Pleasure Slave | By : Capitalist Category: +. to F > Card Captor Sakura Views: 84321 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 1 |
Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. |
Oh my gosh, we’re back! It’s a good thing I decided to swing by and check. Don’t lie – does anybody here even remember what happened in the last chapter? Remind me to remind aff.net to never, ever ‘upgrade’ again.
Chapter 22
‘jealousy I’
It was night when Touya opened his eyes again, though he could not have seen the starry sky from his place on the rug. The fire was going, though, and it felt as though he’d been resting for several hours. The burning ache across his back still throbbed, but it was not the insufferable fire it had been before – apparently Aya’s healing cream did work.
One other thing was different, too. A book lay within arm’s reach, beside him on the rug, a slim brown volume embossed in gold. Carefully, he propped himself up on an elbow and reached for it.
“A study in philosophy,” Yue explained, before he could even make out the old title. “I thought it would interest you.”
Touya did not look up. “You were right.” This posture was not sustainable, and he shifted with the thought of sitting up.
“You should not move. You are healing.”
Yue’s tone struck him as oddly gentle, perhaps even concerned, and this time he did look up. He was looking right back at Touya, over the rim of his wine glass, but his expression was even tempered.
“You don’t seem angry anymore.” And that was saying something, considering the furious glitter in his cold eyes earlier.
“Once punishment has been meted out, there is no cause to be. Unless, of course, it happens again.”
Touya frowned. “I don’t like him.”
“That doesn’t concern me, your behavior does.”
“He deserved it. I don’t like the way he looks at my sister.”
Irritation flashed across Yue’s placid features, there and gone in a gleam of firelight. “Nevertheless, you will not attack him again.”
Touya hmphed at that, and Yue raised an eyebrow. “Really, Toya. As if anyone would touch my slave inappropriately; such a thing is forbidden.”
“Are you sure?” Touya pressed.
“No one would dare.”
He spoke with such confidence and unconcern that Touya reluctantly decided to listen; it was, after all, the terms of their original agreement. For all their time here, Yue had been a man of his word.
“It’s Touya.”
“Excuse me?”
“The way you say my name, it’s wrong.”
“Toya.”
“Tou-ya,” he repeated, purposefully exaggerating the lengthened vowel. Yue and his formal speech seemed incapable of pronouncing his common garden name as he’d heard it all his life, and it was starting to bother the young peasant.
“Toya,” Yue repeated.
“No, Tou-ya.” He pressed his lips together to contain an unexpected grin, and Yue drained his wine with a huffy expression.
“I refuse to lower myself to the rough dialect you learned in that mountain wilderness. You belong to me now, if I wish to call you Toya then that shall be your name.”
“I don’t belong to you.” Touya found a semi-comfortable position that would allow him to read, and opened his book.
“Slave.”
“Not your slave.”
“Read to me,” Yue ordered, so softly Touya could hardly hear him. He did not look away from the pages, though if he had he would have seen the same eager desire in Yue’s eyes he’d seen last night. He knew this without looking, because he could hear it in his voice. Brutal punishment or not, undeserved or not, Touya could not say no to that. His eyes moved to the first word and he began.
Aya released the pin with a sigh, and long blonde hair tumbled down her back. It was her pride and joy, or had been, in another life, but it had been a long time since a man commented upon it. Or even noticed it. Exhausted after yet another day of endless cleaning and cooking, she trudged the path through the servant’s corridor and slipped into her private room with a weary sigh. At least tonight she could fall asleep with the image of Touya’s chest still in her mind…
Her bedside lamp flared to life, illumating the bed and Ralen sprawled across it, and Aya uttered a startled yelp. His face looked even worse now than it had earlier, his jaw a swelled mass of dark green and purple that gave him a curious lopsided appearance. He raised an eyebrow when she jumped, from where he lounged against her pillow.
“Oh my. Does my face frighten you that much, Aya?”
“No! No, Ralen sir, it’s just that you appeared so suddenly and I did not expect to see you in my room.” That much was true, anyway, Ralen had the habit of spreading himself around the female servants and when he was in the mood he usually summoned them to his room anyway. Her heartrate had sped up, briefly, but now as it slowed she could feel it thump uneasily within her chest. “Is there… something you need?”
“I’m so glad you asked.” He smirked. “Go on, shut the door already.”
The corridor without was still silent, nobody seemed to have heard – or been bothered by – her small shriek. Swallowing, Aya pushed the door closed but didn’t move from her place just next to it.
“Tired, Aya? Been a long day?”
“Well, I -”
“Seems you were pretty busy, fixing up a tray for Yue’s slave, running up to tend to his wounds when I was the one who got hit first.”
“I w-was merely anticipating Master Yue’s orders,” Aya stammered. “In the past he’s ordered someone to see to his slave when he fell ill.”
