Countess of Desire (The Young Ancients Erotic Moments Book 1) (12 page)

"In, out
and back by morning. This will work. I should go. I'm nearly certain I'm going
to end up lost. I should have told them I'd be there in the morning, but we're
actually running out of time here." She had a date with the King, to keep
after all.

Maria held her
love though, and finally pulled away, her eyes fierce.

"Duke
Levitt. If I don't return, get some help and raze his palace to the ground,
with him in it?" She didn't ask for the entire Duchy to go, since that
would be too great a war for a single County to win. They could take out
one
building however.

"Without
hesitation. I never liked him much anyway. Sour old goat, don't you
think?"

With no more
words she nodded, then walked out, holding his eyes as she left, until she
couldn't see him anymore. If it all went too far wrong, Maria didn't want to
have wasted even one moment with him. Then she got in her craft, made to look
rather plain and dark on the outside, unlit and not glowing in pretty colors,
even though it could at will.

Setting her
mind as well as she could, she took a deep breath.

"Into the
dark then?"

No one
answered, Because, as odd as it seemed, she was all alone. That was a rare
thing for her. Maria had friends, and loves, around all the time. Her problems
were the ones of people that had too many around, too often. Not
this
.

Flying off to
her possible doom, like a fool. Or a hero.

She chuckled
then. No one would ever think that of her, would they? No matter how it turned
out, she'd always be the traitor. The spy. The person that no one would ever
really trust again, once it was all known.

Then, because
of beginner's luck she didn't doubt, Maria flew in an almost straight line, and
ended up right on top of a large ring of magical lights just about where she
figured would be the right place. They were in a dozen colors, with most of
them putting out a nice amber colored light. It was a bit gaudy, but a good
sign she was at least near the right spot. No one not a noble or a wizard could
have pulled something like that off, she didn't think.

Smiling she
turned her clothing dark, making pants and a heavy workman's shirt. Her hair
was pulled back into a simple single tail. Her face was made up, since she was
still her, but the rest of her outfit spoke of someone come to discuss the most
serious of workings. That was the simple truth, so she got out, took her craft
down and slipped it around her neck, even as the three people walked over.

The tall one in
the center was Kedrin, and to his left was Duke Levitt. On the other side, to
her surprise, was Holly Printer. Countess Printer.

Maria fought
for control of her face. That was going to hurt Petra, in the end. They were
friends after all. Good ones, possibly.

The woman was
dressed in deep red, clothing that seemed like fine leather, her own blonde
hair in a short bob cut, like a fighter. Her face was lean, and so was the rest
of her, because she was a fighter from way back. Taller than Maria, by a few
inches. Nearly six-six. So the shortest person in the group of rebel traitors,
but tall for a woman.

They all had
very serious looks on their faces.

It was Duke
Levitt who spoke though, clearly thinking he was in charge. His voice was, as
Marvin had pointed out,
sour
. Everything about the man was. Even the
wrinkles on his old face reminded her of a person sucking lemons. Thin, and
puckered around the lips. He used to have been a bit portly, meaning that the
last years had been harder for him than not. Wasting plagues, lack of food and
pure stress could do that for a body.

"Countess
Ward," The voice was a bit nasal and clipped. Almost like he was upset
with her. She couldn't think of why that would be though. "I hear that you
think my plan is... Lacking?"

Ah, that would
do it then. Rather than make a big production of saving his feelings, she
shrugged.

"Can we
find a more private place to discuss things? Or... Here." She put her
craft back up, after stepping away, then waved them all over. She didn't
discuss anything, but had seats enough for ten large people in the back, as
well as a bed set up. You never knew what would be desired, after all. They all
looked at the interior, which was nice, if a bit plain, and set to reflect
calming blue and green colors, in the main.

Then she took
them straight up, and locked the ship into orbit. This one, being the new kind,
did it with a few simple thoughts.

"There,
let someone try to watch us up here. We can speak freely, I think."

Holly looked
out the window, then gave a low whistle.

"You stole
a space fleet craft?"

Maria sighed
and shook her head, pretending not to be pleased.

"Stole?
Me? I'm so sweet and innocent, how could you ever think that? Besides, no, this
is a new kind of jump ship, one that doesn't have weapons, and it was given to
me by my friend, Queen Tiera? She also gave me this..." She fished into
the top of her shirt, which made Kedrin leer a little, being polite that way,
and Levitt sneer at her, as if she were going to show off a hickey.

When she pulled
the small cream colored stylus the only one that got it was Holly. She just
nodded, then looked away for a few moments, thinking.

