The Mist and the Lightning. Part 17

And Nik laughed too.

“We’ll be right back, and I’ll give the order for the slave to start setting the table. And to properly heat that marble room with hot steam.”

And Kors cheerfully walked through the arches and enfilades, pacing the palace as if it belonged to him, and Nik, limping slightly, silently followed him.

Arel was lying on the bed, and Kors shook his head.

“Arel, how can you be so lazy? You don't do anything at all, you don't do anything. You are not helping us in any way!”

Arel looked at him with haughty indifference and yawned.

“An absolutely useless creature. Cover your mouth with your hand when you yawn. Senseless creature, what should I order to eat? Maybe you should get an injection too, you must be contagious. What am I talking about? And I probably am contagious too. I, too, already have an infection from you. But why didn't I take my doctor with me!”

“Because he’s not really yours, but the doctor of blacks?” Said Nik carefully.

“Well, our doctor of blacks, he doesn’t pretend to be so clever as this red.”

“Because he stayed with seriously wounded Varah.”

“Yes, I let the guts out of him,” Kors smiled. “For you, my love!”

“You seriously injured him, the infection began.”

“Let him die in a puddle of his own shit, there was no need to leave the doctor with him.”

“Zagpeace thought differently.”

“Why are you talking to me now about Zagpeace? I can’t hear about him, and I’m not cold yet, Nik, I’ll be carried away now.”

Nik thought it best to remain silent.

“Arel, don't start biting your nails! Now take your hand off your face!”

Kors looked with regret at Arel’s beautiful aristocratic hand with long thin fingers, “decorated” with black “rings” of unclean ones.

“How you ruined his hand!”

Nik didn’t answer and quickly touched his nose with his hand. Kors caught his hand, pulling it towards him, removing his glove and kissing.

“Stop doing that. Stop it, my naughty Demon bad student!”

“Who?! This is something new, before I was dirty and shaggy for you.”

“Yes. But thanks to my efforts, you began to wash more often, and I take care of your hair. Now we need to start teaching you.”

“Oh…”

Kors sat Nik next to him on the edge of the bed, and, slightly removing his brush from him, began to examine the black fingers:

“How can you paint black the skin under the nails?”

“Well, these are not really nails…”

“Yes, tell me how you can create this horror with yourself.”

“Maybe I should not?”

“Tell me!”

“Well, nails… human nails are ripped out…”

“Well! Further…”

“Black paint is introduced into the wound, then the unclean claws take root.”

“Did you do this with all your fingers at once or one at a time?”

Nik didn’t answer, Kors kissed his hand:

“Do you like what I give you, my Demon Son, do you like it?” He whispered.

“Yeah…”

“This Cartmer, he was looking at you, he thought: “how beautiful”, did you hear it?”

“No. Vitor, don't make it up.”

“Divine beauty of the Upper”, you heard, you are just cunning now. You heard everything.”

“I have heard this many times, as well as exactly the opposite.”

“Arel, come to me, useless stupid creature, ah-ah, why are you so, Arel, so… ah-ah!”

They undressed, and Nik put Kors on his back, he agreed to accept and all opened to meet him:

“Fuck me the way I fuck you,” he whispered, “do to me as I do to you.”

Nikto pulled it out almost to the end and pushed it back sharply, leaning strongly forward. Kors couldn’t help but wheeze under him.

“So?” Nik asked.

“Yes. Yes. More… don't pity me…”

Nik made a few more of the same hard thrusts all the way and hit Kors in the ribs, he twitched under him:

“Ah, damn…”

Nikto again began to fuck him, and at some point, when Kors had already relaxed a little and did not expect this at all, he suddenly quite tangibly knocked him in the balls and standing cock.

“Oh!”

Kors tried to break free, and Nikto slapped him in the face, on the cheek, slapping him tangibly in the face.

“Not! Nik! I don’t do that! Stop doing that!” Shouted Kors.

And Nikto in his thoughts said: “dirty little rubbish, you must be properly punished!”

“What?” And Kors laughed. He lay under his Nik, shuddering with laughter, shading his eyes with his bent elbow, then slightly removed it, looking at Nik from under his arm, and Nik, unable to resist, began to laugh too.

