A Drow's Dilemma Ep. 88: Work

Despite his annoyance at her forgetfulness, her neglect did have the effect that he was able to give a lot of time to figure out how that collar worked. He was fairly certain that he understood all enchantments on it. Now he just had to get the proper materials to artfully rewrite them without it being apparent that he did so. For now, he was reluctant to disturb it.

The third 'morning' since Caleldir was given to Jhul came to pass, and the noble drow entered his room a bit earlier than the previous cycles.

Caleldir had been sitting cross-legged on his bed, meditating. He was trying to find a way around all those seals on him. No such luck, of course. When Jhul'une came in, he leaped up to attention.

Over one of her arms was a folded robe of an almost while blue, a much more dignified garment than Caleldir had been given. Jhul offered it to him, saying, "Put this on."

"As you wish, my lady," he replied, stripping and dressing. He visibly relaxed in the new garment. Some men were comfortable in feminine clothing. Caleldir was not.

"Good," Jhul said as she looked him over. She had liked the revealing clothing well enough on him, but such attire would only be a distraction. Jhul didn't want him to be a distraction where she was taking him.

"Here," she said as she handed him his breakfast: a meat pie she had in her other hand.

While he gratefully ate the food, she circled around him and altered his collar from behind so that he could follow her out of the room. "This is getting to be a pain..." she muttered to herself as she did this. Jhul was tempted to keep him with her just so she didn't have to mess with his collar anymore. The noblewoman didn't seem to notice any tinkering with the device.

When she was done, she stepped back around to look him in the eye with all the sternness she could muster. Unfortunately, she didn't quite have that look perfected. But he probably got the picture. "I've decided to put you to better use," she informed him. "And I need an assistant. So you can come with me as long as you shut up and keep your eyes down. You're not a noble anymore. You are a slave."

He met her gaze rather dryly. "You do not need to attempt to intimidate me, my lady. I get the message," he replied. "I will behave in a respectful manner. Although, I am not a slave. That may be my position, my status, my rank, but I remain what I am regardless."

Her brow furrowed and then raised in response to his reply. She decided that she would ignore that for the time being. Jhul did not want to debate the nature of her slave's existence with him. Not now, when she was so busy.

"I will stay silent and polite at least, I will assure you," Caleldir continued. "Unless it becomes my sincere belief that your interests would be better served by my speech."

Those words made Jhul slightly uneasy. He may sincerely believe that he was helping her, but... "If you make things difficult for me, I will not take you out of this room again." Then, a soft sigh. There was the temptation to leave him there after all, but she really did need an assistant. Things were simply far too stressful and busy for just one person. "Just use that brain I know you have and know that our cultures are different. What may seem wise for you to say in your homelands may not be considered the same here."

"Indeed, my lady. I am the very soul of discretion," he replied. Caleldir's expression was that of absolute, honest sincerity. "I will not make things harder for you, of that you can be assured. I bore of this chamber, after all, and if proving myself to be of value is my ticket out, then that ticket I will take."

"Then come," she said, and finally turned her back to him to walk away.

Jhul led him through her front door and to her portal. She stepped upon the decorative circle, waited until Caleldir joined her, and muttered a spell under her breath. They were whisked away to the main hub on the main floor of the largest tower.

If Caleldir seemed almost unreasonably excited by the prospect of leaving this apartment and seeing the school, well, that was hardly suspicious. The school had seemed like an amazing place. An institute of learning and scholarship, the closest thing to what he considered to be his original home he had seen since The Neverborn had pulled the Monastery into that curse. Well, close except for the wildly different alignments and philosophies. But eh. Such was life.

At any rate, he slipped very easily into the mannerisms of an academic assistant, following Jhul'une with a purposeful stride that conveyed to everyone that he was important because his employer was even more important. It was a demeanor that he had perfected during those decades he had worked for Archmage Birchborn. But though he put on an attitude of polite aloofness, he was actually scanning his surroundings, rapidly familiarizing himself with it all.

There were other people around, of course. Many youthful noble drow were hurrying around, using the teleporters, speaking to others of their kind, and generally looking quite busy. The only people Jhul paid any heed to were the drow who were beginning to line up down the hall, beginning at a single sliding door. It had the most ominous words written in decorative text over it:

"STUDENT COMPLAINTS"

And that was where Jhul turned and entered, but not before addressing the line, "I will be with you in a moment. My assistant will bring you in when I am ready."

The office was quite nicely furnished but still looked too big for the large desk at its center. Beside it was a chest - effectively a large wooden bag of holding. Inside it was thousands of files organized by student name and number. She settled into her chair at the desk. "I'm going to need you to pull the files of the people who enter after you bring them in."

"Pull the files on the students," he repeated, scanning the system. This was his area of expertise, in truth. What he had done for most of his adult life. And most of his childhood, actually. Such had been the life of an Apprentice, then a Librarian. "I am familiar with this sort of thing."

