Liddy wasn't sure what to expect as she led the procession through the estate. Hope was beside her in full armour polished to a shine. Cat was in a devastating black dress that fit right in with the high-class meeting. Mari, on the other hand, walked a tightrope between high class and burlesque with her violet dress. Ving, in contrast, wore her racing jacket over a tight-fitting jumpsuit and high boots in a bit of a mockery of what she really wore to race. Behind all of them, a tiny elf handmaiden kept up in the rear. Emma wore a simple silk dress with braided hair covering her ears. Inky and her girls flanked them, with Foxy left guarding the ship with the rest of the Emberborn.

As the doors to the court opened, they could all see a grinning redhead wearing a stunning red lace dress and an unbelievable jewel on her neck in a portrait behind the chair where an identical redhead sat. The fancy chair was much too big for her, but Liddy focused on the fact that Hannah already had a portrait that should have taken weeks to paint. It even looked old to her. Liddy struggled to comprehend what she was seeing. Mari grinned at her friend, knowing the story would be fantastic.

After they were introduced to the court by the Herald, Liddy wincing when he called her Trixie, Hannah spoke to them. "Welcome, my friends. It seems as though much has happened. You see, the late Duke Stirling, after sending for the daughter born out of wedlock prior to his marrying a Lady of Crater Peak, has been assassinated.”

Her attention wasn't only on her friends, she wanted everyone thinking the story was for them in case they had missed something. “Of course, with his designated heir just shy of adulthood, this could have been a disaster if I had not arrived when I did. Those responsible obviously didn't know of my existence and expected this session to offer them a chance to seize power. I will no doubt discover the perpetrators in time. However, to do that, I need a council who I can trust.”

Liddy suddenly saw where things were going.

“Now, since I hadn’t planned on getting involved in politics, the young Lady Stirling will assume her title when she is of age. However, I intend to deliver her court to her free of danger and corruption. To that end, I would like to name Lady Trixie Liddy my steward. Inky Maxwell my Marshal. Sister Hope my Chaplin. Lady Catherine Bell my Chancellor. Lastly, my Lady Ving as my Shipmaster. My good friend Mari knows her role already.”

There was a heavy murmur from the assembled crowd.

“Be silent!” Hannah commanded. “This is a transitional court. You can return to your political intrigue in a few days time. Until then, I expect you to cooperate with the investigation and my friends.” She focused on Inky. “Marshal, the guards here have proven ineffective at protecting their Lord or catching the assailant. Find the problems and fix them.”

Inky stomped her foot hard as she saluted sharply before formally turning away and leaving to bust some heads.

“Everyone else,” Hannah addressed. “Go home and prepare for the funeral.”

Everyone but her friends left, Emma walked about to see if anyone was looking at her besides them. She nodded when the room was clear.

“What the fuck Hannah?!” Liddy whispered her shout.

“We got caught together, he made a claim and I ran with it. Then he got killed and things sorta happened.”

“So what's with the heir?”

“Just a few days shy of age. I figure I just do all the unpopular things that need to happen and hand it over then.” She turned to Cat. “So, how did I do?”

“Really well. All that time following and fucking with the upper class back at Crater Peak really served you well. Thanks for the fancy title by the way. My father would be furious to know this. I should write him a letter now.”

“So, what is the job I know I have already?” Mari asked.

“You are my Spymaster, with Emma. Go about and learn things. Ving? Chime in.”

Ving, startled from her gaze at Hannah's chest, responded. “Is that what I think it is?”

“My amazing rack? Yes, I'm certain you have seen it before though.” Hannah smiled as she teased her lover.

“I thought so, what about the rock resting on it?”

“One of the crown jewels of the old Emperor. Not sure if he wore it or had others wear it for him but it's in all the paintings and busts of the late Duke's first wife. I’m sure you can see the resemblance.”

Ving was about to ask more but Hannah waved it down not trusting they were totally secure.

“Will you really abdicate then?”

“Of course. This is the last thing I want to be doing with my life.”

“Right,” Liddy stated. “Then we have a lot of work to do.”

