The Ambassador

The story - renamed the Ambassador of Pleasure - is now for sale on Amazon Kindle. Only this chapter will remain as a preview. If you have a kindle, please buy my book :-)

I smiled as I watched my boys out the window. They were jumping on a large outdoor trampoline, and performing some fairly complicated maneuvers. I just loved watching them try to out-do each other by coming up with new heart-stopping stunts.

They were 15 and 13 years old, and continued to amaze me by just what they could do if I let them. It wasn’t so long ago – in my mind – that they were both learning to walk and talk for the very first time. Children grow up so very fast!

I laughed softly as my daughters climbed onto the trampoline, and insisted that it was their turn. They were both 7 –twins. They didn’t care that they were only half their brothers’ age, and girls, they were convinced that they could do anything the boys could do, only better. To be fair, they were two halves of one Earth Goddess’ soul, so they had an advantage other girls didn’t, but they tried not to use their special abilities to “cheat” athletically.

That had been a surprising conversation for sure! The day that – during a ritual to commune with the Earth Goddess – she had taken my consciousness aside and asked me if I would give birth to and guide the two halves of her soul so that she could experience a mortal life. Her soul was much too powerful for one mortal body to hold, and that is why she split it in two.

 I was speechless at her request for several long moments as I let it sink in. To this day, I still have no idea why she chose me, but I was honored beyond words. I finally nodded, crying from the joy of it.

A car made its way across our long driveway – catching my attention, and I frowned. I didn’t recognize it, and wasn’t expecting anyone. I dried my hands – I had been washing dishes – and slipped into the simple sundress I kept in the kitchen for exactly this reason.

Soon, I was on my porch watching two men in military uniforms emerge from the car. My expression changed to curiosity as I wondered what they could possibly want. I didn’t know anyone in the military, and so they couldn’t be here to deliver the ultimate bad news... well, at least not to us. They could have the wrong address I suppose.

“Are you Mrs. Elly Helcl?”

“Yes,” I answered hesitantly. I could not imagine why they were looking for me.

“Excellent! Can we have a few moments of your time?” The older man asked. He had this look about him like he was a devil-may-care type of guy, and I felt an instant connection to him. This man was trustworthy.

His partner was a bit more reserved and probably just plain shy, so I did not push him by forcing him to talk to me, and instead focused my attention on the older soldier. “I don’t see why not, follow me... and please ignore the lack of clothing on my children. We’re nudists.”

“I somewhat figured that out as we passed the 3 or 4 warning signs on your driveway,” the older man smiled.

I was glad to see that he had a sense of humor, but the younger men kept his gaze firmly on the ground. Ah... so he was also uncomfortable around nudity. It made sense given his personality.

I invited the men to sit around my kitchen table, and served them lemonade I mixed up right in front of them. It only took two minutes, and was one of my favorite drinks. I saw the looks of surprise on both of their faces as I did so, since it was rare in this day and age to come across anyone who did not simply use a premade mix for anything.

Did I mention that I had twins who were the Earth Goddess? They make it extremely easy to grow anything we want on our land, and so we had a lemon tree despite not having a suitable climate for a lemon tree, but I digress.

“So, Mr...?” I began.

“Forgive me!” Older man thunked himself on the forehead. “I am Colonel Josh Harcourt, and this is my aide, Daniel Ashcraft.”

“Good to know,” I teased. “So, Mr. Harcourt – er Colonel – What can I do for you?”

“I assume you have heard of the interplanetary teleportation system?” Colonel Harcourt asked.

“Yes,” I nodded. “It is a highly restricted and often thought mythical device controlled by the government that theoretically transports people to other worlds.”

“Exactly! It is a definitely real device that really does transport people to other planets, and I am one of the people who often does the traveling.”

“Good for you, Colonel, what does this have to do with me?” I wondered.

“I’m getting to that. Recently, we have learned that there is a wonderful clean and green source of energy on a planet that never allows visitors or trade of any kind. Needless to say that our government would be thrilled to get our hands on some – just a small amount to see if this energy could be adapted to our many devices, such as cars – but we cannot verify that it exists, much less bargain for some if they won’t deal with us. To that end, a council of people came together to discuss ideas on how to get them to deal with us, and...” he paused to take a sip of his lemonade. “This is delicious!”

I nodded and smiled graciously.

“And anyway, one member of the council – Governor Garnett – suggested that we send an ambassador to cultivate some goodwill. He then suggested that we send you.”

