Lena sat in the unique hand carved armchair that was a gift from someone she didn’t know. The blood red cedar had the gentle aroma of normal red cedar, which was a simple luxury a merchant could afford. The wood was not only resistant to pests, but also extremely tough to work with. No one knew where the tree grew, so her chair was beyond priceless.

Other then her furniture, and the premium bedding that came with the bed, she had no other luxuries.

She was the Empress of Krov, but if the High Nobles of their Empire could see the circumstances that Lena lived in, the Emperor would be seen in an unfavorable light.

The court had their own view of the Emperor, and the Empress, and how he treated her. Minor Noble families would live in large manors, with courtyards, and quarters set for children, or extended families. The Head Wife would have the best courtyard, while any concubines would occupy the quarters for the extended family.

Among the noble families of the Empire, the Emperor was not held in high regard. Not only for the lack of consistent treatment of the Head Wife, but also the lack of care for the only wife who bore him the legacy of the Empire.

The Emperor's few dozen concubines had the freshest of foods, the most expensive and purest of perfumed oils to rub into their skin, and silk sheets to comfort their bodies.

Their furniture was made from the most expensive wood, a black striped wood that was not grown in the Empire, but far to the south in the Digallan Empire. They were given large full body mirrors that many of the Empire's most wealthy citizens had to wait three years for, due to the waiting lists. Thinly plated glass was incredibly expensive as it had to be poured into a mold, kept red hot, and pressed until it was thin enough to do the job. The sands used to make the glass were not available in the Empire, and had to be carted from the Great Desert.

Lena’s furniture was delivered by an unknown trader, and no one knew who made the donation to the Empress. Even the Emperor did not know who it came from, but was warned not to interfere.

He took that warning very seriously.

The black robed messenger entered his private chamber unchallenged. They delivered their warning and left. When he went to investigate why the person was not stopped, he found all the royal guards impaled on stone spikes. The stone spikes kept them upright, as they went through the center of their body, and into the brain. The head could not fall forward to alert others of their deaths. The thing that frightened the Emperor the most was that the spike was constructed from the stone floor they stood upon.

When the head concubine attempted to acquire the bed made from the impossible to find blood red cedar, the Emperor had her whipped, and any who touched the bed drawn and quartered.

Lena loved this bed. The heavy curtains kept out the winter chill, while the soft mattress made it easier for her to sleep. The nights were warm, and though she spent them alone, she could sometimes feel someone's eyes upon her. She searched her entire bedroom, but found no holes in the walls, the floor or the ceiling. She often tested for hollow spots with the end of a broom, but never found the source of that sensation, and eventually grew accustomed to it.

Lena has been the Empress for the last five years, from the day she married to the Emperor at age sixteen. She once thought being the Empress meant she had power, and was free to use it, but she also learned a harsh truth taught to her by the concubines chosen by her husband. In the eyes of the Emperor, she was only good for one thing. Her reproductive powers.

Every night for a year, the Emperor came to her bed, fucked her like a dog, and left to immerse himself in the pleasures of the harem. She got no pleasure from it at all. Then he came to her bed once a week. Then once a month.

She was completely humiliated by the harem. The only thing that saved her life was that none of them bore him a son.

In her second year, when she heard the whispers that the Emperor was close to choosing a new Empress, she had a horrific dream that changed her entire being.

*****

A woman, dressed in a black robe, passed her in the hall. As she passed, she was forcibly dragged into an isolated room. Lena fought her attacker, but could do nothing. The woman's strength was terrifying, and at the same time, Lena grew warm from the firm grip that pulled her along. She could not resist when her thick dress was ripped off, and she was placed upon a red stone altar.

The woman smiled, showed large wickedly sharp teeth, and touched her belly.

"Your belly will bare the Emperor a son, not your own. You will also pay a price."

"What price?" Lena wanted to know, so she asked. Every single time she saw a person smile from that point onward, she felt a sliver of dread go down her spine.

Lena could not remember having that dream again in those three years, but the words of the dark mage brought it back. This time, it took on a new flavor.

She remembered other features, not just her teeth. The picture reminded her of details she had forgotten.

“Did I dream of the goddess so long ago?” She asked in a whisper.

Enchanting red eyes that didn't seem to look anywhere, yet could see everything. Long slender fingers that held great strength. A slender muscled body that had laid upon her own while she consumed her piece by piece.

"Why am I so warm when I think about her teeth?” Her body grew flushed, as she remembered the dream. Her lips parted, lowered, and wrapped around her nipple. The teeth sank into her flesh, then pulled out. She opened her mouth wider, sucked more of her breast into her mouth, and sank her teeth in again.

“Oh, I even remember the pain! Why did it feel so good too?” She felt her middle flex as her nerves seemed to be lit by static triggers. Her mind filled in the details from that experience that now felt so real.

Even now, Lena could feel the warm breath of that beautiful creature upon her skin before she bit into her flesh.

Her lips lowered again and again, from one breast, to the other,  Though the blood flowed, and she felt the pain, she also felt a pleasure never before experienced.

Those red eyes looked into her ice blue ones, and let out a deep throaty growl each time her lips laid upon her skin, and her teeth sank into her chest.

Lena murmured as her thighs clamped together, and she squirmed her hips. The elegant and prudish nature she had cultivated, with the help of tutors, had disappeared as though it had never existed. The one left behind was a woman driven by need and hunger, and completely unable to fulfill that hunger with her limited experience.

"Fuck!" She swore and opened her eyes. She couldn't find the way to release her pent up tension. Her eyes went wide, and she looked around in shock. She was not in her quarters, nor upon her bed.

She now laid upon an altar that she was familiar with. A silky voice entered her ear.

"I see that you remember me, my Empress."