Chapter 1: Twice a Month

Lavinia pulled her hood tighter around her face as she approached the blaring lights and sounds of the street circus, praying that nobody in the street would recognise her. She regretted coming out here, to the cobbled streets and boisterous caravan-sites of Rakdos territory, in such a brazen expression of Azorius loyalty, but every article of clothing she owned, she had realised, was some combination of blue and cream! She had had to make do with her darkest blue cloak, and with forgoing such easily identifiable marks of office as her gauntlets and cowl.

Don’t falter now, Lavinia. She steeled herself. You’re almost there. Just another street over.

The thud of her boots against the rain-soaked cobbles seemed to drill into her brain, expanding the time it took for her to reach the illuminated door at the end of the street to an apparent eternity. Was this a good idea? She thought. Of course it wasn’t. But she was at breaking point. She knew what those rumours among the guildless said could be acquired here and she needed it. She had to have it, or at least to be able to say she tried.

Lavinia’s perception of time was wobbly from how sick with anxiety she had felt, and so she was taken aback when suddenly she was at the door backstage to the temporary Rakdos arena. The devil doorman, perched on a stool beside the open doorway, looked up at her and smirked.

“Evening, Arrester.”

Lavinia stiffened. “Am I that obvious?”

“An Azorius down here sticks out like an unwounded thumb.” The devil cackled. “It’s how you carry yourselves, all self-important and hoity-toity. It’s not that hard havin’ reached that conclusion to compare your face against the few famous Azorius I know. You’re that bird works for the guildpact, arencha?”

“How much do you think you could sell the story of the deputy to the guildpact coming down here for? That is, assuming I’m easily enough mistaken for her?” Lavinia inquired, coldly, reflexively adding the last sentence out of a compulsion to maintain deniability rather than any real sort of confidence in her ability to deceive the doorman.

The devil smacked his lips thoughtfully. “Two hundred zimos? Three if I got a whiff of what your business is in here, since you’re obviously not on duty.”

“Here’s four.” Lavinia thrust a bulging coinpurse into the devil’s spindly little hand. “With the promise of an extra hundred every subsequent time I come down here provided you can keep your mouth shut.” She made a show of drawing a simple contractual charm, hoping it would convince him she was bound to her word.

“That’ll do nicely.” The devil grinned from ear to ear, sharp teeth in serrated lines revealing themselves. “You’ll have no trouble from me, Arrester. Feel free to conduct your discreet business without fear.” He beckoned her to enter the sordid den behind him, chuckling all the time.

Lavinia gritted her teeth and strode forward, entering the crimson den of carnality’s backstage area.

She was instantly assailed by the strong metallic smell of blood, tempered with the ambient scent of smoke that hung in the air. Lavinia held her nerve. True, these environs weren’t what she was used to, but an arrester had to be adaptable, and adaptable she was. She’d come this far; it would be utter foolishness to leave without at least asking for what she was seeking.

“Oi.” A voice close to her ear called. Lavinia turned to her right and looked straight into the face of a tiny red imp, no bigger than the candlestick she was hefting aloft, fluttering in the air.

“What’s your game then, your highness?” The coarse little creature demanded.

Lavinia swallowed an insulting riposte. “I want to see Judith, the ‘Scourge Diva’. Can you direct me to her, or fetch her for me?”

“I can holler for her.” The imp replied, suspicion tempering her voice. “But why should I? Azorius like you’s bound to arrest her for sumfin’.”

“I won’t.” Lavinia attempted to reassure the creature. “Look. All the clothes I own are like this, but I’m plainly not in uniform. I’m off duty, so by law I can only make arrests if there’s a present danger of harm or death to civilians. If you call for Judith, I can wait here for her, and I have no reason to look behind that curtain at the end of the hall, so I can’t possibly see anything that would make me need to arrest anyone.”

The imp considered for a moment. “Yeah awright sounds good. I’ll take your word for it on the law, ain’t perused it myself but you Azorius love the law so much, ye can’t lie, can yer?”

“No.” Lavinia lied. “We can’t.”

