The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Game Master

The following is a work of fantasy. I’d like to think such a qualifier would be obvious but hey, that’s the world we live in. This story is not intended for the weak-minded, like children or those who believe D+D is a gateway to Satanism. If that’s you, just shoo, would you?

Kate hummed to herself as she drew, watching as a character formed slowly under the careful, loving strokes of her pencils. A woman, a warrior, beautiful and strong. Jake had recommended Red Sonja as a model but there would be no chainmail bikinis for THIS warrior. She was a barbarian, yes, but a proud one, gone to the nations of the lowlanders to prove her worth, and to teach them to fear the wrath of her people once roused. She covered herself in pelts, and while they could show a bit of leg, they were mostly for warmth and minor protection, with her curves telling enough of a story through them.

She’d even picked out a name: Aethera.

“You ready, babe? Gonna take a few to get there and we don’t want to be late for the first session.”

“Almost!” she called, taking her red pencil and coloring the hair. The rest stayed monochromatic, but the hair was important, like her own, a fair warning, she’d always joked, of what could be expected when you approached her.

Closing the sketch pad to finish later, Kate grabbed a bag of dice and a notebook. She hadn’t been playing long, only as long as she and Jake had been a real item, but loved the way it helped her to create characters.

In the car, the group talked about what they would play. They were going to play by D+D rules, but the guy had a rep for going off source in his campaigns, which promised some originality unless he was a total munchkin. Jake was going to bard it up as per usual, while Meghan wanted to try out a Cleric. Mark, of course, would be a Paladin, and Trey, who’d meet them there, would be a rogue.

Most everyone playing what they’d always played. But she wanted more, something different. Besides, Meghan was a better healer with her cleric anyway. Kate had never played a frontline character before, though, and so looked forward to this turn at Barbarian. It would be fun.

* * *

The goblin spluttered and choked on its own vile green blood as Aethera, swordmaiden of the Barbarian tribes, thrust her great-sword from its naval to its throat, roaring in her rage as she did so. The creatures companions, normally so fierce and fearless against the parties they encountered in their native mountains, looked at each other uneasily, far from certain that this was a fight they really wanted to pursue.

“Behold Aethera, the Blade Princess of the East!” shouted Clingle, his fingers strumming lightly on his lute. “What need has she for paints or rouge when she can blush her cheeks with the blood of beasts?!”

Aethera shot him a look, but he just continued to insolently sing. That was the point of him, of course, the power of his song disrupting the enemy with confusion and rage, but he always referred to her in terms of her appearance, which irked her. She was, of course, aware of the fact that she was considered beautiful, especially by lowland standards, but he never seemed to concern himself with the appearance of other party members. She’d killed half again as many of their enemy as any other two party members, and yet when he sang of her, he spoke of lowland makeup.

Still, her anger had power, and she saw no reason not to use it. Roaring as she stepped forward, she swung her blade in a long arc, quickly and easily lopping three heads off of the goblins who had hesitated, then stepped back as the rest scrambled for the cliffs, eager to get away.

“Hold, they flee!” called Morfren, lowering his shield to peer around them. “I believe our point is made. Well done, Aethera.”

Aethera gave him a curt nod, which he frowned at before shaking his head. She almost growled. Did he think the rage that could send one hurtling into battle to fight as she did could simply be switched off? Morfren was a good warrior, when he bothered to swing his weapon, but spent far too much time behind that prettily painted piece of wood. Still, she placed her greatsword back into its sling and began breathing deeply, closing her eyes and allowing the ancestral rage of her people to seep from her body like water from a leaky bucket.

“May I approach, child?” Aethera’s head jerked over at being called something so diminutive, the rage rising again before she got it back under control. Dara, a cleric of the Western Sky Gods, was kind and well meaning, and always asked before healing, which the barbarian warrior had come to appreciate. Besides, Dara was old enough to have been Aethera’s grandmother, but her style always made people feel like children, even when she didn’t outright call them child.

Finally, she nodded, and the cleric stepped closer to look her over. “Minor wounds only. You did well.” Closing her eyes in prayer, the cleric lightly laid a hand on the barbarian’s shoulder, and Aethera sighed as the minor wounds closed, their pain, however slight, vanishing to memory. The rage became that much easier to control.

“Thank you, healer. How did the others fare?”

“I’m not dead, if that’s what you’re asking.” Nispen, a thief who’d fallen in with them in his hurry to flee the laws of the Brandaran City States, chuckled as he emerged from behind a boulder. “Your concern warms my heart”

“How could I not be?” Aethera shot back. “You were nowhere to be seen the whole fight. I feared you’d fallen off a cliff.”

Nispen pointed, and Aethera followed his finger to see a goblin with arrows protruding from his back. “Had I not shot him, our dear cleric would have much more work to do with you.”

“Enough,” Morfren interrupted. “The battle is won, our wounds are healed. Behold: our destination… the fair city of Oidan. We can be there by sunset, if we begin now.”

Aethera had also looked down the mountain to the city, and far from the eager anticipation of her fellows, felt uneasiness. She had done well enough in the country villages, or the rough border towns. Even the cities of Brandar, consisting mostly of dwarves and beastmen, had been homey enough, like the holdfasts of her own people, only bigger, but this…

Even at such a distance, she could see the teeming masses in a city bigger than all the others she had visited so far combined. Battles she could handle, monsters and bandits were nothing before her sword. But all those people…

She steeled herself. She would be brave. She would triumph. With a laugh from the bard, the party began descending into the Valley of Oidan.

* * *

“That… was awesome!”

