by Kimbra Swain
For Summer was balanced with Winter. Life balanced with Death. These things worked together in perfect harmony as long as the tree lived. The tree couldn’t be killed as long as a monarch ruled the thrones of Winter and Summer.
“Shit,” I muttered.
“What?” Tabitha asked moving up next to me.
“When father died, someone had to take the throne in Winter or the tree would die. Why didn’t I know that?” I asked.
“You know it now?” she asked. “Why now?”
“I don’t know. I saw the tree on their shields, and it was like a download of information in my head. The tree could have died,” I said. I stopped to look down at my feet. A wave of nausea hit me. I didn’t think it was because of my child. It was because I’d almost thrown the whole thing into chaos by not accepting my father’s power. Brock made his move to the throne, gaining it in my indecision. The Otherworld balanced. Now I needed to worry that Rhiannon hated me for not accepting my heritage. Queen of the Exiles had no part in the balance between Winter and Summer.
“Is something wrong, your majesty?” Marshall asked. “Is your child alright?”
“Yes. Just a little tired of walking. I’m fine,” I replied to him.
“Very well. It isn’t far from here. You cannot walk into the castle. There are no doors, but we have portals that can be used to enter,” he said.
We followed them into a thick glade of trees. In the center, two fauns stood on each side of a glittering portal.
“All hail, Queen Rhiannon,” one of the fauns called out to our company.
“All hail the Queen,” the centaurs responded.
Our company arrived in front of the fauns who didn’t seem to notice me. However, their eyes watched Tabitha and Rowan. I supposed they weren’t interested in the Winter Fairy. I wasn’t offended. Maybe a little.
With Marshall leading the way, each of us stepped through the portal. Inside the castle, we stood in a room with a cascading waterfall. It didn’t seem like the inside of a castle at all. Instead, it was a rock face with the waterfall and a giant swirling pool beneath it. The pool was filled with fairies. Fucking fairies.
“The Queen is having an orgy in your honor,” Marshall said.
“Oh, how nice,” I responded sarcastically. I watched as all the different couples indulged themselves. Fauns, centaurs, sprites, pixies, and dwarves which I’d only heard about and never seen, celebrating my arrival with sex. It reminded me of the reason I didn’t miss the Otherworld. None of this had any meaning. Granted, I’d fucked my way around the world, but I had no idea what I was missing until I was with Remy, then Dylan. Remy broke my heart. Dylan fixed it.
“Good grief,” Tabitha said, covering Devin’s eyes. The kid looked like he was about to fall over drooling at the scene.
“Perhaps we should keep moving,” I suggested.
“We wait here until your escort to the queen arrives. Please enjoy or partake as you wish,” Marshall said with a smile.
“I’m more of a voyeur,” I replied because I didn’t know what else to say.
“It’s a good thing we didn’t bring Remy,” Tabitha said. Luther snorted.
“He wouldn’t,” I replied.
“No, he would. He would drag me down there and do it with me,” she said.
“Too bad we didn’t bring him,” I replied.
She groaned.
“Why can’t I watch?” Devin asked.
I grabbed his shoulders and turned him away from the scene. Tabitha released her hand from his eyes. He tried to look over his shoulder. “Devin, you haven’t been exposed to this kind of thing like we have.”
“Yes, I have. We had orgies here when I lived here with my father,” he said, clamping his hand over his mouth. “I was only allowed to watch.” His voice muffled by his hand.
“Stephanie is such a good mother,” I replied. I hoped that the boy didn’t know sarcasm like he knew sex.
“Things are different here, Grace,” Rowan said. “Summer starts them out early. He’s probably only a year or so away from his first intercourse.”
“Geez,” I replied. “As long as you are with me, we will go by my rules. No live fairy porn for you.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he groaned. At least he had manners. I was willing to bet he learned that with Mrs. Betty and Mr. Luther.
