Chapter 14

Katrina scribbled some more notes on the clipboard that she was carrying. She had just seen another Areserican that had chicken pox. She didn't understand why the ailment was spreading so quickly. On Earth it had a two-week incubation period, but here it was merely hours after a person had contact with an infected person before they began to show the symptoms of it. Already there were twenty-eight patients in this clinic alone being treated for it.

The healers were not immune to it either. Already half of the healing staff were now patients. For the adult males, it seemed to strike them harder than it did the females. Of course the females got the poxes and had the severe itching; but the men seem to be struck more violently with fever, chills and fatigue in addition to the other symptoms.

"Your Highness!" A young medic hurried up to her. She smiled absently as she finished her notes.

"What is it?" she asked she placed the pen on the clipboard.

"It's Healer Arianna! She is in Healer Ivan's room. They need you."

Kat ran out of the room. She found her 'soon-to-be' mother in law sitting on an examining table. Ivan was just finishing the exam.

"What's wrong?" Kat demanded.

"I told that young medic it would do nothing other than worry you. Healer Ivan just examined me. It is a little late in life for me to be experiencing this so I wanted to have Ivan look at me." Arianna explained as Ivan turned and left the room.

"It's not the chicken pox?"

"No, child. It is something far worse." Arianna said with a sigh.

"What could be worse than that!"

"The mezclar," she finally whispered.

"I've heard Charlie and others talk of this. What is it?"

"It is a mating ceremony that occurs between chosens. Normally, it occurs only between royalty. No one is sure quite why it happens. It just does. Usually it occurs at your age. Before now it has never been documented in some one of my age. Especially in a healer that has already been married and bore children." Arianna turned and looked at Kat. A deep flush was evident on her face.

"Then who is the lucky man? Or does it preclude a man? Is it similar to when an animal goes into heat?" Kat asked rapidly, her gaze curious and her active mind whirling.

"I should let my son answer these questions ... but!" Arianna said with a devilish look in her eyes.

"But?"

"I'm not going to. It's time that we sit down and have "the talk"."

"Now you sound like a mother preparing to explain sex to her teenaged daughter." Kat teased.

"It has everything to do with sex with your chosen, Kat." Arianna replied as she slipped off the examining gown and reached for her healer's robes.

Kat flushed as she thought of having sex with Charlie. Ever since they had masturbated in front of each other, she had sex on the brain. True enough she wasn't a virgin. But her pitiful one experience had not left her with any desire to try the intimate act again. That is until she had found Charlie. Now all she wanted to do was burn up the sheets with her sexy chosen.

"So explain it to me. I doubt I'll ever need the knowledge personally but since my chosen is the King, I fear I may need it in the future."

"Ah ... who told you that?" Arianna asked softly, pausing as she slipped her healer's robes over her head.

"Told me what?"

"That you wouldn't go through the mezclar" she asked as her head popped out of the material and the robes fell into place. She wrapped the silk belt around her trim waist and tied it in the intricate knot that indicated her status as a High Healer.

"Well, if it only affects royalty then..." she trailed off.

"It only requires that one of the couple has royal blood."

"But Charlie told me that he had married royalty; and that there was no royal blood in his veins. So how could this mezclar happen between us."

"Are you having problems sleeping at night? Are you being plagued by erotic dreams?"

"Ah ... well ... I..." Kat mumbled her face heating.

"I am not trying to embarrass you, Katrina. But I see the signs there. I have seen other couples go through the mezclar. You are exhibiting all the classic signs of it. One minute being short-tempered with Charlie and then a few minutes later - lovey-dovey. You seek each other out even when you are fighting. It is all part of the strengthening of the ritual. Plus the full ceremony of the final ritual occurs with the arrival of the full moon."

"So what happens with this ritual, other than extreme horniness with the arrival of the full moon?"

"In your case, after the wedding where you are bound to Charlie, both of you will be secluded for a week."

"A week?" she asked hoarsely.

"Yes. And you will continued to be bound until another royal severs the bonds."

"Bonds? I thought you were speaking metaphorically. They are actually going to tie us together?" she squeaked.

"Yes. The clergymen will bless a length of silk. Well in this case, I do believe that Charlie has asked if he could substitute the fabric."

"To what?" Kat asked curiously.

"Some fabric from your world. He wants it to be symbolic of joining our world with yours. Anyway, after the clergyman blesses it, he will tie it around your wrists. Actually you will join hands and he will weave it around your wrists."

"So before we are "secluded" does this royal cut the bonds?"

