"A horse?" I heard faintly. I was partially awake but it wasn't until this till I opened my eyes and sat up to rub them.
"Yes your majesty, Will you enter a horse in today's races?" I heard a proper gentlemanly voice speak. I turned to see a messanger dressed in the royal guard uniform standing in the doorway, his notebook out, and speaking to Illy, who sat on the bed next to me.
"You've awoken me at this time in the morning to ask me that?" She replied, annoyance overtly spread upon her voice. "If I was my mother I'de have you head off, so you ought to thank the heavens I'm not. Of course I'll have a horse in it, I always put in my best racing horse at the time with my best jockey, did this decision really have to be made this early at night?" The man looked to be sweating now, and his hands were fidgety.
"No, my Princess, I apologize for coming so early, and would not have done so if I didn't have very expect directions to do so." His voice was shaking a little.
"From who?" She asked.
"Head of staff, your excellency." He replied after a pause.
"Well tell your head of staff if they make a habit of this interruption they'll spend the next year as another head in the dungeon." And with this he scurried out rather hurriedly.
"Is there even a dungeon here?" I asked.
"There is but it's basically just my mother's playground, no one really stays down there, I think." She replied,
"You think?"
"Well it's not like I'm permitted to see it, but I've never seen any employees from it and my mother kills most everyone who ticks her off, so I doubt it. Plus she has the patience of a five year old, she'd never content herself to let anyone stay down there for more than a couple days, it would drive her mad."
"Great," I sigh sarcastically, stretching out my arms in a yawn. She drew forward and press a kiss to me, before returning to unite us, slipping her tongue between my lips before drawing back, the skin of my lips caught between her teeth. I brought myself forward and continued, but there was something missing. There was always something missing with her, some disconnect between us that seemed to discretely divert the deep touch and only let forth the shallow.
I wondered if she notice, if it bugged her, if I was alone. But I was also scared of what would happen if the divide was closed, and we were really together, our palms pressed and fingers intertwined, reaching past the invisible glass and into the inevitable other. What would she think if she could see inside my head, and beyond that, what in the world was in her's? I could never tell what she was thinking, whether our lips were together or even when she was talking, it seemed I still couldn't understand. What was she like in there? I had no clue. As we pulled apart she pressed me away, and I got out of bed, stretching fully now to awaken myself.
"Go talk to Ebony, she needs it, and tell Gold to bring me breakfast." She said, and I started out the door, before she called to me, "Wait," She said, "Just before you go, can I ask honestly, were you really going to leave me?"
"Of course not, that would be way to logical for my thinking pattern, I was buying time, but not very effectively." I replied, "It's not like I could live without you anyway." The words seemed to slip out before I had a chance to stop them, but Illy only smiled, waving me away. I returned to my room and changed into more presentable clothes before giving the Golden twins the order, which they seemed relived by, and then I went and knocked on Ebony's door.
"Come in," I heard her high voice call, so I slipped in and found her buttoning up the front of a small black dress.
"Wow," I said, surprised to see her actually dressed for once, "Clothes, what's the occasion?"
"I thought I might go down and watch the horse races if," But she stopped, her words falling off their track like dislodged carts on a mountain trail.
"If what?" I asked.
"Is Illy all better?" She asked, a little worry in her voice. I wasn't used to seeing a damper on her usually buoyant personality like this, and it struck me that although she had retired from the position of Mother to Illy long ago, she might have never irradiated it from her head.
"She seems completely recovered. This morning a messenger woke her up and she threatened to lop off his head and throw his boss in the dungeon, so I deem her back to her old self." Ebony laughed at this, and looked relived.
"Then I think I shall go after all," She replied, lopping her purse over her shoulder. "Diamond, we're going." She called into the bathroom, but I slipped out the door before I could hear his response, and was rather relived to have our more domestic lives back, even if it hurt my hear immensely to be so unsure about Illy. However when I returned to my room I found a letter on my floor that had been slipped through the letter slot while I was away, addressed from Madam Praelia to myself. It read:
Dear Sapphire (as I presume you wish to be called),
Your must forgive my abrupt request, but the other day my wife and I were speaking of you, as we were quite flattered at your elegant conversation with us at the most recent ball, and wished to see you again. However this is not why I write. I write because as we were conversing about you, we could not help but also recall your Mother, as she is a wonderful memory to us. Just before she fled from this country, which heartbroke us both but was, as we know and knew then, for the best, she left us a letter.
