The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

A tiny march of days later Neral had made her way to the queen’s chambers as she had more times than she could count, both formally and informally, so no one paid much attention when she made her way there again. There were eyes on her of course. There were guards that could be seen, ones that could not, and guards that could be seen to look nothing like guards at all. She knew all of them by sight, having aided in their selection. Her concern for the queen’s safety hadn’t diminished a bit since the attempt on her life, even with the increased security presence.

She knew why those that let their gazes linger did. She eschewed makeup, only yielding to it when for Court and other official functions where it was expected. There simply wasn’t room for it in her line of work even if she had otherwise suffered from that particular form of vanity. But Evaline had asked if she would indulge in it for her benefit because the queen thought it differentiated the soldier from the woman. And she admitted to Neral that when her general took on the lipstick, blush and, eyeliner that gave her brown eyes a sultry appearance, the queen often found herself letting her gaze linger because the contrast was striking.

Neral felt a little strange about the makeup, but that was just about the extent of her unease, which was something a bit strange to her in and of itself. There was the excitement of course at the notion of being with someone new and learning about how they could make one another feel, but it felt comfortable too. They had many years behind one another as the closest of friends and all of the joys and rocky patches that went with that. This seemed a natural extension of that somehow so the more she thought about it, the more, if not ‘destined’ it felt, there was a certain bit of ‘natural’ to it.

One of the people that did something of a double take at the sight of the general was the queen’s newest handmaiden. The average in all respects young woman was still easily flustered even after a few months in her position. The queen actually enjoyed flustering her now and again so that had made her one of Evaline’s favorites. That she was quiet and kind to a fault had kept her a favorite beyond those moments of amusement that came with shocking her.

The younger woman composed herself quickly though and began to walk next to her on the way to the queen’s inner chambers. “Good evening, General.”

Good evening, Enlo. I trust you are well this evening?”

“Yes, thank you. Yourself?”

“I can happily say the same.”

With three taps of the heavy knocker she waited.

“Come,” the queen said, her voice a bit of a playful sing-song. “The general is expected.”

The door opened to reveal Evaline standing at the far end of the room, facing the door in a silken robe tied so that there was no hint of what was underneath. The queen wore little makeup Neral knew she felt naked without it and Neral didn’t want to make her any more nervous than she might already be. All Neral had truly asked of her for this night was that she wear her hair long and without fuss made to it. She knew ornate hairdos were simply an expected part of her image, but they put the general a bit on edge to look at them. It was all so much primping and she expected, if called upon to try, that she literally couldn’t sit still for it. This way, Evaline looked her most natural and attractive.

The queen smiled coyly. “Good evening, Neral.”

She smiled back. “And to you, Evie.

The queen looked past her momentarily, “That will be all, Enlo. Unless the castle is in the process of getting sacked, we are not to be disturbed for any reason tonight.”

Enlo didn’t ask why as she knew that the two often wiled away an evening with wine and games of Strata. “Of course, Majesty.”

She turned to walk out until the queen’s voice stopped her. “Oh, and Enlo?”

“Yes, Majesty.”

The coy look snuck its way back onto her features. “Will you be here in the morning?”

She was at something of a loss with the question. This was her place and her career. “Of course, Majesty. Is there a particular reason you ask?”

“No, just curious. Have a lovely evening, Enlo.”

She bowed respectfully. “Thank you, Majesty. I hope you do so as well.”

The door closed as Evaline spoke again, looking to Neral and flirting shamelessly “I expect that I might.”

Neral shook her head, laughing softly as she went to the small bar and poured herself a drink, “Can I get you something?”

“No thank you, Bootsie. I’ve already had two and that’s enough for the evening. Taking the edge off is fine, but I’d like to remember the night.”

Neral turned to her as she sipped the emerald liquid It was initially bitter on the tongue but turned spicy once it hit the back of her throat. “I thought you might already have had a few more than that, what with you being so mean to that poor girl?”

“Mean? Really, Neral?”

Asking Enlo if she will be here in the morning. You wish to see her reaction to the sight of us in bed.”

“You will stay that long, won’t you?” She approached, smile returning, “You don’t just intend to use me to sate your lusts and then scurry off into the night, do you?”

“Rest assured, Evie, that I will stay until morning, if for no other reason than Deres will want every moment detailed and staying offers more details. I assume you still do not mind if I share.”

She nodded, coming closer, “You are free to do so. Being a man he will always fantasize and wonder and pester his poor wife for the smallest of salacious bits. He has proven over the years I have known him that he can keep secrets, so you may add tonight to the list of them he keeps.”

“He will be grateful.”

“No doubt.” She took the glass from Neral and finished it in one quick swallow. She sat the glass down and took Neral’s hands in hers, backing up towards the large canopy bed with the lush maroon and gold quilt and maroon lace curtains. She moved gracefully, looking at how the light reflected in Neral’s dark eyes. They were intense, yet they had a softness that she had indeed noticed before, but never quite as she saw them this night. “Thank you for wearing the makeup.”

Neral shied away for a heartbeat before meeting her gaze once again. “You have bedded many a male slut. The female variety favors makeup, so I may as well.”

“No matter the why of it, you are beautiful this way, Bootsie. I see the warrior more often than the Lady Jaye, and looking at her is what I wanted to do tonight.”

Neral ran her fingers through Evaline’s hair and she leaned into it. “And thank you for not primping quite so much. Court and the people expect it, but you have never once needed it. Your humor, your quick smile, those eyes that dance, they all make you attractive and they always have.”

“Even before you started bedding women?”

She scolded her friend just a touch, “I can note a person’s physical attractiveness without personally being attracted to them.”

