Ruby Sulien lay down on the ground of a 5x5 meters large room. There was no bed inside, just a small table in the corner with one of those antique music-playing devices – a gramophone, as it was called. On the maroon walls, there were two “windows”, with a starry sky and a big full moon outside. It was a fake view, of course, although very much life-like. In reality, it was broad daylight, about two hours before the archprincess' departure.

Although there was no bed, the red and blue square patterned carpet was actually rather smooth and comfortable. Ruby was lying on her back, covering her face to block out the light of the fancy chandelier hanging from the ceiling. She wore red lingerie on her bronze skin: thigh high stockings, lacy panties, and a tight corset pushing up her breasts.

“Archprincess? Having one last session right before you fly out?” a woman asked her a couple minutes ago, in the waiting area, before her designated mating room arrived. Ruby just nodded at her with a smile and a wink. The truth was, this was going to be no ordinary session. There was a twist to it, a secret twist nobody knew about, just Ruby and him.

She felt the usual, subtle vibrations, and the quiet sound of machinery. It meant that the gears began to work, the chamber was in the process of being transported to the lower city. She stood up, facing the door of the room, waiting with her hands on her hips. The slight vibration stopped, and seconds later, the door opened.

A blue-haired femboy walked in. His hair was in twintails, he wore a black, frilly top, a short black skirt, dark lipstick and eyeliner, even a collar around his neck. As he closed the door behind himself, he quickly got out of his shoes, tossing them aside. His red and blue striped knee-high socks matched the carpet perfectly.

“Your highness!” Valentino bowed. “You called me, so I'm here.”

“Don't be silly, my boy!” Ruby anxiously glanced at the small camera in the upper corner.

“It's just role play, ma'am. Remember what I asked for? I wanted to play out a romantic night from the steampunk era.”

“Oh, of course. In that case... come here, my loyal servant! Grovel before me!”

The steampunk era was more than 500 years ago. Back then, Motherland's matriarchy was a little less sophisticated, for example certain high ranking women could have their exclusive male servants. Although something like that was considered possessive and barbaric these days, people still found some appeal in that age, and it wasn't that uncommon that they even romanticized these dynamics to a degree. It was similar to how the people of planet Earth often found certain past periods appealing, even if in retrospect, they considered mankind's ways of that time to be primitive. As they say, role play is not reality. On Motherland, even the wildest sexual fantasies were considered okay, so long as they happened in the confines of these rooms, with both sides consenting to the acts.

Following the archprincess' words, Valentino got on all fours, kissing the feet of the woman, then staring up at her with an expression of excitement and curiosity.

“Good boy! And now, let's dance!”

Ruby turned on the gramophone, playing some energetic swing music. They held hands and began to dance swiftly, going at it for minutes without a word. They both knew that they weren't only here to have fun though, there was a bit more to it: the archprincess had some things to discuss. But with every passing second, they had less and less time to talk, they only had an hour in total. Despite that, they just kept dancing, letting this unusual tension grow, like when two cowboys in a duel are waiting and waiting before they reach for their guns. In the end, it was the blue-haired cross-dresser who broke their silent sensuality.

“You are very good at this, archprincess!” he said, catching his breath after he spun the woman around. “I mean, my mistress.”

“I won a dancing competition in my youth,” Ruby stated.

“I see. Is there anything you aren't brilliant in?”

“There are a few things. By the way... your voice isn't very feminine.”

“Oh crap, I keep...” Valentino cleared his throat and spoke in a strained, high-pitched tone: “I keep forgetting about my voice.”

The woman laughed. “Don't worry, you don't have to force yourself. Just relax. You are cute enough as is.”

“Uhm... okay.”

Ruby walked to the gramophone, and changed the disks. A much slower, relaxed jazz song began to play, and they continued their dance, now steadily swaying back and forth while holding onto each other closely. The archprincess' breasts pressed against Valentino's chest, who's breathing was speeding up.

“It's been a while, Ruby. Why now?” he whispered. This way, with the music playing relatively loudly as well, their exchange was not gonna be audible on the voice recording of the room's cameras.

“I'm sure you can guess,” Ruby answered softly.

“The Earth people?”

