Reina balled her hands into fists and tugged against the metal shackles that bound her wrists to the bedposts. Gazing from the foot of the bed and admiring the view of her naked body was Queen Lisette. She climbed up and crept ever closer on all fours, causing the frame to creak. Slender fingers caressed her cheek, then brushed down to her breasts.

The queen's tender touch was so warm and affectionate. Her eyes, however, were anything but. They were so filled with lust, Reina felt like she was being molested by them.

"I'm guessing you do this with all the maids?" Reina asked.

Her lips curved into a teasing grin. "I do have favorites. Until recently, I have been… availing myself of Patty. The look she gives when underneath me is always so exhilarating."

That explained what Patty meant earlier. But to express devotion to the queen simply because she fucked her was a little…

Wait. Until recently?

"Mmrrpphh?!"

Reina was startled by a mouthful of Queen Lisette's pussy. She straddled her head and rubbed the back tip of her pointed ears, the sensation sending her into ecstasy.

"Mmmmphh… mmmhh…"

"I've learned all there is to know when it comes to pleasuring your kind. Every girl under my service has become a slave to my touch. So will you," the queen said, and she might very well be right.

Even though Reina was being forced to pleasure the queen, it was seeming like she was the one granting pleasure. Her ears had never been touched this way before. She had no idea they could be touched like that. It made her mind go fuzzy and sent shocks coursing down her spine.

Resisting was pointless . The shackles prevented her from struggling. All she could do was accept the brain-melting pleasure given to her and try to reciprocate a fraction of it.

When she started licking the queen's pussy, an amused giggle erupted from above.

"How cute and cheeky. I never did say for you to pleasure me, did I?" Queen Lisette said.

Come to think of it, this was supposed to be a punishment.

The earplay stopped sooner than Reina had liked. She wanted more but was afraid to ask because the queen appeared to have other plans, repositioning herself on top in the sixty-nine position.

In the next second, an invading tongue knocked the wind out of Reina's lungs.

"Guuuh— aaahhh! No, ooohh… aaaahh!" Reina couldn't believe the cunnilingus being performed on her. The more she thrashed on the bed, the better it somehow felt. The queen's merciless assault was unlike anything Reina had ever experienced.

"Shlllrrrp… shllrrp…  I can… tell you like this… shllrrp… mmmh… shllrrrp... " she said without missing a beat in eating her out.

Reina saw only white flashes. Her body and crotch were on fire. If she didn't know better, she would have mistaken Queen Lisette for Goddess Vessyra.

"Oh, gods… how… are you… hahhh… nngh… it's so good! Keep going, please! I'm so close to cumming!"

As if on cue, Queen Lisette stopped and denied Reina her desired release. The human climbed up the bed to lie down by her side.

"W-Why…?" Reina asked, lightheaded and breathing heavily. She was so close. Only a few more seconds.

"Because this is a punishment. By my hands, you will learn to love me and want it," she said, smiling with devilish intent.

For the rest of the night until Reina passed out, the queen continued to edge her only to deny the climax.

Reina awoke the next morning tucked under thick bed sheets. Her wrists were at last unshackled, the bruises were testament to how long the torture lasted.

On the nightstand at her bedside were two vials: ointment and a restoration potion. A note beneath them, written in the queen's handwriting, urged her to apply the ointment to her wrists and drink the potion.

"Love in one hand, but leash on the other," Reina mumbled to herself.

Last night was insane. She didn't get a chance to orgasm once. Well, since the queen wasn't here, now was as good a chance as any. But as Reina thought to finger herself to an orgasm, her hand touched a leather chastity belt.

"You have got to be kidding…"

No doubt Queen Lisette held the key.

It was tight enough that only a finger could slip through, but not so much that it would chaffe her skin. She wouldn't be able to pleasure herself this way.

Sighing at her misfortune, Reina applied the ointment and drank the potion, then dressed herself in the maid uniform to prepare for work. She ran into Roland right out the door. He looked to have been waiting for her to wake up.

"Good morning, Reina. Her Majesty is waiting for you downstairs in the dining room. You will be serving meals and refilling drinks as she dines with guests," Roland explained.

She followed him down, past several maids who gave her dirty looks. No doubt they were envious of her position. After last night, the queen made it perfectly clear that she was going to pay her extra attention from now on.

It's not as if I like it… Reina thought to herself.

They entered the kitchen to Queen Lisette, now in a blue and gold dress, seated across two human gentlemen who appeared to be dignitaries from another country. The queen flashed Reina a smile as she passed by her seat and into the kitchens.

A mix of humans and non-human maids were working here. Beastbornes with sharp claws cut meat and vegetables, while elves and humans handle the actual process of cooking. At the counter closest to the entrance connecting to the dining hall were several platters of steaming food. One human man in a white apron came by to place a bottle of wine next to them.

