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The sun dipped low over Aundair as servants carried away empty bottles of wine. Two khoravar women sat in lavish chairs in the queen's quarters, laughing and murmuring about the motions of the world. Both were half-elves gifted with long lives, but the marks of middle age still showed in the face of Queen Aurala ir'Wynarn, who kept her hair coiffed and her dress modest, with layers of regalia. She had earned her wrinkles through many decades at the helm of a desperate nation, bearing Aundair through ceaseless negotiations with those who would readily see her crumble in the wake of the Last War.
Not so for her youthful guest, Baron Esravash d'Lyrandar. Her low-cut blue dress was gaudy by the standards of the court, though undeniably eye-catching in the way it spilled like water underneath her flowing hair, and her skin was smooth and unmarked - but for the complex arcane sigil that grew across her face, faintly gleaming with the energies of Eberron. The manifestation of her Siberys-grade dragonmark had catapulted her from a lowly commoner to become the matriarch of House Lyrandar, the conglomerate that controlled almost all shipping and transportation between the Five Nations. She now reigned as Baron of Stormhome, the city House Lyrandar had magicked from a bitter windswept northern isle into a tropical getaway that they used as their base of operations. Stormhome technically belonged to Aundair, but one wouldn't always know it from the unilateral control that Esravash wielded there.
The two most powerful women in Aundair met frequently to discuss current events. Esravash's industry meant a constant supply of wines from all across Khorvaire, and Aurala was known for the kindness she showed to the dragonmarked houses. It paid handsomely to be friends.
"So," said Esravash, "what do you think? Pretty good, isn't it?"
Her accent was as boorish as the day she had been scouted by House Lyrandar's leadership. It grated Aurala's ears to hear the twang in her words, which was exactly why she'd kept it. Esravash enjoyed seeing merchants and royals alike squirm at the thought of doing business with a born-and-raised peasant.
"The wine is marvelous, and Aundair thanks you for it," said Aurala. "But I tell you, Baron - I would welcome wine from all the lower neighborhoods of Sharn over what I had to taste in Thrane."
"That bad, huh?" Esravash winced. "I guess being a nation of religious zealots doesn't exactly encourage brewing good booze. I pity the innkeepers in Thaliost."
Aurala pursed her lips. Thaliost was a sore spot for anyone in Aundair. They had suffered many losses in the Last War - as much as a fifth of their land and populace were now the independent Eldeen Reaches - but none stung so keenly as their capital city, Thaliost, now occupied by Thrane. To see the country's cultural center controlled by the Church of the Silver Flame was simply unacceptable, but Aurala's many fruitless diplomatic visits had never yielded any movement.
"Another trip to Thrane and back, and Thaliost is still in their control," Esravash remarked wryly. "At this point, I figure they just bring you in as entertainment."
"You betray your own impatience," said Aurala. "My visits are to lend stability and constancy to our relationship. The Thranes are only human; we are khoravar. With each passing generation, their memories of the war will dim. Eventually, they will remember Aundair only as a pleasant neighbor, and at that point-"
"They'll remember us as pushovers," said Esravash. "Their doddering old neighbor who keeps doing them favors."
"Has your political education been so thorough in these scant few years that you now think yourself a queen?" snapped Aurala.
"I don't know," said Esravash, with a widening smirk. "All I know is that Stormhome and Thaliost are the richest cities in Aundair, and you control neither of them."
Aurala pursed her lips. "The simple matter is that holding Thaliost appeals to Thrane, as well. We will have it back when we are able to offer them a preferable alternative."
"Shit, queenie, you don't know the first thing about deals," Esravash said with a laugh. "Golden rule of running a business - never offer buyers an alternative."
Aurala bit her tongue. Esravash was fickle, and her engagement in this conversation was unserious. Retorting to her shifting mockeries would only diminish Aurala's stature.
Flattery it is, then.
"Of course. You are, without question, one of the sharpest heads of a dragonmarked house in recent history. That's why I was keen to have this meeting, as it happens. I take it you're familiar with the new law taking shape in Passage?"
"Give 'em a rail station and suddenly the city thinks that they can dictate terms. You want me to help shoot them down?"
"Hardly," said Aurala. "I'd like House Lyrandar to lend their full support to this law."
Esravash set her goblet down with a clink. "You want... what?"
"I don't need to repeat myself," said Aurala. "Their new terms may be controversial, but if enough houses agree preemptively, the rest will follow suit. House Lyrandar's word and money go a long way in this country."
"Why don't you get your hubbie to make House Vadalis do it?"
"You and I both know Sasik's word carries no influence in House Vadalis," Aurala lied. "Of course, I enjoy good relations with the house, and they will act as I desire. But to lead with such a strong card would show my hand, and such tactics are beneath me. I would prefer that Passage continue to believe this law is of their own devising, rather than an edict from their queen; it will make them all the more eager to enforce it."
"I'll take a hit," Esravash said, as if that fact was evidently unbelievable. "We all will. Every house that does business in Passage is going to need to account for this. If I sign on first, I'll look like I'm caving. I'll look weak."