“Correct. Although, it's not just that. Frankly, I'm not even sure if...”

“Your breathing tickles my ears,” the man shivered.

“Sorry, my boy.”

“No, it's great. It's just... I have been abstaining for more than a week now.”

“Have you?”

“To call me now, of all times... My knees were shaking as I came here. I felt like a teenager.”

“I apologize for disturbing your peace. I promise I'll make it up for you... if we have the time.” While they were slowly rotating around, the woman playfully touched Valentino's throbbing package through his skirt.

“What a sweet disturbance...” the man sighed. “But I interrupted you, you were saying you are not even sure abut something.”

“I just worry that it might make more sense for us to talk in the near future, rather than now. We can't do this everyday, as we both know. Maybe it was foolish of me to call you so soon.”

“Well, we are here now. Either way, you shouldn't have such high expectations of me. I'm just a man.”

“That's all I need. A man I can trust.”

“How wicked of you.”

“You know it's not out of selfishness or possessiveness.”

“I know. You are Ruby Sulien, the pioneer of our age. I am but a risk you are taking. I hope I won't disappoint you.”

The archprincess suddenly stopped, and she raised her voice while glancing at the camera from the corner of her eye: “Lie down, my loyal servant!”

They let the relaxing music continue while the woman got on top of the femboy, lifting his skirt and grinding her pussy against his stiff, eager cock. She moved her hips slowly and leaned forward, kissing the man on his cheek, continuing to whisper into his ears.

“How is your new neighbour?”

“He... he is suffering right now. But I think... he will be all right.”

“What's your impression of him?”

“My impression... uhm... I can't think straight if you...”

“My bad.” Ruby stopped grinding and got off the man, lying next to him on her side. Valentino turned his head and stared at her. Meanwhile, the gramophone was playing a slow, romantic saxophone solo.

“Jay is... a simple soul, I would say,” the man said quietly. “But a likeable one. Me and my flatmate will help him as much as we can. They will actually fly out today.”

“Really? On my escort mission?”

“Uhum.”

“That's good. So... is he not resentful of you? Of our ways?”

“I'm not sure. To a degree, he probably is, after all he is forced to give up on his own ways of living. But he doesn't seem to be particularly mad at us or anything.”

“He takes it better than Katherine Bold, then. That girl... I never imagined I would have to deal with someone like her.”

“Is she difficult?”

“She certainly is, but she is trying. She is not a bad person, I'm sure of it. I just wish she could understand.”

The track ended, and to fill in the sudden silence, Ruby leaned forward and kissed the man. As the next song began, she pulled away, still keeping eye contact. Valentino looked like he is hypnotized.

“What do you see, boy?”

“Beauty. I see a beautiful goddess.”

“You wear her on your face, too.” The archprincess playfully tapped the nose of the made-up man. “You look pretty yourself.”

“Thanks!”

“Is this not love?”

The blue-haired femboy was a bit slow to reply. “What you mean, 'this'? Us two, specifically?”

“No, what we are doing, all of us. Our way of sexuality.”

“Of course it's love. But... it's just one kind of love, I suppose.”

“How many kinds of love exist?”

“Who knows?”

“Katherine Bold sees this kind of love as something morally wrong. As something wicked. Why would it be a bad thing that you are so devoted, so captivated by me? By women? All men are. You guys worship the very ground we walk on, so how could we not find that valuable? It's the cutest thing. It's so passionate and meaningful, it makes my head spin. But that girl...”

“If she hates it so much, that really is strange. I think Jay more or less gets it. I think he has it in him.”

“Maybe he could convince her.”

“I'm not sure about that. Maybe with time. Can I kiss you again?”

Ruby nodded, and the man swiftly got on top of her, holding her chin as their mouths connected. The woman grabbed his twintails in response. They embraced each other for about a minute, then Valentino lay down again, and they continued staring at each other.

“And yet... here we are,” the femboy sighed. “Just you and me, meeting in secret. You called me, so I'm here, as if I'm your personal servant.”

