Читать книгу Lara: Book One of the World of Hetar - Бертрис Смолл, Bertrice Small - Страница 9

THE SLAVE WOMAN, Yera, woke her just before dawn. “A faeriepost has just arrived from the gate, young mistress,” she said. “Your transportation has just arrived, and will be here shortly. Come with me to the kitchen. I have fresh bread and milk for you before you go.”

Lara arose sleepily, and Yera pulled a chamber pot from beneath the bed.

“There is water to wash with, and I will be in the kitchen,” the slave woman said. “Do not dally. They will be here soon and will not want to wait.”

Finishing her ablutions, Lara hurried to dress, then went to the kitchens where Yera gave her a cup of fresh milk and a slab of buttered bread just warm from the ovens. There was also a dish of cut-up fruit. Lara ate it all down.

“You have a good appetite on you for such a slender girl,” Yera noted dryly.

“So my grandmother always said,” Lara replied with a smile.

“The conveyance is here.” Nels had come into the kitchen.

Lara arose. “Thank you for your kindness,” she told Yera and then turning, she followed the male slave.

He led her to the front door of the house, beyond which she could see a beautiful litter, well curtained. Drawing a deep breath Lara walked outside, waiting while Nels drew the draperies aside, and then helped her into her transport. As he closed the curtains with a snap Lara called out, “Thank you, Nels.” The litter was lifted up, and she was finally on her way. She was sorry she had not seen her father, or Susanna or little Mikhail before she left, but she knew they had done her a kindness in saying their goodbyes the previous evening. It really was better this way, and she could be strong for whatever lay ahead. Reaching down, she raised her star pendant to her lips and kissed it. The tiny flame flickered for a brief moment. She was safe. Had her faerie mother not said the necklace would always keep her safe? Her father had told her so, and Lara believed him. The bearers moved quickly, and before she knew it she heard the hail of the guard at the gate to the Golden District. He opened the curtains a moment, winked at her and then closed them. The litter moved off again, finally stopping for good. The curtains were opened gently and fully.

“Welcome, Lara, welcome!” Gaius Prospero’s fat hand helped her from the litter. “We have a busy day ahead of us. Have you eaten yet?”

She nodded. “My father’s slave woman fed me,” she told him.

“Excellent!” He beamed his approval. “Then come with me, my dear. There is much to do, and you must get started. The northern wing of my house is for the special slaves that pass through my hands. Tania is waiting there for you. She will prepare you for this evening. I am giving a dinner for the owners of the finest Pleasure Houses in the City, and the Pleasure Mistresses who manage these houses. Many began as you will, as simple Pleasure Women. You are to be the final course of the meal, the sweet if you will,” he chuckled, well pleased with himself. “I will display you to them so they may inspect you thoroughly. The bids on your person must be brought to me in writing between sunrise and sunset tomorrow. This permits me to weed out the serious buyers from those who do not have the wealth it will require to purchase you. There will then be one more viewing of you at which point those remaining may bid on you in a formal auction. At its conclusion you will be consigned to your new owner, and I shall have you delivered to his premises. Do you understand?”

“Yes, my lord Gaius,” Lara said.

He took her little hand in his plump one, and patted it comfortingly. “It all sounds very complicated, I will admit, but it is actually quite a simple process. And after your first-night rights have been taken, you will be very well trained to service the men who come to take their pleasure of you.”

“What are first-night rights?” Lara asked him.

“You have three virginities,” Gaius Prospero told her. “Each of them will be sold for a fabulous sum to the men who want them the most. Since you have never known intimacy, your reactions to these men, and their knowledge that they are the first to possess you, are valuable. Innocence has great charm, but afterward you will need to be taught the complexities of offering varied pleasures to a man. Ah, here we are! Tania, here is the lovely Lara. She is in your charge until she leaves us. See she is well prepared. Until tonight, my dear,” he purred, and turning was gone.

“Let me see your hands,” Tania said, and then she exclaimed, “What have you been doing, child? A Pleasure Woman must have the softest hands, and yours are all rough, and your nails are broken. And to think I have only until tonight to make you presentable! Come along! Come along!”

Lara followed Tania, and during the next few hours her world was expanded as she learned the secret of how Pleasure Women were treated. She was seated, and a slave woman began to pare and shape her nails. Her hands were first soaked in a mixture of hot water and soap, then her nails were cleaned, and each hand massaged before being put into a separate bowl of warm scented cream. While her hands were being treated, another slave woman began on her feet, tsking at the rough heels and soles she possessed.

“Make them like silk,” Tania ordered.

“It will take days to make these feet presentable,” the slave told Tania.

“She is being shown tonight,” Tania said. “You don’t want the master displeased, do you? Do you remember how long it took the welts to go down on the last slave who made him unhappy? He has a great investment in this girl.”

“Then he should have taken her from her family sooner, and not left it to the last minute,” the slave at Lara’s feet huffed. “I’ll do my best, but I’m not promising anything, and threatening me with a beating isn’t going to change a thing. The girl has feet like a farm worker, although I admit their dainty size will work to her advantage.”

Lara remained silent as the slaves worked on her. She was bathed next, slaves washing her all over with large sea sponges filled with scented soap. Then she was scraped and rinsed to be certain the dirt was removed from her body. A sweet-smelling paste the color of almond blossoms was smeared on her legs and her pubic mound. It burned slightly, and she complained as it was quickly rinsed away. She was then washed again, this time by Tania, who pushed the cloth she used into the most intimate areas of Lara’s body, causing Lara to blush furiously.

