Responsibility Ch. 17

Yana had to help poor Princess Gabriella out of the room. Her young belly couldn't endure much of this. She most certainly vomited. Once she returned, though, her mouth had been rinsed with mint and water and she was lively again. Rahela told her to only eat the lightest foods for the rest of the night, and if she felt sick again then she must go rest.

Hired performers had to put on a show after that meal. However, they weren't the ones many of the guests expected. That Tashkilan prince had arranged another gift for the newlyweds, a troupe of dancers and musicians from his homeland.

Many people gasped at the sight of them. Princess Gabriella's jaw fell. The Emperor raised an eyebrow and refused to make any comment about the issue, but he did watch the performance.

Young maidens with loose dark hair. Their bellies, arms, and legs exposed. Their clothing was barely clothing at all. Even their feet were bare! Their smooth, dark complexions were magnificent. Their red painted lips were tempting. Their dancing involved interesting, if not outright vulgar movements in their hips and bellies.

Empress Rahela's face pinkened. She put her hands over her little sister's eyes. The child whined but she didn't pull the hands away. Borys did the same for Rokas, but he had more difficulty. Yana stuttered nonsense into one of her hands. Oksana kept moving her eyes around as if she didn't know what to look at.

The Empress Dowager put a handkerchief to her lips and occasionally snorted and jolted as if she was trying not to laugh. Princess Tuya turned her face away and struck up a loud conversation with one of her ladies-in-waiting. It was a pointless discussion concerning different varieties of textiles.

Once the performance was finished, the dancers all got to their knees and curled over, prostrating themselves. Then, their heads down, they shuffled out of the throne room with their musicians.

That Tashkilan prince looked oddly proud of himself. He had an arrogant smile.

The Emperor simply demanded to have his own favored dancers perform next.

After that, a young jester appeared to tell jokes and juggle. The Emperor had much more interest in that. His laughter was so hearty that it seemed to drown out most other people's voices. He even slapped the table and knocked over his own goblet of wine.

Another dance for the guests. The Emperor managed to coax his bride in for a round. She frowned all the way, but she complied.

The last meal was just as pleasant as the rest. Spiced tripe. A creamy broth with bits of fish. Roasted boar with well cooked fruits and vegetables. Apple pie. Dates stuffed with syrup and crushed nuts. And the sweetest, lightest wine.

The jester reappeared for another funny routine.

And then one more set of dances.

The sun was setting.

It was time for the merriment to end.

***

Rahela told the chambermaids to help her wash her hair. Then her favorite bacon grease was applied. As she waited for her hair to soak the moisture in, Rahela sat on a stool and had her body rinsed with water mixed with flower petals.

As Gabi understood it, a new husband and wife were meant to literally sleep, or at least have a short nap together, on the wedding night. She kept whining about how lonely it will be without her older sister keeping her company. "Couldn't His Majesty be kind and let me stay the night with the both of you?" That was one of the things she said. It was terribly obvious that the child didn't know what truly was meant to happen on a wedding night.

At that question, some of the older girls tittered in their palms or rolled their eyes.

Rahela told her she was too old to ask silly questions like that. After a wedding, the couple must be alone together. It was "tradition." When Gabi was grown and married, she wouldn't appreciate anyone asking such a thing of her.

Gabi pouted for a few minutes, but then she conceded.

Rahela's hair was rinsed. As it was left free to dry, Rahela spent some time listening to Yana practice a musical instrument as Oksana and Gabi helped her pick out a simple little outfit. In the end, a laurel green gown with only somewhat loose sleeves was chosen. A plain leather belt was put around her waist. Then a black, voluminous, hooded cloak that hid all of her body and face was laid out.

Her now dry hair wasn't braided nor wrapped away. It was left alone to trail down her body. The cloak was put over her to, as Oksana put it, "hide your chaste beauty from anyone that might want a peek." Rahela assumed it was related to some ancient marriage tradition, since it wouldn't be sensible in any other context.

Rahela was escorted all the way to the entrance to the Emperor's bedchamber. The cloak blinded her. She needed Oksana to hold her hand and give her verbal instructions. At the door, Rahela heard a guard say, "Yes, he's waiting. His chamberboys have already left for the night." He was referring to boy servants that kept the Emperor's quarters clean and helped him with dressing and grooming.

