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Post by Acacia Bailey on Mar 21, 2018 16:36:29 GMT -5
It had been a month since that fateful night the theater burnt to the ground. A month since Acacia had been taken by the man who called himself The Sovereign. Since there had been no footage from outside cameras of her leaving the building, the world reported her missing, presumed dead. Understandable, since no one else had left that building alive. The young woman had no real inclination to correct them. Her life with Roman was almost everything she could have wished for. It was mostly training, of course. They had a major goal they were trying to accomplish, after all, so the majority of her waking hours were spent in pursuit of that goal in one way or another. For most people, that would undoubtedly be too much. For Acacia, it felt like home sweet home. It had been her laser-like focus on dance that had allowed her to get as far as she had. Countless hours of her day had been spent training, stretching, researching… it was an obsession that never slept. There was always something new to learn. Luckily for Acacia, the same could be said about this new life she was determined to lead.
As promised, Roman had begun to teach her some of his vast knowledge of magic. Acacia was a quick study, but of course it was never quick enough for her own perfectionist nature. It would be a long time before she was even close to Roman’s level. Probably years. But having him there to guide her really helped her progress speed along. She actually had a decent command of fire now. Still lots to work on, though, which was why she never complained when she received new tasks or drills. It wasn’t easy. Usually she returned to her room at night both physically and emotionally exhausted. It had gotten easier, though, which was encouraging. Someday, maybe soon, she would have power beyond her wildest dreams. Who was she kidding? Even the tiny amount she’d already learned was far more than she would have ever expected for herself.
It was probably no surprise to anyone that as time passed, Acacia’s infatuation with her host grew exponentially. She’d known it was likely to happen from the moment she agreed to stay with him. Call it a hunch based on her initial attraction to him as a man, not to mention his power. A hunch that had proven to be absolutely accurate. It didn’t help that he’d referred to her as his queen that first night. Nothing had happened yet, but she wasn’t going to push the issue. He was still so far above her, but someday she would be worthy of him. And on that day, things would be different. In the meantime, she would keep doing what she was doing. At the moment, that was sprawling herself out on an armchair in the vast library with a book on the arcane arts in her lap. Her eyes quickly scanned the text, soaking in every bit of information she could, while the hand not occupied with turning the pages twisted endlessly around one of the ringlets in her untameable hair.
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Post by The Sovereign on Apr 18, 2018 15:38:21 GMT -5
One month. One month had been all it had taken for this young woman to gather enough knowledge, bring forth enough focus, and show Roman enough desire to make him even more confident that he had chosen correctly. Within the first two and a half weeks, she had already a firm grasp on controlling fire, the most volatile of all the elements. There was much for her to learn still, but she continued to impress even the likes of him. The Sovereign, as he was known to the rest of the world, was one of the most powerful magicians the world had ever seen, second only to the one called Amulet. Acacia would soon eclipse any apprentice that Roman had ever taken on. What was more, she was even learning a bit of his tinkering with his scientific devices.
Through all of this, he could tell that she was growing tired. "All work and no play..."
He stood behind her during one of their training sessions, so close that her back was against him, her right hand outstretched, palm up, with his under, showing her the proper form. His left hand resting on her hip, he whispered the words for the incantation in her ear, an incantation that would conjure a small projectile of force that she could hold in her hand and throw when ready. Usually when Roman cast this spell it was an orangish red in color. He was interested to see what color it would be for her. He waited for her to repeat the words. He knew about her attraction to him, and couldn't deny that he was equally as attracted. He had, of course, called her his queen already. It was really only a matter of consummation now. But more than anything this was a test of her focus. Could she still call forth this conjuration with the man she so wanted pressed against her?
That night, after the training session, as he passed by the library, he noted her studying another tome and twisting her hair. He stepped inside and took a quick glance at the tome. Ley lines and geomancy, fonts of magic. These were the areas that magical energies were at their most powerful. It was good that she wanted to know this, though maybe a bit premature in study. Still, he would not deny her the knowledge. "You have made me proud," he stated bluntly. "Your focus and drive are more keen than any that I have trained before. Your command of your own drive highly impressive. Your thirst for knowledge...," he stopped, leaving it at that. He whispered a short spell under his breath, one that would cause her to quickly catch her breath as a shiver would run down her spine. Her entire body would shudder and ultimately cause her to orgasm. "There is a time for work, and a time for play. You have worked hard, and tonight is the night that you get to use what you've learned." With another hand motion and some whispered words, a slinky, yet elegant black gown appeared in his hand, a pair of leg wrapping heels in his other. "You'll find the jewelry to go with this in your chambers. There are some people you should meet, a society of beings that bow to me, as all should. As my queen you will be by my side, and command the same respect and fear as do I." Afterwards they would return here for the afterparty. The drones were already preparing his chambers for the night.
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Post by Acacia Bailey on Apr 30, 2018 20:16:41 GMT -5
That night of training hadn’t been far from her mind since it happened. It was still the closest he’d ever been to her physically. There was the occasional brush of skin-to-skin contact when he had to correct her form or something, but that night… She’d known it was a test. How could it not be? Roman did nothing on accident. Every move he made was calculated down to the little details. As much of her time as she’d spent in the past learning how to channel her emotions to help her with the task at hand, this had still been her greatest challenge. Hearing the low baritone of his voice whispered right into her ear had nearly outdone her. There was no limit to the power this man had over her, using neither magic nor science. It was only the aforementioned training in combination with her fear of disappointing him that kept her focused enough to repeat the words effectively and summon a yellow-orange projectile to her outstretched hand.
