the Leathermines

Back to Chapter 22 - If you wish to show your appreciation of the Web Mistress' work, consider offering tribute.

 

The woman was escorted through the Sand Castle by one of the slaves, the man not used to the dark green tabard newly gifted him.  He pulled on the side of the cloth as he walked in front of the noblewoman.  He stepped to the door of Laun’s bedroom and scratched, opening the door for the noble before going back to wait at the front of the house.

Laun stood and went to her visitor.  Her gold and brown dress flowed from her shoulders, the back open enough to show some of the scaring beneath a sheer veil held to her head by a few pins into her braids.  “Jessi.  I am glad that you made it.  Lucas told me that there have been troubles keeping you from going back to your brother’s mains.  I am preparing to go back to Salam-Dir myself.”

The women embraced as if they were long time friends.  “Laun, the invitation came and I was glad we were still in the Capitol City.”

There were others in the room, talking lightly between them and not raising to leave.  Laun motioned to the chairs by the fireplace and the two women walked to them arm in arm.  

Gem was dressed in a dress similar to Launs, the cut and color much more becoming to her blonde hair and light complexion than the dark green and black of her usual garb.  She offered the Lady Jessi a crystal goblet filled with a golden liquid and sat back on the large cushion at Laun’s feet, a children’s book in her hand.

Laun took up her own goblet and savored the honey beer.  One cask of it had been sent with her by her Lieutenant.  Laun was not one to hoard away something like it, she had to share.  This was the right moment to crack it open and indulge.

The small sip that Jessi took told Laun much.  It was enough to be able to taste if it was off without being completely at risk of poisoning.  The slight rise in her eyebrow as the flavor went across her tongue.  The smile as the Lady took another sip and leaned back into the chair.

“A friend in the Dumonde family gave me a small cask of it.”

The guest’s eye roved over the women and things in the room as she savored another sip and looked back to Laun.  “The shipping family?  I have had dealings with a few of them, but being from a merchant-noble family myself, I have had only passing contact with them.  I am now sorry I hadn’t pursued friendships.”

There were smiles.  Mimi, dressed in a sheer brown tunic and loose pants came forward and offered the woman something from a tray.  Jessi’s eyes took in the likeness between Mimi and Laun and smiled.  She accepted a fruited smallbread and waited until Laun had one for herself before nibbling on it.  Mimi sat back, taking up a small piece of sewing to mend one of her usual black sheer tunics.

It was comfortable.  There wasn’t a need to talk.  The windows were open and allowing light and the garden-scented air from outside to come through.  Sips and nibbles were had, the noble women watching each other.

Laun put her goblet down, Silar coming forward and taking it to be refilled.  Her head tilted slightly and she saw that Jessi had her lips parted, the tip of her tongue running along the tips of her teeth.  It was a sign that the woman was happy that Laun had seen before.  Laun smiled.

“Jessi, I know you would not be held in the King’s City unless you were dealing with issues brought up at the meeting I attended.”

There was a glance around and a twitch to Lady Jessi’s eye.  “Is it wise to discuss such things here?”

Laun relaxed into the chair and held her hand out over the arm.  Wanda was on that side and leaned into the palm that was presented, letting herself be petted as she watched the adults.  “I may have secrets, but my family knows.  This one especially needs to know how to rightly deal with problems as she grows.”

Jessi nodded.  “My husband is in denial.  He believes that he is untouchable, even with...sanctions against him.”

Laun nodded and had a look of concern on her face.  “So I was right to hear that his meeting did not go with him but flowed against him.  Salting the fresh, as it were.”

There was a smile and Jessi nodded.  “I have been asked to lead the council.  It is an honor, but also means I need to find a way to...convince my husband that his time on the council is up.”

There was a knock on the door and Laun called to enter.  Edgar and Captain Senri came in, not pausing before coming to Laun’s side.  Laun saw the uncomfortable flash from her guest before turning and getting a kiss on the lips from Edgar, then the Captain.  Edgar turned to their guest and bowed.

“My Lord and Husband, Edgar.  Baroness Lady Jessi of Fairhaven.”  There was a hand kiss before Laun motioned to Senri and introduced him, the Captain taking the woman’s hand, too.

There were too many people around the Lady for her to be comfortable.  Laun saw that and pressed the issue slightly.  Laun turned to Edgar, holding hands with him as she said, “How was your outing?”

