She Who Wander VII

                                                                She Who Wanders VII

	A long procession of horse-drawn carriages emerged from the city and formed up along the road to the castle. Each cart wore its own design and bragged of wealth and power in their own way, according to the owner they carried. Some glistened with gold-leaf designs while others were covered in finely detailed, artisan patterns. Many of them bore a coat of arms of varying prestige and age. Some carriages were accompanied by armed guards.

	Trailing in behind the main convoy, fashionably late, were two carriages that wore no obvious identification. Made from a dark, heavy wood with red details and drawn by two black horses the carriages looked decidedly morbid. Inside they were lined with thick cushions and soft red velvet. In the leading carriage Cherry sat back in her seat with her feet in the lap of her brown-skinned slave who was sitting opposite her. Priya was carefully and lovingly rubbing a scentless cream into Cherry’s feet and along her legs. Her graceful fingers caressed her mistress’s long legs from her knees to her ankles as she worked the cream into Cherry’s pale, smooth skin. She pressed her thumbs into the soles of her mistress’s feet, running them up and down firmly as per Cherry’s instructions. She squeezed and rubbed each of Cherry’s toes until the cream was well worked into the skin. Next she carefully placed Cherry’s heeled sandals on her mistress’s feet and tied up the silk ribbons that reached up to just below Cherry’s knees.

	Cherry gazed out of the carriage window as the city passed her by. She thought of how the night would play out. She was attending the House Master’s ball with a number of goals. First and foremost was to further endear the good House Master Orion to her. While Cherry had made a fortune by herself in the city of Anza, she felt like it was time to expand and Orion Macaridge held the key to that expansion. He was a House Master of the Oharan Merchant’s Guild. Without him Cherry would be blocked from the guild and all the privileges that came with membership. She had already won his affection a few nights earlier but Cherry needed to know her place in the guild would be secure. It was for that reason that she had brought Priya along as her serving girl for the evening. The House Master had ravaged the slave girl in Cherry’s brothel and would perhaps be keen to do so again.

	The second goal of the evening was advertising. Cherry owned a number of whore houses in Anza, in fact she owned all of them, and attracting more clientele was a constant chore. In the carriage behind hers, Cherry had eight handpicked girls with orders to mingle with the crowd and pass on her compliments free of charge. Nothing quite made friends like free pussy. This is where Priya served her second role. She was one of Cherry’s top whores who was reserved for only the wealthiest clients. Cherry had dressed her a purple silk dress that came only midway down her thighs and left her pushed up cleavage on full display. A sheer purple headscarf was wrapped around Priya’s head, obscuring her beautiful but not hiding it. Finally, she was draped in enough gold jewellery to buy her own freedom three times over. Of course, she would never want to leave the service of her mistress. The dark-skinned slave was entirely devoted to her mistress in mind and body. Her soul was ensnared by a powerful demonic magic she was powerless to fight.

	Cherry herself was dressed in a flowing black and red robe with a matching corset to accentuate her already magnificent bust. Her hair was tied into a high bun that was both sophisticated and elegant. For jewellery she wore a simple silver chain from which hung a large oval onyx stone with a ruby set in the middle.

	‘Very good, Priya,’ Cherry said, removing her feet from her slave’s lap.

	‘Thank you, mistress,’ the slave replied.

	‘How did your treatment go today? Are you feeling alright?’ Cherry asked.

	‘I am, mistress. Your lotions worked as well as ever,’ Priya answered.

	‘Let me see,’ Cherry ordered.

	Priya got to feet, standing as straight as the carriage would allow, and lifted up her short skirt. She never wore underwear as a matter of choice because of cultural reasons as well as Cherry’s preference that she remain as available as possible at all times. Priya’s body was entirely hairless, but Cherry ran her hand across the slave’s vulva just to be sure. Cherry examined the slightly darker skin around her slave’s cunt, checking for bruises or injuries. She opened Priya’s lips with her thumbs and examined the fresh pinkness inside. A quick flick of the tongue provided the taste test which Cherry found to her satisfaction. She doule checked her slave, back and front, until she was confident that the girl had healed up well and was ready for another night of prolonged, rough sex.

	‘Very good, Priya,’ Cherry said, sitting her slave back down.

	Despite her often uncaring attitude towards mortals, Cherry did occasionally find herself growing attached to some of them. Priya was one such example. Harold the pirate was another, and of course there was that young farmboy whose name Cherry had now forgotten but who had been with her right when her long journey had begun.

	‘Would you care for entertainment until we reach the castle?’ Priya offered. Her foreign accent still peeping up in her words now and then.