On this night, Acacia had been so engrossed in her reading that she hadn’t noticed Roman’s presence in the room until he spoke. Immediately her attention was drawn upwards to his face, her lips curling upward into a smile when he said he was proud of her. That was all she wanted to hear. Okay, maybe not all, but it felt damn good to hear him say that. All the hard work she’d been doing had not gone unnoticed. His praises of her trailed off, but his lips were still moving. That wasn’t unusual for Roman. He often cast small spells to accomplish simple tasks. It was always intriguing, seeing what he was going to do next. But as she waited to see what his spell had conjured, she started to notice something strange happening within her own body. It started with a warm tingling sensation that caused her to shiver. The air suddenly felt thicker, more difficult to inhale. It wasn’t until the waves of pleasure had nearly crashed down upon her that she realized what it was he’d done. The tome slipped from her fingers and slipped off her lap harmlessly onto the floor as she basically lost all voluntary control of her body for a few glorious moments.
It took her a moment to regain her composure, but when her eyes did reopen they were dark and heavy-lidded with desire for the man in front of her. He was holding a dress, obviously the article he’d chosen for her to wear for the night. Her lust would have to be reigned in once again so she could meet his followers. Even she couldn’t deny a break sounded nice, and she was curious about this society of his. How would they respond to Roman’s choice of queen? That was what she was going to find out shortly. She leaned forward to pick up the book from the floor, placing it on the end table before sliding out of the armchair and approaching her king. He knew exactly what he’d just done to her, so for the moment she felt no awkwardness about her reaction or the after-effects. She stood in front of him, taking a moment to look him up and down as if she was mulling something over in her head. Then she nodded. “I won’t be long,” she promised as she reached out and took the dress and shoes from him, making sure that her fingertips brushed against his arms in a way that could maybe have been totally accidental and innocent but wasn’t either of those things.
Back in her room, she slipped out of her normal clothes and into the dress. As usual, Roman’s taste in both clothing and jewelry was impeccable. A light touch of makeup, and Acacia barely recognized herself in the mirror. This was the sophisticated young woman who would be his queen. When she knew she was ready, she left her room to rejoin him so they could head to this gathering he’d arranged.
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Post by The Sovereign on May 19, 2018 17:22:53 GMT -5
It was good to see Acacia vulnerable for those few moments. Despite the increasing respect for her that Roman was gaining and the feelings that were burning inside of him, control was something that was fleeting for all, and everyone had those moments. She needed to balance working with enjoying herself, and tonight would be the perfect way to show her that. He felt the subtle brush of her fingertips along his arm, but it wasn't until she'd left the room that he allowed a small smile to form on his face. She was his queen, his empress. The world would bow to them.
She wasn't wrong to say that she wouldn't be long. "Beautiful," he remarked as she entered the room. He took her hand, and with his left he began a complicated set of motions, uttering a few arcane words that he'd not even taught her yet. This was a spell that he'd not taught any of his apprentices in the past. It was a powerful spell that if done incorrectly would maim or even kill the caster. As he finished his words, lines began to form on the floor beneath them, white like chalk and curving with perfect fluidity, ending in a large circle enclosing runes. He lifted her hand and arm in the air, wrapping it and his around her, pulling her close to him, then speaking a few more words. In an instant, the two were teleported to the location of the gala he'd spoken of, standing on a perfect replica of the sigil he had formed at the manor. "The easiest way to keep secret locations is to not have doors," he stated. "When we leave, I will teach you the words, and you will teleport us back." That was a big thing. There was a lot of trust there for him to say such a thing, and be fully inclined to follow through with those words as well. It would show her just how proud of her he was.
In a few more moments, a few other people started to appear in similar fashion. Immediately, they all turned to Roman and Acacia, bowing in turn and greeting them. Leading her past all of them, barely even acknowledging them at all, they entered a large ball room where most of the guests had already assembled. One hand slid down slightly past her hip, the other accepting a two glasses from a passing servant. "This is but the beginning. There are seven hundred people here, all at your command. Want something, you have but to say it, and they will retrieve it for you. No questions asked." No questions, if they wanted to survive the night, anyway.
The two were approached by a man clad in a black tuxedo. A bit overdressed for the evening's events, but he was still looking very sharp. "Sire, we've assembled in the great room, as per your orders. We are ready when you are." Roman simply nodded, directing his chin for the man to lead them. He did, and opened the doors for them both. Inside there were five people standing around a table. Each of them bowed as the two entered. "Sit down," Roman commanded. Each of them did, very quickly. "These are my direct subjects, your direct subjects. They handle the small things that I deem unworthy of my time. Monetary deals and legalities. True, I could easily circumvent it all if I so chose, but it helps to have some sense of validity within the current system of the world. You cannot change a system if you don't first understand the old one."
