Using all her might, Lilly slammed her wooden sword against mine. It took everything I had to retain my stance, to keep my feet planted firmly into the ground. Her each and every blow felt like it was intended to kill. She may have looked frail, but she absolutely had the power to hold her own. In fact, she may have been one of the most terrifying opponents I had ever fought against.
She wasn’t even frenzied. Even her eyes were still green. This was just an ordinary training match, after all. I was glad. Over the course of the past week, I had had my doubts many times over whether I had made the right decision. Not just in freeing her from the contract, but in purchasing her at all.
The lilies died from over watering, she had accidentally broken several ornaments, dropped plates of food, wasting produce and tableware alike, and overall didn’t seem to be improving in her maid duties. And of course, who could forget her very first night here, when she embarrassed herself, and me by extension, in front of the nobles who I had invited with the intention of convincing them to sponsor her slave contract? Perhaps she was intentionally trying to provoke me, or the residents of the manor as a whole, perhaps she really was this clumsy. Perhaps she desperately needed Priscilla’s guidance, even though she was unfortunately still on her week-long holiday. Thankfully, my head maid would be returning later this evening. Priscilla was always the one to help inexperienced maids and butlers get through the initial learning curve. It was because of Lilly’s clumsiness that I hadn’t actually been treating her as though she were my handmaiden for the past week. I hadn’t yet told her about the bell, or any of her duties. I didn’t feel like it, and I was beginning to wonder if I should even bother to keep thinking of her as my handmaiden. It would be better to strip the title away from her. Even… Even if she was staying in Georgia’s room.
But right now she seemed to be trying hard, and she was pushing me to my limits. I was glad that she had a talent for something, and that she was taking it seriously. It only made sense that she would be a skilled fighter.
Well. Not quite.
‘Skilled’ wasn’t exactly the right word. She used her sword as though it were a beast’s claw, swiping away at me as though she were starving, looking to end the battle as soon as possible. She was substituting her lack of proper swordsman technique with raw power and ferocity. And that was what gave me the edge. I soon learned to parry her blows, dispersing the power of her strikes away from me. I learned to step out of the way, to dodge was much as I could and only block her sword when absolutely necessary. Too many direct strikes from her, and the sheer force of her attacks might threaten to injure my muscles, or perhaps even fracture my bones. I had to admit, she was so strong that she was forcing me to fight in unorthodox ways. She was breaking me out of my rigid mentality that my mentors had drilled into me over the years, making me fight spontaneously as opposed to via set techniques. She was predictable, but in a way that threw me off. Like someone who only ever chose rock when playing rock paper scissors, no matter how much she fell before my paper. The analytical part of my brain kept expecting her to pick scissors. She… She just *had* to after all, right? That was how people learned after all. But she never did, and she didn’t need to.
Then, she made just the mistake I needed. With a roar, she gripped the sword with both hands, lunging at me with the full weight of her body. A super rock. I stepped gracefully out of the way, and bonked her in the back of the head with the hilt of my sword. She was still intending to attack, so I quickly followed that up by holding the sword to her neck.
“Well fought, Lilly, but I-”
“Heh!”
She was defeated. The sword was at her neck. In a real fight, she would have lost. But this wasn’t a real fight. My sword was made of wood, it wasn’t a sharp blade, and she knew that. She wasn’t playing along. So she ignored it entirely, winding up to smack me straight in the head with her sword.
I panicked. And I instinctively broke the rules. A blue barrier appeared next to my face and blocked the blow.
“I made you use magic! Ahahahaha!”
Lilly was sweating. She was wearing padded leather armor and a white undershirt and trousers, a typical training uniform. She tore off the padded armor, throwing it aside.
“You broke the rules first, right? That means I can break the rules too?”
I paused for a second, eyeing her down. Crouched down, a feral stance. Her hair wild. Her braids had come undone and it was a total mess. She still wanted to fight. And she wanted to take it to a level just one step beyond mere training. It was terrifying… But also weirdly hot. I sighed, swiftly entering back into my stance. I closed my eyes and focused on my mana, and, in but a moment, my sword had caught alight with flame. A typical technique. Many low level soldiers could do it. But Lilly looked totally enamored with my flaming sword. I’d fight her like this, if she so wished. I needed to assess her power, after all.
