Editor's note: this story contains scenes of non-consentual or reluctant sex.
*
"A toast!"
Claire glanced over, suppressing a sigh as she watched a drunken knight climb atop a table. He yanked one of Claire's fellow barmaids up with him, and the unlucky girl let out a nervous giggle as he pulled her close.
"A toast," he continued, "to the Shoshen...Chosen Comman'er, protector of purity in our lands! With his brill'ant tactics, he an' we Knights've...'ve saved us once more, an' we're all 'ternally adebted! Wouldn't you agree, fair lady?"
Claire raised an eyebrow as the barmaid bit her lip, probably confused by the unusual show of chivalry. She was a petite blonde named Suli, with breasts that probably gave her severe back pains. "Y-yes?"
Inwardly, Claire prayed to the Goddess that Suli would have the sense to say no more.
"I..."
Claire gave a tiny groan.
Suli bowed her head. "...of course I'm eternally grateful. The Chosen Commander saved us from immorality and—and d-drove the perverts and whores back into their caves w-where they belong."
The knight raised an eyebrow and looked Suli over, staring openly at her breasts—barely covered by her skimpy uniform. He gave a malicious grin. "Not
all
the whores." He reached for a steel canister at his belt.
Suli blinked, wide-eyed. "Um...n-no. Please."
Claire turned away, doing her best to shut out the
squelching
sounds that followed. She heard Suli whimper. A loud moan echoed throughout the crowded pub, and the knight let out a roaring laugh. "Oh, yes! You
like
the tentacles, you drooling
slut
! Beg for more!"
"
Ohh...
p-please, sir—"
"
Slut
!" the crowd started chanting. "
Slut! Slut
!
Beg! Beg! Beg!
"
Claire rushed into the kitchen and closed the door behind her. She covered her ears, trying to drown out her friend's...
sounds
.
"For the greater good," she whispered to herself.
It was not easy being a spy.
"You must do this," the Goddess said.
Claire looked at the ground, knowing it would be the basest of sacrileges to gaze upon her queen. "But I fear, Goddess. The Chosen are even crueler in their own territory. We are already winning the war—"
"I have foreseen otherwise," Yillit said. The little goblin-like creature skittered forward on all fours. "Larya and her shifty friend turned something up. The rangers have been compromised."
Claire took a step back. "Surely not!"
"Listen to Yillit," the Goddess said. "Because of this, we can no longer rely on the rangers' support. Our foes have stooped to subterfuge, and so must we."
"My Goddess, I would not question—but—"
"I understand." The Goddess placed a smooth hand on Claire's shoulder. Claire felt a shiver run down her spine. "You know how they treat women there. You have no wish to return. But you must."
"Freedom in the kingdoms depends upon it!" Yillit leaped onto the Goddess's shoulder and out of sight. "I dare not imagine what would happen were they to make it past the Evergreen."
Claire swallowed.
"I understand, my Goddess."
Claire's eyes opened. She lay in her straw bed, gazing up at the rotting ceiling above her.
The Holy Word was not an especially well-kept inn, that was for sure. Nor was it kind to its female employees—though kinder than most in the area, perhaps. Still, she would never work here in a million years if it weren't for the fact that the Chosen and his knights frequented it.
Claire got up and spread her arms, yawning. She scratched one of her breasts, noticing her nipples were hard, as usual.
She rolled her eyes. She was pretty sure the innkeeper kept the barmaids' rooms this cold on purpose.
The other barmaids were already at work, meaning the users of the many peepholes had probably wandered off by now. For the moment, she was alone—a rare luxury in this nation.
Claire shook her long black hair out of her face, groaning. It would be a short-lived blessing.
She picked up the scant piece of red lingerie the Chosen called a skirt and slid it on. She put on her ill-fitting scarlet bra, struggling as usual to make it go all the way around. The innkeeper deliberately gave them clothes that wouldn't quite fit. Claire had made a few adjustments, but she was still effectively naked when she left the bedroom.
You're late.
She rolled her eyes, adjusting one of the two steel bracelets she wore. Yillit had promised not to use the telepathic link while she was in bed, but that didn't stop the little imp from 'talking' her ear off the moment she left the room. Worse, she couldn't respond to him without being found out.
You shouldn't be so late. They'll suspect. They'll know.
"They won't," she mumbled under her breath.
DON'T RESPOND TO ME!
She grimaced as the words pounded into her skull. A moment later, Yillit's voice returned, quieter.
Sorry.
Claire nodded briskly as she entered the common room.
The place was packed. Farmers, miners and Chosen soldiers crowded the bar, filled with the camaraderie only found when there were no girls in the club.
There
were
girls, though. Technically. Claire looked around, spotting each of her six co-workers as she walked by.
"Good morning, Tiri," she murmured. Tiri, a beautiful dark-skinned woman with curly dark hair down to her waist, was being shoved over the counter by a burly knight. She let out ecstatic cries as the knight plunged into her from behind, his trousers lying around his ankles. Several other knights appeared to be taking bets on how long she would last before passing out.
"Good morning, Amira." Claire patted the head of a beaming blonde as she went past. Amira only giggled as she fingered herself at the command of three masturbating youths.
"Good morning, Anne." She passed by a redhead with shining red eyes and a long, red tail. Anne was a succubus who'd had the misfortune of being summoned at the time of the Chosens' incursion. She had slain her summoner, only to be captured by the invaders before she could escape back to Hell.