Kate grinned over at Matt as he reenacted the battle with Jake, revisiting their strategy and dice rolls, and imagining what Aethera must have looked like as she lopped off those goblin heads, red hair flowing in the mountain air as she did so. “So what was she wearing?” Jake asked, leering at the imaginary woman Kate had created. “Fur bikini, right?”

“FURS.” Kate exclaimed. “And I know you saw the picture I drew. Why bother with a bikini form? She’s not rocking cleavage or anything, if that’s what you’re asking.”

The guys muttered about that and headed to grab some snacks from the counter while Kate shook her head and walked over to where Sam, their new GM, was packing up his stuff.

“Hey there, just wanted to say, really cool adventure so far.”

He looked up at her and smiled. “You as well! I was really impressed with how you kept Aethera’s rage going outside of combat until she could calm down. Most just handwave that stuff.”

Kate found herself blushing, just a bit. Sam was older than the rest of the group by a fair piece, but every GM she’d had before had simply written her off as the “girl” of the group. None had complimented her roleplaying before, though to be fair, most had only been interested in the dungeon crawling. “Thanks. I appreciate you giving us the opportunity, though I was going to ask, which sourcebook is Oidan from? I don’t think I ever heard of it before.”

Sam grinned, then tapped his head. “This one. All of this is going to be homebrew, my own world and characters. Makes it easier to inhabit, I’ve found.”

“Well, it’s been a lot of fun, looking forward to next week. Ummm…” she glanced over her shoulder, where Jake was waving at her from the door. “We were gonna go hit the bar or something to wind down. Care to join us?”

Sam smiled. “I appreciate the invite, but my bar days are behind me. Gotta get home to the wife. But I’ll see you next week, Kate. Thanks for playing!”

Kate laughed. She should have guessed he’d have other things to do… so many of the others hadn’t, but he was different. “Right, uh, goodnight, sir.”

“What?”

Kate had started walking to the door, but his exclamation turned her back around. “What?”

Sam was looking at her, his eyes penetrating. “You called me, ‘sir.’”

Oh, she had. She blushed a little more. “Um, right. Sorry… I just… you’re the GM, you’re in charge, you’re… uh…”

His smile was a bit chagrined. “Older?”

“Uh, yeah. Sorry.”

“It’s okay, but just call me Sam.”

“Right, si… uh, Sam. See you next week.”

* * *

The Royal Audience Chamber of the King of Oidan was massive, and it took some time to walk from the entrance to where they would be presented.

“You couldn’t even have tied up your hair?” Clingle muttered, irritated. “This is the royal audience chamber, not some tribal moot.”

“My furs have seen me through glorious battle,” Aethera said, simply. “They bear more honor than any stained fabric, no matter how adorned.” It had been an ongoing discussion for the last few days since they had come into the city, and one Aethera was rapidly growing tired of. It wasn’t like any of them were wearing silk, and his offense at her attire hadn’t stopped his glances at her body when he thought she wasn’t looking. Ignoring him, she looked ahead, to the throne.

She’d expected a man famed for sitting on a golden chair to be shaped to fit it, ancient and feeble or fat and decadent, but the man she saw was neither. Older, yes, with touches of gray in his black hair and beard, but his eyes were sharp and he held himself as a man who could wield his sword as well as any knight in his service.

There had been rumors, on the road, of the Dread King of Oidan, once considered a mere pretender to throne, who had overthrown his elder siblings and had brought an end to the age of decadent corruption that had once defined the halls of Oidan, mostly with sword and guillotine. Aethera watched him with open curiosity as they approached. He was not at all what she’d expected from a lowland king.

“Your majesty, may I present the adventurers responsible for repelling the brigand attack on Master Lewellen’s Caravan outside of the walls.”

“Yes, I understand the good merchant and a few of my own guard owe them their lives,” the King said with a smile. He glanced at one of his handlers. “Though how they got so close to the walls is also a matter of concern…” the man shuffled his feet accordingly. Reaching the base of the dias, the party knelt before the king… save Aethera.

“This is a KING,” the rogue hissed. “KNEEL!”

There was whispering among the nobles, and Aethera held herself upright. “‘King’ is a lowland word,” she said simply. “A sound, mere wind, designed to grant power unearned to men too weak to wield it with their strength alone, men so weak that they require others to bend so that they may appear tall.”

Silence struck the hall like a hammer hitting an anvil. The party winced as the knights looked back and forth amongst each other, then to throne itself. The king was watching her thoughtfully, and then stood. He was taller than he had seemed from his slouch on the throne, and Aethera’s heart pounded just a bit harder… for all that she had been raised to see lowland kings as weak parasites, there was no denying how attractive she found this one. Still, she had challenged him in his own hall, and steeled herself to fight if necessary.

As he stepped up to her, the King tilted his head and… smiled. “Have you heard of how I gained the throne, warrior of the hill tribes?”

She frowned. She had. The bard had talked of almost nothing else in the recent days. “You fought your own brother. You led armies. You expelled the corrupt nobles.”

He nodded. “Some of it is exaggerated for a good story, but this…” he gestured to a scar just below his right eye, “was inflicted by my elder brother with a poisoned blade. You can see the stain of my blood there, never to wash out entirely.” He pointed to the floor, where the expensive looking rug did, indeed, show a stain of corroded blood. His smile never wavered, indeed it deepened. “Would you say that I have earned my place of leadership here?”

His eyes held hers, and seemed almost to glow, and she found she couldn’t look away. His voice was calm, deep, and seemed to fill her head. She had heard of such, before, of men who led with their mere presence, who could conquer with their arm or their voice at will. “I won’t dispute it, sir. You have earned what you have.”

“Good,” he said with a smile. “Now, in your lands, what would you call one who had earned their leadership through deeds of arms?”

