A Price Paid Ch. 09

"I need your help."

When he heard those words, his eyes snapped open once again, "What can I do for you? Name it."

"There is a man, a very powerful businessman whose interests and resources reach through both here and Erette, and his name is Etan Strannix."

The name registered at once. "Of course. That's a name that's into...shipping, antiquities, and general vice."

"You're familiar with all of his businesses then?"

He nodded. "Enough to know that he keeps a balance in things better than his predecessors so he's allowed to run his houses, both whore and gambling. Corruption is inevitable." His voice carried sadness at the truth followed by the desperation of a plea, "I was an example of that. I try to do better. I try to live and guide Kressin in the ways that are true and right, as you have shown me."

She patted his cheeks and gave him that disarming smile once again, "And you have pleased me."

"But it will always be there. As long as his ilk are watched and the corruption as contained as can be, then that is the best that can be done."

"He is no longer contained," she said, her voice finding an edge that sharpened as she spoke. "He is a threat. His power has grown to the point where he believes he can do anything and threaten anyone and there will be no consequence that he cannot endure. He must be driven out of every business that looks legitimate, as well as every gambling den, drug house, and whore house that feeds his wealth and power. He has to be removed as an example to anyone else that they will only be allowed to go just so far."

He took a step from her and his spine straightened and resolve formed in his belly. She was right, of course. The darkness happened regardless, but if they chose not to respect a balance they had to be removed. Aside from that, it's what Annissa wanted and what Annissa wanted to happen would happen. A hard and fast series of knocks announced the arrival of Bryana's expected guest who opened the door without waiting for an invitation.

Bryana couldn't help but grin from ear to ear as she met the princess for the first time, finding it like looking into a mirror and seeing this form. Stevya had the same long hair with similar high cheekbones and the same proud without being overbearing jawline. They could easily have been mistaken for sisters and it explained the aide's subtle double-take at the portcullis.

He beamed at the sight of her, rushing to her side. "My darling."

She eyed the two of them, her guard giving way a bit, as neither of them were any part of naked, nor did they seem caught, as though they had been doing anything that they wouldn't want to be seen doing. "Armis, is everything all right? You rushed off so quickly without a word I thought something terrible had happened." She found a diplomatic, yet not wholly insincere smile for Bryana since she hadn't found them writhing together or something. "Who is your lovely friend," she asked, making note of the resemblance in her own way, and puzzling over the fact that she was in the midst of unbuttoning and rolling up the right sleeve of her dress.

Kudan fairly brimmed with excitement, "Yes, yes, yes, everything is wonderful. This is the woman I told you about, the woman who changed my perspective, and the course of my life." He told her much of that night, except about Annissa's line of work and how the two spent much of the night as he remembered it. Looking to one and then the other, "Annissa, I present to you Princess Stevya Irina of the High Kingdom of Draleth, and my bride. Stevya, my heart, this is a Annissa."

Bringing the sleeve up to the elbow, she then approached, extending her hand. The veil spell could easily have obscured the markings of her guild as well as the runes put to her skin to focus and enhance her power and she decided they would have uses here. Bryana bowed deeply, then proffered her hand.

Stevya puzzled as to the why of the woman raising her sleeve beyond that there was something that Annissa wanted her to see so she looked down at her arm, seeing the sharp, dark lines that tapered to tips at her wrist and reminded the woman of blades. They were well done for what they were, but simple. She had certainly seen better examples of tattoo artistry. "Very nice," she offered, maintaining her diplomatic tone.

"Thank you, Princess." She maintained her grip, beginning to let her power flow, not allowing the two of them to break contact. "I enjoy them very much. Look at them closely."

Stevya tried to pull her hand away, but the grip was like iron. Throwing diplomacy to the wind, she decided that if she couldn't break herself free perhaps she could convince the other to let go of her own volition. "They are fairly simple and unimaginative, all things considered."

Annissa was untroubled by the bite and power still flowed. "Truth be told, Princess, I hear that often, but that's true only if you give them only the most cursory glance. Look at them closely, Stevya."

