Sweet Dreams Ch. 02: Past and Future

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will do that immediately, so that she will make it in time. She is not so fast anymore."

"I'm sure, but she is still in a much better condition than these two High Priests, wouldn't you say? Your Graces! Hillga, we will meet tomorrow in the privy council. Naliir, I think it would be adequate for your son, the provisional High Priest, to take his seat in the Council, since you have already stepped back. I wish you a good day."

I stood up, finished my coffee, and went for the spiral staircase a few rooms further, that led to a passage into the palace gardens.

As soon as I left the palace I sucked in the crisp and cool winter air. The water in the fountain basins was frozen, some leaves were under the ice, and I saw the tracks of cats and other animals in the snow and on the gravel paths. After a few minutes I saw Queen Darnela leaving the Inner Palace and walking in my direction.

"Your Ma..." we both started. She held up her hand and stopped me.

"Now you are king, I greet you first, then I greet the queen, then you greet me. I know that you know that, but you need to do it right at court, even if you must get used to it. I was the second person to be greeted for over forty years -- it is not so easy for me too," and after a little pause she added, "Your Majesty, you wanted to see me?"

"Your Majesty, thank you for coming. I wanted to talk to you privately, without too many ears nearby."

"If this is about the dinner tonight. I am sorry, that I might have overstepped you, but we really need to talk about the future of the Inner Palace."

"No, it is not about that. I am happy to have dinner with you and to be able to talk about this. But that is not, why I sent for you. This afternoon I had the most intriguing experience." And I told her in detail what had happened and finally asking the question, "How long has this kind of scheming been going on?"

And as we walked through the garden she told me, what she knew about it. She noticed soon after my father's mind became unreliable, that some people in a position of power started to make things happen beside the official channels. They acted in the shadows and seldom she saw something of importance. Most of the time she could only guess what was happening.

They tried to gain as much influence for themselves and their families until a new king was on the throne. She also found out, that they thought I would be a weak king, since I was not brought up to be in this position until all my older brothers died or became unfit. What they did not know or underestimate, was that my father prepared all his sons to eventually become king or hold a position of power in the kingdom.

She tried with all her might to prevent these events from affecting the Inner Palace or the Children's Palace. But in all other areas she could not make any difference. In the end, she was glad that father died, because no higher positions were allowed to be filled after his death. She reminded me, that this was another reason, why I should marry three or four women as fast as I could, because then I could better fill the royal councils with people whom I trust and who are bound to me personally.

Of course, I could fill one or two positions with people from the family, but my siblings were all younger than me, my late father's wives were out of the question, and she was not sure about my uncles, aunts, and cousins.

We talked for nearly two hours. When we got back to the Inner Palace it was already time for dinner. Larna still was in the state chambers, and we took her with us when we went by. She whispered to me, "What did you two have to talk about?"

"Something you can only talk about outside the palace."

Dinner in the queen's drawing room was already prepared and we took our seats.

"Thank you for being my guests tonight. In a few days I will move out and you, queen Larna, will reside in these rooms. I loved living here, but I will love the green house too."

"I will always be happy to invite you as a guest, when I live in these rooms," Larna answered politely.

"Thank you, I will be happy to enjoy the queen's hospitality from time to time," Darnela answered, and as the servants went out, she added "But before we begin, let me tell you a story, I once heard back in my homelands, but never since:"

Talamir, the two-faced god of sleep decided one day to come to earth. But he was afraid that his two faces, one on the front, the other one on the back of his head, would frighten the mortals. The best solution he could think of, was to come to earth as a pair. But because of his nature, these two people always had to face the opposite direction.

When he came to earth, he wandered through a large city. One half always had to go backwards, if they wanted to stay together. In the city, he got into a big crowd and his two halves got separated. Neither of his halves could look for the other, they were not able to look at each other. He also could not return to his realm; he could only come back as a whole.

When the people around him noticed his confusion and fear, they asked him if he needed help. He said he was looking for his brother, but he could not find him, he did not know what he looked like and that he could not look in his direction.

A woman in crowd around him said she had heard this story before and pointed him in a direction where she assumed his brother was. Since he had to walk backwards there, she led him. As soon as he felt the familiar sensation of his other half's back, he became one again and fled back to his realm.

I was not sure what to make of this story. Was it about the god of sleep or was it about the people in the city? Somehow the story disturbed me. When I looked over to my wife she seemed as confused as me.

Before I could think any further, Darnela spoke again, "Don't be like the god of sleep. Don't be ashamed for your other half. Don't be so stupid as to lose yourself in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. And never forget to thank the people, who did good to you, even if you are in a hurry or afraid."

Stories in which one of the gods was not a good role model but did something wrong were rarely told in Rallagoah. No wonder Darnela had not heard this story for decades and neither Larna nor I knew this story.

