Chapter 4

"I am quite pleased you are here again, Rennis. I had not expected to see you again in person until the Conclave gathered."

Overlord Rennis D'glounaas was rather pleased himself as he accepted the proffered goblet of wine from his host. It was good to see Roquan acting so warmly towards him again. Despite the fact that he knew the animosity between them was water under the bridge in the wake of the Emperor's treachery, it was one thing to see it over Farview and quite another to see it in person.

At the same time, however, there was little that was actually social about his visit.

"We shall see how pleased you are with me once I've finished speaking with you, Roquan," Rennis said with a small, humorless smirk as he raised the goblet to his lips.

Roquan considered his friend thoughtfully. Even when they were fast friends before Yanna had interfered, the two Overlords were rather different. Rennis was always far more quick with a smile and a joke than Roquan ever was, occasionally to Roquan's frustration. They differed even in looks. Rennis was of a much leaner build, his hair black, a narrow goatee gracing his chin.

Roquan waited for his friend to taste the wine and watched the surprised look on his friend's face before folding his arms. "And what have I done wrong now?"

Rennis was momentarily too nonplussed to respond to the other Overlord's inquiry. "Hellfire, Roquan, this wine..."

One corner of Roquan's mouth turned upwards. "Not to your tastes?"

Rennis gaped. "I should die before I have tastes as refined as this."

"I intend to serve that at the Conclave. It is some of Doran's finest vintage."

Rennis uttered a short bark of laughter. "Well, at least that will refute one thing that Gronnus has been saying about you."

Roquan raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"That you're a boor with little or no taste or refinement."

"That should not surprise me in the least."

"Oh, it gets better. Want to hear what he's been saying about your clan?"

Roquan's eyes hardened and his muscles tensed. "I can guess," he said curtly. "Perhaps we shall leave it at that."

"Unfortunately, we can't."

Roquan paused, then sighed through his nose and turned away from Rennis, walking halfway across the length of his outer chamber of his residence.

"Want the wine back?" asked Rennis.

"Rennis, is he truly going to make the relative youth of my clan an issue? When there are clearly more important things at stake?"

Rennis shook his head sadly as he stared at the other Overlord's back. This was another breach of Narlassi protocol among high-births. One never conducted a conversation with back turned, unless one were attempting to imply an insult towards the other. Rennis knew Roquan well enough to be sure this was not the case here, but others would not.

Roquan always touted that he was a "damn good Overlord", and Rennis had no dispute with this. But the fact that there was only one generation of Ronstaqs before him that held the position of Overlord, and that Roquan learned almost nothing directly from his ailing father before taking over the Manor, meant he was woefully ignorant in many finer points of custom.

And now Rennis had been tasked with the unenviable job of instructing Roquan.

"Roquan, turn around," Rennis snapped, setting down his goblet with a loud metallic thump on the desk.

Roquan whirled around, taken aback by Rennis' tone.

"You do what you just did to another Overlord, one that doesn't know you as well, and you can forget about forging any alliances whatsoever."

"Is it too much to ask for the Overlords to cease with their pedantic attention to protocol, their clandestine dealings, and..."

"Yes, Roquan, it is!"

Roquan remained silent, though it was obvious he was fuming. Not at Rennis, but at the situation in general.

"Overlords will always be what they are. Protocol comes first. Dealing behind the scenes comes next. Everything else takes a distant third."

"Doran has made me aware of this," Roquan said bitterly. "I plan to defer to him in these matters once the Conclave begins."

Rennis was already shaking his head and advancing on Roquan. "No. You have to take an active hand in it. Think of it this way: would you arbitrarily hand off a Trainee to another Overlord for training? Of course not."

"But you have already made it clear they will not listen to me."

"The idea is to make them listen. But in order to do that, you have to show you're willing to respect the unwritten rules of order."

Roquan's eyes narrowed. "Doran put you up to this, didn't he?"

Rennis smirked. "Well, he can either rally the troops for you, or teach you the finer points of culture. Take your pick."

"I do not even know how well he is doing in that endeavor," Roquan said sourly. "I have heard very little since he last contacted me over a half-moon ago."

"I have. He is making some progress. More than I thought he would."

Roquan nodded once. "This is good news, then."

"Well, mainly. They're not won over by any means. That's where you and the Conclave come in, and that's one reason I'm here. You're going to have your work cut out for you."

"I thought I already had."

"Even more so, now that Gronnus knows."

Roquan's eyebrows shot up. "And just how did he find out?"

"I'm sure he has his sources."

"Doran told me specifically that he would keep Gronnus in the dark! It was Gronnus' idea to begin with to influence the Emperor into rescinding that treaty!"

Rennis refused to be affected by Roquan's increasing anger. He casually picked up the goblet and took a long pull at it before speaking again in a calm voice. "That will likely be Doran's plan of attack, if I know him at all. Convince the other Overlords that they didn't really want it after all, that it was Gronnus' idea and they just went along for the ride. A nice face-saving move to the other Overlords."

