Chapter 2-20

Sati spent the rest of the day clad only in a thin veil. One so sheer that it left nothing to the imagination. While nudity wasn’t as great a taboo in Ramana as it was in some other places, it was still considered crass, especially for those of higher social station. Any time the apsara caught someone admiring her mostly naked form, she flushed with both embarrassment and excitement.

The fact that I could tell that so easily was a testament to our deepening connection. I hadn’t felt any great rush of poisoned mana from her, but the dribs and drabs of her sickness slowly receding continued. And although I couldn’t feel the drain, my own mana was clearly filtering back to her.

That evening Sati removed the curtain that separated her section of the tent, glancing at me nervously as she did so. I, in turn, shot Myta a questioning glance. At my flame’s sky smile I just shrugged. If the former princess wanted to get closer to us, I wasn’t going to complain.

That night Sati openly watched as Myta and I lay together. She pleasured herself while watching us, and even threw her welted back against her bedroll when she came. Her emotions were a confusing swirl of lust, pride, and comfort. I wasn’t sure what to make of it, but Myta was the focus of my attention anyway and she seemed both sated, and deeply content.

When I fell asleep, still tangled together with my love, I immediately fell into a dream. I was fully aware that it was a dream, and not any dream of mine. I sat on a regal throne, and Sati stood before me and to my left, her hands clasped in front of her. She stood several steps below me, such that I looked down on her, even when seated.

“You have disrespected your teachers once again.” I spoke in King Ramana’s deep, mellifluous voice. The princess fidgeted, and I glared at her lack of decorum.

“Father. This man is useless for teaching. He only lusts after me.”

“That is unavoidable, little flower.” I sighed, or Ramana sighed, wearily. “He is a weaker sorcerer, barely more than a mortal. It is your obligation to harness his desires.

“Yes daddy.” My heart broke a little at the resignation in the apsara’s voice.

“Bring forth the girl.”

Another woman was thrown into the hard stone floor, and a whip was presented to a man who had not been there before. The teacher Sati had apparently disrespected. The woman was was a mirror image of the princess, and the tutor eagerly accepted the whip. The expression on his face made me sick. It was desire, lustful and twisted with malice. He raised the whip in the air, ready to bring it down on rhe woman in front of him, but never taking his eyes from Sati’s face.

“Enough!” I growled out. I broke the momentum of the dream with my frustration. Turning, I saw that Sati was smiling at me, while everything else had frozen. The props and characters of her dream were beginning to fray all around us, dissolving into mist.

“What are you doing here?” She seemed perfectly lucid as she asked, though I would have sworn she was fully immersed in the dream only seconds before.

“You didn’t draw me here?” I asked. She shook her head in reply.

“I must have received enough of your mana to begin using your aspect. Although I am not proficient with it, something must have drawn me to your dream.” I looked to the hazy remnants of her tutor, rapidly dispersing into mist. “You have nightmares like this often?”

“It’s not a nightmare,” she shook her head. “It’s just a memory, not even a specific one. That figment could have been any of the masters daddy hired to teach me.”

Perhaps she wasn’t quite lucid. Her speech seemed less formal, her mood less guarded than normal. I decided to press her a little, if I could.

“Did this sort of… vicarious punishment happen often?”

“All the time.” She nodded. “Daddy always said that no mortal, or petty sorcerer was to lay a finger to one of his family. We were above them, so most people fell over backwards to appease us. When he decided we needed a lesson, someone else would take it for us.”

“Do you know,” she asked me, “how hard it is to learn, when no one will correct your mistakes? Or when they assume you already know what they have to say?”

It took me a moment to realize that it wasn’t a rhetorical question. “No. But I can imagine it.”

“It’s difficult.” She nodded. “Difficult, and very lonely. Before you, only daddy really treated me like a person. I think that’s why you show up like this.” She gestured to me, and I realized that I was still wearing Ramana’s visage.

“I should go.” I said, suddenly self conscious. “But I want you to know something, Sati. You are not a demigod here. With us you are just who you choose to be.”

“I know.” Her smile was brilliant, fading away as I withdrew to my inner world.

Myta was waiting there for me, and I caught her up on my visit with Sati. I couldn’t help but notice that my flame was pleased, but unsurprised.

“You knew about her upbringing?” I asked. Myta nodded.

“We’re alike, in surprising ways.” She laughed at my expression. “Don’t dismiss it, master. I may have been a ****, and she a princess, but we were both isolated and alone. I was taught that everyone else was better than me, and she was taught the opposite. But in some ways the effect was the same.”

