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*This story is copyrighted by me Tyvara_Panther on February 8th 2008. Enjoy!*

Sayrea took the box, and slowly opened it, which revealed a beautiful necklace of perfectly round pearls and jade beads; in the center of the necklace was a hematite fox pendant. Sayrea marveled at the stone likeness of herself, as the rust red streaks of the stone took on the red hue of her fur. It was as if someone had taken a grey fox and transformed it into a stone shape. Sayrea continued to stare breathlessly at the necklace; she had never owned anything so exquisite. Finally, after what seemed like hours of silence, Sayrea found her voice. "I would be honored to wear such a beautiful work of art."

Willa brought her paws together and held them tight against her chest under her muzzle. "Oh . . . the Emperor will be so pleased." Sayrea handed the necklace to Willa and turned, to let her maid put it on. Sayrea marveled at herself in the mirror; Willa stood behind her with a like expression. "You look simply lovely, mistress. I'll go get your escorts so you can be presented to the Emperor."

As Willa left, Sayrea looked at herself once again in the mirror. She had never looked so beautiful or owned such beautiful things. She let her paw trail against the necklace until it rested on the stone fox. "Milady, the Emperor will see you now." Came Willa's soft call which caused Sayrea to take a deep breath, and push all her fears within her into a tinny ball, as she turned to leave the room.

Outside were two towering ermine guards dressed in royal-blue and gold uniforms; they stood on either side of the doorway and turned quickly as Sayrea approached before they began a slow march as they led Sayrea down the hallway. The walls were decorated with enormous tapestries of royal-blue, embroidered in gold. They each depicted various scenes of ermines, either hunting, fighting, or romancing ermine women. Between each was a golden sconce. The spiraled metal lamps looked like a smiling face, with light that seemed to pour out of the tops of their heads.

As they walked, Sayrea soon understood why she was being escorted; with all the twists and turns down various hallways, she knew she never could have found her way on her own. As they continued, the tapestries were replaced by portrait paintings of what Sayrea could only assume to be the royal line of ermine emperors and shortly the escorts stopped in front of a towering oak door inlaid with gold and lapis lazuli. One of the guards stepped forward and banged on a small gong; the sound, loud and brassy, made Sayrea's ears ring a little. The doors opened from the inside and the guards led Sayrea in, as one announced her presence. With their job done, the guards bowed and left the room. There were two servant ermines on the other side of the door that also bowed and left the room, and closed the doors as they did.

Sayrea stood and marveled at the enormous room with a high ceiling. In front of her, set in the back of the room, was a tall balcony window opened wide to let in the forest air. To her left, was a round table, laden with food and set for two. At her right and up three stairs was a small study and library. As she walked in the room further, Sayrea noticed that the room she was in, was only a foyer as there were archways that led elsewhere; one of which Sayrea assumed, led to a bedroom. The decor was very different in color from the rest of the palace, done in bright shades of red, orange, and black. Thick red curtains framed the balcony, and before those, on either side, stood two vermillion couches covered with grey and black pillows.

While Sayrea stood and gaped at the room, she barely noticed movement from the balcony. She turned in that direction as the Emperor appeared in the archway. Sayrea did a double-take and they stood and stared at each other silently. She had never really looked at the Emperor before. He was tall, with broad shoulders and heavily muscled form, which gave him the appearance of a well-trained fighter. He wore loose tan breeches and an emerald shirt that opened in a long v showing part of his snow white chest. His digitigrade feet were uncovered, which revealed brown-tipped toes. The Emperor slowly walked towards Sayrea and held out his arms, his tail swished slowly as he moved; the tip was the same brown as his foot-paws. "You have finally arrived. I trust your things are unpacked and you are settled."

"I have been here for a day at least, my lord," Sayrea said, her form motionless, except for her tail which twitched nervously.

The Emperor stopped and smiled, as he took her paws in his. "Of course. Is the room to your liking? If not, I have many to choose from; you are welcome to any you like."

"My room is fine."

He led Sayrea toward the table. "Come, sit and eat with me. There is much to discuss."

Sayrea allowed herself to be led and seated at the table. "Of what, my lord?"

