A Change of Fortune

by Veronice Ceccarelli

Chapter 5:

  Long slow months became years, and still they were alive. Very, very bored, but alive. Helene finally succeeded in planting a Favorite with Hicham, Mariabella, who’d been his Favorite before he’d come into contact with the famed English wizard. He’d kept right away from the slaves ever since Ingrid had beaten him with a shoe, and that was five years ago. But now Mariabella shared his bed almost every night. Hicham was humble these days, but he was still Kobi-Wynn, while Abensur was only el-Kobi, as was the overall manager, Ryuichi. Hicham, if he knew in time, might be able to stop them deciding to close down Enclosure 2. Helene told Valencio that Mariabella was being very careful, but she was working at gradually taking more liberties.

  Valencio said, “He’s not very bright, of course...”

  Helene smiled at her friend, “According to you, none of them are very bright.”

  “Not many of them, though Narzu-Han had brains, and Yiko.” He grinned, “Charandev was a bit stupid, and Rotan even more so.”

  Helene laughed, “Turning face down for a massage - from you!”

  He shook his head sadly, “So nearly!”

  Helene thought that Zeeko must have been even more stupid, but no-one spoke to Valencio about Zeeko.

  More months dragged. Their world seemed so small! Valencio organized games of ball, using one of the six foot fences as a net. But when Carol asked Abensur about tennis balls and racquets, she was briskly refused. She thought it best not to ask for his reasons, though suggested to Valencio later that he might have thought the racquets could be used as weapons. She didn’t suggest that he ask Abensur himself. Except for discreetly trying to know what the guards were thinking, he was under strict orders to keep himself very inconspicuous.

  Abensur was very aware that the prisoners in Enclosure 2 were superfluous. The reason that the request for tennis racquets was denied was that he preferred not to call attention to their existence. Even Kaede’s routine requests for books were routinely binned. Aside from his concern that he might have to cull so many prisoners, Abensur was a happy man. Brigitta was fourteen, and he was sure she loved him. She’d been two years in the enclosure, and although she was still virgin, nearly every evening, she snuggled up to him, naked, and sometimes even timidly touched him. She still wore the colored wrist band that indicated that she was for his exclusive use, and no-one disputed with him.

  The slaves knew a lot more about what had happened to the Family than their current leader would have expected. But Suma tried never to think about the people in the Enclosures. She didn’t like that they kept so many medj prisoners, but they couldn’t be freed, so what could she do? It never occurred to her to order them killed, though it occurred to others. She didn’t know there was a third enclosure, whose inmates never survived. The wizards regarded their women as sometimes far too sentimental when it came to dealing with the dirt-people.

  Ryuichi was the Kobi manager, and one day spoke to Abensur. How long was it since the dirt-people in Enclosure 2 had been used? Two years? Was it worth keeping them any longer? How many were there, thirty or so?

  Abensur said casually, that yes, there were thirty or so, and they’d be in use again shortly as the healer wanted to train an assistant. And then he hurried to Zola, and suggested that she should have a couple of assistants, and that he had plenty of subjects for her to use for training.

  Two days later, Carol’s heart went into her mouth as she saw Abensur approach. There were no students. Was it now? It was a enormous relief when Abensur said there were two students for lessons in healing, and that there would be several weeks of straight work. “They won’t be allowed to die, of course, though they might be thin afterwards. And none of you will be hurt, as when they break bones, for instance, they’ll use a Twilight Spell or a stun spell so that you won’t feel it. You’ll just wake up, healed again, maybe a bit sore.”

  It didn’t sound at all pleasant, but Carol said firmly that they didn’t dare make a complaint, that their lives hung by a thread and they had to be as cooperative as they possibly could. “Even you, Bernice,” she said sternly. Bernice always had to be paralyzed before anything painful was done.

  Agneta and Jila were pleased to be offered the chance to be trained in healing. Extra skills could be very valuable in these days of uncertainty. Jila, and her husband Patek, had come from the Japanese Compound. There was overstaffing and a sense of insecurity.

