It was like a small parade, some of the finest women, mostly Zenthian, walking around the Royal Palace in finery, lead by the Empress. They were admired and whispered about. Sometimes they looked at falling leaves. Sometimes they fed colorful fish in ponds. Other times they attended shows at the theatre. Whenever the Emperor was near them, the Empress would ask Princess Chohni to play an instrument or dance.
But ... even someone as slow as Rellenora understood that the Emperor only cared for his wife.
When the sun set, Antonai tugged on her sleeve and walked with her to her bedchamber. There, Rellenora undressed and took his body into herself. It was another pleasant experience, which was frustrating. He even whispered a few naughty things to her.
"I love it when you cum."
"I loved when you made Yban cum."
"Your body's splendid, Dearheart!"
Rellenora didn't want to believe that his words made her beg him to fuck her as hard as physically possible. She believed it anyway, and she hated herself for it. When she had finished serving her Emperor, sitting on the edge of her bed, her lips stuck out in a guilty pout as she cleaned herself up. Even her innocent fingers stimulated her, putting lingering pulses in her womanhood. She wanted to curse.
Antonai was freshly washed, but he didn't leave her just then. He surprised Rellenora by kneeling before her and taking her wash cloth away. Then he sunk two fingers into her channel, fierce and without any warning. For her, it was unexpected, and the casual way he did this, as if it was his most normal duty, had her body lubricating the way for him. Her hands pressed back into the mattress. She threw her head back and wiggled her hips to add more friction.
He whispered a phrase to her, a phrase that sizzled and popped. His thumb pressed onto her clitoris.
It didn't take much then. Rellenora was had a fit.
When she was calm again, she realized he had said, "Our Empress should never need anything for more than a moment."
Why?
Why couldn't he be cold to her?
***
Another day. Another stupid waste of a day.
Yban wanted to read with her. He actually wanted to read with her! When Rellenora took a seat inside Oana's library, Yban suddenly appeared and asked to sit in a chair beside her. After she gave permission, he picked out a random book and silently read.
Concentrating was difficult. Even though he was a reasonable distance away, she thought she could feel his body's heat. The name "Relle" was being chanted inside her head.
His hands ... they were so large. They nearly swallowed his book whole.
His legs were so long.
He smelled like horses and grass. It was enchanting.
When her eyes started hurting, Rellenora closed her book and put it away. Yban insisted on taking a private walk with her in the gardens. Rellenora shook her head, patted his arm, and left him alone in the library. She didn't want to be seen with him too much and start any rumors. As far as she knew, this thing she had been doing with her husband's consent was basically a secret. She didn't want to embarrass her husband.
But she imagined that if she were put in danger over this, her husband would protect her the best he could, since it would all be his damn fault.
At lunchtime, Princess Chohni ate perhaps half of her lunch before she wrote on the large blackboard that was often kept nearby, "Your Majesty, your honorable brother has been making several requests to visit you, yet you've always refused."
After forcing down a lump of food, Rellenora quickly put her chalk to her writing slate. "This is true."
"May I ask, if another member of your family was at this fine complex, would you accept that person as a guest?"
Rellenora shrugged and popped a cube of meat into her mouth. As she chewed, she wiped her slate and wrote another reply. "I'm not certain."
She heard Princess Chohni sigh and tap the blackboard with the tip of her chalk. Then she heard that tip scrape out words. Rellenora looked up to read them. "If I were fortunate enough to be in Her Majesty's position, I would certainly allow any member of my family to be my guest. Regrettably, as I am now, I can not bring myself to face my family."
Rellenora's eyebrows lowered. Her nose wrinkled. Her head tilted to one side. Some of her hair ornaments jingled. "I don't understand," she wrote.
Princess Chohni's fingernails made a shrill noise as they dragged against the blackboard for a second. Then she wrote, "I was told that if I couldn't win the contest and marry the Emperor, then I'd have failed my parents and shamed my country. Yet, here Your Majesty sits, the winner, and you're unwilling to see your family. I thought you'd be glad to see your brother, at least, but I suppose it's not my place to question your choices." Chohni's beautiful hand paused for a few seconds before she continued here. "Have I been ill-mannered? Permit me to apologize."
Just then, Chohni put the chalk down. Her silk clad knees went to the floor. Her ringed fingers straightened, then slid forward. Her head went down to her hands. She said what Rellenora assumed was an apology.
Was this true? Honestly? But, even though Chohni had lost the contest, she was still a perfect little princess, at least in Rellenora's opinion. How could people be so cruel?!
Rellenora gestured at Chohni and said, "Up."
Very slowly, Chohni got to her feet. Rellenora thought she heard a sniff.
Rellenora wanted to write down, "Oh, don't worry. I'll eventually be divorced, leaving room for you to seduce him. Goodness, you could seduce him right now! I'd approve!"
But, for some reason, Rellenora wrote down something else.
"The contest is an irrelevant matter. You are still a nimble and talented princess. You're also very pretty. Please hold your head high in my presence."
Did she sniff again?
Rellenora wondered how many princesses in the world didn't feel secure in their positions.
***
The night was cold.
Rellenora was summoned to the Imperial Palace. She was taken to the Emperor's personal bedchamber. It was a bold, masculine place. She sat on a cozy chair and admired the handsome statues. The firelight almost made them seem alive.
She heard a door slide away. She turned to look at the source. Yban. He closed the door. Then he knelt down to greet her. Rellenora had him get up.
His voice was a grinding thing, stone against stone. His slippers were different, light taps on the reflective, nearly glowing floor. When he stood before her, his hands clasped her shoulders, and he put his lips to her forehead, then her cheek, and then he took up one of her hands and kissed that. Rellenora understood him then. He had said, "Good evening, Your Majesty. Your husband will be here soon. Would you mind if I entertained you until then?"
Rellenora shrugged and pulled her hand out of his grasp.
She was held and lifted up from her seat. They were kissing and undressing each other. A few more kisses, and they went to the alcove bed. They put their nude bodies under the covers, protecting themselves from the cold.
Her husband's bed ... so taboo ... amazingly taboo!
