The Contest Ch. 15

Antonai leaned back in his seat. "Of course, miscarriages cannot be outlawed, because nature itself performs them. As for the Empress, she didn't drink the potion, and even if she did, she wouldn't have committed a crime because she is an adult and the pregnancy would be in the first trimester. She would have been censured, but she wouldn't have been arrested."

His fingers twitched as he resisted the urge to hold onto his tail. "One must also note that the Empress has clearly been under great emotional distress. I wish she had alerted me to this fact long ago, but she seems to have assumed that I didn't care for her feelings ... or that I'd be offended by them. Even so, the past can't be undone, and all we can do is look towards the future."

The Emperor pointed his fingertips at Prince Galton, who was looking at his laced fingers. "As for you, Prince Galton, you have committed a grave crime against the empire. Without any legal reason, you've assaulted someone, and not an ordinary someone. You've strangled the Empress of Zenthia. If she is pregnant, and she suffers a miscarriage, then you could be blamed. Your relation to her does not excuse your behavior."

Coldly, he drew another line in the air with his hand. "I've already decided what the punishment will be. I sentence you to fifty consecutive lashes on your back and permanent banishment. You will no longer be allowed to enter the country of Zenthia. As for the other countries that are part of the Zenthian empire, you may visit them, but if you attempt to set foot in Zenthia itself, then you will be held captive for two days and given fifty more lashes on each day, and then you will be deported. A second attempt will result in four days of captivity and two hundred lashes along with the deportation. A third attempt will simply result in decapitation."

One of the strings of red jasper and pale amethyst beads that hung from his hat brattled around his ear as he tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. "I've decided not to have you executed for these reasons." He held out one finger. "One. You didn't succeed in killing the Empress." Another finger. "Two. The Empress has asked for mercy on your behalf." A third finger. "Three, I have no desire to risk a war against my wife's homeland." He flicked all the fingers in the air. "Arrest this prince. I'm finished here."

As the guards put manacles on Prince Galton's wrists, the people in the Throne Room began dispersing. Even his mother was leaving. But as for Rellenora, Antonai didn't want her to get away from him just yet. He sprung up from his throne and he took long, determined steps down the platform and towards his wife. She was already making her way towards Mrs. Donner.

His fingers caught Rellenora's upper arm as he said, "Please, wait."

Some of Rellenora's hair jiggled and drooped. She whined and kept her face turned as far away from him as possible. Her free hand went to her cheek. Mrs. Donner gave the couple a bow and left the Throne room with all the ladies-in-waiting. Antonai leaned in and kept his voice tender. "I know that ... emptying your brain that way and having your scroll read to all these people must have been humiliating, but I swear by all that is sacred that it was the best course of action for you."

As he waited for his wife to soak up his words, Antonai tried to put her hair in a more pleasant state. He failed. He didn't have any hair styling skills. A glittering pin was displaced. It slipped away and bounced on the green rug. Antonai crouched down to pick it up, his long sleeves brushing against the floor. As he impaled one of her buns, he heard Rellenora say, "Oh."

Thinking that writing would be quicker, Antonai took her hanging writing slate and a piece of chalk from her pouch. He scratched out, "I want you to make two copies of two lists, foods you like and foods you don't like, condiments and all. Then have these lists sent to the cooks in your palace and mine. They need time to adjust their plans for lunch."

Rellenora nodded, but she didn't take the chalk from him. So, Antonai wiped the slate and wrote more instructions. "After you've sent the lists off, make yourself more presentable. I'm going to summon you to eat in my palace for lunch and dinner, and I want you to glitter before all my servants."

His wife took his chalk then, and the slate. Then she turned to face him and bowed.

She started walking away. Not wanting her to walk alone, Antonai stayed beside her, making sure that she was able to get inside the White Jade Palace without crumbling.

***

The couple were inside a room in the Imperial Palace.

A love-seat of polished wood had been placed before a very long table. The back was bare but lovely cushions were on the seats. On the table, a profligate amount of small dishes held different types of food. Rellenora had been asked not to bring her retinue of ladies-in-waiting, Princess Chohni, or Naeva. This was something for the couple alone to experience. However, servants were on standby with rolling carts of even more food.

The air was thick and savory.

Antonai sat on the love-seat. He held Rellenora on his lap, which was highly informal. She should have been in the seat beside him. Well, they should have been sitting on normal dining chairs, but her husband probably wanted to make sure she would always be close even if she squirmed off of him.

His body had warmed his clothing, which was soft against her cheek. His thigh muscles were firm underneath her. His fingers patted and stroked areas just under her hairline. His voice was gentle as he reached for each different food item. He'd hold utensils to her lips, feeding her, letting her figure out if she enjoyed the tastes and textures. Sometimes she had to help by holding a dish for him.

There were so many new and oddly wonderful things!

Little cubes of tofu soaked in spicy red oil with fried vegetables.

Delicate slices of chestnuts that had been softened, little seeds, and chunks of grilled beef, all tossed together with a gentler oil.

Long and thin noodles in a watery but dark and flavorful broth, with thin slices of pork and bits of celery.

Steamed white rice topped with bits of bear meat, a scrambled egg, and shredded cabbage.

Cold, vinegared rice in little round shapes, with bits of seaweed and the raw flesh of several sea creatures.

Steamed buns with light textures dipped in sweetened milk.

Little confections made of sugary bean paste, sculpted to look like leaves, pumpkins, and sunflowers.

Sponge cakes with icing on top.

