Until This World Ends

Ch8: Tantrums

Regis Rexley hated his name. Well, he hated everything about himself, but not because he was loathsome. Oh, he was a loathsome creature, as everyone pointed out on a regular basis.

He was more concerned about how his life didn't suit him. Regis Rexley left him itching from his very first years toddling around a throne.

In his recent adulthood, he spent all his spare time at King's Port Brothels, trying to forget. He had practically taken over a room there and rented it as his home. It couldn't truly be his, as his father would lose his mind.

Not that he was sitting in this brothel, garnering enough fellatio to die from women. They didn't touch him unless he ordered it. No one touched a king's son without permission.

When he first made port, he did order every act under the sun. But now, nearing his 20th birthday, he didn't bother, not unless Lord Gareth showed up to drag him back to the priory.

Then the fun would start.

Would the depravity drive the Goddess's high priest to leave? Would he become incensed enough to drag him out half naked and erect through the streets—by his ear, no less?

That had happened quite a few times, shocking genteel women along the routes from the docks to the church. Those were the days when he almost felt alive. Someone disciplined him—no one back home ever did. It was a weird experience, but it felt closer to his true self than anything else ever did.

Regis did expect Lord Gareth today. It was a 4th day, and he checked on the Crown Prince that often. That was why he was in the main room instead of holed away upstairs.

As far as he could tell, the women thought his fights with the high priest were the highlight of their days. They also found their services overwhelmed by the public after Gareth lost his mind. Come in for a poke and leave with the latest gossip.

But everyone stayed away during the altercation. There was some fear that Gareth would turn on innocent bystanders. Perhaps he would blame them for the prince's proclivity. The fact that the old man hadn't done that to any of the women who lived there made Regis laugh at the townsfolk. Gareth wasn't a petty man. He knew exactly who to blame. That wavered between fighting his tongue and cursing out his king or the heir to the throne, equally.

This day, a new woman walked in, which in itself was not a new sight. She wore clothes similar to any other woman in the brothel, but her hips drew his attention. He had no clue what the woman's face looked like because he couldn't pull his eyes up.

For a moment, the crown prince forgot that he was here to put on a show, as he was the one entranced.

The young lady went to speak to Madame. Regis found himself following behind, which caused the matron to falter and address him instead. "M'Lord! How may I help you today?"

"I want her, upstairs, now." The petulant moue did nothing to break his charm, perhaps. More likely, his coin made up for his personality. Either way, she didn't look at him.

Nor did he really care. She was here to play a part, as was he.

The matron dipped her head. "I'm sorry, M'Lord, she's not of this house. I cannot command her."

"You know that you will both be paid handsomely." He knew this song and dance. Just because she wasn't of the house did not mean she was unavailable. It meant she would cost him more, like it had been any time a new guest caught his eye. There had been a few desperate widows who had used this system to buy themselves a home and only had to bed a dumb fool for one night.

And Regis knew he was a fool. He didn't care. He lived a life where he had the potential to one day be great but was currently nothing. The crown prince could not see why anyone would want to live his life—well, other than a full belly at night.

A look passed between the two women, and the elder nodded before speaking up. "You know the rate. I'll try to fend off the High Priest if he comes in before you've sated yourselves."

Regis tossed the young woman over his shoulder and ran up the stairs with that scant permission. Her voice rang with laughter as her hip grazed his jaw from his jostling gait. The very thing that he had bought her for was right there for the taking. He nipped her thigh, then almost kicked open his door. But he opened it carefully before tossing her on his bed.

"Well?" The woman smiled saucily at him as she elbowed herself more upright.

That was as far as he let her move before he pulled her to the edge of the bed and disrobed her. The way her hips joined her waist, the way her thighs touched and hid her from his view—all of it was a perfection he'd never seen before. Regis kneeled down to steal a taste.

But the woman wasn't there to lay there and take it. She sat up and pulled his face towards hers and teasingly brushed her lips against his.

He had heard of kisses lighting up a bed like fireworks. Bordellos were full of women who were floral in their enjoyment of lovemaking. He had witnessed his fair share of explosions.

Since the crown prince was a long-term patron, they wouldn't leave him with a fake experience. Women took pride in teaching him a thing or two about making bedsport exciting. He knew he understood enough about pain and pleasure to make it a night to remember.

But he never knew a simple kiss could leave his mind blown.

Not in a lustful way. That would have been understandable, as perhaps he finally found a woman whose skills were beyond the rest.

No, his very mind was altered.

Regis still went through the motions—a nip at the jawline here, a slow massage there. Not even the revelation of a lifetime stopped the habits of a well-trained idiot in a bordello. And he had enough mind to call himself an idiot.

His mind reeled in battle after battle as he watched himself fight against the demonic and weird. Others called out in languages his tongue couldn't reproduce. This man-child had never bowed to anyone, not even his father. Now he suddenly remembered how to breathe as he bowed over dirt, worshiping the Goddess.

That new skill was one he put immediately to use as he kissed this woman between her thighs. Moments later and she cried out his name.

It wasn't Regis he heard. She called him an alien name that he'd never heard before in his life.

Valentine.

With one obscure call, Regis felt at home. It put a smile on his face as he passed out from the weight of his lives crashing down on his shoulders.

Unfortunately for the young woman, he passed out with his arms around her hips and his face buried in her stomach.

What he had done to her had almost made her forget why she was here.

As her heartbeat came back under her control, she brushed his hair off the side of his face. Gently, she traced a word across his forehead, cheek, and jaw before she fell apart into tiny motes of light.

The Goddess had come to give Valentine a gift, as it was long overdue. She had received, in kind, a glimpse of a future that she had no right to hold.

It was a sad thing. Her perfect creation wasn't for her.