Tsukiko lifted her head as a ray of bright sunshine landed on her face. With a yawn she looked beside her on the bed and saw nothing but a small note. With a hand numb from laying on it all night, she was able to grab the letter and read the handwriting, “I am sorry my dear. It was a long night and I had trouble sleeping and had an errand to take care of. Ask any of the staff and they’ll point you to me. You are always on my mind, even if I’m not here when you awaken. Love, your gorgeous Prince.”
With a chortle she rolled and sat up with her legs over the bed, before talking to the empty room, “Ah don’t expect ya to wait in bed till Ah wake up every day.”
Slipping her feet into a pair of pillowed slippers sitting beside the bed she walked into the adjoining room that separated Razor’s bedroom from his private bathroom.
Looking around the room she saw Razor’s plush purple robe hanging on a hook near the bathroom. It always looked like he had a hood on from behind, she laughed as she thought how close the coloring matched Razor’s dark purple hair. She ran her hand down the surface as she walked by and into the attached bathroom. The thing pretty much dwarfed her apartment, and it was just the bathroom. She shakes her head as she closes the door behind her
Stepping back into the room, she was now dressed in figure hugging blue jeans and a pastel pink top. With a last look around the suite of rooms she walked into the hallway and walked until she found a maid tidying up a fallen vase of flowers.
“Can I help you miss?” The turquoise haired maid asked, bowing her head slightly.
Tsukiko glanced down and saw the front of the maid’s dress revealing her ample cleavage. With a mental eyeroll she thought, ‘Damn Amazon’s and their gigantic funbags.’
“Yes, ya can,” She said, clearing her throat and bringing her eyes up to the orange eyes of the maid, “Ah, I left a note to ask any of you where I’d be able to find Razor.”
The maid’s eyes narrowed before snapping wide again and taking on a downcast look, “Today is Queensday. His Highness will be out at the royal cemetery most of the day.”
“The cemetery?’ Tsukiko asked before a dawning light shone in her eyes, “Oh.”
“It’s out behind the palace, fairly easy to find. I am almost done here if you need help locating it. I know how labyrinthine the palace grounds can be, even after being here for a few months.” The maid said with a grin, her orange painted lips spreading into a wide smile.
Shaking her head Tsukiko grins back, “No thanks suga’. Ah think Ah need to try and get there myself. Though incase Ah do get lost, what’s ya’re name?”
“Chelsea ma’am,” The maid said tipping her head letting her hair spill to the side, “I’ll be on the palace grounds all day today so it should be easy to find me if you do need me.”
“Ah’ll be sure to do that if Ah get lost. Have a good day Chelsea.” Tsukiko smiled as she went out behind the large palace
Darkness filled his vision and on the occasion faces floated in the void. Slowly the darkness began to light up more and more and his eyes opened up. The first feels herro had was a swimming pounding mind and a queasy stomach.
“Well someone had a fun night at my expense” thought herro. He carefully stretched out his body to discover not only was there someone else in bed with him but the bed was still moist and he defiantly could detect althea oder of sex and sweat still in the air. “A freaking really fun night”
Herro carefully sat up and surveyed the room that was still very dim. A pair of dresses laid crumpled on the floor along with the undergarments. He eyes continued to scan until he found a vibrator and other sex toys laying on the ground.
“For fuck sakes I hope that Herra didn't use them” he muttered to himself. “I get we all have needs but…ilthe thought feels wrong to me”
There was a slight stirring next to him as he said those words and he instantly froze for fear that he woke the person next to him. His head whipped toward the direction of the movement to discover long purple hair and a delicate shoulder peaking out from beneath the white sheets. The Princess slept so sound and comfortable next to him that he swore he could hear slight snoaring here and there.
Herro began to examine the sleeping princess and took note of how beautiful her feature were. Her delicate and yet deadly body that was carefully toned and her stunning face that could easily bewitch a thousand men, and probably have. Summer looked so peaceful next to him and herro couldn't help feel his heart flutter at seeing such vulnerability and beauty.
“Yeah but…clearly you aren't the first nor the last. Besides, she could easily find any man.” Herro thought
“And yet she seems content with us” a female voice said in the back of his mind.
“For now. How do we trust her?”
“Somebody has mommy issues” the female voice shot back.
“Hera! If I have mommy issues then wouldn't you?
