by Robin Roseau
I shook my head. “Bribe you? Are you talking about the food we brought? The tin of sugared fruit is expensive. I think that tin is nearly 125 crowns in the markets of Barrish. The canned food we brought was, oh, perhaps 20 crowns total. Yes, I think you’ll sell out your country for 145 crowns.”
I turned away from her. “Ambassador Cuprite, feel free to use your judgment in negotiations with the Ressaline government, or in determining there is little opportunity. I am available if you need me, or if you have an agreement you wish ratified.”
And then I began walking back the way we had come, leaving them behind. Gionna and Olivia both offered pained looks, but neither of them said anything.
I made a half-dozen steps before Lisdee said, “Princess Darfelsa.” I stopped, but I didn’t turn around. “Did throwing tantrums work in Gandeet?”
That was when I turned. “Your Majesty, I am not the one accusing anyone of dishonest dealings. You enslaved an entire country in part due to accusations of dishonesty from one man. If I’m throwing a tantrum, I’d say you once threw the mother of all tantrums.”
“I didn’t annex Charthan because I was accused of lying. I annexed them because they invaded our land.”
“When your agent arrived in Charth, she was accused of lying. So rather than accepting reparations, you announced the country as annexed, kicked out the men, and enslaved the women.” She glanced at Olivia. “Oh, don’t blame her. Most of those men you evicted headed south. They became our problem. You solved your food shortages, but you caused ours. Not to mention other societal problems. But have you come south to offer amends to Father? No. Not so much as an apology. But I’m here in friendship, anyway. What was my point? Oh. Those men. They came with their own versions of events, but some of those men were present, and while their reports weren’t all identical, they were close enough.”
I shrugged. “I came here in good faith. I was under the mistaken belief my perspective might matter. But if you’re going to distrust everything I say, I’m not going to bother.”
I turned and walked away.
* * * *
It was some hours later that my staff knocked at the door then slipped inside. “You didn’t come back,” Renishta said.
“No. Ambassador Cuprite can handle negotiations.”
“This looks familiar.”
“Are we closing another embassy?” Terla asked.
“I find that unlikely.”
“I thought it was going well,” she said. “But then they came back without you. No one was talking, but they weren’t smiling.”
“I imagine not.”
“You know you’re going to tell us what happened.”
“I find that unlikely. I’m going to read. Excepting for Tess, I don’t imagine the rest of you will need to be involved in the remaining discussions.”
They dropped it. Instead, they all found their own books, and then they lured me from the chair I was in to the bed, and we all cuddled together, each of us reading, all of us touching. I wasn’t sure how much of that was for me, and how much of that was for them, still recovering from their Firsts. I thought it was notable they’d been strong enough to confront me at all, and when I thought about that, I sighed.
“She accused me of dishonesty,” I said. “The word ‘bribe’ was used.”
“We’re offering them food, and they think we’re here to cheat them?” Tess asked.
“Apparently. I don’t even know what we could cheat them out of.” I sighed. “We’ll give it a few days, but if this looks like it will be protracted, I’ll talk to Allium about most of us leaving. I’m not going to tolerate being cooped up, especially cooped up while angry.”
“You have us,” Renishta said. “I like sharing your bed, Darfelsa.”
I laughed and squeezed her shoulder.
* * * *
It was somewhat later that there was a knock. Renishta slipped from the bed to answer it, then admitted Gionna. “I would like to speak to Princess Darfelsa alone. Allium is expecting company in her room for a while.”
They looked at me. I nodded. And so, one at a time, they filed past Gionna. She closed the door. I sat up on the edge of the bed. “Mother and I have been arguing.”
“Is that something you do often?”
“No. Normally she tells me she has heard me and to accept her decision.”
“Ah.”
“Mother has a way of dealing with trust issues.”
“She wraps them in resin?”
“Yes.”
“I imagine that’s effective.”
“And when she can’t do it, she doesn’t know what to do. She doesn’t trust her own instincts. Frankly, they’re only poorly developed.”
“There has to be a catch. I must want something. And she has no idea what it is, but she suspects everything I might say, wondering what I’m hiding, and when I’ll finally lure her into it.”
“The worst fear: that we’ll find an agreement, but five years from now, you’ll hold it over us.”
I tightened. I hadn’t even thought of something like that. I couldn’t prove it wasn’t my plan. It might not even be mine; it could be Father’s.
I didn’t yell. I didn’t try to convince her of my honesty. Instead, I asked, “What do you think?”
“Well, that’s why Mother and I were arguing.”
I sighed. “I was going to wait a few days, but I’m not sure there’s a point. There’s nothing I can do here. I can’t fix your roads, and my opinion on improving things here isn’t welcome. Can you arrange for my household to go home?”
“There’s a way.”
“A way for what?”
“For Mother to understand she can trust you.”
I stared then said, “I suppose there is. In fact, as I understand it, there are two.”
“What’s the other?”
“The pacification formula?”
“Ah. Mother would consider that crude, and you wouldn’t enjoy the aftereffects.” She paused. “We argued about this, too. I suggested she could try trusting my judgment, and Olivia’s.”