The imp rotated under the weight of her candle, which flickered in Lavinia’s face, and scrunched up her face, drawing in breath to yell.

“OI, DICKHEADS! FETCH JUDITH, SHE’S GOTTER VISITOR!”

Lavinia squinted in the half light and saw the flickering of another candle a little further down the corridor rotating. A moment later an ever-quieter string of “OI DICKHEADS”, echoing down the hall could be heard.

In the ensuing silence as they both waited, Lavinia tried to find an excuse to look anywhere but at the imp, occupying herself with examining a rip in the ratty red carpet. Soon enough, however, there was a clacking of heels on the boards ahead and Lavinia looked up, not without some trepidation.

“Arrester Lavinia!” The vision before her exclaimed. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

The striking black and red motif of the Rakdos cult still turned Lavinia’s stomach a little, even after all this time. A little ball of guilt began welling up out of the depths of her stomach as she took in Judith’s fur-trimmed crimson skirt, form-fitting black leather bodice and horned crown. Stop it. She chided her subconscious inside her head. It can’t all be about him. I’m allowed to interact with the Dimir and the Rakdos. She wasn’t even involved, and I need this.

“Scourge…Diva.” Lavinia spoke, a little uncertain of the title. “It’s a little sensitive a matter actually, do you have a private room to talk?”

Judith blinked; the slow, seductive blink of someone who is constantly all so very pleased with herself. “But of course, Arrester.” She smiled sweetly. “There’s one just here in fact. Follow me inside and I’m sure we can get whatever matter has brought you here straightened out.” The smile was ostensibly human, but for whatever reason Lavinia caught something of the serrated grin of the door-devil in it. Suppressing her urge to gulp, she followed the lavishly dressed cultist inside the darkened room opened to her.

“Now then, Arrester.” Judith said, sitting down in a large, lavish but ill-kept throne-like chair on one side of the small, dingy study they had entered and placing her golden heels upon the desk in front of her. “Do take a seat and let me know all about what heinous crime has brought you here.”

“Nothing so terrible actually.” Lavinia sat down in- and promptly sank into- an unconvincing looking dusty armchair opposite. “I’m off-duty. This is a personal matter.”

“Really?” Judith raised her theatrically-sculpted eyebrows, the dark hair contrasting brilliantly with her porcelain skin. “Forgive me, Arrester, I was under the impression that an Azorius who decried our little parties as…” she fumbled inside her bodice and produced a worn scrap of paper obviously taken from an edition of the Tenth District Herald “…’Carnivals of crime, misdemeanour and vulgarity, celebrations of routine flouting of guildpact law and hedonistic pedestals upon which to display the grotesque, the unconscionable and the reprehensible.’ might not herself be so eager to make a private visit of her own to one of our rings.”

Lavinia coughed, embarrassed at having her own interview read back to her. “Yes well… I, uh… stand by those words, but I don’t hear myself necessarily pass judgement on the overall appropriateness of… um… hedonistic pedestals.”

“You do in the very next paragraph where you lament the guildpact’s forbiddance of our dissolution.” Judith replied sardonically. “But I take your point, and don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me. As far as I’m concerned if we were all held to everything our jobs made us say and do, we’d be hypocrites ten times over. So, if none of us are in trouble that you’ve come to hold to us, and you’ve come to visit me specifically, to what do I owe the pleasure, Arrester Lavinia?”

Lavinia leaned forward, almost conspiratorially, though it was difficult in the quagmire of an armchair she was seated in.

“It’s… the guildpact.” She whispered.

Judith stood up, swung her legs one at a time over the desk and plopped down onto it, moving her bone white face to within inches of Lavinia’s own. “Do tell.” She purred.

