Crown of Destiny

“You speak from experience, I assume,” Kolgrim teased her.

Marzina laughed. “My first lover was a friend of my uncle Cirillo. He was most charming and gentle. I thoroughly enjoyed his company for some months, but then I grew curious and tried my first mortal.”

“What a naughty girl you are, Marzina,” Kolgrim said, looking directly at Lara.

“I’m a faerie, Kolgrim. And faeries are naughty,” Marzina replied pertly.

“You are only half-faerie, sister. The other half of you is Darklander, and Darklanders are naughty, too,” Kolgrim told her.

A small shadow passed over Marzina’s pretty face. “I had not considered that bit of my heritage,” she said.

“Perhaps you should,” he murmured low.

“Perhaps you should cease tormenting your sister,” Lara said in an even voice, and put an arm about Marzina. “Your promise I see is worthless, Kolgrim.”

He laughed mockingly at her. “I did not have your good example growing up, mother dear,” he taunted her. “Perhaps if I had I would be a different man.”

Now it was Lara who laughed. “Nay, you would be as you are, Kolgrim. Your father’s son. But Marzina is my daughter first.” Her arm tightened about the girl.

“What are you two quarreling about?” Marzina wanted to know. “Oh, you smile and you laugh, but I know you are squabbling.”

“Our mother wishes to control your fate,” Kolgrim quickly said, knowing that Lara was overprotective of her daughter, and that Marzina sometimes resented it.

“Nay,” Lara responded before Marzina might speak. “I want you to control your fate, but your brother seems to believe he can speak for you, and I object to that. You are perfectly capable of managing your own life, Marzina, although I will admit to being surprised by it,” Lara concluded, almost laughing aloud at the surprised look on Kolgrim’s face that she had so neatly and swiftly turned the tables on him.

The outrage Marzina had been prepared to aim at her mother she now directed toward Kolgrim. “How dare you presume to speak for me?” she demanded of him.

“I only thought…” Kolgrim began.

“Do not think for me, either,” Marzina said icily. “Really! What is it with the male of any species that they believe themselves superior to the female? I should leave you right now, but that I am a woman of my word, and have promised to be a witness for you, Kolgrim. I will not embarrass you before these mortals, though you deserve it.”

“If you are wise, you will say nothing further,” Prince Kaliq murmured so that only Kolgrim could hear him.

Kolgrim fell silent. About them the wedding guests continued drinking and watching the entertainment. When the defloration ceremony was completed they would simply leave Grugyn Ahasferus’s house, the wedding day and its celebration officially over. But until then, they waited, drinking, watching, talking. Lady Camilla and her daughter-in-law returned to the hall, going directly to Kolgrim.

“Your virgin bride awaits you, my lord,” Lady Camilla said. Then, “The witnesses will follow me to the observation chamber.” She turned and they arose and Lady Camilla led them to the far end of one of the house’s wings, ushering them into a small chamber. Two tiers of seats faced a curtained wall. Lady Camilla drew the curtain back to reveal a transparent glass that gave a full view of the room on the other side. “You will hear what happens as well as see,” she told them, “although they can neither hear nor see you. As you know, virgin brides are a rarity in Hetar, but we are not uncivilized. The couple will have the illusion of privacy. After the bride is deflowered a servant will collect the proof of her perfection and bring it to you.” She looked directly at the witnesses. “My lady Lara, may I ask you to bring the evidence back to the dining hall yourself. Your history with Hetar makes you, and I mean no offense to others here, the most trustworthy of the witnesses.”

“I am honored,” Lara replied, nodding respectfully to Lady Camilla. She had no quarrel with Hetar any longer, and there was no harm in being civil.

“Thank you,” Lady Camilla said. “Now I must bring the bridegroom into the Nuptial chamber.” She hurried from the little room. The witnesses seated themselves.

“Given this display,” Dominus Cadarn said, “the Ahasferus family cannot object to our traditional Terahn wedding ceremony.”

“What’s so different about it?” Palben asked, curious.

“The betrothed couple are married before their guests at dawn as the sun rises, naked,” Cadarn answered his cousin. “Once they are pledged they are clothed in wedding garments, but naked shows they are free of all impediment. It’s a very ancient tradition, and Vaclar’s wedding will be presided over by the High Priest from the Temple of the Great Creator. But Yamka will at least have privacy on her wedding night.”

“Most brides do, except those who so childishly clutch their virginities to themselves,” Palben answered. “But if they insist they are pure they must prove it before witnesses. It brings honor to their family that they have made such a sacrifice as denying themselves pleasures while other girls their age enjoyed themselves.” Then he leaned forward in his seat. “Oh, look! The facilitators have entered the Nuptial chamber.”

“Facilitators?” Prince Vaclar said.

“The defloration is done as quickly as possible,” Palben said. “The couple does not wish any passion they might share to be viewed. The object is to remove Nyura’s virginity so the bridal couple may enjoy pleasures together. But Kolgrim can hardly fling himself upon his bride and violate her rudely. There are three facilitators at such a ceremony. Two are male sex slaves. It is their task to prepare the bride, to see that her juices flow so that her bridegroom may have an easier passage. The third facilitator is a Pleasure Woman. It is her chore to make certain that Kolgrim’s cock is firm and upstanding so he may perform his duty swiftly and with dispatch. Once that is done the couple is escorted to a private chamber for the night,” Palben explained.

Marzina shuddered delicately. “I don’t care what you say,” she remarked. “The whole thing is simply barbaric.”

“I am inclined to agree,” Prince Vaclar said, and Dominus Cadarn nodded.

“Nonetheless, it is our custom in Hetar, even as naked bridal couples are yours in Terah,” Palben responded tartly. How dare these two foreigners criticize Hetar? Hetar was the more civilized world, and always had been. What was Terah but fjords and farmlands. A place of simple artisans and craftsmen. They had nothing that Hetar had. They might not be savages, but they were certainly not urbane.

“My goodness, those two sex slaves are well hung,” Marzina noted. “Perhaps I shall take advantage of their services afterward. Who owns them, I wonder?”

“They come from the Pleasure Mistress Helena’s house,” Palben told her. “They are quite well-known for their expertise. When we are finished here I will arrange it for you, my lady Marzina.”

“Actually I am your great-aunt,” she told him mischievously knowing how the presence of magic upset him. “I thank you for your aid. It shall make this day a perfect one, nephew.”

Palben flushed at the word nephew. She was young and beautiful. Hardly a creature one would think of as a great-aunt. He had actually been considering the possibility of seducing her. But she was not a child, after all. She had been his grandmother’s sister. It was just too disturbing to even consider.

12

“IT’S BEGINNING,” PRINCE KALIQ SAID, BREAKING into the Lord High Ruler’s thoughts, and freeing him from his distress.

The witnesses turned toward the viewing window. The bride, naked now, was laid upon the large bed that was covered with white silk and scattered with several plump pillows. Her slender, delicate arms were spread and bound with blue silk cords to the narrow bedposts above her head.

“Why has the girl been bound?” Lara inquired. “What is to come is no surprise to her. Why is it necessary to restrain her.”

“The defloration needs to be done in relatively short order,” Palben replied. “By restraining her, she is