“Come on, Mistress,” he said gently. “Let’s get changed for dinner.” He looked at her soaked and bedraggled outfit. “I’m afraid you need a new dress. Yours is a little, ah, damp.”
Lissa made a choked sound which was half laugh/half sob. “Yes, I think you’re right. All right, let’s get changed.”
* * * * *
Lissa sat numbly at the dinner table—which was a low platform near to the ground. It was in the center of a plush dining room bigger than most normal people’s houses and was surrounded by plump, supportive white pillows decorated in gold and silver needlework. The idea appeared to be to recline against the pillows in a half sitting—half lying position Lissa found very strange and uncomfortable. Of course, it wasn’t the only thing about Yonnie Six that was making her uneasy—nearly every single custom here seemed to be well outside her comfort zone.
Not that she could show it.
I have to act the part, have to treat Saber like my slave and let him treat me like his mistress. As a matter of fact, they had already started their new roles, even before they got into the opulent gold and white dining room.
Lissa looked down at herself. She was wearing the very same stiff purple and lace gown that had caused her so much embarrassment and consternation during her final fitting with Kat. But it wasn’t the dress she was staring at—it was her red and blue painted nipples which peeked out from behind the little golden lace fans.
Lissa had not been the one who applied the elixirs.
Oh, she had tried to, but after the horrible experience with the single burning droplet between her breasts, her hands shook when she picked up the little red vial. Even though she had applied the soothing salve generously over her tender pink buds, she still couldn’t bring herself to paint the horrid, burning stuff onto such a sensitive area of her anatomy.
Finally Saber, who had been standing there watching her because he insisted on helping her get dressed, stepped forward. Sinking to his knees before her, he took the red bottle gently from her trembling hands.
“Let me,” he said in a low voice, looking into Lissa’s eyes.
“I don’t know if you should,” Lissa whispered, her insides twisting with conflicting emotions. Doubt, fear, guilt, desire… To have him so close to her, looking at her while she was sitting there, her breasts completely bare…It was so wrong. And yet she couldn’t help the way her body reacted. The way she felt drawn to him…
“Well, I don’t think you can—not with your hands shaking like that,” he said firmly. His voice dropped to a softer tone. “I’ll be careful, Lissa, I swear. If it starts to burn even a little bit just tell me and I’ll take care of it right away.”
“You mean…” Lissa swallowed hard. “By sucking it off.”
“Yes.” Saber looked her in the eyes. “It’s the only way. And I might have to do it before the night is out anyway.”
“No, you won’t,” Lissa said quickly. “I swear I won’t do that to you, Saber!”
“Don’t make promises you might have to break,” he said soberly. “And don’t hesitate to do whatever you have to in order to make this look real.” He nodded at her bare breasts. “Now hold still—I don’t want to make a mess of this.”
Lissa didn’t want him to either so she sat perfectly still, her entire body tense as he painted her right nipple bright red with the burning blossom elixir. Saber went slowly, checking with her often to make certain she was feeling no pain. In fact, he was so gentle and soft-spoken that Lissa was almost able to forget the illicit nature of the act he was performing.
This is how he would make love to me, she couldn’t help thinking and then blushed at the thought. She tried to push it away but the mental image persisted. She could just imagine Saber kneeling between her thighs, guiding himself inside her slowly and carefully, checking every moment to be certain she was feeling no pain, that she was able to take him…
Stop it, I have to stop thinking like this!
But despite her inner recrimination, the forbidden thoughts and images had continued and were still continuing now, as she reclined on her gold and silver embroidered pillow and waited for dinner to be served.
Across from her sat Ambassador Sha’rak with Llewelyn behind her, waiting attendance. To Lissa’s right, was Lady Pope’nose, a tall, imposing woman about the same age as the ambassador. She had sharp, aquiline features and jet black hair with golden streaks, which was piled on top of her head. Behind her sat a body-slave who looked to be only a little older than Lissa.