“He’s…” Lavinia clenched her fists in frustration. “…just never there! Ever since I learned that he’s a… plane walker or whatever they’re called, a traveller to other worlds, he’s always gallivanting off with his odd friends, disappearing for weeks at a time! What about the laws, the regulations, I say. What about this stack of things that you, Jace Beleren, the living guildpact, must pass judgement on? ‘I’ll get to it, Lavinia.’ He says.” She adopted a mocking impression of Beleren. ‘But now there’s a seven-headed wurm loose in the suburbs of faraway Ischlpischlsteen that demands my attention, could you handle my calls in the meantime?’” She slumped backwards, her head in her hands. “And then I end up doing everything, which is wrong, and illegal, since I’m Azorius and they’re guildpact-level judgements, and not what I’m trained for. But what else can I do? For the time he’s even here, he’d never get through a tenth of what the guildpact has to pass judgement on. It’s either I fake it, or it doesn’t get done and Ravnica gets more miserable.”

Judith let the silence hang in the air for a moment before she said, quite simply, “I know.”

An eye appeared from between Lavinia’s fingers. “You do?”

“I must confess I know little about planeswaddlers or whatever you said, but the tale of the absentee guildpact has reached even us mere mortals down here on the streets.” Judith said soothingly. “Everybody knows the story of the woman who really runs Ravnica. I just thought it might be important to let her tell it.”

“Oh Azor…” Lavinia buried her head in her hands again. “I can’t handle it Judith, I really can’t. I never became deputy to the guildpact to make these kinds of decisions. I have the wellbeing of the entire city resting on my shoulders, and any decision I make is illegal.”

“I’d find that quite liberating, personally.” Judith in an offhanded tone. “Free me from worrying about all that silly legality stuff to really express myself. But I can understand a true white blue like you might see it differently. Anyway, I am many things, Arrester, but a therapist is not generally one of them. Why have you elected to seek my counsel particularly, save that as Rakdos I don’t care about laws, so I won’t rat you out?”

Lavinia removed her head from her hands, her face suddenly stony with renewed purpose. She leaned back forward, making up the distance to Judith’s face again until their noses were almost touching.

“I need…” she whispered, in a strained, but determined voice. “…a break. And I want your help.”

“And what sort of help could I provide you?” Judith asked, dismissively. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Arrester, but I perform in ring entertainment, I don’t sell time shares for mini breaks.”

“My whole life now is just having to take responsibility, be in charge, make decisions, think-do-think-do-think-do.” Lavinia muttered through gritted teeth. “I need a break from that. Where I’m not the one taking control.”

“So appoint a second-in-command and go and stay in a hotel for a week.” Judith swung her legs back over the desk and stood up to leave. “If you’ll excuse me, Arrester, I have rehearsals to conduct.”

“Where I’m not in control… of anything.” Lavinia practically growled, her jaw clenched.

Judith stopped at the door. Slowly, her heels making dull clicks against the dry loose boards beneath her, she walked back to the desk, sat down upon one end and lounged backwards to place her face within spitting distance of Lavinia’s again.

“I’m so terribly sorry, Arrester.” She said, savouring the words, her smile wide, white, and vaguely animalistic. “I completely misunderstood you before. Now I see.” She ran her tongue slowly across her teeth in front of Lavinia before continuing. “You’ve heard about my little… extracurriculars… haven’t you?”

“I might have done.” Lavinia replied, simply.

“Do forgive me, arrester, but given the comparative… legality of those particular activities, if the most powerful woman on Ravnica were to discover acts I wished kept secret, I’d have thought she’d have found out about my much more… objectionable habits first. Now, of course, I understand she might well know, but she’s prepared to look past them to get what she wants.”

“Will you do it?” Lavinia sounded harried.

“For a price, dear, though not necessarily one in zimos. I think this could prove to be a very mutually beneficial arrangement for both of us, if you’re prepared to give me what I want.”

“And what is that?”

“Every day, Arrester, I go out in that ring and I perform my heart out. Thankfully not literally, though it may yet come to that. I sing, I dance, I tell jokes, I bleed for the audience. I commit some amount of little indiscretions that I think I will spare your sensitive Azorius ears. All for the adulation of my public and the prestige I desire amongst the cult. I certainly receive one of those, Arrester, but do you know who gets the other?”

“Who?”

