As he spoke, he had an uneasy sensation centered in the pit of his stomach as he thought of the little silver button at the back of his neck. But surely his own emotion damper was functioning adequately—yes, he was sure it was. And even if it wasn’t, he was no longer on Zeaga Four and no one could purge him for it.
“Purged?” The Princess’s eyes went wider. “You mean killed? They killed you just for having emotions?”
James nodded.
“Yes, that about sums it up.”
“But…but that’s terrible,” she exclaimed. “How could they kill you just for having feelings?”
He shrugged again. “It was the way of the Collective. What happens to you here on Regalia Five if your reputation gets ‘ruined.’ Are you purged?”
“No, nothing like that.” She shook her head. “You’re just ostracized and uninvited from every social event of the Season.” She frowned. “And then you have to go and live in the country so no one can see you and you won’t ruin other girls by your association with them.”
“That sounds like a kind of purging,” James pointed out. “A social purging, at least. If you are banished from your home and you are never allowed to speak to anyone you know again—that doesn’t sound like a very pleasant fate.”
“No, it’s not.” She sighed. “Which is why a lady must be so very careful. And, I suppose, why I must wear the Chastity Wire.” A troubled look came into her eyes. “But I would never do…what Lady Mildew accused me of. I hope you know that, James.”
“I wouldn’t think less of you, even if you did,” he assured her.
Her eyes grew wide again.
“What? But how could you not think less of me if you found out I had…had touched my forbidden areas?” Her cheeks went pink again as she spoke and he could tell it embarrassed her to speak of such things.
“Because I don’t believe that any part of your own body should be forbidden to you,” James said firmly. “It’s your body. Why shouldn’t you touch it anywhere and any way that you want to?”
“Because it’s wrong!” she exclaimed.
“Who says it’s wrong?” he countered. “Lady Mildew? Do you really hold her opinion in such high regard?”
“Well…I…I don’t…” Princess Ka’rissa seemed to be at a loss for words. “I just don’t think it is right,” she said at last, weakly.
“It’s one thing if you don’t think it’s right,” James told her. “It’s something else entirely if you’re letting someone else tell you it’s wrong—letting them control what you think.” He frowned. “That was one reason I was glad when the Collective fell—the hive mind of computers that ran my home planet,” he explained, seeing her questioning look. “Though I have no emotions, I still want to have thoughts and opinions of my own. I think that is every sentient being’s right.”
Ka’rissa looked at him thoughtfully.
“You know…you’ve given me a lot to think about, James,” she murmured and yawned. “But now, I’m feeling so…so sleepy.”
“All those emotions you had have worn you out,” James told her. “I have witnessed this with other feelers as well—when they have a lot of strong emotions in a row, they need to rest afterwards. Do you think you can sleep now?”
She sighed.
“I’d like to, but I’m afraid I’ll have to get up and wash my face and neck in cold water again. All the, er, emotions I had seem to have made me overheated.”
James looked at her flushed cheeks with concern.
“Do you feel in danger of combustion? Should I draw another ice-cold bath for you?”
“Oh, no!” She shook her head. “It’s not as bad as all that and I can’t get into the bath with the Chastity Wire locked in place, anyway. No, I just need to cool down a little before I can safely go to sleep.”
She made as if to get up, but for some reason, James didn’t want to stop holding her. The thought that he wanted to keep her in his arms gave him an idea.
“Princess, if you want me to, I can cool my body temperature down, as I did earlier this evening when you fainted in the Reception Hall,” he offered. “It might be that this will cool you down as well, since you are still pressed against me.” He nodded down to the way they were positioned with him still sitting on the side of her bed and the Princess laying almost in his lap.
“Oh, could you?” she asked, looking up at him. “But aren’t you getting uncomfortable, sitting like that? You’ve been, er, holding me, for quite some time now.”
“I don’t mind,” James murmured. He stroked one flushed cheek with a finger that was already much cooler, since he had commanded his body to begin chilling itself.