“You volunteered for that job too, as I recall.” Calculating smile spreading across his bruised face, Ralen rolled gracefully off her bed and crossed the small distance between them. “When I thought about it, I realized you’ve been spending quite a lot of time around him. Taking him tea, letting him help you clean the castle like no slave has any business doing… you seem to be around him rather a lot.” Aya backed away from him and into the wall, and Ralen planted a hand by her head to prevent escape. “When he first arrived, all the girls couldn’t stop talking about him. So tall, and with those dark eyes… he’s quite attractive, isn’t he?”
Even if she had been able to avoid eye contact, the rapid rush of blood to her cheeks would have given her away.
“I suppose so,” she mumbled, and he chuckled.
“Oh Aya, Aya, what have you done? You’ve gone and fallen for Yue’s pleasure slave.”
“No! I swear, I -”
“Shh.” He tapped a finger to her lips and she quieted immediately, a reflex of years of slave training. “Don’t lie to me, Aya, it makes me angry when people stupider than me try to lie. You want Yue’s slave for yourself, it’s obvious in the pathetic way you stare at him. I bet you fantasize at night about taking him to your bed, letting those big hands of his run over your body -”
“Stop!” she pleaded, when his hands glided over the flesh of her arms. He did stop, but he was still grinning and shaking his head.
“You’re in trouble, Aya, and you know it. A pleasure slave belongs to his master, and nobody – least of all a worthless servant like you – needs to be even looking, let alone fantasizing. Do you have any idea what Yue would do to you if he knew?”
Aya was tempted to point out Ralen had done far more than just looking with the other slave, everyone knew it, but she wasn’t that stupid.
“I’ve done nothing, sir. I would never touch the master’s slave inappropriately.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Too bad for him, though, I’m sure he’ll be disappointed.” Ralen turned away, sauntering back to her bed, and Aya inhaled just a little more quickly in spite of herself.
“What?”
“You mean you didn’t know?” He made himself comfortable on the edge, spreading his arms and resting back on his palms. “He hates Yue, you know that and everyone knows that. He never wanted to be with another man, all he wants is a pretty young girl like yourself. Why do you think he follows you around the castle all the time? Because he likes to clean? Please. He’s got his eye on you.”
Again Aya’s cheeks burned with a brilliant warmth, too surprised to even try resisting it. “Truly? Are you sure?”
“Very sure. And we all know he doesn’t care much for following the rules -” His smirk twisted into a brief scowl when he gently tapped his bruise. “- in fact, I daresay that if you dropped a quick kiss on his lips one day he’d probably kiss you back.”
Aya’s heart beat faster at that, but she was quick to shake her head. “Oh no, I couldn’t. He’s Master Yue’s -”
“Slave, yes. And you are a very dutiful and obedient girl to keep your distance. Don’t mind me, I was just talking.” He shrugged and smiled, and Aya frowned a little.
“Why are you telling me all this?”
“Because I do so hate to see slavery get in the way of true love, of course.” She couldn’t help but arch her eyebrows in disbelief, and he chuckled again. “He’s not going to last forever – Yue always gets bored eventually. You’ll have your chance with him then, and if he’s busy with you then he won’t be fussing when his sister takes her turn with Yue. And when Yue gets bored with her – which I predict will happen fairly quickly – she’s all mine.”
Aya’s frown deepened. She knew all too well how much Touya cared for his sister, and didn’t like the thought of ‘distracting’ him from her welfare. “What if I don’t want to go along with that?”
“I think you will,” Ralen answered breezily. “If you want to still be in the castle when the boy finally earns his freedom from Yue’s bedroom. Or, if I’m feeling very grouchy, I’ll just mention to Yue how you feel about his slave. We all know how forgiving he is.”
Aya swallowed. Ralen had put thought into this, that was clear, and he had her exactly where he wanted her. “Don’t look so glum, Aya,” he chided. “This is exactly what you want; work with me now and he’ll be yours forever. Don’t you want him?”
She did. She wanted him so badly it hurt, some nights, in his presence she could think of little else. He was tall and handsome, yes, but that was not what made her heart thump faster when he was near. Touya was kind to her, and respectful like no man had ever been – a trademark of his old-fashioned upbringing in the mountains, she knew. He didn’t hold with the ways of slavery, and believed a man should take a girl to be his wife if he wanted to be with her. All of this he’d told her, and when Aya listened to him describe family life in his home village she daydreamed she would be the wife. It was a world this bred pleasure slave never knew of before.
She nodded.
“That’s what I thought.” Ralen’s smile looked like he’d swallowed the proverbial canary. “Do as I say, and you’ll get everything you want. Breathe a word of this conversation to anyone, and I’ll make your life hell. Understood?”
“Yes,” she answered quietly.
“What was that?”
“Yes sir.”
“That’s more like it.”
Aya hugged her arms to her waist. “Are you finished?”
“Not quite.” Ralen settled himself against the pillows again and cast a suggestive glance at her body. “Take ‘em off.”
