The Treasure of House LaRue, page 2
“Then you’re in love with the idea of love,” said Julien. “You’ll find that reality is a lot simpler once you give up on your childish fantasies of fairy-tale romance. Besides, if Victor doesn’t light a fire in your loins, you can always fetch a handsome servant and drag him to-”
Julien flinched at a knock on the door and hurriedly straightened his coat and hair. Cosette was the only one he let himself relax around.
“You may enter,” called Cosette, getting to her feet.
Rochette entered, bowing deeply. “My lady. If you recall, your father, Lord Leo, has graciously given me the charge of hiring a retainer for you. After extensive searching, I have found a woman with the necessary qualifications. If you’ll allow it, I’d like to introduce you now.”
Cosette beamed. “Really? At last! I’ve been so excited! Show her in!”
Rochette smiled and turned. “Come in, dear.”
A small figure stepped into the doorframe, and Cosette started. The girl had olive green skin, spiky black hair, and an intense gaze. She was a full head shorter than Cosette, and her gray eyes held a quiet intensity. She wore a gray servant’s robe - one typically worn by men who worked in gardens, Cosette noticed - and around her neck, a thin runic script encircled her like a choker. So, she’d been Bound.
More importantly, she was ridiculously cute. Cosette broke into a smile at the sight of the stubborn-looking girl. On one hand, she had the characteristic athleticism of a Goblin - she’s a Goblin, right? I’ve never seen one - but on the other hand, she was just so small! Was it offensive to think of a Goblin that way? Given how much time she would end up spending with her new attendent, she figured she’d learn about Goblin culture with time, but she wanted to make a good first impression.
Rochette spoke up. “This is Jane, a newly-Bound servant of House LaRue. She’ll help you dress, accompany you on your outings, run your missives, and be your constant companion. She’ll also serve as your bodyguard, though she has yet to undergo any weapons training.” She peered around the room. “It looks like you’ve converted your room servant’s nook into a closet; please clear it out so we can move in Jane’s bed.”
“I’m elated to finally meet you, Jane!” said Cosette, reaching out a hand. “I’m sure we’ll become fast friends.”
Jane turned away, and Rochette grabbed her head to turn it back towards Cosette. “Your lady is addressing you, my dear. I know you’re new to our culture, but you need to learn to respect your betters.”
Jane locked eyes with Cosette. “I’m happy to serve you… my lady.”
Cosette felt a sense of unease; apparently, this wouldn’t be as simple as she hoped. Cosette wondered what led Jane to be so bitter.
“Well aren’t you a cutie!” said Julien. Rochette started; apparently, she hadn’t noticed his presence. “Unfortunately, I can’t stick around for the getting-to-know-you games. Rochette, darling, would you be so kind as to accompany me to the kitchens?”
Rochette grimaced, but acquiesced. Julien had a knack for pushing people’s buttons while appearing perfectly decorous. “Send Jane to the servant’s quarters this evening to pick up her remaining clothes and personals. By your leave, my lady,” said Rochette before bowing and departing with Julien.
As the door shut behind them, Cosette was left alone with the quiet stranger. She knew they should spend some time talking, but didn’t know where to start. She decided to open with “So, how did you come to find yourself in service of House LaRue?”
Jane shrugged. “This morning, I was living in the woods. I was captured two hours ago, magically enslaved one hour ago, and now I’m here.”
Sensitive topic, thought Cosette. “I’m so sorry. Would you like me to, uh…” What was she trying to say? Would you like me to release you? She couldn’t do that; she didn’t have the authority. “Would you like me to help you set up your bed?”
“What’s a bed?”
“Um.” Don’t be rude, don’t act surprised. “A bed is a soft surface to sleep on. This here is a bed,” she said, patting her bedsheets.
“Oh. I just sleep on the ground. Just give me a little space to stretch out, I’ll be fine.”
“I don’t… I mean, alright, if that’s what you prefer.” She thought harder and chose her words carefully. “So, Jane, where are you from?”
“A small village on the other side of the mountains.”
Cosette blinked. “You mean the Grand Cul?”
