Pollie tried not to chew on her bottom lip as she patiently waited by the hallway.

“Enter,” instructed a voice, and she opened the door before her and pushed a small trolley in, keeping sure to keep her gaze lowered as her station demanded.

“Refreshments, m’lords.” At the regal-looking elf’s nod, the woman quietly handed over the goblets of warm herbal tea to the four occupants in the four occupants of the study room. The dwarf refused the drink as usual with a curt shake of her head. The elf accepted the drink with an absent but not unkind nod, while the gnome smiled and offered a polite thanks as he took his.

As for the boy, the one who was supposed to be Pollie’s king, Kyle gave her a sideways glance as he received his goblet and hummed out a noise of gratitude while he returned to the pile of papers between himself and the others. With his focus so drawn to the papers, Pollie didn’t waste her time trying to grab the boy’s attention.

And as before, the elf mumbled something that caused the drinks to glow in a warm blue before they began taking sips.

“Would that be all, m’lords?”

All four shook their heads, and without any reason to stay Pollie left the room as quietly as she had entered. As usual, she heard the discussion resume in soft murmurs only after she finally shut the door.

Pollie was patient enough not to feel annoyed, and rather than sulk she left the hallway to see to other tasks in the palace. It had taken a month before she managed to deliver food and drinks to Kyle after all, so she didn’t mind waiting a while more for an opportunity to present itself.

She was busy cleaning the now barren portrait room when another serving girl dragged her out of her thoughts. “Hey, Pollie? The lords’re done upstairs, sounds like.”

So quickly?

“Oh. Thanks, Shella. I’ll quickly head up for the cleaning.”

“Don’t worry, I can take care of the cleaning here,” the younger girl offered with a friendly smile. “You should take things slower.”

Pollie shrugged, as warranted by the image of a desperately hard-working servant she had fostered. By covering as many tasks as she could, it not only endeared her to her colleagues, but allowed Pollie to figure out some of Kyle’s schedule and habits. Which was why she found it highly unusual for his meeting with his three advisors (or mentors?) to be finished so quickly. They usually talked throughout the late afternoon at the very least.

Walking briskly back upstairs, Pollie almost stumbled when she saw the three advisors leave, with Kyle absent among them.

“M’lords,” she meekly greeted, drawing their attention only briefly as they walked past her. Then she resumed walking, forcing herself to calm down as she neared the room and the promise of an opportunity awaited.

Pollie peeked into the study, finding Kyle still seated and staring quietly at sheets of paper in both hands. Comparing them, it seemed. She gave a knock on the open door to announce her presence. “M’lord? Should I clean up?”

The boy looked up from the papers to regard her for a second. “Ah. Right. Go ahead.”

Beating back the urge to simply get it over with, Pollie instead slipped into the room and did exactly what she had asked to do. The untended goblets were collected, the seats checked for any dirt or stains to clean up, the quills and ink pots returned to the proper desk, but the papers were left scattered about. Pollie knew enough that trying to reorganize them would get her a mild admonishment.

As she finished tidying the place, the opportunity she had been waiting for for a month now fully presented itself. In case his attention wasn’t fully fixated on the papers, Pollie made a show of noticing the empty goblet by the foot of Kyle’s chair.

“Would m’lord like more water?” she offered, cradling the pitcher in her arms.

Kyle turned to her, for a moment seeming like he’d forgotten about her presence, and then glanced down to his cup. “Oh, sure. Thanks.”

“Here, let me, m’lord.” Pollie interrupted him before he could put aside his papers to reach down for the goblet. She played oblivious and quickly bent over at just the right angle, allowing the loosened neckline of her dress to hang low enough to offer Kyle a peek at the bare skin underneath.

Thankfully, the results were as expected. As Pollie rose back up, she noticed the slight color in Kyle’s cheeks, and the familiar mildly stunned look in his eyes. Still keeping to her role, she carefully filled the goblet with water, though not so carefully that there was some splashing and stray drops darkened the fabric of her dress.

