Chapter Ten
The sun shone brightly over Eltora and people turned out for Kalen’s funeral. A new platform had been built for her and her body, clad in a beautiful red and black gown, donning jewels, now rested on top of it. Cleto watched his people prepare Kalena from the bedchamber he shared with Clair, unable just yet to go down and say his final good-bye.
He watched as one by one his people placed flowers around her, on her and even a crown of flowers went around her head. To the people, she’d saved them, just as Clair had saved them. And for the people, they needed this mourning time to honor Kalena for the gift she gave them all. Clair’s life.
He still couldn’t get over it. Didn’t even know that Kalena knew the spell to trade life. But he did owe her for doing so, because without it he wouldn’t have the love of his life.
Cleto sensed Clair before she returned from the bath. With a smile, he turned and opened his arms. With a smile of her own, Clair went into his arms, hugging him back. She turned her head on his chest and stiffened.
“They’re still mourning,” she said.
“And they will for days,” he sighed, letting her pull away from him. “Maybe even years, who knows?”
She moved closer to the window, looking out. “I still can’t get over what she did, or fully understand it.” Cleto came up behind her, his hands on her shoulders. “It doesn’t feel right.”
“Kalena made her choice. She gave her life to you for the people.” He turned her around to face him. “Don’t you understand yet?” Reaching up he touched her face gently. “You are one with the people, just as I am. Without you by my side the land will die. The magic inside you is what gives life to the land and the land gives life to the people.”
“You’re not making any sense.”
He smiled. “There are always two for balance. I’m for the people and my heart is for the land. You, my love, are my heart.” It seemed that that explanation she understood for her eyes widened. “And one cannot rule without the heart.” Cleto went down on his knees before her, her hand in his own. “I don’t want to ever think about losing you again, and I refuse to be crowned king unless I can have my queen by my side. Be my queen, Clair. Be my wife?”
Clair’s mouth dropped, her eyes widened even more, and tears filled them. Her mouth opened but no words came out, instead she lunged at him, knocking them both to the ground with her on top. Instantly, she rained kisses all over his face.
“Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,” she said between each kiss.
Before either of them knew it the kisses grew deeper, longer, and clothes started to come off. They didn’t make it to the bed, but stayed on the floor. Clair pulled his clothes off faster than he could get hers off.
Naked, on the floor, Cleto gave Clair free rein over his body. She kissed every inch of his chest, stopping at each nipple to flick her tongue then suck on it. Pleasure raced through his body. It had always been the job of the man in Eltora to give his woman intense pleasure. His pleasure came from hers. Now, his mind tried to register what Clair was doing to him, his body soring in bliss from her attention.
Lower her mouth went, over his hips as he had done to her. Her cool hands closed around his throbbing cock and she stroked it slowly, still kissing his body.
“No one has ever given my body this much attention,” he breathed out, watching her move her hand up and down over his swollen flesh.
“Then I shall make sure I do it more often.” She kissed the head of his cock and he groaned his head going back down to the floor with an audible thud.
Her mouth closed over his cock and he knew he’d just died and gone to heaven. Clair sucked almost half of the length into her mouth, the other half she used her hand. Up and down her head went and her mouth sucked hard, tongue flicked the underside and teeth lightly grazed him every so often. It drove him nuts with need.
He wanted her to stop.
Wanted her to keep going.
Wanted a taste of her as well.
Oh, she loved his body. Loved it like a woman in love with her man. Unable to stand it any longer, Cleto sat up and pulled her away from his throbbing cock. The need to have a taste of her became too powerful to ignore.
“I want some also,” he told her when she gave him a slight pout.
“Then let’s both get what we want.” Not understanding what she meant must’ve showed on his face. She giggled and turned around on him. Cleto knew instantly what she meant.
He took hold of her hips and bought that sweet pussy to his own face. His cock again in her mouth, Cleto began to lick at her sex. He feasted as if it might be his last meal in this world.
