Countess of Desire (The Young Ancients Erotic Moments Book 1) (7 page)

"Lovely.
We should finish our meal first. I have an idea of what we can do! It will be
incredible."

That got a
funny look from Petra, but
Marvin
acted like he hadn't heard her. After
all, to his mind, with all the problems the two women had over the years, if
they could do anything together, it would be a miracle. Maria couldn't naysay
him on that thought either. It really would be good if they got through the
evening without harsh words.

Petra didn't
say a lot more after that, but when the meal was over she gave Martya, her
brother and Debbie a big hug each, and slapped Maria on the back lightly.

"Shall we
get going? Or do you need to grab something first?"

What that would
be the Countess didn't know, but she shook her head.

"I have my
space shield with me, and that should be enough for the trip, shouldn't
it?" Focusing she tried to pick up any hint of subtext from the woman, but
there was just a nod. The shield seemed to be what she was asking about. Not
everyone had them, but Maria
had
been up to Harmony a few times. It was
law that if you went there you had to have a shield on, at all times. They
gave
you one if you didn't have such a thing already, and never collected them back
up. The things were worth millions of golds, and if the most common man or
woman asked for them, they could have had a small box of them to take back as
free trinkets for their friends.

Then, you
couldn't buy magic on Harmony. Really, you couldn't
buy
anything. They
gave it all to you for free. The custom was that you didn't take more than you
needed, and that you worked at what you could find to do for others. It was
mainly based on magic, but there was an actual struggle to keep everyone
employed. If you were good at making up jobs you were considered one of the
prime citizens there. In fact several people had been given ruling political
powers just because they were skillful at that kind of thing. It was very
different that way.

Her sister
in-law put her large, well sword callused hand on her back then, and led her
away a little, so that the tiny ship she had could be produced. Then, without
asking, the darker girl smiled at her, and made it roughly four times as big,
simply by touching the side and concentrating on what she wanted. With her eyes
wide open.
That
took skill.

Then Petra
moved to open the door for her, since Maria was a Countess, in her own county,
at the moment. True, the larger woman was technically of higher rank, but it
was very polite of her to defer like that, if a fiction. Once on the craft
however, she became not just a Conserina, or Princess by marriage, but also the
Captain of the thing. One of the rare and very hard to get jump ships.

Really, it was
an act of trust on her part, getting on the thing with Petra, Maria realized.
She could strip her of her shield, and dump her in space and it would be legal,
once they were high enough up. The thing there was that it would also anger
Marvin, and be so low in honor that it wouldn't have been happening anyway.
That was a thing for Petra's entire family.

Honor above all
else. They
lived
it, even in private.

When the doors
sealed themselves, they moved straight up. Quickly. The craft, which was lovely
inside, and made to look like a very large carriage with a single bed in the
back, all done in red velvet, except for the windows which dotted the side
every few feet. There was no sense of motion as it rose, and Pet looked
straight ahead, even as Maria glanced back at the lovely pink coverlet on the
giant bed behind them.

That
was
telling, wasn't it?

Maria wondered
if she should try to get out of it, for about ten seconds. Then realized that
it would serve more than one purpose to have Petra that way. It would bring
them closer together, especially if they did things regularly after that. Maria
was skilled enough to make that attractive, even if the other woman didn't
normally show interest in the same sex. Plus, if nothing else, it really showed
that Pet was willing to actually
try
to be her friend. Not doing it
would be foolish.

Plus, she'd
never thought that Petra wasn't attractive, had she? Oh, perhaps while being
beaten
,
but only because of anger.

When they were
up high enough for the world to seem like it was slowly spinning under them, a
dark hand brought out a different amulet, which was placed under the control
bauble. The one that was there looked like a floating crystal ball, but that
was simply what had been picked. It could be made to look like anything, after
all. The entire craft could.

Petra took a
deep breath, then let it out very slowly.

"So. Plans
for the evening?"

Maria let her
lips curl up, and batted her eyes a bit, flirting openly.

"Well, we
could go down on each other? Then, after that... We could..." She actually
felt shy suddenly, since it was a lot to ask of anyone, wasn't it? The words
caught in her throat, which got a strange reaction.

Bafflement.

Petra actually
shook her head a bit.

"What's so
bad that you're blushing about asking? I mean,
you
? We didn't bring any
oil, so anal fisting is out, and other than that I'm not too sure there's
anything you wouldn't do with a smile on your face. So, what is it? Just tell
me. It will be better that way than being ambushed when you suddenly try
it."

