Hot Days and Hotter Nights Ch. 07

Sena glanced at herself in the mirror, seeing how the burgundy velvet flowed down her body as she ran her hands along her hips, allowing herself to luxuriate in the sumptuous fabric. Little wonder Salamacia enjoyed the fabric so much.

"You look good enough to eat," she heard a voice purr from behind her. "In fact, I may do that tonight after the festivities are over..."

Sena smiled a bit at that as her wife approached her from behind, her visage clear in the mirror's reflection. The taller woman's hair was a riot of golden curls and waves, some of it pinned or braided back to keep it from getting in her face, but the rest of it left loose.

"Is that all you think of?" Sena replied lightly as she saw her wife's gaze move along her body. Her underdress, which was visible through the openings of her dagged sleeves and the slits up the sides of her overdress, was of a dark but rich teal-colored silk, which contrasted well with the burgundy. She'd elected to not have any ornamentation in the fabric, so the velvet was lacking in fancy embroidery. She wore no jewelry but a pair of silver teardrop earrings with pearls set in them, and a matching ring on her pinky.

Salamacia on the other hand, now that was a woman who knew how to dress to impress. Her underdress was of a royal purple silk, which brilliantly complimented the bold scarlet of her overdress. Along the bodice and hems of the dress was golden thread in a design of graceful swirls and waves that were clearly meant to represent fire. Rubies and spessartite sat in the gold that adorned her ears, neck, and fingers.

"It's not the only thing I think of. But it is constant in my thoughts," Salamacia replied lightly. "Though I don't hear you complaining about it."

"Hmph," Sena felt warmth creep into her cheeks before deciding to turn the focus onto the other woman. "You look like a queen," she said with honesty. She'd never met the King or Queen of the Nnelands, but she was fairly sure that the Queen would be hard put to succeed at looking as regal, if not more, than Salamacia.

"If I'm a queen, that would make you my princess. No, that's not quite right..." Salamacia tapped her chin.

"Consort?"

"Yes, that's it. My princess consort."

Sena couldn't help but smile at that. The older woman's confidence had seemed overly brash at first, coming across as arrogant. Of course, there were times that arrogance was the best word to describe the blonde, but as time passed, Sena came to see that much of what reserved Silver Islanders would see as brash or pompous, was simply confidence, if bold confidence. It was still sometimes jarring for her, to be exposed to such a... fiery personality, but Sena had to admit that there were times when she enjoyed the heat, in more ways than one.

"Are you ready to make your appearance?" Salamacia asked, wrapping her arm around Sena's middle.

"Ready as I will ever be." As the member of one of the ruling houses of the Ninelands, Sena was no stranger to the niceties of being a noblewoman. Although some customs here in the Southlands differed from the Silver Isles, many of the basics were almost universal.

"Well then, princess." Salamacia punctuated her remark with a light squeeze to the younger woman's behind.

The atmosphere was festive, not that Sena would expect any less. Unlike the Teuthis, the Aracons did not abnegate from merry-making, especially of the more raucous variety, and Sena had to admit that after her time here, she was starting to understand why. There were times where her old sensibilities would rear its head, to be sure, but Salamacia's fire brought to her stony heart a slow but certain thaw.

The pair made their rounds, Sena making appropriate greetings to people she'd already made acquaintance with, and Salamacia introducing her to new faces. Some people showed surprise or some bemusement at the fact that Salamacia had a wife rather than a husband, but as Sena had learned already, things in the Southlands certainly were different.

After Sena made small talk with an Aracon cousin she'd met previously, she turned to see Salamacia with a look on her face that was rare for the older woman. It was a mixture of irritation and... what was it, concern? Her curiosity piqued, she turned her attention to where Salamacia's gaze rested, and witnessed a trio that had apparently just arrived.

The leader of this trio had well-tanned skin, and hair that was a mixture of gray and white, flowing freely down his shoulders. He wore garb of orange and yellow accented with brown and black. His companions, both much younger than him, were attired in similar colors and like him had a medium-dark complexion, though their hair was as black as a raven's wing. The younger man was stocky and not what she would call handsome, his hair pulled back in a braid to reveal a broad face.

