Tales of the Queendom of Maadre

by Barbara G. Tarn

  "I bet Alba is his daughter. He's the only man you took with you when you left Maadre!"

  "It's because he's extremely faithful – and in love with me, so I can trust him."

  "So you kept him because he preferred you to Mother," Danilisa commented. "Anyhow, if I get myself an Apartment, would you trade slaves with me?"

  Malianna glared at her.

  "We'll see. I thought you meant to go back to Maadre anyway."

  "Well, I could enter the Temple at Fianna. I could be High Priestess here. I liked the people of the town."

  "I could go back to Maadre, now that our mother is no more," Malianna mused.

  "Remember that Chandra is now Queen. You don't want to clash with her," Danilisa warned.

  "Mm, you're right. Besides, I like it here."

  So do I, Danilisa thought. Pity you're such an icy bitch!

  She must find a way to get in her sister's Apartment without Malianna knowing. She was really curious to see what her one-night-lover looked like.

  ***

  "What are you thinking about, Zaffiro?" Malianna asked.

  The young man snapped back to reality and found an excuse of a reason. He didn't want his mistress to know her sister was still in his thoughts. The elder might be jealous of the younger who knew nothing about him anyway.

  "Danilisa was very happy with you," Malianna continued. "How come you didn't join me afterward?"

  "Forgive me, my lady, but to make your sister happy, I spent all my energies," he replied.

  "Good, that's why I like you." Malianna grinned, oblivious. "Remember, though, she will never know who lay with her."

  Why, she wants to know? he wondered, puzzled.

  The next day Danilisa entered the Apartment. All rose, surprised by her visit, wondering who would be chosen by the Mistress's sister – and mostly why the mistress had let her in her private sanctum. Maybe Malianna was busy and Danilisa had taken advantage of it.

  He took a good look at her this time, comparing her with Malianna. Both had blue eyes, but Zaffiro could swear he'd never seen eyes more beautiful than Danilisa's. The affection he had for Malianna was wiped away in front of the innocent and clean beauty of Danilisa.

  She observed them all, stopping in front of some, then went back to the center of the room.

  "I want the man who lay with me," she said, loud and clear. Zaffiro's heart missed a beat, but he didn't speak.

  "He was chosen by your sister, only she can point you to him," a blond young man called Chiaro said.

  "Malianna won't tell me, to follow some stupid tradition," she retorted. "Even if I'm pregnant, I'm not supposed to know or care who the father is. But I want to see his face, and I know it's one of you. Please, tell me who it is..."

  The ten young men of the Apartment shook their head, taking turns when they met her eyes, including Zaffiro, who was feeling sick. His stomach had clenched and he found it hard to swallow. She wanted to know the father of her child – if she was pregnant! Even if she knew he was just a bed slave!

  "I'll find you anyway," she said without talking to anyone in particular. She turned her back on them and left.

  Zaffiro's knees gave way under him and he exhaled. It was the first time a woman came to ask for him. So she couldn't forget either. He had managed to impress her. He couldn't have been the first masked man she'd dealt with, so maybe she had enjoyed the sound of his voice? If Malianna discovered he'd broken the rule of silence, she'd probably cut off his tongue.

  The thought started obsessing him, but he knew that if he spoke, Malianna would punish him – she might even kill him, and Danilisa wouldn't be able to save him. Sometimes he didn't care if he died if he could tell Danilisa how much he loved her and spend even only one hour with her, then reason took control again and his lips remained sealed.

  ***

  Danilisa had managed to squeeze inside Malianna's Apartment after talking to Colosso. He did remember her – as a pretty five-year-old with her mother's blue eyes – and he had admitted he had often thought that he was her father. Hence Danilisa had managed to bypass him, but the slaves in the Apartment were too scared of Malianna to speak.

  She tried again to cajole Colosso into telling her who Malianna had sent her, but he resisted.

  "You shouldn't bother, Danilisa, really, we have no voice and no rights in this country, what do you care of who it was?" he chided. "He gave you pleasure? Good, that's his job. Now forget him. Malianna won't give up her bed slaves for you. You've been estranged for too long, and she tolerates you only because the Queen sent you here."