Tania snorted with impatience. “Every part of you must be fresh and sweet-smelling for your lovers,” she explained. “You’ll get use to this.” She rinsed Lara with basins of fragrant warm water. “Now, get into the bath pool and sit down while your hair is washed, child.”

The bathing pool had a bench that circled the entire pool. Lara sat down. The water was warm and very relaxing. She waited for someone to get into the water with her to wash her hair, but instead she was instructed to put her head back, and a slave woman washed her long tresses from the outside of the pool. Her pale gold locks were twice soaped, twice rinsed and then rinsed a third time with lemon juice and water.

“It makes golden hair even more golden,” Tania told her. “Are you hungry?” She busily toweled Lara’s hair dry first with a drying cloth, and then with a silk one.

“A little,” Lara admitted. She had been pampered for several hours now.

“Then I will have something brought to you before we continue,” Tania said. “It will be light, and you will not eat again until after you have been displayed.” She gave orders in a brisk tone, and shortly Lara was served a dish of yogurt flavored with berries, a piece of flat crisp bread with a thin slice of cheese, and a small goblet of wine.

When she had finished Tania handed her a goblet of minted water with which to rinse her mouth. Then to Lara’s surprise her mouth, her tongue and teeth were brushed with a boar’s bristle brush, and she rinsed again.

“A woman should always have sweet breath,” Tania said.

Lara was then laid out on a padded table. Her face was cleaned and creamed. Her body was thoroughly massaged until she felt as weak as a newborn kitten, and could barely stand on her own two legs. She was then led to a soft mattress, and a silvery curtain was drawn around it.

“You will sleep now,” Tania said. “When it is time I will come and get you.”

Lara needed no encouragement, and when she was awakened several hours later she realized that she felt better than she had ever felt in her life. Instinctively she touched the pendant. She had not allowed them to remove it from her neck while she was being prepared for display. Tania offered her a small goblet of water, and thirsty, Lara drank it down. Then at the older woman’s suggesting she relieved herself and was washed in that private place once again.

“What am I to wear this evening?” she asked Tania.

“You will be displayed naked but for your pendant and some flowers,” Tania said. “You understand that you will be touched by both the men and the women at the table? You must show no emotion at all, no matter how intimate a gesture it seems to you. Fear or repulsion will irritate the master’s guests. There are also some among the guests whose houses cater to those men with odd or brutal tastes. You do not want to end up in one of those places, child. Remain emotionless at all costs.”

Lara nodded. “I don’t understand, but I know your advice is sound,” she told Tania. “What is it these men like that is so strange?”

“Pain and degradation,” came the answer. “Your first-night rights would be sold to men who would rape you instead of enjoying your sweetness and innocence. These men like inflicting punishment on women. They whip them with all manner of cruel instruments. They beat them with their hands and make them beg for mercy before using them in vile ways you should never hear from my lips. Show no emotion, Lara, lest you fall prey to one of these Pleasure Houses.”

“But surely Gaius Prospero would not permit me to be sold to such people?” Lara cried. “He seems a kind man.”

Tania laughed bitterly. “Child, remember, Gaius Prospero cares only for profit. If one of these creatures should offer him the highest price for you he will take it, and you will be lost. Remember what I have told you. Come now, I must place you.” She led Lara to where a large round golden tray was placed upon a small table. “You are to sit upon this. On your side, on one hip.” And when Lara had placed herself according to instructions, Tania brushed the tangles from her long hair, spreading it out. Then she placed a crown of small white flowers upon the girl’s head. Next she decorated the tray with the same white flowers and, standing back, surveyed her handiwork and nodded, pleased. “Are you afraid of being enclosed?” she asked Lara.

“I do not know,” Lara replied.

“Well, it will only be for a few moments,” Tania remarked. Then she clapped her hands, and two ebony-black men slaves stepped forward.

They were muscular and their beautifully formed bodies were oiled. They were completely naked, and their male organs had been painted with gold paint to display them. They seemed very large to Lara, but then she had never seen a male organ except her baby brother’s. About the necks of the men were twisted gold torques.

“You are to be carried to the dining room,” Tania explained, and then she lifted a large gold dome which she placed over Lara and her tray. “Take her to the master!”

Lara felt the tray lifted up. She struggled a moment to maintain her balance, but once she found it she had no more difficulty. The two men hurried with a measured step from the north wing of the house through the halls, and finally they stood outside the dining room where Gaius Prospero was entertaining his special guests. Lara heard the doors to the room open wide, and then she heard the voice of her master saying, “Ahh, here is our dessert, my friends. A most special treat, I assure you,” and he chuckled richly at his own humor.

“If it’s as good as the rest of the meal,” Lara heard a man’s voice say, “we will surely have no complaints,” and laughter erupted about the room.

“Oh, I think you will find this a most special and rich dish. One such as you have never had before,” Gaius Prospero said. Then he nodded to his majordomo who quickly lifted the lid to reveal Lara.

The guests gasped as one, surprised and delighted. Laughter rippled around the dining room.

Where the instinct came from she never knew, but she looked coyly at the guests about the table, her head moving slowly to take them all in. The impression she gave was of utter elegance and pride.