Of course. There was a time when she was used to it, hardly paid it notice, but that was no longer the way since she met Touya. Ralen’s leering face and groping hands provoked an upwelling of disgust that had become harder and harder to contain.
“I’m waiting.”
But for now, she had no other choice. Aya swallowed that disgust and reached for her bodice lace.
Li didn’t smile often. But this morning it was harder to contain his smile than anytime he could ever remember, and it was with some effort he kept his expression neutral.
“Morning, Ralen. Fell down the stairs?”
The servant shot him a scorching glare over the head of the slave, face contorted by the day old bruise. “You know perfectly well what happened, Li. You were there.”
“Oh, that’s right. A slave knocked you to the floor, how could I have forgotten?”
Ralen fumed, first at him and then the girl. “A slave who was soundly punished afterwards, I might point out. Yue lashed him good for what he did to me.”
The slave’s small smile disappeared, but Li didn’t miss a beat. “Good thing Yue’s around to take care of you then, huh Ralen? Otherwise what would you do in a fight?”
“There’s a better way to take care of enemies than just fighting, Li.” Ralen’s scowl faded, replaced by a mysterious smirk. “Something you’d do well to learn.”
“Whatever, you gonna let go of her already? My horse is hungry and you, presumably, have people to scare with that face.”
The annoying smirk disappeared, but at least Ralen let go of the slave with a slight push that almost sent her stumbling into Li’s chest. He marched off, muttering unkind things about guardsmen and their parentage, and the slave turned anxious green eyes upon him.
“Did Master Yue really hurt my brother yesterday?”
“Yeah. But don’t worry, he’s fine. Told you he would be.”
“How do you know?”
“The servants don’t have much else to talk about, up here.” He shrugged and started walking. “I ignore their talk, most days, but I listened last night. I knew you’d want to know.”
A smile blossomed across her face. “Thank you.”
“Sure thing.”
In relative quiet they traced the usual path through the castle grounds, collecting Spirit on the way. Adamant student of martial arts that he was, however, he could not help but notice her rather stiff carriage and maybe a trace of a limp.
“Still recovering from my cousin’s gentle lessons, I see.”
She winced. “She did say I would be a little sore until my muscles become used to dancing. She also said her stretching exercises would help if I did them every evening, but after everything that happened between Ralen and my brother I forgot. I didn’t realize it would make such a difference.”
“Now you do. Don’t worry, it won’t last forever; it was the same for me when I was first studying kung fu.”
“That gives me hope.” They reached his favorite courtyard and he relieved Spirit of her harness, accompanying the motion with a slap on her flank. But when he headed for the shade of the trees, she made no move to follow and instead simply stood there, nervously biting a lip.
“Um… Meilin told me that I must practice every day when I’m outdoors, and that if I don’t she’ll refuse to come and teach me anymore.”
“Sounds like her.”
“So, I need to practice the steps.”
Li settled himself against a tree. “Okay.”
She was fidgeting now. “I don’t think… um, you shouldn’t see…”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve seen my cousin dance dozens of times; can’t say I like it but I’m used to it.”
“Yes, but…” Again her voice trailed off, face bright pink with embarrassment. “Ifyoucouldjust…”
“What?”
“If you could just – turn around?” she suggested meekly.
“Turn around?”
“Yes. Please? I don’t think I can do this with y- a man watching me.” She hugged her arms protectively about her chest, the very picture of shyness. It boggled Li’s mind how she could strip and touch herself for Ralen yet be terrified of the thought of anyone watching her dance – the virgin pleasure slave was a peculiar contrast within herself. And as long as he was staring like this, she wasn’t going to move.
“Okay,” he finally agreed, “I’m turning around.”
Relief shone from her eyes. “Thank you!”
“Sure.” Obediently Li scooted around the base of the tree until he was leaning against the other side, facing the far castle wall. “Just let me know when you’re done.”
“Yes sir! I mean, Li!”
Silence after that, with only the soft whisper of footfalls in the grass to indicate movement. Li watched his horse graze for a while, then closed his eyes with the idea of a midmorning nap, but he was not especially tired. His brain seemed uncharacteristically active today, even, intent on catching every scuff and interpreting what move it must represent. He didn’t know why he was so interested – ancestors knew that he tried to close his eyes and ears whenever Meilin insisted on showing off.
So he peeked. Just a little. He’d never met a student of his cousin’s before and was curious to know what a beginner looked like, see what sort of routine she taught them. Sakura didn’t notice, face screwed up in concentration as she kicked and spun and leapt, frothy white skirt of her dress flaring with every motion. She… didn’t seem all that bad, for a beginner, actually; her steps were fluid and every movement well-defined in a way only a martial artist (or another dancer) could appreciate. She threw her arms up and around in an arc and twirled with the momentum, rotating twice before dropping to the grass in a manner that left her skirt in wide circle around her. Though totally unsuited for the world of slavery in every other aspect, this girl seemed at ease with dance.
