Steampun Harlots

Hope wasn't sure what to make of Liddy and Emma as they walked out of the print shop. Each carried a bundle, Liddy the flyers and Emma the materials from the magic shop, but they both looked like something strange had happened.

"Everything alright?" Hope asked.

"Everything is fine now," Liddy almost sang in response. "Just got to get these flyers out."

"Well, I might have an ideal location. Big meeting with both these towns' Dukes in attendance. I'll fill you in on the reason there are two on the way back to the ship."

Emma followed, watching the skip in Liddy's step. She knew Liddy had wanted her for so long and finally got what she wanted. As for the elf, she couldn't help but watch Liddy move her hips with her walk.

****

Hannah was pleasantly surprised to be taken directly to the noble after knocking on the door. She supposed that the guard escort and her fancy dress allowed her to bypass the usual runaround given by the servants at the front door. Marcy had stayed outside so she wouldn't spoil the plan with an emotional reaction.

Someone had clearly informed him of her attractiveness Hannah deduced, as the noble seemed to be interrupting a meal in order to meet her, and had forgotten to take off his bib. An Emberborn squirrel-man snatched it from him after catching up.

"My Lady." Although the man seemed not to carry much extra weight, he seemed out of breath by the time he got close enough to kiss her hand. "Welcome. This is an unexpected pleasure."

"Thank you for seeing me at such short notice." Hannah made sure her curtsy was low enough to offer him a better view of her breasts. "I'm afraid I find myself in an odd position and require some aid."

"Of course, anything!" The man hadn't let Hannah's hand go after kissing it and he used it to draw her closer to him as he guided her through the hall.

Hannah kept a close step with him and made sure to use her other hand to hold his, showing she welcomed his presence. "My friends and I wanted an in with the local court, but the odd nature of this city has made it difficult."

"Oh, indeed," he replied staring mostly at her breasts that she made sure remained in his view. "You don't know the half of it. It's difficult to know whose favour to play to."

"That's why I need your help. You see, there are kingdoms forming in the east and west. The west is backed by the capital and will be here first. However, they have banned the use of Emberborn slaves."

"I've heard of that ban, and I'm not sure what to do about it. Much of my business depends on them."

"That's why I chose you. You have an invested interest against the ban. But if you were to support it before the kingdom arrived, it would put you in a position that would more than make up for any shortfall in your profits."

"I don't follow." He started looking into her eyes -- always a bad sign.

"When the West arrives, there will be a power shakeup like one would expect. Who gets placed into positions of power would depend on who shares the views of the kingdom beforehand. Say you free your slaves, then propose the ban at the next assembly. I'm not saying you would be made a Duke when the kingdom arrives, but if you are the only one in the court to support it, then you might just be. If they do support it, you are aligned with the Duke that gets to keep their title."

"What do you get out of this?" He seemed ready to buy the plan, but it always needed to be asked.

"Once the West Kingdom comes, and all the titles are passed around and settled, I get quiet credit for the idea. A woman can only hope for so much when the men made the decisions." Hannah made sure her tone suggested she thought that was the right way to do things.

"If I wasn't married, I'd ask for more," he suggested in a low tone.

Hannah could see his wife approach from down the hall, no doubt wondering where her husband had run off to. Hannah leaned in close, "We don't need to be married for you to have what you want with me."

He seemed ready to pounce when his wife let out a massive huff. He turned, embarrassed for a moment before collecting himself.

"Perhaps we can finish our politics after the next court meeting. A shame we will probably have to wait a while." Hannah tried to sound disappointed.

"Oh, it's tomorrow morning," he replied, happy to be talking to her again.

"Oh my, you are going to be busy tonight if you want to make your proposal by then!" Hannah tried to create a sense of emergency with her tone.

"Tonight?" He replied, surprised.

"Well, I thought you would have more time. You can't propose something like this unless you enact it yourself first. And there's no telling when the West Kingdom will arrive."

The noble took a moment to consider things before trying to act like a man taking charge. He nodded firmly. "Alright, tell all the Emberborn they are free to go." He ordered his servant who couldn't quite process what had happened but wasn't about to argue -- to go and to spread the news. "Tell them to bring their papers to my table and I will sign them as I finish my meal. If they stay, we can arrange payment. That would look all right?"

