Cassardis was just... not, in any shape or form, Madeleine's type of place.
Oh, she has learned to appreciate it nonetheless; in some small, minor way. The locals, uncouth and smelling of fish they might have been, were kind and simple. Her personage commanded some respect from them and not the mocking respect she would get from some more traveled folk from Gran Soren. No, to those people Madeleine was in fact this traveled merchant who has seen wonders of the world, gathered them and presented them for them to have, if they had coin to spare.
And really, it wasn't like she could return to Gran Soren after all these... misadventures she had. Oh the drama and the horror. No, it seemed she was stuck here. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing. She could still travel about whenever she felt like it and Arisen was not busy doing whatever else to accompany her. A journey to gather some herbs or more troublesome items to acquire – like a cyclops' eye – was never too tiresome with her around.
Arisen's birth name was exotic even to Madeleine's ear, and she considered herself quite a traveler. Supposedly it meant "courage" in some strange language that Arisen's parents – lost to a fisherman's journey gone wrong – were privy to, but nobody seemed to recognize it, not even the wordiest or the oldest of Cassardis' inhabitants. The girl herself was quite a treat, too. Oh, she was a sight for sore eyes no doubt, but – rarely for Madeleine – it was her personality that intrigued the blond-haired merchant more. That girl was just so incredibly intense – the way her brows were furrowed nigh-on constantly or how her reddish eyes pierced through every lie and every semblance of conversation – the rare moments when her confidence and her frown were broken were a treat to watch. She would stumble, backpedal, make indignant noises more akin to a goblin than human, and the crimson streak of embarrassment would adorn her cheeks once more. Truly, she was more at peace in the field of battle, amidst monsters and brigands to cut down. Madeleine knew how to read body language all too well and Arisen was but an apprentice when it came to masking her excitement. Teasing her now and then was fun. It helped that her own Pawn joined in the teasing from time to time as well.
She hasn't seen that wordy warrior in a while. Arisen seemed to indicate that her Pawn was busy running errands of sorts, but she would never specify on their nature. That a Pawn could operate on their own was mystifying for Madeleine, but it seemed that if one could control the legion, one could also change it somewhat.
Frankly, Madeleine was happy that they were friends. It wasn't the smoothest of relationships, what they both went through, but it seemed that all the evil – she had to admit she was to blame for most of it – has been forgotten. Now, in the wake of Dragon's defeat, the life seemed almost idyllic. Yes, the monsters were a bother, but when weren't they a bother?
"Ah, Lady Madeleine!" The youthful, girlish voice called her back to the realm of the living. The girl behind her was slender and in a simple white dress not unlike those of the locals, her bare feet clapping against the sand. That girl used to be Duke's wife, Madeleine reminded herself, yet for these few times she had seen her before she never appeared happy or more happier than someone in Gran Soren should appear.
Aelinore. Arisen's beloved and her complete opposite. Opposites attracted, the saying went. Well, Madeleine wouldn't want her future husband to be a dirt-poor fisherman, all things considering. "Ah, forgive me. Have I disturbed you?" Aelinore smiled at the blond merchant, hands clasped together.
"Not at all, Your Highness." Madeleine replied with a smile of her own. Truly, that girl was sweeter than any pie she could think of.
"Ah please, do not address me so. I am royalty no longer, after all." Yes, that was the official statement of His Grace. The unfaithful wife of his chose to elope with Arisen in what was the most shocking display of indecency to ever grace Gransys. Nobody in Cassardis bought that explanation and, from what Arisen could tell her, it seemed that this statement was not accepted by the townsfolk either. No, Aelinore was a girl too pure to even think of running away. Something else had to have happened.
Arisen explained it in detail, once. One of the Pawns that traveled with her to Soulflayer Canyon saw death by a spiteful gaze of the cockatrice and it burned that girl to the core of her being. It didn't matter that she could resummon Pawns – these specific fallen Pawns – good as new as soon as she touched the Riftstone or that Pawns themselves did not judge her – the trend seemed to be that they claimed responsibility for themselves, which infuriated Arisen some more, too – for her errors. No, those were still people who died on her watch and it burned her. Madeleine, fresh off her recent journey, offered her a foreign ale as something to kill her sorrows with.
Oh, it was such a sad sight, it almost made Madeleine's heart break. She sympathized with Arisen's plight, make no mistake – and it certainly didn't warm her up to Duke Dragonsbane, either – but for all it was worth, she should have known better. Wasn't she a fisherwoman, after all?
