Everyone is trying to make babies except me.

Due to the bizarre configuration of our slowly-moving planet, Janus, with one face always turned to the burning sun, and the other eternally confronting the chill of space, birthrates are low and indiscriminate mating encouraged. Except for me, Audryn, unwed ruler of the Shadowlands, our pewter band of dusk dividing the violently hot Lightside from Darkside, imprisoned by eternal night.

But I was not always celibate. Before the deaths in a boating accident of my family, the King, Queen and Crown Princess of the Shadowlands, I was the less-important but happy younger sister rather than the current occupant of the throne. My family was by my side when, at my thirteenth starturn--an age that our Terran Progenitors would have called twenty years--my virginity was taken, with much pomp in a public display, as is the custom for royalty.

I remember the ceremony well...

My first lover was my cousin Frayn, chosen because he was experienced but not so much older that I would feel intimidated. We had long been accustomed to each other’s touch from years of casual sex play throughout our childhoods. As we grew, we examined our budding bodies with much enjoyment and curiosity. His was the first hand other than my own to fondle my growing breasts; I was the first to feel his jism spurt, hot and sticky, in my hand. We grew apart because he was older than I, and therefore allowed sexual congress before I was.

Even so, when I approached my thirteenth starturn, I picked Frayn to partner me first.

When the day dawned, a servant shaved my labia to expose my clitoris. Then I was massaged by two warriors from the royal guard to arouse me, ready me. This was considered a great honor, and I hand-picked my favorites from among the finest and strongest of our soldiers. Murmuring endearments, they joined me naked on my bed and caressed me for hours. With the scents of the rose and lavender oils they used perfuming the air, they did not miss an inch of my flesh, even gently probing and opening my quim and my bottom so my body would easily accept Frayn’s member, which I knew was quite large. One plucked my nipples to hard red points, while the other caressed my clitoris with the tingling essences of mint and cinnamon to heighten my pleasure until I moaned with completion.

Frayn entered when I was in my bath, rinsing off the oils. He pulled off his boots and stripped, dropping his codpiece, gold-embroidered tunic and snug leggings onto the white marble floor before joining me. We washed and touched, looking into each other’s eyes in anticipation. Our servants brought us sweet pastries to keep up our energy, and wine so I would remain relaxed. Despite the drink, I said, “I am a little nervous.”

“Do not fear me, Audryn.” Frayn slid a finger inside my slit. “You’re ready. I promise you, there will be no pain, only pleasure.”

“But everyone will be watching.”

“That is the point of Exhibition Day.” He gave me a smile that gleamed wolfishly from behind his red moustache and beard, and his green eyes glinted as he continued to explore me. “Some find that watchers heighten the pleasure.”

I flung my head back and my breath came short as he prodded the barrier of my virginity. He withdrew and stood, water streaming off his body. He was slender but not thin, with a fine thick cock rising out of a cloud of reddish hair. “If I remain, your maidenhead will not last until the ceremony. Until noon, Lady Audryn.”

With a sigh, I watched him dry his body, dress and leave.

“He is a healthy young man,” my handmaiden Maia remarked, adjusting her white tunic, which flapped loosely over black slacks. All our servants wore similar garb, with the royal sigil embroidered in silver over the heart. Tall, with a regal bearing, Maia today wore her mink-brown hair in a simple chignon at her nape.

“He is honored by my selection, but I think he prefers my sister.” I reached for the towel Maia held.

“He prefers the Golden Throne.”

“Beryla is not close to him.”

“The Crown Princess must hold herself apart.” Taking another towel, Maia dried the hard-to-reach spot on my back.

“I am very sorry for her.”

“She will be the most powerful person on Janus.”

“Of what use is power? With it comes responsibility, duty and constraint. She did not have the ceremony I will enjoy today,” I said. “She must wait until the future king is chosen, and who knows when that will be?”

“Soon, since she grows older and approaches her seventeenth starturn. She must select a mate and bear children, for the stability of the Shadowlands.”

Maia took a fine chemise, ironed and ready for the noon ceremony, and draped it over my head, tugging it over my body. Of thin pink gauze, it hid none of my curves.

My mother and sister entered, both elaborately dressed as the ceremonial day demanded, in beautiful gowns with the high stiff ruffs my mother preferred framing their faces over square necklines. Both wore colors that complemented them: my mother in rose, a shade that flattered her fair hair and milky skin, and Beryla in leaf-green. A brunette, she looked especially well in green.

“Are you ready, darling?” My mother hugged me, then kissed me on both cheeks as was our custom.

Teary, I hugged back. “Today I become fully a woman. I am so excited!”

“And I am envious,” Beryla said. “Mother...”

“Yes, we know you must find a future monarch soon. We have sent emissaries to both the Darkness and the Light,” our mother said. “They will select from among their highest-born, and after they arrive, you will choose the prince who will provide the best seed and will marry into the house which will be most politically advantageous.”

