A knock on the door halted Devlin's hand as it lifted a spoonful of stew to Maris's lips. She could feed herself well enough, but the infection left her too weak to hold the bowl for any length of time. This way was quicker and more comfortable. The fighter also thought she was enjoying being pampered by him.
Dropping the spoon back into the bowl, he set it on the floor next to the bed and stood up as Maris wrapped herself in blankets and rolled toward the wall. Stretching out her lithe body, she did her best to look like a bunch of linens the human had thrown off as he got up that morning
Devlin cautiously opened the door and peeked out to see a woman in a dark wool cloak with the hood pulled down over her face.
"You are Devlin Fittlegault?" she asked.
He winced at the use of his surname, "Yes."
"I am one of Queen Ressa's handmaidens. Please, let me in."
"Of course," replied Devlin, his surprise showing on his face.
Once the door was closed, the woman pushed her hood back, "Mr. Devlin, the queen heard of her husband's disappointing decision concerning your compensation. While she is unable to secure payment for you, she would like to offer you some kind of reward for your service to the crown." The woman's face suddenly turned bright red.
"Are you okay?" asked Devlin.
"I am fine, but thank you for asking. The queen invites you to come to her handmaiden's quarters at the base of her tower two nights from now. The ladies there shall make themselves available to you for the night."
The man was struck speechless for a moment. Was the queen whoring out her handmaidens? On the other hand, it was nice to know the queen felt he was mistreated. It took away some of the sting of her husband's actions. "Will you be one of those ladies?" he asked.
"Yes."
"And you are okay with this?"
The woman stepped up to him, tracing her fingers around the lump forming in the front of his pants. "Quite honestly, I'm dripping with anticipation," she whispered.
A quiet cough came from the pile of blankets on the bed.
The woman spun around, her eyes wide with fear, "I thought you were alone," she hissed.
Devlin sighed, "You need not worry about Maris. She won't speak to anyone of this."
"Why should I trust you?"
"You trusted me enough to invite me into your bed. Maris, do you want to show the woman why her secret is safe?"
After a slight shuffling of the blankets, the furry tip of a cat tail poked out from under the blankets before disappearing. The handmaiden gasped, "She's a..." Looking up at Devlin, she asked, "Why on earth would you bring her into the city?"
The fighter's face fell. Leaning over the bed, he rolled the hidden cat-girl onto her back and gently lifted one end of the covers exposing the bandage-wrapped remnant of the feline woman's leg. "It got infected from the fight, and this was somewhere warm and dry for her to recover. The medicine lady says she still has a few days to go before I should move her."
Devlin accidentally exposed the cat-girl's sex. The woman pointed at it, "Do you two..."
"We have in the past—"
"But he said he won't touch me until I'm better," came the cat-girl's muffled voice from under the blankets, "even though I told him it would help me recover." Under her breath, she muttered, "I don't think he wants me anymore."
The woman sat down on the edge of the bed, "I've never seen a monster girl, may I?" she asked with a light tug at the covers.
"I suppose," said Maris, letting go and allowing the handmaiden to pull the covers down.
"My goodness," she breathed as she revealed more of the cat-girl's body, "you are gorgeous."
Maris blinked, "What?" Humans typically reacted with disgust when they saw her, especially human women. This was very unexpected.
"Your eyes and ears are so pretty, and your breasts are amazing," she reached out and lightly ran her hand over Maris's chest, "and sensitive too," the handmaiden said with a smile as the cat-girl's nipples stiffened. "Don't you agree?" she asked, looking up at Devlin.
"Absolutely," said the fighter as he stared at Maris. With her recovering, he had been trying not to see her sexually and had even purchased a couple of whores to help him resist his urges, but the queen's attendant had destroyed that image of Maris with a few light touches.
The woman stood up and flipped her hood back over her face. "Remember, two nights from now. You will need to get into the castle on your own. At the end of the hallway between mine and the other attendant's room is a window accessible from the stables' roof. My room is to the right. Be safe, be silent, and don't be stupid," she said as a black-bladed knife flickered under her cloak.
"Something doesn't feel right," said Devlin, "For the most part, I am a stranger, yet you are inviting me into the queen's tower? How am I supposed to know this is not a trap? Why would you allow an unknown such easy access to the queen herself?"
Her eyes were appraising as she peeked out from under the hood. "The queen's other attendant and I occasionally entertain men in this manner. Our first duty is to the queen, and we are not permitted to marry. I have no means of convincing you it is not a trap, but I can say that attempting to force your way further into the tower than where you have been invited will most certainly be the end of you. If you choose to come and are caught, I shall disavow any knowledge of this conversation.
