Strange Land (The Young Ancients Book 15) (7 page)

Then she took the craft down and put it on her neck. It had a silver chain that went with it. She preferred gold, herself, but that was expensive in Noram, and wearing too much of it would look wrong, given her station in life. Even if she could get it for free on the Moon. So she went with the lesser, but still nice metal. That meant touching her hair however, to move it out of the way at the back of her collar. It was just as gross as she'd imagined. Thinking about it made her itch all over her body too.

When they got to the door it was pulled open quickly, and the very thin, not too tall, man that stood there, blinked at them both for a while before getting who they were.

"Mistress Sara! I... Here, let me take your bags." Without waiting he called out, ringing the front bell, which was normally used to announce a guest had come. "Brian! Germaine! Come and carry for us. Mistress Sara is here! With a friend."

The names were familiar to her at least, belonging to men that had worked at the house for several years now. They were both taller than Roget, by about half a foot, but were about the same age, being thirty or so. They wore house blacks, with white shirts underneath them, and matching gloves. Normally that would have been too warm for where they were, at this time of year, but it was practically cold out for the Capital. As chilly as late Fall, it felt like.

"Thank you. Not to be a pain, but could we have use of the showers, and two baths drawn up? My friend here, Roget, and I have been living rather rough for a while." She managed a smile for the men, who all suddenly seemed worried for some reason. Probably because she looked like someone had locked her in a cage for a long time and that never had a happy tale attached to it.

They all bowed, to both of them and didn't ask questions.

"Very well ma'am. Two rooms?" Erod, the butler, said it totally without inflection. There was no judgment to the words either. If she told the men that they were sharing a bed, it would simply be made up for the night. It was, she realized, that the man didn't know what
Roget
would be expecting from them however, rather than anything being implied that way.

"Yes, that would be good. Roget is the second assistant of the Ancient Terrance Baker, in regards to Tellerand. Soon he may be the first, so we should make sure that he's comfortable, and has a place to pray? We should only be here for the night."

That got the man next to her a second bow, short and smelling bad as he was, and both of them led to the baths. It wasn't until after the shower, which was heavenly, that she noticed there was a problem.

She was scrubbed clean, and had torn at her hair long enough with a sturdy bone comb to rip out most of the difficult areas that had become part of her, if not all of them. It was that, like most good houses in the Capital, they only had one bathing chamber. Two tubs, each big enough for several people to lounge in had been filled and warmed, using the heating tiles on the side.

It was that poor Roget looked panicked when she finally came in. First he stood, which brought him less than halfway out of the water, then he went wide eyed, looked away from her and actually covered his eyes.

Sara smiled, getting that her being naked was the issue. She was freshly shaved too, and not offensive that way, if a bit too skinny.

"Hey! That's
exactly
what I was talking about earlier. Everything you just did was exactly wrong for this place. So open up your eyes, take a good look, and then smile. Even if you think I look like an old hag, that last part is important. Otherwise you might make me feel uncomfortable, and like I'm ugly. You don't want to do that, do you?" She was teasing a bit, and trying not to be judgmental. Even Tor had handled that kind of thing better and he was from about as far from a civilized place as you could get without actually living with pigs in your home.

Roget complied, but looked like he was about to be raped.
Seriously
too. She blinked, but moved to her own tub as he tried to force a frightened smile onto his lips.

Sinking into the warm water of her vast wooden tub, she nodded.

"Just to set your mind at ease, this really is pretty normal here. Actually, we should be
sharing
the tub, so if that comes up, just go with it. Also, since I know your ways are different, this doesn't mean that you're obligated to marry me or anything like that. It's just a bath. You don't even have to have sex with me. It would be good if you could seem a bit less scared, if you can manage? I promise, I'll leave your virtue intact."

If he was that old and a virgin though, she'd have to see about doing something for him. Even if she didn't really like him all the time. If not herself, then on Harmony. They had a free whore house after all. You could just walk in and get some, day or night. It wasn't the only reason why, but they didn't have a problem with rape there. So far as she'd heard no one had been sexually abused even once. When someone finally did manage it she was kind of betting that her own brother would be the one to manage the trick. Somehow.

Kurt was a problem that way.

Honestly, if he hadn't pretty much always been like that she would have wondered if she should have him killed for it. As it was she kind of suspected that he'd drugged her a few times and done things to her, in her sleep.

The thing with that was she couldn't prove it was him. Not without using a Truth amulet, and while she
could
get a hold of one, did she really want to know?

It had happened three or four times, and only when she and Kurt, her little brother, were both home at the same time. She'd go to sleep, dressed and prepared for a night alone, and wake up in the morning, late. Sore too. Her behind particularly. The same with her jaw, reminding her of how it felt after a session with a particularly large man.

True, it could have been any of the men in the house. Though really, if any of the rest of them wanted to do something with her, she probably would have, so drugging her into it was unneeded. It was a bit unconventional for a servant to request sex like that, but wouldn't get them in trouble for trying. Raping her however
would
. If they were caught.

The same was true of her brother though. Not the part where she'd have sex with him, but the one where he'd be put to death for having done it, if she knew for certain. Probably by her, if Tor or one of her other friends didn't handle it first. Flynn might just do it, for instance.

Thinking about her artist friend she smiled, looking across the water, letting it cover her breasts so that the man trying to make himself look at her wouldn't be offended.

He was the one she needed to be worried about for the moment though. He was acting like a virgin, after all.

"Um..." His words came slowly, and he seemed very red, and not just from the warm water he soaked in. Blushing. His light skin made him turn a lovely color that way. "I'm not
that
virtuous, but, I wouldn't want to take advantage."

