itself that is cheap. In this case, this story is about both Alais and Alexander, and how they change; it's a stylistic choice on our parts.

@Clare

Thanks for sharing your perspective! I agree about being in the guy's POV for these types of stories - some of my favorites on here switched POVs quite a bit too, and did it deliciously.

And oh man, don't feel bad at all!! If anything, we were just flattered that you were excited about reading more!

@Oweary1

No abandonment, promise! Just posted. :D

@Anon "Pins and needles"

Thanks for the comment and the rating! Can't speak to their end happiness without spoiling, but will say that there will be plenty of ups and downs!

Enjoy!

What an elaborate proposal. Lol.

This is amazing! Can't stop reading and I should be doing other stuff right now. Wish this were a completed book so I could buy and just keep going to the end! The stuff of all nighters and weary mornings! Thanks for the great work!

I'm officially addicted. Off to read ch. 3 now. Can't wait to see the twists and turns you have planned for us.

What a great story! I love this build up and time period. The eroticism is formidable. Very nice.

Poor Ser Emile , his fault was being brave. And it was clear from the beginning that the Duke is the King in disguise

I guess I won't be sleeping tonight. Totally loving it.

Loving the story still. Could have done without the knight being torn apart. Wasn't expecting gore. :/ That aside, I am enjoying the story so far.

He is despicable and she is hilarious. I hope she shows him what's what.

Fantastic. Perhaps the best part was not mentioning Andrzej Sapkowski's great influence (or rather just attributing it all to him). Even has the grace to change the name from Toussaint to something entirely different. It's really a shame Regis didn't swear on the heron, it probably would have saved him (yes I know it's not spelled Emile).

As much as I am enjoying your work I certainly hope you don't try turning the Mad King into some kind of misunderstood bad boy. He's been written just like Ramsay Bolton from Game of Thrones. Eerily charming one moment and disturbingly demented the next. His joy of Alais' suffering and the gleeful sadism displayed during the "Drawn and Quartered" scene crossed all lines back to any possible redemption. Please don't give him a magic cock that substitutes for a soul. I like the Non-Con & BDSM genres but there is nothing erotic or sexy about real lethal sadism. It's like child porn and snuff films. A LINE CROSSED FOR EVER!

I was hoping he was the king in disguise. Alexander is a hot devil. As wicked as he is gorgeous. More, MORE!!

Poor Ser Emile, literally the last knight in the land the princess needed, for he, not wit nor sense to know that sometimes discretion is the better part of valour. He went to his end like Monty pythons infamous black knight, incapable of grasping the horror of his situation or how it was entirely his own fault for charging 12 armed men with bows and not the comic henchmen he no doubt saw them as. For these were true black guards, but well-trained armed and experienced ones and Ser Emile was an idiot. The only thing that surprised me was our Black Hearted king wasting the time to draw and quarter him rather then simply dispatch him.

You could have done without all the imagery and gore- i fail to see how this story can be enjoyable after you crossed that major line. Gross