“Then how are things different now, if I may ask?”

Neral’s eyes followed a path down Evaline’s robe and the trail of skin beneath, letting go a bit more formally. “I really want to see those tits...play with them. I want to taste your skin...taste you.” Neral was surprised at the other’s girlish blush. “Why does that shock you? We didn’t come together here to play Strata all night.”

“We did not,” she agreed, then, her voice more tentative than it had been in some time. She was an hour away from wearing the crown for the first time the last time she had so many butterflies inside. “Have a look then?” She stood as Neral deftly untied the robe, opening it to reveal a vision in white that hugged her in just the right way around her hips. Lace covered her breasts entirely and drew down sharply like an arrow tip to her belly button and the more salacious points beyond.

“Is this how it always begins with your female lovers?”

Neral smiled at the implication in her tone, “I don’t have that many.”

The word choice stirred her. “You have more than one?”

The admission was grudgingly made, “I do. But you act as though I am trolling the kingdom for playmates.”

One admission was met with another. “Perhaps I’m projecting. So... do you, I mean other than your husband’s apprentice?” When she saw the reaction she continued, “People talk, Neral, especially when you don’t announce such a thing. You make it as though a relationship is a secret and then people wonder why. And it can be seen by the people who know you well.”

There was always the banter between them. It was easy, occasionally barb-filled, but always respectful and always affectionate. So often it just seemed that they just tried to make each other smile. “I suppose it can. It’s not as if it’s a secret, it’s just not anyone’s concern.”

Evaline wouldn’t allow the dodge. “So, do you?”

“A few.”

She grinned, enjoying her victory. “So you’re a discerning slut.”

Evaline relented, wanting the answer to her question as the butterflies returned, “So...is this how it is?”

Memories wandered in with her answer. “When Bryana and I are together it tends to be more intense. Feral occasionally,” she admitted.

“Ooooooooooooo….”

“Stop it.”

“I never quite expected that, Neral, though I suppose that it must be so. All that fighter’s energy has to go somewhere.”

“And right now that energy is focused on you.” She leaned in and Evaline tipped her head up and their lips met. Neral felt her tremble and pulled away in worry while still staying close.

“Neral, I have never...”

“I know.” She took Evaline’s hand and kissed it with reverence. “This was your idea, and I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to be, but we don’t have to do this.”

She shook her head quickly, “No, Neral. It’s sex. Sex doesn’t scare or intimidate me, you should know that. It’s that I have never...” She took a deep, weighted breath. “I have never been with someone that I’ve cared for, not truly.”

Neral couldn’t quite believe it. “Never?”

“I learned by seeing if not being told that love made you weak. Your lover could sway you or could act to undercut your position and you would never see. I would never put myself in a position to be used or hurt, so I have been careful, Neral. I have been careful to never allow myself to mix sex and love.”

“But you have been my friend almost my entire life, and an honest friend. You have never tried to use our friendship to your own ends. You have always cared for me beyond my title. I care for you and here I stand vulnerable to you. That’s a step for me and it terrifies me.”

“I understand, Evie. Whether it happens again or not, I adore you. But I know the lines. It will not affect how I treat you in that way. I will never use this to use you, I swear it before the Goddess.”

“I believe that, Neral. Truly.”

“You can.” She tried hard to be reassuring. “But, again, we do not have to do this.”

“I know. But I find that the combination of recent events and my budding relationship with Danil I would like to not be a total novice when it comes to baring my feelings with someone who shares my bed and a special place in my heart and just now, that’s you. So do me a favor, Bootsie and just kiss me.”

“Yes, Majesty.”

The kiss was still a bit tentative and the fingers that caressed her cheek still trembled in excitement and nervous energy but her tongue slid in and explored with more certainty as the moments slipped by. The taste and feel were familiar as they danced together and Evaline let herself be hooked by Neral’s arm and pulled closer to her. It was fierce in its own way and it aroused that she never quite expected that from a woman somehow.

No, she realized, as she explored the emotions even as she continued to revel in the sensations. It hit her as she went down, unhooking the ivory buttons of Neral’s light brown dress. She felt safe. It wasn’t just them venting their needs. It wasn’t Evaline trying to control the situation. It wasn’t Neral trying to either. She couldn’t imagine Neral doing that. The person who spent her entire life as an honest voice in Evaline’s life and served as a protector in more ways than even the protector realized would not play her and that was an unusual position for a queen to find herself in. It was peaceful and it allowed her to enjoy the moment.

Evaline peeled the dress away and the slip beneath in one movement and she broke the kiss long enough to look at Neral. Her muscles were defined from bicep to abdomen to calf. Her body was built to fight in the way she fought; equal parts nimble movement and power. Scars here and there from battles fought were kept by warriors as badges of honor and seeing them humbled Evaline. Each one marked a sacrifice of pain and blood she gave willingly to protect her people, Evaline included, “You are exactly as I had envisioned, Neral. You are lovely.”

“Thought of me a lot?” Opening Evaline’s robe, Neral looked upon a gown of the finest linen and lace. It was something of what she expected to find, as she knew Evaline’s taste. The vine pattern of the lace invited the eye to follow the pattern to look upon the teases of bare flesh beneath that lace. The linen hugged tightly, creating an invitation to pull or tear it away.

“Much over the last few days.”

“I am glad I please,” she said between kisses as two fingers went under the shoulder straps of the queen’s gown, choosing not to shred such fine lingerie, even if she were tempted, and slipped it free to reveal her body as well. Neral’s brown eyes went to those breasts as they were admittedly his most prominent feature. They were full and lush , probably taking two hands to heft properly with thick, prominent nipples and hot pink areola. For their size they stood surprisingly proud. Her body had the softness of a royal life and that of a woman in proportion to what she had to carry on her chest.

