Nua and Kaiji waited just around the corner from the library and listened. “Oh but master, we shouldn’t! Even though the mistress is delayed, this is her library! What will she think!” Diana’s silky, throaty voice changed its pitch from high to low, every word was anything but a contradiction, rather it was an invitation to the taboo.
“Nothing if she doesn’t know…” They heard the old voice of a happy letcher and the grunting sigh of the hunter who found his mark and loved it.
Nua traded a look with Kaiji and they nodded in unison, the silent, ‘Now.’ Passing between them as the slapping of flesh to flesh reached their ears.
“It turns out I wasn’t going to be as delayed as I thought, I hope my hos-pi-tal-i-ty…” The last word stretched out like miles on the horizon as she entered the room with Kaiji carrying a chest in two hands in front of her.
“By the stars!” Kaiji exclaimed dramatically and dropped the chest when she brought her hands up to cover her mouth, seemingly horrified. The chest tumbled to the stone floor and flew open, countless platinum coins scattered everywhere over the floor. The clinking metal caught the light through the windows and glinted brightly as the stars Kaiji had just called out to.
‘Gotcha.’ Nua thought crudely and turned her stunned bunny face into a mask of raw fury. “What are you doing with my slave?!” She shouted.
In front of them, it was quite obvious what was happening. The wrinkled old elf with his bald head and faint paunch had his pants down around his ankles, while Diana was bent forward at the waist and she was quite obviously pressed to the hilt of the old banker’s rod.
“Mistress! He’s raping your servant!” Kaiji laid it on thick, screaming out in horror and rearing back on one foot.
“NO!” He shouted in a sudden panic, letting go of Diana’s hips and stepping backward in a panic.
Diana ‘fell’ forward, her dress still bunched up around her waist, tears in her eyes, “I’m sorry mistress! I told him I shouldn’t, we shouldn’t! But he said it didn’t matter as long as you didn’t find out! That it was fine!” Diana sniffled for further effect, and the old letcher’s greedy green eyes darted around in panic, looking for help that didn’t exist.
“No! She seduced me! I swear it!!” He shouted, scrambling to pull up his pants and having little luck at it.
Nua pointed down at the weeping Diana. “You defiled my servant in my home, in my library! That’s what I see, Amondera! You come, invited into my very house, in trust! And tell me in a matter of minutes… that she… who knows she’d be beaten for such actions, just could not resist you?!” Nua glared mercilessly at him. “How old are you, a thousand?”
“Ah, one thousand one hundred and ninety… but she did! Your slut of a slave threw herself at me!” He pointed a shaking hand at Diana, who was inching away with her eyes shimmering with tears, a hand came up in a fist close to her lips.
“No… no I… mistress… I didn’t! I just came to see if I could bring him tea since you were going to be delayed, he called me beautiful and… well then, and I, but he’s a free person and I… he said not to tell… he said not to tell!” Diana exclaimed and scrambled behind Kaiji.
Nua thrust a finger toward Diana. “Be silent, it’s clear what happened here!” She growled and brought the accusing finger toward the lecherous banker.
The brutal look on Nua’s face could have made a demon weep, her eyes were narrow and her entire body shook with rage, her voice turned as rough as her accusation was sharp. “You saw something beautiful that belonged to me, and wanted to enjoy it, you didn’t care about the vast wealth I was prepared to store in your vaults, to entrust you with. You didn’t care for the sanctity of my home, or the sanctity of my property. You wanted what you wanted and that was that. Even if you didn’t rape her, she’s the property of my house! Would you have used my very bed if we had met in my chamber instead?! Is this how the Bank of Pas’en treats its noble customers! Violating our property and our trust this way… no! Not acceptable! And to top it all off, you insult the quality of my servants! Get out of my house, Amondera. Get. Out.”
She looked over at Kaiji and Diana, “And you two! Clean up the damn coins! I have a letter to write to the Prince… and all the other nobles whose houses you visit!” Nua spun on her heel to leave.
“Ah, no! I didn’t mean to degrade your servants or your house! I swear it!” Amondera looked wildly at the sea of platinum coins, and as they were picked up and put away into the chest again, it was like watching an ephemeral treasure escape his grasp.
“Waaait!” He cried out and staggered after the Duchessa. Nua looked over her shoulder, eyes loaded with contempt.
“Your face is still flushed… and I can still…” Nua crinkled her nose, “smell it. How can you possibly think of making this up to my house?!” Her fingers clenched into fists. “I can’t think of anything that wouldn’t only add insult to what you’ve done!” She shouted so loudly at him that he saw clear to the back of her throat, but what chilled him most was that her breath had no heat to it. Her temper was raging fire, her breath was raging winter, and he was caught betwixt and between both, not knowing which way to turn.
