Dark Lord (13 page)

That evening, she dressed in silk finery and made her mandatory appearance in the main hall.
Nefertiti had planned one of her lewd events to entertain her many important guests.
Tonight’s theme was
Carnival Night.
The lords wore elaborately decorated masks and were dressed in revealing costumes.
Sporadically placed amongst the lords were the concubines, who were masked and naked of any clothing.
They
stood upon
ornamented
platforms that had been placed on the backs of
more than a
dozen
eunuchs
, who had been directed to move slowly in a particular route through the main hall.

Briella
stood beside
Audrelia
, who was wearing an elaborately styled auburn wig.
She
tried to evade her aunt’s entourage, but the woman and her cronies barreled straight toward her.
“How are you enjoying the evening, Aunt?”

“Nefertiti throws the grandest affairs.
I was so sad to hear we missed the circus, but the carnival will be sure to be spectacular.
You are so fortunate to have such a wonderful sister as Countess.
Everyone knows that Nefertiti is so full of life and joy, which is a nice change for Avenal,” Valerie said.

Briella
wished that her aunt and Nefertiti were not so close.
Life had been so much better when
Ariana
was the Countess.
If only she had lived,
Briella’s
life would be completely different.
“How long will you be staying?”

Valerie smiled.
“Nefertiti has offered
for
us to stay as long as we like, so we will depart when we feel ready.
I intend to enjoy all of the festivities and knowing Nefertiti, the parties will never end!”
Valerie leered at the males on display.
“My, the rumors are true about Nefertiti’s harem males.
They are
all so beautifully formed.
She knows how to titillate us, does she not?
I cannot wait to partake of her grand offering of male flesh.
The Countess has promised to indulge our deepest desires.”
She looked at
Briella
and
frowned.
“It is too bad that you are to be denied such treats, but Nefertiti will only share her goodies with her most honored guests.
It must be hard for you, to look and never touch.
But soon, your bed will be filled by Markus.”

Briella
would never allow Markus anywhere near her bed, not that he would ever approach it.
She tried to ignore her aunt and she scanned the platforms, looking for Devereux.
He was easy to recognize, despite his wearing a mask
, as h
is skin was a couple of shades darker than the other
Flourdan
males.
She was embarrassed that she had nearly given herself to him in that little room.
Her assignation with him had been designed to obtain his voluntary agreement to vacate the premises, but instead, she had
nearly had intercourse with him.
She could pretend to herself that she had been unduly influenced by his hybrid mind, but she knew the truth.
He had not had to employ any special tricks to gain her compliance.
Stealing him from Nefertiti and enjoying him right underneath their roof may have seemed like a great idea at the time, but it could only lead to disaster.

“I hear that the Queen’s grandson is in her harem,” Valencia said.
“Which one is he?
I would like to have a taste of royalty tonight.”

Briella
clenched her fists and reminded herself why she couldn’t slap the shit out of Valencia.
None of them would get their chance to taste royalty, at least she hoped not.
The thought of Devereux with Valerie or Valencia made her sick to her stomach.
When Valencia asked again which male was the one of royal blood, she pointed to one of the lords that
was
definitely not Devereux.
“I believe he is right there, the one in the purple mask.”
They were all masked and it would be some time before they discovered her “mistake.”

“Purple is the color of royalty,” Valencia said.
“My, he has a noticeable
bulge beneath his costume.
I hear that all of the males of the Langley line are built rather largely.
I will be sure to take accurate measurements so that I can place him on my list.”

“Yes, I would like to see where he ranks compared to Prince
Carrick,” Valerie said.
“I still have his measurements, along with the cast I made of his endowments that time he fell drunkenly asleep on my divan.
A perfect replica of his royal penis is on display in my great hall.
You know the one, do you not,
Briella
?”

Briella
recalled seeing the odd piece mounted to the wall at
Assheton
, but she had not realized it was a realistic replica.
“That was Prince Carrick’s genitalia?
I had no idea.”

“Perhaps it is time to add a companion piece,” Valerie said.

Briella
ignored them and focused on the parade.
“It is about to start, so I’m going to move closer to catch the throws.”

“That is so peasant-like of you,
Briella
!” Valencia crowed.
“You are not supposed to display too much excitement at these events.
You must adopt a more sophisticated and worldly air.”

