Alton left Delphi in the gym while he went to find a dress for her, returning shortly with her gold heels and a dress unlike anything she had worn before.
It was pale pink with a white scalloped trim, shoestring straps and little white flowers where the straps joined the bodice. It was fitted across the bustline, intended to be worn without a bra.
Delphi held it up and looked at it with delight.
"This is very pretty. Did you choose it?"
"I had some help from Winter, but yes, it was my choice."
"I hope it fits me; it looks a bit small."
"Winter said this was the best she had for your figure."
"Let me try it."
Delphi shrugged off the commander's shirt and undid her bikini top, letting it drop to the floor.
Alton quickly turned his back to her.
"Delphi! Can you try not to get naked at the drop of a hat?"
Delphi was used to nudity, living communally with a large group of women, and with only women and eunuchs in their quarters. She had mentally added the commander to this inner group now that he knew her body so intimately, and didn't understand what his problem was.
"I'm not 'getting naked'. It's only you, and you've seen everything there is to see."
"What do you mean it's only me. I'm the person you should care most about."
She almost said 'why'? but she had enough training to know that men liked to feel big and important to you, so she contented herself with, "if you're offended by it, I'll make sure not to be naked in front of you again".
"You know that's not what I meant Delphi," he said with exasperation.
He turned around to speak to her properly, and she took his breath away, literally.
Her long wavy hair fell almost to her waist, and she had run her fingers through it, making it big and bouncy. The pink dress was tight in the bodice and then had a pretty soft skirt. It was definitely straining across the bustline and displaying a lot of cleavage, but that only added to the gorgeous picture. She wore light make-up and dainty gold heels.
Alton cleared his throat. "Ahem, hem."
"Is there something wrong with it?" she asked him with dismay. She really liked this dress!
"No. It's good," he said shortly, completely overwhelmed by how pretty she looked.
She could tell he was hiding something from her. She looked down at herself.
"Is it because you can see my nipples through the fabric?"
He had noticed that of course, but in his mind, that added to the beautiful picture. He didn't want to spoil her with too many compliments, so he simply shook his head.
"I said it's good. Let's go."
He took her by the hand and lead her from the gym.
"This is my punishment, right?" she asked him. "You can't say I agreed to this, and you'll be giving me a different punishment."
"Correct. This is your punishment. If you're offering to do another one, that's good too."
"I'm not," she said quickly.
He lead her up the stairs onto the flat rooftop, which was laid out for agriculture. He covered her eyes and walked her past the old green houses to a little space that overlooked a beautiful old cathedral.
He took his hands from her eyes, and she saw a small table for two, set with a tablecloth, candles, wineglasses and a light meal. There was even a little bunch of wild roses.
"Oh," she clapped her hands with delight. "This is very beautiful Alton. How did you do all of this?"
"Some little birdies helped me," he said, pleased that she liked it. "I know this is the wrong order of business, but, Delphi Chastain, would you do me the honour of having dinner with me?"
"Of course," she smiled prettily, knocking the breath from him again.
She strolled over to the balustrade and looked out at the peaceful view. He stood behind her, watching her, his eyes drawn to her as they always were when she was near him.
"What a pretty town. Isn't it a pity all of this was lost to the people who lived here because of the actions of a few powerful madmen."
"Mm," he agreed, totally distracted by her.
She turned and caught a look in his eyes that she couldn't identify. It wasn't the intense desire she usually saw there, and that she knew because the Emperor always wore that look when he was close to her. It was softer, but still intense. She wondered if he was sad.
"Are you okay Alton?"
His gaze shifted back to his usual slightly cool arrogance, and she almost wondered if she was seeing things.
"Of course. Why wouldn't I be? Sit down Delphi," he pulled out her chair for her.
"Just like in the novels," she smiled.
"Which novels are they?"
"Girls' ones. You wouldn't know them."
He poured a drink for both of them.
"Cheers, Miss Chastain," he toasted her. "To our partnership."
"Cheers," she raised her glass to him.
She started her meal, him watching her eat.
"Why aren't you eating? Don't just watch me eat."
"I'm not very hungry. I already ate when we first got here."
"Oh," she shrugged, "that's a pity".
He didn't have any appetite because he was building himself up to the discussion he wanted to have with her.
"What was it like growing up in the palace?" he asked her.
"Awful," she said, without any thought. "We all missed our families terribly at the start. Even when we escaped, we couldn't go and see them to say goodbye because we were trying to keep them safe from the Emperor."
Her eyes glistened with tears for a moment, as she thought of her mother, and he saw the pain behind her eyes.
"The Emperor had us all on heavy training regimes, so we never got much rest, and he stopped our education at twelve, so we never got to keep learning either, which we all longed for. Then there was the palace politics. You know how it goes. Difficult eunuchs jockeying for position, backstabbing, jealous concubines. It got easier as we learned how to play the game, but it was the school of hard knocks."
He was certain it would have been, particularly for Delphi, who was the Emperor's favourite from when she was very young. That would have attracted the envy of other concubines. It was a wonder she had survived actually. She must have a strong offensive and defensive game to have made it through to eighteen.
"At least you had the compensation of servants and that crazy opulent lifestyle."
"I would have given it all up in an instant for freedom. What's the point in jewellery and dresses with no one to show them to? And don't you dare say the Emperor."
He wasn't that silly.
"Well, all of that training has given you some kickass skills, so it wasn't a complete waste."
"Yup. Now we can take those thousands and thousands of hours of training and turn them all back against Him when we take down the next powerful madman who wants to destroy the world. If only we could identify these megalomaniac narcissists when they were young, we could save everyone else so much pain."
She remembered the consorts saying men like to talk while you listen, so she thought she had better stop prattling on.
"Tell me about your upbringing. Did you grow up in one of the royal houses?"
"Yes, I grew up in a compound with other royal children. My mother married a commoner, so my father kept things as ordinary as he could in a far from ordinary situation."
"Do you have siblings?"
"No. I'm an only child. I have a lot of cousins though," he joked.
With the size of the Emperor's harem, Alton's first cousins alone, numbered more than fifty.
"What's your mother like?"
"She always tried to stay out of politics. She could have lived in the palace, and she could have married a royal, but she deliberately chose a lower key life. She dotes on me, as you can imagine, being an only child and a boy."
Delphi could only dream of being doted on by her mother; thanks to his uncle.
Alton got up and used the intercom. A few seconds later a pretty song started playing; "Unrequited, terrifying, love is driving me a bit insane. Have to get this off my chest, I'm telling you today…"
"Will you dance with me Delphi Chastain?" he offered her his hand.