For Dragon Queen Week - Day 7: Time Period AU
Set in Russia in the prime of the Romanov Dynasty. Please forgive any mistakes you might find, this is unedited and I'm sure incredibly inaccurate in terms of history, but it's smutty so that makes up for it, right?
They call her the dragon, her reputation instilling fear in everyone who knows her, the image of flawless blonde curls and heaving breasts over the tightness of a purple corset sending shivers down the spine of many a man.
She's a perpetual widow, Lady Drakon, some even say she murdered her two husbands just so she could keep their money, but no proof has ever been found of her guilt.
She's fierce, unapologetic and seductive as she wanders in and out of important social gatherings, the hem of her dress swishing against the floor, and Regina is intrigued from the second she sets eyes on her at her cousin Empress Alexandra's birthday celebration at the palace.
She knows she shouldn't venture closer, knows the reputation of the dragon exists for a reason, her entire persona a floating statue of poise and beauty as she moves around bewildered guests who can't tear their gaze away from her, Regina herself among them.
"Absolutely not," she hears a murmur in her ear, and turns to find her friend Daniel standing just behind her, his eyes glued to the retreating figure of the stunning woman.
"What?" Regina asks, feigning innocence.
"You know what… she's dangerous, dearest, you'd do well to stay clear of her while we're here," he warns, ever concerned for her. They've been friends since childhood, and Regina being a granddaughter of Queen Victoria (just like the beautiful Tsarina whose birthday they are celebrating tonight), she'd been allowed to bring a small court with her on this trip to Russia. Of course, she'd chosen Daniel as her main guest, and her mother had been pleased, since he has always been the one to keep her out of trouble.
But trouble is exactly what Regina wants right now, trouble like the kind brewing in Lady Drakon's eyes when she turns and meets her hungry gaze, leaving it only to travel up and down her body in silent appraisal, and Regina has difficulty breathing when she watches her lick her lips in response. Her tiara is heavy, the pearl and diamond choker Alexandra lent her feels like it cuts off her air supply all of a sudden, and her corset seems to get tighter by the second, the red fabric constricting her, entrapping her, and Regina cannot wait to get it off… or rather, have the woman staring at her pry it off, along with every other lavish garment adorning her at the moment.
She walks away from Daniel despite his protests and frustrated shakes of head, makes her way slowly to the dragon and tries to tame her nerves as she reaches her, extending a hand and waiting for the other woman to do the same.
"Lady Drakon," she murmurs, because as a relative to the Empress she's expected to know every guest by name, so she doesn't bother asking hers.
"Your highness," the dragon replies, and her voice is smoky, makes heat flash through Regina as she hears it.
"You know who I am?"
"There's been talk about the Empress's beautiful cousin for weeks, of course I know who you are, dear."
Her authoritative tone makes Regina nervous, has her biting her lip and clasping her hands behind her back, her dress feeling like a hindrance now more than ever, the warmth in the room causing her skin to flush.
"You think I'm beautiful, Lady Drakon?" she asks, and the older woman smiles.
"Call me Mal," is all she says in response.
They part ways, stay on their corners for the rest of the evening, dancing around each other, stealing glances and exchanging secret smiles, and all the while Regina feels an excited fluttering in her belly, a nervous thrill running through her whenever the breathtaking blonde looks her way, and Daniel is shaking his head in amused exasperation at her as he watches the entire affair unfold.
"I'm quite tired, so I'll be heading to my chambers," he tells her in a low voice a few minutes before midnight, his hand on the small of her back as he shuffles closer, "don't do anything I wouldn't do."
He leaves her then, smirking the whole time, and Regina thanks her lucky stars that this is the man that was put on her path. Daniel is a duke in his own right, and she knows at some point her parents will make the deal with his and have them marry, and she's quite relieved that she gets to spend her life with a friend, as opposed to any of the random elderly nobles who have offered to pay her dowry, but she's also happy that it's this particular friend, because he is loyal, because he's kind and understanding of her need for adventure, because he covers her tracks and allows her the freedom she's been so denied growing up in the household of Dowager Princess Cora.
That is the freedom he's allowing her now, leaving her to her fate despite his bemused frustration over her scandalous choices, and Regina takes full advantage of that, saunters her way to the side of the room Lady Drakon is at, takes a glass of champagne from the tray one of the servers presents to her, and waits.
Everything is a blur, hungry mouths colliding and tasting, crying out in ecstasy when hands rip off beaded corsets and expensive jewelry, leaving a trail of scattered pearls and diamonds and emeralds and rubies on the floor, glinting with what little moonlight streams in from the window and into the stark chamber. It's cold (her own fault, really, since she didn't bother to request that her fireplace be lit while she was at the party), but it doesn't matter, because the heat from Mal's body is seeping into her, and Regina finds herself sweating and moaning at the silky feeling of the woman's slick sex as her fingers play and probe and explore, her mouth still latched on to the blonde's neck, teeth sinking into skin and tongue licking away the slight ache. It's fast, it's messy, it's wonderful, and Regina finds herself surrendering to the other woman's touch, craving her mouth even after she's spent from screaming down the rafters from the pleasure she's provided her.