“The ones who lead us are called Thanes, sir.”

“And are they to be obeyed?”

She nodded. “In his greathall, the will of a Thane is beyond reproach.”

The king laughed. “There are plenty who reproach me in here, but at the end, all do as they are told. I do not ask for agreement, indeed I invite argument, so long as at the end, there is obedience. Is this agreeable to you?”

She nodded, eyes wide. This was simple. None of the fine talk employed by other nobles, this was a powerful man who knew what he needed and how to get it. She could respect power, if earned, and he had clearly earned it.

“Very good. Let all hear me, let it be known that to Aethera, Warrior Woman of the Eastern Hill Tribes, I may be rightly called Thane, and require no bending, so long as my words are recognized as law. There is to be no ill will or vindictiveness over this. Understood?”

The knights muttered their somewhat dubious assent, and the King returned to his throne, encouraging the rest of the party to rise. “Very well. You are all to be recognized for your aid to the crown at a banquet we are holding tonight. There is much for me to do, but meanwhile, my chamberlains will see you to rooms. Until then, brave warriors, and especially you, Aethera, be well.”

The party seemed a bit out of sorts as they headed for the door, only half listening as the chamberlains explained the layout of the castle. Clingle in particular seemed shocked.

“I thought for certain you were sending us all straight to the hangman’s noose.”

“Nonsense,” Aethera said absently, looking over her shoulder back at the king. “If he wanted you dead, he’d have swung the sword himself. He has that power, and the responsibility. I do not believe he would have hesitated.”

“You find that comforting?” Clingle exclaimed incredulously.

“I find it… fascinating,” she responded, still watching him as the doors closed behind them.

* * *

“Thanks for the pizza!” Trey said through a mouthful of it, reaching for some soda to wash it all down. Sam just smiled.

“Y’all look like food money might be a bit tight from time to time. I had some folks who helped me out when I first got into gaming, nice to pay it forward.”

Kate smiled as she grabbed a slice of mushroom. He’d even been sure to include options for the folks who didn’t eat meat. When she looked up, she saw Sam watching her, and felt herself starting to blush again.

“Hey, uh, I hope I didn’t come off as a bitch in that scene. I just figure that’s how Aethera would…”

“Oh, no, you did excellent!” Sam interrupted, taking a sip of his coke. “Top notch roleplaying, and it was fun to hang in with it. Suffice to say, I think she has definitely caught the King’s attention.”

“Not the King,” she said with a playful grin. “Her thane.” She blushed, though only slightly, at the words.

Sam just smiled, his green eyes holding hers for what seemed like forever, then he nodded. “We all good to continue?”

Trey took a second to grab another slice of pepperoni, then leaned forward in his seat. “Oh yeah. I can’t wait to see what she does to almost get us killed this time.”

“Almost killed,” Sam asks, mysteriously, “or invited to the Head Table at the grand banquet? Some folks in the kingdom will take notice of that for sure…”

“Wait, what?” Matt asked, surprised. “We’re sitting with the King himself?”

“The perfect place for Clingle!” Jake yelled happily. “Let’s Game of Thrones this shit.”

* * *

To say the Banquet had gone swimmingly would be a bit of an understatement. Clingle was in his element, entertaining the nobles around with broadly exaggerated tales of his own exploits while exchanging meaningful glances with available noblewomen. Morfren and Dara were in a corner, excitedly debating nuances of theology with local Temple Authorities, as well as organizing potential outreach programs to aid the poor of Oidan in a time of need. Nispen, on the other hand, had caught a whiff of a tale of a long dead Mad King, and had gone to “tour” his old rooms, which apparently had been locked off for decades, muttering gleefully to himself about lost treasure.

All that left was Aethera, sitting back in her chair, sipping from a wine goblet.

“You do not seem as enamored of my banquet as your compatriots, lady Aethera.”

Her eyes raised to see the King standing before her, and she began to straighten before he gestured for her to remain, instead taking the seat at her side. Covering a flustered moment, she took another sip from her cup.

“My wine, at least, seems to be to your liking.”

She glanced at it. “The silver of the cup adds a metallic aftertaste, my thane. It would be better in wooden vessels… oak, if you had them.”

He laughed at her comment, softly and kindly. “I instructed you to never hesitate in your reproach, and you have taken me at my word.”

She smiled over at him, somewhat shyly. “I am not much at comfort in royal halls, my thane. You earned your place here, but I have none. I am a woman of combat, not words.”

His eyes caught hers again, a small grin on his face. “You say that, yet you bandy them perfectly with royalty.” She started to make an apology, but he waved her off. “I was once merely the youngest bastard son of a king who cared for nothing so much as feigned propriety. I have had enough of it to last a lifetime. My nobles exult in events like these, and so I hold them to keep them docile. A wolf prefers the sheep half asleep.”

That earned a laugh from her, and she leaned closer to him. “You’d have done well in the holdfasts of my people, Thane. I’m not certain I would have done so well, had I grown up here.”

“Nonsense,” he retorted with a laugh. “True, you’d have needed to play a different game, but I’ve no doubt that you would have played it well. But now I have spent all the time for pleasure I can afford, and must return to…”

Suddenly a table was kicked over, and several well armed men stepped forward. “You’ve left yourself unguarded, usurper, and when your blood flows upon our floors, the true king will be returned to his rightful place.”

The king stood to face them, drawing his sword. “Which true king, I wonder. One of my brothers that I left alive? Some noble licking his wounds? Do you even know? Whether I live or die, you are unlikely to escape the palace in one piece. Did you consider that my guard would kill you even if they got to you after I was dead?”

“You cannot delay your fate with your poisoned words, false king. None of yours will reach you…”

“One of mine is already here, fools. I just needed time for her to get a weapon. And I have.”

