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This story is copyrighted by my Tyvara_Panther on February 8, 2008. Enjoy.

Vartouhi looked about the room before she entered fully, a smile of content on her face. When she came to Sayrea, her face brightened further and she walked toward the vixen. Sayrea almost burst with joy at the prospect of having someone to keep her company.

"You seem all alone." Vartouhi purred.

"I don't think I'm very popular." Sayrea said as she choked back tears.

Vartouhi looked back at the other wives, then turned to face Sayrea and gave her a reassuring look. "Don't worry about them; it's customary for them to give the new girl the cold shoulder. It will pass." She sat down next to Sayrea and patted her paw warmheartedly.

"What makes you so different?"

"I'm not much of a follower, these little clique initiations are a little too much for me to dirty my paws with." She paused then gave Sayrea a warm smile. "Why don't we go to my rooms and leave the coterie to their own devices?" Sayrea nodded and the two females rose to leave the room.

On their way out, Vartouhi stopped at the doorway and motioned to the guards. "I'd like some cheese on toast, some of the finest fruit and a pot of coffee sent to my rooms. Enough for two." The guard nodded and Vartouhi led Sayrea to her rooms. Once inside Vartouhi began to peal off the tea dress she wore. Her dress had less lace and a lower collar, and with a color scheme of red and grey. Sayrea stood stiff and still as Vartouhi undressed--she had never seen another female undressed before--with the dress off and in a pile on the floor, Vartouhi stood with only her scarlet corset and grey slip. She turned to look at Sayrea. "I can have something more comfortable sent up here for you to wear. There's no need for such elaborate dress among friends." Sayrea nodded and Vartouhi went to the door to request a change of clothes from the guards outside. She turned back to Sayrea who still stood rigidly. "You're welcome to change out of that."

"Oh, I don't know." Sayrea said as her voice trailed off.

"Here, let me help you." Vartouhi moved toward Sayrea and began to unbutton the dress. All Sayrea could do was stare blankly as her clothes were removed. Vartouhi slipped the dress off and let it fall to the floor, which left Sayrea in only her green corset. She felt the pink insides of her ears flush, as she now wore less than Vartouhi and had never been this underdressed in front of anyone, except for maybe her mother and her maids--well and Enerin of course; he had always made it practically impossible to remain clothed when they were together, but that was sexual, this was--unfamiliar.

Vartouhi's tail swished as she spoke softly. "You don't need to be embarrassed, there's nothing you have that I haven't seen twenty times over in the mirror." She smiled as she added, "Well except I have more spots."

Sayrea looked about the room nervously. For the most part the layout was very similar to her own; the main difference was in the color scheme, which was cream, brown and violet. Vartouhi moved gracefully to the cream-colored divan and sat then lounged back, which took up the full length of the couch. "You're welcome to sit anywhere. You might as well get comfortable; it will take a while for your change of clothes to get here."

As she looked around, she decided to sit on a cream couch that faced Vartouhi, and was covered with brown and purple pillows. She sat and used the pillows to cover herself with and only then did she feel slightly more comfortable and felt her nervousness ebb.

Vartouhi looked at Sayrea and purred softly as she spoke. "I'm sorry that the other wives were so unpleasant, they should be kinder given time."

"It seems rather silly to me. There's no reason why they should react so, since the emperor has so many wives. How could he even have a favorite amongst them?"

Vartouhi sat up strait at that statement. "Actually he does have a favorite." There was a knock at the door and after she waited a few moments, Vartouhi called out for their entrance and a maid silently and swiftly scuttled inside with a platter of melted cheese on toast, two small bowls of berries, and a pot of coffee. The aroma was delectable. "I know it's a little late for elevenses, but cheese on toast is my favorite." Vartouhi said without a glance to the servant who set the platter down on a table nearest the ocelot and quickly--more so than when she had first entered--scuttled out the door.

Vartouhi turned her attention to the tray and poured coffee into two silver cups that were decorated with pictures of running cats. She added cream and sugar at Sayrea's request and took her coffee black.