"Excellent," Jhul responded, though she still looked slightly apprehensive. Though, that could have been more due to the fact that she was sitting in the worst seat of the entire school. Not the physical chair, of course. It was padded and looked reasonably comfortable. What she was forced to do in that chair, however...

Caleldir smiled slightly, an enchanting expression on his faerie face. Although his attitude went from surety to sympathetic commiseration rather rapidly as he read Jhul's attitude about this job. "I take it that dealing with complaints is not the best job on campus," he observed. "Well, I will try to alleviate that somewhat."

"It is not. Bring in the first one."

The first person in line was a nervous-looking male drow who can't have been past his fifth decade. He followed Jhul'une's assistant into the room and stood awkwardly in front of the desk where the noble Dinoryn sat.

"I'd- uh. I'd like to report-" And then he trailed off as heat rose to his face. The student looked excessively uncomfortable.

"Name and number," Jhul said automatically.

The student stammered for a moment, before giving her the information that was needed. Jhul then looked toward her assistant with a quirked eyebrow. She would see how familiar with this task he actually was.

Caleldir had memorized the system already due to his eidetic memory when it came to such tasks. No sooner had the boy said his name and number than Caleldir had found it and was presenting it to Jhul'une, his manner now that of a detached professional. He stayed silent.

It turned out that her pleasure slave wasn't just a pretty face and a nice dick to bounce on. Jhul looked impressed when Cal handed her the file even faster than she would have been able to locate it. She turned to the student with file in hand, open to the newest page.

"State your problem," Jhul told him coldly. She did not seem to care about his distressed state.

"Um. I need to report-" Another exhale, and a nervous fidget. "You know what? Never-never mind. I don't- I can't-" The longer he stood there, the more upset he looked. He looked back towards the door he came through with an expression of longing. He even took a step back towards it but stopped before he took another step. Apparently, he was determined to find the courage to say what he wanted to say.

Jhul simply stared and waited with a coldly distant expression.

Caleldir glanced from Jhul to the student and back. Sigh. Jhul'une was not well suited for this task. Perhaps she was good at it normally and this was just a bad day, but Caleldir was not sure that was the case. He took a deep breath. "My lady Dinoryn," he said in a low tone. "Perhaps it would be for the best if I were to talk to this young man? It seems that he is too intimidated by your beauty to present his complaints."

Jhul ignored Caleldir's offer. For how could he succeed when she could not? The kid needed to get used to speaking to beautiful women if that was really what made him stammer so. "Spit it out, Mr-" she looked down at the open file in her hand. "Maelyl."

His Lady's continued brusque manner gave Caleldir a slight internal wince. It was apparent that Maelyl was in deep distress, and his diplomatic explanation notwithstanding, it was for more than just ordinary nervousness. Still, unless given the go-ahead, he could not intervene. And so, he did not, instead finishing up glancing through very quickly the Campus Policy handbook that Jhul had a pile of on her desk. Ugh. Drow were weird.

The student frowned and actually looked toward Caleldir with a pleading expression.

"I was- a female student here-" He bit his lip and looked down at the floor. "I was raped," he finally admitted in a very soft voice.

Caleldir's attentions were pulled from the coldly amoral world of the policy handbook. Caleldir's expression softened somewhat. Just because he was mostly past being emotionally affected by such an event did not mean that he was beyond sympathy.

"I see," she said, not even surprised, not even sympathetic. "How long ago did this occur? Do you know the name and number of your alleged attacker?"

Another pleading look towards the assistant. "I-" But he couldn't finish his response.

Jhul let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine. Talk to him if it will hurry things along," she said to Cal in the same low voice he used to speak to her.

"I will get him to speak," Cal responded quietly.

Moving his face once more to concerned sympathy, he approached the young man. "Do not be afraid, I do not bite," he said gently. "If your tale is true, then we will have to put a stop to this behavior. Please let us know which female student is tarnishing the name of Dinoryn."

Maelyl looked relieved. Drow or not, in times of distress a person like him always preferred to speak to the sympathetic. The student hugged himself and subtly leaned closer to the source of comparative comfort that was Jhul's assistant. "Hael'yss," he finally responded. "Hael'yss of House Maevalzynge. It- it happened just last night when I was on the way to my dorm."

At her desk, Jhul put her face in her palm and just sat there like that, silent and looking very pained indeed. Of course it had to be her.

Caleldir pulled out Hael'yss's file and set it on Jhul's desk. "I take it this is an unusually delicate situation, then?" he said to her in a low tone. He turned back towards the male. "Can you provide some proof of this woman's guilt as of yet? Or would you prefer to wait for the investigation?"

"I can't really-" was all Maelyl was able to say before Jhul interjected.

"Your report has been noted in the file. Your case will be investigated. You may leave, Lord Maelyl," she said.

"But- I-," he tried to speak again.

"Know that we take these allegations seriously, sir. I assure you that we will take care of this when we are able," Jhul insisted.

The student shot a confused, almost hurt look towards Caleldir.

"Thank you, ma'am," he said. Then, dejected, he turned to leave.

Maelyl's hurt expression cut Caleldir to the gut, but he was powerless. He let the student leave without further interruption.

