Encircled

by Robin Roseau

  “Yes!” they said together.

  “Oh,” said Lisbon. “Yes, please.”

  “Only for the challenge,” Olivia said. “They aren’t going home with you, and you’re not staying here.”

  Lisbon mock pouted.

  “You will each have one slave helping you,” Olivia said. “Although Jessla will define the details. And I think the winner should reward her assistant.”

  “How?” Lisbon asked.

  “By agreeing to be the slave’s slave for 24 hours. You would really be mine, but I would order you to obey her, and give her permission to do whatever she wants to you.”

  Bee and Dee both clapped happily at that idea. Lisbon agreed immediately. Lassa held out, but Lisbon said, “Oh, come on. It will be really hot, and you know you’ll love it.”

  “All right,” Lassa said. “Let’s do it.”

  Lisbon and Bee did well, and I thought they might win. But then Lisbon began losing it. I’m not sure what Dee was doing to her, but she effectively dropped her resistance, and the challenge ended two minutes later.

  All four of them were quite pleased.

  There were three women left. Tara Ironwood said, “Now I feel left out.”

  “You don’t have to be,” Gin Silkpetal said.

  “The two of you probably want to do something.”

  “We could include you.”

  “No,” said Klarist Roseweb.

  “I know you like Tara,” Gin said. “Or do you just not like the reduced chances of winning?” She grinned. “You know you’ll enjoy losing.”

  “I’ve lost twice to you,” Klarist replied. She looked at Tara. “I wouldn’t mind if you won, or if I won. Gin was fun, but she’s had me twice.”

  “But you enjoyed it.”

  “But I’m developing a complex,” Klarist complained. “And I’m pretty sure if you have me a third time, I’m going to beg for you to make it permanent. And that might be okay, but I’m not really ready for that yet.”

  “We could do the one that they did,” Gin countered, gesturing to Melstie, Blenda, and Remma. “The two of you can team up against me. Maybe I’ll still win, but if I do, then I think I deserve it. But if the two of you can’t beat me, it’s because you’re not trying, and you want me to win.” Then she sighed. “Or maybe you just want to do something with Tara.”

  Gin studied Tara and then said, “I’d do that. What do you think?”

  Tara grinned. “I’d do that.”

  They got set up. At the start, both Klarist and Tara went after Gin, and they went hard. But once Gin was well on her way to losing, Tara backed off, letting Klarist do most of the work. She helped enough to look like she was helping, and to ensure Gin was overcome. But in the process, Klarist was a long way towards losing herself, and Tara had barely started.

  It didn’t take long for Tara to win them both, and she was ecstatic for it. I thought it was a sneaky strategy, and one I might have employed.

  As always, I loved belonging to Olivia. She let Dee and Bee play with me, and of course, she let us give her as much attention as she could handle. She also brought all three of us to work with her, and so we weren’t left alone at home. It wasn’t like she’d let us play while she was out, after all.

  As agreed, she kept me for two days. After she freed me, I thanked her and cuddled, then said, “Lady Olivia, I want to ask some questions.”

  “Of course, darling.”

  “I want honest and blunt answers.” She didn’t say anything. “I’m tired of wondering if I can trust all of you.”

  “You can’t trust all of us.”

  “I meant collectively, which I guess means people like you and Jessla and Queen Lisdee.”

  “I don’t know how to set your fears aside, Claary.”

  “I want you to promise to answer completely, honestly, and bluntly. Either way, you answer. And then at the end, if you think you’ve told me things you wouldn’t want me to tell anyone else, and you aren’t positive I’ll keep it to myself, I’ll accept a permanent challenge under any terms you decide.”

  She froze. “That’s not what I want for you,” she said.

  I pushed away from her.

  “No!” she said. “Just wait. Claary, just wait.”

  “If you didn’t have anything to hide,” I said. “You’d be willing to agree.”

  “I’ve been telling you the truth.”

  “You misdirect quite often,” I said. “And I have more questions. And you’re going to refuse to answer, or you’re going to lie.”

  “No, I’m not, but you know I have plans for you. How sure are you I won’t lie to protect those plans? Now, I don’t have to, and I know that. But you don’t believe me.”

  I looked away. “I’m not sure I would have thought of that.”

  “You’re good at envisioning conspiracy theories.”

  “You help with that.”

  “I suppose I do,” she said. “It would have occurred to you eventually.”

  I turned back to her. “How likely is it I’m going to ask something you can’t answer without enslaving me?”

  “It’s possible,” she said. “I’m not ready to tell you Queen Lisdee’s entire plans, and of course, there are other things I know I don’t want to talk to you about. But if you stick to the sorts of topics we’ve already discussed, then I could honestly answer everything you ask.”

  “Fine. If I ask anything you’re not ready to answer, I’ll accept that as an answer. I’ll be angry if you attempt misdirection instead. You promise to answer honestly, and if you end up telling me something you don’t trust me to keep secret, you have permission to take me permanently. I won’t fight you.”

  “And you’re going to believe me if I don’t summon a few guards first, to ensure your compliance?”

  “Summon the guards if you think you need them.”