After he made sure Sayrea was comfortable in her chair, he sat across from her. "Please, call me Alirik. There is no need for such formalness. You are not my servant."

Sayrea blinked in surprise before she responded, "I don't understand. How am I not your servant?"

Alirik smiled at her, a warm welcoming smile that made his large, chocolate eyes sparkle. "I may have purchased you from your father, but I do not wish to own you. Had there been another way, I would have opted for it. All I wish is to love you and have you love me in return."

"I thought a concubine . . ."

"You are to be my lover, nothing more. I will not have you unwillingly--unlike most ermine; it is a distasteful thought to me. You will grow to love me as the others have."

"Are you saying that every female here, loves you?"

"If they do not, they have never shown it."

Sayrea said nothing as she rolled some of the food around her plate.

"Are you not hungry? Is there nothing here you wish for?"

Sayrea looked up to the worried eyes of Alirik before she replied. "I'm just confused about all this."

"Why is that?" Sayrea looked strained as the Emperor continued. "Please, tell me. I want to know."

"You want me to be your lover, but we've known each other for barely a day. I'm assuming you want to mate with me, but given what I've said, how can that happen unless you take me unwillingly?"

Alirik smiled again. "I find great joy in the pursuit of a beautiful female. If I can prove to you that you should love me, then my mating with you will be all the sweeter for it."

Sayrea let her mouth form into an "o", but said nothing.

Alirik looked troubled again. "Are you sure there is nothing you want to eat? I can get you anything."

She smiled as she shook her head and took some of the roasted chicken and began to eat. The look on Alirik's face melted and he followed her example.

Silence inevitably followed as Sayrea slowly pushed food around her plate and eventually into her mouth. There was a bottle of wine which sat next to the table in a container of ice, and Sayrea helped herself. The wine was sweet with the flavor of raspberries and cherries; she savored the taste, and let her mind become lost in the cool beverage.

Alirik cleared his throat, "So . . . do you like the necklace?"

Sayrea rattled her head, and pushed the feeling of the wine away. "Yes, it's lovely. You must have commissioned a fine artist to make such a stunning piece."

"I have in my palace, some of the finest jewelers. Anything you could dream of could be made by them." He paused and stared deeply at Sayrea with his intense chocolate eyes, before he continued. "I hoped you would wear the necklace for me. It is my wedding gift to you."

She blinked in surprise as her eyes grew wide and she asked. "How on earth does that work? Our marriage, I mean. I'd been wondering that since I discovered the number wife I would be."

"It is quite simple. There is some kneeling, praying, the minister will lead us in some vows, we take a few turns around a fire and we're done."

Sayrea's wobbled her head from side to side in a pseudo nod. "That seems simple enough."

"It is." Alirik said matter-of-factly then added, "It is a sad shame that your coming to me had to be done with the exchange of wealth."

"How so?" Sayrea said as she took another sip of wine.

"Well, it is not my custom to buy females. I would have preferred to court you, but your father would have none of it." Sayrea nodded and Alirik continued. "The females who come here have done so of there own will."

"Are you saying that all the women here were free from attachments?" Sayrea said with disbelief.

Alirik smiled as he spoke. "No, some of the females were engaged, some were even married before they came here, but no life can compare to that of living with an emperor."

"Why take females that were married?"

"Simply put, I will only make my mate of the most beautiful of females, and you are the most beautiful of vixens."

"I am the only vixen here?"

"Yes, I have only need of one."

Sayrea's head was spinning; she couldn't tell if it was from the wine, or from the dizzying wordplay she was going through with every question she asked. She felt certain she would never get a strait answer out of him.

"There is desert still if you would like." Alirik said as he changed the subject. "I had various cakes made for this occasion. You are welcome to try them."

Sayrea took another sip of wine and nodded as Alirik stood, and motioned for her to do the same, which she did, her wine glass in paw, and followed Alirik as he led her to the balcony. The sun had set, and the sky was flecked with dozens of stars. There were lanterns lit, but they were dim, and gave just enough light to see where they were walking. In one corner were two cushioned chairs with a table between them, and a covered dish on that. Alirik guided her to one of the chairs, and let her make herself comfortable before he uncovered the dish which revealed a plate with twelve paw-pad sized cakes, each one decorated elaborately and differently.