"Ah, no. The bonds stay in place until the seclusion ends."

"What! You are telling me that I will be tethered to him for the entire week!" she protested.

"Yes. It's tradition, Kat. Most of the brides do not find it a hardship to be bound to their chosen. In fact, they relish it and hate for it to end." She added with a smile.

"Not this bride. I'm from Earth, Arianna. We are used to being individuals. Yes we marry but we still lead separate lives. Both husband and wife usually have separate jobs and merely share a common domicile. But not always as there are plenty of couples who have long distance relationships and they must live apart."

"Oh my God!" Arianna said aghast at the thought.

"What?"

"You can't expect that your relationship with Charlie will be like this!" she protested. "Well..."

"Then you are in for a rude awakening," Charlie said from the door. He walked in and leaned down giving his mother a kiss. Then he turned to Kat and lifted her fingers to his mouth. Pressing a kiss on the ends of her fingers, he told his mother that he was going to steal Kat for an hour or so.

"What! I have a million things I need to do at the clinic today!" Kat protested as he gently dragged her out of the examining room. Arianna couldn't help but chuckle. Ah, to be that young again.

Philip wiped the sweat off his brow as he tried to sooth the Princess. The labor had already lasted through the night. The midday sun was beating down on the exhausted princess and her concerned husband.

"Relax, princess. Your babies are not quite ready to come into the world yet. You need to relax. Let your body decide when it's time."

"She's in pain!" Rand said angrily as he ran a hand over his wife's sweat damped hair.

"If she would relax, she wouldn't be," he said as he focused on the prince's worried face. "Gracie, please. I wouldn't hurt your babies. But you're fighting the contractions."

" I can't seem to stop," Gracie sobbed as she felt the bands of pain wrap around her again.

As soon as the contraction faded, Philip raked his hand through his hair. An idea tugged at him.

"Okay, Gracie. I want you to try this. What relaxes you the most when you are feeling like this?"

"My husband." she said after a moment.

"Okay, what does he do?"

"He ... well, he's just..." she said as she tried to place her finger on it.

"Let's try this from another angle. What was the most stressful moment of your life?"

"My wedding night?"

"And what did Rand do to help relax you?" When Gracie blushed, he shook his head. "I believe that's how you got in this condition. That won't work."

"What about your Wizardry Test?" Rand suggested.

"Yeah, I guess that would qualify." she admitted. Rand smiled for a moment before he gathered his wife closer.

"Hang on," he told Philip.

Philip tensed as he felt the wind pick up. Now was not the time to have an ash storm! At first he didn't notice that the wind was only around them. But he did notice a particular scent to the wind. The scent was nothing that he had ever smelled before in the Areseric dessert. He glanced around and then noticed that there was no ash storm. The scent seemed to be radiating from the Prince.

"What are you doing?" he asked the prince.

"Relaxing my wife." Rand said softly as he wrapped his arms more snugly around his wife. She was now lying back against him and supported between his splayed legs.

Philip noticed that Gracie was indeed more relaxed. He smiled reassuringly as a calm came over the couple. Now, this was more like it. He knew that this would help the imminent delivery.

Kat scowled up at Charlie as he dragged her into his solar. She jerked her hand from his. Placing her hands on her hips, she stared at him.

"I was needed at the clinic Charlie." she scolded him.

"I need you." he said huskily.

"What?" she said in disbelief as desire flared to life in her belly.

"You heard me. Being chosens is no easier on me than it is you. You've been gone all day. I haven't seen you since yesterday afternoon." She stared at him as he pouted. Who would have thought that he, a grown man, would pout?

"Oh come on, Charlie. Grow up. You are not a little boy that needs to pout to get your way." she taunted.

"Little boy?" he growled. "I'll show you little boy." He grabbed her around the waist and heaved her over his broad shoulder; then carried her towards the plush pillows that they had laid on the day before.

"Put me down!" she yelled as she slapped at his back.

"Quit that!" he growled as he swatted her robe-covered ass. At that moment, she was wondering if it had been a wise decision to wear the healer's robes today. Her question was answered a moment later when she felt his hand slide under her robes.

"Don't you dare." she said between gritted teeth. Leaning back on her braced arms, she tried to wiggle away from his hold.

"Hmmm," he murmured as his hand encountered her nylon panties. "You had to wear these panties," he growled as he dumped her onto the nearest pillow. He yanked her robes up to her knees before covering her with his hard body. He pinned her hands above her head as he leaned over her.