“Oh shit!” Clair stopped sucking on him and rotated her hips. He felt her pleasure rush through her and drank every drop of it. A slight motion upward of his hips and she once more sucked his cock back into her sweet mouth. He moaned his pleasure against her and in turn, she moaned back.
Together they got a rhythm going. He moved his hips upward to her sucking and she ground herself down on his mouth. Cleto held the swollen lips of her sex open, flicking his tongue fast against her clit. Clair flicked her own tongue over the head of his cock.
“Oh, it’s coming again,” she groaned.
He closed his lips over the clit and sucked hard while Clair gave his cock the same treatment, soon emitting a muffled scream against his flesh with the orgasm that came. Unable to control his own pleasure, Cleto pushed his hips upward and she took as much as she could into her mouth. He felt the head touch the back of her throat right before he climaxed. It pulsated out of him in waves that left him feeling weak, breathless, and sensitive.
Limp, on the floor, he let her pull away from him, but she didn’t go far. Clair only crawled down to his hips, her hands working on his cock, which instantly came back to life for her. She teased him with her body, rubbed the head of his cock up and down the slit of her sex. The heat alone had him again throbbing for instant attention.
She straddled him with her back to his face, placed his cock where she wanted and took him into her body. Cleto reached up, took hold of her hips, and began bucking under her as she started to ride him.
He couldn’t put to words the kind of pleasure he felt by her taking charge. She arched back, took his hand and placed one on her breast and moved the other to her front, to her clit. He did what she wanted and almost came right then when she started to moan and ride him harder, faster.
“I have this hunger for you,” she panted, not breaking her stride.
“Then I’ll feed it until you hunger no more.” He sat up, wrapped his arms around her, and moved her to her hands and knees.
He took over, surging fast, pumping hard for the pleasure that they both needed and hungered for. Once more, the glow started around her body, and right at the peak, right when they both were about to climax, that glow shot out of her and slammed into him.
Her magic stole his breath and pulled the orgasm from him. One hard thrust and he exploded. He yelled his pleasure, as did she and together they slumped to the floor, working at catching their breath.
“I’m never going to get tired of that,” she panted, her chest moving up and down so fast her breasts swayed.
“Me either,” he agreed, his eyes fixed on her moving breasts. Shockingly, he started to swell again. “And not even close to calling this quits yet.”
Cleto rolled over, picked her up, took a few steps, and pressed her up against the wall. Clair wrapped her legs around him, they kissed deep, and he thrust back into her body. This time their lovemaking seemed to be quicker than the other times. He took her fast, and with only six nice hard thrusts they came at the same time.
Unable to let her go just yet, he pushed away from the wall and walked them to the bath. The second the doors opened for them, the water heated up. Only when they were in the water did he finally slip from her body. Sitting down, Cleto pulled her into his arms, back against his chest and sighed.
“This is how I always dreamed it would be with my queen,” he said. “As an adolescent, I use to dream of a perfect match. I hate to speak ill of the dead, but I don’t think I ever felt so content with Kalena as I do with you in my arms.”
Her hands rubbed his legs and she rested her head back against him. “I just wanted someone to love me for me, and it felt like I’d never have that.”
“You have it now.”
“I have so much more than that.” She turned enough to kiss him. “I just wish—”
“What?”
She turned back around with a sigh. “I don’t think I can have children. My first round with the cancer I lost too much to be able to carry a baby. I’m sorry.”
Cleto hugged her tighter. “Don’t be sorry, and don’t think like that. Kalena saved your life. She might’ve also changed the course of all your wounds. You might be able to have a child, and until we both know for sure I’m going to enjoy the trying.”
Clair giggled and took one of his hands. She moved it down into the water, between her legs. He touched and she moaned. “Without a doubt I’m going to enjoy it.”