“Why, Rakdos, of course. The big man himself. Never am I properly appreciated or revered by my fellow cultists, no matter the popularity of my songs, the daring complexity of my stunts, the quality of my jokes. No, all praise is directed squarely at the guildmaster, on his lofty perch in the crowd, the lazy bastard.” Judith placed a hand under Lavinia’s chin, tipping it imperceptibly upwards. “What I want, Arrester, is to be adored.”

“You want that, truly?” Lavinia whispered, breathlessly, staring deeply into the other woman’s wild, painted eyes. “Then command it of me, and it shall be done.”

With a snap, Judith was standing up, and the mood was broken. “Perhaps I will, but first thing’s first, Arrester, let’s get some ground rules hammered out. How frequently can you come and see me?”

“Every other Raksday.” Lavinia replied, straightening herself up, a little embarrassed. “I can neither afford the bribe I’m paying your doorman, nor the potential for being followed, to come any more frequently. Beside that I have work to do.”

“So sparsely, darling.” Judith pouted as she stepped over to a cabinet in the corner of the dingy room and began rifling through it. “I shall look forward to our meetings with some excitement. Good plan with paying off Cackler though, I don’t control who he talks to. Now then, our relationship stays in the space we meet in on these Raksdays. In public we know each other only by reputation; you are free to talk as much rot about the Rakdos cult to the press as you please, and we will continue our…more ‘legally challenged’ pursuits, and no further word said about it. Meeting in public it will be as if we have not met before at all. Consequently, it would probably be best that I leave no marks on you, either from impact or incision, where they can be seen, so I’ll stick to your torso and avoid extremities if there’s any of that to be done. Speaking of, do you wish to be incised at all? I know not everybody is the biggest fan of blood. No?” – here she glanced at Lavinia, who was shaking her head in a small motion and grimacing – “Very well then, I’ll restrict myself to blunt instruments, and even then of course, only if you’re bad. Theatre aside, it is important that this is enjoyable for you, so if at any point you feel overwhelmed or uncatered to, or you want to stop for any reason, you can say ‘Niv Mizzet’ and I’ll cut and break character and see you right. Try it now.” She waited a moment, listening as the Azorius woman obliged.

“There, you see? That’s your safe word if ever I go too far. Finally, the most difficult decision-“ she pulled something out of the cabinet, and when she turned around Lavinia could see she was carrying a pair of large dog collars, each beset with a row of spikes and attached to a folded leash. “-red or blue?”

Lavinia stared at the leashes for a moment before shaking her head. “Are we doing this or not? My opinion doesn’t matter.”

“You’re right, it doesn’t.” Judith replaced the red leash in the cabinet, her voice effortlessly changing as she assumed her character. “I think blue would be best. Azorius blue, to remind me of the provenance of my new possession once she has lost all other such indicia. Speaking of which; take off your clothes.”

“Pardon, Judith?”

“You will address me as ‘My diva’, and I think I was perfectly clear the first time. Remove thy vestments.”

Lavinia found herself breathless. It’s happening, she thought, struggling to keep her composure. She kicked off her boots and scrambled clumsily to remove her cloak, then her gloves. Both she tossed to the floor before she went to work removing her tunic and trousers, then finally began unfastening the one-piece she wore beneath out of the habits of a woman who wore her work uniform too much. Soon, a heaped, crumpled pile of blue cloth sat on the floor, and beside it knelt Lavinia, utterly nude, her dark brown pixie cut no longer hidden by hoods and cowls. Judith walked over to her, gestured for her to stand, and undid the buckle on the bright blue collar. It was the work of a moment to see it securely fastened around Lavinia’s neck.

“Until this comes off, I own you.” Judith whispered into Lavinia’s ear, her body close and warm. “You will follow my instructions, you will answer my questions, and I may do as I please with you. Are you prepared to begin?”

“Yes, my diva.” Lavinia breathed, barely able to contain her excitement.

