Yubelluna nodded, then her eyes slowly panned over to the piece in my other hand.
Raising my right hand, I said, "This is my queen. Again, I'm sure you know what it is, but it also means something different to me. If I give you this piece, you would become my right hand. You would rarely leave my side, and even then it would most often be on my orders. When I am indisposed, you would issue orders in my place. I would also expect you to take up some form of martial combat. Hand-to-hand, swords, axes, spears – the specific form wouldn't matter much to me, but if I were to boost all of your abilities with this, I would expect you to use that boost. I would also expect you to tell me when I'm being an idiot." I heard shocked exclamations from her parents and a chuckle from Clarissa at my declaration, but I pushed on. "I'm not naive enough to think I will always be right in everything I do, and I'm not arrogant enough to think I'll always be able to tell when those times are. So, the duty of smacking me upside the head when I'm being stupid, even if it pisses me off, falls to my queen. This," I hefted the piece higher for effect. "Represents the most responsibility." I raised the bishop above the queen. "This represents a lot of responsibility, but quite a bit of freedom as well. If neither of these are attractive to you…" The two pieces disappeared in two great balls of fire, leaving seven pawns in their place.
Before I could get a word in, Yubelluna shouted, "No!" leaning forward and grasping futilely at the fading fire of my right hand.
Tilting my head curiously, I watched her reaction as I banished my pawns, recalling a single piece. When the fire faded, the only piece present was my queen.
Yubelluna's eyes bore into it hungrily, like a tiger observing its prey before it struck. Her arms quivered as an emotion flitted across her face that I couldn't quite decipher. Expectation? Desire?
I held the piece between my thumb and index finger and lifted it up to her eye level. "Are you sure? You know what I'll expect of you."
Yubelluna's eyes panned up to my own, and she nodded her head, determined. "I won't fail, my lord."
The corner of my mouth pulled upwards in a half-grin. I'd found my queen.
I stood up and offered the still kneeling girl my hand. She took it hesitantly and I pulled her to her feet.
"Pull down the front of your dress." I said.
Wordlessly, Yubelluna undid a fastener I hadn't even seen and pulled her dress down much further than necessary until it was almost down to her belly button.
She…wasn't wearing a bra.
Sparing only a quick look at her chest but remaining as respectful as possible, I pressed my queen into her chest.
Yubelluna gasped as the piece faded into her chest, her eyes flying wide as power wracked her form. Her purple eyes glowed a piercing violet as magic flowed through her body. Simultaneously, her muscles contracted, and seemed to bulge.
Several seconds passed, and the change ended.
Yubelluna fell to her knees once more, breathing heavily.
I knelt down next to her and pulled her dress back up to her shoulders. I had no idea where the fastener was, and I wasn't going to go digging around for it, so while she was covered, there was now a rather noticeable 'V' shape in the front of her dress. I tried not to look, but hormonal, teenage devil bodies were specifically designed to combat restraint.
"How do you feel?" I asked, as I helped her to her feet.
When she looked up at me, there were tears in her eyes. I was beginning to think something had gone wrong when she smiled and said, "Thank you."
I smiled back. "Come, my queen. Let's go home."
With a few parting orders to Clarissa to make sure she fixed the yard to be spotless – I wasn't going to leave it destroyed with Yubelluna in my peerage as it would only let others know just how powerful my queen was – as well as to 'request' whoever was harassing Yubelluna's family to back off, I cast a teleportation ritual and transported Yubelluna and myself back to the Phenex estate.
Mother and father were waiting in the hall with Ruval and Ravel when the two of us arrived.
"So, son, what did you find during your trip?" father said. His eyes drifted to Yubelluna. "And who is this?"
"This is Yubelluna. She's my queen." I answered, causing all eyes to shoot to Yubelluna.
Yubelluna herself froze under all the attention, her breathing growing erratic as four separate Phenexes studied her. Ruval and Ravel with curiosity, father and mother with disapproval bordering on contempt.
That wasn't good.
"Your queen?" Ruval asked, taking Yubelluna in. "I don't believe you would be one to waste your queen piece, little brother." Ruval approached Yubelluna and said, "Tell me, what made my brother so interested in you?"
Yubelluna looked at me with wide, frightened eyes, but I just nodded towards my brother. If she was to be my queen, she couldn't defer to me in something as simple as a family meeting.
With her hands clasped tight in front of her, Yubelluna said, "I….um….I make things explode, my lord."
There was a solid five seconds of silence before loud boisterous laughter echoed through the hall.
All eyes turned towards Ruval who was wiping a tear from his eye. "That would do it. My brother has a certain fondness for explosions." Extending his hand, he said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Yubelluna. Feel free to call me Ruval."
"I really like your hair!" Ravel said in a bubbly voice, trotting up in front of Yubelluna. "What products do you use?"
With the tense atmosphere gone, Yubelluna began to relax. Ravel and Ruval fussed about, trying to get her to spill her life story, but mother and father stood away from the rest of us, their eyes looking down upon me disapprovingly.
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