The Duke of Auvignon then was but a young man, fresh-faced and unblooded. Though first in line to inherit, there were rumors and whispers and perhaps not-so-subtle fanatics scorning Almeric's lusty temperament and even more alarmingly, it appeared they favored his younger brother who was more amiable. It was true that Almeric scorned the wisdom of his elders, claiming what was his without a second thought. He wanted more; more land, more weapons, more money, more power. It was almost cathartic for the Goddess to meet someone as greedy as her.
His father was on his deathbed, ready for the scythe at every waking moment and it was Almeric who took control. Ever in his father's shadow, he bade his councilmen leave to seek the aid of the great legend, to find a cure for his father's illness and to protect their city. Almeric took the same journey as Ashlynn had done, traversing through the treacherous Shadow Lands to her tower where she greeted him with far less enthusiasm. He desired her loyalty and power, offering treasure chests of coin and precious things, offering exotic foods from neighboring lands and even offering himself and his duchy.
Vesanya had seen right through him, his lust mirrored in her eyes. He stayed for near a month, wooing her with promises and compliments, offering gifts every day whilst she scorned him at every turn. Perhaps almost falling into madness when one day, he brought forth a beautiful young girl and offered her to the Goddess. Her wrath was palpable and she near ripped the boy in half - only after a terrible roar rocked through the castle, he had come stumbling out and white as a sheet. Almeric never told his troops what happened and they fled the Shadow Lands poorer than when they first arrived and nothing to show for it.
Vesanya loitered behind, lingering like a shade yearning to be free of its shackles. Her fingers fretted and fluttered across her bare neck as if toying with a necklace, a choker, some pretty trinket. She watched Ashlynn like a hawk, sharp blues narrowing and her lips near curling into a sneer at the false pleasantries. She expected this but seeing it unfurl before her was almost too comical. Having to choke back a bark of laughter, she swiftly busied herself by turning to close the doors, leaving the trio to their farce in peace.
In the background, she heard the Duke respond in kind and at last, the game was afoot.
He cleared his throat and brought his attention back to the Princess. "Yes, this war, your uncle... such terrible business." Lord Almeric shook his head, brushing his hand through cyan locks. He stepped up to the table as well, not quite close enough to be improper but enough to play the part of a friend. He looked over the painted baubles, the red and blue scattered like stars across a pale sky. "Your uncle has sent us countless proposals, each more lavish than the last." He mused, watching the Princess play with the pieces like toys.
Auvignon was a necessity and the Duke knew they would play a part in this war no matter what. "As for Lecleric, I am well aware of their betrayal. They have always been fickle, and know of Auvignon's loyalty." Almeric's fingers curled into a tight fist - that was not false. Lecleric has always been the thorn in their side, refusing to bow to Auvignon's superiority and rallying for independence at every turn. Even his father had offered Americ's hand in marriage to the Duke of Lecleric's daughter and had been staunchly refused. Small as they were, their territory was well fortified and their lands were rich with farmland and grain.
Yes, this was fair. More than fair, as it would offer Almeric even more control. But he kept his face calm, his posture composed as he picked up one of the fallen blue pieces, turning it over and over in his palm. "Your uncle has offered something," he said carefully, cautiously. "It is true that the King will not allow Auvignon control over Lecleric, but he has shown his cards. A marriage," the word rolled off his tongue like poison and his eyes were a burning fire upon Princess Ashlynn. "My heir and his shall be joined in matrimony and our name will be tied to the Royal family."
It was hard to say whether he was telling the truth, but when he placed the blue piece next to the red, he smiled. "And there you have it. I apologize, Princess Ashlynn, but a little duchy for a kingdom is not a deal Auvignon can take in good faith." Before Ashlynn could protest, he held his hand up and shook his head. "However, we are loyal. My Princess, you are the true Queen. If I might propose another option," and it was only now did he lower himself on one knee and take up the Princess' hand in his own, bringing it to his lips though not quite touching. His eyes flitted toward's Vesanya's ever-silent figure.
"Take me as your King and everything that is mine shall be yours to win your throne."
The Duke's words sunk into Ashlynn's flesh like a cold dagger finding its mark. How dare he rebuff her generous proposal, slinging back an even greater proposal of his own. Marriage, a card that for a future Queen was infinitely powerful, yet the very thought of the word was enough to make the Princess gag and choke. With almost no hesitation, the Princess reached out with her open palm and to everybody's horror, struck the seasoned warrior across the face with her open palm. "How dare you. I should have you hanged for your treachery," The Princess hissed,an amalgamation of anger and annoyance oozing between her words. Indeed, conspiring against the Queen's enemies was a crime more than worthy of death. Had her situation not been so grim, perhaps she would have ordered just that.
