Devotion. Nua knew the look well. ‘I saw it on the face of the Dark Savior at Wenmark’s ruins when she promised to destroy everything and kill everyone in her way. I saw it on Teacher’s face when she spoke of her maker. I saw it on Raymond’s face when… when we were… no, don’t think about that. But now I see it again, on the face of Kaiji. It is a relief.’

“While I wait for Priceless, tell me what I missed. What has happened… on a more ‘daily’ level if you understand. Yes, I listened to the reports I was given in brief, but I’m interested in my people.” Nua emphasized, unthinkingly bringing her left hand up to stroke the soft, silky hair of her Majordomo.

“This… is part of why… why you belong where you are.” Kaiji gave a tiny smile upward, and then without explaining what she meant, she answered. “The children you left in Freyjin’s care are well, your teacher, Lady Solution, was initially hesitant to train them, but she seems to have had a change of heart. They are speaking more and have begun to take to Freyjin far more closely.”

“That’s good, that explains her sudden… urgency for them. Keep an eye on Freyjin’s progress. How about the other children working in my estate?” Nua asked thoughtfully, “Are they learning, how is the education program coming?”

“Mistress, there are now one hundred children working around your estate, we have acquired two teachers, the son and daughter of two members of Komestra’s former nobility, and set them to teaching them in two age groups. We have however, run into a concern recently.” Kaiji took a breath and then lowered her head.

“Go on.” Nua said encouragingly.

“We’ve begun to settle some of the acquired slaves in villages, along with their families, other than the warriors who remain here. However, many are requesting to remain, they want their young ones to keep learning, and there are no teachers for the villages.” Kaiji pursed her lips, “I considered reprimanding them for their presumption on your largesse, but they are good workers, and they are only asking.”

Nua gave that a moment’s thought, “I see, well, in my experience, educated servants make better ones. After we buy the Lur’gin company we’ll select some of the better educated slaves and set them to teaching in our villages and towns, but that’s not all, is it?”

“No… no, Lady Aiwenor, it isn’t.” Kaiji’s deep purple fingers wrapped around Nua’s hand and locked her gaze up to the ice hard blue that was only slowly melting under her devoted attention. “Freyjin brought this to me a few days ago. My lady, I am sure you are aware that many of those women you acquired from Komestra, are presently with child. Few of them, unsurprisingly, know who the father is.”

Nua gave a slow, understanding nod. “I am not surprised.” She stated neutrally.

“My Lady, they are begging you not to make them continue to carry on that way. Not all… some have chosen to follow the will of the stars, but others say they can’t endure having to bear the fruit of their city’s fall.” Kaiji’s eyes fell away, “I am an apostate of the stars, you are my goddess now, they belong to you, if it is your will that they enrich you in this way, I can’t argue.”

“But you have an opinion, don’t you, Kaiji?” Nua put a hand underneath the sharp chin and turned the face of her Majordomo upward.

“I do… they’ve been punished enough for the failure of their rulers. Must they continue to suffer for the rest of their lives? Falling so low is hard enough for them. I haven’t learned anything of your beliefs but what little you’ve taught me, but after Freyjin spoke to me, I visited them. They begged me to intercede with you on their behalf, they are desperate, my lady. Desperate.” Kaiji urged, clenching her fingers tight. Their grip slackened on Nua’s hand and Kaiji slipped down prostrate to the floor. “I beg you… I beg you to show mercy to them. I know that compelling them to continue to carry these pregnancies will enrich your house further… but please… please don’t force them to do this for you. I failed them, our Prince failed… the priests… they say that these pregnancies are the will of the stars, and that cannot be undermined. That it is their will that must be done, but I cannot bear their pleading eyes…”

“One of them, she could not have been more than seventeen summers, she saw her family die by the hands of those who took her. She clung to me and pleaded with me to ask for your kindness. I have nothing to offer, you already have all that I am, but…”

She stopped when Nua’s hands cupped cher cheeks and raised her head. “Kaiji… it’s alright… it’s alright...” She drew the Majordomo up into her lap again, “I won’t force them to do this… the fall of their city will not be punished that way for a lifetime. Take the names of those who want this done. We have a magic caster with sleep spells, send these women one by one to Lady Solution. Let them sleep, and Solution will take care of the rest. After it’s over, give them each a few days off to… cope.”