“But she’s a control freak.”
“Pretty much.”
“This isn’t how friends treat each other, Gionna.”
“I know.”
“Does she?”
“Mother doesn’t have friends.”
“She trusted us enough for you to come and visit, but she doesn’t trust us to honestly discuss a little food?”
She stepped further into the room, then grabbed my chair and turned it to face the bed. She sat down. “Don’t get mad.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m going to try to let you see this through her eyes.”
“Oh, this should be good.”
“You have come offering to solve all the problems in the world, problems that have plagued us for centuries. Centuries, Darfelsa! And you’re casual about it. ‘Here. We can deliver these goods any time of the year you need them.’ Olivia and I may be the only ones at that table who understood that concept, Darfelsa.”
“I’ve been trying to figure out what it is she thinks I’m here to steal,” I said. “I haven’t seen any crown jewels, but maybe she locked them out of sight during our visit.”
“What you’re offering is too good to be true,” Gionna said. “There has to be a catch. There has to be.”
“Is that what you think?”
“If it were, we would have figured it out in Charth. If I even suspected you, Darfelsa, I would have lured you into a challenge, and after winning you, I could have asked you anything I wanted.”
“I spent a lot of time out of my mind. I have no idea whether I’ve been blabbing all my secrets to the entire city.”
“Was that a real accusation?”
“No. It was acknowledgement of what you just said.” I sighed. “Now I wish you had, but I suspect if you had, this conversation wouldn’t be happening.”
“Do you understand, Darfelsa?”
“Too good to be
true, and that makes it hard to trust me. I must be up to something.”
“Right.”
“It’s just a little fruit, Gionna. We didn’t take you there, but we have orchards after orchards, in some places, as far as the eye can see. If you could pay for it, we’d sell you more than you could possibly use. That’s not the hard part. The hard part is that you currently can’t pay for it, and getting it all the way here is difficult. If it were just about selling fruit, I wouldn’t have had to come this far. I’m here to try to help you figure out how to get it here and how to pay for it.”
“I know,” she said. “Mother has never seen the ocean. She’s never crossed the Verlies river. Last night, I told her the story of Shalendra and the snow, and she didn’t believe me. What do you want to do, Darfelsa?”
I sighed. “Who knows what we’re talking about?”
“The three of us,” she said. “And Olivia.”
“Allium?”
“No.”
“Servants?”
“Slaves, you mean. No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Darfelsa.”
“It can’t be public, Gionna. It has to be somewhere private. You, Olivia, Allium as witnesses. And she’s not keeping me, either. She does it. She asks her questions. She lets me go. No games. Furthermore, she only asks questions directly related to this issue. She doesn’t ask about Gandeet or about my family or anything. Do I have a hidden agenda? Does Father?”
“You’re angry.”
“Damned right I’m angry,” I said. “Does she know you’re here asking me to do this?”
“Yes. She doesn’t think you’ll agree.”
“I’ve already agreed, so you don’t need to try to manipulate me.”
She held her hands up defensively. “I’m sorry, Darfelsa.”
“Yeah.” I slumped for a moment. “Where?”
“Her quarters.”
“Let’s get this over with.” I stood up and didn’t wait for her. In the hall, I turned to Mariya. “How much of that did you hear?”
“I imagine most of it.”
“The two of you are going to vow to never breathe a word.”
“Princess Darfelsa,” Mariya said gently.
“You report to people,” I said. “The captain of the guard. My father. Perhaps there are others in between. My sister.” I stamped my foot. “Never breathe a word!”
“Darfelsa, you never need to worry about us,” Mariya said. “We do not issue reports behind your back. Not once. The guard learned generations ago that we could not protect our royal charges if they felt everything we observed was reported to the king. If you ever ask us to report, we would do so honestly, so I hope you never ask us to lie to the king.”
“All right,” I said. “Thank you.”
Gionna and I crossed the hall. I knocked at Allium’s door then entered. It was quite full. Everyone looked our way. “Allium.”
“Coming,” she said. “You lot, clear a path.” It took a moment, but she slipped from the door.
“I don’t know which one is Olivia’s,” I said.
“Down the hall.” Gionna led the way. At our knock, Bee answered. “We’re looking for Olivia.”
“She’s with the queen. It’s only Dee and I.”
“Please let me in,” I said. “You two stay out here.” I stepped past Bee. Dee looked at me, smiling, but her smile faded. “I really need a hug,” I said, on the edge of tears.
“Oh, Darfelsa,” Dee said. She ran and wrapped me in her arms. Bee pressed me from behind, and the two held me.
They didn’t ask. They simply let me hold them. I took several deep breaths. Finally, I kissed Dee’s cheek, then turned to Bee. “Thank you.”
“We like to hug,” Bee said. “Any time.”
“Thanks.” I headed for the door. “Did I break a rule coming to you?”
“I don’t know if you should ask anyone else,” Dee said. “Olivia won’t be upset.”
“Thank you,” I repeated, letting myself out.
