Countess of Desire (The Young Ancients Erotic Moments Book 1) (11 page)

"I... It's
silly, really. My friend, Sherri Bonner, is getting married, to Mark Sorenson. They're
moving to her space station, so I won't be seeing her as much anymore. This
place is too big for just me. I should be happy for her, but... I don't really
want to be alone."

Maria hugged
her, even if she didn't know her that well.

"I
understand that! As soon as everyone finds out that Marvin and I were betraying
the rebellion the whole time, I think that I might find myself alone, too. You
have friends though, and jump craft, so your friend can visit you, regularly,
correct? After the first blush of the marriage wears off, of course. You don't
want to be that clingy friend that tries to insert themselves into
everything." She felt bad, saying it that bluntly, but got sniffle and a
nod in return.

"No doubt.
Well, now, I can get those things for you. A warning however, don't kill the
King. That won't end well, especially if you use a weapon I gave you. Here, let
me see about getting..." She wandered off, leaving Maria there alone. She
didn't stand, since they were both women, but it took a while. When Tiera came
back she had a tray loaded down with sweets, tea and a carafe of wine. There
was also a small amulet on the silver tray, and a white stylus that looked much
like a writing pen, except that one end was a loop of stone and the whole thing
was white.

Setting the
whole thing on the table, the young Queen waved at it all.

"Lemon
cookies, orange sweet rolls, a light golden wine, and soothing tea. Also that
weapon and ship you wanted. You'll have to find someone to teach you how to
jump though. I'd say ask Sara Debri, but she hates you."

Maria picked up
the two amulets, her hand stopping halfway back.

"She...
does? That's odd. I'm not even certain I know who that is. I mean the name is
clear, and I think we met once or twice. Did I offend her somehow?" It
wasn't a good thing if she had, was it?

"From what
I hear it was about an incident at school, involving Tor? She was going to have
you killed, years later, when she found out about it, but King Richard begged
her not to. I have that from
him
, by the way. So we may not want to
force you two together. I know, you should ask Gerent. You're friends, right?
He's mentioned you. Fondly." She seemed a bit sad then, but shrugged.
"He's my adopted brother, so I have to follow family rules with him, or
the others will freak out."

That got Maria
to smile, even if the news about Sara Debri was odd. Maria had an enemy who
wished death upon her? One that had only held back thanks to the
King
begging for her life? That was very different than what she would have thought.
Worse, the woman was an immortal now. It would be best to try and fix things
there, if she ever got the chance.

Still, Gerent
was sweet, and very genuine in all he did. Strong too. Powerfully so. Many
nobles talked a good game when it came to backing up their friends, but as far
as she could tell, Gerent Lairdgren followed through, didn't he? Twice she'd
heard of him killing those that were a threat to people he knew. Both of them
at great personal risk, too. Anyone could be brave when it didn't matter. Few
managed when the cost could be their own life.

Looking at the
still rather sad Queen, Maria nodded.

"Well,
here, why don't we have a bite to eat, then..." She was going to suggest
sex, because the woman clearly wanted to be comforted, but the pale lady winked
at her.

"Then you
can get back? Or do you have further business here?"

She grinned,
"Honestly? I still have more to do. I need to beg Timon for the use of his
fake Truth amulet. It's the real reason that the rebels came to me in the first
place, you know. No one else could get past the gate at the palace. Except that
I managed it, easily enough. Have you ever entertained King Richard? In bed, I
mean? He's quite worth it."

There was a
strained look for half a moment, then a shrug.

"My uncle,
by marriage. I don't know how well that would go over with anyone, but perhaps
I should ask after him sometime. In a few more years I'll be able to go there
and visit, after all. Until then, you can just come here, and we can..."
It was strange, but she stopped speaking, as if shy, suddenly.

Maria wasn't
that way though, luckily.

"Have sex?
Go and find likely men and women to entertain us together? Go to the free whore
house here and take on all comers for a contest? We can do all of that, if you
want. The last one lacks a bit, dignity wise, however. We might want to skip
that particular one."She giggled, as if she'd been naughty, but the look
from Tiera was rewarding enough.

"It all
sounds fun though. I... Don't get a lot of that, anymore. I never thought being
a Queen would be so much work. I would like to be friends however. Now, let me
get with Tim and see if he'll bring that thing over for you? It will take less
time than finding him, and your rebellion friends will be eager to hear from
you, I bet."

"I'm
certain they will. I need to find Marvin, Debbie and Petra anyway, before they
forget me here. I bet she'll be willing to show me how to use my new craft. Oh,
is that a loan too, or..." She didn't want to be greedy, but it was a real
treasure.

