Chapter 44 State Affairs And A wedding

The wedding was a truly beautiful affair.

Kari had never seen such an elaborate celebration before but then, this was for a king of a powerful nation. People were dressed in their best, everyone glittering in shimmering fabrics and adorned with precious metals and stones. Even the servants and slaves were done up.

Kari himself had a new tunic that was intricately patterned with swirls of blue, and small sparking silver chains that had tiny sparkling jewels hanging off them. His breech was made from beautiful shimmering blue fabric and he veritably dripped in silver chains adorned with more sparkling jewels while his knee-length boots shined with silver swirls on each side.

Millicent had painted black around his eyes again and when he glimpsed himself in a mirror, he looked almost otherworldly.

His skin was as pale as snow, almost unearthly, and his eyes, hair, and tattoo all stood out, seeming to glow in the soft light. He looked as though it wouldn’t be such a fanciful idea that he could be a creature not of this earth.

He had felt eyes on him as soon as they had left Ryedir’s chambers. The man himself had his implacable mask back in place, face smoothed back to calm indifference and posture oozing confidence.

The alpha looked eye catching in his formal wear as well. As befitting his more military background, he wore a straight military style jacket with shiny buttons up the middle, stiff shoulders with a tassel adorning each side and cape thrown over one shoulder. Coupled with tightly fitted breeches and shiny black boots. He looked every inch the general he was said to be. Kari might have ogled the man just a little.

They had been among the last guests to arrive at the wedding ceremony, along with the rest of Ryedir’s family. Kari had been given a few lingering glances by people who he figured must be Aspen and Nera- the two siblings who had been with Ryedir that first day they had arrived when Millicent had whisked him off to see how her brother would react. They were both younger than Ryedir and older than Millicent but he hadn’t worked out the ordering yet.

Millicent flanked Kari on one side with Ryedir on the other as they entered a beautiful outdoor area that had been set up for the wedding and he wondered if that was intentional. As much as Millicent poked at her older brother for a reaction, they did seem close. A sea of faces stared at them as they passed rows upon rows of chairs until they arrived at the front with a clear view to the altar.

Kari settled on a cushion at his alpha’s feet and noted that he was the only slave brought by someone from the royal family. Many other nobles there had slaves and there had been a cushion positioned at their feet but it seemed as though the others preferred to come alone. Nera didn’t even have her husband with her.

The ceremony began shortly afterward and Kari marveled at the difference to his own customs. In Aithyea, marriages were common and would always take place in a chapel or shrine so that the vows could be heard and blessed by the gods. Here, it was wherever you chose and the talk was more of contracts and household unions than boundless love.

Still, it was a beautiful ceremony and the omegan bride was just as stunning as the scenery with her flowing white gown that only highlighted the stunning copper coloured hair that cascaded down her back in curls. Juean, Ryedir’s eldest brother and the king, looked much like his siblings- dark hair with golden eyes, but far more uptight and tense.

As beautiful as the ceremony was, it was also rather boring. As it dragged on and on, Kari found himself leaning more against his alpha’s leg and dozing off. Clapping brought him back to wakefulness and he looked up to see the kiss take place between the bride and groom. He tried to rub the sleep from his eyes discreetly but a large yawn ruined any chance of that. A hand carded through his hair and he looked up into Ryedir’s amused golden eyes.

“We’ll be heading to the feast shortly.”

Kari perked right up at his quiet words and earned himself a slight smile. The hand continued to stroke through his hair and fingers scraped gently across his scalp. For all that it felt nice, the gesture irked Kari. He knew Ryedir needed to treat him like a pet today while they were out in public for his own protection, but he still didn’t like it.

The omega buried his face in the alpha’s leg so that his face couldn’t be seen by others and glared up through his lashes at the man in irritation. Amusement flashed in golden eyes before being masked over once again.

Thankfully it wasn’t long after that they were standing and moving into a different area. Of course, it was just as beautiful and decadent as before, a massive hall inside the castle proper that was lined with tables and chairs.

Kari trailed after Ryedir as they walked through the hall just behind the newlyweds up onto a raised dais where an even more elegant table sat. The omega perked up when he spotted Nevis standing behind one of the chairs looking very smartly dressed. The beta grinned in return before coughing and trying to hide his smile, no doubt trying to look professional.

Kari was directed to sit on a pillow raised off the ground as others also took their seats around the table. The only one who didn’t was Ryedir who accepted a bottle of Salantra from Nevis and walked over to the king. He stood to the side of his eldest brother and showed him the bottle before pouring for both him and his new wife.

“Relax, brother and enjoy your evening. I have given a cask to your castellan, but I thought you might appreciate a bottle tonight.”

Juean relaxed minutely and Kari wondered if he had feared an assassination attempt this evening.

The Salantra came up clear in the sparkling crystal glasses and everyone suddenly seemed a little less tense. It felt as though the entire royal family was on high alert for poison and the like. It wouldn’t help as far as food was concerned but at least it would give them some peace of mind as long as the alcohol didn’t change color indicating that something else was in the glass.

“Thank you, Ryedir.”

The alpha nodded and moved to his own seat while toasts were made before the feast begun.

*****

The food was divine.

Kari would have stuffed himself silly if not for the open environment. He didn’t even care that Ryedir hand fed him every piece, it was just that good. He had even been allowed a few sips of the sweet dessert wine even though Ryedir was worried about him getting drunk.

Floating on good feelings from all the food and wine, he was not prepared for Hanzen’s party later that evening.

The party was for a selected group of highly influential and powerful people within the Niamrean court and somehow Kari had taken that to mean that it would be a stately, upright affair.

How very wrong he was.

Large comfortable chairs dotted the room, all occupied by the invitees but every one of them had brought an entourage. Naked or nearly naked pleasure slaves and attendants waltzed around the room or sat docilely at their master’s feet. A couple performed various elegant sex acts in the corner for the perusal of attendees and there was even a pair of stunning beta women making out at their master’s feet for his pleasure. Each and every slave in the room seemed to have been picked for their elegance, beauty, or body.

Kari’s eyes almost bugged out of his head and his cheeks stained red in a blush. He was the only dressed pleasure slave and he realized that the sight in front of him was originally his worst fear upon learning what he was being sold as. They all seemed well looked after and some even appeared eager to perform whatever their masters wanted but Kari shied away from such things. How conditioned were these people that they would react in such ways for the pleasure of another?

Ryedir stopped Kari’s internal panic by pulling him onto his lap and slowly feeding him little pieces of mango while he talked with various people. It seemed that the alpha was set on not moving and other people instead had to come to him if they wanted to engage him in a conversation.

Even though he was still being treated as a pet, Kari was at least being treated with affection rather than bored indifference. He couldn’t imagine how it would feel to be put on display like that, baring your body for everyone to see and then being ignored by the one person you want acknowledgment from.

Kari turned to his alpha in mortification. Ryedir kissed his cheek and rubbed his back to relax him.

“A very cute little omega you have there, Ryedir.” An alpha woman across from them spoke.

“He is. He was a gift from Oran for a favor and I have been quite enjoying training him.”

Kari huffed slightly as they talked about him as though he wasn’t there. He buried his face in the older man’s chest and settled in. Maybe he could take a nap to while away the time. As shocking as the nudity had initially been, nothing else was really happening other than talking and the conversations went right over his head.

Comfortable and safe in his alpha’s arms, he slipped off to sleep and didn’t even notice when his chest started to vibrate with a quiet purr. Nor did he notice when the conversation lulled as people stopped to hear the rare omegan purr while Ryedir discreetly kissed his hair in affection and smirked smugly in satisfaction.