Freyjin stood in the temple of the mistress while the last benches were put into place. Black and red marble, a lectern from which to read or speak, candles lining the walls, and a ceiling that, unlike the temples of the Starwatchers, was triangular rather than domed. The workers were gone shortly thereafter, ‘Probably to report straight to the Starwatchers that the mistress has put this into place… it would be safer if these men just ‘disappeared’ rather than let them discuss things over drinks at a tavern.’ It tempted the elven woman greatly, a single shout, and she was sure the soldiers would obey their steward.

Yet she did nothing, the broad shouldered men in simple common pants and shirts who finished the last deliveries, polished the last stone, and showed their backs to her when she paid them. Then they were gone.

Tempting as the notion of finishing them was, part of her knew it was pointless. ‘Mistress already has converts, including Kaiji,’ she thought, and turned her eyes to the back of the room. There was an alcove there that sat empty, waiting for only their mistress knew what. ‘If you’re being honest, Freyjin, how far are you from abandoning the stars too? If you hadn’t fought, you wouldn’t have Lenah, you wouldn’t have Straen, you might not even have your little girl back. Kaiji was right, your little girl, your baby girl, came back to you… with a bruise from being hit, somebody bought her, made her work, and hit her. Maybe worse, she still won’t talk about the time she was gone. Where were you when that was happening? If the stars decreed that for her…?’ She stopped the blasphemous thought.

She stared at the empty space. ‘What about heaven, if we’re not good slaves, if we don’t obey and accept what the stars author for us… we’ll be punished when we die… those who fight the will of the stars, can only suffer.’

She recited the words of the temples from memory. ‘Like you weren’t already suffering? Like Lenah and Straen didn’t? Like your daughter didn’t?’ She argued back against herself, and went a few feet from the empty alcove.

‘The only thing you got, you got by fighting back… what did the mistress say…?’ She tried to recall, but the words were gone. What she did remember was the brutally scarred back the mistress showed to her. They ran so deep that faint lines were visible over the replacement, and to her touch, they ran almost to the bone. ‘Does she really want you to fight back? Will you die if you challenge her? Will your owner kill you… and then just…’ She clamped down hard on the question and shook her head.

Her memory of the mistress charging into the building in the shit district to rescue one stolen slave was too fresh, too vivid. ‘She isn’t lying…’ Freyjin thought with confidence, and sank to her knees in front of the empty space, and intoned a prayer as best she could.

“God of my mistress… I am a bad slave. A terrible one. I am treasonous. I want to be free. I want to defy my collar that the stars ordered for me. I want to be free to say no, to bow or not bow, free to protect my children… all of them. I don’t want a fate. I don’t want a destiny. I just want a choice, something the stars will never give to me. I don’t know your name, god of my mistress. But if you will bless me, if you can hear this, when she returns, move her heart to mercy… for a quick death or for my freedom. I beg you… I beg you for courage, I beg you for strength, not for myself alone, but for Lenah and Straen. Perhaps she would never hurt them, never take them… but if they are free… nobody ever can.”

“I have no idea if a god of death answers or hears the prayers of slaves… but… but if you do… hear me abjure my stars, I give myself over to the beliefs of my mistress, and when she comes back… I will fight her again. If I fail, preserve my guiltless children, that is all I truly want.” Freyjin finished her prayer, and went prostrate to the empty alcove.

For a time she wondered if her god heard her at all, but when the sun set and darkness filled the temple, she understood the truth. ‘He doesn’t have to answer himself, the answer will come with what happens to me when I raise my fist against her.’

When she understood that, she stood, felt her stomach rumble, and went to the kitchens to get food for herself and her children before sleep and dreams could claim them all.

The howls of mourning, frustration, outrage and dismay from the crowd in the arena of Tezcatli drowned out the padding of the horse’s hooves over the sand. It continued to drown out the sound of the horse’s hooves as the sand changed to stone from the city streets. They were barren of life, the streets of Tezcatli, save for the occasional cry of a bird or common unintelligent beast in a cage.

“Do we need to hurry, are they likely to chase us down?” Nua asked as she looked around the city and closed on the gate through which they were to depart.

“No… I don’t think so. The Tlalmok hold the sands of the arena to be sacred, from all that I hear.” Sobella replied, “Despite being a vicious, cruel people who savor our despair and pain, they generally keep their promises and customs.”

“That works out in our favor at least.” Nua replied and began to make careful note through the winding streets of what lay where. She reached out and touched a random building with her hand. ‘Yersin, is there any magic used on the stone?’

‘None, partner, and thank you for the meal, that was wonderful. Between him and the five hundred and one, I had enough mana to begin to build a mountain horizon. It’s not ‘there’ yet of course, but I at least have the view.’ Yersin answered, ‘Join me when you get time, we’ll have tea again.’

‘That will be my pleasure, Yersin.’ Nua answered, and the wails and roars of mourning for Timnah grew ever more distant.

Finally they reached the gate, it was guarded, but open. As Nua passed beneath the great high entrance, she reached out and touched the stone. ‘What about magic on this?’ Nua asked optimistically.