****

It didn't take Mari long, after splitting up with Emma, to come across a noble couple arguing in the hallway of the wing she was sure she was lost in. She was just figuring the man as being berated for things not his fault more than anything when they spotted Mari's approach.

“I don't know who you think you are, but leave us and crawl back under whatever rock where you belong!” The woman demanded.

“I think I will remain and serve my Duchess. You aren't suggesting I disobey her, are you?”

The woman bit her tongue, “What do you want from us?”

“It's been dreadfully long since I’ve had a man inside me. I’m thinking your husband will fill me just fine.” Mari could see him staring at her breasts while his wife fumed.

“You think my husband would do anything with a servant, especially one like you, and leave me here?”

“We don't need to leave. You can watch.” Mari walked, almost between them, looking at her but showing him that while her dress looked full from a distance, its back was bare and showing her ink.

“Watch?!” The lady shouted with incredulity.

“Yes, watch. You see, he now has a woman willing to satisfy his needs. Notice how he hasn't objected to anything yet? Not a word? Your title doesn't give you this kind of power.”

“I take care of his needs sufficiently!” She boasted arrogantly.

“Sufficiently?” Mari laughed as she pressed her back against the man to allow him a view down her bodice. “You think men just need a warm wet place to stick their manhood and they are satisfied? They can get that anywhere. You are his wife! You should offer him more than that. The thing that keeps men coming back is knowing they can please their woman. Make no mistake, feeling him inside my body will please me. His hands are already running along by back, admiring my skin. Why don't you show any of yours?”

The woman looked at her bust, covered in the same lace as her dress, then back to Mari's. “Dressing like a harlot isn't proper for a lady.” She turned to her husband. “Why are you touching this woman in front of me?!”

Mari turned around to plant a finger on his lips to hush him before getting on the balls of her feet to kiss him and press her breasts into his chest. The lady noticed her bare back and that her dress had come undone enough to show the mounds of her bum. Slowly, undoing his jacket as she worked her way down to her knees, Mari spoke. “See, here is a man who's had to be strong and stoic for so long he can't show weakness. That rather than keep his wedding vows, he allows me to do the thing he wants because he's never had it before.”

The woman watched in shock as she saw Mari pull his trousers open and run her tongue along his manhood before taking it entirely down her throat. “Stop this! How can you do these things with this filthy woman!”

Her husband closed his eyes and placed his hands on Mari’s head as he let her work. The lady gasped at Mari, every time she withdrew to breathe before taking him again. Mari moaned in satisfaction at every touch as if the pleasure was all hers.

When Mari rose, her dress stayed on the floor. She walked over to the lady and put her hands on her shoulders and leant forward. Without saying anything more, Mari felt him pushing inside her and moaned in the woman's face as her husband thrusted. The lady shook, as each push into Mari moved both their bodies. Mari smiled in pleasure, leaning up to kiss the woman as she pulled away to be almost standing as the thrusts continued, supported by the man now gripping her breasts.

“I am a Lady and your wife! Why are you doing this?!”

“Because he has emotional needs, like anyone. You are just too blinded by how you think men should be that you don't think of it. You believe that all his wants are on the surface. That you just need to lay there and let him do his thing. Have you ever moaned like me? Done anything to show him you derive as much pleasure as he? He probably thought he had lucked out, marrying a beautiful woman like you. Yet here he is, about to seed another woman in front of you.”

“It’s not proper for a lady to act like this!”

“Fuck being a lady! That's for others! For him, you are supposed to be a woman! And a woman is allowed to enjoy getting fucked in whatever improper way she god damned feels like! Now you can either stand there and watch him seed me or you can strip out of that dress and show him some flesh he can please.”

Mari wasn't sure what to expect -- until she saw the woman struggle with the bindings on her back. She beckoned her over and aided her. The dress fell and she stood in her undergarments in the hall while her husband continued to ram himself deeply into Mari while gripping her breasts tightly. With some reassuring smiles from Mari, the woman stripped out of the rest of her clothing and stood naked in front of Mari.