I purposely took a few slow breaths to prevent anything telling from showing on my face. The Colonel was probably dying of curiosity wondering why the Governor would suggest me – especially since he governed a different state. Also, I am pretty much a simple farmer by all appearances, and having someone like me suggested as an ambassador probably seemed ridiculous.

Harvey Garnett – though no one really knew it – was my partner of sorts. We both belonged to a secret society here on Earth that really didn’t need to be a secret – were weren’t doing anything illegal or morally wrong, according to us – but we still lived in a society that clung to the beliefs of a repressive God, and so we avoided any potential conflict by keeping our society a secret.

Are you with me so far? In other words, we kept our society secret mostly because we wanted to avoid those who would not accept us, and prevent them from throwing rotten eggs or TP at our houses. As for what we do, well... I’m sure you’ll figure that out on your own.

Anyway, this society had regions, and each region was led by its own council of elders – so to speak. The top honchos of the region were called Kings and Queens, and their direct subordinates were called Princes and Princesses. These were not inherited positions – such as in an actual monarchy – nor were they elected positions. They were earned, and any member of the society who was interested may try to earn the position at any time, meaning that there could be more than one person holding a particular title at any given time.

For our region, Harvey was the King – one of three actually – and I was the one and only Queen. Strangely, it was a position that most women just didn’t want to earn, and so it was not uncommon for there to be only one or even no Queens at all for any given region. I had earned it when I turned 18, back when I had far more ambition than common sense, but that was a completely different story. The fact remained that I was still Queen, and always would be unless I gave it up, or died.

I finally responded. “I see. So, let me get this straight, you want me to travel to a different world in an attempt to sweet talk the inhabitants into giving up their precious energy source? I’m sorry, but I don’t think I agree with the reasoning. Take a look at my land; I have a windmill generator and my roof is solar panels. I am completely self-sufficient here, and I fully believe that our entire planet could convert to alternative energy like I have. Electric cars are viable, and –“

“I understand your concern, Ma’am, but this power source is rumored to be like a never ending battery. You honestly think that a car equipped with a never ending battery would be a bad thing?”

I laughed. “Right, a never ending battery... The only way that’s probable is if the device was some sort of fusion reactor. I don’t consider that particularly ‘green.’”

The Colonel sighed in disappointment. “I would agree with you on that, but the fact is that we don’t know anything about it, and all we want is to learn about it to see if it would be right for our people.”

As I stated earlier, this man seemed trustworthy, and I will admit that a large part of me wanted to believe in him and help him out. I tossed my head from side to side as I thought this through. According to him, they would not even consider meeting with me anyway, so what harm would there be in trying?

I grabbed my cellphone off the counter, and hit the speed dial for my husband’s cell. “Hey honey, are you busy?”

He was more than likely working on a car or something in his garage located on a quiet, out of the way spot on our property. “Nah, I was just taking a break. What’s up? Did an unexpected Queen thing come up?”

He was far more intuitive than he was willing to admit, and I laughed. “In a way, yes. There are two men from the military here, and they want to know if I will be an ambassador for them to another planet. Do you have any problem with me leaving the planet for a while?”

My hubby laughed. “Finally! Some peace and quiet!”

“Oh no! I’d be leaving the kids with you, of course,” I teased.

“Rats! ... Well, I suppose it can’t be helped. Wait! Did you say leave the planet?”

“Yes I did,” I confirmed.

“As in leave the planet? Like travel to another one?”

“Yes, but don’t worry, I’d be using a teleportation device, so my atoms would only be disassembled on a molecular level, and then reassembled on the other side. It’s not like I’d have to pace the deck of a spaceship for a few years,” I assured him.

“Riiight...” He muttered in disbelief. “And when would you be leaving?”

“I dunno!” I half hummed cheerfully.

Apparently my hubby had hopped on his electric motorcycle at some point, and raced over here, because he walked in the door at that moment – hanging up his phone. “And how long would you be gone?”

Lest you think he was standing in front of the Colonel and his aide buck naked, let me assure you that he had a large garagy-like uniform thing on. I shook my head, and shrugged my shoulders.

“What about the girls? They need you,” my hubby pointed out.

“True, but they can survive without me at this point. They are 7 after all. I could be gone for a year, and they wouldn’t be negatively affected – well aside from missing me like crazy, as I would miss them.”