"May I recommend the dark chocolate one? It is one of my favorites." He paused as he sat in the padded chair next to Sayrea. "I trust you had chocolate in your town?"

"Yes, we did." Sayrea said as she took the suggested treat. "Though nothing as elaborate as this."

"I have the finest pastry chiefs. If there is anything you desire; something you liked from your hometown, it could be made for you."

Sayrea took a bite of the cake and practically died with pleasure as the sweet chocolate taste made her mouth come alive. She almost forgot what she was going to say.

Alirik gave a soft chuckle, "I told you, I have the best chiefs."

Sayrea nodded as she slowly savored the treat and took great pleasure as she chewed and swallowed. She raised a paw to her lips as she gave a small hiccup and held her breath to let the hiccups subside before she began to speak again. "What if I don't know the recipe?"

"It won't matter. They can make anything." He smiled as he reclined in the chair. He looked into the sky as he spoke to Sayrea. "The stars are beautiful tonight."

Sayrea sat back in her chair and began to stare into the sky. She took another bite of the cake, and gazed blissfully at the blue-black void above her, and as she stared upwards she began to relax. Then, out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of light. She looked in the direction of the light, but saw nothing. Then, there came another flash, and another until the entire sky was filled with streaks and her heart hung in her chest as she marveled at the beautiful sky filled full of falling stars. She had seen shooting stars in her lifetime, but never so many. She was so caught in the moment that she forgot everything and simply gaped at the sky.

When the show of lights was over, she turned to look at Alirik, and a tear hung in her eye. He stared at her as if she had been the shower of falling stars. "I take it you enjoyed yourself?" Alirik asked softly.

"It was beautiful. Didn't you watch?"

"Some of it, but the look on your face was pleasure enough for me."

Sayrea let a smile escape, but quickly turned it into an impassive look. She mentally berated herself for the good time she was having. In that brief moment, staring at the beauty of the sky, she almost forgot that she was miles from home, from her lover and everything familiar.

"I thought you might like it. When I went in to ask your parents' permission to court you, which I quickly realized was going to be a discussion on your purchase." Alirik visibly shook at the word and added. "Your mother came to me and told me you liked looking at the stars. I'm so glad she was correct."

Sayrea gave him a confused look. "You mean, you did all this for me?"

"Of course." He replied, almost shocked that she hadn't figured it out. "I told you I wanted to court you. I want to show you that marrying me is something you want to do, not something you have to do."

"You mean . . . we aren't getting married right away?"

Alirik sat up and gently took hold of Sayrea's paws. "I won't force you to marry me. If you decide that you don't want me. I'll take you wherever you want to go."

"But, I have nothing. I can't go back to my family, I belong to you now. If I went to my hometown, they'd make sure I was returned to you. I've only been raised to be a luxury item. I have no skills; I could never make my way in the world."

Alirik raised a paw to her face to calm her. "There's no need to panic. No woman has ever left me. I'm certain you will find happiness here."

Sayrea gave a disgruntled look, but remained silent.

"I think you should go back to your room now." Alirik said curtly as he snapped to his feet. "There have been many exciting things tonight and you should get some rest. We will be having dinner tomorrow." He held out a paw to help Sayrea up. She took it and he showed her through his room to the door. When Alirik opened the door, two guards stood to attention. "The lady Sayrea would like to return to her room now." The guards gave a silent nod and escorted Sayrea down the winding hallways to her room.

Once there and alone, Sayrea stood inside her closed bedroom doors. The room was dark with only a few lanterns lit. She hadn't meant for the look to cause such a reaction--at least she thought that's what happened. She'd had such a wonderful night, and she hadn't planned on it, it had just happened. Sayrea didn't know which she was more upset about, having a good time, or causing such a displeased response from the Emperor.

She walked toward the door Willa had mentioned earlier and gave a short knock. Her brain was still buzzing as the door opened and Willa, dressed in a sleeping frock, stood with a lit candle raised. She gave an immense yawn, which exposed her large canines as she spoke. "Your dinner with the Emperor is over?"