The woman on the other hand, was stunning. With high cheekbones and finely-arched eyebrows above large, dark eyes, the woman exuded all the hauteur that a high-born woman could possess. She glanced around the room for a moment before her eyes rested on Salamacia, and Sena could swear that she saw the newcomer smirk ever so slightly.

"Who are they?" Sena whispered, nudging her lover's arm.

"House Dawntreader," Salamcia whispered back, her tone steely as if the very presence of the other woman was utmostly displeasing to her.

Sena immediately recognized the name. As a member of the Aracon clan now, it was among Sena's duties to know about the people that the Aracons ruled over. House Dawntreader was an old and ancient line, its progenitors having settled into the Southlands long before the first Aracon had come to make his stake in the mountains.

The Dawntreader's ancestors had been but among many tribes that lived in this land, eking out their existence from the harsh plains and steppes that ringed the Great Southern Desert. During a crucial time in Southland history, when the Aracons were looking for allies in this land, the progenitor of the Dawntreaders and his tribe were in war with several other tribes.

The Aracons had sided with this tribe, ensuring their primacy in the region. In exchange for this help, the leader and his tribe swore fealty to House Aracon, sealing the alliance with an exchange of children for marriage. The chief and his family was given the House title, and the power to govern over the biggest province in the Southlands. Over the generations, the two bloodlines would upon occasion unite, and it was thus that most members of House Aracon gained the warm tan of their complexion, well-suited for exposure to the sun.

Though the Dawntreaders maintained their power and ties with their liege lords, they had not taken upon any apparent physical characteristics from the Aracons. Those born to Dawntreader inevitably inherited the dark hair and eyes of their indigenous ancestors. It was true for most people in the Aotuhlands, anyway. There were many dark-haired and skinned people among the servants, some darker than others, and plenty in the towns and cities of this often-underestimated region of the Ninelands. Their sigil, a golden disk halfway rising above a field of black against a backdrop of red-orange, was almost as recognizable as the golden dragon of the Aracons.

The Dawntreader woman made a beeline for Salamacia, and Sena could not help but feel as if she needed to go on the defensive. There was something off-putting about this woman, though she was unable to identify just what it could be.

"Salamacia!" the other woman said in a voice that was over-sweet with a tinge of a purr to it. "It has been far to long, my dear! It is wonderful to see you again!"

"Hello, Chuman. How lovely it is that you could find the time to come here," Salamacia replied politely, though Sena could sense her tension. The name was familiar, Sena knew she had heard it somewhere before. Probably when she was being instructed on the various governors and vassals to Aracon.

"t really has been too long," Chimani replied. Her clothing was obviously considered with great care, a black under-dress peeking out from the burnished red silk and deep ochre velvet that hugged her tall and lithe body. Her hair was swept back from her head with several red and orange flowers, highlighting her graceful neck.

"Yes, it certainly has been a long while. It gives me no small amount of pleasure to introduce my wife, Sena." Salamacia looked down at her with fondness, and Chumani narrowed her eyes slightly as if she was examining an incest that had just crawled across the floor in front of her. Sena swallowed quickly before she spoke.

"I have heard much of House Dawntreader, and am pleased for the opportunity to meet some of its representatives. Welcome to Dragonslair, and I hope you have a lovely time during your visit."

"I'd heard rumors that the dragons formed a union with the squids, but..." Chumani placed her hand on her cheek in an affected sign of bemusement. "Well, I suppose there are occasions for otherwise unlikely circumstances."

"As someone fairly new to this land, there was much I was not aware of, I will admit. So I can understand your mistake, but the sigil of House Teuthi is the mighty kraken, not an ordinary squid," Sena commented sweetly.

"Naturally. One mighty creature for another, hm?" Salamacia asked, her eyes flashing with approval as she regarded Sena with a discreet wink.

"Oh, do forgive me. My people are not sea-faring, so one creature with tentacles is the same as others to us." She shrugged and gave out a small laugh.

Before any of them could say anything further, the other two Dawntreaders joined them.

"Salamacia, congratulations upon your nuptials." the older man said before he turned to Sena, regarding her before giving her a slight nod.

"You are a way from the sea, but I hope that the hospitality of this land suits you," he said kindly. At least they're not all like Chumani, Sena thought with relief as she gave him a slight curtsey.