A guard knocked on the doors, or that's what Rahela thought she heard. Someone answered from the other side. It was one of the squires. "Is Her Majesty here?" The guard said yes. The creaking noise of doors opening rolled into Rahela's ears. A few footsteps moved past. The squire's voice came again. He sounded like he was in the hallway. "His Majesty is alone inside."

Rahela wanted to sarcastically remark, "Oh? I thought he was on one of the roofs!" Instead, she said thank you in a little whisper. Yana adjusted her hood to give her a bit more sight. Rahela was able to enter the space without tripping or walking into anything.

The doors were closed.

Rahela pulled the hood back.

Candlelight showed her many pretty things. Paintings, some of them portraits. Large tapestries. Potted plants, including flowers. Lovely statues. A few standing suits of armor. Hanging shields and weapons, some of them far too encrusted with gems to be reasonable for combat. The colors were difficult to perceive accurately, but Rahela thought they were at least luxurious. Most fabrics seemed to be dark with accents of something bright. There was almost certainly some black.

She saw desks, tables, and chairs. Screens of paper, wood, or even cloth. Huge coffers and chests. A partially open set of doors led to what Rahela assumed was a balcony. She only saw a line of moonlight to give her a hint. She also assumed there were windows, but if there were they were covered by thick and tall curtains. Her shoes met a few things. A richly tiled floor. A few bear skin rugs. Some rush mats coated with sweet flower petals. Even some punched style rugs with complex designs.

It smelled like spring. It was pleasant.

Even though a random fly was buzzing around.

Rahela reached out from her cloak and waved her hand around. She managed to shoo the fly all the way to the doors leading to that hypothetical balcony. When the fly buzzed on through the thin opening, Rahela put her bare fingers through and pulled one of the doors just enough to peek around. She found an balcony and outdoor furniture, but not much else.

Closing the doors, Rahela looked back. She couldn't even hear breathing. The air was uncomfortably still.

She walked over to a little round table that might've served as a private dining table. It was covered with a long tablecloth with tassels lightly touching the floor. A scroll had been left on this table. She opened it and held it to a light. It seemed to be an old poem describing some battle from centuries ago. Fine. She closed the scroll and put it back on the table.

Around the screens, Rahela looked this way and that. Then she pulled up every curtain against a wall she could find. She confirmed that there were indeed windows. They were tall with clear panes.

After a time, Rahela stood near the bed with an annoyed little sigh.

He was hiding behind the canopy curtains, waiting to snatch her and drag her into his bed. She knew it.

It was a huge bed on a stone platform. Stairs were on each side. Heavy, dark curtains hid most of the bed, but Rahela understood it was basically a rectangle with posts and curtains.

She went over to the steps and went up. The last step was the platform's floor, where little rugs on each side had been placed to keep bare feet from touching cold stone in the morning. She pinched a bit of a curtain.

Even though she'd expected it, her heart still fluttered and her breath was still caught up in the moment.

A long arm appeared. The hand seized a good palm's worth of her cloak. She was indeed dragged in.

She was held close to a large, apparently naked body, and they tumbled together until Rahela was on her back and on what she assumed was roughly the center of the mattress. Secretly, she was impressed with herself for not yelping nor thrashing about.

The man's arm's slipped out from under her body and then his weight shifted. Rahela could see a little light through the curtains, but not much. She thought he was crouching over her, but she could barely even see an outline representing him.

The Emperor's voice sounded disappointed. "Weren't you surprised?"

Simple, quiet, soft. "No."

A pause.

She heard his breath hiss out. Then she heard and felt him laugh. His thighs trembled against her and his breath spread over her face. He even said, "I might do something else to you soon. I'm not too old for mischief."

"My Lord, I'm too old for mischief," Rahela whispered up to him. "Please have mercy on me."

He actually hummed down at her as if he was seriously considering her words. "Hmmmmmm." Then Rahela heard his lips smack open and he said, "No."