‘None, no special enchantments against damage. ‘ Yersin answered.

‘I see, can you lay a curse on it, something they might not notice?’ Nua asked with a hopeful smile on her eager face.

‘Probably.’ Yersin answered, and the gem glowed within her glove as Yersin’s curse infected the stone.

It glowed black only briefly, then faded as it spread and began to blend into the gate.

‘If that works, the stone will shatter easily against siege engines or a sufficiently strong magic attack.’ Yersin explained within her mind.

‘Great, we’ll do that at each stopping point along the way, as long as it is possible.’ Nua answered in turn.

Her quiet conversation was interrupted by the feel of smooth courtesan hands running up and down her front. Nua looked down to see the dark purple arms of her escort, coated in the blood of Timnah.

“Did you notice, Sobella…” Nua asked as she sought distraction from the confusing behavior, “You called them ‘people’ back there. You didn’t do that before.”

Sobella pressed herself tight enough against Nua that it compressed her chest, “I have you to thank for that… you were right, they are just people, not the gods or monsters they try to present themselves to us as. Just ‘people’. I won’t say I’m not frightened, not knowing what I do… but it isn't the same.”

“And… why are you… doing that with your hands?” Nua asked, shifting slightly in the saddle.

“I don’t really… ah… I’m sorry, I didn’t notice I was… I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” Sobella’s hands stopped moving and went back around her waist. “But…” She asked, and then stopped before continuing, clamping her mouth shut tight enough that Nua heard the click of teeth on teeth.

“But what?” Nua pushed as the city distance grew ever greater.

“Nothing, there’s a river up ahead that cuts through the empire. There are some slow bend places where we can bathe, and maybe stop for the night.” Sobella replied calmly.

Nua accepted the statement as it was, but she could feel the tension in her companion. She could feel the shaking as fear left the delicate body of the beautiful demon-elf courtesan. She could feel the deep red eyes boring into the back of her head with a strange fascination that seemed only to grow as the hours passed them by.

Eventually as the day wore on, the distant sound of roaring struck their ears. No alarm struck Nua, she recognized it for what it was, and clearly, so did Sobella. The land around them had begun to change, with green rolling hills near the great river, around which it flowed, and an enormous forest, seemingly untouched by anyone, sat inviting the wood elf to come and see it. Her instincts, that natural love of the woods that birthed her race, called Nua like the longing for home. She let a lingering look fall to it, but then straightened her eyes and rode on along the dirt road that wound itself around the contours of the landscape.

“Their empire is a beautiful place, I will grant that.” Nua finally said, breaking the silence that held between her and the tense demon-elf.

Sobella didn’t answer. Nua heard the faintest of whispers, but it was so quiet that even she could not tell what was truly said.

She did feel the forehead of the woman rest against her again, she made no complaint, it seemed to comfort her friend at least a little, and the shaking had ceased when the last of her fear was shed like a snake’s cast off skin.

Nua allowed the silence to stretch as they reached the view of the river, up ahead she could see the way the river rolled on lazily, a deep bend seemed very slow even, and yet not far beyond that, the source of the roaring from mighty rapids sounded like thunder.

However, as they drew closer, curiously enough, the roar seemed to fade, Nua kept her ear twitching, trying to catch the sound again as they drew closer, until Sobella caught and understood Nua’s actions, and at last a hint of relaxation seemed to come over her. She laughed, “The roar is from a canyon, the water drops off where it goes out of sight, I heard this story once from an escort who survived, the sound echoes just right that you can only hear it from farther away, get close and the sound fades away.”

“Can we cross easily?” Nua furrowed her brow, “If necessary I could probably use my skills and enhance my strength enough to get us across… but you never know what is in the water or what one space will be like compared to the last.”

“There is a bridge upriver, if we follow the road. It has guards, but they won’t bother us. We should camp though, bathe, replace our water, it’s been a long day.” Sobella said, and the more familiar, comfortable hold slowly began to return to her.

“Alright, fine by me.” Nua answered, and so they rode on to the horizon, ignoring the way the road turned north, and heading straight for the riverbank.

When they reached it, Nua’s eyes all but popped open. “This… this has to be a half a mile wide!”

“That is what I hear.” Sobella replied, and smiled sadly, “When I was little, before I ended up being captured and sold during some pointless war, I really wanted to see the world, I loved to go over every horizon and see what I hadn’t seen before. When I was trained as a dancer and an acrobat, and got very good at both, I made my master a very wealthy man, but as much as I hated some parts of my life, that much I loved. I got to see so many places, meet so many people. Now? Here? Well, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t dread the last day… but I’m grateful I got to do one last exploration of this terrible but beautiful world. And… and I’m glad I got to share it, what General Leaman did to you was wrong, and I have begun to suspect that he wasn’t alone in it. But I am glad of the company I’m keeping.”

Nua got down off the horse and held her arms up, Sobella let herself fall waist first into Nua’s waiting hands, and landed on the rich deep green grass. It gave beneath their feet, squelching slightly as they made their way the short distance to the riverbank.