“Yeah I do but unlike you I'm not a little bitch! Can't you just enjoy this?” Hera replied
“I would love to but we both know this isn't to last. She is a freaking princess for God sake! Probably betrothed and if not her marriage will be decided on what's best for the country and not her heart. If anything we are doing her a disservice…if not getting her in trouble with her future husband” herro though. His tone getting sadder as the words escaped him
“Such a pessimist”
“Realist! Things like this are only in stories. We aren't even the right race for her. Plus, at best we are minor nobility if such a class exsited in our country. The whole class thing feel apart when our society upheaval the royal family's rule”
“Then enjoy it while it lasts”
“And have our heart broke? I rather not feel that pain”
“Better than feeling the pain of regret of never loving or the what if”
“Yeah…well what about her mates feelings? Once that mate bond happens or she gets married we would of only wasted our time here. Yeah it would be fun but it will hurt. Plus. This family is crazy”
“Crazy fun! What if we were her real mate? Her perfect one? It seems unlikely but mom did say the mate bond with an Amazon can be surprising. Look at her with dad. They are such different ages and races…the universe will had a plan to set them up:
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
It would be nice if it worked out like that” Herro said out loud as he stared lovingly at the princess next to him. “It certainly would be nice”
After a few more minutes of silence and debating in his mind what to do for the day, Herro decided to get up and start the day. He slowly and carefully began to slide towards the edge of the bed. Suddenly, a hand reached out and snatched his forearm and held tightly causing to Herro to jump in surprise.
“Whoa! Hey! I'm just giving you some space to enjoy your morning. You just get some rest” Herro said nervously
“Please stay. I don't really want to be alone.” summer said under the sheets. Her voice had a tone of melancholy. “Today…is a rough day for all of us.”
“How about I make you a deal. I will just go take my shower and I will be right back.”
Summer sad up at that and had a devilish grin on her face. “we could…take one together”
“I said I would be right back. Promise…it would take like 30 minutes tops” Herro replied deadpan
Summer then raises her arms up and places her hands on the sides of Herro's face. Her features shift to being troubled and Herro could actually read the turmoil on her face that she was trying to hide. The pupils of her eyes literally got so big they almost took up her entire eye space as they moistened for the tears about to be shed.
“pLease? I just..don't want to be alone today.” summer pleaded
Herro sighed knowing there was no way he could disappoint her. Last think he wanted was to cause a princess to cry. “Alright…alright. Let's go wash up”
The light returned into her eyes and a giant grin returned to her face. He leaped up and off the bed. “Alright!”
Herro hears a high pitched cackle in his mind, “And so you make a deal with our devil!”
“Shut up vile woman,” Herro mentally chided as he watched as summer scrambled to collect her clothes. He smiled a little on the outside enjoying the moments with her.
Herra’s voice came through with saccharine sweetness, “Love You Too.”
“Yeah..again it will be nice” Herro sighs out, completely ignoring his headmate.
Summer paused at that line. “What would be nice?” She asked confused but before she could wait for a reply he stomach loudly growled causing her cheeks to flush red. “OK. So after a relaxing shower where we wash each other we are totally going to eat breakfast. After that work out last night I could use the food.”
“Hey, yeah about that. How crazy did it get? I see toys on the floor” herro asked
Summer's sly smiled returned and in sultry tone “Oh, a Lady never kisses and tells, dar-ling”. Then playfully runs out of the room.
“Fuck! No! Get back here I need to know!” Herro yelled back as leaped up out of bed to give chase.
Tsukiko followed a cobblestone path up a small incline and past a stone wall and looked like a well tended orchard. Most of the trees spiraled and wrapped around another, forming a pair of trees growing together. Every so often there was a lone tree, but the paired topiaries were by far the more prevalent
.
As she walked through she could see large stone plaques in the ground in front of each set of trees, be there one or two, or four as she noticed one set of trees each spiraling into each other. The stones each had names like any standard grave marker and seemed to have the trees holding onto the stones from the sides, like wooden fingers.
Keeping her steps quiet she stopped every so often to investigate the names on the gravestones. All she could see were Peacecrafts, even when there was four or five trees all the names were Peacecraft, “So we’ve had harems, Ah hope Razor isn’t one of those. Though I haven’t gotten that feeling, but we haven’t know each other TOO long.”
“She surprisingly doesn’t ask overly much of me Ma,” The soft feminine tones of Razor’s voice rang from somewhere ahead of her and she stopped for a minute to listen, sliding back and muttering a silent apology as she put her hand against one of the trees, “I mean yeah I’m the Crown Prince and she does know that, but it’s secondary to me. Won’t lie that bit is great.”