Instead of a plain black leather collar and leash, Lady Pope’nose’s slave had on a strange silver and black necklace with purple lights that blinked periodically. He had an air of frightened inexperience that made Lissa nervous just watching him. Lady Pope’nose had already explained that he was new and she was still “breaking him in”, which Lissa supposed accounted for his almost palpable anxiety. She did wish, though, that the poor thing wouldn’t jump every time his mistress so much as shifted her position. What was he so afraid of? Well, aside from the burning blossom elixir, which he might be forced to ingest at any moment. On second thought, Lissa didn’t blame him for being so jumpy.
Saber, who was sitting just behind her own cushion, was the exact opposite of Lady Pope’nose’s nervous slave. His presence at her back was like a rock—solid and comforting. Lissa felt stronger just having him near, even if her thoughts did keep returning to forbidden territory when she felt the heat of his big body behind her and caught a whiff of his warm, masculine scent.
“Oh, at last!” Lady Sha’rak said, breaking Lissa’s train of thought. “Dinner is finally served. I’m so sorry it took so long, my dears,” she continued, nodding at Lissa and Lady Pope’nose. “I’ll have the cooks flogged the minute I get the chance.”
“Oh, don’t do that,” Lissa said without thinking.
Lady Pope’nose stared at her in surprise. “Why ever not, my dear? We’ve been sitting here waiting for ages. Clearly the cooks need a little motivation to get dinner out on time. And what could be more motivating than a nice flogging?”
“I’m afraid Lady R’awr is rather too softhearted when it comes to slaves.” Lady Sha’rak gave her a disapproving look as the male servers placed dishes and bowls of steaming food on the table. “I’ve been trying to give her some pointers but so far we aren’t making much progress.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Lissa protested. “I just meant…I meant…”
“Yes, dear?” Lady Sha’rak looked at her with raised eyebrows.
Lissa tried to get into her role. Be tough. Act like Minverna would have acted! “I meant that flogging is too good for them,” she said. “We have much stricter punishments when it comes to tardiness on Zetta Prime.”
“Oh?” The ambassador looked surprised. “Do tell, my dear. Is it a collar offense on Zetta?”
“A collar offense indeed,” Lady Pope’nose interjected. “If it’s not, it should be! I keep telling you, Manda,” she continued, addressing Lady Sha’rak. “That you need to get all your slaves fitted with collars. It really does do wonders for their attitude. Take Tobias here.” She nodded at the nervous slave hovering just over her left shoulder. “He was positively intractable at first. But now that I’ve got the latest collar on him I have no problems at all.”
“The latest, did you say?” Lady Sha’rak studied the silver and black necklace with its blinking purple lights around Tobias’s neck with some interest. “What exactly does it do?”
“It feeds directly into the pain centers of the brain.” Lady Pope’nose sounded proud, as though she’d invented the horrible contraption herself. “The moment I say the pain word, he’s in instant agony—like every nerve in his body is burning.”
“A pain word, you say? So it’s voice activated?” Lady Sha’rak continued to stare at the collar avidly.
“Yes—no more irritating remotes. I was always losing mine.” Lady Pope’nose fluttered her long white hands in a helpless gesture. “Now all I have to do
is remember a single word. Well—two as it happens. One to activate the collar and one to cut it off. Here, watch…” She turned to her slave, who was visibly quivering behind her and said, “Tobias, trab.”
Immediately Tobias fell over and began writhing in agony. His eyes rolled up in his head and his body jerked, almost as though he was having a seizure. Hoarse, awful noises of pure pain came from his throat.
Lissa gave a strangled gasp. No! she wanted to shout. You have no right to torture him like that. Stop right now, you horrible woman!
But as the words rose instinctively to her throat, she felt Saber’s large, warm hand squeezing her shoulder. She turned her head slightly to see him and he shook his head. Lissa widened her eyes in protest. She couldn’t just sit here and let this awful torture go on right under her nose without saying something about it—could she? But Saber had a point. If she made too much of a fuss, she might blow their cover.
Still, it was terribly hard to just sit there and watch as the poor hapless slave writhed in pain. Foam was actually beginning to seep from between his clenched teeth and dribble down his cheeks. Looking across the table, Lissa saw that even Ambassador Sha’rak looked a bit disconcerted.
