Meadows of Heaven (3/23)

[epeeblade]

Chapter 3

Maggie frowned down at her scanner.  It had been several hours since Morgan's team had returned, and she'd managed to get all the instruments set up and calibrated for the scientists. She'd gone into the shuttle and had run reports to make sure the data was being collected correctly. And that's when she'd spotted the anomaly.

Squaring her shoulders, she copied it to her tablet and went to find Lieutenant Commander Brown. Maggie knew all the instruments were set up correctly, she'd checked and double checked her own work. No, this reading needed to be reported.

"Commander Brown," she said, swallowing against the dryness in her throat.

He looked up from a tablet, and raised one eyebrow. "Corporal?"

"I've found…sir, there's a weird energy reading."

Brown snorted. "Gyllenhaal, there are plenty of weird energy readings coming from that city."

"But it's not," she blurted. "Coming from the city that is. It's about five clicks in the wrong direction."

He straightened. "Are you sure?"

She turned her tablet around and showed him. "It's very faint. I can see how the first team would have missed it; the city puts out so much more energy. But it's clearly to the west of here."

Brown frowned at the tablet. "How in blazes…?"

"Sir," and now here she needed her courage. "I'd like permission to go check it out. Sir."

Brown eyes flickered up at her, taking her measure and hopefully not finding it wanting. "Let me break this to the captain first. Then we'll see about sending a team over. Clear, Corporal?"

"Yes, sir." Maggie beamed at him.

***

They had found the clothes Dom Traci had sent already arranged in the wardrobe and drawers in their suite of rooms. Jensen asked Misha to pick out appropriate wear for them out of the selection, the woman had outdone herself with the amount of choices available. But that made him wonder how long exactly the queen expected them to stay in Harmony.

"No leather pants," Jeff grumbled as Misha sorted through the wardrobe.

Jensen gave him a look over Misha's back, remembering how Jeff had decried all leather trousers on the ship. "If that is the proper attire," he said, "We should at least consider it."

Jeff made a face in Jensen's direction, smoothing his expression as soon as Misha emerged with his selections. Lucky for them, it did not include leather pants.

"I will show you," Misha said, "So you may dress your master as is appropriate."

Jensen worried there might be something too complicated, but luckily Misha referred mostly to the sash that tied around Jeff's waist, and doing up the laces along the sides of his black, but not leather, pants.

"I think Mistress Traci is fond of your assets," Misha said, handing Jensen his own clothing for the evening - a kilt similar to Misha's, but with the sides bare. Jensen's thighs would be completely uncovered.

Jensen looked over at Jeff, who had been quieter than normal since the scene in the baths. Jeff had to get with the program, quickly. They didn't have time to get over his embarrassment. He shook his head and asked Misha if that was what subs wore all the time.

"Only if they're meant to be on display." Misha pointed to the clothing in the drawers of the wardrobe, Jensen's share of the loot, and he saw more normal things there like pants and tunics similar to what Jeff had on. "And for a formal dinner, all subs are on display."

"I'm going to report in," Jeff told them. "Keep getting ready for tonight."

"Yes sir," Jensen said, watching as Jeff left the bedroom, wondering what the hell was going through the man's mind.

***

When Commander Morgan's call came in, Captain Devine had Ensign Smith route it to her personal comm. "Nice to finally hear from you, Commander." She took it into her private ready room and dropped into the comfortable chair she'd insisted on when taking command of the Mercury. A captain needed comfy seating to make the hard decisions, after all. "Report."

"Jensen and I have been given temporary quarters in the palace," he began, referring to Ackles by name for the first time in Devine's hearing. It sounded odd to her ear, though she knew damn well this call was most likely monitored. Morgan couldn't afford to make any slips.

"We've been given a guide to the ways of the city, the sub of one of the duchesses. His name is Misha." Morgan paused for a brief moment. "He's the same one Dr. Johnson insulted during the first mission."

Well, of course, it was what Devine would do, if she wanted to test how Morgan reacted once he'd returned. "Continue, Commander."

"Misha has been extremely helpful," Morgan said and Devine had no idea how to take that, though her mind conjured up quite a few interesting pictures. She wished they had solved the problem of the poor transmission from the planet, she would have liked video to go with Morgan's dry reporting. "He's taken us to get proper attire and showed us around some of the more interesting elements of the palace."

"Proper attire?" she asked.

