Kros Voyeh Ch. 23

Notes: 1) Sorry for the long wait and thank you for your patience! 2) If you see this anywhere but Literotica, it isn't supposed to be there!

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Once more in the smaller rooms, Lislora stroked her cousin's head. "The preparations should be complete to the Queen's standards."

The past day had been a flurry of cleaning and even the mattress on the Duchess' bed had been replaced, an expensive undertaking.

"Krouth has seen to it they have been." Draeseth pulled her closer burying his face in her breasts.

"You seem worried, cousin. Everything has been done. Isonei returns to the palace tomorrow. She'll be safe in her rooms."

He squeezed her so tightly she had difficulty breathing for a moment. His grip loosened and he lifted his head wearing a defeated look, "I've been scolded repeatedly for not visiting her. The Queen is certain that my inattention will have made my silver Duchess furious with me. She will doubt my affection and-"

"My Prince," Lislora cupped his face, "you and I know Isonei far better than her Majesty does. She would want you to be comforted." Putting on a smile she didn't feel she added, "If she needs you to sleep in her chambers on her return, I won't be angry with you."

Exhaling, Draeseth adjusted his position and pressed his face to hers. "I have two wives, both better than I deserve."

"We both love you, husband." Her smile became more genuine.

"Isonei will be pleased to see you when she returns as well, my flower. You've been a comfort to me and she may need the same. She needs to be held close like a child when she's unhappy."

She hesitated a moment, "You should be the one to do that. But if she needs some coddling I'll do my best." It was true, that task should fall to him, but if the tiny woman needed a shoulder to weep on and a friend to sit with she would offer both.

He dropped his head to her shoulder, "When I visited the Temple Kamrus Rimathe spoke with me of her state of mind. He and Gillaugrim admonished me to be gentle and patient with her. They feel she's become withdrawn and I was told it's common for a grieving woman. I should assure her that she's cared for, but not press for her affection. They want me to reconsider allowing her to become a Sister if..."

"I don't believe she would withdraw that much. When she's back in her rooms you'll see. Things will calm and you'll see that all this worry was for nothing," massaging the back of his head, she kept her voice soothing. "You'll see, my joy."

Held close, her cousin nodded and sighed, closing his eyes. After a time his even breathing told her he'd fallen asleep. Sleep didn't want to come to her as easily. It was easy to reassure Draeseth, but her own doubts began to bubble up the more he worried.

What if the Aran were sour that no one had come to visit with her? Lislora knew that she certainly would be if their positions had been reversed. What would happen when the woman learned that she'd broken the jewel in the knife? Or discovered the new maid had been one of Princess Kresh's?

Krouth had called the woman Karisian, but she was at least half Torgan. Her skin only showed a little of the peculiar bronze color those people were known for, otherwise, the woman looked and behaved very much like a Torgan maid. It had only been a day and a half, but thus far the woman had been quiet and industrious, and, she hated to admit it, nearly as quick as Krouth to fetch things despite the amount of work the three servants had been called upon to do.

If Draeseth ever did give the man a house and allow him to leave his duties it might be wise to have a maid who could match the man's skills to soften the blow of his leaving.

Gently, she shifted her position, turning to face away from her cousin into a more comfortable position. He made a soft sound and pulled her back against him, kissing her shoulder before seeming to drift back to sleep. The tickle of his breath on her skin was a little irritating, but she couldn't bear to pull away. It could be the last night they spent together for... the realization that she wasn't sure made her heart ache.

She would have to talk to Isonei. The Aran might need him to herself for a few days but perhaps they could make some sort of arrangement that would divide up the weeks. Sleep finally pulled her down as she contemplated it.

°°°°°°°°°°

Lislora woke as her cousin stirred, adjusting herself to hold more tightly to him. He laughed softly. "My flower, if I don't rise and join my brothers in the dining room they'll come here."

"I know, it's just," she hesitated and he rolled her onto her back positioning himself over top of her.

"You don't want me to sleep in Isonei's bed?"

"I don't know when I'll have you back in mine."

The smug smile that broke across his face made her want to pinch him.

"You could have said something last night."

"Neither of us was in the mood for that last night."

He made an amused sound and pressed his face to hers, "Perhaps not, but hearing you say you want me in your bed puts me in the mood for it, woman."