Evaline laughed and it caught Neral’s attention who eyed her quizzically and she responded to the look with a wry grin. “You really do like women now. Many men have had that same look.”

“What look,” she purred, as her hand went down to squeeze the queen’s left breast.

“Like you want to see how much of them you can stuff into your mouth.”

She sat on the side of the bed and Evaline placed herself above her, knees on either side of her lap. Neral hefted the flesh and kneaded it, seeing what sounds Evaline could make, which was a nice mix of mews and the silence of her breath catching as she rode the waves of feeling, reaching to unleash Neral’s tailed hair. She shook it out before Evaline ran her fingers through it with a smile. “My lovely warrior.”

“Am I now?”

“I command you to go, you go. I command you to fight and you fight. I sort of like that. It’s an awesome power that I respect and fear, but, seeing you on the field against D’ravek was intoxicating as well. Seeing that, I understand now why you warriors are so sought after.”

Neral’s brown eyes looked up at her, reveling in the trembling she caused when her long tongue spun circles around one areola and then the next, “And here I am. What would you have me do now, dear one?”

She snickered. “I would have you direct things, Neral. I tend to control even here. It might be nice to have my warrior manage things a bit.”

Neral took that as a cue to put the right breast in her mouth, her teeth holding the flesh while her tongue batted the nipple mercilessly between gentler bouts of drawing her lips downward until they pursed the nipple and suckled, the air beginning to carry kissing sounds. It didn’t take long for Neral to begin to get a sense of what she liked. Evaline’s sounds drove her and the queen’s hands ran up and down her warrior’s back, making note of the muscle and how different it was in its own way from the men that had warmed her bed. And her mouth working was indeed working. “That is... quite lovely, Neral.”

Neral liked the heated sound of the words and used her strength to roll her on her back leaving Neral on top and Evaline letting loose a lighthearted sound of shock, “Now that mauling is familiar.”

Neral grinned, “To me as well.” She held herself up for just a moment before settling atop Evaline’s body and surrendering to her embrace.

“Should I ask with whom,” she wondered between kisses.

“Would it excite you to know or are you just being a gossip?”

“Can’t it be some of each?” Her hips bucked upward at the invasion of Neral’s two fingers that explored deftly. “Goddess.”

She looked on as her warrior put both fingers in her mouth and tasted their full length. “I’m not sure I have to do anything more to excite you, as you taste like you’re pretty excited.” She glanced to her left to see the nightstand full of various bottles of fine oils. “You are prepared.”

She glanced up and over at them, “A soldier should be able to relate. It’s better to have and not need than need and not have.”

“True. Preference?”

She shook her head. “I like them all.”

Neral found her own preferred oil in a tall glass container with a heavy base and uncorked it before raising it level to her nose to pour and let the clear, thin liquid run in a line beginning just below the neck before she let a line cross horizontally over her breasts and then finished the vertical line down her chest and to her mound. She liked the particular oil as well as it stayed slick from beginning to end.

Lust drew Neral’s palms to begin working that oil in, the sides of her hands drawing it to her lover’s deep cleavage before letting her hands slide over the slope of her breasts and caressing them in a firm, circular motion. She watched Evaline watch herself be touched until the queen rested her head back to the pillow and looked at her. “Tell me, dirty girl. Tell me about you, the great warrior getting mauled by your lovers.”

“Tell you about Deres simply bending me over that desk in my study where we play Strata. Hands pinning my shoulders while I rub my cunt and he pounds like he’s trying to split me in half? It’s liberating. No work or responsibility. No lives at stake. I can just feel his need and his love and feel good.

“Feel love while being split in half or just love being split in half?” Evaline teased.

“When he cares that I feel pleasure? When he says the words even between animal grunts?” Her hands began to serpentine their way down towards that drenched mound. Her entire body began to reflect the light.

Evaline slicked her hand in the oil as she found her own clit, rolling it under her forefinger and let the oil and the touch and the affection for her partner drive her. “The way he looks at you. The way you look at each other. Years have passed and it is still there.”

“For Bryana, too,” Neral admitted. “She is mine as I am hers and I’ve grown quite fond of sucking that pussy.” Neral let herself drink in the sight of those thighs wide and that finger in control of, in a real sense, her entire body. It was mesmerizing in its own way and even the tactician in her took note of how she moved and the pressure she used. “I must say that I like watching you do that.”

Evaline looked at her wantonly enjoying that the show was arousing her partner, “It’s an excellent stress reliever.”

“I thought that’s what the pages were for.” Neral leaned forward and let her tongue meander down, tasting the spice of the oil and salt of her skin and listening to her soft whimpers as Neral’s tongue made her belly spasm.

“They do help a queen get through the day.”

Evaline jumped at the suddenness of it when Neral grabbed her wrist and held it away from her body, replacing it with her tongue, working the tip around her clit in many of the same ways that she watched the oily fingertip work. Evaline made a fist with the held hand as the sudden change in the intensity of sensation. “Ooo...” finally broke through followed by a long exhalation from pursed lips. Evaline looked down and watched the smile in Neral’s eyes as she spread her legs wider. “That...oh, that’s very pleasant.” She even liked that she attempted to break Neral’s grip and found herself unable to do so. Her soldier was powerful indeed.

Her simple comment though, was something of an understatement. Her clit sang and that harmony radiated outward. She could watch that tongue and feel it and look into those eyes of Neral’s. They were nearly predatory. She knew she had a novice, and she wanted show that novice what she could do. It all felt new and strange to the queen, yet somehow right to watch her lick and kiss that clit and tug those lips. She let the feelings flow and build, not that she could have stopped them without stopping Neral and that simply was not going to happen.