"Apparently our uniforms make poor fashion statements. And Jensen is expected to wear more revealing clothing during the formal dinner we've been invited to this evening."

"Sound like you've been making good progress, Commander." Not that she expected anything less.

From the moment she had met Jeff Morgan, he'd been constantly challenging her expectations. He had the reputation of a hero and a hotshot, his actions during the attack on the Alfani space station still spoken about, even over ten years later. Devine had known men who'd let that label define them, who'd expect to be treated a certain way. But Morgan had walked onto her ship a broken man, still in mourning for his wife.

Not that anyone could tell, really. She had known because she'd had access to his records, saw the transfer notice as an effort on behalf of Morgan's therapist to save his career after the loss had nearly broken him. But Morgan had swept in, taking over the reclamation project and instilling loyalty in each and every Corps member on his team in less than a month. Devine didn't know what had caught them all so thoroughly: Morgan's realistic down-to-earth nature, his willingness to do any and all work, no matter how menial or his refusal to accept any special treatment due to his status. She suspected it was a little bit of all three.

"I don't know how long we'll be here," Morgan said. "Clearly we're expected to stay overnight, after this formal dinner."

"Just keep regular radio contact, Commander. I don't want to have to send anyone in after you," Devine replied. They didn't need to lose anyone else in pursuit of the damn alien technology.

Devine didn't know what her superiors expected. It was tempting, to be able to out-tech the Confed for once, to have the newest and shiniest weapon. They might start making gains then, instead of slowly losing planet after planet in the border zone. But she'd seen the video, the sensor readings, and none of that made a lick of sense. How were they going to translate that almost magical tech into something they could use?

First thing first, Morgan had to succeed in his mission. She had no doubts about him, or Lieutenant Ackles either. General Ferris had never steered her wrong in her recommendations before, and she'd pulled Ackles from his planned mission specifically because Devine had asked for the best the Sex Corps had to offer. But Devine couldn't control the hundreds of variables down there on 328, she could only review reports and hope for the best.

***

"Yes, sir. Morgan out." He closed the comm and took a moment. Jeff had escaped the bedroom to make the call, but now he found himself in the playroom, as Misha had called it. The giant X in the center of the room, the boxes of sex toys, the chains on the wall, all reminded Jeff of what was expected of him. Jensen had told him that people enjoyed this kind of thing, but Jeff still found himself unable to completely understand.

He'd enjoyed what happened in the baths. Stars, of course he had, who wouldn't enjoy fucking Jensen's pert little ass? But the rest of it, making Jensen beg, showing off for the people in the baths, Jeff didn't know he had it in him.

Damn it, Morgan, he thought, you can't lose it now, not when you're so close. He had to bring that dominant persona back, had to live and breathe it for the entire mission. Mistakes like doubting himself could get both Jensen and he killed.

Jeff turned to go back into the bedroom, when his eye fell on the trunk Jensen had begun placing his toys in. Maybe he'd get inspiration here. He flicked it open, and then smiled, this, this was perfect.

***

Jeff charged back into the bedroom, brandishing Jensen's harness in one hand. "On display, you said?" he looked to Misha for confirmation and when the sub nodded turned to Jensen. "You will wear this as well."

Jensen blinked at the sudden change in Jeff, he had that same charge of personality that had emerged in the baths and Jensen only hoped Jeff could hold on to it. "Of course, sir."

"And this." Jeff let a long thin lead fall from his other hand. A leash.

Jensen could feel his cheeks burn. Oh, Jeff was trying to kill him, he thought. This felt like more than just a role. Jensen hadn't been able to indulge in his submissive desires for a long time, and then usually only as part of his duty. This felt like something he'd do willingly. He'd have to be careful not to fall in too deep.

"Yes, sir."

Misha led them to the Great Hall once they had everything sorted out. Jeff had clasped the leash to the o-ring at the front of Jensen's collar and kept the handle in his right hand. He never went so far ahead that Jensen felt a tug at his throat, but he expected Jensen to keep up.

Whatever Jeff had decided during those few moments he had left them, Jensen was glad of it. Now he didn't have to worry about Jeff falling into his role and could worry about more pressing things. Like if they were behaving appropriately.