He played with her using his hand only. She in turn reached under the water behind her and started to play with him as well. Together they pleasured each other. Clair was the first to come and Cleto wasn’t too far behind. Once finished he washed her. She stood in the water, him on his knees with a cloth in hand, and he rubbed it up and down her legs. He shouldn’t have any carnal cravings for awhile, yet when she parted her legs for him, he looked up, his eyes glazing over with need. He had to have her again! The cloth dropped into the water, his hands went around to her ass, and he had her sweet pussy in his face, sucking and licking each drop of water and her desire.
Her hands slid into his wet hair, legs parted even further, and he feasted. He just couldn’t seem to get enough of her taste. Each drop had him only needing more. Pushing his tongue as deep as he could, he loved her with it. A gasp left her lips as he licked her from the backside all the way up to her throbbing clit, flicking his tongue a couple times over it, then back up to her ass.
“You’re driving me nuts!” she moaned.
“What do you desire?” he asked right before he went to her clit, flicking his tongue fast over it.
“God, fuck me. Just bend me over or something, I don’t care.”
Cleto had to laugh at that. He stopped, stood up, and turned her towards the side of the bath. To the edge they went and he took her hips and picked her up, wrapped her legs around his fast and, hands on her ass, he entered her slowly.
“Watch,” he told her. “Watch me enter you. Feel me stretch you as I feel you tighten around me.”
She did and it seemed to heighten every sensation in his body. Standing up, her half reclining, Cleto loved her slow and easy. He didn’t rush it this time. He enjoyed every sensation, every feeling between them. When she climaxed this time it had a sweet tone to it, a softer feel, one that had him swelling, not only in her body, but in his heart as it expanded in his love for her.
They finished the bath, dried each other off, and then dressed. A meal was brought up for them, which they decided not to eat alone but eat with the rest of the staff. So they were to head down to have the morning meal with half of the people before the funeral and the other half of the people would eat later. Each person in the kingdom was to sit at the table with Cleto and his queen to say their good-byes and to honor the memory of Kalena.
Night descended on the third day—the final meal for the funeral, when Cleto walked outside into the mill of people, a torch in one hand, Clair’s hand in the other. A strange hush spread through the people as they parted for the two to make their way to the platform. Cleto gave Clair’s hand a squeeze when they got to the edge, then he let her go and turned to his people.
“Tonight we say good-bye to one of our own,” Cleto said in a loud voice. “Kalena gave her life to the land, to my heart that stands here now with us all.” Murmurs of approval rushed out then it went quiet again. “I won’t stand here and lie to you all. I am in debt to Kalena for what she gave up so that we all might have our true queen at last.” He turned back towards the platform. “We will never forget you,” he said sadly, then raised the torch in the air and slowly brought it down. The platform instantly caught on fire.
Cleto walked backwards towards Clair. She wrapped her arms around his arm, and rested her head against his shoulder. Together they stood there, as did so many others, watching the burning of Kalena’s body.
One week after the funeral the crowd of people came back again for the crowning of their king, only this time they were also getting a queen.
Cleto, dressed again in his royal attire, stood at the closed doors waiting. His nerves already on edge he kept looking to his left, waiting for Clair to show up. It was bad enough that he was being crowned, which had him on edge, but he was also getting married and that had him wanting to scream out his nervousness. Two important things happening at once. How could a man handle it?
He was just about to leave and go find Clair when doors opened from down the hall and there was his Clair, gracefully moving toward him. She was dressed in a long flowing red-jeweled gown, long red fur cloak, and her hair done up in curls. Her brilliant smile brought joy to him as she joined him. A servant stood behind her, adjusting the long cloak.
He leaned towards her to kiss her only to have her back away from him. “You don’t get to kiss the bride until you’re told to. Bad luck as it is to see me before the wedding.”
Taking her hand and placing it on his left hand, he kissed her knuckles. “That is in your world. Here the groom takes the bride to the altar. And you look gorgeous by the way. Good enough to eat.”
“You can do that later.”
Cleto laughed and kissed her hand again. “I plan to, until you scream and beg me as you did last time. What was it you said? Fuck you now?” He grinned when he saw her face turn red. “Thought so.”