"Ladies and gentlemen, meet your queen. Acacia. I trust that you will find no issue in following her orders." In moments, the people were surrounding her, pledging their loyalty with small trinkets as gifts. "You are welcome to stay for this meeting if you'd like. Or if you'd rather, you can mingle with the masses."
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Post by Acacia Bailey on May 25, 2018 16:58:09 GMT -5
Roman was just full of compliments tonight. Not that Acacia was complaining in the slightest. This was a side of him that she’d seen hints of in the past, but never this fully. While she figured he would not be fully relaxed while in front of his subjects, he was not entirely acting the part of her mentor. At least temporarily. She knew she had much more to learn in the long run, so she had no doubt that side would return.
She realized then that she’d still been thinking of the people she was going to meet as his subjects. They weren’t going to be just his much longer. Soon they would be her subjects too. She needed to keep that in mind now. He’d accepted her enough that now he was presenting her to them as his queen. Part of Acacia couldn’t believe this day had finally come, that all of this was happening in the first place. Yet as every touch from Roman kept confirming, this was very real and everything she could ever have hoped for. Acacia took his hand, watching the runes appear on the floor below them. Then, suddenly, they were no longer in his home. The new surroundings were very different. How strange. That hadn’t felt at all like when he’d teleported her away from the theater that first night they met. Much less disorienting. She took in the decor, the architecture of the building, all the while listening to her king’s words. “Brilliant,” she commented. It really was genius to not have doors. It prevented people from being able to pinpoint exactly where they were, or to give away the location. If anyone was going to try to attack them or spy on them, they would have to enter the room the same way as everyone else. "The spell is only taught to your most trusted?" Too many people knowing how to get there could potentially open them up to some kind of betrayal.
They made their way through the room. The few people she did glance at were obviously curious about the woman on their sovereign’s arm, but that fact earned her a level of respect beyond what any other newcomer could possibly expect. Respect, admiration, reverence… It was power like she’d never experienced before. Roman had told her what to expect, but she still didn’t feel like she was properly prepared for how good it felt. Not entirely unlike the feeling of being onstage, just on a larger scale. No wonder people got addicted to this kind of power, used drugs even to try to recreate the high. No wonder Roman wanted to rule the world. With his power and ambition, she had no doubt he would find a way to accomplish this feat. The group gathered here were obviously a good start, and their followers would only grow in number from here on.
A glass of wine was offered to her, and she took it gratefully. It really was nice for her to relax like this, after a month of working her ass off. She was glad Roman recognized the need for balance. It was something she needed to work on herself, having constantly been accused of being a workaholic by some of her fellow students. That seemed like a lifetime ago now. From the main room, he led her to a smaller chamber with a much smaller group of individuals. Hearing him announce to these people that she was their queen sent another small thrill through her body. He must have told them about this ahead of time, since all five had come prepared with gifts. She wondered how long ago this had been planned, but decided that didn’t matter at all. She was just happy to be his queen finally, in a more formal sense than just him speaking the words behind closed doors.
It wasn’t until Roman mentioned the meeting that Acacia realized this was not purely a gathering for pleasure. Made sense, really. This group probably was not all in one place very often. “I will stay,” she replied after a moment of thought. She was interested in the operations of the organization, and figured this would be a good opportunity to learn more about it. The last thing she wanted was just to be Roman’s arm candy. Maybe she would even be able to provide some input, though she was mostly planning to listen at least for now. Nearly as soon as she spoke aloud her wish to join the meeting, a servant seemed to appear out of nowhere to bring her a chair. Oh, she could get used to living like this. She slid into her chair and took another sip of her wine as she waited for the meeting to start.
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Post by The Sovereign on Jun 23, 2018 20:21:36 GMT -5
She deserved every compliment and more. She was learning so much quicker than anyone he'd taught before. It was really quite astonishing to the mystic. And it endeared her to him even more. She was indeed his queen. He would admit that he was pleased that she believed his idea to not have doors to be brilliant. "Only the most trusted," he repeated. It was a difficult spell to learn, and those who were loyal to him, completely loyal, were rewarded with the knowledge of that transport spell. Mingling the room for a few moments, Roman noticed just how much more comfortable she seemed to be getting as the night moved along. But then it was time for the meeting. The gifts set before her were expected, as they'd all been notified that their monarch had taken a queen. It was expected of them to rain down treasures upon her. They did not disappoint. Jewelry, flawless gemstones, priceless artwork, it was all presented to her in the fashion expected of by nobility.
Roman would also have to admit that he was pleased when she decided to stay with the meeting. After placing her chair, the servant bowed and moved on, again, just as was expected of him. Roman pulled the chair back for her to sit, and then nodded for the others in the room to sit back down as well. They all did, in turn, but as always, Roman remained standing. "So?" he questioned. In clockwise order, they began their reports. The first, an older woman, probably mid forties, with ashen hair and dark eyes stood and opened a briefcase. She pulled out two files. "My queen, I am Gemma Rubenstien. I head up the finding of mystical artifacts and testing of tech. My king, we have two reports for this meeting. The first is a gemstone the size of a fist, that when looked through allows you to see that which is not visible to the naked eye. It bends the spectrum of light to reveal what would seem to not be there." Roman nodded. "Potentially very useful. Where was this found?"