“Here you go, m’lord. Oh...” The serving girl made a show of noticing her young liege’s hands being full, then glanced to the paper-filled table, and then back down to the foot of his seat. Then she beamed a smile at him. “I’ll bring the trolley over, it’ll be a safer spot than the floor.”

With that, Pollie swiveled about, taking care in how she walked as she no doubt had Kyle’s attention on her rear. She bent over once more as she pretended to pick up some stray dirt from the floor, then wheeled the trolley over to his side, his goblet of water conveniently placed within his reach. “I hope this is alright, m’lord?”

Despite the look of a boy trying hard not to stare, Kyle managed to keep an even voice, with nary a stammer despite the embarrassed expression he wore. “It’s fine. Thanks, uh…”

Pollie sketched a curtsey as she introduced herself. “Pollie, m’lord.”

“Right. Thanks, Pollie.”

“You’re welcome,” she replied with a bright smile, ignoring the fact that her curtsey had caused her dress to shift a little. “Would that be all…m’lord?”

It was admirable, maybe even cute, how much Kyle fought to keep his eyes from straying below her face. “Yes. Thanks again, Pollie.”

Pollie held back a triumphant grin right up until she reached downstairs, where no one else was around. It was a small but important victory, getting Kyle’s attention was the first but arguably hardest step in all this. Now all she needed to do was follow up, though she had to let such opportunities naturally present themselves rather than forcing the issue. Palace servants might not care much, but their overseers tended to notice unnecessary shift changes, and a bad experience had made Pollie wary of attempting to bribe them.

A second moment of privacy with her target came mere days later. The two more mysterious aides of the young king had returned at last, and were locked in with Kyle for a good portion of the day before leaving. Whatever words the enigmatic human and elf imparted had left the boy a little rattled, which was just perfect for Pollie’s needs.

She slipped into the study room as unobtrusively as possible, picking after whatever mess as usual. This time Kyle was pacing about with nervous energy, running his hand through his black hair repeatedly.

“Is everything all right, m’lord?” she ventured innocently.

“Ah. Pollie. Fine, everything’s fine…ish.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Giving a quiet nod, Pollie went on to tidy up the room. She timed the pace of her work, making sure that when she finally had to check on the desk, Kyle’s pacing would put close to her. Close enough that she could feign being startled about almost walking into him, and offer a bow of apology. “I-I’m so sorry, m’lord.”

“Eh, it’s alright,” he waved off. “My bad.”

Now that she had more of his attention, Pollie continued her path towards the desk, and she was sure she could feel the boy’s gaze on her as she bent over to clean underneath it. As expected, as she rose back up and turned around, Kyle had stopped pacing and his cheeks had faint blush on them.

Boys his age were so easy. A shame she was usually sent out to deal with older men.

Pollie put on a mask of concern. “Are you sure you’re alright, m’lord? If you don’t mind me saying, you seem…unwell.”

Admirably, he had already snapped out of his staring and shook his head. “I’m fine. Just some…uncomfortable news, that’s all.”

“As you say, m’lord.” She made to curtsey again, but then aborted the gesture as she pretended to notice something. “Oh, there’s something on your face, m’lord. Shall I…?”

Pollie closed the distance in a few steps, drawing out a handkerchief but not raising it just yet. Whether Kyle allowed her to or not, the fact that she was now taking up most of his view should be enough.

Predictably, he stopped her, swiping at his face with a hand. “Er, it’s okay. Really. I’ll just go get a bath after this.”

“As you say, m’lord. Should I have the bath ready for you?” Pollie kept her tone innocent, confident that the boy’s imagination was worked up enough to do the job for her.

“I…it’s fine. I’ll get it after dinner.”

Pollie gave a short bow and then turned to leave, but Kyle unexpectedly called out to her. “By the way, Pollie?”

“Yes, m’lord?”

“How much are they paying you?”

“M’lord?”

“What are you being paid to do?”

“To serve the needs of the palace, m’lord,” she smoothly replied with as much false innocence as she could muster, not showing an ounce of the cold, clammy panic that suddenly bubbled up in her. One didn’t suddenly ask that sort of question without reason, but Pollie had been in enough situations to know better than to panic.

“And all that just now…?” he gestured, face still a little pink.

