The Purple Jade Palace: The Hummingbird's Plan

Too Much Of A Good Thing

Sure enough, Teal soon found himself struggling to keep up with the rules that Delba and Ralen had inflicted on him which consisted of a multitude of hand gestures that competed against each other. If he lost, he had to drink. Only, Teal had the sneaky suspicion the pair kept changing the rules to get him drunk. After several shots of the strong spirit and his guard sufficiently down, Teal was indeed beyond making intelligent conversation or decisions.

Delba it seemed, was only going to use it to her advantage.

"Did you enjoy yourself the other night with the Empress and Emperor?" she asked. She had one arm draped over the back of the rock bath her fingers slowly scratching the nape of Ralen's neck, her breasts completely exposed in her new position.

"Yesss," Teal answered, slurring.

"So," she continued, her voice silky and smooth. "I heard that when you were with Jale for the first time, your presence appeared?"

Teal tried to sit up, something in the back of his mind warning him of possible danger if their conversation continued in this particular direction. It might have even come from his presence itself.

"Yes," he replied, carefully trying to push back the fogginess of his drunken haze.

"I'm curious," Delba said. "Did it appear when you were with the Emperor and Empress?"

"No," Teal answered slowly. Confusion flooded through him. Why was that so?

"Interesting," Delba said before she took a long sip of her wine. Ralen didn't come to his defense. He instead held an interested expression on his face. Delba continued, "I wonder why that was. I thought your presence only appeared when you were scared or afraid."

Teal blinked unsure of what to say. He hadn't even known Delba was aware of his presence. Maybe Jale had mentioned it? Teal shook his head, trying to clear it further. He still held some distant worry as to what had caused his presence to surface that first time with Jale.

"I think the presence..." Teal paused, trying to gather his thoughts and an idea suddenly came forward, one that may just help him in this tricky situation. "I think the presence emerged with Jale because it was the first time I had lain with someone other than my friend, Cokrin."

Delba seemed to think on this for a moment. "Hmm, maybe."

Something caught Ralen's attention, and at the same time, Teal sensed Jale standing behind him. He turned. Jale was still in his clothes and completely dry. Teal's vision swirled, but he managed to spy Lana only a short distance away.

"I think he's had enough, don't you?" Jale stated, sounding annoyed.

Delba only stared slyly up at Jale. "Oh, come now, Jale. You get to play with him every night. Now it's our turn."

Jale's glare deepened, and it was enough to silence Delba completely. Her expression however, showed she had enjoyed the exchange that had occurred.

Ralen, still with enough of his wits about him, took to remedy the situation. "Have another drink," he said to Delba. "And stop trying to cause trouble."

Delba sighed and decided to move her attention towards Ralen. She moved seductively closer and placed a suggestive kiss on his neck, whispering something in his ear as she did so.

"Good idea," Ralen replied.

"Do you mind?" Jale asked, waving to Teal. "So he doesn't drown while you're both in each other's arms."

Ralen nodded and pulled out of Delba's hold to stand and scoop Teal into his arms. He passed Teal easily to Jale who just as easily hoisted Teal up and threw him over his shoulder. Head swaying and blinking hard in drunken surprise, Teal caught an upside-down glimpse of Delba climbing into Ralen's lap. Ralen leaned back and reached for his cup of wine. He took a mouthful while his other hand ran down her neck, her breasts and to her stomach.