“So lovely! Such a shame you have been hiding those lovely breasts. Let’s see what he thinks.” Mari bent over to touch the floor.

Still inside Mari, the husband looked at his wife who leaned in to kiss him. With one hand on the hip of the woman he still slid himself in and out of, he used the other to grip the breasts of his wife in turn.

“Moan like a woman!” Mari shouted.

The woman, struggling not to contain herself as she was taught, let out a pitiful mewling. It wasn't much -- but the man took his hand off Mari to hold his wife closer for a stronger kiss. Letting him slide out of her, Mari turned around and lifted the woman's leg, directing his arm under it before guiding his manhood, slick from her body, inside his wife.

The lady yelped before shuddering, finally making some real noise as he resumed his thrusting. Mari pushed them both a few feet over to a bench where he laid his wife down and used the bench as leverage to aggressively penetrate. Moaning, gasping, and pleading for more, the wife gripped tightly around his neck as her husband stared into her eyes. Mari enjoyed the sight as she watched over his shoulders, resting her body on his back. The woman screamed at the sudden rush within her body, feeling it spasm in unfamiliar ways. Mari slid off him to kneel at her side, running her hands over her belly to feel the man thrusting into her.

“This is how it feels to be a woman,” Mari whispered.

The man grunted hard as his fast thrusting turned into a few hard stabs, and then keeping himself deep within his wife.

“His seed belonged in you. See? You pleased him, he pleased you. All because you acted like a woman. Had you been doing this all along, he would never have looked twice at me. My power to manipulate would have been nothing for you to compete against. Being a woman gives you a lot more power than being a Lady.”

“Thank you.” She shuddered as she spoke.

“Now, the other side of this is that now all your worries from court are gone. Do you even remember? Were they really that important?”

“No. Just fretting over our positions if something else unexpected where to happen. Not knowing who to trust.”

“Anyone in particular you think might not be trustworthy?” Mari asked, finally getting somewhere.

****

Hannah could see the resemblance between the Duke and his daughter, though she had trouble discerning the connection with her own looks Had she not looked identical to his first wife Hannah doubted she would have been mistaken for family.

“Hello,” Hannah started. “I’m so sorry it has taken me this long to come see you. How are you doing?”

“With what?” she snapped back. “Being locked in here for hours? Having my title stolen? Or maybe being the daughter of a man who looked disappointed every time he saw my mother or me because we weren't like you?”

Hannah knew an emotional breakdown when she saw one. “Any of those would be fine to answer, all or none. The first was to keep you alive, the title will be yours on your birthday, and that man is dead now.” Hannah could see it in her body language that the girl was crying in relief. “What else did he do to you?”

“Dressed me up, like her, like you. Coloured my hair to be like her. Watched me all the time. But didn't like it when I never looked right. He did the same to my mother before I was born. Called her the name of his first wife, never bothering to learn what it really was.”

“Well my name is Hannah, and I hope that you can start to find some peace in life.”

“I'm Louise. I’m rather relieved it’s all over. I thought I’d come of age and not know what to do. My father only cared about one thing -- and it wasn't me.”

A knock on the door preceded Ving entering the room with Foxy after having brought the ship to the duke's private dock. “Everything is tied down.”

“Good! Is this room clear?” Hannah asked, looking at Foxy.

“Yup, quite soundproof,” Foxy replied.

“What’s that thing doing here?” Louise asked, aghast at Foxy.

Hannah rounded on Louise and slapped her across the face so hard, she spun as she fell to the ground. She gripped the young girl by the shoulders and hauled her up against the wall with her feet off the ground.

“Listen, little girl, don't you dare ever speak that way again about her or any Emberborn! I had hoped to bond with you, but I will not tolerate that attitude. I would think, with how your father treated you, that treating others as inferior would be something you would be keenly aware to avoid. Listen, I have killed, and will continue to kill in order to see them free. Don't oppose me on this!”

“Calm down, Hannah!” Ving shouted, pulling her away with the aid of Foxy. “I think she gets the message.”