As it turned out the very next morning, this was the first ever time the Arisen drank anything stronger than herb ale, as the village chief was quick to assure her in the middle of her chastising. Now she just felt stupid. At the very least, the hangover didn't cause too much trouble; the girl that lived with Arisen and Aelinore just so happened to be quite a herbalist, so making the concoction to bring that poor girl back into the land of living proved easy enough.
"Lady Madeleine?" Curses! She spaced out again. Bah, why was she thinking of Arisen now of all times when there was royalty – former nevertheless – talking to her right now? "Are you ill? You seem a little pale."
"Ah, Your Highness, please pay it no mind." The merchant shook her head with a little laugh, sounding perfectly confident. She has long learned the ability to appear confident. "My mind is just wandering too much these days."
"You must feel caged in this sleepy little village." Oh was she ever. She couldn't go back to Gran Soren without facing a trial and summary execution for... whatever they saw fit to accuse her of, really.
"Perhaps a little. 'tis is not as if I am confined to here, Your Highness." She didn't feel comfortable discussing this. "Where did your beloved go to?"
"Ah, she is out together with Selene. Their supply of herbs ran out recently, so they took a walk to Witchwood." How simple. Here was hoping no Pawns of Arisen would die and give her another reason to despair. Ah, but she couldn't think like this. Rather, she should hope all goes well, and just that.
Madeleine had needs of various nature. She needed to dress well, surround herself with enough luxury to make the living passable, earn enough coin to consider the day of work successful.
She also had more debasing, carnal ones. Sometimes they could be suppressed or tamed for a time, but it seemed that this one would not go away so easily. Ah, if there was anything else she disliked in living in this place it was the lack of relative privacy. In Gran Soren if the need pressed her, she could simply rent the room in an inn and have some time to herself. Of course, skilled she might have been, sometimes this wasn't enough. This was where things were starting to get tricky. There were no "men of pleasure" to speak of. Well, actually, this wasn't true; there were some, but for a woman to be caught with one was of much graver consequences than for a man to be caught with a woman of pleasure instead. Her reputation would be ruined.
This left her to catch unsuspecting male prey now and then from Gran Soren's citizenry, but this was a risky game as well. Marriage affairs were not something to take lightly; being caught with someone else's husband was a sure way to lose your reputation just like it would be to indulge with men of pleasure. Secondly, she had to make sure that this is her being in control of this little meeting, not the other way around. She couldn't make use of some boor from Venery, he would no doubt spill the beans after one mug of ale too many or dare to try and blackmail her into wanting more. Thirdly, she had to set rigid rules for each bout for even the most mild-mannered and cultured men sometimes wouldn't mind unloading their payload where it didn't belong.
At some point, Madeleine entertained the notion of playing with stray Pawns that wandered the streets aimlessly and for a time, it worked well. They were generally more handsome and better built than even the city guards – if a little cold to the touch in more ways than one – didn't need to be kept silent with a bag of coin and were willing to let her do just about everything... but their coldness and inadequacy in handling these matters finally began leaving Madeleine more frustrated than satisfied. Oh, if she had a coin for every time she had to explain what to do next to a clueless Pawn...
All these things she just couldn't do in Cassardis. Everybody knew each other and word came around without much pressing in the first place. The people here seemed more relaxed about these matters – after all, Arisen had a beloved of the same sex – but even if there would be no offense taken, everybody's gaze would be on her and not in the way Madeleine would have wanted it.
There was nowhere to run for a moment of solitary relief either unless she were to skip around to the Starfall Bay a little ways from the village. It's not like there was anywhere to hide there either; it was simply the place that nobody had business going to, so she had to be extra diligent not to be found. She didn't trust the local inn; the walls seemed a little too thin.
Thus she found herself there, in a spot she arranged for herself before to make it a little more bearable. Goodness, to think she would have to seek relief in a sandy beach with nothing but a simple dusty blanket for companionship? Past her would laugh the idea off. Panting, she discarded her golden jacket and lowered the top of her dress as she dropped on her knees, having one look behind herself to make sure no one followed her. Slowly, her hand dipped under her dress' bottom to feel at the needy place. Even through her tights and her silk lingerie she couldn't help but feel the dampness.
With a tug of her shirt her sizeable breasts spilled out as she felt at one with her free hand, the other slowly rubbing the source of her troubles through all this clothing. She needed these clothes off, right now. Madeleine didn't bother with undoing the entire thing; she just hastily tugged her tights off and did the same with her panties, just enough to leave her hips and a bit of her thighs bare, nothing more and nothing less. Pulling one breast up to suck on the nipple with a little moan, the blonde reached down the wetness, rubbing herself slowly as her mind started fantasizing. Oh, what would she give for a nice and proper manhood stirring her? She would give it soulful sucks like she was attending to her own nipples now, all the way into her throat. She would tease it with her breasts later, one way or another.