“You certainly seem to...get a lot of practice.” Her free hand clawed the bed and Neral wouldn’t stop. “That’s fucking lovely.”

Her hips began to buck of their own accord and Neral’s tongue chased without mercy and she tittered even as she squeaked while sensations built. “Putting pussies in your mouth so my warrior can work them. Don’t think I’ll ever...be able to look at you...and not have this image float through my mind. They must love it.”

Evaline certainly did. She was torn. Part of her wanted it to last and part of her wanted to succumb. The latter won out with the permission that came with, The night is young. When the apex of sensation struck she slapped her free hand to the back of Neral’s head as Neral didn’t miss a step and Evaline called out to the Goddess so that the windows rattled.

Coherence came with Neral’s lips on hers and the kisses that followed were had, many and ravenous. Evaline liked the taste of herself on the other’s lips and the smacks of one pair of pouting lips to another was fun and funny. “I’m guessing you liked that.”

“Eh. Passable.”

Neral’s brows lifted and gave a slow nod with a sly grin. “Ah. If the shrieking was simply so you don’t hurt my feelings, I can leave.” She even started to lift her body from Evaline’s before she pulled her back. “You will not.” There was a clear undercurrent of nervous anticipation. “You have things to show me before you go.”

Needing no more invitation, Neral brought herself and placed her pussy over Evaline’s lips and contended with her own anticipation that came with knowing a willing tongue was close. She sighed as Evaline’s hands spread oil upward from Neral’s firm stomach to her breasts, her fingers tracing her warriors scars. Neral’s hands went over Evaline’s until her words touched Neral’s pussy. “Show me what to do. Show me what you like.”

The reply was playful. “Yes, my queen.”

The morning came and the two luxuriated in the first rays of dawn. Neral would go home soon and the ritual that came with preparing Evaline’s image for public consumption would begin not long after that, but there was still some time that was just for them. They lay together in the rumpled bed, warm and lazily caressing one another. “Finally Court is right,” Evaline said, kissing Neral’s shoulder and moved up to kiss the arrow scar on her neck.

Neral closed her eyes, craned her neck and let herself feel it. “Half of them are sure we fuck anyway.”

She reasoned it out as the player of Court politics she was.“How else could we have ever been such friends or so intimate for so long in the web of Court without trading in every currency available? The only ones who truly think that are the ones that barter with it themselves. This is not about that.”

Neral played with that straight blonde hair. “It’s not. About what this is, know that I enjoyed last night.” She looked at those large breasts with the redness of bite marks still all over the flesh, “I enjoyed it thoroughly and completely and I will cherish it, but if it does not happen again, know that I am fine with it.” She would not allow it to ever become a wedge between the two of them or a weapon of Court.

“Honestly, I think I would not be unhappy if this were to happen again on occasion. I must say I liked being with you. I’m not certain I’m attracted to woman as you are, but I enjoyed our time and expect I would again, as I find myself still attracted to you.”

“Hmm..I’m not sure how to take that. You see me as masculine perhaps?”

“Hardly,” she snorted, rolling her eyes and pulling the blanket down to drink her in again. “You are fit, strong, graceful, and beautiful, but you are hardly masculine”

“Just making sure, you understand.”

“Of course, my dear.” Changing the subject a bit as she ran her fingers along Neral’s belly that was still moist with the oil “You will have much to share with that husband of yours.”

Neral rolled onto her belly and resting her chin on her forearms as Evaline’s fingers played down her back in a gentle massage. She felt good about the night before. “True enough.” Her current mood led imagery to wander in front of her mind’s eye which Evaline caught. “Goddess, you are like a schoolgirl with her first love. It’s horrible.”

Neral took the sudden flush of embarrassment in stride. “It’s not. To be honest, he is my first love. I walked a line between wanting it and not allowing myself the time to find it. Continue with Danil and, if all goes well, you will have that, too.”

There was a pause before, “Maybe your husband could help me with that?”

The tone was cheery but Neral caught the pause. She had heard it enough in her friend to know that something awkward was coming. “How could he possibly help you with that?”

Evaline now seemed as though she now felt as much in unknown territory as Neral. “Might he have something to...help things along?”

Her smile faded a bit, “Like what?”

“I don’t know exactly how they work; a spell or a potion or something?”

A lifetime of suppressing fear on the battlefield to help keep her soldiers strong in the face of it was the only thing that kept her from showing it now. She dismissed it out of hand. “He’s a healer that knows a few pyrotechnic tricks that he uses at the birthday parties of poor children. He knows all the magic the law allows him to know. Centuries before, a world that didn’t understand magic’s power and feared it because they did not had set itself on a quest to banish it from the world. Many mages were killed and many more exiled themselves during that reshaping of the world.

In short order though the people realized that magic as medicine far outpaced anything healers could do without it, so that limited use of magic was allowed back into practice. To do more than that or party tricks was to invite execution. As such, Neral was supremely unbalanced. One wrong word and she would have to choose between the law and her love. The strategist in her had contemplated her response to that possible outcome long ago. But she wouldn’t take those steps until she had to. “What would make you think that he would know?”

Her tone was relaxed, but her words were measured. She was keenly aware of where she was treading. “Because there are always rumors, Neral. There are hints and whispers and there always have been. If you need a healer and there’s no money to be had for one, where do you go and what do you do? Your can’t be expected to do nothing and die. And, when you’re facing that, the notion of law is irrelevant. Hang me for this? I’d be dead anyway, that’s why I did it to begin with, so I will take my chances and perhaps live.”