She was dedicated, too, and practiced for well over an hour before finally collapsing on the earth with a sigh. Li had long since ceased even pretending to look away, and almost didn’t remember to turn around again before she glanced his way. Luckily, she was too tired to pay much attention.
“I’m tired!” she announced breathlessly, and tackled the fountain with enthusiasm. Cold water splashed over her face and dripped onto her filmy dress. “It’s so much work, but I like it so much already. It’s nice to have something to work on, during the day… I used to spend every day working until sundown, and now there’s so little to do. So I’m happy to have work again.”
“That’s an odd cause to be happy.”
She sat on the stone edge to face him, still panting a little. “Is it really? I think you wouldn’t be happy if you couldn’t practice with your sword.”
She rather had him there. Unconsciously his hand moved to cover the small bump under his shirt, and when he realized what he was doing he grinned. “I guess you’re right.”
“So now we both have something to practice every day,” she decided happily.
“I let you watch me though,” Li pointed out, without really thinking, and again her cheeks burned a brilliant pink. Perhaps to cover this up, she twisted back around to face the water and took another drink.
“May I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Does your cousin’s dancing really shame you?”
“Ah, well…” Li hesitated, thrown by her sudden shift in topic. “Not to the point that I’ve stopped speaking to her, or anything. I know well enough I can’t stop her. I will say I’d rather take a horse’s kick to the ribs than watch her dance in the saloons, with so many strange men drooling at her feet. It’s disgusting.”
She nodded, more to herself than him, as his words had confirmed something. “That’s what I thought. I’ve decided that, wonderful though it is, I’m not going to tell Onii-chan about Meilin or dance lessons. He doesn’t even like the dresses I wear here; says they show too much of my legs. I know he would not approve of the dancing, and tell me to stop.” Clearly troubled, she looked from her own reflection to him. “I’ve never kept anything from my brother before.”
Li could only shrug. “Guess you have to do what you have to do.”
“Do you think it’s wrong?”
“I think it’s wrong to let him control what you do. Doesn’t a slave get enough of that?”
She heaved a small sigh. “I suppose you’re right. It’s just a little dancing, after all, and no one but Meilin will watch me.” Li winced slightly, but only slightly. “What’s the harm in not telling?”
“No harm at all,” he agreed, when he realized she was waiting for affirmation. “You don’t tell, and I won’t either.”
She was smiling again, though the smile was more tempered. “Agreed.”
And that is exactly what she did, or didn’t do, that night when her brother returned to eating dinner with her. The soreness had only become worse by that evening, but luckily for Sakura her brother was so busy trying to conceal his own fresh injuries that he never noticed her occasional wince of pain. She was quite correct in her prediction he would never approve of her new hobby, so it was just as well for the both of them that Touya remained blissfully ignorant. He was busy enough the next day anyway, exploring the fantastic treasure trove of books Yue said was now his to read.
He tried to share it with Aya, his only daytime companion, but it didn’t go quite as well as when Yue shared it with him. For one thing, she refused to venture beyond the door at first.
“Come on,” he insisted, “it’s okay, Yue said I can come here whenever I want.”
“But servants are allowed in this room only to clean, and that only with direct permission. He dislikes too much meddling in here.”
“I’m giving you permission,” Touya pressed, and she blushed a little.
“I really don’t think -”
“Aya. Come here.” He crooked his finger and beckoned her in, slipping unconsciously into the authoritative tone he’d used so often for his sister over the years. It was evidently the best way to get her to cooperate, since she moved forward immediately. What was it like, he wondered, to be raised only to obey? “Just look at all these books! What kind do you like the most?”
“What kind?” she repeated blankly.
“Sure. History, fiction, philosophy – there’s some of everything.” Reverently he traced his finger along the row of bindings and looked to her expectantly. She seemed a trifle awed.
“You mean, you can read?”
“Of course. Can’t you?”
She shook her head, plainly bewildered that anyone could ask such a nonsensical question. “It’s a rare slave that can read, Touya, most traders forbid it because the owners don’t like it. For what reason does a pleasure slave need to read anything?”
Anger flared up briefly at her words, and Touya tried to swallow his disgust. “For the same reason anyone reads – to learn. Haven’t you ever been curious about it?”
Aya looked meek under his gaze, and averted her eyes. “Not over particularly. I know that I’m too stupid to learn to read.”
Touya stared in disbelief. “Who told you that?”
“Everyone, I suppose. ‘A slave is a body, not a mind.’ That’s what my trainer often said to me when I was growing up.”
“That’s the biggest bunch of tripe I’ve ever heard. Anyone can learn to read, and you are most certainly not stupid.” Again she blushed. She seemed to do that often, lately. “Hey – do you want to learn how?”
“To read?”
“Yeah. I can teach you; I helped teach my little sister to read when she was just five years old.”
“But- but- I’m only a servant who cooks and cleans. I have no need for reading.”