She looked down again with the full intention of letting it be just another glance, but something caught her eye. Was that something moving under the skin? No, she decided, but the blades did seem to move. "What sort of artistry is that?"

"They are among the oldest, most time-honored markings that can be made on a body. They are layered things. See how they move, Stevya, if you look at them just so." She moved her arm slowly to the left and the right, left and right, and back again, as Stevya watched. "The tips move. The blades move. Do you see the rhythm?

As she watched, she didn't notice that she was no longer trying to extricate herself from the other's grip. Watching the movement became so much more interesting in and of itself.

"Look deeply, Stevya."

She did.

"Breathe deeply and look deeply"

She filled her lungs and let it out slowly, feeling tension and care leave her body with the air within

"Breathe deeply and look deeply. Do you see?"

"I see; those black blades against her fair skin."

"Do you see why these were put to my skin? It's not just the blades though, Stevya. There is the blackness, too. Do you see the blackness?"

There was left and right and blackness; left and right and blackness.

"Breathe deeply and look deeply. Breathe deeply and look deeply at the movement of the blades and the blackness." Bryana was patient. There was as much time as there needed to be. A slight flick of her power and the lock on the door was set. It was a nice tell as to how far the young woman was slipping. If she had flinched at all it was doubtful that it would have brought her back to the now enough to begin to overcome what was happening, but she hadn't moved at all. She just breathed and stared downward.

"Can you hear me, Stevya?"

"Yes." That one word was a slow drawl.

"What do you know about blades, Stevya?"

Her face screwed and knotted subtly. It was a question her fogged mind could not contend with.

"You know they are powerful, don't you?"

That was much easier. "Yes."

"Blades are sharp, and lethal, and powerful."

"Yes."

"You see my blades, Stevya. Look deeply, breathe deeply, see the blackness, and feel their power."

"Feel the edge of the blades. See and feel the edge of the blades flay your resistance. Do you feel it?"

'Yes' was the easiest word, the truest word. "Yes."

"Look deeply, breathe deeply, see the blackness of the blades, and feel their power as they peel away layer upon layer of resistance. To the left and a layer of resistance falls away. To the right and another bit of desire to fight is sheared free. To the left, then the right."

Stevya could see it in her mind's eye. Left and right, and left and right, the blades slicing away at the wondering of how this was happening. Left and right, and wondering why or how this was happening floated away. Left and right, and wondering who this woman was caught the breeze made by her exhalation and that curiosity disappeared as well. Left and right, and right and left and right, and breathing so deeply with the air feeling crisp and clean in her lungs, making them tingle as she filled them. Left and right and all the fight and confusion within her was being whittled away, and, with each slice of the blades, she found it harder to muster the ability to care.

"Look deeply, breathe deeply, see the blackness of the blades, and feel their power. You know the tips of blades can pierce, don't you, Stevya?"

"Yes." Her voice trembled at the thought of their power...of being pierced and being helpless to prevent it.

"Their power could pierce your skin, your heart, and your mind and you would be helpless to prevent it. You know that, don't you, Stevya?"

"I know that." The rest of herself that remained wondered what it would be like.

"Look deeply, breathe deeply, see the blackness of the blades, and feel their power. See the blackness, Stevya."

There was no choice now. Her eyes began to burn because she hadn't blinked for so long, but she did not care. "I see it."

That darkness is the massing of my power. You know that, don't you, Stevya?"

"Yes." The answer was hushed, as though she couldn't muster strength for more. Bryana enjoyed the response of her body as much as her voice. She was swaying with the blades now. Would you like to see more of the marks of my power?"

"Yes." That was less distant now. Indeed, it was the least 'empty' her voice had sounded in some time.

Bryana let her hand slip away, but it mattered not to the princess, who followed those markings as they went to her collar and began undoing the buttons of her dress, teasing her with glimpses of the marks on her shoulder "Look deeply, breathe deeply, see and feel the marks of my power. You are drawn to them."

"Yesssss."

"Look deeply, breathe deeply, see and feel the marks of my power. Come to my power. See it. Touch it. Let it open your mind and your soul."