He smiled down at her and said, “I believe that we will have some good livestock to take back to Salam-Dir.  And the craftsman you ordered from says that the blades will be available in a few days.”

Laun nodded.  “Faster than I thought he would be.”  Laun turned back to Jessi and said, “Lucas gave me the name of a craftsman and I hope to be pleased with his work.”

There was a blink and Jessi smiled.  “I think he mentioned something about it last night.”  She took a sip of the honey beer and looked at the men in the room.  It started with watching how Laun touched and smiled at the men who had just come in and then at the others.  She had seen them, but the ones that were in the room when she had entered were in darker clothing than the women, blending into the background.  And the bed.

Laun saw her guest’s glance over to the partially curtained bed.  She knew that the corporal she had fucked into unconsciousness was still in it, his leg showing from the covers pulled over him.  Silar was near the bed, talking with Hazalam and both watching subtly the women by the fire.  Pillar was on the other side of the room, standing at the window as he read from a treatise on the use of a type of herb he had found in the Sand Castles’ library, his usual embellished deerskin covered with a darker colored capelet that went down to his fingertips.

There was a smile on Laun’s face and in Laun’s voice as she turned to Senri and said, “I think Hunter was looking for you, Senri.  I was mentioning your need for a good beam for your new structure and he mentioned that there is a stand of tall pines in Nestwood.”

Senri nodded.  “Highness, I’ll see if I can find him.  If I may have a moment of your time before evening meal...?”

Laun nodded and then saluted as Senri came to attention.  He left, Edgar putting his hand on Laun’s shoulder before following the officer.  The room had never become truly noisy with them there, but it seemed quieter with them gone.

The tip of Jessi’s tongue was playing against the backs of her teeth as she watched Laun.  She saw the eyes of the Princess turn to her and smile and she could not help but smile back.  “I think I understand what Lucas was trying to tell me about you.  Your evenhandedness.”

Laun blushed slightly and bowed her head to the woman.  “I treat everyone as I would wish to be treated, until they show me otherwise.  My family knows how open I am.”

There was a nod and the guest seemed to have decided something.  She went to place her goblet on the side table and it was taken away to be refilled almost instantly.  She ignored the efficiency and leaned towards Laun.  “I wish to speak as Master to Mistress, if I may.”

Laun sat up and placed her hands palm up on her lap.  “What do you wish to discuss, Master?”

Jessi’s hand went to her bodice.  She knew where the pouch was and did not have to search for it beneath her breasts.  It held coins, obvious as they shifted against each other when brought out of hiding.  She opened the pouch and was about to lean over to Laun when Gem appeared beneath Jessi’s hand and took the pouch from her.

“I have been told of your skills in certain things.  I have also been told that you have only used those skills in defense.  You have a proneness to avoiding taking life, and I appreciate that.  I find, however, that you are the most apt person I know to be able to...do a small thing for me which may include taking a life.”

Laun watched Jessi as she spoke.  There was a coldness that was in her eyes, though a slight flush went across her cheeks when she mentioned the need to kill.  Laun motioned to Gem and the contents of the pouch were spread on Gem’s palm.  Laun looked at the various coins and smiled.

“Master, to be clear, as it is always best to have the headwaters than the delta, you are talking about making sure your Husband does not return to the council.  Ever.”

There was a nod.  Jessi leaned back in the chair, the crystal goblet offered and taken.  “This is only the second time I have ever even considered hiring someone.  I know it is partially personal for you, but I wanted to offer you the job before I went to anyone else.”  She sipped on the honey beer and smiled.

Laun leaned over and ran her finger through the coins.  She picked the smallest denomination she could find and held up the copper.  “I accept.”

There was a flash of confusion on Jessi’s face, and a few chortles from the others in the room.  Gem put the rest of the coins back in the pouch and tried to hand it to their guest.  Jessi looked at it and smiled.  She waved it away and said, “I have no place to put it.  Send me a token from the job and I will consider it even.”

The two women had their crystal goblets in hand.  They each raised their own at the woman across from them and they both took sips, closing the deal.

There was an offer for Jessi to stay for evening meal, which she carefully declined, saying, “I believe that I should get back to my own lodgings, Laun.  My host is sure to miss me if I am not there.”