“You might need it if you ever try to open that tea shop of yours.”
He saw her hesitate, the briefest flash of yearning in her eyes. “I, uh, don’t think I would be allowed -”
“Did Yue tell you that you couldn’t read?”
“No… but I have my chores. I should be scrubbing the floors right now, even.”
“You must have at least a little free time.”
“I’m sure Ralen wouldn’t like it -”
“All the more reason.”
She waffled a little, her cheeks curiously pink, but in the end she nodded. “Very well. For you, I will try to learn.”
Something about the way she said that ‘for you’ unsettled Touya, but then she looked away and the moment passed. Her eyes fell on the gilded sundial by the window, and she uttered an exasperated groan.
“Oh, it’s this late already? I need to get to work, or I’ll never be finished in time!”
She hurried back to the door, Touya only just taking the time to set the book back on its shelf before following. “What’s the hurry? It’s not as if anyone ever uses the rooms you have to clean.”
“It is our task, to keep this castle clean. Every day, without fail!”
“Well, relax, I can help. It won’t take very long.”
“Oh, thank you!”
He helped her carry the cleaning supplies left outside the door: a bucket of soapy water, two scrubbing brushes and a stack of her rags. He never did figure out what the servants’ schedule was, but he had learned by now that all the household people under Ralen’s command rotated through the chores of cooking, cleaning, and gardening, and over the course of a month every room in the castle – barring those off-limits – was scrubbed and dusted. Corridors were mopped more often, especially the lower ones. Today it was one of the latter that needed attending, one lined with rows of beautiful paintings of some origin that neither of them knew.
“If we can get this done within an hour,” Aya speculated, hopefully, “then I think I can finish my other chores before sunset easily enough.”
“No problem,” Touya assured her, and both dropped to their knees near the wall. “We’ll go fast.”
“Right!”
They plunked their brushes into the sudsy water and started scrubbing in quick strokes, each long accustomed to the chore. Aya worked rapidly, cheeks pink with the effort of scrubbing the marble floor clean to Ralen’s standards, and did not speak while they crawled from one wall to the other. Touya was right, though, and they were making good time. She relaxed when she looked up and realized they’d covered a third of the corridor already.
“Touya…”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry, I was distracted. It was rude of me not to thank you.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“No, truly,” she insisted, and paused with her brush poised just over the water. “For all of my life, I have always been treated a certain way, expected to be a certain way. I was happy being a slave when people complimented my hair, or my skin, but no one ever told me I was intelligent enough to read. It made me feel… very special.”
“It was nothing.” The effusive gratitude bothered Touya a little, who considered reading to be no more of a special skill than breathing, and something about the way she was looking at him seemed strange. He concentrated on scrubbing.
“Touya… do you like my hair?”
“Say what?”
Her face turned a furious pink and she looked away. “It’s just that men have often commented upon it in the past -”
“Sure, it’s fine, I guess.”
Her face turned pinker. “Thank you.”
He only shrugged. Her long blonde hair was pretty enough in its own right, but Touya didn’t really notice anyone’s hair but Yue’s, which he was still expected to brush every night.
“Hey, Aya.”
“Yes?”
“Are you trying out some new kind of soap?”
“I shouldn’t think so. Why?”
“Doesn’t something about this water seem… odd to you?” Again he put brush to floor and watched the water glide unnaturally quickly across the surface. The marble shone far more brightly than it ought to have with just a little bit of soap; he could almost make out the details of his reflection.
“I suppose,” she answered vaguely. “Too much soap, maybe. I’ll get a rag and we can wipe it up.”
She stood, took approximately a step, and promptly hit the floor again with a startled yelp. Both her feet seemed to have flown right out from underneath her, and he winced at the crash.
“Are you alright?”
“Ohh… ouch. I-I think so, I don’t know what happened, the floor was a little more slippery than I thought -”
“Hang on, I’ll help you up.”
Touya stood, and just like Aya managed only a step before the slick floor betrayed him. He was lucky enough to fall forward, crashing rather painfully to his hands and knees.
“Ouch!”
“Oh no, Touya!”
“I’m fine,” he groaned, though he wasn’t. Sharp pain shot through his knees and his arms, but Touya was less worried about the pain than the floor. “I think… there really is something in the water.” He tried to crawl forward and his palms slipped and slid dangerously out of control, threatening to fly out like his feet had and bring his face to the floor.
At the sight of him crawling so carefully and slowly, Aya bit back a giggle. “I’m sorry… I don’t mean to laugh but you look so funny like that.”
“You don’t look too graceful yourself,” he muttered, and once he’d finally come within arm’s reach held out a hand. “Careful now, and we’ll try to stand up together.”
Cautiously he raised himself to his knees, grasping her hand firmly, and when she’d done the same he stood up. “Can you walk?”
