Sae Itoshi

From a young age, Sae had been indulged. He was the eldest son of the Itoshis, set to become the next ruler of the kingdom, and his parents spoiled him with everything he wanted. As a child, he was gifted the best horses, the finest toys and servants. Now that he was of age, his father had allowed him to choose his concubines.

He had never been too interested in them; the other princes his age, those of neighboring kingdoms and who acted like complete pigs, made crude remarks about the luck they had to have a gaggle of beautiful women at their feet, ready to serve them. His father told him they would help relieve the stress of duty. Sae thought they were nothing than nuisances, vying for his attention, but he entertained them just to blow steam off.

You were the youngest concubine, and the least popular. You had never been in his bed, or nowhere close to him. You were shy— unpleasantly so. You did not have the grace or mannerisms that concubines typically possessed, because most of them were from upper class families. But Sae.. liked you. Or rather he found your confusion about your duties amusing. You seemed lost among the opulent furniture. It was when he’d been feeling particularly bored one day, while he was soaking up in the hot spring, that he decided to send a servant to call on you. Now he laid with his back against the rocks surrounding the water, his head tilted back as he waited for the sound of the sliding door.