They pulled the young woman to them. As she drew closer to them they filled her vision. When her fingers touched them, she gasped. She felt the power. She felt it slip inside her. But there were more of the symbols to see and more of the power to bask within. Without a command beyond her nearly painful need, she began to peel the dress from Bryana's skin, revealing more marks and runes; long single lines with sharp angles that reminded one of lightning that began under her shoulder blades and carved a path to her inner thighs.

The viper below her navel that twisted downward, its body winding to cover her hairless cunt before coiling down her left leg was so exquisitely drawn that the eyes seemed to follow Stevya with a glint of life and hunger With all the power around and within it, it might be alive. she thought before the blades that still swung in her mind took it away. The runes, large and small, seduced her. The power they represented seduced her. The blackness of them all called to her and the compulsion that came with tracing them was rewarded by the sensation of the other's power slipping inside with a sensation that were the most erotic of kisses. Whimpers escaped her as she touched the marks over and over again

Her excitement only grew at her skin meeting the now cooling touch of the air. The only thing that managed to pull her gaze from those marks of power was looking down to see her breasts exposed as the firm, small examples of the feminine they were; only large enough to add contour to her form. It was enough to give her thought again. Yes. Naked, yes. She shimmied from it, looking at the viper as she did so, imagining it renewing itself in the same way. She had no more than stepped free of her dress when Bryana's arm hooked her waist roughly and pulled them together as Armis did when his cock was so hungry there was nothing else. The little kisses were all over Stevya now and her eyelids fluttered in response.

"That's a good girl. That's a good little princess. You like it, don't you?"

"Mmmm."

"Well, little princess, I expect you'll be fond of this, too."

Stevya cried out when she felt Bryana's thigh force itself between her legs and press against her clit. Looking down, she saw the viper there. It was alive. She could see the scales and the body of the serpent move as her cleft pressed against them. It was so good that there were no words. There was nothing to do but to loose cries of pleasure and let them fill the room, to let them so overwhelm her that when Bryana put two fingers to her chin to lift her head so that their eyes could meet she saw Stevya weeping as her hips ground faster and faster, grinding with ever more abandon.

"The power is inside you. My power is within you. Even the tiniest taste you are given is too much for you to bear. Impressed yet?"

All she could do was nod and grind herself, but that was more than enough. Bryana embraced her tightly and looked over at Kudan to find him motionless before the sight of them. "You like this, don't you, my king? You remember that night. You remember the truth now and not the web of lies I spun for you that night. You remember my power now, don't you?"

His "Yes, Mistress." was the rough snarl of a caged animal that was desperate to be unleashed as his handler wished. He recited the words that he would hear in dreams from her voice, words that would awaken him feelings of warm, relaxed submission and a cum-drenched cock. "I am in your mind and you cannot escape."

"That must happen to Stevya now. Do you want that for your bride? Do you want her to be owned by me as you are?"

His hand went to the long, slim cock between his legs, pressing his hand into the fabric between them because he craved it and she didn't forbid it. "Yes, Mistress. It doesn't matter what I want, but if it does, take her. Make her yours as I am yours. Shape her as you wish. She needs to understand as I do."

She was amused at the slow rubbing of his crotch. "That is the point of today, Armis. Do you wish to aid me in it?"

"Yes. Anything."

"I would ask if you wished to rut again as we did that night, but, I can see that that's already the case."

He rubbed himself faster in anticipation.

"Strip. Strip so you can help me make your woman my woman. Strip and aid me, then we will rut again. Years of obedience has earned you a proper reward; strip and wait."

She trusted him to do as she commanded and turned her attention back to Stevya who was grinding roughly against her now slick thigh and thought a nice tease would be in order and set to whispering filth into her ear "You grind well, my dear. I've watched women being paid a small fortune to fuck that don't snap their hips to and fro with such enthusiasm."

"I saw how you looked at the viper, my dear. You like it. Many lovers like to caress and kiss it. My lady love rubs her cunt on its open mouth. while I feed it power to give her pleasure. Can your mushy mind picture it?"