Her annoyance faded as he began to cover her face in kisses, "But we don't have time..."

"I can make a little time, Adareth sleeps longer than I do. I don't want to rush but quickly is better than not at all," his tone sounded as if he were sharing a jest. Draeseth lifted his head from the kisses he was trailing down her neck, "Unless you would prefer-"

"No! Quickly should be better than not at all." She laughed as he grinned down at her, "Though I do prefer it when you aren't rushed, my joy."

"I'll give you your release first, I can take mine more quickly when I need to."

"Why don't we try it on our sides again? We were interrupted the first time..." Lislora broke into laughter at the eager grin on his face and the way he nearly leapt up to turn himself.

"The way you were rubbing me and using your mouth, woman, no one has ever-"

"No one?" She interrupted him and lifted her head to look at him in surprise, "Not even Isonei?"

Draeseth flushed and looked at her lustfully, "I think she's too small to reach the way you do."

Being told that there was something she could do better than the Aran in bed sent a thrill through her. She turned her attention to it immediately, with, perhaps, a bit too much enthusiasm.

"Gently, woman!" He began to laugh in his throat as she apologetically placed tiny soft kisses across the ball she'd tried to suck into her mouth too aggressively.

His cock began to harden as she stroked it, pressing it to her cheek as she positioned her other arm to rub and press behind the balls she was lavishing with affection.

Groaning with pleasure, he adjusted himself to apply his mouth to her cunny. She couldn't help but shiver and make a small sound of anticipation against his skin, knowing that he'd soon be finding places with it that were perfection. In response, his hands gripped her hips and ass firmly.

It nearly distracted her completely from what she was trying to do. Focusing on pleasing him was delicious agony when all she wanted to do was focus on the way his hands and mouth felt on her skin.

She tried to remember to stroke his shaft as she massaged behind his balls as Isonei had shown her, doing what she'd intended to with her mouth was nearly impossible as he continued drawing helpless sounds out of her. From the wetness she'd begun to feel on her hand and her cheek, however, he seemed to be enjoying something she was doing.

When he stopped suddenly and lifted his head, she wanted to try to grab him with her legs and pull him back into position. But the pause let her hear the timid knocking just before the door was opened.

"If you don't knock louder than that you won't wake-" Rogath's annoyed voice stopped short.

"Out! The servants know better than to disturb me!" Draeseth pulled away from her and yanked the blankets over top, covering her.

"Not even Father's whores do that, brother."

She could hear the grin on the elder Prince's face and wished she could shrink into nothing.

Draeseth was rising from the bed. "My wives aren't whores." The door closed sharply. A moment later Draeseth pulled the cover back with a chagrined look.

"Forgive me, my flower. I should have promised to return later when we would have more time."

With a shudder, she rose from the bed and moved to the closet to fetch a gown.

"My flower..." he followed her and wrapped his arms around her holding her in place for a moment.

"I want to go home. Not even the bedroom is private here."

"I will take you home as soon as I'm allowed, my flower. If you need to be sent ahead I'll let you go, but I ask you to wait until the Arrangement has been signed. Let me send you home as my Duchess."

"How can I go out and face them after..." Lislora muttered, lifting her hands to cover her face and letting him turn her and embrace her.

"I will speak for both of us." He kissed her hair and held her close for a long moment. "I'll have Krouth fetch the water to wash in."

"Please." She gathered her things, choosing one of the more modest new dresses and took her time before she ventured back out of the closet.

Gharol brought the water in, keeping her eyes averted and dropped into a curtsy after pouring the pitcher into the basin. "Forgive me, my Lady. I tried to-"

"You have to knock more forcefully to offer a warning." Draeseth frowned at the woman.

"Ximesra knocked, your Highness, I tried to tell them that you shouldn't be disturbed but Master Krouth and I were sent to fetch the breakfast. I think he might have been able to give you more warning."

Draeseth made an amused sound in his throat, "He would have tried. I'll speak to Father about sending Krouth when there are two maids."

The Karisian made a dubious face.

"Speak."

"He's discussing his desire to have Ximesra return to his service as a mistress."

Lislora gave her cousin an exasperated look, "Isonei adores that woman."

"I'll speak to him."