Tsukiko’s face turned up in a grin as she continued to listen, knowing she should go closer and make her self-known rather than evesdrop as Razor continued to talk, her voice going grave, “But it IS something I can’t ignore. I can’t involve her in the politics. Anders Dalewind may be lower nobility but he’s a councilman on the elder council. I have to tread carefully around him even though I don’t think he’s got a basis for anything; I can’t have my actions harm the kingdom.”
Listening while Razor spoke Tsukiko’s eyes grew wide, she remembered Razor mentioning that name when they were at the party and she was going off alone. Ever since Razor did seem withdrawn, he’d even seemed out of it while they were making love, though the though did put a slight redness on her cheeks, even if she hated that fact. She shook her head, thinking of what her lover could be going through, what she was saying without saying it, and knew she had to come out of hiding before Razor got any further in her monologue. Taking a deep breath and stepping out into the light before walking a few feet and coughing an obviously fake cough.
“And there she is now,” A rustling came from up in a single lone Black Cherry tree with a plaque with only the name Serafina Alexianna Peacecraft, before Razor’s long lilac colored hair popped out, followed by her head, “Hiya Love. Come to see the fine example of Amazonian craftsman ship that is the Royal Cemetery? It’s actually joined to the larger one on the other side of the hill, but that is Heavily gated. Ya know, security for the royal grounds and all.”
She slid down and did a flip, standing and smoothing her sundress before picking up a small pack and belting it to her waist, where it promptly seemed to disappear, “I can tell you more about my ancestors, or how we make the monuments, but if I’m rambling let me know. My head is in the clouds apparently.”
Tsukiko put her hand on the taller woman’s back, “If ya want to darlin’.”
“Well,” They started walking as Razor gazed off to the distance, “each tree is actually grown around the body of the deceased. We use biomancers to develop the trees and grow them to their mature state.”
Razor grabbed Tsukiko’s hand and raised it to her lips and kissed it, holding it as they kept walking and she continued, “Then when the spouse dies we do the same right next to them and the biomancers entwine the trees.”
Tsukiko looked at the various entwined trees; a red barked maples with white oaks wrapping and growing as one, evergreens with lavender, and all manners of other types of trees. Most of them were a pair of entwined trees, however the occasional single tree existed and even a number with three or more entwined together.
“Sorry, enough exposition,” Razor chuckled dryly, her head turning off to stare across the general cemetery in the distance.
Eyes narrowing, Tsukiko stopped and tightened her grip on Razor’s hand. When the taller woman stopped and looked down at her with a brow raised she spoke softly, “I really don’t mind. I like learning more about your people.
“Plus you need it,” She said, causing Razor to raise the other eyebrow to match the first, “Just know I am ready to face it with you Suga’. I’ve read stories of noble intrigues and illicit romances, and don’t WANT that. But I Love you and want to stand by your side against it all.” She finished lifting her lips to her lovers.
Razor’s eyes widened before closing as she put her hand behind Tsukiko’s head and returned the kiss, only beraking it what felt like minutes later. Looking down at Tsukiko she grinned, “You heard that huh? Right now I think we’re good, but how about we go get something to eat and I’ll tell you what I can.”
“That sounds good,” Tsukiko said with a smile and took Razor’s hand and headed towards the gate.
Reaching the gate the pair were met by an amazon with their deep dark forest green pulled back into a short ponytail. Razor stopped and looked them up and down, “a Maid today huh Gil?”
“Pardon highness, Gail if you please.”
“Fine, Gail,” Razor looks down at Tsukiko, “Gail is one of my personal retainers. Ever since we were younger they’ve always tried to be whatever gender I am. As if they aren’t my best servant no matter what they wear, so it’s not a huge deal.
“So what do you need me for?” She asks, looking back at the maid.
With a slight rustle of lace, Gail pulls out a letter, “This arrived for your Highness this morning.”
Taking the letter, Razor flipped it to check the seal and one side of her mouth quirked up, “I figured this would be coming, but they’re inviting us early this year. Thank you Gail, go prepare a couple outfits for this week’s court and have the cooks prepare something for us in the Blue Patio.”
“Right away Highness,” Gail curtsied and went off towards the palace.
“Well, let’s get to the blue patio and I’ll see what my cousins out in Ebonsun want.” Razor remarked as she started walking in the wake of the maid, with Tsukiko a step behind.