“Thank you… thank you… thank you for your kindness to my people… I didn’t want to fail them a second time.” Kaiji wiped her face and sniffled hard. “I’m sorry, I seem to have… gotten some on you, My Lady.” The demon-elf said with a shaking embarrassed smile.

“It’s fine, Kaiji, I want a bath anyway, I will have you and Priceless attend to me for that.” Nua stroked the long dark hair enviously and briefly longed to have her own back. The brief memory of Timnah sending her smashing to the sands… repeatedly, caused her to grit her teeth and tense.

“My Lady…?” Kaiji asked, sensing the tension in the powerful legs of her Duchessa.

“I’m fine, just a brief memory that ended well but had a tense moment or two, that is all. Go on.” Nua replied and let herself relax again.

“Yes, mistress. I have set aside one room in the basement of the women’s quarters for those who will need a space to have their children when the time comes. I would suggest it would be beneficial for you to visit them.” Kaiji wasn’t looking up, the bone in the side of her head rested on the warm, powerful thigh, and she just looked ahead at the luxuriant pillow where her goddess would sleep that night.

“Visit them?” Nua looked down quizzically, “Wouldn’t that terrify them? For all they know I’m there to collar their newborns or take them for sale or just to show them who is in charge.”

Kaiji raised her head and folded her hands together in Nua’s lap, “No, not after this. Priceless and I spread your will throughout your towns and villages, but we began here. Your prohibition on the sale of children under the age of ten has eased many fears. The high taxes on doing so has all but killed the trade in the elder ones as well. If you come to the women’s quarters during that time, they will see you closer to the way I do.”

“Kaiji… if you think it best.” Nua killed the retort and the doubt she was about to express and restrained her urge to sigh. ‘She knows her people better than I do, if it would help solidify my power and control, it’s fine. Things are different here… back then, I’d have been terrified.’

“Thank you, Mistress. I do, I really do.” Kaiji replied, and took the right hand of her Duchessa and plied her worship to it. “I know you want a bath, and Priceless will return soon, but let me do this a little longer, and tell you more of what happened.”

Nua looked away, toward the light she basked in, which struck her back and warmed it slowly as the heat of the day continued to grow. “Go on, then.”

“Contessa Lodira’s family was slaughtered, the night you left, she was the only survivor.” Kaiji’s eyes were full of fear as she looked up to her mistress, “Nobody knows who did it or why. There was a man missing, he is presumed to have done it, but as the Contessa survived, she is assumed to have put him up to it. Though nobody knows for sure, it was… enough.” Kaiji shuddered, “The poor woman.”

“That is unfortunate…” Nua said, plain faced, “But from what I understand of Pas’en’s laws, since she was a foreigner and had no children, she couldn’t inherit, and so she should have had no motive, and so had nothing to gain.”

“Your understanding is correct, Mistress, however, Count Ulmin was very old, and Lodira’s affairs were many. The leading rumor is that she had them all killed so that she could marry one of the men she was having an affair with, such as the Prince, and keep everything, plus move ‘up’. It didn’t work out that way though.”

“No?” Nua asked innocently.

“No, she was recalled home, and we got a letter while you were gone. She was being sold into slavery by her father. She was begging for your help, pleading her innocence. Though if I may speak freely, mistress?” Kaiji asked with a higher pitch.

Nua gave her an approving nod.

“I didn’t really believe her, but after speaking with Freyjin, we did send someone out to look for her. Unfortunately, she died.” Kaiji replied, “I suppose the knowledge that she’d lost everything, probably due to her own actions, was too much. Her father said she killed herself by throwing herself into the river.”

“Oh.” Nua answered shortly, guilt rushing over her, her heart pounded harder. “I… am going to the baths. Go tell Priceless to bring whatever she is preparing, and join me there. I think I have heard enough for the day, we can see to your other suggestions about acquiring Lur’gin later. Set Freyjin to it. Go, quickly, I want to be clean again, and soon.”

“As-As you wish, mistress.” Kaiji stood and rushed from the room as Nua threw on a robe and walked slowly from her bedchamber.

