Struggling with the words to say, she just moaned her agreement. Leigh continued with long, measured plunges deep into her pussy. He then pulled completely out and flipped her over onto her stomach in one sure movement. Since Jessie was coming down from her second body draining orgasm, her body was languid. Her slow movements didn’t help, nor detour Leigh’s ministrations to do with her what he pleased.
Leigh spread Jessie’s legs with his knees, then pulled her hips back, bringing her ass into the air. She instinctively came up on all fours when Leigh gently pressed the palm of his hand down on her upper back, encouraging her to lay her head and chest back down on the bed. Jessie complied but not without a swirl of her hips, trying to tempt him into taking her on her terms. She let out a yip of shock when Leigh gave a sharp slap to her ass, followed by a caress. She didn’t know if she was more shocked he would spank her or that she enjoyed the feel of it.
Leigh roughly entered her from behind. Jessie’s hiss of “yesss” spurred him on. Pounding into her with such ferocity, he lost himself in the moment. “I love you, Jessie. You are meant for me. I thank the Goddess every day she has brought you to me. Come with me.”
She shook her head no. “I can’t Leigh. It’s too much.”
“You can and will Jessie. You’re on the edge. I feel it. Now come for me.” Leigh followed up his declaration with another slap to the ass.
Surprisingly, it was exactly what she needed to push her over the edge. She shattered, and Leigh followed, pouring himself into her. When their heavy breathing started to subside, Leigh pulled out, rolled her onto her side and cradled her back to his chest. With a tired sigh Jessie said, “That was amazing Leigh. Thank you.”
With one hand, Leigh covered their bodies with a sheet, and then kissed the side of her head. “Thank you, Jessie. You have given me such a gift. Sleep now, ayah.”
“Leigh?”
“Yes, Jessie?”
As she drifted off to sleep, Jessie mumbled, “I love you too.”
~~~~~~~~
The next morning Jessie woke entangled in Leigh’s arms, with Leigh smiling down at her. His mega-watt smile could light a small village. “You’re in a good mood.”
“I truly am. Do you know why?”
“Other than having sex? No.”
Leigh gently kissed her forehead and whispered, “You finally trust me enough to bare my mark.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because it’s there, on your arm, for all to see.” Leigh gleamed.
“What?” Jessie shrieked pawing at her arms trying to find the mark. It scared her a little, but there it was. This white intricate swirling pattern, which matched Leigh’s, was there on her upper arm covering most of her deltoid muscle and a little lower. After a brief moment of panic, she turned to Leigh and shyly smiled. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say nothing; you’re truly my ayah. Get dressed. I want to announce our bond to my mother and fathers as soon as possible. They will be most pleased.”
Leigh quickly got dressed, and Jessie dressed in another bonding gown which was strapless, so her arm was bare for the Queen and King’s inspection. Once she was dressed, Leigh grabbed her hand and practically dragged her towards the door. She nearly ran to keep up with Leigh’s clipped, fast pace. Every servant or guardsman they past bowed towards them, smiling and murmuring their congratulations. When they arrived at the throne room, Leigh burst through the doors to find the Kings, Queen and Councilman Cerin discussing some political matter.
Leigh did all but shout from the rooftops. “Mother, fathers, I present to you, my ayah. Jessie bares my mark.”
Queen Maya jumped up from the dais and came to Jessie, cradling her face in her hands, “Truly, child?” After Queen Maya inspected Jessie’s upper arm, she pulled her into a tight hug. “Your mark is marvelous.” Queen Maya called over her shoulder, “Raiden, Taavi come look.”
King Raiden and King Taavi removed themselves from the dais and walked towards Jessie looking at her upper arm in surprise and fatherly pride. Both Kings bowed to her and then clasped Leigh on each of his shoulders in congratulations. King Raiden was the first to speak. “Princess Jessie, thank you for opening your heart to our son. We wish you many happy years of bonding.”
Queen Maya smiled widely. “And many grandchildren.”
