Chapter 10- The Games Begin
When Nol wakes the next morning, he lays there, slowly drinking in the gentle curvature of his mate's still, sleeping body. After a while, he nudges her shoulder with a paw, watching raptly as her eyes flutter open.
"Good morning, mate." she whispers sweetly, making sure they are not overhead. "I guess we should head to Evinil and see what she has for you, Huh?"
"Yeah, I guess we should." Nol replies, climbing off of the bed alongside Crystalia.
They grab their respective pieces of clothing and get dressed quickly, not wanting to keep Nol's parents waiting.
"I want you to have this." Crystalia says suddenly, handing Nol a golden tail band encrusted with large diamonds.
"You don't have to give me anything special." He replies tentatively.
"I know, but I want people to see we're together though."
Nol nods, accepting the band and putting it on, taking a minute to get used to the weight on his tail. Crystalia puts hers on and quietly glides down to the first floor, silently opening the door and ushering Nol through before going through herself, noiselessly easing the door shut behind them.
They head down to the seamstress' chamber, finding her sitting quietly behind her large desk. She smiles as they enter, as if she'd been expecting them.
"Good to see you again Crystalia, Nol."
"Good to see you too, Evinil!"
"Well, I think I've got what you're looking for right.... here!" Evinil holds up a white shirt patterned elaborately with gold and silver. "Sorry, I know you wanted an outfit but this is all I had time for."
"That's fine, I know that you had incredibly short notice. I really wasn't even expecting something as elaborate as this." Crystalia looks excitedly at Nol before ushering him forward.
The seamstress hands Nol the colorful piece of clothing, allowing him to put it on over his current clothing before turning to Crystalia.
"Thanks Ev, you're amazing at this!" The young dragoness says happily.
"Well, when you have a few hundred years practice, that tends to happen."
"Wow, thanks..." Nol says, returning to Crystalia's side.
He gently licks Crystalia's cheek before walking to the door, holding it open for his mate.
They return to the foyer just outside of the queen's room, walking to a portal at the end of the room.
Crystalia's stomach grows uneasy as she looks at the portal, remembering her first experience with one.
"Nol, are you sure you don't want me to take you home?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, besides, my parents are waiting for me..."
"Well, goodbye my mate." Crystalia whispers to Nol before licking his cheek affectionately.
Nol runs up to the portal, stopping briefly at the edge before jumping through.
Crystalia sits there for a few minutes, watching as the portal slowly vanishes.
She jumps slightly as she feels a weight on her shoulder, whipping her head around to see Adinia standing beside her.
"So, you two tied the knot?" She asks casually, smiling kindly at the young dragoness.
"How'd you..." Crystalia pauses, thinking the queen may be deceiving her into admitting to mating Nol.
"Look, sweetie, I know you think you two think you were being low-key but you weren't. I knew you two had bred as soon as you returned, it was all in your posture, you were holding yourself much higher than usual."
"So, am I in trouble?" Crystalia asks worriedly.
"Let's go somewhere more... private, to discuss this." Adinia replies calmly.
Crystalia slinks beside Adinia as she opens the door to her chambers, stopping to tell the guards to leave their posts and to tell any visitors that she is busy.
She sighs contentedly as she closes the door, locking it magically.
"Okay, let's get this out of the way now, you are not in trouble or anything." The Queen says flatly.
"I'm not?" Crystalia replies, shocked.
The queen chuckles and motions for Crystalia to join her on a large beanbag, smiling sweetly as the young dragoness slinks over, before hiding herself in the fabric.
"Look, I'm really not mad at you, or even disappointed. To be perfectly honest, I expected this to happen."
"Really? Why? I broke laws by mating with him." Crystalia replies shyly.
"Yes, I know you did, and it makes me proud, you found your male, and you showed him your affection in the best way possible, even if it did mean breaking a law or two. You weren't afraid, and that's what I look for in my heir, fearlessness."
"So, I'm not in trouble?" Crystalia asks tentatively.
"No, you aren't, and, as far as anyone else knows, this never happened."
"Thanks Adinia." Crystalia sighs, flaring her wings and hopping up to her bedroom.
As Crystalia undresses that night, she can't help but think of how she had laid down on her back and allowed Nol to... She couldn't finish the thought, it was too embarrassing...
Her whole body aches when she wakes the next morning, though she doesn't quite know why.
Stretching, she finds the lower part of her bed and body slightly wet, even sticky, on further examination... As she hops gracefully out of bed, she finds her muscles slightly stiff. After only a few minutes, she notices her natural scent is stronger than usual, causing the slight wetness between her hind legs to grow slightly.
She quietly walks to the bathroom, determined to clean this sticky mess off of her. She turns on the water, getting it nice and warm before stepping in and moving the shower head to between her hinds, sighing contentedly at the satisfying buzz that fills her mind, drowning out her other senses slightly.
