The Duchess and the Dickgirl Ch. 01

A story that was initially going to be a text roleplay. That partner unfortunately ghosted me after we got everything set up so I've just had this kicking around in my head for a while. Finally figured I'd make an account here and just write the damn thing myself. It's going to be slow to start because I love to do character work and worldbuilding, so keep that in mind for this chapter.

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As I paced back and forth in my room, I paused every time I even thought I heard footsteps outside the door. I'd gone over everything I could think of. I was freshly bathed, and my armour thoroughly cleaned. I'd declined the smith's offer to repair its imperfections though. One of my instructor's many lessons replayed in my mind.

"Armour without dents and dings is a sign the person wearing it hasn't been hit. That means that either they don't fight, or they're just that good. No one's that good."

Despite my confidence in my appearance, I looked myself over in the mirror for the umpteenth time. Reflexively I brushed at my face over a freckle, thinking it could be dirt. Again I looked at my hair. Shoulder length and chestnut brown, just long enough to put up in a ponytail, which is how I preferred it. I'd only recently grown it back to this length after Mazzen cut it off during my first week of training. He claimed it was something an opponent could grab hold of and was therefore impractical and unsafe. I grumbled for days about how I would have just undone it at his command. I felt wearing my hair up showed more cleanliness and discipline. I also knew that Mazzen would in the court personally and I didn't want to be seen disrespecting his teachings as I received a promotion he trained for.

Ultimately I decided to leave it as it was. I'd grown accustomed to how I looked with shorter hair, worn down. I knew I could just put it up if and when I ever left the city too. I also knew I wouldn't. Mazzen had a way of making sure his lessons stuck. With a sigh, I let my shoulders fall and I tried to relax. At that moment there was a knock at the door.

"Eleri? Are you ready?"

"Of course." I didn't recognise the voice, but I rarely did. There were so many servants in the castle that I stopped trying to commit names or faces to memory months ago. The door opened and a young man, more of a boy, stepped inside and gave a shallow bow.

"If you'd follow me then." He turned and stepped back out of the room before I could say anything. I caught up to him and walked behind in silence.

The castle halls had become familiar, but today they felt as novel like my first days here. This was actually happening. The promotion of a lifetime. No longer just a royal guard, but a Praetorian. I was about to be charged with the protection of a noble. To be at their side at all times, to hold their life in higher regard than my own. I started feeling giddy as I turned a corner, but simultaneously heard Mazzen's voice again.

"The better you are at fighting, the less of it you end up doing lass." It was what he told me when I stated I wanted to push for a royal guard position, or even, ideally what I was headed for now. He had a look on his face like a somber sense of pride when I said that. I understood now. Even in those early days he must have believed I was skilled enough to get this position, and that he thought I'd be wasted on it. If I were anyone else, I might have agreed with him.

I wasn't just some peasant with dreams and fantasies of getting into the castle though. I was a descendant of Wulfric Maddocks and I would do anything to get as far as I could from my lineage. I loved and relished the idea of a pirate's bastard being allowed into the castle, let alone within arms reach of someone in line for the throne.

I was brought back from my musings as a door opened in front of me and I was hit by sunlight cascading through a stained glass window. This room was one I'd never been, in so my eyes wandered for a moment before falling on the people inside already waiting for me. Mazzen was here, as well as three other people who I didn't recognise but could easily identify as nobility. Reflexively I dropped my head, fell to a knee, and placed my right fist over my chest. I worried my bow had been too slow thanks to my curiosity, but didn't hear anything for a few seconds.

"Ease yourself girl. Approach." It was a man's voice, but not Mazzen's. I swallowed my nerves as I stood. Aside from my old instructor there was a couple who seemed to be in their thirties or forties. They wore fine clothes, but their crown and tiara were simple and silver. They visibly weren't higher nobles.

"Eleri, this is the Duke Aco Milos and his wife, as well as their daughter Fehran." I nodded quick bows as Mazzen introduced them, which they reciprocated. The name Milos was vaguely familiar to me, but I couldn't place it.