“Now, my friends, I will give each of you the opportunity to inspect this truly rare and, you will agree, unique piece of merchandise. She is a virgin. Every orifice is intact, untouched by man or woman. She is ready to be trained as the most perfect of Pleasure Women, but before that her first-night rights will bring her owner a fortune. Who among your clientele will not lust after this exquisite beauty?” He stood before Lara on her tray, and offering her his hand helped her down from the table, and up onto a small dais of polished wood. “Look at this skin. Silken to the touch.” His hand swept down Lara’s graceful back.

She was startled, but she remembered Tania’s warnings, remaining still and without expression. No matter what happened she would show no emotion.

“When did you last see breasts like these? A bit small, perhaps, but perfect in every way, and she is young. They will grow with loving handling,” he chuckled. “And have you ever seen hair like this?” His fat hand ruffled through Lara’s hair and it cascaded about her like a waterfall of golden gilt. “I have never had a finer piece of merchandise to offer you, and I will expect your bids to echo my expectations by this time tomorrow night.”

“Is it true she is faerie?” one of the men asked.

“Her mother was faerie, none will deny it. You know her father, Sir John Swiftsword,” Gaius Prospero said. “A fine lineage.”

The guests now arose from the table, and came forward to get a closer look at Lara.

“Open your mouth,” one woman said.

Lara complied.

“She has all her teeth, and there is no rot. The breath is sweet,” the woman remarked. “Her eyes are beautiful. They are green but the lashes are dark. A most striking contrast.”

Lara felt a hand fondling her bottom. She swallowed as discreetly as she might, but the expression on her face remained impassive.

“The skin is soft, and firm,” the fondler noted. He ran his hand down Lara’s calf. “Very nice, Gaius. She isn’t mushy like many, but rather nicely tight.”

“My lord, this is the best slave I have ever had for sale,” the Master of the Merchants said proudly.

“I would see her more important attributes,” another man said.

“Yes,” agreed a woman. “Draw your nether lips apart so we may inspect your treasures, girl, if they may be called that. We’ll know soon enough.”

Lara reached down, and opened herself to the prying eyes. The woman put out her hand touching a small plump nub of flesh that had been revealed. Almost immediately a tiny pearl of liquid appeared. A man reached out, and wiped the bead of moisture onto his large finger, putting it in his mouth.

“Ahhh,” the guests breathed.

“She is perfect, as I have said,” Gaius Prospero murmured.

“Yes,” the man agreed, “and sweet as honey.” He took a strand of her hair between his fingers rubbing it as did several of the others.

Gaius Prospero then helped Lara down from the little dais. “Go now,” he told her. “You will find Tania outside the door waiting to escort you back to the north wing.”

Lara ran quickly to the door, and was gone.

The guests sat back down again at the table.

“It’s no wonder you have remained the head of the Merchants Guild for so long,” one of the men said to Gaius Prospero. “So that is how John Swiftsword managed to get the wherewithal to finally enter the tournament. Could you not have just lent him the monies, and taken a usurious share of his profits for the next ten years, Gaius?”

“I could have,” the merchant replied, “but I would have had to wait for my profit if I did that, wouldn’t I?”

There was laughter about the table at his remark.

“Believe it or not, I did not seek the girl out. Her stepmother brought her to me and asked if I would have her. A pretty girl not much older than Lara, but obviously ambitious for her husband, and happy to have a beautiful stepdaughter out of the house,” he chuckled. “It was too good a chance to pass up, and when the father agreed I could not turn away from such an opportunity.

“Now you all know the rules. You have between sunrise and sunset to post your bids with me in your own hand. Go now and talk among yourselves, owners and Pleasure Mistresses. The sale must be in gold, and presented the day you take possession of the girl.” He stood up again. “Thank you all for coming. I hope it has been worth your while.” And then Gaius Prospero, the perfect host, ushered his guests from his house to their waiting vehicles. Returning into the house he sought out his wife, Vilia. “Well?” he said. “You were watching, weren’t you?” He sat down next to her on their bed.

“Aye,” Vilia answered. “Your presentation was masterful, my dear Gaius. If you had allowed it they would have taken the girl on your dining table.” She laughed. “The lust was palpable. She will bring you a fortune. I cannot wait for the bids to begin coming in. You must let me open them! Not all will be able to bid, but most will even if they cannot afford it.”

But by sunset of the following evening no bids for possession of the slave, Lara, had been delivered to Gaius Prospero’s door. The Master of the Merchants was sick with anxiety and concern when his majordomo announced a visitor.

“The lady Gillian, my lord,” he said as he ushered in the Head Mistress of the Pleasure Mistresses’ Guild into his master’s library.

“You look pale, Gaius,” she said by way of greeting. She was a tall imposing woman with dark hair and bright blue eyes. Her simple gown of burgundy red silk hung in graceful folds. It had long, wide pleated sleeves, and a square neckline that revealed her fine large bosom. Her hair was piled upon her head, and covered with a sheer veil.

“Why have there been no bids?” Gaius Prospero managed to gasp out.

“Yes, I will sit down and have a goblet of wine,” the lady Gillian answered him pointedly.

The majordomo quickly handed the lady the requested goblet, and then departed the library, but he remained on the other side of that door listening.

The lady Gillian sipped at her wine. “It is always a pleasure to visit you, Gaius,” she said. “You never stint on the vintage.”

“What has happened?” he ground out in a harsh voice. He was becoming calmer, for if Gillian was here he would get the truth.

“There will be no bids for the slave girl, Lara, Gaius,” she began. “She is simply too beautiful, and of course there is the matter of her faerie blood.”

“Faerie blood never bothered you before,” he snapped. “At least three very well-known members of your guild possess it, and so do a number of Pleasure Women. And what the hell do you mean she is too beautiful? What is wrong with beautiful?”

