Heir, page 14
part #5 of Ressaline Series
“I wouldn’t say it happens half the time, but it happens often enough that the woman on the top becomes overwhelmed more quickly. If the woman who is tied can hold out, then she can still win. Some women are actually exceedingly good at winning that way. But we institute rules so that the events aren’t all identical, so there tends to be variety. And, of course, some people attend for the sporting nature, and they specifically choose events that are better competitions.”
“I think I understand. So, you pick an event you’re very good at.”
“Yes. I can still lose, but I win far more than I lose. And then I have a two-week pleasure slave.”
“What about her duties?”
“She should have made arrangements. This is a portion of our culture, and many women consider being a pleasure slave a form of holiday. Of course, shorter duration events are much more common. I accept overnight invitations from nearly anyone who asks, and up to three days from my friends, subject to my duties. I haven’t lost in the monthly event, although I’ve given up two weeks to friends, although not often. But I belong to someone for a night with regularity.”
“What do you mean by ‘with regularity’?”
“I’m not sure. It depends on how busy I am, maybe once a month. It can go in spurts.”
“And you own someone a similar amount?”
“Probably twice as often.”
“Will you do that while you have me?”
“No. It’s illegal for me to accept challenges while I am hosting someone’s First. I have a responsibility to her, and losing myself so I can’t see to her would be irresponsible.” She kissed my forehead. “Confining myself to a single pleasure slave is a great burden.”
I laughed. “I imagine.” I opened my eyes and looked up at her, then lifted a hand and stroked her hair. “Would you let me brush it?”
“Yes. I love having my hair brushed.” She gave a laugh. “I have lured more than one woman with this hair.”
“I imagine you have,” I agreed. “Am I supposed to let you go now, or can we be indulgent and stay like this?”
“We may remain indulgent until someone retrieves us, or Olivia brings someone else in for you to charm.”
“I didn’t think I was being that charming.”
“I have a lap full of warm princess,” she said. “That is quite charming indeed.”
“Is that why I’m welcome in your lap? My title?”
“No. You’re welcome in my lap because you’re a woman considering her First. Your title is irrelevant.”
* * * *
We stayed like that until Bee and Dee came to retrieve us for dinner. They pulled me to my feet, but then I turned to Lisolte, and we hugged tightly. I liked her. I liked her looks, and I liked her soft touch. I liked her intellect, and her smile, and have I mentioned her fabulous hair.
“I want a date,” I whispered to her.
“Let’s see who wins you this evening, but I may call on you tomorrow with an offer.”
“I’d like that.”
Then Bee and Dee separated us for dinner.
* * * *
I danced. My first dance was with Gionna, the second with Olivia, and the third with Allium. But then Bee was there, giggling as she pulled me onto the floor. I closed my eyes and let her lead.
“Dee and I love dancing with the Flarvorian women,” she said.
“Is there a particular reason?”
“You let us lead.”
“You are a good representative for your country, Bee,” I said. “A good diplomat. It feels nice dancing with you.”
“Lady Olivia calls it dance diplomacy.”
“Relationships between countries are often about trade and treaties and border disagreements,” I said. “But it is also about the relationships the individual members of each country have with the members of the other. Dance diplomacy wouldn’t compensate for bad policies, but barring disputes, it does bring us closer.”
“I’m glad,” she said. She giggled. “I love dance diplomacy.”
We danced for a minute longer, then she said, “Will you be a hunter tonight?”
“I think I will be prey. I have never played.”
“Dee and I will work together,” she said.
“I’ve heard.”
The song ended, and then Gigi was there. Bee relinquished me, so I didn’t get a chance to ask why she’d brought that up.
I danced with, oh, not remotely everyone in the room, but with anyone who asked, and I had a lovely time.
But then the music ended, and Lady Olivia gathered attention. Bee and Dee rolled a cart in, and there were a variety of scarves upon it. Gretchena stepped to my side. “This is the start of the hunter and prey game. Do you know how it starts?”
“No. No one explained that part.”
“Watch for a moment.” Several women stepped forward and selected one of the scarves. I watched as one woman turned and presented her scarf to a woman just before she could reach for her own. The woman laughed, took the scarf, and then tied it over the eyes of the other.
Gretchena watched me. “The person you give the scarf to decides whose eyes are covered, but you can express an opinion.” And then she left my side, weaving between the others, and collected a black scarf. I watched to see who she would give it to, and was somewhat surprised when she took an oblique path to me, then held it to me.
“Gretchena.”
“Don’t worry. It’s very rare that you continue to belong to the woman you begin with. That wouldn’t be any fun.”
“You know you’re offering to be a hunter.”
“That may not last long,” she said. “Or maybe it will. I have my eye on some of Allium’s staff.”
I pushed the cloth into her hands and turned my back on her. “Would you tie it for me, Gretchena?”
She did, and then I used my hands to adjust it so I couldn’t see. She stepped around me before taking me into her arms. “I’ve been a hunter when it’s younger people, but never in a setting like this.”
“Will you tell me what is happening?”