But the political landscape was certainly... complicated. Without the Duchy of Auvignon... without its supplies and its armies, the loyalist war effort was doomed to fail within a fortnight. If the other lords that supported her claim were to hear that she turned down a marital arrangement with the Duke of Auvignon, it wouldn't be long until each one would be clamoring over each other like cockroaches to secure their own futures with the victors. She would lose almost all of her support overnight and her lords would conspire on clever ways to deliver a defeated Princess to her uncle on a silver platter. The very thought sent shivers down the Princess' spine.
"I'm sorry." She cooed, a look of frustration stretched solemnly across her face. "I shouldn't have struck you. That was unladylike." A sense of defeat hung in her words as Ashlynn took a step back, dipping at the waist to deliver a tense bow before the Duke. "It... It would honor me to accept your marriage proposal, my Lord." A disgusting feeling stirred deep within her stomach as the words left her lips. She felt like a prostitute, selling her body to this man so that she may yet live. While her words promised marriage, deep in the back of her mind she cursed the man that dare pull such a stunt upon her.
"But only after my throne has been secured. Not a moment before." These terms echoed the same sentiments she had given Vesanya. Surely she could not promise herself to two different people at the same time. At the very least, the time would give her a chance to figure out a plan to appease the both of them. Her promise to Vesanya was one thing... but marriage to a Duke was not something to take lightly. Perhaps there would be a way for her to wriggle free from such an obligation in the future, though Lord Almeric would surely have plans to see that this would not be possible. "You may become the King, but your title will that of King Consort. I will hold the power, do you understand?" This was perhaps the only way to secure her own power, lest Almeric try to take the entire Kingdom for himself.
The Princess' eyes glanced meekly over towards Vesanya, who no doubt would be furious about such an arrangement. "If I may, Lord Almeric, I would like some time alone with my assistant." She knew that she would at least have to attempt discussing this with Vesanya, or else she may lose the Goddess' loyalty indefinitely. "Tonight we will announce our... betrothal... to the Lords, then we will begin plans on reclaiming my throne. But until then, I will need time to make the necessary arrangements."
Almeric might have seen the hand coming, had his eyes not been on Vesanya's hovering form.
Cheek throbbing, he reared upward like a snake, his scarlet eyes burning with something akin to pure hatred; a mask sloughed off by that single strike yet his expression slipped so seamlessly into one of an emotionless pit that could chill any noble to their very bones. The rakish politeness was gone and in its place, the very definition of cruelty imbued in a single man. He straightened his spine, brushing his epaulets before brushing his palm across his throbbing cheek. His face was grim, a reminder that no action was without consequence. The Duke was silent for a moment as he contemplated the future Queen, her petty chessboard and her pet.
The woman with saccharine lips curved into the faintest hint of a smirk.
Almeric smiled back and turned.
"My lady," he said finally, ice seeping into every word. It was not a proper smile but rather one that did not quite reach the depths of his eyes now wide with faux innocence. "That was ill-done." Princess Ashlynn may be the Queen but that did not erase her need for his forces and desperation for his supplies. Weapons, armor, food, morale, soldiers... all this and more could have been provided, had the woman not laid her hand upon his cheek. It throbbed and stung, likely crimson like his gaze. He could have denounced the Queen right there, caring not for the threat of execution - for he knew that the Princess needed him. It was an empty threat. Baseless. So he watched as the Princess, coincidentally, rethought her actions and apologized.
Almeric knew. Oh, he knew this game all too well; vipers whipping and striking at every angle, hissing with doleful eyes and silver tongues flickering to taste the air for poison. As if skin had been shed, he offered another smile, innocent and trusting, shadowing the purring words the Princess spewed next. "No, you should not have struck me," Almeric said softly, reaching out to caress one of the board pieces with unexpected gentleness. Red or blue, it mattered not. She accepted, of course, but that was not the end. The Princess continued on as if she were already seated upon the throne - making demands of him as if she had not stricken her staunchest ally. His mouth stretched into an uneasily wide grin, thankfully hidden as he turned his back on the Princess in contemplation.