"I see.
So, you get entry to the palace on some kind of contrivance, and then-"
She mimed pulling the weapon and killing King Richard in a few deft movements,
clearly understanding how the thing worked.

"That's
the plan. Except that if I'm going to get it in, it won't be being pulled from
around my
neck
like that. I have a way in."

That got three
truth amulets to be presented, which was an interesting idea, she realized. She
had a fake one on her, but no sleight of hand would replace all three that were
handed to her, and if she lied at all, it would show up instantly, wouldn't it?
She raised an eyebrow, but took all three of the things, still sitting in the
pilot’s chair.

The trick to
beating a Truth amulet was to control what was said as much as possible. If you
tried to lie, it would show, but you could tell your own truth safely enough.
Most of the time. It was still pretty dangerous, of course. She was, she knew,
about to be caught, most likely. Before she could be questioned, the aura
glowing around her being mainly white, with a goldenrod colored stripe down the
center of her body.

She looked at
the Duke, her face holding its own sneer.

"I worked
out that it would be nearly impossible to get some random girl in place, so
managed to get in with Petra Ward, to suck the King's cock the other night. I
did a good enough job to earn an encore performance in five days." There
was no hesitation or black streak to show she was lying. Since, of course, it
was all true. "He still thinks that I'm totally loyal to him, before you
ask why a traitor would be let in to get that done. I have to admit I was a
little surprised that Pet actually did it too, but it worked well enough and he
seemed happy in the end. More or less."

That showed up
as being honest, and the others all relaxed. She went on, her face set, suddenly.

"So, when
I get in, I'll get him alone, and pull the shield stripper. After that, well,
if I kill him, the Royal Guard will end me, one way or the other. Can you three
have anyone in place to capitalize on this? Like I told Kedrin earlier, if you
can't, or won't, then we might as well just give this all up. I can probably
get us all in to take turns servicing Richard." The funny thing there was
that the Truth amulet didn't waver at all. None of them did, which got Holly at
least to chuckle.

"Not Prince
Kedrin, surely?"

Maria nodded.

"Agreed. I
meant the rest of us. He has an offer to go to Harmony. Marriage to Queen
Tiera? Win or lose here, if we live through this. You can go in as the go
between, Countess Printer. I won't be available for that, I don't think."

Holly might not
be either, of course. That was sad. Maria was nearly certain that the woman was
loyal to the King, except for a few small issues. Most of them involving the
treatment Petra had received after being tortured by Count Rodriguez. She
thought that there should have been a war over it. Instantly.

Instead the
King had asked them all to hold their hands, fearing that it would fan the
flames against him. It seemed cowardly, in a certain light, to the right kind
of person.

Duke Levitt
glared at her, but softened after a moment.

"You'd do
this, even thinking that it will cost your life?"

"Yes. It's
the right thing to do." That showed as the truth too, because she really
was doing it for that reason. She needed to get the Truth amulets out of her
hands quickly though, before someone asked a
good
question. Holly was
smart enough for that kind of thing.

Maybe Kedrin
too.

Duke Levitt was
bright enough, but old too, meaning he didn't get how to best use the new
magics. Not really. Even owning one, he lacked subtlety.

Holding her
left hand out, she gave the things back.

"Leave
them on please? I've shown that
I'm
honest in this, for my part, but
some reassurance would be nice to hear."

She grinned, a
bit wickedly. After all, the real job was in figuring out who needed to die,
wasn't it?

All of them got
shifty, and Duke Levitt sneered again. It was a thing he was good at.

"I doubt
that we need to question King Kedrin here, do we?"

She snorted,
"Of course we do! If he doesn't really want the job, then we need to know
now
,
don't we? Then Holly, you and I can go off and beg for our lives and see what
Richard wants for us to do. If Holly isn't with us, well, I can kind of see
that. She's been pretty bold about making sure we all know that this is about
Petra and how she was treated, and a few other things. Really, until the King
is dead we should hold her back anyway. If we fail or win now it won't be about
military forces. We have to strike quickly, and set Kedrin up before anyone
knows what's going on. That will take oaths and proof that Alphonse can't take
the position right now. Karina..."

Maria nearly
winced, because they were going to have to at least plan the death of Princess
Veronica, weren't they? Holly had that one in hand however, her face stern suddenly.
There was some glaring as well, directed at her.

"Veronica
isn't Richard's child. As I have it she's the child of the Old Count Lairdgren,
so can't take the throne. I find it a bit insulting that you think I wouldn't
do my part in this."