“If you’ve been holding back, and would like me to use magic, then I’ll oblige. But don’t frenzy,” I stated, “Your move.”
Her eyes turned purple, the first time I had seen them that color in a week. I could see her muscles bulging, the blood rapidly speeding through her veins, even from underneath her shirt. She licked her lips lasciviously, and lunged at me.
She had already been moving fast. Almost too fast for me to handle. But now that she was ‘taking it seriously’, it truly felt like I was fighting someone who could teleport. I heard something crack as her sword was met with mine- I couldn’t tell if that was my sword or my bones, but I had no time to stop and think. Next moment she was behind me, aiming for my back. I used a barrier to block her blow and spun around. I was expecting her to step back to avoid the blow, but she *jumped*, straight over my blade, flames licking at her feet, and over my head. I could only duck to avoid the blows she had aimed at my head.
Because a warrior should always stand proud and tall, a swordsman never ducked. Never.
I swiped at her landing feet as I returned to a standing position. It hit her in the thigh. She let it hit her. She taunted me with a shit eating grin as she grabbed hold of my sword, her hands blackening from the flames, and snapped it clean in two. At the same time, she used her foot to kick me in the stomach. I clutched it and fell to my knees, groaning in pain.
“Well, I think that settles it, victory is-”
“Mine.”
She let her guard down. Just like I had, when I thought I had won. I had to abandon reason and play to the situation. I had to stop fighting according to tradition to beat her. I channeled mana from the earth to propel my feet forward, wind magic to accelerate my trajectory, and lunged forward.
Not with the broken hilt of my sword, nor my fist, but my head. I headbutted her right in the stomach, sending her hurtling out of the dirt arena and straight into a tree. It shook and bent, but didn’t fall. Several leaves and a few unripe apples fell from its branches, right on top of her head.
“You left the arena. That’s a forfeit,” I said.
And I couldn’t help but smile. This crazy woman had really made me stoop to her level in order for me to win. I discarded the charred remains of my sword and walked over to her, offering her my hand.
“It was well fought. You’re an excellent fighter, Lilly. It could have gone either way.”
She looked up at me, looking like she was on the verge of tears, her eyes still maintaining that violet hue. She looked up at my face, then back at my hand.
And slapped it away.
“D-Don’t… Don’t patronize me… I’m gonna… Have a shower… And then get back to work…”
Her eyes returned to normal, but she avoided eye contact as she got to her feet, brushing the dust and dirt off of her.
“I…”
I tried to say something, but Lilly was already leaving in a huff. I remember what it was like to take losses so personally. A part of me wanted to chase after her, but, instead, I simply sighed, sitting down on the bench next to the training space, wiping off my sweat with a towel and taking a sip of bottled water that was by now lukewarm. I cooled it down with mana, and took another nice, refreshing cold sip.
Then dumped its entire contents on my head to cool down. It was a hot day as it was, but even though my own fire magic wouldn’t burn me, I could still feel the heat.
“L-Lady Ayano! A situation has popped up!” A butler came rushing over to me, it was clear he had sprinted his way over, “T-The president of the Zeer republic… He’s here! Right now! On an unplanned visit!”
My expression darkened. Shit.
“Well, make sure he is well taken care of, then. Tell him that I shall meet with him in my office in precisely an hour. He arrived at an inopportune time and I need a moment to make myself presentable.”
“Of course, Lady Ayano! I shall let him know right away!” He exclaimed, sprinting away.
The fun never ends, does it?
~~~
“Opulent. Secluded. Decadent. I see the Selician monarchy is still the same as it ever was. Your system is so feeble that I have had to meet with the Princess rather than the Queen herself. Is she in good health?” Asked President Hiljosky
My mother could only speak via communicating her words psychically to her personal mage, for him to relay. Bedridden, slowly losing her mind. She was not fit to rule, but despite her age and poor health, magic and medical care may keep her alive for another decade or more. That left me essentially in charge of the country, the Queen in everything but name. Only I frustratingly didn’t have the same bureaucratic influence. Nor the same level of respect.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
As much as I love my mother, as strong as my familial bonds are, with both global and domestic affairs becoming so complicated, I often find myself wishing that she could pass on. Peacefully. Even if I wasn’t there at her bedside in her final moments. It would simply make my work much more simple.