She went on, “The blade that nearly killed me? The alchemy that made it possible was some of the most complex Healer Cass had ever seen. He was able to be of help when it came to the poison, but it was clear even to him, even then, that Deres knew more...had a working understanding of things that he did not.”

Neral turned on her side, facing Evaline. “Science evolves. Magic is its own science even if it twists the rules of a science proper. That he knows more or can make a leap is not evidence that he dabbles in the forbidden.”

“No,” Evaline agreed, “but it is another hint. And Mareth. After he played his game, lost his head, and his Erette took half his kingdom for it, Bae began to look to the Court of the reformed kingdom to make certain that any holdovers weren’t likely to try to retake what they lost fairly, or strike in some other fashion. Records were found before they could be destroyed that showed deep ties between Mareth and these guilds.”

“And when I met with the other monarchs to discuss searching for more of that technology of the old world to see to it that it never endangered this one again, I brought up what was found. Let us just say that after a life in royal politics I could tell the ones that were genuinely appalled at the notion of dark magics roaming free in the world and those who were just a little too dramatically, defensively so.”

She sat up in bed. “So it occurs to me that, if these guilds are indeed real, and I cannot stop them because I invite war with them and incite unrest amongst those that cannot get by without them, and that others have access to such potential weapons and seem to have no fear of using them against me and Erette, I should have some of my own close at hand that I can trust to help defend Erette if need be.”

She put her hand over Neral’s, squeezing gently, “I trust you more than I trust anyone in the world. I trust him because, as much as I know him now, I know you would not tie yourself to a dishonorable man. If he is what I believe him to be, I need him, if only to be aware of what is possible and to counter anything the others might do. If he is what I believe him to be, I only wish to maintain balance. You know I have no love of war or gaming the other kingdoms. He would be a shield and only a sword when another has drawn first.”

Neral’s eyes narrowed slightly and she pulled her hand away “What of gaming me?”

The queen looked as though she had been struck with a clenched fist, “Gaming you?”

Neral rolled away, rising fluidly to collect her slip, putting it on as she spoke, “Is that what the night was, to soften me so that I might say or do something to affirm what you believe?” For years, in the dark of night she had contemplated all the potential results of her husband’s true nature coming to light coming to light in any fashion and virtually all of them filled her with numbing dread, from watching him hang, to fleeing her home, family, and life to continue to share her days with Deres, Bryana, and Khylen in peace.

Her head shook briefly but rapidly, her blonde hair appearing to wave as a result, “No, Neral. No. Please don’t think that.” She felt as though things were spiraling from her control. “Everything I told you as to why I wanted to do this,” she began, looking down at the rumpled blankets, “to be with you is so. I thought that to bring it up here and now...”

“You thought what,” Neral snapped, looking for her clothes, “that you would get an advantage?”

“Have I ever played our friendship for gain that way, Neral?”

She tamped down her fear and anger in the smallest of ways at the knowledge that Evaline had never done so. The terms of their relationship had been set early. Neral demanded to be treated honestly and Evaline had never strayed from that. In many ways Evaline was like another sister. Indeed, it had always bothered her for that alone to maintain the secret, no matter how necessary.

Seeing that slight relent, Evaline continued. “I thought to bring it up here and now because to ask you to confirm what I believe I know because I thought it...fair. I know that for you to answer is...baring yourself to me. Things seemed… more equitable this way. Surely you have thought of all the ways you could use last night.” She moved quickly so as not to reignite anger. “Not that you would. I know that you wouldn’t, and I know that you have no real interest in Court politics, but you as as skilled as I am if need be. You know how.”

And she did.

“I haven’t lied to you. Aside from all of that, Deres is close enough to the Royal House now that if I exposed him as you fear, Court would question my fitness and so would the people as mage hysteria gripped them. I could claim that he cast a spell upon me or something, but it’s not like that would make things any better for me.”

Neral looked around as she contemplated her next step. The room was huge, but the walls still felt uncomfortably close. She took stock of their years of friendship and the ruler that she was and leaped. “He is a good man, Majesty. I don’t know how much of the old stories of the evils of magic and those that wielded it is true and how much is victorious history written to justify what happened so long ago...but he is a good man, Evie. If he were anything like the stories… He is a fine husband and father.”

Evaline looked into her eyes and she didn’t need Neral to say the words. The truth in her eyes that came with the words mixed with a hint of fear was confession enough and it spurred Evaline to unburden herself further. “I know how you look at him. I know how little Khylen beams at the sight of him. It is how I always wished I could have looked at father.”

Evaline moved herself to the edge of the bed. “And I...ask for a potion or spell or anything like that because, Neral,” the deep sigh did nothing to lessen the weight upon her chest, “I know that, in matters of love, I am an utter failure, and I know that will not change with Danil no matter how much I would wish for it to.”

Neral saw Evaline’s eyes begin to mist and her heart ached for her friend. She returned to the bed and sat next to her. Putting her arm around Evaline and squeezing, she was about to do her best to dissuade her of that, but Evaline saw the look in her friend’s eyes and looked to the floor instead. “It is so, Neral. My ‘relationships’ generally last until a newer young man shows up. My only examples were parents who, while they did not live in hate, were never what one would call warm or loving to one another. I grew up seeing Court marriages far worse, but even young I knew that it could and should be better. Your mother’s and a few others in Court; they were example enough so that I’ve always known what a marriage should be and know enough that it will never be me.”

“I know myself, Neral. I will become my mother. At the first problem I will snipe and cut at him with the skill of a master swordsman. He will eventually snipe back, or stand up, or ask me to stop and I will take it as a dare because I am better at it than he is and I am queen and how dare he. I’ll hurt him and he will hurt me in defense. We will both end up miserable and, while we are bitter to one another, our children will see and carry it with them.”