Sayrea took her cup with both paws and deeply inhaled the strong smell. It wasn't often she had coffee at home, as it was reserved for men. It was in her family that the stimulant was not very ladylike, so women drank tea. She remembered sneaking cups when she was younger and liked the taste so much that she had found herself lurking around the kitchen whenever the smell of coffee was in the air.

Before she drank, she looked at Vartouhi and asked, "So who is the Emperor's favorite?"

Vartouhi let out a small smile, but quickly let it fade into a blank expression, "Oh, his tastes come and go, but the Emperor is known for having a weakness to cats. He does keep a few varieties around."

"I hadn't really noticed." Sayrea said a little surprised.

"Next time you're in the bower, take a look; he has just about every cat species with spots living in the palace--he has a thing for spots."

"I wasn't aware."

"No, you probably wouldn't be. You've only been here a couple of days." She smiled and sat up slowly to reach for the plate of cheese toast and grabbed a slice while she said, "I take it you saw the Emperor last night."

"I did."

A silence followed as Vartouhi took a bite of the toast. She held a paw over her mouth to cover the food as she spoke. "So, how did it go?"

Sayrea sighed heavily before she replied, "It probably could have gone better. I think I upset him."

"Yes, you should be mindful of that. The Emperor can be quick to anger, and he rarely forgives--that is, unless he can profit from it."

Sayrea gave no reply as she took a few berries from the bowl of fruit. Having a friend could prove useful and she was growing glad with each moment that passed, that she had made one of Vartouhi. There was another knock at the door, but this time a maid dashed out and opened it. She returned, with a skirt and bodice in her paws. She stood and held them out, and waited patiently for some direction.

Sayrea continued to look in the direction of the maid, but Vartouhi continued to eat the slice of toast, which caused an uncomfortable silence to follow. After Vartouhi had eaten the toast and swallowed she waited a few moments before she turned to the maid. "Maid, dress my friend." She raised a paw which she flicked at the maid demandingly. The maid nodded and silently waited for Sayrea to stand up. She did and the maid quickly dressed her, then even more quickly, left the room. When they were alone, Vartouhi began the conversation again. "I just want you to be careful. The Emperor can make some rather seductive offers, and I wouldn't want you to get carried away in his fantasies."

"He told me, that all the females here loved him."

Vartouhi giggled softly. "No one here is willing to tell the Emperor otherwise. He is Emperor after all, what he says is truth enough."

Sayrea nodded, "I know too well, the males in my family make all the decisions; what they say is law."

Vartouhi gave a blank stare, and followed with a soft reply. "Then you should go far."

The two females spent the rest of the afternoon in Vartouhi's chambers. They chatted over their lives before the emperor, and Sayrea listened intently to Vartouhi's tales of the dairy farm. There had been one in her village, but she was not allowed to leave her parent's plantation so she knew nothing of its workings. As she listened to Vartouhi talk, the ocelot had much to say on her old life and how she wouldn't trade her new one for anything. She seemed disdainful of the other wives and practically refused to mention them accept in passing. They talked long into the evening, when Sayrea looked out the window and noticed that a few scant stars twinkled outside.

She hadn't noticed the time of day as a maid had lit so many candles before the sun set that the lighting was practically the same. She stood quickly. "I've forgotten my dinner with the Emperor "

Vartouhi smiled deeply as she stood. She placed a paw on Sayrea's shoulder to calm her. "I wouldn't be too concerned with that. If the Emperor wanted you to eat with him, he would have sent someone to fetch you."

"But he said that we would have dinner together today."

"Don't fret dear, if you want to have dinner with him, you should just apologize." She patted Sayrea tenderly. "Honestly, I think you're better off. Do you really want to deal with the Emperor's whims? If I were you, I'd let him stay mad, he won't bother you that way."

"But the Emperor never did bother me. I think he's a little full of himself . . . but I have nothing else. He's my husband; it's my job to do anything to make him happy."

