Notes: 1) If you see this anywhere but Literotica, it isn't supposed to be there!
*****
Lislora ate her meal silently, the new rooms were considerably smaller than the ones Isonei enjoyed. It was hard to see it as anything other than an insult. Her cousin would want to stay in the nicer rooms, even if his wife couldn't bed him. Glancing around, she tried to think of a way to make them more appealing.
Noticing the maid standing in the doorway to the servant's chamber she'd be sharing with Hodrim, Lislora remembered about the flowers.
"Mes, it was suggested I have you find flowers for my rooms. They do need brightening."
"As the Lady pleases." The maid bobbed a curtsy and started toward the door.
"Wait." Lislora eyed the woman with a frown, being left alone in the rooms to eat would make them feel worse. "What do you talk about with the Duchess? When you gossip?"
"My Lady?" Mes gave her a nervous look.
"I was told you gossip with her a great deal."
"We talk often. She's spoken of Prince Draeseth and Prince Andnaeuth, and of her family. I've spoken of Xago and of my home as well."
"She speaks of Draeseth?"
"She loves him."
"Does she... does she talk about the things that he likes? She told me he needs to be coddled."
"That I've seen for myself, my Lady. His Highness needs to be stroked like a kitten and rewarded each time he does something sweet. She pays attention to the things he wants and tries to give them to him."
Taking another bite, she thought about the words for a moment, "He seems to want her good health more than anything else."
Mes made a slightly dubious face and smoothed her skirt. "He isn't permitted to be in the room when she's examined because she has to comfort him. If he were concerned for her he would be reassuring her not the other way around.
"I think he worries about the child and he worries about how losing the Duchess might affect him. The way she rewards him for every small kindness endears her to him. I think it may be changing him slowly, but he's still an angry man, and a selfish one." The maid kept her eyes down as if waiting to be scolded or dismissed.
Taking a sip of wine and another bite of food, Lislora chewed on the words for a long moment.
"I know he's angry. He's been angry since we were children. But he's always had a good heart. My cousin won't announce it when he does something selfless, but he's learned that if he wants his life to be comfortable he has to secure his comforts on his own.
"Isonei is a comfort to him. He does worry over her." She debated telling the maid that he'd wept when his wife has been poisoned by swine.
"Shall I see about the flowers, my Lady?"
"Stay a moment." Lislora looked at the maid waiting patiently near the door. "No one enjoys being alone. Some companionship when no one else is here would be acceptable. No gossip leaves this room. Not even for the Duchess' ears."
"As the Lady pleases."
"You were one of the King's women?" Lislora felt herself flushing as she asked.
"Yes, Lady."
"Perhaps you can tell me some of what men enjoy? I could ask Isonei, but I don't think I could bear to have her offer me another lesson."
Mes lifted her eyes and offered a speculative look. "I can but... why? Prince Draeseth has already agreed to the Arrangement."
Swallowing her pride, Lislora straightened in her seat. "I want to be able to do whatever that woman does better than she can. I want him to look at me the way he does her and to stop..." She turned her head and calmed herself, for a moment she'd felt angry at both of them.
"Stop looking to her?" Mes inclined her head.
"She told me not to try to have him put her aside." Lislora watched the maid for a hint that the woman would run to her mistress and warn her.
"Duchess Isonei is too delicate for his Highness. She loves him but..." The maid eyed her nervously.
"Help me win him over and I'll help you find a place for her that's less harsh than the convent in the Kroscur." Keeping the Aran out of the Kroscur would keep her well away from Draeseth as well.
"The Dalcur, perhaps?" Mes gazed into the middle distance, "She's fond of Rimathe and Xago says that Lerians don't stare the way Torgans do. We could go with her."
"They don't have a convent in the Dalcur, but Prince Burgath might be persuaded to allow her to start one." It wasn't likely but the assurance seemed to be enough for the Munian who nodded as if accepting an offer.
"Don't agree to anything firmly on the Arrangement yet, my Lady. To put off an Aran you need to make small gestures to show you might be willing, reassure her that you intend to eventually follow through. You'll need to discuss it with her and find little things to quibble over so that you have to keep coming back to talk about it.
"It should give you a little time to learn what he likes in bed." Mes tilted her head, "You'll need to practice as much as you can to get better at it."
