Alexei's Wedding

Marriage

Fenneck and Natalya and the court of Glitterfjell attend Alexei's wedding.

Fenneck helped Natalya off the ferry and watched her face as she looked around Sivania studiously. He really wanted her to like it here but she was hard to read. She was wearing a brown wig and an appropriate silk outfit Fenneck had gotten her last time he was here. It was fairly modest and she seemed nervous being so far from the mountains. It had also been a long two days of travel and they were both feeling exhausted. Fenneck wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her cheek lovingly, trying to make her more comfortable. "Well? What do you think?" he asked her. She gave him a small smile. "It's beautiful... and hot," she commented. Fenneck sighed in disappointment, hoping that she would grow to like it over the next couple weeks. "Come on! Let's get to the palace. It's getting dark," he said, leading her through the town that was fairly mellow this late at night with only a few taverns and restaurants open. He and Natalya had decided to come down early for the full extent of the celebrations. Most of the other Glitterfjellians would arrive later for the main ceremony. They finally made it to the palace and the guards let Fenneck and Natalya inside. One of Rajyet's advisers, a very handsome sun elf Fenneck had spent some crazy nights with the last time he was here, was the only person in the hall and he walked up and gave Fenneck a smile. "Your highness." He bowed politely. "Everyone is in the ballroom. Alexei said you would be joining us tonight," he said formally. "Wonderful," Fenneck told him. "Do you know which room we'll be staying in?" The elf glanced over at Natalya as if he hadn't noticed her at first, before turning back to Fenneck. "You'll be staying across from Alexei and Padma's room," he informed him. "I do hope you'll be coming to the after party tonight, I know your presence has been greatly missed since the last time you were here." He gave Fenneck a playful wink making Fenneck extremely nervous as to how Natalya would react to this situation. Fenneck tried to play him off. "Well, we'll go get settled in and we might stop by the ballroom but we're pretty tired." He gave the elf a small nod and turned to Natalya. "This way, Kapelya." He nodded down the hall and led her to their room. Natalya was looking more nervous and shyer than normal and Fenneck wondered if it was a mistake to bring her. They finally made it to their room and Fenneck closed the door behind them. Natalya cautiously walked in and sat her things down at the foot of the bed. Fenneck sat his things down next to hers. "Could we run to the ballroom to say hello and then we come back and rest for the night. I know your tired," he said, gently rubbing her arm. She shrugged. "Sure," she said passively. Fenneck hoped that seeing Alexei and Padma would help ease her nerves. He led her out of their room and down toward the ballroom. The ballroom was full of exciting lights, dancing elves and very loud music. Fenneck glanced over at Natalya and realized this was a horrible mistake. He really wanted to see Alexei and Padma though. They walked into the room and Fenneck realized he was getting a lot of friendly glances from elves he had slept with last time he was here and he pulled Natalya close to him as they waded through the erotic dancers. "Fenneck!" He turned, grateful to see Alexei running up to him before barreling into him with a giant hug, scaring Natalya. "Lex! How are you?!" he shouted over the music. Alexei smiled. "I'm wonderful, Fen! Where is she? Where's Na-Kapelya?" he caught himself. Fenneck pulled Natalya back into his arms. "Kapelya, I want you to meet Alexei!" he introduced them over the music. Alexei puled her into a hug. "It's so nice to meet you!" he released her and gave her a big smile. "I'm so glad you came!" he told her. She nodded at him nervously. Fenneck rubbed her back, trying to comfort her. "Fenny!" Fenneck looked up and saw Padma fall into his arms in an awkward hug. "Fenneck! You're here!!" she said excitedly slurring her words, clearly having had a lot to drink tonight. "Hey, Padma! How are you?" he asked the bride. She latched onto Fenneck's arms to keep from falling over. "I'm wonderful, Fenny. Especially now that you're here!" she said as she kissed his lips and started giggling. "Lexi won't let me have sex until we get married!" she pouted, trying to grind on Fenneck. Alexei tried to pull his soon-to-be-wife off of Fenneck. "Padma! What did we talk about?!" he scolded her. Fenneck glanced down at Natalya who looked extremely stressed out and possibly on the verge of tears. Padma saw her and squealed in excitement before pulling Natalya into a hug, towering over Fenneck's tiny wood elf. "You must be Natalya!" she said excitedly. "Kapelya!" Alexei corrected her, getting frustrated seeing Fenneck and