Her Grace, as she liked to style herself. Her Grace, Denise Jeanne Nicole Aelia Lucretia, of the royal House of Aelius, one of the few deposed monarchs of any nation still living, was no stranger to intrigue, political or otherwise. She was no cypher. She hadn’t been a mere consort. She had been co-ruler over Gavinium Magnus for several months in the year 2012, ruling in tandem with her husband and brother, Aelius Lucianus Lucifer George Armand Percival, better known to history as Lucian I, just as she was called Denise I. They had been notorious tyrants during their reign and had been overthrown for it, only the second such case of a ruler being deposed like that in Gavinian history, the first one being the ouster of Prince Jacob II in the year 1900.

One of the conditions of their pardon and release after capture by the rebels been exile, another a divorce and no remarriage, the latter condition one that Lucian had stuck to when he seized power back in 2016, probably out of a dislike of the idea of sharing power again with his sister. Consequently, Denise was a free agent, as it were, as well as a millionaire, due to all of her stocks, bonds, overseas accounts, etc. She would never have to work a day in her life, not that she really ever had, aside from her brief reign as Queen of Gavinium. That wasn’t the issue, of course. She wanted power and she wanted a partner in it…...a man to be what Lucian had failed to be for her, a counterpart, an equal.

Denise harbored no illusions.  Without foreign help, she couldn’t possibly regain the throne from her brother and ex-husband, King Lucian. There were several worthy men of a similar mindset, she thought, in Akai, of all places, and they had similar values from the way that she observed their incestuous tendencies. They were thankfully not Christian, either, not as a rule of thumb, and that could make them a lot more open to what she had in mind. Denise knew better than to include Sanfu on the list of prospects: he was not only married to a Roman princess, but even apparently faithful to her…..How disgustingly Christian of him!

Denise’s first pick, of course, would be the Ditu himself, Hulang Lazin, a man whose title might not sound royal on the surface, but who clearly was the monarch and sovereign of Akai. She liked the idea of bedding and perhaps even marrying the most powerful man in Akai, the ruler himself. That would be the most obvious way to become a ruler again as well. After that, there were a few prospects, but especially Yanfeng, who was a notorious prince with known ambitions who could well rule Akai someday if circumstances were right. From his reputation, his temperament and personality were closer to her own, but he lacked the full power to act on them as she had. She was especially keen on his fondness for rape, having forced and drugged more than a few partners of both sexes in the past.

There were some other possible candidates, but definitely those two were the main choices, and while Denise was willing to share, of course, she wasn’t about to be outfoxed or outmaneuvered. She had her own idea of sharing, and they didn’t include other princesses or royals at all. They included minions, playthings of low birth and low rank, of both sexes, that could be lured or coerced into bed. To her, the main principle was the notion of a “power couple,” and everyone else was just a bed toy. Naturally, she intended to be the dominant half of the power couple, even if only behind the scenes. The issue was power, not perception of power, influence, if you will. She had controlled Lucian like that, at least for the first time around, and she had every reason to believe that she could another young man….or even an older one.

Then there were the women, and Denise wasn’t about to rule them out, even if they were more inherently variable and unpredictable, being the female of the species. The main difficulty, though, with women, was that Denise eventually wished to have an heir, and it was terribly hard to do by coupling with the ladies. She was bisexual, sure, but she was also a realist and knew that none of her plans could bear fruit in the long run without an heiress. She was twenty-five years of age, still in her prime, and it was high time that she bred again…...her bastard by that poor Garzan sod who she raped didn’t count, of course, not unless she needed it to, that was.

Little did Denise know, as her private Learjet arrived on the tarmac, with her small retinue in tow (not an official party, of course, as she wasn’t a head of state these days, this simply composed of fanatically loyal Gavinians who adhered to the oldest and finest traditions of their land). The pilot was one of these, and even when instructing her to buckle up her seatbelt as she prepared to land, he used the most deferential tone with her, unlike the rest. As a former Gavinian Air Force pilot, Captain Jean-Luc Olivier Veil had sworn an oath of fealty to Denise in the past, and he now regarded her as the only rightful ruler of his native land…..plus he was in love with her.

“Merci, Jean-Luc,” Denise winked at him, knowing full well his affections, but never indicating her knowledge, even though they had joined the mile-high club together more than once, “Now, is there a party waiting for me, or am I on my own here?”

“Your Grace, I do believe that I see a party in front, led by at least one of the Princes of House Lazin. Not sure which one, but that’s the impression that I get. It appears that they wish to respect your claim to the Gavinian throne, if you will,” Veil reassured her, averting his eyes to not show the intensity of his affection and desire for her.

“It’s not a claim, Jean-Luc. I am the lawful sovereign of Gavinium, at least in tandem with my brother, in spite of his pretenses to the contrary. At any rate, and thank you very much. And Jean-Luc?” Denise turned to him for a second.

“Oui, my Queen?” Jean-Luc turned to her with shock.

“You and I will not be coupling during my stay, but if or when I fly again, I will expect you to service me, even if you remarry. Are we clear on that? Treat it as a royal command, for that is what it is. You are not just my pilot now. You are my mile-high partner, mon coeur,” Denise told him to his shock as the door opened and she descended down the ladder toward the airport, “You are one of my playthings now and I don’t give up my playthings, even if I have to force them.”

With that, Denise descended to the tarmac in earnest, followed by her social secretary, her hairdresser, her valet, her regular secretary, her publicist, and a few others on her staff, enough to befit a woman of her station and her fame. This also included the nanny for her child, Océane Auberjonois, who posed as one of her office staff and carried her daughter, Camille, pretending that this daughter was her own. The fact that Océane and Denise were occasional lesbian lovers, well, that wasn’t relevant, was it?

As she reached the bottom of the stairwell, Denise put on a very pleasing smile to face her hosts, but she knew that few would be fooled by it. She had a reputation as a deposed despot, after all. At least if they went for her, they couldn’t claim to have their eyes closed, could they? This was the woman who once nearly imposed a “rape tax,” after all, and still regarded it as a good solution to a lot of national problems. Whatever must the Lazins be thinking of her now?