Neral paused. “You seem to have given it a great deal of thought.”

“For many moons now, Bootsie.” She grinned at the thought of him before it faded with another wave of melancholy. “The worst part is that I like him. He is a kind, quiet, decent soul. He has a backbone, but he doesn’t attempt to rule from behind me.”

Neral chuckled, giving her a squeeze. “He has a backbone?”

Evaline shared the little laugh. “When something truly matters to him, yes, otherwise he’s happy to defer. That actually makes things easier for me. He isn’t attempting to be the power behind the throne and if he takes a hard position I give it more weight simply because he wouldn’t speak up otherwise.”

“I ask you for your help because I will ruin it. I’m...begging for your help because I will ruin it. If there is some way...some magic so that I don’t succumb to my worst nature I would be forever in his debt and yours. I accept that it’s the coward’s way out, but I would rather be a happy coward than one that lives in fear of herself spoiling something that could be wonderful if I weren’t the woman that I am.”

“I did not game you, Neral. I wouldn’t because the cost would be far...far too high. I’ve played it out already. Give me what I want or I will whisper to others and let them sow seeds of suspicion. In short order his life, and yours, would become untenable at best and you know that. Rather than endure that, I would have what I want, but I would have lost my friend. We know that too, don’t we?”

Neral didn’t respond because there was no need as the bitterness washed over her at the very thought. Their lifetime friendship would have fallen to dust. If Neral could have continued as leader of the combined forces of Erette at all, she was uncertain, she’d have the will to do it. It would become something...empty and soulless thing, like she was simply part of a machine despite her drive to duty. Their friendship helped them both do their jobs to the best of their ability.

That wasn’t even touching on her broken heart at losing one so close to her. “It wouldn’t even stop there,” she said plainly.

Evaline agreed. “Cross a line and it’s a simple matter to keep on walking.” She sighed, “Well, I can take heart in the fact that I do at least have some integrity.”

Neral knelt before her queen, not unlike all the times that she had in the past. “What of Danil?”

“Some integrity, Neral. I take some solace in that he would be stuck with me until I divorced him, and I wouldn’t, almost regardless of circumstance, to avoid the scandal that would ensue, not the least of which that would come with my tacit admission that I cannot maintain a real relationship. I would be seeing to his happiness as much as my own.”

She gripped Neral’s strong hand as though it were a lifeline, which, in some ways it was. “I once called you the sister I wish I’d had and that is true. Tell me no and...I will take it and accept that you have more integrity than I. And I told you the truth about Deres. I could use his skill to counter these other mages if need be. I only know that if they exist to the extent that evidence suggests they may, they cannot be completely ignored anymore.”

Neral took in the look in Evaline’s eyes and pondered for long moments the totality of their friendship from the first moment she bowed to she who would be queen when she was old enough to count her age with the fingers of one hand to this moment after a lifetime together and what it all meant to her. Then she thought of what it meant for Evaline to bare herself in such a way. She thought of what it meant for Evaline to beg anyone, even Neral.”

She trusted and she leaped.

“Even if there were things I kept from you?”

The corner of her lip turned up. “Kept from me for obvious reasons. And I know my General. If you felt I had to know I would have known and then would have hoped I would understand why you kept it from me. I do, Bootsie. Will you help me? Please? Is there a way?”

“I will speak to him, Evie. But there is a way, I’m sure of it. She knew for the simple fact that she had willingly surrendered to a spell of love herself, but there was no reason for that to be shared.

Evaline’s eyes closed and she exhaled long and slow as a few tears escaped as she did. “Thank you, my friend. I can never repay you.” She took her right hand back and placed it firmly to the back of Neral’s neck, pulling them closer and kissing her deeply. There was deep affection coupled with sheer contentment, now having a future she could look forward to in no small measure because of her friend.

The kiss was interrupted by a knock at the door. Their lips separated, thin lines of spittle breaking as they did so. Neral saw her smile and it pulled one from her as well. They both knew who it likely was. “You are terrible,” she teased.

“Should I?” Evaline bit her lip in a coy look as though she were asking for permission to pull a grand prank, which she sort of was.

“You know you want to.”

The grin turned wicked. “I do. But you can say no and the door stays closed.”

A girlish giggle escaped Neral and she rolled her eyes towards the ceiling with a groaning sigh. “To the depths with it. Do as you please, Evie.”

The queen all but beamed. “Thank you for this, too,” she said quietly before she rose her voice once again nearly in song. “Come in.”

Days later Danil was breathlessly peeling his jacket away and wadding it in one hand before throwing it to the floor because, at the moment, it was offending him in that it was keeping his body away from direct contact with his queen. Also making catching a full breath difficult was Evaline’s insistent tongue exploring every bit of his, exhaling into him as her hands worked his belt, undoing it even as she used it to pull him towards the bed.

He pulled his lips away, his eyes drifting down to her ample bosom, his cock insistent that he reveal them so that the flames of desire would be fanned. “This is still so wildly inappropriate, Evie.”

“Sometimes inappropriate is completely appropriate, Danil.” She purred the question for which she already knew well the answer from several trysts already. Would you have me stop?”

“No,” he groaned. “But we should have waited until we wed. That’s what was proper, but...”

“But kisses turned into you putting putting your mark on my breasts and, after that, well… The barrier cannot be rebuilt, so we may as well enjoy fucking in the middle of the wreckage.”

He cut her off when the imagery invaded his brain once again, leading him to claw over her shoulders to pull the slip away from her and letting it fall to the floor, leaving claw marks on her skin after the fact. And there they were, full and round and begging for more of his attention. He looked up into those twinkling blue eyes, “You are so beautiful, Evie.”

