The Drow Queen of Glaley [Very NSFW]

[Claudia Emerison]

Claudia swallows twice, her eyes filling and overflowing with tears. "No," she whispers.

[Coquette Blacquin]

"What did she do?" asks Coquette, quietly. What am I in for?

[Claudia Emerison]

"Huh?" Claudia looks confused briefly, then a flash of understanding comes. "Her typical blend of ruthless but well-meaning help that also furthers the influence and prestige of her Familiga. The Matriarch is strangely predicable that way, at least in broad strokes. I can't believe she... did this."

[Coquette Blacquin]

"It surely won't be so bad, being wed to me?" she asks, carefully. 

[Claudia Emerison]

"I-- No-- I mean-- May-- I don't know," Claudia groans, covering her face, mostly the lower half, with her hands. "Sorry, sorry, I-- oh gods I-- I--" Her breathing is speeding up, growing shallow and ragged, and she's swaying just a little as if dizzy. Even partially covered by her hands, Coquette can see that she's gone near bloodless and her eyes are almost completely pupils.

[Coquette Blacquin]

"Sit," she barks suddanly, in that voice. It's a calculated move -- either Claudia will sit, or she won't, and she'll either trust Noire enough to guide her through the panic attack or she won't, and she'll either resent Noire later or she won't. But right now, she needs to gain control of the situation somehow. 

[Claudia Emerison]

Her first wager comes up heads for sure. Without even a hint of delay, Claudia's legs buckle, dropping the merikos gnome to the floor. She's still breathing far too rapidly but her eyes are now locked on Coquette, the look in them one Noire recognizes very easily despite the different race and gender. Not Nathaniel, thankfully, but rather Shisou; evidently, Claudia is a sub.

[Coquette Blacquin]

"Deep breath in. Hold your breath. Three. Two. One. Let it out, slowly! Slower. Good girl. Another deep breath in. Slower. Hold it." With simple, curt orders, Noire walks Claudia through several deep breaths, trying to get her into a calmer space as well as a more obedient one. 

[Claudia Emerison]

Eventually, Claudia is breathing regularly. Her eyes are closed but the tension in her body has mostly faded, leaving her almost swaying on the ground. "Thank you, my Wife," she murmurs from deep in subspace. Voice turning deeper, warmer, she continues, "may I show you my gratitude?"

[Coquette Blacquin]

"You may show your gratitude by sharing  information with me. What caused your fear?"

[Claudia Emerison]

Claudia's lips twist into a pout, then she blinks rapidly. "I-- fear? I wasn't--" She shudders, eyes squeezing shut only a few seconds after she'd opened them, though this time it's for emotional control, not because of sub-space. "That I'd ruin this marriage too. You-- you're not Estelle. And I'm not-- not who I was when-- But sometimes you act so much like her and what if I'm not any better or wiser or more clever than when--" Deep breathes. Slowly. Deeply. 

[Coquette Blacquin]

"I won't hurt you like that," says Coquette, her voice low, intense. "I'm not like the purebloods, not truly."

[Claudia Emerison]

Claudia shakes her head quickly, though she still looks rattled. "That's not true. I mean, they are, but she-- Estelle isn't. It was my fault," the merikos gnome says quickly. "I was stupid and-- She tried but I wouldn't listen. I ruined it."

[Coquette Blacquin]

"People with power have a way of making it seem like the person without power is at fault."

[Claudia Emerison]

Claudia is shaking her head before Coquette even finishes. "No, it was," she insists, a sob catching in her throat. "I was stupid and naïve, I should have known better but I just-- I wanted to believe her so much that-- that--" She breaks off again, slipping back into the steady breathing pattern Coquette had just drilled her in.