Sa'manatha awoke with Jace, but pretended to sleep.  She enjoyed watching him get dressed in the morning.  But what she most enjoyed was him tucking her in after he got off the bed.  There was something so gentle and heartfelt in that action.  This morning threw narrowed eyes she noted the morose troubled air he had last night was lingering.  Something really was bothering him, and she feared she was part of the problem.  

The moment he closed the door she hopped up herself, and quickly washed her face, hands and hair.  Verna was up, she had noticed the woman peaking at Jace when he was dressing.  She rather liked Verna.  She was like a big sister or maybe an aunt.  She had been teaching her all sorts of beauty and seduction tips and it seemed to be working, because Jace actually called her beautiful.  She almost thought she had misheard him when he said that.  He never complimented her looks.  For those words alone she knew she owned Verna more then she could pay.  

Verna joined her at the wash bucket and started to play with her hair.  When she tried to stop her Verna pinned her in place by wrapping her waist in her nude legs, locking the legs to keep her from standing up and continued to tug at Sam's hair.  She didn't know what she was doing so she struggled futilely before complaining.  

"Verna, please stop that hurts" She whined with tears in her eyes.

"Lots of things that are worth it hurt.  Your first time I think.  For example.  Childbirth.  Not as you humans do it, but keeping the child and raising them, that hurts but it is worth it.  And i think you'll agree when you see it, what I am doing to your hair is worth this pain.  Now stop whining like a little kid.  You're too old for that.  Mmmmm, have you told him that you carry his child yet?  You'll be a mother in time.   I think you should be more adult."  

"Don't tell him.  He wants to go home.  I don't want to stop him.  He'd never leave me and the baby if he knew."

"And where is your heart in those lines of nonsense?  What are you?  A masturbation tool?  Is that all your life is worth?  To help some man relieve himself of his seed?  To host it, and birth it?  What will you do if he leaves?  MMMmmm?  Have you thought of that?  Will you then submit to being the masturbation tool of every man who desires you for the rest of your short years?  What of your child?  That will be his child too.  What if he had a strike of fortune tomorrow and found a way to leave.  Will you let him go without seeing his child and know it is his?  Will you let him leave his child to slavery like yours?  That mark is already inherited by the boy.  I told you this.  Your boy will be born to a world with this curse.  He will be born into slavery, and he will die with all the potential he may have carried gone forever.  Can you carry a child for 25 weeks and not care about the life it will live?"

Verna's words crashed into her, they were similar to the questions Jace asked her last night.  She could hear similar frustration in Verna's voice to her inability to understand something so simple to both of them.  She closed her eyes, she could feel this inescapable sadness, it was almost like she couldn't breath.  Tears fell from the corners of her eyes.  She didn't know why she cried so much around Verna, the woman just seemed to pull it out of her.  

"What is it I am missing that makes you and Jace so upset?"

"Don't you have dreams child?  Hopes?  Do you never think about what might be?  What if Jace was the one chosen by the Gods to lift your curse?  I want you to close your eyes and think about this.  What would you want to do if you were not a slave?  If Jace did not own you.  Where would you go?  You have an education.  This makes your skills valuable.  Or it should.  What if you could live a life providing for yourself and making the lives of others better?  You have no answer because you have no dreams.  You decided a long time ago that your life was no longer your own to live, so you're happy to let others make the choices for you.  Did you taunt jace into bed?  Did he take you because you were a slave and his propperty?  Did you want him to take you?  You wanted it right?  You wanted him.  Why does this want only apply to "now".  Why only for a child?  Because you were told that's your duty?  Is Jace your masterbation tool or your love?"  

"I love him."

"Then why don't you dream for him to love you?"

Sa'manatha was stunned by the question.  She did want him to love her.  But she was a slave.  But she... Why couldn't she want him to love her?  It felt like something that was blocking her thoughts was moved out of the way.  She started to question why couldn't she hope he'd love her?  Why couldn't she not want to be a slave?  Why couldn't she want to have Jace to have him stay here with her and the baby?  She had received almost nothing in this life.  Was her life only to be one in which she gave and gave and gave and never received anything in return?  

"Verna... I want him to love me."  Her voice was quiet almost as if she expected to be punished for speaking her desires.

"I know child." Verna gave Sa'manatha a hug, then kiss on the top of her head.

"But he doesn't love me."  Her voice broke a little at that.