“Not every woman offered a scarf,” she said. “It is a risk, after all, as you can be made prey. We have twice as many hunters as prey.”
“Let us begin,” Olivia called out. The music began, and then Gretchena and I were dancing. It felt nice, and I relaxed.
“What happens with the spare hunters?”
“Some are trying to steal prey,” she said. “Some are trying to convert hunters. A few are simply dancing with each other. Claary is dancing with Olivia. Bee and Dee are dancing together. Mother just stole Allium from Colonel Bess.” She laughed. “Two women are trying to convert Judge Jessla to prey. She’ll outsmart them, although they’ve temporarily caught her.”
“I don’t understand.”
“One dances like you and I are,” she said. “The other presses against her back. If they keep her long enough, they can blindfold her. I don’t know her well enough to know how she’d feel about it.”
We got two full songs before she said, “I’m about to lose you.” It was two measures later that I felt a presence behind me, and then arms wrapped around me. Three of us danced together for several measures, before the person behind me did… something… and I lost touch with Gretchena. My new hunter turned me, and I found myself in her arms.
“Who?” I whispered.
“Olivia,” she replied. “Gretchena didn’t struggle very hard when I handed her to another hunter.”
“Is that how she lost me?”
“This time, yes.”
“Is she being converted?”
“I guess we’ll see,” she said. “But you’re going to stop worrying about that and enjoy your dance with me, Ahlianna.”
So I did.
“I like dancing with you.”
“I enjoy this as well.”
“Am I to become yours for the evening?”
“We’ll see. I intend to keep you, but perhaps someone will skillfully separate us.”
“Would they dare?”
She laughed. “The biggest risk here are my own slaves, and I forbid them tonight. They can steal from anyone else they want, however.”
“Afraid of them?”
“Not afraid,” she said. “But the little vixens have gotten quite good. Like as not, if they stole you from me, they would then hand you to someone else then turn on me. Individually, I’m better than either of them, but together, they would have me blindfolded fairly easily.”
I laughed. “And I wouldn’t get to watch.”
“No, you wouldn’t,” she said.
We had another song, and then I heard a squeal of outrage followed by laughter. “Was that Gionna?”
Olivia chuckled. “It was. Allium did something I wouldn’t have expected.”
“I thought Allium was prey.”
“She was. She did something that is normally very difficult. She… hmm. She momentarily took the lead from Gionna, which by itself isn’t difficult, but then she turned and gave Gionna to Bee and Dee.”
I laughed. “Why is that difficult?”
“They were dancing together, and she basically led Gionna into the space between them. As they were dancing even closer than you and I are, you can imagine.”
“They let her do it.”
“Of course. But her aim was impeccable, which is tricky given that she was blindfolded. The squeal, however, was when Allium draped her blindfold over Gionna’s shoulder. And now Bee is tying it.”
“Will they keep her?”
“Unless they trade her, yes. Oh, this is going to be interesting.”
I felt arms wrap along mine, and then we were three, Olivia directly leading me, and thus leading two of us. “Hello, Princess.”
“Ambassador,” I said.
“You don’t think I’m going to just give her to you, do you, Allium?” Olivia asked.
“Where would the fun of that be?”
“You made a strategic mistake. You have until the end of this song. If you do not win by then or give up, you will be wearing a fresh blindfold. You should have waited until the start of a new song.”
“I have time.”
And then the two of them fought over me a little. I was to respond to whoever was leading me, and so Allium managed to half peel me from Olivia, but then Olivia turned a circle herself, so it was Allium leading for a moment, but that lasted only two measures before I realized it was Olivia leading us again.
Allium tried a few other things. Olivia let her try, but then countered them.
And then I thought she left me entirely, but after only a moment, I felt myself wrapped around Allium, with my hands in Olivia’s. I pressed to Allium’s back, feeling the lead through her.
And the song ended.
“Be a darling, Ahlianna. Tie your scarf around Allium’s eyes and fetch- Ah, nevermind.”
“For you, Allium.” I heard Dee’s voice and chuckled.
The next song began. Allium tied the scarf, and then I checked it with my hands before the three of us were dancing.
“Will you keep both of us?”
“If no one tries to steal one of you, but protecting both of you is much more difficult than one. We are not as graceful, so we are easier to predict, and my touch of one of you is far less than my touch of the other. I’ll keep you if no one tries to steal you.”
We remained three for the entire song, Olivia frequently switching who she most closely led. It was… an unusual experience, but I found myself lost to it, my body listening for the clues of what to do. “This is nice,” I said during the break. “I like this game.”
“We wouldn’t play it as often as we do,” Olivia said, “But Allium practically begs.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” Allium said. “I love it.”
The next song began. Olivia began us moving, and then said, “That was a risky maneuver you did.”
“Don’t be fooled. Dee signaled me.”
Olivia laughed. “I wondered.”
“I didn’t think I’d stay free very long,” she continued. “To some extent, I wanted you to see why I’m better prey than a hunter. I’d rather be prey, Olivia.”
