Go with the girls

Adella is grateful for the chance to get away from the table and jumps at the chance. “Thank you, Your Highness. That would be most welcome!”

The princesses bid goodnight to the queens and Praamo and leave the dining hall. “Please, when we are away from all the formal settings, would you call us by our names?” asks Shasta.

Adella smiles in gratitude. “Only if you will return the compliment.” She is enjoying this dynamic of interacting with peers. Even her closest friend back home, Courtney, cannot help but refer to her as “Your Highness” or “M’lady.” Here, Adella is beginning to feel a freedom that has been heretofore unknown.

Adella follows Shasta and Shilette up the stairs of a turret to a spacious and comfortable living area. “This is my parlor,” says Shasta. “I find it much more comfortable for entertaining guests than the formal parts of the palace.”

Shilette places her hand on a day bed near a window and shakes it appraisingly. “I see you got this fixed.” Turning to Adella, she explains, “My sister was ‘entertaining’ the son of one of our up-and-coming baronesses on this daybed last week, and the armrest here snapped off at the most inopportune time, causing the young stud to go hurtling right through that window.”

Adella gasps, openmouthed. “Good heavens! Was he hurt?”

Shasta laughed. “Only his pride. He managed to grab hold of the windowsill, and he only had to hang there for a few moments before I helped pull him back in.”

“Just how wounded could his ‘pride’ have been?” Shilette asks. “I heard the commotion and rushed in here to see what was the matter, only to find you riding him like he was a horse charging into battle!”

“Well, he was definitely startled, but he was still hard enough when I pulled him through, and I didn’t want that to go to waste.”

Shilette abruptly changes the subject by exclaiming, “Oh, look! The Ashrays are out tonight!”

Adella steps to the window and follows Shilette’s gaze to the moonlit beach below. There, she sees what at first glance appears to be a number of people swimming near the shore, but as a cloud moves out of the way, allowing the full light of the moon to illuminate the scene, she sees that their bodies are strangely translucent, as if one with the water itself.

“Ashrays?” asks Adella. “I have never heard of such things.”

Shilette explains that Ashrays are water creatures that come out only at night. They can be humanoid in form but occasionally appear in other forms.

“There used to be a lot more of them in these parts,” she says. “Back when we had more archaic ideas about sexuality, young maidens would frequent these shores, hoping to find a Ashrays.”

Seeing Adella’s questioning look, Shasta says, “They are composed of water — not of solid form. The legend is that a virgin may have intercourse with a male Ashray and retain her virginity because its penis does not actually penetrate the maidenhead.”

Shilette speaks up. “We still see some of the young women from the remote parts of the kingdom make excursions here for that purpose. Do you know there are places in our realm where they still hold to the notion that a woman’s first time with a man should be on their weeding night?” She snorts at the thought.

“Mother would have had to marry you off when you were 13 if there was any hope of that,” teases Shasta.

Adella looks down at the watery creatures. “You say that it is a legend that one can retain virginity after having sex with such things. Is it true?”

Shilette shrugs. “Who can say? I had long since ceased to be a virgin by the time I had my first splash with an Ashray.”

Adella looks at her wide-eyed. “You have been intimate with a magical being? Is that permitted in this land?”

Shilette says, “Well, it’s not encouraged, but no, it’s not forbidden. The danger, of course, is in having sex with a magical being that is capable of impregnating a human. The offspring tend to be rather unpredictable. But that’s not a danger with the Ashray; it is very, very rare for an Ashray/human coupling to produce a child. And besides, it is very .... sensuous!” She wraps her arms around herself and shivers at the thought.

“My sister is correct,” says Shasta. “The Ashray penis is pure water, and when it enters you, it feels like a never-ending tongue. It is truly exquisite! What a shame you do not have them in Mirantia! We could take you down and make an introduction, if you like.”

Shilette says, “Oh, but you mustn’t say anything to our brother! What he wouldn’t give to spend a few minutes with a female Ashray!”

“A few minutes?” says Shasta. “Sister, you do Praamo much credit. I suspect at the first touch of an Ashray he might blow a hole in the end of his restraint!”

The sisters laugh, but Adella asks, “What do you mean, ‘restraint’?”

Shasta answers. “Why, his chastity belt, of course. Surely your brothers have them as well? From the time he began to show signs of puberty he was fitted with a mesh covering for his penis that is affixed by a locked belt. He may urinate through it, but it makes it quite impossible for him to have sex or to pleasure himself.”

Shilette adds, “Of course, the mesh covering has had to be replaced over the years as he grows. From the size of the last one Mother purchased, I’d say he is going to make some woman quite happy some day!”

“So you see,” said Shasta, “Praamo would be most interested in meeting an Ashray. Its watery form would not be hindered by his chastity belt.”

“But if a woman can have sex with a male Ashray and still be a virgin, why would that not work for a man?”

“It might,” admits Shasta, “but you know how men are. If Praamo gets even one taste of the pleasures of the flesh, he will probably lose all restraint and become a slut; we cannot have that kind of thing disgrace the royal name.”

“So our dear brother remains the family’s designated virgin until mother finds a suitable mate for him,” says Shilette. “But don’t feel badly for him. He still has hope of an occasional wet dream!”

“But enough about our brother,” says Shasta. “Would you like to take a stroll to the beach?”