The Five Princes

Friday Part Three

[For Mature Audience]

"Paint?" I smiled.

He nodded, taking my hand that wasn't holding Trinity's. "I figured, after everything that's happened today, you'd need a calm night."

He was right. It wasn't until his kind words spilled out that I could feel the weight of today's events bare down on my chest. A soreness that pulsated viciously, growing heavier with every worry that evoked my mind. This competition. My father's death. My crown was in danger in the hands of Avant. Zeph was imprisoned below the palace. My father's killer is still on the loose.

I hadn't realized I was crying until he wiped away my tears and Trinity squeezed my hand tighter, leaning her head on my shoulder. "I was so cruel to him...after mother died...everything...to me...was his fault. And now...I won't...be able to...apologize." Trinity wrapped her arms around me as I attempted to center myself. I couldn't lose myself right now. Everyone was expecting so much from me.

After a few seconds to catch my breath, I wiped my own tears away, nodding towards the paints. "So, how are we supposed to do this?"

"Are you sure you're alright?" Sam asked as Trinity pulling away but staying close. "We can just part for the night and rest, I don't mind."

I shook my head. If I were left alone, I'd have a complete meltdown. All day, I've surrounded myself with others so that wouldn't happen. After mother died, I locked myself away for months before recovering. The council would certainly disapprove if I were to do something like that as their only rightful heiress. And I'd rather not allow Avant any more objections to my ability to rule.

"I'd prefer to do something entertaining tonight. Plus, you've been so considerate, the both of you."

"How about we get started then?" Trinity suggested, half pulling me towards the paints and brushes. We sat down on the plush tarps, Sam towering us. His hair cascaded down his shoulders, eyes full of sympathy when they looked down on me before vanishing behind a smile. "Shall we begin this, Prince Sam?"

A slight chuckle escaped me at Trinity's obvious efforts for formality when I could tell they were completely passed those terms. When he eyes caught hers, they shined with happiness. A sort of secret happiness I'd once shared with Zeph (and Ajax), but it was different as well. It only lasted a second but it made me feel lonely as I watched their silent exchange before they broke eye contact, their attention returning to the event at hand.

"Oh, um, yes!" he stammered, his cheeks reddening like a little boy caught stealing. Grabbing a slender brush, he gracefully dipped it in the red paint, swiftly taking my arm within seconds before I realized what he was doing. He began painting petals along my forearm, the brush strokes as gentle as a feather and strangely warm. "This paint is highly unique; it's been used for years in Welch by the royal class. One of the things I love about this is that when it's used on paper, you can write secret messages only the person holding the paper is about to visually see."

"Isn't that how writing on paper usually is?" Trinity scoffed playfully.

"You'll understand in a minute." He snatched another brush, dipping it in the yellow to create the center. "It's meant to calm the nerves. Do you feel it?"

"Yes," I sighed, having felt a wave of euphoria topple over me moments before he painted the center. He continued to create the stem a deep green. Once he finished, I could feel the paint cooling against my skin.

"Now close your eyes, count to ten, and open them."

Following his instructions, I slowly counted to ten within the bleakness of my eyelids. I could feel the painting burn and tightening on my skin and then the feeling vanished as if there were nothing while I continued to count. By the time I got to ten, it felt as though the painting didn't exist, my skin returning to it natural temperature. Blinking away the darkness, I gasped at the image surrounding me. Transparently colorful, the red flower was now a mirage floating around me against the contrasting white tarp and beige walls.

"What do you see?" they both asked over one another.

"The flower is floating around me. It's so...beautiful." The painting was still there on my bare arm. I could tell it would fade eventually but I allowed myself to bask in it, the flower floating through my hand as I rose it to towards the ceiling.

"The paint allows for the wearer to immerse themselves within whatever was created on their body," Sam explained to Trinity, who was looking around for the flower. "The images will last for a few minutes then it'll vanish along with the paint on your body."

"Oh, I wanna try." Trinity cheerfully offered her arm.

"Don't look. Tell me what it is after I draw it." Grabbing a paintbrush, I dipped it into the blue paint and quickly drew a deep background of the night sky and poked a few white and yellow stars upon it.

She closed her eyes and after ten seconds, opened them, smiling to herself. She gasped with a precious chuckle. "I can see a blue rectangle with...stars...or beads? Serene, you really need to practice your artistry skills."

I laughed, nudging her playfully. "I wasn't trying to be a perfectionist."

As Sam took his place across from us, Trinity stole a glance at him then at me while I dipped my paint in the black paint, creating flying birds along my leg. Closing my eyes, I could feel all the pressure, remorse, and sorrow rush away and be replaced with serenity. I enjoyed the contentment, even though I knew it wouldn't last for long. It kept my mind away from... from...

"Serene," Trinity whispered close to my ear. "Prince Sam and I would like to...have a bit more fun with you, only if you permit it."

"More fun? What do you mean?" Slowly, Trinity's warm hand brushed along my arm, coating my skin with shimmers of blue, purple, and yellow. The colors blended into an exquisite ribbon tracing from the length of my arm to the center of my back as Trinity undressed my top.