"Sweetie, he has forty-seven other wives to do that. It would be easier to just let it go."

Sayrea backed away slowly. "You don't understand. I was raised all my life to be a wife, to be a slave to whoever purchased me. It's not much, but that's all I know. If I don't do what I've been trained, the Emperor might be displeased with me and send me away. If he does, I have nowhere to go. I don't know how to do anything but be a wife." Sayrea said forcefully, as tears of frustration welled in her eyes. "I have to apologize. Don't you see that? I can't be sent away; if I go home, my parents will send me back to the Emperor. If I go somewhere else, all I can do is be a beggar."

"You're overreacting." Vartouhi said, "You could be a cook, or a seamstress, you have to have those skills at least."

"Yes, but no one would hire me as I've been cast aside by my husband. I'd be a disgrace "

"Not everyone in this world looks at females that way. You could find a job."

Sayrea shook her head. "I must go back to my rooms. I had a wonderful time, really I did." She turned and scurried to the door, then turned back to look at Vartouhi. "I'll see you tomorrow." Without a second glance she left and wandered around until she found a guard to take her back to her rooms.

Once back inside her bedroom, she stood with her back against the closed doors and took in a deep breath as she fought back tears. Why would Vartouhi want to keep her away from the Emperor? She couldn't make sense of it. She took in another breath and went to Willa's door and knocked softly. When Willa answered she saw the distressed look on Sayrea's face, and all appearance of sleep left her.

"Dearie, what happened?"

"Just something Vartouhi said. I think I should apologize to the Emperor."

"That would be a good idea." She said as she moved passed Sayrea and toward the dresser where she removed a nightgown. "I wouldn't take any stock in what Vartouhi says. She's not a very nice female."

Sayrea, who had been following Willa, stopped suddenly. "Why would you say something like that?"

Willa busied herself with the nightgown as she talked. "She has her own agenda. Don't ask me what it is; I don't know. All I know is, she has some reason for befriending you so quickly, and I'd be careful if I were you."

Sayrea took in what Willa had said and pondered a bit before she gave a reply. "She wants me to let the Emperor be mad at me."

Willa looked up at that and left the nightgown on Sayrea's bed as she moved forward to undress her. "She might say something like that."

"Why?"

"She spends a great deal of time with the Emperor. You being around, prevents her from that, as the Emperor focuses all his attentions on you."

"Why does he have so many wives if he only focuses on one female at a time?"

"He likes to give his wives individual attention. He wants each to feel as special as they are."

"Vartouhi's been really nice to me. All the other wives today wouldn't speak to me. Heavens, they wouldn't even look at me."

"Don't worry about it." Willa said with little concern, as she led Sayrea to the bed so she could finish dressing her. "They'll get over themselves; once they realize that you aren't leaving."

"I suppose." Sayrea said and gave a stretch after Willa finished dressing her. "I had another reason for waking you--I mean, I can dress myself."

Willa looked up. "What can I get for you?"

"I need a quill and some paper."

"Certainly." Willa walked to the other side of the room, between the balcony and her door to the desk that sat there. She pulled open a drawer and took out a few sheets of paper. "There you go, and there's a quill and ink on the desk. You're welcome to wander through here, all of this is yours." Willa said, her paws, pads up, as she wove them around to show the entirety of the room.

"I will do that." Sayrea said with a smile, as she walked toward the desk and sat. She took the paper in her paws and began to think of what she wanted to write.

"Whenever you're finished, I'll send a page to deliver that to the Emperor."

"Thank you."

Willa walked back to her room and left Sayrea to her writing.

After a while Sayrea began. Every now and then she would begin a new page, discarding the old until she came to the letter she wanted to give the Emperor:

_Emperor Alirik,

I want to apologize for missing dinner tonight and also for things said the night before. All of this is new to me and while your advances are nice, being courted by my husband is a strange thought to me. I am yours, as you have purchased me, and I will do anything to make you happy. I do not want to leave.