The Colonel attempted to speak up with some answers to my husband’s questions, but I stopped him by holding up a hand.

“You want to go, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” I admitted. “I kinda do.”

He sighed, and pulled me into a hug. He held me like he never planned to let me go, and I squeezed him tightly to me.

“What’s going on?” Rachel asked. She set a basket on the counter – it was full of cucumbers and other vegetables from the garden. She stood there staring us down curiously, her hands on her naked hips. She didn’t spare more than one glance at our guests, but I knew she was silently daring them to comment on her nudity.

“Rachel, my love!” I drawled happily. She was our girlfriend – and yes, by girlfriend I do mean a woman who was in a relationship with my husband and I. She had been living with us for almost two years, and while she technically had a room of her own, it was rare for her to sleep in her own bed. The three of us liked sleeping together, among other activities that frequently occurred in bed.

“Uh-oh! You’re trying to butter me up,” Rachel accurately stated. “What horrible terrible thing do you plan to do to me now?”

She was joking, in case you couldn’t tell. The three of us all had a twisted sense of humor, you could say.

“Nothing,” I sang sweetly. “I just want to go to a different planet for a while.”

“You what?!” Rachel demanded. “Uh-uh! No way, I refuse to let you! It’s one thing for you to spend a weekend off doing your regional duties, but leaving the entire planet! No. No. No. I won’t let you.”

I changed the singing tone to a slightly whining tone. “But baby,” I snuggled up to her. “How many people can honestly say that they were specifically asked to be an ambassador of peace to a different planet?”

“An ambassador of peace? Why are they asking you?” Rachel wondered. She knew I could be a little imp when I wanted – she saw that side of me more than anyone other than my husband – and probably couldn’t picture me using my diplomatic skills. She didn’t really know what being the regional Queen entailed after all since she was a new member of the society. That’s how we’d met, unlike my hubby. I’d brought him into the society after I realized that we were perfect for each other, and I was already Queen.

“Well...” I covered a slight grimace. “Apparently Harvey recommended me.

“I’ll fucking kill him! He knows how I – uh-uh! Not gonna happen. If Harvey wants you to go to a different planet, than I am most definitely against the idea!” Rachel announced, holding onto me as if I might vanish if she let go.

“Now now, baby,” I purred. “Harvey’s a big softy. Why would he want me to go to another planet?”

“So that you aren’t here to keep my interest. He still wants me, and I know he thinks that I’ll just jump into bed with him the moment you are gone,” Rachel explained.

“Will you?” I asked, grinning.

“No,” Rachel vowed with an attitude.

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I don’t want to let you go!” Rachel cried, actual tears streaming down her face.

“Hey,” my hubby murmured soothingly. “It’ll be ok.” He pulled her off me, and into his arms so that he could stroke her hair.

“No it won’t! Anything could happen, and there would be nothing we could do! What if she broke some sort of barbaric law, and they executed her? We’d never see her again!” Rachel wailed into my hubby’s chest.

I laughed. I instantly realized that it was not the appropriate time to laugh, and stopped. “I’m sorry, but that won’t happen. I’ll be fine.”

“Mother...” My twins interrupted. Their eyes subtly glowing. I noticed it because I knew what to look for, but I was certain that my guests probably just thought that they had strangely colored eyes. There was no way they could have heard our conversation because our house was well insulated to keep out the heat in the summertime, so it completely surprised my guests when they made their next statement.

“You are going to be gone for a little over six months, and you will come back a complete success. Have a wonderful time,” they informed me, and then hugged me. Their naked little bodies were warm from the sunshine and the extensive jumping they had just finished. My boys were still on the trampoline, I confirmed with a quick glance out the window.

Rachel sighed in resignation and defeat. “If you are certain... then I can wait for you for six little – strike that, enormously long – months.”

I smiled happily, and glommed onto her. “Thank you!”

Rachel was definitely not happy for me, but she did a passable job of smiling back at me. I turned to the Colonel and his aide.

“So... when do we leave?”

*******

I was nearly beside myself from the excitement. To think that a 35-year old mother of 4 would be chosen as an ambassador to another world! I mean, other than my secret Queenliness, there was nothing special about me.

I suppose it might help that I was considered pretty by almost everyone, though I did not see it when I looked in the mirror. What was really important was that I actually was tactful and diplomatic. Looks were unimportant. Even so, I took special care with my appearance today.