“Who? Your feral she-wolf from the east? She hasn’t got a…” the boasters voice trailed to nothing as they saw her holding a candelabra she’d seized from beside the table, and wielded as easily as her great sword. It was only when it swung towards them that they began to panic.

* * *

“Daaaaaamn…” Meghan breathed as Kate’s dice hit the table. “That improvised weapon skill isn’t messing around.”

“Roll for damage,” Sam intoned with a smile, and after she had done so, he did some calculations. “Two are dead. The third is dragged to the floor by the guard for interrogation, though the king doesn’t seem hopeful that he has much in the way of useful information. This was a sloppy attempt, and the real remaining threats to his power aren’t sloppy.”

“So I stole a few thousand in gold treasure,” Trey said, doing some calculations of his own, “Matt and Meghan got access to some higher level prayers, Jake has been invited into some sort of Secret Society, and Kate just saved the King himself from an assassination attempt at his own banquet.” He grinned. “This campaign is awesome.”

“Good roleplaying before the attack, too,” Meghan added. “I get the impression Aethera is a little bit in love with the King.”

“Does he… have a Queen?” Kate asked quietly, her own eyes on Sam’s wedding ring.

Jake laughed. “The woman beside him at the welcome, right? Odd she left so quickly, though. Maybe she had something to do with the attempt?”

“We’ll have to figure it out next time,” Sam said with a yawn, looking at the clock. “You all hitting the bar again?”

Trey nodded. “Care to join?”

Sam smiled. “I appreciate the invite, but I can’t even blame this one on the fam. Just getting old, I suppose.”

As the group began to rise, Kate demurred. “Uh, I actually have some homework I need to do. Could you all drop me off first?”

Jake looked irritated, but then Sam spoke up. “I could give you a lift, I guess, so long as you aren’t too far out of the way.”

Her heart racing a little, Kate bundled her things and followed him out to his car. Once they were moving, she looked over. “Could we, uh, continue?”

He glanced over at her. “Continue what?”

“The scene. Just a little follow up. After the reward. He seems the sort who would… but the others might not necessarily hear…”

Sam smiled, then nodded. “Sure.”

* * *

As the nobles slowly exited the hall, leaving their statements with the beleaguered looking Captain of the Guard, Aethera stood with the King, who was healing her wounds with his own hands.

“My thane, the attack. Are you all right? You were supposed to be safe here.”

“I was safe. I had a swordmaiden of the Eastern Tribes by my side the whole time.”

Aethera blushed. She seemed to keep doing that, around him. “Well, you won’t always have me by your side. We should figure this out.”

“We will. And in the meantime, I’ll have to figure out a way to keep you by my side until it is done, yes?”

He was close. Almost too close. He hadn’t even swung his sword the entire encounter, though he had drawn it at the first sign of trouble. That hadn’t bothered her, though. He’d stayed close for a reason. He knew the attempt was coming, had waited, bided his time, and appeared distracted so he wouldn’t tip his hand.

She had killed his attackers, but if felt as if HE had done it, wielding her. He had won, and she had been his weapon. Her eyes started to drift shut, in hopes that could wield her in a different way.

“I should return to my queen,” he said, quietly. “A thing of politics, a marriage of nations, rather than people, but a marriage nonetheless. And I have duty to perform. The nation needs an heir… something I’ve never before had time for.”

“And now you do.”

He nodded. “Such is the way of Kings, I am afraid.”

He didn’t love his queen. Her heart sang. He had spoken more to her than anyone, and in his eyes, those bright, beautiful eyes, she saw desire. A powerful man, a great man. A king. She’d laughed at the title before but embraced it now. Could he not take what he wanted? And didn’t he obviously, achingly, want her?

“Kate?” The king asked, softly. “This is your place, right?”

* * *

“Wow, nice place…” Trey said with an impressed whistle as he and the others walked through Sam’s front door.

“Thanks,” Sam said, somewhat sheepishly. “We’re certainly very comfortable here.”

“What do you do, again?” Jake asked as he took in the expensive decor.

“I work primarily in psychological and psychiatric research. My wife is the one who brings in the big bucks… which is why she’s not here at the moment, work conference.”

Kate frowned a little bit at that. Sam never talked much about his wife, who seemed quite busy with her business. It was sad… he was an attractive man, smart as well. He deserved someone that would be there for him. She clutched her notebook to her chest… it held Aethera’s latest drawing, with the furs cut a bit more provocatively. When so many people seemed to want it, and the King with eyes on her legs… why not?

“WOAH! What’s this!?”

Sam glanced around and saw what had Matt gawking… a chair with straps and the like, with tons of gears and levers.

“Oh, a gag, actually. It’s an old therapy chair, if you can believe it. Patients would be strapped in and then…” he sighs. “Well, basically, they’d be tortured, but at the time it was considered a type of therapy. The research available even suggests that the perpetrators of the treatment knew that it wasn’t effective, that the changes it brought in patients was trauma, not healing, but they persisted anyway.”

“And you have it here… because…” Meghan stared at the thing like it might jump up and bite her.

“Wife’s idea of a joke. It’s an antique, and I always loved Steampunk, and…” he sighs.

“Shall we play?”

“So long as you’re not gonna strap one of us into the chair!” Trey laughed, and the group joined in the laugh as they headed to the dining room, where Sam had his stuff, along with a lot of food, set out.

“Your group is eating in a private room the king provided for you when one of the porters runs in, a look of panic on his face…”

* * *

“I KNEW it wasn’t just an isolated incident…” Aethera growled as her sword cleaved through the soldiers who were ineffectually trying to bar her way. “Three knights attacked him in his own banquet and I just let it go!”

