There’s a lot of things Jiu has to do as queen that she’d rather not have to. Sucking up to the nobles on whom her power rests. Signing off on executions. Making love with her queen consort for the first time, in view of all her ministers.

She’d asked Yoohyeon before, if she was sure she was okay with it. Yoohyeon had given her that smile that was edging on cocky. ‘It was what I signed up for, wasn’t it?’

It was what Jiu had signed up for too, when she pressed her suit as heir. But she thinks she’s allowed to regret the lack of privacy, a little.

When her consort approaches the dias, she sees no such regret in her eyes.

Yoohyeon lets her outer robe slip from her shoulders, as she ascends; the fabric pools on the steps. The gown she wears underneath is tied at the front – so that Jiu might the more easily dispense of it, she assumes. If Jiu’s fingers tremble, Yoohyeon doesn’t say anything, and her body shields the sign from the ministers and staff who observe them.

‘It’s alright,’ Yoohyeon says. Her gown falls open, and she catches Jiu’s hands in hers. ‘I’ve been looking forward to this, you know.’ She presses a kiss to Jiu’s lips, her eyes open to see Jiu’s reaction.

Well, Jiu is the queen; she can’t let Yoohyeon take all the initiative. She deepens the kiss, slipping her tongue into Yoohyeon’s eager mouth, tasting her. She skims her hands over Yoohyeon’s waist, and she squeezes her bottom, there in front of everyone. Yoohyeon drapes her arms around Jiu’s neck, unconcerned. Her breasts press against Jiu’s; Jiu moves one hand between them, to tease Yoohyeon’s nipple through the lace of her bra, then to pull down the fabric so that she can touch skin against skin.

Yoohyeon breaks the kiss, and she murmurs, ‘Why don’t you give me an order?’ Her eyes are large and dark, and there is a hunger in them that sends a thrill through Jiu, and something else, that is not quite a smile.

Jiu takes a step back, and she lets her eyes roam over Yoohyeon – her gown, open and rumbled; the expanse of her creamy skin exposed; the way the lace of her bra frames her breasts, and how Jiu has ruined the effect, leaving Yoohyeon’s nipple peeking free. Even dishevelled, Yoohyeon’s posture is perfect. Her eyes are locked on Jiu’s, and she waits.

‘Strip,’ Jiu says. She pitches her voice to carry.

That hint of a smile in Jiu’s eyes grows. She steps out her shoes; removes her gown, and drops it on the steps behind her, where her robe lies fallen. She keeps her eyes on Jiu’s, as she unhooks her bra, skims her panties off over those long legs. She adds these things to the pile, until she stands naked before Jiu, the most beautiful thing that Jiu has ever seen.

If they were in private, Jiu would do this differently. She would let herself worship Yoohyeon, press kisses over her body, hold her so close that there could be no different between them. Instead, she says to Yoohyeon, ‘Turn around. Let them see you.’

Yoohyeon obeys unreservedly. Jiu doesn’t mind the view from behind either – the length of her back; that lovely curve where arse meets thigh.

‘Back to me.’

Yoohyeon completes her turn, that smile still in her eyes.

‘Now,’ Jiu says. ‘Eat me out.’ There’s a hitch to her voice that isn’t quite proper, but Yoohyeon won’t call her on it here. Her eyes skim over Jiu’s body, and she lifts an eyebrow.

Jiu, in response, lifts her skirts in both hands. And Yoohyeon doesn’t hesitate at that; she drops to her knees, and she ducks herself under Jiu’s skirt. And Jiu realises that everyone’s eyes are on her now, Yoohyeon hidden by the fabric. They can’t see Yoohyeon’s hands tugging down her panties; they don’t see the moment that Yoohyeon presses her lips between Jiu’s legs, although they surely see Jiu’s reaction – the shock it sends through her and the way she lifts her eyes and squeezes them tight. Yoohyeon holds her legs, and Jiu might need the support to stay standing, as Yoohyeon pulls Jiu’s clit into her mouth, and presses her tongue over her there. Jiu cants her hips forward; Yoohyeon runs her tongue lower over Jiu’s cunt, teasing her further.

Jiu wonders how her ministers feel, seeing their queen like this. Does it turn them on? Do any of them wish that they were the ones to be doing this, to taste her, and to please her?

But it is none of them; it is only Yoohyeon, her hands holding Jiu firmly, her tongue and mouth coaxing at her. Sometimes, she will use her teeth, and Jiu will feel a shudder run through her, and feel Yoohyeon’s hands tighten.

She wonders if she ought to have sat down. The throne is behind her, after all; she could sit, and lift her skirts so that everyone can see how well Yoohyeon serves her. It’s not as if she keeps any more pride like this, just because she remains unexposed. They don’t see what Yoohyeon does, but they see, surely, what it does to Jiu. How it unravels her.

Is this the point, then? To assure her subjects that their queen is only flesh and blood, as much a subject to her own desires as any of them?

Yoohyeon’s mouth is an insistent pressure on her, and Jiu can’t think any more, what the point of this display is. And when Yoohyeon tips her over that edge, Jiu gasps, heat flooding over her as she comes; she holds Yoohyeon’s name on her tongue, but she doesn’t let that go.

The only reason her legs don’t give out is that Yoohyeon is holding her secure. Yoohyeon is reliable in many ways.

Jiu comes down, chest heaving; her eyes scan the crowd without seeing any of them.

Yoohyeon removes herself from under Jiu’s skirts, and she stays kneeling, her legs folding under her, almost prim. But her mouth glistens, and there is a smugness in her eyes.

Jiu bends over, and she tips Yoohyeon’s head back to kiss her. That surprises Yoohyeon, and her eyes go wide, before she closes them sweetly. Like she hasn’t just done filthy things. Like her mouth doesn’t taste of Jiu’s wetness.

Then Jiu stands straight again; she can see her ministers clearly now. She wonders if they approve.

Well, it hardly matters, does it? She’s the queen. She can fuck as she likes, even if it must sometimes be before them all.

Jiu lowers herself onto her throne, and with a hand she beckons Yoohyeon closer. Yoohyeon moves forward, and for a moment she leans her head against Jiu’s knee, and Jiu strokes a hand through her hair. Yoohyeon looks up to meet her eyes, and Jiu wants to promise her, later. They can do this again privately, later.

But for now, Jiu kisses her head, and she dismisses her. Someone else offers Yoohyeon back her robe, and carries her things; Yoohyeon herself walks out proudly, and Jiu’s eyes follow her.

She can still taste herself from Yoohyeon’s kiss. If she could, she would chase Yoohyeon out and return the favour.

But her duty remains. And whether she enjoys it or not, Jiu will not shirk from duty.