A few hours earlier,
They arrived just in time to hear the sounds beginning.
"We should leave," Cassandra whispered, her eyes widening as unmistakable sounds of pleasure filtered through the door.
"Yes, definitely leave," Seraphine agreed, not moving.
"Absolutely," Lyanna also added, also remaining frozen in place.
None of them left.
Instead, they found themselves listeningâunable to help themselvesâas the sounds grew louder, more intense, and more explicit.
They heard their mothersâ voicesâLisaâs desperate cries, Isabelâs moan of pleasure, and Julianâs voice, commanding and tender by turns, driving both women to the heights of their orgasm.
"Harder! Julian, harder!"
"Oh gods," Lyanna muttered as Isabelâs scream echoed clearly through the door. "Thatâs my mother."
"Thatâs my mother too," Cassandra replied, her face crimson as Lisaâs voice followed with "
Yes! Right there! Donât stop!"
"At least neither of them is related to him," Seraphine pointed out, though her own face was flushed. "Imagine how I feel knowing Grandmother Regina and Mother Eleanor sounded exactly like this."
Then the competition started.
They heard Isabelâs challenge about who could get Julian hard faster, heard Lisaâs counter-proposal, and suddenly all three young women were frozen in place, unable to leave even though every instinct screamed at them to flee.
"This is wrong," Cassandra whispered. "We shouldnât be listening to this."
"Then why arenât you leaving?" Lyanna challenged.
"Why arenât you?" Cassandra shot back.
When the sounds intensifiedâwet, obscene noises that left no doubt about what was happeningâall three women pressed their hands over their mouths to muffle their own shocked gasps.
But they kept listening anyway, their faces growing progressively redder, their own bodies responding despite their shock to the sounds of raw, extreme passion.
When Lisa apparently introduced milk into the equation, Seraphine actually squeaked. "What? How? Why?"
"Cultivation technique," Cassandra whispered back, her voice strangled. "Mother explained it once. Complete body control allows for... various functions."
"I did not need to know that," Lyanna muttered. "I really, really did not need to know that."
Then Isabel apparently joined in, and Julianâs groan had been so loud and so obviously overwhelmed that all three women felt heat pool in their own cores despite the complete inappropriateness of the situation.
"He really likes that," Seraphine observed, her voice slightly breathless.
"Seraphine!" both her sisters hissed.
"What? Iâm just sayingâ"
"Donât. Just... donât."
The sound continuedâand escalated. They heard Julianâs warning that he was close, heard both their mothersâ commands for him to come, and then his moan had been so, so masculine, so utterly satisfied, that all three young women felt their knees go weak.
"Okay, we really need to leave now," Cassandra said, her voice shaking.
"Yes, definitely," Lyanna agreed.
"Right now," Seraphine added.
None of them actually moved.
Because immediately after that, they heard the suggestion for "round two," and the sounds started all over again.
For hours, they stood there, unable to leave, unable to stop listening. At some point, Seraphine slid down to sit on the floor, her knees pulled to her chest.
"This is the most embarrassing experience of my entire life," she muttered.
"Mine too," Cassandra agreed, joining her on the floor.
Lyanna chuckled. "Iâm going to need so much therapy."
"Weâre all going to need therapy," Seraphine corrected.
They sat there in a row, listening to their mothers being thoroughly, repeatedly pleasured by their father. And despite the shame, despite knowing they absolutely should not be hearing this, none of them were able to leave.
"I understand now," Cassandra said at one point, her voice distant. "Why they waited. Why they never moved on. If this is what they had before, if this is what they remembered..."
"Three hundred years suddenly seems reasonable," Lyanna agreed.
"More than reasonable," Seraphine added. "Iâd wait that long too. Maybe longer."
There had been a long pause.
"Did we justâ" Cassandra started.
"Yes," Seraphine had confirmed. "We just collectively agreed that our father is... exceptional... at this."
"Weâre terrible daughters," Lyanna declared.
"The worst," the other two agreed.
Now, as silence finally fell within the room, the three women finally breathed in relief.
"Theyâre done," Lyanna said quietly, her voice hoarse as if sheâd been the one screaming.
"Thank the gods," Cassandra replied. "I donât think I could take any more."
"We missed dinner," Seraphine said, noticing the darkness outside the windows. Night had fully fallen. "We sat here and listened for so long that we missed dinner."
"Everyone is going to know," Lyanna groaned, burying her face in her hands. "Everyone is going to know we were standing here listening to our mothers have sex with our father."
