Making Amends - Sex Stories

Making Amends

... grew stern and he carried on in a heavier voice. “Of course, there are two members of my personal guard who will never get the chance to hear any apologies. One of whom happened to be a dear friend of mine for many a year. Their deaths would be travesty enough to require accounting for even were we to disregard the matter of my sovereign.”

If he had been authoritative before, suddenly the ambassador seemed downright intimidating. “As you are no doubt aware,” he declared, every last trace of cordiality gone from his voice, “an imperial emissary is nothing more or less than an extension of the Emperor himself. I may be a forgiving man, milady, but I assure you my master is not. His Imperial Majesty takes any attempt against his person, either directly or by way of proxy, as the gravest of offenses.” While Sienna could almost certainly have taken down the diplomat in even an unfair fight, her combat experience easily outweighing his advantages in both height and weight, the young knight found herself weak at the knees as the man rumbled out his threat. There was just something in his voice which, coupled with the knowledge that any violence directed towards him could and would be paid back a hundredfold by his powerful patron, left her feeling utterly insignificant.

“What's more,” the man continued, “it might interest you to learn that my master has for some time now been quite keen on expanding the imperial navy. Such an endeavor would require a great deal of quality ...

... lumber, however, and there are precious few sources remaining within our borders which lie near enough to our southern ports as to be of practical use. Thus, seizing your Duchy which, while quite small, contains a virgin forest full of mighty old trees is a prospect which would sorely tempt him.” Lady Sienna felt herself stiffen at the unveiled threat, her hidden hands balling into white-knuckled fists behind her back. She knew little of ships or their construction, had never set foot beyond the borders of her landlocked homeland, but the ambassador's logic sounded reasonable enough. As far as her tutors had taught her, much of the Empire's south had been cleared of forests several generations prior to make room for the vast farmland its massive population required. It seemed silly, perhaps, to go to war over wood, but then, battles had been fought over far less.

“There is, however, an alternative to such... drastic measures,” the diplomat offered, softening his tone just enough that Sienna allowed herself to release the breath she had been holding. “My original purpose in visiting your father, before our little entanglement this morning, was to negotiate for logging rights along our nations' shared border. Should such an arrangement be reached on favourable enough terms, I believe my master could yet be convinced to refrain from taking any Leithien territory by force. Even the modest sort of campaign such a task would require is quite costly, after all, and occupation can ...