I cannot say the letter makes much of any sense to us, and for a while we thought it might have been an attempt of desperation, so we replied strangely to her, but now we are even less sure. As you are her daughter, and of her own blood, this letter, perhaps the only belonging of her's that survived from before she fled, is rightfully yours. I wish to return it to you, and so have written to enquire about how you might wish to do so.
As I am free all of today, if you wish us to meet, do not hesitate to ask for us to visit you today, as I am sure it would be easier for you to receive visitors than otherwise. I graciously await your reply.
Sincerely,
Emily Praelia
I wrote out a hasty reply to her, and showing both to Illy, attained permission to sent it, so long as Illy too was permitted to see the letter once it was handed over. She seemed significantly less interested in meeting Madam Praelia, which I wasn't surprised about when I recalled where Madam Praelia actually came from, so I was instructed to meet her at the door and take her to the slave's drawing room. With Illy having retreated upstairs, I waited at the doorway. However, as I had learned about Caedis, travel didn't take very long, as I had only waited around ten minutes when the knock came.
I swung open the door to reveal Madam Praelia standing before me, her short black hair tied back into a messy bun atop her head, and wearing a simple pair of black slacks with a shite shirt, accompanied by a deep purple vest."Come in," I said, waving her in, "It would be a pleasure to have your company if you do indeed have time to spare.
"You look magnificent today, Sapphire," She said, "And I'm sure I would be the one much more delighted to have your company. Were you alright at the ball the other day, I did not see it then, but now that I see you hear I think you may have been quite ill then. I do not mean to be rude. Perhaps you had neglected your dose of poison?"
"No," I replied, "I have actually neglected it today, on that day I seemed insatiable for it, although the night before I had a rather strange dream, perhaps that was part of it."
"Strange, well, you look all better now." She replied, and we settled into the drawing room. "I have brought you the letter, though I must say I am a little regretful to hand it over, it was all we had left of her, and we thought it might become a family heirloom, as she was so important to us."
"I'm sorry, I might look through my luggage and see if I have anything for you, as I took a couple of my mother's things from the house before it was sold." I said, reaching out and taking the yellowed parchment from her. The blue wax seal was stamped with the Clementia family crest, and carefully separated from the parchment at the base with a letter opener. I slipped the thick white paper out of it, and unfolded the thirds it was creased into, marveling at my mother's handwriting.
"Oh, that's not necessary, though I thank you greatly for your benevolence. I knew she would raise you well. Please don't hesitate to read, for I have more than enough to look at in this drawing room to occupy me, and we may talk afterward." I was so engrossed in the idea, I never even thought to answer per, sucked in by the ink of my mother's pen.
Dear Emily and Mabel,
As you are my dearest friends, and I trust you immensely, I wish to confide in you something I do not believe anyone else might believe to be truthful. If I had a chance to speak to her, I would tell this to my beloved Queen, but as I know she shall not listen, and cannot even hope to imagine she might believe me, I shall not do so. You will see in the news tomorrow that I have fled this country, as I cannot bring down with me the child I now carry. What I am about to tell you may sound crazy, but I tell you because I do not wish to lie to you, and although I have lost hope in all others, I desire more than you can ever know to have two true friends on this earth when I leave it, and if I neglect to tell you this, I believe you shall slander me, as would be rightly done.
What I tell you is, that I did not betray my betrothed. There is no father to this child that I bear, there is no act that created it, and there is no betrayal that forsakes this poor, child. You may tell me I am crazy, you may not believe me, and although I cannot understand the matter myself, I am sane, and what I say is true. I never betrayed the Queen, I never slept with anyone, and to this day, I can tell you honestly that I am a virgin. This child is not a child of betrayal, she is not that of nefarious means, she was not created by the Queen, nor someone of the lower class, nor anyone else by myself.
I do not know how this is possible, but I can assure you that I am a virgin, that although I cannot say I loved Mortemine, I can tell you honestly I cared for her greatly, and would never have betrayed her, and if this had not torn me from her, I probably would have fallen in love with her. My dearest friends, I know I sound crazy, and that is part of why I believe myself sane. I do not know how it's possible this child exists inside me, but I know that it was put there by myself alone, and if anyone else was involved, they are a god, and do not walk on this earth like you or me. Do not chase after me, for it shall only bring Mortemine closer to my trail. I will find a way to raise my child, and when the day comes that my Queen has found me, I shall submit to death for this godly child to live.