"Maybe they wonât notice?" Cassandra suggested weakly.
"Theyâll notice," Seraphine said with certainty. "Grandmother Regina notices everything. And Mother will definitely figure it out. And theyâll tease us mercilessly."
"I can never look Mother in the eye again," Lyanna declared. "Never. Iâm going to have to avoid her forever."
"Same," Cassandra agreed. "How am I supposed to have a normal conversation with her after hearing..." She waved vaguely at the door, unable to finish the sentence.
"At least now we know where we get our competitive natures from," Seraphine offered with dark humor. "That competition about who could do it better? That was..."
"Impressive?" Lyanna supplied.
"Terrifying?" Cassandra added.
"Both," Seraphine confirmed. "Definitely both."
They sat in silence for another moment.
"We should go," Cassandra finally said.
"Yes, we should," Lyanna agreed.
"Right now," Seraphine added.
None of them moved for several more seconds.
Finally, with great effort, Seraphine pushed herself to her feet. "Come on. If weâre lucky, we can sneak back to our own rooms without anyone noticing where weâve been."
"If weâre lucky," Lyanna repeated skeptically as she stood, stretching muscles that had cramped from sitting so long.
Cassandra rose with her usual grace, though her face was still flushed. "Weâre not lucky. Weâre going to walk right into Grandmother Regina or Aunt Eleanor, and theyâre going to take one look at our faces and know exactly what weâve been doing."
"Then we lie," Seraphine declared. "We say we were... meditating. Training. Anything but the truth."
"Theyâll never believe it," Lyanna said, but she was already starting down the hallway, eager to escape before their mothers emerged and caught them.
The three women hurried through the castle corridors, their steps quick and quiet. They made it out of Lisaâs castle without incident, crossed the central courtyard, and were almost to safety when a voice called out.
"Well, well, well."
All three froze.
Regina stood on a balcony overlooking the courtyard, a knowing smile playing on her lips. Eleanor stood beside her, equally amused.
"Out for an evening stroll?" Regina asked innocently, though her eyes sparkled with mischief.
"Yes," all three replied in unison, their voices too quick, too high.
"For several hours?" Eleanor added, her eyebrow raised. "Youâve been gone since this afternoon."
"We were... training," Cassandra tried.
"Meditating," Seraphine said at the same time.
"Exploring the gardens," Lyanna added simultaneously.
Regina and Eleanor exchanged glances, then burst into laughter.
"Oh, my dears," Regina said, still laughing, "youâve been standing outside Lisaâs room listening to them, havenât you?"
The three young womenâs faces went from pink to scarlet.
"We werenâtâ" Seraphine started.
"Thereâs no point denying it," Eleanor interrupted gently, though she was still smiling. "Your faces give you away completely."
"Weâre terrible people," Lyanna moaned.
"Nonsense," Regina said warmly. "Youâre curious. Itâs perfectly natural. Though I have to say, you all have far more patience than I would have. Several hours of standing in a hallway? Thatâs dedication."
"Please donât tell them we were listening," Cassandra begged. "Please. Iâll never be able to face Mother again if she knows."
"Your secret is safe with us," Eleanor assured them.
Reginaâs smile turned almost proud. "Your father is quite exceptional, isnât he? Even just from the sounds, you could tell."
All three women made strangled noises of embarrassment.
"Grandmother!" Seraphine protested. "Please!"
"Alright, alright," Regina relented, though she was still laughing. "Go on to your rooms. Get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be interesting when Lisa and Isabel finally emerge."
"If they emerge," Eleanor muttered. "Julian has always been... thorough."
The three young women fled before they could hear any more details about their fatherâs prowess. They practically ran to their respective castles, each one desperate for the sanctuary of their own rooms where they could process the eveningâs mortifying experience in private.
Behind them, Regina and Eleanor watched them go, still smiling.
"Do you remember when we were that innocent?" Eleanor asked.
"Barely," Regina replied. "Julian corrupted us quite quickly."
"Think heâll do the same to them?" Eleanor gestured toward where the three young women had disappeared.
Regina considered. "Seraphine, definitely. Sheâs already halfway there. The other two..." she shrugged. "Time will tell. But knowing Julian, and knowing what he has done before, I wouldnât be surprised."
"Neither would I," Eleanor agreed. "Though it will be fun to watch them struggle with it first."
"Absolutely," Regina said with a wicked smile. "After all, we earned our place through our own trials. Let them have theirs."