  The first day, Zola had ten subjects standing obediently in line as her female trainees practiced spells they’d previously learned only in theory. Paralysis, Semi-Paralysis, Three-quarters Paralysis, Prindi Paralysis, the stun spell, the Twilight Spell, an Enfeeblement Spell and the Calming Spells - Instant Calm, Deep Calm and so on.

  Valencio wasn’t used the third day, and saw Kaede stumble as she went to her room afterwards, to lie down. Kaede was over sixty, but she was not the only one looking worn out. Narzu-Han wasn’t around any more to intervene, and he went to Carol and asked if he could take the place of the older ones.

  Carol looked at him dubiously, and he added, “I promise I won’t attack anyone. I won’t even look at anyone.”

  “I saw you looking at one of the ones being tested before Sorting once, and then he couldn’t stun you.”

  “That was in the old days. It’s my theory that whether they can do a successful stun spell at twelve, is a major factor in deciding whether they’re to be Kobi-Wynn, and I didn’t want that particular one to be Kobi-Wynn. It was only once though.” He’d also sometimes tried to radiate a thought that the boys should leave, but he didn’t think that venture had been at all successful. Though maybe? Tristan?

  The following day, Carol read out the names of those required. Valencio was down for both morning and afternoon lists, and when he asked later, Carol nodded. “You were on for the morning anyway, and Abensur agreed to have you in place of Bernice this afternoon.”

  “Thank you, Carol,” he said, and she looked at him wryly, “Not many would thank me.”

  Valencio shrugged, “I don’t like the bastards hurting women. And I can tolerate it better.”

  From then on, he was working every day, both sessions. Carol told him each time, ‘in place of Mildred,’ ‘in place of Connie,’ ‘in place of Kaede,’ knowing it would help. He didn’t ask for relief, and no-one else was told what he was doing.

  When Kaede went quietly to Carol and asked, she told her that it was a lot easier for Valencio to endure a little pain than to see his teacher suffer.

  Kaede said, “You’re right, and I want to thank him. But I think I’d just embarrass him.”

  “You probably would.”

  More breaking of bones, with physical trauma this time. They were to be under a Twilight Spell, but as well, Valencio was restrained by one of the wrist cuffs, to his furious annoyance.

  Kofi-Zee said soothingly, “Just that you may react out of instinct when confused. You don’t want to find yourself in trouble, do you?”

  Valencio looked away. It would not be good policy to attack anybody. Calling attention to their existence might get them all killed. Various varieties of cutting trauma the week after. Abensur was curious as to whether Valencio would ask for relief, but he still mostly seemed to have the strength left at the end of the day to help those who stumbled with their fatigue and their aches.

  After the first weeks, Carol was surprised to find that Valencio was on neither the morning or afternoon lists. Abensur explained, “They’ll be studying pain relief, and Zola says that Valencio is unsuitable for the purpose.”

  Carol said dryly, “Of course. He’s perfectly accustomed to being tortured,” but flinched at Abensur’s expression. She said hurriedly, “A long time ago, of course, and he’s never said a word.”

  To her relief, Abensur passed over what Nusa’pei could easily have punished for. She had to be more careful to watch her tongue.

  She read out the list that morning, and the Kobi victims listened. Carol explained, “They’ll be stu
dying pain relief, so I’m afraid there’ll be no spells to make it easier. We just have to put up with it.”

  Tiffany said, “I thought you said we were hardly ever hurt here.”

  “Usually only the Spell of Pain sometimes. This is unusual. But we must cooperate. We all know what danger we’re in.”

  Tiffany shivered. She was only in her twenties. She didn’t want to die yet.

  Valencio felt ill. The women he cared for, and he couldn’t even share the pain. Emma was on the list for the morning, as well as Tasha.

  Hilde saw his face and went to him. “You can’t help. All you can do is what you’re doing now, trying to keep everyone’s spirits up.”