“If that’s what you call the mountains a few days eastward, then, yes.”
Was Jane lying? Crossing over the Grand Cul was impossible. What few Goblins lived in the Western Continent were typically members of tiny, isolated communities that descended from past travelers, simply because crossing the mountain range was so difficult that surviving the trip was a once-in-a-century occurrence.
At least, that’s what Cosette had always been told.
“If you come from the other side of the Grand Cul, that would mean you grew up in the Stonelands, correct?”
“Looks that way.” Jane couldn’t tell if Jane was simply trying to maintain a neutral tone, or if she was dripping with sarcasm.
“It’s not that I don’t believe you, but, well, crossing the Grand Cul is supposed to be nearly impossible. No living historian has spoken with anyone who has firsthand memory of the Eastern Continent. If you truly come from there, your knowledge would be worth more than gold.”
“Not much gold,” Jane said frankly. “I don’t know a whole lot, since I never left my village.”
“Even so, think of how much we could learn from even one person’s experiences!”
“My experiences are none of your business.”
“Well,” said Cosette, “maybe we can have new experiences together!”
“If, by ‘experiences,’ you mean ‘enslavement,’ then, yeah.”
“You’re a real grump, aren’t you?” Cosette snapped before clapping her hand over her mouth.
Jane flared up. “You think my attitude is the problem? You should be glad I don’t-” She cut off in a gag as she clutched her throat and doubled over. The brand around her throat burned bright pink as Jane clawed uselessly at it.
“Stop trying to speak!” said Cosette. “This is what the Binding does to those who try to violate their oaths! You can’t threaten me - you physically can’t!”
Jane shuddered, collapsed, and finally let out a ragged cough. Her burning tattoo dimmed. “Are you okay?” Cosette asked.
Jane took a deep breath, got to her knees, and bowed. “I’m well, my lady.” Her voice was as cool as a frozen lake, and Cosette knew that earning Jane’s trust would be the greatest challenge of her life.
Chapter three
The Beast
No matter how long Jade stared into the eyes of the beast with the four skinny legs, she couldn’t find anything but distrust for it in her soul. As it towered over her, huffing and wickering, she felt a primal urge to back away. She’d now spent a week as Cosette’s retainer, seeing these creatures - horses - regularly, and she’d dreaded the day when she would need to ride one herself.
“Just hop up, silly!” urged Cosette. She had changed into a riding outfit consisting of tight trousers, a shirt fastened with bright golden buttons, and a protective leather cap. Jade, meanwhile, was still wearing the outfit Rochette had given her. She’d since received two more sets of clothes, but they all had the same cut and color.
Cosette looked fully at ease atop her horse, a white stallion who she called Fabian. She’d mounted her horse with ease, but she had two distinct advantages: years of practice, and twelve inches of height. Jade took a deep breath and attempted to replicate the same motion: grab the pommel, place one foot in the stirrup, swing the other leg around the saddle. Unfortunately, she couldn’t reach the stirrup without hopping, which put her off-balance, and she flipped end-over-end and faceplanted into the dirt.
“Oh, goodness!” cried Cosette from her horse, but Jade could hear the smile in her voice. Jade stood and brushed off the dirt, examining the saddle and deciding that attempting to mount the horse the way Cosette did would only lead to failure. On her next attempt, she got a brief running start, vaulted off the stirrup, and landed stomach-first on the saddle. Then, she pivoted carefully until she could sit upright in the saddle. Unglamorous, but effective.
Jade’s horse, a brown mare named Tipper, was tamer than she expected. Jade looked at Cosette to compare their riding forms, and she was struck by how long Cosette’s legs were. Even for a Fuchsvolk, Cosette was tall. What’s more, her thighs were thick with muscle, and her hips were quite shapely. Especially in those trousers. Hm.
Jade surveyed the stables. There weren’t any high walls, but the only path in and out featured a gate with a lock. That way, the horses got fresh air and easy visibility, but any potential thief would need to break the gate or steal the gate key. There weren’t any apparent structural weaknesses, either.