“Not just beautiful, Gaius,” Gillian told him. “Too beautiful. Exquisite. She is perfection, and therein lies the problem. No sooner had you ushered us from your house last night than two owners got into a physical quarrel over the girl. And the Pleasure Mistresses were no better. There was at least one incident of hair-pulling. And when they all returned to their Pleasure Houses most found their women in a disturbed state at the thought of Lara joining them. They fear her great beauty will rob them of their clients, and if they protest, her magic will harm them. No one believes a girl this beautiful does not have faerie power. I know she does not, for if she did she would not be in the position she is now in, but convincing the others is impossible. Ignorance is a dangerous thing, Gaius. By this morning, regular patrons were offering the owners additional coin to help purchase the girl. Others were attempting to book time with her for you displayed her well at the tourney. Several of my guild have been threatened with bodily harm if they are not given the girl’s first-night rights. I have no choice but to forbid this girl’s sale into any of our houses. It is too risky. I am sorry.” She sipped again at her wine goblet. “Nor can I permit an untried girl to be sold as a Pleasure Woman to one of the magnates. Whoever purchased her would find he had bought a most dangerous possession. He would be envied by all, and therefore find himself in peril of his very life. Lara is the kind of girl that men see, and must have at all costs.”

Gaius Prospero was stunned by her words. His investment was suddenly gone. The Head Mistress of the Pleasure Mistresses’ Guild and its satellite, the Guild of the Pleasure Woman, was no fool. And her word was law among the owners, and the houses. “What am I to do with her then?” he asked helplessly. “I cannot give her back to her family, and ask for my gold to be returned.” He ran a nervous hand through his thinning hair. “I am ruined! How could I not have seen it?”

“Oh, Gaius,” she told him, “do not be so melodramatic. You are not ruined, and your eye for a fine piece of merchandise simply blinded you to the fact the girl was too beautiful to not cause difficulty. You have a cousin, Rolf Fairplay—a Taubyl Trader, I believe. Am I correct?”

“Yes,” he said. He was listening intently. Gillian was an intelligent woman, and might have been a merchant herself had she not been of the female sex.

“Cut your losses now, Gaius,” she told him. “Give the girl to your cousin to sell in one of the provinces. You can make a small profit on her even with the percentage you must give your cousin. The provinces are not as sophisticated as the City, nor do they have our refined tastes. She will still be beautiful beyond compare, but that will just make her unique there, where here it will cause problems. The Coastal Province would probably be best, for there are so many there who are fair she will not stand out as much. What did you pay for her?”

“Ten thousand gold pieces,” he groaned. “I expected at least thirty for her.”

Gillian laughed. “And you might have gotten it had she not been so perfect, Gaius. But if I understand she only came into your possession a few days ago. You can hardly have expended a great deal on her but for that outrageous gown she wore to the tourney. I am certain you can get at least fifteen for her in the provinces. Your cousin will have heard of what has happened, so offer him not the usual fifteen percent of the girl’s sale, but a full quarter share of the profit. You will at least break even.”

“If she goes to the coast I can ask for a minimum of twenty thousand,” Gaius said almost to himself. “The Coastal Kings are wealthy men. They would pay that or more for Lara. At twenty thousand I should make a profit of at least five thousand. I had the gown made by one of my slave women, and the material was purchased several years ago. It was just lying there in my storerooms waiting. I have actually expended little in this endeavor.” He was beginning to feel better. It was a disappointment, of course, but all was not lost after all.

Gillian laughed. “Gaius, Gaius, trust you to find a bright side in a dark matter. Yes, I think you are right. Have Rolf Fairplay take her to the Coastal Province. It is the perfect place for her.” She drank down the remainder of her wine, and stood up. “You have not been to my house in some time now. You should come again. Your young wife cannot keep you all to herself.”

“I came only to see you, Gillian,” he told her.

“Then come again,” she purred at him smiling. “I have a new girl, Anora.”

“I thought you did not entertain any longer,” he responded, eying her breasts. Gillian had always had the finest bosom.

“I don’t, but for old friends,” Gillian murmured, touching his cheek with her elegant long fingers. “I am glad I was able to help you solve this little problem, Gaius.” She put her hand on the door handle. “My felicitations to the lady Vilia. Good evening.” And then opening the door she glided through it, smiling in amusement at the majordomo, who had had little time to vacate the spot where he had crouched, listening. He ran ahead of her now to open the front door, and she playfully waggled her finger at him as she passed through to her awaiting litter.

Gaius Prospero sat for several long minutes reliving his conversation with the Head Mistress. Silently he chided himself for not seeing the problem with Lara himself, but then he had always been a connoisseur of beautiful things. He simply could not help himself. He bought only the best, as his many clients knew, and Lara was the best. Alas, she was too perfect. He called out for his secretary whom he knew was nearby, for Jonah was always nearby.

“My lord?”

“You heard?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“All of it?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Go the Traders Guild and learn where Rolf Fairplay is. If he is out of the City, find out when he will return.”

“Yes, my lord,” Jonah said.

“Do you think she is too beautiful?” Gaius Prospero asked his secretary.

“What is too beautiful, my lord? I thought your instincts were perfect as always. It is not your fault that the minds of others are narrow and unseeing.”

“Do you always say the right thing, Jonah?” the merchant asked.

“I try, my lord, having you as my example,” came the clever reply.

