Realm of the Chosen: A Reverse Harem Romance

Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Kit sat on the low stool in front of the mirror in her chambers as her ladies worked on her hair. Already dressed in the simple white gown she would wear for her Proem Ceremony in less than an hour, she tried not to look at her own reflection or look down at what she was wearing as it served as a reminder of where she would be headed next, and she would just as soon be going anywhere else.

Her ladies had both assured her there was nothing to fear and even thought the council’s idea of having one of her guards perform the ceremony rather than the feeble physician was a good one. “He will likely be more capable,” Isla had offered in her meek voice.

“He will likely be more fulfilling,” Avinia had joked, and both of her cousins had giggled, though Kit had not. She had reminded them that this was a medical procedure, not a pleasuring, and they both assured her that they were aware; they were only teasing.

But there was nothing humorous about it to Kit, and as they brushed out her hair and began to pin it up on top of her head so high it would be out of the way once she reached the ceremonial table, she tried to think of something else. Her mind went back to the festivities the night before. Dinner, with several dignitaries from the provinces and a few from other realms, followed by music and dancing had been lovely, and a few times Kit’s mind had been swept away from the impending ceremony. There had been a few young men who had caught her eye, ones she thought she might want to invite into her chambers during her Exploration, but thoughts of the Proem continued to seep into her thoughts at every turn, and she knew she would’ve been able to further enjoy the festivities if they hadn’t been darkened by the ceremony she was about to undergo. Despite the assurance by her ladies and others that it was nothing to fear, the thought was still there.

As Isla slipped the final pin into her hair and the two of them fitted a small tiara into the tresses assembled on the crown of her head, Kit pondered exactly what it was that made her feel this way. What exactly was it she was afraid of? Was it the act itself? Having another person inside of her body? Or was it fear of the pain? She knew that she was a bit of a lightweight when it came to undergoing discomfort. It was something she had been working on since she’d caught a splinter one day in the woods several years ago, and Eli had chuckled at her for being so tender. So perhaps it was none of those things. As she stood and smoothed the long, flowing white gown, she tried to remind herself that she was giving permission for this man to perform the act that would progress her toward her Exploration, and that this was the one and only time she wouldn’t have complete control over her own body. From now on, she would choose who, when, where, how, and for how long.

“You look radiant, dear cousin,” Isla said as the three of them admired the ladies’ handiwork in the mirror.

“Thanks to the both of you,” Kit said forcing a smile. Her hands were trembling a bit, and she folded them in front of herself.

“Don’t worry. It will all be over soon, and then you shall be free of anxiety.” Avinia gave her a smile, and Kit nodded at her, reaching up to brush her hand across her taller cousin’s fair cheek. These two cared so very much for her. She was blessed to have such wonderful attendants.

There was a subtle rap on the door of the antechamber, and Avinia went to open it. Kit continued to stare at herself in the mirror and take deep breaths. She hoped it would be Eli who had come to escort her to the ceremony as she hadn’t seen much of him at the ball. He had been on duty, of course. She had only spent the one dance with him and a few stolen moments to themselves before he had to rush off. It would be nice to hear his soothing words again, now that she was on her way to the ceremony. His insight always did her good, though last night, she thought it was more his nearness than anything he said that had calmed her—temporarily. Instead of his familiar tenor, the male voice that echoed into the room was foreign to her.

“We are here to walk the princess to her Proem Ceremony.”

Kit sighed in disappointment but put her brave face on, pressing her shoulders back and her head up.

“Yes, of course,” Avinia said. “One moment.”

It was time then. Kit took one more look at herself, attempting to boost her confidence. She could do this. She would do it. It was her choice, after all, to claim a mate and one day be Queen of the Realm, and the law clearly stated that could not happen if she didn’t follow through with her Choosing. And this was the first step.

Isla slipped her arm through Kit’s and walked alongside her to the door where they were greeted by two members of the Queen’s Royal Guard. Kit was confused. “Why are not my own guardsman escorting me?”

“Your Majesty, they have all been sequestered,” the tall ebony skinned soldier replied.

“Of course,” she said, letting go of Isla’s arm. If she was to have no idea of the identity of the random guardsman chosen to perform the Proem, none of her guards could show their faces until after it was over. Kit nodded, and the soldiers began to make their way to the chapel where the ceremony was traditionally performed, an odd location in Kit’s opinion, but then the entire ceremony was unlike anything she would’ve chosen should it have been discussed with her.

Isla and Avinia would attend as members of the court. They would stand in the very back, behind the queen, the Royal Council members, and the other noblewomen. The only men who would be present in the room were the physician and his stand in. Her father had been given the option to attend but had chosen not to, and Kit couldn’t blame him.

They rounded the corner, and Kit was surprised to see his familiar face smiling at her from outside of the chapel doors. Remont Killdun was a tall man with dark hair and bright blue eyes, which Kit had inherited. His gentle nature did not match the queen’s disposition at all, and Kit assumed that was precisely why he had been chosen, because he posed no threat to Rona’s reign. He was wearing dress trousers in a deep purple and a tunic almost the same shade. Even at a distance, Kit could tell it was made of the finest silk, which meant her mother had told him what to wear. The couple seldom spoke anymore, but on occasions where others may be making judgments about her based on her husband, Rona would assert herself as necessary.