Cosette walked her horse to a nearby storage crate, fetched a strange red plate, and handed it to Jade. “This is a throwing disc,” she explained. “If you throw it like this, it’ll catch the wind and soar like a bird.” She curled her arm around the rim of the disc, then quickly extended her arm, demonstrating the motion. She handed it to Jade, who was surprised at how solid it was, likely made of painted wood. It curled downward at the edge, and the surface showed signs of repeated damage and re-painting.
Cosette fetched a long, hooked stick from the crate. “And this is a fetching rod. You can reach down from your saddle and hook the disc by the lip, letting you pluck it off the grass without dismounting.”
“Swell,” said Jade. “Why are we doing this?”
“Well, for one thing, everyone here plays at discs. You can play cooperatively or competitively, in pairs or in teams. Knowing the basics will help you fit in.” Cosette gave Jade a grin, and her tufted ears twitched. “Today, though, we’re going to be playing it my way.”
***
Half an hour later, Jade was galloping beside Cosette, sweaty, sore, and focused. “Throw!” called Cosette, and Jade launched the disc with all her might. After her first few dozen throws, Jade’s technique had improved, but she still used her considerable upper-body strength as a crutch to compensate for her stubby arms and lack of precision. Nevertheless, the disc flew true.
Cosette raised her recurve bow and drew back the blunted arrow. As Jade watched, she was once again struck by the combination of elegance and danger that radiated from Cosette when she used her bow. With her fiery orange hair and tail catching the sunlight and blowing in the wind, her eyes determined and focused, and her arms drawn into the elegant geometry of archery, Cosette looked like some sort of vengeful warrior angel. Cosette held her breath for a heartbeat, then released the arrow. In a flash, it struck the airborne disc, and both tools clattered to the grass. Cosette whooped in excitement while Jade rode to collect the disc. Despite what she’d been told, the fetching rod was tricky to use, and Jade often found herself clutching to the reins for dear life as she swooped low to grab - and usually fumble - the disc. This time, though, she snagged it on her first try. Cosette used her rod to fetch the arrow, and Jade once again marveled at her dexterity with the rod.
Cosette’s pretty talented, Jade thought begrudgingly. Too bad she wastes her talent on nonsense.
They continued riding, drifting closer to each other so Jade could hear Cosette’s calls. “Throw!” Cosette shouted again. This time, Jade was overzealous, and the disc arced upwards until it caught a draft and spiraled to a halt. Cosette took the shot anyway, but with the unpredictable movement of the disc, Jade wasn’t surprised to see the arrow sail past the disc into the distance. She was surprised to see it land in the trees; she hadn’t realized how far out they’d ridden. The edge of the forest was over a mile from the manor, and the distance only grew as LaRue lumberjacks harvested timber from the forest’s edge. Jade hadn’t been to the forest since she was captured, and she contemplated making a break for it, but Cosette was scarily accurate with her arrows, and Jade didn’t want to learn what a blunted arrow to the back of the skull would feel like. Apparently, hunters would use arrows with razor-edged tips that could tear through prey with ease, but women were limited to using the flat-tipped arrows.
And at any rate, as long as the damn brand clutched at her throat, there was no telling what would happen if she fled. Would its effects diminish as she put distance between herself and the manor? Was there some sort of invisible threshold that would paralyze her if she crossed it? If she ever wanted to escape, she would need to remove the brand first. If Jade was right about the Binding Rod that Rochette had used, the Binding may be breakable after all, but it wasn’t worth taking risks. Not yet, anyway.
“Ho,” said Cosette, and both horses quickly slowed. “We’ll need to dismount to fetch the arrow from the woods.” She hesitated. “Don’t tell Richard. That man would tan my hide if he finds out I went even two steps into the woods.” Jade had noticed that Cosette’s prim vocabulary slipped when she was excited or nervous. The horses pulled to a stop near the treeline, and the sudden lack of movement made Jade feel almost lightheaded. Cosette dismounted gracefully - of course - but when Jade hopped to the ground, her legs turned to jelly and she grabbed the saddle to keep herself from collapsing. She initially thought riding would be easier than walking, but her burning leg muscles said otherwise. Cosette must be incredibly fit for her to be so steady after half an hour of riding and shooting. Jade glanced at Cosette’s thighs again, appreciative.