He gripped her arm and pulled her up to a kneeling position. Rahela shrugged and moved to undress in the dark. She didn't really need to, though. The Emperor yanked and tore everything away from her, throwing every piece off to some far off part of the mattress. She had to get out of the kneeling position at some points, but she was back in it soon. Some of Rahela's hair was pulled too. When she was finally nude, not even wearing a stocking, she knew her hair was wild. Even though it was so dark, she tried to smooth it all down with her palms.

That was a pointless thing to do.

He grabbed most of her hair and wrapped it around his hand. Within a breath he had her head tilted back. His other hand dug under her backside and seemed to push on her, leading her up. He was over her.

Mouth to mouth.

Her fingertips pressed down on her own bare thighs.

It changed again.

He released her hair, but he was hugging her again and there was more tumbling. Between his kisses, there were small laughs. She could feel him trying not to smile. Rahela wondered if he thought he'd won something, which would be odd. She hadn't fought him in a long time. There was no winning without conflict.

When he stopped rolling her around, resting on his side and facing her, one of her shoes fell with the mattress' forced slopes and fell against Rahela's back, which made her say, "Ah." She stretched an arm out from his embrace and reached behind herself to get that shoe. Then she threw it as far as she could. She heard it lightly pat one of the curtains and then swipe its way down to the platform.

On her nose and cheek, the Emperor's breath fanned out. "The most excited sound you've made came from a shoe falling to you." She didn't know how to decipher his inflection. Was he angry? Was he bored? Was he going to waste more time rolling around with her like a dog?

"Please, My Lord," she meekly said, "if I've displeased you, then you must correct my behavior."

She felt his fingers at her shoulder, then her nape. He was gathering her wild hair into a single bunch behind her. "Fret not, Little Empress. Now lie back."

He put a little nudge to her, which prompted her to lie on her back. Rahela did so, but she made sure to pull her hair out from under herself.

He leaned over and kissed her lips again. This time his tongue went in. Rahela's eyes shut and her fingernails scraped at the bed-sheets, making coarse little noises. But still, those old feelings she liked to ignore came back. Electricity ran through her body, even in her nails. Her tongue cared not for any hatred. It only welcome the guest's tempting caress.

One of the man's hands went to her cheek for a few seconds, then his fingers seemed to dance and play down her throat and collarbone, then to her breast. There was a second where Rahela tensed and wondered if there would be pain. After all, that was a fragile part of her. But no, there wasn't any pain. There was only the warmth and stimulating texture of his skin. Then there was some pressure, enough to have her toes bending and one of her hands press into the man's arm. It was such a great and thick limb, nothing soft about it. She even felt his veins and straining muscles.

Rahela realized her nipple was hardening when a deep stroke of the palm met the tip. She made a little gasp against his tongue. He slid that tongue up as his head rose, and he murmured something she didn't understand. It could've been a vulgar curse. His hand moved away, and with his breath as a guide Rahela sensed his face moved too.

Her free hand went to her wet mouth. She had to press hard when he put a kiss on her nipple. She was afraid of screaming. When his lips drew the nipple in, one of her legs kicked, a foot brushing against his leg. It was as if her lungs had strings being plucked.

His face rose again, and he said in half of a chuckle, "Ah, there's no reward for prudence here." Then he put his lips back to the spot and drew again. He even put his voice there, rumbling into her skin.

Her fingers slipped. Her voice shot through the openings. Her back arched. She even felt pulling and tingling sensations in her groin.

Just hurry. Please!

Rahela wondered if her heart could give out from worrying over this slow torment.

His body shifted again, his lips gone for the moment. She thought she had time to calm down, but if there had even been time for disappointment she'd had to deal with that.

The Emperor actually put his tongue right above her navel and slid across her belly!

What, did he think he'd taste something interesting there?!

Her belly sunk. Her arms crossed over her bosom, despite the lack of contact there.

"My ... My Lord?"

"Mmmm? Didn't you say you wanted to please me?"

Well, she'd said she wanted to be corrected if she displeased him, but that was close enough.

She didn't know what to say to him.

Rahela rubbed at her breast with her arm's underside.

His lips swiped around her belly again.

Then he moved up, his fingertips moving with him, drawing little pathways against her flesh. He traced some of her ribs. One of his knees seemed to press on a spot in the mattress between her thighs.