Hannah nodded when he looked at her for assent. "Of course. That's brilliant. That keeps them from suddenly roaming the streets. You will do well tomorrow. I hope to see you there."

"You will indeed!" he exclaimed, enthusiastic with the plan.

Hannah stuck close by, much to the annoyance of the wife, until she saw a confused girl with goat horns and fur come in to get her papers signed. Once the signature was made, Hannah excused herself and followed the goat girl out.

"Have you any possessions to collect?" Hannah asked in a hush.

"No, m'Lady." came the response.

"Then quickly now with me." Hannah hurried her out the door on the off chance that the plan would suddenly fail.

The girl didn't understand -- until she saw her sister waiting at the front gates. They embraced and cried for a few minutes before Marcy sobbingly thanked Hannah. The three women with the two guards started to walk down the street to get to the police station where they could settle the rest of the matter.

****

Drinking with Ving, Mari found it too difficult to focus on finding any men to fool around with. Instead, her eyes locked on the barmaid. She hurried around to serve customers, her tight corset and short skirt covered in food stains from dirty hands always being laid on her. When she came to serve Mari and Ving another round, Mari took her shot.

"Anything else?" she asked, forcing a tired politeness towards the only customers not bothering her.

Mari leaned over, "If you are ever tired of man hands all over you, let me know."

The barmaid's messy brown hair shook as she confusingly nodded and shuffled away quickly.

"Was that a yes?" Ving asked.

"I'm not totally sure," Mari replied, trying not to get disappointed.

Mari was only halfway through her beer before she felt a pinch on her arm as the barmaid walked by and went into the back without looking behind her. She smiled at Ving and went to follow. When Mari got to the back door, she got inside quick, but didn't see the barmaid until she noticed one of the doors in the back was open and a pair of eyes spying on her. She heard a hiss and saw a hand beckon her back. Mari scampered into the room and the door clicked shut.

"Do you really want me?" she asked, almost begging.

"Yes, so very much," Mari replied, grabbing the woman by the hips to kiss her before she was pushed away.

"We must be quick, my husband... do you mind that I have been with men?"

"Haven't we all?" Mari asked before kissing the woman again.

The barmaid felt Mari putting her hands between her legs and almost cried as she squeezed Mari by the bum. The silk blouse she wore to cover her breasts was pulled down and she lifted the scraps of clothing Mari used to cover her inked breasts. She shuddered as she saw their flesh crush together and the cold metal of the piercings trapped between them.

"Cynna, where are you?!" came a man's voice.

"Oh no, not now." The barmaid panicked.

As they heard him check other doors, Mari backed off against the far wall behind some shelves but hardly hidden. When the door opened, she mouthed the words, "Fuck him."

The man was stunned at the sight of his wife with her legs wide and breasts out.

"Finally," Cynna said with a sigh. "Did you not see my look?"

Confused, but suddenly a whole lot less angry, he made one look out the door before closing it and tearing down his trousers. Pinning her against the wall, he pushed himself inside his wife and gripped her by the breasts as he licked them.

Mari watched, spreading her own legs and started to use her hands on her own body. She could see the woman looking over her husband's shoulder as she slid three of her fingers inside herself with one hand, and teased her breasts with the other. Mari loved the moans coming from the woman, knowing they belonged to her and not the man inside the barmaid.

It didn't take him long to finish and fill his wife with his seed. "Right, get back out there."

"I can hardly walk so soon after that. I need a few minutes," Cynna lied.

"Of course, get out soon," he mumbled as he fixed his trousers and left.

"I'm so sorry. He finished inside me. I understand if..." Cynna trailed off as she saw Mari get on her knees and started working her mouth over her womanhood.

Mari certainly didn't mind the taste of a man flowing out of a woman, and she wasn't going to let it stop her. She felt Cynna's hands grip her by the head and forcing her harder between the legs. The concrete floor was hard on her knees so she stood up to kiss Cynna with her husband's seed on her lips as she worked two fingers inside her.