When he was gone, Caleldir turned to Jhul. "So, is this sort of complaint normal?" he asked. "If his accusations are true, it is a clear violation of the student code. Albeit a violation without clear consequences listed."

"House Maevalzynge, Cal. The Spider House. I see you are not familiar with the major players in City Duskhaven," she laid out the Maevalzynge student's file, made a quick note it in, then did the same for the Maelyl's file and handed both files back to Caleldir to put in their rightful places. "There isn't anything the Dinoryn will want to do unless she targets someone more important than a mere Maelyl. Which she may do; she is young and reckless. But until then... the most we can do is put a watch on her."

"I have heard of the Spider house," he replied. Selene had told him about them, after all. "So, the reluctance to prosecute is understandable. One must choose one's battles and be leery of making powerful enemies, after all. The girl should have at least some form of punishment if it is proved that she did it." But how would they prove it? Caleldir thought to himself while he returned the files. This sort of thing was, by definition, difficult to prove. It would be easy to prove sex had happened. It would be hard to prove whether it had been consensual or not. "I suppose that the best option would be to make a show of investigating, find nothing, declare the case unresolved, and then keep an eye on the young Maevalzynge for future indiscretions. And have someone give her a warning to watch herself, that if she causes too much trouble it will force us to act."

"Yes. That is exactly what we do in situations like this," Jhul agreed with a frustrated sigh.

And so the meetings went. A student walked in, gave their complaint, Jhul wrote it down in their file, and the student left. The cases that needed legitimate attention were always referred to Iiv'lua. Jhul'une was apparently not trusted with anything actually important. Which left her in a job where she could satisfy no one at all. There were times when it clearly seemed like she would have liked to enact the solution herself, but was powerless to do so.

By the time the middle of the cycle arrived - the time when Jhul usually visited Caleldir's room - the Dinoryn heir looked about as frazzled as she usually did. Except this time, her pleasure slave was right there next to her. So, when the student she was speaking to finally (and quite angrily) left the room, Jhul'une grabbed Caleldir's wrist before he could even put the student's file away.

"Kneel," she ordered as she moved her chair back and spread her legs.

He set the file down with the hand that she had not grabbed, and knelt as ordered. He knew well what to do, what she liked, what was expected of him. And so, after applying the usual pleasure magic to his fingers and tongue, he reached up between her legs and lightly stroked her pussy.

Jhul let out a long sigh and moved her robes more out of the way to allow Caleldir access to her sex. When his mouth descended on her, she moved her chair back even further so she could lean back slightly. Her hand came up to grip his hair firmly to hold his mouth to her clit. Not that she feared he would stop, not after the could days she had been with him. For some strange reason that Jhul could not fathom, it was easier to get him to perform oral from the very beginning than it had been with any other sex act she made him do.

And he was so very good at it, with that pleasure magic of his. It forced her to cover her mouth with the hand not holding his head in place. Otherwise, she feared that she would be too loud. In short order, her body tensed and her legs closed around his head as he brought her to sweet release. And a good bit of calm, too.

"Alright," she said after several breathless moments. Her hand left his head, and she stood.

He pulled himself out from between her legs once her thighs were no longer wrapped around his head, and tried not to think about how nice those thighs felt wrapped around his hips.

"We shall get something to eat." A grin twitched across her face. "Aside from my pussy. Then it's back to work." She was glad that she brought him along. He actually did make the painful process go faster. Jhul suspected that she might even get her work done earlier.

"Understood, Jhul," he said solemnly. And so, he followed her out.

A different routine was started after that cycle. Caleldir was not often allowed to leave Jhul's side as she carried out her work as the middle-manager of Dinoryn Academy. Caleldir naturally thrived in his role as assistant. It was like working for Birchborn all over again, except for only vaguely similar. At least he was becoming quickly very familiar with the layout and structure, physical and social, of the college. He enjoyed this sort of work, actually, even if Jhul'une did not. Despite his talk of being a king or a conqueror or some such, and his other overblown ideas, Caleldir's disposition was one that was perfectly happy to be a second in command rather than at the top.

Even when they turned in for the night, the noblewoman finally decided that her pleasure slave could share a bed with her - as long as he kept to his side of her large bed while they were actually sleeping. That way, Jhul didn't have to constantly mess with his collar. It was also nice to sometimes roll over in the middle of the night and have her way with him.

The only time they were separated in the next week and a half was the couple times that Jhul had to meet with her mother. It was inappropriate to bring Caleldir along with her, where slightly more House-sensitive things may be discussed. Jhul'une was always a bit of a mess after coming back from those meetings. Caleldir was allowed free range of Jhul's apartments during that time, but of course was not allowed to leave.

The only downside was that he no longer had any real chance to examine his collar. Not with spending his days busily following Jhul around, and his nights spent in her bed. He had been reluctant to stay in her chambers all night at first, but after the second night, he had come around to the idea. He did feel guilty about it, but not enough to protest or fight.

And so the cycles flew by.