The Contest Ch. 08

The hot days of summer were upon the residents of the Royal Palace. Food was even more plentiful than normal. Fireworks were popular at night. The soldiers swam every day.

Despite the heat, Princess Rellenora was still as cold as ever. Occasionally, she'd visit the Imperial Palace to see the Royal Piglet, but if the Emperor was with the little piggy, she'd change her mind and return to her own palace.

One morning, as Antonai was sitting in an office of his, reading and signing documents, a servant entered and said, "Your Majesty, your honorable Betrothed has arrived. She would like to see the Royal Piglet, but she's not in her room."

Antonai used his writing brush to causally point down near his feet. Noffnoff was exploring another rooting dish set up for her, turning over rocks and overall being a good little piglet.

"Ah," the servant said, "I'll send her away, then."

"No. I have an order for her. Tell her she will gather some toys from Noffnoff's room and bring them here. Then she will play with Noffnoff."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Some minutes later, Princess Rellenora entered the office with some toys cradled in her arms. She went to her knees. The Emperor gestured at her to get up, and she did.

To Antonai's quiet delight, he saw elegant Zenthian summer clothing on her figure. Her robe was in a base of white with outlines of dark pink, bright green, and honey yellow circles and squares printed in complex patterns. Three extra layers had been pinned in, a deep orange one, then a white one, and finally, an ocean blue one. The sash on her waist was a soft beige color, tied with a knot vaguely shaped like a wrapped box with a little bow on one corner. The jewelry in her hair was made of plain gold, and so was her fingernail guards. Her pretty little nails were painted white.

At least she seemed to have learned to dress properly. An Empress of his should never have less than a small fortune on her person ... unless she had to sleep ... or bathe ... or strip down to a comfortably nude state and take a long night's worth of rough fucking.

Princess Rellenora wouldn't look at her Betrothed as she went to Lady Tatiana, the Royal Piglet, and knelt down. She let the toys tumble down from her arms. They landed on the bamboo floor with varying noises. Her shiny white fingernails scratched behind one of Noffnoff's ears. Then she leaned over the creature, her long sleeves draping around the rooting dish and hiding little Noffnoff. Her lips sounded like they were kissing the piglet's snout and head.

A few more kisses, and then Princess Rellenora was murmuring the word piggy in her harmless little voice. She scooted back, taking her long sleeves away. Then she dragged a leather ball to herself. She patted Noffnoff's snout with the ball. Then she stood up.

Right at a wall, Princess Rellenora threw the ball. It bounced and fell onto the floor. Noffnoff ran to the ball, picked it up with her mouth, and went back to the Princess.

Antonai tried to focus on his paperwork even though he was the one who told her to play in this office. Still, that woman was so charming, so adorable, and so beautiful as she played fetch with the piglet. When Noffnoff seemed to lose interest, the Emperor's Betrothed picked up a cloth toy and convinced the piglet to play a gentle game of tugging and pulling. When that was all done, it was time for a classic chasing game.

Princess Rellenora pulled up her white skirts, showing off her bare calves, and she ran around, her robe trailing behind. Noffnoff was happy to run after her.

The long, layered robe was pulled against a tall vase of porcelain. The delicate thing tipped over and crashed against the floor, breaking into several large, sharp pieces.

Princess Rellenora gasped and turned to look at the mistake she made, covering her ears with her manicured hands. Her white skirts fell down. Noffnoff caught up to her and rubbed her body against the Princess' newly covered ankles.

"Don't be afraid, Your Highness," Antonai said as he rose from his desk and stepped over to the shards on the floor. "I've already forgiven you. It was an accident." Hoping to prove that he wasn't upset, he personally took a few large pieces of the vase and put them on his outstretched palm. Sadly, the decision wasn't wise, because the flesh of his palm was sliced almost immediately. He dropped the shards. They divided into smaller pieces. "Ah ... even a mighty ruler has moments of foolishness," he dryly said out loud. Then he called out for a few servants.

As the servants arrived, two for cleaning the mess and one for tending to the Emperor's cut, Princess Rellenora kept Noffnoff distracted. It would be horrible for the piglet to put her curious, soft little nose to the razor-like shards on the floor. Once everything was fine and the servants were gone, Antonai flexed his hand, looking down at the bandages wrapped there. Then he looked up at his Betrothed.