  Danilisa sighed. "But you are happy to see me, aren't you?" she asked him, batting her eyelids.

  "If you stop trying to seduce me," he replied, caressing her nose with his finger. "I might be your father after all!"

  "Well, since we don't keep track of fathers and brothers, I might as well have had sex with my brother in Maadre." Danilisa frowned at the thought. "Why are we so complicated? Can't we have normal families like in Ixos or Kelvia or..."

  "You've done some traveling, haven't you?" He smiled. "Tell me, what is it like out there?"

  "It's... different. Not everything is good, male rule can be hard on women, but then our rule is very hard on men, so I guess we're even. But the sense of family is totally absent here... why do you think that is?"

  "I don't know. I hear there's a thing called marriage out there, and that it's the equivalent of your choosing a Favorite for life..."

  "Sort of. They get married very early. We are not allowed to choose a Favorite until we turn twenty-five."

  "Well, it's because young girls like you are fickle."

  "No we're not!" She realized he was teasing her and punched his muscled arm. "You're naughty, Colosso! I should have you punished!"

  "You can do what you want with me, Danilisa," he replied. "I'm your sister's slave, but I was your mother's first, so I belong to you as much as I belong to Malianna."

  She stared at him before speaking.

  "You know why I don't have an Apartment?" she said, serious. "Because I don't want any slave. I want a lover. And he'll hopefully be the father of my children. Only one is enough if he can get me pregnant. But I'm too young to claim anyone. And I might be barren, so I'll have to enter the Temple of the Goddess and spend the rest of my life in worship."

  "Don't you love our Goddess?" he asked, puzzled.

  She snorted in frustration. "I do! But I've seen places and read books and... I don't know, sometimes the Queendom of Maadre feels like the worst place to live. But I have no idea of where I'd love to live, and what I could do to survive in a foreign country."

  "Maybe you could teach... how many languages do you speak?"

  She counted in her mind. "Four." She pondered. "You think I could?"

  "Why not. You're very smart, Danilisa, if you don't like it here, just take your part of inheritance and move out of the country..."

  ***

  "You're very quiet, lately," Malianna said, staring sternly at Zaffiro who couldn't sustain her eyes.

  "I'm sorry, my lady, I'm just wondering if I managed to impregnate someone like you requested," he answered, a little tense, not daring to mention her sister. Malianna was very jealous of her favorite bed slave and lent him to her women only because she knew he wasn't interested. He didn't love her, but he'd been very fond of her – before Danilisa arrived at the mansion.

  Malianna scoffed and averted her eyes.

  "Who knows?" she said sourly. "Danilisa doesn't talk to me. She's very dreamy, but... We won't know for sure until her period comes – or not. And it's too early for Lachella as well."

  After making love to Danilisa, he'd had to perform another Rite on a fourteen-year-old, and again, he hadn't gone at Malianna's afterward. He was beginning to be sick of his haughty and possessive mistress, and wished he could be sent back to town instead.

  He sighed. The wait was killing him. If he managed to have a baby with Danilisa, surely she could claim him? He was
almost sure that Malianna's younger children had been his – one hadn't survived the first year, the other, a girl, had joined the rest of the household – but she had never changed his state. She obviously didn't care who was the father of her children.

  "You really hope you performed a miracle, do you?" she commented, sarcastic. "My sister is barren, in a few months she'll enter the Temple of the Goddess, so you can forget her now!"

  Goddess, no! he prayed. Please, make her conceive...

  "Zaffiro, you belong to me!" Malianna threatened. "I can't bear your sudden lack of interest in me! Tell me who's in your thoughts! Danilisa? Young Lachella?"

  "Why do you force me to their beds if you don't like it?" he complained. "Throw me back into the Public House, at least I won't have to wear the Modesty Cloth when I have sex!"

  "So you want to go back to that?" she asked, sarcastic. "I thought you were happy when I took you out of that place."

  "And I was! But ever since you've treated me like a Public Man, even if I'm locked in your Apartment!"