Hannah was instantly horrified at how she reacted. Of course, a young noble girl would have been taught to think that way. Not even the well-meaning will always think twice about some things if everyone else accepts them. She looked at Louise, feeling guilty.

The young girl stood against the wall, not daring to move.

“I am sorry,” Hannah stated flatly. “We have seen some truly horrible things being done to Emberborn. Things that can't be forgiven. Things you aren't ready to know about. You didn't deserve that. Again, I am sorry.”

“I did think of them like that. My father did. There, but not really.” Louise turned to Foxy. “I am sorry.”

Foxy nodded. “Quite understandable.”

“Still,” Hannah interjected. “You don't dissolve raised prejudice with hate or shame. Even if it seems to make you feel better. You do it with familiarity. Foxy, go get the rest. I'd like to introduce them after the funeral.”

Foxy nodded and left. Hannah nodded for Ving to follow.

“Look, I wanted to bond with you. I might have messed that up, but I want to give you something.”

“What?” Louise asked, rubbing the side of her face.

“I’m not really your sister. At all. My father was the one with the red hair and I know my mother was the poor seamstress she always was. I was a hired harlot to entertain your father because of the resemblance, and when he got caught escorting me he made up the story. He died right then and I've just been rolling with events ever since. I truly intend to step aside when you are old enough. I just want to make sure you are safe when you do.”

Another knock came at the door, they were summoned to the funeral. They exited the room and into the fresh air of the garden.

“Why would you tell me this?”

“So you could trust me to walk away when the time came. I just have to trust you not to oust me with this until then. Now, let's see if we can find Sister Hope so she can help your face.”

****

Inky had an advantage in sorting through who was a problem with the guards. Anyone who looked at any of her girls longer than they needed too got berated while the rest were kept at their post. It was a quick test that worked well enough for a speedy search before the funeral. Something more in-depth would come after. As she stood before the dozen or so who seemed like real problems, she considered her options. The former Marshal and the former captain of the fancy guards who lost the Duke were her first targets.

“You two look like you don't think you should be here,” she stated, striking a slightly cocky pose to match her tone.

Properly baited, they yelled in agreement before the Marshal asserted himself. “Of course we shouldn't be here! Some tart like you walks in here and orders us about after her friend hands her a title! It’s outrageous!”

“Were you not given your title by a friend? Was it the Duke? Didn't do a good job repaying that debt, did you? Granted, I am a cavalry officer at heart, more at home on horseback trampling my enemies into paste. Never did enjoy being a guard captain as much. Yet here I am, doing your job because you couldn't. Unless protecting the Duke's life wasn't a part of your duties. Anyone here who was never under the impression that they had to protect the Duke can leave!”

Inky waited, cupping her ear, broadly over-gesturing her attempt to hear their silent response. Hearing nothing, she finally knew she could start fixing the problem.

****

Hannah stood with her adopted sister and the rest of the harlot crew in her court. Inky and her girls stood around them, keeping a watchful eye on everything. She could see Foxy inside the estate, watching from an open window where she could hear everything. The body of the Duke was on the pyre as it burned with painful slowness. She knew Vile was close by and considered getting her to move the show along but thought better of it. The last thing she wanted to do was overstate her comfort with Emberborn before she dropped her political bomb on them later. First, she needed to catch the assassin. Conna stood in front of her, holding a rifle, but with the trench gun on her back for Hannah to snatch up at a moments notice.

Leira was bored. The soldiers were used to standing about doing nothing but she hated it. Stripping down and sneaking into the fountain was much more enjoyable. The cool water around her body, the warm sun on her face, peaceful and serene as the birds twittered overhead. She could definitely get used to living in such a place and understood why rich people built things that way, even if they had forgotten why. Of course, she found the peace to be much more pleasurable when she noticed a stray lordling from the funeral had noticed her. A young man, about her age, much younger than the men she normally entertained herself with, approached.

“I thought mermaids were creatures of the sea,” he said, watching her breasts inflate slightly as she continued to float in the water.

“We are. But when life takes us to land, we find home where we can.”

“You are beautiful. I've never seen any such as you before.”

“I am quite rare indeed. Have you seen many women in your young life?”