	‘No, Priya. I need to focus for now. I feel like tonight will be very interesting,’ Cherry replied, caressing Priya’s cheek.

                                                                      +++

	The ball was already in full swing by the time Cherry and Priya arrived. Standing at the top of a staircase that led down into a grand ballroom, Cherry surveyed the crowd. She saw almost all the city’s upper class: political leaders, merchants, aristocrats, crime bosses and a handful of royalty. Her eyes quickly locked onto House Master Orion, who stood near the centre of the room, surrounded by people vying for his attention.

	The crier at the top of the stairs announced Cherry’s arrival and more than a few heads turned eagerly to watch her as she and her entourage descended the stairs. Cherry even spotted the golden haired Aska, who quickly looked away in shame. Cherry smirked at the memory.

	At the bottom of the stairs Cherry’s girls disappeared into the crowd in search of interested clients they were bound to find in abundance. Cherry and her girls had a reputation that preceded them. Cherry herself was quickly surrounded by acquaintances and sycophants singing her praises.

	‘You look incredible tonight, Madame,’ said one merchant who Cherry knew was a frequent visitor to her brothels.

	‘At last the party can begin,’ said another.

	Cherry returned polite thank yous and acknowledgements as she made her way through the crowd to where Orion was waiting.
He greeted her with open arms, hugging her and kissing her cheeks. She returned the affection gladly.

	‘Madam Cherry. Welcome to my ball,’ he said, sweeping his arm around the room.

	‘And a beautiful ball it is,’ Cherry returned with a smile.

	‘Not as beautiful as yourself,’ Orion said.

	‘Thank you, kind House Master. But what is this? Are you alone?’ Cherry asked, seeing no woman on the man’s arm. If it pleases you I have brought my favourite girl, Priya. You remember her?’

	Cherry ushered Priya over to them where the slave bowed respectfully and greeted the handsome House Master.

	‘Ah yes, I remember this one,’ he said with a grin, playfully pinching Priya’s chin.

	‘I am happy to have served you, House Master,’ Priya smiled.

	‘Your offer is kind, Madam Cherry, but I do have company tonight,’ Orion replied.

	Cherry’s face would have dropped if she had not seen this coming. She remembered the hidden flavour she had tasted in Orion’s cum. The one she had almost missed.

	‘Where is this fortunate lady?’ Cherry asked with a smile.

	‘Right here,’ Orion said, motioning towards an approaching woman.

	Cherry recognised her instantly. Demons always recognised their own.

	The woman was young, flawlessly beautiful and graced with a mane of rose blonde hair. Her breasts were smaller than Cherry’s but they complimented her slender frame well. Her face was serene, unblemished and immaculately shaped. What Cherry could see that the others could not was the power that writhed about her like lightning crackling through the clouds. This woman was a demon as powerful as Cherry. It was obvious by the way she carried herself that she feared nothing. Nothing in this city could harm her behind her defences, both physical and magical. She was too wealthy for any commoner to get near her and too powerful for any king to challenge.

	The two demons eyed each other in quiet acknowledgement.  It was a delicate moment for them both. Demons rarely shared territory and a meeting like this could easily turn to bloodshed. Vague memories flickered across Cherry’s mind. Wars fought in faraway lands. Claws and fangs and the stench of demonic blood. She quickly dropped the thought and extended her hand politely to the younger demon.

	The blonde accepted it and the two smiled pleasantly to each other. The tension was defused for now.

	‘This is my trusty companion for many years,’ Orion said, placing his arm around the blonde’s delicate shoulders. ‘Ilara Desmonde.’

	‘Well, Ilara, how did you and the good House Master meet?’ Cherry asked with a less-than-sincere smile.

	The House Master waved his had dismissively. ‘It’s a dull story, I’m afraid.’

	‘Oh no,’ Cherry insisted, ‘No story such a such a beautiful couple meeting can be dull. Do tell.’

	‘I’m afraid it is so dull,’ Ilara said before Orion could speak. She gave Cherry enough of a glare to let her know that she should not ask further questions.

	‘Very well,’ Cherry said, ‘Perhaps another time.’

	‘Yes. Perhaps. Now I must go and greet the other guests. We shall have words later’, said Orion. He bowed out and moved into the crowd, leaving Cherry and Ilara alone together.

	As soon as the House Master was out of sight, the two demons looked at each other with new, inhuman eyes. A single look and an almost imperceptible gesture said a great deal between the two women. They moved away from the crowded ballroom and found a secluded corner where they could talk in private without the scrutiny of mortal ears.

