Today’s Word: Chopine


Maren Mees Martel knew her place at court. It was to the right of her paramour, Baron Halfen von Blassuer, Lord Protector of the Three Fangs, a small triple peninsula on the farthest western edge of King Card's empire, Braycen. The Three Fangs would have been far too insignificant to warrant the Baron's position in court had it not been for a large deposit of both iron ore and gold on the middle peninsula, which extended twenty seven royal miles into the Tambien Sea. And so it was that young Maren had attached herself to the much older man, trading favors as befit her title as courtesan, and quickly earning her a place by his side everyday at court. It was an auspicious position, and much talked about by Maren's betters, but she loved the attention. Being a whore at heart, she found it easy to ignore the content of rumors about her, choosing instead to enjoy being talked about in some of the finest mansions in the capital.

But little did Maren Mees Martel know that it was not her sexual positions in the Baron's bed at night, nor her powerful position by his side during the day which brought her such infamy; it was her position of standing a foot over even the tallest men at court. For no one had told poor Maren that the tree-style riser of a chopine had been last year's fashion for the elite, only to be replaced this season by low-heeled jackboots and soft silken slippers of modest sole.