I shall name the child Eleutheria Clementia, for what I hope her to have, and call her Elly, for my Queen's daughter Ilustra, known to me as Illy, as I know the Queen loves and hates that child more than anyone can imagine, but I also know that that child shall live forever under the rule of her mother, and I wish mine to live for eternity too.
Your Beloved Friend,
Rosetta Clementia
I took a deep breath and slid my thumb over the name at the base, noticing the raised drops at the base of the letter, the paper wrinkled by fallen tears. None of it made any sense to me, but I knew my mother was not one to lie, and at this point these two friends were all she had. She might have done it because she though they would slander her if they believed her to have betrayed the Queen, but that didn't sound like something my Mother would do, even in desperation.
"What do you make of it?" Madam Praelia asked, awaking my from my trance.
"I don't know," I replied, "I don't think she's lying."
"Weird thing is," she replied, "I don't think she is either. I Queen got so caught up in the idea of betrayal after that, that Mabel and I knew there was no hope to reveal the letter to her, and when we heard of Rosetta's death, we decided there was no place for that letter under Mortemine's eyes, no matter the circumstances. It's all so tragic," Praelia replied, "And it makes me feel guilty sometimes, how good things turned out for us, and how horrible for her, when for a while there, we thought we were both going to live our best lives."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well, before I met Rosetta, I was rather lonely, but when I became friends with her, all that seemed to melt away. And then she introduced me to Mabel, and I fell for her like a dog dives for a bone. Rosetta was the reason we met, we got together, and then when she got engaged, we thought that everything was going to be wonderful. She was permitted to live, she was marrying someone she cared greatly about, and though she was a free spirit and not necessarily ready to settle down and fall in love, she certainly wasn't against it.
"Mabel and I married, and she was just like always then, and just a week or so later we heard the news about Rosetta, and were shocked beyond believe. It just didn't seem possible. We received that letter, and by morning she had fled and there were a dozen people in the hospital suffering from poison, it all fell apart so fast." She sighed, her head dropping to her hands, "I thought everything was going to be wonderful for all of us, and then it almost seemed like Rosetta traded her happiness out so we could have it. It makes me feel guilty, sometimes."
"That's not true. I know my Mother and although I know if there was one thing she wanted in this world it would be for you two to be happy, but I also know she was a lot more selfish than people knew. If someone had asked her to trade her life and freedom for you two, I'm sorry to tell you she wouldn't have done it." I replied. Madam Praelia looked up shocked, but then she smiled, the cold ice on her face melting like snow in the sun.
"That does sound like Rosetta." She laughed, "I think you're the only thing she ever sacrificed anything for, and honestly that's what makes it stranger. Did she ever say anything to you about all this?"
"No, but I feel weirdly as if she always knew I would realize someday. When I was really little she used to obsess over finding really old books at fairs, and I always felt like she was looking for something, but I could never figure out what, and after I grew a little older, she gave up and stopped looking."
"Do you think?" Praelia trailed off.
"I don't know, but she was trying to find something, I know that much. All the books she got would look similar, a blue faded leather cover with gold or silver details around the two ridges of the book, but none of them ever seemed to yield what she wanted." I replied just as the clock struck five, and we both looked up at it like it was some strange new person that had just walked in the room.
"Well, I best be going, Mabel doesn't like me late." She said, standing.
"Then I'll see you out, but don't hesitate to come again. My mother did all she could to hide everything about the Caedis world from me, so she never spoke of anything that happened before I was born. I'de like to know, as I only knew her when she was consumed by hiding."
"Of course," She replied, stepping through as I opened the door for her. "Good day."
"Farewell," I replied, letting the door fall shut behind her. I looked down at the folded paper in my hands. How was it possible that I hadn't had a father, how was it possible that she had had me without betraying anyone? A virgin cannot have a baby, but my mother had said she was a virgin, and I, was undeniably her baby.
"Well," I heard Illy say behind me, she slipped her arms around my waist and pulled me into her, her head on my shoulder.
"You'll have to read it for yourself," I replied, "I can't make any sense of it myself." I handed her the wrinkled paper letter and she settled into the coach to read.