“I suppose I can see that.” I accepted her statement. “Will the company treat her differently, after that display earlier?”

“Of course. But probably for the better. Few in the company know who she is, or about her involvement in the attack on Bani. They’ve seen her as useless baggage at worst, an expensive courtesan at best. Now, they at least know you’re watching her, they might even gain some respect for her.”

“That… wasn’t the response I expected. I was more concerned with lonely fighters pressing her for her company.” I noted.

“She shares our tent.” Myta replied simply. “They might look, but no one will press her too hard. Especially not after Futa”

Her mood started to go somber at that, and I touched her cheek to distract her.

“Regrets?”

“No,” she shook her head firmly cupping my hand with her own. “If I had killed him out of rage, I might feel differently. But you kept me from that. I did what needed to be done, to protect the company, and send the message that such assaults wouldn’t be tolerated.”

“But sometimes it hurts to have done it,” I said softly. She nodded, and I pulled her into a hug. I tangled my fingers in her hair as she lay her head on my shoulder.

“Sometimes even our best choices are painful. Even when we don’t regret them.” Myta nodded again, and I stuck my face in her hair, breathing in her scent. She was especially smoky today, probably an indicator of stress.

“Hopefully,” I chuckled, “we’ll get at least one good night’s sleep.”

And we did.

The next morning I awoke early, slipping out of the tent before dawn. I drifted around the camp to where the rangers slept, locating Guta. He was already awake, and helping the servants to prepare breakfast, when I pulled him aside.

“Sati has been working with you on your aspect,” at his nod I continued. “I want you to keep an eye on her today as we’re moving. As I won’t easily be able to.”

“Denu told me.” He bobbed his head, and I concealed my mild surprise. Apparently someone was far ahead of me. I wasn’t sure who had taken that initiative, but I was pleased.

I turned around, only to yelp as I found myself face to face with the apsara herself. Sati’s expression was reproving, but her emotions were a mix of warmth and amusement.

“I didn’t hear you come up.” I said, collecting myself. “I thought you were still asleep in the tent.”

“Few people have ears sensitive enough to hear the mist,” she gave me a half-smile and I realized what ahe was telling me.

“Incredible,” I muttered, my mind spinning with the possibilities. At her quizzical glance I elaborated. “No one can touch or harm the mist, no one can catch it. It clouds the senses and misleads the unwary.”

“Perhaps,” she allowed. “But no one ever died because they touched an earthbound cloud. No one fears the fog.”

“If you think that, then you’ve never spoken to travelers about the weather.” I laughed. “More than heat, or cold, or violent men, people fear the danger they cannot see.”

I lowered my voice and leaned close to her. “With an aspect like that, I can make you a terrifying fighter. If that’s what you want. Or I could teach you how to become truly dangerous.”

I moved out of her personal space, though she had not seemed distressed by my proximity. “Think about it. And think about this. An aspect like that might serve Guta as well, if he can come to terms with it.

“I thought transferring aspects between people was dangerous. Nearly impossible.” The apsara narrowed her eyes at me, but she looked deeply intrigued. The expression looked good on her, far better than her normal cold distance. It was at that moment that I became acutely aware of her state of dress, or undress.

“It can be,” I coughed, “but we have an advantage in that regard.

Far from being distressed by my wandering gaze, Sati cocked a hip at me, taking a step closer. Closing the distance between us again.

“The bond?” She asked, and for a second I couldn’t remember what I had just said.

“Yes, the bond.” I affirmed. “I was already able to grant my own mana to the company. When we fought your… the Pure monks, Hati absorbed the earth aspected mana I pulled from their leader. And that wasn’t even intentional. It should be easy enough to to transfer a small amount of mana between members of our group.”

“Then why use the infused materials at all? You could have sold them for a fortune. Even I know that.”

“Even though I am confident, it’s still just a theory.” I sighed. “I didn’t want to risk it when the materials were already available. And besides, the king gave far more materials than we actually needed. He didn’t account for all the progress we had already made. I suspect Yatek did us a favor in that regard.”

“So if I decide that Guta is receptive?”

“I left him in your care.” I spread my hands and shrugged. “Tell him what you feel is appropriate, and if you decide that mist is the correct choice, I will attempt it. It might help to learn with another who shares the same aspect. Assuming the attempt is successful.”

“Are you so uncertain of your own abilities that you need to keep prevaricating?” She smirked at me.

“Just because you are certain, doesn’t make you right. A little caution is healthy. Remember that, princess.”