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Subject: {ASSM} Conclave of Conspiracy 10/33 (MF Mf mf Ff ff Mdom Fdom toys bd rom magic oral 1st spank)
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<1st attachment, "Chapter10.txt" begin>

WARNING: This is a work of erotic fiction. It contains depictions of
nudity and graphic sex.

Author: A Strange Geek
Title: Conclave of Conspiracy
Universe: Narlass Chronicles
Summary: Roquan hosts a Conclave to rally support against the Emperor;
Amanda's training is not what she expected, even less so when the
Conclave commences. And there is the mysterious foreign merchant ...

Part: 10 of 33
Keywords: MF, Mf, mf, Ff, ff, Mdom, Fdom, toys, bd, rom, magic, oral,
1st, spank

Copyright A Strange Geek, 2006

Feedback welcome! Please email me at astraYOURngegeek@comMINDcast.net
( lose YOUR MIND to email me )

Or to send anonymous feedback, use the form at bottom of HTML version:

/~A_Strange_Geek/novels/Conclave/Chapter10.html



---------------

Amanda patiently waited for her turn to eat breakfast as she lay
stretched out on her stomach on her mistress' bed, her head propped up
on her elbows. Her backside was still sore and pink from her paddling
the day before, though it was tolerable if she did not put too much
weight on it. Sirinna had again offered to take her to the Healer, but
she had again refused. It wasn't all that bad now, and she felt it
better to tough it out, if only to prove to herself that she could do
it.

Besides, Amanda had the sense that Sirinna had another bombshell to
drop on her, and she was eager to hear what it was this time.

"I'm going to give you over to Marisa for your morning session,"
Sirinna announced.

"Yes, mistress," Amanda said dutifully. That was not the bombshell.
Ever since Amanda had done well on her test the other day at the
Circle, she had won some grudging respect from the older slave. Marisa
was still hard on her, but no longer tortuously so. Or at least Amanda
could cope with it better.

"I need to meet with Master Roquan as soon as I bring you to the
Circle."

"Reporting on me, mistress?" Amanda said with a wry smile.

Sirinna chuckled softly. "Well, some of it will be about you. But I
think he wants to talk to me about what's going to be happening at the
Manor."

"Oh, the Conclave?" Amanda tried to sound casual about it, even though
the mention of it made her heart quicken a touch. She was trying hard
to put it out of her head and not worry about it. "That's in a few
days, right?"

"Yes, but the merchants arrive tomorrow."

Amanda paused. That was the bombshell. "Merchants?"

"The Manor is visited regularly by the merchant clans. They trade goods
to us that Master Roquan cannot get from just the lands he owns around
the Manor."

"Uh ... how does Master Roquan pay for those goods?"

Sirinna smiled. "Some by platinum, some by services."

"Services? Oh ... /our/ services, you mean."

"Indirectly, anyway. You see, he allows the higher members of the clan
to be quartered with some of the slaves. The slave is expected to
provide for his needs while he's there."

"But Master Roquan picks which slaves they get quartered with, right?"

Sirinna paused to push the platter towards Amanda. "Here, love, I'm
done."

Amanda pulled herself up and gingerly sat down before the platter. She
looked at her mistress expectantly.

"The Clan Leader is being allowed his own pick this time," Sirinna
said.

"And what if he picks you?"

"Then he will be quartered with us here."

Amanda paused to swallow a piece of fruit. It went down a little hard,
as her throat felt tight. "Uh ... will I ... will I have to ..."

"Please him? If he wishes it, yes."

Amanda couldn't help but let out a small, nervous sigh.

Sirinna reached over and placed a hand on Amanda's shoulder. "Don't
worry too much over it, love. It's likely that he'll want me instead of
you, because I'm more experienced. Or if he wants us both, I can take
the lead and help guide you."

"But it would mean we wouldn't have our time together in the evenings,
wouldn't it?"

"Yes, and I'm sorry about that. It will only be for a quarter moon or
so."

Amanda nodded, but was not mollified. Just as she thought she had
everything sorted out, something new was sprung on her.

"If it helps any, love, merchants are nowhere near as demanding as
clients. Or Overlords for that matter. To put it bluntly, if you make
him cum, you're doing well."

"I just don't want to screw up, that's all."

Sirinna smiled. "You won't."

Amanda also did not want to get hurt, but she knew she could not say
that. A good slave did not worry about such things. A good slave
accepted her treatment, and sought to please her master or mistress
anyway.

