Chapter 125 – Punishment

The library was a disaster.

There were open books on the rug, a chair overturned beside the table, and several loose pages scattered across the floor.

One of the cushions had ended up on top of a shelf, though Noxx didn't remember when that had happened.

She didn't care much either.

She had a more urgent problem.

"Enough already! Get off!"

Noxx placed both hands on the queen's waist and pushed.

Elyra swayed a little, corrected her posture, and stayed seated on her stomach.

She even bothered to smooth a fold in her dress that had wrinkled during the struggle.

"I don't want to."

Noxx clenched her teeth.

She dug her heels into the rug, lifted her hips, and tried to turn to one side. The queen leaned with her, waited until she finished, and settled back into place when her back fell against the floor again.

And that was the problem.

Because when Elyra settled again, she slid back just a few centimeters, and Noxx felt the full weight of her ass settling onto her stomach.

Noxx felt her breath catch for an instant.

'Damn her...!'

Then Elyra shifted a little more, and Noxx felt how the weight distributed, the curve of the queen's ass pressing against her abdomen, and something in her stomach twisted in a way that had nothing to do with the struggle.

Noxx began to blush a little.

'What the hell...?'

It was ridiculous.

It was completely ridiculous.

It was just an ass.

It was just weight.

"For a queen, you have some very childish behavior," Noxx said, forcing her voice to sound annoyed.

Elyra looked down at her.

"I do it because it seems to me you're a girl who learns better from firsthand experience."

Noxx stopped pushing for an instant.

"I don't understand you."

"If I don't want to get up from here, what are you going to do?"

"Get off!"

"And haven't you noticed that all your attempts to do so have been useless?"

Noxx pressed her hands against her waist again.

She pushed again.

The queen watched her without saying anything.

The silence was rather annoying.

Especially because, a few seconds later, Noxx was still on the floor and Elyra was still in exactly the same spot.

And the warmth of the queen's body was still there, and her ass was still there, and Noxx kept feeling every tiny movement as if the queen were doing it on purpose.

"Well..."

Noxx moved her hands away.

She still had options.

One, at least.

"I'll wait until you get bored!"

Elyra tilted her head a little.

"Well... you have a point."

Noxx lifted her chin with a small expression of triumph.

She didn't need to beat her.

She just needed that woman to find something better to do with her life.

And being a queen, she must have had many pending matters.

"But suppose you had something urgent to do right now," Elyra continued. "Could you just stay here waiting the way you're doing now?"

Noxx's expression hardened again.

"There's always time."

"Certainly, we have plenty of time to do things." The queen rested one hand on her own knee. "But that doesn't mean everything can wait. There are matters that require you to act at a specific moment."

"Well, it would be pretty urgent for you to get your ass off me and go attend to your royal duties!"

Elyra reached out her hand.

Noxx turned her face slightly, but the queen's fingers reached her forehead and moved aside a strand that had stuck there during the struggle.

Then she arranged the rest of her hair with an irritating calm.

"You have a beautiful gaze."

Noxx stared at her.

'Is she even listening to me?'

The queen finished tucking the strand behind her ear.

Noxx considered summoning Sun.

She only had to call her, aim, and pull the trigger.

For a moment, the idea was quite pleasant.

Then she remembered who was sitting on top of her.

She already knew how that would end.

With her on the floor, and Elyra on top.

Maybe there would be a few more books scattered around the library, but her situation wasn't going to improve.

And worst of all, the queen's ass would still be exactly where it was, settled on her stomach, with that warmth that Noxx was beginning to find unbearable for reasons she didn't want to examine.

Noxx let her head fall back against the rug.

She was screwed.

Was she really going to have to spend the rest of her life as the queen's personal seat?

All because she refused to accept that stupid speech about the strong being able to do whatever they wanted?

Noxx glanced toward the hand that was still arranging her hair.

She narrowed her eyes.

And spat.

Elyra went still. She slowly lowered her gaze to her hand. Noxx held her gaze.

"I'm going to be the most unpleasant chair you've ever had."

The queen blinked, unable to believe what her daughter had just done. Then she let out a small laugh.

"That really is childish."

Noxx spat again.

This time Elyra moved her hand away, though a few drops reached the fabric of her dress.

The queen looked at the small stain.

Noxx began to feel slightly better.

She wasn't managing to get her off, but at least the queen could no longer pretend that this was a comfortable seat.

Noxx readied another spit.

Elyra let out a long, dramatic sigh.

"Well... What am I going to do with such a rebellious chair?"

And then the queen moved.

She didn't get up. She slid forward a little, just enough for her weight to stop pressing on Noxx's stomach and spread between her abdomen and upper chest.