It was a bit
mean to say it that way, but she just nodded.

"Not that.
I'm not into causing pain, when it can be avoided, unless that's what my
friends need, I mean. Then it's fine enough. No, I..." She looked away and
swallowed. "I need to get a message to King Richard. You know that Marvin
and I..."

Petra looked
away herself then, her shoulders going stiff.

"That you
betrayed your oaths to him? Yes, that
has
been mentioned. More than
once. I'm
not
all that happy about it. I
can't
go against the
King. I love my brother, but throwing in with that rabble is less than noble.
I... If we're to do anything toward mending our relationship, I don't think
this is the topic to start with."

Nodding, Maria
looked back at the woman.

"Ah. I'd
never been sure if you'd been told or not. I shouldn't now, since it's horrible
spycraft, but I need to get a message to King Richard as soon as possible, in a
way that won't be traced. The rebellion is making a last effort to kill him,
before it's too late. Everything else has failed, and in this action, they
know, those left, that being found out will surely lead to their deaths. We can
use this to break the backs of those that would overthrow the King, if we are
clever enough about it. We can’t use their plan, because, frankly, it’s close to
useless." She saw the light begin in Petra's eyes.

How the woman
had missed knowing about Marvin and her, she didn't really understand. Prince
Gerent
knew, after all.
He'd
figured it out. Apparently when Debbie had asked him
not to mention it to anyone. He'd been better to his word than any would have
suspected, she realized, if his own wife didn’t know. It made her decide to
have sex with him whenever he wanted. Even if he turned out to be into kinky
things.

That was
possible, given the abuse that he'd suffered for so long. Since he was a child
he'd been
used
. Harshly, as often as not, she was willing to wager. Once
a person had already decided on rape, there was little reason for them not to
do whatever they pleased, was there? The punishment for raping a woman, or man,
was the same if you did it gently with only minor threats, as if you beat the
person and violated them to the point of severe damage.

That was less
than fun to think about, but she nodded as Petra started to get the idea.

"He, King
Richard, put us in place for infiltration,
years
ago. After that small
matter with us declaring war. Well, you know that story, so I won't bore you
with it. Needless to say, I have to be most careful in passing messages. Most
of the time I use our man in the Fast Transport business, Morgan, for that kind
of thing. They let him into the Palace often enough that he can hand things to
a few Royal Guards he knows. That gets passed to Queen Constance, who does as
she will with them, as is proper. I tried to set it up so that she'd take
Morgan as a lover, but so far she hasn't taken that bait. A bit of a shame.
He's older, but rather attractive, don't you think?"

That earned a
nod, at least.

"Yes, he
is... I... No one told me anything. I would have thought..."

Her face
flashed toward anger, but Maria held her tongue. If Prince Gerent was going to
get in trouble for this, she wasn't going to add to it. He'd done his part, now
she had to do hers.

Then she
grinned a bit and shook her head.

"Well, I
never figured that the King would tell me everything. He'd mentioned a bit, but
I always thought he was just saying things to make me feel better about being
related to traitorous scum. No offense."

That got her to
play huff and cross her arm.

"Hmmph! Is
that
the thanks I get for ruining my reputation to try and save the
Kingdom? Just for that you have to go down on me first. Here..." Touching
her chest she closed her eyes and concentrated on the outfit she wanted to
appear.

It was one that
she'd practiced before, since it was useful for a lot of different occasions.
The bodice of it pushed her breasts up, leaving them pointed enough to be
interesting to the most hardened and jaded of people. There were smooth white
stockings too, but no bottom was added to it, letting her bare behind hit the
soft cushion under her. It was warm, but not enough to be uncomfortable. The
outfit, if it could be called that, had puffy sleeves that left off above her
elbows on either side. Also an inner pocket for the letter she had. That part
was new, but she managed it well enough that it didn’t show.

She smiled, to
show she'd been playing. Sort of. She really was aroused suddenly, so she
pointed at the other woman, with her whole hand, the palm toward the floor.

"Now,
strip and kneel? This thing rotates, right?"

Pushing her
hips forward she found that the seat
did
turn far enough around to face
Petra, who looked confused suddenly. As if she wasn't quite understanding what
was happening. That got her arms pulled at.

"Come on. I
want you, now. Do a good job and I promise to return with the same?" The
tugging was token, but Pet moved to her knees, as requested. She could have
said no, or even changed the topic, but didn't, so Maria nodded at her.

"That's
right. Dive in. I'm more than ready."