Unfortunately, it made the prospect of getting sent away to a client
all the more distressing. Besides being separated from Sirinna, she
would have to deal with sexual advances from a complete stranger. She
did realize, however, that he (or she for that matter) would no longer
be a stranger after a short while. Was that how the other slaves did
it? Suppress any hesitation or misgivings until growing accustomed to
the new arrangement?

Despite how far she had come in her training and her battles with her
own issues, she still felt like something crucial was missing, yet she
still had no idea what.



"Roquan, I do not like what I have been hearing about Freya."

The Overlord looked askance at his friend's somewhat disheveled
clothing and the tired look on the man's face. "Are you quite sure you
wish to discuss this now, Rennis? You spent the better part of the
early morning on the road."

Rennis absently swiped at his hair, managing to get it to some
semblance of order, but it did not help his overall image very much.
"Time is not a luxury, Roquan. Not with the Conclave so close at hand.
I even passed the merchants on the way in. They won't be far behind
me."

"Did not Doran travel with you? I was hoping he would arrive early as
well."

Rennis was shaking his head halfway through Roquan's comment. "He
needed every moment to do as many deals as possible before getting
here. He's still doing them in transit even as we speak."

Roquan sighed through his nose. "What of Freya, then? Did not Doran say
that she was on our side?"

"Well, leaning towards our side. But I have heard her consulting with
other Overlords, some that we know are in Gronnus' camp. She even
visited Gronnus' Manor!"

Roquan considered this. "Freya was always of her own mind."

"Oh, /that's/ putting it mildly."

"She is female, after all."

"Ah, good of you to notice that."

Roquan frowned. "I mean, as the only female Overlord, it affords her a
certain advantage."

"Certainly her bedmates believe it does, yes."

"Oh, really, Rennis. Do you seriously believe all the stories about her
promiscuity with the other Overlords?"

"Yes, because they're true!"

"That would hardly be proper behavior."

Rennis laughed humorlessly. "So you would not bed her if she made the
advance?"

Roquan straightened. "I would do nothing improper. To bed her during a
Conclave would be a breach of ethics."

"Tell that to her."

"I need do nothing of the sort. She cannot force my hand. Or any other
part of me I will add, before you decide to make another crude joke."

Rennis just smirked as he cut off a retort.

"Surely you can see what is going on here, Rennis. She is simply
playing both sides against the middle."

Rennis blinked in surprise. "Well, yes, that is indeed a possibility. I
was just surprised you thought of it."

Roquan gave him a sour look. "I am not totally bereft of wisdom in this
matter. Anyway, she is looking for a better deal. We will simply have
to offer that."

"I don't see how you can. No offense intended with that, I ..."

"I am aware of my financial shortcomings," Roquan said curtly, though
not unkindly. "I may need to use other means to persuade her."

Rennis smirked.

"Other means that do not include the inside of my bedchamber!" Roquan
added loudly.

"Relax, Roquan, I was just kidding. If we can't see some humor in this,
it will drive us both insane."

Roquan's lips tightened. "I already am feeling quite burdened by all
this," he said in a lower voice. "This is proving to be a very daunting
task, more so than I had thought."

"Speaking of daunting tasks, how is Amanda doing?"

Roquan let his breath go in an relieved sigh so obvious that it made
Rennis' eyebrows rise. "Much better, thankfully."

"Oh?"

"If you are willing to stay for a few moments longer, you can hear for
yourself. Sirinna will be here shortly, and she will likely give me an
update on her progress."

Rennis smiled. "Stick around for Sirinna? I'll muddle through that
somehow."

Roquan managed a small smile in return. "At least there is a chance
Amanda will not embarrass me."

"I knew we could count on Sirinna. Oh, and you've instructed Amanda
about the Draught, right?"

Roquan paused. "No, I have not."

Rennis looked askance at the other Overlord.

"I intend to do so before the Conclave arrives."

Rennis sighed and slapped his forehead in frustration.

Roquan blanched. "What?"

"Roquan, how long has it been since she started training? And you let
her go all that time not knowing she should keep that information to
herself?"

"Yes, I had thought of that."

"And?"

"I thought it an acceptable risk, compared to the one of telling her
too early."

Rennis frowned in confusion. "Telling her too early? Why would that be
a problem?"

