Fostering Faust 2, page 2
part #2 of Fostering Faust Series
“Damn. I was really enjoying petting you while helping you with your letters,” Alex said honestly.
Nannie glared at him and then bared her teeth, clearly getting ready to yell at him. Then she rolled her eyes with a snort and grimaced.
“You can try again later. Come on, maybe we can get her to blow you so you’ll go easy on me later,” Nannie said, getting up from her chair.
“True. Having my hands on you did get me worked up,” Alex admitted.
Nannie’s brows drew down. Then her eyes flicked to his pants, where there was an obvious tell-tale bulge.
“Shit. I thought you were teasing me,” Nannie said, a strange smile on her face.
Alex sighed and pushed on her shoulder. “Go on. I’ll feed you compliments later. Clearly you need a lot more to believe you’re attractive.”
“I know I’m good looking. I just thought the whole murderess thing…” Nannie said, moving to the door. She opened it and stepped into the hallway, looking both ways, then waved him on.
“Would what, take away from that? Yeah, you’re a murderer. You’ve got some problems in your head and clearly a desire for violence,” Alex said, walking behind her. “That doesn’t change that I want to bury it between your legs and watch you moan under me for it.”
Falling silent, Nannie went into bodyguard mode. She kept him moving, heading for the room Sylvia inhabited.
The only time she looked away from watching the halls, doors, and people was to point at the door she thought Sylvia was behind.
Once Alex had confirmed it, she knocked twice on the door, waited a beat, then opened it.
After walking into the room behind Nannie, Alex pulled the door shut.
Sylvia was sitting on the corner of her bed, her arms folded across her chest. Her dark-blond hair was arranged behind her shoulders and back, looking like she’d braided it. Her blue eyes were much warmer than Nannie’s, but they held a similar predatory look.
All in all, she looked exactly as he remembered seeing her last. Which meant nothing physically wrong had happened to her.
“Good afternoon, Sylvia,” Alex said, moving to the table and sitting down. There were several books on it that Sylvia had left behind during her last stay. “This is Five. Five, this is Sylvia.”
Nannie grunted at the other woman, her right hand resting on the sword pommel belted at her side.
“There’s no need for that, Five. I’m operating under much of the same oaths you are, I bet. In fact, my number was supposed to be Four,” Sylvia said, eying the other woman.
“Huh?” Nannie looked to Alex.
“She was very close to being a Numbered. In the end, she didn’t make the cut,” Alex said with a shrug.
After watching him for another second, Nannie chuckled at that and released her sword. Then she came and joined Alex at the table.
“I beg your pardon?” Sylvia asked.
“You didn’t hit all the requirements. In the end, you really didn’t have anything I wanted to keep long term.
“So I cut you loose,” Alex said.
“And that fits?” Sylvia said, pointing at Nannie.
“Five? She fits. Definitely.” Alex reached over to lay a hand on the berserker’s forearm before she could react. “She’s a fierce and loyal bodyguard. She does all that I ask of her. She betters herself endlessly.
“She’s my Five.”
Alex had gotten a hold of Five just in time. The look on her face had been going straight toward rage.
And it cooled instantly at his words.
She snorted and flicked a hand at Sylvia, turning to the table. “You’re not worth my time.”
Picking up the books that were lying there, she started to pick through their title pages.
Good for her. I’m sure she’ll be able to recognize some words in those, and it’ll help.
Sylvia sniffed once, looking at Alex.
“She’s much more uncivilized than the other one,” she said.
“Uh huh. What can I do for you, Sylvia?” Alex asked.
Sylvia’s face was the noble mask he’d come to expect from her.
Pretty, cold, calculated, and hoping to deflect everything.
“I’d like a deal,” she said finally.
“Oh? I’m not sure I’m in the mood to offer one. I’d be willing to hear you out, though. First… I want to know…
“I released you from some of your oaths to me. Have you broken any of them since then?” Alex asked. “And I call on your oath pin to speak the truth.”
Sylvia inhaled sharply, her mouth thinning. “You released me from them.”
“I did, but I want to know. Did you violate or break any oaths after that? On your pin, please.”
Sylvia looked away from him and pressed her fingers to her pin.
“I violated an oath I gave to you,” Sylvia said, still not meeting his eyes.
“Which one?”
“It only happened once. To be celibate.”
“Ah… that’s a pity. Who was it with?”
“No one,” Sylvia said, her voice tightening.
“No one?” Nannie looked over her shoulder. “Rubbed one out, did ya? I wish I could. I’ve had an itch I’m not allowed to scratch for a month or two now.
“Making me crazy. Especially with how touchy-feely Master is.”
Alex nodded slowly.
“Is that true? You took care of yourself?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Out of sheer curiosity, why?” Alex asked.
I might as well push a little. After this we can start asking about what she wants.
“Because I was… randy. Ok? I had desires.”
“Who doesn’t?” Alex shrugged. “Al—”
“Who’d you fantasize about?” Nannie turned partially in her chair to interrupt Alex.
Sylvia’s jaw flexed and tightened, as if she didn’t want to speak.
“Alex,” Sylvia said.
