He laid her on her back and looked at her. She was a mess, and he didn’t want to take her back into the mansion in such a condition if they might be seen. He looked at the pond speculatively. He stood up, pulled off his robe, then stepped into the water. Right off the bank the water came up to his waist – the perfect depth for his needs. He pulled Rief forward, then slid her into the pleasantly cool water. She started to sway, and moaned, but didn’t regain consciousness as he splashed the water across the front of her robe, and wiped her face, cleaning her up. With his task done, he lugged her back on shore, than got out of the water and wiped as much off himself as possible before pulling his dry robe back on.
With a grunt, Alec hoisted Rief over his good shoulder, and abandoned the food and drinks to push through the shrubbery on his way back to the house. He realized immediately that having followed Rief on the way out, he had no idea how to get back to the house. Looking around, he saw the twinkle of candlelight at some distance, and started moving towards it. Fortunately, it was the Indige mansion, and soon he was on the stone patio.
If he could get back to the main entry hall, he thought he could find his way back to his own room. Taking a deep breath, he entered the back of the house, and began wandering inward. He came to a closed door that was framed by bright light behind it, and without thought he opened the door and walked in. He had found the main entry hall; and he had found it full of people!
Several eyes turned to stare at the new entrants, including Marjet. Alec smiled weakly. “You’re quite a fast worker, healer!” his voice boomed throughout the room. “Already having some fun with your new personal extension, I see!” and the room filled with coarse laughter. Alec was embarrassed by the assumptions he saw in everyone’s eyes, but he was helpless to rebut it. Feeling sure of his directions now, he walked to a hallway on the right and quickly left the room. Minutes later he found his own room, and entered, giving a sigh of relief.
Because Rief was still damp, he placed her on the floor, then looked through the closets and drawers until he found towels. He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom, where he undressed her, toweled her dry, and tucked her into bed. He draped her wet robe outside over the balcony railing to dry, then shut the bedroom door as he returned to the outer room of his suite.
Alec plopped down on the sofa, exhausted. His mind was racing with thoughts. This world was so different from the Dominion. The idea of slavery, the presence of temples to other gods, the monstrous creature he had seen at the parade, the feuding clans – all were completely foreign to his experience. He had no desire to see any of them introduced into the Dominion, especially through invasion and conquest. What did John Mark intend for him to see in this land? With all those unresolved issues to think about, Alec laid lengthwise on the sofa, and fell asleep.
Chapter 23 – The Emperor’s Palace
Alec awoke the next morning to the sound of voices walking in the hallway outside his room. He lay in semi-somnolence, feeling the fabric of the sofa he was laying on, not realizing where he was. He was awakening from a dream in which Bethany had been his slave, and was preparing a bath of hot water for him, but he was afraid he was really a lobster about to be boiled. Suddenly he realized where he was, and he sat upright. He looked around wildly, but everything was calm and quiet, and he was truly in a luxurious mansion in a land of exotic ways and danger. Standing up, he quietly looked into the bedroom, where Rief still lay under the sheet, fast asleep.
He sat down on the side of the bed, and gently poked her shoulder. She opened and shut her eyes twice, then opened them and looked up directly at him. He saw the outline of her hand feeling her body beneath the sheet, and shock was written on her face. She clamped an arm over the sheet to cover her torso and sat up abruptly, then moaned as her head exploded in the pain of a hung-over headache, and she placed her free hand on her forehead.
Just then there was a light tap at the bedroom door, and a maid looked in. “No one answered the main door. Do you need anything?” she asked without any display of surprise at the tableau she saw. Alec shook his head no, and the lady left.
“”Oh what will they think now?” Rief moaned. “I feel terrible,” she added. Alec took pity on her, and placed his hand under the covers on her belly.
“No, not now, please, healer, I can’t... Oh!” her tone changed abruptly as Alec sent waves of healing energies into her body, removing the discomfort and healing the damage she had done to herself.
“You are so kind,” she said as her hand gently removed his. “But remember what I told you. No one can know about that.” She looked at him with affection, and then blushed. “I don’t remember much of anything from last night, and now here I am naked in your bed. I’m not really that kind of girl.”
Alec grinned at her discomfort, then shook his head and held his hands out in front of him in a stopping motion. “We didn’t?” Rief asked with relief, and Alec emphatically shook his head no. He stood up, and went out on the balcony, where he retrieved the still slightly damp robe, and handed it to Rief, then walked out into the outer room and waited.
A minute later the sound of flowing water came from the necessary room, and Reif came out. She took his hand in hers. “Thank you, my lord. You are a good man.
“I’ll go to my quarters and bring my things here, if you wish me to live with you in this suite,” she said in a careful tone. Alec tried to guess what the implications were of such a step. He held his hands open in uncertainty. “If I move in here, I’ll always be available to serve you, and to speak for you, maybe more importantly. On the other hand, people will assume we are sharing a bed, but they’ll think that anyway after the maid just saw me naked in your bed. And no noble women will think you are suitable as a mate if they believe you regularly consort with a slave, though I don’t know whether you seek a noble woman or not.”