"Arizona, sire."
Roman surveyed the room for reactions. The group of five almost always talked about their reports before their king showed. Nothing angered the man more than having to hear the same reports twice. Luckily for Gemma that wasn't an issue, as she was the only one who worked this angle of the Sovereign's kingdom. "Sire, it was quite costly to get this item. We lost four men of the seven man expedition, and....," she stopped. Roman's eyes darted to her. "And?" The older woman, who was normally rattled by no one and nothing, was clearly frightened. "It is entirely possible that the survivors may have awakened something within," she stammered. Roman's head tilted slightly. "Awakened what?"
"We're not sure, sire. The gem was pulled out of the eye socket of a statue. I humbly request that we send a team to discover what we may have...." "WE?" Roman erupted. "No, no, say it."
"What....we may have awakened, sire. I'm...." Roman held a single finger up to silence the woman. "Gemma, you have been a loyal acolyte to me for thirty two years. In all that time, you have never once disappointed me. All fairness, it was not you who pulled the gem from the eye socket, so it is not you that has provoked my ire. This will be dealt with accordingly. Send who you need to send. Deal with it and return to me with a more acceptable report. What else?"
"The other report is on the tech you ordered us to research and test. The testing is still ongoing, but so far the results have been favorable. I believe that with another few weeks of testing, we may have a fully operational cybernetic enhancement for the brainwaves of a person. We could potentially create a telepathic soldier."
"Acacia," Roman turned and regarded. "She's asked for a few more weeks testing. Do you believe telepathic soldiers would be worth that time?"
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Post by Acacia Bailey on Jul 23, 2018 21:24:45 GMT -5
As planned, Acacia was quiet as she watched the beginning of the meeting. Gemma’s terrified face certainly caught her attention. Just what could they possibly have awakened in Arizona? She didn’t know enough about magical artifacts and that kind of thing yet, but she would definitely be doing some research back at home. The old woman’s fright and Roman’s anger made her all the more intrigued. Next time they had a meeting like this, hopefully there would be answers.
She’d been hoping to learn more about the king and his operations during this meeting. Of course, she did, and some of it was information she hadn’t been expecting. Gemma had been working for Roman for over thirty years? But Roman couldn’t possibly be old enough to have had followers for that long. It would be impossible...if it weren’t for magic being involved. It was possible he’d found a way to delay or even stop aging. There was nothing she would put past his power. That made her wonder just how old he was, and that made her wonder whether or not there had been other queens in his past. If so, what had happened to them? Did it actually matter, though? Even if he’d lived over a thousand years and had a hundred queens, none of them had been her. If he had the secret to eternal youth, she would be the one he shared that secret with so she could rule by his side through the ages.
It was the king himself who drew her into the conversation. In theory, Roman’s question was simple. Were the potential benefits of this new technology worthy of a few extra weeks of testing? A simple yes or no question. But it wasn’t that simple. There was all sorts of information Acacia did not have. First of all, she had no idea how long the team had already had to complete this task. If they’d had two or three years, she might say they’ve had enough time and it should be done already if it was possible. But if they’d only had a month or so, a few more weeks surely wouldn’t hurt. In theory. That was assuming the king wasn’t anxious to use these potentially telepathic soldiers in the near future. If he was planning to make some kind of attack in a week or two, then her requested additional time would make the technology irrelevant by the time it would be available.
In the end, she decided to trust that Roman had given her all the information necessary to make an intelligent decision. If they’d already taken an extended period of time, Roman would most likely have shown irritation or impatience, neither of which she’d been able to sense when they spoke of this project. She was also fairly certain that he would have turned her down outright if he had more immediate plans for the soldiers. So she nodded her head slowly in response. “A few weeks doesn’t seem unreasonable in exchange for having a way to relay information and orders without any kind of visual or oral cue.” She could picture an entire squad moving into position in unison, without any kind of code to crack or any communications to intercept. There were risks, of course. A telepath could potentially manipulate the enhancements and cause problems. And she had to wonder what would happen if the other side had a telepath. Would they be able to tune into the frequency, or however that worked? Maybe eventually, but she was confident that for a while, this kind of thing would throw their enemies for a loop as they scrambled to catch up. Nothing ever worked perfectly according to plan, but she was confident it would give them a leg up.
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Post by The Sovereign on Aug 2, 2018 14:07:00 GMT -5
Roman watched as Acacia thought out her answer. It was a good thing. Though the question seemed easy enough, it wasn't easy at all. Telepathic soldiers would be a boon for sure, but there were always downfalls to that. Once her answer was given, Roman turned back to Gemma. "A few weeks you shall have. Complete this research, and ensure, as we discussed, that the telepathy is limited only to within the ranks of the soldiers." Gemma bowed and sat back down, a pleasant smile forming on her face. It seemed that she'd once again pleased her king, and that was her ultimate goal, as it was the goal of all of his subjects. "At a later time, you and I will discuss Arizona," he added, noting her smile fade away. He moved around, letting his fingertips slide slowly across the back of Acacia's neck and walked to Gemma's chair. He placed his hands on each of her shoulders. "Take heart, it was not your mistake. And those who made the error have paid the ultimate price already. It is on you to simply fix the situation." He turned and moved back to the head of the table, standing behind his queen as his head turned to the next in line.
