Amber paces. Narglarn grimaces. Thynelleph stands by the door, cool as can be.
The Queen of Maids, one of the most jaw-droppingly beautiful entities I've ever laid eyes on, possesses as well the capacity to be the most terrifying. Somehow, without saying anything, by doing nothing more than walking back and forth in front of the doorway to her balcony, she's far scarier than any of the actual violence I've witnessed.
'You're becoming a nuisance,' she says at length, stopping midstride. Amber turns towards the doors, to that vista of smoke and sordidness. Anthexxia, one of the bleak cities. A transdimensional "spaceship" of sorts, built of magic. Our shared prison, as I understand it. 'Scratch that. You were already a nuisance, but now you're becoming an annoyance. How can you cause me trouble so consistently?'
I am, at least, growing as a person. Growing as an inhabitant of this strange and sensual realm, with its rules and customs that go outside of my comfort zone time and again. I know, most importantly, to stay quiet until explicitly asked to speak.
'What do I do with you, Peter? Even put into service, you find a way to upset the balance of things. Should I simply give Anabella the chance to eat you properly, and rid myself of your obnoxiousness? I doubt mother would care. Your little virgin stories are hardly going to carry that much weight.'
The shame and the fear and the doubt all fight for a way to get at me, scrambling among themselves, leaving me for the most part placid, neutral. I could get offended by Amber, or scared of her threats, or ashamed that yes, I've fucked-up again, but...none of it's productive.
Lasyrrix's concerns about the "outside" world suddenly make a great deal more sense. It's so much simpler, and less tempting, inside my room. It was complicated on Earth, with how people interact, but here? Anthexxia is a maze of tripwires and trapdoors, everything laced in the most tempting of sweets and offerings.
'Well, boy?' Amber says. 'Do you have anything to say for yourself?'
'I'll accept whichever punishment you think is most fitting, Mistress. It's my fault, and mine alone. I make no excuses.'
The succubus snorts. 'Oh, how noble. You'd take their punishments as well?' She moves with supernatural celerity, one moment beside the door and the next stood before me, statuesque and peerlessly perfect. A mind-numbingly alluring succubus, made all the more appealing for her lacy frilly French maid outfit. 'Thynelleph had a job. Narglarn had a job. It's all well and good to act as though you, the measly little maggot, were entirely responsible, but each of them' -- Amber makes certain to stare at one woman and then the other, her gilded gaze searing especially bright for a moment, cowing even the black-plated warrior -- 'should've known better. What are your excuses, pets?'
'I got carried away by lust, Mistress,' the black orc says, head bowed in reverence. 'I presumed permission to use the boy for sexual relief, as part of his making amends, but I didn't think.'
Amber rolls her golden gaze and shifts to the nightmare. 'And you, Elle?'
'I underestimated the trouble he could cause in such a short span of time. I was careless in my duties, Mistress.'
The succubus focusses on me. Her heart-shaped face, hair the colour of her namesake but living and energised, matching her eyes, colouring her long lashes and neat brows, is effortlessly intimidating. Voluptuous lips and a glamorous gorgeousness capable of killing without a weapon, or at least silencing all hopeful voices with but a moment's attention.
'My judgement is as follows,' Amber says voice an orchestra of opulence, soul-tinglingly sensual. Her burning eyes don't leave me. 'Narglarn, for your overt lack of forethought -- you know how your body works better than anyone -- I hereby put Peter's repayment efforts on hold until such a time that I feel you're worthy. I will discuss terms as to how you'll make it up to me later. Dismissed.'
The black orc, so much larger and bulkier than the shorter and soft-bodied succubus, nonetheless bows her head in shame and accepts the outcome. 'Forgive me, Mistress. I'll do better.'
'Yes, yes.' Amber waves a beautiful hand, and sighs. Still she stares at me, as if I'm the real sticking point. As if my judgement must come last because she's still working out the details. 'Thynelleph?'
'Yes, Mistress?'
'For your uncharacteristic carelessness, I'll have you uncharacteristically act as the harem's dedicated on-call submissive for the next three months. Unrestricted access, whenever one of the girls asks for it. You will, also, be stricken from Peter's contract until such a time.'
'Wait, what?' I say, alarm bells going off. 'But Mistress, that means--'
'Silence,' the succubus says, not even raising her voice. She doesn't have to. Her glare brightens, the arcane fire of those amber eyes momentarily becoming blinding. 'Is that clear, Thynelleph?'
The nightmare woman grunts firmly, but nods. 'If I must, Mistress.'
'Good. See that you do. Dismissed.'
I turn to the warrior, who gives me a funny look. A strange smirk. She winks, and then promptly takes her leave. Thynelleph's odd behaviour -- carelessness for one, and then whatever this is -- would prompt endless circles of conspiratorial notions, if not for Amber's sustained gaze.
'You. How to deal with you?'
'Mistress?'
'You're rather lucky, Peter.'
I blink at her. 'Lucky?'
Amber smiles, lips like lunar crescents, smouldering purple -- lacquered, painted -- at odds with her ashen blue flesh. She sits herself down beside me, and gives my thigh a pat. From just a touch, the coruscation of ecstasy, invisible bolts of lurid lightning leaping from her taloned fingertips to my exposed skin, I'm left halfway to full erection.
'Elle is a warrior without equal, and always reliable. I mean that last bit, silly as it might sound right now. Always reliable. So what, pray tell, does it mean when she's been careless?'
Thankfully Amber leaves my leg alone, or else thought might come strenuously. Her presence, the honeyed brimstone of her demonic body, paired with its engulfing heat, is a lot to cope with, but my faculties aren't completely waylaid.