Sayrea

_ She folded it delicately as she walked toward Willa's door and knocked. The door never opened; instead there was a knock on Sayrea's door. She opened it and a young ermine hob waited patiently. Sayrea gave him the letter and a small pat on the head before she closed the door.

She then gave a cursory glance about the room. She wasn't tired and was far too stressed to sleep. Outside the sun had set hours ago, which left the sky dark and full of twinkling stars. She walked out to the balcony and rested her elbows on the ledge. She looked down at the forest below her. She wanted to cry, but she felt too overwhelmed for tears. As she looked out at the darkened sky, she felt the heavy weight of depression press down on her. She felt so utterly alone. Every time some part of her life seemed to be going in order, there would be some of that happiness ripped from her. She felt so alone--so utterly alone--as if she could feel the whole world turning against her.

When she was younger, she had tried to stay away from men, tried to avoid love, until she met Enerin. She had been foolish with Enerin, she knew that, but she still wanted him and missed him. Even now, at the Emperor's palace--his soon to be bride--she missed Enerin. She wanted to feel him holding her, wrapping his muscular arms around her, taking all her fear and pain away. But she knew she couldn't have that--she would never feel his warm, loving touch again. The thought of it made her heart thump in her chest and tears spring to her eyes. She gave a thought to stop them, but let them fall. Her whole body felt heavy and tight, which made it hard to breath, and she began to heave as the tears fell down in full force. The forest became an enormous streak of greens and blues as her vision wavered, which caused Sayrea to roughly wipe her eyes; this only gave part of her vision back as the tears still cascaded down her face.

She knew Vartouhi was wrong. She knew that she could never amount to anything if the Emperor didn't keep her. Her parents were right about Enerin; about getting too attached to a male before she was married. If they were right about that . . . she had no reason to doubt them about being able to make a life for herself, if she left the Emperor. They said she would be destitute--she believed them. She simply had to make amends with the Emperor, her life depended on it. She knew she could not live the life of a beggar, much less a whore; so she had no choice, but to fix things while she still had that opportunity. Though she didn't think more than throwing herself before the Emperor and begging for his forgiveness would be of any good. She might be overreacting, but she had always been taught that it was better to do more than necessary than less. She heaved again and dried her tears, as the last left her eyes. She felt horrible, and her whole body hurt from crying. Despite that she still didn't feel tired. She turned and rested her back against the ledge of the balcony. She didn't want to stay here and wallow in her room; she had to get out. She wanted to walk around, but there wasn't really anywhere to do that, and walking the hallways held no appeal, especially in the dark and cold of the evening, and she had a high chance of getting lost. Plus it felt kind of creepy walking around the halls, like someone was watching her all the time.

Sayrea thought to herself about where she wanted to go, then it dawned on her, she had been brought in by horses, so there were stables on the grounds somewhere. She had always liked being with the horses on her parent's plantation. One of the few things she was permitted to do was to ride horseback. Someone in this palace must know where the stables were.

She left the balcony and crossed the room to her bedroom door, but on her way, she caught a look at herself in the mirror and realized she was in her nightgown. She shrugged her shoulders. Chances were, that few would be awake to take notice of her informal attire, and she was willing to risk being seen as long as that meant she could get out of her room--besides, it wasn't as if anyone other than a pawful of creatures took notice of her anyway. She once again made for the door and gave a nervous look outside it. The hallway was empty. That meant she would have to search for someone before she could get anywhere useful; granted, that was slightly better than staying in her drab room. So she headed off in a direction, which she hoped would either take her to a guard, or the stables. Sayrea had been walking for a few minutes before she heard a gruff voice ahead of her.

"Milady, is there anything I can do for you?"

Sayrea gave a second look in the direction of the voice, and saw an ermine guard who waited in the shadows. He barely moved at her approach. "I'm looking for the stables."

