Olivia Duma

Several years ago ...

Madam gives me a level gaze as I settle into the chair presented to me and make a show going through the evidence the militia had passed over to me. Part of being an investigator is theater, putting on the kind of show your audience expects, even in open and shut cases like this one. Drunk Valkyrie starts smashing up the local vice den. Its as obvious as it gets. But even secret police need to make a show of following due process.

Its what separates us from the criminals like Madam after all.

"Sara Nock." I cough from the cigarette smoke that hangs like a pall over Madam's office, "The suspect that damaged your club. You told the militia that you had information to share about her?"

"Of course," Madam nods, "Sara's been a very good customer here Miss ...?"

"Olivia Duma." I grunt, fishing out the investigation notebook from my jacket, "Olivia's fine."

"Olivia, yes." Madam purrs as she brings out a bottle and two glasses, "Sara's a Valkyrie from the Inner Citadel, very accomplished, very decorated you know. A big spender as well."

"Nothing for me thanks." I decline the drink and making an effort to keep my expression neutral, "Alcohol messes with my sleep schedule." My temper is already starting to fray. Madam's not telling me anything I can't get by running Nock's ID through the Garden's records. That reminds me, I need to actually go through the records when I get the chance. I idly make a note to do so in my diary, pretending to jot down whatever Madam is saying.

"Well, it turns out that Sara has a rather possessive nature?" Madam continues her tale, "She got into a fight with another Valkyrie over one of my staff."

"A love triangle?" I ask and sigh tiredly. This is not the first time a Yellow Rose had to be called no thanks to horny Valkyries fighting over the meat market's stock. And it just so happens I'm the one pulling the short straw tonight. What's with the appeal of the beast men working here? Some of them may be attractive, but certainly not duel for his body attractive.

"Olivia, please." Madam scoffs, "This is Club Loveless. Love has nothing to do with what happened."

"Alcoholism and sexual desperation then?" I eye Madam critically while my pen keeps writing in the diary without pause.

"Hardly anything so crass." Madam dismisses, "Loveless offers something far more valuable than what you're probably thinking. Something that many Valkyries find they can't do without once they experience it."

"Really?" I quiz, "I wouldn't know. Never actually was a patron here."

"Yes, really." Madam insists, her expression serious, "Let me ask you this Olivia. What do you think of men?"

"Men?" I blink in surprise at this off point question, "Men are men. Nothing more and nothing less."

"But do you love them?" Madam stares at me with frightening intensity.

"I've not met anyone to fall in love with." I shrug, wondering where this conversation is going.

"Do you respect them?" Madam interrogates.

"Some of them, sure." I answer.

"Only some?" Madam's smile becomes cunning, as if I had fallen into some kind of trap.

"Respect has to be earned." I shoot back, "I don't expect men to be as strong as us, but they should be making an effort to carry their own weight."

"And which would you prefer," Madam keeps questioning, "an actual marriage with a man, or performing the rite of the midnight visitor?"

"Marriage of course." I roll my eyes at the silly question, "The rite of the midnight visitor is complete barbarism. I might even be killed in my sleep by my resentful partner after we had sex."

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Madam nods sagaciously, "Final question. Would you consider marriage with anyone other than a Battle Lord?"

I purse my lips unhappily, discomfort rising in my stomach. Battle Lords are the strongest of the male Auxila. They are also comparatively rare, making them highly sought after by Valkyries. For any Valkyrie who wants to be on the fast track, marrying anyone less than a Battle Lord would be considered a downward move, proving that you can't hack it at the top tiers. As a rising Yellow Rose, I needed to be careful of the prospects I cultivate. There are plenty of men who would want to marry me for an easy meal ticket. That would be a disaster. A parasite dragging me down both personally and professionally.

I still had a couple of years to decide, but I got Madam's message loud and clear. I might very well need to consider grabbing a man using the rite. Its the easiest way out of my predicament if I can't get promoted high enough to enter the Inner Citadel. And to move in the same circle as Battle Lords, you need to be a resident there. A knife cuts both ways after all. Battle Lords would not want to marry down either.

"But there is another way," Madam notices my uncomfortable look, "Informal unions."

