Saban
It was a bad night. As I lay there in Marian's room, tightly bound and gagged, visions of what must be going on in Anita's room paraded through my head. Maybe, at this very moment, that bastard was licking her pussy, and then kissing her with slightly damp lips. Perhaps she was riding on top of him, impaled on his cock. Maybe they were-
I tried to drown out the thoughts by imagining what I would do to this Lord Umbron if I ever got the chance. First I would break both his legs, so he couldn't run, and his arms, so he couldn't even crawl away. Then... For a while I was lost in my own dark thoughts. I would make Anita watch as I did this. The look of horror and revulsion on her face-
Wasn't satisfying at all, for some reason. Quite the opposite, actually. The idea of hurting her like that bothered me. Perhaps I would let her look away, if she liked, as I tortured her lover. In fact, perhaps I could do this while she was somewhere else entirely. And not tell her about it. Ever.
I blinked in confusion. Revenge was a traditional demonic pastime, but, for some reason, the idea of avenging myself on her, my Anita, wasn't pleasing me, angry as I was with her. Why? In fact, why was I angry at all? She was just having sex. Why did that mean anything to me? But the idea of her touching him, and letting him touch her, made me livid, and, despite my rage, I didn't want to hurt Anita. At all. Ever. Why?
It was morning now. Marian woke up, and a servant brought her breakfast. I wondered if she would unchain me. Probably not. Not without Anita.
Through the bond, I felt Anita approaching. When she got close enough, I could feel that she was angry. At Umbron, perhaps? The idea pleased me.
The door opened, and Anita stalked in. "Marian? Do me a favor. Next time I decide to spend quality time with Lord Umbron, remind me what an arrogant prick he is."
Marian looked up from her breakfast, startled. "I take it last night didn't go well?"
Anita sighed. "Last night? Last night went fine. Last night was great."
I felt a surge of rage as visions of what last night must have entailed danced in my head. My chains rattled as I fought them.
Anita continued, "It's this morning that was the problem."
"So he spent the night? What happened this morning?" Marian gestured to her bed. "Sit down, eat something, and tell me all about it."
Anita sat and grabbed a sweet roll. She took a bite. It seemed to calm her somewhat. "So, yeah, he spent the night. When we woke up this morning, he wanted to go again, so I said ok, and we were just getting started when a servant boy walked in with breakfast." She growled. "Umbron hit him."
"I wouldn't be happy if someone walked in on me, either," Marian commented, brow furrowed.
"Well, the kid was just doing his job. Granted, he should have knocked, but I, personally, think hitting him hard enough to break his nose was a little uncalled for."
"You're right, that was a bit much, if all he did was open the door," Marian said. "I take it you gave Lord Umbron a piece of your mind? And he didn't take it well?"
"Yeah, pretty much. We ended up having what basically amounted to a really heated debate on peasant rights. He tried to prove his point by ordering the kid to suck his dick. I kicked him out of my room."
"I can't blame you. Is the kid ok?" Marian asked.
"Yeah. I took him down to the palace healers and paid for a full healing before I came here." Anita put her head in her hands. "You know what really bothers me though? About the whole thing? More than Lord Umbon, or anything else?"
Marian put her hand on Anita's shoulder. "What?"
"The kid was going to do it. Suck Umbron's cock."
Sensible of him, I thought. The best way to deal with a more powerful being was to acquiesce. It was the driving force behind demon society, such as it was.
"Marian, I just... Well, I don't know anymore. My parents, especially my father, brought me up to believe that everyone is equal. Some people are born with more money, or power, but that doesn't... That doesn't change the fundamental personness of a person. You know?" Anita sighed. "Am I actually making any sense?"
Not really, I thought.
Marian nodded. "I get you. It's like you always say, what a person is capable of doesn't define who they are."
Anita nodded. "Exactly. And I understand it when people like Umbron think they're better, more important, than other people. It's kind of, like, natural, for a person to think like that. I hate it, but I understand. What I don't get, what bothers me, is when other people believe people like Umbron, believe that he's on top, and they're on bottom, and stuff. It just..." Anita shook her head. "It doesn't make sense to me. Humbleness? Like the reverse of pride, or maybe just a different kind of pride, or something like that."
Marian gave her a quick hug. "I know. I grew up a noble, remember? You see a lot of that sort of class consciousness in servants. I never did get it myself. But it's how people are. And you can't change that."
Anita looked thoughtful for a second, and then shook her head. "No. No, you can't change how people are. Even if you could, it wouldn't be right. Even if it would fix things."
Mortals. So sentimental, I thought. So hung up on guilt and what was 'right.' But I wouldn't have them any other way. It made them so much easier to manipulate.
Anita looked down at me. "Did he keep you awake at all?"
Marian shook her head. "Quiet as a temple mouse."
"Good. So, what are the plans for the day?"
Anita
I yawned, exhausted, as I handed my reins to a stablehand. I hated hunting. I really, really hated hunting. If it were anything less than my best friend's life on the line, or if the king hadn't been attending the hunt, I would have made an excuse not to come. On the plus side, Saban had been a sight to see, with his perfect ass, running down a stag, and bringing it back to throw at the feet of my horse. And his impressive performance had led the king, mostly sober for once, to seek me out and chat with me. I had been able to mention the matter of Marian's special dispensation, and he had promised to look into it. I looked over to my familiar. "You've earned your feeding this evening, demon."
His eyes gleamed. "Does that mean-"
"Yes. When we get to the room," I promised as I smiled as waved at Marian and her parents. They were having a private family dinner this evening.
I stopped by the kitchens to grab some dinner. Might as well save the servants the trip. Then I headed up to my room, with my demon behind me.