Gaius Prospero laughed. “One of these days I shall have to free you,” he told Jonah, “but only if you agree to remain with me.”

“You will have to free me eventually if I am to realize my goal in life,” Jonah told his master. “And I have the gold to purchase my freedom now.”

“And what is your goal?” Gaius Prospero asked.

“To be Master of the Merchants, my lord,” was the startling answer.

Gaius Prospero laughed heartily, nodding. “Be patient, Jonah,” he counseled his secretary. “You have the right attitude. Now go and find my cousin.” He waved the man away, and hurried from his library to tell his wife of what had transpired.

Vilia was not pleased. “They are fools! Fools!” she cried. “Now I shall not get my new travel cart, and I had already decided upon the one I wanted.”

“You shall have it, my dear,” her husband promised.

“But I wanted it now,” Vilia said, and she began to sob.

“We shall go tomorrow and purchase it, my love,” he said.

“But can we afford it as you have expended so much coin on that worthless girl? I want the one with the soft leather seats, and the crystal lanterns, and flower vases, Gaius. It is very, very expensive. The wheels are hand-painted and gilded. And I wanted new horses to draw it as well. I saw the prettiest pair of black-and-white animals at the horse yards. But then there was also a golden pair with creamy manes. I just can’t make up my mind. They are very expensive, too.” She pouted prettily at him.

“You may have anything your little heart desires, Vilia,” he promised her. After all, Gaius Prospero thought to himself, he couldn’t have anyone thinking that this unfortunate incident with Lara had weakened him financially. Yes! It was absolutely the right thing to go out tomorrow and purchase Vilia her new travel cart, and a pair of lovely horses to draw it. Kissing his wife he told her to go to bed. “I will join you after I have spoken with Jonah, my love. You will want to thank me for my generosity, I am certain.”

“I do not have my new cart and horses yet, Gaius,” she told him. “Have you not taught me never to pay for what I do not possess?”

“We will consider it a down payment, then,” he chuckled, and left her.

He waited for close to two hours for Jonah, and was about to join his wife when the secretary returned with Gaius’ cousin in tow.

While Gaius Prospero was a round-faced man of medium height and comfortable girth whose very appearance exuded prosperity, Rolf Fairplay was tall and rangy with a long narrow face. But his gray eyes were intelligent and alert. Those eyes now looked directly at the Master of the Merchants Guild.

“How may I serve you, cousin?” Rolf asked.

“Jonah, get my cousin some wine, and then join us,” Gaius said.

“No wine,” Rolf replied, “but I appreciate your hospitality, cousin. I must depart in the morning with my caravan, and I need a clear head, you will understand. This is a long trek I have ahead of me. I’ll be going through the Forest and Desert provinces, crossing into a portion of the Outland, and then heading for the coast before I return to the City. I will be gone for almost a full year. You caught me just in time.”

Gaius nodded. His cousin was probably the best trader of them all. He might have even been their leader, but he had turned the opportunity away, preferring to travel with his caravans the length and breadth of the four provinces. “You have heard of the purchase I recently made? Lara, the daughter of Sir John Swiftsword.”

Rolf Fairplay nodded. “She is to be a Pleasure Woman. A most sound investment, cousin. When is the auction?”

“The owners and the Pleasure Mistresses came last night to view her. They were to place their bids between sunrise and sunset today. The auction was to have been held tonight. But no bids were received, and earlier this evening I was visited by the lady Gillian who told me because of the girl’s beauty, and the dissension it was already causing among the house owners, the Pleasure Mistresses, the Pleasure Women and even their patrons, no bids would be offered me. She has, in her position as Head Mistress of the Pleasure Guilds, forbidden the girl’s sale here in the City. She suggested I consign Lara to you for sale in the Coastal Province.”

“What if I can sell her before I reach the coast? ’Tis the last stop on my trek, cousin. It would be better if I could. If word gets out that I am carrying such a valuable piece of merchandise my caravan could be attacked. If I agree to take her I will need at least six more mercenaries, and you must pay for them.”

“Nay, Rolf, you will pay for them, but if you take her I will pay you a quarter of the profit, and not the usual fifteen percent the traders get. I want twenty thousand in gold for her. She is worth more, but unfortunately the market here is closed to me. Think of it, cousin. Five thousand to you for selling her. She cost me ten. I shall have little profit from it as you can see, but as Gillian has pointed out, it is best to cut my losses as quickly as I can.”

“I want an agreement in writing,” Rolf Fairplay said.

“Of course,” Gaius Prospero agreed. “But remember, twenty thousand, cousin, and you get a quarter share. Less, and you will just get fifteen. An additional ten percent should certainly make it worth your while. Are we agreed then?”

“I’ll get you your twenty thousand, Gaius, possibly more if I can,” his cousin promised. “The Shadow Princes like their women fair and young.”

“Jonah,” his master called, “draw up the agreement.”

“Two copies, Jonah,” Rolf Fairplay said smiling at Gaius Prospero. “When can I have the girl? I want to leave at dawn, and everything else is ready.”

“As soon as we sign the agreement you may take her, cousin. She is a virgin, and I need not tell you that her value is not just in her beauty, but in her innocence as well. See that she remains pure and untouched.”

“Of course, cousin,” Rolf answered. “We want your little investment to bring the highest price for us, and she will—I guarantee it.”

The agreement was a standard contract between the Master of the Merchants Guild and a Taubyl Trader, with the exception of the fee. It took an hour for the secretary to draw up the two identical contracts, but finally the parchments were ready to be signed. Carefully he spread them on his master’s desk and handed Gaius Prospero an inked quill. When both contracts had been signed by both men he sanded their signatures, and rolling up the parchments handed one to each man.