“Sounds like great fun,” muttered Beryla.

“You won’t be forced to take a man you don’t want,” the Queen said.

“You know how Father is when he gets an idea into his head.” Beryla compressed her lips.

“I will take care of your father,” our mother said with affection. “Now let’s not allow your worry to overshadow Audryn’s Exhibition Day!”

“It won’t.” I pushed my long dark-blond hair behind my ears, and Maia began to braid the mass before securing it with a ribbon.

“Let’s go. It is time.” My mother took one hand and Beryla the other. Maia followed.

As we left my rooms, we were joined by the same guardsmen who had pleasured me earlier that morning, now attired in the black and red royal uniforms, swords sheathed at their sides. I smiled at them and they smiled back. Heat flooded my body as I remembered what they had done with me, to me. I realized that after the ceremony, I could have them also, whenever I wished.

I was very ready. My flesh tingled; I felt wet between my legs; I could hardly put one foot in front of the other from the trembling in my limbs.

We walked through the palace to the front, where a marble terrace, some yards wide, formed a platform below which lawns extended to the castle walls and portcullis. Today, the gates were open and the public had gathered to watch. Two of Janus’ three moons adorned the somber sky, and a festival atmosphere prevailed, with temporary booths distributing food and wine dotting the perimeter walls. I could smell roasting meats mingling with the scents of the freshly cut lawns and the perfumes worn by the scantily clad populace.

Despite the thin light and slight warmth provided by the moons, many women wore flimsy garments like mine. The males sported large decorative codpieces poking from the front slits of their tunics. I guessed that our coupling would have a stimulating effect on the populace. Good. We always needed more births.

Plus, the people attended because the continued sexuality and fertility of the royal family was of great concern to Shadowlanders, as well as the rest of Janus. We control the narrow strip of Shadow between Darkside and Light, the most livable part of our planet. We control the flowing streams of water, the canals and rivers, along which travel all commerce. We grow most of the crops, produce most of the wealth. The rulers of the Shadowlands control Janus, and heirs provide stability.

A high platform bed rested in the center of the terrace. Behind it, against the palace wall, stood a massive gilded chair, large enough to hold three.

The Golden Throne, the literal seat of power on Janus.

My mother and sister took their places on the throne to watch. The king, my father, entered. With a proud smile, he took my shoulders in his big hands and kissed me, once on each cheek. I will always remember how handsome he looked that day. Dark-haired but with green eyes like mine, he was stockily built and clad in robes of ermine and green velvet.

Tears in his eyes, he squeezed my shoulders and murmured brokenly, “My little girl...” I hugged him, my heart full of love and gratitude.

“Blessings on you, my darling dear.” He turned to the front of the terrace and raised my hand, shouting, “Blessings on Princess Audryn!”

The crowd responded, “Blessings! Blessings!” This was the traditional call for a fertile union as well as an acknowledgment of my status as a royal.

My father wiped his damp eyes with a handkerchief and joined my mother on the Golden Throne.

Alone, I walked to the bed. I could feel the cool breeze flutter my chemise, which brushed against my breasts. My nipples firmed.

Frayn already waited, already naked, already hard. He stroked his cock, and a cheer rose from the watching men and giggles from the females. He turned his head and winked at the crowd. I laughed.

Now at the bed, I took his hand. We smiled at each other and kissed.

A murmur rose from the crowd, a murmur that rose to moans as I took his face in my hands to kiss him more deeply. He reached for the front of my chemise and ripped it off, tearing it from my body. The crowd roared, as if they knew that real action was close. But Frayn had other ideas.

He eased me back onto the bed so I lay with my hips at its edge. He knelt before me and, reaching up, he parted my legs so my blond muff and pink quim were fully presented to the onlookers. Mutters of admiration filled the air, and to my surprise, I wasn’t frightened, anxious or shy. My pussy seemed to blossom open from the sounds of acceptance I heard from my people.

Lifting myself onto my elbows, I looked over the crowd, fixing my attention on the first row. Most people were watching me, but all seemed to have very busy hands. Either they stroked themselves, or more often, caressed a partner. The fancy embroidered codpieces were open and feminine hands grasped a multitude of rods. Some ladies were already on their knees, while other women had exposed their breasts, tempting the males to taste their nipples.

Frayn leaned forward and fastened his mouth to my quim. Lightning shot through me and I wantonly pushed my pelvis forward, seeking completion. Already swollen from the attentions of the guards, my clit twitched between his lips as he sucked and licked. I drew a long, deep breath and allowed the pure joy of this day to flow through my being as Frayn’s talented tongue, the lovely scratch of his beard, took me higher.

