The Palace Pt. 10

- "Bereyar." I whispered, trying out her name for the first time.

She smiled, and I noticed one more thing: one of her front teeth was chipped. I began to fall in love with her at that instant.

Bereyar took my hand, and I admired the elaborate henna tattoos drawn upon her, covering her hands and wrists. Another cleric came forward, and tied our hands together with a red ribbon.

I wanted to say something - anything - to put her at ease. But it seemed that I was more nervous, now, than she was. Blessing, speech, blessing ... I barely heard them. Then we exchanged pieces of oatcake, and ate them.

I managed to speak my lines, remembering only at the last moment that I had to sound like Bishkur. Then Bereyar said her words, loud and clear, in a woman's voice - not a little girl's. She swore to serve me, and the people of Zamarka. And just like that ... I was married.

There was a thunderous cheer, prolonged clapping, and discordant music. I realized that I was grinning like an idiot, so I shut my mouth. We proceeded from the hall, and then had to separate. I didn't want to let go of her hand.

But this was all part of the plan. I went back to my rooms, stripped off the finery, and squeezed in a quick bath, to wash off the sweat. Then I donned my slightly less uncomfortable set of clothes, which I would wear for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, the heavy turban was still part of it.

I rejoined Bereyar in the vast banquet hall. We entered simultaneously, from opposite sides, and climbed to a small table, where the two of us would sit alone. The hall was already jammed with people, but I had eyes only for her.

She had changed clothing as well. Gone were the layers of voluminous robes, the gold and green. Now she wore bright red, for luck. It set off her long black hair to perfection. Her hair was incredibly long, in fact: it hung almost to her waist.

It was still difficult to see her shape, but she was not fat - that much was certain. Now that we were married, she didn't bow her head. Instead, she appraised me carefully, the same way my father used to examine goods before he bought them.

We sat together at our high table. We had two gold goblets, tied together with a red thread. That way, if either of us wanted to drink, the other had to do the same. When we lifted our goblets, we also had to put our heads close together if we were to drink at the same time.

The first time we did, I blushed.

Bereyar turned to me. "Water?" she said.

- "Has to be. If we drink nothing but wine, we will be incapable of walking afterwards."

- "Wise." she said.

The procession began, as high officials and dignitaries paraded below us. They could shout out a blessing, or a toast. We were expected to acknowledge them, with a smile, or a wave. In case of a toast, though, we had to drink from the goblets. That brought our heads close together quite frequently.

- "You look ... wonderful." I told her. For the life of me, I couldn't think of anything more intelligent to say.

- "Thank you, husband." she replied. "You are even more handsome than I remembered."

- "Are you warm?" I asked. "It is exceedingly humid today." I know - brilliant conversation.

- "The sun is shining." she answered. "That's a good omen."

- "But it is sweltering in here." I said. "I will be glad to be out of these clothes later." As soon as I said it, I realized how crass it sounded. It sounded like I was thinking of the consummation already. My new wife might be 19 years old, but she was still a virgin. Bishkur would never have made such a mistake.

- "I agree." she said, with a sweet smile. "There will be time for that, my Lord. But this ceremony will occur only once."

- "You are entirely right." I said. "Forgive me. I have never been married before."

For some unaccountable reason, she found that funny, and laughed aloud. I was intensely relieved to hear it. She wasn't a giggler, and her laugh was natural and genuine.

Beautiful black hair, lovely bright eyes, a natural laugh, and that chipped tooth. Bishkur had been right: Bereyar was wonderful.

Servants kept our goblets filled, and brought us small of dishes of food to pick at. The guests continued to file past below.

- "I wonder," I said, "if there was ever a bride so beautiful in this Palace."

She blushed very prettily. I was gratified to see it.

- "Surely your mother, my Lord?" she said.

I turned to my bride, looked her in the eyes, and said: "She cannot hold a candle to you, Bereyar. She is beautiful - as you are - but there is a light that shines from you, which she cannot match."

It was true, and I believe she could tell that I meant it. Yasina was the most desirable woman in Zamarka - but she inspired lust and desire. Bereyar stirred feelings of love, and devotion. And that chipped front tooth - for some reason which I can't adequately explain - made me want to protect her.

She blushed again. "You exaggerate, Lord." she said. Then she turned those bright eyes towards me. "But it sounds very nice."

The procession went on, and on. The servants began to pour wine into our goblets, instead of water. Under the table, I placed my hand on Bereyar's thigh. She gasped, at first. But then she found my hand with hers, and gave it a squeeze.

- "My husband is ... eager?" she asked.

- "You have no idea." I answered.

The damn procession was interminable. But Bishkur would have honored his guests, so I did my best not to ignore anyone. But it was difficult, with Bereyar sitting beside me. She was blushing furiously, now, as I caressed her thigh.

- "My Lord." she said. "I am growing ... distracted."

She had her head down. I discovered, then, that one of my favorite ways to see my wife was with her head inclined. Her black hair hung over her eyebrows, and framed her lovely face. I had not expected to feel like this about a woman I was meeting for the first time.

Lust, yes. But love?