Oh. Well, that’s interesting.
Chapter 2
“It was Alex—happy now?” Sylvia growled, fingers pressed to her pin. “Can I ask for that deal now? Or have you not humiliated me enough?”
“Yeah, you can let your pin go, Sylvia,” Alex said, prodding Nannie in the side when it seemed like she might say something more.
The murderess looked like she indeed wanted to say or do more, but Alex’s gaze apparently stopped her.
Shrugging her shoulders, she picked up the book she had chosen and started in on it again.
Sylvia put her hands in her lap. She looked rather angry at the moment, and Alex couldn’t quite blame her.
She’d been forced to admit something no one would ever want to.
Especially since I had her completely in my control.
Or is that part of the reason?
She didn’t win the game. I just forfeited and walked away. As if she wasn’t worth beating.
And just a bit ago, I said she wasn’t worth keeping.
That’s her big thing. Playing games. Fighting.
Winning.
By winning, she lost. Because she won in a way that had everything to do with her being unworthy.
Alex smiled and gestured to Sylvia with one hand. Keeping his other hand on Nannie’s forearm, he leaned in closer to Nannie, till he was leaning against her.
So let’s press some more of her buttons.
Nannie gave him an odd look for a second, then went back to her book. She was clearly very determined to master reading and writing.
Sylvia wasn’t in control of her emotions right now, the annoyance at his actions clear on her face.
“I want a deal,” she said once again.
“Ok. What do you want; what are you offering?”
“I’m willing to give you back everything you had from me last time,” Sylvia said. “In addition to that, I’m willing to get in your bed twice a week.”
Alex raised his eyebrows at that. “Let’s first talk about what you want, before any type of price.”
Sylvia grimaced and pressed a hand to her temple. “I made a mistake. I got into a business deal I couldn’t actually make work in the end. It completely fell through, and they’re looking to blame someone.
“If I can’t… if I can’t get you to intervene and work this from the other side, they’re going to figure out it was me.”
“Ok… Why couldn’t you finish the deal, and how can I help?”
“I couldn’t finish the deal because it would have worked directly against the county of Brit. They wanted to smuggle goods in and out. Enough goods that I knew for a fact it would slow down the economic gains the merchant class has been making with your recent changes.
“And I couldn’t do that,” Sylvia said, looking down at her hands. “You technically released me from all your oaths other than to not betray you personally.
“But I didn’t want to do that to Brit. So I couldn’t.”
Alex nodded once. “And I can fix this by simply making up a fake resource to expose their plan, without you catching the blame.
“I’m surprised they were willing to get into the deal with you, considering you were pretty much labeled as my concubine.”
Sylvia shrugged. “They knew about it but seemed to think nothing of it. That neither of us had any loyalty to the other.
“Honestly, at the time, I didn’t think I did, either. Then I suddenly did when it came time. And I… didn’t do my part. They got caught.”
Alex turned his thoughts inward, and hoped his goddess was listening. This would be a great time to have her insight.
I wonder if her soul would have been taken. Would she have broken her oath technically?
No.
Did she think it was going to break her oath?
No.
Thanks. Your husband is a very lucky man.
Have I mentioned you looked lovely in red and black? Are those his colors? You wore them very well.
Thank you. Do you really think so?
They’re his… colors. Yes. Yes.
I’ll make sure he knows you told me that.
“Ok… so you’re basically asking me to set up a fake resource that would have outed the operation, or to burn a resource if I can’t fake something. Something along those lines. That about right?” Alex asked.
Sylvia nodded.
“Except that’s not all, is it? This isn’t something you’d normally get invested in. I get the impression you were trading mostly in secrets and information before this,” Alex said.
Sylvia’s chin sank down toward her chest. She didn’t respond.
“And you’re probably drowning under debt since a lot of your assets were tied up in whatever info you had at your fingertips. Or whomever, I suppose.
“You thought when it all ended you could just go back out there and resume where you left off.”
Sylvia nodded ever so slightly.
“You thought you could get back into the game. And they locked you out.”
Again, Sylvia nodded just a little.
“How bad is it?”
“I don’t see how that has any relevance to this. I just need you to help with this bit,” Sylvia said.
“It’s relevant because this’ll happen again. And I might not be able to get involved soon enough,” Alex said.
Can I use her? She might be valuable. I don’t really have any connections to the underworld here—who’s who and what’s going on.
Valeria and her people are more for noble intrigue. Not for what’s happening at the ground level.
“Do you know who Riley was? She’s my personal maid now. Goes by One,” Alex said, changing the subject in another direction.
“Riley? Your One? Yes. Everyone knows her now since you elevated her.
“She ran a gambling ring. It was all on the up-and-up. She paid the right people, and her clientele list was all well-to-do middle class.
“She ran afoul of an independent gang who wanted money and other things from her. They ratted her out and took her business,” Sylvia explained. “I might be out of the game, as you said, but I still have my sources. I know who’s who.
“I just can’t get to the stuff that pays well anymore.”
“Alright. I can do this. But it’s going to cost you,” Alex said honestly.
Sylvia sighed and pressed her hands to her face.
“Are you going to make me warm your bed every night?” Sylvia asked.