He stood, his face shining with my pussy juices, and bent over me. “The important aspect of this ceremony is that the people see me enter you, see me take you thoroughly, again and again, and see the blood of your virginity spilt over my cock. How do you want to do it?”

I blinked, called out of my erotic cloud to do my duty. I managed a grin though I was annoyed. I was aware of the significance of the event. “We should do it...visibly, I suppose.”

He caressed my pussy and fingered my slit. I took his tool in my hand. His cock has swelled thick and red with desire, and I wanted him inside me. “Lie down,” I said, pulling on him to enforce obedience.

“Yes, your royal highness.”

“Oh, hush up,” I said. “You’re as royal as I am.”

“Not quite.”

“Jealous?” Pushing him down, I straddled him and teased him with my body, bending my knees to dip low, letting my quim caress his cock-head. My breasts brushed his chest.

He gasped, his previous arrogance gone. “Audryn, please. I’m about to burst.”

Smiling, I lowered myself onto his cock. As it entered me, I heard a thousand breaths drawn; as I took him fully into my body, those breaths whooshed out of a thousand throats. As he’d claimed, there was no pain, just a slight stretching and tingling. I seated myself firmly, until I could feel his pubic hair mingling with mine, and ground my pussy against him. Pleasure began to claim me, but before I lost control, I lifted my body off his and, taking the shreds of my chemise, wiped the blood from his cock and my quim. I tossed it to Maia, who showed it to the crowd...the people shouted their approval.

I climbed atop Frayn again, again took him. Again, the little sting, which I welcomed as the price of my womanhood. I began to ride, giving Frayn the thorough fuck he’d promised me. Ahhh...he was big inside me and it was good, better than anything...I threw back my head, arched my back and thrust my breasts skyward. The cool air teased my nipples before Frayn grasped them and pinched the tips. I rocked, rubbing my clit against his pubic bone, driving us both into a frenzy. His rod reached back all the way to my womb and the feeling of being parted, being opened, was glorious.

I ran my fingertips up and down my sides, then clasped Frayn’s hands as they cupped my breasts, increasing the pressure, increasing my pleasure. I ground against him harder, and rapture tore through me as I came. I sensed rather than heard or saw my people with me...I felt as though I was floating high above them as they shared my delight...A thousand cocks spurted into a thousand willing quims; sperm rushed into a thousand wombs.

Gripping me around the waist, Frayn flipped me onto my back and pressed his weight upon me, pinning me to the bed, and began to bang me hard and long. Still peaking, I flung my legs out wide so he could get in deeper, and he grunted as he thrust. “Put your legs around my waist. It is better so.”

I obeyed, and he was right, at least for that moment. I could feel the hardness of his body inside me, atop me, rubbing against my clit. Pleasure again flooded me with inexorable bliss, pushing me toward a delight unlike anything else I had known. Yes, I knew my own body and had allowed others to pleasure me, but the unique sensation of a man inside me, his bigness, his hardness opening and dividing my channel, brought me to heights of lust. I writhed beneath Frayn, crying out with joy...I knew that this ecstasy would be mine, again and again.

I enjoyed the first experience and all those that succeeded it, but alas, such pleasure was denied to me a scant six months later. Not only did grief for my family sap my sexual urges, but the succession was far too important an issue to be left to random chance or my emotions, for matters of the heart are fleeting and unrelated to political reality. If I became pregnant, my child would be the heir or heiress to the Shadowlands, and my mate Shadow’s king.

Long would I hesitate and ponder such a step.

But time was running out, as the Progenitors might say. As I approached my seventeenth starturn, I was at the height of my fertility, and the demands of my body had become more strident. Though any of my subjects would be honored and joyous to help me find satiety, I was careful, seeking intimacy only when I could not control my cravings. Even then, I observed limits. I could not risk a pregnancy. Too dangerous.

And I had to bear a child before I lost my precious ova, destined to die near my twentieth starturn unless I became pregnant. My private unwillingness to share power could not remain an impediment.

* * * *

“My seventeenth starturn approaches. On that day, I am determined to crown my mate as king,” I told my ministers at our morning meeting. “Gather the best candidates from the Three Lands so that I may make an informed choice.”

Arrayed at a carved and polished wooden conference table facing the Golden Throne, the Ten grumbled and muttered. Their voices mingled with the crackling fire in the big stone hearth at one end of the wood-paneled and tapestry-clad room. Smoke spiced the air.

“What is it?” I asked. There were moments, I believed, that managing the elderly coterie, the Ten Ministers, was the most onerous task of my monarchy. Dispensing justice was, by comparison, easy. Running the bureaucracy in an efficient manner was also difficult, as was the collection of revenues. These were tasks allocated to the ministries, but even so, they required oversight. They needed one strong hand on the reins of government. My hand.

That I was many starturns younger than most of my ministers was only the beginning of my difficulties with them. When I ascended the Golden Throne, I had not been educated for my role. Nearly four starturns later, the Ten had become accustomed to teaching me rather than obeying my commands.