"Maz, not that I distrust your judgement but she looks a little frail. You're certain she's a good fit to protect my daughter?" I was shocked to hear anyone, even a noble refer to Mazzen with a nickname. He quickly flashed me a look that I was never to repeat it.

"She fights like a mad devil my lord. Anyone who's got in her way has lost teeth, more than a little blood, and would likely be missing limbs if not for my intervention." I felt my cheeks flush at his praise. I could imagine which of my training fights he was referencing, but he was definitely exaggerating a bit. "Hopefully the time never comes where she needs to prove it, but if blades are drawn, Eleri's back seems a damn safe place to be."

"A mad devil?" This time it was the older duchess. "Doesn't exactly sound like a shining endorsement." I tensed as I heard that. A fear that Mazzen might be talking me up too much started creeping into my mind.

"With all due respect my lady, anyone who picks up a weapon is at least a little unhinged. The best are the ones who know they're crazy, and know how to use it. Any of the dozen I'd recommend for the position of Praetorian, to protect Fehran or the king himself are ones I'd consider the best. I chose her specifically because I believe she'd be the best fit for your daughter."

"What about you Eleri?" Now she was looking at me. "Do you agree? Would you say you're insane?" For a moment I froze. I didn't expect to be addressed directly. I figured there'd be introductions and then a rigid speech about my duty and responsibility and that would be it. Then, Mazzen looked me in the eye again like he had so many times before. In an instant I remembered all the hells he'd put me and the others through, and I knew exactly what to say.

"Within a week of being allowed inside the walls, Mazzen here cut off most of my hair, punched me in the face and then kicked me in the ribs when I fell to the ground. Following that he made me sleep in the freezing cold, and the sweltering heat. On the roughest stone, and the coarsest hay. Somehow, I kept coming back. No one alive has made me feel more anger, pain, frustration....." I trailed off as I looked back in his direction. "Or loyalty. I think being crazy is the only thing that allowed me to be as successful as I have." As I finished, the Duke's eyes had lit up and there was a smirk on his face. His wife still seemed unimpressed.

"Gods be damned Maz, you really got to this one didn't you?"

"Dear, your enthusiasm is not comforting."

"I like her." We were all a little stunned to hear Fehran speak. Her voice was soft, but carried clearly. She met my gaze with a fierce curiosity, she was obviously her fathers daughter.

"That settles it then." Duke Aco clapped and stood to shake Mazzen's hand. Despite the disagreement from his wife, the Duke proceeded with the speech. Stating that I was now recognised as a Praetorian. That I was charged to hold Fehran's life over my own, and to fulfill her every request within my ability. After I agreed and bowed, Mazzen stepped forward once more, revealing a small brazier, lit with an iron rod inside it. I took a deep breath as I suddenly discovered the last step of this process.

"Ready lass?" Mazzen had grabbed the iron from the coals, revealing a small brand of the royal sigil. An eagle with two heads and four wings. "Last chance to bow out. This is a job you can't quit till you die." Wordlessly I unclasped the left shoulder of my armour and rolled up my sleeve. "Attagirl." Fehran winced and looked away as she realised what was about to happen.

I took deep breaths as he approached and braced myself as well as I could. As the red hot iron touched my skin, my vision immediately went fuzzy and everything in my body screamed to turn and run. Instead, I clenched everything I could and held fast. There were multiple moments as I heard and smelled my skin sizzle and burn where I felt I might pass out. I fought to think back on all the borderline tortures I'd been subjected to in the name of training and managed to stay standing. When he finally pulled the brand back I released my clenched fists and looked Mazzen dead in the eyes.

"Captain, some time ago we made each other a promise."

"I remember it." He'd barely spoken the words before I lurched forward, slamming my forehead into his nose. Some blood fell on my boots as he recoiled back and dropped the brand.

"That's for cutting off my ponytail." I only looked away when I heard the Duke howling with laughter, even his wife seemed somewhat amused.

"Seda!" He yelled and the door behind me opened. "Some bandages for the girl's shoulder and a towel for Mazzen's face!" The servant boy left as quickly as he appeared and a minute later we were being tended to.

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"Does it hurt?" Fehran was sitting beside me on her bed now. It had been about half a day since the ceremony. She and I had spent the time walking to her father's manor and getting to know each other..