She was still focused on little Lady Tatiana, rubbing her ears and calling her a piggy.

A portion of his heart was outraged. Should she care that he was hurt? Shouldn't she run to him and fret over him?

But Antonai silently told himself that she hadn't done anything wrong, and she still had an apparent uncertainty concerning her new Betrothed. In fact, there were still many things about him that she had no idea about. Her lack of concern and affection was acceptable at this stage.

But ...

His fingers closed.

It honestly was painful to want someone so badly without that person wanting you too.

This woman ... just ... didn't understand the wonderful, fantastic position she was in! She didn't know how adored she was, how coddled she was, how much more coddled she would soon be! Did she think she was being abused and restrained, like a wild bird stolen away and forced into a cage that was much too small?

Antonai went to her.

Lightly, gently, he tapped Noffnoff's side with the toe of his slipper, urging the piglet to walk away and play with one of the toys on the floor. Such a good little pet!

His large hands went to the little woman's shoulders. Her chest jerked as a surprised puff of air came out of her. Her sleeves were fluttering. Her hands were quivering. Her eyes were low and bashful.

Sometimes ... Antonai wondered if she'd ever stop being cute.

At this point, he thought they both needed a kiss.

He bent down and put one right on her lips, feeling the light rouge. That pink stuff would be all over his mouth soon. He didn't care. Aside from the rouge, she tasted hot and sweet. His eyes closed.

Antonai thrust his tongue inside, plunging, tasting her clean teeth. She was whimpering. He didn't just hear it. He felt it in his tongue, cheeks, and throat. Then he felt it in his groin, welling up and putting all the familiar signals in his brain.

More ...

He pressed his body into her, pinning her against a wall. The knot in her sash made tight noises as it constricted against the pressure.

More!

He licked into her, ground into her, his fingers digging under her robe's collar, feeling her skin. She was so soft, so warm, and so perfect!

Princess Rellenora wouldn't ... wouldn't touch him. Why?! Why wouldn't she hold him? Why wouldn't she let her sleeves cover him? Why wouldn't she let her fingernail guards dance around his back? Shouldn't she at least pretend she was interested in his body? Shouldn't she cater to her Betrothed's ego, especially since he was a mighty Emperor?

One of Antonai's hands swept up her shoulder, then her nape, and then just under her hairline. She owned a collection of perfumes at this point, but she wasn't wearing any of them.

She still smelled like paradise ...

But she wasn't engaging at all, only receiving.

Antonai pulled away. His eyes were hazy as he looked down at her. Her eyes were shut, painfully so. Her messy, smudged lips were like autumn leaves on a branch, struggling in the wind, nearly falling away.

He freed her, stepping away, but he asked, "What do you want?"

Waiting ... waiting ... the piglet returned to the two humans, seeking out attention. Antonai nudged her away again.

Princess Rellenora opened her eyes and gave the hem of her white skirt a grim look. Then she took up her writing slate and wrote on it. She held it up before his eyes. "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I don't understand the question."

The back of his hand went over his mouth like a cheese grater. Then he licked his lips and said, "Is there anything I can do for you, anything to convince you that I'm worthy of your embrace?"

More waiting. He popped the knuckles of the hand that was bandaged. His tail swatted nothing. Maybe she'd think it was a more attractive body part if he put a form of jewelry on it? No, that was an asinine thought ... or was it?

Princess Rellenora erased her words. Then she wrote a new response. "Do you want me to embrace you?"

Antonai wanted to slap his own forehead. "Yes. I do."

She let her slate dangle from its cord and put her chalk away. Then she walked to him, put her arms around his waist, and put her cheek under his chest. She was rigid and awkward. Antonai didn't even think that her hands were linking.

Well ... at least she wasn't about to vomit.

"Relle ... nora?" He patted one of the buns in her hairstyle. There were four this time instead of two, but there weren't any loops. "I am highly pleased to see that you're trying," and he paused here because he couldn't think of a a correct word, "hmmmm, well ... you're trying."

She clearly wasn't trying to be seductive, and she didn't have any affection for him, but Antonai thought she was civil in her own way.

He smiled. "Have you read the book I gave you? The Storm and the Pearl Necklace?"