She gave a short nod and added. "I need a little help getting out of this dress."

"Yes milady." Willa said as she bustled passed Sayrea to the bureau, with the rather bewildered vixen in toe. Once there, she began to unlace Sayrea's dress, first with the bodice, then corset. "Was your dinner pleasant?"

With the corset off, Sayrea let out a huge exhale as proper air flow was restored. "It probably could have ended better."

Willa pushed the skirt to the floor and untied the petticoat. "What happened?"

She stood there naked before the bureau mirror, her hair still in the mountain of curls as Willa went to the dresser and removed a nightgown; it was fern-green in color, loose and made of silk. Willa held it open like a robe as Sayrea slipped her arms into the sleeves.

"I'm not sure."

Willa then buttoned the nightgown and tied it with the sash that hung around the waist, which gave the gown a more fitted look. "I'm sure it will turn out all right in the end. Just apologize the next time you see him, and it should be mended."

Sayrea then sat on the bureau stool and Willa began to take down the elaborate hairdo. "I don't really know what to apologize for."

"An apology can go a long way. It can mend even the smallest of wounds."

Sayrea resisted the urge to shake her head in disbelief, as she still didn't know what she had done wrong, and she was being urged to do something that had little meaning.

When her hair was down, Willa picked up a brush and Sayrea held up her paw. "I would like to brush my own hair."

Willa relinquished the brush. "As you wish. Is there anything else I could get for you?"

"Could I get a book to read and a cup of tea?" She said as she began to brush the curls out.

"What would you like?"

"A jasmine tea would do nicely."

"And the book?"

"Oh." She paused as she thought for a moment then said. "There was a book my mother used to read to me, when I was feeling bad. It was about a girl who was married to a man who's face she could never see."

"I think I know the one." Willa said as she smiled at Sayrea. "I'll be back as soon as can be."

After Willa left, Sayrea stood and walked to the divan, where she continued to brush her hair. She had finally finished when Willa returned with a pot of tea and a book, so she rose from the divan and put herself to bed. Willa propped her upright with pillows and handed her the book. She set the tea down on the bedside table and filled a cup with the golden liquid.

"If there's nothing else . . ."

"No, thank you Willa. This should do."

"Goodnight milady." She said with a short curtsy before she turned and slipped behind the door to her room.

Comfortable in her feather down bed, Sayrea opened the book and began to read as she occasionally took sips from her teacup. The story reminded her of her childhood, a time when she didn't have to worry about falling in love, getting married, or being sold. She fell asleep with the book in paw, and the teacup drained.

The next day, Sayrea woke as the sunshine came in through the curtains. Her eyes fluttered as the warm morning rays danced across her muzzle. Once fully awake she stared at her room. Willa had been there; she could tell since there was food set out on the table by the balcony and a lovely green tea dress hung on the dresser handles. As she gave a deep stretch, she sat up in bed. Her nightgown hung tight and lopsidedly about her--she had always been a wiggly sleeper. She threw the covers off her and stepped out of bed. Her paws touched the slick wood of the floor; it felt cool against her paw--pads. She clicked her toenails against the floor as she gave another stretch and she straitened her robe. The smell of breakfast on the nearby table made her stomach grumble and her mouth water. She rose and made her way in that direction. Willa must have brought her breakfast moments before she woke as the plate still steamed as did the pot of tea. After she set the provided napkin in her lap, she poured herself a cup of tea and began to eat. The food was delicious, and filled the empty void of hunger, as she had only small bites of food from the night before. She was not accustomed to skipping meals, and every bight was welcomed. After she finished, Willa appeared with the corset held open, and she waited patiently to dress Sayrea.

"It appears that I'm going out today." Sayrea said, as she rose and crossed the room toward Willa. She stood with her arms raised so Willa could wrap the corset around her. "Where am I going?"

"It is good that you should socialize with the other females in the palace. There is only so much that you can do in your rooms. The Emperor requests it."

"Then I guess I must do it." Sayrea said curtly as Willa began to tie the corset.