He stopped, without removing the cock from Kors, but not continuing:

“Vitor, stop laughing, I can't stand that!”

“Do I really think so when I'm fucking you?”

“Yes.”

They laughed again.

“Well, no, I just can't come,” said Nik, “you make me laugh.”

“It's strange that you don’t laugh under me when you hear that,” Kors smiled.

“Arel, shut him up at last,” said Nik, and Arel, who had been lying next to him all this time and watching what they were doing, immediately leaned on Kors, sitting down on his face.

“Arel… no, no… um…”

They continued, no longer being distracted, and Nik and Arel, without much imagination, bluntly pounded Kors from different sides, periodically switching places. Kors gave himself up to his young lovers and allowed everything and did for them what they wanted, forgetting about dinner and about a room with marble benches and warm steam. Forgetting everything.

23

Friendly holiday

Karina didn’t understand how to dress and what to wear. The slaves brought a mountain of clothes: underwear, a bunch of fluffy petticoats, corsets, dresses and embroidered capes. But she didn’t want to wear a cape at the ball, especially since this holiday was more for her own people. But at the same time, Karina understood that reds supporting the policy of Lis would still be present there, his father, Igmer, would be there, and she didn’t want to somehow compromise her husband, disgrace him with her inappropriate appearance. And the traditions of the reds towards women were too strict, and Karina was depressed. How should she dress so as not to embarrass herself? The cape, of course, was the simplest and most correct solution, but Karina couldn’t stand it, although now she clearly understood that in this city she would have to wear it, if only just so that they would not stare at her like a black sheep. She turned to the three slaves. Faceless, immovable sacks, they stood at the entrance, waiting for the order of the mistress.

“Can any of you speak?” Asked Karina. “Or have all your tongues cut off?”

“I can, lady,” said one of the slaves.

“And they?”

“They can’t. I am in charge here, they obey me.”

“Good. What is your name?”

“Uh-uh … a slave, lady.”

“Just a slave? Don't you have a name?”

“No.”

“But this is very inconvenient. Let's call you something. What name do you like?”

“Do you want me to choose a name for myself, lady?”

“Yes.”

The girl froze for a second:

“I don’t know…”

“Maybe let's call you Diamond?” Said Karina. “After all, you are from the Ore town, where diamonds are mined.”

The slave hesitated:

“And then maybe better Gold, if possible, lady?”

Karina laughed:

“Of course! So, you will be my slave, and your name will be Gold.”

“Thank you, lady.”

“You know the customers of the reds better, tell me what to wear for the holiday so as to look dignified. My husband’s father will be there, he is very strict.”

The slave immediately handed Karina a very beautiful cape embroidered with silk and precious stones.

“Oh, no, not that! Is it possible to wear something other than a cape?”

“Then the mask, lady.”

“Excellent,” Karina muttered, “one is not better than the other. Okay, what mask?”

“I'll bring it in now, lady.”

The girls quickly ran out and very soon returned with a whole box of all kinds of masks. Karina chose one of them, the mask was completely made of gold, but light and delicate, like thin lace, and it covered only the upper part of her face, leaving her lips and chin open.

“This?”

The slave nodded.

“Yes, lady.”

“Is it decent?”

“If your husband doesn’t mind, then it is possible to wear it for a festive evening. But not on the street.”

Karina looked at the slave:

“Take off the cape.”

She seemed taken aback:

“But I can't do that.

“I order, take it off. If the lady ordered it, then you can.”

The girl lifted the top of her cape over to reveal her face. She turned out to be red-haired and freckled and painfully reminded Karina of her former Lis. How cute he was! Nikto ennobled his appearance, but at the same time deprived Lis of his personality. But his bright fiery hair suited him so well! But Karina understood that if it was possible to return everything, Lis would never agree to this.

“Oh, you really are golden!”

The slave looked at Karina, and her face was cheerful, her amber eyes sparkled with fervor, it seemed that she didn’t suffer from her inferior position. Although Karina could imagine with horror what it would be like to be in her place. Being a slave to the Reds is even worse than being a slave to the unclean.