I look forward to seeing you again." Brushing her hand across the front of his pants, she slipped out through the door, closing it quietly behind her.
"Did that just happen?" asked Devlin.
"I don't know," said Maris, looking down at her nipples, "but I'm already hoping it happens again. What the hell did that woman do to me?"
The fighter looked down at the cat-girl, and his cock twitched in his pants. He got the feeling it was more accurate to wonder what the handmaiden had done to 'them.'
"You need relief," said Maris, noticing the movement.
"I'll survive."
"Good, because I think you should save it for the queen," she said, brushing her fingers across her nipples before propping her head on her hands and staring at the ceiling.
"The offer was for her handma—"
"I was right here, Dev. I heard what she said. But she's sending her handmaidens because she can't come herself. I guarantee, if she weren't the queen and married to that ass Lermin, she'd be sitting on your cock already and a happier woman for it. She wants to fuck you, and I think you should do it. Besides, I think we deserve a little vengeance for Lermin treating Brek, Naro, and Sifid like their lives were worthless." She looked over at him, "What better way than fucking his woman and getting some royal pussy?"
Maris rolled over and reached under the bed. "I believe Naden told us the first queen threw herself from her room's balcony," she said, pulling up her belt. Taking two small and two large metal climbing claws out of a pouch, she held them out to him. "My claws work well, but sometimes I need fingers instead of paws. These are enchanted to bite into rock and stone as well as wood. They should get you up to her room."
---
Maris's claws made quick work of climbing up the castle walls while the storm chased most of the guards from the ramparts. Those still braving the weather were rare enough to avoid easily. Once inside, he pulled his hood down and walked as though he just wanted to get out of the driving rain. The guards either left him alone or told him to get out of the awful weather. For the latter, he waved before dropping his voice and calling back that he was trying. It wouldn't have gotten him very far on a clear night, but people weren't keen on asking questions in the middle of a downpour.
Lightning danced through the sky as Devlin pulled himself up onto the stable roof. Just ahead was the window to the chambers of the queen's attendants. He was sorely tempted to open the window and take the queen's initial offer. Remembering the vizier's statement that he would receive nothing from the kingdom, he slipped the larger set of climbing claws over his boots once again and began scaling the queen's tower.
Born the son of a blacksmith, Devlin worked hard to maintain the strength in his arms. It paid off as he ascended the side of the tower with no more difficulty than scaling a very long ladder, aside from the wind constantly trying to throw him off.
The balcony was on the eastern and leeward side of the tower. The queen who originally moved the queen's residence there wanted to be awakened by the sunrise each morning. Luckily for him, this kept Devlin out of the most direct wind, and his biggest worry was a guard looking directly at him during a poorly timed lightning strike. When he finally reached the stone ledge, he cautiously pulled himself over the waist-high stone railing and pressed himself against the wall beside the glass-paned double doors. The overhang from the tower roof kept the area around the door and where he was standing relatively dry, but stray gusts of wind and the splashing of runoff from the roof were going to keep him soaked.
Peeking through the glass, he saw the queen pacing back and forth as a different maidservant from the one who visited him sat to one side, stitching glittering beads onto a piece of fabric. The queen's dress was not the extravagant one she wore at court. The silky, cream-colored fabric was made more for comfort than show and hugged her curves just enough to tantalize. Noticing the tiny bumps on the front of the dress from hardened nipples and the aroused flush in her face, he was beginning to believe Maris was correct, that her offer of the handmaidens was fucking her by proxy. He saw the women talking but the water constantly pouring off the overhang made it impossible to understand what they were saying.
Removing the claws from his boots and hands, he placed them in a pouch and waited.
---
"He's not coming in this weather, Ressa," said the woman's attendant without looking up from her sewing.
"I know," the queen replied. "But after Jemma described her visit, I was hoping he would. It's been too long since the last time."
"I can't disagree with that. That handsome knight from Lantaris and his cleric friend you sent me to last month. Mmmm. I still have dreams about that night."
"Bitch, at least you got to experience it firsthand."
"I'm not trying to rub it in, Ressa, but I don't have an ax over my head. As much as I hate to see you frustrated, I prefer to see you alive." Jabbing her needle into her work, she held up a hand with her fingers apart, "If Jemma didn't lie, it's a real shame he didn't show up. If he took me in the rear, he would certainly be one of the bigger men I've had back there."
Ressa groaned, "Stop teasing me, Teel. I'm already in this state, and you are just making it worse. I haven't even had a man back there yet."
"I keep telling you if you want to try it, then make use of mine and Jemma's toys, or it will hurt the first time."