"Yes milady. I will escort you." With that, he sharply came to attention and began to walk in the direction of what Sayrea assumed would lead her to horses.

They walked in silence and semidarkness, the only light came from sconces that lined the hallway. They were the same sconces she had seen when she had gone to meet the Emperor, but they looked rather depressed now; their dim light barely radiated from the tops of the domes, the glow almost pathetic. The palace felt creepier at night, and she constantly noticed movement out of the corner of her eyes of imaginary things, and was thankful she had a guard with her.

After what Sayrea felt was far too long of a walk, they found their way to the stable doors. It had an entrance within the palace that could be reached through the entry hall. It was the same place Sayrea had entered when she had arrived, she had assumed then, that having a stable attached to the palace would protect the royalty from becoming a victim of the weather, and it was an easy way to access them.

The guard spoke softly, "If you need anything a guard will be down here shortly. I must return to my post." Sayrea nodded, but the guard was already gone.

The stable was dry, and filled with the smell of many horses, as well as the sounds of nickering. Sayrea smiled to herself; it didn't matter where you go, stables are all the same. They have the same smells, sounds and of course the same animals. She walked down the isle looking at the different horses in their stalls; some turned to investigate the unfamiliar female, who walked past them; others simply continued to sleep or munch on hay. As she walked past one of the stalls, she heard a whinny from a horse there and she turned to look at it. It was the same horse the Emperor had ridden on, when he had gone to her parents to bargain her purchase price. He whinnied again at her and she walked forward which only caused him to bob his head at her and she looked around for something to feed him. There was a small feedbag on the ground filled with oats and Sayrea grabbed a pawful and held out her full paws in offering; he fed from her hand greedily, and when her paws were empty he nudged them for more. She grabbed another pawful which the horse likewise devoured. She knew he wasn't hungry; he was plump, so he had to be getting fed on a regular basis. She looked at the oats then back to the horse, who stared at her with longing almost pathetic eyes.

"Okay, but this is the last one." She said, as she gave him another pawful of oats, and petted his face as he ate. As she did so, she heard a voice from the far end of the stable.

"I would not give him any more . . . we are trying to get his weight down."

Sayrea turned to see the Emperor, who stared softly at her. "I'm sorry highness, I didn't mean to wreck your horse." She said, as she backed away from the stall.

The Emperor gave a light chuckle. "You have not ruined him. He is just a greedy horse, who needs to learn when enough is enough." The horse whickered again and stretched his neck out to Sayrea. "You see? Now he thinks he needs more."

Sayrea stood motionless as the Emperor walked forward and lay a paw on the horse's muzzle. He patted him warmly as he spoke. "He is a good horse, but for that one problem." The Emperor turned and whispered to Sayrea. "That is not entirely true; he is a vain horse. I have seen him roll around in the dirt, just so he can get a good brush." He chuckled and continued. "But please do not tell him that. I do not want him to know we are onto him."

Sayrea smiled. "I won't."

With his voice at normal volume the Emperor continued. "It is nice to see you smile, you do it so seldom."

"Oh, I . . ." Sayrea stopped and her ears flushed as she suddenly realized she was in the presence of The Emperor in her nightgown. "Excuse me highness, I should be . . ."

"Do not go." The ermine said, as he gently grabbed her arm. Sayrea looked down at the Emperor's arm, then to him as he spoke. "I really could care less as to how you are dressed and please, do not call me highness. I am Alirik and you are to be my wife. It is hardly necessary for you to refer to me as highness."

Sayrea took a deep breath as she spoke, her arm still in Alirik's paw. "I know. It just seems, well wrong to call you by your name. You're an Emperor and I barely know you."

"There is nothing to prevent you from getting to know me."

"You don't understand. There is so much you don't know."

"But, you could tell me. Then I would understand."

Sayrea shook her head. "I wish it were that easy."

"Why can it not be?"