The grand dame walked slowly around Lavinia, examining her from every angle. Lavinia couldn’t help but gasp as a pair of porcelain hands cupped her breasts. The dame nodded approvingly, then pressed gently on her scalp to force her to the floor again. A tug at Lavinia’s neck as Judith walked away from her toward the ratty throne made it clear what was expected of her. Crawling on her hands and knees, she followed the train of Judith’s dress to the chair and then sat hunched up beside the armrest.

In the resulting silence Lavinia wondered if, despite the thrill she had just been subjected to, this had truly been a good decision. Odd as this was, she supposed, she wasn’t uncomfortable. Despite her nakedness she felt pretty warm in this room. The whole of the Rakdos backstage area had been pretty toasty, actually. Might be a fire hazard, she thought. I should report- then she stopped. No, that wasn’t what this was all about. She wasn’t here to be a guildpact deputy, or an Azorius arrester, or her usual stern legalistic self. She was here to submit. Somebody else makes all the decisions, she thought, almost euphorically. My diva will decide everything, I worry about nothing but pleasing her. I am finally, for a few hours, free. Free to stop, free to think of nothing of importance, nothing of weight. Just warm and cared for, subjugated by my own will for my own sanity. I asked for this, I am determined to enjoy it.

There was a tickling on Lavinia’s scalp. She blinked owlishly for a moment in confusion, before daring to turn a little to look at Judith. The glamorous Rakdos cultist was lounging in the chair, the end of the leash in her lap held loosely by her right hand, and her left… Lavinia realised that Judith was stroking her hair!

“Thaaat’s it.” The dame’s voice was soft and soothing, like a Boros handler with a spooked mastiff. “Just let all those little thoughts and worries driiiift away. Like dust. Not important at all. Empty out your cute little head, hm? A moment ago you were the most powerful woman in Ravnica. Now what are you?”

Lavinia was silent, confused, finally she chanced a pleading look at Judith’s face.

“Oh poor little Vinny, you’re still so new to this, aren’t you?” Judith crooned. “Let me help you out, just this once; you’re alive, and you’re my property, and I have you on a leash. All that makes you…?”

“Your pet.” Lavinia said in a small voice, barely able to speak.

“Pardon?” Judith theatrically put her left hand to her ear.

“Your pet, my diva!” Lavinia repeated, louder and more confidently. It felt silly, but she wanted the petting hand back, it had felt oddly comforting.

“Very good!” Judith exclaimed in mock praise, though oddly enough it felt pretty real to Lavinia. “And back then you had all sorts of horrid nasty responsibilities; making our legal system go round, making decisions that affect people’s lives every day, picking up after the lazy ungrateful living guildpact. Not very nice at all. But that’s all gone now, you needn’t worry about it anymore. Instead you only have one job now, my pet. Do you know what it is?

Lavinia did know, and she was catching on fast how this game worked. “To adore you, my diva.”

“Well done!” Judith cooed. “Now you understand. Oh it’s so good to see that even the mightiest Azorius in the world can be made to recognise her place, where she truly belongs. Where is that, by the way, my pet?” She asked, sweetly.

Lavinia considered, not wanting to give the wrong answer. She’d been shown no punishment as of yet, save perhaps slightly harsh words, but she craved her crimson-clad mistress’ praise, it was addictive. More recognition than she’d received in a year of serving the guildpact, just for submitting to the grand dame and recognising it. What a strange world.

“At…your…feet…my diva?” She answered cautiously.

“Oh good girl!” Judith’s hand returned to Lavinia’s head, her nails scratching behind the naked Arrester’s ears. “That was a bit of a hard one, I must admit, I thought you might need some help, but you’re a good little pet, and a smart one too! I think it might have been emptying out that brain of yours, it’s left so much room for the things that really matter.”

Lavinia felt her eyes closing as she submitted to the pleasurable sensation of being petted. Judith was right. This was where she belonged, what she was meant for. Not a stressful life of resolving guildpact problems and waiting for irresponsible teenage laws made manifest to grace her with their presence, but the simple existence of a pampered housepet, where all the decisions that could possibly distress her were taken by her owner and she needn’t have a care in the world but for adoration in return.

