A/N: In which we learn a lot about the backroom politics of the Holy Empire, fufufu.
-x-X-x-
Sitting behind the replacement for her old desk, Serafina lets out a hiss of satisfaction, leaning back in her chair and letting her eyes drift half-shut as she allows herself to relax for the first time in a long while. It's been a rough few weeks to say the least, but today is promising to be a good day, and not just because of the head buried between her thighs and the tongue working away at her cunt.
No one can see it of course, but the Holy Pope is actually naked from the waist down. More than that, she's currently being serviced by her latest appointment down under her desk, out of view of any prying eyes. It's been far too long, and Serafina slides a hand into her lap, fingers gliding through blonde locks as she forces her current… guest's head further into her fiery red muff.
On top of this stress relief, she's also expecting some good news any moment now and- Ah, there it is. Her Shadow enters Serafina's office with nary a whisper, appearing at her side without even using the door. A content sort of smile spreads across the Holy Pope's face, and she doesn't even look to her Shadow as she says but one simple word.
"Mm, report."
Staring at the glass window on the other side of her office, Serafina is in too good of a mood to bother with feeling tense. Besides, she knows she can count on her Shadow. She's always been able to count on her most capable servant. Even before the words pass through the Shadow's lips, Serafina knows that the report will be one of total success.
"Your Holiness… it would appear that Cardinal Matthews has passed away in his sleep. The news should reach you when his servants go to wake him in the morning."
Serafina's smile does not change, nor do her eyes leave their lidded state. Down between her legs, the tongue hesitates for the briefest of moments before continuing its work on her dripping quim.
"… I see. What a terrible shame. Tell me, what will the news say of HOW he died?"
Her Shadow's tone is ever so slightly rueful as the reply drifts across her ears.
"Unfortunately, it would seem the Cardinal's age has finally caught up to him. As many will surely be noting in the coming days, he's been a cherished member of the Church of the Most Holy Light for several decades now. But while the Light gifts its favored children with longevity, even the most holy of men and women have their times. His, it would seem, has at long last arrived."
Humming for a moment, Serafina can't help it. She chuckles, ever so briefly.
"Pity."
Pity that she couldn't make sure he died kicking and screaming. Pity that she couldn't give him the slow, agonizing demise that would have had her name on his tongue as a curse. But this would do just fine, in the end. Oh yes, this would do.
Beside her, her Shadow remains silent. Between her legs, that gloriously deft tongue continues to work away. Serafina holds back a moan, grunting through closed lips for a moment before getting herself back under control. Finally, her gaze drifts to her Shadow.
"You may go. Thank you as always for your work."
Her Shadow merely bows… and disappears from her office. For the briefest of moments, Serafina wonders if her servant knew of the guest under her desk. But yes, of course. Her Shadow was not so unobservant to be unable to tell what was going on. That was okay though. That one was but an extension of Serafina's will. She could trust her Shadow with all her heart.
Letting out a shuddering breath into the sudden stillness of her office, Serafina groans. Her hand, still laced in the blonde locks under her desk, grips down harshly for a moment, forcing her guest further into her cunt. She humps the face of the woman eating her out for a few seconds more, before cumming. Her pussy juices flow right into an open and willing mouth, and the sound of swallowing can be heard in the otherwise quiet office.
Finally, the Holy Pope lets go of her guest's hair and pulls back her chair from the desk. There's a brief moment while the woman under her desk fixes herself up. Then, she crawls out from beneath the large piece of furniture and slowly climbs back to her feet.
Queen Lisanna Leyla Leliana straightens out her dress as she stands to her full height. The High Elf Queen wipes the back of her mouth with her hand before giving Serafina a simple nod. Smiling graciously, the Holy Pope gestures to the chair on the other side of her desk, which the Queen of the Holy Empire gratefully moves to take.
As Lisanna sits down, one leg over the other, Serafina can't help but be a little amused. Her eyebrow lifts as she tilts her head to the side.
"You were exceptionally eager this time, your Majesty."
Lisanna stiffens at that, before shrugging her shoulders in a feigned moment of disinterest.
"Perhaps I missed you, your Holiness."
Serafina lets out a little laugh at that. The two of them have long been like this with each other, at least behind closed doors. Their relationship goes back a decade… to the death of Lisanna's husband, the last King of the Holy Empire.
His unfortunate death had left his High Elven Queen in a very precarious position. By all rights, Lisanna could have and should have fled back to the Higher Plane where she belonged. It was what the Nobility expected her to do. There had been talk in those days of forming a Grand Council, one in which the highest ranking nobles in the Empire, alongside Serafina herself, would come together and pick a new King from among those in the Nobility who were closest in blood to the Royal Family.
