I back out of the room hurriedly, practically running. Will the Overlord ever be able to forgive me for witnessing that? Clearly the incestuous relationship with his uncle had been non-consensual, and he just relived it for my sake, to get me a position of power, or privilege, that I am clueless about. How will this protect my child?
I carefully close the door behind me, and pause there, deliberating. Part of me wants to listen at the keyhole, but I know I'm not mentally prepared to hear whatever they are hiding. I can't imagine how bad it must be, if they think I can't handle it, considering what I have already seen. I drift towards the kitchens in a daze, looking for Britt, feeling mentally bruised.
I see her before she sees me, and I hesitate to enter, just watching her. She is wearing an apron, and nothing else, flour up to her elbows, as she slaps dough on the counter, pummeling it mercilessly. There is something therapeutic about watching her work.
She glances up and sees me in the doorway. "Come in" she invites me.
I step inside the kitchen, and take a seat on a stool opposite her, a large island counter in between us, which has been dusted with flour.
"Done already?" Britt asks, frowning at her dough.
"Ummm, they are done with me... for now. I guess...they wanted me to leave so they could talk more" I tell her.
"I hope Uncle Bjørk wasn't too hard on you?" she queries.
I don't even know how to respond to that. She looks up at my face, sees my frozen expression, I probably resemble a deer in headlights, and she shakes her head.
"I guess he was" she comments regretfully, punching the dough in front of her with added vigor.
"Auggie... just... negotiated... for me to be... on the... High Council" I confess haltingly.
She freezes, looks up at me again. I can see her eyes roving from one side to another, and she seems to be searching for an answer in her mind. Finally her eyes meet mine again.
"He said yes?" she asks, and I nod.
She inhales a deep breath, takes a step back, breathes out with a poof of flour as she slaps her thighs.
"Isn't this a fine to-do?" she exclaims in exasperation.
"Are you mad?" I ask awkwardly.
She laughs in disbelief. "Mad?" she parrots. "I am the least of your concerns! What is that idiot thinking? He might as well have poured a bucket of blood over you, and tossed you into a shark tank! You'd stand a better chance!" She stomps one foot, her outrage plainly displayed.
My hands move protectively to my abdomen, and I hug myself nervously, feeling overwhelmed.
"Oh, dear! Dear, dear, dear!" she walks around the island to hug my shoulders, spreading flour all over me. She heaves a sigh, squeezing me tight. "I'm sure he has a plan" she tries to reassure me. "We just have to trust him. I'll make you some chocolate" she offers.
****************************************
Bjørk pulls a handkerchief from his pocket, and blots at the cum stains on his shirt. The Overlord has reclaimed his seat after pulling his swim trunks back up.
"This is ludicrous" Bjørk comments with aggravation.
"Will you go back on your word?" The Overlord asks, his voice unemotional.
"No! Of course not" Bjørk replies, offended. "I think it's asinine, but I did promise you anything you wanted."
The Overlord regards Bjørk thoughtfully, his posture softening when Bjørk says he will keep his Word. "When I wanted to ban minors from Nordlys, you said it was preposterous" he states calmly.
"I did, that is true" Bjørk replies.
"And how did that work out for us?" The Overlord prompts.
"Quite well, actually, in the long run" Bjørk answers.
"In the short term, you said it was disastrous" the Overlord smiles wryly.
"Well, yes! We lost more than a third of our membership! A good HALF of the High Council walked away!" Bjørk protests.
"And now..." the Overlord prompts once again.
"A smaller Council is easier to rule, a smaller membership is cheaper to manage, and the pedophiles are paying us an absolute fortune to protect their identities. With all the available openings, you have been bringing in new members, fresh young bloods with new money" Bjørk ticks off fingers to list the advantages. "So... I ask you again, how does this girl help us, in the long run?" he queries.
"She needs the highest level of protection available, and that only goes to members of the High Council. I need her to be unassailable to anyone, even YOU" the Overlord informs him.
"Why?" Bjørk demands to know.
"The child she is carrying has been decreed to be the next Overlord, per the rules that you yourself championed at my birth. Naturally, she must be protected... and esteemed" the Overlord states with a meaningful look at the last word.
"I should think you wouldn't mind too badly, if something happened to the child. Then your son would be the obvious choice as your successor" Bjørk argues.
The Overlord closes his eyes, his face showing irritation. "That's the problem I am solving" he responds, his jaw tight.
"Oh?" Bjørk queries.
"My son is barely a toddler, so this has not affected him yet, but when he grows older he will face the pressure of being told he must rule one day. He will be targeted by those who are envious, and he will not understand why his peers are jealous. He will face assassination attempts, and kidnapping attempts. The biggest target on his back will come from your daughter, who thinks her son should succeed me. She has NOT hidden her intentions very well" the Overlord glares maliciously at the table as he recites his concerns.
"Ja... but, you faced all of these challenges and ... you grew up just fine" Bjørk's rebuttal elicits a grimace from the Overlord.
"Did I?" is the Overlord's rejoinder.
"You are very mature now" Bjørk responds.
"And just before my 17th birthday?" The Overlord asks.
"Well... hmph. Don't know why that should matter. You settled down once you came into your own" Bjørk shifts uncomfortably in his seat.
"I would have my son's childhood go differently. Let him grow into himself naturally, without expectation pushed on him of what he should be. Let him live a carefree life, without fear of kidnapping and murder" the Overlord proposes.
"Those things will still be there, they will shift to your child with the girl, instead of little Charles having the primary focus" Bjørk points out.
"That is... acceptable" the Overlord responds.
Bjørk raises his eyebrows, seemingly astonished.
"I sound heartless" the Overlord comments, "but I am attached to my son, and I love Britt, and I would do anything for them. I don't care about this girl at all, I hardly know her" the Overlord confesses with a shrug. "This child won't mean a thing to me."