Misha touched the wall and opened a portal to the room, gesturing that Jeff should enter first. The Great Hall, Jensen found, was an enormous room, with colorful crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, banners of gold and red along the wall. A huge table took up the center of the room, each chair had a large pillow placed just beside it. To Jensen's surprise, people already lined the table clothed in various forms of outlandish dress. Jeff's black pants and forest green shirt were down right tame in comparison, although it made him stand out, and, Jensen admitted, Jeff looked damn good.

The pillows had to be for the subs, though at the moment, they stood behind their masters, each pair looking as if they were waiting for something. Misha's mistress held out her hand and he went to her side, kneeling for her to ruffle his hair before standing behind her.

"We await the queen," Duchess Claudia said. "She will introduce you."

No sooner had Claudia spoken than a horned fanfare started up, seemingly coming from all directions at once.  Jensen looked for musicians, but couldn't find the source. All eyes turned towards the wide staircase at the head of the room. Jensen saw Queen Michelle Tal for the first time.

The queen paused at the very top of the stairs, giving all a moment to adore her, and yes, Jensen thought, she looked the very picture of regal, with her sharp cheekbones and carefully schooled face. Blond hair piled in an intricate collection of curls behind a golden crown. Her strapless gown glittered like mother of pearl, parting from a slit in the very center as she moved down the stairs, revealing her long legs and sharp pointed heeled shoes.  Jensen could not look away from her sharp gaze, and he could well imagine this was a woman who held power.

A young woman walked beside her, her dress much more sedate, but colorful. Her blond hair was left free and loose. Unlike the Queen, she smiled as they descended, her expression friendly and open. Behind them both followed a man, the Queen's sub, Jensen supposed, based on his golden collar and leather clothing.

Jensen hadn't seen a golden collar before and his eyes flicked to the other subs around the room, counting the variety of colors and made a mental note to ask Misha about them later. He knew what red meant, but Jensen needed to know more before he misstepped. Who knew what the black collar around his own neck meant?

"Welcome," Queen Michelle said, still standing on the steps, about halfway down so everyone had to look up at her. Well-done, Jensen thought. "We are doubly blessed during this most holy of seasons, to have guests from beyond the stars."

Jensen would have expected whispers here, but these folk were far too disciplined to allow for it.

"Commander Morgan," she continued. "And his sub?"

"His name is Jensen," Jeff supplied at her prompting.

To his surprise, Michelle turned her gaze to him. "Welcome, Sub Jensen."

He bowed his head, not knowing if it were proper for him to speak.

"You have come during our time of Choosing," she went on, "And so you find the royal five of Harmony all in one place. You have already met Duchess Claudia and her Primary, Sub Misha."

Jensen noted that term - Primary. Did Claudia have other subs besides Misha?

At her introduction, Claudia grinned at the two of them. Michelle moved on, introducing the older man next to her as Duke Leonard and his sub, a very young girl named Alisha. After him stood a woman with coffee colored skin the queen named Duchess Rachel and her sub Amanda. And next to the empty chair on the side, the one Jensen supposed Jeff would be assigned to, stood a dark haired man with a glowering gaze and his blond sub, who had kept his head lowered during the entire introduction.

"Duke Adrian and his sub." The queen paused here and took a deep breath. "Peter."

The girl beside her made a small sound and covered her mouth with her hand. Jensen didn't know why, but figured it had something to do with the sub. Perhaps they once had something between them?

"And this," the queen put her arm around the young woman, ignoring her out of place outburst, "is my daughter the Princess Alona. And my Primary, Sub Fredric."

Jensen repeated each of the names to himself. It would not do to forget at an inopportune moment.

"You may be seated. Misha will lead the subs to the kitchen."

Oh, Jensen realized, they must be expected to serve their masters. Jeff unclasped his leash and he filed in behind the line of subs, minus the Queen's sub, oddly enough, to another alcove along the wall to the room behind it. It didn't look like any kitchen he'd ever seen, lacking some basic things like a stove for one. There was a slim metallic table in the center, with an odd looking hood over it. Trays of food covered the table, plates of finger foods, they looked like pastries and sweet meats to Jensen, not seeing anything he's consider a main course among the selection.

"Jensen," Misha said, coming up beside him. "Can you pour? I don't expect you to know all the courses."

Jensen hefted one of the pitchers on the edge of the table. A sweet fruity aroma floated up from the drink. "I should be able to. Is there any order?"

"Queen and then the princess," Misha said, "Then you can go around the table. Everyone thereafter is equal rank."