But Lisanna had bucked all expectations. Rather than flee back to her people and her homeland on the Higher Plane, she had stepped fully into the shoes of ruler of the Holy Empire. It wasn't something she would have gotten away with indefinitely, even with Serafina's help… but then again, Lisanna's entire basis for rule had been centered around the idea that she wasn't ruling for herself… but for her child. The King's Heir.
If Elsenthia had been a boy, this wouldn't have been a problem. It was that she was a girl, the first half-elven daughter born to a King of the Empire in thousands of years. That was what had proven challenging for the Nobility to accept. Lisanna's refusal to give up control of the throne and her only child's status as a woman left the remaining two members of the Royal Family in a VERY precarious position.
Lisanna had needed allies… and so she had come to Serafina. Serafina, of course, had gobbled the High Elf Queen right up. Lisanna needed support, and those among the Nobility who would have been willing to entertain her requests at the time would have demanded too much of the High Elf Queen. Too much of both her AND her daughter.
Serafina and the Church, on the other hand, didn't ask much at all. Certainly, Lisanna enjoyed spending her time on her knees between Serafina's thighs much more than she would have on her knees for any of the fat slobs that made up the Holy Empire's Nobility. More than that, she didn't have to worry about risking a pregnancy when she serviced Serafina to the best of her abilities. The Holy Pope could not 'accidentally' knock Lisanna up, as some of her noble supporters might try and do if given half a chance.
In the end, their alliance was one of pure serendipity. Serafina had propped Lisanna and Elsenthia up, and with her backing the Royal Family had been strong enough to make proper allies among parts of the Nobility over the years. On the flip side, Serafina had not been above using Lisanna's authority as Queen to better protect Marcus.
The City Guard in his part of the city were not always the nicest lot, but they were the least violent and least likely to kill Marcus just for being a half-orc. Through Lisanna, Serafina had made sure any guard who had an orc-related tragedy in their background was assigned elsewhere in the Capital. Just one of the many ways in which she'd kept Marcus safe.
Cardinal Matthews' death was another way in which Serafina was keeping Marcus safe, even in the present time. Honestly, if the aged and decrepit Cardinal did not want to lose his life, he shouldn't have sent his most trusted servants to kill Marcus and his party. The moment that word had reached Serafina of the incredible misstep, as well as the fact that the Cardinal's kill squad had been slain to a man, she'd dispatched her Shadow to capitalize on his mistake.
Not that anyone would know that. Though, from the look in Lisanna's eyes, the Queen had her suspicions. Smiling thinly at her, Serafina shakes her head as she finally answers Lisanna's response.
"Perhaps you did miss me. Or perhaps, even after all these weeks, you tasted him in me."
The High Elf Queen stiffens in her seat at that, even as Serafina flashes her a wicked grin.
"He fucked me on my back in this very office all those weeks ago, you know. Not on this desk… this desk is a replacement."
Lisanna's composure breaks just a little, as her eyes dart down to the desk. The implication is as obvious as it is untrue. After all, Marcus was a good boy and Serafina still believed that with all her heart. He hadn't been the one to destroy her desk, she had. Still, she can see Lisanna imagining it. She can see the Queen picturing him fucking Serafina in her mind's eye and breaking the desk in the process.
After a long moment of silence, Lisanna manages to regain her composure, shifting in her seat as she looks Serafina in the eye and changes the subject rather ham-fistedly.
"My condolences for the loss of Cardinal Matthews. I'm given to understand he was a treasured mentor of yours."
Serafina's smile becomes rigid at that, and she finds herself tapping the desk with a finger for a beat before chuckling.
"He certainly went out of his way to tell people as much, didn't he? But thank you, your Majesty. Your condolences are appreciated. The Church shall endeavor to turn his loss into a positive."
Queen Lisanna nods, understanding passing between them. There's another moment of silence before the Holy Empire's Queen speaks again.
"… May I speak plainly, Serafina?"
Serafina raises a brow, half-tempted to tell her no… but no, that wasn't the kind of relationship they had. And it wouldn't do to alienate the Royals at this time. She still needed Lisanna and Elsenthia. Marcus still needed them.
"Oh? Go ahead, Lisanna."
Letting out a small sigh of relief, Lisanna nods, her shoulders moving downwards a fraction of an inch.
"… The Nobility has proven to be too great a thorn in my side for me to ignore any longer. My daughter has come to me and told me in no uncertain terms that if the men who wanted to fuck General Roka-Ra to death are to be her subjects, then she doesn't want to be Queen at all. She would rather abdicate then be forced to deal with such people."