"I can try." Lislora pushed her plate away. "He... he asked me to do something and I didn't know what he meant. Has a man asked you to-to draw him in with your..." She gestured downward.
"There are exercises you can do, my Lady." The maid looked amused. "I can explain them to you and give you the... the Phaethians call them training balls or string balls. I haven't used them in more than a year I think. I kept them very clean, you can't tell they were ever used."
She tried not to show her complete bafflement. "Do you think Isonei learned with these... training balls?"
"Her Grace is Aran." The Munian woman dimpled slightly, "She probably learned with a cock. Some of the sailors at home said that Aran women treat sex as a pleasant way to relieve boredom.
"With the training balls you can practice even when his Highness is occupied."
"See to the flowers and then we can start with the balls." Lislora felt more confident as the maid hurried away. Improving her skills and brightening the room might help to make her cousin want to visit.
Her thoughts turned to what the training balls might be. If what they taught could be done as well by a cock... her face flushed and she hid it in her hands. The maid was going to be giving her something that had been inside her-her cunny!
It was a stomach churning thought but not as terrible as it might be to have such a thing made. The craftsman would know what they were for and if he told anyone... Lislora shuddered. Making certain the training balls were clean would have to do.
Rising from her seat, she went to inspect her closet. Two of her cousin's black tunics were hanging next to a handful of gowns. The green and brown dresses that had been fitted were there, a gown that looked fit for another dinner with the King in dark green with black lace stitched to it, as well as a green gown much like the brown and cream that she never wanted to see again.
"Mistress Rin must earn a fortune," she murmured to herself.
Opening the chests, she found there were even some new undergarments and pair of black silk stockings like Isonei often wore. The jewelry box was beneath them. The other chest held her day dresses from the Kroscur.
"At least I have something to wear," Lislora sighed coming out of the closet.
Leaving the bedroom, she wondered if it would be acceptable for her to walk the gardens. It would be unbearable to stay confined to her rooms the way Isonei did.
She nearly jumped as someone knocked on her door. After debating a moment whether or not she should open it, the door opened itself.
Prince Burgath peered in with a frown. "Lady Lislora?"
"Prince Burgath, I was coming to open the door." Clasping her hands over her belly she tried not to look as nervous as she felt.
"Where's the maid?" His brow furrowed as he glanced over the table with the dirty plate.
"I sent her to see about flowers to brighten my rooms."
He nodded and came in to seat himself in a chair, gesturing for her to do the same. "I was told Isonei became ill after breakfast? Draeseth's servant insisted she shouldn't be invited to anymore of them, or any dinners for a few days."
Hesitantly, she moved to perch on the chair he'd gestured to. "Yes. My cousin wasn't there? He was going to take the Lerian servant to task. He was supposed to send her to bed when she began to seem tired but he didn't intervene and she didn't rest when she should have. Duchess Isonei looked worryingly ill before she was given some merciful breath."
"Ah. My brother has gone to the Temple to pray. Halloc Aurim and Halloc Urroth came to visit with the Duchess to see for themselves how ill she was. They were arguing with..." He made a gesture as if hunting for a name, "Krouth about how much merciful breath she should be given."
"She didn't seem to need much. Krouth said he gave her an infant's dose."
Burgath inclined his head. "The Hallocs felt that if she were given more she might recover more quickly."
Lislora nodded and glanced around unable to think of anything to say.
"There will be a dinner tonight, unfortunately." Burgath drew her attention back. "Isonei will need to attend."
"Is that wise?" She gave him a stern look and he shrugged.
"It's necessary. I know that you lack skill in 'herding' someone through a conversation as my brother so eloquently put it but I may need you to make the attempt."
The maid chose that moment to return, "My Lady, why is the door... your Highness." Mes dropped into a curtsy.
"Were you successful in finding flowers?" Burgath asked with a faint smile.
"No, your Highness. I was told they have none to spare."
"If you can do as I've asked, Lady Lislora, I'll have those intended for my rooms sent to yours."
"What kind of conversation does she need to be herded through?" She smoothed her skirt with a frown. "The Duchess shouldn't be put through another unpleasant conversation today, especially at a meal."
"It's simply a conversation about names." The way he said it made her suspect it was more than that. "The meal tonight will be Lerian, that should put her in good spirits."
The mention of Lerians made her remember about the spy who'd been seeking out Mes.
