by Robin Roseau
“Can someone pretend to be converted to prey?”
“Not normally, but it’s not like the guard will descend and declare anyone forfeit.” A moment later she said, “Aresht is inviting a trade.”
“I’m happy with you,” I said. “But you’ve won me before.”
“It is our way to share, Allium, but only if you are sure you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind at all.”
A moment later, she spun me. I came to a stop, and it was a moment after that, I felt fresh hands.
* * * *
The song ended shortly after that. There was applause, and then Olivia declared, “If you are prey, you belong to your hunter now. It is polite to give her at least a half hour, but there is no further obligation.”
I felt hands on my blindfold, and then I was looking at Aresht. She was smiling. “Whose idea was this?” I asked.
“Lisolte’s,” she said with a smile. She lifted a hand and cupped my cheek. “Do you mind?”
“No. Invite me for a walk.”
“Will you show me the embassy?”
“I’d love to.” I clutched her arm.
We walked slowly. I gave her the tour of the more public areas, ending on the balcony over the portico. We weren’t the only couple that ended there, but there was ample room for each to take their own place.
Aresht brushed my cheek and then pulled me closer. We kissed. It was sweet, and I pulled her into a hug after. “I’d like to get to know you better,” she whispered. “Could we go somewhere else?”
“Should I jump to conclusions?”
“If you were to invite me to stay tonight, I would. But I really just mean I would like to sit and be free to talk, and maybe a little gentle touch.”
“I’d like that,” I said. “I have a suite, but I am the host.”
“I don't understand what you just implied.”
“This might be a cultural difference,” I said. “In Flarvor, the host would eventually bid her guests goodnight. If you and I disappear, no one can find me to say goodnight.”
“Ah,” she said. “This is Ressaline. If the host is not readily found, it is assumed she is simply enjoying the company of a guest or two. You will offend no one, Allium. But if you wish to remain in a more public location, that is fine.”
I took her hand. “Let’s walk the party first.”
We did a circle of the people on the balcony, speaking just a few kind words with each. Inside, I readily found perhaps half our guests. Lady Olivia was nowhere to be found. I asked Aresht if she was sure I didn’t need to worry.
“This is our way, Allium. You specifically invited this dance. If we were all Ressaline, there would be far fewer of us remaining in public.”
I smiled and pulled her to my suite.
Inside, I gestured her to the sofa then knelt before her. She smiled as I removed her shoes. Then I sat and set aside my own before moving closer. We cuddled, sitting quietly for a few minutes.
She brushed hair from my face. I smiled. Then she said, “Olivia asked me to help tomorrow evening.”
“Is that why we’re here?”
She pulled me to a kiss. “No,” she whispered.
“But you want to talk about tomorrow?”
“I want a challenge with you.”
“I can’t do that while you’re serving as first for someone on my staff.”
“I think that might be another cultural difference.”
“Probably,” I said. “Consider it similar to Claary’s attitude about her sister.”
“Ah,” she said. “Yes.” She kissed me again, a good kiss. When she released me, she whispered, “You are becoming increasingly Ressaline.”
“I am becoming a woman of two worlds,” I suggested. “Have we exhausted the conversation regarding tomorrow evening?”
“Almost. I will treat very well anyone who selects me.”
“I know you will,” I said.
“That’s all I wanted to say.” She smiled. “None of this was about tomorrow night. It was about inviting a challenge.” But then she set her hand on my chest, rather brazenly. “And this.”
“I’d love if you stayed the night.”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
Chapter Thirteen
Aresht was a kind, sweet lover. We both gave generously and received graciously. Afterwards, we murmured for a while, and I slept very, very well.
When I woke, I was in her arms, and she was pressed against my back. I lay quietly for a while, and then she stretched, just a little.
“I could get used to this,” I whispered, not sure if she was really awake.
“Thank you for inviting me,” she replied. She tightened. Then she giggled. “I’m not absolutely positive, but I think I got the ambassador first.”
I rolled over, nose to nose. “That had better not have been why you’re here.”
She gave my nose a peck. “It’s not. It just occurred to me. That’s all.”
“Okay. Good. I love your eyes.”
“Thank you,” she said. “My most striking feature.”
“You’re beautiful, Aresht, and I enjoyed the night.”
“Yes, but my eyes are distinctive,” she said. “Lisolte has her hair. I have my eyes. I’m fine with that. Violet eyes are far less common than red hair, even as amazing of hair as hers.”
I smiled and caressed her cheek. “Are you staying for breakfast?”
“Do you have any idea how many overnight guests you had?”
I laughed. “No idea at all.”
“Neither do I,” she said. “And we don’t know if your cook is awake. Do you mind if everyone sees me?”
“I’m proud if they see you,” I said.
She paused. “You know, on the other hand.”
My face clouded. “What?”
“Tonight.”
“What about tonight?”
“Will it be harder for anyone to invite me for their first, if they know I was in your bed last night? A Ressaline woman wouldn’t, but I’m just thinking about some of those cultural differences.”