“No. I mean, have you seen Five here? Look at her. With just a bit more polish and a little longer hair, she’d give even you a run for your money,” Alex said, reaching up and touching a fingertip to Nannie’s temple.
“My price is as follows. All your previous oaths will become active again. You will be my Four.
“The new parts to your deal will be that you spend one night a week in my bed, and one night a week on your knees for me. You’ll also be given Mother’s Bane after every coupling and be expected to take it.
“Additionally, you’ll be my master of the underworld. I want you to know everything that’s going on in my counties, baronies, and cities. I’m going to put people under you to help you do your job as well.
“You’ll have a private room with the rest of the Numbered and receive all the same benefits they do. Your house will remain yours along with your accounts, assets, and people, of course. Everything of you—what is Sylvia—is mine. And is now Four.”
The young noblewoman didn’t move or breathe. She sat on the edge of her bed, with her hands pressed to her face.
“Alex, you’re not even giving me a little wriggle room here. Wasn’t this a game between us? Weren’t we playing with one another?” Sylvia asked, looking up to him.
“We were. It was fun for a time. But in the end, I had taken everything from you and there was little left. I could have had all I wanted if I just… pushed a little harder. We both knew that,” Alex said as gently as he could.
Sylvia’s eyes were locked on him. She didn’t argue with his assessment.
“And the game was over for me. So I let you go. This time, I don’t want to play a game. I want you, Sylvia. I want all of you to myself. I’m doing this at all because I care for your well-being. Normally I don’t allow others to dictate deals,” Alex said.
Her head marginally went up and down. Agreeing again.
“I’ll have you, Sylvia. All of you. Or you can see how you fare out there without my aid, in a situation you created without my involvement,” Alex said. “You of course can say no, and I’ll do nothing against you. I won’t even act on the information you gave me about the problem in asking for help.
“It’ll be as if you never came here. You can agree, or go back to where you were without any changes from me or mine. And I’ll swear on Leah’s name to that.”
Nannie put her book down and watched Sylvia over her shoulder.
Sylvia shuddered, then put her face back into her hands.
Looking to Nannie, Alex gave her a smile.
“We still on for dinner tonight?” he asked as softly as he could.
“What? You still want to go with me?” Nannie whispered back.
“Of course. How else am I supposed to get you into my bed tonight by your own volition?” Alex asked, grinning at her.
“But… you could break her in instead. She’s a lot better—” Nannie stopped talking when Alex moved forward, pressing his forehead to hers.
“Five… will you go to dinner with me or not?”
“Yes, Master. I will,” Nannie murmured.
Alex nodded and sat back down in his seat. Sylvia was still gathering her thoughts.
“Alright… I’ll agree to that price. But I want you to pay me for my work. I’m worth it.
“So I’d like to talk salary,” Sylvia said, letting her hands down. Tears were running down her face, but she smiled at him nonetheless. Her eyes moved to Nannie for a second, then back to him.
Always a salary. Though I wonder just how close she came to getting killed. She seems far more relieved than I expected.
Nannie must have picked up on the unspoken cue, because she closed the book and set it down on the table.
“I’m going to go check on the grub. I’ll be back,” she said. Leaving quickly, she closed the door behind herself.
“I didn’t expect that from her,” Sylvia said.
“What, giving you some room? She’s a Numbered, just like you are now, Four. Numbered have to stick together because… well… there’s only five of you. And you’re all in my thrall,” Alex said. “Now, salary?”
Sylvia wiped at her eyes with her fingers. “What are you paying your spymaster? The pretty one.”
“Twenty gold a year for her position,” Alex said immediately. “Would that be agreeable to you?”
Sylvia sniffed, then chuckled darkly. “I want thirty. I’ll be so dedicated to you, it’ll make the others try harder. I’ll be your bar to hold the others to. And if I’m not, I’ll spend five days either in your bed or on my knees a week.”
“That’s a deal,” Alex said immediately. “Get yourself situated, Four. I’ll have your collars and tags dropped off tonight. Be sure to introduce yourself appropriately to Anna as a Numbered.”
Alex felt the deal lock into place.
Sylvia was his from top to bottom.
There was a sharp rap at the door, then Nannie stuck her head in.
“Master, I think you need to go to the courtyard. Something’s happening there,” Nannie said. “I saw Walter talking with someone and there’s a bunch of guards going around in every direction through the keep. I think they might be looking for you.”
Alex frowned, suddenly feeling a bit sick with anxiety.
Too much change at once. It’s like it all comes crashing down at the same time.
“Alright, lead the way, Five,” Alex said, getting up and going to the door.
He was in the courtyard before he realized Sylvia was trailing along close at his right side. Giving her an even look, he wasn’t quite sure how to take it.
“What? I’m yours, aren’t I? I should learn my position as quickly as possible,” Sylvia said, her mask back in place as if it had never slipped.
Alex shrugged, not about to argue with it. If she wanted to jump in on day one, he wasn’t going to say no.
Unfortunately, whatever had been going on here was already retreating to his receiving hall, as it were. The edge of a mass of people were moving through the wide entry doors.