  Valencio said bleakly, “They’re barbarians. And the worst part of it is that they have not the slightest conception that they’re barbarians.”

  The morning people came back looking white-faced, ill, and in the afternoon, Clarence broke from the file of prisoners and ran, followed by Bernice. But the gates of the dividing fences had been locked, and there was only a small area where they could run. The guards simply followed the usual procedure, put them under semi-paralysis and used moving spells. Any sort of resistance never made any difference to whether a person was used or not. Abensur would have thought that very poor policy.

  Valencio offered massages that evening. He claimed to be an expert. There were some takers, but others only curled up miserably in their rooms and wondered if they’d be better dead than living a life of uncertainty and pain.

  The gates were locked again the next morning. Valencio jumped both of the six foot fences and took himself as far away as possible. It was horrible seeing his friends running in terror. And he could do nothing! Even trying to do something could mean their deaths. That day, for the first time in a very long time, he sat on the ground and leaned against the rear fence. Someone screamed in the distance.

  Ten minutes later, he saw the guards unlocking the gates. Three were with Abimael instead of the usual two, as he did his daily check of the enclosure, keeping it immaculate. He glowered at them. The guards raised their wands. Abimael appeared to ignore him, but gave him a very wide berth.

  Carol told him later that Abensur had stayed that day, though he didn’t intervene. “Different spells for different types of pain, and the spells are very effective. It’s the time between the infliction of the injury and the making of the spell that’s hard. But they cure us then. It’s not really so bad.”

  “If it’s not so bad, why are you still looking ill?”

  Carol tried to say that she was just a little tired, but her breath caught and he pulled her close and soothed as she cried. It was a shock to him. Carol, whom he admired tremendously. He’d never seen her show weakness. He guessed she was only human, after all.

  It was a relief when he could do his share again. He was only one, and it didn’t help much. But when Carol told him, ‘In place of Clarence,’ or ‘in place of Kwai-Jeeha,’ it made him feel better that at least he could do something to help his friends. And as Carol pointed out, there were a lot of them. With smaller numbers, they would have been working harder.

  There were two weeks when the trainees studied internal injuries, then a couple of days of review, and it was nearly over. Carol passed on that there would be another couple of days of review in four weeks, and probably another a couple of weeks after that. Valencio was a strong man, but even he looked thin and tired, though not nearly as haggard as many of the women.

  The following morning, Carol found Valencio in one of the small sitting rooms, looking better now and laughing with Clarence. Valencio had his feet on a coffee table and a book on his knees, but it had to have been a conversation she was interrupting. She smiled. It was good to hear Clarence laugh. Clarence rarely laughed.

  They looked around at her entrance, and she said, “Helene wants you both. She has a plan, and you can help.”

  They rose, though Valencio felt uneasy, something to do with the assessing eyes on him.

  Helene waited at the place they always had their Committee meetings. She smiled, and greeted them, “Please, sit down.”

  There was an unusual formality about her words, and he suspected that she was uncomfortable as well, trying not to show it. Once everyone took their seats, Carol asked in a matter-of-fact tone, “Well, Helene, what did Brigitta find out?”

  Valencio glanced at her. That question was staged.

  Helene said, “It was about Ryuichi. He’s been saying that it’s a waste of money feeding so many prisoners. So we want to plant a favorite on him.”

  “Did Brigitta find out what he likes?”

  “He doesn’t use any of us, and Abensur said it’s because he’s involved with one of the el-Kobi women.”

  Clarence said, “I remember he used to like Toruni and Zweiter.”

  “Who were they?”

  “Tall, exotic-looking, very black. From the Sudan. Dead now.”

  Helene said dismissively, “Well, we have no-one like that here now, but what we do know is that he wanted them to get in a boy for him, one who looked like Valencio.”