King Taavi waved Meesa forward, “Please fetch Prince Looch and Zara. They will want to congratulate Prince Leigh and Princess Jessie on their union.” Meesa nodded and skittered off through the doors.
“Were they sleeping together?” She thought. With Taavi’s words, Jessie looked expectantly at Leigh. Leigh whispered in her ear. “Zara is pure; they will never be together unless Looch’s mark forms on her. Don’t doubt Looch. He’s an honorable male.”
When Jessie nodded her understanding, she noticed Councilman Cerin lurking in the shadows as always. When she made eye contact with him, he seemed to be fuming at the ears. His face was red, and she could tell his breathing was ragged. “Why is he so mad?” She thought.
Just then, Zara came through the doors. Queen Maya spoke up as she helped usher Zara towards Jessie, “Look Zara. Jessie bares Leigh’s mark.”
Zara quietly looked at the intricate white mark on Jessie’s upper arm. Zara finally raised her eyes to meet Jessie’s. Zara gave her a genuine smile. “Congratulations Jessie. I truly am happy for you and Prince Leigh.”
Jessie was overwhelmed with Zara’s pure happiness and grabbed Zara in a huge bear hug. Zara was so alarmed with the bold action she stood stock still for a moment. When she finally realized Jessie wasn’t going to let her go, Zara finally hugged her back. Over Jessie’s shoulder, Zara saw her father fiercely scowling at her. Zara cleared her throat and gently pushed away from Jessie. Bowing to Leigh, Zara said, “Congratulations on your bond.”
Leigh smiled at Zara and bowed his head back to her. “Your best wishes mean a great deal to me. I consider you a great friend, Zara. I hope you hold no ill will towards me.”
“Never Leigh.”
Just as Zara spoke the words, her father came up behind her and sternly corrected her. “Prince Leigh, insolent child.”
Leigh was about to correct Councilman Cerin’s chide towards Zara when Meesa burst through the doors on a dead run. “Your highness…” she said in between pants. “There’s something wrong with the prince. He can’t be woken from sleep.”
No one asked any questions, they all just scurried towards Looch’s room. Leigh was the first to reach his brother’s side checking him. “Meesa, please retrieve Lyon from the healing ward. Tell him to bring a handheld healing unit and medical transport. Let him know time is of the essence. Prince Looch is unresponsive.”
The kings stood there with concern on their faces trying to console Queen Maya who was crying. Zara was staring at Looch in absolute horror. She looked at Jessie with tears in her eyes. Jessie grabbed her hand giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Leigh will know what to do.”
The medical transport arrived and with it, Lyon. He made quick work of assessing the situation, and then asked for everyone to leave the room so he could consult with Leigh in private. Everyone reluctantly did as he asked. Queen Maya seemed to be inconsolable. Jessie gave the Queen a hug to help reassure her everything would be okay.
After what seemed to be forever, Leigh came out of Looch’s room with a somber expression. Queen Maya could no longer stand the wait. “Son, what is it?”
“We will need to transport Looch to the healing ward for further testing, but I concur with healer Lyon’s assessment that Looch was poisoned.”
“What do you mean poisoned?” King Raiden’s irritation evident.
“Just that father… poisoned. We can’t seem to pinpoint the poison on the handheld healing unit.” Leigh put his hand up to silence the onslaught of questions everyone was about to ask. “There seem to be no ill effects to Looch other than not being able to wake him. His brain activity, breathing, and circulation are well within the normal ran
ge. The poison will need to work its way through his system, or we will need to find out what poison it’s so we can find the antidote.” Leigh stopped abruptly and looked around with suspicious eyes.
Jessie was the first to say it. “What are you not telling us, Leigh?”
Quietly Leigh whispered to Jessie, Zara, Councilman Cerin and his parents. “Someone has concocted an ancient potion which acts as a sleep agent.” Leigh looked at Jessie with worry in his eyes. “Alchemy and keerac have not been practiced on our planet since ancient times and is strictly forbidden. This type of chemistry is a dark art practiced in secret societies or passed down through the ages from elder to offspring.”
“Keerac?”