Serafina's eyes widen at that. Elsenthia was certainly playing for keeps. She hadn't known the Crown Princess had it in her. Then again… Elsenthia and Marcus were two birds of a feather, weren't they? It was why Serafina had tried so hard to push them together in the first place. She'd hoped by playing matchmaker that there would be a royal wedding being planned at the moment.
Unfortunately, everything had been turned on its head when Marcus went running off with the Dark General Roka-Ra. Not that Serafina blamed him. It was entirely her fault for caving to the more corrupt elements of her Church. She would be sure to remove said elements before bringing Marcus home. And if he still wanted to do away with her at that time as well… then so be it.
Still, Elsenthia would make for a good Queen for Marcus. A good fuck toy, even more so. Serafina couldn't have the Crown Princess abdicating her throne before she brought Marcus back. They needed to rule the Holy Empire, together. Preferably with Elsenthia on her knees, lips wrapped around Marcus' cock.
Clearing her throat in the face of Serafina's silence, Lisanna speaks up again.
"My daughter and I have talked… and we've decided it's time to clean house."
Serafina blinks, pulled from her musings and focusing on Lisanna at long last. Oh? Could it be?
"Clean house… little Elsenthia really asked you for that?"
Scoffing, the Holy Empire's Queen shakes her head.
"Asked? She didn't ask Serafina. She demanded it of me. Of course, as I told her, neither she nor I are at all equipped for cloak and dagger antics. We are Royals and not exactly subtle in our methods. I told her that to achieve her goals, we would need outside help."
Serafina's eyes narrow at that, and she looks at Lisanna with a frown now on her face.
"Did you now."
There's a note of warning in her tone, but the Queen is now cowed. She sits with her back straight and her head held high.
"All I told her was that I had a friend who might be able to help us. Though I don't have to tell you how bright my daughter is. She's liable to figure it out even if I don't tell her who you are. That is… if you're willing to help us prune the Nobility and clear the rot from the Empire's aristocracy."
Serafina doesn't even need to think about it. She beams at Lisanna, letting out a little laugh.
"Honestly, my dear Lisanna, I thought you'd never ask. Consider it done. My Shadow is already hard at work but will be available for additional missions quite soon. These past few weeks have been… quite productive."
Indeed, the past few weeks had seen a rash of deaths within the Church's upper echelons. Many of the older, higher placed clergymen were falling ill or simply passing away in their sleep. A shame, to be sure… but then, it happened. They were all so very old… that they'd held on this long was quite the miracle.
Of course, their passing was creating a power vacuum within the Church. Or it would, if Serafina wasn't all too ready to do as the Holy Pope must in times such as this and step into the gaping hole left behind. Consolidating power to herself even more than she already had in her lengthy tenure at the head of the Church of Most Holy Light might have been seen unfavorably… if any of her detractors were still alive to say something.
Looking pleased, Lisanna graces Serafina with a happy smile.
"Wonderful. I shall tell Elsenthia that it will be taken care of, and nothing more."
The Queen rises from her seat, preparing to leave now that she's gotten what she came for… and of course, already paid her respects to the Holy Pope. Serafina stops her before she can go though, calling out to her as she turns away.
"Oh, go ahead and tell Elsenthia who exactly is helping you both, my dear Lisanna. If she's going to be Queen one day, she should know who her true friends are."
Lisanna pauses at that… before nodding her head in easy acquiescence. With that, the Queen slips out of Serafina's office to begin making her way back to the Palace. The Holy Pope, meanwhile, spends a moment lazing there in her seat for a beat before sitting up with a chuckle.
As she looks down at her desk, she sees that she does have some routine things to take care of. Luckily, it's mostly busy work. There are some requests for additional funding of course. Those are easy enough to deny or approve as she looks through them. There's also a report of possibly corruption at a distant convent in the Northwestern reaches of the Empire.
Distracted as she is with thoughts of how she's going to prune the Nobility same as she's pruned the Church, Serafina barely pays the report much mind, penning a formal Writ of Authority for the Paladin Commander overlooking the area without a second thought. The Writ of Authority would allow him to do as he saw fit, giving him the tacit backing of the Holy Pope herself to deal with the convent in any way he found necessary.
Putting the Writ in an envelope and stamping it with her seal, Serafina sets it aside to be picked up by assistants and sent off by courier first thing in the morning. Then, she continues clearing out the backlog of work.
The Holy Pope's work is never done, after all. There is always more to do.
-x-X-x-
A/N: Well, Lisanna did tell Elsenthia she would get them help right? And it seems Serafina's own cleansing of the Church is continuing apace, so her Shadow will be free to do some freelancing on the side soon enough~
As always, hope you enjoyed and be sure to let me know what you think!
Chapter 41 will come out on Wednesday like usual, or you can read six chapters ahead right now over on the P atreon!