“Oh…” She pressed her hot cheek into his hand eagerly. “Your hands are so lovely and cool, James!”
“Get a little closer and lie against me as I reduce my body temperature,” James told her. “Here—do you mind if I stretch out on the bed?”
She bit her lip, as though wondering if this was “proper,” but at last she nodded her head.
“Yes, that would be all right, I think.”
“Good.” James stretched out on her bed—it was a large bed and long enough for him to do so—with his legs crossed at the ankles. He propped his right hand behind his head and cradled the petite Princess close to his left side as he continued to cool his body down.
“Ohhh…” Ka’rissa sighed as she pillowed her hot face against his chest and snuggled against him. “All of you is getting lovely and cold now. It feels so wonderful not to be hot for once!”
Indeed, she was very warm, James thought as he held her close to him. Her small, curvy body was burning up—it felt as though she had a fever. And the tight points of her nipples were like two live coals against his side. How could she bear to be so hot all the time?
Using his natural abilities in sync with his enhancements and electrodes, he managed to cool the areas where her nipples pressed against him even more, until at last he felt her heat subsiding.
But it wasn’t just her nipples that were burning hot—he could also feel the juncture of her thighs against the side of his leg. Though Ka’rissa kept her own legs pressed modestly together, heat was baking from the spot between her thighs, making James wonder if that area—what he had heard other Kindred warriors call a female’s “pussy”—was even hotter than her nipples had been.
He thought of offering to place his thigh between her legs to cool her down there, but this was the spot she considered her “forbidden area” and he didn’t want to make her upset. So he simply did his best to keep the rest of her cool as he she slowly drifted off in his arms.
As he held her and watched her sleep, James felt that warm glow in his chest again. But it was different from when he was dancing with her, he thought. This time the glow was gentler, though no less intense, and there was a sense of possessiveness that went with it.
A word rose in his mind and he spoke it aloud before he could even analyze it.
“Mine,” he murmured in the dimness of her room as he held the Princess close to him. “She is mine.”
Which of course, was completely illogical. Princess Ka’rissa didn’t belong to him—he was only here to protect her for a short time. But still the possessiveness and the warm glow in his chest persisted and he couldn’t make it go away.
To be honest, he didn’t even try.
14
Rissa woke feeling cool and refreshed for the first time since her Heat Cycle had started, months ago. For a moment, she couldn’t think why that should be. How was it that, for the first time in ages, she hadn’t woken up in a puddle of sweat with her nightdress sticking to her skin and the Chastity Wire emitting painful little sparks and shocks, as it did when it got damp?
Then she realized her cheek was pillowed on something firm and cold—something that smelled wonderful—like fresh, icy mountain winds. In fact, she thought, as she woke up a little more, her entire body was pressed against this long, hard, cold object that was somehow so comfortable she
didn’t want to move. What could it be?
Then the thing she was pressed against moved under her and a deep, rumbling voice murmured,
“Good morning, Princess.”
Rissa gasped and sat up with a jerk as suddenly, everything came rushing back. Meeting her new guard…dancing with him at the ball… the excruciating embarrassment she’d felt when Lady Mildew made him bathe her and demanded she wear the Chastity Wire because she was “dirty.” And then later, the long talk the two of them had had and the way she had fallen asleep against his side.
Goodness gracious, I slept with a strange man in my bed last night—all night long!
The idea felt shocking at first, but Rissa couldn’t sustain the emotion for long. After all, James didn’t feel like a stranger. She’d been dreaming of him for ages and it felt more like one of her dreams had simply come true. Also, it was hard to be upset when being with him just felt so…natural.
“Are you well?” James was still lying on her bed—fully clothed except for his frock coat and boots, which he had removed to avoid dirtying her rose-gold coverlet. He was looking up at her with a small frown on his face, as though he was worried about her. “Are you well?” he asked again.
