Chapter 3: The Anniversary

She could hardly believe that it was a whole year since she had been given in marriage to the King. It was a whole year since the day which she had feared for so long and which had turned out to be the happiest day in her life. She had not had to learn to love her husband, as might so easily have been the case. She had known as soon as he lifted the veil, that her heart was entirely his and she would be happy to be his wife and Queen.

The King had ordered a grand feast to celebrate the day and she knew very well by now that this meant ritual preparations and processions. Her handmaidens were excited as they prepared her clothes and ornaments, before the solemn rituals began. A note arrived from the King.

"Hello, my little wife," he greeted her. "I hope you are hungry. I have ordered all the things you like to eat for this feast."

Because the feast was to be attended by the whole court there would be ladies present, which meant that there would be two long tables, separated by a veil of sheer fabric which draped down the length of the room, stopping short of the royal table, at which the King and Queen would sit on the appropriate sides of the room. They alone were undivided by the curtain.

The note continued.

"Custom dictates that I must send for you to come to me tonight, but as always it is for you to decide if you stay or return to your own bed through the green gate. Wear green if you will return after the feast and some other colour if you will stay with me. I long to see you."

Crossing to the door of her bedroom she told Amilla, "Put away that green and silver sari and replace it with my gold marriage clothes."

Amilla smiled at her mistress's romantic notion and bustled off to carry out her orders.

Presently the messenger arrived with the King's summons, and the formal preparations began. Perhaps a dozen times now she had given herself up to this formal routine of washing and preparing, dressing and adornment. In the early days she would shake with nerves, but now her trembles were of sensual anticipation. Her women never failed to note her excitement with approval and it was always a topic for much discussion amongst them later.

Standing ready in her golden robes, looking outwardly as she had on her wedding day, she thought of all that she had experienced since then which had made her a different person to the girl she had been on that day. Here she stood, a woman, a Queen and the enthusiastic lover of her husband, the King. She trembled more as the feet of the eunuchs approached. After his formal announcement, the chief eunuch handed her a sealed box, telling her that it was a gift from the King and she should open it before obeying his command.

Retiring alone for a moment to her bedroom, she opened the box and found inside two silver balls, connected by a cord. There was a note which read, "My beloved, these balls are intended to give you pleasure. Slip them gently into the place where I come to worship you and know that their caress comes directly from me."

Puzzled and a little confused, she looked at them for a moment, then slowly realised what it was he was asking her to do. She took them into her private bathroom and locked the door. She raised one foot onto the side of the bath, which parted the folds of her robes, under which she wore nothing. She felt with her finger for the doorway of the temple. He had taught her the look and feel of herself, so that she was now used to touching herself without shame. Pressing her finger a little into herself, she found she was already quite wet with anticipation. Offering up the silver balls, she pressed home first one, then the other, leaving only a cord between her lips. As she put her foot back down to the floor, she could feel a slight pressure in her and was intrigued by what His Majesty intended.

Returning to her escort which awaited her, she looked for the chair which was always sent to carry her into his presence.

"Madam, the King commands me to tell you that he thought you might prefer to walk along the Queen's Path this evening, escorted by all the ladies of your party."

"I am the King's to command," she responded as always, wondering why the King had asked this of her. She had not walked far before she understood what was in his mind. As she walked, she could feel a subtle pressure inside her. The weight of the globes, moving against each other, was rubbing in a very gentle way on the temple walls. She became conscious of the motion of walking. She could feel her thighs and her lower lips rub against each other gently. Suddenly, something she had done all her life took on an exciting new complexity and sensuality.

Her eunuch escort walked ahead and behind the Queen and her ladies. As they reached the central courtyard, the lady guests joined them. She could feel that the spheres were stimulating her and that her juices were flowing, preparing her deliciously for her lord's arrival. The procession continued towards the banqueting hall and by the time she took her place on the dais, she could feel the wetness on the inside of her thighs. She sat down beside the King and stole a look at him.

He smiled at her broadly and whispered, "So, my own one, do you like my gift?"

"I am acutely aware of Your Majesty's kindness," she told him softly.

"Good," he said emphatically.

Once the meal was over, and it was time for the King and Queen to leave their guests, the King turned to her and asked if she would care to walk in the garden before they retired.

"That would give me a great deal of pleasure," she told him, watching his eyes flash.

He offered her his hand, then led her through the open windows into the elaborate formal gardens beyond. Taking the signal from the departure of the King and Queen, the guests began to disperse, some to their accommodation in the Palace and others to their carriages and cars.

Linking her arm in his, he led her around the garden, enjoying the cooler air and the scent of the flowers. At some distance from the palace now, he led her to the entrance of the Maze. Immediately they were within the Maze he increased the pace of the walk until they were almost running through the hedged paths. She could feel the spheres bounce within her, massaging her soft inner walls and arousing her once more to wetness.

Stopping abruptly, he drew her to him and kissed her long and hard, pressing her against the hedge. His hand found and squeezed her breast, then it fought through the folds of her skirt to find his finger's favourite home. He found the cord which rested between her lips and gently tugged on it, teasing her without displacing the balls from their warm home. He tugged and fingered her as he filled her mouth with his tongue. Drawing back with a sigh, he took her hand and set off once more at speed.

He laughed knowingly as she begged him to wait and have pity. But he drew her on until they reached the centre of the Maze and they collapsed, laughing, onto the garden seat in the central space.

He took her hand and placed it on the swelling in his groin. Knowing how to pleasure him, she freed his manhood, then bowed her head to enclose it in the warmth of her mouth. He caressed her back and stroked her hair as she slowly raised and lowered her head. He had taught her which parts of his manhood were the most sensitive and she had learnt how to lick and suck his head and shaft. She wrapped both hands around him and allowed them to work his length whilst her mouth gave pleasure to the swollen head.

Within a short time, his tension and the low moans he uttered told her that he was ready. She felt him try to withdraw from her, but she sank deep onto him, pumping and sucking until she felt him erupt deep into her. She lay in his lap, letting him savour his ecstasy, gently kissing him, feeling little shivers pass through him. She wiped them both with her wrap and rose to let him hold her in his arms for some time before they moved.

"Come now, my angel," he told her. "I must take you to our bed, where I can give you a reward for that favour."

They walked more gently out of the Maze, which he had known since he was a boy. Leading her across the garden towards the lights of the Palace, he watched her face, as if to detect signs of the continued stimulation of the spheres. As they reached the windows to the bed chamber, he could see in the light that her cheeks were flushed.

Drawing her towards the bed, he lost no time, pulling up her skirts until they were gathered around her waist, then hoisting her onto the bed so that she sat on the edge, overhanging it a little way. He knelt down and buried his head between her legs. He kissed and licked all round her wet cleft, from time to time tugging a little at the cord to tease inside her. Then he slid his finger in beside the spheres and circled them slowly, filling her and caressing her inner flesh, which was by now swollen with long stimulation.