New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live



Kary helped Alex get his helmet on, making sure she didn't move him too much as she did. She didn't want to hurt him, but she still needed to lift his head a few inches from the pillow to get the helmet on.

Alex toughed it out, like a good little soldier, gritting his teeth, not saying a peep, until he rested against the bed once more.

"The doctor said I was healing fast. That just doesn't feel like the truth. I feel like Mike Tyson used me as a punching bag."

Kary giggled at the analogy. With all the broken bones in his body, it would be more accurate to say Mike Tyson tried making ground beef out of him, but it was still comical to imagine.

"You can tell that to Clark when you recover enough to go back to the gym."

Alex's face paled.

"Fuck… I forgot about that. He is so going to tear me a new one…"

Kary slid her hand across his cheek gently.

"Don't worry about it. I already called him and told him you were in the hospital again. He was wondering how you kept getting into accidents, but he understands."

Alex frowned from inside the helmet's visor.

"I should tell him… He still hasn't reached out inside the game to me. Either he barely plays, or he is just enjoying himself too much to remember to call me. I was waiting for us to meet in there, to explain the whole thing…"

Kary hushed him with her finger.

"Don't worry about this right now. We can tell him everything once he reaches out. For now, we need to focus on finishing our immediate duties, so we can get back to levelling up."

Alex pursed his lips together.

"You're right. We have already taken enough time off. You especially. Let's get back to busting some monsters up. See you inside."

Alex logged in the next moment, reappearing inside his royal room. But he surprised Coral, who was rearranging the bed a little after most likely having changed the bedsheets.

She yelped a bit when she turned around, and King Astaroth was suddenly standing at the foot of the bed.

Pressing her hand to her chest, she took a deep breath, calming her heart.

"My king, you surprised me."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I'm usually already up and about by now. But there's been… complications, on the other side. Phoenix should be—"

Before he could even finish his sentence, Phoenix appeared right behind him, still wearing her clothes from the previous day.

"And there she is. Coral, would you mind giving us the room a few minutes so we can change?"

Coral bowed her head slightly, acquiescing to the demand, and left the room, closing the doors behind her.

Once they were alone, Astaroth stretched his limbs, smiling to himself.

"This is more like it. Being bedridden sucks."

Phoenix giggled at his words, already undressing from her luxurious robes.

Astaroth stole a quick peek, as he started taking off his shirt and pants as well. They quickly got dressed in the clothes that were moved from the bed to the dressers on each side by Coral.

Phoenix had a magnificent magenta dress prepared for her, along with accessories of gold and emerald, making them pop against the purple backdrop of the dress. She rapidly twirled her hair into a bun before planting two hair sticks through it, to hold it in pace.

On his side, Astaroth was looking at his outfit, frowning a bit. A pair of black leather pants was on the dresser, set next to a shirt in the same colour as Phoenix's dress.

The colour looked amazing on her, but he somehow was reluctant to wear the same colour. He was more comfortable in black and white.

Phoenix finished dressing, and he was still standing there in his underwear, looking perplexed.

"Come on, love. It's just a shirt. It won't bite you," she said, coming up behind him.

"I know… But why this colour? Won't I look super effeminate?"

The look of uncertainty on his face washed away when Phoenix started sliding her hand across his thigh, lasciviously. His eyes almost rolled back into his head in pleasure.

"It's just clothes. It won't make you any less of a man. Come on, get dressed. We have matters to attend to before we head out."

Astaroth cleared his throat, trying to hide his budding erection as he slipped into the leather pants. He winced one last time, as he threw the shirt over his head, but didn't dally any longer.

Phoenix was right. They had a busy day ahead, and they were already keeping people waiting.

He took the necklace back up from the dresser and slid it on. He had never been much of a necklace person, but he somehow felt like this one belonged around his neck.

He pulled it over the shirt, in plain sight, and smiled. He then tried repositioning his ostentatious member, which was tight-fitting in these leather pants, before walking out of the room.

He wasn't shy, but he wasn't an exhibitionist either. There was no need to expose his girth to the guards in the hall, and even less to the maid, Coral.

It finally calmed down enough to become just a bulge, which he couldn't do anything about, and Phoenix smiled at him as she hooked her arm into his.

"Let's go, my king. We have people waiting."

Astaroth nodded his head as they lock-stepped their way to the door. Pushing the doors open, the two guards on duty slammed their feet on the floor, saluting their sovereigns, and Coral gave a curt bow.

"Your majesties!" the guards shouted, almost too loud for Astaroth's taste.

But the two players nodded at them before heading off toward the throne room, where Prince Nalafein and Killi were most likely already waiting for them.

Astaroth tried his best to look dignified as they walked, but he couldn't match Phoenix's level of elegance. He wondered where she had learned to act and walk like this.

They quickly reached the throne room, where a guard rapidly entered it to announce their arrival.

"The king and queen have arrived! All rise for the sovereigns!"