Natalya's anxiety. Padma kissed Natalya excitedly. "Oh I can't wait for you and Fenneck to come hang out once we get hitched," she told Natalya with a sensual wink. Alexei pulled Padma off of Natalya who looked scared to death. Alexei pulled his bride aside to scold her and Natalya started backing out of the room. "I'll be in our room," she told Fenneck nervously before turning and heading toward the hall. Fenneck followed her out of the ballroom. "Na-Kapelya! I'm so sorry!" he tried to tell her. She was avoiding his eyes though as she walked quickly toward their room. "Hey, your highness." Fenneck looked up and saw a pretty female sun elf walking down the hall toward them who gave him a playful wink. "You're going to the lounge tonight, right?" she asked him suggestively as she walked passed. "Sorry. Long day of travel," he tried to quickly explain before turning back to Natalya and chasing after her. He grabbed her arm. "Kapelya stop! Please!" he begged her. She turned to him with tears running down her eyes. "That's not my name!" she exclaimed angrily. "I'm going," she declared, trying to get her arm out of his grasp. "Please don't do this! We can go to our room, just let me tell Alexei bye-" "No, I'm going home. To the mountains," she told him. Fenneck's heart dropped. "No, Kapelya-" "Stop calling me that!" she ripped her arm out of his grasp and ran down the hall. Fenneck turned and saw Alexei in the hall with a look of horror on his face. "I'm so sorry, Fenneck," he said, looking guilty. Fenneck felt conflicted. He needed to go stop Natalya but he hated leaving Alexei like this. "I need to go stop her from running away, again," Fenneck explained, unable to hide his frustration before running down the hall after her. He finally made it to their room and saw her on the ground sobbing. He closed the door behind him. "I'm sorry, Natalya," he told her, sitting down next to her on the floor. He reached out to hold her but she scooted away from him. "Go away!" she told him harshly. He sighed in defeat. "Natalya, please talk to me? I think we're both tired. We need rest. Let's talk about this in the morning," he suggested. She looked up at him with fear. "I don't belong here, Fenneck! I'm not meant to be here! I hate being in Flottenheim, much less this. I'm not meant to be with a prince!" she exclaimed. Fenneck sighed. "It's just a title, Nat. It doesn't mean anything!" he tried to explain. She shook her head. "It's not Fenneck! I'm not meant to be here. Especially with you." He cocked his head at her sadly. "What are you talking about, Nat?" he asked her. "Everyone here has slept with you except for me. Do you know how that makes me feel?" she said, looking dejected. He sighed dropped his head into his hands. "I already told you I am not going to sleep with other people or go to any of the sex parties," he said, annoyed to have to have this conversation. "I don't belong here, Fenneck," Natalya begged him. "I'm not comfortable with this. Besides, it puts everything in danger. I'll leave and you can enjoy your time here with Alexei-" "No," he cut her off. "You're not leaving. Not like this. Look, we'll rest tonight and then you can meet them in the morning, when Padma's sober, and you'll feel more comfortable. I promise." She looked at him bewildered. "No?" she asked him. "You don't get to tell me no, Fenneck," she said decisively. He threw his hands up in annoyance. "Fine. We'll leave!" he exclaimed, standing up off the floor and walking over to their bags. "No, Fenneck. You stay, I'll go. He's your best friend-" "Yes he is! And you're my wife and I want you two to get to know each other!" he exclaimed angrily. Natalya stood up off the floor. "I'm not your wife, Fenneck," she told him threateningly. "Not yet." Fenneck looked at her, bewildered. "I suppose not," he conceded, staring her down. "But you are my thiramin. I have tried to make this work with you. I have promised you on multiple occasions that I would only spent intimate time with you while we were here. I cannot control other people's action, Natalya. I understand there are risks involved with our relationship but the fact of the matter remains that I am a prince. I am involved in the political scene of our country and I want to travel the world with you and explore, new and exciting places with you at my side. I want you to attend my best friends wedding with me and I want us to take note of ideas and things we could do for our own wedding one day. I want to dance with you and drink with you and have fun with you. No one else matters anymore, Natalya. I love you with my entire being and I am not going to let you run off on me again to fuck with my emotions anymore than you already have." Natalya had tears in her eyes but she seemed a bit shaken by Fenneck's strong words. "I hate this! I hate being here!" she exclaimed angrily. Fenneck shrugged. "I'm genuinely sorry you