Sentinel, page 17
“Would he have done?”
“Of course not.”
Further discussion was interrupted by Faber addressing Tallis once more. “Would you like me to take your slave for you?”
It took me a moment to realise that he was talking about me.
“That won’t be necessary, but please make up a guest room for her. As close to mine as possible.”
Faber bowed again, making Tallis sigh in irritation. Both of us could see the smirk on Faber’s face, indicating he did it just to annoy Tallis.
“Come on. Let’s get you inside and covered up.”
The moment the front door closed, Tallis took off his cloak and put it around my shoulders once more.
“Pa is probably in his study,” Osin said and walked down the hall, closely followed by Tallis, who took my hand and pulled me after him.
Osin knocked on the door and waited for permission to enter before opening it.
“Osin,” Balor said. “This is a nice surprise. And Tallis. To what do we owe this pleasure?”
He stood up and walked around his desk so he could greet his sons, hugging them both tightly. Even in his own house he never wore clothes it seemed.
Then his eyes fell on me. He was about to say something, when they widened in surprise. He rounded on Tallis. “Why is Princess Adara here and why, in the queen’s name, is she dressed as a slave?”
“It’s a long story, Pa,” Tallis said. “Where’s Ma?”
“Where do you think she is? In the kitchen. Why we have a cook I have no idea. She never lets the poor woman do her job.”
“I’ll go and get her,” Osin volunteered and left the room.
“It’s good to see you, your Highness,” Balor said. Instead of holding out his hand, he hugged me. “You have a lot of explaining to do, young man,” he said to Tallis over my shoulder.
We retired to the lounge, where Macha greeted me warmly as soon as she arrived.
“Get those shackles off her right now,” she said to Tallis. Her tone told me just what she thought of me being treated as a slave.
Without arguing, Tallis obeyed. The moment the shackles were removed, I began to shiver. I had gotten used to the warmth they provided and their sudden removal left me feeling cold.
“Do you have any of your own clothes with you?” Macha asked. I nodded my head.
“Her bag is in one of the spare rooms,” Tallis said.
Macha placed her arm around me in a motherly fashion. Tears sprang into my eyes. I had no memory of my own mother ever doing it, though I’m sure she must have. “Come with me,” she said.
Tallis’s mother led me from the room and up the stairs to the second floor. She tried a few doors before finding the one my bag was in. “He’s keeping you close I see,” she muttered to herself. I gave her a questioning look. “Tallis’s room is right next door.”
For some reason that statement was strangely comforting.
I went through my bag and selected some clothes. Macha said she would wait for me outside and left the bedroom, giving me privacy while I got dressed.
I had only been without clothing for a few days, but it still felt strange to have material touching my skin again, especially my most intimate parts. I had gotten used to having the air flowing around me and putting underwear on again felt a little restrictive.
“Has he explained yet?” Macha asked as soon as she walked back into the lounge. She had her arm around me once more. “Does King Andrast even know his daughter is here?”
“Not exactly,” Tallis said then told them everything.
“You can’t fault his logic,” Balor said once Tallis had finished talking.
Macha sighed. “I know, but I want to. There must have been an alternative.”
“Can you think of one?”
She couldn’t so she turned to Osin. “And what is your excuse for being here?”
Osin grinned at his mother. “You don’t think I would let Tal go into a kingdom which isn’t part of the alliance alone do you?”
The look she gave him suggested she didn’t believe him. “And it’s got nothing to do with finding out how easy the women from Draygar are I take it.”
The grin didn’t leave his face when he said, “Nothing whatsoever.”
I was suddenly unsure I wanted Osin to travel with us when we left Sobek. I was beginning to wonder if he would be a help or a hinderance.
Something in my manner or the look on my face must have given away what I was thinking because Tallis leaned close to me and whispered, “Don’t worry. His mind will be on the mission. I promise you. He is a professional and won’t let anything interfere with what he has to do.”
Suddenly Tallis stiffened. He then sat on the floor, crossed his legs, placed his hands on his knees and closed his eyes.
Everyone watched him expectantly. It was the position he took when contacting Daranis so I assumed that this time his friend had contacted him.
He didn’t look happy when he opened his eyes and stood up. “Well Nis has managed to get us an appointment with Claudette.”
“So what’s the problem?” Osin asked.
“It’s tonight, at her house. She’s having a party and we’ve been invited to attend.”
Party
“You are not going,” Tallis said. I could tell he was doing his best not to yell at me.
“Yes I am. I have to be there. What if Daranis’s mother wants to see me, to hear what I have to say? After all, I am the reason you are going to see her.”
“No, Rosemerta is the reason I am going to see her. The only reason you are even in Sobek is because I couldn’t trust you to stay in the palace if I left you behind.”
“Yet you trust me to stay here if you leave without me?”
Tallis turned his back on me and walked away. Something told me he needed to get away from me before he did something he would regret.
“Damn it Adara. Why won’t you listen to me? Do I have to put the shackles on you again just to get you to obey me?”