Noxx felt the change in pressure, and then, before she could process it, the queen lifted one of her legs.

She lifted it slowly, calmly. The fabric of her dress slid back, revealing the pale calf, the slender ankle, and the bare foot slowly approaching Noxx's face.

Noxx stared at the foot descending toward her.

'What...?'

"Since you don't want to be an obedient chair," the queen said, in a soft voice, "maybe you need another kind of reminder..."

Elyra's foot came to rest softly on Noxx's cheek.

Not with force or violence. Just... resting there.

The sole of the foot against her cheek, the toes curled over her forehead, the heel resting near her jaw.

And it smelled.

Not in an unbearable way, not like something rotten or dirty, but it did smell.

It was the natural smell of a foot that had been inside a high heel for hours, a warm, slightly sour smell that crept into Noxx's nose.

There was also a faint trace of dust on the sole, a thin layer of dirt that had accumulated from walking through the castle corridors and was now slowly transferring to Noxx's cheek.

Noxx went completely still.

Her first instinct was to turn her face away, turn her head, do anything to escape that foot that had settled on her cheek.

But before she could move, the foot adjusted.

It didn't press.

It just settled, Elyra's toes sliding a little over her forehead, the sole covering her cheek in a way that left no room for doubt.

Elyra was stepping on her.

Elyra Nivea, the vampire queen, the most powerful woman in the kingdom, had immobilized her on the floor and now had her foot resting on Noxx's face as if it were the back of an armchair.

"What are you doing...?" Noxx asked, her voice coming out higher than she intended.

"Teaching you something."

The foot moved.

Very slowly.

The sole slid a centimeter up, then down, rubbing Noxx's cheek with a softness that was almost worse than if she were crushing her.

It was like a caress.

A caress with a foot.

On her face.

And not just that. The movement of the foot was leaving a trail of dirt on Noxx's skin, a thin, warm film that mixed with the smell and made the experience even more... intense.

Noxx felt her cheeks flush.

"Get that off!"

"No."

"Elyra!"

The queen smiled, and the foot moved again. The toes curled slightly, brushing Noxx's forehead, and the heel slid back a little until it was near her ear.

The smell of the foot intensified a little with the movement, and Noxx felt her face burning.

"This is disgusting," Noxx said, though her voice sounded less steady than she would have liked.

"Is it?"

"Yes."

"Then why don't you push me away?"

Noxx raised her hands.

She could try.

She could grab Elyra's foot and pull it off.

It was just a foot.

It was just... a foot that smelled a little and was pressing against her cheek and was moving slowly against her skin as if the queen were...

Noxx lowered her hands.

She couldn't.

She didn't know why.

She didn't know if it was because she knew Elyra would stop her, or because a part of her didn't want it to stop, or because the sensation was so strange, so new, so... not entirely unpleasant.

That was the worst part.

It wasn't unpleasant.

It was humiliating.

It was ridiculous.

But it wasn't unpleasant for Noxx.

And then, without thinking, Noxx spat.

It wasn't a conscious decision.

It was instinct.

The spit left her mouth and landed directly on Elyra's foot, right on the arch, mixing with the thin layer of dirt already there.

The foot stopped.

Elyra lowered her gaze to her own foot. Then to Noxx.

And then, very slowly, the queen slid her foot upward, rubbing Noxx's spit against Noxx's own cheek, mixing it with the dirt on the foot, spreading it over her skin with a slow, deliberate movement.

Noxx felt the warm liquid against her cheek, mixed with the dust and the smell of the foot, and her face burned.

Elyra licked her lips. Very slowly. With the tip of her tongue, tracing her lower lip from one side to the other, as if she were savoring something.

"Mmm," the queen said with a smile. "Do you like the taste of my feet, Noxx?"

Noxx was speechless.

"Because it seems to me you do."

"No!"

"No?"

"I don't like it at all!"

"Then why are you still here?"

Noxx opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.

She had no answer.

And then Elyra lifted her other foot.

Noxx saw it coming. She saw the queen's leg rise, saw the fabric of the dress slide back, saw the second bare foot approach her face.

And she did nothing to stop it.

The second foot came to rest on the other side of her face, right at the side, the sole pressed against her left cheek and the toes curled near her ear.

Now Noxx had one of Elyra's feet on each side of her face, pressing gently, covering her cheeks with the warmth and smell and dirt of both feet.

And she couldn't move.

She didn't want to move.

It was too much.

The queen was holding her with her feet, as if Noxx were an object that could be held between soles, and the smell was more intense now, twice as intense, and the warmth was more, and the dirt was spreading across both cheeks.