feel that way. I hope that changes in the morning, but for now I need to go apologize to Alexei and you should settle in for the night. We aren't leaving Natalya. Neither of us." He gave her a challenging look to see if she would defy him but she just turned and angrily sat down on the bed. "I'll be right back," he said turning toward the door. When he reached the handle he looked back over his shoulder. "If you're gone when I return, we are done Natalya. Forever. I need you here with me this month. If you cannot do that then we shouldn't be together at all." She gave him a scared, worried look at these words and Fenneck left the room and closed the door behind him. He took a deep breath and leaned against the wall, terrified of their argument. He walked across the hall and knocked on Alexei's door. After a moment Alexei opened the door and looked around Fenneck for Natalya. "I'm so sorry, Fenneck. I told her not to do anything like that," Alexei apologized for his Padma's behavior. "It's fine. Natalya's fine. I hope. She's just nervous is all. I don't want you to think you did anything wrong," he told Alexei. Alexei gave him a sad look. "I thought everything was good between you two now?" Alexei asked him. Fenneck sighed. "So did I. Look, if you could get the rumor around that I won't be sleeping with literally anyone while I'm here, that would be wonderful. It doesn't help that everyone we see starts giving me suggestive glances in front of her. She's more prudent than we are and hates the fact that I took part in the orgies and everything while I was here last." Alexei gave him a worried look. "Are you okay, Fen?" he asked him. "It's just... for me and Padma, sure it's been tough at times but I feel like you and Natalya have had nothing but problems," he said sadly. Fenneck shrugged. "I love her to death, Lex. I do. It's just... Our lives have been complicated and it shows sometimes." Padma stumbled over to the door next to Alexei. "I'm so sorry, Fenneck!" she sloppily slurred to him as she collapsed into Alexei, giggling at her groom and kissing him on the cheek. Fenneck smiled at them. "It's okay, Padma. I was wondering if you could meet her in the morning, just the four of us. Big parties and feasts make her a bit uncomfortable," he explained. Alexei nodded. "Absolutely. We'd love to. We can eat out on the patio in the garden. Maybe that will help her feel more at home," he suggested. Fenneck smiled. "That sounds perfect. Thank you." Alexei gave him a small smile. "Of course. I'm glad to see you, Fen. I hope you and Natalya have fun while your here." Fenneck nodded. "Me too. I'll let you get some rest. Goodnight," he told them. "Goodnight. Tell Natalya we're sorry." Alexei gave him a small frown and Fenneck nodded before heading back across the hall and waiting till he heard Alexei and Padma's door close behind him. He took a deep breath and opened the door to see Natalya sitting in the bed, looking pensive. She looked up at him when he walked in and he walked over and joined her on the bed. "I love you, Natalya," he took her hand and prompted her to look up at him. Her eyes looked tired and sad. "I love you too," she said quietly. "Alexei and Padma are very sorry for upsetting you. They would like us to have brunch with them tomorrow morning in the gardens. It's quite beautiful and quiet there and you can get to know them a little better." Natalya nodded and looked down in shame. "I know this is hard for you," Fenneck told her. "I know you're sacred and stressed and I'm not trying to force you into this. This is a very important time for me. I need to be here for Alexei and I want you at my side," he begged her. "I know. I'm trying, Fenneck," she said, finally looking up at him with desperate eyes. He scooted over to her and took her in his arms and pulled her into a kiss. He pushed her down into the pillows and kissed her lovingly. "I know, my love. I know." He sighed and looked down at her beautiful face. "I'm sorry it's like this," he told her. She gave him a small smile and Fenneck laid down next to her and held her hand as they settled onto the giant king size bed. They both closed their eyes and meditated together. In the morning, Fenneck opened his eyes and looked over at Natalya who was still meditating. He scooted closer to her and pulled her into his arms and she curled up into his embrace. He kissed her head and held her for a while. Enjoying her touch and trying to make up for their fight from the night before. They stayed like that well into the morning until there was a knock on their door. Fenneck got up and gently kissed Natalya on the head before walking over and opening the door to see Alexei there. "Morning," Alexei greeted him. "Good morning," Fenneck told him. Alexei gave him a smile. "I was just letting you know that were heading over. I need to check on a few things in the garden. Just meet us over there whenever you're ready. Don't rush or anything though," he told Fenneck. "Wonderful," Fenneck said. "We still need to get dressed but we shouldn't be long." Alexei nodded and headed back to his room. Fenneck turned around and looked at Natalya who had gotten out of bed and was walking toward him. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. "I love you," he told her. "I love you too," she told him, also trying to make up for last night. They got dressed and settled into their room a bit. Fenneck tried to be patient and affectionate with Natalya as they hung up their clothes in the wardrobe and got ready. He braided her hair to hide in her wig which she clearly disliked but seemed accustomed to wearing from her days as a spy. Fenneck kissed her head lovingly as she filled in her eyebrows with some brown makeup. "You make a pretty brunette," he told her. She smiled softly. "Thanks. I miss my red hair though," she said sadly. Fenneck sighed and kissed her cheek. "Me too. We can't risk Pufuktin finding you though," he told her sadly. She nodded. "I know. You'd think I'd be better at this. I used to have to play pretend with Dimitri all the time in situations like this." Fenneck sighed. "He was probably a better partner." He walked over to his bags to find his shoes and Natalya turned and gave him a sad look. Fenneck gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that," he said, feeling ashamed of himself for upsetting her. "Fenneck..." she struggled to find the right words. Fenneck waved her off. "I'm not a spy. I'm a prince, and a pretty bad one at that. Of course you'd prefer the spy." He slipped his sandals on and she stood up. "I don't want to fight Fenneck," she begged him. He shrugged. "I'm not. I'm merely pointing out facts. Look this situation sucks. Let's just try to make it through brunch and decide how to move forward from there?" he suggested. Natalya sighed in defeat. "Okay." They left their room and headed to the gardens. Fenneck hated how tense the air was between them and he hoped it would settle soon. The city was relatively calm and the heat felt nice on Fenneck's skin. They made it to the beautiful gardens and found Padma and Alexei in a patio with a beautiful spread of baklava, dates, exotic fruits, hummus and falafel. Natalya studied the foreign foods cautiously as they sat down at the table. "Your highnesses," Fenneck greeted the couple. Alexei stood and gave Fenneck a hug. "I'm not a prince yet," he reminded Fenneck. Alexei turned to Natalya and politely shook her hand, careful not to make her uncomfortable. "Good morning, Natalya," he greeted her by her real name to make her more comfortable and showing that that they were safe enough to speak candidly. "I'm so sorry about our blunder last night. I hope we can make up for it. I know it's overwhelming being in a new place," he gave her a comforting smile and Natalya seemed to relax a little. "Thank you. I'm sorry too. I was a bit tired and stressed from our journey here," she told him. Alexei nodded. "I understand." He turned to gesture to Padma. "This is my soon-to-be-wife, Princess Padma Gaddafi," he re-introduced her. Padma stood and offered a hand to Natalya. "I'm so sorry for my behavior last night. I had one two many shots of Naga Juice." She shrugged playfully. Natalya took her hand and offered her a smile. "It's okay. I'm excited to meet you. Fenneck has told me so much about you both." Alexei smiled. "Shall we?" he gestured for them to sit and they all settled down at the table together. Fenneck and Alexei explained the new foods to Natalya who hesitantly fixed a plate. "So," Alexei turned to Fenneck. "How are things in Flottenheim? I'm excited for everyone else to get here." Fenneck nodded and swallowed the date he was chewing. "It's been good. Baegla is having me write up a proposal for a democratic election system for Glitterfjell, so I've been reading up on a lot of law books and that sort of thing as I've worked on my ideas. I had actually hoped to sit down with some of your father's advisors while I'm here and discuss it," he told them. Alexei's face looked surprised. "Really? An election? Like for the next duke?" he asked him. Fenneck nodded. "Exciting, isn't it? She's finally coming around to the idea that our people should be able to make decisions for themselves," he said as he took a bite of pita bread and hummus. Natalya was focused on the weird food and Alexei and Padma shared a weird glance. Alexei shrugged. "I suppose so. Makes sense, she is getting pretty old," he commented. Padma swallowed and gave Alexei a funny look. "I thought you told me she had picked her successor?" she asked him in a very awkward, pointed way. Alexei shook his head at her. "Nope," he overly assured her. "She told me once she has some ideas but it looks like she wants Fenneck to decide how they go about it." Fenneck gave Alexei a strange look