“Dia!” Randa entreated quietly. “Please stay and eat some breakfast. You’ll get hungry.” Andie hesitated for a second. Randa sounded very sad. Then, scanning the room and seeing all the averted faces, she whirled and escaped from the kitchen.
Andie paced in the gardens for nearly an hour before Oanni found her. With each passing moment, her feelings seemed clearer. The numbness was draining away a little at a time. She watched Oanni come into sight with a strange sense of fear. The feeling was crazy; Oanni had always been kind to her.
“Dia, what is bothering you? Why are you alone?” he asked kindly. After stewing for so long in curiosity and dread, Oanni’s presence was almost a relief.
“Please tell me what’s going on, Oanni,” Andie pleaded. “No one will, and I’m sure something must be wrong.”
“Tonight Master Jaory would like you to serve dinner to him and some friends.”
She was puzzled. “That’s all? But I’ve done that several times . . .”
“That is not all,” Oanni interrupted. Andie’s heart began to race. That did not sound too good. She almost did not want to hear it. “Master Jaory’s son Erron is returning tomorrow morning after being abroad for nearly a year. The Master is going to present you as a gift.”
“A gift?” Andie nearly choked. She was still learning the nuances of Denicorizen innuendos, but Andie had her suspicions because of everyone’s odd behavior. It could only mean that she was to be Erron’s concubine. For a moment she was tempted to let the habitual numbness overwhelm her. There was safety in that, she knew. She could save herself from the pain and retreat into her own world. That is Dia’s thinking, the timid slave, the rebellious voice in her head observed. Where is Andie, the fearless pilot? What happened to her?
Andie shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. What does it matter? she decided. At least as Erron’s concubine I’ll be worth something. There was nothing she could do about it anyway. But what would Casey think if he knew? This train of thought startled her. She hadn’t thought of Casey in so long. It cracked some kind of wall in her mind. Suddenly the anger flashed up.
“I am NOT a piece of property to be bought and sold!” Andie fumed. “I am a Union Citizen. He can’t treat me like this!” Oanni grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to look squarely at him. His eyes smoldered with anger and something else she couldn’t quite identify. “You are not above the Corizen order simply because you are a Citizen! Do you understand?” He shook her harshly. “How dare you question the rights of a Noble caste! Master Jaory can do with you as he pleases—you are his slave.”
“Slavery is immoral no matter who you are,” Andie stated fiercely. Oanni lashed out with his palm, striking her cheek. A memory jumped unbidden into Andie’s head, one where Oanni’s face was contorted with anger and cruelty. Suddenly, she knew that Oanni could cause her a great deal of pain.
“You know better than to say things like that,” Oanni hissed. “Would you like to repeat your lessons on humility? It seems you have forgotten.”
“No,” Andie mumbled.
“I did not hear you.”
“No, Steward,” Andie repeated a little louder.
“Good. Now I suggest you return to your quarters. Randa will help you prepare for tomorrow.” Andie turned to head back to the house, her palms slick with sweat where she had been balling her hands into fists.
“Remember that the role of a concubine to a Noble caste is an honorable one. You are lucky you were chosen. Behave accordingly,” the steward commanded. Andie nodded without looking back and continued on to the door that led to her staircase. She caged her emotions until she reached her room and then threw herself onto her bed and sobbed into her pillow.
The tears only lasted for a short while. The numbing fog waited on the edge of her thoughts, ready to soothe the pain in Dia’s flat world. However, somehow that personality had crumbled. In a rushing wave the memories of her torturous night with Oanni returned completely. Andie could remember it clearly. It was the final blow.
With determination, she pushed away the fog of complacency. She was Dia no longer. My name is Andie, she told herself fiercely. I am an Armada pilot and a Citizen. I am not afraid.
