At Her Majesty's Pleasure #1

"At Her Majesty's pleasure" (sometimes abbreviated to "Queen's pleasure") is a legal term of art referring to the indeterminate length of sentence of some prisoners.

#1 – Alfred

Alfred had spent his first night sleeping on a lumpy mattress in borrowed clothes that were old and washed to an indistinguishable grey. Came the morning, as he shuffled into the canteen and immediately attracted the gaze of every prisoner in the maximum security ward, it was clear how much of a fresh target he presented to a room full of hardened criminals.

Steeling his blue gaze – and keeping his ill-fitting tracksuit bottoms from slipping off his ass (the elastic waistband hung loose around his hips) – he picked up a battered plastic tray and joined the queue at the food station.

It wasn't long before someone made a pass at him.

"You're pretty," breathed a large and hulking man into his ear as he accepted a bowl of porridge. "I have half a mind to ask for you tonight."

A slap to his bum followed that threat, making him jump and slop half his porridge down his front. He let out a curse. The man emitted a nasty guffaw as his foul hand squeezed his rear.

"I'll have that dirty mouth of yours wrapped around my cock soon, Blondie."

Alfred glared after the back of the man's receding head. The rest of the canteen returned to their food and chatter now that the tension had broken. As far as they were concerned, the newbie had just been claimed by Carlos, the ward's most notorious inmate, and there was no more sport to be had with him. But to Alfred, there was no question of him retaliating. Grabbing his half-laden tray and cutting through the crowd thronging the food station, he made his way towards the fat man as he was sitting laboriously down on a bench.

"Hey," he called, sounding braver than he felt.

The man turned his big fat stupid face around, his scowl breaking into a grin when he saw who it was.

"The name's Alfred Jones. You might wanna look me up."

And he smashed his tray across Carlos' face.

#1 – Ivan

Ivan had hardly finished buttoning up his uniform when there came a long shrill blast of a guard's whistle, signalling that trouble had broken out.

He paused in his dressing, closed his eyes, and let out a long exhale of breath.

God have mercy on the fool who interrupts his morning routine, he thought with grim resolve.