but Alexei turned to Natalya. "So Nat, tell us... about that time... you..." Natalya looked up at Alexei who was struggling to come up with something. "About the time you met an Aboleth!" Fenneck helped them out, rather awkwardly. Natalya looked a little flustered but shrugged. "Yeah, well... I was in Arrallath once, for... a thing. Anyway, there's a big lake there and when I went to it with some... friends we got lost and kept ending up on the bank of the water. Eventually we met the Aboleth and he was... weird. Huge flying fish looking... thing," she said. She gave Fenneck a pained look, clearly unaware of how much she should say in front of them. He jumped in. "I read once that Aboleths are..." he suddenly realized he didn't know anything super interesting about Aboleths. "...from the Abyss. And they speak infernal! I have been very interesting in learning the language actually. It's quite... fascinating." Alexei gave him a quizzical look. "Have you?" he asked him, clearly knowing that Fenneck wasn't serious. Fenneck nodded awkwardly, angry with himself for spewing bullshit. "I have. I think it will come in handy one day. In case I ever end up in the Abyss." Natalya looked like she was in pain from how awkward this conversation was going. "I don't think Aboleths are from the Abyss," Padma whispered quietly to Alexei. Alexei decided to change the subject. "So what did Fenneck tell you about the revolution?" he asked Natalya. Natalya shrugged. "He told me about the battle. He said you helped coordinate most of the intelligence," she said, hoping they might have found a common ground. Alexei nodded. "Yeah, I was pretty good with secret messages and that sort of thing. I dealt with a lot of the KAV soldiers and was actually able to intercept a lot of their information." Natalya ears perked at this and she gave Fenneck a look to gauge how much they were allowed to talk about this sort of thing. Fenneck turned to Alexei. "Speaking of such things. How secure is Sivania with such matters?" He glanced around the garden questioningly. Alexei gave him a small nod. "Quite secure. We've actually been sweeping the city a bit more than normal knowing that quite a few people from Glitterfjell would be here. I just hope you've left a good defense up back home." Fenneck nodded. "We have. Baegla is planning on popping in for the ceremony and popping straight back to Flottenheim and they have coordinated a lot with the guards. Lox has also decided to stay, just to be safe." Alexei nodded. "Good. I would never forgive myself if my wedding opened up a door for Pufuktin to make a move," he said. "He's such a monster," Padma said, taking a sip of her wine. "I mean, seriously. We heard there have been rumors of mass killings in, oh what town was it?" she asked Alexei. Alexei nodded solemnly. "Rybaslav. The merchants who trade there reported a massive grave full of half-elves. The whole idea of racial superiority has taken hold with a lot of the common folk even. I guess the idea is to completely obliterate half-elves from the country. Survival of the fittest. They just don't have resources to support their population and people are getting desperate." Natalya looked solemn at this and Fenneck wrapped an arm around her comfortingly. "It's absolutely disgusting," Padma said. "He's somehow convincing the other high elves throughout the land that this is okay. That they should hate others." "Well what choice do they have?" Fenneck pointed out. "Pufuktin is starving them out while he shits on a golden chamber pot. They have to rally with him or he'll attack them as well." Natalya looked confused. Alexei shrugged. "Yeah, but it doesn't excuse them for joining his racist cause." Natalya shook her head. "He's not exactly racist," she argued, looking frustrated. Fenneck turned to her and cocked his head at her. She shrugged. "He is, just not like Staladin was. I just don't think that's his motive," she said, looking back down at her food. "So what is his motive?" Alexei asked her. She considered this for a moment. "I think he's angry. He's had a weird life. He admitted to me once just how much he hated Staladin, before I knew he was his father. At the time I didn't think much of it but I think they had a very confusing relationship with one another. He defended my rank multiple times to Staladin because I was a wood elf. Openly defying the emperor in his own palace." Fenneck gave Natalya a cautious look. It was almost like she was defending Pufuktin. Alexei seemed interested in this intelligence though. "I didn't realize you knew him personally," he said, intrigued. "Fenneck told me you were the baby he stole from Flottenheim and I guess I should have assumed you worked with him when he was the general of the KAV," he pointed out. Natalya nodded cautiously, avoiding Fenneck's eyes. "He's the reason I was allowed to be a soldier being a wood elf," she explained. "He