Rellenora seemed to take extra time to understand. With a noticeably sheepish voice, she said, "No."

"Would you please read it?"

Her breath was long and slow. The gold in her hair nearly scratched at some embroidery in his clothing. Noffnoff was sniffing at the chair at Antonai's desk.

Rellenora gave another word. "Yes." It was a fatigued, sad word.

"Very well. You may leave if you wish."

Maybe fourteen seconds later, Princess Rellenora removed her arms and separated herself from him. She bowed and left him alone with the piglet and her toys.

***

The novel was fairly dull. It was a love story. There was nothing special about it. Rellenora did wonder, though, about what the reader was apparently meant to look forward to. The story was building and building ... leading up to the actions of the characters that were called "flirtatious" or "affectionate."

Flirting seemed to be like ... a game Rellenora didn't understand. Something playful was about it. Before reading "The Storm and the Pearl Necklace," she knew what flirting was. Still, even after reading this book, Rellenora didn't say she could fully understand how one could flirt without accidentally offending someone. All the coy examples in the novel were so daring yet also so foreign.

Did the Emperor want to be flirted with? Well ... people generally appeared to have fun with that. But ... it seemed to be something one did with people they didn't "have." The flirting was supposed to make people want to be "had." The Emperor already "had" her. They were going to marry soon.

Did he want affectionate actions too?

But ... Rellenora didn't have any affection for him. She was willing to lie for the sake of politeness, and to keep from being beheaded, but she didn't want to lie about affection. In her mind, doing such a thing would be terrible. It would be a vicious lie, a cruel lie. Rellenora knew what it was like to crave affection. She knew that if someone were to lie to her about something so desired ... then it would be more than disappointing. It would be heartbreaking.

She wouldn't wish that on the most evil people in the world.

***

A troupe of actors had been exploring the empire's capital, performing along the way. The public had responded very well to them. So, they were eventually invited to the Royal Palace. One building in the complex, a theatre for special performances, was opened to the troupe so they could invent and practice a play until they were ready to show the Emperor and his court.

Yban was not excited. He hated plays. They were dull and lacking in anything flashy. The only time he would even consider watching a play was when it was a musical performance. This scheduled play wasn't a musical.

Antonai was highly excited. He would bring the subject up with his Betrothed on several occasions. The oddest thing happened the first time he mentioned the play. Princess Rellenora wrote down, "I've never been to a play before."

So, on the night of the show, Antonai was ready to introduce her to the wonder of the theatrical arts.

Inside the theatre, there were rows and rows of wooden seats with soft cushions. The main stage had a curved, concave roof over it, supported by thin columns. Other roofed sections were at the main stage's sides or in the back.

As soon as Yban plopped down onto his seat, he slumped. He put his elbow on an armrest, put his cheek on his hand, and closed his eye. He was going to snooze through the whole thing. Typical.

Antonai rolled his eyes, but he smiled as he sat down on Yban's right. And to Antonai's right, his sparkling Betrothed sat. Beside her, there was her proud looking companion.

The show was dark and gloomy. Dread crept everywhere.

At the climax of the story, one of the characters stabbed another. A scream, kicking, struggling! Blood-like liquid oozed out of the simulated wound!

Most people gasped.

And ... Princess Rellenora ...

She was folding herself, the heels of her slippers on the edge of her seat, her hands and sleeves covering her face. Everything about her was quivering. Her jewelry tinkled and clattered. Antonai heard her mewling.

Well ... she hadn't been to a play before.

Antonai reached over, put his arm around his Betrothed shoulders, and put his mouth to her ear. "Don't fret, now. Don't fret. It's only a show, only pretend. Nobody's injured."

And she ...

And she leaned towards him. She put a curled hand on his chest. Her sleeve blanketed part of him. Her cheek was close to her hand. Her hair smelled clean and crisp under his nose. Only a hint of flowery oil was there.

"Poor, innocent little Dearheart," Antonai cooed as he patted her back above her sash's knot. "It was chilling, wasn't it? Yes. But it was enjoyable. It was a good story."

Princess Rellenora still moaned and fussed into him.

Mrs. Donner folded her arms. "Come now, Child. Don't embarrass yourself."