Roquan frowned. The intricacies of Overlord dealings were truly lost on him, but he did not want to admit it. He simply nodded once in acknowledgment.

"Roquan, Doran does plan to guide you. But you have to be the mouthpiece."

Roquan bristled mildly. "I am more than just a mere mouthpiece, Rennis."

Rennis rolled his eyes. "Don't take it personally, it's just an expression."

Roquan paused a moment, then appeared to relax slightly. When he spoke again, his voice was less harsh. "I am very anxious to get this Conclave over with. It is not what I had wanted in the first place."

"I think that's part of your problem."

"Now what?"

"You never socialized enough with the other Overlords. You never visit them at their Manors."

Roquan gave Rennis an appalled look. "And why would I want to do that?"

"The fact that you asked that, Roquan, and were serious about it, is the reason you're such an outcast today."

Now Roquan was truly surprised to hear such frank speech from his friend.

"Sorry, that was a bit harsh," Rennis amended. He paused to finish off the rest of his wine and set the goblet aside. "The fact of the matter is, Roquan, you're a very practical person, and when..."

"And this is bad?"

"No, of course not, let me finish. As I was saying, when it comes to running a Manor, that is good. But when dealing with other Overlords, you have to do things that are not necessarily practical."

"But I compete with the other Overlords all the time. Why would I want to visit with them?"

Rennis grinned wryly. "You mean like I visit with you?"

Roquan did not reply.

"The same thing we do, Roquan. Forge alliances. Keep tabs on the other Overlords, know what they're thinking. Hellfire, some Overlords like to be visited just so they can Present to the other Overlord."

Roquan glanced away for a moment, a subdued look coming over his eyes.

"Now, this, at least, won't be something you'll have to worry about with the Conclave, since you won't have any Trainees by that time."

"Are you telling me that you would suggest I do a Presenting to the other Overlords?"

"Well, yes, if you had Trainees, of course you would."

"That is ludicrous."

Rennis paused a moment, giving the other Overlord a questioning look.

Roquan rushed into the silence. "To Present to such a large gathering of Overlords when there are more pressing matters at stake..."

The Overlord trailed off. Now Rennis knew something was up.

"Roquan, have you taken on a new Captive? I thought you wanted to have the Portal checked out by a non-Guild Mage first."

Roquan took a deep breath and met Rennis' eyes with his own even gaze. "I have taken on no new Captives, but I do indeed have a new Trainee. Sirinna is training Amanda."

Rennis' eyes widened. "You don't mean that outworlder girl."

Roquan nodded once.

"Are you insane?"

"I might remind you, Rennis, it was your suggestion that..."

Rennis ran a hand through his hair, looking exasperated. "Blazing hellfire, I was joking! I never thought you'd seriously..."

"It was not at your suggestion," Roquan said loudly. "It was by her own choice."

"I didn't think you were serious about that, either. You don't give an outworlder a choice in either direction!"

"I might also remind you, Rennis, that it was her that helped uncover the plot by the Emperor."

"Then give her a present, pat her on the head, tell her 'good girl', and send her home."

"I cannot do that. She has already long since been collared and is well into her training. I do not see why this is the problem you appear to be making it out to be."

"Roquan, she hasn't had the Draught!"

Roquan fell silent for a long moment. "I am well aware of that. I felt it was an acceptable loss in this case."

Rennis threw up his hands and turned away, protocol or no.

"And why do you see this as a problem?"

Rennis took a few deep breaths to calm himself. Dealing with Roquan was always frustrating. In many ways, he was very traditional. But occasionally, when he felt it was more "practical" to do something another way, he simply did it. He never stopped to think of the repercussions of his actions, or what the other Overlords would think.

"Roquan, I'm not going to waste my time explaining the importance of custom to you, since it will fall on deaf ears in this case," said Rennis evenly. "All I will tell you is that, under no circumstances, must you allow any of the other Overlords to find out about this. For all intents and purposes, she had the Draught, and that's it. And you need to tell her that as well. Amanda must play the part, too."

"Why would the question even come up?"

"Because, like you, Overlords are good at spotting even the smallest quirks in slaves. She needs to be trained in her responses to that."

"But if they do not come into contact with her, what difference will it make?"

Rennis stepped up to the other Overlord. "Roquan, if you want to rally the others, you're going to have to play the game. All of it. You're going to have to bend over backwards to respect every tradition, every custom. And that means you have to Present her."

Roquan balked. "I cannot do that."

"You don't have a choice!"

"The Conclave cannot be more than another moon away. She will not be advanced enough in her training by then."

"It's far enough. You have to trust the other Overlords to be gentle with her." Rennis paused a moment. "Was she a virgin? Did you need to deflower her?"

"I did."

"How did she fare?"

"Quite well, actually. I daresay I enjoyed it myself as much as she. Sirinna was right; the girl is very sensuous."

