[missile]

?Oh, my god in heaven above,? the Baron finally said. ?I shall never, ever be able to top that.? The sailors bent to remove her restraints and place her on the ground. She sat up, slowly, afraid to stand and see how much more height she?d lost by now.

?Only one more thing, my dear.?

?What is that, master??

?The stallion seems rather excited. Perhaps you know of a way jockeys might, well, calm their mount??

A glance revealed that the Lieutenant kneeling over her was, indeed, quite excited. She crawled across the grass to kneel beside him.

This task was similar to the one in the bath, in effort, but she found herself enjoying it more. There was no soap available to lubricate the surfaces, but a lick here and there seemed adequate to the need.

When he shot forth his seed, she relaxed and let it fall upon her, settling in her lap. A final kiss to the end and she stood, resting her hands upon his flank for a moment.

Applause from above brought her back to the moment. The Baron clapped with evident sincerity, then tucked himself back within his trousers and stood to take his leave.

?I am, I will freely admit, more satisfied that I could ever have anticipated being. You two are free to go; I am fully satisfied with all agreements made with the two of you.? A gesture produced two maids, each with a wicker basket of clothing. Baron Steinfeder paused at the doorway to look back at them.

?I will offer you one piece of free advice, my dear. If you ever come into my power again, I will have a much better idea of what I can expect of you. I expect to spend many a night devising ways to exploit you. I would avoid that eventuality, were I you.? And with a final wink, he was gone. The maids deposited their loads and followed.

?Pfaugh,? Dara spit, ?shows what he knows.?

?What do you mean, dear?? Peters asked, grabbing a shirt from his basket to drape over her tiny form.

?I mean,? she said, eyes on the ground, ?that I shall not be around long enough to be in his power again.?

?NO! Say it isn?t so!?

?It is,? she insisted. Quickly, she revealed her experiences over the week, her observations and her conclusion.

?Vice, behavior informed by vice, doing viciforous things, makes me shrink. And the excess mass goes to my corset.?

Godfrey paused in his dressing, a speculative look on his face. He dropped to his knees and looked over at her.

?There is a flaw in your logic, dear.?

?Oh??

?Well, I do not know what all happened within the house this evening, but you have not shrunk one whit since you stepped onto this grass.?

With confusion on her face, she shrugged off the shirt and stepped to his side. He was correct. She was as tall as his shoulder, just as when she first whispered encouragement to him.

?Then what the hell is going on?? she cried.

---------

They sat in the Baron?s parlor, waiting for Sally to collect her niece. Dara was wrapped in a towel, sitting atop the heap of clothes in the basket. Godfrey held the basket upon his lap. He gently fingered the corset, laying by itself upon a chair beside him.

?It doesn?t feel evil,? he mused.

?Then you?ve clearly never worn one,? she pointed out. A door opened and she ducked down out of sight. He raised his arm to drape a cloth over her form.

In this house, a disheveled man sitting in conference with uninhabited lady?s underpinnings drew no special attention, nor even might a naked dwarf.

She hid, and the lieutenant helped hide her, out of a mutual desire to avoid any further adventures this evening. They just wanted to go home.

Three giggling women made their unsteady way across the room, aiming for the vestibule. As they passed, they saw Peters and burst out in laughter. He blushed, but only slightly.

Dara started to stand, but heard footsteps on the floor and froze. They drew close, then stopped.

?Well, Peters, imagine meeting you here.?

?What do you want, Williams??

?Nothing, nothing. I trust you had an enjoyable evening??

?More than I might care to admit, I should think.?

?Looks like it,? Williams said with a laugh. ?Where is the rest of your date?? Dara realized he was referring to her coset.

?She?s near.?

?Perhaps I?ll wait to see her, then.? She heard the scrape of a chair on the floor. She moved, slightly, to glimpse the man through the gaps in the basket construction. ?My, what a formidable specimen of womanhood this should adorn.?

?I really wouldn?t know.?

?Ah, but look,? he said, lifting and turning the apparatus. ?This is practically armor. A plastron jutting out, that needs only a lance-rest to qualify as a knightly breastplate. The waist is reinforced with some sort of laminated layers, in the style of anime or plate armor. Tassets extend to cover her upper thighs, and?oh, look at this. The behind resembles a locomotive?s cowcatcher.

?Ah, indeed, if only this piece could reveal its mistress? travels. What might it say, if it could speak??

?It might,? Dara shouted, ?keep quiet, knowing you prefer your bitches silent!?

Williams gave a start, looking left and right to see the source of the voice. Clearly he recognized the speaker, and she could tell he knew she was echoing his earlier utterance.

Without another word, he fled. The remaining couple shared a laugh at his exposure. Dara?s laughter sank to a sigh at the end.

?What?s wrong??

?Oh, just that I probably sacrificed an asset, there.?

?Williams? An asset??

?He had offered my aunt some money, to put in a good word for him. Now, there?s no chance he?ll ever come across with the funds.? Only after she spoke, and noticed Peters freezing in place above her, did she remember that he had also made such an offer. ?I didn?t mean?? she started to tell him.

?No, no, don?t worry about it. I know Sally has troubles, and was quite willing to take advantage of the fact.? He placed a hand at her side, touching her with his knuckles. ?I did, and do, consider it quite worth while.?

?You don?t know,? she said with a sly smile, stroking her hand across his wrist, ?whether she said good or bad things about you.?

?Doesn?t matter,? he said with a shake of his head, ?she allowed me to see you. That worked out quite well in and of itself.?

?Mmm,? she allowed.