My entourage and I stood transfixed by the spectacle. For me, it was a brisk reminder of the orgies in Winter which seemed to be more violent than this. Here there were mixed couples. Different races and genders all participating. It was a fairy swingers convention. Back in Winter, orgies involved more slapping, whips, and bindings than a BDSM wonderland. For a first-time intercourse, the parents of the child would throw a party inviting all the best partners they could find for their child. I never had one of those. I kind of jumped the gun on that one. By the look on Devin’s face, I’d say he was anxious to get his party. Mazal tov!
“The water. Mermaids?” Tabitha asked.
“Seems to be,” I said watching a Mermaid drag a young faun into the water. “How does that work?”
Tabitha and I watched the coupling with interest. The mermaid started with oral on the hairy beast. He tilted his head into the air bleating. I sighed. This was ridiculous. I would never keep a visiting dignitary waiting. She had to know that the orgy while stimulating, wasn’t a proper way to greet a monarch. Which pretty much told me that she had little or no respect for me or my presence here.
“Oh!” Tabitha said as I turned my attention back to the couple. The mermaid now floated in front of the faun with her back to him. He ran his hand down her back causing her scales to part where her ass would be forming a crack. She leaned forward as he entered her from behind.
“Well, now we know how that works,” I said. “My life is complete.” Perhaps being pregnant made me more sarcastic.
“We need to get out of here,” Luther grumbled. Stone and Bronx seemed unphased by the scene, but Luther was nervous.
“I agree,” I said.
“Father!” Devin yelled running to a group of armored fauns who had entered the waterfall room. The lead faun scooped him up, hugging him tightly.
“Oh, my!” I said, staring at the faun. His eyes met mine, and he flushed with embarrassment. He strode to us with Devin by his side. His long sandy blonde hair hung down around his shoulders. It was braided in places with silver adornments. His denim blue eyes twinkled above his flushed cheeks. The bottom half of him wasn’t as I remembered.
“Welcome, Grace,” he said with a nervous smile. “Forgive me. Gloriana.”
“Joey, how in the hell?” I asked.
“It’s a long story, but it’s good to see you,” he said. “Motherhood has only made you more beautiful.”
“Mr. Blankenship, you have always had a golden tongue,” I said.
“You would know,” he replied.
“Wow,” Tabitha muttered next to me.
Joey Blankenship, a one-night stand for me, was now a faun in the kingdom of Summer. I was sure that he was human when I saw him last. In fact, he had been enthralled by Stephanie resulting in a dire sickness. I hadn’t seen him since Jeremiah took him to be healed. I had no idea that healing would end up turning him into a faun. It wasn’t possible for a human to be a fairy.
“My Queen requests that I escort you and your company to the throne room,” he said, offering me his arm. I started to rebuff him. His likeness to Dylan was striking. However, I took his arm in the interest of being gracious to our host.
“How are you?” I asked as we walked through the jeweled hallways of the castle. The orgy continued in the halls, the side room, and even in the air above us as sylphs and other flying beings joined together. Nature encroached on the castle as if it were abandoned, but the stained-glass windows and opulent furnishings gleamed under the vines and leaves.
“I am well. Rhiannon made me the Captain of her Guard here inside the castle. I’ve been very fortunate,” he said. “I can’t thank you enough for
bringing Devin back to me. I should have known that Stephanie was up to something when she arrived saying that she missed me. I’ve learned my lesson not to fall for her tricks.”
“I would have thought you learned that lesson when she enthralled you,” I said.
“That’s the thing. I did that willfully. It’s why Jeremiah didn’t execute her for it,” he said.
“Why would you do that?” I asked.
He hesitated to speak. I stopped in the hallway just before a large room. “Grace, I…” he started to say. Those following us stopped watching the two of us intently.
“Me. You did it because of me,” I said.
“You are a hard woman to forget,” he said.
“I never enthralled you. It was only once,” I said.
