The Bathing Pools

"I hope you will not think me short of stamina if I suggest that the bathing pools sound most inviting," you say to her.

"Truth be told, I hoped that you might... a bath sounds wonderful just now. But it occurs to me, would it be wisest to avoid the baths until your wound is better-healed... and mine as well?" She holds up her bandaged hand ruefully.

"These are not ordinary baths, my Lady. In fact, Master Sanjay encouraged me to visit them, for the waters of Elyssia promote healing and ward off infection. He showed me once, by taking a pot of water from the baths and boiling it dry, that there are powders and salts in the water which he says have healing properties."

"This is truly a kingdom of wonders," Katyana says. "Speaking of which, I do wonder how the men of your city will react to seeing their future Queen naked as the day she was born. Mind you, it is of little concern to me; by my father's command, training for unarmed combat involves exercises and sparring matches without clothing, so that we may learn to fight and defend ourselves even at our most ****. I was not exempted from this training. It is quite an experience to fight bare-handed in the snow against a man twice your size, without a stitch of clothing to ward off either the cold or his blows - the eyes of onlookers quickly become the least of one's concerns."

"Be that as it may, perhaps it would be best if we made use of the women's pools. I have no doubt that you could soundly thrash any man who dared to take inappropriate action, but as entertaining as that would be, it is something best avoided tonight."

"You would wish to be separated from me, Xavier?" she asks.

"No, of course not. By tradition, I am the only man permitted in the women's area."

"Indeed?" Katyana says, raising one eyebrow. "And did you proclaim this tradition upon the first day of your rule, or did you wait a week out of propriety?"

"I assure you, Katyana, it was not my idea... but I will acknowledge that I opposed it with the very least possible effort before giving in to the will of the people."

"Well, I did not anticipate that I might face direct comparison with the other ladies of Elyssia," Katyana muses, "but fortunately, I am very beautiful without my clothes on, so I believe I can hold my own."

"Tell me... how do I compare with the men you faced off with in your combat training?" you ask.

"I would say, you are rather less hairy."

"Of course, you may have the larger of the private pools for your use, Sire," Arethousa says as she leads you and Katyana into the cave-like chamber carved from the living rock centuries ago, when (it is said) the Roman Emperor Caligula made use of these pools. "From the moment you made your proposal upon the balcony, I anticipated that you and Lady Katyana might wish to spend a part of your evening here."

"I am most grateful, Arethousa... but you know that I prefer not to push my royal privilege too far. Surely, someone had reserved this pool tonight, and was doubtless very much looking forward to using it."

"Yes, in fact it was reserved by the Sultan over two months ago - he sent a rider in advance, with a fair amount of gold to ensure he would not be outbid for it! However, he absolutely insisted that the pool should be yours; he asked that you consider it an engagement gift. He said, and these are his own words: 'I shall accept no refusal!'"

You can't help but laugh at Arethousa's surprisingly accurate imitation of Subhi's booming baritone. "In that case, I can only accept his generous gift. I do hope that he informed the three women who doubtless would have shared his bath with him."

"Now Sire, you know the Sultan better than that! There were seven. Here, before I take my leave, allow me to pour the wine for you... but would you prefer water, my Lady?"

"Normally, I would; but this is a rather special occasion," Katyana says, taking the offered goblet.

"If I may be so bold, I should like to join you in a toast," Arethousa says as she pours a splash of wine into a third goblet for herself. "Eros, Phileo, Agape, Pragma. May Aphrodite's blessings be upon you both."

"Thank you, Arethousa," you say to her, as you clink glasses.

"Of course, Sire. You may summon me if there is need; otherwise, the pool is yours for the night." She bows slightly to you and to Katyana, and then ducks out through the low entrance.

"What an extraordinarily beautiful woman," Katyana says, looking in the direction from which Arethousa vanished. "I must confess, I am somewhat puzzled... even before I came here, I heard of the rumors that you were seeking a queen - and it never occurred to me in my wildest imaginings that you would seek me as such, much less that I would accept with such enthusiasm! Be that as it may, I cannot help but wonder why you did not court one such as Arethousa. Many men would look upon her and consider her no less than God's ideal of what a woman should be - and this is especially clear now that I have seen her unclothed!"

"Of course, I would not be a man if I did not notice Arethousa's natural gifts," you say, as you slide yourself carefully into the pool - the water is rather hotter in this pool than the others, as the warmth is trapped inside rather than escaping to the winds. "Certainly, I had my fantasies about her in my youth... but somehow, it never occurred to me to pursue her as a wife. I think that it may be because I had always imagined marrying a woman who would love me, and desire me. Arethousa has never shown any indication that she harbors such feelings for me, and I think she would not hide them if they existed."

"And yet, here we are," Katyana says, joining you in the water. "We have known each other scarcely more than a day, and we are betrothed. I have said that I love you, but of course, I say that to a man I barely know. If I am to be perfectly honest with myself and with you, I can only possibly love the idea of you for now; I may be imagining you to be a man very different from the one you are."

"Katyana, you must understand that I cannot speak words of love for you until I know them in my heart to be true," you say to her. "For now, all I can do is tell you what feelings I do have. Admiration, for your obvious courage and strength of will. A measure of trepidation, I must admit... many stories are told of you, and I am sure you realize that they paint a picture of a very dangerous woman."

"A 'bloodthirsty child of the Devil,' perhaps?" she asks with a smile.

"Something like that. Having come to know you even as little as I have, I know now that this is at the very least an **** exaggeration. But, I confess that I also find myself hoping that these stories are not all the result of embellishment, for I find some of those dangerous qualities to be... enticing. And I feel a longing to share with you that which I imagine life has denied you, a chance to be truly happy and to know what it is to feel a warm embrace. And just as you do for me, I look upon you and imagine a woman I could love... but only time will tell if what we see in each other is truly there."

"The greatest risks may lead to the greatest rewards," Katyana says. "So for now, I think we may both be satisfied with the idea that perhaps we can love each other, whether or not we actually do."

"It is a place to start, certainly."

"And so, that is the best we can do for love. Insofar as desire... well, Xavier, you may rest assured that my lust for you knows no bounds!"