"I don't need to come here for that." I reply, "There's a reason why the rite died out. Its not difficult for a woman to get any number of men she wants."

"Ah, but can you trust such liaisons?" Madam smiles mysteriously, "After all, once affairs get all tangled up, there's no telling where they might lead."

"And what does any of this have to do with Loveless?" I frown with growing impatience.

Madam leans back in her chair and explains, "Consider this Olivia. My staff are all beast folk. Meaning they have no legal rights. My clients can end swiftly end any entanglement in the fashion they wish. They also rely wholly on my clients for their sustenance, guaranteeing a high measure of faithfulness. And my staff are of course, all very attractive."

"Huh." I muse, taking in Madam's words. More loyal than someone you home invaded. No legal issues if you dump one of them once you tire of him. Ready to please as long as you can pay. And to top these advantages off, good looking as well. Not that you could actually respect any of these beast people, but then again, you can't respect most men either.

"A reliable, no strings attached, handsome companion." I mutter, "All for an affordable price. I can see the appeal."

"Hardly affordable." Madam corrects, "Loveless prides itself on having only the choicest stock. But you can see why Sara would grow so attached to Piotr, yes?"

"Piotr?" I make a quick note in my diary, "That's the name of the, uh, companion Sara's interested in?"

"Many Valkyries are interested in Piotr." Madam says, "To answer your question Olivia, yes, Sara was fighting over Piotr tonight when she got drunk."

So to cut a long story short, this is a sad tale involving sexually frustrated women fighting over their favorite toy. Wonderful. Another case solved by ace Yellow Rose investigator Olivia Duma. Now to wrap things up so I can go home. I just wish these Valkyries would discover the joys of masturbation so they wouldn't bother people trying to sleep.

"Where's the other Valkyrie Nock had been fighting with?" I ask Madam.

"No idea." Madam makes a motion of surrender with her hands, "My bouncers could not get the fight under control and when the militia got here, the other Valkyrie had fled in the fracas."

"Know who this other Valkyrie is?" I press and Madam just shakes her head with denial.

"Never mind. Thanks for your cooperation." I begin getting up from the chair, "I'll get it out of Nock once I begin interrogating her."

"Sara won't be in any trouble won't she?" Madam asks with clearly fake concern as she sees me out of her office, "She really doesn't have anyone other than Piotr."

"I find that hard to believe." I dismiss while striding out of the rear area of the club, gesturing at the militiamen to have Nock taken back to the Garden. Nock can spend what's left of the night repenting her actions in the Garden's dungeon. The rest of the investigation can keep until morning.

...

That call in the middle of the night was an omen. This case is trouble.

I leaf through Sara Nock's file with increasing annoyance. The clerical staff of the Garden are efficient to say the least. The file was waiting on my desk the moment I entered the office. The facts of the case are clear. But I'm lost as to how to proceed. I rub my eyes and leave my office for a cup of coffee to break the monotony of constant reading and thinking.

Madam wasn't bullshitting about Nock being distinguished. Not only is Nock a resident of the Inner Citadel, the file states that her family is very close to the Leader. Nock literally scored full marks for political reliability. You don't get that score unless you're in the Leader's inner circle. Oddly enough, Nock's family history is strangely absent in the record despite this connection. Just an acknowledgement that her father's dead and her mother is a missionary. But the important point of all this is that Nock has a reliability score higher than most Yellow Roses, effectively putting me on the spot.

Before knowing about Sara Nock's background, I had originally intended to file a recommendation to have her administratively punished with a flogging and consider the case closed. But with the other Valkyrie still running about unidentified, I can't afford to close the case yet. Nock would raise a stink, and given her position in the Citadel, someone higher up the chain was guaranteed to listen, landing me into a world of trouble. Then there was a question of how her punishment is to be handled. Too light and it would make a mockery of my position. Too heavy and it would be career suicide.

What to do?

Getting back to my office, I pick up the intercom and make a call to the dungeon. Might as well do a thorough job, while I'm at it.

"Prep Sara Nock for interrogation." I direct the dungeon guard through the intercom, "I'll be down shortly."