Chapter 5: The Festival

In the spring of each year there was a festival during which single women made offerings for a good marriage and married women gave offerings in thanks for their husbands. The Queen was expected to lead the festivities and for some weeks she and her handmaidens had been busy with planning and preparations.

The festivities were ancient and in previous generations the Queen would have led all the King's wives in procession to the ceremonies. But in the years since their marriage the King had stubbornly refused to take any additional wives and she felt a heavy responsibility to see that the people were compensated for not seeing the customary procession of twenty or more royal wives. She ordered new livery for the palace eunuchs, new drapery and cushions for the ceremonial chairs and beautiful clothes for her women.

She had petitioned the King to provide feasts in the villages for those who have little to celebrate with. Unable to deny her anything she asked - though she asked little of him - he had provided generously for his people.

The afternoon before the festival, she telephoned the King. "Do you remember that from sunset tonight I will fast and not come to your bed until sunset tomorrow?"

"I have remembered. I will be very lonely tonight without my favourite little wife. Will you come to me now? I will order food and we can comfort each other before your fast."

"I would like that very much. I shall come through the garden in about ten minutes."

"No," he stopped her. "Wait there." And the phone went dead.

Ten minutes later there was the familiar sound of an escort of eunuchs coming towards her door. The familiar servant who announced the King's command looked as astonished as she did. She had gone to his bed many times during the day, but it was unheard of for this formal command to be sent except in the evening. She responded in the prescribed way and summoned her ladies to escort her along the Queen's Path.

The King was a picture of mischief when she arrived at her destination. "I hope you didn't mind my doing that," he laughed. "I can't have the court thinking I can do without you for a whole day, or bringing me more pictures of princesses to marry. Come through and eat."

She was always touched by his public demonstrations of his love for her and this gesture pleased her greatly. They ate at a small table in his sitting room. He fed her choice morsels, telling her she must build her strength for the fast. He asked her about the events of the festival and she enjoyed telling him all the small ways in which she would demonstrate her thankfulness for her husband as the day progressed. As his questioning continued, he drew her across to a deeply cushioned sofa.

"And where does this procession end?" he asked, knowing very well all the details of the festival.

"At the temple of the lingam, Majesty."

As he reached forwards to caress her breasts through her thin clothing, he asked, "And what is the nature of the devotions you will perform there?"

"I shall make offerings at the shrine, Lord."

Leaning forward, he nuzzled into her neck and breathed another question. "And what will be in your prayers at the shrine?"

The Queen's eyes were closed and her head had fallen backwards at the King's caress. In a dream she gave her reply.

"I will give thanks that I was given to a good husband... and that he is manly and potent. I will give thanks for the phallus before which I make my devotions, which is a symbol of the manhood of the King my husband."

Teasing her further, he asked, "And why do you give thanks for the manhood of the King?"

Eyes still closed and seemingly lost in a dream, she replied without hesitation, "For the pleasure it gives to the one I love. For the joy of worshipping it with my lips and tongue, and for the bliss that I experience when it penetrates deep inside me."

The King sat still, gazing at the face of his wife. He placed a very gentle kiss on her lips, then lifted her from the sofa and carried her through to his enormous bed.

"When you give thanks tomorrow, you should be able to feel the memory of that phallus inside you."

He pulled up the hem of her thin sari, running his hand along the inside of her thigh as he kissed her mouth. As his hand came into contact with her newly shaven mound, he let a moan of pleasure escape into the kiss. She had done this for his pleasure and he was indeed pleased. He pulled the skirt up to her waist and moved quickly between her legs so he could take a long look at her nakedness. Finally, he used a single finger to trace all the lines which were usually covered with hair. He began on the mound, feeling the soft and smooth skin. He traced down the outside of her lips, all the way to her tight, naked anus. He paused here, letting the weight of his finger press a little as he continued to savour the sight of her. He then ran his finger up the opposite side and back to the soft cushion of her mound. Then round once more, this time inside the outer lips.

Delicious sensations overcame the Queen now. She loved his touch on her shaved lips and she savoured the anticipation of the other ways in which he would soon touch her. He took a long time over his circuit, once again pausing at the southern end to give a pleasuring press. At the top once more, the third circuit was around the inner lips, sliding in the wetness of his wife's desire, he drew the circle of her temple gate. At the bottom of the circle, he allowed his finger to rest along the folds for a second before continuing on its way. At the end of this tour, the King's finger came to rest on the clitoris of the Queen, who seemed to have stopped breathing. He let the tip of his finger move a little, pulsing against her so gently at first that she began to moan, torn between an urgent need for more stimulation and her wish to prolong this wonderful moment for as long as she could.

