Dutchess of the End

“Carla? Hey, are you alive?”

 

The next thing I knew, I felt a shake of my shoulder, and I jolted awake. It was dark- much darker than it had been when I got into the tub. I looked around wildly, attempting to identify the voice. To my left. Stephanie, smiling down at me, her Gift Hand glowing a soft blue as it shook me again.

 

“I’m up. Fuck…” I shivered. Once I got my bearings, I realized just how cold I was. Instinctively, my arms wrapped around my body, clinging to what little warmth I had in the freezing cold water. “Are you ever not horny?”

 

“Can’t help it if I see one of my playthings naked in the tub, now can I?” She asked. Despite the lustful look in her eyes, she offered me a hand to help me up, deciding against it on the one opportunity to press her body against mine that I wouldn’t have minded.

 

“I’m not your plaything.” I spat, stepping out of the tub. Cold water splashed around the stone walls and floor of the room- architects learned recently that the new wooden floors in bathrooms was a bad idea. “Where’s my towel? I’m freezing.”

 

“Here, here.” Stephanie said, wrapping it around my back. I pulled it in around me, letting the shivers rocking my body feel the towel. It helped a little bit, especially once I started to actively dry myself off. Stephanie stood next to me while I did, another small towel in her hands drying off the tips of my hair that had gotten in the water.

 

“What time is it?” I asked as I leaned over to dry my legs. My upper half was dry, but it was far from warm. 

 

“Eight thirty. I came by early to see if you were here.” Stephanie said. “Good thing I did, you look miserable.”

 

“I feel miserable.” I said, though I was already getting better. The bitter cold had gone away, leaving a damp chill around my body. Keeping the towel slung across my back, I exited the bathroom, not minding if I trailed a few footprints worth of water onto the wooden floor of my bedroom. I wanted to lay down. I needed to fool around with Stephanie, the two motivations clashing in my head. 

 

“Feeling alright?” She asked. Stephanie might have been a playgirl, a little on the mischievous side for my tastes, and way too clingy for me to ever really fall in love with… but she did care about me. At least a little bit, like how one cares about a fish in its pond because looking at it gives you joy on occasion.

 

“Well enough, I guess.” On one hand, I could kick the Princess out and get some rest before the shipment of artifacts arrived at the Archive. On the other, I could fuck the Princess and have her become even more attached to me. I had been denied a Duchy, though I had a route to a Kingdom. Stephanie is the oldest child of the King, after all.

 

I sighed. My mind was made up. I threw the towel off of me and flopped onto the bed, pushing past the blue linen surrounding it. The sheets felt warm and inviting, almost as warm as the hand on my back, trailing lower to squeeze at my ass.

 

“Hey you.” I said, opening one eye and pushing myself up. With my Birth hand and her Gift hand glowing as they were, if we went at it unoiled I was guaranteed to wind up pregnant. I couldn’t afford that right now.

 

“What?” She asked in a sweet-sounding, high-pitched voice. The innocent look on her face amidst the fading light afforded to us by the window betrayed what indecent thoughts I knew her to be having behind it.

 

“If you’re gonna fuck me, get the oil. You know where I keep it.” I said. She winked at me and nodded, giving a quick affirmation that somehow managed to get my motor running even harder. My Birth Hand glowed a little brighter now, though that wouldn’t last much longer.

 

“Here.” Stephanie said, holding out a metal pot to me. I dipped the fingers of my Gift Hand into it, feeling the cool liquid that I knew to be olive oil. Any kind of oil or even alcohol would work for this purpose. Olive oil was a gift worthy of a King, especially in such large quantities as a pot the size of one’s head. This one was half gone now, evidence of my sex life in the past five years since I was given it.

 

“Thanks.” I pulled my hand out and rubbed the stuff on the back of my hand. As I did so, I watched the faint blue light grow dimmer, flickering once before disappearing entirely. I nodded and turned to see Stephanie doing the same. My Gift hand wasn’t glowing, but Stephanie oiled up both hands regardless.

 

“That’ll do until the morning.” Stephanie said, already beginning to strip down the moment she put the pot on the ground. Not even where I left it, either. I’ll pick it up later. Now, I just need to focus on this.