"Should my master be last then?" Jensen stumbled over the word 'master' realizing that it was the first time he had referred to Jeff thus.

Misha frowned and tilted his head, as if such a thing had never occurred to him before. "But he is an honored guest. Would that make him first? L…Peter, do you know?" he turned and asked the quiet sub Jensen had noticed. The young man still kept his eyes lowered, not even looking up when Misha addressed him.

"It depends on his rank," Peter answered softly. Jensen liked his voice, deep and slightly breathless. "Even as a guest. But the queen seated him on the same level as a duke, so you may treat him as such. Her word is law."

"Thank you," Jensen said, but the young man still didn't look at him. The other subs didn't keep their fascination with him a secret and snuck looks, or outright stared. This reticent young man intrigued him. Of course, Jensen thought, he always was fascinated by the ones who had no interest in Jensen himself.

He noticed Peter wore nipple rings, and a loincloth that barely covered his groin and ass. Leather bands circled his wrists, upper arms and ankles. Like Jensen, he wore a black collar. He was the only sub barefoot. Jensen himself wore a laced up pair of sandals Misha had said were acceptable. This sub was certainly a mystery.

"Come, we've taken long enough," Alisha snapped at them, deftly hoisting a large tray over one shoulder. "Just follow us, Sub Jensen, and you'll do well."

She gave him a bright smile as she led the way out of the room. Jensen noticed that her collar was blue. Like Misha, she wore a simple leather kilt, although unlike him, a matching corset tied up her waist, propping her breasts front and center. The other female sub, in contrast, had her breasts bare, save for a silver chain encircling them and attached to her blue loincloth.

He carried his pitcher and followed the line back, doing as instructed and serving the queen first. Jensen knew she watched him, could feel her gaze heavy on his back as he poured the pale red liquid into her goblet and then her daughter's.

"Thank you," the princess whispered to him, to his surprise. She seemed very young, he thought, despite looking well into her twenties.

Jensen nodded in her direction and moved clockwise around the table. The doms were asking Jeff about the stars and he caught Jeff in mid-explanation about the Isaac wormhole.

"While the wormhole was extant, ships frequently traveled between my world and yours, in a fraction of the time it would normally take. That's why so many colonies were started out here. But once the wormhole collapsed, we lost all contact with everyone who had left."

"And ships that travel through space, like our trams?" Claudia said, resting her chin on her folded hands. "I suppose that wormhole was like a tunnel?"

"Sort of." Jeff took hold of one of the cloth napkins on the table. Jensen kept watching, fascinated at the by play. "This corner is Earth. Here, is your planet, see how far they are? A ship would have to travel this distance normally, however the wormhole made it so one entered space here," he pushed his knife in one end "and exited here, without traveling any of that distance."

Jensen wondered if Jeff felt hampered by being unable to delve into higher physics with his explanation.

"So if the wormhole collapsed," Rachel put in, "Then how are you here now?"

"Our technology has changed in three hundred years. We now have ships than can travel much faster than the ones that first settled here."

Jensen kept his snort at that to himself. The uber-light speed technology had only been around for about fifteen years. And Jensen himself was the reason the UP had any access to it at all. He doubted Jeff knew about that.

"And why are you here?" Leonard asked, slow and sure, his gaze leveled heavily in Jeff's direction.

"Some of the same reasons we came in the first place." Jeff gave him that easy smile, the one that set everyone at ease, that called men to follow him into danger. "Exploration of the unknown. Knowledge. But mostly to reestablish contact with our colonies. Start up relations, maybe trade. Let you know that we're still here."

"We hadn't known that you were lost in the first place," the queen said with an arch of a perfectly groomed eyebrow.

Jeff chuckled, just as Jensen came around the table to fill his goblet. "I'm surprised," he said, "that you don't have stories, legends, about coming from beyond the stars."

"We do," Claudia spoke up, surprising Jensen. "But that's all we thought they were, stories."

After Jensen finished pouring, he turned to see the other subs taking their places on the pillows. Setting the empty pitcher down on a side table, he moved to Jeff's side and knelt on the plush surface, his back straight and his palms resting on his thighs. The others began to eat, and Jensen hoped Jeff had the sense to wait and watch what they did.

The queen started first, taking a bite for herself, then lifting a tasty morsel to feed to her sub. He licked her fingers delicately and gazed up at her with a seductive grin. She smiled fondly at him, and picked up another bite.