“Send these girls away, stay with me only you. And get me a bath.”

“Okay, lady.”

“And get me a bath.”

Karina undressed, and Gold involuntarily stared at her decorated body with round eyes. Due to the fact that the slave woman spent her whole life closed from head to toe, she didn’t know how to control her expression at all, and all emotions were reflected on her face, like she was a child.

“Why are you looking as if you feel sorry for me?” Karina smiled.

“You are so thin, lady, well, that’s nothing terrible, rest, gain weight. And then I'll bring the pads, we'll insert them in the front and back.”

“I can do without all this heap of rags and an artificial ass. No, I don’t need it!”

“And the breast?”

Karina looked at her chest:

“Yes, you can get a little in the breast,” she agreed.

And the slave looked at her with undisguised pity and sympathy.

Karina washed and put on her underwear, the slave tightened her corset so tightly that Karina could hardly breathe. At the same time, when she convulsively inhaled air, the corset creaked.

“No! No! I'll suffocate, tighten it looser!”

“But then your waist will be completely gone, lady.”

“Send it to hell!”

“Then let's make the skirt more magnificent?”

Gold smiled, as if laughing at her new and so wrong mistress.

“Why are you laughing? Drink some wine!”

The slave took the glass extended to her with two hands and obediently drank it to the bottom, her cheeks immediately turned red. She handed Karina a few crisp petticoats.

“Eh, I have already put on a bunch of them!”

“Then let's put on hoops under the skirt.”

“Are you kidding? I won't get through the door through them!”

“Hee-hee…”

Karina looked in the mirror, she quite liked herself this way. The dark red dress made of precious brocade was beautiful and perfectly emphasized, as Karina believed, her ideal figure.

The maid watched her with interest and chuckled softly.

“Why are you giggling?”

“Sorry, lady.”

“Have you ever seen black women?”

“I have seen them. But only slaves.”

“I was a slave too,” said Karina, “but then my master fell in love with me, set me free and married me.”

Gold widened her eyes:

“Is it possible?” Her surprise was so strong that she even forgot to add “lady.”

Karina brought her wrist to a brightly burning candle, a thin monogram lit up on it with fiery paths.

“See? I was marked with fire. Long ago.”

Gold was dumbfounded and silent, and now Karina laughed. Finally, the red girl came to her senses, and, apparently, the wine she had drunk also played a role, because she suddenly said:

“I also love my master.”

“Whom?” Karina was surprised. “Are you talking about Kudmer?”

The maid nodded.

“Yes. About sir Kudmer.”

“But he's fat… fat and ugly! A-ha-ha!”

Gold was embarrassed and blushed even more:

“He was kind. Tell me, was he killed?”

“No,” Karina answered, “as far as I know, he was sent to prison.”

The slave sighed with relief and handed Karina the tightly packed bags:

“Here, madam, this is for the breast.”

“I inserted it already!”

“Sorry, lady, but it seems that this is not enough.”

“And if they fall out? No. I want to relax and have fun, not watch my boobs.”

“Hee-hee…”

The slave beautifully styled Karina’s hair, making a high hairstyle. Karina put on an openwork mask on her face:

“Hmm…”

The slave smiled:

“Yes, very beautiful, lady.”

She covered Karina’s head with a lush, dark pink translucent fabric that went down almost to the floor in the back, and in the front to the middle of the chest, and put on a high precious tiara on top.

Karina froze:

“Also a rag!”

“It's a veil, lady.”

“What for?!”

“But you must be covered, lady.”

“I have put on a mask!”

“The mask is not closed enough, and the veil is always required. It’s translucent. It suits you very much, lady.”

Karina lifted the veil from her face up, but then it covered a beautiful high tiara.

“Damn,” thought Karina, “okay, I'll look around there and then take off this veil to hell.”

“When I become queen,” she said so self-confidently, as if this issue had already been decided for a long time, “I will abolish these idiotic laws that humiliate women. I will cancel all these rules. No one will wear a cape, a mask, or a veil, neither free women nor slaves. Yes!”