Nua could think of nothing to say to Sobella’s intimate confession, and so she said nothing, tying off the horse to a thick root that jutted out of the bank and curved into the ground below. It nickered lightly, and she patted its neck with a gentle hand. “Good boy, good boy.” She said to the animal, and went to the gently rolling waters.

“Wait.” Sobella said, and Nua stopped dead from the sudden force in the demon-elf’s voice.

She looked behind her, where a resolute Sobella stood with bloody arms at her sides.

“Yes?” Nua asked with her head cocked to one side.

“Let me.” Sobella said, and took long steps that brought her close to Nua before the wood elf assassin could question what she meant by ‘let me’.

The question was answered by Sobella’s own actions, she peeled off Nua’s camisk that marked them both as ‘safe’ and threw it aside. She unbound the cloak at the front and cast it aside in turn. She then began to work the straps of Nua’s armor, her swift fingers moving easily.

“Sobella, I-” Nua’s statement was cut off by a firm shake of her head.

“I want to, unless you forbid it. You fought for me out there today, and what I have to say, it’s ugly, it’s ungrateful, it’s none of my business… but I have to do it anyway. So before I do that, let me show you I am thankful, let me treat you like the mistress you are, and serve you just once.” Sobella’s voice was urgent, insistent, almost like it had been when she had asked Nua to make love to her.

But it was also different, a pressing need pounded in the demon-elf’s breast, that much Nua was sure of, but for what, she could not yet say.

Her work at the boots was no less quick than her work at the straps of the armor, she seemed to think nothing of kneeling as she did, nor did she seem to mind the blood that slicked her dark purple fingers or got beneath her nails.

When everything was cast off, Sobella quickly ordered the material in order of filthiness, then stripped herself, and cast it all off dismissively, with nothing but a camisk and the royal garment beneath it, and her traveling shoes, it took only seconds.

Her hand grasped Nua’s, and she led her into the slow moving waters. Nua’s breath caught, for a moment believing Sobella might have had some lewd intent, and she prepared to put the woman off again. But nothing of the sort happened.

Instead, the demon-elf just reached down into the waters after crouching down, and scooped up a handful of sand, she then took Nua’s arm, and began to scrub the blood away.

“I’m sorry about your hair…” Sobella said as she scrubbed Nua’s shoulders.

“It doesn’t look good cropped to the shoulder?” Nua managed a sardonic laugh.

“Actually, it does, even if it does look like you cut it with a knife… which you did.” Sobella managed a genuinely warm smile while she used handful after handful of sand to scrub away the grime and filth from her companion.

Nua was patient enough, familiar with the routine, intimate in a fashion, it was also unique in that it was not the professionalism of Solution, nor was it the worshipfulness of Kaiji. She could feel the urgent eyes on her, as if trying to reassure the wood elf that she meant every touch kindly.

When the water’s splashed a bit and Sobella got to Nua’s back, that was when the assassin caught the first hint of hesitation… “By the starlight… was this ‘carved’ into you…?” Sobella asked in awe.

“Yes, my teacher’s handiwork, to remove a hated blight.” Nua answered with shameless pride in the intricate design.

“Didn’t it… hurt?” Sobella asked with a gentle touch over the skin.

“Terribly.” Nua replied matter-of-factly.

Sobella fell to quiet again as she scrubbed the blood and grime of days away from Nua’s body and into the waters.

The process ended when Sobella took Nua’s shoulders and slowly drew her down into the waters to rinse her off.

“You are now ‘clean’.” Sobella said with a hint of professional pride, folding her arms in front of her chest and giving a sharp, satisfied nod. “Of course when I do this with Rasgy, well, it takes a lot longer because washing the royal penis usually has to be done several times.” She giggled as Nua blushed cherry red at the lewd reference to the Prince.

Sobella then went to the shore, bent over, took up Nua’s clothing, and cleaned everything from her cloak to her boots, scrubbing every single item and laying it out again as it had been, with reverential grace.

Nua could only watch, every attempt had been met with, “No, let me do this for you.”

Nua sat naked on the sands of the riverbank with her knees up and her arms wrapped around them so that her hands clasped together, having simply decided to wait the demon-elf out.

The sun was setting in the distance, casting the world in a beautiful orange glow that shimmered over the great wide waters before Sobella began to wash herself and her own clothing.

Still, the wood elf escort could only wait mutely and watch her charge work alone.

“There.” Sobella finally declared, then stepping to shore, she stood in front of her escort, took a long deep breath, bowed, then straightened up and shouted with wild fury, fists clenched and face twisted, “What’s wrong with you?! How can you be like this?! Why are you like this?! Why don’t you feel anything? Well?! Why?! How?! How can you even exist this way?! How could you bring down Timnah?! Do you even know who he was?!” Sobella was stamping furiously and yelling down at Nua with such intensity that her escort was not quite sure what the issue really was… but despite not knowing the root, she understood the question, and with a tranquil heart, she chose to answer.