"I'll stop if you dislike it..."

I shook my head, allowing her to continue. I felt safe here without the trepidation of the ordeals I knew would continue tomorrow. If I could continue with my night, right here with Trinity and Sam, I'd feel relaxed for what awaited me tomorrow. The gown slipped to the ground and I quickly kicked it to the edge of the room as Sam placed his soft lips upon my inner thigh, creating swirls of orange, red, and green along my legs. When I closed my eyes for ten seconds then opened them, the ceiling was filled with vivacious colors swimming around me.

A gasp escaped my lips as Sam's lips inched closer to my exposed core. Trinity giggled at the reaction as she slipped out of her own gown. I've always known Trinity to be pretty with dark skin kissed by the sun, hair thick with curls as wild as her personality, and curves that usually caught peoples attention in the right places. But she seemed to glow even more as her eyes filled up with a fiery passion I'd never witnessed from her before.

And I liked it.

Dipping my fingertips into the bucket of paint, any color I could get my hands on, I draw gracious strokes along her slender shoulders. Sam's mouth had captured the moistness within me as I lost my concentration on what I was meant to be drawing on her.

"Relax, Your Grace," Trinity soothed, stroking my hair as she used her other hand to paint something on my stomach. I closed my eyes as his tongue lavished my core generous and attentively. When I opened them, I could see stick figures of two girls meant to be Trinity and I holding hands. It made me smile.

With little hesitation, I took a hold of Trinity's chest above me and placed my mouth around her n****e as I painted circles around the other. It popped back and forth as I flicked it with my tongue, feeling Trinity's heart viciously pulsating beneath her chest. Loud and deep. A moan left her lips as one left my own, Sam unbuttoning himself as he pulled me closer to his lips exploring my inner warmth.

Before I could react to the full effect of Sam's pleasurable attentiveness, he left my side as Trinity's fingers found my core. Sam brushed a few streaks of yellow across my chest before taking Trinity's previous position and devouring my breast. I could feel Sam becoming more aggressive as Trinity's fingers moved around inside me, her other hand painting something on his chest in green. His lips inched upwards towards my neck, nibbling on my ear a bit.

"Let's get more creative," he whispered. Before I could ask what he meant by that, he presented his manhood that had me stunned for a moment. No wonder Trinity was having so much fun out in the garden the other day. Looking up at him, he displayed a confident smile. Trinity flashed the same expression, now sliding down my body towards my core. The moment her lips took a hold of my treasure, I placed my lips around his pipe. It was large, warm, and tasted savory in my mouth.

His fingers rolled around my breast and I closed my eyes for a moment to open them to streaks of light green, circles of yellow, and flowers petals of shimmering purple. My back arched in excitement as Trinity flicked my special bean in a very pleasurable way, sending a wave of passion through me. I moaned against Sam which made him moan as well as he slid inside me deeper. I could feel his fullness in the back of my throat.

Colors seemed to swirl around me, changing from shades of bold red to soft pink, mingling with one another in vibrant hues. Within minutes, we were switch positions as Sam found his way between my legs and I began savoring the inner folds of Trinity as she positioned herself above me. She was wet and sweet, like a forbidden fruit, nectar dripping down the corner of my lip as I quivered at Sam pumping himself in me. He filled me as he continued to paint Trinity tentatively.

"Ah, yes, Serene. Right there," she squealed, which excited both Sam and me.

I held her thighs as I ate whatever I could, causing her to sigh in pleasure. Unable to contain herself, she moved from over me and nodded at Sam, signaling for something. He removed himself from me as she positioned her legs between mine to create an X. I could feel the wetness of her against me as she pressed, a sensation unique and enthralling to me. She arched her back in a high curve, taking Sam into her mouth effortlessly.

Leaning forward, I began to grind my hips in sync with hers as we all sighed and moaned to the night owls hooting outside our chambers. Sam began to pour the leftover paint upon the tarp, slathering our bodies with it as an array of hues took a hold of our vision, floating above and through us. By how she pushed against my core, trembling as Sam sighed in momentous relief, I realized he'd come.

But he wasn't done just yet.

He kneeled by our side and slowly began caressing both of our cores, his experienced fingers swift and long. We both moved to his rhythmic motion and quickly came ourselves, falling to the floor as paint covered our bodies like canvases.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"Thanks," I whispered as Trinity and I laid in Sam's arms on the clean part of the tarp covered in clean towels. His body was warm and comforting as I held Trinity's hand placed on top of his ribcage. The colors were dissolving every second that passed by until I only had the memory of them. "For..a 'relaxing' night."

Trinity made a tight grin. "You deserve it. With all that's gone on around here, you needed a break."

Slowly removing my grasp from her and sitting up, catching both their attention as they stared at me questioningly. "Trinity, Sam, may I ask you something?"

"Of course," Trinity replied just when Sam replied, "Sure, anything."

"What in the world is...love?"