Flaky pastries with layers of honey and jam.

More and more and more!

Did Antonai eat anything?! He seemed so focused on making sure that Rellenora bit and slurped at everything. For once, in this empire, Rellenora's belly was growing full and satisfied.

The things he said to her as this went on ...

"What would my Empress care for this time?"

"Oh, did you like that? It's sweet, isn't it?"

"Go on and lick your lips. If you don't, I'll do it for you."

Sometimes ... after he'd put something in her mouth, he'd hide her face with his sleeve and plant his lips onto hers. Rellenora didn't know why, but it made even the less pleasant foods seem more suitable, even though she was being kissed in near full view of the servants. If he hadn't put his sleeve up, Rellenora might have pushed herself away.

Or ... maybe she wouldn't do that.

She didn't know.

But this man ...

He knew exactly what she had almost done ...

But he was holding her, kissing her, feeding her, and acting as if she hadn't done anything wrong. She hadn't been arrested. Not a single violent hand had been laid on her, aside from Galton's.

Rellenora heard one of her hair ornaments chime. It was a protruding comb with little strips of silver dangling down. Such a pretty, expensive thing, one of many. As the princess of Henrill, despite her homeland's wealth, she didn't have many things like that. While her brothers had shiny jewelry, Rellenora had nothing to equal them. It wasn't so awful. She had food, clothing, and a safe, comfy place to sleep.

But still, as spoiled and greedy as this new way of thinking was, Rellenora wondered about jewelry, as if there weren't more important things in the world, like war and starvation and other things.

Her blue eyes widened as she gazed up at her husband's pale throat.

She was safe here, safer than ever before.

And this man, this man who had the power and wealth of the great empire of Zenthia, he wouldn't hurt her at all. The worst thing he'd do was break inanimate objects ... which was certainly a serious flaw that needed to be addressed, but he'd never break her.

So many people couldn't even dream of the privilege she had.

And she had actually tried to reject it.

She had been so petulant, and all over nothing.

Her hand rose. Her fingernails shined. She touched his throat very lightly with her fingertips. Antonai put a little bowl of soup back down on the table.

"Sorry," Rellenora told him.

His fingers tapped her wrist as he said something light. Then he took another yummy looking thing from the table and held it to her lips. Rellenora bit the thing away from him and sighed. After she chewed and swallowed, her tongue dabbed at a corner of her full lips. Rouge and sauce mixed together to make a strange flavor. Antonai put another piece to her mouth.

As she chewed and swallowed again, she realized her husband had said, "You are the Empress of Zenthia. Your opinions and desires are important to everyone. Don't let this sort of problem happen again."

She didn't want to let that sort of problem happen again.

When her belly was so full that another bite would certainly make her vomit, Rellenora alerted Antonai with her chalk and slate. The food that couldn't be stored without quickly spoiling was given to the servants. The rest was put away.

They spent some time with Noffnoff, the Royal Piglet. She was getting fairly big, but she was still a cute little piggy. Rellenora fed her little treats and petted her head. Antonai's hand swept down the black spots on the creature's back. Noffnoff's snout innocently wiggled and took in the couple's scents.

Rellenora played fetch with the piglet while Antonai sat down and watched. When Noffnoff tired of that, Rellenora rubbed her belly for a few minutes. Then she laid out a few old papers that nobody needed anymore. Noffnoff chose to bite and tear these papers up, which had Rellenora giggling. When Noffnoff was done, Rellenora personally swept the bits of paper into a pile while Antonai rubbed the creature's little piggy ears and gave her sweet words.

Later, they left the piglet alone. Antonai took Rellenora's hand and took her for a private walk in the crisp autumn air. They had to wear cloaks with hoods over their heads to protect their ears from the cold. Their lavish clothing peeked out from under the hem, though.

They came across a worn out looking Yban. He was wearing hunting clothes and he smelled like he had been riding in the woods. Rellenora wanted to lean against him and inhale the wilderness on him. That wouldn't have been a wise thing to do out in the open.

The trio went to the Imperial Palace. Yban needed a bath, and Antonai wanted to give him a little company.

Rellenora didn't know why, but when it was time for Yban to clean his hair, she wanted to comb it out or him. He handed her a smooth comb of bone and knelt before her. Rellenora hummed to herself as she took dirt, leaves, and even a few bugs out of the man's hair. Antonai seemed to think this was very charming. He rubbed her back kissed her cheek a few times.

When it was time to use actual water and soap, Rellenora volunteered again, but Yban refused. "Her Majesty shouldn't risk ruining her nail lacquer over me," he had said.

So, Rellenora let the men wash their own hair, and they washed hers too.

Once it was time to sink into a great pool of hot water, Rellenora was between the two men. She was a little tired, but she was looking forward to dinner. Antonai had told her that dinner would be much, much more private, with no servants. Only Yban would join them.

Yban might even feed her! If so, what would Antonai do?

Rellenora scratched behind her ear as she thought, "He'll probably rub and kiss my feet." Then she snorted a laugh into her fist. Yban spoke up as if he was curious about why she was laughing. Rellenora shrugged and put her folding arms on the pool's edge.

Then she said with a firm, confident voice, "Love."

Both men made jolted noises, confused little hums.

Rellenora unfolded her arms. One hand touched Antonai's wrist. The other touched Yban's lower arm. Smiling at nothing, her eyelids lowering, Rellenora again said, "Love."

Both men put an arm around her then.

She thought she heard Yban sniff.

***