The Drow Queen of Glaley [Very NSFW]

[Coquette Blacquin]

~It's fi--alright,~ Cindy assures her. ~It's not as though I've forgotten, only... well, life got better, after. I didn't feel so trapped and desperate anymore. I had a talk with my husbands, my wife gave me the time I needed to heal physically and mentally, and... Things improved. For a while.~

[NPCs]

~Have you... done anything like that since?~ Seli asks gently.

[Coquette Blacquin]

~No. I swore not to.~

[NPCs]

~To yourself? Or..?~

[Coquette Blacquin]

~No, to her pet male.~ Noire again. 

~Don't call him that,~ says Cindy with a surprising amount of fury. ~Don't you ever talk shit about him again, not after what he did for us.~

~...I didn't-- it's just a descriptor,~ says Noire, sounding subdued. 

[NPCs]

~Cindy? Noire?~ There's some concern there, along with some alarm. ~Ladies, what's going on here?~

[Coquette Blacquin]

~Noire thinks all males are subservient, irrelevant creatures,~ spits Cindy. ~My best friend in the world was taken into slavery because he was trying to save us from being murdered, and she still talks about him like he's some beast.~

[NPCs]

~Ah. You've rather thoroughly immersed yourself in Sirenite drow culture then. That must be difficult to practice, given both your home and your special circumstances.~

[Coquette Blacquin]

~It is, yes. Though, I am not Sirenite. I am Drow, of course, and I am proud of my heritage. I do what I can to keep it alive through these trying times.~ Noire sounds a little pleased, to be honest. 

[NPCs]

~That... isn't actually possible,~ Selene points out slowly, sounding almost puzzled. ~To be the sort of drow I gather you're striving to be and not be a Sirenite. The dominant drow culture, the culture followed by all the cities in the Underdark, is  Sirena worship at its core. Well, I suppose you could strip out the actual prayers and such, but every law and custom was purposely crafted to Her desires.~

[Coquette Blacquin]

~I never claimed to be an Underdark Drow,~ she replies mulishly. ~I would have to be an idiot to want That Woman's chains binding me. It would be worse than my ex-wife. No thank you. But there is a natural hierarchy among our kind and it's one of the few cultures where women are on the top of the pyramid. Why would I want to give that up and live like the humans, where women are subjugated and bound and subordinate?~

[NPCs]

There's the sound of a snort, then a feeling of embarrassment. ~I-- I'm so sorry, that was terribly unprofessional of me,~ Seli says swiftly. ~It's just-- Well, to make up for one line toed over, I shall teeter on another I suppose. I'm human, and I'm very much the authority in my family, in and out of the bedroom. I can't even imagine either of my husbands being in charge, truth be told. I won't claim such is the majority of households in Nyra, but it's far from uncommon. One needn't be drow for that, I assure you.~

[Coquette Blacquin]

~You live like an Alessan,~ Noire notes. ~I assure you, most humans do not.~

~We grew up in Glaley,~ Cindy points out.

[NPCs]

~I live like a Nyran,~ Seli says firmly. ~Alessians might be the only City-state to have established a city-wide matriarchy, but they're far from the only place to give females power.~

[Coquette Blacquin]

~Noble daughters are still bartered like horses, sold for political advantage,~ sniffs Noire. ~It's not so different.~