“Please! Let me try… I’m truly sorry! I wasn’t thinking! It was a one time mistake! I swear I wasn’t forcing her!” Amondera moaned his protest and sank to his knees.
Nua folded her arms in front of her chest and stared down her nose at him, “Make me believe you, and I’ll forgive this.” Nua said with a sharp, biting tone.
Amondera’s mind raced like the starving for the last loaf of bread. “Ah, well, you were going to deposit your money with us, what if… what if…” His body tingled as he listened to the sound of clinking coins of invaluable pure platinum dropping into a chest behind him as they were taken up off the floor. “Well, I, I understand you had some interest in buying Komestran land, and… and in lots of slaves to work it. We have good relations with the banks of the other great cities. I could write you a letter of introduction, granting you perfect credit ratings and entitling you to ‘all’ of their services!”
Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
“More.” Nua answered.
“And ah, well, some of the nobles… here and in the other great cities, might have overextended themselves! You know, they might not be able to afford the land they bought, we can offer to give you the first opportunity to buy up the lands and people to be sold to recoup the loss!” Amondera listened to the coins continue to clink behind him.
‘How many does she have! I can’t lose this account!’ He screamed inside his own head and clawed at his face in desperation, looking at the back of the Duchessa, she took a step away and he blurted out more.
“We can, ah, you’re a mercenary commander by trade, right, raising a new mercenary unit! Well, lots of the contract military units compete, we can sell you their debts! It takes a lot to run a company, and most of them keep a running credit with the banks to keep their equipment up! That way you can make it in their interest to avoid the same contracts you’re taking! You’ll have a free hand on numerous jobs!” Amondera looked behind him to where the coins were almost all cleaned up, the chest was almost overflowing with bright shining metal.
Nua turned around and pointed to her purple tagged Kaiji, “Do you know who she is?” She asked the question rhetorically, she saw by his face it was obvious.
“Yes… she was Lady Kaiji of Komestra, a Duchessa of the city…” He drew the words out like poison from his tongue as if loathe to admit it.
“Right. Even though she’s fallen, she is very loyal to me, if word of what just happened in my house spread, the other nobles might have cause to question what ‘else’ you might do when there is…” Nua tapped her cheek and looked away as if deep in thought about how to say what she wanted, “...less wealth, on the line. Maybe nobody cares much about who does who, but I know very well they’d take issue with the one who holds their wealth, using their servants in their homes that way. It’s an insult, especially for someone not of noble rank.” Nua let the statement hang there like an executioner’s blade.
‘No… half of them would pull their accounts in a week, we’d be ruined! And that’s if nobody starts up a competing bank… oh stars, what if ‘she’ chose to do that?!’ Amondera ran the horrific scenario through his head and continued making it worse in his imagination with every possible version of the outcome.
“Nobody has to hear about this, you’ve offered a great deal to me, if anyone did, of course they all know that even as she is, Kaiji can be trusted to say what she saw. But that doesn’t have to happen. I’ll just punish that one for playing the whore like you say she was.” Nua’s hand pointed to the now cringing Diana, who whimpered a faint plea for mercy.
“Just add one more thing, and we can do business, and nobody will hear about any of the rest of this unpleasantness.” Nua came closer to the now pale, wide eyed old banker. She then extended her fist to Amondera, and opened it slowly, turning her hand to the side to offer a handshake.
“Y-Yes of course!” Amondera stammered as the chest of coins was taken up in Kaiji’s hands and she returned to the side of her mistress.
“I happen to know you have an empty spot on your board. I want to send one of my servants as a representative of my interests. Given that ‘my’ wealth will be held there, I should have someone on hand to ensure it is properly managed. That should be no problem, right?” Nua asked rhetorically.
“Ah, Lady Aiwenor, I don’t know where you got this information, but there is no empty spot on the board… and even if there were, our rules prohibit anyone but free people on them.” He looked down at the chest like it was a long lost child returned home at last.
Nua’s lips spread open and she laughed airily and put her hand to Amondera’s shoulder, “There will be an empty spot when you make one for me. And they will be allowed, when you change the rules to allow them. Of course… if you don’t want to…” Nua shrugged and turned aside.
“Diana, Kaiji, let’s go, Amondera can see himself out. I’ll find another place to store my fortune.” Nua stated crisply and withdrew her hand.
“What am I thinking! Forgive me Duchessa! I didn’t read between the lines just then, of course we can handle something so ah, yes, trivial for you. Let me do that for you to make up for this dreadful occurrence.” Amondera flushed red, and he waited with bated breath until the Duchessa made an evident decision.
“On second thought, I suppose we can do business.” Nua snapped her fingers and pointed to the table. “Slave, count the coins for him, ensure it’s all there, then give him that and get a receipt. Diana, come with me for your punishment.”