“I'm not so young. Mother wants me to meet the heiress so that she thinks of me when she is old enough to marry. She’s the young one.”

“How will you get her to remember you? Have you the talent to please a woman in such a way?”

“I… haven't…”

“I thought not. Come join me in the water and learn how.”

Leira watched as he undressed behind some shrubbery, trying his best not to be seen. She smiled at herself at how well talking like a lady worked out for her. It seemed like swearing as she normally did would have scared the poor boy off. Suddenly it made sense, what everyone had tried to explain to her, about reading your marks and acting accordingly. She had to bring herself back to the present as he slid into the water with her and started to touch her skin gently.

Leira embraced him, swelling her breasts as he leaned forward to kiss her. She could feel him stiffening between them. As he kissed her neck, Leira noticed Foxy watching from her perch and shooed her to go away and get back to work. She knew she was safe and didn't need a chaperone. It was also clear the young man either got told the right things or had good instinct because the bites at her neck were perfectly gentle and his hands none too eager. Not that she wouldn't have enjoyed the roughness, but it felt like it would have been out of place in the role she was playing. Again, the lessons the other girls tried to tell her started to make sense.

“I had no idea…” Leira shook her head with a smile.

“What is that?” he mistook her words for him.

“So big,” Leira recovered, holding him by the manhood and appreciating its size.

She stroked it for a bit, but knowing he probably lacked the control to last, she slid it inside herself for him and watched as his eyes glazed over in the unbelievable pleasure. Leria was slow, moving gently to draw out the whole experience. She guided his mouth to her breasts so she could enjoy the feeling of his tongue on them. It was difficult to keep them small enough not to intimidate him but she managed. As she expected, he didn't last and she felt him stir in surprise at releasing his seed for the first time. She hushed him and let him flow into her in peace.

He seemed confused at what happened, but responded well to Leira kissing him and holding him tightly.

****

Vile had stayed in the room Laurel said she would have used to take a shot at Hannah. How she went unnoticed by the figure who moved a long table to lay on facing the window she wasn't sure. Maybe being so massive and standing in an alcove, she had been dismissed as a statue of some kind. She stood watching as the person opened a case and took out the parts that would assemble into a rifle. One stomp of her hoof caught the attention of the cloaked figure. As she stepped out of the alcove, the figure opened its cloak to reveal a great many tools of death underneath.

****

Liddy was pondering how to extricate everyone from the whole situation in case things went bad when a person, on fire, burst out of a room on the fourth floor of the estate. The person was grabbed by a massive red arm and tossed into a nearby fountain. Everyone could see Vile standing in the window, shrugging that it couldn't have been helped. The whole crowd rushed over to see what was going on and came across a young man entangled with a mermaid, sitting on the fountain, and water pouring over their naked bodies.

“Why is nobody looking at the guy who was on fucking fire!” Leira shouted as she pointed at the man trying to get out of the fountain.

As Juno and Astra hauled him out of the water, Vile yelled. “He had lots of weapons on him, I think I got them but be careful!”

That, of course, meant stripping him naked with knives in front of the whole court. Most of the court were rather set on looking at Leira, who was almost certain the young man inside her wasn't going to finish a second time.

“Clear the garden!” Hannah commanded, followed by Inky enforcing the command.

****

Hannah burst into the courtroom where the nobility had been collected while she had been trying to speak with the assassin. Astra had him brought up to the platform where her chair sat and took a seat as he was dropped to the floor in irons. Everyone had kneeled when she walked in and risen when she sat down. Wanting to throw them some frustration, she stood up again and watched everyone drop to their knees. The ones who took the longest were either the old or the resentful.