The maid left and he hurriedly rinsed and dressed leaving her alone to finish her own ablutions. The maid returned just before she was ready to call for her, to put her hair up in elegant braids and pin the cloth over the top of it.

Even modestly dressed she still hesitated to leave the bedroom. Perhaps Isonei could pretend to be unashamed but that would be like pretending a walk through fire felt like a pleasant stroll in the garden. Taking a deep breath she offered Ganas a short prayer for strength and stepped out into the small main room.

"Isonei dotes on the woman, Father. You can't blame the woman for wanting to stay with a mistress who treats her like a member of the family."

The King didn't look less sour as she entered and dropped into a low curtsy.

"Your Majesty," Ximesra spoke carefully, "I intend no slight to you. Her Grace reminds me of home as much as my brother does and from the moment you put me in her service she treated me with the respect only a free woman could expect.

"I wish to stay to serve the Duchess, I owe her a debt that can never be repaid."

"Most of your women are staying, Father, reward their loyalty," Rogath suggested gently. "You can always have Isonei teach them what she taught Draeseth's second Duchess when she's well and out of mourning."

Lislora kept her eyes down and moved to stand against the far wall trying to will her face not to darken with shame.

Her cousin made a peculiar sound, "I believe she would. I can have her compose pages of instruction if you desire it. She drew pictures and left thorough instructions for her Daga and his new wife.

"And if it would get us out of your bad graces, Father, I could persuade her to offer a demonstration for you and your women."

"A demonstration?" The King sounded incredulous but pleased.

"On me, Father."

His Majesty laughed delightedly, "You rarely join us. You believe she would be willing?"

"I can persuade her." He made an almost embarrassed sound, "I may have to take my time doing it, but I know how to make the woman eager enough to do anything I desire in bed."

"I thought you said she wasn't obedient?" King Orgath laughed.

"Outside the haze of desire, the woman is as obedient as a cat." Draeseth snorted as his father and brothers began to laugh. "A Torgan wife obeys always."

He brought her a filled plate and she took it, holding it without looking at it or looking up. Krouth handed him a plate that he'd already fixed for himself.

After a moment's silence descended, the Black Prince inquired, "How are Ror and Kas faring?"

"They're miserable," Rogath no longer sounded pleased. "The servants have been trying to clear out their mother's rooms and they both want to keep some of her things. Being underfoot, they've overheard conversations they shouldn't have. Slavery is being widely blamed on the Phaethians and its end in Torga is being celebrated. Anything Phaethian is currently out of fashion. The servants I've spoken to say that even the Temple is speaking out against Phaethians and how we need to free ourselves from their influence and cast them out."

"You should have brought them to breakfast." Adareth's concern could be heard without looking up.

"I need a moment without them clinging to me. The moment I walk into a room, even Ror will latch onto me as if she's afraid of being sent away."

Silence fell for a long moment, "Take them to see Isonei when she returns," Draeseth spoke quietly.

"The woman is in mourning," Ougath sounded almost offended.

"Krouth says she mothers the orphan boy and it seems to help her grief. When she chooses to, the woman can lighten any mood. Once she sees their sadness she'll do all she can for them."

"I may make the attempt. You don't think it would upset her? Mother expects her to be fragile."

Draeseth exhaled and made a speculative sound, "Let me speak with her first. I can tell you if she's able to help with the girls. I would expect her to want to. The woman loves children."

"If she's like my Queen she'll insist on trying for another child before a month has passed. Have the Hallocs spoken to you?"

"I've been cautioned, Father. I want her healthier and with a little more meat on her bones before I try to give her another child. I may try to buy back some of her whoreweed."

"There are other, less expensive herbs as well." His Majesty offered carefully, "I can have one of the healers who dispenses such things to my mistresses speak to your man. None of them are as effective as the whoreweed, I'm told, but they do prevent most unwanted pregnancies."

"I'll send Krouth to speak with your healers, Father."

Feigning illness, Lislora handed her untouched plate to Gharol and went to hide in the washing room. The morning's humiliation coupled with the thought of the man she loved, and had been caught being so shamelessly intimate with, getting a child on another woman... Even if that woman was his other wife, it was more than she could bear.