When she reached the baths, she was alone, she threw the robe aside onto a nearby hook, the cedar room was already full of steam. The warmth of the water reminded her of the public baths of the hotel, but these were hers alone if she wanted.

The sound of it rippling around her was soothing to her empty spirit. ‘Sobella… I’m sorry. I thought she’d be investigated, cleared, and that would be that… I didn’t mean to kill one of your only friends.’ Nua apologized to the vanished spirit that lived only in memory, and sat herself on a stone bench beneath the water, against her back was a central pillar that rose to the top of the ceiling before it tapered down around the circular building. Nua splashed water into her eyes to stave off any tears she might shed. ‘Come off of it, Nua. You barely knew the woman. She was just unlucky. There are going to be a lot of casualties before you’re done. Like those you couldn’t save at the… ranch. You’re committed now… and for more reasons than just one now.’

She splashed water several times more while the rising heat of the water made the room thick with steam, the quiet except for the faint splashing of the fountain on the other side of the room helped her to relax.

She lay in the water on her back and let herself just float, closing her eyes and drifting aimlessly until she heard two feminine voices enter. “My Lady.” Kaiji asked with brief hesitation.

“Here.” Nua said, and planted her feet down on the stone beneath her, standing up and splashing water over her face again.

That was enough, she heard the sound of rustling cloth as they cast their robes to the floor beneath where hers hung, and the sound of rippling water as they joined her in the bath.

She waited for them to approach and held her arms out at her sides. As soon as they came into view, she saw that Priceless carried a tray of light snacks local to the region. Small rolled breads that had a heavy aroma of oil, butter, and garlic. Nua’s stomach rumbled audibly. “I have not eaten well lately.” Nua said with a dry tone, “Now attend me.”

Priceless took one off the surface of the porcelain plate that sat on a tray of silver. It was round and small, suitable for one hand, ‘Good intuition, she really is an expert at this, a novice would have brought a larger and more unwieldy tray.’ Nua thought and opened her mouth.

Kaiji applied the wet blue sponge to Nua’s back quite liberally and pressed as hard as she could into the remnants of deep scars concealed by a now beautiful design, while she worked, Nua quietly ate the small morsels Priceless fed to her.

Priceless felt the eyes on her, studying her like she was a curious creature newly discovered and unfamiliar. Still, the brown haired slender woman went about her service with quiet patience, and when it was done, the question forming in her mind was answered before it could be asked.

“Kaiji says you’ve grown a great deal in my absence, what do you say?” Nua asked, and Priceless bowed her head.

“I just want to do more… be more useful. I want to show I was worth what you did before… and I think… I think I can do that. I might need help, but Kaiji is always there and I know you protect what is yours. So I don’t… I don’t know if I’ve changed. But I know I’m trying, trying to be more than I was. She talked about buying the Lur’gin Slave Company already, I understand why you ask, mistress.” Priceless stepped closer and knelt in the water, holding the tray above, she gazed up at the blue eyes that radiantly reflected her brown. “I want to try. Put it into my hands, and I will do everything in my power to enrich you further, to find good stock to serve your ambitions, and if I fail…”

“If you fail what, slave?” Nua’s calm voice brooked no argument or disguising of words, and Priceless did not try.

“If I fail you, I am prepared to face any punishment, no matter how severe… even if… if you reduce me to scrubbing floors again, or worse, My Lady.” Priceless bit her lip to force herself to focus and not look away from the one she was coming to see as the goddess of vengeance and safety.

Nua searched her face and then placed a wet hand on Priceless’s soft hair. “You will get your chance. When the company belongs to me, you will go through the roles, identify anyone with the most useful skills, and set them aside for my use.”

“As you wish, mistress.” Priceless said with the deepest sincerity, her heart fluttered at the gesture, but any reflection was interrupted by a knock on the bathhouse door.

From outside, Freyjin shouted urgently. “My lady! The Prince has arrived to see you!”

“Entertain him until I arrive!” Nua barked, “I will get dressed immediately, give him any comfort he desires!”

“Yes, mistress!” Freyjin shouted and withdrew, while Nua, Kaiji, and Priceless made for the robes even faster than dignity would normally permit.