"Think for a moment, Rennis!" Roquan said angrily. "Think how she saw
through the deception of the Imperial agent before the rest of us.
Think how she made her conscious choice to stay. Think how she pushed
her defiance just to the limits of what would be tolerated."

There was a long pause before Rennis pieced it together, and then he
looked at Roquan in surprise and alarm. "Blazing hellfire. You're
afraid she'll figure it out, aren't you? Gods damn it. I don't know why
I didn't think of that myself before this."

"Because you are too used to dealing with slaves that were properly
pacified and ... adjusted ... by the Draught."

Rennis looked stricken. "But that means no matter when you tell her,
it'll let her figure it out on her own anyway. Surely she must be
wondering herself why she's not acclimated to her role as well as the
other slaves are. You tell her that she can't reveal she was never
Draughted, and ..."

"Amanda is occasionally too clever for her own good," Roquan said in a
low voice.

Rennis ran a hand through his hair. "Roquan, I knew there was a reason
we don't try to train ..."

Roquan raised a warning finger. "Do not even go there, Rennis. It is
useless to question the wisdom of my actions after the fact. We must
learn to deal ..."

There was a soft knock at the door.

Roquan quickly calmed himself and let the anger and frustration drain
from his face. "Enter."

Sirinna appeared before them. She nodded respectfully, and then beamed
at Rennis briefly. "Good morning Master Roquan, Master Rennis. I can
return later if I am interrupting."

"No, Sirinna, that is quite all right," said Roquan. "Rennis wishes to
hear how Amanda is doing."

Sirinna smiled. "Amanda is doing very well. I've helped her smooth over
some of the rough spots in her submissiveness training, and she is
doing even better at sexual skills. Her enthusiasm has improved
remarkably."

"And her attitude?"

"Much better. I have not had to punish her even once in the last
half-moon."

Roquan nodded at this. Rennis folded his arms, looking thoughtful. "Has
she had the Traditional Twenty yet?" asked Roquan.

"Indeed she has, master, just yesterday in fact."

"How did she fare?

"I was rather surprised. I had never expected her to grow as wet as she
did from it."

Rennis' eyebrows lifted and he looked over to Roquan.

Roquan looked nonplussed. "Are you quite sure of this?"

"Very much so. I was able to make her cum rather strongly afterward."

Roquan was quite astonished at this. Yet again, the girl had managed to
surprise him!

"Might be an angle, Roquan," Rennis said thoughtfully. "If you're still
worried about her performance."

Roquan frowned slightly. He generally did not care to air his negative
feelings such as worry around his slaves. Sometimes Rennis forgot that
the openness he tended to show around his own slaves did not translate
well in the D'ronstaq Manor. "Are you suggesting that I use this to my
advantage?"

"You can't say you haven't been thinking about it. Don't be overt about
it. Just suggest to one or two Overlords that they might like to give
the girl a playful paddling or spanking."

"Master, if I may?" Sirinna said respectfully, trying to keep the
desperation with which she needed to speak out of her voice. She
relaxed when Roquan nodded once. "Just so you know, she doesn't crave
punishment. It is only the application that arouses her, and she's only
now getting used to the idea. It might be too much too soon to subject
her to it often."

"I may not be at liberty to consider that, Sirinna. If she is handling
herself as well as you suggest in her accelerated training, surely she
could handle this."

Sirinna nodded once. She had to hope her Overlord was correct. Despite
the lingering doubt in her mind, her voice was confident when she
acknowledged his decision. "Yes, master, I will see to it that she
understands this."

Roquan's gaze met Rennis' for a moment. After a few moments in silent
thought, Roquan turned back to his Trainer. "I wish Amanda brought to
me this evening. At twilight."

Sirinna slowly smiled. That was the time of day Roquan usually called
on her if he wished her companionship for the evening. "Yes, master! I
am sure you will be very pleased with how far she has come."

Roquan nodded. "That is all, Sirinna."

Sirinna nodded once and exited the Overlord's chambers.

"So you will tell her tonight, then?" asked Rennis.

"Yes. After I bed her, of course."

"Ah, so you /will/ be testing her."

"Indeed," Roquan said. What he did not reveal was that he wanted the
girl for the sheer pleasure of having her. Before, she was submissive
to him largely out of fear. He wished to see how she fared now that she
was submissive out of duty. He wished to see if she finally had grasped
the concept of what it meant to be a slave.