A tall, well built man stood and bowed slowly. "Sire. My queen," his deep voice boomed. "I am Marquis Handral. I am the, as a gang would call it, consigliere to our lord and master. I handle all legalities. I fear I generally have little to report, and tonight is no exception." The man was very well put together, very well spoken. His demeanor was cool, and his suit perfectly pressed and tailored. He looked the part of an attorney. "Your purchase of the land in the south of the city is nearly complete. A few more i's to dot and t's to cross, and your signature is all that will be needed." The man sat back down after Roman nodded. This brought them to the third person. A shady looking individual who slowly stood up. Shadows seemed to coalesce around him, making him hard to see. "Suppress it," the king commanded. The man took a deep breath and the shadows came to rest. His face, scarred and bruised, showed a young man, knowledgeable beyond his years. His form was frail, though not weak. "Majesty, my queen, my name is Johnny Phantom. As you can clearly see, I am able to manipulate the shadows around me. As such, our king has granted me the position of heading up his house of assassins. My report, we pushed back the intruders known as the circle of assassins. They sent ninjas against us, but I believe it was a scout mission more than anything else. A point that a few of the others don't agree with me on."
"Why do they not agree?" Roman asked. "Sire, they believe it was a failed attempt on my life, that perhaps the enemy thought you'd be weakened by my death." "Go on," Roman ordered. "We did manage to take one prisoner. Interrogations have not been successful yet, as you know assassins are not easy to break. But we will break him, and all information received will then cross your ears." Roman held up one finger again. "How many casualties?" he asked. "All but the prisoner on their side, only one of ours, sire." Roman turned to Acacia again, his eyes turning a yellowish color for a brief moment "There is no need for further interrogation. Kill the prisoner, take the body to the location that I have just placed in your mind, Johnny." He turned away again. "I have known the leader of that organization for years. He is a wise man, intelligent, and would not make a move against me unless he felt he had an ace in the hole. My queen and I will pay him a visit tonight, remind him of his place on his knees."
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Post by Acacia Bailey on Aug 30, 2018 16:48:59 GMT -5
Roman followed her suggestion upon hearing her conclusion, giving Acacia confidence that she’d made the right decision. Much like Gemma, she was glad her king seemed pleased by her response. The fact that he’d given her the opportunity to make such a potentially important decision was what really brought her pride. This was a test, and she was well aware of that fact, but she was still glad she’d even been able to make it this far. Whatever it was Roman had seen in her that first night, he’d obviously been right so far. What else was new? He seemed to know just about everything. Including how to give her just the right amount of physical contact to keep her constantly wanting more. He’d been keeping her close tonight, more so than ever before in the months since she’d come to live with him, and it was the purest kind of torture being unable to be as close to him as she desired.
The next man who introduced himself didn’t have much to report, yet something about him made Acacia feel at ease. She smiled and nodded when he introduced himself, watching him give his report. He reminded her of her father, she decided. Not in terms of his looks in any way, of course, just in the way he dressed and carried himself. She wondered why Roman was purchasing land to the south, but decided this wasn’t necessarily the place to inquire. If he felt like she needed to know, she was confident the king would inform her. She’d already learned more about his operations tonight than she expected.
When it came time for the third man at the table to speak, Acacia felt an odd sort of tingling feeling in the back of her mind at the sight of the man wrapped in shadows. The feeling went away once the man had done as Roman commanded and suppressed his powers. It made her wonder if that strange feeling had something to do with her own power. She and Roman hadn’t even begun trying to explore that power yet, focusing instead on control of her magic. If the king was right and she did possess the power of negation, it could potentially explain the feeling she’d gotten. She wanted to explore that feeling, just to see if she really could cancel out someone else’s power. That could potentially be very useful, especially against someone like this man Johnny. The person would undoubtedly have skills far beyond their powers, but being caught off guard by their abrupt cutoff would probably make things work a little more in her favor. She was getting ahead of herself, though. They hadn’t even been able to make her power manifest. Not yet. Hopefully that would be soon.
It was what the shadow man said that intrigued her. So Roman did have enemies after all. It surprised her, considering how powerful he was. All she could assume was that very few people knew his true power, otherwise he probably would have already had the entire world on its knees. It seemed they had another task to attend to tonight after this party was over. A small smile appeared on Acacia’s face, and she nodded her head. “As you wish, my king.” A chance to test what she’d learned over the last month. Against assassins. She knew she would have to be careful, but at the same time she couldn’t wait.
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Post by The Sovereign on Sept 21, 2018 20:28:24 GMT -5
The night was going well. Three of the five closest advisors had spoken and given their reports, and Roman was moderately pleased with each of them. Over the time they'd been serving him, they'd all found out that it took hard work to please the man, and they'd all come to know that the hard work would also be rewarded. Johnny sat back down after the king bade him to do so, and the fourth member of the advisors stood up. She was a young woman, a beautiful and alluring blonde with striking green eyes and slightly taller than an average female. "I am Anna Vuronsk, my queen. I look forward to serving you as well as continuing to serve our king. I run diplomatic affairs, as I like to put it. But more bluntly, I use my stable of whores to blackmail and otherwise get information from those in high power within the city. Leverage is always important. My king," she said as she rolled her pinky finger in the air and muttered a few words. An image of an overweight man receiving oral sex from one of the women popped up. "This is the city's lieutenant governor. Married, two kids both in college. His marriage is on the rocks, can hardly tell why," she added sarcastically.