Noxx felt she was going to die of embarrassment.

And even so, there was something else.

Something Noxx didn't want to admit.

The queen was very close.

Her feet were on her face, yes, but her body was right above, and Noxx could see her from below, with the library light falling on her face, and her white hair, and her red eyes, and her smile.

And her face.

Elyra's face.

Noxx felt something twist in her chest.

Because Elyra's face looked a lot like Matt's, when he was fused with Iris, when he was the princess, when he had the body the queen had given him...

That face.

Noxx had seen that face in Matt's memories.

She had seen it in Iris's eyes when she looked at herself.

And now she was seeing it in Elyra, from below, with her feet on her face.

And a part of Noxx, a part she didn't want to admit, found that... not entirely unpleasant.

'No. No, no, no.'

Noxx squeezed her eyes shut.

'This isn't happening. I'm not enjoying this. This isn't...'

"Noxx?"

Elyra's voice came from above, soft, amused.

Noxx didn't answer.

The feet moved.

Very slowly.

The soles slid against her cheeks, rubbing, and Elyra's toes tangled a little more in her hair.

"Are you going to keep being a rebellious chair?"

Noxx didn't answer.

The right foot moved a little. Elyra's toes pressed gently against her chin.

"Noxx?"

"No."

"No, what?"

"No... I'm going to stop being a rebellious chair."

Elyra smiled.

"Good."

And then, instead of moving her feet away, the queen slid them back up.

Her toes tangled a little more in Noxx's hair, her soles rested against her cheeks with a comfort that said she had no intention of moving anytime soon, and her heels settled near Noxx's ears, pressing gently against her jaw.

Noxx stared at the ceiling, between the queen's two feet.

Her face was burning.

Her heart was beating too fast.

And Elyra's feet were still there, warm, slightly smelly, moving now and then with small adjustments that only made Noxx feel more... something.

She didn't know what.

But something.

"This... is humiliating..." Noxx murmured.

"Is it?"

"Yes."

"Then why don't you push me away?"

Noxx didn't answer; instead she began to devise a plan, recalling the girls who had come to the room she now shared with Matt.

If it was true that those girls were at her service, then...

Noxx closed her eyes.

And searched.

At first she found nothing. Only the weight of Elyra's feet on her face, the smell, the warmth, the dirt drying on her cheeks.

But then she concentrated harder, pushed outward with her energy, and suddenly the presences became clear.

They were close.

Very close.

Noxx, with her eyes closed and the queen's feet on her face, released a little of her energy.

Not much.

Just enough for the presences to feel her, to know where she was, to come.

"You damned servants, get over here!"

Noxx's voice echoed through the library, louder than she intended, because she needed to do something, anything, to break that moment and stop thinking about Elyra's feet and what she was feeling.

Elyra raised her eyebrows slightly.

"To the library! Now!"

The footsteps quickened almost immediately.

After walking corridors, checking rooms, and following clues that had led them nowhere, the six nobles had just heard shouts coming from the library.

And they had also felt that energy.

Noxx's energy.

Finally.

Rosalind had insisted that they needed to find Matt to fulfill their duties.

And now it seemed they had found him.

Rosalind Grisel was the first to enter.

Her hurried expression changed as soon as she made out the queen. She straightened, preparing to greet her and explain the reason for her presence, but then her gaze dropped.

Noxx was on the floor.

Beneath Elyra.

And the queen had both her feet resting on Noxx's face.

Rosalind stopped for an instant.

The other five appeared behind her.

They had found the queen.

They had also found Noxx.

There was no trace of Matt.

And the scene before them was...

The queen was sitting on Noxx's stomach. With both her bare feet resting on her cheeks.

Princess Noxx was on the floor, red-faced, hair disheveled, and the queen's clearly smelly feet resting on her face as if they were two armchair backrests.

Kaela Ardent glanced around the rest of the library, as if she still expected to discover Matt behind a chair or beside one of the shelves.

When she confirmed he wasn't there, she let out a breath through her nose.

Her gaze passed over the scattered books and stopped on the cushion that had ended up on top of the shelf.

They still had pending work.

This looked like more work.

But also, and this was the interesting part, the scene didn't seem particularly scandalous to her.

It was the queen and her daughter.

The queen was... playing, it seemed she was teaching her something.

And the feet on Noxx's face were part of that.

It was a little embarrassing, yes. But Kaela had seen worse things. Her own sisters had pinned her down in stranger ways when they were young.

Rosalind was the first to recover her sense of protocol.

She bowed to Elyra.

Eris followed with impeccable composure, not allowing the situation to alter her greeting. Although her eyes, for an instant, stopped on the queen's feet on Noxx's face, and something in her expression softened.