Leigh gently kissed Jessie’s temple, “A keerac is someone equivalent to your Earth witch, wiccan or warlock. Therefore we must be careful on how we proceed. There’s a traitor amongst us.”
“Leigh, those things don’t exist on Earth. They’re folklore.”
“In ancient times, they did very much exist on this planet, but were thought to be eradicated.”
Jessie’s eyes shot to Councilman Cerin. “Don’t look at me with criticism. I’ve been a trusted member of the governing council for years. It’s you who are new to the planet and if I might point out, the one who fed everyone drinks last night. Maybe you’re the one who poisoned Prince Looch.” Cerin spat.
Leigh grabbed Cerin by the throat and snarled, “You’ll watch your tongue regarding Jessie, or I’ll remove it from your mouth with my bare hand.”
Cerin gasped for air but managed to beg for forgiveness, “Of course your highness, please…forgive me.”
Jessie touched Leigh’s arm. “Please Leigh, this isn’t helping anyone. We need to get Looch to the healing ward.”
Leigh dropped Cerin as if he weighed nothing, and then turned to Zara. “Forgive my outburst towards your father. He was disrespectful to Jessie.”
Zara bowed her head back to Leigh. “There’s nothing to forgive Prince Leigh.”
When they all reached the healing ward, Riley was there visiting Sloane. Riley’s worry was evident on her face. “Jessie, what’s going on? What’s wrong with Looch?”
Jessie started crying and gathered Riley in a fierce hug. “He’s been poisoned. He won’t wake up.”
“I’m sorry Jessie, that’s horrible. What was he poisoned with?”
In a whisper, Jessie answered. “They don’t know yet, but Cerin was quick to point the finger at me.”
“I dislike that jackass.”
“Don’t worry; Leigh put him in his place. Here’s the thing. It’s not like someone dumped some cyanide in Looch’s food. Someone who was there last night is a keerac which is like a for real, live, witch who concocted a special potion to make sure Looch doesn’t wake up. Looch is essentially sleeping beauty, and no one knows how to wake him or why they put him to sleep in the first place.”
Jessie could see the wheels turning in Riley’s eyes. “So was the potion he was given plant-based?”
“Leigh didn’t say that, but it would make sense since it would have to be something he ingested last night.”
Riley whispered back, “When they are finished getting him situated I’ll ask Lian and Lyon for more information, away from prying eyes. If its plant-based you know, I can find an antidote. I don’t know much about the plant life here, but I’m a quick learner and can figure it out. Trust me; I can do this.” Just as Riley finished speaking, she looked at Jessie’s upper arm and gasped. “Is it what I think it is?”
Jessie looked down again at the white mark on her skin and smiled back at Riley. “It is. Leigh and I are bonded.”
“I’m so happy for you. You couldn’t have gotten a better man…” Riley then looked over to Looch. “Except for that one too.” Riley squeezed Jessie in a hug and whispered into her ear. “I’ve got this. In the meantime watch your back. I don’t trust Cerin.”
Chapter Seventeen
Jessie visited Looch every day. Whenever she went, someone was always by his side, whether it was his mother, fathers or Zara. Everyone loved and admired Looch and wanted to help see him through this. Arenian warriors who respected his leadership and fighting skills came to visit. If not to see their ailing comrade, then the warriors lent support to the royal family. While others spoke to the equally respected Leigh to let him know all he had to do is ask for help, and they will be at the palace to assist in any way possible.
One day as Jessie went with Leigh to visit Looch, Zara was already there sitting in a chair next to him. Leigh brought a chair over to the other side of Looch and stood beside her as she sat. Zara eyed Jessie wearily, and then turned her gaze to Leigh. “Is there any more news on Looch’s condition?”
Leigh shook his head. “No more than we already knew. We can’t seem to find out what plant the poison was derived from, but Lyon, Lian and I are working on it. We will find it and whoever did this will pay for his betrayal.” Leigh brushed a hand over Jessie’s cheek. “I’d like to get back to my research, which is just across the hall. Would you like me to escort you back to our room or would you prefer to stay here for a while?”