"Strange," She said, "Why would she tell her friends that just before she ran away?"
"I don't know, but I know my Mother and I don't think she was lying, though I'm not sure how that's possible. When I was little she used to search through old used books trying to find something, always blue leather ones with gold or silver details around the two ridges of the book, but she never found anything, and gave up."
"Well of course she never would have found any books about Caedis outside of the Kingdom, but I do know a book by that description."
"You do?" I asked.
"Yes, The Fables of The People: Aparicita Janiman, but it's not a very normal book. It was written almost forever ago, and only a couple copies are left, most were destroyed. The only one I can think of is in my mother's library, she used to read to me from it when I was a child. It was originally written in sanskrit but existed before that and is estimated to have first came about just before the transition to BC. It's all filled with tales about mythical creatures, the vampire and rauzires and creatures of the day, but it holds some pretty unbelievable fables."
"Can I read it?" I asked.
"Oh god not," Illy exclaimed, "No offense, it's just that Mother never lets anyone in her library, she keeps the key around her neck at all times. The only people she's ever let in there besides my father and I would be, Rosetta." She suddenly exclaimed, looking at me. "Perhaps she knew there was a story in that book that would help her."
"Did you read them all, did they say anything about something like this?" I asked.
"No, I only read a few, and out of those I never heard anything about a child having only one parent." She slipped the letter back into it's envelope and handed it to me, shooing me off to go put it away. I went and did so before following her upstairs and slipping out of my dress, looking for my pajamas, but I was not so lucky. Illy slipped her hand behind me and with a click unbuttoned my bra, making me shoot forward to grasp it in place.
"Hey," I said annoyedly, "Where are my pajamas?" I asked, turning around. I found her undressed as well, and couldn't help but draw in a shaky breath at seeing her. Her lanky white limps and slim waist contrasted with her curvy figure, only exaggerated as she reached up to tied back her hair.
"What do you mean?" She asked innocently, "Arn't you wearing them?" A smirk on her lips.
"You can't expect me to sleep in this," I replied, but seeing she looked serious enough I added, "I'll get cold."
"Rauzires never get cold, and you know it," She replied, letting her arms fall to her sides. "Would it make my little capture feel better if I did the same?" She asked, slipping her hand behind her back and unclipping her bra, letting it fall to the floor before her. I could feel the blood rush through me like a raging river, my face red. I let mine fall to the floor as well, watching with my breath caught in my throat as she approached, her hips swinging back and forth with her steps. Why did she have to be so sexy?
She pressed her cold body against mine, connecting our lips in a kiss and grabbing my wrists to pin them behind me. "Don't you want to be a little more honest with yourself?" She whispered, grazing my ear with her teeth, and hiking up her leg between mine, so it grinded into me as she spoke. She deepened the kiss, tongue slipped dominantly into my mouth, parting my lips as she pressed against me, evicting an involuntary moan.
"I thought your society was one of those marriage based ones?" I questioned as she pulled back, before tilting her head to kiss my neck.
"Fuck that," She replied, muffled slightly as she sucked a hicky into the base of my neck, her teeth grazing the sensitive skin. "I'de rather ravish you." She spoke horsy, sucking into my skin with her plump lips, making me tilt my head back in pleasure. She grinded her thigh into me, my back arched as her cold breath rushed upon my sensitive skin, another moan escaping from my lips. I felt her release my wrists and let her arms fall to my waist, their cold skin embracing my waist, a kind contrast to my own burning skin. Her hands slipped lower though, first to my lower back, and then they grasped my hips, slipping back to knead my butt harshly. "Arn't you going to be honest about what you want?" She asked, pressing into me again so my words were cut off my a moan.
"When you," I gasped out, "Do the same." I replied.
"Stubborn little thing, aren't you," She replied, but I could tell she was feeling it too, her voice shaky and her cheeks flushed, and her cold hands only served to exhilarate me more. I slipped away from her and back onto the floor, out of her grasp. At first she looked angered but as I beckoned her onward toward the bed she contented herself with following, only to slip on top of me once again as I lied down. She trailed her cold finger tips down my stomach and began tracing patterns into my thighs, making me whimper in anticipation. "I could dance around you all day and never touch you, if you're not willing to tell me about what you want." She said, settling back into a kiss before I could answer.