  Valencio looked at her in horror. He couldn’t! He’d go berserk and probably kill him! He couldn’t help that way! Anyway, surely he was too old. Ryuichi wouldn’t want him now. But Helene was continuing in an artificially calm voice, “Anyway, Evita looks like Valencio, a bit. And she’s still only fourteen, with not a great deal of shape to her body. She could almost pass for a boy, and she’s agreed that she could pretend to be a boy for Ryuichi.”

  Valencio protested, “You can’t ask that of her!”

  Helene reminded him quietly, “It’s survival, Valencio. It could save lives.”

  Carol said, “It’s only sex. Just a different way. What we need to know is if it has to hurt.”

  Valencio swallowed and looked away, and Carol looked at Clarence, instead.

  Clarence answered, though reluctantly, “I was always hurt, sometimes very much, sometimes a bit less, but it always hurt.”

  Helene asked softly, “Valencio?”

  It was about survival, and he had to answer. He said, “If a man goes slowly and carefully, and if he uses small dildos, or maybe a finger for a while first, and also lubricating lotion, it need not hurt.”

  Helene was trying to be matter-of-fact. “Is it worthwhile, then, trying to get a body used to it?”

  Valencio still looked away, but said, “You want him to want her, and think she wants him. It will be easier for her to pretend if it doesn’t hurt too much. Certainly, it’s worthwhile.”

  “We’ll try then. Just gently, maybe every morning in the shower.”

  Carol asked bluntly, “Valencio, did he ever have you?”

  Valencio was silent, and Helene said gently, insistently, “Valencio, we need to know if he’s likely to be rough. No-one wants her hurt.”

  Valencio gave her the information required, “He never had me. He used to look, that’s all, and he had a chance to fondle once, after Arikiyo died. I don’t know if he’s likely to be rough. But if she bleeds, she should tell Abensur and he can do a repair spell. But if it’s like that, she should complain, not continue.”

  “He’s el-Kobi. He will not be allowed to damage.”

  Valencio glanced at her briefly, and looked away again. Poor, poor kid. Fancy asking that of her.

  Clarence said slowly, “Maybe a girl does not feel so shamed...”

  Helene said, “No-one here has admitted to being used like that, but Clarence is right. I think it’s probably different for a boy. Alien. A humiliation, but not as much for a woman.”

  Clarence asked, “Are you finished with us then?”

  “Thank you for your help.”

  The men walked quickly away, leaving Carol and Helene together. Clarence remarked that even now, he felt ill when he thought about it, but made no further reference to the discussion and Valencio was grateful. He felt very ill and wished there was someplace where he could be ce
rtain he’d be left alone for a while. He’d get on the roof if he could. Clarence must be stronger than himself. He didn’t look upset. Evita. Poor, poor girl.

  Carol said to Helene, in a low voice, “He mentioned bleeding and a repair spell.”

  “Hilde told me about that ages ago, in case we ever had another boy. That a man who’s too rough can leave a tear, but there’s a simple repair spell.”

  “Valencio knew about it...”

  “There was a time he was having Botan, quite regularly. He wouldn’t have taken care.”

  “El-Kobi are not allowed to damage, remember. Tell Brigitta to complain if he does.”

  “He also said it didn’t have to hurt. Maybe he’ll take care.”

  They sighed. It was survival.

  It took a few weeks, but then Evita appeared with a pink wrist band denoting that she was for the exclusive use of Ryuichi. One day, when she brought a carefully written down phrase of Japanese for Valencio to try and work out, she mentioned casually that it was far better being a Favorite, especially of a man who was so gentle.

  Valencio gave her a smile of profound relief. He’d hated thinking that the guards were needing to use repair spells again, as they had when Faheem had been so careless, so often. He didn’t think that Adil had ever been careless. He’d just liked to see him bleeding.

  Helene made an oblique reference to it as well, one day. That Evita seldom found out much of use, but that Ryuichi, as far as they knew, had stopped suggesting that the Enclosures were a waste of money. She smiled. “They carry themselves with pride - Evita, Brigitta and Inge. They’re helping save lives, and they know it. It’s much better than just being unpaid prostitutes.”

  ******