hand picked me from the Academy I studied at." Fenneck was concerned by this new information. Why had he never asked her about this stuff and why was she volunteering it to them now? "What academy?" he asked her. She looked at him and shrugged. "The orphanage. It was the Voyennyy Academy. A military school, essentially." Alexei gave Fenneck a weird look for not knowing this about Natalya. "What is he like?" Alexei asked her. Natalya quickly glanced over at Fenneck, clearly sensing his apprehension about this subject. "He's... very expressive. He doesn't control his emotions well. He's also... mean, and manipulative," she said hesitantly. Fenneck caressed her back. "He's a monster," he interjected, trying to steer the conversation away from her rapist. "And I hope we're able to put a stop to him soon. We saved a lovely wood elf family a couple months ago from Rybaslav actually. They were friends of Vyndius and Catherine actually," he told them, hoping Alexei would ask about the their friends. Alexei thankfully took the bait. "How are Vyn and Catherine?" he asked Fenneck. "They're great. They should be down in the next couple days actually." Alexei smiled and turned to Natalya. "Did Fenneck ever tell you about the prank we played on Vyndius at his wedding? Gods you should have seen his face!" Alexei laughed. Natalya shook her head and looked at Alexei intrigued. "So the day of the ceremony, you know Catherine is a druid right? She turns into animals and stuff?" he asked her. Natalya nodded. "So Erikur and Fenneck ran out into the forest or whatever and found a snow leopard that they convinced to come into the palace and essentially pretend to be Catherine. Erikur snuck the poor creature into their room after Catherine had left to go get ready and Vyndius was still sleeping. So we waited outside the room to hear what would happen and suddenly Catherine and Vyndius walked up behind us because Fenneck forgot to make sure they were in the room or not." Fenneck smiled at the memory and chimed in. "I assumed the lump in the bed was Vyndius!" he tried to defend himself. "They were pillows," Alexei teased him. "So anyway. They opened their door and the entire room was destroyed. Fucking hilarious," Alexei said. "Not for Vyndius," Fenneck said, giggling. "His robes were shredded and Naertho was pissed he had to come in and fix it so early in the morning." Alexei laughed. "Oh my gods, your right! Catherine was so pissed off at Erikur. She set him on fire I'm pretty sure." Fenneck laughed. "Yeah, it was an accident though, she meant to burn his earrings or something." Alexei smiled. "Gods, I miss him," he said. "If he could see me now, I don't think he'd believe I was marrying a princess from another country," he said smiling. Natalya looked down, clearly uncomfortable and Fenneck felt guilt well up in him for not telling Alexei not to mention their friend in front of her. "I wish I could have met him," Padma said, squeezing Alexei's hand lovingly. "He would have loved you," Alexei told her. Padma smiled. Alexei glanced over at Fenneck who cast an awkward glance to Natalya who was taking deep breaths and avoiding their eyes. Alexei cleared his throat. "So tonight there's a play happening. It's a Sivanian folk tale and they're performing in the theatre in the palace. Then afterward there's going to be a party at the pool in the courtyard you're both welcome to join. It might be a bit risque though, fair warning," he told them, giving Fenneck an understanding look. "Natalya had never seen a play before she got to Flottenheim," Fenneck said. "She really like the one about the mythos of the metallic dragons." Alexei nodded. "I love the Dragon Tales series. So fun and weird. Did he tell you about Ukris?" he asked her. Natalya nodded. "He sounds charming." "He is," Padma told her. "Hopefully you can meet him one day!" she said, taking a sip of wine. They soon wrapped up their meal and Alexei and Padma excused themselves for a portrait painting they had to do before the play that evening, leaving Fenneck and Natalya alone in the garden. "Would you like to go for a walk?" Fenneck asked her, motioning to the beautiful pathway through a tunnel of flowers. She nodded and took his arm and he led her into the beautiful oasis. "Thank you," he told her. "Are you feeling any better?" he asked her. She nodded. "I'm sorry. They're really nice. I don't want you to think that I don't like them or anything," she told him. He kissed the top of her head, annoyed to have to kiss her wig instead of her actual hair. "I know. I know this is tough," he said leaning against her affectionately. "Look," he said, stopping her under a particularly beautiful clematis plant. "I think we can have a lot of fun together while we're here. I know it's stressful and we can try to avoid a lot of the louder more aggressive partied from now on," he suggested, taking her waist in his his hands and caressing her lovingly. "Let's go to the play this evening and then we can go to our room -" He kissed her neck. "- and -" He kissed the other side of her neck causing her to giggle. "- well I think you get the picture." His lips found hers and he squeezed her waist in his arms. She giggled and kissed him back. "I was actually considering checking out the pool," she told him with a playful wink. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Are you sure? Its not going to be a sex party, I think, but there will probably be plenty of naked people wandering off together," he warned her. She nodded. "I don't think I want to participate in that, but it might be fun to swim with you," she said as she playfully caressed his chest. Fenneck smiled excitedly. "Okay. We should probably go and buy some swimwear then." "Okay," Natalya kissed him excitedly. He squeezed her in his arms, thankful to have moved past their frustrations from the night before. They continued through the garden a bit and Fenneck taught her about a bunch of the new, exotic plants that were only native to Sivania before he took her into the market place and they explored the tailor's shop. He enjoyed shopping with her and they ended up getting way more than they went in for. She was so beautiful in all of the pretty silks. Fenneck wished she could have her real red locks down as she tried on the different outfits that showed off her exquisite body. They went to the palace and attended the play. It was a beautiful performance with lavish costumes and cool magical effects. The story was about an elvish thiramin couple fighting for their love against an evil genie. Natalya nuzzled into Fenneck's arms as they both thought about their own messy love story. After the show they went to their room to change. As they entered the room Fenneck picked Natalya up and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to the bed, showering her with kisses and affection. She giggled as they fell into the bed and she playfully caressed his back as he kissed her neck. "I love you so much," he told her passionately. She smiled giddily. "I love you too, Fen." He sat up and breathed a bit to calm himself. She was so beautiful and Fenneck was finding it hard to wait to be with her. He was starting to understand why Alexei and Padma decided to go with a less traditional route. "We should get dressed and head down to the pool," he said standing up and walking over to their bags of new clothes they picked up. "Umm... Fenneck?" Natalya asked him hesitantly. He turned to her, concerned. "Yes?" She gave him a worried look. "I don't know how to swim," she told him. He laughed and ran back to her and started kissed her adorable self. "You're so precious. It's easy, I learned last time I was here. The pool isn't too deep either, don't worry!" he kissed her face excitedly and she giggled. "Okay," she said, trusting him. He looked lovingly into her eyes. "Come on! It will be fun!" He pulled her off the bed and grabbed the pretty silk outfits they got to swim in. He watched Natalya change and admired her lustfully. She gave him a playful smile as she slipped into the silky pants and wrapped her boobs into the fancy brazier she got to wear. The outfit showed off her tight abs and her beautiful curves as well as revealing some of her nastier scars to the world. Fenneck put on his pants and pulled out the feather earing he had bought that reminded him of Erikur and he put them into his ears. As he braided some of his hair out of his face Natalya walked up behind him and caressed his bare chest. "Makes you kinda hate the fact that we live in a tundra, huh?" she asked him playfully as she kissed his neck. She hesitated as her nose brushed the feathers and she recoiled a bit. "Fenneck..." she said slowly as her hand caressed the lavender feathers. Fenneck saw this and froze as he saw the pain and guilt fill her face. "We should go, were running late," he said standing abruptly and walking toward the door. "Fenneck," Natalya stopped him. Fenneck closed his eyes, trying to decide how to handle this. He didn't want to ruin their night. He turned back to her. "Come on, love. We need to go." He met her eyes and saw she looked desperate to tell him, but he wasn't ready. Not now. Not tonight. Not at Alexei's wedding. He walked over to her and took her in his arms and kissed her hard and pushed her against the vanity, lifting her butt up onto the desk, and knocking a handful of cosmetic items to the ground. He reached a hand down her pants and slipped a finger in her, causing her to gasp in excitement. He kissed her passionately as she squirmed and moaned in pleasure. He finally pulled his finger out and backed away across the room and stared her down intensely as he tried to fight the desire to make love to her. She looked startled but very excited. "I love you, Nat. We should go to the