Pinned against the wall, Cynna couldn't believe a woman would have wanted her after her husband had seeded her but she was having it. Her body ached for a moment before bliss surged through her and the only thing to muffle her scream was the pair of lips on hers. The lips didn't leave until she was spent.

"That what you needed?" Mari asked lovingly.

"Not everything," Cynna replied, pushing Mari down to the floor.

Mari loved it when someone took what they wanted from her and loved the sight of the barmaid kneeling between her legs and putting her mouth to work. She could see how badly the woman craved the sex she preferred, and she wasn't going to waste the opportunity to taste it herself. The mouth was replaced with the hand as the mouth moved upwards on her body. Feeling the slow progress of the tongue up her flesh while a hand worked inside her was incredible for Mari. By the time Cynna arrived on her breasts, she climaxed hard and couldn't stop while teeth bit down on her gently.

Cynna could feel that she had pleasured the woman but didn't stop, moving up over the neck and finally kissing the woman again. As their breasts pressed together again she wrapped her legs around and felt her sex grind with the woman's. She thrust hard, feeling the heat between their legs as the slick flesh slid quickly. Almost without warning, she felt another climax tear through her body, and she pressed into the kiss hard to help muffle the noise.

Mari took a moment to breathe and cuddle with the woman laying on top of her. "As quick as we could have expected. That was wonderful."

"It was, it really was," Cynna replied.

****

Vile and Tonna had mixed feelings about the slums where the Emberborn were living. On one hand, they weren't locked in cages in any market, but on the other hand, they were still living in slums. They both attracted attention simply because of their size, but anyone looking quickly noticed they weren't slaves. The expensive clothing that covered their beautiful bodies and the distinct lack of collars certainly gave it away. Some resentment at their presence was masked with confusion or physical interest.

"We should have dressed down," Vile stated flatly.

"I think you might be right. But we are here now. So let's just find the local watering hole and say what we need to." Tonna didn't mention she simply didn't own anything else that she could have worn. She only had various silk wraps because normal tops didn't accommodate her extra arms or any alterations very well.

It took about an hour for them to find the most popular bar in the slum, its location changed to confuse the local guard who liked to raid it. Vile hadn't minded having to pay for directions, giving more than what was asked for several times over each time, and still had most of what she had brought to spend. Ducking her head down low, leaving Tonna and her massive snake body outside to keep watch, Vile entered the bar where the roof was thankfully high enough. Dodging her head around hanging lamps, she looked for an empty seat that would support her weight.

"Over here," a gravelly voice called.

Vile looked over to see a handful of Emberborn getting out of the way of someone managing a sturdy stool through the crowd to place it in front of the table the man who called her was using. She knew a boss when she saw one. The man looked like a toad of some kind, fat and squatting in a shallow bowl of muck instead of a chair. Crossing the room, her horns longer than she was used to, Vile clanked them against a lamp before she straddled the stool. It creaked and groaned under her weight but it held.

"New in town?" the toad asked. "I'm Connor, people call me Croak."

"My name is Vile, and yes, I am here for a short visit," Vile responded, ignoring everyone admiring her breasts.

"A visit? Not often one of our kind walks free." He smiled at her as he rubbed his throat where his collar had worn scars.

"That's going to change. A kingdom is coming and it's going to see our people free. I'm here to spread the word, and to suggest that our people be ready to play nice during the transition so the humans don't try to reconsider until it's too late. After that, well I'm sure people can figure it out themselves."

"Why should we believe you?"

"It really doesn't matter. Everyone in here is listening. Word will spread and that's all that matters." Vile shrugged as she casually explained that she didn't really need any help. Her shrug shifting her chest pleasantly enough to distract the toad for a moment.

"I manage the slum here. This is as close to freedom as our kind gets. Nobody will say anything if I don't want them to. Besides, if I want a collar on you, I can have it. I'll make it extra tight so you don't think to spread your stupidity any more."

"Oh." Vile sighed in an almost bored tone before the toad vaporized into ash as her eyes burned with flame. "Well, that should settle that then, eh?"