Jeff took the cue and when the others started to feed their subs, held out a bite for Jensen. Of course most of dinner consisted of finger food, Jensen thought, chewing the puff pastry carefully, all the better to feed the subs with.

When it came time to drink, Jensen watched like a hawk, wondering how these doms would go about it. Would they pour some liquid in a dish and leave it on the floor for the subs to lap up like a dog? The queen dipped her fingers in her goblet and let her sub catch the droplets with her tongue. Claudia, to Jensen's surprise, merely held out hers for Misha to drink from. But the most startling was Adrian, the man to Jensen's left. He took a deep gulp and then crushed Peter's face to his, forcing their mouths together as he fed the drink that way. Normally, Jensen would think that was incredibly hot.

But not when Peter's eyes were shut so tightly tears leaked out of the corner of them, or how he raised his hand to wipe his mouth, not looking at his master. No, Jensen thought, something was really wrong there.

"Mostly, we just want to learn more about you." Jeff was doing his part to keep up the dinner conversation, ignoring the tableau to his side. "Your culture is rather . . . different to us."

"Not too different," Rachel said with an eye towards Jensen.

Claudia turned to her. "But have you seen his eyes? His sub has green eyes. I didn't know such a thing was possible."

"May I see?" Rachel asked and before Jensen knew it, he was being inspected by three curious doms. He tried really hard not to blink.

"Enough, let the boy finish his dinner," the queen snapped. "You'll have plenty of time to inspect him. Especially since they will be staying for the Choosing."

Jeff asked "The Choosing?" as the others went back to their seats. He took the opportunity to feed Jensen some more, and Jensen licked his fingers gratefully. Their gazes met, and Jensen tried to give encouragement in his.

"It's the time of the year to make contracts. When subs choose and are chosen." The princess spoke this time, looking like she could hardly keep still in her chair.

"Alona will choose her first sub this year." Queen Michelle looked at her daughter fondly.

First, Jensen thought, as if there would be more than one? He needed more information; they were operating practically blind on everything.

"More tye before we begin the floor show?"

As the heads nodded around the table, Jensen realized they were speaking about the drink and he scrambled to retrieve his pitcher and find his way back to the kitchens. He was aware of chairs moving and other subs moving around and serving more food as he searched for the right alcove. Ah, there, Jensen moved a curtain aside and found himself back in the odd kitchen. He set the pitcher on the table and looked around for another, puzzled. Perhaps there was a faucet somewhere he needed to get more from?

Don't be stubborn, he thought, moving to duck back into the room and ask, but he heard voices just as he was about to shift the curtain back. Jensen stilled.

"You shouldn't be back here, Alona," came the first, low and hissed. Peter, Jensen thought.

"I won't get another chance to talk to you, Levi," Alona said, her voice low, but sounding almost panicked. So, Jensen thought, he was right, these two had history.

"It's Peter," the sub corrected her.

"How can he do that? Just give you a new name?"

"He is my master." Peter sounded tired. "I am subject to his will in all things."

"You can break the contract during the Choosing. I'll tell mother."

"No!" Peter snapped. "Don't speak of this to mother. You know it upsets her."

"Levi, it upsets me."

They were brother and sister? Jensen thought, having to reevaluate the entire situation. Obviously Alona didn't care for Duke Adrian, but how the hell had Peter - Levi - whatever his name was, ended up with him anyway? Jensen backed up, not wanting to interrupt the rest of the conversation, he needed to find more tye anyway. When he got back to the table, his pitcher was already filled to the brim.

"Ok, not too creepy," he murmured, looking around, but still found himself alone in the room. "Thanks?" Jensen said to the air, and then turned back, knowing they were waiting for him out there.

Peter passed him as Jensen left, heading for the table for another tray. Jensen hesitated for a moment, but he had nothing to say, not without admitting he had overheard that conversation. With a sigh, he headed back out to the main hall.

Only to find the table had disappeared and the doms all now lounged in settees, each having their own half couch, low to the ground with the sub's pillow just before it. Rachel's sub had her head in her mistress's lap, and the duchess carded her hand through soft blond hair absently. The goblets had moved to tiny end tables, and Jensen scampered to fill them and take his place. Peter appeared with his tray, placing a plate of dessert on each table, just a shade behind Jensen.

