On His Mane's Secret Service - #7
#159 of Prequel
When Em and Ra'Jirra left the palace, night was coming on. She had changed out of the Raba back into her normal clothes by then, but carried the priceless garment in a bag over her shoulder.
She saw Dar'Amon on the wall surrounding the palace grounds and she bid Em goodnight.
"What are you going to tell Dar?" Em asked her, watching the Alfiq who was looking the other way.
"I don't know yet. Everything. Gently."
"Well, good luck Raj," he said and kissed her forehead before leaving her.
"Dar!" she said, putting on a happy face.
"MEOW!" Dar'Amon said, turning around with as much happiness on his face as an Alfiq could muster.
She picked him up and put him on her shoulder. "Come on, let's get back to the apartment. I have lots to tell you."
The Alfiq rubbed his cheek against hers and she suddenly felt bad again.
The door to the apartment had barely closed when Dar'Amon let out his pent-up questions.
"What happened? Did you wear the underwear? Was the Mane okay with it? Tell me! Tell me!"
"Yes, I wore the underwear. It caused quite a stir of course, but the Mane didn't complain, so that pretty much shut everyone down."
"Great! So, what was he like?"
"Oh, pretty much what you've seen. Cathay-Raht in every respect. But Dar, he's not the real Mane!"
She continued to bring him up to date on the meeting, but not quite everything yet.
"So, sounds like the meeting is a go then?" said the cat.
"Sounds like it," she said, not disguising her objection of it.
"What's that you brought with you?" he said, nosing the bag that held the Raba.
"Oh, that's my Raba, custom fit for me!"
"They let you keep it?!"
"Um... yeah.. About that..."
"Let me see it on you!"
"Oh Dar, that'll just get you worked up. Maybe we should wait for the moons to align?"
"Aww. No. I'll be fine. I just want to see what you looked like in there!"
"Well... okay," Ra'Jirra said, relenting. She took the Raba into the other room and changed into it, leaving off the underwear. She knew he'd like that. Then she stepped out, her hand high on the doorframe and leaning seductively.
"Hi Kitty," she said, practically purring herself.
"Oh... my!" the cat said, gathering the vision in.
She smiled at that, thinking how odd it was that, even though Dar'Amon had seen her so often now in the nude, add a sheer princess' outfit that obscures just a bit, and it was as if he'd just seen her for the first time.
She crossed to the bed and put out the candle. The moonlight that filtered through the nearby window still provided plenty of illumination inside. She opened the window to let the cooling breeze in and saw him watching her every move. She did not relish the conversation that would soon come, but she knew now was the time for it.
"Dar," she said when she lay back down.
The Alfiq climbed atop her stomach and lay down there, purring happily and watching her face.
"Dar, they want me to be at the meeting. They know I hate the Dominion, and want my advice."
"The Mane is a smart man. He's wise to take your counsel."
"He is. But there's a problem. Traditionally there can only be three present at meetings of this solemnity, and only the closest advisers are allowed to be the other two."
"I don't see the problem. You can be one of his closest advisers."
"But it has to be official advisers. Dar... He's asked me to become one of his concubines."
Dar cocked his head to one side, not comprehending.
"It's a lifetime commitment, Dar."
Suddenly she saw the spark die in his eyes. He understood.
"What did you say?" he asked, his voice quivering a little.
"Dar, it's a request from the Mane. You already know what I said."
The cat rose and stepped off her.
"Well, I guess I can take the ring back..." he said, not looking at her.
"Dar..."
The cat leaped from the bed to the window sill.
"Dar, come back," she pleaded.
He turned back to look at her and their eyes locked for a few seconds. Even in the Alfiq body, she could read those eyes. He wasn't coming back.
"I'll see you later, Raj. I need some time to think."
She nodded and he was gone. She stepped to the window and leaned out, not caring who else might see her in the Raba. She saw his tail round the corner at the end of the hallway and he disappeared into the night.
She left the window open all night long, but he did not return that night, and she fell asleep to fitful dreams of Dar'Amon, the Mane, and prince Devline.
In the days that followed, she didn't see Dar'Amon again, but she had been busy with meetings at the palace, both with the Mane and with other officials. The meeting with Number One of the Dominion was scheduled for the following month at the palace, and an emissary was dispatched to deliver the requirements to the Dominion. She turned down the offer to be that emissary - she wanted as little to do with them as possible.