She kissed him, “And you are a boyishly handsome and unassuming soul. You are also hungry.”

“You did invite me to dinner.” He stopped to pull his pants free of his body, almost losing his balance as the right leg came free, too busy staring at his quarry to pay attention to what he was doing. He braced against the heavy dresser quickly to keep from crashing into it.

“Appetites are ever changing things,” she said, sitting on the bed, bringing her hands down her breasts before cupping the left and bringing it to her tongue, letting the tip meander in a slow circle before sucking the thick nipple into her mouth, knowing full well the effect it would have on him. “Let’s sate these ones first, then we can have a lovely meal.”

The feast he wanted was before him and he all but jumped upon it, kissing up her body as he went. She was soft and he loved the way that felt against him. Her nails grazing his ribs as they went to his back under his shirt tickled and he squirmed a bit and he chuckled reflexively at the sensation. “We’re not even married yet.”

“Formality only, dear,” she whispered. “Court would have me married, we compliment one another, and I like you.” She glanced down to see his hard cock aimed at her and gave it a grin, “And you seem to like me, so there’s no reason not to play.”

Before he could respond he felt her thighs grip him tightly and roll him to his back. That body left him breathless. He propped himself up on his elbows and watched her take his cock firmly in hand. “That’s mine, Majesty.”

An eyebrow went up. “It is. But your queen intends to borrow it. I promise to take good care of it though.” She accentuated the next words by letting the lips of her cunt kiss the head of his cock. “I shall put it some place warm...wet...and very pleasant for us both.”

She relished the way his mouth fell open at the sensation of his cock encased in her flesh and the way his eyes locked on her. He put his hands to her breasts as she began to ride him. “Thaaaaaat’s it, Danil. Let your queen do all the work right now. Relax. Feel. Let me milk it.”

“Far be it from me to…mmm...contest the will of my queen.” He looked into those blue eyes and pulled her to him. Her breasts mashed against his chest and their kissing began anew, once again reaching the frenzy of minutes before. He ran his hands through her hair before taking her head in both hands to possess her as much as he dared. Danil was still growing accustomed to how far he could go, the voices of propriety and decorum still whispering in his ear.

But, just now, they were not as insistent in being addressed as his cock.

He hummed into her mouth at each downstroke as her hands tracked up his hips, firmly enough so as not to tickle him again. He was lean and not built to be a fighter, but fit all the same. She took his wrists firmly in her hands and pinned them over his head as she began to grind her body against his more quickly. He had more girth than length and, while she was especially fond of men gifted with both, if she had to make a choice it was girth she preferred. She rode, feeling his body ride that line between tension and relaxation as it balanced pleasure and need as her hands left his wrists, leaving his fingers to caress her forearm as her right hand slipped under the nearest pillow, feeling for the slip of glass small enough to fit in her palm that Neral had given her only hours before.

Her hand slipped left, then right, seeking it out. I know it’s here. For a moment she feared that perhaps one of the servants had found it while cleaning. She couldn’t imagine one of them stealing from her that way, but it would have been have been a very unusual bauble and might have proven irresistible.

Neral had brought her the tiny slip of glass hours before, dropping it in her hand and Evaline was awed by it. Magic. Real, forbidden magic that until that moment she’d only read stories or heard whispers of from people who didn’t even want to be overheard passing third-hand rumors. But here it was in a slip that only seemed to carry the weight of the glass. Within it was a swirling, billowing red fog with hints of violet dappling it. It looked alive as she stared at it trying to see if there were patterns within as Neral simply stated that it would do everything that Evaline wanted done and that both would be fine after. That was all Evaline needed to hear. “Wish for it to break. See it in your mind and break it open there, and it will break.

There it was, nestled in a rumple of the sheet. She dragged her hand over it, pulling it towards her, bringing it back to rest in his palm as she laced her fingers with his. Danil was too consumed with the glorious process of milking his cock within her feminine flesh and trying to kiss her when he could to notice anything of the nearly weightless slip. She had such a warm smile. It always had a hint of a knowing smirk to it. He found himself often forgetting she was queen, so enamored he found himself of the woman. She had helped him through his initial nervousness with her with grace. He had never met a woman that could so deftly handle a one-sided conversation.

She was extraordinary in her own right and she chose him, though he wondered why. There were infinitely better choices, at least on paper, and a fair number looked better in person. But it was he that she had wanted to get to know. And they got on well. They balanced one another. Still, there was always a part of him that knew she could do better. He had resolved that once they wed he would be an extra hand to her in whatever made her life easier. That was his role as consort anyway, but he wanted to do it for her.

In that moment he met those eyes of sea blue and he counted the two seconds where it seemed that his heart stopped beating at the very sight. Warmth rushed through him like the wall of water that rushed through a village during a flood. It was so like that flood in that his heart went from what felt like stopped to pounding in his chest as though he were drowning. Rather than fear it however he found himself longing to drown like this forever. He loved her. He knew it. He knew it with the certainty that he knew the sun would rise the next day. He had never before felt so safe and secure as he was in this place with this woman. Evaline was right in that the marriage was but a formality because he now couldn’t imagine a life without her in it.

Evaline felt warmth from head to toe with her lips on his as she rocked on his cock. For her, it was not a rushing wave that threatened to overwhelm her. Rather, it was a sweet serenity. It was peace and security. It was like the feeling as a child when she woke under layers of blankets in the blistering cold of winter. She didn’t even want to start the day on those days because it meant leaving that serenity behind.