"Keep it.
Both of them are yours." Then she walked over to a wooden side table,
which was dark and lustrous, and picked up her communications device. There was
low speech for a bit, but when she returned from across the room, Tiera seemed
happier.

"It looks
like Tim gave that Truth amulet you need directly to Count Ward. The others are
on their way to Petra and Gerent's place, because that's where the ship is. I
hope to hear from you soon? I'll understand of course, if you're busy, or have
other things to see to." She stopped talking then, being kissed.

"We should
make a date? It will be a few weeks, I think. I have a rebellion to break
first. After that however?" She kissed the Queen again, finding her lips
to be very soft, and then sighed. "Oh, also, can Kedrin have exile here?
He's not a bad man, if a bit of a fool. We have to put him somewhere though, or
kill him." She shrugged, since it might not be her choice anyway, but it
didn't hurt to ask.

"I
suppose. He'll need to work and pull his own weight, but that isn't hard for
most people here. I'd suggest he consider marrying me, but he didn't seem all
that interested in me, the one time we met. Well, not after we finished."

Maria winced,
since Tiera was being rude, and it was clear that Kedrin had been too. Still,
she was willing to let him come, she'd said, and he might well be a bit more
interested in her now. She was much larger, for one thing, and marrying her
would improve his social standing, which was a thing that he might well like.
It could take the sting out of failing to get what he wanted.

Not that he'd
really tried that hard.

It was the
others that had tried to push him into it the whole time. Not that there was a
lot of love lost between the King and his younger brother, but the man had
clearly been planning to let them kill Richard, and place Alphonse on the
throne the whole time. How anyone could have missed that, she didn't know.

"I'll set
that up then? If he can generate enough interest would you still be willing to
consider a marriage proposal? He really can be sweet, and he's a lot of fun.
You aren't the jealous type, are you?"

"A
bit
.
I didn't think I was, but I certainly hate to lose Sherri, you understand? As
for Kedrin, well, I would hear the offer, at least. He'd get a title as King,
but it wouldn't mean that much here. A share of the
work
, but the power
would still rest with the council. I could really use the help, however."

They nearly
started to chat about that, but the Queen made her leave, waving at her,
"go now. I'll be here in a few weeks. Thank you, for being concerned. It
nearly seems genuine and everything."

It could have
seems snotty, since Maria had clearly come to beg gifts from her, but she let
herself smile. "It really
is
. I'll be back, soon. Possibly with a
go between, unless Kedrin is a bigger fool than I think."

That got her
out the door, and turned around twice before she asked a strange looking man in
black, who was tiny and pale, marking him as being from Tellerand, where she
might find Gerent and Petra's palace.

The man bowed
to her, and smiled.

"I can
take you that way? I find it easier than trying to explain, and the All High
would wish it. You are from Noram, are you not?" He started walking, his
pace brisk. "I have been that way on occasion of late. To the Capital
city? I'm the Ambassador from Tellerand to all the other lands, but most of
them don't have as... Colorful and different a set of traditions."

He did sound
diplomatic, she had to allow.

"I
am
from that land! So pleased to meet you. I'm Countess Maria Ward. Have you been
to Warden yet? If not you should come soon. I'm sure that my husband and I
would be happy to entertain you, as our guest."

The small man
blushed, his breath coming up a bit short.

"That
would be... Lovely. I... I'm of a rather different tradition however, and may
not be much fun, or as entertaining as... I..." He kept stammering, but
she got the idea. He was trying to find a graceful way to duck out, and
failing, badly.

"Ah, well,
if you're too busy, then that's that. We all understand the need to see to duty
first, don't we?"

He let out a
long stream of air, and shook his head slowly.

"It isn't
that. I'm... not comfortable having sex with men. Really, even the women are
difficult for me. I was told that I need to be very careful, since in their
County, a Count, or Countess..."

She blinked.

"Oh! Is
that all? Well, I assure you, we can keep that from happening. Marvin won't let
anyone be forced against their will. In Warden, you can say no, to anyone. No
matter what their social position. So, we should have you over for a stay? In
about a month? That will let you check out my words and to make certain that
it's all honest. It is, but you will want to be reassured." She grinned at
him, and took his hand, as they walked. It was companionable, but he still
blushed.

He didn't push her
off though, which was amazing, considering where he was from.

The small man
traded communications information with her, but left her as soon as they got to
the long, very straight, hallway that led to where she needed to go. After that
she was able to float on, and find the door fairly quickly. Using Tor-shoes was
always fun,
if
a bit juvenile. There was no one watching her at that
moment however, so she cut loose and went faster than would have been safe in
town. There was no one to hit, and while the whole trip took a lot less time at
the speeds she traveled, it was long enough that she got to have some fun doing
it.