Virelle watched Noxx's movements more closely, attentive to whether she really needed help.

But Noxx didn't seem to be in danger.

She was red and embarrassed.

But not in danger.

Celia, for her part, looked alternately at the queen and her daughter, with a curiosity that Noxx found quite ill-timed.

And then, almost unintentionally, Celia smiled.

Not a mocking smile but a small, almost nostalgic smile.

Lisette Lucent pressed her lips together.

The corners of her mouth lifted anyway.

Noxx saw her.

Lisette looked away toward one of the shelves, too late to pretend nothing had happened.

'Are you seriously going to laugh!?'

But Lisette wasn't the only one.

Kaela had stopped looking at the library and was now looking at Noxx with an expression that wasn't exactly mockery, but something closer to amusement.

As if the scene seemed familiar to her.

As if she had seen something similar before and it brought back good memories.

And Eris, from her position by the door, had a small smile she wasn't trying to hide.

It was the smile of someone who had seen her own sisters in similar situations.

"Are you comfortable, Noxx?" Lisette asked, with a sweetness that fooled no one.

Noxx glared at her.

"I'm... perfectly fine."

"You look... relaxed."

"Lisette."

"Yes?"

"When this is over, I'm going to..."

Elyra's feet moved.

Just a little. Her toes curled slightly, brushing Noxx's cheeks, and her heels pressed against her jaw with a little more firmness.

Noxx fell silent.

Lisette covered her mouth with one hand, but she couldn't keep a small laugh from escaping.

And that was enough for Kaela to smile too.

And for Celia to look away, with an expression that said she was making a conscious effort not to laugh.

None of them seemed scandalized by the scene.

Eris was waiting for instructions.

Rosalind maintained protocol.

Kaela seemed annoyed that Matt still hadn't appeared, but she was also clearly enjoying the situation.

And Lisette was no longer hiding it.

Noxx felt her face heat up.

She had called for help.

Not to expand the audience.

The calm with which they accepted seeing her in that position was even more irritating to her than a surprised reaction.

To them, the queen was teaching her daughter something.

To Noxx, that woman had been using her stomach as a seat for far too long. And now both her feet were on her face.

And Noxx could still feel the smell, and the warmth, and the dirt drying on her cheeks.

And none of them seemed to be in a hurry to resolve that difference.

But they were already there.

She could still take advantage of it.

"Find Iris!"

The six turned their attention back to her.

Noxx raised her voice.

"Kidnap her and take her far away! Very, very far! And then...!"

Elyra's feet moved.

It wasn't a big movement. Just a slide. The queen's toes tangled a little more in Noxx's hair, her soles pressed against her cheeks with a little more intent, and her heels pressed against her jaw with a firmness that kept her from speaking further.

Noxx tried to move her mouth.

The feet didn't move.

"!...!"

The order was cut off.

This time, Lisette stopped smiling.

Kaela looked away from the library disaster.

Celia went completely still.

The six looked at Noxx.

Then they looked at Elyra.

None of them took a step toward the door.

The queen had assigned them to Matt's service. They had received no indication that their duties included kidnapping another princess on Noxx's orders.

Much less in front of her mother.

And even less with the queen having both her feet resting on Noxx's face while the order was given.

Rosalind was the first to break the silence.

"Your Majesty, we still haven't managed to locate Princess Matt."

Noxx looked at her.

She waited until she could speak again.

Elyra's feet moved barely, just a little, just enough to let her speak.

"That's what concerns you now?! I'm asking you for help!"

Elyra answered with absolute calm.

"Matt is the princess to whose service you were assigned. You are fulfilling your duties."

Rosalind inclined her head slightly.

Eris did the same.

Noxx stared at them.

She had called six possible reinforcements.

They had brought her a report about Matt.

And the queen had just agreed with them. All while the queen had both her feet resting on Noxx's face.

Lisette pressed her lips together again.

Noxx preferred to stop looking at her.

Elyra lowered her eyes to her, still with a small smile.

"As for your idea, using a hostage to negotiate with your opponent can be quite effective."

Noxx glared at her.

"But, as personal advice, you shouldn't explain your plan in front of the person you want to negotiate with."

Noxx clenched her teeth.

The six were still there.

Listening.

That woman wasn't even going to wait for them to leave before finishing her explanation. And her feet were still on Noxx's face, warm, slightly smelly, moving now and then with small adjustments that made Noxx want to die of embarrassment.

Elyra smiled a little more.

"Because that person can stop you."

The queen glanced briefly at the nobles and then lowered her gaze to her again.

"Although, if you want to know an effective way to do it..."