"Yes. There is much warmth and kindness here. Am I correct in assuming that you are Atsidi Dawntreader?"

"You are." He was dressed more conservatively than Chumani, having chosen to wear black and brown with just a hint of gold. "I see you have met my granddaughter. This is my grandson, her cousin, Nstas." He gestured to the younger man with him. Nstas regarded her with a polite nod.

"Come along," Astidi said to his companions. "There are others to greet,"

Chumani and Nstas followed him, though the former looked over her shoulder one last time at the couple.

"What happened between you two?" Sena whispered once the trio was well out of earshot.

"Quite perceptive you are," Salamacia shot back dryly. "We were lovers."

Sena knew that Salamacia was no innocent maiden, but actually being in the presence of a woman who she knew had shared intimacy with her wife, roused a sudden streak of jealousy that surprised the young Water Mage. She shared a healthy relationship with her wife between the sheets, and it galled her to think of another woman being recipient of Salamacia's attentions.

"It was but a dalliance," Salamacia explained. "But Chumani did not wish to let it remain at that."

"So I have nothing to be concerned about?" Sena asked.

"Not the least little thing, sweetling," Salamacia assured her. "I chose you to be my wife, and I am perfectly content within the embrace of your tentacles," she added, leaning over and breathing hotly against her ear.

Sena gave out a small gasp and a pleasurable shiver jolted down her spine from that ear.

"I long to have you under my claws so that I may devour you. But as we're not alone, Ill settle for the banquet table," the older woman purred.

Sena smiled faintly at that as she slowly shook her head.

o0o

Salamacia knew that seeing Chumani again at some point had been an inevitability, but she was still uncomfortable at seeing the other woman. When she turned her head to check on her wife, she saw Sena engaged in friendly conversation with an older woman

She found herself pulled into a conversation, asked to settle a minor dispute between two squabbling cousins. The boys, looking almost identical with their heads full of curly blonde hair, tugged at her hands, trying to convince her that one was right over the other.

"Now, now. Is it proper to fight over something so trifling as the last almond dumpling?" Salamacia scolded. The boys had been shoving one another and wrestling over it, resulting in a sticky mess on their hands. "At least you had the good sense to not grab at my dress with these hands! And now look, the dumpling is barely edible, if that!" Said confection was now little more than mashed-up crumbs in the younger cousin's free hand.

"I told you!' the older one pouted.

"You could have also just cut it in half with a knife. House Aracon has plenty, all members share in it," Salamacia pointed out. "Let's get you two cleaned up." With a firm grip on their collars, she led them away. Once the crumbs and glaze had been washed away, she let the boys go with another admonition to behave themselves.

Children, she thought ruefully. She knew very well that at times, she had been a real handful as a child, and she certainly was no more innocent than the ones she'd just scolded. She recalled the times where she'd gotten into fights with her brother or cousins, and smiled to herself.

She stiffened as she heard her name uttered, and turned around in the dimly-lit hall to face Chumani.

"Are you lost?" Salamacia asked sweetly. "The washrooms are that way," she said, gesturing to the direction she'd just come from, already stepping away.

"Wait. I was hoping we could talk."

"There is nothing for us to talk about," Salamacia replied coolly.

"Please?" She felt a hand on her arm. "I know things did not end for us very well back then, but we've both grown older and wiser. Things will never be the same between us, I know that. But I am hoping that we could... remedy at least some of the negative feelings from the past. I would feel ever so much better if we could at least bury the hatchet, and be friends again."

Salamacia let out a slow sigh and turned to face her former friend and lover. "In some cases, silence is golden," she replied, pulling her arm away.

"It would really mean much to me," Chimani pleased, "Ever since what happened between us, you have constantly been on my thoughts. I regret the pain I caused you, and I've wanted to apologize for the longest time."

Salamacia found herself softening a bit at that. Hadn't her uncle often lectured on forgiving others when they showed genuine repentance , and moving on? She took a deep breath and nodded slowly. "Very well."

A turn in the hall led them to a small library that had often doubled as a schoolroom in the past for generations of young Aracons. She gestured for dark-haired woman to go before her.

"Oh, this room brings back memories," Chumani said with a small smile.