Amanda had little idea of what to expect from Marisa. Despite the
new-found respect the older slave seemed to have for her, she was still
not very enamored of Marisa. Yet she carefully kept her opinions to
herself, absent from both her words and her face. It helped that
Marisa's first words to her after removing the chain and cuffs was a
compliment.

Or at least she figured it seemed as such to Marisa, anyway.

"You're doing better than I thought you would, Amanda. I truly believed
you'd still be as much of a little brat as you were that first time I
met you."

"Thank you, mistress," Amanda said in an even voice.

Marisa smirked. "I can still see a little of it left in you, but you're
controlling it rather well. Let's see if you have that same degree of
self-control with what I have planned for you. Come."

Amanda dutifully followed Marisa towards the center of the Circle,
where the trees still shaded the morning sun from the grass. In a loose
circle about the spot were numerous other slaves, obviously waiting for
Marisa to guide them in Amanda's training.

Marisa pointed. "Lie on the ground on your back. Spread your legs and
your arms apart."

"Yes, mistress," Amanda intoned. Marisa was more strict about her title
being used. /Temporary/ title, Amanda reminded herself. No way would
she tolerate Marisa ever being made a permanent Trainer over her, even
if it were to be a co-Trainer along with Sirinna. There was only so
much of Marisa that she was willing to tolerate.

Amanda did as she was ordered. She took a deep breath and let it go to
try and focus her mind on what she was doing.

"Close your eyes."

Amanda did so after a moment's pause.

"Now listen carefully. You are not to move at all. You are not to open
your eyes. You are not to vocalize anything above a whisper. You do
nothing until I tell you to do so. Do you understand me, Amanda?"

Amanda's heart was beating faster. She swallowed. "Yes, mistress," she
said with a nervous quaver in her voice.

For the next few moments, there was silence, save for gentle movement
around her from among the other slaves. Her breathing grew short in
anxious anticipation of what they were going to do to her. Finally, she
sensed someone on either side of her, and a hand from each direction
grasped her breasts.

Amanda bit her lower lip as her orbs were softly fondled, and then
squeezed until her nipples were pointed straight up. There was a pause,
and she expected to feel warm lips and tongue against her nipples. Her
body even quivered in anticipation of it.

What she actually got was anything but warm. Amanda yelped and her body
jerked.

"Do not move, Amanda," Marisa admonished. "And do not make any loud
noises."

"Y-yes, mistr ..." Her words were cut off by a short gasp as it
happened again. When she felt something trickle down the globe of her
breast, she realized that all that was happening was someone was
dribbling water on her nipple.

Another splash fell on her, and she whimpered. It was only water, yes,
but it was ice-cold! By the time they applied it again, the nipple was
standing hard and erect, the areola around it puckering. More was
dribbled on her other breast, until its nipple was in a similar state.

Amanda panted lightly as they left her alone for a few long moments.
Each second that passed made her more anxious, her body shuddering in
fear. Yet, to her surprise, there was a small spark of desire. She felt
a slow, rising tingling in her sex.

She held her breath as someone's hand brushed the inside of her thigh.
More ice-cold water trickled over her nipples, the hand sliding further
upwards, lightly caressing her skin. Amanda shivered, both from the
cold of the water and her now increasing excitement. When the fingers
finally reached her pussy, she was already damp.

Yet rather than stroke her, the fingers instead gently spread her labia
apart and held it.

Amanda's fear spiked into panic. /Oh no, they're not ... they're not
going to .../

An icy stream touched her most sensitive folds.

"Mmmmrrggghh!" Amanda whined through her nose as she struggled to keep
her composure. Her hands clenched into fists as the almost painfully
cold water trickled through her slot. They did it to her three more
times, until her body was shaking and she was panting hard.

Now the hands returned to her breasts, squeezing them again, fingers
tugging at her still-hard nipples. She barely felt it, as numb as they
had become. Slowly the warmth from the fingers touching them brought
some feeling back to them.

The next moment, however, the fingers left her, and something was
pressed into each of her areolae. Something closed about each nipple,
and closed very tightly, pinching them hard. There was a soft metallic
clinking noise as a thin chain was pulled, tugging at the small clamps.
Amanda whimpered as more of the feeling returned, her nipples aching
and throbbing.

And now the fingers had returned to her pussy and were spreading her
lips again.

/Oh God no!/ Amanda thought desperately. /Not there! No no no no no
...!/

Her hips jerked violently for a moment when she felt something hard
touch her nether regions.

