A/N: This story is a sequel to Morgan's Enchantment
Titiania:
I pray thee, gentle mortal, sing again
Mine ear is much enamor'd of thy note;
So is mine eye enthralled by thy shape;
And thy fair virtue's force perforce doth move me
On the first view to say, to swear, I love thee
Midsummer Night's Dream Act III Scene 1
"Preparations will be made, and tomorrow night at the Fairy Ring you and Witch-Hazel will wed, with all the ceremonies proper for a royal wedding. Away now daughter I have much work to do to make this happen. Go to your chambers and start your preparation for tonight you will set yourself away as our custom demands. Away child," Oberon thundered, waving his hand as if swatting the girl away. The poor girl got to her feet and quickly left the throne room, doing her best not to attract any attention.
Marcella's heart went out to her daughter. Sitting and watching poor Morgan suffer in front of all her husband's court was almost too much for her to stand. She had been sorely tempted to stand up for her daughter and put Oberon in his place, but she remembered the arrangement of their marriage. She knew that by standing up to him she would be jeopardizing her position as queen.
Oberon's planning for the wedding took up the rest of the night. First he was arranging for flowers to be planted and grown at the fairy ring. Water Willowdancer and her husband Fidgit were armed with all means of quick grow spells and sent on their way. Food and drink for the reception was to be prepared by Oak Iceglitter and she was sent to the kitchen. The job of preparing the wedding cake was assigned to Petal Elffilter. Oberon specified that it should be at least twenty feet tall and surmounted by a glamour of the bride and groom all decked out in their finery. Oberon sent Field Reedwand out to gather fresh pearls and diamonds from the palace garden and to disused parts of the palace to gather cobwebs, all to be used to sew together Morgan's bridal gown.
The invitations were prepared and sent on their way, the wings of the envelopes flapping as they took flight and then giving off a faint pop as they disappeared when reached superluminal speed. Oberon was intent on inviting everyfairy that was anyfairy so that his daughter's wedding would be the event of the millennium, with everyfairy claiming they had been there, whether they had or not.
By the time all of the arrangements were complete dawn was fast approaching. Marcella sat through it all stoically while her husband casually used her magic to accomplish his wishes. Their marriage had been an arrangement whereby she was guaranteed much higher social standing than she could ever have achieved on her own in exchange for the use of her magic.
It had been deeply embarrassing to the royal family when it turned out that their first born son and the rightful heir to the throne turned out to be magically impaired. All through his youth allowances had been made and an elaborate charade created giving him the appearance of magical prowess. Nannies, tutors, and companions had been hired by the royal family to perform magic that he could take credit for. As he came of age an exhaustive search had been mounted to find a bride with magic powerful enough so that Oberon could mount the throne, when his time came, without the fear of more powerful rivals trying to usurp him. All of the major and minor houses had been invited to send their daughters to compete for the hand of the prince. Hundreds of fairy maidens had turned out. Each maiden was given the chance to demonstrate their command of magic before a panel of the royal family's advisors. In the end it was a daughter of a minor house who had won the competition.
Marcella had been born on the coincidence of a full moon and a spring equinox, the most holy day of the fairy calendar. She had been born with a full command of fairy magic. The family she came from was a minor house, not very high up in the hierarchy of fairy families and as she grew Marcella's parents repeatedly told her that the best way for her to advance the family's interest was to become proficient in the use of magic. Marcella studied hard, learning the deep secrets of nature and how to command its powers. Even before she was seventy years old she had surpassed her parents magical powers. She was barely one hundred and eighty when the contest for the prince's hand came about, but she was already had a command of magic some fairies do not achieve until they reach five hundred years, and most never reached.
When it came her turn to demonstrate her power the field where the competition was being held was already cluttered with the attempts of the earlier contestants. Flower bushes, statues and other royal tributes were spread out over the field.
Before she began Marcella asked the judges, "Would you please stand back I don't want to hurt you." One of the judges snickered, but they backed away giving here room to work her magic. Preparing herself she closed her eyes and concentrated on the power of the universe, the deep power that rules all things. Soon she could feel the power of nature surging through her body. Slowly she opened her eyes and began to chant,
"Power in all things from deep below
Come to me now, through my will flow
A palace we need for our future king
Diamond bright, his majesty to sing."