"Uhhh." Stevya hugged her close like she would a long lost loved one, hands freely roaming Bryana's back.

"She likes to position just so, so that her clit grinds exactly between the fangs." Playing into the moment, she decided that they may as well all have a little fun. "So does my man with his cock now and then."

"You have pleased her. You have pleased a symbol of my power. It's slipping inside you. Do you feel it?"

"Yessss."

"Filling you. Filling you like no man has ever filled you; like no man ever could. My power writhes inside you, touching places no one else can touch. Grind, princess. Help it."

Stevya kissed her neck as she humped away like the helpless whore that she felt like. Faster and faster, with more and more abandon, feeling the serpent slide into the deepest parts of her, each thrust of it that seemed to go deeper still.

Deeper and deeper.

Faster and faster.

Deeper and faster until she vaulted over the edge, her nails digging into Bryana's back and drowning her mind. When the sensation finally receded, she couldn't believe she was still standing. But at least now she had some sense of where she was standing again, even if her vision still had some haze along the edges like she was viewing a dream. The power was still inside her. She could feel it, even if she didn't understand it, acknowledging to herself that understanding at all was something of a feat in itself. So much good. So much power. So much dreamy, mushy, good in her mind.

Bryana lifted her chin again and studied her carefully. The fine sheen of sweat, the nearly drunken smile and the eyes that told her someone was in there enough to have a little fun with while taking. Enough remained that Bryana was surprised by her simple question. "Why?"

She's a strong one. It didn't surprise her. If he were looking to marry 'Annissa,' he would not have sought out a quiet, submissive thing. "Why what, dear? Why is this happening? Because I want it to. Because it needs to. Because there are things that I need done that need to happen now, but I would have paid you a visit anyway. I decided that it wouldn't do for me to perhaps need him to do an unusual thing only to meet resistance from his queen who might question his wisdom and, at worst, make trouble for him. Life and need just accelerated the timetable."

Bryana took Stevya's hand and led her to the desk, the sight of which made her clit sing to her brain. The glossy black reminded her of the other woman's power coursing inside her and she let Bryana's hand go to the back of her head and push her shoulders down on the desk, it cooling her skin to the touch, though, to be fair, touching anything short of an open flame would have cooled the heat of her skin at that moment.

"Come, my slave king. Come help put me inside her mind so that she can never escape."

He stepped up, cock proud and ready. He groaned when Bryana took firm hold of it to position him as she wanted him, just between the thin-lipped, pale pink entrance to her pussy. My Goddess is literally leading me by my cock. When she touched it again, this time tracing patterns upon it, he whined like a hungry dog. "Listen to my words, Armis. Listen to me talk to your woman. You will know what I want you to do and when. Do it. Help me put me inside her mind."

"Yes, Annissa."

That same finger began drawing runes up and down her spine, from tailbone to the base of her skull. "Do we have a little fight within, Stevya? Bring it out. Bring it out so that I may kill it."

Her mind was so muddled that the princess couldn't be sure if the anger that was trying to build inside her was her trying to shake herself free or because Annissa wanted it so.

"A piece of Princess Stevya wants to be free. I can tell because many men and women would have crumpled to the floor after that taste, but not you. By the time your prince first filled my mouth with his lust, he was mine, but you have a bit more squirm to you. Do you want to be released, princess?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to be free of me?"

Her resolve was firmer now, even if her voice didn't reflect it. "Yes."

"It's too late for that. Let that anger well. Let that will that sits in your heart try to break you free. Try, so that when you feel the truth, you can let that will die." She continued to trace, layer upon layer, up and down. "My power is already inside you. That delicious pleasure you feel that you've never felt before is my power. What is inside you that makes your mind weak is my power."

Bryana orbited the desk with a dancer's grace until she was opposite the princess, and, with equal fluidity she lifted herself to the desk and turned. Raising herself by her elbows, Bryana put Stevya inches from the serpent and her open legs. She gave Stevya a knowing smile when her jaw dropped noticeably. She is one of the finest symbols of my power. I know you see that. Look at my power; it compels you to look at it."