Rahela didn't fully know why, but she tried to close her legs, rubbing her thighs and groin against the hot skin and almost prickly body hair. Her teeth gnashed as the strange feeling had her blushing all over. She didn't have to see herself to know she was blushing. She felt the heat throbbing, in her hands, in her ears, and certainly in the most womanly parts that enjoyed the hair's texture.

Her hips rocked a little.

That made it even better!

The Emperor laughed into her throat. Then he put a short, but wet kiss there and said in a teasing way, "I think the Little Empress likes me."

Most certainly not!!

A whiny, broken noise sounded in Rahela's throat.

And, likely just to bother her, he moved his leg a bit, putting more stimulation on her hot labia and fascinated little clitoris. Rahela put a fist to her lips and groaned even as mucus trickled out of her and was smeared about. Her nose felt overburdened by her quick breathing.

His voice was still playful, but low. "Oh?" Another stroke of his tongue, this time in a diagonal line up her neck. "You don't like me? Not even by a whit?" One of his hands took her hip. "Fine. You don't need to."

She felt him adjust her position. She couldn't feel his leg between hers anymore.

She gave a tiny whine.

He seemed be kneeling before her. One of his hands took her ankle and guided her leg up against a good portion of his body. Her foot rotated. There was some popping in that ankle.

His other hand slid down all the way to her thigh, then lower.

Ah, here was something Rahela expected!

His middle finger spread the labia apart, and it sunk in, easily lubricated by her juices. Rahela flexed and moaned. That responsive little patch inside her channel contracted. A stretching kind of pleasure flowed out. When his fingertip made a little swirling motion, Rahela cooed. Another finger slid in, and then Rahela was certain those two digits were moving apart.

Was he stretching her ... wasn't that good? It certainly felt good. Damn good.

He was crooning down to her. She almost didn't hear him. She wasn't giving his voice much attention.

The fingers left. They were on her thigh, moving that leg up to match its sister.

He was ... looming over ... as if he wanted to cover her ...

Her feet were put back on the mattress, her legs bent.

"A-ahh!"

Rahela experienced a little moment of shock. The feeling between her legs was so tight it felt like she could snap. Her nose couldn't take in all the breaths she made. Her mouth had to do most of the work. Her toes curled so hard that they picked up tiny portions of the blanket. Her thighs quivered. In fact, one of the man's hands clasped her thigh in what might've been an attempt to calm her. There wasn't much success.

She heard him whisper so hoarsely, "You're not going to die."

Right ...

She forced her mouth shut and put her breath through her nose. She silently told her arrogant muscles that they needed to stop overreacting. Perhaps that mostly worked. Her chest moved more calmly. Her feet relaxed.

No. He didn't want her dead. Stop acting like a child. This was how the world functioned. This was meant to be. Actually, this was a good thing.

One of her hands moved up to the chest above her. The palm met warm body hair. A quick brush of a motion, and she put her hand back down at her side. Rahela didn't know why she did that.

He was in her. That was how it was.

It was thick and far reaching. Rahela had no experience in this matter. She couldn't know if this erection was any larger or smaller than an average size. She didn't know what the average size was. Yet for her own, untried little space, this was certainly a huge thing.

There was an involuntary little spasm in her body, which no doubt was felt by the erection. The Emperor groaned. Rahela heard his hands move to each side of her, likely with support from his arms. His fingernails clawed at the blanket. She knew it because she heard that too.

He pulled his hips back, dragging the erection back too.

The tip wasn't quite out when he pushed back in.

Rahela gasped.

He inhaled.

He repeated the movement.

Rahela gasped again.

He exhaled ...

And truly began.

Every thrust was quick. Rahela felt the force even on her legs and thighs. Her whole body was rocking with it.

And she ... liked it?

She liked squeezing around the thick girth. She liked how her most responsive areas were stroked by the head. She liked how as more and more thrusts were given, more and more of her juices came, lubricating the movements, helping the man move even faster. That only made it better.

Slick. Hot. Putting her in an odd stupor. Time was insignificant. If it was bright enough to see, any details would be insignificant too.

This ...

This!

She didn't know she'd said this until a moment after it left her lips. "Ah! Please!"