The King was in no hurry. He spent a long time applying slow strokes, sending his wife into a trance of pleasure. He held back as long as he could before giving himself the pleasure of tasting this soft hairlessness. At last, he bent forwards and let his tongue repeat the long slow progress his finger had recently taken. The Queen abandoned herself totally to the heat and light which filled her, happy to accept this gift from the one who owned her.

On the last circuit, the hungry tongue of the King plunged deeply between the folds of the gateway, circling the interior walls of the temple, then thrusting in and out of the sensitive folds of the Queen, who by now was emitting little gasps. He intensified the attentions of his tongue to the centre of his wife's pleasure and enjoyed hearing her call his name. No-one but she called him by his name - and only here in their bed. And now it excited him that she called it out loud, so that anyone in the next room would surely have heard.

He took her to the edge of ecstasy, then stopped, replacing his tongue with her own hand, before raising himself up to kneel astride her. She absently let her finger circle her button, as he brought his erect manhood to her lips.

"So that you will carry the memory of me on your lips and tongue..."

She let her lips fall apart very slightly, then moistened them with her tongue. Still touching herself, she looked directly into his eyes, inviting him to enter her mouth. He leaned forwards and let the head of his manhood rest on her lips. Her tongue brushed it very gently for a second then withdrew. With a sigh, he pushed his hips forwards and penetrated her mouth. Her lips held him tightly and her tongue lapped and teased him. He made three or four small thrusts into her and she sucked him deep into her throat. He pulled back a little and she raised the hand which was not busy to hold his shaft, while she played her tongue around and under the rim, licking the wetness from him. She squeezed and worked him as she sucked him deep into her. He thrust several more times into her, deeper now. Then he gently pulled out of her mouth and settled back on his heels.

"Not yet, my love. You need to feel me inside your body and carry the wetness of my love with you as you complete the rituals. Turn over for me."

She turned over without hesitation and allowed him to pull her up onto her knees. With one hand on her hip, he held his manhood and with it made another circuit of her nakedness, feeling the soft wetness of her on the tip of him. Then he placed himself at the temple entrance and, taking hold of her other hip, he powered home into her, forcing her body forwards with every thrust. He was careful not to lose control, powering into her, then letting the explosion subside - again and again he held back the tide. Once again, he pulled away and sat back on his heels.

"Turn over again, my love."

Once again, she complied without hesitation, ready to accept and enjoy every touch of her Lord. He parted her legs and fingered her gently, then once more rubbed his manhood firmly on her button until she was ready to explode. He guided his shaft down to the soaking wetness of her lips and she held her breath for his return into her. But he continued downwards and she gasped as she understood his intention. She pressed down on her pelvis in consent and submission, relaxing her muscles to take him inside her. Once he was fully in her, he began to move very carefully at first. She matched his movements, accepting the stretching with calm pleasure. He came only rarely into this place. It was for them a symbol of the most intense intimacy. It was the giving of a forbidden gift and at this moment, there were no Kings and Queens - only a man and a woman, locked in a sacrament of devotion.

Within a few seconds, they lost control of their actions and all reticence was dissolved. He pushed firmly into her and she thrust forward her hips to take him deeper. His body pounded against her, pulsing on her button so that as he emptied himself with a loud roar, she erupted against him, calling out his name over and over again.

They wept gently in each other's arms, heaving deep sighs. It was coming close to sunset and the Queen had to be in the harem for the beginning of the fast. He helped her to get up and dress, still very unsteady, then summoned her escort to take her back to her own rooms. As she entered the harem, the women of the palace were already gathering in the courtyard. In a small palace close by lived the eight surviving wives of the late King. They too were present, with all the women of their separate household. They watched as the Queen passed through, whispering amongst themselves about the absence of junior wives, whilst privately envying the King's undivided devotion to her.

As she arrived in her sitting room, a eunuch appeared at the French windows. He gave her a box, which he said was from the King. Inside she found a familiar pair of silver balls and a note from the King. It read, "In case the sensation should fade too quickly, let these remind you of my presence throughout the day."

The Queen could feel her anus twitch and her clitoris throb. She felt certain the sensation of him would not fade in a hurry. But she knew that it would excite him to think of her being stimulated constantly as she moved through the rituals, so she withdrew to her bathroom and inserted the balls in her swollen temple. It took only a short time for her handmaidens to dress her for the beginning of the festival and she was soon ready to join the other ladies in the courtyard. As she took her place in the procession and began to walk along the first stage of the Queen's Path, she felt electric charges throughout her body. Aside from any rituals, the King had ensured that she would spend the day acutely conscious of his manliness and potency.