So it came to pass, the Emperor of Rome was welcomed into the Great Hall for a light lunch at the spacious Spartan Royal Palace, along with his emissaries, however, they stayed for only an hour, or so, for Emperor Cyrillus was eager to begin his pilgrimage to Delphi and sail on wards to Lydia and Ephesus, where he would trade vast quantities of gold in exchange for silks and spices from the far eastern lands. Now his talk centered around the peace between Rome and Sparta, the marriage arrangement, news form Thrace etc..., alas he spoke not a word of the matter between himself and Queen Sparta; of which they had discussed at length the previous night. He was delighted to witness, first hand, the clever and seductive Queen openly flirting with General Cothos, hanging on his every word, laughing at his amusing tales, luring him closer into her circle of trust through mutual admiration, for she was setting her plan of action in motion. The poor unsuspecting General having no idea, or notion, Queen Sparta's affection and attention was all just an act of subterfuge, he, himself actually thinking his powers of charm and sexual appeal were working.
Whereto fore Cyrillus, along with his dignitaries, did bid farewell to the Spartans and his daughter, whom had a few tears in her eyes upon her fathers departure, though King Therakles assured her he would always be standing there ready to console her, doing his best to keep her happy and safe in her fathers absence. Queen Sparta gave Cyrillus a sly, knowing look as the two embraced, he whispering in her ear, "You shall have your reward." with that the group said their goodbyes leaving behind Princess Gianna, her chaperon the ill-fated General Cothos, as well as ten or so members of the Roman entourage comprised of maidservants and body guards.
Now all left remaining sat themselves back down at the long table in the Great Hall of the Palace, all talking openly and freely filling the room with the sounds of hearty laughter and gentle mirth. Many times Queen Sparta would reach out lightly touching General Cothos upon his muscular arm, shoulder, hand or knee as she sat next to him, whereby, at the end of the two hour feast, he had moved his chair much closer in proximity to the flirtatious Queen. For he believed his charms were affecting her to his advantage, naturally, so he believed, but with her master work of deception in play, Queen Sparta, herself, could put the LIE in BELIEVE. Whereupon Queen Sparta entreated the handsome General to accompany her on a horseback ride through the verdant countryside, so that they, themselves, might have a better chance of getting acquainted with one another, thus giving King Therakles and Princess Gianna a little time together as he had promised to escort her on a private tour of the vast temple complex, stables and the market place.
"I am filled with great pleasure knowing you will come out riding with me, dearest, sweetest General Cothos." she purred in his ear in the presence of her body guard, Captain Sinos, who only rolled his eyes, pretending not to care.
"Why I shall be delighted to see you, sitting high up in the saddle, your long golden hair flowing back behind you. Yes.., I will enjoy accompanying you, though.., I must confess, I am not an expert in the area of horsemanship, such as your legendary self." he leaned in a little taking her hand in his, whispering "Perhaps you can teach a few tricks to staying up." he said with a gleam in his eyes adding "For you, I am sure, are extremely skilled."
"Rest assured, this will prove quite thrilling.., to take you out for a long.., hard ride through my fertile land." she replied. Here all noticed the magnetic attraction between the two, though no one dare say anything, as all ate and drank, with their bellies full and hearts made light by the good company. Then Princess Gianna gave a worried look as she spied General Cothos whispering in the ear of Queen Sparta a blush coming to her cheeks most apparently.
"If you will excuse me while I go and change to prepare for the outing, our hard ride together." General Cothos whispered into her ear, tickling the supple neck of our Queen with his hot breath.
Here Princess Gianna approached Queen Sparta as she held King Therakles by the hand saying "Pray.., wait a moment longer, and forgive me King Therakles." Gianna said in a voice as soft as bird with a bit of worry clearly in her voice. "I require a bit of your sister's time and attention, regarding a matter of a personal nature."
"As you wish, for I must go and confer with my Councilors of War and shall return within the hour."
Whereto fore Cyrillus, along with his dignitaries, did bid farewell to the Spartans and his daughter, whom had a few tears in her eyes upon her fathers departure, though King Therakles assured her he would always be standing there ready to console her, doing his best to keep her happy and safe in her fathers absence. Queen Sparta gave Cyrillus a sly, knowing look as the two embraced, he whispering in her ear, "You shall have your reward." with that the group said their goodbyes leaving behind Princess Gianna, her chaperon the ill-fated General Cothos, as well as ten or so members of the Roman entourage comprised of maidservants and body guards.