"And how is she doing now?"

Roquan hesitated a moment. "Passable."

Rennis sighed. "I was afraid of that."

"As far as I can tell, her problem is not one of disobedience, merely of attitude."

"Not surprising, considering she never had the Draught. And you know why it's causing a problem."

There was a moment of heavy silence. Finally, Roquan said in a low voice, "We do not speak of that openly."

"Fine. We won't. But her behavior with the other Overlords cannot raise suspicion. The others find out the truth, and you can forget about your alliance."

Another silence, though not as along. "I will speak with Sirinna on the matter."

"This is the one time I will not offer to buy her back," Rennis said with an uneasy smile. "For you now need her far more than I ever did."

Amanda never thought she would be grateful for having reached this point in her training.

It was now three weeks into it. As it was most mornings, she lay helpless on her back in the shade of the trees at the Circle. Her wrists were pinned down above her head, but she made no effort to resist this time. In fact, her moans were deep and sincere, her breath a hard pant as her pussy rose for a third time that morning with as many partners.

The sex was no less intense since that talk she had with Sirinna. But now the nature of it had changed, and in such a way that it had kept Marisa away from her for the most part.

Amanda tilted her head back as her body began to jerk in rhythm with Garas' now pounding strokes into her. His hips pumped up and down in perfect time and perfect pace, a little extra swing insuring that his shaft stroked her womanhood with each thrust. Amanda had already learned how to angle her own hips in order to receive him better, and as a result, she climbed upward steadily and surely.

This new part of her training had started nearly a week ago. There had been no forewarning, other than Sirinna had told Amanda that Marisa would not be participating in her training that day. Amanda had been so happy she had not questioned it, even after Sirinna had pinned down her wrists and two other slaves had held her legs once more. It was not until she had seen that it was a man approaching her and not a woman that she had made an alarmed noise.

It had not lasted very long. Her initial panic had dissipated quickly when she discovered that there was almost no way that a male could drive her so close to orgasm and not let her go over.

So, in a way, Amanda was grateful to Marisa. Despite having been deflowered rather more pleasantly than she had expected, she had feared what would happen when she was required to have sex with a male. Having to deal with Marisa made everything else seem bearable by comparison.

And the truth was, without Marisa in the picture as much, Amanda was enjoying it more.

"Uhhh!" Amanda cried softly as her pleasure spiked. "Oh God... ohhh..."

Sirinna smiled down at her. "Very good, Amanda. This is as relaxed as I've seen you."

Amanda's voice was an excited pant when she spoke again to her Trainer. "Oh, God... there's hardly anything... relaxing about this, mistress..."

Sirinna laughed softly.

Garas' noises were more muted, only soft, barely audible moans, but he was no less excited either. He enjoyed doing this for Amanda, as he had only just graduated and lost his collar a few days before. He was eager to do his part for the Manor before he was contracted out to a client, and wanted to show his former Trainer Hiatha that he was worthy of his new position.

And the simple truth was, he fancied Amanda. He thought her so much more vibrant and interesting than any of the other slaves. Now that he had the opportunity to have sex with her nearly every morning, he discovered something else he liked about her as well: her tunnel was very tight. He loved the way it seemed to grip his cock when it was inside her. It always ached pleasantly after he was done with her.

Amanda's pussy, however, already ached. Intercourse was more stressful on her than just oral sex. At least, however, she did not chafe. With each and every tryst, her partner -- sometimes helped out by the other slaves -- took the time to arouse her properly. Each time, when her partner slipped inside her, she was nicely wet and slick.

Amanda closed her eyes, her back arching as she soared upwards. Her breath gasped almost in time to Garas' body slapping against hers, her body rocking back and forth from the force of his thrusts. Finally, all her muscles tensed as she hung at the very edge for a few excruciating seconds.

"Ohhh!"

Amanda's pussy throbbed hard, more so than she thought it capable of the third time around. Garas continued thrusting hard and fast, but still as carefully controlled as his slave training had made it despite how close he was to his own climax. His strokes carried Amanda's orgasm along until he shuddered and uttered a deep groan. He plunged himself back into her, pulsing deep inside her, his cock sliding back and forth just enough to keep himself going.

Amanda let her breath go in one last, long sigh. Garas slowed, but did not pull from her quite yet, some lingering hardness in his manhood even as his orgasm expended itself. He dropped slowly onto Amanda and embraced her warmly. Amanda felt his hips grind against hers one last time, briefly renewing her orgasm for a few seconds. One last moan escaped her lips as she hugged him back.

She managed a small smile when he drew back from her. This made Garas smile widely back in return.

"Thank you, Garas," Sirinna said pleasantly as she helped Amanda to sit up.

"My pleasure, Sirinna," he said in return, flashing Amanda another smile before turning away.

Sirinna paused for a moment and spoke to her charge in a softer voice. "And that was much better, Amanda."