"Tonight we will announce our... betrothal... to the Lords, then we will begin plans on reclaiming my throne. But until then, I will need time to make the necessary arrangements."
"No."
Almeric turned, and his features were carved from stone. A smile, yes, but one easily shattered at the drop of a glove. "Not tonight. While I am extremely flattered that you would accept my proposal, I must think over your terms in my own time. Not to mention that any wife who would hit their prospective husband... well, you understand." His tone was teasing, but he meant something more. His pride would not allow the people of Auvignon to see him as a mere trophy by the true Queen's side. "They are not unreasonable at all," he reassured, "I simply wish to ponder upon your generous offer. I will return with my answer." With that, he offered a deep bow and took his leave, though not before shooting the Goddess with a painfully vitriolic glare.
Vesanya had taken in the exchange like a sponge in a tub full of dirty water. It took only a fraction of a second for her to realize what was happening, so focused she had been on Almeric. His offer of marriage did not come as much of a shock, she expected him to play that card from the start and was surprised when Ashlynn did not see it coming. That was fair, his mask had been honed and crafted well over a near-decade. He was no longer the bold, brash Duke but a cunning, evil man who desired power more than anything. She sympathized with such gluttony but she could never condone the method in which he chose to pursue his dreams.
Yet, when Ashlynn accepted his offer of marriage, Vesanya felt a certain pall of dread settling into her gut. It was obvious in the sapphire slit of her eyes, the way her jaw strained and the aura of disbelief radiating off her like a cold cloud. She thought the Princess smarter, or perhaps the Princess did not deem her powers greater than what the Duke could provide. It made her feel inferior in an absolutely asinine kind of way and when the Duke brushed by her, she clenched her teeth together and crushed her nails into her palm. Her face, as always, was a picture of perfection.
"So," Vesanya said once they were finally alone, her tone sickly sweet. Her heart beat once, twice, thrice and once more, loud like a drum in her ears as she approached the Princess with menacing steps. "A marraige, hm?" The purr was laced with envy, malicious in thought but not in intent. Her hands whipped out, capturing the Princess' wrists before she might blink and, without warning, swept her leg at Ashlynn's ankles to catch her off guard to pin her upon the desk. Claws dug into the Princess' skin as Vesanya hovered above her, every inch Goddess and Beast with the feral grin and beautiful features. Her mouth hovered over the woman's throat and perhaps Ashlynn might feel fear for the first time for this Goddess who could easily rip her from limb to limb.
Instead, Vesanya murmured almost tenderly, uncharacteristically.
It seemed the Duke was far more than Ashlynn had bargained for. To have the Duke disrespect his oaths like a child brought the Princess' blood to a boil, how dare he play petty games with the lives of her people, when the stakes had been placed so high. Yet, Ashlynn only cursed herself for not having the foresight to see such a political maneuver approaching. She had found herself falling completely vulnerable to the Duke's clever riposte, a notion that made her question her own competence greatly. "Bastard." The words left her lips almost as soon as the door had slammed shut. Even if Almeric were to accept the marriage proposal, the Princess had little confidence that she had seen the end of his political schemes. She would win a war, but unless the power dynamic was reaffirmed, she would be looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life.
"If I didn't need him, I would have..." it was then that Ashlynn had been reminded of an even greater threat, her wrists captured between Vesanya's gentle, yet stalwart, embrace. Her heart took pause as amber eyes found those malevolent, sapphire pools beaming down upon her... watching her... judging her for the sin she had so easily committed. Before her lips could fashion an explanation for her actions, she felt her legs moving upward, the world spinning behind Vesanya as she felt the back of her head collide with the horizontal desk behind her. Colored pieces scattered as brunette locks flowed like a tidal wave across the kingdom, draping tenderly over the map beneath.
Ashlynn dare not move, gemstones sheepishly fixated upon the eyes that glared downwards. She winced as talons dug into her flesh, unable to move as the Goddess' mouth hovered dangerously close to her throat. Perhaps there was a small part that wished to die right then and there, to be finally free of duty... of fear... of life. At least her life would be claimed by Vesanya, whose perfect, divine features had entranced the young Princess from the moment they had met... Yes, perhaps there would be something romantic about giving her life to the Goddess...
"And so, in the end, I am nothing to you."
The malice lingering behind each word betrayed the tender voice from which spun them. Ashlynn found herself for the first time struggling to vocalize a response, her soft lips parting to speak but finding nothing to say. A lingering moment passed as the claws dug deeper into her wrists, as if Vesanya had been a sadistic hunter intent on making her prey squeal. She would need to choose her next words carefully, or perhaps they may be among her last.