The guards paused in front of the ornate stained glass doors that depicted two of the most powerful goddesses of the realm, the sun goddess and the water goddess. Kit had always wondered why the citizens of their realm didn’t believe in any gods but so readily accepted the ideas that many goddesses had created the whole world, even though many realms had kings as rulers. She never questioned any of those teachings in her mother’s presence, however, not since she had been a four-year-old, and her governess had given her a sharp slap to the wrist for doing so.

“Katrinetta, you look lovely as always.” Remont’s voice vibrated slightly as if he were concerned for her. He took her hands in his.

“Thank you, Father,” Kit replied, bowing her head slightly, even though as a princess she far outranked the duke before her. “I thought you had chosen not to come.”

“I shall not stay, darling,” he said, his eyes crinkling at the corner. “I only wished to see you and to tell you how much I love you. I have always been so very proud of you, dear, and I want you to know how happy I am to have you as my daughter.”

Her father’s sweet words brought a tear to Kit’s eye. She had always been close to her father, despite her mother’s insistence that he served little purpose now that she had an heir, and when she leaned in to kiss his cheek and his arms came around her, Kit felt a thousand times calmer than she had in days, except, perhaps in those stolen moments with Eli the night before. As soon as she pulled away, the anxiety came back to her, but at least it had been gone for the moment. “Thank you. I love you, Father,” Kit said, still holding his hands.

“I love you, my Princess. Now, go fulfill your destiny.” He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it before smiling pleasantly at her and turning to go. Kit was certain she saw a tear in his eye and wondered if he might be thinking of the little girl who used to sit on his knee and listen to stories not so many years ago. She couldn’t imagine how difficult it must be for him to watch her go through this ceremony, though it was just the beginning. But then, as a man, he had very little say in anything that transpired in the realm and certainly couldn’t do anything to stop the Proem from continuing.

And neither could Kit.

With a deep breath, she followed the soldiers into the chapel. The entire court was assembled there. However, Kit’s eyes locked on the table in the center of the dais, and she could no longer see anything else. There it was—the bed she would lie on while the Proem was completed. It looked much like the medical beds used in the infirmary, except it was draped in white, and at the bottom of it, an abundance of long sheets hung over the end supported by beams that went up and over the middle and end of the table. Once her mother said a few words, she would lie down and slide to the end of the table, where there would be an opening just wide enough for the physician, or in this case, his proxy, to step beneath the sheets and complete the procedure. Assuming he was properly prepared, it should only take a moment, and yet, as Kit stood back and observed the scene, she felt like she was moving in slow motion.

The queen stepped forward so that she was standing at the end of the aisle. Kit continued to make her way in that direction. Avinia and Isla were nudging her forward, the guards staying out in the hallway.

Once she somehow managed to reach the front of the room and found herself standing next to her mother, the queen began to say a few words, reminding those in assembly of how important this ceremony was and what it meant to their realm that the heir to the throne would be embarking on a journey to find her mate, which would in turn allow her to create an heir. Kit heard very little of it, however, as she stood with her face frozen in a half-smile, half-grimace she could not control and thought about the table behind her.

“For the goddesses and our realm, I call upon you now, Katrinetta Ronatta, Princess of All the Lands East of the Galacial Mountains and Princess of the Provinces South of the Compazional Sea, to fulfill your duty as the heiress to the throne. Now, let the Proem Ceremony begin.”

Polite clapping filled the chapel. Kit thought she felt her own nervousness echoed in those around her. Her mother gestured with her arm, and Kit approached the bed as she had been instructed. She kept her knees together and swung her legs up onto the bed, trying to be as graceful as possible as she was suddenly very aware that she was not wearing any undergarments under the thick, flowing white gown. Once her legs were beneath the sheet, she pulled the top of it down over her waist and slid down slightly, trying to feel for the opening with her backside and her upper thighs as she went.

Her mother went around and lifted the other end of the sheet only long enough to duck under it. Then, she guided Kit’s legs into the proper position, and with a gentleness Kit hadn’t felt from her mother in years, she lifted her gown out of the way so that when the guard took his position, he would have nothing to do except for complete the ceremony.

“That’s all,” Kit thought to herself. “It’ll all be over in a few moments.”

Her mother backed out from under the sheet. Kit couldn’t see her, only felt a brief breeze as the sheet went up and then back down again. From this position, Kit couldn’t see anything except the ornate gold ceiling, and since she couldn’t tell what was happening anyway, she decided to close her eyes.