"So you have leverage on him," Roman intervened. He waved his hand through the air, dispelling the image. "Yes, your majesty. He was one of those who were compliant with Nick Sharpe, the creator of the Augury Soldiers, in the creation of those devices. We've gained insights into the construction of the machines. I can transfer the files to you whenever you wish it." "See it done," Roman replied. She nodded and sat down. The final member of the group stood slowly. He was tall, with a lumbering form and fiery red eyes. Black hair pulled back into a ponytail and wickedly pointed horns adorned his head. "Sire," he stated bluntly. "My queen, I am Shazirad. My single responsibility within this group is to ensure that none of these fine people step on each others toes. A checks and balances sort of thing. My king, they have all stayed out of each other's way, as you command them to do, and there have been no issues within." The king nodded. It wasn't often that he bothered with those that the rest of the world would call demons, and it took someone of immense power indeed to subjugate one as Roman had done.
"You have served me well," Roman said to all of them. "Continue to do so. Is there anything you would like to say before I dismiss them?" he asked Acacia. They all waited with baited breath. Speak or not, after the king would dismiss the group to mingle along with the others as the night continued on. "You continue to impress," he told her once they'd found a private moment from the people coming up and offering their admirations. "You no doubt have questions about the way I run my organization, some of my dealings. I will answer them all. You are to know everything I know. It is only fair," he said, resting a hand on her lower back. "When we go later tonight to see the leader of the assassins, remember that ninjas are only truly effective when you cannot see them. I will place an enchantment on you that will make their weapons useless, brittle against your skin. And then we will show them the meaning of power."
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Post by Acacia Bailey on Oct 24, 2018 18:48:43 GMT -5
The fourth council-member gave the fledgling queen reason to pause. Anna was breathtaking, sophisticated, well-formed with legs at least a mile long. And to top it all off, she was the madame of a whorehouse. How much experience she must have in the ways of pleasuring a man. It wasn’t difficult to imagine the woman demonstrating those talents for her king. The fact that Roman hadn’t made any moves on Acacia despite knowing how badly she wanted him had given her some doubts over the last couple of weeks. Doubts about what he meant when he said he would make her his queen. Tonight had done much to dispel those doubts already, but there were still traces of it lingering in her mind. And now here was this gorgeous woman whose presence on the council was certainly not helping matters...
Acacia quickly checked her jealousy. It helped that the look in Roman’s eyes as well as his body language gave her no indication that he thought of Anna as anything more than another trusted member of his council. And even if something had happened between the two of them, it didn’t matter. That would be in the past. After all, who was it Roman had chosen to be his queen? Acacia. Her youth and inexperience hadn’t given him a moment’s pause from the first night they’d met. For some reason she still didn’t completely understand, he’d chosen her. So the important thing here was for her to absorb the information Anna was providing. The Augury Soldiers. She remembered hearing about them in the news, although at the time she hadn’t paid that much attention since she wasn’t a powered human. It didn’t affect her in the slightest, so why divide her energy and focus on something she didn’t need to know? Now, though, it was potentially very important information. Knowing how those machines were created meant they could find ways to beat them easily.
Finally, the last member stood. At first, Acacia was confused about what he was. It was possible that he was just a gifted human whose powers had changed his appearance slightly. There was no tingling in her mind when she looked at him, so she doubted he was someone whose power could potentially be negated by her gift. Okay, so not human. He looked like a demon, but those weren’t real, were they? So maybe he was some kind of alien. Acacia knew there were plenty of those in the city, especially after the Omega’s attempted invasion of their planet. Either way, his only job seemed to be keeping the others in check, so his report was short. Was there anything she wanted to say to them now? Was there anything she could say? Her mind was full with trying to process everything that had happened tonight. “Such an enthusiastic welcome…” Considering they were Roman’s subjects and she was now his queen, it was to be expected, but she still wanted them to know it hadn’t gone unnoticed or unappreciated. “I’ve learned much tonight, and look forward to more in the future.” Roman had graciously given her the opportunity to contribute to the discussion tonight, but she looked forward to a time when she could be more confident in her knowledge of their operations and her decision-making therein.
She’d performed in front of thousands of people over the course of her pre-Roman life, but speaking in front of such a small but powerful crowd was a little nerve wracking. Thankfully that was over now, and Roman had pulled her off to the side so they could have a chance to discuss things. While she was grateful he was willing to tell her whatever she wanted to know, that was for the future. Tonight, her focus had to be on this threat they were going to be eliminating. She nodded in response to his plans for using magic to make sure she was protected from physical harm. “What about this ‘ace in the hole’ you think he might have? Some kind of leverage or anti-magic device?” As far as she could see, that was the biggest potential weakness. His technology was impressive, but the magic allowed him to do just about anything he could dream of. Not having that at his fingertips would definitely be a handicap of sorts.