Briella
took more than a few steps forward, wishing to put some distance between
herself
and the vile guests.
The space behind her was soon absorbed with bodies and she heard
the voices of her aunt and cousin drifting through the space.
Lady Samantha
Honeybone
tried to speak with her, but when she had little to say to the woman, she left and joined Valerie and Valencia.

“I heard the most delicious gossip about Lord Langley.
I heard that he is an alien hybrid,” Samantha said.

“Where did you hear such a thing, Samantha?” Valencia said.

“I heard from a most reliable source, but I cannot reveal it, you understand,” Samantha said.

“Hybrids are so dangerous,” Valencia said.
“I sure hope the Countess keeps him chained and bound.”

“I hear that one must appease the sexual appetites of hybrids a dozen times a day, else they will go insane and ravish an entire village,” Samantha said.

“Girls, your talk of hybrids is beyond uncouth,” Valerie said.
“You have a greater risk of being ravished by a fairy,
shapeshifter
, or vampire than a hybrid.
Everyone knows the hybrids were wiped out eons ago.”

Briella
couldn’t seem to escape the annoying voices of her relations.
She stepped further away from them and watched the parade.
The lords and
concubines were throwing gold and silver pieces into the crowd, along with the occasional loincloth.
She collected a few gold and silver pieces and stuck them in her cloak pocket.
One never knew when
extra
coin would come in handy.

After the parade was over, Nefertiti stood from her throne and made a speech about her goals for Avenal.
It was nothing that
Briella
had not heard before and her mind drifted to other matters as the Countess droned on about her plans.

“Ladies, be on guard the rest of the evening
,” Nefertiti said
.
“
Our males are randy and ready for sport.
We will all partake of the festivities by adorning masks.
To make things more exciting, we will all don silk robes so that we are all dressed similarly, ladies and concubines alike.”

Nefertiti’s latest decree was beyond the pale.
Briella
was ushered into a dressing room and a mask and robe were pushed into her hands.
She changed into the garments
after Nefertiti prodded her.
She was dismayed to discover the silk was translucent and she was glad for the mask which hid her identity.

Nefertiti handed out wigs to her guests.
“Ladies, you will not be molested.
They will be able to identify us as ladies by our elaborate wigs.”

Briella
didn’t possess a wig.
She shot a questioning glance at Nefertiti.

“Oops, I forgot that you have no wig,” Nefertiti said.
“
Briella
was the only one who escaped the effects of the poison that left the rest of us bald.
I apologize heartily for forgetting about you, but there is nothing I can do.
I do not have a spare wig for you.
You’ll have to be careful, as the lords may mistake you for a concubine and try to molest you.
I’m sure that if you comport yourself as a lady, they will be able to recognize you as such and leave you alone.
Is that not right, ladies?”

“Yes, do try to act the lady,” Valerie said smugly.

Briella
knew that Nefertiti had done this on purpose to shame her.
Normally, the woman would be too absorbed with jealousy to risk the attention of her males drifting to another female.
She guessed the difference was in the masks.
She fixed the mask to her face to hide the blush spreading there.
She was furious in her anger and embarrassed to be displayed in nearly naked form.
Her identity would not be as anonymous as she would like, given her short stature and added curves.
She wished she could do something to stop the rabid giggling of the other ladies who found her situation entertaining.
She chose not to respond, not wanting to give them the satisfaction of knowing she had been upset by their actions.

Briella
followed the line of ladies back to the great hall, but instead of congregating with them in the center, she stayed against the back wall.
She breathed a sigh of relief
that she remain
ed
unnoticed by the crowd.
She watched as the lords, still masked, entered the room and began chasing some of the masked females.
Valerie and Valencia made a dash toward the lord with the purple mask.
They pushed him on a sofa and fell upon him like banshees, ripping off his clothing to expose his hardened length of male flesh.
An argument ensued regarding which lady would try him first.
Briella
laughed silently to herself, enjoying this tiny triumph that she had deprived them of their true quarry.
She scanned the crowd and she couldn’t spot the real Lord Langley.
She wandered further into the room, still sticking near the back wall.
She wanted to determine Devereux’s location in order to better shield the male from their lecherous guests.
She was so focused on her task of searching that she neglected to notice the presence of a male at her back, not until that male had seized her roughly and hauled her up against him.
She turned in surprise and was
confronted by a red mask.
The eyes behind the mask belonged to a hybrid.
“You switched masks.”