“Oh, yes—perfectly!” Rissa assured him. “I just…I’ve never, er…never slept with a…a man in my bed before.” She bit her lip. “I’m not sure it’s quite proper.”
“Why?” James asks reasonably. “We didn’t perform any improper acts. I simply lay with you to keep you cool last night.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “Did I?”
“Oh, yes,” Rissa admitted. “Generally when I wake up, I’m an overheated mess and I must wash myself down with a pitcher of cold water! But this morning I feel as fresh as a hartha flower!”
“I am glad,” James said gravely. “I am here to keep you safe, Princess. Keeping you from overheating and combusting during the night is part of my mission.”
When he put it that way, Rissa felt much less guilty. After all, it wasn’t as though he’d slept in her bed in order to do…whatever it was that married people did together. He was simply keeping her cool and safe. His ability to chill his body temperature kept her from overheating and also, what assassin would dare attack her when she was being held in the big Kindred’s arms?
“When you put it that way, I almost think we should sleep together this way every night,” Rissa said thoughtfully.
He shrugged.
“Why not? I would be pleased to hold you in my arms and cool you every night for as long as I am with you, Princess.”
“Well…” Rissa began, but just then there was a light tapping at the outer door to her rooms. “Quickly!” she hissed at James. “That will be my maid, Liza! You must go into the outer bedchamber, which is meant for my Companion. Make haste! Oh, and do not forget your boots and coat!” she added.
James was up in a flash and moving so fast he seemed to be almost a blur. He looked through the peep hole in the door and then nodded to her before disappearing into the outer bedchamber, just as she had asked.
The moment he shut the door, Rissa rose and went to open the outer door for the maid, as she usually did every morning.
Liza was standing there patiently, holding a heavy breakfast tray in her skinny arms and wearing a black dress and white apron and cap—the uniform of the palace servants.
“G’day, my Lady,” she said, dropping a quarter curtsy, which was all she could manage holding the large silver tray. “Got your breakfast here, nice and hot.”
“Come in, come in,” Rissa invited. She stood to one side, allowing the maid into the room and gestured to the breakfast table, which was opposite the bed and directly beside the large floor to ceiling glass doors.
Liza sat the tray down carefully and then went to draw the heavy brocade drapes and open the glass double doors which opened onto a balcony overlooking the palace gardens.
“Mmm…lovely day,” she remarked, breathing deeply as the scents of honey-bloom and pink blossom drifted into the room. “And how are you this morning, my Lady?” she asked, turning to Rissa. She frowned. “I must say, you’re looking very refreshed. Did you get up early to wash?”
Normally Rissa was still drenched in sweat with her hair in a tangle and her nightdress sticking to her damp body when she answered the door for the maid in the morning—which she did in order not to wake Lady Mildew. She had always felt that the longer she could let her old chaperone sleep, the better the morning was.
This morning, however, she had slept cool and dry and she felt exceedingly refreshed and happy. Still, she couldn’t let anyone know the reason for that—not even Liza, who was generally friendly.
“Yes, yes I did,” she said, smiling at the maid. “And you’re right—it’s a lovely morning.”
“That it is.” Liza went to strip the sheets off the bed as she did every morning and frowned. “My lady,” she said to Rissa. “Your sheets—they’re dry. Is everything all right? I mean, you know, with your Cycle and all?” she finished in a half-whisper.
“Perfectly fine,” Rissa assured her, smiling.
“But…but your Cycle—” Liza began.
“Is on a downturn,” Rissa finished for her.
Liza frowned.
“But I thought it was on an upturn. For didn’t you overheat yesterday in the Reception Hall? I was quite worried about you, my Lady, when I read about it in the latest issue of Lady TittleTattle’s Breadcrumbs.”
“Oh, is there a new issue?” Rissa exclaimed. “Did you bring it for me, Liza?”
Her maid’s plain face broke into a broad smile.
“Yes, of course I did, my Lady! Don’t I always take care of you?”