“That’s enough, Nola,” she said finally. “I’m afraid he’ll break something, flopping about like that.”
“Very well.” Lady Pope’nose seemed completely unconcerned. “Zax,” she said loudly.
At once, Tobias stopped thrashing. He lay in a panting heap on the floor, his whole body trembling and a soft, hoarse sob came from his lips. Lissa’s heart clenched like a fist. It was the sound of a creature in agony, a hopeless sound that tore at her and brought tears prickling to her eyes. But no, she mustn’t cry! She couldn’t let the other two women at the table see how the brutal torture, which was obviously an everyday occurrence for them, had affected her.
Lissa lifted her head and cleared her throat. “That seems, er, most effective,” she said at last, hoping her quavering voice didn’t betray her true emotions.
“Indeed.” Lady Sha’rak still looked discomforted. “Quite.”
“Oh, it is.” Lady Pope’nose nodded earnestly. “The only drawback is that prolonged use can cause permanent nerve damage. But I say it’s a small price to pay for obedience.”
Lissa had to look down to keep herself from glaring at Lady Pope’nose with pure loathing. What a repulsive woman! She wondered if Lady Pope’nose would count permanent nerve damage a “small price to pay” if she was the one wearing the collar?
“Well, now that your little demonstration is over, I think we ought to eat before everything gets cold,” Lady Sha’rak said a bit too brightly.
“That sounds like a good idea.” Automatically, Lissa reached for the steaming dish in front of her, which appeared to contain a mound of tiny blue and green grains with red berries mixed in. She had already lifted her utensil—a broad, flat scoop that looked more like a trowel than a spoon—when she realized that the other women at the table were staring at her.
“My dear Lady R’awr,” Lady Sha’rak said a bit stiffly. “I’m not exactly sure how they do things on Zetta Prime but here on Yonnie Six it is considered very bad form to feed yourself.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Lissa put down the trowel-like implement at once with a flush of embarrassment. “I just thought, since we’re having an informal dinner…”
Lady Pope’nose laughed, a very unpleasant cawing sound. “We’re never that informal, Lady R’awr. I mean, where do you think you are—the jungles of Rageron?” She looked at the ambassador. “It appears you have a bit more than you thought to teach your little relative before you set her loose in polite society.”
Lissa shot the unpleasant woman a look of irritation and wished that they were all back on First World. There she could have blasted the smug expression on Lady Pope’nose’s narrow face with her Goddess given powers. Here she just had to sit and take it.
Not that I ought to be thinking of blasting anyone, she told herself firmly, trying to regain control. But if I can’t feed myself, how in the Goddess’s name am I supposed to eat?
Her question was answered when she looked across the table and saw Llewelyn spooning some kind of steaming soup into Lady Sha’rak’s mouth. Oh, so that was how it was done.
She was about to turn to Saber and command him to start feeding her, but she found he was one step ahead of her. When she turned her head, he was already waiting with a scoop of the grain and berry mixture and a wry look on his face.
“Open up, Mistress,” he murmured with the tiniest glint of humor in his hazel eyes. “Let’s get you fed.”
Feeling ridiculously like a baby bird, Lissa opened her mouth and he tipped the mixture in. The taste was rather strange—a kind of sweet meatiness she hadn’t expected from a grain mixture. But then Lissa felt something odd—something was moving in her mouth!
Her first instinct was to spit the mouthful out but she had already embarrassed herself once and she didn’t want to do a repeat performance. She forced herself to swallow and shook her head when Saber offered her another bite.
“Excuse me, Ambassador Sha’rak,” she said. “But I was just wondering…I don’t think I’ve ever had this dish before. Can you tell me what it is?”
“Really? You haven’t?” Lady Sha’rak looked truly surprised. “But it’s—” She stopped abruptly and frowned.
“It’s what?” Lissa asked, wondering what she had done wrong now.
“It’s dosi grubs and shum berries,” Lady Pope’nose said, smiling at her. “Isn’t it delicious. Tobias, more!” she snapped at her trembling slave who had recovered enough to feed her. “And no sniveling—you know how I abhor it.”
