§
From not long after my arrival on Huade, my morals have largely been Tiana’s. Robert’s feelings didn’t vanish as I assimilated Tiana’s values, but Tiana’s reinforced the Catholic values that Jennifer Stewart worked so hard to instill in her kids.
Perhaps her effort was hypocritical, considering her failure to marry either Robert’s father or either of his sister’s fathers, but she had a strong wish that we never repeat her mistakes, so I can’t fault her. But I couldn’t miss noticing the irony that I was about to become pregnant out of wedlock, just like Mom.
I could console myself that my current status was not entirely unwed. My betrothed and I were already bound by a pledge, after all. But remembering my Earthly mother and her own messed up history at this moment wasn’t helpful at all. It forced me to confront the fact that our plans for tonight had a specific goal.
My pregnancy.
Somehow, this fact had only been hypothetical until now. It’s not like I had been blithely making these plans without really thinking about it. Frankly, I had been all sorts of anxious over becoming a parent. But as for becoming pregnant, well… I had sort of been willfully nearsighted about that. But it was something we really were about to do, wasn’t it?
The problem with nearsightedness is, things become clear anyway, once they come closer.
But I couldn’t dodge the issue. The two souls in the amulet I was wearing were on the verge of being lost, and even the gods couldn’t offer me a better plan.
“Miss Genette, our guests will be staying in my suite tonight,” I informed my lady’s maid, while blushing deep red.
Mireia very nearly did a spit-take with the tea she was sipping. She may have sprayed out a few drops, but she managed to control it.
The wolfkin maid was also doing her best to control her reaction, but I don’t think I would have seen a scandalized expression if she had not. She had served on the domestic staff of a fairy, after all, and it seems she had spent a number of nights with her former mistress herself.
No, I suspect, had she allowed herself to show it, I would have seen a delighted look on her face.
As my amazed fiancé gaped at me and the deep-scarlet visage of Mireia stared across the low table at me, profoundly embarrassed at what I was saying in front of the help, I continued, “While His Royal Highness goes to change for bed, please secure some nice nightwear for Mireia.”
“What?” Mireia squeaked.
Ignoring her, Genette asked, “Does My Lady have any preferences?”
I didn’t appreciate her knocking it back into my half of the court like that, when I was already pushing myself just to make the request, but I bravely pressed forward.
“Did you and the others ever dress up for Mother?” I wondered. “What would you have suggested for Miss Mireia, had she been with you?”
Mireia’s eyes were just about golf-ball sized at this point.
“Of course, My Lady,” she said, dimpling. “For the Miss, something on the innocent but seductive side, I think.”
I nodded. “Please. And see to it she has a chance to wash.”
“At once, My Lady,” she stated, then told Mireia, “Miss, I have just the thing for you. Follow me to My Lady’s bedroom.”
She turned to the other maids in the room and added, “As Her Ladyship has already bathed, we’ll skip that and the massage tonight. Bring her straight to her dressing room.”
Genette seemed more than just a bit eager. I’m certain it was not my imagination.
Rod was still gobsmacked, so I made quick dismissing gestures at him. “Go! Go! Come back quickly!”
“Ti, what…”
“Go, Rod!” I urged, putting as much insistence as I could into my voice.
This is embarrassing as hell already, without you making it worse by delaying!
§
A little over a half-hour later, Mireia, wrapped in a yukata, was waiting nervously, staring at a cup of tea while seated at the little side table table in my bedroom. I was relaxing in my easy chair with a book on Dorian history. Or pretending to relax.
Genette opened the door to allow Rod in, wearing a yukata over his nightshirt. Mireia immediately clambered to her feet and bowed her head, but I declined to do so. I just nodded to him.
“Good Evening again, Your Highness,” I greeted him with a smile.
“My Lady, shall the others and I retire for the evening?” Genette wondered from the door.
“Please do so,” I told her. She curtseyed, with the maids that I could see through the door following suit, and quickly left.
After the door shut, both of my guests looked immediately at me.
Rod remained standing as he crossed his arms. “What exactly are you planning, with all three of us here?”
“Hm,” I pondered, tapping my chin with my index finger. “I wonder where would be a good place to start?”
I was doing my best to seem confident and in charge. This, despite the fact that I was actually nervous as hell.
He signed. “First, Mir and I should go somewhere and take care of matters, right? That part is just the two of us, so why are we here?”
“No, you already had your chance, Rod,” I replied. “You failed, so I’m removing that option from the list of choices.”
“Huh?” Mireia blurted. “But we have to… I mean…”
I sucked in a deep breath, expanding my vessel so I could get some suggestions. I mean, I was as reticent to start as these other two, after all. Sirth had already convinced me what I should do, but implementation was still a challenge, you know?
She had a definite opinion for me now, too.
– You need to do this one yourself, Princess. It would be unfair and wrong to your lovers if one of us were driving when they think it’s you.
So if they knew it was one of my other incarnations handling my body, it would be okay? Even as I thought that, I decided, yes, that’s probably right.
Fan Li had the same answer, but a better way to explain it, relevant to this moment.
– You, with your expanded vessel entirely occupied by your own mind, are much more capable than you are giving yourself credit for. You’re becoming too reliant on turning to us, Your Highness. Put us to sleep and be yourself, using your full vessel.
A bit reluctantly, I let them go and expanded my own mind.