Sam sat up a bit, looking between the both of us in confusion. Trinity pushed him back down on the ground as she sat up, biting the corner of her lip. She knew something. There was a ping of pain that she might know something about this and hadn't told me about it but I ignored it. This was Trinity, my best friend since childhood. We told secrets to one another before we even knew what secrets were. If she kept something from me, it was for good reason, I told myself.

"Um, Serene, you know how your father ran the palace." I nodded. With an iron fist and keeping me trapped her for the majority of my life up until this week. Everything I learned in school had to be cross-referenced by him, everything about the outside world had to be swept under the rug before I entered the villages, and I knew there were more lies than truth when it came to news about everything else presented to me. "There were things we couldn't tell you; things he didn't want you to know. He believed you would be safer. He didn't want your heart to be broken...in the way he broke...your mothers."

I took a deep breath, understanding why so many around me thought me ignorant of the most basic outside knowledge. How in the world did he foresee my rule when he was gone if he kept me in the shadows most of my life? Lying on my back, pleasing my husbands every whim...?

"Even the other Princes and I were informed weeks before our arrival of the proper etiquette towards what your worldly knowledge expanded to," Sam informed me guilty, sitting himself up to face us better. "I personally found it strange but most knew about your fathers...hesitation with the term after your mother's passing."

A chuckle of pain escaped me, trying to contain my emotions at the revelation. "Bet everyone has been having a laughing feast at my ignorance." For some reason, Ajax's words rang through my head at that moment. “You’d be surprised what little you know that everyone around you knows for a fact.” Oh, how right he was. I scowled in frustration at the thought. Well, it's was better to learn now than never, especially with everything at stake.

"Serene, no. We all believed in some way that we were protecting you, not poking fun at you. And we were only following orders given."

I nodded, understanding they had no other choice, not even Trinity despite how close we are.

She placed a hand on mine across Sam's lap. He didn't seem to mind. "Don't worry; everything will be made right because of your reign. No one will forbid you from journeying beyond the palace walls. You'll have access to more knowledge than you knew was possible. And, most importantly, there will be no one to stop you."

"Except Avant."

She scowled, instinctively grabbing a towel to cover herself and I did the same, both shivering at the mere mention of him. "He'll be gone before you know it."

"Let's hope so. But first, I'd like to know about this...love fiasco?"

Trinity chuckled at 'fiasco.' "It's something very simple yet...complicated, at the same time." I leaned back, feeling drawn into her words as she continuously snuck quick glances at Sam. He kept his eyes on her this whole time, I noticed. "It's a feeling of deep admiration, contentment, friendship, and compassion for someone. Something that goes beyond bodily, s****l desire for another being. You know this person mind, body, and soul and if danger ever came their way, you'd put them first before yourself. When you have this strong sensation that goes beyond s*x, beyond simple admiration and respect, and you know it's mutual with that other being; you recognize exactly that it is love. Well, that's my personal definition of it...don't know if it applies to everyone."

When she said putting someone else before myself, I realized I did the opposite when it came to Zeph while in the ring with Ajax. The man I told I love you to wasn't the man I felt these things for. At first, when my body truth felt like it'd been complete with him by my side, I had fragments of those feelings but I didn't know his mind and I definitely didn't know his soul. I made a grave mistake.

"I don't think I love Zeph..." I muttered, biting the curvature of my thumbnail at the thought. I'd have to take back that word from him, I knew it. Like taking back a roast feast from a starving beggar. And it made me queasy inside.

Trinity giggled a little too quickly before catching herself, shielding her mistake with a scruffy cough. "Serene, of course, you don't love Zeph. You haven't known him that long to be having such feelings."

"What about you and Sam?" They both flinched at the mention of their frankly obvious attention towards one another. It's not as if they were trying to hide it in front of me all night.

"Oh, um...I," Trinity stuttered as Sam made a funny face that crossed between laughter and confusion. "We're...not there...quite yet..."

"But we believe we have...the potential...to extend towards that direction," Sam continued, struggling less for the words than Trinity. She sighed in relief that he completed her thought pattern so proficiently. He smiled genuinely at me. "It's alright to believe you have the potential for love."

"However, even though I don't have the feeling for Zeph, I don't believe he killed my father." The clock chimed midnight, ringing through the barren halls like a siren. "I need to talk to him."

"That's a start," Trinity shrugged. I nodded, sitting up straighter to get to my feet. Trinity motioned to follow along, looking around for her own gown. "Are you done for the night? Should I go with you?"

I retrieved my gown at the corner wall by the doors. "No, stay here. I need to talk to Zeph by myself." Quickly, I got dressed, wrapping myself securely before reaching the door. Pausing, I turned back to them. "One last question: when did you both meet?"

Trinity's cheeks reddened at the question as she looked down at the ground. "We met before the competition a few times, outside the kingdom." Of course. It was probably during one of her excursions when visiting her father in one of the kingdoms. Internally, I wished they'd just met this week, giving me a reason to not shun my past feelings for Zeph entirely. "It was a surprise he came here. I couldn't contain myself. I apologize, Serene."

"No need for any apologies. I'm happy for you both. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must speak with Prince Zeph downstairs. No one should disturb you this late at night."