The door stood
open when she got there, and Petra stuck her head out, smiling.

"So, we
managed to pry the amulet out of Tim's fingers. It wasn't all that hard. It's
his old one. Apparently his new one allows him to take control of any Truth
amulet placed on him. If that get's out, we might as well scrap the whole
thing. What he has to lie about he wouldn't mention, but I'm betting it isn't something
small. Death and mayhem, at a guess. Otherwise, why bother?"

She nodded
back, not wanting to put an opinion in.

"I have
the weapon I need. Also one of those new ships you mentioned? Tiera said I'd
need lessons, and suggested Gerent, but I don't think I have that kind of time.
You can teach me what to do?"

That got her
sister in-law to produce a low, impressed whistle.

"That's a
rare thing then. I don't think anyone else even has one of those yet. What did
you have to do in order to get her to part with one?"

Maria winked,
her face happy.

"Me?
Nothing.
You
on the other hand will need to stop by a few times a week
to service her. I mentioned how able you were in certain ways, and she was
intrigued. That should only take a few years to pay off, but getting the craft
was your idea, so it seemed fair."

She got a funny
look, but not called a liar.

"I didn't
know I was yours to trade that way."

Maria nodded.

"That
still doesn't mean you shouldn't be stopping by and doing your part, does it?
Besides, have you seen her? She
delicious
. You'd be a fool not to take
this up. I
have
heard a lot about you, but that's a word that no one has
ever
linked to your name."

Petra sighed,
and then shrugged her powerful shoulders.

"I suppose
I should, really. I can show you how to jump. We can do that on the way back?
Have you used a fast craft before?"

"No? I've
ridden in them, but they're rather hard to get, aren't they? Tor made most of
them, and I'd thought he was mad at me. It turns out he really wasn't."
She rubbed her behind then, which got everyone in the room to look at her.

Debbie made a
face, but didn't say anything. Marvin did.

"If you
weren't punished, then why are you sore?"

She looked
away.

"Because
some things are earned, even if not insisted upon by anyone else? He and I are
friends now, which is all that matters. Real ones, I think. It wasn't what I
would have expected, but I guess it's fact now?" More, they apparently had
been for some time, she just hadn't been wise enough to notice it.

Maria learned
two important lessons in the next several hours. The first one was that, as
sweet as she could be, Petra took the idea of being a warrior and teacher very
seriously.

She put Maria
through her paces setting up the new glorious jump craft that Queen Tiera had
given her, but didn't stop at showing her how to decorate the thing, or even
flying around the Moon in orbit. She had to learn to do everything, and was
made to jump between Earth and back dozens of times, while Marvin and Debbie
looked on nervously.

Not that it was
hard, after the first ten or so failed attempts. It was designed to just not
let you go anywhere if you messed up the complicated mental commands, luckily.

Then, after she
set the craft down in front of the villa in Warden, Pet waved for the others to
go in.

"Maria and
I have to go and take care of a few things."

What that was
Maria didn't know. Hopefully it was just a reprise of the day before. She
didn't really feel like servicing Petra for an hour at the moment, but there
were
worse ways to spend their time. Besides, she could get some of her toys out,
which would be fun enough. Fucking the larger woman from behind for instance,
would leave Maria with a sense of power. That would be nice, after the hours of
feeling a bit diminished, being ordered around like she had been.

That wasn't to
be the case.

No, Pet in her
wisdom had decided that Maria needed to practice with the new weapon that she'd
been given. To that end she flew off toward the coast, just lifting off, using
the flight capability of her shield. It took a bit for Maria to do the same. It
wasn't exactly dignified to go flying around. It was fun though, so she
transformed her red and black dress into soft brown trousers that hugged her
behind and a loose matching shift for the top. No one flew in a dress.

At the beach,
Petra stopped, and pulled out a very familiar white stone stylus. The
construction wasn't identical, but it had a small loop in the end, just like
the one that Maria had been given.

"Shield
stripper is a bit of a misnaming. They actually focus thought to allow shields
to be turned off, at a distance. At the same time, you can hit your target with
either an explosive weapon, or a force lance. The things are incredibly
versatile, but it takes practice to really use them. If you want to learn to
fight at all, this is both a good thing to start with and the hardest way to go
about it." The language was a bit strange, but Maria got it. She ran too
many spies herself to suppose they weren't being watched, even well away from
anyone else.