  "What, you want to become a Favorite?" She scoffed. "You're just a stud, Zaffiro, don't think so highly of yourself!"

  "If I'm just a stud, why are you so jealous of my thoughts?" he asked through clenched teeth.

  "Because you're mine! You think you're lifetime material? When your beauty and your strength fade, you'll be good for nothing!"

  He slapped her really hard. That stung. Being considered less than human was...

  Seeing her eyes fill with hatred, he realized what he'd just done. He'd hit his mistress. He could be killed immediately. And he wasn't ready to die. Horrified by his own gesture, he ran away from the room and instinctively went to Danilisa.

  ***

  "I hit Malianna, please, help me!" the young man begged, still panting. Danilisa didn't hesitate and found him a hiding place. Then she went to meet her sister who was fuming.

  Danilisa had a half-formed idea of who he might be – she'd been talking to the other women of the estate and all concurred there was one favorite bed slave in the Apartment, although they'd never seen his face.

  And now he'd run away, and Malianna was raging mad.

  "That bastard hopes to get off scot-free only because he's my favorite, but he's going to pay for this!" she screamed. "When I find him, I'll tear him to pieces! Find him, damn you, he can't be far!"

  "What happened?" Danilisa asked, feigning surprise. "A slave ran away?"

  "My favorite bed slave dared beating me!" Malianna answered, furious. "But he will pay for that!"

  "Is he the man you sent to lie with me?" Danilisa insisted.

  "Yes, but you can forget him, because as soon as I find him, I'll cut everything off that piece of shit!" Malianna exclaimed.

  "He looked so sweet..." Danilisa said, looking disappointed. "But if you say so... You're the head of the house..."

  "Right, help them finding him," Malianna retorted.

  "Unfortunately I haven't seen his face," Danilisa answered innocently. She had seen it, although it was more a glimpse than a good stare. She couldn't tell which of the ten men of the Apartment he was. But she'd have plenty of time to look at him when things calmed down. At the moment it was better to do nothing, since Malianna didn't trust anyone.

  At dawn silence finally came back in the mansion and surrounding buildings. Malianna had crumbled in bed after the fruitless research.

  Danilisa let Zaffiro out of his hiding place and stared at him, while he thanked her, keeping his eyes low.

  "What do they call you?" she asked.

  "Zaffiro," he answered, embarrassed.

  "A part of me had already recognized you before Malianna confirmed it. You're the man who made love to me," she said.

  "Yes," he admitted. "And for the first time the mating was for me much more than the usual thing."

  "You were wonderful." She smiled. "But we better leave now. I'll come with you. I've heard of a woman, Yolanda, she's called the Protector of Steady Couples since she kept the slave her mother had given her. She'll know what to do."

  ***

  Zaffiro followed Danilisa, still incredulous. He was glad his feelings were returned. They left the mansion when it was still dark and headed for Fianna, stopping at the Governess's palace first thing in the morning. Danilisa asked to see Iona. The Governess's daughter was her age, and they'd hit it off immediately when they'd first met. Iona had recommended her not to go back to Maadre – if the visit with Malianna didn't have the desired effects – but to enter Fianna's temple, so they could be friends forever.

  Danilisa quickly explained she'd eloped with Zaffiro and Iona's eyes widened in wonder. Then she brightened and gushed over Zaffiro.

  "They still talk about him at the public house," she admitted. "I think he might have been called here to perform the Rite on me..." She looked at him, hopeful.

  Zaffiro hesitated. Yes, the Governess's daughter had been his last assignment from the Public House. Malianna had seen him at Alannah's palace, inquired after him and then bought him soon after.

  "You can speak, Zaffiro, nobody will punish you," Danilisa said.

  He cleared his throat and glanced at her, a little worried. Iona nodded eagerly as well.

  "Yes, it was me," he admitted, lowering his eyes. "I hope I didn't hurt you."

  "No, no, you were great!" Iona assured him. "I went back to the public house and tried all the men, hoping to find you, but I didn't know you were gone. At some point I was told that one man had been sold off, and it was too late to claim him. Malianna is quite possessive, I've heard!"