“Of course, Mr President. She is still weak, but her condition has not worsened,” I lied, she got worse by the day, “Thank you very much for asking after her. I should hope that you find your visits and talks with me plenty pleasant, however.”
“Hmph. Hardly. Selicians are a mockery to global progress. Still childishly playing at king of the hill whilst the rest of the world struggles to evolve towards democracy.”
Hiljosky was a handsome man. Thin, young, clean shaven and tall. Neatly cut black hair rested atop his head, and he wore his grey suit professionally. The Zeerian accent was, admittedly, a sexy one too. A little hard to understand at times, and Selician wasn’t his first language, but I always appreciated the way they rolled their Rs and Ls. Especially when Zeerian girls did it.
But, even putting aside his blatant hatred for me and my country, something about him had always rubbed me the wrong way. I always felt as though there was something dishonest about him. From his personality, to the way he presents himself, to his ideals, even if I did have to give credit to the merits of a democratic system. I had no evidence for him being dishonest. It might just be an irrational gut feeling, but I had always stuck to it.
Maybe it’s because I know that he would wipe my country off the map if I showed weakness for only a moment.
Maybe it was his voice. Maybe it was the way his nasally, sneering tone ruined an accent I otherwise appreciated. It was difficult for me to say.
All I knew was that, no matter what system one implemented for picking a ruler, there would always be good ones and bad ones. Democracy was hardly any more valuable than Monarchy if you considered that the masses were just as likely to vote in a tyrant as a royal family was likely to birth one. That I had the position of Princess, and eventually Queen, for life meant that I had many more opportunities to implement positive changes than a President could ever hope to achieve in one term. Many more opportunities to try and unite the people, too, rather than keep them forever politically divided.
But that was just, like, my opinion. Whatever the case, I still hated this man.
“Did you come to talk, or did you come to criticize, president Hiljosky? There must be a reason you decided to visit without any prior notice. Something urgent, I presume?”
He leaned back in his chair, sighing and eyeing me up cautiously.
“I know about the Monstra bio weapon you have recently acquired.”
“How?” I respond icily, staring him down coldly.
“Never mind that, little Princess. Real countries have their ways of collecting intelligence. However, I do not know everything. But… I *must* know everything. You trying to acquire something so powerful and important right under the noses of the rest of the world poses a serious threat to global security, no? This might change everything about our current peace and trade agreements. In other words, you’re on thin ice.”
“You misunderstand, Mr President. She is not intended to be used as a bio weapon. She is a human, just like you and me… I have her under a slave contract. My intent is to domesticate and neutralize her. It would be much more dangerous if I were to allow her to roam free and feral, yes? Thus, I keep her here as a maid. Not as a weapon.”
“Ahh, yes, a Monstra slave under contract, and you intend to keep it as a ‘maid’. Tut tut tut, I expect better from you. Do you think I’m stupid?”
“If she is ever deployed as a weapon, it will be against the Monstras residing in Grisia-”
“And what then? Once the Monstras are gone, you turn it against the rest of the world? Research it and discover the secret to keeping your dear mother alive indefinitely? Lord the secret to immortality over the rest of the world? And just think of the destructive potential in wars against countries who lack the resources required to cast the annihilation sphere… Think of how much territory you could acquire in a matter of weeks. Do you think I will stand back and allow you to do as you please?”
“... What are your demands?”
“Show it to me.”
“Denied.”
“If you do not… I shall be adding a 50% sales tax to merchant trade between our nations. I shall lobby at the Nexus of Nations to implement yet more taxes with other countries, possibly even sanctions, too. How does that sound?”
“Do it.”
He stands up, folding his arms and staring me down.
“I am not the type to bluff, little Princess. Do you think I won’t do it? Perhaps you can afford it. But those who you would refer to as ‘peasants’ are already struggling to live. Can they accumulate wealth? Is there any potential for upward momentum within your society? What will they have to sacrifice just to stay sheltered and fed, hmm? Their children, perhaps? Will they turn to crime? These are basic considerations, my Princess, or did you forget?”
“You have overstayed your welcome, Mr President. Please leave.”
“... Very well. No matter. Perhaps this is exactly what your country needs- Imagine… A civil war, burning your country to the ground. And a better system arises from the ashes. Does that not sound wonderful?”
“Goodbye,” I simply replied with an icy glare.
With that, he finally left, opening the door.