“Do you really believe they make any difference?”
“Yes. You act like the perfect slave in public when you are shackled.”
“But I won’t be in public if you leave me behind.”
He swore. A number of times. I still don’t know what some of the things he said actually mean.
“Why don’t you want me to go?” I asked as soon as he had stopped his rant.
“Are you trying to be funny?” I wasn’t. It was a serious question. He didn’t wait for me to respond. “It was bad enough making you ride through the streets with everyone able to see your naked body. But then I was holding you tight, covering up as much of you as I could. The party will be different. You will be on full display. I can’t put you through that. I won’t.”
“It’s not your decision to make.”
Tallis strode over to the door, yanked it open, walked out of the room and slammed it behind him. The discussion was evidently over, but I had no idea what the outcome was.
Almost immediately there was a knock on the door and Osin walked in when I gave my permission. He took a seat on the bed and watched me pace for a while, doing his best not to laugh.
“You need to see this from his point of view,” he eventually said.
“And he needs to see it from mine,” I snapped. The amusement never left his face, though why he found my anger so funny I don’t know.
He tapped the bed beside him. “Come and sit down.”
Not knowing what else to do, I obeyed him.
“Tallis has never owned a slave. He abhors everything about slavery. Putting shackles on you was probably the hardest thing he has ever had to do. Yet he still did it. Because it was what you wanted. Taking you to a party as his slave will absolutely kill him.”
“Then why can’t I go as yours?”
Osin shook his head. “It’s too late. You have already been seen by too many people. The fact that Tallis now has a slave is already the talk of the town. If you go to that party, everyone there will want to see you, meet you, assess you.”
“Surely that’s my problem, not his.”
“That’s not the way he sees it. Everything you have gone through since leaving Amanet and everything you are going to have to face he sees as his fault, his responsibility. His job is to protect you. Taking you naked to a party so everyone can critique you doesn’t exactly fit the job description.”
“So what’s the alternative? I am not going to stay behind. It’s my sister we are trying to rescue. If there is any way I can help, I want to do it. I need to do it.”
Osin sighed. “He said you were stubborn. I’ll talk to him.”
“Thank you,” I said.
I have no idea what Osin said to Tallis, but when he returned to me, he was no longer angry. He was far from pleased though. Resigned is a good way to describe him.
“Against my better judgement,” he said, “I will take you. But Osin goes as well and I will hand you over to him when I have my meeting. Don’t leave his side. Ever. Do you hear me?”
I nodded. “And remember,” he continued. “Don’t speak unless you are directly spoken to. Don’t answer any questions about me or yourself. As soon as I pass you over to Osin you will obey his every command and ask his permission before doing anything.”
Again I nodded.
“Get undressed and put my cloak on. We are travelling by carriage so you can wear it until we arrive.”
Osin and Tallis were both waiting by the front door when I descended the stairs. Tallis had the shackles in his hand.
“You can still change your mind you know.”
I shook my head. This was something I had to do. For Rose. If me not being at the party delayed our rescue attempt, I would never be able to live with myself.
The moment the collar and bracelets were in place, a now familiar warmth flowed through me.
It took a while to get to Daranis’s mother’s house. We had to travel into the centre of the city. There were a lot of carriages dropping people off, some clothed, others obviously slaves. Before anyone could open the door to our carriage, I removed Tallis’s cloak and handed it to him. Until that moment the chain that linked me to Tallis, signifying I was his property, wasn’t in place. As he attached it to a bracelet on his wrist, his face was unreadable.
“Let’s get this over with,” he said. The moment the carriage door opened, he stepped out then held his hand out to assist me. I took a deep breath, then left the safety the carriage was providing.
Many people greeted both Osin and Tallis as we entered the house. I could feel eyes on me and could hear the whispers. Most people were surprised by my presence. Obviously the rumours hadn’t spread as much as Osin had thought.
The house was filled with the sound of people talking and I could hear music in the distance. Tallis didn’t stop to talk to anyone; he led us directly to where he had spotted Daranis.
As soon as Daranis saw us, he broke off his conversation with the man he had been talking to and walked over to us. He looked like he was about to bow to me, but Tallis gave him a warning glance. I may have been a princess, but at that moment I was nothing more than a slave and I had to be treated as one.
“I’m surprised you brought her with you,” he said to Tallis.
“So am I,” he muttered.
“You are going to have to socialise for a while, I’m afraid,” he informed us. “Mother has had an unexpected visitor. The high chamberlain is here.”
Both Tallis and Osin looked surprised. I looked at Tallis, asking with my eyes for permission to speak. Tallis nodded his head. “Who’s the high chamberlain?” I whispered.
“The queen’s chief advisor,” Osin said. “I wonder why he is here.”
“Maybe Tallis should ask my mother when he goes to see her.” Daranis had a huge grin on his face, though I had no idea why.
