Immunity, page 15
“Impossible, I am bound in this bench.”
“I should spank you.”
“Possibly, but not like this.”
Otter spoke rapid Persian. Rhosani sighed and said, “She has asked me not to interfere with your therapy. This is therapy?”
“Yes, and if you spank me like this, you’ll ruin the chance I’ll forgive you for that first day.”
Her eyes widened, then she smiled. “But if I spank you?”
“Not while I’m tied to this thing.”
“Very good. Release her, Otter.”
My friend did, and then we both knelt to the Khaleesi. “Am I to be spanked?”
Rhosani sighed dramatically. “I think you might like it.”
“Only if you do it right.”
“You are trouble.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t have kept me then. What did I do?”
“Half the servants have asked to become harem girls. They did not, however, use the word you’re fond of. Oh, get up.” We both rose. Rhosani didn’t look particularly annoyed.
“I’m not deciding this,” I said. “Glisten, we need you.” She stepped forward. I turned to her. “There is a rule. My friends first. Do you understand?”
“Friends first.”
“You manage this. Rhosani, explain it to her.”
The two spoke. Around us, the other women smiled, some giggling. And then Glisten said, “Real harem girls?”
“Real harem girls.”
“Who picks?”
“You and Light Touch together.”
She turned to me. “This is about story time.”
“Friends first.”
She nodded. “Friends first. Story time?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t want to teach that many?”
“I can’t, not yet. But I have ideas to teach more. They will take time.”
“How much time?”
“It depends on when the Khaleesi gets me everything I asked for.”
“I’m working on it.”
“A year?”
“A few weeks.”
“In a few weeks, you can teach more?”
“No. In a few weeks, more of you will help me teach.”
“Bring Light Touch,” Glisten said. “Let us talk to her alone.”
“She’s outside.”
Rhosani left, sending Light Touch in. Glisten led all of us to one of the large seating areas, and we got settled, all of us cuddled a little bit. They spoke Persian for a while.
“Snow Dove does not make these decisions,” Glisten then said in Elvish. “You and I do.”
“Yes,” Light Touch agreed.
“Four. Sweet. And…” She tapped her head and said something in Persian.
“Smart?” I offered.
“Means can learn?”
“Yes.”
“Say again.”
I taught them the word. Then I said, “I think Light Touch should come for lessons.” They talked further and came to some sort of agreement.
Glisten turned to me. “Read poetry until the others arrive.”
“Very good.”
We cuddled together. Otter asked me to read the tickling one again. They giggled for it. I read one more, and then the doors opened.
Light Touch returned with Spring Giggle, Wistful, and Silk. We all got up and swarmed all four. There was much giggling as the women were undressed and redressed as harem girls, including Light Touch. Then Glisten said, “Please read one more poem first, a new one.”
“Short or long?”
“Your favorite that you haven’t read to us yet.”
“Long, then.”
* * * *
The harem was full, but the new women were sweet. Everyone was a willing student, and I was happy to be teaching again.
A lot happened over the course of the next week. I brought on my students, and they began learning.
And the elves took advantage of the expanded harem. None of the new harem girls seemed to mind, going off with this elf or that one. I worried they would spend more time away than learning, but Rhosani headed off my fear before I could even address it, and then she added, “You have abdicated a certain amount of authority. Let Soft Touch and Glisten manage this. You teach.”
I agreed with her, and so that was what I focused on.
Rhosani found slates for us and provided a table, kept near the punishment bench, to leave our supplies. Two days later, she began delivering Elven children’s books, and I was ecstatic to see them.
Glisten and Soft Touch shared authority, with Soft Touch deferring to Glisten for anything specific to being harem girls, but retaining her authority when dealing with duties to the household. However, she fully accepted her role and acted no differently than the rest of us.
Otter was my most devoted student, though. I wasn’t surprised. Without prompting, she stopped speaking Persian, and if she didn’t know a word, she found another way to express herself before asking me to teach her.
With the slates and books, I could start teaching reading and writing along with speaking. This was a critical part of my overall plan, and I told Rhosani I would take all the children’s books she found for us, that I would tell her when we were ready for more advanced books.
But then the real haul arrived.
Rhosani had paper and pens from Earth along with more children’s books, a wide assortment. She delivered a bookcase and enough books to fill it. Most were picture books for young children, which is what I wanted the most, but she had two shelves of the classics, and I hugged a copy of Emma to my chest, and then laughed at Gulliver’s Travels.
“These are not Elvish,” Light Touch said.
“No. They are from Earth. You will see.”
We started with the Elven children’s books, working our way through them. They were simple, but this is how children learn to read. We were all adults, but we struggled to communicate, and this provided guidance.
But more importantly, it provided books that the teachers could use to teach others. And it provided easy books that they could start reading.