Cosette extended the reins to Jade. “Watch the horses for a moment,” she said, approaching the treeline apprehensively, unsure how to breach it.
“Just walk in,” said Jade, impatient. “My lady,” she added.
“I-... um, just a moment,” said Cosette. “I need to chart a course that doesn’t take me through any shrubs or sticks. Mother would be furious if I scratched my boots.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake, thought Jade. She shoved the reins at Cosette and stomped into the woods, cracking branches and demonstrating that the underbrush was perfectly traversable. She stomped down on a thick branch, snapping it loudly, and turned back to Cosette, raising her hands in a you-were-overreacting kind of gesture.
“Are your legs okay?” called Cosette. “Your ankles aren’t scratched?”
“Of course not,” said Jade, but when she looked down and saw that her ankles were, indeed, lightly scratched, her thin pants torn by the splintery edges of the branch. “Well, not badly, anyway.” It was nothing worse than she had endured every day during her time living in these woods; truth be told, some older scratches from her days in the forest were still healing on her legs. She just didn’t tend to notice injuries like that.
Jade then spotted the arrow on the forest floor, cleanly snapped in half where she had stomped on it. So much for acting cool, thought Jade ruefully. She bent down and picked up the two halves of the arrow.
“Oh, no!” cried Cosette, dropping the reins and running towards Jade.
“I apologize, my lady,” muttered Jade. “I’ll make another arrow to replace this one.”
“Not that! It’s your legs!” said Cosette. “Oh, I knew they would get scratched! I should have gotten the arrow myself, my trousers would have protected me. I’m such a ditz!”
“It’s nothing,” said Jade quietly, but it wasn’t true. It was far from nothing; it was the first time anyone had genuinely cared about her well-being in a long while. The first time since…
“Let’s get back home,” said Cosette. “We’ll get you washed and bandaged up. We should have time to take care of you before my dance rehearsal tonight.
Swell, thought Jade, I get to spend the evening watching puffed-up tarts prance around. As Jade watched, Cosette turned to the horses, yelped, and ran to grab Fabian, who had wandered off to graze. Tipper, meanwhile, was patiently waiting right where Jade had left her. She climbed atop her horse - without incident, this time - and turned to watch Cosette, who was in the saddle and stretching her arms in preparation for the ride home. When Jade had first met the Beastvolk, she found their tall, curvy bodies to be bizarre, but after watching the grace with which Cosette rode, she was starting to see the beauty of these poeple. In fact, after the week she’d spent among her captors, she was already starting to feel like her squat, muscular body was somehow abnormal, despite the fact that she was typically considered attractive back home.
“Come on!” called Cosette, setting off with her horse. “And be prepared to bathe together to save time!” Jade had assumed that communal baths were the norm, but she didn’t actually know how proper baths worked in this manor - Beastvolk stuck to sponge baths most days, and she hadn’t had a chance to visit the mysterious bathing chambers yet. In her hometown, the communal hot springs were the only way to bathe, but given the local climate, Jade doubted they had access to geothermal heating. How did they bathe, then?
Chapter four
The Baths
Cosette shut the door to the bathing chamber behind her. The room was small and simple, with a tile floor that sloped gently downward to a central drain. A servant had already filled the copper clawfoot tub with hot water, and fresh towels and bathing oils were laid on the bathside table. Men were typically permitted in the women’s quarters as long as they had an escort, but for three one-hour blocks per day - one each in the morning, afternoon, and evening - all men were required to leave so that women could travel from their rooms to the baths unimpeded. Cosette’s quarters were less than a minute away, but the bathing period would be over soon, so they would need to bathe together and hustle to her room if they wanted to avoid a scene.
“Hurry up and undress, Jane,” said Cosette. Cosette pulled her sweaty riding shirt over her head and unbelted her trousers before stepping out of them. Her underclothes were damp, dusty, and stinky - the sign of a good ride. She loved getting in a hard workout before her weekly trip to the bathing chambers.