It was nerve
wracking, since she had to practice on Petra, taking her shield down, and
controlling the force lance portion, trying not to kill her by mistake. Then,
no one had ever said Pet wasn't brave, had they?

After that,
they abused the stones and even the sand of the beach itself.

Melting it.

"Immolation.
You'll seldom need it, unless you need to start a camp fire, but it can be
handy. In general we all try to hold back with that one. Don't tell people that
it has that capability? The less people know about what we can do the better off
we'll be in a pinch."

Then, because
the girl was insane, they had to duel with the weapons. Just taking down each
other’s shields and trying to trip each other by pushing on the others legs
with light blasts of force. It still hurt, but Maria thought she was doing well
enough to impress the rebels. They wouldn't expect
anything
of her, not
really. She was just Countess Ward.

The idea that
she might get into place by sucking the King off, or offering him her behind,
would be believed by all. That she was going to outfight the royal guard...
Well, that just wasn't ever going to work. No, if she did this thing for real,
she would die. The trick there would be in killing the King first. So she
worked, trying to get good enough in one lesson for that.

At dinner time,
Petra shrugged.

"You can
defend yourself, more or less. I suggest daily practice. Not just with this
weapon either. Take your craft up every day for at least six months. Visit
people and all that. I need to get back home. I actually have a date with my
husband later,
if
he's not too busy for me. Personally I blame Tiera for
that part. She can be pushy."

Maria hadn't
noticed that at all, really. She seemed more lonely than anything else.

"Take care
then, and give Gerent a kiss from me? Or better, tell him to come and collect
one from me himself, sometime soon? Of course, now that I have this craft
around my neck, I'll be up to visit with you far more often. We'll have such
fun!" They would too. She nodded, as Petra waved to her, made her own
craft appear, and vanished into the sky a few moments later.

That left her
to fly back to the Villa alone, just in time for the evening meal.

The next part
of things would be the difficult task, wouldn't it? The letter she'd gotten
from Baron Klepter had told her to pick up the Truth amulet, if she could, but
hadn't given her any hint as to how to contact anyone with the information that
she had it. There were people in charge of things, of course, and the habit had
been to pass Kedrin Cordes around to the top people in the rebellion. It was
for safety, but
did
kind of give away who was in charge.

The thing there
was that she didn't really know where that was at the moment, did she? Not that
it would be all that hard to work out. Maria smiled through the evening meal,
and watched the dancers for a bit, then went inside when no one was watching
her too closely. The quiet room, a thing with thick walls, lined with silk to
prevent being overheard, would work well enough, if she were careful. If you
weren't inside the space yourself, it would be hard to hear what was said.

It also locked
from the inside.

Using her
communications device, standing in the middle of the small space, the light
coming from a copper plate above her, she looked up Kedrin's name on it. That
he had one of the things wasn't a mistake, after all. She'd gotten it for him
herself. Most of the people in the rebellion had them now, since they rated
them as being high enough in the ranks of nobility. Terry Baker had used the
things to buy goodwill some years before.

It had worked
too. Most of the nobles in the Kingdom already kind of loved the boy, and
they'd never even met him.

It was handy at
the moment, since it meant she could tap in Kedrin's name, and then wait for
the man to answer. His giant face, complete with thick red mustache, came into
being in her hand a few minutes later. That was a longer time than most took,
and she'd nearly given up.

"Hello? I
had to get someplace safe to speak. May I... Maria! There you are, my lovely
friend. I was just thinking about you the other day. Your name came up in
conversation here. Are you in a good location?" His deep voice rumbled,
making her hand vibrate as the stone produced the sound he was making on the other
end.

The face was
relaxed, but slightly concerned, for him. He had lines around his eyes that
hadn't been there the last time they'd gotten together. The whole rebellion
thing was taking a toll on him, wasn't it?

"In the
quiet room here. I have news. How are things on your end?"

"About the
same. No one can hear me here. Is all well?"

She smiled, and
let herself shrug.

"That
depends on what you mean by well? I was sent a note, by someone claiming to be
in the rebellion. Through a contact I wouldn't have expected. There seems to be
a rather foolish plan in place, to kill your brother? I mean, one that can't
work at all. Using a girl with poison on her lips, both upper and lower, to
entice Richard to meet his doom in the bed chamber? That...
isn't
going
to work."

There was a
hard face then and a nod.

"As I
mentioned. Several times. I think that this experiment is about finished. Well,
it was worth the doing, I think. Even if I die in the next months. Richard was
getting too full of himself. Thinking that he actually knew what was best,
instead of fumbling around in the dark like the rest of us."