Speaking of which, she realised it was high time she showed some. Grasping for an adoring act, she leaned in very close to the arm of the chair, hoping this would be interpreted as the show of loving intimacy it was meant as. She felt it likely, as she saw Judith glance down and smile warmly, and felt her diva’s hand move to the nape of her neck, where her thumb began massaging gently. They sat there for a few minutes in silence, just enjoying the moment.

“I think it’s time to make proper use of my new toy.” Judith removed her hand and stood up, leaving Lavinia’s leash on the armrest. Lavinia waited and watched patiently as Judith removed her fur-trimmed skirt and leather bodice, gently tossing both onto the seat Lavinia had previously occupied. She sat back down, picked up the leash and gave a gentle tug. “Come on, my pet, up here.”

Lavinia scrambled onto all fours and waddled around the side of the chair, hauling herself up by her hands to look over the seat at Judith.

The scourge diva reposed regally in the chair. She still wore her horned crown, the harlequin sleeve on her left arm and her golden heels, but she had stripped down completely otherwise. She looked into Lavinia’s eyes, raised her eyebrows enticingly, and pointed downwards. Lavinia’s gaze followed her direction to the seat of the chair…and to Judith’s cunt.

Lavinia looked up at Judith, her eyes like saucers.

“I… I’ve never…” She stuttered.

“Never?” Judith purred incredulously. “Not even received?”

Lavinia shook her head.

“We’ll have to fix that some time.” Judith muttered. “Well, make a start, I’ll account for your inexperience and let you know if you’re screwing up.”

Lavinia nervously pushed her face forward, burying it, with some uncertainty, in Judith’s nethers. She made some exploratory motions with her tongue, then began licking faster, noting what prompted positive sounds from above her head. She slowly became more confident as her actions elicited louder and louder moans from her owner, though indeed, it took a long time, and Lavinia’s knees and collarbones were beginning to hurt from staying in one position so long. Eventually, finally, and with a little squeal that to the Azorius felt like the greatest praise of all, Judith put her hand on Lavinia’s temple and gently pushed her head away. Slumped in the chair, panting, Judith began once again gently stroking Lavinia’s hair. Lavinia let her neck go slack, placing her chin down on the seat of the chair, looking up at her diva lovingly. Thus they stayed, for many minutes, before the Rakdos dame finally spoke.

“Time’s up, my pet.” Judith said, gently.

“Hm?” Lavinia looked up, confused.

“I have a rehearsal to get to, I’m afraid. And so you must return to the world of the civilised. It will be difficult to adjust, I know, now that I have shown you what you really are, but I’m sure you can pretend to be a person well enough, before you know it we’ll be able to play again and then I can put you back where you belong. Come at seven next time, so we have more time to try things.” Judith leaned in close and kissed Lavinia’s forehead. At the same time Lavinia felt the collar slacken around her neck, and then it was pulled off down her front.

“Put your clothes back on.” Judith instructed. “And you know-“ she continued, blithely. “If there’s anything you’d like to try you can bring it to our next little meeting, but you have to show it to me before we start- once your clothes are off, only the safe word can make anything you think matter again until we’re finished. Now ta-ta poppet, run along now.”

Lavinia was pretty sure her singlet was on back to front as she left by the stage door, but there was nothing to be done about it now, and besides, she barely cared. What an absolute thrill! There was no doubt about it- she had found her hobby for the foreseeable future, and she’d be seeing-and worshipping- a lot more of the grand dame.

As she made to disappear into the spattering rain a voice called out behind her.

“Enjoy yerself, luv?”

Lavinia turned and saw the pointed face of the devil doorman.

“Very much, thank you.” She stated, bluntly but with a smile on her face. “Enjoy the gold?”

“That I do, and I look forward to future instalments.” Cackler said greedily.

“And you’ll have them.” Colour rushed to Lavinia’s cheeks as she thought of making future visits to the grand dame. “I’ll be coming back soon.” And with that she turned, raised her hood and disappeared into the rain.

“’course you will.” Cackler muttered avariciously to himself.

“They always do.”