  “What if I summon them because I think you need them to fully believe me?”

  “Fine. Do that.”

  “Fine. Remain here.”

  I nodded. She rose and walked from the room. She was gone for perhaps five minutes then returned. She handed me a drink and sat down with her own. “Ask non-controversial questions until they get here. Maybe ask about how things work in Ressaline.”

  “All right. I will. What percentage of people born in Ressaline City become citizens?”

  “Let’s limit the answer to people who live to age 25.”

  “All right.”

  “About 60 percent.”

  “How does that work? You have to win a challenge. Shouldn’t you have, at best, 50 percent?”

  “Ah. But the terms don’t need to be equal. You could challenge me, and you are risking becoming a permanent slave, but I am only risking a sufficiently lengthy period that I wouldn’t willingly go easy on you.”

  “How long is that?”

  “Typically six months, and I’d lose my existing slaves, but not my property. The person who wins me has the first chance at the slaves, but it’s not automatic. It can be a portion of the agreement. It can get complicated.” I nodded understanding. “Furthermore, if it is determined likely that someone threw the event, both of them face an event against someone far less likely to be swayed. These agreements are always watched very carefully, and we believe cheating happens, but is uncommon.”

  “So 40 percent become slaves?”

  “About 30, at least of those who are healthy. The remaining tenth avoid making a commitment. However, as they move into their later 20s, they become social pariahs. I’d rather have lost than take that path. Most people agree with me.”

  “All right. Thank you for explaining. So half of the citizens have no slaves. Actually, some of you have more than one, so that means most citizens don’t have slaves.”

  “That has traditionally been true,” she said. “It is no longer true.”

  I stared at her, understanding the implications. “Do we need the guards to arrive before you explain that?”

  “Probably. The
y won’t be long.”

  “Why did Queen Lisdee send you? You’re awfully young for having this much responsibility.”

  “She’s not that much older herself,” Olivia said. “Seven years.”

  “You said she’s been queen for twenty years.”

  “Yes. She was sent to deal with a problem not that different from the one I dealt with. It wasn’t as large a problem, but it was similar. She came back and told our ruling council that she could bring Ressaline the prosperity we deserved, but she needed authority to make decisions. She demanded the title of queen and told them a portion of what she would do. As she returned to the city a conquering hero of sorts, and because a lot of people wanted to do exactly what she suggested we do, she was given the title and the authority. The understanding was she could be torn down from office nearly as easily as she was raised, and if that happened, enslaved besides.”

  “I take it she’s delivered.”

  “She is delivering. It is an ongoing process.”

  That was when there was a knock, and then Bee entered with four guards following her. She left them with us.

  “Claary Rosebush, I need you to clearly state our agreement. I need you to state whose idea it was as well.”

  “It was my idea. I want answers. She’s going to answer. And then if she doesn’t trust I’ll keep the answers to myself, the four of you are going to hold me down, and she’s going to permanently enslave me.”

  “Actually, that’s not legal,” Olivia said. “We’ll bring you to Jessla, and she’ll order it, and then we’ll hold you down while I pacify you. And then I’ll enslave you. You will be my pleasure slave, and you will love it.”

  I nodded. “That’s our agreement. I expect the four of you to enforce it, if necessary.”

  Marda nodded. “Very well.”

  “Good. Ask the questions, Claary.”

  “We touched on one. How many citizens of Ressaline have slaves?”

  “About two thirds or so. Of those, half have one. Perhaps ten percent have more than ten.”

  “And that is how Queen Lisdee is bringing you prosperity, isn’t it?”

  “It’s a part of it. We let people abuse us. We complain. If they continue, we enslave anyone responsible. The prosperity is more from the land we claim at the same time. Do you consider that corrupt?”

  “You enslave innocent people.”

  “Let’s say for a moment that we don’t. Why don’t you ask how I acquired Bee and Dee. They do not have a Ressaline accent.”

  “I’ve been avoiding that question.”

  “Ask.”

  “Where did you get them?”

  “They were living north of the Ressa River.”

  “You said they had choices.”

  “We enslaved everyone we captured,” she said. “Do you blame us?”

  “Not particularly, although I bet that included children. They weren’t responsible.”

  “Four,” she said. “Only four. What would you have done with them instead?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Well, I faced that question, and I took an expedient answer because frankly, I wasn’t going to agonize over them when I had much larger issues to address. Perhaps that is wrong. Perhaps that is callous. Blame their parents, not me.”

  “They were caught between the games of adults.”

  “They were, and I admit they are victims. I gave everyone a limited set of choices. Becoming my personal pleasure slaves wasn’t on the list, but Bee and Dee begged to be kept together and begged to belong to me, if I promised to treat them well. I believe I do so.”

  “You do,” I said.

  “I sent everyone else to Queen Lisdee. I haven’t inquired since then. She may have freed those four, but I doubt it. It is not her nature to release someone who comes to us in that fashion, victim or not.”

  “And the lands you take?”

  “Are all being treated as we’re treating Charthan.”

  “So that brings us here,” I said. “What percentage of us do you expect to see become slaves?”