"That's not entirely true child.  He loves you, just not as a man would love his wife.  Perhaps as a man would love his friend.  or perhaps as a man would love his sister.  He needs you, and loves you.  you're important to him, Very.  It isn't a heart racing love and many people marry with less feelings between them for life.  He is not as far outside your reach as you think."

"Verna, why are you following him?  Can you tell me the truth?  I don't believe you want to sleep with him.  And I don't believe its for some oath."

Verna was quiet a long moment then sighed.  "I had recieved an augery.  Did you know I am a preistess child?  No I did not think you knew.  The augery was unclear.  I wasn't even certain it was about Jace until he won that game against my boy.  Every day since has made me more and more convinced it was about him.  The words... were riddles, so do not take them too much to heart..." Verna trailed off 

"What were they?"  

Verna sighed then spoke quietly in draconic, it was a language Sam knew, the words sounded lyrical almost as if Verna was singing them.  

"A storm is rising, war is is coming hold your children tight;

The sun and moon shall break each other the heaven shall shatter from fright, 

the dragons shall die in this war unless you heed my call, 

humanity shall die in the war unless you listen well, 

Seak salvation in the seed of the outlander, Protect not those who harm his son

Seak salvation on knee before the outlander, Prepare for he shall blind the sun.

Seak salvation for the soul of the outlander, Weep for his throne may be made of blood and bone above a wold.  

Seak salvation for the heart of the outlander, Weep for his rage may break the world.

Beware the begging Outlander, for he returned gifts of scorn with the blade

Guard the sleeping outlander, for if he does not wake neither shall you. 

And the Gods may die under his feet.  

Sa'manatha was quiet a long moment.  "You believe Jace is the outlander? and our son is the son in this prophecy?"

"I believe Jace is the outlander.  I do not know about your son.  Your son is too young.  I cannot tell his future.  I have received no new augeries.  This one came from my goddess.  Ssaras.  My sister received a different message from Manatha, I did not hear what those words were but she told me to find the outlander in my augery and lay with him to create that child.  She claimed to be convinced I was to be the mother based on her augury, but she would not tell me the words.  She has been known to misinterpret auguries."

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She thought quietly, then spoke "I don't know about prophecies, but I think Jace won't sleep with you unless he feels something for you.  I don't think you can convince him with a prophecy.  I heard him talk about them being nonsense before."

"You're right, he won't sleep with me child.  Not for a prophecy.  Not as long as you hold that piece of his heart.  You probably could beg him to sleep with me and I don't think he will.  He's a bit faithful in his way.  Still I worry about the world and future child.  If that prophecy is true then he will not be returning to his world, and the gods are preparing to war with each other.  So tell me child.  Do you still wish to hide your pregnancy from him?"

"No.  I don't."

"Then lets not worry about prophacy or that ape Jace, did you know if you used some Curran fruit and mixed it with some of those pretty orange flowers on the hill outside, then washed your hair in it, your hair would lose it's grey and turn beautiful blonde?  Now imagine your hair a beautiful blonde and look at this."  

She turned Sa'manath's head toward the one mirror, in it she saw her hair done up in the most beautiful pattern.  It was a knot style that the Fairy girl called a braid.  It looked beautiful.  She grinned looking at the beautiful braid made out of her hair.  

"Pretty good, now you need some gold ornamentation and that dye.  What do you say we go hunting for some fruit and flowers?"

“But didn’t he seize 11 or more girls to serve as his personal concubines?”  It was an old naked man in chains that asked that.

“That’s right, he actually seized at least 11, I think he was taking concubines all day yesterday.  I don’t see why you’re saying he’s so noble.”  Another voice spoke out to general agreement of a number of others. 

There was at least 30 nude slaves listening to one clothed one in this deep dark basement.  The clothed one was clean, and almost otherworldly in her beauty.  They had never seen a human slave girl look so healthy, well fed and clean.  Her hair was even done up in braid, a small gold chain around her brow as if she were a princess, her hair golden, of course she was wearing the chains of servitude, and wore a plain almost see through white robe.  The only clothing a slave could legally wear.

“You don’t understand.  He hasn’t touched them.  He’s teaching them magic.  He’s protecting them from serving men… in that way.”  Sa’manatha still had difficulty explaining why this was wrong.  Because it was central to how women were raised.  This was just how it was.  After her talk with Verna the things Jace talked about love and doing this with someone because you wanted to, it sort of made its own sense. 