“Yes, Mistress.” He brought another mouthful of the bug and berry mixture to her mouth with a hand that trembled so much Lissa was surprised he didn’t spill it all over her. But though she didn’t want to see the hapless slave hurt again, most of her mind was still trying to process what his mistress had said.
“I’m sorry…” She cleared her throat. “But did you say grubs? As in bugs?”
“Why yes, of course,” Lady Sha’rak said. “They’re dormant until they feel the heat of your mouth. Then the little devils come to life and go crazy trying to get away while you chew them up.” She smiled. “It makes for a most interesting dish, don’t you find?”
“Ah, yes. Most interesting,” Lissa croaked. She groped for the fluted silver glass a slave had filled earlier with some kind of fermented drink. At the time she’d thought that it smelled just awful but now she was willing to drink anything to get the dreadful sweet, meaty taste of the live grubs out of her mouth.
Once again, Saber was ahead of her. When she turned, he lifted the glass to her lips and Lissa drank deeply, wincing at she did. The stuff was incredibly thick and bitter and it burned her throat horribly going down, but there was no doubt it got rid of the taste of the grubs.
“Do be careful with that, my dear,” Lady Sha’rak said mildly as Lissa gulped the bitter brew. “That’s Barish honey wine and it’s quite strong.”
“Thank you,” Lissa said, almost choking, when Saber took the glass from her lips. “I…it’s kind of you to warn me.”
“Just didn’t want you getting too tipsy to go into the relaxation grotto after dinner.” Her hostess smiled kindly. “Why don’t you try some of the Kornithia eyeball soup? It might agree with you better.”
Lissa had no intention of eating anything with eyeballs in it. She sent a mute appeal to Saber who nodded slightly and took her plate. He went unobtrusively around the table and came back to her with a cluster of small blue and green fruits that looked both juicy and mercifully bug-free.
“Mmm.” Lissa smiled at him as he popped one of the small fruits between her lips. It burst on her tongue in a rush of sweet, refreshing juice that washed the taste of the bitter honey wine away completely. “These are wonderful.”
“Oh, do you like bung clusters?” Lady Pope’nose wrinkled her long, skinn
y nose. “I find them terribly drab and prosaic myself.”
“Well, I think they’re delicious,” Lissa said a touch defiantly. Really, she hated the arrogant woman more every minute she had to share a space at the table with her. But I’m not here just to eat, she reminded herself. And it doesn’t matter what I think of her as long as she has what we need.
“Lady Pope’nose,” she said, after chewing another bung cluster fruit. “Our lovely hostess, Ambassador Sha’rak, has told me that you’re the leading collector of antiquities here on Yonnie Six.”
“Oh, well, I wouldn’t say the leading collector.” Lady Pope’nose gave an affected little laugh. “After all, Snyra Hake’bean has a collection almost as big as my own and she’s nearly as knowledgeable.”
“Really?” Lissa widened her eyes, as though in wonder. The name sounded familiar—she was certain Hake’bean was also on her list of collectors to check out.
“Indeed, yes. And Lady Hake’bean is the one hosting the sensation party tomorrow night.” Ambassador Sha’rak sounded excited.
“That’s so interesting. My family collects antiquities too,” Lissa said to Lady Pope’nose. “Tell me, have you ever run across anything from the Hoard Wars that took place on First World about a thousand years ago?”
“As a matter of fact, yes, I have. I made a recent acquisition I consider to be the pride of my collection.” Lady Pope’nose looked at her proudly. “I really can’t talk about it yet though—I’m still having it appraised.”
“Oh, of course.” Lissa felt her heart sink.
“But it will be back soon and I’ll be unveiling it. I’m actually planning a little event around it. You’re both invited, of course.” Lady Pope’nose nodded magnanimously, as though she was conferring a great favor.
“Oh, thank you,” Lissa said humbly. “That’s very kind of you. My father was so interested in artifacts and records from that era.”
“Well, it was a very thrilling time.” Lady Sha’rak raised her eyebrows meaningfully. “There were so many exciting sensations to experience.” She looked at Lady Pope’nose. “Will you be using your new acquisition for sensation play, Nola?”