"When the time comes, this child that you 'don't care about' will succeed you, instead of your son" Bjørk protests.
"Only upon being instated by the High Council. If the High Council finds them to be unfit..." the Overlord's voice trails off.
"He will be rejected, and new candidates considered" Bjørk finishes for him.
The Overlord nods.
"That's a big gamble" Bjørk says warily. "What if your son isn't considered? What if they prefer Layla's son?"
"The way she spoils him?" The Overlord scoffs.
Bjørk grimaces. "Ja, but...?"
"If my son can grow up without these difficulties and distractions, he will become the kind of man the High Council would choose. We just have to keep this other child alive long enough for my son to grow up" the Overlord argues.
"The High Council is a big responsibility" Bjørk sighs. "Each member has an important job, and this girl knows nothing about anything, she doesn't have the background for this. She has no allies. How am I supposed to explain this to the other Council members?"
"I propose we bring back a Council position that has long been vacant" responds the Overlord.
"Oh?" says Bjørk.
"High Priestess" the Overlord suggests.
Bjørk snorts. "You can't be serious!" he laughs.
The Overlord lets him laugh without saying anything, just waiting for him to stop.
"We are ALL atheists" Bjørk finally argues after his laughter dies. "No one believes in a higher power anymore. WE are the 'higher power', that is the point of all this!"
"Do you deny that magic exists?" The Overlord questions.
"It's just technology, misunderstood by the ignorant" Bjørk answers.
"We still use the Ritual for our Initiations" the Overlord points out.
"It adds a level of... mystique. The members like it" Bjørk argues.
"It has been a very long time since anyone has reviewed the archives about the Ritual, tried to understand its purpose, updated it to make it more relevant" says the Overlord.
"It IS irrelevant. A relic. Why change it?" Bjørk demands to know.
"How long do you think it will take her, to read and comprehend all of the archived materials?" the Overlord asks.
"YEARS" Bjørk answers without hesitation. "If EVER. A lot of it is entirely incomprehensible."
"That will keep her busy, don't you think?" the Overlord asks.
"Busy work... for a High Council member?" Bjørk scoffs incredulously.
"If she shows talent in other areas, then by all means, use her. She's not stupid, just ignorant, which can be cured. I would trust YOU more than anyone else to handle that task" the Overlord tells him.
Bjørk looks apoplectic. "You... you expect ME to... you're out of your mind!" he protests.
"We owe her a debt of gratitude, do we not?" the Overlord asks innocently.
"What? For getting pregnant? For going along with this sham that her child is your successor? She'll be paid extremely well for this position, much more than she deserves for busy work! She's the one who should be grateful to us!" Bjørk replies indignantly.
"I'm very grateful to her, Uncle Bjørk. She brought us together again" the Overlord rests his hand on his uncle's knee. "If it hadn't been for her, I never would have had the courage to come back to you" the Overlord makes eye contact with a soulful gaze.
Bjørk sucks in a breath. "Oh, you don't mean... you shameless brat" he scolds indulgently.
He picks up the Overlord's hand, and brings it to his lips, kissing the knuckles, and then places it on his cheek, where the Overlord strokes him affectionately. Bjørk closes his eyes, enjoying the caress.
"Very well" he says, with an air of defeat. "I will take charge of her... education."
**************************************
"You think I didn't notice you with that common whore" Layla barks at Stahri.
Stahri groans over the ball gag, adjusting his stance a little. The butt plug's flange of horsehair jiggles, giving him away, and Layla swats him across the flank with her riding crop. He shudders underneath her, his broad back muscles rippling between her legs. She brings her heels up to press against the sides of his flanks, and lowers her upper body to press against the back of his shoulders, tucking her riding crop under one arm like a jockey.
"She's so boring" Layla complains in his ear, and Stahri rolls his eyes.
"Oh, do you have something to say?" Layla asks facetiously.
Stahri heaves a sigh around the ball gag, shrugging his shoulders as best he can underneath her weight.
"That's what I thought" she says acidly. "You're a big strong stallion, but you're broken, and I am the one who broke you. Don't you ever forget it" she threatens.
Stahri closes his eyes, seemingly holding on to his patience.
"Knuckle push-ups! Go!" Layla barks, slashing Stahri's hip with her crop.
Stahri rolls his body forward to a plank position, while Layla sits atop his back. He shifts his hands to fists, and begins to lower down and press up, and down, and up, and down, and up. Layla laughs, holding on to his sides with her thighs.
When his arms tremble, Layla finally orders him to stop, and resume horse position. Stahri breathes heavily underneath her, air whistling past the ball gag in his mouth. She strokes his long brown mane with her hand, running her fingertips over his scalp, and he shudders.
"Beast" she accuses him with a pout. "You're all sweaty now, you disgusting thing." She reaches down underneath him, and tugs at his hard cock. "I suppose you're ready to mount. I'll fetch the saddle."
Layla hops up off him, and strides over to a wooden chest. She pulls a strange contraption out of it, that looks like two pieces of wide elastic strung between a metal frame.
"Roll over" she orders Stahri.
He moves to comply, careful of his horsetail butt plug, and lays on his back, his cock sticking straight up perpendicular to the rest of his body. Layla places the metal frame over him, lining the cock up between the two lengths of elastic. When she is satisfied with the placement, she straddles it, and slowly eases down onto it, the elastic sagging under her weight.
Stahri moans as her pussy envelops his cock, and she grins delightedly, adjusting her feet for better support. She begins to ride him at a slow pace, holding on to the brace beam of the saddle. A muffled "fuck" comes from behind Stahri's ball gag.
"We've got a long ride ahead" she tells him. "Don't you dare cum until I tell you to" she threatens.