The Drow Queen of Glaley [Very NSFW]

[NPCs]

The blow caught him off guard, landing cleanly. It drew blood, his lip stained with the yellowish brown blood that many ifrit have. Didn't look like it had cost him any teeth though; she is a bit rusty after all. Though, honestly, it appeared that the shear insult and indignity was what pained him most. With a wordless roar, he whipped out a small silver rod from his robe and snapped it out towards Shiori.

The weapon extended out to triple its previous length with a rapid series of clicks as he swung it. The sudden extension caught her off guard, allowing it to glance off her forearm. There was a faint crackling sound that ended with a small but sharp pop before a tingling sensation is followed by cramping and spasms in the muscles near the impact. Not powerful ones, she could still use her arm albeit with some loss of coordination and some pain, but if that rod hit the untempered body of a civilian, it would probably paralyze them, at least for a short while.

"Take it outside! Take it outside!"

[Shiori]

She pushes back from her shoulder, the arm useless as anything but a shield right now, as she pops him one left-handed in the face. "Back. Off."

[NPCs]

"Lady a whore, lady a whore!"

Dniss snarled at Shiori's demand, clearly weighing his options. Finally, he flicked the baton again, causing it to collapse back into itself so he can tuck it away. "This will not be forgotten. We'll see how much of this fire you keep by week's end."

[Shiori]

"As the lady of the house I'm declaring myself graduated." She turns her back on him to leave, a sign of rudeness but allowed due to their station difference. 

[NPCs]

"We'll see," Dniss hissed at her back.

"How dare you! Wheeee-weeel! Wheeee-weel! How dare!"

[Shiori]

The next morning, Shiori is served breakfast in bed: a small roast bird with rice, a quail perhaps? Shiori stares at the first dish she has uncovered, trying to figure out why it seems so... off, somehow. Finally, she uncovers the other dish, which is a porridge with the head of--

of--

That's the bird's head. Then the body must be...

Shiori screams, shoving the tray away. When Jassinth arrives, she buries her face in his arms and sobs. 


The next time Shiori attends the royal tea, she makes a fashion statement: a pure black kimono, with a grey obi tied in a formal style. This is funeral garb, garb for someone in deep mourning -- not a widow, but perhaps someone whose child has passed on. A widow would be black-on-black, with the family crest on the back and sleeves. It's excessive for even a beloved family pet, but Shiori insists. 

[NPCs]

Shiori had barely stepped into the room before she sees Emi waving her over with widened eyes. Not wide eyes, she's too well trained for that but she's visibly startled. Once she's close to the head table, Emi blurt out, "what's wrong? Who--"

[Shiori]

Shiori slumps dramatically into her chair, the picture of a brooding, morose scholar. "Oh, Emi, it's been so horrible! He k-killed my b-b-baby! My poor, sweet Aiko!"

[NPCs]

There's a stir around the room, though no-one is so gauche-- or inept-- to look directly at them as they eavesdrop with all their might. Emi actually paled, though it's mostly hidden by their makeup. "Your-- oh Ancestor, Shiori, I'm so, so sorry. What happened?"

[Shiori]

"My husband's manservant has been horrible, simply horrible. He says... He says when my husband dies," and here she manages to choke up on the words, "he's to be wed to me, and he has been acting like he's a member of the family already, taking... taking liberties. My little Aiko was a present from and old friend; she had the most lovely plumage, and she spoke words, repeated things that were said. And that beast! That horrible beast had her cooked and served to me on a plate when I wouldn't.... well, what he wanted is too awful to contemplate. I told him I won't betray my husband, and that should have been that."

[NPCs]

The room had gone dead silent less than halfway through Shiori's gushing confession. By the time she'd finished, a few people had already begun to slip out of the room, most of them whispering furiously with a friend. Shiori only managed to catch the expression of one pair, but their expressions were most promising; scandalized, that thrilling horror every gossip yearns for, along with some outrage and determination. Might have simply left to spread the gossip wily-nily, but just as possible they left to share it with intent. 

Emi seemed at an utter loss for words, her mouth simply open slightly and eyes wide as could be. It was Manu who finally responded first. "Has your husband done nothing to protect you? Brothers or father?"

[Shiori]

"I have no brothers, and my husband is infirm, bedridden. My father is dead, long since. I only have my faithful manservant to protect me, and of course he can't strike someone who is so favored in my husband's household." She sniffles, inspiration striking: "I'm holding a funeral tomorrow, I'd love if you two could come."

[NPCs]

Manu looked perplexed at the offer, mouthing 'for a bird?' silently. Thankfully, she has snake lips (meaning no lips), so there's no chance Shiori or anyone else could make out what she said. Emi, on the other hand, was a much more emotional, even romantic, young woman with more heart than friends. 

Tears in her eyes, she reached across the table to grasp Shiori's hand in her own. "We would be delighted to grieve with you." Awkwardly put, yes, but well meant all the same.

[Shiori]

"Oh, thank you, my dear, dear friend. You are so kind to me." Shiori lifts Emi's hand to her lips, shedding tears over it as well. 

[NPCs]

"You deserve kindness!" Emi declared dramatically, half rising in her seat.