"You drove the teacher nearly to tears, is that something to remember so fondly?" Salamacia asked as she moved across the floor to light two lamps.

"That woman was a bitter old hag who liked her switch overmuch," Chumani retorted as she sat on the desk near one side of the room, where the teachers usually sat when giving their lessons.

"Well... I can't argue with that." Salamacia would be lying if she said she hadn't enjoyed the time where Chumani had wrested the switch out of the teacher's hands and swatted her over her plump backside with it before running around the room, causing the old woman to become short of breath chasing her. Lian had been but one laugh from falling to the floor in convulsive delight.

Chumani regarded her with a faint smile, but Salamacia chose to maintain her distance. Lady Dawntreader wanted to talk, so let her talk. And apologize, of course. The room was quiet, with just a hint of the sound of music filtering in through the small windows of the room and the hall that led past the partially-open door.She leaned against the wall near one of the lamps, crossing her arms.

After several moments of silence, she raised her eyebrow as she looked at the dark-eyed woman. "You said you had an apology?"

"Mmm. This is not easy for me to say... but I admit I have wronged you, and I offer my humblest apologies. What can I say, I was young and stupid."

"We're both still young, I must remind you," Salamacia pointed out with a small smile.

"But wiser, I would hope."

"Oh, certainly. In any case, I accept your apology."

"My conscience can rest," Chumani said, placing a hand over her heart. "I hope we can be friends again,"

"Our houses have been allied for many generations," the blonde woman replied neutrally. "There is no need for enmity between us."

Chumani sighed and slid off the desk, approaching her.

"We shared much in the past. There's no reason why we shouldn't be able to share again."

"I am a married woman." She slid to one side, keeping an even distance between the other woman and herself. "That part of our past, is in the past," she commented firmly.

"Hmph." Chumani regarded her with the same smirk she'd used years ago. "You wouldn't be the first person to take pleasure outside of the marriage bed."

"I'm not interested," Salamacia shot back curtly.

"Are you sure? There were so many pleasures we shared. How does that pale-faced woman compare to me? Does she make the dragon roar like I do? Does she have my skill in rousing, and riding the dragon to satisfaction?" She stepped closer, and Salamacia caught a whiff of her perfume, more cloying than the hint she'd scented before.

"What I do with my wife is none of your concern, Chumani, and I must ask you to cease this line of discussion."

"Aha/ Can't answer the question, can you?" Chumani replied with a purr, and Salamacia put her hand up to stop the other woman from drawing closer. A hand several shades darker than her own reached up to grab her wrist, and before Salamacia could react, the other woman placed a kiss and lick along the inside of her wrist. It'd always been one of her more sensitive areas, but she bit back the moan that threatened to escape her throat.

She firmly yanked her wrist away. "I should have known better," she replied with a small huff. "You really haven't changed. You still want me to be your pet!"

"As I recall, it was a very pleasurable experience for you..."

Salamacia glared at her. A pet, a toy was all the other woman had ever wanted her to be.

"Every dragon needs a tamer, whether they want to admit it or not."

o0o

As a proper lady and hostess, Sena made her rounds, making small talk with various people and familiarizing herself with the people of the Southlands. After a long while, Sena looked around, wondering where her wife was. It would soon be time to dance.

She stepped out into the garden, where people were milling about, finishing off their drinks or meals and enjoying some fresh air.

"Have you seen Salamacia?" she asked Lian.

"Oh, she was scolding two boys a while ago. They were quite a mess and she took them to wash up," Lian replied with a casual shrug.

The uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach that had made itself known at the first sight of Chumani nagged at her consciousness, and she drew away from Lian, frowning faintly to herself as she went back inside, navigating the hallways that led from the main chamber.

She saw the light from a lamp through the door that led to the small library that Salamacia had said was sometimes used for lessons. Stepping quietly towards it, she heard Chumani and Salamacia argue.

"...How does that pale-faced woman compare to me? Does she make the dragon roar like I do? Does she have my skill in rousing, and riding the dragon to satisfaction?"

Sena took a deep breath, barely conscious of her hands balling up into fists. When she heard her wife firmly rebuff the other woman, she found comfort in that. She wouldn't barge in there and embarrass her wife if Salamacia was confident in handling the matter herself.