“I might have had you longer had I paid more attention to your needs. I’ve learned that here. You may look on all of this as a carnal debauchery, but here sex is about pleasing the partner. Sex is unselfish with no boundaries. I think you found that with Dylan. It ate Stephanie up on the inside. Of course, her soul was already black. I rather enjoyed watching her rant about your relationship with him. You probably didn’t do it on purpose, but we all enjoyed the result of it here. She isn’t liked very well in Summer,” he said.
“They hate her,” Devin added.
“Devin, go back to our rooms. I’ll be there soon. Katia is waiting for you,” he said.
“Yes!” the boy exclaimed. He took off running but stopped abruptly. He turned to look at me. “Thank you, Queen Grace.”
“You are welcome, Devin,” I said.
“I can’t thank you enough for bringing him back. It is dangerous for you to be here,” he said. “I serve Rhiannon, but you are from back home. I feel like sometimes I belong there instead of here.”
“You are bound to her?” I asked.
“Yes. The price for my healing, and this,” he said waving to his goat legs.
“Devin has only been alive for a year. How is it possible that he knows so much?” I asked.
“It’s been more than a year here. Time is wonky in the Otherworld. You should know that,” Joey replied.
“Even more reason for us to get back home. I’m here for Finley,” I said.
“Ah! He’s here, but I’m not sure you can convince him to leave,” he said.
“Why?” I asked.
“The queen is waiting,” a faun guard said at the door.
“We should go,” Joey said. “We will talk more after this.”
“Okay,” I replied. He offered his arm once again. I took it as we entered the throne room of Rhiannon, the Queen of Summer.
THE ROOM OPENED up to the blue sky above. Around the room, fairy nobility participated in a far tamer version of the orgy we had seen below. This reminded me more of the parties back in Winter. In the end, the effect was the same. Groans, screams, and sighs of ecstasy filled the room. The horny fairy inside of me begged me to participate. I sighed as we approached the throne. A young man sat on his knees in front of the queen. Well, I assumed it was a young man. I could only see his ass and legs because he was under her skirt. Her hips bucked up in pleasure at his efforts. Her eyes were focused on the sky above instead of the guests who had arrived.
Joey released my arm and fell to one knee with his head bowed as she finished her intercourse. She reached her climax with a very dignified sigh. She lowered her eyes to stare at me. Her long red hair fell in ringlets around her fair skin which flushed pink in her ecstasy. Her long mint green dress barely covered her breasts. The young man retreated from her skirts. He wore a collar much like the one Riley put on Levi. He bowed on all fours before the queen. Despite Joey’s glowing description of sex in Summer, the servant man had not received his pleasure. I supposed the mutual gratifications didn’t apply to the queen.
I didn’t move or speak until she spoke to me. She rearranged the skirts of her dress, then smiled with ruby lips.
“Welcome, Gloriana, daughter of Oberon,” she said. “I offer you all that you need. Food, drink, sex, and rest as you require it. My home is open to you. You will not be harmed while in my castle.”
The power of her offer of hospitality swirled around the room grabbing the attention of all the participants of the orgy. They stopped to wait for my response. I noted that the hospitality applied within these walls, but not outside of them.
“Thank you, Queen Rhiannon,” I replied, bowing my head to her. Then as before with the information about the tree, my mind received the directives of my position. “Your hospitality is appreciated and accepted on my behalf. Might I ask if it applies to everyone in my group?”
“It does indeed,” she smiled. “Please come with me. I would speak with you without the distractions. Your group may wait here, participate as they like, or they will be taken to rooms to accommodate them.”
“I appreciate your accommodations, but I request that one of my company remain with me,” I said.
“Your doctor may come as well,” she said over her shoulder while she exited the room. Joey stood, offering his arm once again. The poor servant still huddled to the ground with expanding blue balls. I looked back to the group. Luther looked upset, but Jenny calmed him. She nodded to me, and Tabitha and I followed the queen from the room.