Now all left remaining sat themselves back down at the long table in the Great Hall of the Palace, all talking openly and freely filling the room with the sounds of hearty laughter and gentle mirth. Many times Queen Sparta would reach out lightly touching General Cothos upon his muscular arm, shoulder, hand or knee as she sat next to him, whereby, at the end of the two hour feast, he had moved his chair much closer in proximity to the flirtatious Queen. For he believed his charms were affecting her to his advantage, naturally, so he believed, but with her master work of deception in play, Queen Sparta, herself, could put the LIE in BELIEVE. Whereupon Queen Sparta entreated the handsome General to accompany her on a horseback ride through the verdant countryside, so that they, themselves, might have a better chance of getting acquainted with one another, thus giving King Therakles and Princess Gianna a little time together as he had promised to escort her on a private tour of the vast temple complex, stables and the market place.
"I am filled with great pleasure knowing you will come out riding with me, dearest, sweetest General Cothos." she purred in his ear in the presence of her body guard, Captain Sinos, who only rolled his eyes, pretending not to care.
"Why I shall be delighted to see you, sitting high up in the saddle, your long golden hair flowing back behind you. Yes.., I will enjoy accompanying you, though.., I must confess, I am not an expert in the area of horsemanship, such as your legendary self." he leaned in a little taking her hand in his, whispering "Perhaps you can teach a few tricks to staying up." he said with a gleam in his eyes adding "For you, I am sure, are extremely skilled."
"Rest assured, this will prove quite thrilling.., to take you out for a long.., hard ride through my fertile land." she replied. Here all noticed the magnetic attraction between the two, though no one dare say anything, as all ate and drank, with their bellies full and hearts made light by the good company. Then Princess Gianna gave a worried look as she spied General Cothos whispering in the ear of Queen Sparta a blush coming to her cheeks most apparently.
"If you will excuse me while I go and change to prepare for the outing, our hard ride together." General Cothos whispered into her ear, tickling the supple neck of our Queen with his hot breath.
Here Princess Gianna approached Queen Sparta as she held King Therakles by the hand saying "Pray.., wait a moment longer, and forgive me King Therakles." Gianna said in a voice as soft as bird with a bit of worry clearly in her voice. "I require a bit of your sister's time and attention, regarding a matter of a personal nature."
"As you wish, for I must go and confer with my Councilors of War and shall return within the hour."
Here Princess Gianna gave her Royal suitor a sweet kiss upon the cheek, then, as he departed, out of sight her expression turned to one of grave concern as she reached out squeezing Queen Sparta's arm "I beseech you great Queen, I must speak with you.., privately."
"What matter of trouble weighs so heavily upon your worried mind?" she asked, hoping all was well, leading the distressed Princess back to her secluded bedchamber, Queen Sparta's guards closing the door behind them, leaving the Queen and the foreign Princess alone.
"You must be given fair warning, my noble, Royal Lady, you must take care with General Cothos, for my Uncle is not as charming and harmless as he appears to be." she said in a whisper as tense as wire.
"What man is?" the duplicitous Queen replied with a smile, then she spoke in a serious tone, narrowing her gaze saying "Am I to understand you have some ill spoken words about a member of your family?" Queen Sparta gave a disappointed look.
"He is only a member of my family because my foolish aunt was deceived into marrying him." the Princess replied her words coming like venomous poison from her tongue."'Of what I am about to impart to you, NO ONE KNOWS! Not even my father, the Emperor." she said her amber eyes wet with tears.
"Now I am intrigued.., come sit, talk with me, tell me your story, now tell me all of it and we shall see if it is of some benefit." Queen Sparta said as she beckoned the young girl to sit beside her upon her large bed.
"You must be given fair warning, my noble, Royal Lady, you must take care with General Cothos, for my Uncle is not as charming and harmless as he appears to be." she said in a whisper as tense as wire.
"What man is?" the duplicitous Queen replied with a smile, then she spoke in a serious tone, narrowing her gaze saying "Am I to understand you have some ill spoken words about a member of your family?" Queen Sparta gave a disappointed look.
"He is only a member of my family because my foolish aunt was deceived into marrying him." the Princess replied her words coming like venomous poison from her tongue."'Of what I am about to impart to you, NO ONE KNOWS! Not even my father, the Emperor." she said her amber eyes wet with tears.
"Now I am intrigued.., come sit, talk with me, tell me your story, now tell me all of it and we shall see if it is of some benefit." Queen Sparta said as she beckoned the young girl to sit beside her upon her large bed.
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