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Post by The Sovereign on Nov 9, 2018 23:06:54 GMT -5
One of the things that Roman prided himself the most on was his patience. Not patience for people, but patience in timing. That in itself was the reason why he'd not acted on his carnal urges towards Acacia. She was as gorgeous as gorgeous could get, so it had been far from easy, but it had been necessary. She was his queen in every way except for the consummation, but her training had to come first. Experience had taught the ruler that rushing something such as sexual desires could often impede the progress of learning. It got into a person's mind, made them foolish, not able to focus on things that they should be focusing on, sloppy was the word. There was no doubt in his mind that Acacia could handle anything thrown at her, but there was no need to tempt that. So the fleeting glances, the subtle, lingering contact, and even the use of his magic to bring her to climax were small gestures that he was sure she'd understand meant that she was his, that she had indeed been claimed. Any man who tried to challenge that would feel the full force of his wrath.
The reports were in, and the queen had spoken. Each of the council members lined up after, in the order they'd presented themselves, and as was customary, said their farewells to the king, and now his queen. Shazirad was the last, and his gaze met Roman's for a brief moment. Roman had held sway over the demon for some time now, and as chaotic as the evil creatures could be, Shazirad understood when he was outclassed. That was a quality that many had learned over the years when it came to Roman.
Once the two were alone again, the queen expressed concern about the assassins and the 'ace in the hole' that Roman was cautious about. "In truth I do not believe that it was he that ordered the attack," he answered flatly, looking off into the distance briefly before his gaze returned to look her in the eye. "He is wise and intelligent, as I said, but his group is not as organized as it should be, and his grip on his people falters. He is one of the few that I've met that I would almost consider friend. Seeing his organization fall apart is would not be appealing to me." There was also the tactical advantage of having other groups like that around. There was always the ability to deny involvement if there were others around who could do the same things. If you were the only one who could cast a certain spell, then everyone would know that it was you that did it. "There is likely a splinter group within his group. When the time comes, later tonight, we will uncover that, or find the truth of the situation." The group's leader wasn't foolish enough to rise against Roman, but nothing was certain until the king had all the information. He had no doubt that the two could piece together what was really going on. She was clever to think of an anti magic device. They were difficult to build, and Roman even had a couple himself, mostly for the purposes of testing. Magic, unlike other powers and abilities, came from within the person, from their very soul. The thought occurred to him a long while back, of that being true, then a person's magic could never truly be shut off. It was just a matter of focus and training. You had to be stronger than the device. Roman was, and he was sure that Acacia would be as well, once she understood the same thing. One day soon, he would take her into the room with the device and test her.
"In the meantime, let's mingle a bit and enjoy the evening's festivities," he said slowly as he moved closer to her, pressing his lips against hers for a moment, just long enough to fully taste her lips. No spells cast, no magic used, but there was still an electricity there. His left hand cupped her jaw and chin, a smile forming on his face as his lips pulled away. "My queen."
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Post by Acacia Bailey on Dec 29, 2018 17:48:00 GMT -5
It was interesting to Acacia to learn Roman’s true opinion of the events with the circle of assassins. A splinter group would definitely be easier to take on than the entire guild, but it might be difficult to discover who the members were in the first place. The king undoubtedly had a strategy in mind, or was in the process of forming one. He had yet to make a move that she’d seen that hadn’t been strategically thought out. He had a brilliant, quick mind. One that had been honed through the years. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more it made sense to her that he was much older than he appeared. How much older, of course, was impossible to guess.
The possibility that this unknown splinter cell could have some kind of leverage against Roman still worried Acacia, but the king seemed hardly concerned with that at all. For the sake of this man leading the circle, she hoped he was not the one who’d ordered this attack. “‘Friend’ seems like a word you don’t use often.” Even the people here at this party were subordinates. It was difficult for her to imagine there being another man close enough to being on his level that he would even respect enough to use that word. Then again, there had to be some that were powerful enough to provide a challenge for him. If not, he would probably rule the world already. The web of power he was already in charge of was impressive, but she knew his ultimate goal was to step out of the shadows and rule properly.
Any further speculation at this point would be fruitless. They would prepare themselves as best they could, and then they would go in. In the meantime, the object of her desire suggested that they spend some time relaxing and enjoying the party. He had started the evening by saying this would be a ‘time for play’ after all. “Of course, my king. This is a party, after all.” Her friends had always said she needed to learn how to relax. At least for a little while, she could do so to a certain extent. That didn’t mean she could let her guard down completely, especially not to the point of letting herself get too intoxicated. After all, they still had the potential of a fight later on in the evening.
There was no doubt Roman had Acacia in the palm of his hand. The thrill she got when she noticed him leaning his face closer to hers was unlike anything she’d experienced with anyone else. Not that she’d given herself much time for romance in the past, but she wasn’t in a convent so of course there had been lovers. All of whom paled in comparison to the man currently holding her heart captive. At this point Acacia was able to tell when there was magic in the air with a pretty high level of accuracy. Nothing now except the butterflies in her stomach. This was not some enchantment Roman had her under. This electricity was real, a different kind of magic spell. And Acacia was addicted to it beyond belief.
