*Author's note:* This series is my attempt at the spy genre - be sure to start with part 1. As I go, I'm going to be discussing my process in the comments. I'm eager for feedback, so please join me in the comments section.
(If you want to see my attempt at cosmic horror, check out my series titled "The Practice" - find it by clicking on my name, and be sure to begin with Part 1.)
*****
After having been kidnapped and forced to join a mysterious conspiracy, Orchid's next two days were rather mundane. She whiled away the time hidden in Genthi's tiny quarters in the warrens under the palace while the cupbearer's apprentice snuck her food and reading material. Orchid had never cared much for geography or world history, but her interest had grown rapidly since her life had come to depend on impersonating a Dalanci princess. She spent two days mostly alone, and two nights sharing a small cot with Genthi. There had been no repetition of their earlier... intimacy... but Orchid was growing to like and admire the girl. She was surprised to find herself frequently wondering how to initiate another physical encounter.
On the third day of Orchid's isolation Genthi returned earlier than usual for lunch and in a rush. She threw a sack of food onto Orchid's open book and said, "Eat up, it's time to go. I've got to take you to the Gardener - the planting ceremony is tonight."
Orchid's heart jumped. She had just began to feel a little bit safe, tucked away in Genthi's room. She grabbed the food sack and stared into it wordlessly. Loaf of bread. Wedge of cheese. Dried, spiced meat. She had no appetite for any of it and pushed the sack off her book onto the floor.
Genthi picked the sack up, set it back on the small table, and began to lay the food out in front of Orchid. "You need to eat, at least a little. Please."
Orchid nodded and nibbled on the bread. "Genthi, I don't think I can do this. I want to leave."
Genthi's mind glowed orange and green as she squeezed Orchid's shoulder - she was worried, too. "The King is in danger, and so is the kingdom. People risk their lives every day for the greater good. This is how people like you and me can serve."
"My brother is fighting in Delance right now," Orchid said, but Genthi cut her off.
"Don't tell me anything like that. You're Orchid, or we're both dead."
--
The Gardener was a skinny eunuch named Yth who spoke little. Genthi briefly kissed Orchid on the lips before leaving her alone with the man in a large, sunlit room filled with fountains and mirrors.
His first words to her were, "Remove your clothes, my lady."
My lady? He waited with seemingly infinite patience while Orchid's body trembled. She had little experience with men, and few male acquaintances outside her family. Still, this was a eunich, not really a man at all. She reached behind her back to untie her dress and then slipped out of it with a shrug of her shoulders. The linen piled around her ankles and her toes curled on the stone floor.
"Everything, my lady. We have to prepare you for the planting ceremony."
Orchid's face burned but she grasped her slip in two hands and tugged it over her head, leaving herself complete exposed. The air and sunlight were warm on her skin. Yth circled her, inspecting her body like a gem-cutter with a rough stone and occasionally sighing to himself.
Orchid glanced at her own figure in a mirror: tall, light skin, light brown hair with thick waves, and green eyes that her mother said were her best feature. All common physical traits for Denlanci royalty, as Orchid had recently learned. She pushed her shoulders back and straightened her stance, considering how she might look to a man. Round breasts, more than a handful and firm, with nipples that had hardened in the gentle breeze. A trim waist, flat stomach, and long legs. A firm butt, thanks to the hours she spent on her feet practicing magic. The hair on her pussy had started grow back into itchy stubble, but she found that she liked the look and feel of her bare lips.
"I suppose I can do something with you," the Gardener announced, and began his work.
Orchid pondered her fate while following the eunich's simple instructions. Sit here, stand there, lie down. Lift your arms, spread your fingers, spread your toes, spread your legs. Close your eyes. Get in this bath, now this one, now this other one. Put this on, take it off, wear it like this. The sun raced through the sky while Orchid lost herself in the pampering, trying not to think too much about what came next.
"Please tell me about the planting ceremony," she asked, breaking the busy silence. "Tell me about the King."