Silently we began to eat and after some time Darnela told us about the inner workings of a king's and a queen's marriage.

"We loved each other very much. Other than you, for us it was always clear, that we would not be alone in our marriage, but that many others would join us. Some of your father's wives I liked, some I did not. Some I loved, even in a physical way.

In a way they were my wives too. They joined our marriage and became part of our family. It was my duty in the Inner Palace to see to it, that all women got to see your father regularly and share the bed with him. I knew when one could get pregnant and when not, I knew his moods and preferences. I knew that when he was sad or afraid of something I would send for your mother. She was always able to comfort and reassure him.

He was my partner in everything, as I was his. He kissed me every day, except when he was travelling. I never got pregnant by him, not by chance, but by my decision."

As she talked about him with love and affection, I could see my father before me. As a husband he seemed just as a father. Not perfect but trying to be.

"Have you ever been jealous of the attention he paid to the other wives or concubines?" Larna asked.

"Yes, sometimes. But sometimes he was jealous too, when he felt that one of his wives or concubines got a bit too much attention from me." Her eyes became dreamy. She cleared her throat and added, "And in bed he was ravishing, when he was just a little bit jealous."

"What did you do, when you did not trust one of the wives."

"This always was difficult and a bit delicate. I tried to separate these women from your father as much as possible. But of course, we could not get rid of them completely. They still were your father's wives. It was easier with concubines. Being a concubine in the king's interest is some kind of probationary period. You can see how a person behaves with you, your wives, and other people without attaching yourself too much. During your father's reign 21 women made it from concubine to wife, and not one of them has disappointed us."

"How did my father choose his first wives after he became king?"

"The first four wives he added to our family were women he knew for years. He grew up with them in the Children's Palace. They were wards or concubines outside the king's interest at his father's court."

"He never talked about building his family in the king's lessons or to me personally."

"He sometimes tried, but you didn't want to listen to him about this topic. He wanted you to make your own decisions, but he wanted you to know what could go wrong first. There are no rules for choosing your wives outside of the selection period. He tried to change your perspective, but then his time was over, and he could not hold any influence over you anymore."

"But still he had quite the influence, when I chose my first wife."

"He did, very much. And I am very happy, that he had this effect," Darnela looked at Larna with a mother's love in her eyes.

We talked and ate for hours, and I got to know Darnela better. She always seemed to me very earnest, a bit cold and quite strict. But maybe most of it came from the responsibility for the Inner Palace. Since this responsibility was taken away from her, her heart seemed light, and she talked freely. I began to like her the more my image of her changed. As I listened intently to her and my wife talking, I noticed again that Larna and Darnela had a very good connection.

"Before you get tired of me, I would like to retire," she said, when our talk came to an end, "I think you might have your own plans for dessert, since you two didn't have a wake moment for just the two of you in days."

I thought about her words. Maybe she was on good terms with my valet too. In some way I had her underestimated in the last years. She seemed to know what was going on in detail.

"Thank you for this wonderful evening and the walk in the gardens before. I wish you a good night's sleep."

"Good night, Your Majesty, my king, my queen."

When we left the queen's drawing room Larna leant into me and whispered in my ear, "Then, let's hurry to our dessert. The queen commands it."

"Which one?"

"Both!"

She walked quickly ahead, and I followed her. Even though she was dressed in a queen's robes I could see the special sway in her hips that took away all my conscious thoughts and made me lust after her in a way I cannot describe. We hurried and as soon as we were in the state chambers, I undressed her as fast as I could.

"Easy, slow down."

"I can't. I am still hungry, but my hunger cannot be sated in a dining room."

She giggled as I pushed her onto the bed and tried to kiss every part of her body.

"And what is with me? Why is my dessert still wearing all his clothes?"

I got out of bed again and unclothed while she lay there and watched me intently. Naked and very excited I got back to bed. I was not able to control my hands. I wanted to touch her everywhere, her slender neck, her perky breasts, her ticklish navel, the curve of her hips. She hugged me and pulled me close to her. She whispered in my ear, "Calm down, you won't miss anything tonight."

I took a deep breath and enjoyed the feeling of her body against mine. Then I felt her massaging the most excited part of my body and my mind went blank. I made sounds that may have been embarrassing in another situation. I wanted to growl, but I think I grunted.

I didn't even get the chance to return the favour, when Larna turned me on my back, positioned herself over me and let my hard penis glide into her wet folds. She sat still for a while with her eyes closed and an expression of pure bliss on her face. When she opened her eyes again, she looked at me and we both said, "Finally!" I enjoyed her this evening as much as I could enjoy this beautiful, wonderful woman. My feelings were a perfect mixture of love and lust. When I finally spent myself inside her I could feel a deep rumble going through us both. We covered ourselves in the bedsheets and as we fell asleep. I thought to myself that it never had felt this intense.