  Danilisa rolled her eyes. "It took her a week to share one slave with her own sister!" she said with a snort. "Anyway, we're on the run, now, I didn't even leave a note for her, so you'll have to help us. Where is Yolanda located exactly? You mentioned she has a fairly closed community and she could welcome us."

  "Ah, yes!" Iona brightened. "She has a house near the beach. She has turned it into a fortified village to protect her people from raids – and hide her own rules..." Iona giggled. "My mother doesn't care, but I bet the Queen wouldn't be too happy to hear there's a place where men are treated as equal to women in her country!"

  "I won't tell her," Danilisa promised with a wink. "I don't think I'll ever go back to Maadre. I mean, even if I don't get pregnant, I don't want to give up on life by entering the Temple."

  "I've heard some High Priestesses have orgies with the men working at the Temple," Iona whispered. "But no, not in Fianna. Maybe Maadre?"

  "Certainly not!" Danilisa chuckled. "The High Priestess in Maadre is much older than the Queen, and I doubt she was ever very intersted in men!"

  Iona gave them instructions on how to reach Yolanda's land, and they left Fianna an hour later on a cart headed for the coast.

  ***

  Malianna was grumpy when she got out of bed.

  "Have you found Zaffiro?" was her first question. The negative answer left her in a bad mood. And it became worse when she realized her sister was gone too.

  "What do you mean she's not in her room?" she screamed.

  "Her travel pouch is gone too," Colosso answered, staring straight ahead. "I think she ran away with Zaffiro."

  "Bitch!" Malianna couldn't believe it. Her estranged sister showed up after years and ended up stealing her favorite slave! I shouldn't have let her in in the first place!

  But Danilisa had arrived with Chandra's letter, and she couldn't deny the Queen's order. Muttering to herself, she decided to write to Chandra to tell her what had happened.

  "I want this in the Queen's hands as soon as possible," she then ordered. "Take the best horse and come back as soon as possible with the reply."

  ***

  Yolanda welcomed Danilisa and Zaffiro, and introduced them to Aliseo, her Favorite – or lifemate – of two years. She was slightly older than Danilisa and was the head of a small fortified village where men and women mixed and had the same rights and duties.

  The village was very close to t
he sea and surrounded by a tall wooden palisade with only one gate. Inside there were mostly huts, but also Yolanda's house, made of stone and tiles, a sort of fortress that could withstand fire and be the last refuge in case of siege. The small community had about twenty people of both sexes trained for defense.

  Those were happy, timeless days during which Danilisa and Zaffiro got to know each other better and participate in the life of the community that was very different from life at Malianna's estate. They built their own hut and went out fishing with the others every morning. Danilisa learned to get her hands dirty, having no maids cooking or taking care of her. Zaffiro himself had to learn other skills, and was fascinated by archery. Aliseo was a pretty good archer himself, so after a couple of days he took him on as apprentice and they went hunting together along the coast.

  The absence of masters and servants, rites and celebrations, matriarchal laws and lack of rights for men were something new also for Danilisa who found life to be happier in Yolanda's fortified village than at her sister's home.

  The Modesty Cloth men were supposed to wear in the open was abolished within the palisade and it was a pleasure watching men and women mingle freely like she'd seen in foreign countries. Zaffiro had to get used to living outside and the sun burned his skin during his first day out.

  "Maybe you should wear the Cloth to protect you from the sun," Danilisa teased, putting some refreshing balm on his reddened skin.

  For a day he hurt too much to be touched, then the burnt skin fell off and finally he started to tan. Danilisa thought he looked more healthy than ever, and his blue eyes looked bluer outside, especially when they went for a walk on the nearby beach.

  There was no Public House in the village and couples formed spontaneously, or split without drama. There was no House for Boys, and the whole community raised the children together. Everybody worked, lived and loved with respect for everybody else.

  "I can't believe there's no public room and no Rite and..." Zaffiro's eyes sparkled as he discussed his new life with Danilisa, seated on the beach with her during a sunny but chilly afternoon. "I mean... so much freedom and happy people and..."