“We ALL did…” Morfren growled, pushing forward with his shield to pin down a warrior who’d tried to flank her.”

“Do we care?” Nispen asked carefully, letting fly some arrows to slow down approaching reinforcements. “I mean, one king is basically the same as the other. Aethera, you don’t even like the title. I mean, sure, there’ll be a reward in saving him, but no reason to beat ourselves up over…”

“We fight for good, not just for money,” Aethera spat at him. “And the nobles to stooped to this treachery cannot be permitted to choose the next king.”

As they kicked through the door, a small cadre of Oidan Knights stood facing them in shock, as the King, bound to a chair in the back of the room, smirked. “I told you she’d come,” he said to them, simply.

“Don’t forget the rest of us!” Nispen protested. “We ALL get in on this reward, right?”

The Knights looked at each other, then to the king, before one drew his sword. “We may die here…” he snarled, “but we’ll sure as hell take him with…”

The word never had the chance to finish as Aethera leaped forward in teeth clenched rage, her axe cleaving through steel, flesh, and bone in equal measures.

“Anyone else wish to make threats?” Clingle said mockingly, and the other knights put up their weapons.

“It was the witch, Madara…” The King said. “She’s been enchanting knights under our very noses to turn them. If she dies, any remaining conspirators should be freed from her influence, or at the very least, her bravery.”

“On it!” Morfren said. “Aethera, you’re the most vulnerable to her magic. Stay with the King, and we’ll see to her.”

As the others left the room, captured knights left bound and unconscious, Aethera went to the King and untied him, returning his sword.

“I seem to always go deeper into your debt, Swordmaiden of the Hill Nations. Thank you.”

“I… I couldn’t just let them…” she sighed. “You are a good… thane. And now your wife is expecting… as well you sent her to the remote fortress to bear your child. They’ll be safe, there. And you’ll be safe, now I’m here.”

“I suppose I will be,” he said as he stood, rubbing his wrists where the bindings had been tightest. Again, his eyes filled hers. “You, and your whole party, will be richly rewarded for this, but I know they moved so quickly, if at all, only at your urging. What would the warrior have of her thane, now he is so deeply indebted to her?”

Those eyes. Those beautiful green eyes. They glowed, until it was as if all the room was bathed in that soft, warm green. She should have asked for aid for her peoples, or a better weapon to be forged, or gold. Something to aid her quest.

“I… I ask for… this.” And she stepped forward, and kissed him. As his hand rested possessively on the small of her back, she felt his lips curl into a soft, victorious smile.

* * *

Kate woke up with a start, then collapsed back onto her bed, glancing over at the clock. The afternoon was wearing on, and she had to get up and go or she’d be late to the game. And she couldn’t be late to the game. Not after everything else that had happened.

Pulling herself out of bed, she trudged to her bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. She looked like the walking dead, and the empty bottle of bourbon in the wastebasket by the sink was probably a big part of the reason. Drearily she set about washing up, cleaning out her mouth, and trying to look presentable again.

Next to the bottle in the wastebasket was a picture in a shattered frame. Jake. Jake was gone. They’d broken up the night before, and he wouldn’t be back, not this time. It had all started with a dumb argument over the game, which was a STUPID reason to break up, but it just kept coming up. They’d been in Oidan too long, months now, and while there were always adventures to be had, Clingle had felt more and more superfluous in the court as Aethera’s star had risen.

Finally he’d said that they should just leave the city, and if the GM couldn’t roll with that, they’d find someone else. She’d refused. He’d said words, she’d said worse, and finally he called it and left. Then the drinking had started.

She couldn’t remember trashing the frame, but it didn’t surprise her. She’d been angry, and sad, and… well, done was done.

Stepping out of the shower, she did her makeup carefully and then walked into the bedroom. There, on her desk, was the latest drawing of Aethera. Gone were the old furs, replaced instead with flimsy straps of silk and lace. She was still the Barbarian Warrior, but also a beautiful woman, her body accentuated by the outfit rather than concealed as those ratty old furs had done.

Something in the back of her head buzzed at that. That wasn’t who Aethera was. She was a warrior, not some pretty lowland lapdog. And yet it had been made for her by one of the tailors of Oidan and when she’d worn it to court she’s seen the look in her Kings eyes, and knew it gave him pleasure.

Pleasure. The word rattled around in her mind. She tilted her head to look at the picture again. There was something else missing, she’d known that for awhile, but couldn’t place it yet. For now, she was late, and grabbing her things she went downstairs until she remembered… Jake wouldn’t be coming, and she hadn’t called anyone else. She’d definitely be late, maybe even miss entirely unless someone…

“Hey there, Kate. You okay?” There was Sam, leaning against his car.

Kate looked up, eyes widening. “Sir… what are you…?”

“You said you’d need a ride last night, though you sounded pretty out of it. If not it’s no big…”

“N-no! Please! Let’s go, sir. I’ve already made you late.”

“Don’t worry about it at all.” They climbed into the car, and he smiled, patting her thigh from the driver’s seat. “Shall we?”

* * *

Aethera luxuriated on the satin sheets as the King walked about in his room, preparing for the day. He was speaking of the encounters of the day, but such talk rarely interested her, unless it indicated some risk on his part. Such tales had become increasingly rare after four different assassination attempts had ended on her blade.

He glanced over at her, and she… wiggled. It was like she had seen some of the ladies do to entice noblemen to approach them, and she was VERY interested in him approaching again.

Her mind raced with the memory of it. Of coming to him, of entering as he commanded, removing her clothing and laying on his bed, of him holding her and entering her and grasping at her over and over again. Something like the battlerage came over her, as powerful but different, the kind of thing that made her want to rend the world as she came.