“I think so…”
“One step at a time, then. Use me for balance.” Touya edged a little closer to the dry portion of the hallway, but when he said to use him for balance Aya evidently took that as an order to lean her full weight against him. The sudden pull on his arm was too much and Aya shrieked when they fell.
“Oh, Touya! I’m so sorry, are you alright?”
“I’ve been better.” He swallowed another groan and shifted, grateful that he’d been able to land better this time. Aya had managed to fall almost directly on top of him, and her shriek trailed off with laughter.
“I- I just keep managing to make this worse for you, don’t I?”
“It’s not your fault.” He tried to move but she didn’t seem inclined to, her hands still clutching the front of his damp and clingy shirt. “Um…”
“Sorry for falling on you,” she murmured, and he wanted to say that that was fine but she would really have to get off if they were going to move. She didn’t give him the chance. “I don’t think- we’ve ever been so close before. Your eyes are very beautiful.”
Something was not right. The feel of her warm body pressed against his was triggering all the sensations normally accompanied by Yue’s touch, but she was different, it was different, and Touya’s only thought was that he needed to get away from it. Her face kept drifting closer to his, and instinctively he tried to pull back.
He was craning his head back and to the side to avoid her lips when he saw they were not alone, and in all of an instant the corridor turned very cold.
“Yue.”
Sometimes, Ralen looked in a mirror and wondered how it could possibly be that one man was so clever. It helped, of course, that he was surrounded by simpletons and empty-headed pleasure slaves that didn’t even know how to hide their indiscretions. That flaky Aya played into his hands like warm dough, last night, all but outright admitting she’d fallen in love with the slave after just a little prodding. Women were such stupid creatures, when it came to love, willing to trust anyone and believe anything.
It was easy enough to plant a notion in the girl’s head that the slave returned her feelings. Whether he did or didn’t was of no concern to Ralen; all he needed was the opportunity for Aya to press her luck. He assigned the cleaning duties of every servant, and knew perfectly well that her tasks included scrubbing the west upper corridor – it was a simple task to lace her bucket with a generous helping of cooking oil before she ever took it upstairs. After that it was only a matter of following, listening, and waiting.
It was a nauseating test of endurance, to be sure, forcing himself to listen outside while Touya persuaded the wench to try reading – as if she’d ever possess the intelligence to understand a book – but it all became worth it the minute they started slipping and falling all over each other. Yue’s slave might be taller than Ralen, and stronger than Ralen, and he might have knocked him to the floor with that punch, but as Ralen told Li that morning: there are other ways of dealing with enemies than just fighting. And Touya was about to find out just how big of a mistake he’d made.
“Lord Yue,” he murmured softly into his wrist, “I’m sorry to bother you, but there’s something about your slave you need to know.”
So very cold. For years Touya only stared, caught like a rabbit in the thrall of a fox, at the enraged glitter in Yue’s eyes and could do nothing else. Yue was angrier than he’d been yesterday when he hit Ralen, angrier than Touya had ever seen him, and he did not know why. He tried to move, slightly, and remembered the weight of Aya still pressing against his chest. Her face was ashen white, when he looked, mouth frozen half-open in a state of mute terror. Yue was staring at them both.
Understanding burst in his mind and panic flooded his veins. Yue thought… “No,” he blurted, and Yue’s furious gaze returned to him. “No- it’s not what you think. We were just- I just -”
“Get,” he ordered, voice low and dark with anger, “away – from – him.”
Aya didn’t look capable of breathing, let alone moving. Heart thumping rapidly in his chest, Touya pushed her back and off his own body, scooting backward to try and put a little distance between them. “Yue, listen to me -”
“Silence!” Yue snapped, and Aya uttered a petrified whimper. “Go to my room at once; your punishment will come later.”
“Nothing happened!”
“Go now.”
Every instinct in his body clamored for prompt obedience, for that glitter in Yue’s eyes was dangerous. But Touya didn’t move.
“What are you going to do to her?”
“Not your concern, slave.”
“Are you going to kill her?”
“I gave you an order, slave.” Yue’s eyes flashed, and Touya had to swallow.
“Just listen, please! It was an accident, she fell -”
“Stop touching her!” Touya flinched at the unexpected noise; he’d never heard Yue raise his voice before. He hadn’t even realized that he’d put one arm out across Aya’s chest, as if he could somehow shield her from Yue’s wrath. Hastily he jerked it away and stood, albeit unsteadily.
“I’m not leaving. Not until you listen to me!”
Yue snarled, a deathly cold feline snarl that matched his inhuman eyes, and before Touya could react he snatched his slave by the arm. Touya was yanked right off his feet, unable to do anything but gasp from the sheer pain crushing his muscles.
“You want to go first?” he bit out. “Then I will oblige you. You stay right there,” he ordered the trembling heap that was Aya, “I will be back for you.”
Touya had barely managed to regain his footing before Yue yanked his arm again, dragging him away from Aya and toward the nearest stairwell, moving at a speed no human had ever matched. He struggled, but it was about as effective as a flower refusing to be picked.