I had gone to a beauty shop to have them professionally apply a light layer of make-up – as well as do my hair and nails – and I wore a simply gorgeous sun dress in my favorite color to wear... red. I figured that I was presentable enough to carry out my duties.

I followed the grumpy Colonel’s aide along a dreary corridor inside a high security building. It was a well-guarded military base, and while I could understand why they had built it with thick walls, and very few windows, the effect was utterly depressing. I was entirely grateful that we would soon be passing to another place, and prayed that it was nowhere near as stuffy and horrible as this place was.

Daniel Ashcraft – who I had just discovered was an officer – finally stopped in a large room containing four other people. I watched him nod respectfully, and grinned with genuine pleasure.

“Colonel!” I greeted happily, hugging the man. “I’m glad to see you again.” It had honestly been disappointing to learn that the Colonel hadn’t come to pick me up himself today. His aide had been silent and taciturn most of the drive here.

“Please, you can call me Josh,” he permitted as he returned my hug. “So, Elly, are you nervous?”

“A little,” I admitted.

“Ah don’t be. We have never once had anybody reassembled the wrong way,” he assured me. Then, he turned to gesture to the others. “This is the team that will be escorting you to the planet. They will be your bodyguards mostly, but their other job is to keep their eyes and ears open so that they can write up the properly detailed reports expected by our superiors. You will not need to worry about that so much. It won’t be expected of you as the Ambassador.”

Josh sighed. “Most likely, nothing much will happen. You’ll go through the transporter, greet the guards on the other side, and be turned away.”

I hadn’t brought much for luggage, mostly because I didn’t wear much, but I already knew that I would be staying on the planet for six months. My girls were never wrong. I smiled at the Colonel. “If you say so.”

“Anyway, you will be in charge of the mission – Ambassador outranks everyone in this instance – but Major Ashcraft is the one in charge of our men. Please try to listen to his advice if he happens to disagree with you. He is one smart cookie and knows his stuff, but understand that you are being granted the authority to do whatever is necessary to complete the mission, so if you honestly believe his advice is barking up the wrong tree, your orders will be the ones followed,” the Colonel explained.

“I... see...” I muttered. In other words, I was the Queen of this group too, huh? This could be very interesting. Daniel looked like he wanted to murder someone, and actually reminded me a bit of Rachel personality wise.

“This is Lt. Rick Charger, Lt. Lisa Francis, and Lt. Michelle Andersen,” Josh continued.

“A pleasure to meet you,” I replied honestly. I rather liked that the group was balanced between men and women – not including me – and that including me, there were five of us. Five was a sold sacred number, and an excellent omen.

With nothing much left to say – I had already read a lengthy document of suggestions and guidelines – the Colonel signaled for someone to activate the teleportation device. I gasped a little as the room filled with a bright light. What had looked like an open doorway to nothing was suddenly a glowing, golden portal. I gathered up the courage to walk through it, but was held back by Daniel.

“Safety requires that we go through first to ensure nothing dangerous await you on the other side,” he informed me.

One of the women – Lisa, I think – stepped through the portal, which slowly made her vanish bit by bit. It was a bit weird to watch, but did not seem to cause her any pain or concern. After she was gone, we waited for a minute, and then suddenly her voice blared out of a speaker I hadn’t notice before now.

“All clear Major!”

He nodded and gestured for the other two to go. After they were gone, he grabbed my arm, and nearly dragged me into the portal. Did he think I would chicken out now? I was much too excited to care that my body might emerge on the other side in the completely wrong order.

“... Told you that our King and Queen will never grant you an audience!” A guard from the planet we were visiting nearly yelled. “So you may as well turn around and go home now!”

I stood on the portal platform for a moment as I observed the room. Daniel had immediately stepped closer to the guards to try to persuade them. I fiddled nervously with the charm on my necklace. Despite what I had said, I was close to shaking from the abundance of energy now running through my body.

“We brought an Amb-“

The guards took that moment to look at me, and gasped. “You’re Majesty!” Instantly, they dropped to one knee in respectful obeisance. I really hadn’t expected that!

I looked at the wall behind them, now completely visible since they were not blocking the view, and realized that the symbol from my charm clearly adorned the wall. Oh... I see...

I smiled confidently, and stepped off the platform. “I request an audience with their Royal Majesties. You will bring me to them,” I commanded.

“Yes Majesty, of course!” The guard in charge stated, daring to come to his feet. I nodded regally, and glanced at my companions.

