<b>Duchess Tara Hohenlohe of Ostbering, The Grand Avenue, Auxcora City</b><br/><br/><br/>The crowd watched in rapt attention as the trio of performers worked through their routine.  The flipped and spun in the air, throwing one another with what looked like little care for the safety of one another.  If one didn’t know any better, you might think that they were purposely trying to hurt each other.  Yet every time one of the acrobats seemed about to crash face first into the ground or slam into a nearby a wall she would twist and land gracefully while the crowd was still half-gasping in anticipation of an accident.<br/><br/>The trio began scrambling up walls of nearby buildings and continued the same routine, throwing one another from rooftop to rooftop to the delight of the crowd below.  The crowd was fascinated and coppers flew into the case the acrobats had left for their performance, making a tidy profit.  The writhing of bodies continued with a careful fluid motion until finally one girl seemed to slip.  Instead of bouncing off a surface and recovering expertly, the acrobat was thrown into the crowd and ended up tangled with one of the audience, her legs wrapped around the burly man’s neck as she balanced precariously on the poor staggering fellow.<br/><br/>Tara couldn’t tell if it was an accident or part of the act but the watching crowd laughed uproariously as the lithe acrobat rode the man’s shoulders as well as Tara rode Baxter.  After an initial panic the man quickly calmed and began to enjoy the fact that an attractive woman had lept onto his face and wrapped her legs around his head, his hands kneading the shapely behind of the acrobat and earning another round of laughter from the watching crowd.<br/><br/>The acrobat slapped the back of his head and flipped back off him to rejoin the trio before they took a bow with bright grins, panting slightly as their skin glistened with the effort of a job well done.  The audience cheered and coins showered around the performers, who again moved like lightening to scoop up every tossed coin before it had the chance to bounce twice.  The man with the recently released face was grinning widely and he wasn't the only one, Tara noticed several members of the crowd sauntering up to the smiling trio to try their luck.<br/><br/>Tara clapped along with everyone else, but felt a twinge of envy at how easily they had attracted such obvious desire.  These fools were tripping over themselves to flirt with the acrobats and the trio seemed to be taking it all for granted.  Did they know how much work Tara had to put in to get men that excited?<br/><br/>The boys back in Ostbering had never tried anything so forward with her.  She’d grown up reading the same romance novels and passing them around secretly with all the other noble girls, developing the same romantic interests as any other young lady.<br/><br/>But as she grew she developed other interests, spending days out in the wilderness, exploring the deep forests of her land with no companion other than her horse and hounds.  Not the most traditional of ladylike pursuits, but not completely foreign to the headstrong women of Ostbering either.<br/><br/>She thought her tomboyish pursuits were the reason that the young men around her began to avoid her, thinking such behavior off-putting or unattractive.  But as time passed she realized that the red-faced, stammering young men weren’t repulsed by her, they simply found her overwhelming.  Her natural and daily blossoming beauty, her snug fitting riding outfits, her high social station and a father that had ‘<i>a bit</i>of a temper’ all combined to send any young man with even a hint of life in his veins into a spluttering mess whenever she turned her attention on him.<br/><br/>Though satisfied that she wasn’t completely undesirable, this still didn’t solve Tara’s problem.  Like the novels laid out, she wanted to be pursued; she wanted to be<i>wanted</i>.  And if the young men of Ostbering were too cowardly to make the attempt, she’d just have to make them.  She’d make them want her.  She’d make them beg and squirm and cry at the thought of Tara Hohenlohe gracing them with a momentary glace or a tender stroke.  She’d make them tremble and quiver and-<br/><br/>Tara shook her head, clearing the thoughts clouding her senses, her face a little flush at the memory of some of the diabolically delightful things she had gotten up to.  She turned to the fat Madam Fastima, waiting for a chance to approach.<br/><br/>If she funded this circus for a trip back to Ostbering Tara was sure that her father would appreciate the gesture.  The old man was just as much of a lecher as she was, and he’d no doubt be impressed by the acrobats, maybe even inviting them for a ‘private dinner’.  He might even consider calling her back all the sooner once he was reminded that everyone suffered from such tempting lusts.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>