"It still stings, yea." She couldn't take her eyes off my bandaged shoulder, and I was careful whenever I had to move it. The healers in the castle used some kind of salve that immediately cooled the burning as well as numbed most of the pain. The bandages had also been wrapped so that I still had most of my movement with my left arm. It was a massive improvement over the spit and dirt medical care Mazzen trained us guards to be able to survive with.

"I can't believe you got literally branded without flinching!" She was the exact opposite of what I'd let myself believe she'd be like. Maybe it was because her father wasn't a traditional noble. Duke Aco bought and earned his nobility, as opposed to being born into it. The daughter of a self made man, Fehran wasn't raised with a silver spoon in her mouth and was surprisingly easy to talk to.

"I saw it coming and had time to prepare. Beyond that, it just came down to training. If we guards flinched and made a big deal every time we felt some pain, we wouldn't be much good in a fight." As we walked and talked earlier I learned that Fehran was officially eighth in line for the throne, however she had no interest in it and would defer to the next behind her if somehow that came to pass.

"Some? You call that some pain? Part of me wants to ask what your training was like, the rest is scared to know." She was sitting cross legged on her bed and swaying slowly in place. More than once I caught myself following the flow of her deep golden hair. It was longer than mine, but not by much. Her eyes were a pale, but piercing green and her skin was a rich olive colour. Again I had to bring myself back from gazing at her, thankfully she didn't seem to have noticed yet.

"Mazzen takes his training seriously."

"You seem to hold him in pretty high regard."

"He's the one who taught me the skills I have now, and put my name forward for this position."

"But you still broke his nose with your face."

"Hah! Well...." I ran my fingers through my hair and stopped where I'd tie it off if I hadn't been broken of the habit. "I really liked wearing my hair up, and he cut it off."

"The whole ponytail?"

"Yep." My mind wandered back to that day and the rage I felt when it happened. "Part way through selection for the royal guard, after a few had already washed out, he asked us all what our goals were. Why we kept coming back and letting him kick our asses day in and day out."

"And?"

"I said I wanted to be a Praetorian, to be the best of the best. Later that day, he told me in private that if I ever made that happen I could take a free shot at him, no repercussions."

"Was it worth it?"

"Absolutely." I was looking out the window now. The sun was just starting to set and Fehran's room had an incredible view. There was some movement in my peripheral so I turned back to her. The world slowed down around me as I saw her falling forward, likely because of her rocking back and forth. Thankfully I'd changed out of my armour so she wasn't at risk of injuring herself, but there was another problem.

Reflexively I started moving my arms to catch her, but realised I might grab her chest and hesitated. It was only for a moment but it was long enough for her to finish falling onto me. Her face fell between my breasts and her chest landed in my lap. I was already silently commanding, screaming at my body not to react. It didn't listen and I felt a familiar surge between my legs. For all the training, all the situations Mazzen had prepared me for, this moment had me paralysed.

"Eleri..."

"Yes?" I knew she had to know. How could she not? All the same, I had no idea how to address it.

"Do you have a.."

"Yes." Playing dumb obviously wasn't going to work, so I decided to go the other way. "I'm not a man, but I suppose I'm also not fully a woman. I'm not sure what someone like me is called, if there even is a word for it."

"And it works?"

"Works?" I wasn't ready for that. I had no idea what she meant.

"Well you said you're not a man, but it seems to be reacting to me and what just happened as I imagine a man's would." She was right. I was fully hard now and neither of us had moved yet. She was still half laying across me and I was still stunned with confusion and fear.

"I mean, I've never seen another man use his so I can't make a comparison. There are also only a handful who know about it, and less who've seen it so I haven't been told much either." I started to feel a strain in my back and I realised I was supporting some of her body weight as well as my own in this position. "Umm, could you move a little? This is starting to get uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable where?" My eyes burst open and I finally looked down at her. She was staring straight back up at me. She had that look of curiosity from before and I suddenly I felt very small. I may have been a few inches taller than the young duchess and clearly more physically imposing, but in this moment I felt like a tiny animal who'd been pinned by a hungry predator. "If it hurts we should address it right? I doubt I'm as skilled as the healers who worked on your shoulder but.."