Nobody said a word as Vile looked around at them.

"Right," Vile stood up and dodged the lamp. "So the kingdom is coming, expect to hear things soon. When it happens, you can either stay here and work for wages or move on to a city called Harlottown that's almost entirely populated by our kind. I was there at its founding." She turned to the barkeep. "Sorry for the mess." Vile tossed a fold of bills at him before leaving.

"Never thought an Emberborn would work against the idea of their kind being free." Tonna fell in beside Vile who was passing out money to anyone she walked by.

"Between him not believing me, and him just having a good setup, he probably just wanted to fuck me." Vile shook her head. "Idiot. I didn't even need magic in there. I could have taken them all. No idea why he didn't realise that."

"You have tits, therefore you aren't a threat. I'm sure plenty of men would have understood your threat, but some are just so dense they can't see past us being women."

"I'm a giant, that should be enough to get past that. I mean, I don't exactly act submissive either. One look from Hannah and nobody underestimates her."

****

"Because you are a woman!" The drill instructor yelled at the young officer who had meekly asked to participate in the drill.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Hannah questioned with venom as she stormed into the firing range at the guard station.

Marcy was with her sister and the other guard, getting their legal troubles sorted out when Hannah had suggested finding a private place to thank the helpful guard at her side, when she overheard the commotion in the crowded room.

The instructor was aghast for a moment, staring at Hannah in her dress and trying to process how much respect to show her. He looked to Zack at her side who nodded to indicate he should be polite.

"Ma'am, we are holding a contest and we haven't the time to allow unqualified personnel to participate." It seemed to be a struggle for the older man to contain himself.

Hannah got closer and could see the table with rifle parts arranged on its surface before the range where a fresh target was being put into place. She recognized the parts; they were manufactured in Crater Peak. A dependable weapon, Crater Peak rifles were easy to maintain and used by a great many other cities. "You didn't say unqualified."

"I said woman, it's the same thing." His tone didn't even shift to sound like he was trying to be delicate, he thought he was stating the obvious.

Hannah looked at the young officer, her pretty face was framed by a scarf that the middle class might think was expensive. "You look like you wear the same uniform as anyone else. Shouldn't your training reflect that? Or does the scarf have some significance?"

The woman officer was about to respond when a man behind her embraced her by the arms which she uncomfortably endured, cutting her off.

"It was a gift. She is such a stickler for proper uniform I have to remind her to wear it," the man explained.

The woman, who never left Hannah's gaze, added her piece. "I haven't been given any range time since basic training."

"If you could move along, we have work to do." The instructor sounded impatient.

Hannah smiled at the young woman who couldn't quite figure out why. Without responding, Hannah moved over to the table and started rearranging the pieces. Everyone was trained differently so she needed them in the places she was used to. When she was done she glared at the instructor.

"Time on my mark," Hannah ordered flatly before turning to snatch the scarf from the young officer. Returning to the table, focusing on its surface before looking down range at the ready target, Hannah felt like she was back in her element. Ready, she took the scarf and wrapped it over her eyes and tied a simple knot. "Mark!"

The moment she called out, Hannah moved her hands over the table with a practised precision to assemble the rifle that would have taken more effort to get wrong. When she worked the action to feel that everything was in place, she picked up the magazine and slid it into the slot before working the action again to chamber the round. She then shouldered the rifle and fired three times before unloading the magazine and clearing the action before setting the rifle back on the table.

"Time!" Hannah called out. She took off her scarf and noticed her shots had pulled to the right of centre mass and she sighed. "It's the corset, it pushed my tits up and altered my aim." She looked down to the red indents of where the butt of the rifle had marked her breasts. When she looked up, she met the stupefied gaze of the instructor. "Well?"

The instructor, functionally brain dead, stood silent.

"I don't think he even started the clock," came the meek voice of the young officer who had a wide gaze of admiration plastered on her face.

"How do you think I did?" Hannah turned to ask.

"Faster than anyone else, and a better grouping than anyone ever manages." She gestured to the record holder's target pinned to the wall. "Also, I don't think anyone else has done it blindfolded."