Lust becomes the ruler of her life, and Regina skips out on her scheduled social appointments with the Empress three days later, feigning a headache to her cousin when it's announced that Lady Drakon is at court for the afternoon. She finds herself naked inside her bedroom instead of at tea with some friend of Tsar Nicholas or other, her fingers threading into soft blonde waves as Mal's tongue laps at her, lips sucking at the sensitive flesh of her, her wicked blue eyes staring up at Regina's face, taking in her reactions, and the exchange is a wet, delicious favor she's only too happy to return, helping the other woman hoist her body atop her and settling her tongue against her, flicking at glistening folds, laving and sucking and loving every single gasp and moan that erupts out of Mal from where she's got her mouth on Regina, the vibrations of her ecstatic utterances hitting her skin just so, sending her into overdrive.
It's been three weeks, and they cannot keep their hands off each other.
Regina finds herself at the Drakon house more often than not, sprawled on her lover's bed and enjoying her attentions. Is in fact enjoying them right now, with Mal's fingers pumping a steady, hard rhythm inside her, hooking upwards on the way in and hitting that particular spot inside her that makes her see stars. They've been going at it for over two hours now, the four days between this and their last encounter making them greedy for each other, and Mal's hand is magic as it moves three fingers inside her, and there's a pressure there, a slurpy, slushing sound enveloping them when that hand moves quicker, harder, and Mal's glorious, naked form is lying at her side, lips nipping and sucking and licking at her breasts while that hand continues its sinful raps inside her, and Regina feels like she's about to explode… and then explode she does, spurting a very wet and blissful orgasm, moistening the sheets under her.
"Oh god…" she gasps, trying to catch her breath, and Mal's smug smile greets her.
"No, not god, dear, just me," she teases, lips catching hers then and kissing intensely, Regina's hands finding full, pert breasts and groping softly at the swells, teeth catching on Mal's lower lip, and then she flips them, landing herself on top of the blonde, fingers finding her wet and ready and not stopping their ministrations until she reaches the place inside her that makes the dragon roar her ecstasy, giving as good as she got.
"When can I see you again?" Regina asks two months later, her tongue swirling over Mal's nipple.
"Word at court is you're leaving in two days, so I doubt there will be a repeat of this," the blonde replies cheekily, gasping when Regina sucks hard at her nipple in response. She's right, they leave for England the day after tomorrow, and somehow the thought of leaving Russia has Regina feeling sad, has her trying to find ways to stay.
But she knows she can't. Her mother will have a fit if she disrupts the schedule that has been so carefully planned for her, and then who's to say she won't forbid all her trips? Or even worse, join her on them so she can watch her every move? No, she can't have that. She must leave.
She says nothing, only tucks herself further into the other woman's warmth and revels in their closeness. Usually, when they're like this, Regina gathers her clothes and leaves after they're done, but lately she's found herself lingering, dozing off in Mal's arms despite their unspoken agreement to not get involved emotionally. She supposes she should go, grab her dress and jewels, fix them back in place and tear herself away from the enticing smell of sex and Mal's perfume, the heat of her body and the welcoming semi-darkness of her room, but she can't bring herself to do it. Instead, Regina finds herself spending the night, kissing a line up her lover's jaw while she's asleep, watching her as she dreams, hands trailing over her body, memorizing it.
Regina leaves as scheduled, and their goodbye is a quick romp in one of the palace's hidden rooms, her skirt rumpled and corset askew when she emerges, but no one connects the dots, no one finds out, and they part with nothing more than a polite smile and the customary dasvidaniya.
Times goes by, and Regina finds herself engaged to Daniel seven months after her trip to Russia, married within the year, and perfectly content. She helps her friend manage his estate, finds the fun in it, her financial independence from her mother doing wonderful things for her mood. She and Daniel discuss the women he takes to bed, laughing together at this strange arrangement of theirs (they've never seen each other as anything more than brother and sister, so they allow each other certain pleasures outside their marriage, provided they are both discreet about it). Regina takes other lovers, men and women alike, and she enjoys her life, but often wonders what became of her dragon, of the stunning, dangerous woman whose inner fire could scorch an entire room if she so wished it.
When she goes back to Russia to meet the Empress's newborn son and heir to the Romanov throne, Mal is still at court, still quiet and mysterious and mouthwateringly beautiful… and when their eyes meet across the room like they did so long ago, she smirks, and it's like nothing has changed, like time had frozen their very souls when they parted, only to reignite them now that they meet again. In mere minutes, they're in Regina's chambers within the palace, and they are lost… lost in delicious bare skin and soft tresses, lost in the taste and feel of each other.
Just like old times.