She was hesitant
anyway. At first it seemed to be about true reluctance, but after a moment she
snaked her tongue out and hit the right spot very well. Even if she wasn't a
lover of women, they'd all had classes on the subject in school, hadn't they?
Maria hadn't, but there
had
been tutors for that kind of thing.

It was pretty
clear though that Pet hadn't had the same ones, since she did things in a very
different way than was expected. First paying attention to her lower lips. Each
one was first given a long slow and lingering caress with a finger, gently
tickling the outside. It wasn't intense, but that wasn't the point. Not yet.
Then all the fingers were brought into play, the short nails of her right hand
being slowly and carefully lifted upward, like a brush across her womanhood.

This was done
several times, but just as Maria was about to ask for more, it was there. The
pressure and intensity of the moment increasing. A warm tongue found her then,
the little nub of her clitoris hardening under the attention. Before she was
really ready, a finger found her, making a ring of her inner lips, gently,
moving in time to the licking.

Finally,
instead of entering her, as expected, there was a brief pause, and solid eye
contact.

"You
really
aren't
a traitor?"

It was a strange
thing to say, given the moment, but also an understandable one. It was hard to
give yourself to a person you hated, wasn't it?

"I'm
really not. I never was."

"Oh. Good
then."

The lovely pink
tongue settled in then, working harder than before. Every few moments Petra's
beautiful eyes would look up, locking with her own. It was sweet, and in the
end, satisfying enough. For a first time.

As she held the
girl's head, she came into her mouth, again and again, grinding until she'd had
what she could take from the moment, for now.

She didn't let
go though, just holding her new friend there for a bit. Letting her taste the
victory she'd brought about.

"Thank
you, love. Now, I believe it's your turn?"

That got a shy
grin from the woman. Maria decided it looked good on her. Then she got to the
subject at hand. Or, as it were, mouth.

It was over
half an hour later when they were both finished. They'd moved to the big bed in
the back, which was very soft, and warmer than Maria would have made it
herself. She liked things to be slightly cool, personally. It wasn't bad
though, and neither of them worked up a sweat, since it seemed they were both
in shape for what they were doing. For the most part.

Petra, who was
nude, sat up and rubbed at her mouth, then cleared her throat.

"My tongue
is sore. The muscle in the back?"

It was a thing
that could happen if you weren't ready for such things. Maria was better off
that way herself, but it was probably due to all the regular practice she had
at pleasing women. So she winked and nodded her head a bit.

"You'll
strengthen with practice. Do this, three, four times a week and that will stop
soon enough. I would have thought that someone like you would have worked on
that already." She made movements in the air, pretending to swing a sword
around. Poorly. She wasn't a fighter after all. "Isn't that a big part of
what you teach? Be prepared for everything, and practice constantly? What would
you do if you got into some kind of contest where you had to please different
women for the fate of the world? Hmm? Get through the first two and then fail,
apparently, too sore to go on. You should be ashamed, really." Maria
leaned in, sitting not too far from her and kissed her on the mouth gently,
nibbling just a little on her bottom lip. Savoring the taste of herself that
was still there. It wasn't too bad. Slightly salty, but nice. "Good thing
we found out now, before something too horrible happened that way! I'll help
you practice for that, because I'm so kind, but you really need a few other
training partners. Countess Printer perhaps? You two are still friends, aren't
you?"

It was a real
question. Holly Printer had thrown in with the rebellion a few years before.
After King Richard had failed to kill one of the rebellion members, strangely
enough. Maria understood the basic idea however. Count Rodriguez had taken
Petra, her best friend, and tortured her for
weeks
. She'd been raped
too, but seemed to be recovering now. Years later.

That part had
been hidden from everyone, to keep Marvin from declaring war on that County, to
seek his revenge for the act. It was a hard thing for all involved, no doubt.
County Ward had kept that fact secret from the people after it was found out,
too. People from the Capital had sought to prevent a war by torturing Rodriguez
in retaliation, then slaughtering the men that had done the actual deed
themselves. The guard that had taken it upon himself to set that part up, the
sexual abuse itself, had been raped for weeks first, then beheaded.

By Prince Gerent.

Well, the man
hadn't done the
rape
portion. He'd hired some rough men for it, but the
death had come at his hands. Later he'd confided to her that he'd thought that
part, what he'd done, would have Petra canceling their betrothal. Then, Gerent
was used to people leaving him. Her sister in-law wasn't that kind of person
however. No, she was a warrior, in her soul.

Which was why
she grinned then.

"Holly and
I were never like that. We're just friends."