“Oh,” I said. “So you think you’re going to sneak out? Is that really what you want?”
“We’re trying to be careful,” she said. “You said I am kind. I’ve only done a few Firsts, but I’m good at it, and a good owner.”
“What do you want for yourself?” I asked her.
“To share breakfast with you.”
“Then let’s take a walk instead. How far is The Baby Blanket?”
“A good walk,” she said. She smiled. “So we’re both going out the window?”
“We’re going to use the front door, and we’re holding hands besides.”
* * * *
We saw to our needs. By the time we left my suite, I could tell the house was waking up, but we encountered no one on the way to the front door. Holding hands, we strolled the streets of Charth. Aresht pointed out houses. “Where is yours?”
“The other direction,” she said. “Near Lisolte. We’re four friends and arrived here together.”
“You weren’t part of the invasion?”
“No. We came a few months later. When we first arrived, Olivia gave us a house to share, but as we settled in, and things here took shape, she offered us homes. None of us could have bought houses like these. Well, I don’t know about Olivia, and I think Judge Jessla is rich. But I was twenty. I’m not rich yet, but I’m comfortable now.”
“How?”
“The four of us share ownership in a trading company, and we each own small businesses here in Charth. This part might upset you.”
“Why would it upset me?”
“If we win a permanent slave who owned a business, and if we’re qualified to continue to run the business, we’re given a chance to prove it.”
“Oh,” I said.
“I own a mother and two daughters,” she said. “I won the mother myself and traded for the daughters. They operate their family pewter business for me. It’s
not something that would make me rich.”
“That’s why Claary owns half the restaurants in town?”
“No. It’s why Claary owns all the restaurants, taverns, and inns.”
“All?”
“The duchess decided she was the only person living in the city who she felt confident could run them. Claary has been training a few women from Ressaline City, though. I think she might transfer some businesses, but she hasn’t done it yet. A few closed, of course. The economy of the city is dramatically different than it was.”
“I imagine.”
“The duchess is trying to do something about that, but this is where our own polices are biting us.”
“Oh?”
“No travel. And trade goes around Charthan now, where before so much went through. The situation in Ressaline City is so much better, but Charthan is not as wealthy as it was ten years ago. Before, the wealth here was based on trade, and agriculture was simply to feed the people. Now, nearly the entire economy is based on agriculture.”
“This is why the queen pushed to get me here.”
“I don’t know anything about that,” she said. “But if she pushed, yes, this is probably why.”
“Did the duchess tell you to talk about all this with me?”
“Not specifically. She told all of us to help all of you understand our situation here, and she’s not just talking about our unusual customs. Here we are.”
“I remember,” I said. “It looks busy for a town that is struggling.”
“In spite of the location away from the center of the city, this inn has become the most popular choice for most of us. Don’t worry. They’ll have room for us, but we might have to share a table, and you might have to sit on my lap.”
I laughed.
Yes, we shared a table. No, I didn’t have to sit on her lap. Aresht looked disappointed by that. I met a few people. Everyone seemed to know who I was, and they were quite welcoming.
All the staff I saw were slaves, although none I recognized. I didn’t see Claary, and I didn’t ask. But the meal was lovely, and our tablemates dallied while Aresht and I finished our meal. Aresht graciously paid our tab, and then the six of us cleaned up and stepped onto the street.
“Well, Aresht,” said one of the women. I tried to remember her name. I’d heard it at the beginning, but no one had used it. “You’ve had her. I’m sure it’s my turn.” She grabbed my free arm. “Come with me, Ambassador.”
I laughed. “I have duties, I’m afraid, and now I’m going to demonstrate why I keep telling everyone I’m a horrible diplomat.”
“You’re going to say something unkind about me?”
“I’m going to admit I heard your name once at the beginning and don’t remember.
They all laughed. The woman holding my arm put on a hurt expression to the point of quivering her lip, but then she laughed, too. “My name is Fiarleen. You owe me for forgetting, Allium Cuprite.”
“Don’t think I’m impressed. I learned five new names, and I bet you already knew mine.”
“You learned five, hmm?” she asked. “You mean you learned four.” She gestured. “Prove it. You owe anyone whose name you’ve forgotten.”
“You think so, do you?”
“Yes.”
“What do I owe you?”
“We’re negotiating.”
“It seems we are. You get one chance to make a reasonable demand.”
The others laughed. Fiarleen asked, “They judge?”
“No. I do.” She pouted again. I smiled and said, “Demand carefully.”
“I believe you should owe more to each of us if you have forgotten more names.”
“You’re negotiating for anyone else,” I said. “If they don’t want what you ask, they get nothing. If I turn you down, then the next person whose name I’ve forgotten can make her own demand.”
“So you admit you owe me for forgetting my name.”
“Yep. But all you’re getting is the brief opportunity to hold my arm if you don’t demand a price I’m willing to pay.”
“An evening of your company,” she said. “No expectations beyond a pleasant time together.”