  “In the other lands we’ve taken, it has varied from 60 to 85 percent.” I stared, not knowing what to say. “It’s been at the higher end if we’re resisted. Charthan lost its military quickly, and you didn’t put up much struggle after that. I expect something over half and less than everyone. Split the difference, and you’re close enough.”

  “How much of that is through choice?”

  “About 15 to 20 percent is through force, some of which you have seen. You might not always agree with us, but I don’t think that’s what we’d fight over.”

  “Maybe not.”

  “About 40 percent is entirely through choice.”

  “Like Mother?”

  “Yes. The rest are people who lose Challenges, willingly entered and fully engaged. Some percentage of those will be manipulated into accepting challenges they shouldn’t accept, but if you accepted a challenge with me, I would consider you part of the 40 becoming a slave willingly.”

  “Who is doing the manipulating?”

  “Sometimes their challenger. Sometimes a younger sibling or eldest daughter. And sometimes me or someone working for me.”

  “Mother?”

  “Entirely her choice, Claary.”

  “Lisbon?”

  “I thought she’d become a slave, but she’s beginning to show some backbone, so I don’t know. It depends on whether she rushes or waits, and I’m done manipulating her to wait. She knows what I think.”

  “And if she doesn’t take advice when offered, it’s her own fault.”

  “Yes. I will not pursue her for myself, but if she comes to me, she’ll join my household. I’ll probably rotate her between two or three colors.”

  “You didn’t completely answer. Why did Queen Lisdee send you?”

  “Because I asked for a chance, and I made certain promises if I didn’t deliver a satisfactory response. I pointed out that Charthan needed to be treated differently than the other lands we’ve taken.”

  “Why?”

  “That’s related to why we didn’t leave. We could have. We could have taken back our land then come down here, taken your military, taken your council, and left.”

  “Why would you do that when we’re such a juicy target?”

  “Because this wasn’t really your council that did this, but a few greedy men who were able to browbeat others.”

  “But you didn’t do that.”

  “There’s something you know, but haven’t put together. Charthan sits at a trading crossroads.”

  “It’s about the money.”

  “Partly. Charthan typically charges ten percent tariff on any goods traveling in either direction through your country, including food. Ten percent doesn’t seem like much, but that means that we have a harder time selling our own goods, especially if they need to travel further, as everyone in between collects money they didn’t earn, simply for being in the way. It also means that goods we import are ten percent more expensive. To be competitive with goods produced inside Charthan, we automatically had to be ten percent cheaper. To be competitive beyond Charthan, we had to be twenty-five percent cheaper, as those countries charged fifteen percent rather than ten. And that was just to have a chance to sell our products. The end result was keeping us poor, and we had years where it was very difficult to feed our people.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that.

  “This has been the policy of Charthan forever. Ultimately you and all your citizens know you charge tariffs. At some level, you understand some of what that means for us. You know your affluent lifestyle is due at least in part to taking food away from us. Yes, you work hard, and you aren’t personally benefitting directly. But you are able to charge more than a similar inn of Ressaline, and you may use that money on goods that are cheaper. Have you voted?”

  “Once.”

  “You voted for someone who made a decision to continue that system. All of you have. All of you know, or should
know, the sort of effect you have on us. If this were just about luxury goods, we wouldn’t complain. If you only charged on goods flowing through your country, but not on goods originating inside Charthan or remaining in Charthan, we wouldn’t complain. If you would have at least let us buy food and other absolute necessities without the extra tariffs, we might have complained, but we probably wouldn’t have stayed. But people in Ressaline have starved to death or frozen on the streets because Charthan got rich taxing food we couldn’t grow for ourselves. We do not have the rich farmlands you have, after all. We have to buy food, and our silver mines don’t generate enough income to pay for as much as we need some years.”

  I dropped my gaze. “I’m sorry.”

  “I know,” she said. “We felt morally justified to invade, and because of how your country has treated ours for hundreds of years, we felt morally justified to stay. For that matter, if we hadn’t stayed, Queen Lisdee would probably have been deposed.”

  I nodded. “And why don’t you let people leave?”

  “It’s part of all of the above. We’ve let a few leave. Not many. But we have two basic reasons. First, we want this to remain a successful, vibrant city, and we can’t do that if the best of you leave. And yes, partly because there is bitterness, especially in some quarters back home. I can let very few of you leave, and it doesn’t rise to attention. But if I allowed a significant exodus it would cause problems. However, I don’t want any of you to leave.”

  “You want to punish us for what we’ve done.”

  “Sometimes, although that attitude is more reserved for those most responsible.” She reached over and lifted my chin. “There will be very, very few former Charthans, age 35 or older, who become citizens. Queen Lisdee was not entirely happy with my agreement, but she offered that compromise. I would have allowed your mother to make her own choice, as we had an agreement. And I will allow a few others, but not many, not many at all.”

  “Grannies?”

  “Grannies will be allowed to live out their lives,” she said. “We collected a lot of information during the census, and we’re using it.”

  I nodded. “I don’t want you to hide things from me anymore. Is there more to tell?”