She was glowing,
and it wasn't a deflection, though the words didn't really answer much, did
they? Maria nodded, pretending not to see that.

"So we
don't have to take her, too. That's good. I actually like her. As for you
Holly... I just managed to make up with Petra and Tor. It would hurt them both
if you died in this, or lost too much. They both love Richard, as well. If I
let you charge off and get killed right now, they'd both hate me forever. We'll
need them, when this is over. Especially Tor. He's too well connected not to
use. That means we'll need someone that can bring him around to our side,
eventually at least. I'd do it, now, but..."

Kedrin shook
his large head, but it was at the Duke, who suddenly seemed angry with her.

"No,
Anthony, don't seek to go against her in this. She's right. We'll
need
Tor and his whole family. Right now they are firmly with Richard. If we don't
have them, we might as well get ready to fail. I doubt we can take the forces
of Harmony at present."

There was a
snort and another upset look.

"You doubt
the mettle of our forces? What do they have, some pretty ships and volunteers?
We have professional fighting men and women. Ones hardened to the rigors of
combat!"

Holly took her
own turn, snorting loudly.

"Don't be
a fool. Just one of those pretty ships would be enough to remove us all from
the world forever. Those volunteers don't have to be warriors, just think the
right commands to their weapons from a far enough distance." She turned on
Maria then, her face skeptical. "I can't see how holding me back would do
much though. I carry no great weight with Tor or his people that I know
of."

"Oh? Don't
you? You run a school, paid for by him, don't you? That's hidden, but if
I
know it, then others do. Plus you stole all those amulets from him once, and
what did he do? Let you go with a pat on the behind? He's a good man, but he's
named you friend. If he can forgive
me
, then you two are practically
lovers, aren't you?" She winked, knowing that those two had never done all
that much together. Really, they didn't even talk.

Holly smiled
though, trying to act like she wasn't relieved.

"Fine
then. That will be my part. What do we do about the rest of this though?"

That,
naturally, took a lot more planning.

By dawn though
they had the basics worked out, and Maria had the names of the top
conspirators.

That was,
really, her entire job, finished already.

Getting the
information to King Richard, so that he could do whatever it was he wanted with
it was a chore, or would be, except that Maria didn't really need to hurry too
much. After all there was no way anyone would get the King up at four in the
morning, just to talk to her.

No matter how
cute she was looking at the moment.

She did, of
course, look good. That thought got her to smile, since she was still dressed
in black, plain clothing that anyone might wear to go to a manual labor job,
and her makeup, while good, was a bit worn. Plus, there was very little way for
her to make a morning visit to see Richard. That might give away the plan, and
let the conspirators scatter to the wind.

They
should
have done that. That wouldn't happen though, for most of them. Oh, some of the
lower nobles would vanish for a while, not having any lands to defend, but the
wealthiest, the highest ranking, had to either win, or die where they sat.

None of that
was her problem yet. No, her issue for the day was just getting ready for it.
Hitting the new little waking amulet, she closed her eyes, feeling the effects
of the magic come over her. It stripped the sense of tiredness away, and left
her feeling just a bit amorous. She often had that feeling, so it probably
wasn't part of what the magic actually did to everyone.

It was early
though, and she needed to find someone to play with. That or take care of
herself that way. It had been a while since she'd bothered with that kind of
thing. It was so very easy to find a friend, or two, who were willing to do
that for her. For instance, when she walked into her play room she found the
main ladies maid entertaining Martya, from in town.

That was
special, wasn't it?

She cleared her
throat, but smiled at them. The maids were allowed to use the space, when she
wasn't, as long as they left as soon as she got there, if she had friends with
her. Tonight she simply didn't.

"Well,
hello
."

"Countess!
We were just-" The maid, Luisa, was a slightly older woman. Only about
forty, and still quite good looking enough for Martya to be spending time with.
She had a little gray, around the edges, but very few wrinkles. She was naked,
and her dark skin shone a bit in the low light from the magical plate on the
ceiling. It was turned down, which was interesting. She'd known that there was
a function like that, but had never used it herself. Dark was for sleeping, but
she enjoyed hard direct light for sex. Who wouldn't want to see what they were
doing?

Martya, being
an old professional at the task, kept going, which cutely enough had Luisa
stopping to call out. Loudly. "
Ahhh
!"

"It's all
right, I think I can get the general idea. I was just going to take care of
myself, not having a friend with me right now. I don't suppose you two have
some extra energy left over?"