Probably because of the context, I discovered something immediately. Both my vampire and fairy sides become stronger as my mind grows. Well, that’s just another way of saying that my Elder side becomes stronger. And as my fairy and vampire characteristics grow, my confidence also gets a boost.
I can do this, I concluded, raising my chin slightly.
I shut the book and set it on the night stand between my easy chair and my four-poster bed, then slipped out of the chair and onto my feet. Placing my hands on my hips, I declared my position.
“I’m only offering two options now. The first option is that you, Rod, lead this lovely damsel over to my bed and take care of matters right now.”
“Right in front of you?” he demanded. “Are you serious?”
“Very,” I replied, tipping my head and putting on an innocent look. “No good?”
“It’s a bit much, Ti!”
I shrugged, then put my hand on my cheek. “Then that only leaves one option. Fine, I guess we’ll just have to do that.”
I crossed over to stand facing Mireia and stroked her arm.
“Mireia, this is your last chance to object. If you don’t want to be part of this…”
She shook her head. “I’ve already reached my peace with Rhea, My Lady. I’m going to help you.”
“Then trust me,” I told her. “Drop your technique and let yourself be my Servant for tonight.”
She slipped off the bracelet and set it on the table, then I felt the Servant bond become active.
Her voice was husky as she asked, “Will I be feeding you tonight?”
The only reason I had her activate the bond was to kill her nervousness, though. I shook my head, moving my hand from her arm to her cheek.
“No, we’re going to be making you ready for Rod, instead.”
“Rod?” she echoed, and I could almost see the word Who? in her eyes.
I moved in to give her a long kiss on the cheek, then told her, while nuzzling her ear with my nose, “You are never permitted to forget your loved ones, no matter how strongly the bond is affecting you. Are you in love with His Highness Roderick? I want you to answer honestly.”
She let out a long sigh, then admitted, “I am, My Lady. I love him very much.”
“Then you should make love to him,” I told her, lightly touching my lips to her cheek. “You should do it tonight.”
“But,” she hesitated, then whimpered, “But I want you, My Lady!”
“That’s good,” I told her. “Because his turn comes after mine.”
I closed my lips on hers, then parted from them and backed away slightly. As she watched, neither protesting nor helping, I undid the obi on her yukata, then slipped the garment off her shoulders. Because her arms were now hanging at her sides, it fell to the floor without resistance.
Underneath, she wore what I suspected was one of Mother’s creations, but it definitely fit the description I had given Genette. My lady’s maid had chosen a pinkish-white camisole, see-through below the bust, with pink trim and shoulder straps, nicely matching her hair. Matching panties (the very modern-looking string-tie type that courtesans liked) and grip-top thick-high stockings completed the ensemble. The ‘cups’ weren’t cups per se, just triangles of opaque silk draped over her breasts, short enough to leave underboob visible beneath the see-thru cloth. It was, as requested, simple, innocent, and sexy as hell.
My lessons from Aunt Elianora regarding this situation had been quite clear. When I’m in such a setting and I do not want to grow fangs and feed, I have only one course of action.
Vampire instincts are very strong in this regard. Failing to feed can be life-threatening, so our physiognomy doesn’t allow for the vampiric equivalent of ED. The fangs absolutely must grow, with the sole allowable exception being when intimacy is the goal. Only sexual arousal can block my vampiric instincts.
Right now, I was in an in-between state, and needed Mireia’s help to send me the right direction, so I quickly drew her over to the bed, climbing on and standing on my knees, then slipped out of my own yukata.
Being a bit on the young and inexperienced side, I had worried about delays at this step, during my first time. Although my maids had wanted to put one of Mother’s amazing creations on me, they were too complex to remove easily. I allowed only a quick cleaning and perfuming, plus a garter belt and stockings. Mireia’s eyes grew huge as my otherwise bare body appeared in all its glory.
Although it was profoundly embarrassing, it also worked well. As I pulled her into my arms and closed my lips over hers again, this time probing with my tongue, I could feel the right reactions happening inside me.
“Join me on the bed, Mir,” I breathed into her ear, then pulled her onto the mattress. We kissed again, while my hands slipped through the slit in her camisole to massage beneath. She soon reciprocated, playing with my bosom as I pushed the camisole up and exposed her pinkish tips beneath.
I slipped down for a short taste, suckling gently, then back up to kiss her again. We entwined our tongues for quite a while, probably because neither of us was particularly eager to go further with Rod right there and watching us.
It was fun, and intoxicating, but after a while I realized I was still in danger of slipping back into vampiric mode if I didn’t get on with it.
So, I purred into her ear, “There’s a bit of cloth in the way.”
Before she could figure out what I was saying and why, I slipped down to her hips and pulled both bows on her string panties loose.
“My Lady!” she protested, trying to grab for the garment I was stealing, but unable to stop the theft.
While she covered herself and pouted at me, I chided, “We have to make you ready for your lover, Mir.”
“But…”
“I guarantee he’s ready, after watching us playing like this,” I teased her, caressing her outer thigh while doing so. After giving her skin there a lick, I noted, “If not, he’ll be ready after he sees what’s next. I’m gonna make sure you aren’t even a little bit dry now.”
“You’re gonna what?” she squeaked.
Thanks to the Internet, Sirth’s merry sex life and a few other sources, I had a clear understanding of how to proceed. I moistened my lips, then got to work.