party. I told Alexei we'd be there," he told her, making fierce eye contact with her to tell her now was not the time. She seemed to understand and she nodded slowly. He walked over to their basin of water next to the vanity and washed his hand off before nodding for her to follow and heading out into the palace. He wrapped a hand around her bare waist and pulled her tightly against him. She leaned against him. Her skin was all rosy and warm and Fenneck wished he could make love to her. He wondered how long it would be till their own wedding. They finally made it to the pool which was full of dancing, performers and lots of liquor. Natalya didn't seem to mind though. He led her over to the water and he waded in a bit before turning and leading her into the water with him. He had her tread water for a bit and she soon got a hang of it. Fenneck loved being in the water with her and listening to the fun music. He pulled her over to a corner they could stand up in and he started making out with her, which seemed to be the general move for the party goers other than a few rowdy drunks doing cannonballs in the deep end. She leaned into it surprisingly well, seeming more comfortable than she normally was at parties. Fenneck wondered if he had made her a little too excited by his stunt in their room. After a while, Catherine and Vyndius showed up and Vyndius did a cannonball a couple feet away and splashed them while they were in the heat of it. Fenneck playfully splashed some water in his face and Catherine sat down on the edge of the pool, slipping her bare legs into the water. She was wearing a very sexy bikini, surprisingly revealing for the elf who was normally covered from her neck to her toes. Vyndius chuckled and Gwynsickle dove into the water with exquisite grace and started darting through the water excitedly. Fenneck was holding Natalya's legs around his waist at this point as he pressed her against the edge of the pool. "Are you not getting in?" he asked Catherine. She shrugged. "I don't want my hair to get wet," she said, watching her husband playing with his penguin. "Who else is here?!" he asked her over the music. "Jasna and Lev! Jasna ran off to have sex with someone and I lost track of Lev," she said. "Get in the water Catherine! I want you treating me like Fenneck's treating his beau!" Vyndius shouted to his wife who shook her head and playfully rolled her eyes. "You're really going to leave him hanging?" Fenneck asked her. She shrugged. "He has Gwynsickle. He'll be fine," she said playfully. Fenneck sat Natalya down and playfully grabbed Catherine's ankle when she wasn't looking and pulled her into the water. She yelped and squirmed and batted Fenneck with her arms as she fell into the water. "How dare you?!" she told him, unable to keep herself from laughing. "Come on! Have some fun!" he teased her. Catherine rolled her eyes and leaned against the edge of the pool and looked at the party around them. "Can you believe it?" she asked him. "Which part?" he asked her as he leaned against the wall next to her and pulled Natalya into his arms. "That Alexei is getting married. To a woman. Not in Flottenheim," she said, gesturing to the happy couple that was grinding against a palm tree on the edge of the pool. Fenneck chuckled. "He really likes it here," he said thoughtfully. Catherine smiled. "Erik would have loved it," she said wistfully. Natalya looked up into Fenneck's eyes with fear as Catherine spoke about her brother. Fenneck looked away quickly. "He would have. I'm honestly really glad we get to be here and to learn about another culture," he said, trying to change the subject. Catherine nodded. "It's nice to see you coming around to the idea of our allegiance with Thymryu," she teased him. "What do you think about it?" she asked Natalya. Natalya pondered this for a moment. "I see Fenneck's hesitation. I don't really think it's fair for me to have an opinion though. I wasn't part of the revolution or anything," she told her. Catherine frowned. "You live in Glitterfjell now. You have for what, ten years? You have a right to an opinion," Catherine told her. Natalya looked at Fenneck who nodded for her to speak. Natalya shrugged. "I think there are pros and cons to both sides. I think it's good to have extra protection from Pufuktin but I don't know if protection is worth the risk you run of allowing a king to rule over you. Especially after fighting so hard to have independence from a tyrannical ruler." Catherine smiled. "I see he's indoctrinated you into his way of thinking." Natalya shook her head. "We've had many discussions, sure, but I don't just take him at his word. I understand how dangerous Lenisily is, trust me, but I also understand how... dangerous Thymryu can be as well." Catherine raised her brow as if to say fair enough. Gwynsickle pushed Vyndius into his wife's arms and they kissed each other sweetly.