"Yes," said Aurala, and sipped her wine. "You will."
Her eyebrows danced flirtatiously as Esravash stared at her. Slowly, Esravash's look of disbelief turned into a grin.
"So that's your wager, is it?" she said. "A week away in Thrane, and already spoiling for a fight."
"You know how stiff and stolid the Thranes are," Aurala said, hiding a smile behind her goblet. "There's just no excitement to be had in debating them."
Esravash's eyes flickered to the servants at the door. Aurala's gaze followed hers. "Leave us be," she called, and watched the servants scurry out of sight.
Once the door was shut, Esravash turned back to Aurala with a hungry grin. She stood and let her dress trail across the floor as she approached Aurala, leaning on her chair. "It's an awfully bold request you're making. Some might say you're overplaying your hand already by asking me."
Aurala shrugged. "My favor with House Vadalis is an open secret. My favor with House Lyrandar is... less well-known."
"Can't imagine how," said Esravash. "You're getting bolder, you know. The way you look at me in public, I don't understand how your courtiers haven't guessed."
Slowly, languidly, Aurala stood from her chair. "They see what they want to believe. That has always been the way of politics." She pressed a single finger to Esravash's wrist, then trailed it gently up her bare arm. "After all... even everything else aside... you are scandalously young for me. The concept is unthinkable."
Esravash tried not to show her shivering. "Younger, sure. But not an easy mark for manipulation. You barely even tried with this one."
"What's there to be gained from manipulations?" said Aurala. Her hand had passed to Esravash's face, where she cupped her cheek and looked up into her eyes. "We all know it would be the honor of any Aundairian to serve her queen."
Esravash had gotten a nasty smile on her face. "Oh, you just think you're so far above me, do you?"
She moved her fingers, and her dragonmark flared as she cast a spell. Aurala moved to counter - but before she could, a billowing breeze blew her skirts over her upper body. She struggled against them as Esravash's spell took hold, yanking Aurala off her feet and making her lighter than air. By the time she finally pried all the layers of her undergarments off her face, she was suspended several feet above the floor.
"Put me down at once!" Aurala huffed. Her skirts were floating upwards once again, forcing her to hold them down with both arms. It was a frantic and undignified motion.
"I dunno." Esravash smirked. "I kinda like the look of you like this."
Aurala glowered at her. "Casting spells upon a sovereign of the Five Nations? I could have your head for this. One word to the guards is all it takes."
"Ooh, uh-uh-uh," said Esravash, clicking her tongue. "I don't think that's a good idea, though. I know how eager your brother is to rule, and how weak your grip on the throne really is. And this?" She rotated Aurala slowly in the updraft, like a market fruit in a cautious buyer's hand. "This is a mighty compromising situation for you."
With one hand, she kept the updraft pinning Aurala in the air. With the other, she snaked her hand up Aurala's flailing leg, tracing to the undergarments billowing in the wind. With a rough motion, she yanked them down, and with another, she put her hand in their place.
"And it's getting more compromising by the minute," Esravash murmured. "If your guards saw you like this, well, I reckon that changes the way you view a person. Hard to maintain that mystique of authority much longer."
Aurala's face had turned bright red. "Y-you forget yourself, Baron," she spluttered. "We both know what's expected of you behind closed doors, and this isn't it!"
"If you wanted me to stop, you've got ways of making me," said Esravash, and shrugged. "Can't help but notice that you haven't."
She stroked around Aurala with gentle touches, her technique tried and true over dozens of visits. Soon enough, the queen was squirming. Esravash's arm was her only anchor to solid ground, and she moved against it with increasing desperation. Esravash kept her hand out in the open ever longer.
"Let's talk finances," said Esravash. "You want me to put my word behind this new law and take the fall. I guess you figure you've earned it. Flatter me enough with special treatment, special meetings, my own private city, and I'll be your voice among the houses. Like dear old Sasik, except actually stimulating in private." She rubbed her hand against Aurala more firmly, eliciting a suppressed gasp. "One problem with that: you don't own shit."
Esravash's smile only grew. "I run Stormhome how I want to run it, because I know whatever laws you pass, you can't back them up," she said. "You run one nation. I run the whole world's shipping industry. Profits have really taken off lately - you could say they're soaring. Wanna guess why?"
"T-the airships," Aurala stammered out. "The f-f-fucking airships."
"Aw, it's cute to see a royal try and swear," Esravash cooed. "Yes, stupid, the airships. The ones you sank so much of Aundair's money into House Lyrandar to develop. The ones we went and sold to every other nation on the continent, behind your back. Recouping our losses a hundredfold, and erasing any chance you had to get ahead in the war."
Aurala growled in unresolved frustration, but what came out was more of a moan.
"And I knew from the start that I could make a brazen, disrespectful move like that, without provocation," said Esravash, "because you can't do anything about it. House Lyrandar is the biggest business in Aundair. Your GDP doesn't even crack the profits we turned last year - profits from the airships you paid us to make."