That had been weeks ago, weeks again since she’d first kissed him. Now, she was here nearly every night. To protect him, she told herself.

the voice in her head always whispered.

He shook his head, and the feeling cooled as if a wick had been cut. “No more today, my dear. I must be sharp for my meeting with your people’s ambassadors.”

Kate frowned slightly at that. Her people didn’t really have ambassadors, but several elders, each of them a Thane, were coming to meet the man who had so impressed her that she hadn’t come home in months, and she began to worry what they would do. Aethera cared little for their opinions… her attire was pleasing to her King, and nothing else mattered… but if they believed her to be in some way compromised, they might try to punish him, and that would anger him.

“My King…” she ventured, and he glanced at her, curiously. “The ones you will meet today carry the title of Thane, and are rather old fashioned. I would refer to you by your formal title while they are here, less they feel usurped.”

He laughed. “You alone have permission to call me Thane, but do not need it to call me King. Now, before I leave, is there anything else?”

“How is your wife?”

He smiled to himself at the question. “She nears the time, and the midwives are ready. They expect a boy, healthy and strong. Your concern flatters me.”

“When she is well… will we…”

He frowned at that. And her eyes dropped in embarrassment. But weeks of sharing his bed had made her hope that, now an heir would have arrived...

“It is her bed, Aethera. It would not be right to keep her out of it.”

“Of course, of course, I simply…”

He stepped over to her, stood over her. “I will always need a protector of your caliber, sweet Aethera.” His hand caressed her cheek, and she nuzzled it. “For the rest, we will have to see. But I am a King with responsibilities, and you the wild swordmaiden. The trappings of political marriage are not to be your fate.”

It would not do to argue, and in any case, it seemed as if he was finished with her foolishness. “Stand and dress, warrior. Your furs today, so your elders believe nothing to be amiss. Now.”

She stood and bowed, and went as told. Long ago she’d sworn to obey.

* * *

As they walked in, Matt and Meghan came over. “Sam!” Meghan exclaimed. “We completely forgot that with the breakup,” she shot Kate a bit of a disappointed look, “that she’d need another ride. Thanks for getting her.”

“Of course,” Sam said. “Always happy to help out. Shall we get started?”

The group assented, and they took their seats. Kate was avoiding Meghan’s gaze, and Mark was shuffling uncomfortably through his papers. Was it too weird, being here and playing after Jake had stormed off?

Kate felt a lip beginning to tremble, and steeled herself. She wouldn’t cry. Jake was gone, and there was no point. These others might leave as well, might decide that that their loyalty was to Jake, rather than Sir. But she’d stay. She loved the game, loved Aethera.

“Ready Kate?” Sam asked, when he noticed she had drifted.

“Oh. Yes, sir…” Kate said with a sigh. Sam smiled. Kate smiled back.

* * *

The elders bowed as Thanes to other Thanes, then took their leave. Morfren and Dara watched them leave with a certain amount of confusion before turning back to Aethera, only to find her already gone. They scuttled after her down the hallway, where she was headed toward her room. Well, the place where she kept her clothes… she hadn’t slept there in sometime.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go with them?” Dara asked. “They’ll be some time breaking down their camp outside the city, there is time to catch up with them.”

“Why?” Aethera asked. “I am needed here.”

“And there,” Morfren interjected. “The Lich advancing on your lands. Your sword, and mine, could be of real aid.”

“They will receive aid,” Aethera said, as she began to remove her furs. “My king…”

Morfren turned bright red and turned his back, while Dara’s eyes went wide. “What are you doing?”

Aethera glanced at them over her shoulder, puzzled. “Changing.”

“Yes, but right in front of…”

She rolled her eyes. “We travelled together in the wilds for months. We bathed in streams. This is hardly…”

“Not right in FRONT of each other!”

Dara shook her head. “Something is happening to you, Aethera. You swore to never call him King, yet now you do. You prance around his court like a Drow Harem girl. And you’re never here at night… have you begun sharing his bed? It could be a major scandal for him if the court knew.”

Slipping on her silken bottoms, enjoying the feel of them sliding over her hips, Aethera scoffed. “What did you all call it? Diplomacy? Once I thought it a waste of time. But now the Lich king marches on my lands, and my people have no answer for his magic. I could have gone and died with them as a silly wildling girl, but now I will go as the Swordshield of a great King, and his armies will drive the undead into the ground as his sorcerers rip that abominations dusty bones from his dark will. What service could he ask of me that isn’t worthy of that, my people’s very survival?”

Morfren’s stance went straighter with every word, and he turned around, barely even knowing her continued nakedness. “You mean you ARE…”

There was a knock at the door, and they turned as a courtier rushed in. “My Lord and Ladies, there are undead rising in the dungeons. The King suspects they are an attempt by the Lich King to keep Oidan’s armies where they are, and requests you all investigate.”

Aethera nodded, and as he left, she turned to them. “Come, an adventure for us to pursue. I appreciate your concern, but all is as it should be. Let’s go.” Pulling on her tight, skimpy top, she grabbed her axe, and headed forth. Adventure awaited.

Morfren and Dara glanced at each other as she left, then followed. Undead were undead, after all. Whatever this was, perhaps after a good fight, she’d be in a better place to talk.

* * *

“Kate?” Her eyes opened after they had drifted shut, and there was Trey, looking at her, concerned.

“Um, yeah, sorry, what were we saying?”

“Nothing, all night. Is it Jake? Do you want to talk about it?”

