The day was oddly painless, but Rellenora still felt tense.
She told herself that when her husband summoned her, she needed to go.
But when she asked herself why she'd permit any part of whatever was to happen to involve Prince Yban, there was a secret answer, an answer she didn't want to believe even existed. So, she pretended it never did exist. All that was left was this answer: "I don't know."
But she did know that Chohni was the sort of person who liked treasures. Rellenora noticed that. The slender, dark haired princess loved to talk about the history of certain little curios, how they were made, why they were made, and even about the precious materials often used to make them.
Most of her collections had to be sent back to her home, but in her room in the White Jade Palace, there was a long wall of shelves loaded with fancy little things. Vases, statues, boxes, paintings, ashtrays, compacts, all sorts of things. The older, the better, although she did appreciate a new thing now and again.
Thinking that Chohni might like a new thing, Rellenora summoned one of the merchants sniffing about the Royal Court. She asked what sort of treasures he might have. The merchant showed his inquisitive Empress many silly things, but when Rellenora noticed how excited Chohni was at the sight of a certain thing, she immediately purchased it. It was a painted and lacquered triangular fan. There was a brilliant scene of a busy marketplace on the fan's blades. It also looked fairly old, maybe even antique.
Silent, but firmly nodding, Rellenora put the lovely fan into Chohni's pretty hand. Then she wrote on her slate, "Here's a gift for you. I hope it's comforting. I know you must be missing your home." In truth, Rellenora didn't know if Chohni was missing her home or not, but there was always the chance that she was, and Rellenora thought that was one of the worst feelings to have.
Princess Chohni bowed and held the fan to her bosom. She body seemed to fill up with breath and then she deflated. Then she rushed to go to her room so she could put her new fan on display.
***
When it was dark, a servant told Rellenora that the Emperor had requested her presence at his palace.
Putting one of her painted fingernails on her lower lip, Rellenora wondered if she could find any answer to her silent question that she didn't want to pretend was nonexistent.
She found none.
Rellenora was escorted by her ladies-in-waiting to the Imperial Palace. Beforehand, she had all of her ornaments taken from her hair, but those curly locks were still tied up.
When she was at an entrance, the ladies-in-waiting left her. She entered the building. Another servant politely led her through the layout. When she was at a tall set of double doors, the servant bowed and left as two guards opened the doors.
The room was large. Candles were all around, making Rellenora think of her wedding night. There wasn't a tall bed, or an alcove bed. There was a low mattress instead, with enough space for ten people to sleep on. She could have stepped on it with no trouble. A thin set of curtains surrounded the mattress.
Very sarcastically, Rellenora thought to herself, "Goodness, where in the world am I meant to be?!" Then, not so sarcastically, she thought, "Is there a room like this in my palace? What of the Empress Dowager? Does she have a room like this?"
She went to one of the thin curtains and pulled it aside. There were sparkly dots on the fabric, glittering in the firelight like fragments of glass. Her slippers were kicked away. Her knees, still hidden behind her clothing, went to the low bed. Her loose sleeves dragged against the light blanket that was on the mattress. The fine curtain fell down behind her as she shuffled to a position in the center. Her eyes were pointed at her dark blue fingernails. They had been recently painted. In the candlelit room, they almost seemed black.
Quiet, so quiet. If a bundle of feathers had been dropped to the floor, Rellenora would have heard it.
Then, footsteps. Bare feet. Sounded like four. Of course. Rellenora put a hand to her bosom and tried to keep her breath calm.
Within a few more of her delicate breaths, a pressure was on her shoulder. She heard a masculine voice. The accent was familiar. Antonai. He had his older perfume on his person, leather, musk, and mint. He was touching her, his fingers dancing. He was nuzzling her cheek, waiting for her to understand. His hair tickled her neck. She turned her body to face him.
"Good evening, Dearheart. If you'd be so generous, would you let poor Yban see you? Hm? You're so beautiful, and he'd be very grateful."
Still, there was the answer, the answer Rellenora didn't want, the answer she put away. So, in her mind, she still thought, "I don't know," even though she did know.
But she couldn't literally say I don't know, even if she didn't have her normal difficulties with communicating.
She nodded. She didn't know she nodded until after she had done it.
Antonai kissed her mouth and started untying her clothing. Her brain wouldn't let her look at his face; her eyes closed.
Was that prince watching? Was he lurking behind the curtains? Was he peeking? Did he honestly want to see her? Did he want to see Antonai? Did he want to see ... their pleasure ...?
Why ... why was her ...
Cunt ...
So many words, silly words for secret body parts, they were filling her head. She couldn't imagine why. Funny vulgar words, some she had heard from Antonai's lips, some she had heard whispered among maids, some she had even read in medical texts, because even doctors needed to know what certain words meant.
Cunt, pussy, muff, cock, pizzle, willy, balls, coin purse, ass, tits, etcetera ...
Instead of laughing at the stupid words, Rellenora quietly blushed and licked at Antonai's heavy tongue. She was in a vulgar situation, just as vulgar as all those words, and it was fine, perfectly fine. She was pleasing her husband, as she was required to do, and she was pleasing her ...
Friend?
Her body was soon exposed to the air, slightly heated by all the candles in the room, but her nipples were puckering anyway. She heard Antonai throw the clothing off to some corner of the bed. She felt his tail curl around her waist. It was warm, like another arm, but it was much more flexible.
Rellenora embraced him, and she learned that he was nude. His body hair was stimulating, nearly electric. Her fingers slid into the hair on his head, loose and cool.
Down, her back and tight hairstyle fell to the bed. That hairstyle would be ruined, but that was fine. She had maids to help her in the morning.
Antonai was over her, running as much of his tongue that was likely possible all over one of her breasts, covering more than just her nipple, pushing the fatty underside up with each lick. His hair fell over her. Her belly, thighs, and even her cunt, all were whining at the sensations.
"Ah! Ahhh!" Her voice was hopping from cloud to cloud. "Ah! Ahhh! Ah!"
Rellenora moved her hand down from Antonai's head and to his hip. He was fairly lean there. Then she felt around for that cock.
First, she felt the pubic hair, scratchy yet soft. How was that possible?
When her fingernails met a solid cylinder, she knew she had what she wanted. Her fingers ringed around the organ. It was a bit limp, but as she pressed and stroked, and as Antonai trembled and put his lips between her breasts, the organ hardened.
The ridge between the glans and the shaft was interesting to touch. Her thumb traced it, then flicked at it. Antonai's voice rolled into her sternum.