"Will Misha be the first?" Queen Michelle asked and Jensen wondered what he had missed.

"Misha is always the first," Rachel said.

Claudia stood and gave a gentle bow towards the queen. "We are honored. Come Misha."

Jensen settled on his pillow just as Misha stripped himself of his kilt and crawled into the center of the circle at his mistress's feet. He kissed the tips of her shoes, then clasped his hands behind his back, so he knelt with his cheek to the floor.

"I had thought, since today is a very special occasion," Claudia began, "to offer his use to our guest." She nodded in Jeff's direction.

Jensen felt Jeff stiffen behind him. He leaned back till his bare back made contact with Jeff's leg. Don't look to me, Jensen thought, you can't be seen as weak, even if you say no. If ever there was a time to wish for telepathy, this was it.

"Since I am new to your city," Jeff said, "Allow me to watch and learn before I act."

Claudia smiled at him. "Well said, Commander. I've seen how you look at him." She drew a hand across Misha's well-rounded buttocks. "I'll leave the offer open, for when you feel ready to take what you want."

Jensen didn't know if that was a dig or a generous offer. These people were so confounding!

"I appreciate that," Jeff said, and though his tone was dry, he maintained control of the situation, and that was the most important thing.

Why did Jensen feel as if they'd barely dodged a missile?

***

"Well," Jeff said as Jensen closed the door to their suite behind him. "That was interesting."

"I think we learned quite a bit," Jensen said, the evening's events running through his mind. He'd need time to process it all, already he had dozens of questions to throw at Misha once he could get the sub alone for a conversation.

Jeff dropped onto the bed and started pulling off his boots. Jensen dropped to his knees and began to help, giving Jeff a pointed look. They had to act as if they were being observed at all times, they had agreed to that before leaving the Mercury. If that made things more difficult, well, Jensen had to bear it. The only thing he regretted was being unable to discuss the situation with Jeff, share his insights and evaluate Jeff's. Jensen didn't realize he'd miss those conversations on the ship, the constant dissection of why exactly anyone would participate in the lifestyle, never mind enjoy it.

"Still no mention of Tappen and Johnson." Jeff frowned. "Maybe she's waiting for me to bring it up."

Jensen tilted his head to one side and thought about it. "Maybe it's the kind of thing you don't talk about in public. We'll have to see if you can get a private meeting with her. Maybe ask the princess tomorrow." Alona had invited Jeff to come with her as she scouted potential subs at the market.

"Mmmm," Jeff said. "I don't suppose you have any advice on how to handle that?"

Jensen opened his mouth to reply, setting Jeff's boots off to the side, but a knock had them both looking up. "Who?" Jensen murmured.

"Stay," Jeff said, climbing to his feet. "I'll get it." He touched the wall next to where a door should be and it shimmered open revealing, to their surprise, a boy who couldn't be older than twelve or thirteen. He had wide blue eyes, shaggy blond hair and dressed in a long tunic and leggings. Jensen realized this was the first child he had seen since setting foot inside the city.

"Queen Michelle has sent me," the boy said with a little bow, "To ask permission to have a private audience with your sub."

Jeff exchanged a quick look with Jensen. "Come on in, kid." He stepped back and let the boy enter. "She wants to see him right now?"

The boy nodded.

Jensen shrugged at Jeff, giving him the hand signal that he was all right with the situation, if Jeff wanted to send him.

"You should go," Jeff said quietly. He was right, Jensen thought, here was their chance to start negotiating getting Tappen and Johnson back.

Jensen nodded and turned to the boy. "What's your name?"

"I am Colin." The boy grinned and gave a little bow with a hand flourish, as if he'd been practicing.

Not 'Sub Colin' Jensen noticed, nor did Colin state the name of his master, as most subs did when introducing themselves. "Are you a sub, Colin?" he asked, giving in to his curiosity.

"I will be," Colin bit his lip, looking uncomfortable. Jensen wondered if he'd asked something he shouldn't have. "Thought I'm two years away from even beginning training. The queen lets me work as her page."

Jensen filed that away. "Well then, Page Colin, what does one wear to a private audience with the queen?"

About fifteen minutes later, Jensen followed Colin through the halls of the palace, his kilt and harness exchanged for a tunic that wrapped around his waist, leaving most of his chest bare, and a flowing set of leggings. He felt slightly more covered, and less worried about what exactly the Queen would ask of him during this meeting. Jeff had already begun pacing, even before Jensen had left their rooms, and Jensen wondered what shape he'd find the carpet when he got back.