“My bodyguards shall accompany me, of course, to ensure my safety,” I informed them.

“As you wish.” The head guard bowed, and gestured for me to walk through the thick steel door that prevented anyone from entering the palace without permission. I strode through with an attitude that I belonged here.

Now that I had seen the symbol on the wall, I knew exactly why Harvey had recommended me as the ambassador. I no longer fiddled with the charm on my necklace, but it was why they had instantly recognized me as a Queen. The charm was my proof of office, much like a crown was the Queen of England’s proof of office.

The charm was made out of gold, and was a combination of 3 ordinary objects; a cup – goblet really – a wand – like a scepter – and a crown. They were surrounded by a circle to stabilize the charm and prevent any part of it from poking me, but it was the objects that told the story. They were the symbol of my secret society – the same as they were the symbol for this planet – and only the King or Queen of the society was allowed to wear the charm in gold. The Princes and Princesses wore the symbol in silver, and all others wore it in a plain steel or brass.

The walk was long, taking us through a maze of winding corridors – to prevent intruders from infiltrating the palace I suppose – but eventually we stood outside a massive pair of doors, ornate with carvings. I waited expectantly as the doors were opened by a pair of guards outside them. I knew that I would need to receive an official invitation before I was allowed to walk through them, so I did not follow the portal guard as he entered to explain the situation.

“What is going on here?” Daniel asked me softly. He was covering his shock well, but I knew that the four of them were simply agape that I was considered a Queen without ever having stepped foot on this planet before. I could not explain things to them just yet, and turned my gaze to Daniel for just one second.

“Silence,” I commanded. “A bodyguard does not speak unless spoken to or unless there is a major threat to his Queen’s safety.”

I watched the door guards nod in agreement as they avoided giving Daniel a directly disapproving gaze.

By this time, the announcement had been made, and I could clearly hear the Queen respond. “Are you serious?! There is a foreign Queen here to visit us? I do not believe it. I am willing to bet that this impostor is simply pretending to be a Queen so that we will let down our guard and allow her to swindle us. A true Queen of the Realm would know the proper way to greet the King and I!”

I took this as my invitation to enter the room. “Greetings, my sister-Queen. Shall I greet you first, or his Majesty the King?”

My companions suppressed any sign of shock as they followed me into the throne room. This time, their shock was over everyone’s lack of clothing. A large part of our secret society was the belief that clothing was unnecessary except for comfort and warmth when it was cold out. Therefore, here in this extremely secure and climate controlled room, no one felt the need to cover their nudity.

“His Majesty,” the Queen replied, gesturing to him with her head. I could already tell that she was a feisty spitfire, and grinned at her. I couldn’t wait until it was her turn.

“Of course.” I was nearly to the dais in which she and the King sat on their thrones. I gestured for my companions to stop where they were so that they did not offend anyone by breaking a protocol they had no knowledge of.

Next, I shed my beautiful red sundress, continued on my way to the dais, and knelt in front of the King. “By the Grace of our ancestors, I greet my brother-King.”

He was wearing nothing but his golden symbol on a chain, and was half hard by this point. I took his length into my mouth, and used my often practiced skill to impress him. He groaned in appreciation, and I heard the Queen clap.

“It’s true! We have an honest to goodness real Queen from another world visiting us!” She pulled me to my feet, and embraced me in a hug. “You can finish him off later! Right now I’d like to know what brings you here.”

I laughed as the King rolled his eyes and groaned in mock disappointment. “I have to wait until later?!”

Returning my sister-Queen’s hug, I kissed her. “Are you sure you want to get straight down to business?”

“Maybe not entirely, but perhaps a light overview?” She suggested.

I nodded, and smiled. “My people are interested in learning more about your power source. From the rumors we’ve heard, it is clean, green, and nearly endless.”

She sighed. “I was afraid of that. The rumors are true... We do have a crystal that simply teems with an abundance of energy. It does not seem to have an end, and is understandably very valuable to us. We do not give it to outsiders.”

“I see,” I murmured, stroking her back.

“Do you plan to...” she began suggestively.

“Take the test?” I finished her sentence. “I guess I do.” It made sense to me. My daughters had already told me that I would be here just over 6 months, and that was exactly the amount of time I would need if I passed the test of Queenship.