Goodness, what riches she'd give if Arisen was a man... she could picture him as her fingers dipped inside of her womanhood and another moan rung out into her breasts as she got more comfortable. He would have the same skin color like she, maybe a little darker. The same intense gaze, the same pair of furrowed brows, this lean but strong silhouette put on a man...
Would this imagined Arisen be a good lay? It didn't seem to matter to Madeleine that much, really. "Oh... oh goodness..." She muttered, biting on her lip lightly as her folds squished from her fingers. Yes, he would be a fisherman still, but she thought that he would keep himself tidier than his peers, either by his own design or by his Pawn's attention. He would be easily embarrassed, but quick to prove himself. After she'd tease him too much, he would pin her down to the bed and assume control...
"Ah... ah... ngh..." Her moans were girlish and a little undignifed, but this was Madeleine's very personage, uncovered. She would not allow herself to sound like that when laying with another man, but this Arisen of her dreams, the handsome rugged fisherman, the mighty hero, her number one customer with a big, thick cock that could split a harpy in two, no doubt...
"Arisen... g-goodness, please..." She giggled in her arousal, seeing how far she went in her fantasies, drunken on the air of excitement, on the squishing sound of her folds getting wetter with each move of her fingers and each little jiggle of her bust. "I n-need you... oh Maker, I need you..." Her moans got louder, but she got lost in the moment. Nobody came here to this bay anyway and the way the rocks isolated the sound made her arousal get lost in the shimmering waves of the sea. She was safe in this personal heaven, fingering herself faster and faster as her body shook in excitement.
She would tutor him, of course. Oh, what if he was a virgin? This boy, she'd turn him into a proper man with her body... over and over and over, until his tireless heart – won from The Dragon's grasp – actually needed a moment to rest. She would ride him like a prized warhorse and then he would take his revenge. Not the ordinary position, though. That could be good for the first time, if he was a little too shy, but then... "Arisen... A-arisen, please... f-fuck... harder..."
But then her fantasy suddenly changed; the rugged fisherman was now the Arisen she knew, this intense girl she knew was ex-duchess' beloved. The manhood was replaced with her sleek, skillful fingers... but those were gone too and oh Maker she was licking her
She called her name, her real name, without even realizing this, but then any coherent thought was lost as Madeleine rode her fingers to a beautiful climax. The fantasy got wilder, too; the rugged fisherman returned and silenced her, his manhood so good and warm in her mouth as she shook between two Arisens – one the real deal, the other what she wished the real deal was... yet despite that she wanted both, she craved both. It didn't matter if Arisen was a woman or a man. She craved the character, the being behind the flesh if that made any sense. She could have had any man and any woman – if she tried – yet this one was the object of her lewd fantasies.
Was this love? Probably not, more like a mindless lust – as her fingers could attest – that consumed her briefly as she squealed, bit her lip hard enough to draw blood and came, her juices spilling out of her, staining her fingers and her thighs as she shuddered and curled up on the blanket, her breathing shallow and uneven. Slowly, she moved the fingers out and examined them, crimson on her cheeks. Her cum was sticky between them and oh so indecent. Madeleine moaned weakly and brought her hand to her mouth, sucking the fingers off her own arousal. Goodness, if past her could see her now, hidden in the bay little ways from a fishermen's village...
At the same time, Madeleine felt shame. She was lusting after a woman just now, however briefly. Strange... unacceptable, even. Even if it was the Arisen, that simply would not do. And even if that would be fine, the object of her fantasies had a beloved. She was not an ordinary woman who would turn a blind eye for a moment of excitement with Madeleine. Aelinore was her whole life. Perhaps... they would entertain welcoming her for one night or-?
No! No, nonono, this was unacceptable. Goodness...what was she thinking? It didn't matter. She just needed someone to fantasize about while she was working out her frustration and arousal. It could have been anyone. If it was yet another girl, Madeleine would picture her as a man, just like she did with Arisen. Frankly, Prince Aelinore didn't sound too bad for a fantasy.
She stirred with a sigh and sat up on her knees. Her usually perfectly combed hair was now disheveled and disarrayed, almost as if she fell head-first into a thorny bush. She felt little droplets of sweat over her body, too. Slowly, she adjusted her clothing bit by bit. She needed something a little easier to access, she entertained the thought before shutting it down with a little incredulous sigh. Well, a simple dress would not be bad. With her limited income for the time being she had to make do with whatever was on hand.
