Chapter 4 : Part 1 : Adventures At Court
King Croesian thought himself very lucky. It was true his father had been King before him, and he had been raised to expect beautiful women to fall into his lap as wives and as concubines. His first wife Cetharin, Jaspernon's mother, had in many ways been the love of his life, and it had been a great sadness to him when she fell ill and died, still in her prime. The shadow of her illness, and then her death, had cast itself across the whole of the Court. Indeed the pall of her death had seemed to cast itself all over the City and even over the whole Kingdom. She had been loved by everyone, for her beauty, her charm and her generosity. She had shown care for the poor and the sick, and had sometimes forced or encouraged him to do things which he would never have done himself.
The beautiful High Priestess he had just enjoyed reminded him of his first wife, not in her looks, which although exceedingly beautiful, were not the same, but in much else. Cetharin had been a beautifully made blonde, with a very pretty face, whereas the High Priestess was more slender and had long black hair. The work of the Cult led by the High Priestess and her missionary zeal reminded him of the interests of Cetharin, although of course the High Priestess was far more active and involved than Cetharin had been. In High Priestess Patience he was pleased to see that something of his dead wife still lived, and he cherished it and would continue to support it.
He hoped his use of the High Priestess would not in any way damage her or her cause, but he did not feel that. His own son had already made the change in her, and he, the father, had now benefited from the change in the High Priestess' mindset. Thankyou to Jaspernon for that! The Priestess was far closer to the Prince's age than his own, so it was only natural that she should belong to or be under his influence more than his own. He was just content to have been able to benefit from the charms of the High Priestess, and he hoped to be able to do so again from time to time. He would not use her often because it would be wrong to deprive others of her charms, and she must be free to use her charms as she wished. He had many concubines and a wife to satisfy too. He was just pleased at the direction things were going in. He looked forward to more interesting and exciting developments in the bedchambers of the Palace.
He did hope the High Priestess's recent physical adventures would not spoil the great work she had been doing with her Cult, but he thought she already had a mature mind and would not lose sight of the important work she was doing. The physical pleasures were it seemed a much needed reward for her. Evidently her Goddess approved!
Minister Kaslarin was a slightly creepy man when it comes to sexual desires. He had not been able to hide his desire for Riala, and she had resisted him generally, but there was a time during a drunken feast when he tried to seduce her publicly, and she did later let him masturbate in her presence when she took her clothes off in front of him, and stroked and massaged him. She would not let him fuck her then and did eventually relent after orgies became commonplace. She derived thrills from his devotion and could not resist taking him in the end. She had enjoyed teasing him. He was the King's age, in his fifties, but a handsome enough man, and actually quite well meaning, if a little perverse. He had seen his perversity as a potential weakness, but had nonetheless sought his occasional delinquency because he was not strong enough to deny himself little adventures, which could potentially risk his position and reputation at court and amongst his supporters. He had done it with other courtiers' wives and serving girls on occasion, but never forced himself on anyone in any way, although he might easily stoop to bribery.
Minister Kaslarin also fancied the High Priestess, and made no secret of his interest, because he found himself unable to disguise his attraction towards her. Nonetheless he treated her with respect. When she became promiscuous the Prince offered Kaslarin to her and she did decide to lie with him, for her own experience as much as his, and found him pleasant. He was a very capable Minister, who had given great service for the King and for Pirion. He believed strongly in tolerance and peace, but was wary of Shallas and its agents and other foreign rivals. His own wife famously left him some years before because of his mistresses. Now wealthy in the King's service he was no longer lonely. He had a son and 2 daughters, who lived with their mother, who remarried another courtier. She chose not to live in the Palace, although her husband attended the court regularly. Kaslarin still had a good relationship with his children, now grown, although his ex wife would still not have anything to do with him. He had been the butt of many jokes for his sexual urges, and his family breakdown, but he took it on the chin with good grace, as he had done with Riala's mockery at times.