The thought of being a concubine made her anxious to get out, even if it would be dangerous. Methodically she ran through her options, just as she had the first week as Jaory’s slave. Jaory’s walls really couldn’t be that hard to scale. After all, she had snuck into the more heavily guarded flight deck at the age of thirteen. Nobody locked her door anymore. She could simply walk out to the gardens. But once out of the compound she would have to hide from everyone in between here and the next big town. Most difficult of all, she would need to find a way to get onto a space-bound ship. That would take a lot of money and some definite resourcefulness.
Memories from her last escape attempt flooded her mind, sending queasy ripples through her stomach. Tremors wracked her legs, a ghostly reminder of agony. This wasn’t going to be easy.
Her first impulse was to just leave now, flee from this nightmarish place as quickly as possible. However, the rational part of her mind knew that she had to go at night or she would never make it. That meant she would have to face one more dinner of serving Jaory. The thought chilled her.
Suddenly the door behind her opened. Andie whirled to find Randa gliding calmly toward her. She backed away. All of her turbulent emotions rose to the surface.
“You knew what Jaory was planning,” she accused Randa, her voice high with anxiety. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why don’t you do something? How can you let him do this to me?”
“Dia, please, hush,” Randa tried to soothe.
“Don’t. Just leave me alone!” Andie retorted, as she backed into the window. She turned to look out, trying to fight back the tears.
“Dia,” Randa cajoled softly, “listen to me. You have been like my daughter; I would never intentionally hurt you.” Andie didn’t believe her. If Randa would never hurt her, why had she turned a blind eye to Oanni’s harsh brainwashing? Why was she simply going along with Jaory’s plans to make her a concubine? Why hadn’t she objected?
“I was never sure what Master Jaory was planning,” Randa explained in a low voice. “I just had my suspicions. Everyone did. But what could we do? In fact, some of the young women even envied you.” Her words softened Andie a little. She remembered Madime’s hostile behavior only this morning.
Randa put an arm around Andie and drew her away from the window. “Of course I’ve wished I could protect you more. But I’m a servant here, under the steward’s control, just like you. There is only so much I can do, at least if I want to continue to work here,” Randa said, her voice gentle.
“You mean you can leave?” Andie sniffed, distracted for a moment. She had never realized that Randa was one of the free servants. She should have; after all, hadn’t she heard Randa mention trips to the local village? Only free servants left Jaory’s estate.
“Of course I can leave.” Randa smiled. “As long as I don’t mind trying to find another job without references.”
“Do you have a family in the village?” Andie asked curiously. It was strange; for months Randa had been the closest thing to a friend she had, yet she had never wondered about Randa’s life.
“No, I live alone. My husband died a few years ago, and my only son is grown and living in Roma.”
“Where is Roma?” Andie asked with interest. If she was going to escape she would need to know about any possible cities she could get to.
Randa chuckled at Andie’s ignorance. “Roma is the capital city of Corizen, Dia. It’s on a whole different continent.”
“Oh,” Andie’s face fell. Obviously she wouldn’t be able to reach Roma. Thoughts of escaping brought some of the panic back. She just couldn’t face the idea of being Erron’s concubine. She pulled away from Randa, starting to pace the room.
> “What is wrong?” Randa asked quietly.
“I just can’t do it, Randa,” agonized Andie. “I won’t! I’ll kill myself before I’ll sleep with some strange man!” Randa stood purposely, with new decision in her eyes.
“You won’t have to,” she resolved. “We will leave tonight.”
Andie’s jaw dropped. “We? You’re going to help me escape?”
“You will never make it on your own.” Randa’s tone reminded Andie of her last disastrous attempt. Randa was probably right. With her help, Andie would have a fighting chance of breaking past Jaory’s hinterland.
“We will leave tonight,” Randa determined, “after most of the compound is asleep. We can use the servant exit, and we’ll avoid the road.” Andie listened to her plans, nodding with satisfaction. It would be much easier with Randa’s help. As a free servant, her thumbprint would open the door. No need to climb trees.
“You need to eat something so that your strength will be up. I’ll sweet talk Merena into giving me something extra,” Randa added with a shrewd look, “because I don’t think you want to go to the kitchen for dinner.” With that, she left the room and headed downstairs.