* * * *
Lisdee and Olivia were together. It might have been my imagination, but the situation looked a little tense. They had wine. No one spoke, but Lisdee looked about. I caught her gaze and looked her in the eye, and then I said, “Ambassador Cuprite, you will never tell anyone about what happens in this room. Hopefully, my sister and father will never ask you such pointed questions you are obligated to tell them.”
I didn’t wait. I began undressing. It took Allium a minute, and then without looking at her, I felt her grow cold. “This isn’t how diplomacy works.”
“Apparently, it is in this country,” I replied. “Apparently, a simple offer of food is so suspect I can’t be trusted for making it.”
“That isn’t what I ever said,” Lisdee replied.
“Yeah. Bullshit.” I shrugged out of the last of my clothing then stood with my back straight, my head high, and I looked her in the eye. “You’ll ask whatever you want that applies directly to this mission,” I said. “Food. Motives. You may ask if I have a hidden agenda. You may ask if Father does. You won’t ask about Gandeet, or about what Ahlianna was like as a child, or whether I enjoyed my practice challenges. I don’t advise you to ask what I think of you right now; you won’t like the answers. Furthermore, you won’t leave any lingering little tidbits behind to smooth things over. If I’m not still angry when you’re done, I’m going to know you cheated.”
“Darfelsa,” Gionna said. “That last part isn’t fair. Mother, I highly recommend you accept the limits to your questions. But Darfelsa, your mood is going to take a shift. You’ve done this enough by now to know that.”
“Fine. Your Majesty,” and I put tone into those words, “If you are unsure a question is fair, you will tell Ambassador Cuprite your intentions, and she’ll ask for you.”
“Anything else?” she asked coldly.
“No.”
“Give me your arm.”
She didn’t put any of her magical compulsion into it, but I immediately lifted my arm and held it towards her. She took it, one hand supporting it, the other resting on top. It only took a moment, and then I felt it. I felt her magic. I looked at my arm, the resin flowing from the touch into my arm, and then down my body.
I’d expected black; instead, it was white, pure white.
“Mother,” Gionna whispered.
“Quiet,” Lisdee said.
For me, it was long past too late. The resin flowed, covering my body, even covering my face, and while I wasn’t aware, my hair. My eyes and mouth were free, and I could breathe, but I became otherwise encased in white resin.
And the magic invaded me, at least as quickly as the resin covered me. The magic invaded me, and I was hers. I was entirely hers. I dropped to my knees, my head bowed.
I felt the magic, continuing to wrap about me, and then I couldn’t think, not at all.
My owner set two fingers on my chin and lifted. “What is your slave name?”
“Sa,” I answered. And I felt such pleasure for answering such a simple question.
“Mother,” Gionna whispered.
“This is now between Sa and me,” said my owner. “Sa, why did you come to Ressaline City?”
“To meet you and try to find solutions,” I said. “And to support Allium when she looked at your roads.” And I was filled with another rush of pleasure. I went on for a while, discussing the problems I hoped we could solve. With a little prompting, I talked about the route here. I talked about the fruit we could sell. And everything I said gave me pleasure, and more pleasure.
She asked questions, more questions, other questions. I answered them all, and it couldn’t have felt better if she’d made me a pleasure slave and began stroking my body, but she didn’t touch me more than keeping two fingers under my chin.
I answered her questions, and eventually she leaned over and kissed my forehead. “Thank you for answering,” she said.
At her words, a final rush of pleasure spread throughout m
y body. I collapsed, moaning, and then began to shudder and shudder from the pleasure. I was completely overcome, and knew little else for some time.
* * * *
I came aware. I was lying on a bed, my head in someone’s lap. I didn’t move, but I opened my eyes and looked straight ahead. I didn’t recognize the room. “Who?” I whispered.
“Allium.”
“Where are we?”
“The queen’s bedroom. We didn’t think taking you back to your room was a good plan.”
“How long?”
“We missed dinner,” she replied. “Gionna said she’d bring us something once you’re up for it.”
“We’re alone?”
“Yes.” I sat up and looked at myself. I was wearing my underthings. I turned to Allium. “Did she ask anything she shouldn’t have?”
“We shouldn't have had the entire conversation,” Allium replied. “Other than that little point, no.”
“Anything I should be embarrassed about?”
“Let me get this straight. You disrobed in front of us. You let yourself be turned into a slave. You then visibly grew aroused answering questions, and then had an earthshaking orgasm on the floor at our feet. But you’re wondering if she asked you any embarrassing questions?”
“That’s a good summary,” I answered dryly.
“No, in my opinion, she remained confined within the limits you laid out.”
I nodded. “Thank you. I’ve never seen white before.”
“Neither have I. Gionna told me. You were a truth slave.”
“That explains the pleasure at answering her questions,” I replied. I looked around. “I wouldn’t suppose she’s so embarrassed that she offered her room in compensation.”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Then I’d rather get out of here. Is there anything else I need to know?”
“Probably, but I have nothing specific in mind.”
“You’re a brat.” I slipped from the bed, found my waiting clothes, and slowly dressed. By the time I was ready, Allium was kneeling, holding one of my boots. “That should be someone else.”