Gold looked at her in amazement, but tactfully remained silent.

“And they will stop cutting and stitching women, in general, somehow changing them, cutting off their tongues, mutilating them. Whoever dares to do this will be immediately sentenced to death, but first, on the square in front of everyone, he will also be cut off, let him suffer! Why are you looking like that? Don't you believe that I will do it? My husband also thinks he respects women! And he will bring another order!”

Lis went to them to find out if Karina was ready. Seeing him, the slave immediately hastily covered her face with a cape, and she and Karina knelt down and bowed their heads in front of the man.

Lis gently raised Karina, hugging:

“You're in a dress! What a beauty you are!”

“Do you like? Can I go to the ball like that?”

“Yes. You are the most beautiful girl in this world!” Lis said, lifting her veil, and gently kissing, “my wife is the most beautiful!”

Tables were laid in the throne room of the Rainbow Palace. Many blacks and unclean ones have never seen such dishes, fruits and sweets.

In a luxurious dress, a golden lace mask, covered with a translucent veil and all hung with jewels, Karina sat next to Lis-Sigmer at the head of the table and reveled in happiness. She was happy. She was having fun. She already felt like a queen and imposingly held in her hand a crystal glass filled with champagne. Lis’ father was sitting next to him, on his right hand. Igmer didn’t say anything to Karina, didn’t utter a word, but she didn’t notice any displeasure on his face when he saw her. He remained impassive, so she was dressed correctly and quite decently. Karina smiled condescendingly to those guests who approached them, congratulated them on their victory and wished all kinds of benefits. She nodded arrogantly in response and modestly kept silent. She didn’t even go up to Lila, who was sitting at the table a little further, next to Tol. Lila also covered her face with a beautiful mask of gold chains and coins hanging down with a fringe, leaving only her eyes open. Lila was born in the east and had a better understanding of the local rules for women.

Almost all black mercenaries were here and many of the soldiers of Tol, Marmer and other red ones. There were Shrad, Seamus and Anya, and now she, unlike Karina and Lila, didn’t cover her face in any way and remained dressed like a warrior, in her leather pants and a jacket, and she still cut her hair down to her shoulders.

At the end of the hall, unclean people settled down, and Karina saw Nija, he looked bad, thin, all haggard, nothing remained of former beautiful and bright Nija, and everyone had long forgotten his sincere and infectious smile, because Nija no longer smiled… Karina noticed how he raised his pale face and looked in her direction, she hastily turned away, pretending to talk to one of the guests.

Zaf was sitting at the table hugging the maid of immense size, whom he found in some unknown place. The maid was in complete shock and looked at the unclean with round eyes. She neither ate nor drank, although the tables were bursting with all kinds of food. But the poor thing, probably for the first time in her life, lost her appetite, and she was not at all up to food, she literally almost fainted from horror.

Zaf, not paying any attention to her frightened look, ate and drank like the last time, not forgetting to squeeze the unfortunate woman along the way, he pinched her now by the thick side, now by the chubby cheek, and whinnied. The rest of the unclean ones also behaved quite noisy and uninhibited, since their table was located almost at the exit.

Karina approached Vitor Kors, who was sitting between Nik and Arel, she smiled. By the middle of the evening, Karina took off her veil, leaving a precious tiara on her head, and even the mask on her face could not hide what kind of elated and joyful mood she was in:

“Father, dance with me,” Karina asked, “I am so grateful to you for everything! You are the best father in the world! Give me one dance.”

Kors smiled at her.

“Better dance with your husband.”

“He's being distracted all the time! Everyone approaches him, congratulates him, starts to say something, to ask. Some endless questions,” answered Karina displeased.

“There’s nothing to be done,” Kors said didactically. “Every victory has a downside, and that’s the price of power. Endless flatterers and sycophants looking for their own benefit. And the opportunity to cling to the strong and…”

“To be honest,” Karina interrupted him, “he also doesn’t dance very well.”

“Okay,” said Kors, smiling a little as he got up from his seat. They went to the middle of the hall, where several couples were already dancing.

Nikto and Arel watched as luxurious Vitor Kors and Karina started dancing, how beautiful they were dancing.

