(no subject)
Sepequai watched the orgy while fighting back the urge to vomit. Her older brother was seated in a place of honor, but she was resigned to the far tables, which were reserved for children and elderly.
King Laudai, her father, was on his throne but not sitting. His arms held up his body while he pumped into the receiving end of a daisy chain stretching all the way across the long hall. Each jerking thrust caused his naked belly to jiggle and bobble in grotesque ways. His pale, hairless body was like a sweaty bowl of lumpy porridge, obscenely fat and dimpled.
Her brother and mother each had smaller chains leading up to where they sat. Sepequai thanked the Moonlight that she was only observing. As long as she hadn't received her first blood, she could stay out of all their ceremonies and rituals.
Orgasm snaked it's way up the chain of writhing bodies, starting with the peasant who humped happily away at the young woman in front of him. Her mouth was buried in another woman's crotch, but from the way her body wriggled about on the floor, it was obvious her climax was nearing as well. Sepequai's revulsion faded and was replaced by bemusement. Watching the faces of them all, especially the snotty nobles, was too funny to be gross.
When her father grunted, and collapsed onto his throne, Sepequai burst out with laughter. Duchess Lunai struggled to swallow the royal seed, and with her cheeks puffed out she resembled one of the little rats that were so common in the tunnels of their kingdom.
Our people were once proud. These rituals once had meaning, she reminded herself. Now it's just caste-rape. It wasn't the act of sex that bothered her, though she certainly found nothing arousing about these orgies. What disturbed her was that most of these people didn't want to be here, but her father ordered greater and greater debaucheries in some twisted hope that he could be the king to bring back the days of Lumiequai glory.
What he'd done instead was shameful. He'd made blasphemy of acts that had once been sacred, and transformed something beautiful into disgusting perversion. But she couldn't blame him, not truly. Hate him, yes, but not lay blame at his feet.
It was not his fault that when she read the scrolls, she saw what a mockery their rituals had become, while he read them and became desperate to regain what was lost.
"Let's go Sepe." A hand tugged at her sleeve. "They're done."
"Not yet, Pela. I must watch until the end. It is my duty." She loathed duty, but it fell to her and she refused to shirk it. At least all she had to do was watch. "You can go back to my room now, if you'd like. I won't be long. Then you can braid my hair."
She loved her little maid. With responsibility came privilege, and that was all that made it bearable.