“This man here, a professional who is unlikely to tell me who hired him, tried to kill me and may have very well been the one to kill the Duke. I’ve taken his actions rather personally. Now, as much as I'd like to spend a few days taking him apart,” Hannah drew the knife from Astras’ belt and cut the man along the cheek. “I know from experience that torture is seldom useful in getting the truth. So, what am I to do?” She addressed the crowd, making gestures to emphasize her point and keeping the knife visible. “Anyone want to confess?” She looked around to see if anyone wanted to make it easier for her. “Even wild accusations would be helpful.” More silence. “Nothing? Fine, if you won't give me someone to punish, I will punish everyone.” There was a fearful intake of breath. “No, no, I won't be cutting you all up or anything. It just occurs to me that none of you has paid tribute to your new Duchess yet, so I will simply make it punitive rather than the simple token it normally is.” She gave them a moment to digest the uncertainty. “Bring to me, all your Emberborn slaves. I will make a decision, but anyone who holds back their favourites or what-have-you will be punished most severely.”

Hannah had walked around the prisoner to address the nobility. Then, to emphasize the point, she took the trench gun from Astras’ back and fired it into the back of the assassins’ skull.

“I’d hate for this fate to befall any of you. It would be most uncivilized.” Hannah left the court when she was finished and left the nobility to stare at the body.

****

Hannah teased the naked body of Ving as she laid on the desk. They were in Hannah’s new private office -- but without matters of state to deal with, they found something else to do. The delicate touching along the fair skin caused shivers to run through Ving's body and gave her goosebumps. Hannah let her hair fall down as she leaned over her lover, slowly letting it brush along, from over her breasts to between her legs and down to the feet.

Ving groaned in frustration at the teasing, watching the silk dress that clung tightly to Hannah’s body as she moved over her. The outline of the black lace bra and the fishnet that connected it the garter and stockings were visible through the red silk. Ving resisted the urge to reach up and touch. She wanted this, to be so close yet made to wait. Just as she felt a hand lightly run along her thigh to tease her again, a knock came from the door.

“A nobleman wishes to speak with you, my Duchess,” Conna called from just outside the door.

Ving growled in frustration, but caught Hannah by the eyes and saw the wicked smile they were attached to. She hid under the desk after Hannah nodded at her and waited.

“Let him in,” Hannah replied, happy she had tossed Ving's clothing into the corner.

The man that entered as Conna opened the door walked with a confidence she recognized. Hannah knew he at least ‘thought’ he had something on her. She smiled and shifted her bum onto the edge of the desk to let her dress throw him off his game.

To his credit, while he did notice, he collected himself to speak. “Apologies for my intrusion. I had a matter to discuss.”

“Not how one traditionally addresses their liege?”

“No, indeed not.” He replied, not bothered by her counter.

“So then this isn't about the assassin or who hired him?”

“Not unless this was a ridiculously thought out and convoluted plan, no. I saw you on the ship you arrived in. You had it dock here, and now its crew hold the highest station in the city. If you are who you are thought to be, it seems odd that a ship of harlots would be your passage into the city.”

“An assassin has killed the duke and attempted to kill me. The less obvious method of ingress, the better.”

“Then why not kill you with the Duke?”

“I took cover. It wasn't the first time I have hidden from a sniper.”

He nodded. “Curious set of skills you have. Learn any while on that ship? I was entertained there. I saw you serving drinks. A servant's job for an heiress? The picture on the wall, did you do more than serve men drinks?”

“I’ve held no title before today. Where do you think I got the money to feed myself? Did I do more? Absolutely! I've taken more men on that ship than you have shaken hands with in your life. I needed passage, work, and entertainment. All found on that ship. Considering your use of our services, do you not have those same needs?”

“Of course, but I’m a man.”

Hannah stared at him flatly until he shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. “You think any woman on that ship entertained you exclusively for the money? Who was it?”

“The woman with the green hair.”

“Ving, a racer. Someone who could easily feed herself at the track without spreading her legs once.” Hannah smirked, aroused at the man in front of her having had her lover. “Yet, on that ship, allowing you to pay for the pleasure of her company. Why? Why would she do that if she didn't enjoy it herself?”

He seemed confused for a moment, then shrugged.

“Because she loves it. So do I! You think that I’d stop taking men now? I’ve long passed the need for money to eat. We do it because it is fun for us. I did it while I served in uniform at Crater Peak. Noblemen I spend the day escorting can't resist me and I ache for it. You think women are only concerned with pleasing you? I admit, there is pleasure in pleasing another. Yet, our own need is what keeps us wanting more.”