"It isn't as bad as you make it sound. This will give you a chance to meet other females, a chance to make friends with someone better than that . . ." Willa gulped down a word Sayrea couldn't hear. "Your ocelot friend."

"You don't seem to approve of her."

"I am only a maid, milady. What a maid thinks of females stationed above her isn't important."

"You needn't worry. I have known Vartouhi for only a day. That doesn't make her my friend."

"Either way, I'd be mindful of her. She seems all smiles, but that is not who she is." Willa said quietly as she finished tying the corset. She then went to the dresser and pulled down the green tea dress than hung there. As Willa brought it over, Sayrea had a chance to look at it better. It was a remarkable dress with a high cream colored lace collar; the lace ran down to the middle of the chest. The lace attached to both the dress, and the jacket, lined the sleeves and trim. The front of the dress was a cream colored silk that matched the lace, with tiny mint green leaves stitched throughout. The jacket part of the dress, attached underneath the collar and was dark pine satin, stitched with small canary yellow flowers all the way down to the three-foot train. The bodice was boned and slipped on easily and with a tail hole large enough for her fox tail to fit through, without making too much of the fur pull in the opposite direction--a sensation that made her shake violently. After Sayrea was dressed, Willa began to fuss with her hair, and ended rolling it into an elaborate bun hairstyle. Her overall appearance was a much simpler look from the night before and slightly more comfortable. She was used to wearing similar tea dresses, though hers had been made of much simpler materials.

Sayrea didn't really see the value in meeting with the other wives. What good was it in knowing the other females who slept with your mate, but it seemed that whatever the Emperor decided, she was bound to do.

Willa smiled at Sayrea as she stood to admire herself one more time. She placed a paw on hers as she spoke, "The guards will be here shortly to escort you to the bowery. I have some other things to attend to, so if you need anything, the guards will tell you who to ask." Willa turned and left the room which left Sayrea alone to wait.

Sayrea walked to the balcony and stood with her paws resting on the landing so as not to get the dress dirty, and inhaled deeply to take in the smell of the forest below. She let the breeze ripple through her exposed fur as she looked out across the treetops; she saw birds that flew below and wished she could be as free. The sound of a throat being cleared behind her caused her to turn abruptly and she came to face a guard.

He gave a short bow as he said, "I'm here to take you to the bowery milady."

Without a word she followed behind him out the room and toward the bowery. The path was more direct than the one that led to the Emperor's chambers; it led to a circular stairway and at the bottom was the bowery. When the door was opened, Sayrea was given a view of the enormous room. Her first impression was the shock at how large it was the size rivaled that of the Emperor's rooms, but then she realized how necessary a room like that would be--if you had forty-eight wives. The room had at least ten small tables and more chairs than she suspected wives. There were books everywhere, as were unfinished projects of knitting, needlepoint, paintings and other hobbies. There were currently seven females in the room: A red panda, zebra, snow leopard, otter, kangaroo, gecko, and a deer, each was busy with their own projects. They looked up as she entered, but quickly turned back to whatever they were doing--she didn't even have a chance to smile a hello at them.

If they weren't going to come to her, she might as well go to them; she had been told to make friends after all. Sayrea pushed away her nervousness and walked towards the females. They didn't look up at her as Sayrea gave a short curtsy, so she added. "Hello, my name is Sayrea."

The otter was the only one to look up, but her expression was blank. They stared at one another for a few moments until Sayrea felt so awkward she was forced to look away. She decided to wait for other females to arrive; she hoped they might be a little more hospitable. She waited and more of the wives did appear, but none would sit near her, let alone speak to her. She wanted to burst into tears as the others met up and formed their own small groups, without a welcoming glance. It pained her as she listened as they whispered softly amongst themselves.

An hour passed as the room filled, and the continual disacknowledgment made her want to rip out her own fur; when finally the doors opened and a familiar and contented face entered.

*Comments are welcomed. Please comment. I love comments, comments make me want to post more often and work harder toward completing stories. Anything is welcome, questions, comments, critiques, all these things help me become a better writer so please, let me know what you think--and even if you all hate me, then I'll know whether writing is even something I could pursue publicly -- Thanks ^ ^ *