The afternoon passed extremely slowly. Andie’s stomach roiled but she forced every last bit of her dinner down. Then she paced the room, waiting for sundown to come. Finally tired of pacing, she collapsed on the bed an hour later. She contemplated going to the gardens but didn’t want to risk another run-in with Oanni. Her anxiety mounted, so at last she resorted to trying to distract herself with thoughts of her family, lingering especially on memories from when she was young. She desperately wished she was back in those carefree times, getting into harmless scrapes with Casey. She wondered for a moment what was going on with Casey. He was 21 now and probably almost done with his officer training at the University. Married to Jo for sure—but maybe he was assigned to an Armada space station. Andie clung to the thought with longing. Oh, if she were only on a space station! Her thoughts continued in a similar line for the next few hours. Finally, after an eternity of waiting, the sun started to sink below the horizon. Randa arrived to help her dress for Jaory’s dinner.
Andie impatiently endured Randa’s ministrations, making her up like a life-sized doll. How had she managed this every day for so many months? Tonight’s new dinner dress was particularly odious. It was a tightly fitted sheath of turquoise. Completely opposite in style from the frilly things she normally wore, she had to ask Randa about it.
“Oh, this is the latest style in Kruundin City. The master had it purchased new instead of the usual secondhand stuff you wear. That’s all and well for walking the gardens, but he must have someone he really wants you to impress tonight.”
Andie groaned as Randa finished hooking the dress in the back. She felt like she was frozen in place; the dress would barely let her bend or turn.
“How in the world am I supposed to serve dinner in this?” she groaned. “Randa, you’d better have something normal waiting for me. I’ll never get farther than the stairwell tonight if I have to keep wearing this hideous thing.” Randa merely nodded and continued on with Andie’s hair. Once again, Andie took a deep breath and tried to ignore the tugging at her scalp. Only a few more hours and she would be free of this forever.
Dinner was a bona fide disaster.
It started out OK. She had helped the kitchen servants prepare the trays of food for a few minutes before she was shooed aside. Either they were worried about ruining the dress, or they were taking pity on her since it was obvious she could barely move in it. When it was time to serve the first course, Andie took a deep breath, picked up the tray of steaming soup bowls, and slowly made her way into the grand formal dining room.
Most of the faces at the table were familiar. Jaory sat at the head of the table. His Gallant caste neighbor, a man she knew only as Foedor, sat to his left. Apparently Foedor was the nearest landowner outside the vast Kruunde holdings, and one of Jaory’s closest friends. On the right side of the table sat two of Jaory’s assistants, Marek and Stacon. These men must have been landed gentry once, she knew from their tattoos marking them as Gallant caste. But those days must have been long past. Now they appeared to be poor and wholly dependent on Jaory for any kind of livelihood. Andie in particular detested Marek. He was surly at the best of times, and cruel and perverted at his worst. She knew from experience to stay as clear of him as possible.
At the end of the table, opposite Jaory, a man she had never seen was sitting in the place of honor. Obviously Jaory’s important new visitor, the silver-haired man said little, but his eyes followed Andie whenever she was in the room. It made her skin crawl.
She made it almost through the entire dinner with only a few uncomfortable moments. It helped that it was considered vulgar to acknowledge the presence of any servants, but not even convention would hold Marek back for long. As she was bringing around the dessert tray, Marek thrust his glass up in her face.
“More wine,” he demanded, his voice thick. A sigh escaped before Andie thought. More wine was only going to make Marek behave worse. Unfortunately, he heard the sigh.
“Don’t you take that attitude with me!” he ordered angrily. “You are nothing at all. A Citizen is not fit to sleep with the swine!” Before Andie could help herself, her temper flared.