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Post by The Sovereign on Jan 12, 2019 21:26:38 GMT -5
The remainder of the night at the party went well. The queen seemed to be mingling and getting to know members of Roman's court, which was the main purpose of the party after all. Business always managed to poke it's head in there somehow, but the way she worked the room was something special. She really was a queen. Roman knew, and not just due to the physical perfection that the woman was, that he'd chosen well. Ever the patient man, Roman himself found that he just couldn't wait to get her into his bedroom later. Eager as he was for that to happen, there was still the matter of the splinter group to be handled first. He decided to himself that they would handle that as quickly as possible, and then they would retire for the evening. The time came for the party to end, and the Sovereign's subjects all bid them good night and teleported away. The last to arrive, the two would also be the last to leave, aside from the servants, of course, who would stay behind to clean up.
Roman then pulled Acacia close to him, whispering more arcane words and brushing her wild hair back from her forehead briefly, his fingers lingering for a brief moment on her skin. The last of the words left his lips, and she'd feel a slight tingling all over her. Not the same tingling from earlier, but a different one. "I've incited the incantation I told you of. Should any of his underlings be foolish enough to attack you, the weapon used will break and you will feel no pain. He however, will die a horrible death. No one shall ever lay hand on my queen," he told her, then pressed his lips to her forehead. "Come now, I will teach you the words and the hand motions for the teleportation. I will teleport us to the circle's stronghold, as it is necessary to have seen the place you're going to teleport there successfully. You will teleport us home, both as a learning experience for you and the knowledge that I trust you with such a powerful spell, and as a show of just how powerful you have become."
After carefully going through the hand motions with her, he then taught her the words again to the spell. After, he put them together and the two of them were transported to a dark tunnel. Directly in front of them stood four men, all garbed in ninja gear, weapons drawing immediately upon the new arrival. One of the fours sheathed his weapon and stepped forward, holding out his arms for the others to stay back. "Bring me Holloway," Roman ordered them. "Sir, you have a visitor," one in the back said over a communicator. "No, sir. This one you'll want to see immediately. Rather, he wants to see you immediately. It's what we talked about earlier." Good, so the leader of the circle knew something already. That meant the man wasn't as daft about the goings on of his organization after all. Moments passed and the man was standing in front of the four ninjas, facing Roman and Acacia. "Good of you to visit. I know it's not a social call, however. I must say that I know about the attack and I'm already...." "Save it," Roman commanded. "You're looking into it, yes?" The circle leader nodded. "Look faster. Find the culprit and get your house in order. Your people interfere in my business again and I'll hold you personally accountable."
Holloway knew exactly what that meant, so he nodded slowly. His eyes then met Acacia's. "May I ask, sire?" "Acacia is your queen now. She is to be shown the same affection and respect that I am shown." Holloway also noted the spell cast upon her. Of course he would cast that on her. Roman was always paranoid like that, but it had kept him alive for all this time. "I will find the problem and sort it." Roman looked the man over for a short moment, and then gave a look to Acacia. "You have one week," he said to the assassin. He then nodded for his queen to cast the spell.
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Post by Acacia Bailey on Mar 3, 2019 1:59:27 GMT -5
Acacia found herself growing more comfortable with this new role of hers as the moments passed. It felt like the most natural thing in the world. What could she possibly think except that she’d been born for this moment? As ridiculous as it may seem for her to think she’d been destined to become the queen of a nearly omnipotent sorcerer of unknown age, things in her life felt so much clearer for her now than they ever had been before. Everything had been coming into focus since that first moment she saw Roman, standing in the burning theater where he’d found her. She still didn’t entirely know what it was he’d seen in her that first night that made him spare her life. Destiny was not something she’d put much stock in before, but it was hard to come up with any other explanation for the way the last month of her life had gone.
The party was wonderful. Especially after the kiss, Acacia felt like she was floating around on a cloud for the rest of the night. His hold on her was strong, and she had no desire to break free from it. He gave her everything she wanted or needed. Of course it was still possible that he was just using her for the power he sensed within, but she believed very strongly that was not the case. She knew what was between them was real.
As things wound down, the queen remembered what the second half of the night was going to entail. Those assassins needed to be dealt with. In some ways, it would be the first time she’d really seen Roman exercise his power. Sure, he’d been very kingly in the meeting with his subjects, but that had been all talking. This time, there was a small possibility that something might go wrong and they might be in danger. Roman took precautions, of course, but no one could plan for every possibility.
As always when she was learning a new spell, Acacia focused entirely on the movement of Roman’s hands and the words he spoke, making sure to get as close to the exact inflections as possible. This one would be even more important than usual, because their lives would actually be on the line. If she screwed this one up when trying to teleport them home, god only knows what would happen. So, after going through the motions several times to make sure she had it down, he combined the words and gestures. In the blink of an eye, Acacia found herself in another unfamiliar place. It didn’t take her long to get her bearings. Just long enough for the head of the assassin guild to come out and have a very brief conversation with Roman. It didn’t take long for the king to impress his expectations upon the other man, and then they were off. This time it was Acacia herself who performed the spell, and a split second later they were home, back in the library where they’d first started the night.
After a brief look around at her surroundings, Acacia grinned up at her king. “I told you that you wouldn’t be disappointed.” He’d chosen her, and she was going to spend the rest of her life working her ass off to prove herself worthy of him.
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