"Let her be," he told Mrs. Donner. As Princess Rellenora's sleeve slid down her arm, Antonai's tail slithered up to wrap around his Betrothed's wrist. Her skin was tender there, like a baby. He loved the texture against his tail.

Firm and bold, he said, "It's my duty to be available whenever she needs me."

They stayed this way for a few more moments, even when the show ended, even as the bustle of the leaving audience members droned on.

Yban woke up. He stretched out his limbs. Then he yawned into his fist. As he got up to leave, he patted Antonai's shoulder as if to say, "Good luck with the rest of your night." Then he walked out of the theatre.

Antonai uncurled his tail and patted his Betrothed's shoulder. "Your Highness, we need to leave. The show has ended."

Princess Rellenora slid away from him, her sleeve dragging. Sniffing, she got up and followed her companion out of the theatre. Antonai left his seat too. He hoped the sensitive little woman wouldn't have nightmares.

***

Hindsight told Rellenora that she had been rather infantile at the theatre. The memory of the Emperor's voice snuggling into her ears like tired kittens made her blush.

But ... he hadn't been offended at all. He held her close, as Naeva had done when Rellenora was a child, and he didn't seem particularly alarming or scary. Since when was the man anything but alarming and scary?!

And he still wanted to spend time with her sometimes.

On a gentle afternoon with skies so blue that it almost hurt to look at them, Rellenora was told that His Majesty and his friend Prince Yban wanted to have a picnic with her. It didn't sound fun, but it didn't matter.

Under the same trees where infamous picnic food fight happened, Rellenora knelt on blankets and choked down food she disliked. There was a man on each side of her, the Prince on her right and the Emperor on her left. They were saying all sorts of things. She couldn't understand most of their words because they spoke quickly.

Soon, though, Prince Yban showed Rellenora a strange and new thing. It was a pinwheel. Red paper blades, folded inward, were attached to a wooden handle. The Prince gave her the thing and told her to blow into the blades. Rellenora obeyed, and then she smiled as the red paper spun around and around.

Long white fingers moved into her sight. They hovered a moment. Then, when the red blades slowed down, the fingers flicked, hurrying the spinning.

But ... the handle and its wheel were taken away. Rellenora pouted as her fingers slipped away. She put her hands on her lap.

It returned. The Emperor was waving it before her face.

Rellenora narrowed her eyes, but she blew on the wheel. It spun.

He took it away again.

She heard the prince beside her muffle a laugh.

Her Betrothed put the pinwheel to her face again, closer, as if he was holding a favorite treasure. The next time he moved the pinwheel away, Rellenora stubbornly followed, huffing her breath. She ended up leaning over the Emperor's lap, looking up, as he held the pinwheel above her.

Wait. Was this flirting? Was this how one flirts?

She was right over his lap, after all.

Was this what he wanted?

The Emperor tapped her nose with the paper blades. Hoping to snatch the thing, Rellenora reached up, but she lost her balance and fell. Her breath was thumped out of her body.

Both men laughed, but she felt the Emperor's voice much more than the other man. Her belly was against his trembling thighs. Thinking that she needed to give up, Rellenora pushed herself up and went back to her normal kneeling position. She put a cup of tea to her lips, hoping that would indicate her desire to quit this ... game? Was it a game? She didn't know.

When the meal ended, Prince Yban did something unexpected, and right in front of the Emperor too! He took the long and thin handle of the pinwheel and impaled one of Rellenora's hair buns with it. It hurt a little. She winced and listened to see if the Emperor would object to having another man handle her so casually.

To her quiet amazement, her Betrothed leaned in and blew on the pinwheel.

Did the men want this to become a new fashion trend? Rellenora had already seen a few ladies walking around with drooping, moderately open robes, imitating her salacious style. Would they put pinwheels in their hair just because the Emperor's Betrothed had one?

The pinwheel was still in her hair when the picnic was finished, and as the men escorted her back to the Eggplant Palace. Funny thing, they took turns blowing on the blades, giggling like happy drunkards.

The next morning, Rellenora was asked to take a walk with her Betrothed in and around the Imperial Palace, simply to admire the architecture, sculptures, and other artistic qualities. Every woman she happened to see had pinwheels in their hair. Some men did too.

***