Laun stood and took the Baroness’ hand as the other woman stood.  “I do not know when we will be able to meet again, but I know we will.  Thank you for this opportunity.”  She brought Jessi’s hand up to her lips and kissed the back gently.

There was a flush to the woman’s face.  She stepped into Laun and said in a low tone, “I have also been told of your expertise in other things.  I would hope to know if the remainder would be enough to-”  She stopped herself and looked into Laun’s eyes.

Laun smiled and brought her lips to Jessi’s wrist.  She breathed on it, saying, “Perhaps when I bring you the token, we can discuss this.  In depth.”  Laun pressed her mouth into the pulse point on Jessi’s wrist and bit just slightly.  The older woman’s jaw clenched and there was a slight gasp.  There was also a smile with her tongue running along the tips of her teeth as Laun let the hand drop.

Wanda escorted the Baroness out.  Laun leaned against the door when it closed, both a good humor going through her and a tiredness.  She went to the chair she had been in and sat, going for a tankard of water over the lovely honey beer.

There wasn’t any prompting.  Gem moved so she was sitting directly at Laun’s feet and started to give her report.  “The style of the clothes were actually Myrned influenced, though it looked like Midland’s linen.  Her shoes were new.  To the point that I saw her push them forward on her toes so that her feet could rest from the red marks.  The only jewelry I saw on her was the circlet on her head and it didn’t even have any of her rank on it.”

Laun nodded.  She looked over to Silar and Hazalam, one helping the other to near the fire.  “She was here for you, Mistress.  It was a shock that you kept people in here for your meeting, but she did not seem to care we were here.”

Pilar was at Laun’s shoulder and gently put his hand on her.  “You were right about her teeth, Laun.  But she did not seem to have the look of someone who indulges in any of the opiates that cause staining like that.  Except, perhaps, for a slight nervous tremor I saw in one hand.”

Laun thought back and could not say for certain if she had seen the tremor or not.  “Thank you.  I would not be able to see as you all can.  Each of you have made it possible for what happened today to happen.”

There were small murmurs among the people there.  A small scratch was at the door before Wanda came in.  Laun had her sit where Gem had been and looked at the girl.

“What did you see?”

Wanda closed her eyes and started listing off things.  “The Lady was nicely dressed.  Not flashy, but not common.  She must have come in a carriage because her feet were clean and her shoes were perfect.  There wasn’t a carriage waiting for her in the yard, but a groomsman was.  She...”  Wanda opened her eyes and looked at Laun with a worried look.  “She hid it, but I saw bruises on one of her wrists shaped like fingers.  And she smelled like-like you do after you have had sex.”  The girl looked down and softly said, “But not good sex.  Like she had been forced.”

Laun glanced at Silar and then to Pillar.  The shaman scrunched his eyes closed and nodded, the dark man going to where the woman had been sitting and breathing in, nodding to Laun.

“You noticed things that we did not, little one.  You are learning, and teaching us, too.”  Laun held out her hand to take the girls’ hand, and found that Wanda had her cheek against Laun’s palm.  There was a smile up to Laun before the girl stood and left.

Laun sighed.  “She knows what she wants.  I hope she waits.”  Laun thought of the twelve year old and how it was hard to protect someone who did not want to be protected.  Laun looked around at the people in the room and smiled.  “But she also saw something we missed.  I suspect that Flint took advantage of his wife.”

The discussion flowed.  The door was opened to the corridor, showing that the private meeting was over.  People came in, people left.  Mimi stayed where she was, ashamed of her role in the accusations against Laun, but being attentive to her Mistress when she could be.  Hazalam and Gem went to another room, the man needing to lay down from the effort it had taken to seem like he was not in pain during the meeting.  Erin and Hunter came in, tension low between them, but a heated discussion raising eyebrows.

Laun laughed when she heard what it was about, both looking stricken and then laughing with her.  Erin wanted to do some more in the gardens of Nestwood and Hunter wanted Erin to do more in the gardens of Nestwood.  It just had not occurred to them that they had been talking about the same things until Laun laughed at them.

It was good to have laughter.  Laun was already working on how to go through with her contract and wanted to concentrate on something else for a while.

Captain Senri came to Laun and asked to have some time with her.  Laun smiled and had another giggle as the Corporal was awoken by the form of his commanding officer looming over him in his Princess’ bed.  He had slept enough, and he needed to get ready for duty.  Senri patted the man on the back and told him that he did well for his company and his Princess as the Corporal left with his boots under his arm.