The slaves all looked at Sam with a puzzled expression as if not getting the problem.

So she tried to explain it as she knew it.  “Listen, why should we do things that hurt?”  She pointed at a dirty girl who had enough of a figure developing that Sam guessed she was probably fairly popular.  “When men do those things to you do you ever just.  Wish they’d stop?  How about after several in a row? How is several in a row going to make you more pregnant then the first one?  How does 10 men fucking you when you ARE pregnant make more babies?”  She wasn’t sure if she was getting the point across at all.  She barely understood it herself.  But it was a growing sense that this way of living was wrong.  Somehow Jace and Verna were waking her up to something about it that doesn’t make much sense.

A number of the women surprisingly to Sam were now nodding in agreement.  They were slaves but that didn’t mean they stopped feeling.  Stopped thinking.  It was hard to tell a woman all her life that her job was to take a man’s seed to make children, then force her to keep taking seed even when she was pregnant with a child.

“Jace would say you’re being used as a tool for masturbation.  Not for any duty to make children.  Oh sure that’s some of it.  But mostly it’s just about self-satisfaction.  You’ve seen the look right?  They’re enjoying hurting you right?”  She was starting to get on a roll.  She could tell the women at least were starting to get what she was trying to say.  She then looked to one of the male slaves she “knew” was involved with one of the women slaves. 

She pointed to him “Tell me, how can some other man impregnate your girl better then you?  Why should other men have right to touch your girl?”  A number of the male slaves were now nodding.  “What about your daughters?  I know a number of you have daughters and sons.  Bright young children who don’t understand why they must be naked.  Why they must wear chains.  Bright young children who sometimes are played with by free men or women.  Children too young to give children to anyone.  How does that increase the number of humans?  How is that living?  Should any child have to face that?  I know many of yours have.  Boys and girls.  Many of you men have had it happen to you.  When a pervert demands your body for their desires.  WHAT CHILD CAN BE BORN FROM THAT?”

All of the slaves were now nodding, some of them were crying.  Sa’manatha spoke slowly.  “Jace was taken from his life.  He lived on a different world, did you know that?  In that world men and women were equal, with the same rights.  There were no slaves.  No man could own another man there.  They imprisoned or killed people who did what has been done to us.  He finds slavery disgusting.  He hates it.  It breaks his heart.  You should see the sad look he gets in his eyes whenever he looks at my chains.  Sometimes tears well up in them!  What type of man is Jace?”  She paused.  “He is a chosen of the gods.  He is a great man.  I’ve seen him act divinely inspired to navigate sure death situations.  He cares so much for me.  A slave.  That he turned down 30 gold Tals for me.  He then played AND WON a game of Meri’ack against a Kindred man.  All for ME!  Don’t believe it?  Look at the woman Verna who serves him as a slave.  She is kindred.  Look at his sword.  It is a kindred weapon.  Won in that game.  He does not see slaves as property but as people.”

She paused, you could have heard a pin drop it was so quiet, the eyes of the slaves were wide.  No longer where they doubting what she spoke of.  It all matched information they knew.  She continued to speak.  “Why was he brought here?  I happen to know why the wizards ripped him from his peaceful world his family, friends and love of his life.  They kidnapped him to save us from our own problems.  And despite having all that reason to hate us, he saves those of us he can.  Now it is 11 girls from being used as masturbation tools.  As he saved me.  He was kidnapped and forced to help us.  He is here to cure the curse.  That is why he was summoned.” 

“I don’t know if the prophecies are true.  He does not look like the old grey king.  But what does that matter to me?  Nothing.  I wouldn’t want anyone else to become king.  I wouldn’t want anyone else to become our savior.  No one from this world could think of slaves like he does.  What does it help us if some king reborn comes through and cures the curse if our chains stay on?   We would get to live long lives of servitude instead of short.  We would get to be fucked under the true light of the sun instead of in the shade so all could see our servitude.  I don’t know if Jace can free us, and I don’t know if he can remove the curse.  But I’m willing to help him try.  What of you?”

Many of the slaves remained quiet.   A few left quietly.  But a sizable group came forward to speak with her more about this.  Deep under the keep in a dark cave which only the slaves knew about, a place which had known nothing but lament, a new sound was starting to rise.  Hope.