Mercifully, the last guests paid their homage, and sat down. There was a muted roar, which grew to a prolonged cheer, as the assembly saw that the procession was over. It was time, then, for the Emperor to consummate the marriage, and get to work on providing them with an heir.

So the man impersonating their Emperor stood, and offered his new bride his hand. The Governor's daughter took it, and stood, blushing fetchingly. To the full-throated approval of the crowd, the pseudo-Imperial couple left the hall.

We did not go to the rooms where I had entertained so many concubines. Instead, we went to the chambers which would belong to Bereyar - which she was seeing for the first time (I had been allowed to see them a week earlier).

They were quite luxurious, and featured a large bathing pool, a comfortable divan, and an immense bed. But I went nowhere near any of them.

Instead, I took Bereyar out onto the balcony, to show her the view of the gardens, and of the city beyond. It was intoxicating: there were torches lit all over the palace grounds, and lights flickered around the city.

- "Beautiful." she said.

- "Appropriate." I corrected her. "The beauty is here, beside me."

She smiled. "I had no idea that you were such a flatterer, my Lord." she said.

- "Simple description." I said.

She appeared to be ready, so I leaned in to kiss her. Her lips were soft, and delightfully yielding. But she pulled away.

- "Wait." she said, and then bent over, reaching for her oversized sandals. I forestalled her, dropping to one knee and unstrapping them for her. Bereyar stepped down from her shoes, with a deep sigh.

Then she leaned in, and pressed her lips to mine. A virgin, perhaps - but not so shy. Without the monstrous footwear, she was a few inches shorter than me.

I gently insinuated my tongue into her mouth, and she did not shy away. Mentally, I was throwing away most, if not all, of the advice I had given Bishkur on the seduction of virgins. We broke apart, both breathing deeply.

- "I am quite sweaty, and still warm." I told her. "Would you permit me to bathe in your pool?"

- "What is mine is most certainly yours." she said, with a shy grin.

- "Aptly phrased." I said. "Would you be willing to bathe with me?"

Bereyar didn't hesitate. "As my Lord husband commands."

I peeled the red robe from her, to discover that she was wearing a red bodice and short red underskirt beneath it. I had no complaint with the body we quickly uncovered.

Her long black hair did indeed fall almost to her waist. Bereyar's breasts were unusually-shaped: firm, pointed cones, rather than round. Her nipples were erect. Her stomach was almost flat, and her hips flared out generously, but there was very little extra flesh about her midsection. Her pubic hair had been trimmed, exposing her fleshy outer lips.

We slipped into the pool together. We kissed, and my hands wandered. I was particularly interested in those firm cones, but I made sure to pay attention to her entire body. Bereyar may have been a virgin, but she was a passionate creature. Her kisses became more and more animated, and as I explored with my hands, her fingers slipped between my legs, and found my throbbing erection.

I led her out of the water, and dried her thoroughly. Then I picked her up in my arms, and carried her to her bed. It seemed the appropriate thing to do.

I kissed her mouth, nibbled on her earlobes, and then kissed my way across her shoulders and down her arms. I kissed her hennaed wrists, and then her stomach. She shivered when I kissed her breasts, and sucked a nipple into my mouth. I licked and nibbled on it gently. She reached down, and moved my head to her other nipple.

When I trailed kisses across her stomach, Bereyar gasped, as if unable to believe that I might go lower. I teased her mercilessly, kissing and licking all the way down to her hennaed ankles and feet.

- "Beautiful designs." I said. She groaned, knowing that I was delaying, prolonging the teasing.

I worked my way up her other leg. When I reached the back of her knee, I let my fingers run ahead. Her nether lips were glistening, moist and already parting of their own volition.

By the time my mouth caught up, Bereyar was very close. When I flicked her clitoris with my tongue, and then gently sucked it into my mouth, she sighed, and her entire body shuddered.

- "Oh, my Lord ..." she moaned.

Was there a better time? I couldn't tell. But something told me that there was no point in waiting. I crept up, between her legs. I spit into my hand, and then spread that saliva across the head of my engorged cock.

Bereyar seemed to be ready. She spread her legs wider. I got the head of my erection against her wet opening, and pushed. I couldn't get a full lodgment, but I simply pushed, and slipped a few inches further.

She cried out, and her hands flew to my shoulder. I froze in place. I was hurting her. She was incredibly hot, inside, and tight.

- "I'm sorry!" I said.

She shook her head. There was a tear in her eye, but she smiled, bravely. "Don't be. I'm your wife, now. Your wife."

- "My beautiful wife." I said. I leaned forward to kiss her. I didn't withdraw, or push forward, but just let her get used to my erect shaft inside her. When I thought she was ready, I pulled back, and then pushed back in, as far as I could go. Three more times I did that, and then I grunted in dismay as I lost control, and spewed a load of sperm inside her.

Bereyar groaned and wrapped her arms around me, clutching me close. She was my wife, now.

- "Will we do that again?" she asked.

- "Once more, tonight. I will last longer, and you will enjoy it more. But you will be sore, in the morning." I said.

- "I want to do it again." she said. "Often."

- "Every night, if you want." I said.

*******

Unfortunately, I will soon be out of the country. But I will do my best to finish this story before I leave. Thanks again for your support and feedback.