------------------------------------ Dunn, Valyria
Scrios hastily makes his way toward the imposing inn where Hermertia’s nobles and diplomats visiting Dunn are usually housed.
He just received a missive, letting him know that Lizzy has arrived. Or as she would put it, Miss Liserett O’Kleefe of Wysteria, Mayor of Chester-le-Ford. A bit formal that one. Well… formal on her own terms anyway; it’s not like she would ever properly request audience.
He has mixed feelings about this visit. First of all, it hasn’t been long enough since the last visit. Scrios would usually happily welcome any one of his fellow Hermertians, Valyria is after all reputed for its strong relations with its neighbors. It’s just that Liserett… well, she’s a bit forward.
She visited more often lately than pretty much all of the other leaders combined and her presence is overwhelming… her ambition seems to fill the air in a 50 meters radius around her, seeping through her greedy eyes, her smirking mouth, her full lips, her very skin… Scrios grunts in frustration.
This hot head of a woman rouses parts of him that really should stay dormant. Around her, anyway; the damned girl is barely 22 years old while he's... well he hasn't been 22 years old in a very long time now.
The inn stands before him. He wants to make her wait. He wants to have the page tell her he’s out of town. He wants her to go back to her deserts in Wysteria. Nevertheless, Scrios enters and climbs up the stairs. He’s angry now. Angry of even having such thoughts, so opposite of who he is as a King, opposite of his values. He’s angry at himself for letting her turn his stomach upside down. He’s angry at her for causing such disorder. He’s angry that she’s always looking so composed, in control.
He smiles, and enters the room where she awaits.
Good afternoon, Miss O’Kleefe. As always, it’s an honor to be graced by your company.
Your majesty, the pleasure is all mine I assure you!
She extends her hand, “allowing” him to kiss it. His anger melts.
There it is again, that forwardness of hers. A King doesn’t bow to kiss a serf’s hand! Yet he puts up with it, as always. He always has, since her very first visit when she was a seven years old child. At first he was playing along, amused that she was playing grown ups. Then it became a playful tradition. Then… who knows what then… It just continued.
News is exchanged, the conversation veers toward recent events, Dawnstar growing, delicate diplomacy in Tremaine, the Duchess of Kaine tragically passing away, how the horses are doing… the usual small talk as etiquette dictates.
Eventually, he asks her the purpose of this visit. Rather than answering, Liserett smiles, walks to the heavy, yet delicately carved wooden doors and ceremoniously shuts them close. She then walks to Scrios, a little too close for comfort.
Your Majesty… Scrios… you have known me since I was a child, you know me well. You know how important my duty is to me, don’t you?
He can feel the warmth of her body, he can smell her… her damn skin… He clears his throat and takes a step back, trying all he can to look casual.
Why.. yes my dear, for a long time indeed. You’re like my own child, you know.
She laughs, an adorable, crystalline laughter. She laughs like someone who’s studied and mastered the “perfect laughter”. It’s absolutely creepy, but so entrancing.
But I am no longer a child, Scrios, and we both know my father was merely a commoner.
Scrios cringes. All citizens of the Mercurian Empire are valued, free, respected people and he hates hearing of anyone being referred to as a “mere” anything. He feels his frustration rise again, until she smiles at him.
Liserett, I once was myself a... commoner as you put it. Each and every man has equal potential and worth...
But you are no longer a commoner! You rose, you transformed your potential into much greater worth, you are King! Not just anybody can achieve this. You were noble to start with. Scrios, I will not make the same mistake as my mother. I will not wed the first male I find and make a baby with no second thought as to what will then happen to the O’Kleefe family name.
She walks closer again as she speaks, standing only a few inches away now. She’s as warm as the desert where she’s from; she smells of wind, sand, and… desire. His mind is filled with primal frustration.
Erh… Lizzy… What are you getting at? I watched you grow…I’m much older than you…
He tries to take a step back and bumps against the wall. She advances simultaneously, as if they’re one, as if she foresaw his move, as if it’s a dance she’s leading. She places her hands against his chest, he can feel her nails clutching him through his shirt.
I don’t want to be your wife Scrios, nor do I want your Kingdom. I want your seed. I need a strong heir, and I’d rather not bother with a husband. You embody strength and power Scrios, and I want part of you in my heir. As for your condescendance, I’m no longer a child and you know it. You feel it.
Scrios gasps as she roughly pushes her body against his, pressing him up against the wall. He is shocked to feel his aging body reacting accordingly, despite his reason yelling at him. Yelling things like “She’s not a bit forward. She’s clearly fallen into madness!” and “Strength, Honor and Peace, you daft man!”
Nobody else needs to know. Scrios, you know me… you know I will not take rejection... Just take me... you want me.
Transfixed, Scrios is wracked with conflicting emotions. His affection for Lizzy mingles with his disapproval of her obsessive ambition and her unbounded sense of entitlement. His frustrations fight with his anger and sense of duty. His hunger for this young hot head collides with the sweet memory of his dear deceased wife. Collecting his thoughts for a moment, Scrios raises his hands to push Liserett’s body off his own.
Once again, as if reading his mind or having anticipated his every move, she affirms her grip and brings her face intimately near his neck. Her hot breath sends a shiver down his spine, followed by her hoarse, pleading whisper:
I need you… Take me Scrios. ------------------------------------
_________________ Lady Liserett of the House O'Kleefe Countess of Chester-le-Ford, Wysteria Deputy Minister of Hermertian History Appointed Minister of Wysterian Architecture
Last edited by Liserett on November 23rd, 2015, 8:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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