Alec concluded she was right, and he realized he wanted to keep her companionship, the only thing so far that brought him comfort in this land He nodded his head and motioned for her to go. “Would you like some breakfast as well?”
Alec’s stomach growled loudly, and Rief laughed out loud. “I’ll bring some food back as well,” she said as she went out the door. She soon returned with a large crate of clothes, and another slave bearing additional items, and a third person carrying a tray of food. Both aides stood and stared at Alec, as Rief began to put things aside. “Move along now; it’s not the zoo!” she ordered
“You’re apparently the most discussed man in the court of the Michian Empire of the All-Powerful Lord, according to the rumors the slaves in the produce market heard this morning,” Rief told him excitedly as soon as the door was closed. She opened the tray and laid the food out on the table, then sat down beside him on the sofa and they began to eat. “Reast called a conclave for this morning. If you hurry, you can join them before they start,” she said after a couple of bites. “Here bring your cup of juice and let’s go.”
She led Alec through a maze of halls into a new wing of the mansion. “Here,” she stopped before a set of double doors. “I’ll wait out here if you need me.”
Alec hesitated at the door, and looked back at Rief, who made a brushing motion with her hands to urge him on. He took a breath, opened the door, and walked into the room. The interior of the room was darkened, and his eyes took moments to adjust. As they did, he heard spontaneous applause. “Healer!” Reast called, “your timing is impeccable!” Alec could see nearly three dozen men sitting at rows of tables, all facing him.
“Incredibly enough, despite the Canare success in the parade yesterday, our good healer’s exploits last night, at least the public ones,” there was a round of laughter and chuckles, “became the topic of discussion reaching up to the emperor’s own ears!” Reast told the conclave. “Alexander is reported to have said that he wants warriors to lead the next wave of the invasion, warriors like Indige has!
“We can capture the honor of following the emperor’s elite shock troops into the n
ew lands. You all know what that will mean – riches, new territories, and new titles in the Commonwealth!” Reast said with excitement. “Tomorrow will be the tournament, the day after that we will watch the last of the shock troops depart, and the day after that the emperor will announce who goes next.”
“Tomorrow at the tournament, we know we can beat Emeral and Canare in jousting. We can beat Scarle in archery. Can we beat Canare in fencing?” Reast asked. He looked at Alec. “Healer, you apparently handled the knives well last night. Are you good with the big blades as well?”
All eyes were on Alec, and he felt frozen, paralyzed with indecision. Did he want to do this, to become a champion of this clan in this land? He motioned towards the door. “What?” Reast asked. Alec opened the door and motioned to Rief, who was sitting on the floor.
She came to the door, and stopped. “I can’t come in there. What do you want?” she asked. Alec motioned from her to Reast, and back.
“We have asked him whether he can perform well in the fencing tournament tomorrow,” Reast explained to Rief.
Healer, I saw how fast your hands were with those knives. You can do this. You can help the clan,” Rief urged in a low voice.
Reast listened to her comments. “So healer, will you accept your extension’s judgment?”
Alec felt regret, but nodded agreement with his eyes closed.
“The healer will be entered on our behalf tomorrow!” Reast turned and addressed the conclave. “We’ll need to introduce him to the emperor’s court this afternoon, and we’ll need to equip him. Cander,” Reast called on his son, “you take him to the armory and get him outfitted this morning.
“Now, assuming we win the tournament, and assuming the emperor chooses us to go next, we’ll have to call in the pledges, tributes and vassals from Toupe and surrounding territories to be ready to take on our role in the invasion. We won’t have a restorer available for sending word back to Toupe for three days at best. Marjet, I’d like for you to put a messenger on a horse and send him back home to give folks advance notice to be prepared. We’ll send a restorer to confirm or deny the plan,” Reast explained.
Alec looked at Rief, and left the doorway to go sit in the conclave. The atmosphere was cheerful, as the leaders of the Indige clan felt confident of their chances to win and advance in the politics of clans in the court. Reast moved the conversation along to other topics, reviewing the crops and business dealings of the clan as well as the court intrigue. Alec listened politely, but without knowledge of the society it made little sense to him, and he longed for Rief to explain things.
Reast dismissed the meeting, and Cander came over to Alec. “Let’s head over to the armory and get your kit prepared,” he said. He seemed less friendly than the day before, but not hostile.
They headed out the double doors in the midst of the exodus, several members unknown to Alec patting his back or arm in a friendly manner. Rief was standing, waiting for him, but Cander grabbed his arm and hustled him along past her. “Healer, where are you going?” she called out, and Alec stopped abruptly, causing Cander to stop as well.
“The clan leader instructed me to take the healer to the armory to be outfitted,” Cander said in a neutral tone. A whiff of jealousy drifted into Alec’s consciousness. “You can go back to the bedroom and wait for him.”
Rief stepped back, stunned by the unprovoked sneer. Alec too stepped back.