Only to find Lilly on the other side. She looks at him in her usual meek way. He glances back, ignoring her. None the wiser to the fact that he had just seen the ‘bio weapon’ he had been so eager to look at.
Lilly bows apologetically, looking like a deer caught in headlights, and closes the door behind him. I see his car driving away from the estate a few minutes later.
Well. Time to raise taxes on the noble class I suppose. Cut my own paycheck, too. Convince mother of those social support plans she had been obstinately refusing to take seriously her whole life.
I am not going to show weakness to that man. Do your worst.
~~~
It was late at night. I had skipped the evening meal, simply opting to have tea, water, and bread and butter delivered up to my office. I had been spending the entire day following the President’s visit doing paperwork, writing a long and detailed letter to mother, begging for an audience. I spent a few hours working together with my accountant, trying to sort out a new tax budget with him. We ended up having to redo the entire national budget from scratch, just to account for Hiljosky’s threats. We’ve had to give ourselves a lot of extra room just in case he is able to get other countries to make trade more difficult or otherwise altogether impossible.
But, one of my other advisors was also swift to point out that he had probably wanted to see Lilly in order to acquire proof of her existence. As is, he can only make baseless accusations against us at the NoN, and may have to find other reasons to justify his increase in trade tax. Which may lead to him not raising it as high as he would like.
This is why I didn’t show him Lilly in the first place, but it was nice to have someone else agree with me. Someone who I trusted.
I had sent out word that I would be receiving no more visitors to my office for the rest of the night. I still had mountains of work to do. It all had to be done by morning, so I would forgo sleep if I had to. It was then that I heard a knock at the door.
I tried to ignore it at first. Someone might be worried about me, someone else might have a question for me. But everyone knew to walk away if I didn’t respond. I continued to work.
More knocking. Louder this time. It was sounding desperate. I sighed. I think I knew what this was about. I walked over to the door and opened it.
“Lilly, you may not have heard, but I am not-”
But it was Priscilla on the other side of the door. Not Lilly. And she had that look in her eye. That demeanor about her. She was in that mood she was always in after returning from seeing her fiance. Looking down at the ground. Lips parted, hair covering her face, trembling with fear and need.
I had forgotten that she was returning today. It must have just been a few hours ago that she returned to the manor.
Without a word, I turned my back to her, leaving the door open and allowing her to step inside. She did. I sat back down in my chair, and returned to work. She closed the door behind her, using the spare key to lock it, and walked over to my desk, standing just in front of it.
<3 <3 <3
I didn’t look up at her as she undid the straps of her dress, and allowed it to fall to the ground in a crumpled heap. No underwear, as was always the case on nights when we had these intentions. She was nude, save for her black stockings. Her skin was perfect, reflecting the moonlight streaming in through the window behind me just as brilliantly as her silver hair did. She was beautiful. More beautiful than either me or Lilly. Her breasts were pert, nipples hard. That cute pussy was already dribbling nectar down her leg.
But I had seen her naked many times before. I didn’t react. I continued working.
She walked around to my side of the desk, kneeling in front of me, underneath the desk. She began to fumble with the zip on my trouser fly. I used my hand to hold her hair back, so that I could make things easier for her. I lifted my butt off the chair and pulled down my trousers and my panties in one go.
And there it was, standing not-so-proudly in front of her. And she finally looked up to stare at a part of me for the first time since she had entered my room.
My dick, standing erect and tall.
She knew I had one. That I wasn’t exactly an ordinary girl. I tried to keep it a secret from everyone, aside from those I slept with. It represented an aberration, a tumor upon my soul more serious than a mere birth irregularity.
It was proof of my hubris. It was proof of the fact that I’m a fraud. It was my true face beneath all the masks. It was the one secret that could ruin me, for oh, oh so many reasons. Lilly was lucky to not have exposed it on her first day at the manor, when she melted away my clothes.
And her eyes sparkled as she looked at it. Like it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Or perhaps the most delicious. It was a look she had every time she saw it, as though she were viewing it fresh for the first time. Never tiring of it, even though I had tired of her.
I braced myself for what was to come next. She placed her hands delicately on it, one on the shaft, the other cupping my testicles, lightly squeezing and playing with my balls, gently rubbing the shaft up and down. Despite my better judgement, despite how much I wanted to ignore what was happening beneath my waist and focus on my work, it was already feeling good, just this light, delicate, slow touch. I was already leaking some ‘nectar’ of my own, soaking the shaft and her hands with its lubrication.