I waited two weeks, and then one day I collected three of the human books. “We are doing something new today. The Khaleesi wants these books translated into Elvish. She has asked for four copies of each book.”
I took the first one, opened it, and we cuddled together as if it were story time. I read the story, translated into Elvish, and showing them the pictures as if they were children. No one complained. I finished, and I said, “I will write the words, but we will work on these together. We will write the words. And we will do our own pictures. Each book will be different, and we will put our names inside the ones we work on, Velvet’s name in one book, Wistful’s name in another.
I read the book again, this time writing it out. And then I said, “Glisten and Light Touch, do you understand?”
“Yes,” they said. And together, they organized it. At first, some of the women thought we should copy the original art, but Light Touch understood. “No. We make our own pictures.”
* * * *
Over two days, we produced two copies of two human children’s books, translated into Elvish and hand illustrated. I carefully checked each page. Several of the women were good artists, and it was no accident that many of the characters drawn resembled one or another of us.
They were only simple children’s books, but they were part of my plan.
My students were speaking in complete sentences, and they were all able to read and understand the books we had created. And now these same books could be used to start teaching others, and those others could create their own versions of these books, or perhaps they would make new stories.
And that was how all of us knelt towards Rhosani. I, of course, was muted, and so Otter spoke. “Khaleesi, the girls of your harem have something to show you.” I had helped her with that sentence. She’d wanted it to be perfect.
Hearing Elvish spoken by a human quieted the room, gathering attention. Frequently, the human servants were nearly invisible, but suddenly, the fourteen of us, all kneeling together, weren’t invisible at all.
“Well then,” Rhosani said. “Show me.”
Together, we rose. And then we stepped forward and set our four copies onto the table before her. “They are not bound,” Glisten said.
“And they are simple,” Light Touch added.
“Snow Dove asked you to trust,” Otter said. “Now we show.”
Rhosani collected one of the books, setting it closer. She then paged through slowly. And then her eyes glistened. She said nothing, but she paged through each book, then said, “They are different.”
“They are each unique,” Otter said. “Every book your harem makes will be unique.” And then she lowered her voice and added something in Persian.
“Yes,” Rhosani said. “That pleases me.”
She looked through all four, and then Glisten asked, “Is this what you wanted?”
“No,” Rhosani replied. “This is so much more.” Several tears escaped her eyes. “I am so proud of you.” She collected them together. “Soft Touch, place these somewhere they will be safe.”
“Yes, Khaleesi. I can bring them to your quarters.”
“Keep them close, but safe.” Then she stood and came around the table. We all would have knelt again, but she stopped us, and then she hugged us each.
And to both Otter and me, she gave us the briefest of kisses. I stared at her, my fingers to my lips for a moment, then dropped my gaze.
* * * *
She kept both me and Otter close. And then, near the end of the meal she announced, “There will be brief entertainment after the dishes are cleared away.”
We saw to that, distributing warm, damp towels for fingers and lips. And then we knelt again, as we always did, each in our own places.
“Soft Touch, please bring the books.” While she waited, she moved to the center. “Perhaps not everyone here will react as I did earlier, but even those who don’t should understand. The girls of our harem have created something new. Snow Dove, come.”
I hurried to her and would have knelt again, but she caught me. “Professor,” she said, and then she removed the muting spell. “I wish story time.” Then she leaned close. “Use your judgement.”
Then she stepped back.
I looked about then drank some of her water. I looked about once more then asked, “I do not know if elven parents do this. Human parents… Well, some human parents, and mine certainly did, hold story time. It is most frequently before bed. The parent climbs into bed. If there are two parents and one child, it might be both parents, with the child between them. Or perhaps one parent and a child on either side. They sit up, and someone picks a book.”
I looked around again, smiling. “Human children typically detest bedtime.”
“As do elven children,” Bellaluna replied.
“Story time serves many purposes. It gives the child something to think upon fondly. It is bonding time for the family. And it is a thinly-veiled educational opportunity. The parent reads from the chosen book.” I grinned. “I always picked the longest books I had.”
There were chuckles, and Bellaluna said, “I am not remotely surprised.”
“For very young children, we use picture books. The words are simple. The stories are simple. The simplest of these has few words, only drawings. It is called Good Dog Carl, and it is about a dog named Carl, and his human girl, Madeleine. The story is told through the drawings. When a parent shares this book with her child, she may ask the child what is this, or do you see the dog’s paws.”
“It is hardly bedtime, and there are no young children. But there is another human tradition. Libraries may also hold story time, and the librarian may read to a collection of children. Tonight, we will read two books. Light Touch, we need chairs for us.”
While she handled that, I said, “I can’t imagine you all care, but those who do can move closer.”
I got us settled and then I said, “Otter, will you start us?”
She held up the cover page of one of the books, turning it this way and that. Facing the opposite direction, Spring Giggle held the other copy. “Clifford, the Big Red Dog,” Otter said. “Written by the human, Norman Bridwell.”