"I am yours, Ves'anya Tak'aaratos..."The words escaped her lips in a faint whisper, flickering between them like forbidden sweet-nothings. "... just as much as you are mine." She waited until Vesanya's face hovered parallel to hers before leaning upwards. "No marriage will ever be able to seize me away from you." With that, soft lips pressed up against their opposites, a sweet kiss that caused Ashlynn's heart to miss several beats. Her tongue slipped between the Goddess' perfect lips, dancing and teasing Vesanya's own before hastily retreating backwards. She could feel the claws that dug into her flesh loosen... and so she brought one of her slender hands to the side of the Goddess' face so that she may cusp beauty into her palm. "I don't want to marry this man... but if I don't... I will die..." She moved forward once again, this time her teeth playfully nibbling at the Goddess' lower lip, her legs rubbing themselves against Vesanya's form.
"If I am to be your treasure... then you must protect me."
Visions flashed before the silver-haired beauty's eyes. The slave girl, manacled and weeping, begging for mercy. The ragged tents of his knights starving and hunted by beasts. Yet they had stayed for a moon's turn and the man had continued on with his futile quest. So Vesanya knew all too well the lengths that abhorrent man would go through to get what he wanted. The memory of their meeting made her sick to her stomach. Yet that very same feeling tossed and turned in her gut like a stormy sea, tidal blues reflecting the cacophony roiling in her heart and especially so when Almeric proposed a marriage.
She was sure that Ashlynn would refuse, that she might claim betrothal to another. Vesanya was compelled to interject - they all knew who she was but she was too slow as Almeric was struck across the cheek. The next passing moments were a blur, reality and not merging into one as the all-too-familiar greed poisoned her senses. Her sapphire blues were tumultuous, the calm before a storm and icy in its disregard. Those eyes were upon Ashlynn now, drowning the Princess in a gaze that lacked little emotion save for the intensity. She could inhale the Princess' scent all she wanted from this angle, her wrists pinned firmly against the mahogany as the Goddess drank her fill. As if the Princess was nothing more than a mere puppet to play with, replaceable and replenishable.
The thought came again: Ashlynn wedded to Almeric. The idea seared through her mind over and over, branding hot coals into her skin as she gritted her teeth against soft skin. She could feel the enamel grind and grow and vanish, the ongoing headache as she fought to keep herself under control. Vesanya barely noticed the strength in which she had gripped the Princess, so sure that Ashlynn could throw her off but for the first time, she could feel fear emanating from the woman - not fear of the Goddess herself, but this primal sense that everything was worth nothing. Icy blues swirled with golden whorls speckling her irises like stars as she gazed upward, an endless void of something untouchable.
When her true name was spoken aloud, it was as if a spell had been broken. Her bloodied fingers loosened, the ringing in her ears dulling to a childlike chime and most of all, the kiss. It came to a moment's surprise but Vesanya seized the opportunity when she could, giving in to the flame roaring through every nerve and vein. Strangely enough, that did not make her desire the Princess any more (for anymore was impossible). Instead, she returned to herself, releasing Ashlynn's wrists and attempted to back away but the other woman was coy, stalking after her like some predator and oh, Vesanya was no stranger to honeyed words and what the salacious cock of the hip might imply.
"Yours, hm?" The Goddess finally hummed, taking advantage of this moment to gather the Princess forth into another kiss that was more teeth than tongue as she nipped back in response. "You should not have slapped the Duke, as fun as it was to observe. His nature has not changed." Her wording was intentional as she withdrew from the Princess, exceptionally more affectionate as she swept Ashlynn's bangs from her eyes. Then she grew stern, an emotion indescribable to the human language when her nails skimmed against the shell of her Princess' ear.
"There is no need for games, my lady." Vesanya continued such pleasantries an ever constant. "You do not need to bribe me, you already know that I will protect you to the end." To what end, she did not say. She placed another innocuous kiss on Ashlynn's cheek with a soft smile. "I am your assistant and I believe it is my job to fix what is wrong so that my lady can rest easy knowing that everything is in my capable hands." She winked. "That is what I'm here for, right?" Without offering another word of explanation, she swept out the door, leaving Princess Ashlynn to her own devices.
For it was well enough to be a king but more to take a Goddess as a lover.
And she had an appointment with the Duke of Auvignon.
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