“If you would just listen – we both fell – it was an accident -”
Every attempt to speak was only met with a furious growl, and with an ugly sense of déjà vu Touya was dragged up the stairs, down the corridors, and thrown against Yue’s bed. The crop was already in Yue’s hand, but Touya hadn’t even healed from his other punishment yet. Frantically he scrambled across Yue’s bed and dropped to the floor on the other side, backing away warily.
“Slave! How dare you try to avoid me, come here at once.” Yue’s eyes were snapping with cold fire, but Touya shook his head.
“I won’t. I didn’t do anything, nothing happened, and I won’t let you hit me again.”
“Don’t lie to me. I saw you with her, saw you touching her.”
“I didn’t! I mean, she fell on me. It was an accident!”
“She fell,” repeated Yue, scornfully. “I thought you were cleverer than that, slave. Don’t you have a better story?” He was closing the distance between them now, and Touya had backed into the wall. He tried to bolt but Yue was too fast for him, snatching his shoulder in such a merciless grip that Touya’s knees buckled. He was bending him over, trying to force his face to the bed, and Touya clutched at Yue’s arm.
“It’s not a story! Check the floor, touch it, there was something in the water that made it too slippery! I didn’t touch her, I didn’t even think about it because she wasn’t you!”
Yue froze, abruptly, Touya could feel the muscles in his arm and chest tense. For what seemed like an age neither of them moved, and the only sound in the room was Touya’s labored breathing. Then those muscles relaxed, releasing him, and Touya put a hand on the bed before he turned around. The anger in Yue’s eyes was gone, erased. Instead he looked – surprised? Stunned?
“You swear,” he said at last, in a voice that was low and husky, “that you did not touch her?”
Touya nodded rapidly. “You can ask her, she’ll tell you the same thing. We fell.”
It still didn’t quite look as if Yue believed that, and yet he wasn’t angry. Why was he staring at Touya in such a peculiar way?
“Sit,” Yue ordered, and Touya obeyed without questioning. “Stay right there, and do not move until I return.”
His eyes held Touya’s until he’d left the room altogether, long hair swishing behind him. The room didn’t feel any more comfortable once he’d gone, though, and Touya stayed exactly where he was on the edge of the bed. What else could he do? Escape? Unthinkable, at least right now. Follow? He sensed it wasn’t wise to push Yue, even with this temporary reprieve. How did it happen? Touya still wasn’t sure. Trembling, he gripped the sheets in his hands and waited for Yue’s return.
The girl was, naturally, in no condition to answer Yue’s questions. She’d crumpled to the floor in a pathetic, sodden heap and was now sobbing hysterically, oblivious even to his return. She was most likely convinced that her life was over, and she might have been right if Touya’s words weren’t still echoing in his mind. For the first time in his life, Yue bent over and trailed a fingertip along the floor.
There was indeed a very oily residue.
“Ralen.”
“My lord?” The servant had appeared almost instantly, when summoned, and now stood poised for orders with an expression that could almost be described as eager.
“See to it that this mess is cleaned up. And take that to a room that’s a little more private, I want to speak to her. Calm her down, too.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Ralen hurried to do his bidding, and before long a second servant was on her knees and – carefully – wiping up the spilled liquid. He threw a glass of cold water in the blonde’s face, which sobered her up slightly, hauled her to her feet and led her to the nearest room. Yue followed.
He did not return to his bedroom until sunset, the western sky already streaked with gold. Though it was dinnertime for his slave and the sister, Yue was very pleased to find Touya still sitting in the exact same position he’d left him in, tensely perched on the edge of his bed. He jumped up when Yue entered, hands balled into fists.
“Did you talk to her? What did you do to her – you didn’t kill her, did you? I told you it was an accident!”
Yue raised a hand for silence.
“I know what you said is true. You fell.”
Touya exhaled with relief and sank back down onto the bed again. “You talked to her, then?”
“I did. But you won’t, ever again. She’s gone.”
“Say what? Gone?”
“I ordered her to leave the castle tonight; a member of the guard will escort her to the city and leave her there. She is forbidden to return.”
Touya gaped at him, once again up on his feet. “But- you said you believed me! I told you nothing happened!”
“I do believe you; I know nothing happened. All the same, she is gone.”
“But why?”
He looked bewildered, and Yue felt a touch of wry amusement as he closed the distance between them. “Do you really not know?”
“Know what?”
Tenderly Yue stroked the back of his hand along Touya’s cheek, neither breaking his gaze. “She was in love with you, silly boy. I could see it in her eyes when I said your name. And I will not have anyone in this castle desiring what’s mine.”
Touya stared so blankly – and, for once, failed to deny Yue’s ownership of Touya – that there could be no doubt he really didn’t know.
“She was – what?”
“In love with you,” Yue repeated. “Were you so oblivious to her charms?”