The sound of footsteps echoed off the dais as she imagined her mother was going to retrieve Mikali, who she believed had been standing near a side door that led to a long hallway where there were several different prayer rooms. She had no idea how many guards had volunteered, but she figured it would make sense for them all to be waiting there. She knew her mother would double check that it was impossible to tell their identities, and for a moment, Kit imagined the young man coming into the chapel now was likely just as nervous as she was. Had he truly wanted to be a part of this, or did he feel that it was his duty? Would he be so distracted by all of the people staring, by the ancient physician, that he would suffer the same debilitation as the elderly doctor? She hoped not—it was best to get this over with now.

The footsteps approached. Her mother’s she knew by their confident clacking. She heard her step down off of the dais and took her place. They were followed by the shuffling steps of the physician, and then the heavy boots of one of her guards. Poor soul. She scrunched her eyes closed tighter and tried to think about a wide open chasm; that’s what Avinia had suggested. “Just pretend there is a great, opening between your legs. The tighter you clench, the more difficult it will be, the more it will hurt. So relax your leg muscles, and imagine everything spreading wide open.”

The physician was saying something in an ancient tongue, one Kit was meant to learn but still didn’t quite understand. She knew it was a blessing, though, and that it was for her and her journey. Her palms were sweaty where they rested near her hips, but she didn’t dare move them. She didn’t dare move at all.

The sheet went up slightly, though she didn’t suppose he actually crouched and stepped under it as her mother had done. That wouldn’t work, anatomically, if what Kit had learned about the male body was correct. He wasn’t looking. He was going to complete the ceremony by feel. She wondered if he was blindfolded beneath the hood her mother insisted he would be wearing or if he was able to see and just chose not to look.

She knew he’d be wearing a sheath, one likely laced with a lubricant containing a second layer of protection. It was f*******n for her to have any sort of relations before her wedding with a man not wearing one. Along with the special tea she’d been drinking for the past several months, she was assured she would not become with child throughout the process. The presence of the unfamiliar object, the sheath, raised another thought in her head—another worry. What if it came off and became lodged inside of her?

The feel of him bumping up against her, not his member, but rather his body nudging between her spread legs, made all other thoughts flee her mind, and Kit took a deep breath, hoping to calm herself, realizing the moment she’d been so anxious about for these past few weeks was about to be upon her. However, as she filled her lungs, a familiar scent wafted over her, and a calmness settled about her. She didn’t let her mind wander to where she knew that fragrance from, not in the moment, only sank into it, keeping her eyes closed, her knees open, and the idea that there was a wide cavern between her thighs in the center of her mind.

He was gentle with her. She could tell he was doing his best to be easy as she finally felt the tip of him entering her. She didn’t flinch; rather, she concentrated on that feeling of well-being that had overcome her. He took a small step forward, once he seemed sure of his positioning, and Kit felt a sharp pain streak up what would be the cavern wall if her imagination held true. She inhaled deeply again, trying not to cry out, and he pressed into her just slightly before extracting himself. The pain was alleviated almost instantaneously, though she had a feeling the slight stinging sensation she was feeling might last a bit longer and was happy for the Clearing so she would have time to physically recover.

She felt his hands brush the back of her leg and imagined he was making himself presentable again. Part of her wanted to sit up, now that it was over, to look at him, to see if there was a tell. His height perhaps. Maybe he had a misshapen head she could identify from beneath the covering. But then, the whole idea seemed foolish, and she realized it truly was best if she didn’t know who he was. A few seconds later, there was another breeze as the sheet was dropped back into place, and she heard the physician say something again, though she couldn’t make it out, and all of the women clapped.

Kit didn’t move. She knew Mikali would need to check. She hoped it wouldn’t be as intrusive as the act itself. The physician lifted the sheet quickly, and this time, Kit couldn’t help but squeeze her legs together, despite the fact that she could do nothing to protect herself with her feet spread apart so. Mikali let go of the sheet almost as quickly as he had raised it and said, “There is blood!” to which everyone cheered. Kit remembered that announcement from the other ceremonies she had attended and recalled feeling odd clapping that someone was bleeding, but she knew the significance of what it meant in her case. The Proem had been successful and was over now.

Still not sitting up, she waited until she heard the physician escort his ward back out the exit at the other end of the room, and then her mother was at her side, helping her to replace her skirts and back out of the coverings. Kit wanted to see the blood herself for some reason, perhaps to make sure that she wasn’t being fooled and wouldn’t ever find herself in this position again, but she didn’t have the chance, and in a moment’s time, she was standing next to her mother as the other noblewomen clapped respectfully, smiling, and shouting, “Huzzah!” as if she had just defeated a vicious foe. Perhaps she had. Kit did feel a bit like a dragon slayer as she made her way back down the aisle. Next, there would be another feast in her honor, but first, she’d be allowed to retire to her chambers to wash and to put on another gown, something with layers and layers of underclothes.

“See, I told you. Not so difficult, was it?” her mother whispered in her ear as they approached the doors.

“Not at all, Mother,” Kit replied, though that was certainly not the truth. Still, the feeling of serenity that had washed over her was enough to get her through, and as she headed back toward her chambers, escorted by the same two guards who had led her to the Proem, her two ladies behind her, Kit did feel as if she had accomplished something great on her way toward someday becoming Queen of the Realm.