The hot days of summer were upon the residents of the Royal Palace. Food was even more plentiful than normal. Fireworks were popular at night. The soldiers swam every day.
Despite the heat, Princess Rellenora was still as cold as ever. Occasionally, she'd visit the Imperial Palace to see the Royal Piglet, but if the Emperor was with the little piggy, she'd change her mind and return to her own palace.
One morning, as Antonai was sitting in an office of his, reading and signing documents, a servant entered and said, "Your Majesty, your honorable Betrothed has arrived. She would like to see the Royal Piglet, but she's not in her room."
Antonai used his writing brush to causally point down near his feet. Noffnoff was exploring another rooting dish set up for her, turning over rocks and overall being a good little piglet.
"Ah," the servant said, "I'll send her away, then."
"No. I have an order for her. Tell her she will gather some toys from Noffnoff's room and bring them here. Then she will play with Noffnoff."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Some minutes later, Princess Rellenora entered the office with some toys cradled in her arms. She went to her knees. The Emperor gestured at her to get up, and she did.
To Antonai's quiet delight, he saw elegant Zenthian summer clothing on her figure. Her robe was in a base of white with outlines of dark pink, bright green, and honey yellow circles and squares printed in complex patterns. Three extra layers had been pinned in, a deep orange one, then a white one, and finally, an ocean blue one. The sash on her waist was a soft beige color, tied with a knot vaguely shaped like a wrapped box with a little bow on one corner. The jewelry in her hair was made of plain gold, and so was her fingernail guards. Her pretty little nails were painted white.
At least she seemed to have learned to dress properly. An Empress of his should never have less than a small fortune on her person ... unless she had to sleep ... or bathe ... or strip down to a comfortably nude state and take a long night's worth of rough fucking.
Princess Rellenora wouldn't look at her Betrothed as she went to Lady Tatiana, the Royal Piglet, and knelt down. She let the toys tumble down from her arms. They landed on the bamboo floor with varying noises. Her shiny white fingernails scratched behind one of Noffnoff's ears. Then she leaned over the creature, her long sleeves draping around the rooting dish and hiding little Noffnoff. Her lips sounded like they were kissing the piglet's snout and head.
A few more kisses, and then Princess Rellenora was murmuring the word piggy in her harmless little voice. She scooted back, taking her long sleeves away. Then she dragged a leather ball to herself. She patted Noffnoff's snout with the ball. Then she stood up.
Right at a wall, Princess Rellenora threw the ball. It bounced and fell onto the floor. Noffnoff ran to the ball, picked it up with her mouth, and went back to the Princess.
Antonai tried to focus on his paperwork even though he was the one who told her to play in this office. Still, that woman was so charming, so adorable, and so beautiful as she played fetch with the piglet. When Noffnoff seemed to lose interest, the Emperor's Betrothed picked up a cloth toy and convinced the piglet to play a gentle game of tugging and pulling. When that was all done, it was time for a classic chasing game.
Princess Rellenora pulled up her white skirts, showing off her bare calves, and she ran around, her robe trailing behind. Noffnoff was happy to run after her.
The long, layered robe was pulled against a tall vase of porcelain. The delicate thing tipped over and crashed against the floor, breaking into several large, sharp pieces.
Princess Rellenora gasped and turned to look at the mistake she made, covering her ears with her manicured hands. Her white skirts fell down. Noffnoff caught up to her and rubbed her body against the Princess' newly covered ankles.
"Don't be afraid, Your Highness," Antonai said as he rose from his desk and stepped over to the shards on the floor. "I've already forgiven you. It was an accident." Hoping to prove that he wasn't upset, he personally took a few large pieces of the vase and put them on his outstretched palm. Sadly, the decision wasn't wise, because the flesh of his palm was sliced almost immediately. He dropped the shards. They divided into smaller pieces. "Ah ... even a mighty ruler has moments of foolishness," he dryly said out loud. Then he called out for a few servants.
As the servants arrived, two for cleaning the mess and one for tending to the Emperor's cut, Princess Rellenora kept Noffnoff distracted. It would be horrible for the piglet to put her curious, soft little nose to the razor-like shards on the floor. Once everything was fine and the servants were gone, Antonai flexed his hand, looking down at the bandages wrapped there. Then he looked up at his Betrothed.
She was still focused on little Lady Tatiana, rubbing her ears and calling her a piggy.
A portion of his heart was outraged. Should she care that he was hurt? Shouldn't she run to him and fret over him?
But Antonai silently told himself that she hadn't done anything wrong, and she still had an apparent uncertainty concerning her new Betrothed. In fact, there were still many things about him that she had no idea about. Her lack of concern and affection was acceptable at this stage.
But ...
His fingers closed.
It honestly was painful to want someone so badly without that person wanting you too.
This woman ... just ... didn't understand the wonderful, fantastic position she was in! She didn't know how adored she was, how coddled she was, how much more coddled she would soon be! Did she think she was being abused and restrained, like a wild bird stolen away and forced into a cage that was much too small?
Antonai went to her.
Lightly, gently, he tapped Noffnoff's side with the toe of his slipper, urging the piglet to walk away and play with one of the toys on the floor. Such a good little pet!
His large hands went to the little woman's shoulders. Her chest jerked as a surprised puff of air came out of her. Her sleeves were fluttering. Her hands were quivering. Her eyes were low and bashful.
Sometimes ... Antonai wondered if she'd ever stop being cute.
At this point, he thought they both needed a kiss.
He bent down and put one right on her lips, feeling the light rouge. That pink stuff would be all over his mouth soon. He didn't care. Aside from the rouge, she tasted hot and sweet. His eyes closed.
Antonai thrust his tongue inside, plunging, tasting her clean teeth. She was whimpering. He didn't just hear it. He felt it in his tongue, cheeks, and throat. Then he felt it in his groin, welling up and putting all the familiar signals in his brain.
More ...
He pressed his body into her, pinning her against a wall. The knot in her sash made tight noises as it constricted against the pressure.
More!
He licked into her, ground into her, his fingers digging under her robe's collar, feeling her skin. She was so soft, so warm, and so perfect!
Princess Rellenora wouldn't ... wouldn't touch him. Why?! Why wouldn't she hold him? Why wouldn't she let her sleeves cover him? Why wouldn't she let her fingernail guards dance around his back? Shouldn't she at least pretend she was interested in his body? Shouldn't she cater to her Betrothed's ego, especially since he was a mighty Emperor?
One of Antonai's hands swept up her shoulder, then her nape, and then just under her hairline. She owned a collection of perfumes at this point, but she wasn't wearing any of them.