Jensen guessed that normally Colin must be pretty chatty, because the boy looked like he was about to burst, fidgeting on his heels as they waited inside the lift. Through the glass, Jensen caught sight of the city, lit up with gold and blue lights, like jewels on a black canvas. He pressed a hand on the panel, marveling at its beauty, from here everything seemed quiet and serene.

Finally, Colin let out what he'd been holding in during the walk to the elevator. "Everyone is saying you're from the stars. And no one can believe you've got green eyes and they don't know what that means . . ."

"Wait, wait. Who is everyone?" Jensen smiled down at him.

"All the other subs," Colin said impatiently. "And mama and papa."

"Colin, how many subs does the queen have?" Jensen asked, just at the lift came to a halt.

"Oh, two hundred and twelve. Thirteen when Sophy has her baby."

Jensen swallowed his shock, and a good thing too, because they had come to the very top of the tower, where the queen had her quarters. The elevator opened its doors to a well-furnished sitting room, with sculptures on fancy end tables, erotic tapestries hanging on the walls, and curious-eyed subs in various modes of display. Some lounged on loveseats, while others were bound - one to a pillar in the corner of the room, another hog-tied and gagged on a table. Colin led them through this not saying a word until they reached a door with two guards on either side.

"Good luck, Sub Jensen," Colin told him, leaving Jensen to enter as the door shimmered open.

Much like the other rooms Jensen had seen, rich dark furniture and thick tapestries decorated this sitting room. But unlike the suite he and Jeff were assigned, this place seemed lived in at first glance -- a platter of food on an end table, a stack of what looked like tablets on another table, a line of portraits along one wall, stacks of fluffy pillows around every couch and chair. And there was the queen, sitting in a low lounge chair, pondering what looked like a game board on the small table in front of her.

She smiled at his entry and Jensen immediately dropped to his knees and lowered his eyes. He had no idea what to call her - Queen Michelle? My Lady? Your grace? He wished he had asked Colin before the boy just left him.

"You'll find I don't suffer groveling easy." Her voice came from his right and Jensen realized the queen had stood and come to his side. "I would prefer it, Sub Jensen, if you waited until asked before kneeling."

He swallowed, not looking up. "Yes, uh, ma'am?"

The queen coughed, swallowing, he realized, the sound of her laughter. "You may address me as mistress," she said, dropping back into her lounger. She no longer wore the outlandish garb of before, instead Michelle tucked in the folds of a very comfortable looking robe. "And you may kneel on the other side of this table."

Jensen stood and made his way to the directed pillow, where he sank to his knees carefully, regarding the queen out of the corners of his eyes. As he did so, another door opened up on the other side of the room, and the queen's sub - Fredric he recalled - entered, carrying a mug of steaming liquid. He knelt to the queen's right and held it out for her.

"Thank you, love," she said softly before taking a sip, still regarding Jensen.

He kept very still, knowing any fidgeting would look undisciplined.

"Have you ever played tournabout, Sub Jensen?" she asked, tilting her head towards the game board level with Jensen's chest.

He look a look at the game pieces, arranged similarly to a chess board, but instead of the black and white pieces he had seen before, Jensen realized the tiny pewter pieces were made in the shapes of different animals. Each had gems for eyes, the ones on Jensen's side were green and blue on the queen's side. "No, mistress," he said. "I have never seen this game before."

Michelle reached out to pick up a piece, the tallest on the board of a noble looking lioness. "The object of the game is to get your opponents forces to join your side. It combines negotiation and strategy."

Much like life on 328, apparently. "May I?" he asked, reaching out for the board. At her nod, he lifted one of his pieces, a tiny frog with bright green eyes. "It's warm!" he exclaimed, surprised at the feel of it, slightly disturbing in his hand. Jensen stroked the top of the head of the frog and nearly dropped it when the figure's head moved in his direction.

"You haven't seen its like, have you?" she said thoughtfully. "Your pieces will aide you in play. Share a game with me, Sub Jensen." The queen briefly went over the rules before placing her piece back on the board. Jensen put the frog down carefully, wondering if the queen had ever seen any of these animals before, or if this was a remnant from the colony that had been, over 300 years ago.