Reina took the wine bottle and a plate in each hand Roland gripped her wrist. He opened the bottle, poured himself some in a glass, and drank it in a single gulp. 

"A gift from our gentlemen from Randover. Seems fine. Exquisite even," the old servant said as if expecting to be poisoned.

With Roland's permission, she brought them out to the queen and her guests.

"It seems like you have a new maid everytime we visit, Your Majesty?" one of the humans said while Reina was filling their glass.

"My expansion into Randover has little concern for talk of my maids. Do we have an arrangement? Access to one of my many goldmines in exchange for your armies?" Queen Lisette asked.

The other man clasped his hands on the table. "We would like to negotiate for more than that. Human lives are precious, you know? Sending an inexperienced group into those accursed towers is asking for failure, and our soldiers are by no means inexperienced. Certainly they are worth more."

It sounded like they were talking about heading into the magic towers that had sprouted across Talmora during the war. They were crazy. Even witches and reformed Knights of Piety had trouble bringing them down due to the monsters within. Sending human grunts would be leading them straight to their deaths.

Reina returned several more times to deliver food, but upon reentering the kitchen she almost walked into one of the human chefs sampling the wine. He quickly put the bottle down, cleared his throat, and went back to work. It was then she noticed a speck of white powder on the lip of the bottle.

"What is this? Flour?" She brushed the substance off and was about to taste it when Roland popped his head through the door.

"The guests are asking for more wine. It seems their discussions are getting more heated," he said.

Reina couldn't shake the uncertainty in her mind, but she would be in even more trouble keeping them waiting. She only brought wine out this time. When their bellies were full, the food stopped coming. However, their thirst grew the more they talked.

She noticed that the men, despite talking up a storm, did not reach for their drink as soon as it was filled. Queen Lisette, however, was bored out of her mind and appeared to be fed up with the talks already, went for her glass absentmindedly.

At first, the queen was uncomfortably clearing her throat. She tugged on the collar of her dress that went up to the neck.

"Your Majesty, is something wrong?" the human dignitary asked.

"I… We will have to continue this discussion later," she said.

The moment the queen got to her feet, she tried to grab onto Reina to steady herself but stumbled backwards. Roland and all the guards in the room rushed to her aid in panic.

"My queen!"

"Your Majesty!"

"Someone get a doctor this instant!"

The room fell into chaos.

Poison. It had to be, Reina thought.

If Queen Lisette were to die, then she could escape. In fact, she could escape during this commotion right now.

But…

Reina bit down on her lip and cast aside her hesitation.

"Bring the queen to the alchemy lab! She's been poisoned! I can make an antidote," she shouted.

"Should we give her a potion?" the old servant asked.

"Won't work. It's got to be an antidote!"

"Preposterous! An elf, alchemist? The physician should be here any second. We should wait!" For some reason, the human dignitaries became very vocal about not letting Reina help.

They were the ones who gifted the wine, but someone else filled it with poison. The cook was the true perpetrator. Could they be in cahoots?

Roland looked Reina in the eyes, then nodded to the guards. She grabbed the wine bottle and rushed upstairs with the others. They laid Queen Lisette who was quickly turning blue on the bed, her breathing came out in short gasps.

No time to brew a regular antidote. She would have to flash brew it. The process took seconds with whatever substance in the poisoned wine bottle to reverse engineer it. Reina didn't even drain it into a vial, she carried the ladle over to the queen, whose eyes were red and skin turning purple. 

When the liquid dripped into her mouth, she coughed most of it out. It was fine, as long as even a single drop made it down her throat.

Reina wondered why she was so desperately helping the queen. Maybe it was because she looked so pathetic and helpless. The truth was, she didn't want anyone to die. Not even this woman who had her enslaved.

The queen's face returned to a normal color and her breathing steadied soon after. Relieved gasps from a dozen maids were uttered outside the room. She sat up, one trembling hand clutching her throat, and the other gripping Reina's sleeve.

"Who… did it…?" she croaked.

Reina explained to her the ones she thought were most suspicious, and the queen wasted no time getting rid of them. By what means, Reina had no idea. By nightfall, neither the cook nor the human dignitaries were seen again. She didn't truly know if they were guilty, but it likely didn't matter anymore.

That night, the manor was in a state of high alert after the attempt on Queen Lisette's life. More guards than usual were posted outside, maids and servants were sent to bed early, and had hid in her room out of excessive paranoia.

As Reina climbed onto bed after an intense day and shut her eyes, the door to her lab creaked open. Pretending to be asleep didn't deter the intruder. It had to be the queen, as they were the only ones up here and her footsteps were incredibly light. She slipped into bed and embraced Reina from behind, burying a tear-soaked face into the back of her head.

"Thank you…" she whispered in a quivering voice.

It was then that Reina realized Queen Lisette wasn't the stoic ruler she appeared to be.