Instead, she learned a lot about the harem of the Mane. She wished she could tell Dar'Amon that it wasn't as bad as they'd both thought at first. The real Mane was actually monogamous with Isdra and did not actually mate with his concubines. As for Devline, who in theory might have had a right as the heir, it turned out that actually his interests lay in the other gender - a fact kept very close to the inner circle of the Mane and one that had caused some consternation about his future prospects to take over the title. The real Mane had overruled those arguments however.
So the concubines were actually free to take any lovers they saw fit, so long as it was kept discreet. While a marriage between Ra'Jirra and Dar'Amon would need to be kept quiet, neither the Mane nor anyone else would protest.
But Dar'Amon didn't return and Ra'Jirra asked Em about it a few days later. In fact, Dar'Amon had been sent on an assignment - at his request - and was not expected to return for weeks. Em noted that the Alfiq's partner was another female khajiit that Ra'Jirra knew, when she asked him. Ra'Jirra knew her as a decent agent, and she seemed to be a good woman, but Ra'Jirra wasn't in self-denial that she wasn't bothered by it.
And, of course, Dar'Amon would be returning to his Cathay form while he was away. That little detail didn't escape her notice either. She lay awake at night often after learning that, wishing she could talk to him desperately. Finally she asked Em if she might be able to send Dar a note by way of the HMSS, which Em duly accepted, though he couldn't say how long it would take to reach him.
She had to content herself with that, but every day when she returned to the apartment, it hit her like a sledgehammer that she was alone there. Eventually, she decided to move into her own room in the palace, like most of the other concubines. At least it kept her from being alone most of the time.
She did find it amusing, though, that most of the concubines now had taken to wearing underwear of their own under their Rabas. At least she'd had that small effect on the Royal culture, and she was more than a little proud of it.
Then, one night after she'd retired to her room, a knock came at the door. She rose to answer it and saw the large form of Devline standing outside. While he wasn't officially the Mane, as his heir she was technically his concubine as well.
"Can I come in?" he asked
"Devline? I... is this an 'official' call?" she asked, suddenly horrified that she might have to actually perform the traditional duty of concubines - with this huge Cathay-Raht no less!
"Oh! No! No no no... I just need to talk to somebody. I think we share a problem, you and I, and I can't really talk about it to anybody else. I think you will understand better."
"Well, I couldn't well refuse you even if it were official! But sure, come on in. I hope you don't take offense if I admit I was scared!"
She shut the door behind him as he sat on the bed of her private room.
"I understand you were in love before... this," he said, spreading his arms wide and indicating the palace and all it entailed.
Her mood swung from a bit of fear to sadness as she remembered Dar again. She had managed to put him out of her mind occasionally, but he was like a ghost, ready to leap back in at a word or a memory.
"I was," she said, choking up a bit and sitting beside Devline. "I still am."
He put his arm around her, and she felt like a child's toy, though he was gentle as could be.
"Me too," he admitted. "I guess you know... about me by now."
"Yeah, I do."
"It's just as hard for me, Ra'Jirra. I get to see him maybe once a week at best. How do you manage it?"
She looked up at the face she'd long thought of as the Mane. It was familiar, though instead of looking like the proud face of a country, he looked smaller now. More fragile. More real.
"I don't have any choice. He's gone. I suspect he's found another lover since I accepted this position."
"Oh? Oh, I'm sorry Raj. Em didn't tell me much. Though I think I may be losing my lover too. He's getting tired of all the sneaking around and no future, you see?"
Ra'Jirra nodded in sympathy. "Yeah, I can imagine."
"It's a hard life here. Harder than I ever thought it would be. For you too I guess."
"Better than being alone," she pointed out, and Devline nodded.
"Yeah, I suppose so," he said quietly, looking wistfully towards the window.
"Devline... if you want... you can stay here with me."
"Ra'Jirra... I'm not..."
"No. Just for companionship. Honest. I'm afraid my own interest is quite a bit smaller than you. But I would appreciate it."
The big head turned back to her.
"Just one condition - you've got to wear some underwear! That thing scares me to death!" she laughed.
Her laughter was infectious, and he chuckled, standing up.
"Ra'Jirra, I think I'd like that. Hang on, I'll go find something and be right back."
And she did feel better having someone beside her that night. For the first time in a long time, she slept soundly to the deep breathing of the Mane's figurehead beside her.
She never saw the cat's face at the window when it peered in at her hours later.