The Forbidden Dream: A Slave's Hope for True Love

I’m not supposed to have dreams like this. I’m Courtmeat, the King’s favorite plaything, a piece of property used and discarded at whim. But sometimes, when the candles are blown out and the darkness closes in around me, I let myself imagine a different kind of touch. Not the rough, careless grasping of my masters, but the gentle caress of someone who sees me as more than just meat. Someone who looks into my eyes and doesn’t flinch from what they see there. It’s a dangerous thought, one that could get me punished if anyone knew about it. But I can’t help myself. I dream of being loved.

I know it’s foolish to hope for such a thing. The humans have held power for so long, and they’ll stop at nothing to keep it. Even if by some miracle I were to escape this gilded cage, what kind of life could I possibly have? I’ve been broken and reshaped in ways that can never be undone. My body is marked by the cruelty of my owners, and my mind is scarred by the things I’ve been made to do. What man would ever want someone like me? And yet…and yet…I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to feel true love. To be held in someone’s arms and feel safe. To be cherished and protected instead of used and discarded.

It’s a bittersweet dream, one that fills me with both hope and despair. I know it can never be more than a fantasy, but sometimes fantasies are all we have to cling to in this dark world. So I hold onto this impossible dream of love, even as reality crushes down upon me. Because without it, there would be nothing left of me but the shell they’ve created. And perhaps…just perhaps…that spark of hope is enough to keep me going, even in the face of all this pain.