"Oh? Well,
I know for a fact that she enjoys women well enough, and she's been lonely for
a long time. Even if you don't want her for yourself, you should make sure she
has people. Gerent perhaps? Speaking of which, if he's willing, I wouldn't mind
having him over to entertain sometime? Both of you, if you can work that
out?"

The larger
woman shifted a bit, and put an arm over her shoulder, then gave a gentle
squeeze.

"That
sounds fun, actually. I'm glad we did this. I think. I know that we haven't
always been close. As for my husband... I hate to complain, since he's a very
good person, but for the last few months he's been busy all the time. Getting
plants from Earth, and helping to build up the forests on the Moon. The domed
ones? That, and making constant runs for the same thing to the Mars stations.
Sara Debri is keeping him pretty busy."

There was a bit
of a grin and then a head shake.

"Not in a
fun
way either. The runs are so constant that he barely gets to sleep sometimes. If
it doesn't ease up soon I'm going to have to go and have a talk with her. She's
so different since she's changed. You heard that she was made immortal? The
Ancient of the Martian Circle?"

Maria
had
heard that, of course. It had made the rounds of the entire world, as it turned
out, since the woman was known in several lands. All of them, as it turned out.

"Yes.
That's a good jump in social situation for her, isn't it? I was taken a bit by
surprise. I mean the Wizard Timon never offered that kind of thing to
me
,
did he?" She gestured at herself, still dressed for bedroom games and
sighed. "Who'd have thought he'd like her better than
this
? Well,
that's what I get for not sleeping with him when he was twelve. I'd flirted
hard enough, but thought to set things up for later, when he was older. Not for
that, of course. You don't make friends just to use them." Except of
course, she did that all the time, didn't she?

Pet nodded,
then stretched.

"Gerent's
been offered that. I..." She looked away then, and made an outfit appear
then. It was all black, and looked to cover her whole body. Like leather, but
not polished for sport. Dusty and like it would work to protect her from the
blows of a practice sword pretty well. "Timon offered that to me, too. I
didn't think he would, but he just walked up to me once, a few years ago, and
suggested it. I haven't decided yet. I mean, it isn't really living forever,
since the best guess is that everyone doing that will go crazy at about six or
seven hundred years old, if they aren't killed first. That's a long time
though. Do I want to live that long?"

Maria tried to
think about it first, rather than start out by calling Petra a fool. They were
just starting to get along, after all. That would be a poor plan. Instead she
closed her eyes and dressed in head to toe black too. A simple, very heavy
outfit that was a lot like what a military man might wear. Simple and hard to
damage, with black boots. Ones that didn't shine much.

"Well,
that's a choice to consider carefully. If it were me I'd take him up on it. Are
you two lovers? I know that you were both going around together for a while?
There were some rumors? He was a bit young at the time too, wasn't he?"
She didn't smile, because those rumors had been false really.

Rather, the two
had been close for nearly half a year. Even sharing the same bed chamber at
times. That was all though. Her spies had been firm that there was nothing
closer than that going on between them.

Pet scowled at
her, but then shrugged.

"No. We're
friends. He... When I was taken, by Will? He and some Royal Guards were the
ones that came to rescue me. Then he... Do you know how William was
taken?"

She nearly
rolled her eyes. Of course she knew that one.

"I'd heard
that Tim and Judith, the Printer heir, kidnapped and tortured him, then after
breaking him, passed him off to the King? That's what King Richard told
me." Which was true, and got a nod.

"That's
about it. When Timon found all that out, he just made a plan, and took him. A
Count
.
Then made him pay. I was there for that part. What was done to him... Well,
pain wise it was enough, nearly to make up for what had happened to me. Not
that I'm unhappy he's dead now." She stood, and moved the fifteen feet
back to the front seat, settling before she spoke again. "Sorry, I'm being
gloomy. To answer you plainly, yes, Tim and I are close. I didn't know that you
knew him that well."

It was leading,
but Maria grinned.

"I don't.
We've met a few times, but you know me, I'm not that subtle all the time. I
made it clear that I could help him find his manhood, when the time came.
Apparently I wasn't needed for that. Well, good enough. He's done well for
himself without me. For
all
of us." Which was just true, but she
stood too.

"So, ready
for the next fun event?" She smiled wickedly, enough so that Petra
frowned.

"Yes? What
do you have in mind?"

It was clear
that she was thinking they'd need some lube, and implements, for the next
portion. It wasn't the plan though.