Kate gulped. She SHOULD have been thinking of Jake. They’d been dating for years, and broke up only the night before. She should have been heartbroken, completely wrecked. But instead, she was thinking of Aethera, sorry for her. To be so close to what she loved, what she wanted, and to be kept away by something so inconsequential as a marriage for lowland politics…

“Kate?”

She shook her head to clear it. Matt was looking concerned, Meghan frowning into a beer.

“Look, I’m sorry, okay?” Kate said, exasperated. “I just… I guess I’m just not good to talk about it, yet. I can just go home, if you all are worried.”

“We didn’t say…” Matt started, but Meghan reached out and touched his arm, shaking her head. Trey just looked confused as she walked out, but didn’t try to stop her.

Kate stumbled outside, despite not being drunk. Her head felt like it was splitting open, and she walked aimlessly, not towards the bus stop, certainly not to her own house. It was like her feet were following a different set of instructions.

Did she even miss Jake? They’d been growing apart for months. He blamed the game, but he loved it as much as she did. Sure, it sucked having to find a new group, though she suspected if he didn’t return soon, Meghan and Matt at least would follow him. Probably Trey, as well, even though he was newer to the group. She stopped walking, and looked up. She was at Sam’s house.

She frowned at that. She’d only been here the one time before. Was that right? It felt familiar as a second home. And he never came out to drink, said it was too late, himself too tired, but the lights were on, and she’d been wondering… wondering…

* * *

Her hand knocked at the chamber doors, and then she stood away. When it opened, she was there, the Queen of Oidan, her new child, the new crown prince, having gone to his own bower downstairs.

“My love?” She said with a small smile on her face. “It’s your pet lioness.”

That should have stung. She should have been angry… no, FURIOUS, to be addressed as such. But it felt good. Like a nickname. He thought of her as his. He’d told the queen as much. She was his. At the end of the day, that was all she really wanted to be.

“Is something amiss, Aethera?”

“No, my king… only…”

“Invite her in, love,” the queen said softly, placing a hand on her arm. “No need to be rude.”

The king smiled, and gestured for her to walk in. She did so, nervously, hesitantly. She’d never before spoken with the Queen save pleasantries, and now that they were in the same room, she found herself feeling… inadequate. The Queen was older than she, bright eyed and beautiful, and as she went and sat on the end of the bed that just the night before Aethera had shared with her King… she swallowed.

“It… it was a mistake to…”

“Nonsense,” the Queen said with a smile. She stroked the sheets she sat on. “You miss this bed, I understand. So did I, all those months under the care of the doctors. I have been eager to return, though it will still be some time before I may be with our King as a woman is with her man.”

Aethera’s eyes went wide, and flew to the King, who looked amused. The Queen actually laughed out loud.

“Did you think it a secret? Oh, sweet thing, your people are naive and prudish, odd, given clothing conventions. I am his wife, by treaty, and do not mind being such, but I know well that a man has needs, as does a woman. I knew of you within hours of your arrival. I gave my permission for him to bed you the night you saved him with the candelabra. I am only surprised it took as long as it did. Again, your people’s… quaint… sensibilities. I wonder if their men blush as prettily.”

The King chuckled. “The army marches next moon. After the Lich is dealt with, I’ll have to bring one back for you.”

“That may be interesting, but now we are left to wonder what to do with the fiery hellcat herself. Come here, girl. Stand before me so I can see you.”

Aethera glanced at the King again, who crossed his arms. “You came into her chambers. You call me your King, which makes her your Queen. So…”

The warrior woman nodded, then stepped forward, standing before the Queen, feeling more naked in her skimpy outfit than she had any time since she first put it on. The Queen grinned at her.

“As simple as that, eh? You obey your king, and so obey me. No question, no hesitation, now he’s told you the rules. There’s potential here. But the question remains… why come? What did you hope to gain here, tonight?”

Aethera’s eyes went downward. “I… will be accompanying the army to the lands of my people. But I do not wish to stay there, though they will ask. I wish to serve… my king. As one of his.”

“As his soldier? His bodyguard? His Amazon?” The queen tilted her head. “Or his lover?”

“Yes…” Aethera answered, simply. She’d been wrong. As the Queen stared at her, measuring her, she recognized that. Her King had found her enticing, useful, a weapon to be wielded, a handy warmer for his bed, but now his wife had returned. She would be used as she had use… nothing more, nothing less. “I apologize, I will…”

“Stop.” The Queen said with a laugh. “I am no jailer. My love, what do you think?”

The King walked around Aethera, his eyes roaming, his hand brushing her hair out of her eyes. “She is loyal, no doubting that.”

“And she has served you well, by all accounts. Perhaps we should reward her. Sit here, and I will show her how.”

The King raised an eyebrow, then smiled and sat on the bed as the Queen rose and walked gingerly behind the warrior woman, her hand openly exploring Aethera’s body. “He is my husband. You accept that?”

“Yes, my Queen.” her eyes bolted open at a particular touch.

“I am his wife. His only wife. Our child is his heir. You, a girl from the wild lands, could never take my place, not even if I died, yes?”

“Yes, my Queen.”

“Excellent. If you are no rival, then I need not fear. A wife does not fear her husband’s bitch. Her loyalty to him is, in turn, loyalty to her. Very well, kneel before your King, girl.”

Aethera dropped, hesitantly, to one knee, as she’d seen others do. He’d said she didn’t have to, but he also said to obey his Queen, and her tone of voice brooked no argument. There was a soft chuckle in her ear.

“No one doubts your loyalty, child, but that wasn’t how I meant it. On both knees, wench. Not as one to pledge service, but as one about to serve. Bend, to show you understand how much greater we are than you.”

Confused, Aethera still obeyed. Kneeling that way pushed her forward, so that she was practically between the King’s knees. Suddenly, she felt fingers at her back, and felt as the loose fabric that protected what claims to modesty she had left drifted away.