“It’s not proper.”

“Because I am a woman or because of my station? It’s a human need, an animal need. The class we live in just provides the context. What is it exactly you are trying to imply by coming here?”

“You don't belong as Duchess. A harlot and at best, an illegitimate daughter, who has lived like a lowborn.” He seemed to concede the possibility of the Duke being her father.

Hannah smiled, knowing he doubted his rather correct assumptions he made before entering. “The young Lady Louise will be Duchess soon enough. If not when she comes of age, then perhaps the day after her birthday celebration. For now, an illegitimate daughter should be enough to satisfy the council. A harlot should be enough to satisfy you.”

He started when he felt her hand reached down his trousers, wrapping around his manhood as she smiled softly. “This won't change anything about what I think you to be.”

“On the contrary, I think it will.” Hannah unfastened his pants and let them fall to the floor. “You think women are just to please men, and that those who do it outside of marriage only do it because they think that's what they are for. I am going to show you that I am doing this for myself. If it pleases you at the same time, then wonderful. Sex shouldn't be just for one person but for everyone involved.”

He wasn't sure how she did it, with one hand on him, but her free hand unfastened her dress and it dropped to the floor. The lace and fishnet coverings on her body were new to him. Seeing her breasts strain against it, he reached up and felt the mounds and watched as Hannah smiled at the touch.

Ving, using the small space at the base of the desk where her hands could fit, reached under and grabbed the dress and put it on herself. She loved the feeling of touching herself with the silk as she could hear Hannah filling her throat with the man she had taken inside herself the other day.

Hannah was thankful there was a hide rug with soft fur under her knees as she kept smiling with her mouth full as she looked up at the man. She unfastened her bra and tossed it, with only the fishnet to keep her breasts contained. Pushing him back as she rose, she jumped up into his arms and slowly lowered herself onto him. With a bit of wiggling from her hips, she felt him sliding inside her and made sure he watched her face while she did.

“This feels amazing to me, to have someone inside me, to feel their flesh pulse within me. Is it so strange that something so pleasing for you would be wrong for me? Hold me close, feel me around you, kiss me deeply.”

He responded as he was told, his arms around her body to push her breasts into his chest while her legs wrapped around him and flexed with her efforts to feel him slide in and out of her body. Their lips met and he felt her tongue entering his mouth and tasting his. He pushed his into her mouth and felt himself inside two parts of the woman. Neither realised how close to the desk they got and he felt her weight shift onto it as they continued to kiss. Now, it was his turn to provide the thrust and he felt Hannah gasp into their kiss. For the first time, he paid attention to the woman he was with, thinking of her actions as her own expressions of pleasure instead of an act to satisfy him. He wondered what else he could do to the redhead to make her moan.

Hannah felt him push her back to lay on the desk, he lifted one leg up on the edge and rested hers on it. Then he started to thrust into her with vigour and watched intently as her breasts bounced under the fishnet. She climaxed hard as she gripped the edge of the desk and felt Ving touch it gently to remind her of where she was. It was too much for the man and he grunted. Hannah pushed him back, getting back on her knees, and licking his long shaft for a moment before his seed burst onto her face. She licked all along it as it continued to flow and teased the end of it with her cheek until he was spent.

“See this?” She asked, kissing him gently on his shaft as it started to soften. “I enjoy this. Feeling this.” With a little help from her hand on herself, Hannah climaxed again. “Is it not ‘more’ proper that we both enjoy this? Instead of just one?”

“I suppose. Though it does seem to have been one-sided for me in the past,” he replied, introspectively.

Hannah smiled, standing with his seed still on her face, seeing that he was having trouble looking at her like that. “Then how about you make up for it.”

He wasn't sure what she meant until she pushed him down to his knees in front of her, sitting on the desk. When Hannah pushed his head between her wide open legs, he got the message and, rather clumsily, explored with his mouth. She allowed him the use of his fingers and kept pressing him down on her until she flexed and felt another climax flow through her body.