"Stay still, Amanda," Marisa called out, startling her. "Don't move one
bit. Do you understand?"

Amanda's throat barely worked. "Y-yes, m-mistress," she croaked.

The object returned, touching her slot. It was gently slid up and over
her womanhood, the cool metal making her shiver, and her body quake.
She braced herself, a small, pitiful whine escaping her lips. Yet then
the clamp slid to the side, as fingers tugged at her labia, teasing
them outward. The jaws closed on it instead. Amanda gasped and
flinched, then relaxed a bit. The pressure was uncomfortable, but not
painful.

A chain was pulled taut and stretched along the inside of her thigh. It
was secured around her knee with the click of a tiny lock, keeping the
labia stretched outward from her mound. The same was then done to the
other side, until her pink and wet inner folds were left helplessly
exposed.

She felt the brush of someone's hair along the inside of one of her
thighs. Warm breath blew lightly over her tender flesh as another
tugged again at the chain on her nipple clamps. Amanda let go her
breath as a ragged sigh, heat flashing over her skin and in her pussy.

Hands pushed her legs further apart. The chains pulled on her labia,
stretching them further apart. The hot breath blew lightly on her
again, just as the clamps around her nipples were opened and removed.
The initial release made her nipples ache badly for a few moments,
causing her to whimper softly again.

Then, all at once, the breath in her pussy became a warm and wet
tongue, and two more slid sensuously over her tender nipples.

"/Uhhhnnn!/" Amanda moaned loudly, unable to restrain herself as she
felt her senses momentarily overwhelmed.

It was as if everything they had done to her had suddenly made her more
sensitive than she ever had been before. Waves of pleasure crashed over
her like a rising tide, her nipples throbbing as if they were climaxing
on their own. Just the light, furtive licks on her nub were driving her
upwards with alarming speed. Before she had drawn barely a handful of
breaths, she was cumming hard, her pussy throbbing intensely.

All thought of obedience dissolved. "Ohhh! ... Oh /God!/ ... uhhhn!!"

Soon her cries stopped for she was simply out of breath. No sooner than
her orgasm had abated when she rose again and came a second time.
Finally it was too much. She wanted to cry out for them to stop, but
she was too weak and panting too hard to give voice to the words.
Mercifully, however, the others stopped, and slowly moved off, leaving
Amanda quivering and limp as her orgasm faded.

After a long pause, Amanda gave a start when she felt a tug at her
labia on one side. The clamp was removed, leaving a lingering ache.
Then the other was released, and the chains removed from her knees.

"Open your eyes, Amanda."

She blinked, a little disoriented. She uttered a short gasp as Marisa
crawled over her. Marisa embraced her as Sirinna might do after an
intense session. Amanda wanted to deny the need, especially if it meant
accepting it from this woman, but she was already trembling with the
sudden descent from her intense orgasmic high. Amanda moaned softly and
slid her arms around Marisa, accepting the comfort at face value.

"That was likely the worst that a good master or mistress will do to
you that you have not already experienced by my hand," Marisa said
softly. "And you handled it better than I thought you would, Amanda."

There was at least a hint of praise in that voice. "Thank you,
mistress."

Marisa slowly parted from her and helped her to her feet. "If you have
any lingering ache in your nipples or pussy, I'll take you to Master
Vanlo."

Amanda shook her head. If she had not needed it from Sirinna when she
had been paddled, she didn't need it from Marisa, either. She would not
appear weak in front of this woman. "I should be okay, mistress."

Marisa gave Amanda a small smirk, as if knowing what Amanda was
thinking.

Maybe she did, Amanda realized. It didn't matter to her. She felt like
she had finally won some small measure of respect, and she intended to
keep it.

And if that truly was the worst of what a client may do to her, then
that was something of a relief as well. She felt more confident now
about having to face the Overlords of the Conclave.



At the far end of the island, Gronnus stood at the dock, wearing a mask
of ease and steadiness that hid the impatience he felt. One by one,
passengers departed from the ship that lay at anchor. Most were low
nobility or landlords, none of which Gronnus knew. He was as far from
his native lands in Oceanus as any of the Overlords.

It showed. While others around him, even those toiling in the hot sun
as they unloaded a cargo ship a few piers away, seemed at ease in the
heavy tropical air, Gronnus was uncomfortably hot and perspiring
profusely. A few of the natives to the island openly gave him odd
looks, despite his obviously highborn stature. Only the arriving
passengers appeared to show the proper decorum.