“I’m kidding,” Cander said, realizing he had gone too far. “We all saw you passed out last night, so I meant you probably need more sleep.”
Rief looked at Alec, unaware of what Cander was discussing. Alec reluctantly gave a slight nod of his head. He reached his hand out to the side of Rief’s face in a gesture of comfort, but she jerked her head away. “I’ll wait here for your return,” she said, and turned her back to them.
Cander and Alec resumed their trip. “Women, there’s no pleasing them, eh?” Cander weakly jested, but Alec was in no mood to be agreeable with him, and they walked on in silence until they entered a room that Alec found hauntingly familiar.
Pads were on the wide open floor, and weapons were hanging from the walls. “Blades,” Cander called, and an elderly man walked out of an office. “Blades is our armorer,” Cander introduced him to Alec. “And this is the new healer, who needs a sword in time to participate in tomorrow’s tourney.”
Blades looked at Alec. “Are you good with a blade?” Alec nodded with a shrug of his shoulders. “With those scars, I’d assumed you had some experience,” he said as he indicated the marks on Alec’s face. “I can’t customize a weapon for you in just a day, but we’ll find one that fits well enough. Do you want a long blade or short?”
Alec stretched his hands apart to indicate the length he wanted. “That’s a blade of length. Do you have the strength to maneuver it?” Blades asked, and Alec nodded. The old man left abruptly and returned to his office, from which he emerged again with a long, slender blade.
Alec took the metal, and held it in his right hand, both to disguise his left-handedness, and because of the injury on his left shoulder. He held the blade out in front of him, and put it through some basic motions. Although the blade was slenderer than he wanted, he was satisfied and he nodded in approval.
“Leave it here, healer, and we’ll have a scabbard and practice padding prepared for you for tomorrow,” Cander said. “Let’s return you to that charming young lady now.”
They walked back to the hallway outside the conclave room, where Rief sat alone on the floor, waiting for Alec. He bowed to Cander, and stepped over to Rief, who led him down a hallway, then suddenly grabbed his sleeve and darted down a narrow staircase, one evidently intended for the servants to use. “What happened last night?” she hissed at Alec. “I took you at your word that you were a gentleman. What was Cander talking about when he said everyone saw me passed out?”
Alec felt a lump in the pit of his stomach, as he pondered how to explain the unfortunate situation that had occurred. He pointed at her to start. “Me? What about me?” she asked.
Alec pantomimed a person getting sick, then closed his eyes and threw his head back as if passed out. “Yes, I know about that part last night. You don’t need to remind me,” she said curtly. Alec motioned as if splashing water on her, and wiping away her mess. “You cleaned me up? Thank you. So then what?” she continued to press. Alec bent low, and pretended to lift a load over his shoulder, then proceeded to walk in an exaggerated fashion, moving as if to open a door, and looking surprised.
“You had to carry me back to the house, and you opened a door, and there you saw everyone? And they saw you, or us? Is that how it happened?” Rief asked, understanding dawning. Alec nodded vigorously, pleased with how readily Rief understood his awkward communication. “Oh healer, I’m sorry. I understand now. Leave it to Cander to make it sound worse than it was.” She led him back upstairs and to the laundry room. “We dropped off a robe for cleaning last night, and I’d like to have a nice new one prepared as well. The healer is going to be introduced at court this afternoon,” she told a girl in the laundry room who she seemed to know.
A covey of women quickly surrounded the two. “You’re going to court? How exciting!” one matronly woman gushed. “We’ll have you in the finest robes in no time. How about some silk, Rief?” she suggested, ignoring Alec for the moment. “We have some left from the clan lady’s last gown.”
Alec was quickly measured once again, and then led away by Rief. “We’ll feed you now, since you didn’t have much of your breakfast,” she told him over her shoulder, and soon they were seated at a table in the kitchen, enjoying fresh baked bread. “Should he be back here with us, or should he be out front in the dining room with the rest of the clan?” one serving man asked, but Rief assured him that Alec enjoyed being in the out-of-way places.
They finished their meal, and when they returned to Alec’s room, they found four notes on the floor, slid under the door, each asking if the healer could meet a particular c
lan member to address a health issue. Alec grinned at the prospect of doing something positive. “When would you like to see these people?” Rief asked. Alec responded by picking up his medicine bag and holding the door open, making her laugh. She led him out and up a flight of stairs, to a hallway that was lined with doors, where they knocked on one.
A maid answered the door, and they were soon talking to an elderly woman who was Reast’s aunt. Alec examined her with his health vision as she described the aches in her joints, then he carefully handled her fingers and bent them before pulling some supplies out of his bag. He cupped his hands, pretended to pour water in them, then made a drinking motion, looking at Rief to interpret. “Oh, I know! You did this yesterday. You want her to make a tea with this bark,” the girl said out loud, and Alec nodded. The matron thanked them for their visit, and they were on their way to the next visit.
Against the Empire: The Dominion and Michian Page 15