The Queen's Pleasure

The call

Maya stood there on the street staring at a poster. Alongside her were others, also taking their time to read and inspect the announcement.

The poster requested the presence of suitors for the queen. And that wasn't the confusing bit. It was the part that said, "for the queen's pleasure" that had everyone really buzzing.

Maya ignored the poster and walked away. It was not uncommon here, in their town, for people to put up posters looking for suitors. But when it came from the Queen's palace, of course it would draw everyone's attention.

Maya stopped at a store on the way. It belonged to her friend Andy and her dad.

"Hey," Andy greeted her. "What will it be today?" Andy asked.

"The usual," Maya repeated like she always did. And while Andy began packing a bottle of her cheapest liquor, Maya turned her head back to the commotion near the poster.

"The Queen's horny again," Andy said.

"Andy...." Maya admonished.

"What!" Andy chuckled. "She does this every time she's idle," Andy said. "There's no war, there's no new big construction project for the town, there's no new investigation she's working on, and there's no trouble. A time of peace is a time for pleasure for her," Andy said.

"And you say that like it's a bad thing," Maya said.

"Oh, not for her, and not for whoever she chooses either," Andy said. "She has her fill and whoever she chooses, they fill their pockets. Every time she requests a suitor I just wish it meant for more than just her pleasure," Andy said.

"You're being judgy, a woman can want 'just sex'," Maya said.

"No of course, but wouldn't you love to see our Queen riding across town with a partner?" Andy said, "Wouldn't it be lovely?" Andy said.

"Well, she's never requested a long-term partner, and I'm sure she doesn't want anyone getting in the way of her job as a ruler," Maya said.

"A relationship could complicate the rulings of this town," Maya added. "I think it's best for all of us, that our Queen continues getting a fuck whenever she likes and then justly ruling her people on the daily.

"Hmmm, whatever," Andy says, "not like it makes such a huge difference to us. "

"What do you mean?" Maya asks.

"Sorry, I mean, to you it could, you have what she prefers," Andy said, generally gesturing towards Maya's mid area.

Maya rolled her eyes. She knew what Andy was talking about. The queen, in all her invitations before, had never specifically mentioned if she wanted a man or a woman in her bed. And the people never questioned it either. It was accepted and even celebrated that the Queen was not partial to any gender. She chose her suitor based on a number of criteria, and genitals weren't a deal-breaker. However, rumours had it that she preferred a good cock every once in a while, and if there were cocks among the row of contestants, coupled with pretty faces and big breasts, they were generally through to the next round. The off times that men were the finalists were maybe once or twice in ten times.

Rumors told different stories about the way the Queen made her choice. Some potential suitors would leave the palace grumbling, some would leave feeling honoured. Some others would feel humiliated while others would be rewarded.

Because every time there was a call for a suitor, one, it was clear that it was only for the purpose of sex, and two, that it was for a definite period of time. It was because the queen treated pleasure this way, and treated genders this way, that the whole town too was open and accepting of sex as a way and means to let the body express itself.