Chapter 6

I think it's about time I start writing down my thoughts also. My life has changed so much in the last few days. Anori, Betni and Cayda are far more than I had imagined they would be. And the mother, I need to do something special for her. I read back through what she Betni and Cayda wrote and was pleased they showed such vivid memory for the events.

I had missed the undercurrent that Cayda caught on that second case, she saved me on that one. Father told me when I was very young that only a fool ignores the wisdom of the women in his life.

My toughts drifted back to what happened after I found the slave in bed the night that so much changed.

"I'm glad you enjoyed that. I'm here to teach you about women. I'll be here every night for a long time, would you like that?"

I don't know where I found the strength to answer, but I did, my voice sounding small even to myself, "yes." At least I didn't quavery with uncertainty.

I was already nearly undressed, I had just come from the shower after a hard session in the weight room. I had been growing taller lately and my personal trainer was intent on making sure I kept my build matching my height. I complained once, but Father said an untrained body leads straight to an untrained mind. I learned early if you complain nothing happens. Even for a prince, maybe especially for a prince. In time I had come to enjoy the physical activity as a welcome respite from the even more demanding mental training I had to cope with.

My main tutor, an old man named Terotito, took great pleasure in jumping from one subject to another seemingly at random. One minute we might be discussing what decisions led to the sound defeat of Malatake by the forces of Zytin at the Battle of Sentry Hill and the next he would suddenly ask me to calculate a cube root to seven decimal places. He claimed that it was to prepare me for the sudden crisis that any King faces. I still believe it was because he couldn't think in a straight line, instead taking a round-a-bout course at high speed. He must have been a good tutor though because he was also in charge of teaching Father when he was young and was even an assistant when Grandfather was my age. Father told me Terotito hadn't changed much over the years, that he'd always been that way.

One thing he hadn't taught me about was women. I had met his wife on a few occassions of course, a nice lady. Just as smart as her husband but much more focused. She was Headmistriss of the largest school in Praetia, the city surrounding the Palace. I had started to ask a few questions, questions he seemed uncomfortable answering in the days leading up to that night. He blushed and mumbled even trying to answer them.

The woman in my bed though, she didn't mumble at all. She did blush though, especially when I told her how pretty she was. I left my clothes in a pile on the floor and crawled into bed beside her. Her chest was right at my eye level, I reached out and squeezed her near breast.

I was young and too eager and I squeezed too hard, I admit it. I grabbed her like you might a wriggling fish, hard enough to make sure it doesn't get away. She yelped and jerked my hand away. I was about to get angry, after all I was the Prince and she was just a slave, a stranger in my own room. Who was she to not let me touch her the way I wanted?

I was distracted through by her leg rubbing the outside of my thigh, and her voice melted through my anger, "Master, a woman is delicate, easily broken, you must handle her with care and gentleness." She put my hand back to her breast and showed how much pressure was good.

Of course I learned later that she wasn't nearly as delicate as she was trying to make me think. But I also learned how just like soup it's better to start with too little salt, it is better to start a relationship with very little roughness and a lot of tenderness.

She let go and I continued playing with my new toy. I hate to say it but at first I saw her as nothing more than a collection of parts, all fun on their own but not much use put together. That's how I thought of her then, it took time for me to learn to see her as a person. I'm glad I did before the others came into my life.

Her nipples intrigued me, about the size of a pencil eraser with a little dimple in the tip.

My memory had replayed to the moment I was set to bend down and lick my first nipple when my thoughts were interrupted by a commotion in my sitting room. It was Mother and an escorting servant, it's nearly impossible for anyone in the royal family to go anywhere unescorted, even in the Palace proper.

She looked distraught and when finally found her voice she could hardly speak, "My son, you must come quickly. Your father... you must come."

"My son, you must come quickly. Your father... you must come."

"What's wrong, Mother?" I was having a hard time believing my father could be in trouble, he had been fine just hours earlier.

"No time, Son. You must hurry." my mother is not usually given to hysterics, so I slipped on a pair of shoes and followed her back toward my parent's suite.

Anori came with us, a long cloak thrown over her revealing outfit. The guard standing watch at their door let us through without saying anything, a worrisome sign. Usually the guards and others are all overthemselves with formal greetings. The doors leading to the bedroom were all standing open, the rooms seemed very full, far more people than I was used to in such a private space.

It had been years since I had been in my parents actual bedroom, the last time had been when I was ten or so. Father was laying on top of the bed, his jacket removed and his shirt cut open. A large bandage was taped to his chest. More bandages covered his face and neck. He appeared to be sleeping, his chest rising and falling in steady rhythm. One doctor was kneeling beside the bed, speaking softly. Another pulled Mother and I aside.