"Well, I
need to pass a message to King Richard, and it isn't so late we can't do that,
I don't think. I don't want to be traced though, so I was thinking that we
could jump out from here, and use our shields to land at the Palace? The
darkness should cover us. Then we'll need to fly back in the night, but we can
just tell everyone that we spent the night in orbit, playing. It will be good
for your reputation. I'm
very
well thought of in certain circles you
know." There was a tiny smile then, because it really wasn't all that
true, was it?

Once it had
been. So long ago that it seemed a lifetime away now.

Pet looked at
her like she was insane for a moment.

"You want
to do a space drop? In the dark? No one does that Maria. It's considered a
thing so frightening that almost everyone that does it wets themselves. I mean,
I've
done it, ten times, but you? I'm not certain..."

That got a
frustrated bit of hand waving. Like that wasn't part of the point?

"Exactly
why no one will believe I did it. They should of course. I don't know why
anyone would think
me
a coward though. I'm not a fighter, perhaps, but
what have I done to make them think that?"

"Um... I
think it's all the crying and carrying on you do after anything intense
happens? That, and complaining about things like accommodations, like after the
thing with the Larval..."

That got Maria
to nod. It had been years before, but of course that was the portion everyone
would remember, wasn't it?

"Pet...
That wasn't about me being weak. Or even nearly dying. Those things had
attacked my
people
. We were helpless before them, and only the fact that
Tor was able to defeat them in battle like he did saved so many lives. I'd
tried to distract everyone from that, that's all. Now, let's go and get this done
before we have to try a midnight raid on the King's chambers? That would be a
bit difficult and might make some tongues wag. Not that it wouldn't be worth
it. Really, if I can get in that way, and... Well, the plan is to send a lovely
young woman after him. With her body being poisoned so that he'll die after he
dallies with her. I've heard of such things... It will kill the girl too, but
after she leaves, if it’s done right." She made a face, and then shook her
head.

That was the
point, wasn't it? That girl would be able to talk about what she'd done,
if
she were able to. Better to let the evidence die. At least if you had no soul.

She reached out
and touched the leather covered arm.

"So, let’s
get this done? I've been wanting to try this part anyway." She meant the
jumping, not the killing the King portion. Luckily Petra seemed to believe her
on that one.

That was clear,
because she simply brought the ship they were in around, settling right over
the Capital. It was clear, due to the loop of purple light there, and a smaller
shimmer of silver next to it.

The Captain
pointed.

"We aim
for the spot between those two colors. The glowing rivers. Almost in the direct
center of those two things is where the back palace wall is. Once you get down,
lay on the ground and show your hands, or the Royal Guard will try to kill you.
It will come fast, since Tim has been improving some of them. They have good
shields too, and weapons to take ours down, so make sure to act humble, and not
be a bitch. We're invading, after all, and part of their job is to stop that.
Don't make a stir, and ask for George first thing. He's their leader."

It all made
sense, though the idea of groveling to underlings like that was a bit galling.
What was the point of being a Countess if she had to crawl on the ground and
scrape to people like that? She got it though. In this case it was about
staying alive long enough to pass what was needed.

"Understood.
Shall we then? We're losing time."

With a grin,
one that was probably meant to be wicked, Petra shut her ship of, letting it
blink off instantly. Her shield kicked on just before that, getting what was
about to happen before her brain caught up. That caught a pocket of air around
her, and held it in solidly.

The drop itself
was easy enough. Petra pointed, as if it were hard to figure out that they had
to move toward the lights above them, flying that way using their shields. Looking
up at it, she flew toward the planet head first. Pet had her feet down, which
would make it hard to see what they were doing.

There was a
thrill as the planet caught her, pulling her up toward it, but there didn't
seem to be anything to be afraid of really. She let herself rush that way,
making little corrections as she went, not wanting to miss the mark by too
much. It took longer than she thought it would, since she had to slow down after
a few minutes, so that she didn't lose her companion. It was hard to see the
ground, but the lights from the city became clear as they closed with them. Not
just the rivers, which really were pretty, but the other magical, and even gas
and oil lamp, glows that led their way. There were several places that shone in
the dark, but she knew where the palace had to be. In the center of the back
wall of the city. Just inside the purple half ring that was the magical river
on the wall.

That got her to
feel a flash of fear. Not because she might hit it, that was insane. She just
slowed to nearly a stop, and then flipped over and moved so that she'd be in
the dark courtyard behind her destination. No, it was due to the fact that to
get a river or six like that for her people she needed to face Tor again.
That
made her nervous.