“Something more to drink for the gentleman,” she chirped sweetly, filling his glass from the sideboard. Then without thinking, she tossed the entire contents of the glass in his face. Marek roared with anger. Stacon and Foedor burst into laughter at the sight of Marek’s face dripping the thick purple liquid. Chagrined, Andie glanced over at Jaory. His lips were pressed together in a thin smile, but his eyes were cold. Andie finished serving the party and retreated as quickly as she could to the kitchen. Jaory would not punish her in front of his guest but his wrath would be formidable. Why, oh why, hadn’t she kept her mouth shut? For months she had borne every witless insult from Marek without so much as flinching.
Once in the kitchen, Andie only paused to leave her tray before quietly escaping to her room. Randa was waiting for her. She tugged the ridiculous dress over Andie’s head and handed her a black jumpsuit and soft leather boots that actually fit. She sighed as she pulled them on. It was so nice to wear normal feeling clothes again.
While she dressed, Andie told Randa of her fiasco in the dining room.
“Could you have made this any harder?” she exclaimed in exasperation. “Tonight he was trying to make some kind of deal with Rorin Dangelo, and he wanted everything perfect. Jaory will want Oanni to see to you tonight for sure.” She sighed heavily. “Well, it can’t be helped now. I just hope he is still busy with his guests or we’ll never make it out of here.”
“Where is Oanni now?” Andie asked fearfully. Now completely free of the mind-numbing drug, she could remember sharply the last time Oanni had “seen to her.”
“He normally retires early at night, but Jaory won’t hesitate to wake him.” With this Randa unlocked Andie’s door and checked the outside hall. Silently, she beckoned to Andie and they moved carefully down the hall and into the stairwell.
When they reached the bottom door leading to the outside, Andie halted a moment, her hands trembling. Was she heading straight into trouble? But Randa didn’t hesitate; she merely pulled the door open and slipped into the shadows. Taking a deep breath, Andie forced her legs to follow.
The grounds were deserted. The servants’ quarters appeared silent and dark; everyone was either inside helping with the dinner or already asleep. This time nobody was lurking in the bushes behind her. On the far side of the servants’ quarters was a small gate set into the stone wall. Randa hurriedly pressed her thumb to the modern lock, which opened with a small click.
They stole through the gate, which swung shut behind them. Randa caught it before it could slam closed and gently eased it shut. Then without a backward glance she strode off down the pat
h that led straight off into the darkness. Andie followed, peering around. It was her first view of Corizen outside Jaory’s gates, other than that fateful morning when she had first entered them. Only there was nothing to see. Of course, it was the Blue Plains, famous for nothing being there, but Andie knew the village was within a short walking distance of Jaory’s estate. Randa lived in this village, and Andie wondered if they were heading to her home first. The twinkling lights from a small gathering of homes beckoned through the inky night. Soon their path met up with the main road which presumably led to the village. At the road, Randa looked around for a moment and then took Andie’s hand.
“Quickly,” she muttered, pulling Andie sharply to the right. Looming in the shadows off the road, Andie was startled to see a transport of some kind. The door slid in and Randa pushed Andie in and jumped in behind her. Immediately, the engine’s muted humming swelled, and the force of take off pushed Andie back into Randa. She glanced around—it appeared to be a cargo transport of some kind. The two seats in the front were occupied by men who were not paying them any attention. Instead, the pilot seemed to be focused on his instruments, while his companion was intensely scanning their surroundings through the window. Right behind them was a bench seat where Andie timidly moved. Randa dropped next to her and flashed her a triumphant smile. “We made it,” she sighed in relief.
“Ay, Madam Bruche, we were lucky to get you in time. Didn’t give us much notice, did you?”
“I had a special circumstance,” Randa replied. The man on the right glanced significantly at Andie.
“I see,” he said doubtfully. “Are you sure this is wise?”
“Are you questioning my judgment, Jenner?” Randa replied solemnly, her eyes fixed on his.
“No, madam,” he conceded, turning back to the front and effectively ending the conversation. After a long period of silence, Andie leaned to Randa. “Where are we going?” she whispered, afraid to arouse Jenner’s attention again.
The Legend of Sirra Bruche (Roran Curse Book 1) Page 15