She slowly began to nod. “I see...” She ended our lingering embrace, and stepped forward to address her people – or at least those that were present at the moment. “Our visiting sister-Queen plans to take the test of Queenship!” This was met with excited cheers. The Queen pointedly directed her gaze at my guards. “If she passes and after her 6 month trial ends, if she so chooses, she may bring some of our crystals back to your planet.”

“Oh...” Daniel murmured in sudden understanding. I could tell that he was still confused as hell, but the important part was clear. I had a chance to obtain some of the crystals, and better yet, I was willing to do what needed to be done.

She turned back to me. “I am Lenora, and this is Frederick. Welcome to Hedonia!

I grinned even bigger than I already was, and nodded. Hedonia – of course! Our society’s ancient mythology often referred to a place called Hedonia – which was supposed to be where our ancestors originated from – and so it only made sense that this planet was that mythical place. I was dying to hear what the ancient language sounded like when they spoke it, since I knew that our languages were being automatically translated for each other by a miracle device supposedly implanted in our bodies by the teleporter during reassembly.

“I am excited to be here!” I gushed like a total geek. “My name is Elly.”

“It’s lucky that you arrived when you did, our formal meeting was nearly over. Is there anything you wish to add?” Frederick inquired.

“No, I’m good,” I smiled as I shook my head.

“Is there anything anyone else here wishes to add?” He asked the people gathered in the room.

There was a general  murmuring, and it became clear that no one had anything more of an official nature to discuss.

“Then I declare this meeting to be over!” Frederick announced, and was happy to hear everyone cheer. He grabbed me by the hand, and started to pull me to the side.

“Frederick! You horny little goat!” Lenora laughed. “Give the poor thing time to meet everyone before you drag her off and have your way with her!”

“You are not fooling me one bit, Lenora! You want to sneak off with her before I do.”

“Oh my!” I laughed. “Is there any particular reason we can’t all sneak off together?”

It was Lenora’s turn to laugh again. “Yes! We have an excellent reason to celebrate, and you really should mingle with the people a bit.”

“Ah...” I sighed in mock disappointment. “Royal duty beckons.” I pulled my hand free from Frederick’s, and stepped off the dais.

“Hello Majesty!” A young woman – probably 18 or so, provided they aged at the same rate as we did – was the first to greet me. “I’m Selena. I sincerely hope that we will spend some time getting to know one another!”

“Hi Selena,” I purred flirtily.

The next person to greet me was a man named George, and I instinctively knew that he liked his bedplay on the darker side. “I know that you will be occupied with their Majesties tonight, but would you consider letting me tie you up tomorrow night?”

I saw my bodyguards tense up over that, and giggled. “Ooo... I kinda like being tied up. What else do you have in mind?”

“Oh, the usual,” George replied as he devoured me with his eyes. “Whipping, beating, and rape.”

“Mmmhmm! And for the record, my safe word is butterfly,” I informed him, knowing that he was not the only one who might need to know that tidbit.

George nodded at me to assure me that he always respected a safe word. He didn’t have a choice really as disrespecting a safe word had serious consequences.

“So, I’ll see you tomorrow?” He pressed me for a definite commitment.

“We’ll see,” I replied as I walked past him.

My poor bodyguards were obviously out of their element, and watched me like a hawk. No one tried to talk to them because it was so obvious that they were uncomfortable, and no one knew what to do to help them relax. Technically, once the meeting was dismissed, the formality was dispensed with, and they were free to mingle as they wanted, but they did not know that.

I took pity on them, and walked back to the dais. Frederick lounged on his throne, but Lenora was off chatting with a group of her friends. He grinned at me, probably assuming that I was ready to see what his bed looked like.

“I had no idea how tiring it was to have my molecules taken apart and reassembled,” I said with a laugh. “I don’t suppose that someone could show me and my bodyguards to -”

“Ah! Say no more,” Frederick interrupted, his years of diplomatic training taking over. “Of course you need to rest. There is an empty Queen’s chamber that would be perfect for you.” He gestured for someone to be my guide.

“Thank you,” I replied honestly, and gave him a fond smile.

“No problem,” he demurred. “If you decide to join me tonight, just ask anyone you see to bring you to my apartment. Though I warn you, I might have a few bed partners by then.”

“Of course you will!” I laughed, and then followed my chosen guide.

It took approximately 10 minutes to get to my apartment, but I was thoroughly impressed as I stepped inside it. “Oh wow!”

“If you require anything, Majesty, please let me know,” my guide begged.

I gave him an impish grin. “Oh, nothing much, just a hot bath, and sensual massage, and someone to make me scream with pleasure.”