“Go to Tania yourself, and have Lara dressed for transport,” Gaius instructed Jonah. “Tell her briefly what has happened, and see the girl has a small pack of necessities for her travels. Nothing elaborate, mind you,” he warned.

“At once, my lord,” Jonah answered, and hurried out. He reached the north wing, knocked, and was admitted by Tania.

“What has happened?” the woman demanded. “He did not send for Lara for the final auction. It has gotten so late I have put her to bed. She was so nervous I gave her some wine with a bit of poppy in it.”

“There will be no auction. There were no bids for her, and tonight the Head Mistress of the Pleasure Guilds came to tell him she had forbidden the girl’s sale to any in the City. They say she is too beautiful. That after last evening’s display the owners and the Pleasure Mistresses began to quarrel over her. Patrons who had seen her at the tourney were threatening the houses if they were not given the girl’s first-night rights. There was too much dissension being caused, and so the lady Gillian called a halt to the proceedings.” He stopped, waiting for her to say something.

Tania shook her head. “What will happen now?” she asked him.

“He is consigning her to his cousin Rolf Fairplay, the Taubyl Trader. He thinks she is good for one of the Coastal Kings, but Rolf says she will appeal to the Shadow Princes. It matters not, Tania. Awaken the girl. She is being put into the trader’s care tonight. His caravan leaves on the morrow at dawn. The master says you are to give her a small pack for her travels. Nothing elaborate.”

“Go back to him, and say because of the poppy juice she will not awaken for several hours. I will make certain she gets to the caravan before Rolf Fairplay leaves, but I cannot awaken her now.”

Jonah left Tania, who began to prepare for Lara’s departure. She was not surprised when Gaius Prospero angrily entered the room several minutes later. She knelt quickly saying, “Forgive me, master, but the girl was becoming unmanageable. When it grew so late I did what I thought best for all concerned.”

He grimaced. “You are certain you can awaken her in time? I do not want the additional expense of sending her along in a separate transport to catch up with the trader. Are you preparing a pack?”

“Yes, master, and I swear I will get her to the caravan on time!”

“You have recently acquired the habit of getting above your station, Tania,” Gaius Prospero said threateningly. “Attempt to curb this habit, or I will have to send you to the country. I know how much you love it there, Tania.” And he laughed nastily as he left her, knowing that Tania hated his country estate. There she would be forced to do farm labor under the eye of his estate manager, Creager, who was not above putting a woman slave on her back to service him. Gaius Prospero overlooked Creager’s lustful nature because he did his job well. And after all, the women were only slaves.

Tania arose from her knees, resentment burning in her breast. She might be a slave, she thought, but she worked hard and was honest. Well, she thought, for once she would not be quite so honest. She would give Lara more than her master wanted, but he would never know. Gaius Prospero had so many possessions he could not remember half of them. And the poor girl should not be penalized for what had happened. Who knew how long and how far her travels would take her? Tania packed two simple gowns with round necks, full long sleeves and long pleated skirts. One of silk was light blue, the other a mixture of tawny orange wool and silk. She packed four white cotton chemises and two pairs of stockings, one a light wool for cold weather. She wrapped all of these items up tightly so Lara’s pack would not look excessive. She put in the pearwood brush with which she had been brushing Lara’s hair, and a small lacquer box of hairpins. She lay out a plain, dark green gown for her travels, another chemise, stockings, a pair of leather boots and a long veil to cover Lara’s hair. Satisfied, she lay down on her mattress and slept for exactly four hours as she had trained herself to do.

Awakening, Tania arose to fetch a basin of warmed water and a small cloth. Then she drew the silvery curtains around Lara’s sleeping place and shook the girl gently but firmly by the shoulder. Lara stirred sleepily. “Wake up, child!” Tania insisted. “It is almost time for you to go.”

Lara’s green eyes opened slowly. Her wits felt dull, and she could scarcely move. “Go where? Is it time for the auction?” She found herself growing stronger, the mists clearing from her brain as she spoke. “Tell me who has bought me? I hope it isn’t the woman who wanted to see my teeth. I thought her rude.”

“No one has purchased you. Get up, Lara, and bathe quickly. I will tell you all,” Tania said. She poured out a goblet of pomegranate juice from a decanter and shoved it into Lara’s hand. “Drink this! It will help.”

Lara drank down the entire portion. She had been very thirsty. Relieving herself, she washed as quickly as she could. While she did, she listened to Tania’s explanations of what had happened, and what was to happen to her.

“I am to leave the City?” She was astounded, and perhaps a bit afraid.

“It could be worse, child,” Tania said.

“How?” Lara asked. She brushed the fuzz from her teeth and tongue, rinsing with minted water. “How could it possibly be worse?”

“Your father could have failed in his attempt to become a Crusader Knight. Or you might have been bought by one of the cruel owners to be used for the pleasures of depraved men and women. All that has happened is that you are considered too beautiful, and that men and women are already fighting over you. The trader who has you in his care is the master’s distant cousin. His reputation is a good one, and he is a kind man. He will see you come to no harm, Lara, and it is in his best interest to see you fetch the highest price, for the higher your price, the greater his profit. His blood runs as cold as that of Gaius Prospero, and like our master, his only goal is for profit. Come now, and dress. I have laid out your clothing. We must reach the caravan before it departs at dawn.”