Then she placed her tongue on the shaft. I shivered. She treated me to long, slow licks, each stroke of her tongue lasting for seconds at a time, each moment stretching into an eternity, torturing me with pleasure.
She knew exactly what I liked. Exactly what she herself liked. Priscilla was a master at oral sex. For beneath all of the talent she had, her polite demeanor, her etiquette, her experience, her ideals, her love, her devotion to the crown and to this country, above all, she worshiped dick. It was her highest calling. I almost suspected that she loved cock more than she loved men. She probably spent the entire week with her fiance just sucking his penis, and craved more as soon as he was gone. And perhaps that was why I appealed to her. In her eyes, I was the best of both worlds. In addition, we both had strong incentives to keep this little illicit ‘arrangement’ of ours secret.
She doesn’t tell the world that I’m a dick girl who sleeps with my maids, and I don’t tell the world that she is cheating on her fiance with the Princess.
We had had full on sex before. A couple times last year, when this whole thing started. When she accidentally spied on me changing, saw my penis for the first time, and immediately began to fetishize it, even though she had shown no interest in me in the years up until that point.
Even though she hadn’t tried to comfort me like this after Georgia left.
But we both knew this was wrong. We both wanted this to stop. Or at least, I did. So I adamantly refuse to have vaginal sex with her now. I think she preferred oral sex anyway. I rejected going all in on the indulgence with all the strength I could muster, and I did, but it wasn’t enough. The temptation was too strong. I had needs.
Besides Priscilla, the last woman I had slept with was Georgia. I didn’t have time for self love. For masturbation. I was always too stressed. The guilt ate away at me and I hated dealing with the drama that people brought into my lives. So I didn’t have it in me to sleep around with my maids the same way I once did. Especially after seeing how much I had hurt some of them.
Her lips began to wrap themselves around the head of my cock. She slowly impaled her head on my spear, coiling her tongue around the shaft, constricting it like a snake.
I couldn’t help it. I came. Wave after wave of clear, sperm-less cum pumped into her mouth. She clamped her lips over the shaft, devoured my cock fully, hiding it from view, deep throating it as though she had no gag reflex, and drank every last drop. I was trembling. It always felt so good. I couldn’t pretend I was bored of it anymore. Each orgasm was like a supernova that rocked my entire body. A release born of months of build up.
I was exhausted. But she kept going. She always kept going.
So I gave up. I leaned back in my chair, and let her have her way with me.
---
I think I had dozed off. I slowly blinked myself awake as I noticed the lack of pleasure in my nether regions. I was dressed again. Priscilla was dressed too. She was standing on the other side of the desk.
“Are you going to keep working?”
I suppose.
“Yes.”
“You should sleep,” She insisted.
“No.”
Silence.
“How has Lilly been doing?”
“Badly. She needs you to whip her into shape.”
“... Has she been to your room yet?”
“No.”
“You need someone right now. She’s your handmaiden, yes? Let her help you.”
“... You’re interrupting my work, Priscilla. Please leave.”
Without another word, my partner in crime curtsies, and heads out the door, quietly closing it behind her.
I swivel around in my chair and look out of the window, staring up at the moon.
Yeah. It’s about time she learned to be my handmaiden. Honestly, I don’t know why… Why I appointed her to that position in the first place. Maybe it was because she was supposed to be my slave, and I wanted to demonstrate my authority over her to others by granting her that role. Maybe it was because staff had been bugging me to get a new handmaiden for years- Usually, they wished to be appointed to the position, and I was tired of the extra sycophancy. Maybe because I wanted to keep an eye on somebody so dangerous. Or maybe it was an instinct. An unconscious desire.
I thought about how hard she tried to prove her strength to me. Our fight from earlier in the day. Her egotistical speeches. The various ways in which she tries to flaunt the extra attention I have to give her.
A single tear rolled down my cheek. A final crack in the mask, with nobody around to see it. I’m not ready for it. I’ll never be ready for another handmaiden. People always want all these commitments out of me when all I want is something simple in a sex partner.
But, okay. I should fulfill my promises. Do the things I said that I’ll do. But a handmaiden is all you’ll be, Lilly. Nothing more.