“Do all wildlings have such breasts? If so, we’ll have to find a wetnurse there.”

“I suspect,” the King ventured, “that we’ll soon have anything we want there.”

“Excellent. Now, girl, remove the royal member from his trousers.”

A hand took her by the scruff of the neck and pushed her forwards, as her hands scrambled at the ties of his trousers. She had helped him undress in the past, of course, but this was different. Before it had been as he scrabbled madly to remove her own coverings, but now he just sat there, watching her with a smile both surprised and… possessive. Of her. Her heart fluttered in her chest.

Soon, his cock had been pulled free, and it sprang up before her. It had been inside her before, of course, but now she stared at it, entranced. She’d never been this close with her eyes, and it looked beautiful. Powerful. She licked her lips, scarcely aware she was doing it.

Her head was pushed forward, and she parted her lips to permit it into her mouth. She’d heard of women who did such things before, and racked her memory for any clue as to how to do it correctly, closing her lips around it and bathing the head with her tongue, desperately trying to restrain her gag reflex as her head bobbed up and down on it, moved entirely at the Queen’s firm grip.

It went on for some time, with each bob her head going lower and lower until her eyes watered as the head struck the back of her throat.

“Taste him. Taste your king in your mouth, smell his scent in your nose. This is what you wanted, what you longed for. To serve. So serve.”

The tears kept coming, but she couldn’t have said whether they were for pain, or for joy.

* * *

The knock came as she was expecting it. Morfren and Nispen looking concerned.

“It’s time to go. We’ve had enough. We are not members of the army, we are not conquerors. We will stand against him.”

“Then you stand against me,” she answered. Morfren simply rolled her eyes. Trey tried again.

“This isn’t you. This isn’t who you are, Kate. Something is odd. He’s done something to you. Made you break up with Jake…”

“Clingle was a traitor who was dealt with. Must you be dealt with in the same way?”

“Damn it, listen to me…” Morfren started, but then Trey cut in.

“Look, have you at least heard from Meghan? No one has seen her in days, and we thought for sure that she’d come to talk to you.”

“The Cleric has not spoken to me for a long time. She was angriest of all of you, said horrible things about my king. I do not wish to see her again. Or you, as it happens.”

“Look, at the very least, could you ask Sam if…”

The door slammed shut, and she heard Trey swear outside as they headed to the car. Somewhere, in her chest, Aethera felt some pang of sadness. They had been friends. She hoped she never had to fight them. But she would, if they forced her. If they ever stood against her King.

She waited for a time, for them to be gone, for the hour to be correct, then she stepped outside, smiling and happy, free of constraints at last. She didn’t walk directly, by command, but when she finished, the door opened as she approached.

“My dear, are you well?”

Aethera crossed the threshold, then knelt low, face to the ground as the door closed behind her. “Yes, Mistress. They are gone, and will disrupt my service no longer.”

“Good. We’ve a gift for you. Follow.” She turned and walked out, and Aethera rose to follow meekly, eyes looking around, evaluating threats. All around her walked the bewildered denizens of her lands, brought here to ascertain for certain that the threat of the Lich had been neutralized. They left, one and all, dedicated to the sanctity of their lands, and to the rule of their Emperor. Some spoke of rebel Thanes in hiding, but Aethera had already rooted many of them out, and would the rest. It was the only way for peace.

As they passed into an inner chamber, Aethera gave a smirk. There was Dara, bound in the chair Master and Mistress used to teach those who resisted. Her eyes were wide, makeup run with tears. “Kate!” she tried to cry, her voice hoarse from, presumably, much crying. Clerics were such cowards without front liners to protect them. “Did you call for help, are we…”

“Do silence her, my dear. Such outbursts slow her training.”

With a nod, Kate walked around and secured the gag, all the best to prevent any errant prayers. A hand brushed over the exposed breasts, eliciting a shiver. Time spent in service to her mistress had taught her well how to please a woman with her fingers, and would confuse the Cleric even more. Then, seeing her Mistress hadn’t slowed, she hurried on into the royal bedchambers, where the king was waiting, his beautiful eyes glowing. She fell to her knees before him, eyes rooted on the crotch of his pants, hoping to serve.

“I have to admit, love, I never thought it would work so well as it has. A shame about her friend, the one who played the cleric. Lovely legs.”

“The legs aren’t going anywhere, my dear, and I know you always wanted to see if the chair really worked. Early returns are promising.”

The queen smiled. It wasn’t a kind grimace. “Whatever comes, her dear friend will be there to nurse her back to health and train her to our service, won’t you, my pet?”

“Of course, mistress.”

“But that isn’t why we summoned you. I will be traveling to my homeland soon, and you’ll again sleep in your masters bed. What say you to that?”

Aethera grinned. She didn’t mind the rugs before the bed, as they were her place, but a return to the sheets would be welcome. “Thank you, Mistress.”

“Of course, first, we must be sure you remember who you are. And whose.”

Aethera again fell to the ground, her face pressed to the floor. “I am a guardian, a concubine, the pleasure thrall of my king. I have no worth of my own, and could never take your place, even in death, mistress. I will serve him, and you, always.”

“So you say, but some of the wildness of your lands remains. So here is your gift, a final reminder.”

Aethera felt the collar as it was placed around her neck, preened as it clicked closed, perhaps forever. She hoped, forever.

And as Kate crawled after her Master and Mistress to their bedroom, ready to be used however they desired, the finished drawing of Aethera, Slave Slut of the Eastern Lands, Property of the King, hung prominently for all to see, naked entirely save for a lovely golden collar...