Looking outside, Lara realized it was still dark. She pulled the stockings on, the clean white chemise and the dark green gown. Tania then brushed her hair out quickly, braiding it into a single thick plait and pinned on the veil, part of which she drew over Lara’s beautiful face. Then she fitted the short boots onto Lara’s feet, and draped a dark cloak over her shoulders. “Come, we must hurry,” she said, and together the two walked from the north wing to the front door of the house where Jonah was awaiting them with a small transport he would be driving himself.

Climbing into the vehicle, they moved off, hurrying down the narrow private road onto the main avenue of the Golden District, escorted by the six mercenaries on Gaius Prospero’s payroll. Things might not have turned out quite as the Master of the Merchants had expected, but Lara was still very valuable merchandise. When they reached them, the gates were opened without comment, and they drove out into the City. Lara had never been up this early, nor had she ever known the streets to be so empty or so silent. It was a little frightening. They passed by the closed gates to the Quarter, and for a moment she thought that she would cry. She reached for her star pendant, and the tiny flame within flickered as if to give her new courage.

“Master Jonah,” she said politely, “I have nothing to give you but a faerie blessing, but will you tell my father what has happened to me so that he does not worry? Not my stepmother. Susanna would not tell him, for she overprotects him. My father. And tell him I am not unhappy or afraid, for I know I am shielded from harm.” She felt almost guilty telling Gaius Prospero’s secretary that she would give him a faerie blessing. She hadn’t the faintest idea of how one would do that, but she needed his aid, and she had seen he was not a man who did something for nothing.

“A faerie blessing is a valuable gift, young Lara,” the secretary replied. “I am happy to accept it for I need all the luck I can muster if I am to be free one day.”

“You will be,” Lara told him, amazed as the words came from her mouth. Yet she knew them to be the truth. What was happening to her?

“I will tell him, young Lara. I will also tell him he has a daughter to be proud of,” Jonah said. “You are a brave girl, I think.”

“Will you give me a faerie blessing?” Tania asked anxiously.

“I will give you two.” Lara smiled. “You have been more than kind to me.”

“I put the pearwood brush in your pack,” Tania whispered.

“Thank you, and blessings on you, Tania. And you, Jonah.” How odd, Lara thought, at the sight of their suddenly smiling faces. She knew little of her heritage or its customs, but faerie blessings were obviously highly prized. It was a piece of knowledge she would retain.

They reached the Place of the Traders, where Rolf Fairplay’s great caravan was even now preparing to get under way. Jonah jumped down from the cart and sought out his master’s cousin, bringing him back to where Lara and Tania waited. The trader lifted Lara down from the traveling cart and unfastened the veil.

“They are right,” he said softly. “You are beautiful.” Then he refastened the veil. “Keep your face covered when in public, Lara,” he warned her. “I don’t want you stolen away when you can bring my cousin and me such a fine profit.” He turned to Jonah. “I will take her from here,” he said. “Return to your master and say you have delivered the merchandise.”

“Here is her pack, sir,” Tania said, holding it out for him.

“Take your possessions, Lara, and follow me,” Rolf Fairplay said.

“Goodbye,” Lara told Tania and Jonah, and then she hurried after the trader.

He led her to a large covered cart. “You will have several female companions for some of your journey,” he explained as he helped her into the conveyance. Then he was gone.

Lara looked about at the half-dozen sleepy girls. They were silent, and so she remained silent, too. Outside of the cart the sounds of the caravan getting under way could be heard. A flap had been drawn down, but she could see through the crack along the sides of the canvas. Their cart began to move. Lara watched as they exited through the Traders Gate, as was the law for all caravans. She watched for some time as the walls of the City grew smaller and smaller and finally faded from sight. One of the girls began to weep.

“Why are you crying?” Lara asked her gently.

“I have never been a slave before,” the girl sobbed.

“Neither have I,” Lara told her. “Tell me your name. I am Lara.”

“I am Noss.” The girl hiccupped.

“I know who you are!” one of the other females said. “You are the daughter of John Swiftsword. Your father sold you so he might enter the tourney. You are a faerie child,” she said, drawing her cloak around her with a sneer. “I thought you were to be a Pleasure Woman in one of the great Pleasure Houses, and yet here you are in a wagon of common slave women trekking off to who knows where. Why?”

“Like you,” Lara said softly, “I am a slave. Slaves are not given reasons why.”

“Humphh!” the woman replied, but she grew silent.

Lara smiled to herself. The woman was looking for trouble. She could just imagine what she would have said to the explanation that Lara was considered too beautiful to enter a Pleasure House.

“Are you really a faerie child?” Noss whispered. Her soft brown eyes were wide.

“My mother was faerie, but she deserted my father and me when I was only three months of age. While her blood runs in my veins, I know nothing about the faerie kingdom from whence she came. I was raised to be human just like you, Noss.”

“My father was a mercenary, too, but when he was badly injured he could no longer find employment. I was sold so they might live,” she told Lara. “Our hovel was taken from us, and we were homeless. We last lived in a tunnel beneath the City walls, but my mother was violated by some soldiers who found her there. She heard them coming, and hid me. I saw it all, Lara. Afterward she swore me to secrecy, and told my father that she had fallen while he was out begging so we might buy bread.” Noss sighed. “They hoped by selling me they might escape the City, and buy a bit of land to work in the Midlands. I hope they can,” she finished sadly.