“Now then, how did that feel for you?”

“Well, not as good as before.”

“That's why it's best to do this as a warm-up. But now you know somewhat what sex is like for women who aren't really into it. It just gets worse the less it's wanted. So keep that in mind. Your Duchess thanks you for kneeling for her. Feel free to gossip about this. All the things you think would have been a scandal to reveal is who I am. That is why I can sit above you, with your seed on my face, and still be your Duchess. Leave now.”

The man rose, took a bow after getting dressed, and left. Conna smirked as she looked in after he left. Ving came around to the front of the desk and kissed Hannah.

“He tastes better when he's on you,” Ving whispered, licking Hannah’s face.

“You got my dress wet,” Hannah replied, feeling between Ving's legs.

They both broke down in giggles as Ving climbed on top of Hannah on the desk, so entirely done with being teased.

****

Cat found it difficult to decide on her feelings. “Do you even know what political capital is? Currying favour?”

Hannah shrugged. “If it's anything to do with manipulating the ruling class, I like to think so.”

“Short term yes! But this is different. You can't just bang everyone and hope for the best.”

“Everything about us on that ship was going to come out eventually, I just made sure it fit with the narrative.”

Liddy watched them. Foxy was trying to focus on if she could hear anyone else listening in, and Emma sat in the big chair, feeling smaller than ever.

“That's only half the issue. There is still the matter of the blood stain on the floor here.” Cait pointed to where the assassin had died.

“Exactly!” Hannah shouted. “If I hadn't done that, they would have hired more. Thinking that killing was beyond me. Now, people will hopefully think they can manipulate me with talented lovers instead of assassins and blackmail.”

“My god that's brilliant!” Liddy exclaimed. “Finally a political system that works!”

Cat pondered her words. “So, you want to replace underhanded tactics with… something under sheets?”

“Yes, that is exactly it. As a result, no assassins at all last night. Slept great. Well, slept with Ving, so yeah.”

“Fine. But you still don't know how politics work in the long term.”

“We aren't going to be here long term. As soon as the young lady has her birthday party, we start heading out.”

The big doors at the end of the court hall opened and admitted the man Hannah spoke with the other night.

He knelt. “My Duchess, it is enjoyable to see you again. I must say I did not expect our meeting to go quite the way it did.”

“Thought to coerce me into giving up my title? Or something like that?”

“Something like that, certainly not sex.” He smiled bashfully.

“Good, had you come to coerce me into such actions, while certain parts of you may have still been in my hands, they would have no longer been attached to you.”

He turned pale when he finally understood what she meant. “The nobles and I have assembled our slave holdings for your inspection.”

“I’ll be there presently,” Hannah responded and dismissed him. “SEE! It works!” she explained to Cat after the man had left.

****

Out in the garden, rows of Emberborn were gathered on the grass. It broke the hearts of all the girls to see them standing there, in such pleasant surroundings, looking so dejected and broken. As if they dared not enjoy the garden because its beauty wasn't meant for them.

Hannah marched over to a table that had been brought out where guards had been stacking ownership papers in neat piles. She saw the nobles standing in front, trying not to regard their ‘property’, yet concerned theirs would be the one chosen. Hannah grinned, knowing how much they were about to lose. The guards finished with the papers and stood aside.

“Emma.” Hannah made a scooping gesture as she looked at the elf. The papers were gripped by a spectral hand and held high as Hannah spoke again. “Vile.” Hannah snapped her fingers as if she was casting the spell herself to turn the papers into ash in a ball of fire. “Given the popular decree in the capital, and that nobody has offered any aid in identifying those responsible for the assassination, I am declaring any and all contracts of ownership or indentured servitude, null and void.”

Everyone was shocked, not quite understanding what was going on. Easy, being seen for the first time, stood on the table with the rest of the Emberborn crew gathering around her.

“This is real!” Easy shouted. “Not some hope that will be dashed tomorrow!” She spoke exclusively to the Emberborn. “There is a city, one just for us. We will see you safely there, where you can have the freedom to decide your own fate! You have a home now!”