She moved first, a tiny rabbit forward, and kept her eyes on the board as she questioned him, distracting Jensen a bit from his own pieces. "I am curious about your eyes. Do all subs from your world have green eyes?"

Jensen looked up, forgetting about trying to appear submissive. "No," he said. "Not at all."

"Then how are subs chosen?" she appeared mystified.

Jensen moved one of his rabbits, chagrined when the queen's group circled his and the green-jeweled eyes changed to blue. "It's not so much chosen," he began. "Some people feel called to be a submissive. Others dominants. Still others don't take part in that lifestyle at all."

She frowned. "What a disordered world you must come from. How is anything accomplished when its citizens don't know their place?"

He had to agree with her, thinking about how much pain and misery had come from the war that would not end, how no one would agree, how day to day living seemed so precarious. "It is our way," he said, trying to smooth things over. He had to ask though. "And subs here, all have blue eyes?"

"The eyes are the windows of the soul," the queen told him. "From birth so is our destiny revealed. But none, neither sub nor dom has ever been born with green eyes."

"So that's a yes, then." Jensen felt a flare of victory. He'd been the one to suggest the eye-color theory, since no one else could figure out why out of Jeff's group of five, only two men were taken. He pushed his frog piece forward, wondering how he could bring up the missing people.

"How long were you in training?" she asked, one hand absently stroking her sub's hair. He'd leaned into her side, until his head was all but propped on her lap.

"Four years," Jensen answered, and that was the truth. He'd spent four years at the military academy, learning, in addition to boot camp, how to ply the sexual arts. He just hoped she didn't ask how long he'd been with Jeff. "But our ways are very different. We don't wish to make any further insult, but you must understand our way of life is nothing like yours."

"Hmmm," she said, leveling those dark eyes on him. Jensen felt small under that gaze. He imagined this woman had no trouble commanding her 200 subs! "You seem to be doing quite well. Unlike your predecessors."

"We learn from our mistakes." He tried to move his swan piece forward, but the swan turned and went back to its place on the board. Instead, his wolf stood and walked over to the Queen's group of rabbits, which all changed to green. "Oh."

She didn't hold in her laughter this time. "I told you your pieces would aide you. The wolf intimidates the rabbits, you see."

"Instead of eating them," Jensen murmured. He wondered which of them was the wolf. "Mistress, when you do plan on releasing the two men you have taken?"

"I don't know your master, sub," the queen began. "I can only guess at the kind of man he is until he proves himself in how he treats you. Until I am satisfied, well, I must keep my own word. I will release them when he shows himself a proper master."

"Will you at least speak with him?" Jensen asked. He wondered why she had set this meeting up with him and not Jeff in the first place.

"Words are one thing. Actions are another. You should know this, as a sub. A master can promise anything you desire, but you cannot trust him until he acts." Darkness clouded her face and Jensen was sure she was speaking of someone besides Jeff.

"My mistress," her sub spoke for the first time, lifting his head from her lap to touch her cheek with one hand. Jensen could see the love he had for her, and knew these two were connected, in a way a dom and sub should be.

Before the queen could reply in kind, that back door shimmered again and two subs appeared in the doorway, a young man and a woman with a toddler in her arms. "Forgive us for interrupting, my mistress, but Carly would like her goodnight kiss."

"Of course." Michelle rose from her seat, no less graceful and majestic for her robe. She took the child from the girl's arms and tickled her chin. "You be a good girl and go right to sleep for your mama."

The child giggled and allowed her cheeks to be thoroughly kissed before the queen handed her back to her sub. Then Michelle kissed both subs, wishing them a restful sleep.

Jensen tried not to stare, so instead he found himself meeting Fredric's gaze. He saw no jealousy there, Fredric seemed more concerned with Jensen himself than his mistress's other subs.

Michelle came back after the door shimmered closed on the little family and Fredric raised his head. "If I may speak, my mistress?"

"Please do," she told him.

"I believe Sub Jensen is right to ask more about our ways. Let him and his master learn before we judge them."

"As I was thinking. Did you find Sub Misha a helpful instructor?" she directed this to Jensen.

"Yes, mistress."

"Good. I'll confer with Claudia, see if she can spare him for a few more days. I think we have much to learn from each other."

Jensen couldn't agree more.



Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Chapter 21 | Chapter 22 | Epilogue