She repeatedly flicks her paw along her stomach, wiping off a fair amount of the viscous fluid covering her crotch, feeling a tightness in her chest as her breathing grows laboured.
Eventually, Crystalia finishes cleaning herself and returns to her bed, magically cleaning it before she lays back down to wait for the Queento wake
...
She doesn't have to wait long, though, as the Queen wakes only a few minutes after Crystalia. She hears the Queen groaning as she stretches before she makes her way up to Crystalia's loft.
"Good morning." The Queen says, casually opening a secret door in the wall slightly to the left of the bathroom. She stands there and waits patiently for Crystalia to walk over and join her.
Crystalia's eyes dilate as she tries to see what lays beyond the doorway, jumping slightly as a portal lights within, the sudden flash of bright, arcane light temporarily blinding her. As she quickly shakes off the blindness, she barely manages to see the tip of the Queen's tail slipping into the gooey substance that is the portal. Crystalia takes a deep breath and prepares to hop through the portal, suddenly remembering that she can teleport herself; the young dragoness lays down on the floor, focusing on the Queen's aura, locating her, before her form begins to fade out of the lonely room, suddenly appearing behind the Queen.
Crystalia takes a few minutes to look around, finding herself in a very large clearing, surrounded by massive trees.
Adinia jumps, growling aggressively as she feels something brush against her left flank.
"Ha, I finally got you back!" Crystalia exclaims proudly, her head held high.
"That you did, young girl, that you did." Adinia replies humoredly.
"So, why'd you want to come out here anyway?" Crystalia asks, slightly confused.
"Because, it's time to train." The Queen explains, laying her crown on the grass nearby.
"Oh, okay, what should we start with?" Crystalia asks eagerly, shaking her whole body as if she was trying to dry herself off.
"We start...", the Queen begins, flaring her wings and using them to block Crystalia's view. "...with this!" She pulls her wings back and a bright, arcane light flashes between them. A small, square table with a single rock appears as the blinding light fades.
"Wait, didn't we already do this?" Crystalia asks the Queen.
"Yes, we did, but I do hope you will refresh my memory of your strength?" Adinia replies soothingly, her voice loosing it's normal, sharp edge, instead taking up a kinder, nurturing, almost romantic tone.
Crystalia, taken slightly aback by Adinia's sudden change of tone, stands in place, unaware of the older female's chuckling.
"Oh, did I surprise you?" Adinia teases lightly, clicking her claws together to snap Crystalia from her thoughts.
"Sorry, yeah, I wasn't expecting you to talk so differently to me." Crystalia admits, walking to the small table and laying down across from the Queen.
"Sweetie, I view the two of us as equals here, I always hated being called 'your highness', or whatever the ambassadors decide to title me." Adinia responds, gesturing nonchalantly with her left forepaw, "So, I don't want to hear you call me 'Queen', 'Your Highness', none of it. Here, I am simply Adinia, and only to you."
"Okay, I think I can manage that... Adinia." Crystalia responds, smiling kindly, testing the feel of the name on her tongue.
"Oh, and one other thing", Adinia suddenly says, getting up quickly, "no need for these." She quickly strips, throwing her clothes to the side as she shivers slightly from the cool air suddenly rushing across her body. "Let's get started, though, grab the stone with your mind."
Crystalia complies, focusing on the stone, easily lifting it with her mind. She releases a slight, primal growl as she feels a tug against her mental hold on the stone. Adinia chuckles as Crystalia begins to lose her grip on the object, causing the younger female to panic, quickening the process for Adinia.
Crystalia yelps suddenly as the stone is pulled from her mental grasp. When she opens her eyes, she sees the stone floating in front of Adinia's grinning face.
"See, that's the kind of mistake I have learned to avoid." Adinia comments, searching Crystalia's mind through her eyes.
"Ugghh... Get out of there!" Crystalia growls, shaking her her head vigorously.
"Ooooh, did I hit a sensitive spot?" Adinia teases, probing deeper into the young female's mind.
"Stop! I don't want you in there!" Crystalia hollers, growling deeply toward Adinia.
"Well, if you don't want me here, then make me leave" Adinia tells Crystalia mentally, once more teasing her student.
Crystalia focuses on her searing rage, channeling it into a mental blockade, forcing the intruder out of her mind.
"Well done, well done Crystalia." Adinia soothes, calming the younger dragoness' rage.
"Nnnnhhhh; I hope you won't continue to do that. It's difficult putting up those barriers." Crystalia sighs, curling up into a ball in the soft, warm grass.
"Well, I can't say that I won't, but I can promise that I will only do so out here. On my honor."
"I guess that's close enough." Crystalia sighs before falling asleep on the spot.