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Lislora was surprised at how attentive the Karisian was when the woman fetched her from the washing room. She'd curtsied and informed her quietly that their Highnesses and his Majesty had gone, inquiring if she needed any of the foods removed from the table before she returned to the main room or if there was anything that could be fetched for her comfort.

"There's nothing wrong with the food, the conversation was more than I could bear to listen to." She allowed herself to leave the washing room and eyed the table. Her stomach growled but her appetite was lacking.

"I can make you a fresh plate if you wish, my Lady." Gharol moved to stand at the table looking at her for direction.

She inclined her head and the woman set to work immediately, putting what looked like most of her favorites on the plate. Lamb kidneys, chicken livers, and the sliced, fried black pudding that Adareth seemed to enjoy, with bread for sopping.

Lislora was devouring her meal when she realized Krouth wasn't standing with the two maids.

Ximesra seemed to notice the baffled look on her face and began explaining before she could swallow and inquire. "Master Krouth was sent to learn when her Grace might be expected to return today."

Swallowing, Lislora frowned, "You don't think he'll actually make the woman," she made a rolling gesture with her hand, "in front of the King when she's well, do you?"

"You know his Highness better than I do." Ximesra wore a sour look that suggested she thought he would try.

"Perhaps..." Gharol seemed nervous as she spoke, "Perhaps he's hoping to have you both back in the Kroscur before his Majesty can ask for such a thing?"

"Perhaps." Lislora frowned at her plate, "He'd have her draw up instructions even if we were at home. She gave something like that to someone as a wedding gift once I was told."

"Offering it may have gotten him out of his father's bad graces." Ximesra frowned at the door, "At least for the moment. That can only improve things for all of you."

"As wretched as it is, I'd rather endure the unpleasantness than have the woman forced to degrade herself."

The Munian tilted her head, "I don't think you can force an Aran. My father always insisted that soft manner of theirs makes it difficult to pin them down to an agreement they don't want to make. It's like trying to grab hold of a wave. They can find a way around you."

That was a cheering thought. "I hope it's true." The thought that he'd found a way to press the Aran into an Arrangement reared its head and she felt less certain of the maid's words. The Aran had been alone when she was pressed before, however, this time she'd have a friend to support her. "I'll speak with him when he returns. It wasn't something he should have offered his father."

As she finished her plate and contemplated having a little more, Ximesra cleared her throat quietly.

"You wish to go to the Duchess' rooms to wait?" Lislora felt mildly annoyed. She'd treated the Munian well and the woman would prefer to wait in an empty room?

"No, my Lady. I wanted to suggest that Gharol doesn't need to hide from her Grace. I doubt she would know Princess Kresh's servants on sight and even if she did-"

"In her place, I would consider it a betrayal of my trust. I know Isonei is forgiving and soft-hearted but I don't want to make the woman feel uncomfortable. Perhaps, if Gharol continues to do well, the matter can be addressed at home, in the Kroscur. For now, I would have her stay out of the Duchess' sight when she serves me."

"As the Lady pleases." Ximesra seemed to give the Karisian an apologetic glance.

Eyeing them both sourly she asked, "I told Krouth that if it was too difficult a different maid should be found."

"It isn't too difficult, my Lady." Gharol dropped into a curtsy. "Master Krouth has assured me that if my presence would cause her Grace distress he would not have suggested me to be your maid. I do not complain."

Sinking into a curtsy as well, Ximesra pinned her eyes to the floor, "She doesn't, my Lady. I only wanted to make things easier for everyone."

Lislora sighed and softened her face. "Have you met Duchess Isonei, Gharol?"

"No, my Lady. When I spoke to Ig she said the Duchess was a saint of a woman, merciful and forgiving. She said that her Grace knelt and took her hands and she knew before the Kamrus spoke that she'd been forgiven. The Duchess' eyes held no anger, only sadness."

"If you'd met her you might understand..." She eyed the food still on the table. "I would rather be shouted at than endure her sad-"

A knock interrupted her and a maid hurriedly entered, dropping a curtsy. "Forgive the interruption, Lady Lislora. Master Krouth sent me to request Ximesra attend her Grace. He brought her back from the Temple earlier than expected."

With a gesture, Lislora dismissed the messenger and the Munian maid. If Isonei was back she should give her a little time to settle in and then visit her, but the prospect of sitting and speaking with her now that it had finally arrived felt daunting.