Sayrea stood as she stared into Alirik's eyes. He looked like he really wanted to know what was wrong. That warmed her, that he might actually care. Maybe he really did want her to love him. She didn't really have many options. She could stay here and be bitter, and Alirik might send her home, and she couldn't go home. She could stay and try to find something good in her future husband; if she did that, she just might find something to be happy about. Staying really was her only option, and she decided if she had no choice, she might as well try to find something to be happy about, and maybe she could find that something in Alirik. "I guess I'm just scared. I never thought I'd be sold to someone so far away from my family. I knew it could happen; I just didn't think it would." She turned away from Alirik as she continued. "The other females here don't like me."

"You don't know that."

She looked at Alirik as tears welled in her eyes. "They won't even look at me. I walk into a room and everything goes quiet. They stare at me, but won't speak to me. I have no friends, no family, just myself, and there isn't a lot to me. I'm just a fox who was raised to take care of her husband and family. You tell me that I have the choice to stay or go home, but I can't go home. If I do, my family will reject me, because I have failed my husband. If I am unworthy of my husband . . . I am unworthy of them. If I leave, I'll have nothing to go back to." Sayrea was crying now. She didn't want to be, but as she talked about everything . . . it just happened.

Alirik pulled her close to him and let her cry. As he held her, all Sayrea could think of was Enerin and how Alirik holding her felt the same, but the thought of Enerin, made her cry even more. So she just stood there as Alirik held her, letting her cry. He ran a paw over the back of her head, and smoothed her hair as he did, and just let her cry herself out. Sayrea just held onto the Emperor; her body shook from the effort. She felt miserable, but as she let Alirik hold her, she felt better.

When her tears finally slowed and her breathing returned to normal Alirik lifted her chin to look at her. Despite her tear-soaked face he smiled at her and lightly kissed her on the tip of her nose. "Everything will improve with time. If you truly wish to stay, then I will not stop you. I only want to make you happy."

Sayrea looked deeply into Alirik's eyes; so like Enerin's, filled with love and care. She wanted a part of what she had lost when she had left Enerin behind, and she would take what she could from Alirik. "I wish to stay. I have nothing elsewhere."

Alirik smiled down at Sayrea as he said, "I am glad to hear it, but I do still wish to win your affections. Just because you must stay here, doesn't mean I have your heart." He smiled as he ran a paw through her wavy black hair.

Sayrea sniffled as Alirik looked down at her then she said, "I should go back to my room now."

"Of course." Alirik said with a smile. "I didn't want to disturb you, but I needed to confirm your letter."

Sayrea gave a shocked look. "I didn't know you received it. I thought I had disturbed you by coming here."

"No, I came here to find you."

"How did you know where I was?"

Alirik smiled as he placed a paw on her cheek. "It is my palace after all. It didn't take much to find out where you were."

Sayrea smiled back at Alirik before she gave her reply. "Of course." She said as she left Alirik's embrace. "Then I suppose I will see you later."

"Tomorrow, for lunch. Meet me here; we shall go out for a picnic." Alirik requested, as he turned his body to follow Sayrea as she walked from the stables.

Sayrea turned back to him and grinned; she gave a short nod and a curtsy. "Then I will take my leave of you majesty . . . Alirik." She corrected.

They both smiled at one another and Sayrea turned and left the stables. There was a guard outside which she nodded at and addressed, "I would like to return to my rooms now."

"Yes milady." The guard said with a head nod and began to walk off with Sayrea in toe.

As they walked, Sayrea took careful note of the turns they made, and the differences of each hallway. She was determined to learn her way around the palace; it tired her greatly, having to wait for a guard to come and fetch her before she could go anywhere. When she finally found herself in front of her door, Sayrea was almost certain she could find her way back to the stables and the guard left her when she walked inside.

Sayrea stood with her back against the closed door of her room and let out a soft sigh; she hadn't expected things to turn out as well as they had. Her room was dark, she would have to mention to Willa to leave some candles lit at night, so she could make her way to bed when she came in late, and as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw a figure in the corner of her room.

*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 ^ ^ *