“And now I want to dance with Nik,” Karina said when they finally returned.

“Karina, I can't, I'm sorry,” Nikto answered, “I dance very badly and I will stumble.”

“But you move beautifully when you fight,” she said.

“Yes… but dancing… is a little different. And I learned to fight for a long time, but I didn’t learn to dance. I can dance some very simple peasant dance: I stomped, circled, circled the girl, clapped my hands,” Nik smiled, “but you dance very complex dances.”

“It was a waltz,” said Kors.

“Yes, here, you need to quickly move around the room in a circle, I will stumble, and a couple next to us will fly into us, it will be very embarrassing. Sorry, I don't refuse you on purpose.”

“Why would he dance?” Kors intervened again, “it's all nonsense.”

“But you just danced with me!”

“Just because I cannot refuse you anything! I love you very much, Karina, and you know that very well.”

“I love you too!” she looked up at Arel:

“Well, then Prince Arel, you will not slip away, I remember very well how well you dance.”

“Yes, I was not going to refuse you, Karina,” Arel said.

And they went off to dance.

The servant carefully placed a mint green envelope on the table in front of Kors:

“This is for you, sir,” he bowed politely.

“What is it?” Kors was surprised.

“I don’t know, sir, they just asked me to tell you.”

“Who?”

“This letter was given to me by a lady’s slave, sir.”

“Father! It seems that some red lady wants to meet you,” Karina laughed.

“What?” Kors waved his hand towards the servant. “Good. You are free, you can go.”

He opened the envelope, inside there was a note.

“I am writing to you first, and that already says it all. What else can I add, knowing that now you have the right to punish me with contempt, but…” and then everything in the same spirit.

Kors smiled, amused by this situation, but at the same time flattered that only he was sent a love note:

“So they are not as hammered as they might seem? She won't be executed for this?” He turned to Karina.

“But you won't tell anyone and you won't compromise her?”

“No, of course, but I will not approach her either.”

“And you won't ask her to dance?”

“No,”

“But why?”

“I’m not interested in faceless circumcised women, and to be honest, they are all too fat here.”

Karina laughed again:

“This is the daughter of the head of the Green House, she may well not be circumcised, not all red men adhere to these rules, there are those who are quite loyal and give their women freedom, don’t mutilate them for the sake of traditions. If she dared to write you a note, it means that she is quite free in her manifestations, it simply would not have come into the head of an obedient circumcised woman.”

Kors looked towards the part of the room where the family members, whose color was green, were sitting at the tables:

“She's wearing a veil, and I can't see her face, maybe she's ugly.”

“Invite her to dance and see.”

“Let her write notes to Arel, he is a handsome prince, and I am already old for this. I'm not interested in flirting.”

“Dad, don’t sell yourself short, well, what the talks of being old?! If she is so disposed to you, I think that business may not be limited to flirting.”

“So that her relatives would force me to marry her later? Well, no,” Kors laughed.

He brought the note to the candle, burning it:

“Let her look for someone else.”

But in his heart he was very pleased that this girl singled out him, and not young and beautiful Arel sitting next to him.

24

Blood ties

And the holiday went on.

Vitor Kors, Nikto and Arel left the main banquet hall for a while and went to the room that the reds called the hookah lounge, and for the blacks the hookah was a curiosity.

Vitor Kors was sitting on a soft sofa, buried in brocade pillows. In his life, he had already tried this fun of the reds, and he liked it. Therefore, he enjoyed the moment and, at the same time, with his arm bent at the elbow, he relaxed hugged his Nik, who sat next to him, around the neck. Kors pressed his head to his chest, kissing the bright top of his head every minute. Nikto didn’t resist at all and allowed Kors to hug him and press him to himself as he wanted. With his free hand, Kors stroked his bangs. Nikto’s ponytail had long been disheveled, but Kors didn’t care now. He didn’t brush his hair anymore, he didn’t alter his tail, he just stroked and fiddled gently through his hair, ran over the bangs that obscured Nik’s face and his eyes, without removing it or opening his face, stroking him like a beloved pet – a cat or a dog.