I smiled. “Agreed.” I turned. “Geffa, Hollymara, and Simordie,” I said.
“Darn it,” Hollymara said. “This is the first time in my life I’m disappointed someone remembered my name.”
“Tonight,” Fiarleen said.
“Unavailable,” I replied.
“Tomorrow night,” she countered immediately.
I considered then looked at Aresht. “You don’t look at all annoyed she’s trying to ask me out in front of you.”
“I think that’s another cultural difference,” she said.
“I’d be quite unhappy with you if you were having a similar conversation in front of me. That ends once our evening together has officially ended, but I don’t consider that the case. Do you?”
“I will see you to your front door and take a parting kiss,” she said.
“If I want something spread around to the people who might need to know, but don’t want it to be a big deal, how do I do that?”
“Tell us,” Hollymara said with a laugh.
“I’d rather not be asked out when I’m obviously with someone else, or for a reasonable break immediately after. And I’ll be quite unhappy if someone approaches the woman I’m with to make arrangements like this until our time together is over.”
“Did I offend you, Allium?” Fiarleen asked.
“No. It didn’t occur to me until I wondered if Aresht was over here, growing angry with me. If this were Barrish, the equivalent would be two men fighting over a woman, and it would probably have led to violence by now.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope,” I said.
“I’m sorry.”
“You haven’t done anything wrong. I don’t want to confirm tomorrow until I’m sure Lady Olivia doesn’t have plans for me. Could you message the embassy and offer three possible evenings?”
“I could do that,” she said. “You’re sure you’re not offended.”
“Not at all,” I replied.
“What about the rest of us?” Simordie asked. “Half the town wants to get to know you.”
“Other than commitments to people I already know, Fiarleen has the next claim on me,” I said. “After that, I will consider other offers. But now you know that there are cultural differences.”
“Message the embassy?” Geffa asked.
“Yes.”
“And I would suggest,” said Aresht, “that your notes offer the ambassador a clue where you met. She’ll remember the four of you now, but if she meets twenty people at an event, she’s not going to remember anyone.”
“I would like to learn Charth,” I said. “And the surrounding area. Offers to help me get to know the city better will be well-received.”
They all smiled, and then Aresht tugged my arm. I laughed, and Fiarleen didn’t resist as I was pulled away.
“That was odd,” I said a minute later.
“I think you should assume it’s your new normal.”
“You truly weren’t offended.”
“I was mildly annoyed because I know you need to get back, and she was eating into my time with you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You weren’t the one who started that. But it was only mild annoyance. I’m not jealous.” She grinned. “I’ll get her back.”
“Do I want to know?”
“Sometime in the next few months, you’ll see her wearing resin, and I might not make it red.”
“You can do that?”
“There is an event each month. Can you tell the accent between someone born in Ressaline City and someone born somewhere in Charthan?”
“Yes. They’re all local. You’re not.”
“If you speak with a Charthan accent, then at least twice a year, you must offer yourself in the monthly event.”
“Oh?”
“The te
rm is for two weeks, and you do not choose your opponent. She chooses you and selects the event from the available choices. Other than that, there is no handicap system.” She smiled. “But I’m better than she is, and I can pick an event that plays to my strengths.”
I laughed. “And you’re going to go after her?”
“I don’t know. Possibly.” She grinned at me. “You should offer yourself.”
“I don’t think so, but I’ll take your suggestion under advisement.”
“It’s at the sports arena outside the walls,” she said. “They sell tickets. Most months it sells out, but if you ask Olivia, she’ll bring you.”
“And I’ll suddenly find myself as part of the main event?”
“I don’t think Olivia would do that to you, unless you offer.” She paused. “We actually ended up enslaving more of the Charthan population than we intended. It’s part of the reason we’re struggling a little. There were… circumstances. Forces back home. We believe we’ll return to a better ratio over the next twenty or thirty years.”
“How does that work?”
“Children, Allium,” she said. “We believe the new generations will more closely follow the ratio in Ressaline City. Probably not entirely. It might still be over fifty percent that become slaves. We don’t know. But it won’t be such an overwhelming number.”
“And that’s a problem?”
“It means we’re all spread thinly,” she said.
“And you have this time to give to me?”
“We make time,” she said. “You’re worth it.” She grinned. “Besides, you’re about to hand us eleven new slaves. We’re lulling you so you don’t notice we’ve stolen them from you.”
I laughed. “I think I kinda understood that was going to happen. But you’ll be giving them back in two months.”
“Plus aftercare,” she said. “Two and a half to as long as three months. It also happens that a woman goes through her first and can’t tolerate being free after that. We try to help her through that, but we can usually tell when she isn’t going to recover.”
“You re-enslave her?”
“Yes, and that’s always permanent. If she couldn’t recover from it the first time, she’s not going to recover for a second attempt. There is a reasonable chance, with eleven women, especially eleven women who weren’t raised to this, that one or two may be given back to the women who give them their first.”