The Silver Queen [AU]

[Carver Amell]

He shakes his head. "I was always the fuck-up. The dumb one. The brute. All I wanted was my family to stay together and that wasn't good enough for her to fight for. I wasn't good enough for her to fight for."

[Tethras Clan]

"Blood isn't family," Zevran says softly. "It can be. It should be. But it isn't. My father loved me, raised me and cared for me. My mother abandoned me. My brother sold me. I would pick you, save you, before either of them, blood or no blood."

[Carver Amell]

"We're not," he says gruffly. "I don't get to have family anymore. Family leaves."

[Tethras Clan]

"So what?" Zevran asks with a shrug. "Isabela could die tomorrow. Helene could be called to another path, one I can't follow. Why should I give up today?  Yesterday and all the days before it? Nothing lasts forever, Carver, but that's not the point. You have family now, so love and enjoy it."

[Carver Amell]

"Because it fucking--"

He takes a sharp, ragged breath. "It hurts. The kind of hurt that never really heals."

[Tethras Clan]

"It does. Worth it though... isn't it? I mean... if you could..." Zevran takes a deep breath. "If you could change things. Make it so Beth was never your sister... would you? Nothing else would change. She'd still... Golden Shores would still fall, just as it did. She would... just be a stranger. Would not having the pain of her leaving be worth not having the joy of her love?"

[Carver Amell]

"No," he whispers. "But I can't keep doing it. Beth's death almost killed me, I can't keep... I'm glad Marian left, a little, because if we were still close, I don't think... I don't think I could have..."

[Tethras Clan]

Zevran's eyes flood with pain and his jaw clenches. "I... I cannot fault you for... that choice. It is... hard. To keep trying. To keep loving and living. Making friends among the slaves... a dangerous business. Death, reassignment, betrayal... breaking. It's so very easy for a slave to be taken. But it was worse, being alone. Choosing to be alone. For me anyway. I cannot say what path is best for you. I struggle enough with my own."

[Carver Amell]

Carver takes a deep breath, then another, his hand stilling on Hunter's head. Then, squaring his shoulders, he turns back toward the bedroom. 

"There's nothing here. Let's keep moving."

[Tethras Clan]

Zevran blinks a few times. "Right. Spy mission, slavers, Ozymad-ios or whatever," the merikos drow mutters to himself. "Right. Bedroom was low chance anyway, but good to be sure."

[Helene Dakesh]

Speaking of Ozymandias...

Helene was on a mission. This mission was very important, so they had dressed up appropriately, complete with a greatcoat, travelling boots, and a tricorn hat. Pirates always wore such things. They could wear their favorite blouse: it had lace, like a girl's blouse, but it was a man's blouse in stead, which always seemed apt to Helene. They also wore tight trousers, as were appropriate for all pirates and pirates-in-training and pirate-lore-archivists and pirate-oracles. One of which Helene definitely was. 

Probably. Helene was still a little iffy on the details.

However, the stars didn't seem to be cooperating tonight. Their attempt to find out more about Ozymandias had come up as though it were blocked, or as if there were no such person in the city of Jalzaid. Their attempts to find out about Olocaryn had taken place the day before, and had revealed little of importance. They had therefore been forced to take to the streets themself, searching the local Temple of Alydra's records room for any scrap of news. There was a lovely, hand-cataloged archive of newspapers that had been quite helpful when researching Olocaryn; they decided they would start there, and see what they could turn up.

They could do this. They were almost definitely a real pirate. Pirates could do anything. Just ask Isabela.

[NPCs]

Olocaryn groan softly as he slowly pushes a little further into Isabela. "Brilliant, my dear," he gasps at the feeling of tight, wet heat. "Is the... angle...?" Isabela is reclining on a padded seat, one curved and elevated just right for Olocaryn to enter her with ease. There's also a neat little ledge on both sides that allows Coquette to kneel over Isabela's face. Smirking a little, he slaps his slave to cue her to lift off so their prey can reply.

[Isabela]

"Yes," she gasps, reaching up to tug Coquette back down. It's been so long since I've been with a woman. I've missed this.

[NPCs]

I begin to suspect that there is more than one reason why Belladona was so easy to convince to step out on her dear husband. It seems the good lady prefers cleft to cock. Just as well I have to speed things up, perhaps. Dykes are frustratingly annoying to tempt and break. Rolling his eyes a bit, he continues to pump into Isabela.

Dyke or not, her cunt is wonderful. Perhaps I shall keep her around for a few weeks after her husband is dead to enjoy? Hmmm. If nothing else, it might be amusing to watch Tess dominate both of them. And perhaps have mon chat abuse them both? Oh yes, that will be... very effective I think... I suspect her grudge and fear of Tessa will make her go much, much further than she would otherwise. And once she crosses those lines...

Unseen by the others in the room, Olocaryn grins savagely and he grips Isabela's hips tighter as his thrusts speed up.

[Coquette Blacquin]

Coquette throws her head back, gasping for air as she clings to Isabela's hair for lack of anything else to cling to. Gods, yes, yes, please, Ciren, please~!


She knows better than to whimper aloud, other than the wordless moans her Master likes. Every inch of her burns with need for this, for this coupling, this glorious moment. And then Isabela finishes, rocking beneath her, and the rhythm is lost, and she whimpers, clenching her hands in Isabela's hair. No, not again! Not for the first time, she curses her fickle, hot-and-cold body for refusing to do as its told.