“You know that it's different. I'm an ambitious woman, all I want is the best. And as an archprincess, I'm responsible for this entire city. So I want to be able to peek behind the curtains. Just a little bit. Just to see a bit more of how men are, to make sure that everything really is okay. I know it might be foolish, but... it's my decision. If something like this can ever make sense, it's surely for an archprincess who cares about her people.”

“How about me, then? I'm not an archprincess.”

“That's true...”

“You know I'm not judging you, Ruby. I'm going along with this willingly. But be honest: weren't you excited? We haven't met like this in years. Wasn't it a special kind of arousing? To signal to me personally, and then the agonizing wait, even the fear of being found out...”

“Of course it was exciting, doing taboo things can be exciting, we know that. So? What do you think that means?”

“There might be nothing wrong with Motherland's values, but maybe these two aren't exactly wrong either. If a justification for this much, what we are doing right now can exist, if you think our secret is valid... doesn't it make you wonder?”

“But what could I do? I can let them talk to each other secretly, at least every once in a while. What else? Even if the girl began to keep track of him on the mating app, hell, even if they used our method, she has no prestige points, she could never guarantee a meeting with him the same way. I can't change how our entire society works just for them.”

“I know. I'm just putting my thoughts out there.”

Ruby's phone began to beep in her handbag, which she left beneath the little table of the gramophone, next to her own shoes. She quickly turned off the alarm, and got back next to Valentino, grabbing his penis. “Forty-five minutes passed already. We need to hurry up.”

“Mistress... it's okay. I could probably just... cum in a minute right now, you don't have to...”

Ruby let go of the man's dick, licking the precum off of her fingers automatically. The man sat up, they were now face to face, both sitting cross-legged on the carpet.

“You said there is something else, right?” Valentino asked quietly as he started to gently rub the woman's stocking covered thighs.

“Yes. I'm just worried. And I have so little room to express that as an archprincess, you know. Even someone like me... even I'm just human.”

“Of course you are.”

“Things are going to change. Lots of people think that. Even the arrival of these two, Jay and Katherine, might be a sign of that. And the Vessivians... this peace treaty with them will almost certainly come with some repercussions. There has been quite a bit of in-fighting amongst themselves as of late, not all of them are happy about this new arrangement. And they have their own enemies too, other groups, entire species who won't like them getting new allies. There is just a lot of tension in the multiverse right now. Tension... and secrets. I worry that we pushed a bit too far, that we were a little too ambitious.”

Valentino's hands wandered to the woman's breasts, he was kind of lost in playing with her nipples for a moment, but he snapped out of it and looked up. “Motherland was never afraid of conflict, we always took pride in pushing forward. We had many dangerous periods in our history, but we always found a way to persist. I'm sure we will be all right.”

“The past is the past, but there is only one present.”

“For sure. Can you be a little more specific, though? What exactly are you worrying about?”

“Have you heard of... Poieros?”

“The realm-maker? It's just an old legend, isn't it?”

“We have very good reasons to think it's real.”

“Oh wow. That does sound like a big deal.”

“It is. And that's all because of me. I made a big deal out of it by pursuing every little clue that we had about it. Well, I'm certainly not the only one who was interested, it was a secret project I shared with the highprincesses for years now, but it was my idea. We were stubborn and persistent enough that in the end, we found some things. It no longer seems to be just a legend, Valentino. And the issue is, we might not be the only ones who know. Not anymore.”

“Oh. How come?”

“We tried to be cautious, but secrets are slippery things. It's complicated.”

“Hmmm. So assuming that thing is real... what even is it?”

“We are still not exactly sure.”

“Is it some sort of machine?”

“Supposedly.”

“Regardless, it would allow whoever takes control of it to create new worlds, right? So if it falls into the wrong hands, then what? What would that mean for us?”

“I don't know. Many things are still unclear about it. It's still possible that we are wrong too, maybe it's not real, or it won't work after all. Either way, the clues keep coming, the threads are in our reach, and now they might be in the reach of some others as well. That would make our pursuit a race.”

“A race against who?”

“That's the question. All we know is that some information was very likely... acquired, let's put it that way. Acquired by some unknown outsiders. You know, a part of me wishes I never came up with this project. Maybe I should have just let the legend rest.”

“I understand.”

“Do you think I was foolish?”