“In that case, allow me to be at your service!” He offered enthusiastically.

I sighed with temptation. “Maybe later, but for now, all I really need is some time alone to converse with my bodyguards.”

“Of course,” he replied with obvious disappointment. “Here is your dress. I took the liberty of holding onto it for you so that it would not get lost.”

“Thank you, Mr...”

“Oh! How forgetful of me! I’m Connor. I often serve as I am needed around the palace.” He bowed respectfully.

“Like a Jack of All Trades?” I inquired, tracing a path across his chest with my finger.

“Yes Ma’am!”

“Mmm,” I moaned in anticipation.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to at least draw you a bath?” Connor wondered.

“That sounds awesome,” I agreed.

“No problem,” he nodded, and then guided me to the biggest door in the room – other than the one we entered by. “This is your personal bedroom. There are other rooms that your bodyguards can use there, there, and there, and this...” he opened a beautiful glass door. “Is your Royal bathing chamber for those times when you wish your bath to be a bit more... private.”

“Oh. My. Gods!” I breathed in awe as I saw the fabulously posh bathing chamber. The entire apartment was impressively rich and well decorated, but this bathroom was sheer icing on the cake! “I’m sorry guys, but if you want to talk to me, you are gonna have to do in here while I take a bath!”

I figured that since I was already naked, and had been so for quite some time, having them watch me bath couldn’t really be any different, but apparently Daniel disagreed.

“No, Ma’am! It is not appropriate for male and female members of a mission party to be naked in mixed company,” he stated in an official military tone of voice.

Connor and I both laughed at that. “If you say so,” we replied in matching sing-song voices.

Daniel made a sound of disapproval, and I just knew he had to be from a very strict and repressive religious family. I shrugged; whatever. He was either going to have to relax, or he was going to have to ask to be reassigned, because I doubted he could last an entire 6 months here with that stick up his ass.

I relaxed into the bath Connor drew for me, and allowed myself to picture my upcoming test. I made frequent sighs of pleasure as Connor bathed me, and nearly changed my mind about letting him massage my body, and make me scream with pleasure. His hands were wonderfully skilled.

A full 10 minutes passed in relative silence, and I knew that my bodyguards were still watching me, despite the apparent inappropriateness of my nudity. They had no orders to follow – other than to guard me – so they had no choice but to watch me as this unknown man ran his hands all over my body. Finally, Daniel sighed in frustration, and decided to talk to me.

“What exactly is going on here?” He demanded.

“Mmm,” I moaned. “I would have thought you’d have figured that out by now. I am an actual Queen of a secret society back on Earth, and this wonderful planet – Hedonia – is where my society originated. They recognized my rank immediately, and that has given me an opportunity to accomplish your goal.”

“It’s a secret on your planet?” Connor asked.

“Yes,” I smirked. “Our planet was taken over by the followers of a sexually repressed God at some point, and most of the people on our planet do not believe in the things we do. Thankfully, the society survived in secret over the millennia, and is thriving now that times have grown a tiny bit open and accepting of other beliefs.”

“You mean... most people on your planet wear clothes?” The concept boggled Connor’s mind.

“Yes,” I confirmed with a hint of depression.

“What about sex? They must have sex! How else would they conceive children?” Connor wondered.

“Yes, the people have plenty of sex and children; it’s just not as sacred to them as it is to our society.”

“How horrible! Sex is the sacred pact we make with our gods! Not revering it is sheer sacrilege!”

“I agree,” I murmured. “Connor, I am ready to dry off now. Do you know where a towel is?”

“Of course, Majesty.” He quickly obtained one, and held it ready for me. I stepped out of the tub, groaning reluctantly to leave its awesome warmth and comfort, and allowed Connor to wrap me in the soft and fluffy towel. He rubbed my body to help the absorbent cloth draw in the water more efficiently. He knew that my companions could not see where his hand was, and used the opportunity to slip a few fingers inside my towel, and between my legs.

I chuckled. “Later,” I promised.

“Aww,” he pouted.

I stroked his hair like he was an obedient dog, and repeated gently yet firmly, “later.”

“Yes, Majesty,” he agreed obediently, and turned to exit the room.

“Don’t forget to come get us when it is time for dinner,” I bade.

“I shall send some attendants to prepare you,” he promised.

I nodded, and then curled up on a plush sofa to explain things to my companions.

Go To Part 2