Martya, her
head buried between another woman's thighs, just raised her right hand, and
pointed to the bed. It seemed like she was going to have to wait her turn? That
was precious, of course. Not that it wasn't entertaining enough just to watch
what was going on. How often did she get a free sex show in her own bed
chamber? Well, in this
particular
room, not meant for sleeping, she actually
had such things going on twice a week or so, but it generally had to be set up
first.

She didn't get
on the bed, going to get some toys out of their drawer, under the polished oak
table to the left of the bed. The one she wanted was a sturdy harness, that had
a large wooden cock on it. That way a woman could wear it, and do what only a
man could otherwise.

Except for
longer. Without ever going soft.

She didn't wait
too long, since Martya's waist was bare and hanging over the edge of the bed.
Her goal wasn't to use the woman that way however, but rather to have herself
serviced. It took a bit of effort for that to be set up, but the dusty skinned
ex-whore didn't miss a single beat. Her tongue never stopped, and the moaning
from Luisa never stopped either.

Maria waited,
the show in front of her exciting, as she watched it. Her maid had serviced her
before, of course, though she'd missed being with Martya, somehow. Why that
was, she wasn't truly certain. The woman certainly seemed skilled enough.

Finally the
maid groaned, and tensed, her thighs shaking as she received her own portion,
the woman between her legs never slowing until she was pushed off.

"That
was... Thank you, Martya. It's been too long since anyone has taken care of me
that way. My husband doesn't like doing it very much, so we end up just seeing
to him, most of the time."

That got a nod,
and the ex-whore stood up smoothly, naked except for the brown jutting
smoothness and its leather harness.

"That's a
common story. Most men can be a bit selfish that way. Really, women are as bad.
Half the wives won't suck cock, even if it's all most men want most days.
Crippled and unhappy people, most of them. Like it's hard to do either? Now,
Countess... Do you want me to have sex with you, or Luisa?"

"Me, this
time, if you don't mind?" She reached out and stroked her new friend’s
cheek, gently. "Just in my cunny. I'm afraid Tor rather tired out the
other hole earlier." So, she was bragging a bit, she realized. It was a
bit mean of her, since Tor was a real prize to get into bed.

Martya nodded,
as if it only made sense.

"All
right, start on all fours?" There was no hesitation, just a finger to
check and make certain she was ready. Then the large dildo was pressed into
her, filling her up, as talented fingers reached around her, finding her
button.

The woman was
clever though, and very good at sex, so she signaled to Luisa.

"Lay down,
with your head under her, so you can lick her. It will feel better that
way."

For her, of
course, but it was nothing she wouldn't have done for her own maid, was it?
That being the case, letting her do the same for a Countess didn't seem like
she was abusing her power
too
much. That was what she was thinking,
right up until the velvety tongue touched her there, the other woman being
right under her face. She'd just been entertained, but some women liked to have
a bit extra, from time to time, didn't they?

Gently, to test
the waters, Maria leaned down, timing her own licks with the others. It took a
few moments, but soon her tongue was hitting her maid in just the right spot,
just at Martya pressed into her, moving her forward. It was almost as if they
were one creature after a bit. So lost in the act was she that Maria didn't
even notice that Marvin had entered the room, until she felt his large,
powerful hand on her back.

"I don't
mean to interrupt. I was just making sure you made it back." There was
real concern in his voice, but it faded as he spoke, since she was, clearly,
fine.

Rather than
reassure him with words, she glanced over, to notice that he was at least
partially stiff in his trousers already.

"Trade
with Martya? She can go underneath you."

It was
complicated, and at least two of them were going to have sore necks later, but
she managed to arrive on a vast wave of pleasure just before Marvin did.

"Oh!
Oh!" It was significant, and she kept spasming, feeling the thickness of
her husband deep inside her. He was careful with her, and gentle, but the urgency,
and relief, that she'd made it home had made him a bit rougher than normal.
Just enough to be interesting, really.

She fell
though, after that, her body gasping for air from the endeavor.

"Thank
you. All of you. That was... Exactly what I needed." She cuddled the
women, but patted them in a way that basically told them to get out. She had
some things to discuss with Marvin, after all. It had to be done carefully.
Just blurting out that she had the names they needed would be insane.

Really, she
needed to find someone that could be counted on to go to the Palace and make
the delivery, who wouldn't be looked at with suspicion by anyone. Especially
the rebels. So that took out anyone that was too close to the seat of power,
really. Marvin would be seen leaving and that would be too much at the moment.

Martya, as
lovely as she was, would never be allowed into the Palace, even to deliver a
message. Just to have it taken at the gate the women would have to swear under
Truth amulet that it was from Countess Ward before it would be taken, no doubt.