"We both know you wouldn't though," I replied, slipping my hand onto her back and pulling her forward slightly, feeling her slender form in my hands. "I know you want me just as bad as I want you." I whispered, trying to keep my voice steady and uninterrupted as I felt her fingers edge closer to my panties.
"I wish you were wrong," She replied, slipping her fingers under the band of my underwear now, and taking her other hand up to knead my breast, twirling the nipple between her thumb and first finger. I felt my eyes flush closed in pleasure, if she kept this up I was hardly going to last when she did touch me. "What's it matter though? I can sit here all night and admire you, but that doesn't mean I'll give in."
"It matters," I replied, slipping my hand up her back and taking her breast in my hand, kneading it harshly, while I slipped my other hand down to her hips and groped her butt, "When I do this." I felt her breath shake, coming out in a whimpery gasp, and then a soft moan as her face contorted in pleasure. But in a moment she was back as she always was, her fingers drilling into my thigh impatiently.
"But does it matter enough?" She asked, her mismatched eyes sparkling in lust. I felt myself breaking under her touch, and when she moved downward to suck another bruise into my neck I couldn't stop myself anymore.
"I want," I began, my voice shaking with pleasure, "You to touch me." I let the words slip out, squirming underneath her as I moaned.
"Touch you where," She asked, playing innocent, and an idea slipped itself into my head.
"Touch me where you want to touch me most," I moaned out, watching as her eyes dilated, their pupils now visible through the colored frames. She smirked at me, before falling back to my neck, and taking it between her teeth in a soft bite.
"As you wish," She replied, slipping her hand into my panties. I arched my back as she pressed into me, running her fingers through my folds until she reached the top and lingered, teasing my clit with a couple quick strokes, making me moan. "I see someone likes to writhe underneath people, doesn't she?" Her voice was smooth and glossy like her movements, as she slipped back up and down my pussy, wetting her fingers before repeating her movements. "Don't you want to answer me?" She asked, and I managed to pry my eyes open to see her smirk, her eyes glistening with lust as she reached down and flicked my nippled, taking my breast in her hand and rolling it harshly.
"Yes, master," I stammered out in-between moans, watching her eyes dilate at my voice. She lowered herself and began sucking on my vacant nipple as I spoke, twirling her tongue around it. Her fingers slid down and began to slide me open, pressing into me, her middle finger darting in and out, pressing against the walls of my vagina. She drew back and added another finger, continuing, and I moaned at the slight stretch. Her thumb massaged my clit as she fingered me open, her skillful hands sending shivers down my spine, building me to my climax. "Fuck," I swore, my eyes jammed shut, "I'm," I began, but she cut me off.
"Gonna cum already?" She asked, straightening up and muting me with a sloppy kiss, "Cum for me," She whispered softly, her hands snapping upward and pressing into me. I let out a loud moan and felt the world go dark, lost in the rush of pleasure. My toes curled and my back arch, stressed to my greatest as she pulled away, straddling my hips and leaning down to kiss me. I opened my eyes as she pulled back, staring up at her. Her round breasts and hard nipples, her flat tapered stomach and wide hips, coated only by her lacy pair of red underwear. Damn was she gorgeous. "I didn't even get your panties off," She remarked, licking her fingers sexily.
"Well, you didn't try very hard to," I retorted, sitting up beneath her. I took her lower back in my hands, slipping them into her panties and kneading, her face contorted with pleasure, but she stayed still and silent, and pushed my hands away. "Don't you want a turn?" I asked, contenting myself with tracing circles into her thighs instead. I could feel the wetness on her underwear and her nipples were doing her no favors of hiding it, it was obvious she was feeling it too.
"It's almost morning Sweetie, you'd just fall asleep halfway. We should go to bed." She replied, crawling off me and under the covers before patting the sheets beside her. I looked outside but the curtains were strangely closed, even though I was sure they were open when I entered and I had never seen them closed before. I turned to the clock but not knowing what the exact time for sunrise was, I contented myself with trusting Illy, and crawled under the covers after her, letting her slip her arms around my waist, and pull me closer.
"Make it up to you another time?" I asked, turning so I could see her face. She looked slightly surprised by my proposition, but smiled.
"Sure." She replied. It must have been morning because I feel asleep quickly, though it was not very deep sleep at first.