She pushed and prodded, molding Aurala's body into a soft, quivering toy. "You think you're queen, but I own this kingdom," she hissed. "I own you, sure as Thrane has Thaliost. So no, I'm not going to be your patsy and take the fall for you, when I don't have to." She smirked. "Unless, of course... you give me a preferable alternative."
Aurala had ceased attempting to push her billowing dress down, and now simply let herself hover in the air, trying not to grind against Esravash's hand. It wasn't easy; her attentions had left Aurala quivering, and every time she brushed against Esravash, the energies beneath her surface ignited anew. With a heroic effort, she attempted to push through the haze and make a cogent comment.
"W-w-wh-wh," she stammered. "What do you want....?"
"Lucky for you, I'm a polite sort," she said. "All I want is to give you what you want. But you're asking too many things of me, your majesty; my poor little commoner brain just can't keep 'em all straight. One thing at a time, right?"
In her current state, Aurala was inclined to agree. She nodded shakily.
"I could sign House Lyrandar on to this new law. Eat the initial hit, take some damage to my reputation, but ultimately smooth things over down in Passage, and make sure whatever scheme you're putting together goes through smoothly. Or... I could let you cum." Esravash pulled her hand away from Aurala, leaving her chilly and bereft, and held up a single sweat-slicked finger. "Pick one."
Aurala writhed. Her brain was trying to run calculations: the odds that any other dragonmarked house would sign on without her efforts; the cost of pushing House Vadalis to sign on instead; even the chances that her agenda could come together without this law.
She didn't process a single one of them. It was as Esravash had said - one thing at a time, and there was only one thing her body would allow her to think.
"C-come!" Aurala blurted out. It was loud enough that for a terrifying moment, she feared the guards would hear it. "P-please... come."
Esravash grinned a lopsided grin. Her rustic accent came to the surface even more as she brought her hand to Aurala. "They say Aundair lost everything in the Last War. But it ain’t even enough for you, is it? Always finding further to fall."
She parted Aurala's lips and plunged her hand into her dripping cunt. The queen shook with the effort of restraining her grateful cries.
"The way folks talk about you royals, you'd think you'd have some kind of fancy snatch," Esravash muttered, as she plunged deeper and rougher into Aurala. "But you're nothing remarkable. You don't feel all that different from this one cow I had to pull a calf out of. S'pose you know that, though, from having kids. It's a graceless, animal thing."
Aurala couldn't disagree. Three pregnancies had been more than enough for her. But there was nothing she wanted to think about less at this moment than her adult children.
Mercifully, Esravash fell silent for several minutes, and Aurala thought of nothing - truly, nothing - except the raw sensation of her sex.
Then she opened her mouth again. "Y'know, I used to fuck girls in the farm fields, where the cows shit," Esravash muttered. "Get 'em squirming in the dirt like any other horny animal."
She looked up, and Aurala seized up in her gaze. Esravash was staring at her with the kind of flat disdain reserved only for livestock. "Gosh, I'd like to see you down there in the dirt like them."
In that moment, with Esravash's hand jammed up her sodden cunt, Aurala could feel the Baron's clear conviction: the queen of Aundair was just a dumb, dirty animal. And as Esravash brought the full force of her attentions to her clit, Aurala felt herself share that same realization.
Esravash watched Aurala's juices speckle and spatter on the floor. "Goddamn," she swore, "I just love the smell of rain."
She yanked her hand out of Aurala and flicked the slick onto the ground. Then Esravash fell silent and admired her handiwork. Aurala floated where she was, unattached to anything, with an open-mouthed grin and half-lidded eyes.
"Now, I’m just a country bumpkin, so what do I know, right?" Esravash murmured. "But you sure seem absolutely hopeless."
Aurala made a dumb, low, contented moan. She might as well have mooed.
Esravash smiled. She let Aurala float it out another few minutes as she cleaned her arms with magic. Dimly, light and reason came back into Aurala's eyes as she worked.
"Alright, then, matter's settled," said Esravash. "I gave you what you asked for. Not a penny more." She slapped her knees and turned to go.
Aurala stayed exactly where she was - still half-naked and hovering a few feet above the floor. "Wait!" she cried. "P-put me down!"
"Oh, that?" Esravash stopped and shrugged. "I'll drop the spell eventually. Whenever I forget about you." She smirked. "I've got more important things to do."
Aurala flailed an arm towards Esravash ineffectually, but she was too far to reach. The Baron waltzed out of the room, not even bothering to close the door after her.
Aurala fumbled as she reached down towards her scattered undergarments, trying to retrieve them - but pitching forwards only caused her to rotate gently in the air. She came to a rest suspended upside-down, with her bare bottom exposed above her corsets, staring helplessly at the pile of discarded clothing out of reach. At least the sodden clothing might cushion her landing.
A levitation spell could last up to ten minutes. Helpless to do anything else, Aurala could only hover in the air and wait to fall.