There was some talking between Laun and Senri.  He needed to get on the road to get back to the squad he had left on the Golden Plains.  He also wanted to make sure that he had some of Laun’s time and attention before he did so.  A nod to privacy was extended to him as the curtains around the bed were lowered before Laun started to undress for Senri.  He shook his head and lay down, Laun going into the crook of his arm and laying with him.

“Laun, I want to have a moment with you before we do anything else.  Just to hold you and feel you next to me.”  Senri stroked down her face and looked at her, a deeper need than a push and sigh could cover.

They laid together for a few minutes, Senri caressing Laun as they looked into each other’s eyes.  He leaned in for a kiss and any tenderness he tried to have was broken.  The moment took him and he was soon with his pants down around his ankles, his cock pressed into Laun’s womanhood.  The people outside the curtain smiled at each other at the sounds, his peak grunted out as he finished himself on a cloth to follow his Princess’ wishes.

They were able to lay together for a few more minutes, Senri enjoying the low glow of what had just happened.  He sighed as his mind took over again and he kissed Laun.  “Highness, I will be off early tomorrow.  Thank you for your time.  I am glad that you pointed me towards Hunter and Nestwood.  Looks like I am going to be trading some labor for the timber I need.”

Laun smiled.  “I am happy you have found what you wanted.”

He smiled and kissed her again.  His pants were up and buckled, his uniform fairly presentable as he parted the curtain.  There were a few nods and the officer went on his way.

Silar came into the bed from the other side, encouraged by Laun’s smile.  “He was a slow starter tonight.”

Laun reached for Silar and he was on top of her, his lips on hers as he pressed his restrained manhood into Laun’s groin.  Laun smiled up at her dark man and said, “He wanted a little time to just be held.  But it didn’t last long.”  Her smile became a little wicked as she bit her lower lip.  “How long until evening meal?”

“As long as you need, Mistress.”

Laun pushed on Silar’s shoulders and he was between her legs, tasting the excitement of his Mistress.  She was in need of release, but she also had need to think.  As the agile fingers and mouth worked on her below, Laun thought of what she needed to accomplish the commission she had accepted.

She smiled.  Both at the feelings going through her and the way she envisioned taking out Flint.  Something elegant that would have little suspicion that it was an assassination.  Laun knew little about Flint.  She knew he was arrogant, but that had little to do with how Laun saw him getting taken down.  He loved his horses.  And those dogs.  Laun sighed, making Silar redouble his effort below as she thought above.

Laun had seen his old injuries even though he tried to hide them.  She would have to investigate, but it seemed that, being such a horseman, that he had been thrown from his finicky horse.  That was how horsemen would like to go.

Laun put her hand on Silar’s head and he looked up her body.  “Make love to me-”  Laun did not have to press for what she wanted more than that as Silar knelt between her legs and had himself at the ready before Laun started to examine closer how she would make a horse bolt and throw someone.

Silar was in her and Laun closed her eyes.  She moaned and encouraged him with hands on his shoulders.  He rode her, his cock ring pushing inside her and pushing her close to the edge quickly.  Laun focused on the sensations, tried to not think of anything but what the man inside of her was doing.

Silar could think past his cock and saw that Laun was not entirely of the moment.  He pulled out and helped her to roll onto her knees.  Her ass was in the air, inviting much more than he was really going to do to her.  He pressed back into her womanhood and held onto her hips.  She felt good.  He squoose her ass cheeks and started to thrust into her again.

He felt that she was getting close. He leaned over her and held her around the waist, pounding into her furiously.  Her head went down and a growl came out of her, calling out that she was about to peak.  He tried to hold off, but she started to contract around him and he felt his balls react.

He pulled out, the iron ring scraping against things inside Laun that pushed her even further.  He came to his peak onto the blanket below them as Laun fell to the side, her fingers finishing herself off to her satisfaction.

He was gasping, trying to get himself under control as Laun moved languidly on the bed.  She smiled at him and put a hand on the leg she could reach.  “Thank you.”

“Mistress,” he panted out.

“The dogs.”

Silar looked at Laun, trying to figure out what she had just said.  She smiled, showing teeth and giggling softly.

Chapter 24 The Lady Jessi is brought condolences