 

“Yeah. Get that off and get over here.” I said, grunting a little bit. Even without the guidance of my Marks, I could feel my body reacting to Stephanie removing her dress, then her undershirt, then her underpants, finally standing there nude for me to see. Her chest was smaller than mine- probably my ideal size. They fit perfectly in my hands and probably didn’t bother her much in the day to day.

 

She slid onto the bed, her body immediately pressed against mine as our lips collided for a kiss. My eyes closed. Even  though I was doing this with a long-term goal in mind, the little steps could be fun as well. I wasn’t sure what Stephanie was getting out of this. The thought almost distracted me enough to slow the pace of my kisses, but they kept up hard and fast- just like Stephanie liked it. 

 

Was I just another toy to her? She had just called me a plaything, but was there more? Was there any romance in this for her? Or was it just the thrill of sleeping with an older woman- her teacher no less? It had been a little over six months since our first time, since we had grown close enough for me to make that first push. That had honestly been the best sex I’d ever had. 

 

We were in my old office, I had been pouring over a text from the Archive when she walked in on me drinking a glass of wine. It was my first glass of the night, I was hardly even tipsy before I made the first move, pouring a few drops of the stuff onto my shining Gift Hand. She held hers out, and the rest was history.

 

Even as our lips disconnected and her mouth descended onto one of my breasts, nibbling at my nipple greedily earning herself a moan, I couldn’t help but wonder. She put on a simple face, one who enjoyed chasing skirts for the sake of it and cared not for the treachery of politics nor the rigor of academics. Even as her mouth disconnected from my chest to charge down my body at my damp folds, not caring for foreplay before spreading my lower lips aside, licking me with a hunger I had only ever known from her.

 

“Fuck…” I whispered. 

 

Was she playing a game just as I was? And if she was, what was her goal? I could hardly consider her faking it. The orgasms she gave me were real, as were- I was pretty sure- the ones I gave her.

 

As she continued licking my entrance, I opened my eyes and propped myself up on my elbows, staring down at that beautiful face, her bright blue eyes twinkling up at me, not breaking contact with my own as I received a mounting pleasure. One of my hands wrapped around to the back of her head, pulling her in closer as her tongue poked and prodded at my entryway, waiting for my innards to become slick enough to push through.

 

It only took a second more. I cried out in a loud moan and flopped back. If not for the pot of olive oil I’d been using religiously in the last five years’ worth of encounters such as this, this would have been the moment my life changed forever- the moment I would have been with child. But her Mark was dull as the starless night sky, and mine was too. Rather than a baby in me, I just got a tongue thrusting pleasure into me at every flick.

 

My plans, Stephanie’s theoretical goals, all of it faded away as I pulled Stephanie’s head into my core, begging her for more. A hand went up to feel at my clit, and my body reacted in kind. I laid back on the bed, back arched, body surging forward in waves in tune with my pulse as Stephanie’s skilled thumb flicked it back and forth, sending jolts of pleasure through me with every touch.

 

The moans I gave off during sex were never loud, I wasn’t the kind of woman to scream her orgasms out to the world, but Stephanie always seemed to know when my climaxes were approaching. Her flicks picked up, her thrusts gave more attention to my sensitive spots, the pressure in my core growing until…

 

“Fuck!” I gave a bark as my pleasure came crashing down around me. I’d been fucked by the Princess before, but something about today’s fooling around left me feeling so much better than it usually did. My back arched hard against her, legs clamping down on her head so tight I could feel my pulse in my thighs. All the while, Stephanie kept on, keeping her tongue buried deep inside me as it clamped around her, squeezing it for every last bit of pleasure it could.

 

I groaned as the pleasure subsided, leaving those joyful aftershocks pulsating around me. Stephanie withdrew her tongue and crawled over next to me, kissing my cheek. I weakly looked over at her to see that damn ever present smirk on her face.

 

“You cocky bitch.” I said, breathing deeply while turning over to wrap an arm around her.

 

“How could I not be with a tongue like this?” She asked back.

 

“Sure thing, babe. Hey, before I get started on you,” I said, taking a deep breath. I’d been thinking about this move for a while, when I should make it, and how. I knew I’d be spending a lot of time away from her, so before my body and company lost its appeal to her, I needed to strike now. “Let me ask you something.”

 

“Alright.” Stephanie said, returning the hug as we cuddled for a bit, my question hanging in the air for a moment after it was asked.