Being in his presence and under his touch just amplified that feeling and the look in his eyes as she rocked melted her soul. What she felt here and now what was she had always dreamed it would be. It was the stuff of storybooks. In that heady rush she thought of what the future held for them and her mind’s eye contrasted it with the way she grew up. It was with those images that she truly realized what the spell had done.

She could see herself angry with him, but never cold. She knew she would never be like her mother; in a room with father yet thousands of miles away. She knew she would never be one to cut him and just walk away, or in an endless fight for the last word. Evaline knew she could still do these things, she just couldn’t imagine taking them beyond thought. The thought of hurting one she now knew loved her so that way was simply impossible for her. She was going to be the mate that she always wanted to be.

She put his arms to either side of him, sliding herself back and forth upon his shaft, making the bed creak as she moved, enjoying the way his eyes widened at the increase in sensation and the self-tease of watching how her tits shook with her. He would look until the rawness of his queen, the riding his cock threatened to trigger him.

He enjoyed being a captive of those eyes when she would follow his gaze in order to stay close, coupled with that smile and the whorish way that she licked her lips at him kept him happy. “See,” she began in a soft whisper, “you quite like impropriety with your queen. It hardly matters that we aren’t wed yet, does it?” The next words would have left her feeling exposed and far more exposed than being as naked as she was now in the middle of the city, but she knew she was safe here, with him, and now always would be. “I love you, Danil.”

His eyes misted with the awe of the sensation that came with hearing her say those four simple words. “I love you, Evie.” He had gotten used to calling her that even if it hadn’t quite felt right rolling from his tongue until now, but she was his. He was hers.

The way it would always be.

“Make me cum, Evie.”

She made light of his tone with a kiss before pulling her lips away enough to get an answer, “Are you asking or telling?”

He took the dare, “I should be able to tell you something somewhere, shouldn’t I?”

She contemplated it happily. “You can tell me things anywhere you like. It’s just that I, as queen, don’t have to listen to you. It’s one of the lovely privileges of being queen. ”

His fingers ran through her long blonde hair before kissing her deeply. Nudging her shoulders to urge her upward so he could look upon those luscious breasts in their full glory. His hands wound down her back and settled on her hips setting the pace he wanted and most pleased that she complied. Danil’s breath caught every time she pushed back down on his shaft and he let the pleasure escape him, “Then do it because it’ll make you happy, too. At the moment, I win no matter why you keep riding my cock, so long as you ride it.”

“So, shut up and ride, my heart?”

He looked at her smile and blushed unabashedly at the term of endearment. “You have all day every day to run the world.”

The grin didn’t fade as she baited him and waited to see if he took it. “So?”

“So, right now,” he began, biting his lip, “allow your eventual husband to run this bed.”

“So?”

“So shut up and ride.”

“Yes, dear.” She liked the sound of that.

She began to bounce and bounce vigorously. He liked watching her bounce. Her tits bounced and the milky skin rippled as she watched him fall under their spell again by letting them do as they would. Evaline exhaled through pursed lips when the pressure at the base of his cock stretched her.

Fucking was attrition. It was always that. Men rolled and writhed to try to prolong the time before their inevitable loss of the battle. That reflex to seed was powerful, and it became all the more so when there was nothing for the man to do but drown in everything the loved about the battle. Danil lay back happily helpless as her body moved, pushing him more deeply into the bed, forcing him to hear the bed rattle that did so an instant before a soft sucking sound as she rose and pulled his cock with her. It lulled him as his eyes added to the spell by not having the will to look away from the way his woman’s tits moved.

My woman. The queen is my woman.

“Yes, Danil, my sweet. I’m yours, you’re mine.”

He twitched in surprise before he grinned from ear to ear, “Sorry.”

“Speaking voice, thinking voice, Danil,” she chided with equal amusement.

“Shut up and ride.”

The smile broadened. “Yes, my sweet.”

Letting her fingertips dance across his belly ti tickle again was just a bit too much and Danil felt his balls draw closer to his body as hers battered against him in lust, service, and pleasure. The cock was built to lose that battle every time and he was ready to surrender. “Faster, Evie.”

She slammed harder, finding a place of aggression inside her and using that to give her strength.

“Almost there. Almost.”, he panted, his eyelids pinched shut.. “Say something to make me cum.”

“Look at me, Danil.” Her voice was calm and sweet.

His eyes opened to drink her in and that kept him on the edge all by itself.

“Poor, poor consort of mine.” The pity was thick. “You know, this will be your only real job once we wed. This is your only real purpose, Danil. To love me makes it easier. To be loved by me is a pleasant bonus. But this is your only function: to seed your queen, to fuck her frequently and vigorously.”

She snickered as she rode, adding her hips more prominently into the motion, “You don’t even have to do it well, really. You are nothing but a cock. All you need to do is spread me...breed me...set me to nothing but having your babies.”

The thought of him simply doing nothing but pumping seed into his woman as a career path thrilled him just now and proved more than enough impetus to place both hands on the sides of her legs and let himself drain into her one glorious burst at a time until there was simply nothing left to give her.

His racing heart slowly came back under control as part of a series of long sighs, but the floating, happy sensation didn’t leave, in part because her weight was back upon his chest and she was showering his face with gentle kisses. He returned them as his hands moved downward to fill themselves with the softness of her ass. “That was excellent, my sweet,” she told him.

He kissed her deeply, savoring her. “That royal cunt of yours makes it easy.” She giggled as he looked up at those beautiful eyes, savoring his future. “I imagine there are worse careers to be had.”

Indeed, he looked forward to the life ahead of him in more ways than one.

They both did.

Quiet, intimate words and caresses followed as they planned their future together and basked in their love and the feel of one another. She planted an angel’s kiss on his lips and let the moment be.