Maria tilted
her head. She'd never realized that Prince Kedrin had that much sense of the
reality of rule.

"I have a
better plan though. One that can use the elements we've been given, but will
actually work. I made my way into contact with Richard..." She tried to
act coy, but then shrugged. Kedrin was nothing if not free with his ideas about
getting things done.

"That is I
used my connections to Petra Ward to get in to see him the other day, and we
took turns servicing him. I have another date for the same thing in six days. I
got a weapon from Queen Tiera that can take his shield away, as well as end his
days. We need to coordinate though, or else... Well, half of all such things
fail, after the rebels think they have won, don't they? People get complacent,
and others will fight very hard to keep what they have."

Kedrin blinked
at her, then smiled slowly.

"I see.
How do you intend to escape after doing that however? The Royal Guard will
fight, even after their package is dead. If you have such a device as I think
you do, know that they have them as well. Merely being behind a shield will not
save you for long." He sounded deadly serious about the whole thing.

She nodded.

"I know. I
won't be making it out of there. Not alive, and probably not in one piece.
Someone has to get this done though. For the good of all our people. So, we
need to set this up carefully. We don't have a lot of time. Can I do that? I can
act alone, but that would be the same as throwing this all away. I'll lose my
life for the good of my people, but I
won't
just cast it into the sea.
If they won't do anything... Well, I can go and suck the King's cock for a few
years and
probably
earn forgiveness for Marvin and myself. I...
Kedrin." She stopped as the man gave her a dark look, but went on anyway.
"Ked... I can get you a place in Harmony. Queen Tiera will allow you to go
there, into exile if need be. Regardless, she's put for an offer of marriage
for you. Win, lose or draw on this mess here. I think you should seriously
consider it."

"Queen
Tiera? I..." He paused, then smiled. "Is she an old hag then? I don't
believe we've met and the connections I bring aren't worth that much, are
they?"

Maria hmphed,
and gave him an upset look.

"You've
had sex with her! Right here in the very room I'm in, when you were here. The
tiny and very pretty one? She's still gorgeous, but now she's taller. About
seven and a half feet tall. A wizard in her own right, Queen of the Moon, and
probably the best catch in three worlds right now, since you can't marry
Karina. Now, think about that one. No matter what else, it's on the table and
ignoring her would be... Worse than foolish."

There was a nod
then, and a considering look.

"I'll take
that under consideration then, Maria. Can you make it to Duke Levitt's main
house before you need to leave to travel to the Capital?"

That was a real
question, wasn't it? Duke Levitt held the most northern edge of the Kingdom, on
the eastern coast. That he was in on things made sense, given that life was
hard up there, and it was always easy to kind of blame the King for not doing
more for you and your people, in cases like that.

"I can be
there in... Well, call it a few hours? I need some way to mark the landing,
I've never navigated like this at night. The craft could get me there in
minutes, but... My skill is new."

"Ah?
Impressive. I'll have a ring of lights put up, if possible?

They broke off
then, and she went to find Marvin, who was working by that time in his office,
signing and reading papers for various things. Most of his real work was done
that way, she knew. He tried to keep it separate from their lives, but he did
it almost every day, for hours.

"Love? I'm
off to Duke Levitt's. To set things in motion. I should be back before morning.
I wish I had one of those amulets that keeps you awake. Well, more of a reason
to get on Alyssa Baker's good side-"

Marvin held out
his hand, a leather strap, thin and perfect, with a coin sized stone amulet on
the end. It was etched, instead of glowing.

"Petra
suggested we stop by the magic shop there and collect some things. I got two of
everything, one set for you. We can play with them later though. For now, this
will keep you awake enough, I think?"

He looked at
her, his face serious. Worried.

She took a deep
breath and nodded. It was, after all, dangerous. If she'd made one mistake, or
handled things the wrong way, she might well end up dead doing this. She was
too well shielded and now armed, to go easily, but everyone knew that there
were ways around that kind of thing. That was literally what they all had
planned, wasn't it? Either through poison, or magic. While most of the best
wizards lived in Harmony now, that didn't mean
all
of them did. Plus,
she had no way of knowing that all of those people were actually working on the
side of King Richard, did she? She may well find herself facing off against
magics that she'd never even heard of, if things went wrong.

That was why
she couldn't take her husband with her. Two mouths lying were far more likely
to be caught than one.

"Thank you
dearest heart. Know that I love you. Always." She held her hand out, and
then, on impulse, kissed his hand, drawing it to her lips.

He held her for
a moment, leaning over greatly to make it work.

"We could
send guards or..."

She knew what
he wanted to do, which was go himself and share the risk. She shook her head.