I didn’t have to prompt more than that. “Translated by Snow Dove,” Glisten said. “Illustrated by Sweet Voice, Tiny Toes, and Silk.”
And Spring Giggle said, “Illustrated by Whisper, Spring Giggle, and Red Locks.”
They took turns reading a page and holding it up for everyone to see. The elves all moved closer.
We read both books in this fashion. When they finished, I said, “They are children’s books, but I am very proud of my students.”
And then Bellaluna began the applause. She came around the tables and pulled me into a hug and kiss, then whispered into my ear, “I want you. Tomorrow.”
“Yes,” I said. “I like being tied.”
“So I’ve heard,” she said with a broad smile.
Yes, she would tie me. And yes, she did delicious, delicious things to me. And yes, she untied me and showed me things she enjoyed.
Elf ears taste good. Which I already knew.
Council
Three days later during lessons, the doors opened. Before we could even begin to kneel, the Khaleesi said, “I have something to show you, which I will do only after your teacher has been thoroughly tickled. Otter.”
“No!” I screeched. They ignored my protests. With Otter directing, it seemed all of them grabbed me, dragged me to the punishment bench, and locked me in. They giggled as they took my clothes. And yes, they tickled me, long and very, very thoroughly.
Finally, Otter said, “She can’t take more.” They didn’t stop touching, but the touches turned soothing, and slowly I calmed down.
“Leave her there for now,” Rhosani ordered. She moved into place in front of me. She was grinning as broadly as anyone. “You look good like this.”
“You would look better.”
A shadow crossed over her face, but quickly smothered. Instead, she stroked my arm. “The day Otter can read one of the poems, I will let you tickle me, but not in this bench.”
“Untie me, and we can see to that now.”
“I will pick the poem,” Rhosani said. “And if she does poorly, I will be very disappointed.”
“Maybe not quite yet,” I said quickly. “Are you going to release me?”
“Shortly,” she said. She stepped away then came back. And she showed me the bound copies of our books. They were hard, leather covers, with the cover pages we’d done glued in place and then painted in a clear coat, giving it a professional finish.
She handed them out, and then, without removing me from the bench, they took turns reading them, everyone clustered around me and showing me the pages.
I could feel their pride, and Rhosani was smiling broadly.
“How many more can you make?” she asked.
“We have already made two more for you,” I said. “And we’re starting on the next books. Your new teachers will use the first four to teach their new students, and they will produce more for you, as many as you want.”
“When Snow Dove tells me to trust her, I believe I should trust her,” she said.
I had a plan, and it was working.
* * * *
Otter removed my hood. I still traveled to and from the harem with a hood, and that would not change. I think it served one purpose, initially, and now simply amused the Khaleesi. She seemed to be easily amused by me.
The audience room was arranged for a council meeting. Some of the council members were clustered about the room, holding their own conversations. Some were already seated, and beside several of them were two empty seats, and in front of those seats a pad of paper and a pen from Earth.
The Khaleesi was waiting inside the circle of tables, leaning against hers. Otter and I moved forward and knelt to her. The room stilled, and then Bellaluna said, “No. Just no. They are not here as your harem girls. Both of you get up, and do not do that again.”
Rhosani tapped her foot on the floor. Neither Otter nor I moved until Rhosani said, “She’s right. Get up.” We did, and then she added, “Council members.”
“I am not a council member,” Otter said.
“You are not a voting member, but you are here on council business. Bellaluna is right.”
I looked around. Wistful and Silk were passing out agendas. That should have been my duty. But then I turned to Bellaluna. “Does everyone know the agenda ahead of time?”
“No,” she said. “But they probably aren’t surprised, either.”
“When there are items on the agenda that are likely to interest me, I should also know ahead of time.”
“You know, I agree with you,” she replied.
“And so, because no one has informed me of issues critical to me, it doesn’t matter where we sit.” I stepped to her table, collected the pad and pen she had waiting, and moved to a table that hadn’t been claimed. She snorted, and a few others chuckled.
“That’s one way to make sure we tell her ahead of time,” Veronna said. And then she hurried over and sat down beside me, causing more of them to laugh.
The Khaleesi asked people to take their seats, and then she called the meeting to order. “For our first topic, I would like Snow Dove to give us an update on the status of her students.”
I pushed the agenda to Otter. “Do you know all the words?” She nodded, so I told her, “Stand up and read it.”
She did, stumbling a couple of times, but she did well. Once she sat down, I asked, “Questions?”
“I like our new council member,” Myrrh said. “She is concise.” She turned to me. “Do you know how soon your students will become teachers?”
“I imagine they already have,” I replied. “Informally, at least.”
“Do you care to guess how soon we could stop speaking Persian to our servants?”
“I’ve been teaching Elvish for less than a month.”