“I don’t understand, m’lord?”

Kyle let out a sigh, and Pollie knew that he knew. Or least suspected far too much for her to brush off with a smile and sweet words.

“Please, I know Lord Joren has hired you, and I know he’s hired you as more than just a serving girl.”

“I…”

Kyle’s shoulders slumped a little as he sighed. “I’m not going to hurt you, I just want to know the details. You’re the only woman and the only non-Stromgardian servant Joren has put into work here. You’re also the only servant hired by the regents whose name is on the palace payroll, rather than their own rolls where they can obfuscate how much or how little payment is being rendered.”

The spiking panic threatened to overwhelm her, and Pollie found herself stealing glances behind her as she tried to retain a clueless smile. “M-M’lord, I…”

“You know I’m studying to be a mage, right?” Kyle suddenly asked, once more catching her off guard. “Do you know what kind of spells I’m learning now, Pollie?”

The boy took a step forwards, and Pollie instinctively took one back. For a fraction of a second, Pollie was about to turn and flee. Then she saw a ball of light materialize in Kyle’s hand, and primal fear made her freeze.

“I can promise that your cover will not be broken, that no harm will befall you. Will you cooperate, Pollie? Or will you be my first practical lesson on the harsher side of ruling?”

Faced with such options, Pollie gulped and told him all that he wanted to know.

It surprised her that she wasn’t dragged down to the dungeons despite Kyle’s reassurances. It also surprised her that he received her mission to seduce him with an almost bored disappointment. But what was more surprising was that Pollie wasn’t the only one ordered to get into Kyle’s pants and lead him by the cock.

“I honestly thought Lommath’s girls would’ve made the first move,” Kyle muttered with some annoyance as he sat across from her. The regent from Gilneas apparently had more than one servant with similar orders. A couple of the newer, younger girls. It was a bit unexpected that Shella was supposedly one of them, though now that Pollie thought about it...

Kyle lightly thumped on his chair’s armrest, drawing her attention back to him. “So. You’ve no other orders beyond trying to get me to bed you?”

The study room’s door was closed behind them, leaving Pollie alone with him. If not for her blown cover, this would’ve been the best opportunity. She shook her head earnestly, knowing better than to give the boy a reason to doubt her in any way.

“That is all I’ve been told thus far, m’lord.” The exposed seductress started to wring her hands nervously, but stopped when she became conscious of it. “It…It’s how I…they operate. Further orders will come only after I pass along the success of my mission.”

“Smart enough,” the boy opposite her remarked. “So why did you take the job? Is this your profession, or are you forced into this?”

Pollie tried hard not to squirm under his curious gaze. “I’ve family in Stromgarde, m’lord. We’ve lost a lot during the war, and it’s put us in debt.”

“A classic case, huh?”

She nodded in agreement, even as the urge to squirm increased from being honest. “I sought some…extra work to help them pay it off, but I…got caught. Lord Joren gave me a choice then.”

Kyle was silent after that, fixing her with an unnerving stare for a few seconds before finally speaking again. “How much are you being paid again?”

Pollie told him, and he in turn promised to discreetly match her pay in exchange for her switching sides. There wasn’t any choice in the matter, so by the time night came Pollie was dropping off her report for Joren’s aides. No doubt people would have already noticed her being stuck in the same room as Kyle for some time, so she went along with the explanation her new employer laid out, and reported that her attempt at seduction had failed, but only just.

After that, she’ll be reporting closer calls, drawing things out until Joren raises a stink or Kyle says otherwise.

She didn’t mind playing turncoat, but part of the subverted seductress couldn’t feel a pang of offense that the boy never bothered laying a hand on her given how much leverage he held over her. Nothing so much as a grope or a brush of the hands, even if his eyes betrayed his interest. It shouldn’t feel insulting to not be taken advantage of, but yet with how Kyle treated her with some aloofness it did.

It would be a minor annoyance for Pollie to deal with as she took on her role. Until her family was brought over to start a new life in Alterac, she would play the frustrated temptress while also keeping an eye out on other serving girls, the Gilnean inserts especially.