“You don’t play fair.”
“And neither do you. Now take a deep breath. It’s time.” He waited for her to do so before nodding and the doors opened.
As the first time, the great hall was packed with people, all the way up to the second floor. With their first step into the hall, a loud cheer went up. Everyone smiled at them, and when Cleto looked at Clair, she was smiling back at them all.
Three priests waited for them at the end, right in front of the throne. When they reached it, the high priest raised his hands and everyone in the room quieted.
“Please kneel,” the priest said.
“Today is a day that will go down in our history,” the priest announced. “Today our prince Cleto has found his princess. You all are witness to the love that I know you can see and feel between the two of them, and I am blessed to be the one to unite them. For it gives me great pleasure to see the love I can see that you have for the other.
“Every union is a blessing in the eyes of our gods. One woman shall complete one man in all ways. The two shall become one, and if the blessing of their love produces children then the circle of our lives are complete. My magic had allowed me the pleasure of uniting your parents, prince Cleto, and you honor me now by uniting you with your own heart. He started the ceremony.
“Do you, Cleto of Eltora, take this woman not only as your wife, but as your lover, the mother of your children, your heart’s soul mate till the end of your days? Will you forever love her, protect her, and cherish all gifts she may give you? Will you always love her?”
Cleto turned and looked Clair right in the eyes. “I will, until the end of my time.”
“And you, Clair of Earth, do you take this man not only as your husband, but as your lover, the father of your children, your heart’s soul mate till the end of your days? Will you forever love him, protect him, and cherish all gifts he may give you? Will you always love him?”
Clair smiled at Cleto. “With all my heart.”
The priest motioned to the two attendants. They came over, kneeled down next to him with white pillows in hand, a ring on each pillow. Cleto took one ring, a thick band in the shape of a crown with diamonds and rubies in it going all the way around it. He picked up her left hand and slipped the ring on the third finger of her left hand.
“With everything I am I bind myself to you for life. I love you and refuse to live in this world, or the next, without you by my side,” Cleto said.
Clair took the ring from the other pillow. It was the same as hers, only larger. She slipped it on his left hand and said, her voice trembling, “I’ll love you forever my prince, my very own toy soldier, and nothing in this world or mine will ever change that. You’re stuck with me forever.”
Cleto smiled at that statement.
“The bond that has been formed shall never be undone,” the priest said. “From this day forth, you are man and wife. Equal in all. My prince, you may now kiss your wife.”
Cleto turned and kissed Clair. A loud cheer went up in the room and he deepened the kiss. When he finally did let her go, Clair wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight.
“I love you,” she said in his ear.
“And I love you.”
When they parted, the priest once more had his hands up in the air. Cleto watched him turn and pick up the crown from a pillow that another priest was holding.
“Eltora, I give you the new king of Eltora. Hall, to King Cleto!” he bellowed.
The crown came down upon his head, and Cleto closed his eyes for a brief moment. Another cheer rang out and Cleto stood up, turned, and faced his people. One last time the crowd was silenced. Cleto turned and took the second crown. The high priest moved to Clair, helping her to stand as Cleto took his spot.
“Eltora, I give you a queen!” Cleto called out with deep pride in his voice. He placed the crown of the queen on Clair’s head, gave her a quick wink right before he took her shoulders, and turned her toward the people.
Once more, they started to cheer for them both. Cleto took his place next to her, took her hand, and brought it up to his lips, kissing it. Fragrant flower petals rained down on them from overhead and they smiled at the people. When the children in the group broke off and came running up to Clair, she kneeled down to them, hugging each and every one of them and taking the special presents they’d made for her.
Watching her right then, Cleto had this strange feeling that they would have children. When, he didn’t know, but his gut screamed they would. After all, she was too special a woman to not have a child of her own.
“She will, your majesty,” the high priest said, stopping to give him a look that spoke of the future. He knew what was in store for them. “I promise you, she will.”