“Um?” Emma murmured, tearing her gaze from them with an effort and bringing her eyes to meet Lyriel’s. 

“I’ll have you know I’m no slut and won’t be passed around to your rich friends like some kind of party favor,” Lyriel warned with a scowl.

“I don’t have any friends, though,” Emma mumbled absently, eyes drifting down to Lyriel’s breasts once again before snapping back up to the elf’s face.

“I’ve never done anything like this before, you understand,” Lyriel fixed her with an inscrutable gaze.

“Y-You don’t have to!” Emma stammered, flustered.

“Is it a size thing?” Lyriel scowled, eyes dropping to Emma’s own rather insignificant chest. “People in glass houses, Mistress.”

“Of course it’s not a size thing!” Emma gasped, covering her breasts with her hands. “Why would you think that? And, for the record, I don’t even have a house!”

“Is it an elf thing?” Lyriel sighed, shaking her head sadly. “It’s always an elf thing.”

“I don’t even know what thing this is!” Emma protested. “I don’t even know what’s happening right now!”

“It’s simple. If you take me in as your lady in waiting, I can provide some…relief for you as well,” Lyriel sighed again, averting her gaze but leaving her breasts uncovered. “I have had some experience in my 162 years that I can leverage to make certain you’re…er…plumbing, shall we say, is working properly.”

“P-Plumbing?” The conversation was going in a direction Emma simply couldn’t follow under the circumstances, she decided.

“I can get you off, easily enough,” Lyriel shrugged. “I’ve never done it to someone else but I’ve given relief to myself often enough. How hard could it be?”

“You mean…like…m-masturbate me?” Emma gasped in shock.

“It’s not masturbation if someone else does it, Mistress. Or I can eat you out,” Lyriel shrugged, sticking her tongue out for emphasis.

“Y-You don’t have to do any of that!” Emma protested, waving her hands frantically.

“Look, Mistress Emma-” Lyriel sighed.

“Just Emma, please,” Emma’s blush deepened further.

“Emma, then,” Lyriel fixed her gaze on the girl sitting on the bed in front of her. “I am a proud member of the Wood Elf nobility. I am the great granddaughter of the last Empress, I’m hiding out from assassins trying to erase me from the line of succession because the current Empress is a demon imposter. I need your help!”

“Oh my! Really?” Emma gasped.

“Of course not,” Lyriel sighed, “no one would believe that anyway.” She dropped to her knees and took Emma’s hands in hers. “But I am a Wood Elf and an artificer, and I need your help. And you need mine! I guarantee it! If I have to spend another decade here before being shuffled off and forced to start over, I will snap. I will lose my damn mind and you don’t want that. And I don’t want that. And you need things! Armor! Weapons! Allicereum dildos, even! I can make it all! Goddess dammit, don’t make me beg, here.”

“B-Beg!? No! That’s not i- “Emma waved her hands in denial, her cheeks flushing.

“Emma?” A voice said from outside the door to her chambers.

“Say nothing!” Lyriel hissed, standing, and clasping her dress back in place. “Act casual.”

“Y-Yes,” Emma nodded. “Casual.” Straightening her dress once more Lyriel strode to the door and opened it, bowing.

“Uh…” Constance cocked an eyebrow quizzically at Lyriel. “You are…”

“Lyriel Elhana, madam, maid in her queen’s service here at Edgemoor,” Lyriel’s face was an inscrutable mask of propriety, a far cry from a moment earlier and Emma was thoroughly impressed with the transformation.

“Ah! Yes! I’ve seen you here several times before,” Constance smiled.

“Thank you, madam, for remembering,” Lyriel flicked a smile on and off politely.

“Was something wrong with Emma’s apartments?” Constance glanced around curiously. Lyriel turned to me briefly, her eyes widening in a silent plea before the mask of propriety descended once more.

“Well, with the lack of maids assigned to Edgemoor things tend to get dusty rather quickly,” Lyriel responded smoothly.

“A-Actually!” Emma interrupted, not believing she was doing this. On the other hand, she had no real reason not to, so she decided on her course of action. “I, er…noticed Lyriel, here, er…last night! Yes…and…asked if she would b-be my lady in warning.”

“Huh?” Constance cocked her head to the side quizzically.

“Waiting!” Lyriel mouthed silently, turning toward her. “Lady in waiting!”

“Oh! Oh, yes! Lady waiting!” Emma nodded with a forced giggle, trying to look and sound like she knew what she was talking about. “Silly me!”

“I…see,” Constance glanced at the two of them with an inscrutable look on her face. “Well, you are certainly more than welcome to one, of course, provided Lyriel is amenable.”

“Ah, yes,” Lyriel bowed. “Quite amenable.”

“All right, then.” Constance shrugged. “Well, once you’re dressed for the day I’d love if you’d meet me in the Arboretum. There’s…something I feel I need to say and would love to speak about it with you in private.”

“Of course!” Emma grinned broadly. “I’ll be there soon!” Constance took one last look at them before shrugging and leaving the room, closing the door behind her as she went. “Do…do you think she suspects anything?”

“She is sentient, so I’d say the chances are pretty near 100%,” Lyriel sighed, rubbing her brow again to try to relieve the stress while leaning back against the door. “You really are very bad at subterfuge. But…thank you, Emma. I have the feeling you’ll really need someone to look after you and I’ll do so to the best of my ability.”

“Um…ok!” Emma replied, unsure of what else to say. Emma stood and held her hand out. The elf glanced over at her, then down at her hand curiously.

“I’m sorry?” Lyriel finally cocked her head to the side quizzically. “I don’t know what you’re doing, Mistress Emma.

“Shake?” Emma glanced down at her hand for emphasis. “And it’s just Emma. Still. Just Emma.”

“Uh…” Lyriel stared at the proffered hand blankly. Emma stepped forward and grabbed the smaller girl’s hand in hers, shaking it up and down rather vigorously.

“And now we’re friends!” Emma declared, smiling broadly.

“I…Very well,” Lyriel replied with a shrug. She would never understand humans. “Let’s get you ready to meet Miss Constance, then, shall we?”