Gronnus grunted. He hated island Manors. His was located on the
mainland continent, and a good distance from what he considered the
"unhealthy" humidity of the sea. His only hope was that Freya would be
just as discomforted as he, and thus put them on an even keel.

His hopes were dashed the moment the tall, statuesque female Overlord
started down the gangplank.

Even though Gronnus had already seen Freya D'yros in various stages of
undress -- and a few times in complete undress -- he was quite taken
aback by the lady's appearance. She had obviously dressed for the
occasion, and this meant both the climate and in anticipation of
sharing a Manor with any of the other virile, male Overlords. Her dress
was silk, gleaming white, though slightly shiny in the sunlight, as if
it had a satiny glow to it. It was very light, and her lithe body moved
easily and almost sensuously underneath it. The bottom came up to only
her knees, and slits ran up each thigh to the waist.

Gronnus bristled, despite enjoying the sight on a purely sexual level.
It was not so much the brazenness of her appearance as it was how
casual she looked. Her hair was worn down, long tresses of wavy
honey-brown hair blowing lightly in the breeze. As she grew closer,
from the way her bosom bounced, it was obvious she had forgone any
support.

/Yes, and I am sure she will claim that was for the "climate" as well/,
Gronnus thought sourly.

Freya spotted the other Overlord easily, and one corner of her mouth
turned upwards. She approached him, and it almost seemed to him as if
she put an extra swing to her hips.

/Blazing hellfire,/ Gronnus thought. /Strutting around like a common
slave!/

Nevertheless, he smiled and offered a small bow to the fellow Overlord.
"Greetings, Freya. Welcome to this little corner of tropical hell that
Roquan calls his home."

Freya stopped, grinning. One leg was thrust outward seductively, one
hand on the opposing hip. "Do not blame Roquan, Gronnus," she began,
her voice low and sultry. "If you cannot dress better for the
location."

"Ah, yes, I am sure you had that in mind when you selected that dress."

Freya gave a throaty chuckle. "You didn't seem to mind it the other
day. Nor did you mind getting it off my body as quick as you could."

Gronnus tried to return her cheeky smile with one of his own, but the
truth was, he was a bit embarrassed to hear her speak so boldly of
their relationship. He had to resist the urge to glance around him and
see if anyone were looking at them.

Instead, he tried to match her wit for wit, albeit lowering his voice
first. "And is that your plan, my dear, for the Conclave? To make sure
it comes off as quickly as it can?"

"Well, I suppose that depends on who wants it off, now doesn't it?"

"Roquan, perhaps?"

Freya's smile widened. "You don't think I could have him if I wanted
to, do you?"

Gronnus could not mask the look of discomfort that statement kindled in
him. He was always leery of the way Freya could speak of the other
Overlords as if they were commodities like her slaves. "I do not doubt
your abilities for a moment. But I doubt Roquan's interested."

The two of them started to walk down the path that led away from the
docks and -- mercifully for Gronnus -- into the shade. "He is rather
obsessed, is he not?"

"Yes, Freya. Dangerously so. Surely you can see why we must have a
united front against him."

"Doran wishes me in his camp."

Gronnus stopped short. "And?"

Freya smiled and shrugged. "And ... what?"

"Are you in his camp?"

Freya laughed. "When have you known me in anyone's camp?"

"Never. And that is the problem," Gronnus said acidly.

"Ah, watch that temper, Gronnus, dear. Anyway, you're asking the wrong
question."

"Oh? Am I, now?"

"You asked me if I am in any particular camp. That is not the correct
question. The correct one is: do I want to disturb the status quo?"

Gronnus paused and relaxed, letting out a sigh through his nose. "Well,
I think I know the answer to that. The same as every other Overlord."

"I am particularly adamant about it. I have no wish to fix something
that needs no repair."

Gronnus allowed himself a smile. "So then I can count on you to support
us in ..."

Freya shook her head and raised an admonishing finger. "You're
forgetting again."

Gronnus gave her an exasperated look. "Then what is it I /can/ count
on?"

"My vote. Is that not all you need?"

/Well, that could have saved me a lot of trouble and expense had I
known that!/ he thought irritably. He had already made a rather
lucrative deal with her to secure her support. Lucrative for her, that
is, unless he considered sex with her as part of the exchange. In that
case, he had to admit, they broke even.