“I know.”
“I don’t have anything to prove to anyone here. I wish you’d drop it.”
“You shouldn’t be prey at your own events.”
“And we’ve talked about that,” Allium said. “Forget I said anything. Let’s just dance.”
I kissed her shoulder from behind. She offered a little sigh, and we danced. Olivia kept Allium in the middle of us, but I enjoyed pressing against her back.
And then I felt a new presence, a touch, and someone stepping behind me, moving with us so we were four. She moved closer until she was wrapped around me. When she guided my hands from Allium, I resisted for a moment, but Olivia said, “Let her lead, Ahlianna.”
I nodded, and the woman led my hands from Allium, and then I lost her entirely, and I found myself swaying side to side for a moment before the woman turned me into her arms. We pressed together, and I whispered, “Who?”
“Holliahta,” she whispered back. “Please don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind,” I said. “We haven’t danced tonight.”
“My daughter would have enjoyed keeping you,” she said. “I believe that will be my luck, unless you ask me to give you away.”
“No,” I said.
We danced, and then she said, “This will be the final song.”
“How can you tell?”
“Tradition. This song. It is called, Last Stand. It is actually from a Charthan opera. It is a war being told through a ballroom dance. I’ve never seen it performed. I probably never will.”
“Why is that?”
“Those types of performing arts have been lost to us. I have two regrets for what happened to Charthan. I regret this city is not as vibrant as it once was, and I regret the loss of their arts.”
“I have seen this opera,” I said. “Mother brought me about five years ago. Holliahta, if you ever wish to see it, I can arrange it.”
“You can?”
“I am the Crown Princess of Flarvor,” I said. “And if that is not enough, my Mother is queen. I need only ask, and one of the opera companies in Barrish would add this performance to their season calendar. It is planned out, so I would need as long as a year’s warning you were coming.”
I gave a little laugh. “If I use my influence, they may ask me to perform, and I would be obligated. It is how I pay them.”
“You are a professional singer of opera?”
“Heavens, no. I have a terrible singing voice. They would give me one of the less palatable roles. The entire town would come out to see me, but they would let me sit in the audience for a show.” I laughed again. “But not one Mother attended.”
“She should get a chance to see her own daughter.”
“Yes, dressed as a street urchin, perhaps. I might ask Mother to use her influence. They wouldn’t ask her to perform, but she could still volunteer me.”
“It sounds like you’ve done this before.”
“Only once,” I said. “It was a show I had heard about. I thought they were kidding when they invited me to perform. I was younger, and Mother was there, and she told me of the tradition.”
“Did she set you up?”
“I think she thought I already knew.”
“You hated it?”
“No. It’s been years, and it’s a lovely, lovely performance. I’m surprised it hasn’t come up on the calendar again, but perhaps they’re waiting until I ask again. Everyone knows I love it.”
“Were you good?”
“The press enjoyed teasing me,” I said. “And Darfelsa enjoyed when Mother read the reviews to her.”
“This was some years ago.”
“Yes. I was eight, so ten years. Yes, I think I am going to ask about it when I get home.”
That was when the song came to an end. With the lingering echoes, I clung to Holliahta. “I am yours,” I whispered.
“You are.”
“Tell me some of the others?”
“Allium remained Olivia’s,” she said. “My daughter is smiling broadly as Bee and Dee are walking her from the room.”
“Gionna?”
She laughed. “Gionna remains blindfolded, and she’s being led away by two members of the embassy. I’m sorry; I don't know their names. Claary and Gigi each have someone from the embassy. I think Claary has Renalla. Gigi has Viella.”
And then she was leading me from the room. We walked through the corridors for a minute before she looked into a room. “All ours, although it may not remain that way.” I could smell the books.
“The library?”
“Yes,” she said. She brought me to a sofa, and we cuddled. “Ahlianna, I have never kissed someone who didn’t want my kisses. I know what you said to Olivia.”
I lifted my chin. “I believe I should experience the entire game, Holliahta, unless you do not want to.”
“I definitely want to,” she said in a dreamy voice. And then I felt fingers on my cheek, and a moment later, lips over mine.
It was a sweet kiss with some promise of passion, but contained. I stayed where I was, and then our second kiss was much, much warmer, and it left me somewhat lost, happily lost. I sighed and cuddled into her. “You are a glassmaker.”
“Yes, the only glassmaker in Charth.”
“How did that come to be?”
“When the country was secured, Lady Olivia began releasing us from service. Some of us took a slave or two back to Ressaline City. Many stayed to take up farming. And, of course, some stayed here. I was one of two glassmakers who remained.”
“What happened to her?”
“This happened over time. I found the other glassmakers here, and then I began to acquire them. She did the same. This is a better way than to take, say, the daughter of an innkeeper and teach her to make glass. I won a few through challenges. One came to me and offered herself to me. I bought one, and I traded for two others.”
“There were so many?”
“Well, they had daughters as well.”
“Children?”
“A few were at the time, but they’re adults now.”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about the conversation. “What happened to the other woman?”