As she repeated the verse over and over the ground began to shake. Slowly the ground parted and four bright, silvery towers began to emerge. The towers could soon be seen to be part of a larger structure emerging from the ground. As the large structure emerged the moving earth that it had displaced buried all of the other contestants creations. After a few minutes a palace had emerged and the field stopped shaking.
The judges stood and marveled at the palace that Marcella had created. The walls of the palace, though not translucent, seemed as if each was cut from a single diamond. The highest towers, decorated with garnet and ruby roofs, stood over one hundred and fifty feet tall. After briefly touring the palace the Marcella had created the judges announced that Marcella was the winner of the competition.
Marcella married Oberon in the palace chapel the next day. The royal family made it clear to Marcella that she would supply magical power to ensure that Oberon would not face threats to the throne. In exchange Marcella would receive all the benefits of royal status. What Marcella did not know at the time is that Oberon had a thing for forest nymphs and he was not about to let the fact that he was married interfere with his conquests. So while she waited for him in the marriage bed, he was elsewhere.
-XXX-
Marcella was exhausted after all the arrangements for Morgan's wedding had been made. Oberon, as usual, had taken full advantage of her magic and used it without restraint. This had left her worn out and ready for a good day's sleep.
Marcella's personal servant was waiting for her when she arrived back at her suite. The suite of rooms that she used was decorated with floral patterns, with wildflowers and heather hand painted on the walls. The furniture was made out of gemstones, mostly emeralds and garnets.
Bjorn was standing by the door when she entered, bowing his head in her presence.
"Run me a bath," she commanded.
"Yes, my queen," he said, turning and walking swiftly into the bathroom, from which the sound of running water could soon be heard.
Marcella walked into the bedroom and sat down on the bed, waiting for Bjorn to help her undress. Marcella required him to wear only a loincloth in her presence because she enjoyed seeing his muscled chest and to remind him of his position. With her magic she was able to make sure that he always had a healthy tan, though it had been centuries since he had seen the sun.
The bedroom was dominated by a king size bed with a large ornately carved, ruby headboard. The carving depicted a man and woman in sexual congress with the large breasted woman on top of the man in reverse cowgirl position, her head flung back in ecstasy. In several places on the headboard small iron rings were set.
With the sound of running water in the background Bjorn returned and she stood up so that he could undress her. Without a word he began unzipping her gown and pulling it up over her head. After he had hung the gown in the closet, he returned and helped her step out of her petticoat. Marcella sat on the bed and he knelt at her feet to remove her shoes and then her stockings. Marcella returned to her feet and Bjorn removed first her bra, then her garter belt and panties.
"Your bath will be ready in a moment," said Bjorn and he disappeared into the bathroom. Marcella sat down on the bed and waited for the sound of the running water to stop. After a few minutes, when the water stopped, Marcella got back on her feet and walked into the bathroom. The bathroom was almost as large as the bedroom, and in addition to the sink, counter, and bathtub, which were all carved out of giant emeralds, all of the fixtures were made of brightly polished gold.
Bjorn stood by the side of the tub, which was filled with bubbles and smelled of her favorite lavender bath oil.
"You always know what I am in the mood for," she said as he helped her into the tub.
"Of course, my queen." He replied. Once he had seated her, he took up a large sponge and began to rub her shoulders. The feeling of he rough sponge massaging her shoulders was heavenly. Bjorn lifted her arm and ran the sponge down along her arm, soaping her arm as he went. He then did the other arm, and then one by one he did her legs, lifting them by the knee and rubbing the sponge up and then down them to her toes. It had been a hard day and after having to use so much of her magic, being washed by her servant allowed her to begin to relax.
"Thank you, Bjorn, that was wonderful," she said as he released her leg and let it slide back into the warm soapy water. Sitting in the water she thought that she could remain here forever, or at least until she shriveled up like a giant white prune. Bjorn remained sitting by the side of he tub, waiting to wash her off when she finished soaking. Seeing him sitting there she thought back to when she had first seen him.
When she had first married Oberon she had been frustrated by the lack of attention he paid her. Although she had been told that their marriage was one of convenience, a part of her expected that Oberon would at least spend some days sleeping with his new wife. Day after day he was gone as the sun was rising. At a loss for what to do she had gone to her mother and asked what she thought she should do.
"What did you expect," her mother had answered. "You knew what type of marriage you were getting into. But that doesn't mean you can't get attention elsewhere. Find yourself a human slave. You can keep him in the palace and nobody will find out."
"A human in the palace? Surely that would be too dangerous. Oberon would be furious if he found out."