So I had designed garments which emphasized my authority. High heeled boots and shoes so I stood taller than any of them. Long sweeping skirts, some with hoops and panniers to broaden my slender silhouette. The finest silks and furs, velvet and brocades. Wherever it was moved, the Golden Throne was set on a platform above all.

Still, the Ten were knowledgeable, and had to be handled with every shred of my tact and diplomacy. “What say you, Lord Kloutt?” I asked my uncle, the Minister of the Interior, seated at my right.

He struggled to his feet, and I fancied I could hear the creaking of his arthritic bones beneath his purple and gold-embroidered doublet. Poor fellow. He said, “There are some who believe that an alliance with an aristocrat of Shadowlands would strengthen the Royal House and thereby solidify the government.”

Next to him, his son, Lord Frayn, who served as Minister of the Exchequer, remained silent, but I knew what both wanted.

I fixed a slight smile on my face. “That is a possibility, of course. There are many noble candidates within the Shadowlands. What say you, General Parlous?”

Parlous was my Minister of Diplomacy, and I already knew that he favored an alliance with one of the Lords of Darkness, fearing their military might. “The Royal House has long had the complete allegiance of the people, and because of the tragic deaths of Their Majesties, you are an especial favorite.” He faced the others. Middle-aged but vigorous, with iron-gray hair that curled at the collar of his black doublet, he had a sonorous, impressive voice. “The Queen is beloved already, and the Golden Throne sits on firm ground. I respect the Interior Ministry’s concerns, but there is no need to marry within, and there are many reasons to bring in fresh seed from Outside.”

“Outside,” I said. “That would mean an alliance with either the Darkness or the Light, unless we are so fortunate as to witness a visit from the long-absent Progenitors.”

Chuckles ran throughout the room, dispelling tension.

“Past alliances with the Prince-Scientists of the DesertDwellers have proven fruitful,” stated Caducia of the Health Ministry. She wore healing green, the color affected by all HealthGivers.

“Their technological prowess could also contribute to the welfare of our people.” This was the opinion of the Education Minister.

“And there are always those rumors...” Lady Mercourie, in charge of transportation and communication, said, alluding to long-repeated speculations.

“I do not put stock in rumor and myth,” Frayn said. “If the Children of Light possess the secret of eternal life, they have not shared it with us during past alliances. I do not believe it.”

“Nor do I,” Caducia said. “Immortality does not exist.”

I leaned my chin on one hand, gloved today in orange satin. “But it is true that as time moves on, much is lost and forgotten, and we lack the ability to regain the knowledge of the Progenitors or to reinvent their tools and machines,” I said. “The Children of Light excel at such tasks, while we do not, and technology is at an even lower ebb on the Darkside.”

“But an alliance with the Darkside would bring us many advantages in terms of trade,” Geoman of the Elements Office said. “Their lands are abundant in natural resources that we and the DesertDwellers lack.”

“We cannot forget that the man selected will not only sit on the Golden Throne, sharing power with Her Majesty, but will be her mate,” Caducia said. “I do not see how a choice can be made without seeing the candidates.”

“Then it’s decided.” I stood, delighted that at least one of this hidebound group shared my opinion. “Parlous, order our emissaries to the Darkness and the Desert. Invite them to send their best. Lady Caducia, attend me.”

I swept out, and Caducia followed. Maia, who had sat silently on a stool next to the Throne, scurried in our wake.

“I wished to thank you for your wisdom and insight,” I told Caducia as we walked.

An older woman with dark hair webbed with silver, she shrugged and smiled. “It is self-evident. Our ruler’s happiness is paramount. How else can you effectively reign?”

I remained silent for a moment. “I had thought that I must subvert my own happiness for the good of the people.”

“The people’s happiness is dependent upon the Queen’s joy, for in the Shadowlands, the people and their monarchs are one. You felt that already, on your first mating day.”

“You witnessed the ceremony?”

“Yes, and your parents’ marriage and first mating as well. The people must be convinced of your contentment and security on the throne with a strong and trustworthy king, or they will lose confidence in the monarchy. And if your house trembles, the Balance will be lost. All of Shadowland, indeed all Janus, will fall, so you must choose well.”

We reached the Dining Salon, where we would take the noontime repast. “Sit with me,” I said. “Speak more of your insights, for I am greatly burdened by the significance of my task.”

“There is little more to say.” Caducia followed me to my seat, set higher than the others. She took the nearest stool, and Maia went to fetch victuals. “It is not my insight but yours which will be crucial. Permit me to speak freely.”

“Granted.”

Servants snapped open serviettes, spread them on our laps.

“Queen Audryn, you are intelligent and deeply feeling. Make no hasty decisions, but at the same time, trust your instincts.”