<em>So</em>the Nei thought to herself,<em>The boy speaks Imperial.  I'll have to remember that.</em><br/><br/>The Nei bowed her head but did not rise, nor would she.  She remained seated, admiring the Prince and, she had to confess to herself, wondering what he would look like in the nude.  She knew the anatomy of men, having butchered them like cattle during the Unification, and had even seen their dissection a time or two at the Imperial Academies.  Still... this was different.  Most men she'd seen had spent their entire lives as slaves, cowering in fear of a whip.  This Prince, this true man... she wanted him because he would be her equal.  That would make things rather interesting.<br/><br/>She glanced out of the corner of her eye to see her ever vigilant guard, Vela, and suppressed a smile.  Vela had commented to her in private that she wanted to enslave the Prince, and the Nei had chuckled while tying the sash around her favorite guardian, planting a kiss on her forehead and telling her, "This man will never be a slave so long as I am Empress.  He commands a battlefleet personally, and is a warrior same as we.  Treat him no different than you would a proud female soldier like yourself... if not for relations with the Nesstren, then for me."<br/><br/>And now the beautiful guard was beside her, holding still despite the stifling heat of the garment.  The Empress knew of the discomfort, having to wear her own black robe, whose simplicity belied an elegance all its own.  As he spoke, she listened carefully, before speaking.  The wonderful engineers had made the chamber perfect for amplifying the Empress' voice so that she could easily speak down to any and all.  "<strong>Vedui' ulu dos, Qu'ess d' Nesstren, Detholusin d' Vlos whol l' Sharorr d' Nesstren.  L' thac'zil d' Takrin al'doeren dos xuil l' pahntar da'rex ol plynnen jal quivveden.  Ulu dosst Valuk udos bel'la ukt dalhar d' folt yorn, manner lu' khalith.  Ulu telanth d' jal klezn Kruk orn'la tlu al'doer, lu' l' thac'zilen d' Takrin ph' pahntar ulu dos.  Ulu l' j'nesstren ghil yallt, Usstan quarth dos telanth Rivvin Nesstren, wun bel'la d' udossta quivved.</strong>"<br/><br/>Turning to Vela, she spoke softly, "<strong>Bring a chair for the lovely prince to sit in, and place it beside my own.</strong>"  The chair in question had been built a while back but had never been used before.  It was technically for the heir of Takrin, but since the Empress had yet to produce one, it remained in storage.  Now it would sit beside the Empress and see some use at last, and if the Empress had her way, would one day be filled by the offspring of the man who would soon be seated upon it.<br/><br/>The smaller throne was brought out and set beside the Empress', slightly behind and to the right, but not far enough away the Empress would need to reach.  She gestured to the chair for the Prince, and said, "<strong>Join me, Prince of Nesstren.</strong>"