She walked down a long hallway with no guards other than Joey. She turned into a large sitting room filled with shelves of books. Joey released my arm as Tabitha and I walked into the room. He shut the door behind us, and we sat as the queen indicated in two large thrones.
“To what do I owe the honor of your visit to Summer?” she asked as she eased gracefully into a throne larger than ours.
“I have come for two reasons. Finley, my brother, is here. I need to find him. And I would like to retrieve an item that I believe belongs to me,” I said.
She lifted an eyebrow, then a smile eased across her face. “Finley is here spending time with his wife. Have you met her? She is a dear.” Her play on words was interesting since Finley was a stag like my father.
“I have not met her. I am eager to do so,” I said.
“Very well. After our meeting here, Joseph will take you to him,” she said nodding to Joey.
“Yes, my Queen,” he said.
“He really is fantastic. I believe you had him once,” Rhiannon said staring at Joey.
I ignored her statement. I had no desire to talk about having sex with Joey. While I didn’t get what I wanted out of it, he was rather good at it with all the right equipment.
“I will loan him to you if you want something familiar to celebrate in our welcome party,” she said.
“I didn’t come here for Joey. In fact, I didn’t know that Joey was here. Jeremiah kept a lot of things from me,” I said. Invoking his name, her green eyes flashed with something like anger. Perhaps fear. Tabitha sat silently as I spoke with her.
“Tristan always had a way of meddling in things that didn’t pertain to him. He meddled with a woman who didn’t belong to him, then he came here with his meddling,” she said.
“I believe he meddled with you at least once,” I replied.
“Every man in this kingdom has meddled with me at least once. Well, every one of them that I allowed to,” she said.
“How is Riley?” I asked.
“She is lamenting the loss of her father, far more than I would have liked. Tristan was persuasive in his fairy form, and I fell for his attention. I produced the child he so desperately wanted, then I kicked him out of the Otherworld. When he dared to return here, I had to put him in his place,” she said.
“So, you took one of my servants and gave him to the King of Winter?” I asked.
“Brock is no King,” she scoffed. “We are all waiting for you to take your rightful place. How could I know that Brock would kill Tristan?”
“Because he was my servant. I believe you knew that Brock would kill him,” I said.
“That is a dangerous accusation to make,” she said.
“Then deny it,
” I prompted knowing she could not lie.
“I wasn’t sure. However, just like the banishment of my daughter from your kingdom, you allowed her to be taken. I suppose we are even,” she said.
“I did not allow her to be taken. I intended to kill her,” I said flatly.
“As it should have been, but you let her slip through your fingers. Stephanie has been nothing but trouble since the day she was born. As her mother, I couldn’t bring myself to end her life, much like your father overlooked your transgressions,” she said. “I had no desire to kill my own daughter, and now she suffers worse than death at the hand of your uncle who wouldn’t be in power if you would just accept your position in the Otherworld. I told Oberon that choosing you was a mistake.”
I didn’t care if she cut me down. I was here to get the book and my brother. She could say whatever she wanted. It wouldn’t phase me.
“I want the songbook,” I said. “Taliesin gave it to my father. He passed it to my bard.”
“How is Levi? He is very attractive despite being a changeling. Had I been allowed, I would have taken him for myself. Riley might have been annoyed at that though,” she pondered.
“Brock has Levi,” I said. “I need the book and my brother. Then we will leave your world.”
“I have festivities planned over the next few days to celebrate your arrival. I had hoped to show you the tree,” she said.
“As you can see, I am pregnant, and I have no desire to have this child in Summer,” I said.
“Why not? He is pretty much Summer as it is. His father very nearly was. That’s another one I’d like to have tapped. You are a lucky fairy, Gloriana,” she said. “I’m surprised he isn’t with you.”
“Serafino is dead,” I said.
She cut her eyes away from me. She knew he was dead. Robin was her granddaughter after all.
“Then I am sorry for your loss. Forgive my crass words,” she said.