Petra was as
bad as anyone could be, and it was clear that Gerent, while charming, was about
at the same level. Really, what she needed was to have Tor come and do it for
her. He was always let in, as far as anyone had ever heard. The few times he'd
been turned away had nearly caused massive emergencies in the Kingdom, after
all. He was locked away from the Earth though, as were his entire family.

All the
Immortals were. All except Sara Debri, if that rumor was right. She was the
Ancient of the Martian Circle, according to the spies Maria had poking around,
but could come and go as she pleased. So, either the woman wasn't actually that
long lived yet, or something special was going on.

Not that it
mattered, since she apparently hated her so much that she wanted her dead, or
at least had.

Maria couldn't
think of anyone else though. There had to be someone, but an Ancient, even a
fake one, might just do something that she wouldn't be able to otherwise.

"Marvin,
would you be a dear and get my communications device for me?" It had
migrated to the top of the table next to the bed. On its own, as far as she
remembered. Things like that happened to her from time to time though. She got
side tracked by all the fun, and failed to notice the details like that.

"This
one?" He handed it over, just in time for her to both smile and sigh.

It wasn't hard
to find Sara Debri though, since she could type the name in.  The Debri family
was famous after all, and Sara was a very common name. Easy to get the spelling
right on. Tapping the glowing sigil that floated just outside of the stone, she
activated the device. Half a moment later, a very lovely girl was being held in
her own palm.

"Hello,
Countess Ward. What do I owe the... Pleasure?" It was said so doubtfully that
Maria rolled her eyes.

"Really?
Is that any way to answer one of these things? Why not just challenge me to a
pissing contest straight off?" She smiled, and the crude language didn't
get an angry reaction, which it probably should have.

"A real
point. All right, I'll try for something more civil. What can I do for
you?" She sounded better, at least. Polite instead of ready to slap her
down.

"I was
wondering if you'd like to come over for dinner tonight? Call it nine, local
time? I know it's a bit of a commute, but it was suggested to me that I mend
ways with you, as soon as possible. By Tor? I didn't know I needed to, but
since I'd like to keep living, perhaps we should get together, and
talk
?"
She put a twist on the last word, making it sound like that was the last thing
she had in mind.

Sara cleared
her throat a little, but managed a happy enough grin.

"Oh? Have
you mended things properly with my Tor then? He did mention something like that
earlier. I suppose I could make the trip. At your villa in Warden?"

"That
would be perfect. We'll set some lights out on the lawn, for landing. I found
that works very well, if done right."

The woman gave
her a shrewd look, but said nothing, her face just suddenly seeming far more
cunning than it had a right to.

"I'll be
there then. See you." Then, without pause, the woman who seemed more than
a bit odd now, got off the line.

Marvin moved in
next to her, his face a bit concerned.

"A dinner
party? Is that... Timely?"

"Well, you
know how such things go. Besides, Tiera told me that she nearly had me killed
once. I didn’t mention that part, since it was about Tor. Only King Richard
bending his knee and begging for my continued existence prevented it. Years ago
now, so I don't think it's a current threat. Over the whole thing with Torrance
in school, when I... Treated him so poorly." The words seemed lame, but
she didn't let herself bog down in them. She'd done what she had, and needed to
fix what she could of her mess now.

"So, she's
coming so that you can reach out to her, in friendship?"

"Yes. I
need to do better about things like that. So, I should go set that up with the
kitchen and the house staff. We should eat inside tonight. We'll still want the
normal party out front. It's more work for the poor dears..." She felt a
bit bad, dumping things like that on them. She couldn't cook at all, having
left school before having a chance to learn even the most basic of recipes.

To get married
to her wondrous husband, so that part had worked out for her, but it meant she
didn't really have a great grasp on everything really, as far as how long it
took to prepare things like that.

She took time
to get ready for the day, and then ran the message herself to the right people.
They all assured her it would be no trouble for them. Then, they'd have
suggested the same thing if she'd asked them to try it with both hands tied
firmly behind their backs. It was her job to make certain she didn't let them all
go to such lengths that they failed, or looked bad in front of a guest.

That meant
getting things ready, since no matter what else was going on, having the
Ancient of the Martial Circle over for a meal was a huge deal. They needed
music, dancing, and anything else that could be thought of to entertain her.
Perhaps, they could go into space and jump from orbit? That was fun. Maria
smiled, but decided to run it past the other woman. If nothing else she could
make it seem like she planned a repeat of what she and Petra had done.