“Not at all. I think you are amazing. Powerful. Daring and special. I trust you, Ruby. And even if things don't quite work out... even if the worst case scenario comes true, whatever that is, I won't ever resent you. All you ever wanted is the best, and that is commendable.”

“Do you think other men would agree?”

“Sure, for the most part. You women are our beloved leaders, after all. We will follow you wherever you take us.”

Ruby suddenly leaned forward, gently pushing the man on his back, and getting on top of him again. Spreading her pussy lips, she inserted the penis inside herself, and began to ride it fast while the femboy beneath her was panting cutely. They only had minutes left, but it was more than enough time for the on-edge, horny man to reach the climax. The archprincess, on the other hand, was only just getting into it, so she was left a bit frustrated – but that was to be expected with so little time for actual sex, so she tried her best to not show it. She knew that she can just go on a proper session as soon as she gets back that night.

“Keep an eye on Jay, my boy!” she whispered as they hugged one last time.

“Of course I will. And I wish you the best of luck with Katherine!”

“Thanks! I might need it.”

They turned off the gramophone, and Valentino was about to leave, reaching for the doorknob when Ruby put her hand on his shoulder, and said: “You are quite special yourself, my servant.”

The man smiled, feeling surprisingly pleased with himself, but as he left the mating room behind, that feeling quickly turned kind of bittersweet. Oh, Ruby...

 

On the topside, the entrances to the mating rooms were underground. A set of wide stairs led down to women's waiting areas, similarly to how metro stations were set up on Earth. The archprincess walked up the stairs, entering the sunlight-covered, warm streets of the upper city, wearing a purple robe over her red lingerie. She was lost in thought, trying to make sense of her conflicting feelings. Her secret session with Valentino made her feel reassured, but also confused, and just a little bit guilty. She also knew that she doesn't have much time to reflect. Only an hour was left before the big outing, and she still needed to go home to get changed... and to check on Katherine too.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice from behind herself: “Archprincess! Here you are!”

The woman turned around, facing the girl who addressed her: it was Sara Celeste. She was short, pale-skinned, and rather petite. Her shoulder-length hair was painted bright pink and it had a black ribbon in it, she wore a white, frilly dress, and chunky black Mary Jane shoes. She also had a plushy with her, a pink dinosaur called Mr. Chomp, and she was leaning against the railing by the side of the stairs, smiling and waving at Ruby. Despite her innocent appearance, she was 27 years old, and one of the four highprincesses of Rosegleam, which was the second highest rank after the archprincess.

“Sara... have you been following me?” Ruby asked suspiciously.

“What are you saying, archprincess?! I'm not some sort of stalker!” Sara pouted.

“All right, then. Do you want something?”

“I'm surprised to see you here. Aren't you supposed to fly out today? I was told it was a sudden decision.”

“If you were at our meeting this morning, you would know all about it.”

“Yea, I was busy... but why is it happening now, why so suddenly?”

“You should know why. The Vessivians were planning to hold this celebration in our honor ever since we made our peace, but they insisted on inviting us on short notice.”

“Oh, right, I remember! So... why did they insist that again?”

“They say for safety reasons.”

“Uuuh, spooky! Can I go too?”

“No, Sara. Out of the highprincesses, only Belladonna will come with me, it has been decided.”

“That's not fair! I weren't even included in the conversation!”

“Next time, maybe don't fall asleep while...”

“I never said I was sleeping!”

Ruby buried her face in her palm for a moment, and took a deep breath. By now, she knew that this girl is more clever than she looks, her ideas were actually useful to the council from time to time, but her self-centredness, and her unapologetic carelessness still annoyed the archprincess quite a bit. “Sara, I have no time for this, I need to go home before I fly out.”

“All right, all right...” Sara rolled her eyes, as if it's her who is letting Ruby get away with some mischief. “But when you come back, we will need to talk about my namesake.”

“Sara Black? Did you find something about...”

“Shush, silly, not so loud!” The girl waved her index finger scoldingly. “Besides, I have an appointment of my own to attend to. Have a fabulous time, archprincess!” she winked, then turned around and skipped down the stairs, with pink dinosaur under her arm.