“You certainly do.” Rissa smiled at the other girl warmly. She had always liked the maid, who had been looking after her ever since she’d started her Cycle and moved into her mother’s grand apartments. They had an understanding between them—Liza always supplied her with the latest scandal rags, so that Rissa could know what to expect before she faced the Court each day. In return, she gave the maid first pick of her breakfast tray. The servants of the palace were fed well enough, but their food was plain and uninteresting and they almost never got anything sweet.
“Take what you like,” she said now, to Liza, as she always did. “I expect there are some lovely sweet buns there.”
“There are indeed. Thank you, my Lady.” Liza’s eyes went wide as she lifted the silver dome off the bread plate and plucked a large, flaky bun studded with plump, purple gooza berries and glazed with verbeena honey. She bobbed a little curtsy as she took a bite and her eyes rolled heavenward in rapture. “Oh, my Lady—it’s quite wonderful!” she exclaimed, when she had swallowed.
Rissa smiled—delighted as always in the maid’s pleasure. Liza’s raptures over sweet buns and sticky cakes never got old.
“I’m so glad you like it,” she said. “And thank you for bringing me the latest Crumbs.”
“It’s hidden under your plate, my Lady,” Liza whispered, glancing around. They always had to hide the scandal sheet lest Lady Mildew find it and confiscate it—but not before scolding Rissa severely for reading gossip.
But she didn’t have to worry about that anymore, Rissa realized.
“It’s all right, Liza—you don’t have to hide it anymore,” she told the maid. “My new, er, Constant Companion won’t be upset if I read it.”
“Oh, I read about that too.” Liza’s eyes went wide. “Pray tell, my Lady—where is he? Is it true he’s a robot but looks like a man?”
“True enough,” Rissa said cautiously. “He’s in the outer bedchamber—I expect he’ll be up eventually,” she added.
At that moment, the door to the outer bedchamber opened and James came out, fully dressed.
“Your Highness,” he said, bowing deeply to Rissa, as she sat at the table. “I trust you slept well as I guarded you last night?”
“Yes, I did. Very well, Sir James,” Rissa said formally. “Er, this is Liza,” she added, nod
ding at the maid.
“Enchanted to meet you, Liza,” James said, and bowed to the maid as well.
Liza went scarlet in the face and her eyes went wide.
“Oh, my Lady—he’s so handsome!” she exclaimed and a nervous giggle escaped her before she scurried out of the room.
As the door shut behind her, James made his way to the breakfast table and sat down across from Rissa.
“Good morning again, Princess,” he murmured. “Are you having First Meal?”
“Yes, I guess so—we call it ‘breakfast’ though,” Rissa told him. “Are you hungry? Have some scrambled betha eggs and a pastry.”
James nodded.
“That will make a pleasant change from my usual First Meal of nutritional protein paste.”
“Ugh, that sounds awful!” Rissa exclaimed, buttering a fluffy cloud roll and taking a bite.
“It is quite bland,” James admitted. He sat and began to serve himself and, as he did, Rissa reached under her plate and found the much-folded copy of Lady TittleTattle’s Breadcrumbs and began to read.
* * *
Gentle Reader, the Crumbs began, as always,
Have we ever seen such excitement as we did last night at Court? For our dear Princess Ka’rissa has a new Constant Companion and chaperone—and it is a man!
Rissa felt a tremor of uncertainty in her belly, but the next paragraph put her mind at ease.
Never fear, however, dear reader that anything improper is afoot, for the Princess’s new Companion only looks like a man. In actuality, he is a robot, which he proved with a rather singular display of acrobatics and strength in the Royal Reception Hall as he was being announced to the Steward. After showing himself more than capable of protecting the Princess from any further attempts on her life, he was invested as her Constant Companion and chaperone by the Steward himself.
The new Companion proved his worth almost at once as the dear Princess began to overheat and fainted. Sir Robot—as he shall henceforth be called—caught her and cooled her with his rather frightening metal hand, after which she revived beautifully and was even able to dance at the ball!
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