“I-I didn’t… think about it. I didn’t- are you sure?”
“She admitted it herself, when I asked her. Most humans find it difficult to lie to my face.”
Touya looked a trifle dazed, and sank back down onto the bed. “She was just somebody to talk to during the day; I was bored. I had no idea.”
Yue sat beside him, studying the boy’s face intently. “She was a pleasure slave once, a rather attractive girl. Did you feel nothing for her?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Never touched her, not once?”
“No!”
Yue exhaled with relief, only just stopping himself from embracing Touya tightly to his chest.
“You’ve pleased me very much, slave. Go on to dinner, your sister will be waiting.”
Touya hesitated, though, eyes puzzled and unsure, and opened his mouth to ask a question.
“Go on, I said. You are no longer in trouble. Change into clean clothing first.”
What he wore now had still not dried and was clinging to his chest in a fairly provocative manner; further evidence that something untoward had been added to the water. Though the servant had spoken little, mostly through nods and sobs and the occasional hiccup, Yue guessed she added some kind of cooking oil to the bucket in order to facilitate falling over his slave like she had. From this day forward, he decided, his slave would be forbidden to assist in household chores. Obviously it was too much a temptation for some servants, and anyway he didn’t want Touya spending much time with anyone else.
The sister was bad enough.
His slave changed his clothing – servants started bringing fresh articles to his bedroom suite once Touya began bathing there – and left, though not with a backward glance over his shoulder. It was a task to keep his usual cool expression in place until he’d gone, but once he had Yue fell backward onto his bed. He did not exactly smile.
Though he came close.
It was as if nothing had ever happened, by the time Touya finished dinner and returned to Yue’s room. He unplaited and brushed Yue’s hair, after which Yue straddled him atop the rug and they undressed each other. Yue had not allowed him to forget his promise, in exchange for removal of the chains, and so Touya swirled his tongue over Yue’s flesh as he’d been taught, licking and sucking in the way Yue liked best. His own orgasm came later, coaxed gently by Yue’s hand while the other kept his shoulder pinned to the floor and their faces were so close they were almost touching. Afterwards, though, Yue settled himself half-draped across Touya and nestled his head into the crook of his shoulder. When he made a move to get up and go clean himself, a resisting tug kept him in place.
“Toya,” murmured his master, in that peculiar pronunciation of his. “Do you know why I was so angry today?”
Touya licked his lips and swallowed before answering. “I think so.”
Yue propped his head up on one elbow so that he could look down on Touya, and glided a palm over his bare chest. “You are my slave and therefore this belongs to me, mine alone to touch. I won’t tolerate any other putting their hands upon your body, or even looking. From now on you will spend no more time with any of my servants, speak no more to them than is absolutely necessary. Do you understand?”
Part of Touya bristled at the order that he could not speak to whom he wished, but he no longer had any desire to seek company among the castle’s servants. Not if Yue was going to exile them for it.
“Yes.”
Yue looked pleased at his acquiescence, a subtle lightening of his expression that Touya had only just begun to recognize. Lazily he continued trailing his fingertips to and fro across Touya’s chest.
“It disturbs me, to think of you with someone other than me.”
“I told you I won’t.”
“But have you ever in the past? A woman, perhaps, in your home village?”
“No.”
“Never?” Now Yue looked slightly bemused. “You are young, but not that young. Certainly you are beautiful enough. Why not?”
It was a question that had been asked many times before, actually, in his village, and Touya almost rolled his eyes. “I don’t know. I just- didn’t. My mother died after giving birth to Sakura, and my father had his students to teach. I was busy taking care of her, and then working odd jobs to provide food. I never had time to worry about any other girl besides her.”
“Not even attracted to any of them?”
“No. Well, there was Kaho -”
Abruptly the hand on his chest clutched at him with surprising strength, and an echo of Yue’s earlier anger flashed through his eyes. “Kaho? Who is Kaho?”
“Nobody,” Touya answered quickly, startled by the sharp reaction. “I only met her once, when I was following Sakura from the mountains to this city. She was a shrine priestess that gave me food and a place to rest, that’s all.”
“But you didn’t touch her?”
“No!”
Yue relaxed again. “I knew it. Since our first night I always felt that you had been unspoiled, untouched, as if you had been waiting your whole life for me. You were meant to belong to me.”
Touya had to turn his face away, unable to cope with the look in Yue’s eyes. “I don’t belong to you.”
“Say it as often as you like, slave, but we both know the truth. You are mine.” He lowered his head again, so that his lips tickled Touya’s ear when he spoke.
“And you always will be.”
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Disclaimer: I do not own these characters
Prize for most astute review goes this time to Mokona Modoki, for noticing that Touya and Yue have not kissed (mouth to mouth, that is) yet. It’s no oversight on my part, I assure you, just one of those weird quirky relationships when a kiss is more sacred than sex. You’ll have that and many other kisses to look forward to in the future.
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