	Off to the side, away from the others, they spoke in a language that came naturally to them both but could never be uttered by mortal throats. It was short, efficient and flowed like wine from their lips. To hear it was to grace one’s ears with nectar and turn even the greatest of mortal poetry into obscene grunts and rumbles. The conversation, conducted in only a few short moments, went as thus:

	‘I suspected I was not the first to lay claim on House Master Orion,’ said Cherry.

	‘Indeed you were not. I had taken him years ago and guided him to current greatness. What business do you have with him?’ said the blonde.

	‘Purely business. I have lain the seed of my own kingdom in this city and I have designs to spread it to richer lands. Your Orion is the key to realising those designs.’

	‘Who is your master in this realm?’

	‘I have none. I am a free wanderer.’

	Ilara smirked. Cherry felt unsettled by it.

	‘I should have figured. Your time is long over, wanderer. You have become decrepit and obsessed with the mortals. Your summoning was surely the error of a fool who desired only a cheap fuck toy. A thing kept in the basement to be used and abused at the leisure and profit of their master,’ the blonde said with a smile.

	Cherry felt a sudden bolt of anger surge up within her. It was an unwelcome feeling in a demon such as her. She was a being of pleasure and sensation. She desired arousal, not rage. That was a whole different being. But Cherry felt an anger grow inside her that would surely attract the attention of powers beyond the realm of her creation.

	‘What do you say? You upstart. You infant. You who has never know the power of true men and touched minds powerful beyond measure. You who has come into this world by chance and grabbed onto the underbelly of a rising star like a parasite. You do not know to whom you speak. I am She-Who-Wanders. I am the harem keeper of legends and the mistress of kings. Wars have been fought in my name and the history of nations shaped by my cunt alone. I have tasted the cum of men whose name still brings fear to this day. I have whispered commands to the masters of the world. Who are you?’ Cherry hissed venomously. Her true form began to slip. Scales emerged along her arms and creeped up her neck. Her wings began to itch under her shoulder blade. Onyx claws at the edge of her fingers cried out for violence.

	‘I am The Secret. I am youth and I am fire,’ the blonde hissed back. ‘I am the usurper to your earthly throne. I am the bringer of joys to men who will wipe away any mention of your exhausted, saggy name from history. I am the gatekeeper to your dreams and I have found you to be loose, frigid and thirsty. You are a tired demon and you should be reabsorbed into Oblivion.’

	Cherry almost gasped. Reabsorption was the greatest insult one of her kind could deliver to another. It meant total destruction of personality and memory. Her soul would be torn asunder and scattered into the greater mass of the underworld. Perhaps, in millennia, she could reconnect the pieces of her former self, but more likely she would be scattered to the winds of Oblivion and reformed anew as a new being or several new beings.

	‘You seek to start a blood feud?’ Cherry asked calmly.

	‘No. I seek to remove you and your pathetic kingdom. There will be no feud because there will be no war. I have already won’.
Ilara smiled and politely adjusted Cherry’s neckline for her. ‘Cover up, dear,’ she said in the mortal tongue, ‘Women your age shouldn’t be embarrassing themselves by showing off tits that’ve seen better days’.

	Cherry was apoplectic and frozen with anger. Ilara walked away calmly and rejoined the party, leaving Cherry to fume and rage impotently.
Finding Priya in the crowd, Cherry pulled her whore away from a man she was promising all manner of delights to. She hissed into her ear, ‘Get the girls and meet me at the brothel.’

	Priya did not ask questions or doubt her mistress and did as she was told immediately, dropping everything else. The dark-skinned slave hurried away to find her companions while Cherry headed for the door.

                                                                   +++

	Free from sight, Cherry let her true self tear free. Her wings snapped and popped when she stretched them. With a single, powerful bat of her wings, Cherry was lifted into the air and set into flight above Anza. She flew straight for the brothel, flying like a sparrow evading a hungry cat. She almost burst apart the door to her office when she landed on her balcony with enough momentum to knock down a crowd. He ripped off whatever clothes still remained on her body and paced around her room, thinking. She wanted vengeance. She wanted to see that little whore burned.

	What would be a fitting punishment? Cherry thought about this for a long time. In the end Cherry could only think of one punishment that would suitably bring this upstart down a peg. At first the idea chilled her but she quickly grew to like the idea. It was dangerous. Extremely so. But nothing would be better.

	When Priya arrived, she handed her slave a message and told her to hand it to the Anza couriers. They would carry it fast and surely into the hands of the Paladins. They would come, attracted by the scent of a demon. They would find that blonde whore and she would feel the horrible pain of Paladin steel.

	Cherry shivered at the faraway memory of a similar death. She would need to be careful or else she would feel that pain again.
From her balcony she watched the courier run from the brothel and vanish near the city gates. He carried doom with him. Doom, death and pain.