"Oh? That's fine. You wouldn't be though. We're friends, so, if you want to do something we can. Here at any rate. Tellerand had different rules. Here, I'll wash your back for you?" That required changing tubs, and just as she did it, intending to use her hands on him if he could manage it without passing out, her mother walked into the room.

Also naked.

Seeing that they were in one tub, she moved to the steps and then lowered herself without introduction. Her tan skin being taken in by Roget, who started to look away, but caught himself, locking with her eyes, to avoid seeing her dark nipples.

It was an improvement, so Sara slid over and patted the other lady's right shoulder.

"Heather! I was hoping you'd be here. We both, Roget and I, needed to make ourselves presentable before finding anyone. I still need to work on my hair. It's been a bit of an ordeal, the last months."

Her mother, who looked younger than her years by about eight, looked directly at the small man and smiled.

"I'm so pleased to meet you Attaché Roget. Do I have the title right?" Her words were honestly concerned, and she sought her daughter's correction with a glance. In Noram it was very important to get that kind of thing right. Wars had been fought over failing to do so.

Sara nodded. It was about the level she'd selected for him, after all.

"That's right. He's the second to the new Ancient of Tellerand, Terrance Baker. Soon I expect that position to be much higher. We both just spent three months walking, on foot, over a good chunk of that land, praying and bringing the miracle of Saint Timon's food devices to all that would take them. We weren't alone and about eighty percent of the people there have food now. It was harder than it sounds." Her voice was low when she spoke of it, trying not to broadcast the news to the whole world. Not that it was a secret, but old habits came back quickly.

Heather smiled, most of that being directed at Roget, who was, after all, an important person that she'd been told might soon have even more power. Only a fool would ignore a person like that. Sara could see a bit of calculation in the way it was done, but her mother started trying to get on the stranger's good side almost instantly.

"What a marvelous thing. We've all been very worried about the people of Tellerand in these trying times. Do they need anything that we might provide them?" Her words didn't hold the normal phrasing however, which would imply that there would be, naturally, payment for whatever they provided. No,
this
was a different thing than that by far.

If Sara didn't know better, she would have sworn that her mother was actually offering help, without expecting anything in return.

Roget however didn't know that, so simply nodded, his face still red, even as he glanced at the slightly older woman's breasts, which weren't hidden below the water line enough to obscure in the slightest measure.

"People have food now, if their faith in Him allows it, but times have been very trying for many. Clothing, medicinal aid, and ways to protect from the worst of the new storms would be a blessing. Anything that could be done would be a boon."

Sara nearly gasped then, as her own mother, head of the largest merchant house in all of Noram, if not the world, gave a small bow to the man.

"We can send clothing directly. Medicine as well. Doctors might be bought for that purpose. Your people do not take to magic well, I hear? Or has that changed now? Healing amulets are a wonder, for illness and injury. I don't know what to do about safe housing off the top of my head. Perhaps those you know in Harmony might have some ideas for that? I could go and make inquiries now?" She'd just gotten into the tub, but it was clear that she understood how dire the real situation was.

Sara shook her head though.

"I'll go and do that. Terry asked me to make a report to King Richard, about what we've managed to get done so far. I also need to check in with some other people. I've been gone so long everyone will have forgotten about me by now, I bet." She rose, and stepped out carefully, using Roget's shoulder to steady herself as she reached for a towel to dry with. One of the soft fluffy ones that marked them as being made by magic. Very absorbent too. This one was a deep red color that added a nice accent to the dark wooden room they were in. No one spoke for a bit, and Roget looked like he was going to get out as well.

There was really no better place for him to be for the moment however, was there? Not if she was hiding him for their stay.

"Heather? I was about to have sex with Roget when you walked in. Would you take my place there? He's a bit shy, but needs to get used to our strange and wicked ways. It could end up being important to his future here."

Her mother smiled, not even shocked that she'd asked that, even if it was a bit out of proper keeping. Normally things like that were asked in private, in case one of the parties had a problem with it. Roget clearly did, turning an even brighter shade of red, but Heather seemed all right with it.

"Certainly dear. After the hardships you both had I'm certain that any form of relaxation would be welcome. Will you be staying the month?"

That was the normal expected stay when you came to visit out of the blue. It was from when travel times were so much greater that coming for a few days wasn't really worth going anywhere.

"Gone by morning, most likely. Back to Harmony, I think. After that I don't really know what's planned. Tiera mentioned having something for me to do, but that was months ago, and might have changed by now. I'll check." After all, she might have just wanted to chat about things. That, or get Sara to head up a new water cistern project. She'd done a lot that way up there already.

A big chunk of the main water supply, Lake Two Bends, had been her personal work, altering moon-dust and stone into water. Everyone on Harmony worked though. For free. It was a civic duty. If you wanted to breathe their air, you did what you could. In return you had everything you needed provided to you for
free
. No one wanted for much there. What they didn't have was mainly down to no one seeing to making it there yet, not a lack of anything due to resource scarcity.

They even had a little forest growing now, in a massive and artificially lit dome. What they needed next was an ocean. Sara would have to suggest that, the next time she spoke to anyone, which would be in about five minutes.

Dressing in a nice black brocaded tunic with heavy trousers to match, and stark black boots with heels to make her seem a little taller than she actually was, she went to her room, which had been kept as she left it, or nearly enough so that she couldn't tell the difference. No one had triggered any of the traps as far as she could tell. Hopefully she'd remember where they all were. It would be embarrassing otherwise, having her desk fall apart with a mighty noise meant to attract attention from the whole house, for instance. That was just to guard her personal papers, and a few private things that she kept. Letters from friends, and a few secrets that she needed kept safe, but found in the case of her death.