But there was still one more matter to contend with. The infernal and
impossible demand by the Emperor. "You recall the other thing I spoke
with you about?"

For the first time, Freya did not have an immediate response. When she
did finally speak, it was in measured tones. "It's not the status quo."

"Neither is what Roquan did."

Freya chuckled again. "Now, who would have imagined such a thing?
Roquan D'ronstaq, the master traditionalist himself, training a
Draughtless slave."

Gronnus looked up in alarm. Freya rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Are you expecting anyone to actually understand what we are talking
about were they to dare to listen to us, Gronnus? Not even the Nobility
know of these things."

Gronnus had to take a breath to steady himself. But the Emperor knew,
damn him! He felt like it was being used against him, and against all
the Overlords. Perhaps Z'haas is indeed as bad as Roquan made him out
to be.

No. The Emperor had his reasons. He had to. He was what was best for
Oceanus right now.

"So you will not help me?"

"To depose him? Certainly not. Besides, if he is deposed, then I am
unable to get what I want from him."

"There's always the auction."

Freya rolled her eyes. "Really, Gronnus. For someone who claims to have
the oldest Overlord Clan in Oceanus, you are shortsighted sometimes."

Gronnus frowned deeply at this, but said nothing in retort.

"There is nothing to dealing at an auction. Bid the highest price, and
you get the slave. There is little effort in that."

Gronnus was beginning to understand something about Freya now. It was
not the prey that interested her, but the hunt itself.

He chastised himself for not realizing this before now. Gronnus was
once an avid hunter himself. He did it for the sport of it, for the
thrill of tracking down the prey. The actual kill was almost an
anticlimax. His best hunting sessions were ones where he tracked the
prey for a better part of a day before bringing it down.

"But you must agree, Freya, this thing with the girl Amanda, it is
quite unusual."

Freya smiled. There was a hint of wickedness to it. "Oh, I very much
agree. And I am sure she is a most unusual girl as a result. And a most
unusual slave."

"Yet you will not help me! You would continue to let Roquan train her,
even though ..."

"Oh, no, no, no. You misunderstand me."

Up ahead was a clearing, where several coaches waited to take the
Overlords on the first leg of their journey across the island. They
stopped just outside and turned towards each other.

"You will not have to worry about Roquan continuing to train her," said
Freya.

Gronnus frowned in confusion. "You intend to force him to return her
home?"

"No. /I/ intend to train her."

Gronnus was aghast at this. "You ... you are going to try to /purchase/
her from him?"

"Better than that. I am going to make him give her to me."

"And how in the hells do you expect to do that?!"

Freya grinned evilly. "You said it yourself. He wouldn't want his dirty
little secret to get out, now would he?"

"But ... but I was going to use that against him at the Conclave to get
the others to ..."

Freya's eyes crystallized to hard points as they gazed at him. "Not
anymore you're not, dear. Not if you want my vote. Not if you don't
want this dress to come off with other Overlords specifically to insure
that they don't give you a vote, either."

Gronnus was flabbergasted. He had let the female Overlord outmaneuver
him. He had trusted her with this important facet of his case, and she
had turned it around to use to her own advantage.

"Gronnus, dear, you don't need this silly business about Amanda to win
your case," Freya said loftily. "No one wants to change anything."

"And you think they will not feel outrage over what Roquan accuses the
Emperor of doing?"

"Oh, perhaps. But I am sure we can set Z'haas straight on that score."

Gronnus just nodded absently. He could not let on that the Emperor was
far stronger and secure in his power than was commonly thought. He
feared now that the job he was given was all the more difficult now.

"Just one question, Freya," he said. "Why do you want her? You can't
possibly contract her out to anyone."

"I don't wish to. I want her for myself. As my own personal slave."

Gronnus should not have been surprised or shocked to hear this. A long
standing tradition said that an Overlord had the right to pick a slave
from his Manor and keep her as his own. It was rarely exercised, as
most Overlords saw the advantages to keeping an "open bed" to whatever
slave met his fancy at that point in time. Not to mention that every
slave in circulation was more platinum for the Manor in contracts.

Gronnus huffed. "I daresay you'll find her to be rather difficult, from
the rumors I've heard. I highly doubt she can be trained."

Freya smiled. "Then I will delight in /breaking/ her instead."
<1st attachment end>


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