“The life of a mercenary is difficult,” Lara agreed. “I hope your parents find a new and better life. My father and stepmother did, and I am glad. My baby brother, Mikhail, will never know what it is like to be a mercenary’s child.”

“What do you think will happen to us?” Noss asked.

“We’re going to be sold to the highest bidder, you stupid little bitch,” the woman who had earlier attempted to quarrel with Lara said. “All of us are a special consignment for the Forest Lords. They have quite an appetite for female flesh, given how many women are sold into the Forest province nowadays. I guess their own women don’t satisfy them,” she said and laughed out loud. “I won’t mind one of those big brutes foraging between my legs, girls. I have heard they are the lustiest men on Hetar.”

“You talk too much, Truda,” another woman remarked. “I have heard the Forest Lords only mate with those of pure Forest blood. If we’re going to be sold to them, it will be as servants who cook, and clean, and sew, and slop the pigs.”

“Don’t tell me any man is true to his wife all the time, Belda,” Truda snapped back sharply. “Men are like dogs, always sniffing at a new tail, and I intend wagging my tail prettily in my new master’s direction. But I don’t suppose Lara is meant for the Forest,” she sneered.

“My master, Gaius Prospero, suggested I be sold in the Coastal Province, but Rolf Fairplay said he thought one of the Shadow Princes might like me,” Lara murmured.

“I’ll wager a Forest Lord would enjoy your favors greatly,” Truda said meanly. “Being a hall whore is quite like being a fancy Pleasure Woman except for the niceties involved,” she said with a chuckle.

“Don’t pay any attention to her,” Belda said. “Truda is angry because her last master’s wife caught her fucking one of the house’s sons, and insisted she be sold. She was a servant in the Garden District.”

“And what about you?” Truda demanded angrily.

“I am no better than I ought to be,” Belda laughed. “My husband sold me to pay his debts. Debts he ran up with another woman. But then, I was in bed with his brother when we were caught, and I was condemned to slavery by the courts.”

“Was your husband not condemned too for his lechery?” Lara asked.

“Nay, the law considers it a man’s right to have any woman he desires,” Belda said. “Do you not know this?”

“I lived in the Quarter my entire life,” Lara answered. “I suppose I was sheltered. My grandmother raised me, and after she died and Da remarried, my stepmother, Susanna did. We were friends, but we never spoke on things such as these.”

“It is a hard world in which we live, Lara, daughter of Swiftsword,” Belda said.

They were silent again for the rest of the morning. When the sun had reached its zenith the caravan stopped briefly. They were herded from their wagon, fed bread and water, sent into the bushes to relieve themselves and then returned to the wagon. Their trek began again. Finally at dusk they stopped once more. Mercenary guards were posted about the encampment. A fire was built and food cooked. The women were each given half a trencher filled with a rabbit stew, and a wineskin was handed them to share, but Truda drank the most of it, growing more belligerent by the minute. When she attempted to attack her companions physically, Rolf Fairplay had her strung up naked between two trees. Then he strapped the woman’s bottom until it was red and welted while the entire camp looked on as Truda shrieked more with outrage than pain.

“I’ll not have my merchandise damaged, woman,” he growled in her face as she hung there between the trees. “Do you understand me?” Then cutting her down, he shoved her toward a group of mercenaries. “She’s yours for the night. I want no bruises on her in the morning. She’s one of the Forest consignment.” He walked away.

“What will they do to her?” Noss whispered fearfully.

“Fuck the ears off of her,” Belda laughed. “Serves her right, the bitch. That’ll sober her up quick enough. Come along now, girls. It’s time for us to get our beauty rest.” And she cackled once again as they walked back to the wagon. Inside there were thin mattresses that were rolled up. “Rolf Fairplay told me earlier that Lara and Noss are to sleep in the wagon. The rest of us will spread our mattresses beneath it for protection from any rain in the night.”

“I am happy to sleep out of doors,” Lara said, not wanting to appear as if she were privileged. She smiled at the other women with them. They were Adda, Wilda and Jael.

“Nay,” Belda said quietly. “You are to be in the wagon, for we all know you are the most valuable among us by far. And Noss is the youngest, and still frightened. Without Truda complaining and causing dissension we will have a good night.”

The mattresses were spread out, and Lara climbed into the wagon with young Noss to spread theirs. “How old are you?” she asked Noss.

“Twelve,” Noss replied. “How old are you?”

“I am just fifteen,” Lara told her. “My mother mated with my father one Midsummer’s Eve, and I was born with the next spring.” She smiled, laying down next to the girl, and drawing up the coverlet they had been given over the both of them.

“I am so afraid,” Noss whispered to Lara.

“Then I must give you a faerie blessing to take away your fears, Noss. Go to sleep. I am by your side, and come the morning you will no longer be afraid.”

“Really?” Noss quavered.

“Truly,” Lara said, putting a comforting arm about the younger girl, and soon Noss was sleeping peacefully. Lara, however, lay awake for some time considering how quickly everything had changed in her life. Three nights ago she slept in her father’s new home in the Garden District. Two nights ago she stood displayed for sale to the powerful of the City. Last night she waited to learn her golden fate. And tonight she lay on a thin mattress, in the bottom of a wooden wagon, with absolutely no idea of what was to happen next. She sighed, and picked up the pendant between her two fingers. What is happening? she asked silently.

Everything, the voice replied as silently.

But where am I going? Lara demanded.

Straight ahead, the voice answered, and then the flame flickered bright for a moment, and died back.

Lara closed her eyes and slept. There was nothing else to do.