"Duchess..."

"My name is Fehran." One of her arms snaked around my hip and a finger dipped into the waistline of my pants. Finally, I regained the use of my own limbs and I grabbed her shoulders.

"Fehran, this can't. We can't."

"Can't what? And whatever it is, why not?" I was about to respond. To tell her it was unprofessional for a bodyguard to be intimate with their ward. That it was improper for a peasant to be intimate with a noble. All of that went out the window though when I heard a voice in my mind. It sounded like my own, but I didn't recognise it. It was laughing, rejoicing at the opportunity for someone like me, a Maddocks to bed a pretty young noble. Earlier today I celebrated that I was taking the last and farthest steps possible to distance myself from my lineage, and yet a part of me was relishing the thought of being a pirate's bastard and claiming Fehran for myself.

"Can't..." I took a deep breath and tightened my grip slightly. In that moment, there was a flash of hesitation in her eyes and Fehran receded somewhat. Whatever confidence she'd been using was running out. "Can't do this without knowing what will happen." Sensing her uncertainty I pushed back slightly. She allowed herself to be lifted off of me and back to her original sitting position. "Disregarding the professional and social faux pas that it would be, which includes the fact that I imagine it would get me killed if someone found out. I've never....." I trailed off as I gestured toward my crotch. "Used it other than to piss. I don't know if it does what you seem to want it to, and if it does I don't know how to prevent or mitigate the downsides of doing that."

"You're a virgin."

"Yes."

"You think I'm attractive?"

"I don't think.."

"Please answer the question."

"Yes."

"Well. You say you don't know much about this part of yourself. I don't think that's a healthy way to live." She slid off the bed and stood, turning to face me. "I'm also a virgin and don't know much about that part of myself." I knew where she was headed and again started fighting with myself on whether or not to tell her to stop. "So, being the heiress to a trade empire I think I know a thing or two about deals. How does mine for yours sound?"

"Fehran, we can't"

"Who the hell says?"

"Anyone who'd find out! Your parent's especially!"

"Actually I think they stated the exact opposite." That stunned me and I shook my head in disbelief.

"What?"

"My every, and any request? Isn't that the vow you made not too long ago?"

"With all due respect, you know damn well that's the opposite of what they meant."

"Then they should have chosen their words more carefully! My father's been writing contracts his whole life, he of all people should know that." Tired of being literally talked down to, I also slid off the bed and stood to match Fehran. As our eyes met again she recoiled slightly. Now, I knew. She was trying to take charge of the situation, but as soon as I contested her she didn't know how to stay in control.

"If I did agree to that deal..." I turned to the left a bit, but maintained eye contact. I don't know what suddenly came over me, but I wanted to really test her resolve now. "How could we guarantee we wouldn't get caught?"

"I tell a servant that I'm going to bed and don't want to be disturbed. My parents do it all the time. Likely for the same reason!"

"Well then wouldn't that make them more suspicious?" She immediately looked down at the ground, annoyed at being defeated by her own logic. "There's a good chance they'd have someone stay near the door to listen in and make sure you weren't doing exactly this." I looked back over my shoulder and lifted her chin with a finger to meet her eyes again. "I know I could keep myself quiet enough, but I've heard some women, especially young ones, even more so virgins experiencing the sensation for the first time, become overwhelmed and can't help but scream in pleasure."

"Then I cover my mouth. There are plenty of ways, a pillow, my hands..."

"I can think of a better way."

"What's..." Mimicking her technique from moments ago, the hand I placed under Fehran's chin slid around her neck and pulled her close to me. At the same time, I leaned forward and placed my lips over hers. With that, the fight raging within me was decided. Being professional, being proper, being anything other than myself in this moment could fuck right off. This woman wanted me, and I wanted her.

There was a second of surprise before Fehran melted into me, and our arms wrapped around each other. We stayed like that for a minute. She tried more than once to break past my lips with her tongue, and to get her hands under my clothes but I was able to keep her back. Eventually, I pulled away. She looked back at me, her eyes now pleading me to do that again.