Jessie looked pointedly at Zara. “I’ll stay here, if it’s okay with you, Zara.”
Zara’s eyes flashed with surprise. “Of course, you may stay Princess Jessie.”
Leigh nodded to both ladies and left them in silence. After several minutes of the uncomfortable silence, Jessie couldn’t stand it anymore and blurted out, “On Earth, we believe even though someone is unconscious they can still hear you, so you still need to talk to them. Tell them…” Emotion suddenly clamped down on Jessie’s heart. With tears brimming in her eyes, she looked at Zara who was intently looking back. “How much they…mean to you… and how special…they are.”
Zara reached her hand out towards Jessie. Jessie grabbed onto it like a lifeline. Jessie was so different from Zara, and yet they seemed to be one in the same. They both had significant loss in their lives. She just hoped they wouldn’t lose Looch.
From that day forward, they both decided to meet every day so they could sit with Looch together and did so for the next two and a half weeks. Jessie had come to know Zara as a friend and hoped Zara felt the same way. Zara seemed to confide in Jessie. It wasn’t easy for Zara to open up, but somehow she found the courage to talk about how she lost her mother. It was a horrific tale Jessie will never forget.
“My fathers, mother and I were on holiday at the northern snow palace.” Zara gave Jessie a sad smile. “The palace is exquisite. You should ask Prince Leigh to take you some time. During the summer solstice, the northern snow palace is still cold, but very beautiful. Everything is so clean, crisp and white including the palace itself.”
“We were all having such a great time. Laughing and relaxing, which is something my family did not do on a regular basis. After a couple of nights at the palace, my fathers went hunting. Since my fathers are prominent councilmen most of the warriors went with them for added protection. Only two warriors stayed in the palace with mother and I. There would be no need for extra protection for us since we’re female. No one would dare harm a female since there are so few of us on the planet.”
Zara took a deep breath and shakily exhaled. “Or so we thought. Fathers were due back later that day from hunting orax. I was out on a walk through the delicate gardens there at the palace. I was admiring the wildlife in the gardens when I heard my mother scream for help from the open doors on the second-floor veranda. I ran as fast as I could to try and get to her.” Zara erupted with a cynical laugh. “What was I going to do? I’m just a female. I guess it didn’t matter anyway because, by the time I taught her, it was too late. There, lying motionless on the crisp white floor was my mother, in a pool of blood. Her throat was slit. She bled out in seconds. The screams I heard when I was trying to get to her was someone beating her.”
Tears were freely flowing down Zara’s face. “They don’t know how long I lay next to mother, but one thing was for sure when I awok
e I had my mother’s necklace on and I’ve never taken it off since.”
Zara took a long pregnant pause, “They never found out who killed her, but they think it was due to my father’s political connections. Later I’d find out that at the time, my fathers were the deciding vote on a controversial multi-world trade agreement. We went to the snow palace so my fathers could clear their heads and reflect on the issue they were voting on. No one knew the vote would ultimately kill my mother. Someone had sent an assassin to make sure my fathers understood they needed to vote a certain way. Even after my mother was killed, my fathers continued to receive death threats towards me. In the end, my fathers voted to pass the measure to save my life.”
Zara squared her shoulders a little, then gave Jessie a small smile. “Queen Maya and my mother, Ora had a close bond, so when mother died, Queen Maya insisted my fathers, and I come live in the palace with Looch and Leigh. She has been such a great mother figure to me. Most Arenian women wouldn’t bother helping a young female since I still had my fathers to raise me. In their eyes, I was provided for, but Queen Maya gave me love and affection only a mother could give.”
Jessie rose from her chair and walked over to Zara and hugged her. “I’m so sorry Zara. I lost my mom too. If anyone knows how hard it’s to lose their mother, it’s me. If you ever want to talk or just cry I hope you come to me.”
“Thank you, Jessie. You have no idea how much it means to me, especially the way my fathers have acted towards you. If you can imagine, Arenian females have very few friends, and females who grow up in the palace have even fewer.”
Jessie Page 15