“Yes mistress!” The two women said in very different tones as Nua and Diana left the library and closed the two within.
They were halfway to Nua’s office before Diana dropped her tearful, terrified, and apologetic slave act. Nua felt it just behind her before she saw it, the way one feels a stare focused on themselves.
She caught a glimpse in a passing mirror to boot, and it was night and day between minutes before and the present. Diana’s shoulders were back and her stride was long and confident, her arms swayed gracefully at her side as they made their way into the office.
“Did I do well, my Lady?” Diana asked as she closed the door behind them.
“Exceedingly well, but… I did promise him I’d punish you for playing the whore.” Nua barely restrained her laughter, and Diana licked her lips lasciviously.
“Oh, you’re one of those, I knew it, mistress. I always know a predator when I see one.” Diana grinned from ear to ear.
Nua rolled her eyes at the woman, “I swear, I didn’t know I was buying a woman who was part succubus.”
Diana chuckled with amusement, “I sometimes wonder about that, but…” She shrugged, “Lady Kaiji, or rather, Kaiji now, I suppose. Well she never said, and she’s probably the only one left alive now who would know if I have demon blood or not.”
Nua filed that private mystery aside for the present. “Have they left yet?” She asked, and Diana walked to the window.
She scanned the courtyard below, soldiers were still laboring relentlessly in their ceasless lessons, and a carriage was racing away like a bat out of hell. “He is leaving now, like demons are in pursuit.” Diana responded and looked the soldiers down below over.
“May I speak on something outside of my expertise, my Lady?” Diana asked with a hint of curiosity in her bright green eyes.
“Go on.” Nua replied indifferently.
“Your soldiers, they’re all slaves, right? So… why are they training so hard?” Diana put her hands to the glass and leaned slightly against it, watching as closely as she could as men and women pushed themselves beyond the breaking point, only to get up again.
“Don’t soldiers usually train hard?” Nua asked in a rich, sarcastic voice.
“Yes… but slaves… mistress most slaves don’t give a damn about much, not even staying alive. I worked hard because of my mistress before… and now.” She winked at her free counterpart, “but most slaves don’t even care much if they stay alive. Life is drudgery and trudging. They get things done, but barely and not eagerly.”
Nua set down the paper in her hand, and folded her hands on the desk. “Because I give them hope. They’re not doing that for me, not most of them.” Nua explained, unable to keep some hint of sadness from her voice, she nonetheless went on, “I bought one woman’s daughter, and another man’s wife, and I set them free. I promised them all that the best soldiers would be able to choose someone of their friends or family, and I would buy them. Then they’d go free. The soldiers will remain as slaves as a matter of course… but a man will do a lot for his wife, a woman for her husband, and either for their children.”
Diana spun her head around to face behind her with such force that the jerking motion caused a sudden sting of pain. But her stunned look only increased when Nua explained further. “I also let them keep any plunder from the dead after a victory, as long as there are no wounds of retreat on their bodies. It makes them eager to charge ahead, they sell the plunder, and the money is theirs.”
“You reward slaves like that…?” Diana looked at her like she was an unfamiliar race.
“It makes them better at whatever they do. Besides, there’s no real difference between the free and the slave but dumb luck. Where you’re born, who you’re born to, what city you’re in on the right or wrong day… all I care about is what will get me what I want. And of course… putting down what’s in my way. Now… you won a great victory for me today… slave.” Nua stared pointedly at the seductress, who with a silky smile on her face that chased off the stunned expression, began to go to her knees.
“What you did, put the bank of Pas’en in my pocket. That’s worth almost as much as breaking Bracer. So name your desire, if I think it reasonable, and it is within my power, then it is yours.” Nua kept looking at the woman, and her silky, seductive smile. She chose to prudently add, “But if you say a night with your mistress, I really will have you lashed.” Her face was so deadpan when she added it, that Diana wasn’t sure if Nua was joking or not.
However what she said was, “If you come across the person who got my mother and father killed, I want that life for myself.”
“That’s fair, you’re handing me a lot of lives, the least I can offer is one, do you know anything that might help?” Nua asked, suddenly intrigued, she leaned forward a bit over her desk.
“No, but your slave, Kaiji, might.” Diana said, turning her face back to the window to watch the soldiers training down below.
“Oh, why is that, slave?” Nua inquired further.
Diana put one hand gently on the glass. “I should think that obvious, mistress. It’s because when Kaiji was a Duchessa like yourself, she had my entire family purged. Father, mother, their siblings. Everyone but me, I got this.” She said, and touched her free hand to her collar. “Not many people get jewelry like this for a birthday present, especially the day they’re born.” She snorted derisively at her black humor, and continued to watch the soldiers train.