 

“What am I to you?” 

 

“Umm…” The response had come after a moment of deep, pressing silence. I had always suspected that Stephanie was only after my body, but the longer she took to respond, the more sure of that I was. “Well, you’re really hot.”

 

“You’re just here for sex, then?” I asked, opening my eyes to look at her. I had never fallen in love before, but if I was going to try to sell a heartfelt confession right now, I needed to look the part. I wore a frown, blinked a few times hoping to pull a tear or two out of my eyes, and relaxed my body with a depressed sigh.

 

“No, no, I mean… look Carla, you’re so fucking smart and you’re really cool and I do like spending time with you. I just… I don’t know, I guess.” She told me. It had been more than I had expected, which was a good sign. Maybe then, just maybe this could work.

 

“Ever thought about settling down? Your Sire wants to marry you off soon.” I said, whispering, closing my eyes and lowering my head. I could feel a slight twinge in my chest, as though the sorrow I was trying my hardest to convey was manifesting within me.

 

“She wants me to marry nobility. I’d be carted away to some stranger’s castle and come back here maybe once a year.” She said. “Hey… what’s up?”

 

Finally, she noticed. Took her long enough. I had to choose my next words carefully.

 

“What…” This was a bold move and I knew it, but she was young and stupid. She might just go along with it since it gave her nearly everything she wanted. “What about a former Duke’s heir?”

 

“W-w-w-wait, you want me to marry you?” She asked, I could almost hear her scoff at the idea. My head picked up, and my hand went to caress her cheek, pulling her in closer for a quick kiss. I tasted myself on that kiss, something  I’d long since gotten used to coming from Stephanie’s lips.

 

“I’m not saying you have to agree. Just, you know, think about it. We could do some courting at first. Look, I know you like chasing skirts, you could even keep doing that so long as you don’t knock up some servant girl.” My words came out quick, like I was desperate to get her to agree to any part of that. I could feel my face flush a little bit. Good. Sell it.

 

“Hey, don’t cry. Umm… yeah okay, you know me better than most people. You know I’m not the type to settle down with anybody. I like the thrill of new conquests and crap like that. New experiences and all. And, well, I do like you, Carla.” Stephanie said. Yes! Finally, we were getting somewhere!

 

“I like you too.” I said simply. For this one, I only mostly had to lie. Stephanie was pretty annoying most of the time, and she was damn lazy, but I had seen the heart of gold she had in there. It’s buried deep and only comes out in rare moments, but it is there, perhaps her only redeeming quality in an otherwise aimless, idiotic party girl that she was.

 

“I’ve never courted anybody before. Have you?” Stephanie asked. I shook my head vigorously from one side to the other. This time, this was the entire truth. I’d had a lot of casual sex- most of it with Stephanie since I’d become her history tutor- but I’d never so much as thought of marriage before. Not to anyone who couldn’t restore my rightful status. 

 

“I was always studying. Never had time for romantics.”

 

“Hey at least you have me now, right?” She said, pulling me in tighter. I smiled a bit, hopeful of what that meant.

 

“So…”

 

“Well… let’s give it a go, okay?”

 

“Okay.” I said, nodding. Yes! This was but the first stage of my ultimate plan, but it had worked almost perfectly.

 

“What do courting girls do, anyway?” She asked. Our embrace was still present, her arms stuck to my back, the prolonged skin on skin contact always forced us to peel away whenever we separated.

 

“Have you learned nothing from your studies? We’ll worry about that later. For now, fingers or mouth?” I rolled Stephanie onto her back, straddling her, my chest inches above her face, daring her to reach out to grab one with whatever she chose. The method, as it turned out, was both her hands, each squeezing one hard. It felt good, though with the aftereffects of that one orgasm earlier having run its course already, it could only feel so good.

 

“Surprise me.” She said. I looked down at her face. It was dark by now, the Shards of Wilen shone down on us as the twinkling stars in the night sky, illuminating her body through the window. She seemed happy, though if she was more or less so than before our relationship began, I couldn’t quite tell. Regardless of her feelings on it, I had won this round. All that remained was to impress the King, make her fall in love with me, and propose.

 

For the time being, I settled on driving two fingers into the Princess’ pussy, hellbent on making her cum so hard she’d pass out from the pleasure.