“Very funny,” Tallis said. Then he turned to me. “Claudette is a hive of information,” he said. “If she doesn’t know something, it’s highly likely nobody in the country does. There are rumours that she is running a spy ring, but she denies this. She claims she is just a nosy old woman. She is also good at keeping secrets. She will never disclose to another what someone asked her about. You are banished from ever seeing her again if you ask her to.”
“My mother has a lot of integrity,” Daranis said.
“Will she be able to help us?” Osin asked.
Daranis shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. But if she can’t answer Tal’s questions, she will do all she can to find out the information for him. And not just because I am asking her to. She hates not knowing things.”
“So the rumours are true,” a voice suddenly said from behind us.
I turned around and found myself face to face with Melantha. She looked me up and down disdainfully. There was no recognition in her eyes. I wasn’t surprised. After all, my hair was much shorter, I wasn’t wearing any clothes and I was shackled. There was nothing to make her think about a princess from Amanet. All she saw was a slave.
“I expected something much prettier,” she continued.
“Go away Mel,” Tallis said. “I don’t have time for you right now.”
Melantha ignored him. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your new play thing?”
“No, I’m not.” He took hold of my hand and led me away. He found an empty reception room and dragged me into it, shutting the door behind him.
“I’m sorry about that. I didn’t know she would be here. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” I assured him. “It’s how I was expecting to be treated.”
“Well you shouldn’t have been. Most people have better manners than that.”
There was a knock at the door and Daranis walked in. “The high chamberlain just left. Mother will see us now.” He glanced at me. “But only us.”
Tallis nodded then took the bracelet with my chain on it from his wrist. He handed it to Osin, who had followed Daranis into the room.
“Put this on. I am trusting you to look after her. If anything happens to her, I will hold you responsible.”
“She’ll be fine,” Osin said.
Then Tallis turned to me. “Behave. Obey Osin. Don’t do anything without his permission.”
“Okay.”
The look Tallis gave me suggested he didn’t trust me, but he remained silent.
“Come on,” Osin said once Tallis and Daranis had left. “Let’s get some food.”
He said hello to a few people as we made our way to the dining room, where food platters had been laid out. He took two plates and handed one to me. “Help yourself to anything you want,” he said.
I looked around and noticed that other slaves were eating, so I took a small amount of the food and put it on my plate. I wasn’t hungry, but I forced myself to eat. I felt oddly alone and vulnerable without Tallis, despite the fact that Osin wouldn’t let any harm come to me.
I did my best not to shudder when Melantha approached again.
“I’m surprised Tal trusts you enough to leave you in control of his little pet.” I have never heard such contempt in one little word.
Osin ignored her hostility. “It’s good to see you Mel.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Where’s your slave?” Only then did I remember that women were not permitted anywhere without an escort, either their father, owner or slave.
“I left him at home. My father escorted me here this evening. He’s off socialising with some of his associates. I’m glad you came. I was getting a little bored.”
She slipped her arm through his. “Why don’t you entertain me by telling me about your latest military conquests.” She then looked at me. “Sorry, I’m being rude. Let me get you both some drinks first.”
Before Osin could say no, she released his arm and walked away.
“I never understood what Tal saw in her,” Osin whispered to me. “I was overjoyed when I heard they had split up. Not that they were ever really a couple, according to my brother.”
Like the good slave I was pretending to be, I didn’t respond.
Melantha returned, holding out two glasses. I glanced at Osin before taking mine. While it looked like I was asking his permission, in reality I was asking if it was safe to take it. He nodded his head. I hoped he understood what my glance had really been asking.
I waited until Osin had drunk some before taking a sip. It was light and refreshing, so I drank a little more. I didn’t think that there was any alcohol in it, but a warm feeling began to spread through me.
Soon, however, it became overwhelming. I felt light headed and was tingling all over. I grabbed his arm to steady myself before I fell over.
“Are you alright?” he asked in concern.
“No. I don’t feel good.”
He looked sharply at Melantha. When I followed his gaze, I could see she was smiling maliciously.
“What have you done?” he asked.
“I may have slipped a magically enhanced love potion into her drink.”
“You’ve done what? Why?”
The smile remained in place. “I want to see the look on Tal’s face when his little sex partner is throwing herself at his brother. This is going to be so entertaining.”
“You complete idiot,” Osin hissed at her. “Don’t you know who this is? I know you’ve met her; you were with my parents at the time.”
She looked me up and down. I could imagine her picturing me with clothes on and longer hair. I saw the moment when realisation dawned. All colour drained from her face.
“Princess Adara?” she whispered.
“Yes. And now your petty little stunt may just have caused a diplomatic incident. I need to get her out of here as soon as I can.”
I was only just following the conversation. My entire body was on fire. I was craving for something, but I had no idea what.
Then I noticed Tallis and Daranis approaching and I knew exactly what I wanted. Sex. I wanted to have my hands on him. I wanted to feel him touching me everywhere.
I started to move toward him, but Osin grabbed me. He looked over in the direction I was staring and spotted who I was looking at.
