The Black of a Rainbow (DragonSong)

[zozee9]

Nitya's eyes lit up immediately. "Ah!" she exclaimed. "Why didn't I think of this earlier? I could have you actually taught how to cook, from someone who knows how! I bet there's a chef around here who would be willing to teach you if I paid them." She paused. "Or, at least a chef somewhere."

[DragonSong]

Kai flinched a little at her sudden exclamation, but relaxed quickly. He blinked at her for a moment, doubting that she wanted his input so much as an agreement, then said quietly, "Yes, Sir Aytin. Although if you want sweet foods an Essyrni chef may not be your best choice."

Actually, learning to cook didn't sound so bad. It certainly appealed to him more than learning to fight, although he understood that they were both necessities.

[zozee9]

Nitya raised an eyebrow. "Can't you just add sugar to any recipe? Or some fruit?" It seemed a rather reasonable idea to her. "Plus, you could always learn here and then learn again elsewhere. Becoming well-versed in the different food cultures of the world might help you someday, who knows."

[DragonSong]

He highly doubted it- this woman seemed to mean well, but eventually something would happen and she'd get rid of him, then he'd be back in the slave markets and on to a new master. One who probably wouldn't care if he could create the delicacies of every major nation in the world.

But he just gave her a small smile and a nod. "Yes, M- Sir Aytin." He winced. Damnit, he'd been doing so well and now he slipped up. He couldn't do that.

[zozee9]

It didn't really matter if Kai called her Miss, not yet. But she could tell he regretted it, and it would be best if it didn't happen later, so she teasingly responded, "You know you can call me Mister, I won't punish you for it. Sir just sounds so much more..."—she lifted up her chin and turned her head a little sideways, as the rich often did in their portraits—"noble."

[DragonSong]

He smiled a bit in spite of himself. "I'll remember that, in case I slip up," he murmured. Then, expression sobering, he added, "Not that I will, Sir Aytin." He put a little emphasis on the "Sir", almost teasing but not quite, seeing how far he could go.

Normally he would have been too wary to even test such boundaries, but with this new mistress, he figured he could probably get away with it.

[zozee9]

"Oh no, definitely not. I would not expect you to make any error at all—but, if making a mistake is so tempting—I must profess that the title of 'Lord' has always appealed greatly to me." Nitya wasn't used to such fooling around, but she had found that in trying to lighten up the atmosphere for Kai all of yesterday and this morning, she had also improved her own mood considerably.

[DragonSong]

Kai quirked an eyebrow at that. "So you would permit me to call you Lord, but you objected to milady?" he pointed out mildly, eyes glinting a bit with the first real emotion they'd shown that wasn't anger.

[zozee9]

Nitya huffed. "Why of course! What man would like to be called milady?" she responded immediately, with extra emphasis of disgust on the word milady and fake pretentiousness overall. "An insult, it is. Do you not know the rules of Essyrn? A woman who pretends she is a man can be respectable. A man who pretends he is a woman is foolish."

[DragonSong]

He nodded. He knew the rules. "Sometimes I think Ka'lei hated the restrictions of being a woman here almost more than being a slave," he said without thinking.

His mouth snapped shut. That was too forward, too personal, and made his heart ache suddenly all at once. He dropped his eyes and picked at the last few bites of his breakfast.

[zozee9]

Nitya shook her head, sadly. "You don't understand. It's the two put together that is the worst." Slaves were often used, but female slaves were used in an especially degrading way. If being a concubine wasn't part of her having been a slave, Nitya didn't know if she would've felt such an urgent need to escape.

[DragonSong]

Kai stiffened. "I understand better than you may think," he said quietly. There were more than a few people in Essryn whose tastes leaned toward the "exotic", and he'd done his best to protect his sister from them. Any way he could.

Shoving those memories aside, he fixed his eyes on the table, hands clenching into fists without him realizing it.

Gods, he couldn't protect Ka'lei anymore. What was going to happen to his sister?

[zozee9]

Nitya couldn't help it, she looked him directly in the eyes. She hadn't expected him to respond like that. Luckily, he was looking down, and she caught herself quickly enough to look away before they made eye contact. Despite years of training herself not to look at people's eyes, her instinct still told her to when she was surprised. Or wanting to understand people. For her, eyes really were the window to see people's emotions... and, like everyone, there was a part of her that wanted to know how people felt. But she didn't want to feel everyone's emotions herself, and thus she limited who she looked at and when she looked at people.

When people were in pain, she avoided their eyes at all costs. That's why she stayed away from most slaves and homeless people.

"I see," Nitya responded after a long pause. She didn't know how to break the mood. "Well, we should finish eating. Gotta head out soon." And so she quickly finished her eggs and bread and gulped down the coffee.

[DragonSong]

Relieved for the change in topic, Kai said quickly, "Yes, Sir Aytin," and hurried to finish his meal, standing and moving around to pull her chair out for her.

"What am I to do first?" he asked. "I'm afraid I've never been owned by a trader before, I'm not familiar with this process."

[zozee9]

"I doubt most traders have enough money to buy a young slave," Nitya replied coyly. She was proud of her success, especially given that she started with nothing. She stood up and went to the counter to pay for breakfast.

"But remember the boxes in my room? We will carry those all to the same marketplace we went to yesterday. I normally sell there, it's the most busy in the city. The boxes will all stack so that we can make a stall out of them, it's quite convenient. I don't find the need to buy an actual stall to hall around, not with all the traveling I do." They started heading upstairs. "Just help me carry them all... if we're able, I'd love to do it all in one trip. I want the longer, rectangle one. That will be the base of the stall. Do you think you'll be able to carry it all the way to the market? We'll also bring two of the empty square boxes, and two of the full ones, but I can get those."

[DragonSong]

Kai nodded as he followed her, then realized she couldn't see because he was lagging behind her. "Yes, Sir Aytin, I can carry the box. And more, as long as I can get a grip on them."

He hadn't been trying to oversell himself the day before when he'd told her he was strong. He frowned a bit at her back. "Actually, Sir Aytin- shouldn't I carry all the boxes?" What was the point in having a slave if you didn't get him to do as much labor as possible?

[zozee9]

Nitya laughed, shaking her head. "I told you—I want to do this in one trip. If you were able to carry all the boxes, which you may have the strength to do, I don't know yet, but if you were able to, how would you see? You saw the boxes before. They aren't huge, but if you stacked them all... well, let's just say I don't want you running into people, buildings, or just things in general. Both for your sake, my sake, and the sake of all the valuables in those boxes."

She paused. Although she didn't mind carrying things, they might get odd looks if her load looked as heavy as his. Some of the more egotistical Essyrni might even call out at them—well, him. "Actually... well, alright. I'll have you carry the large box and the two square empty ones on top of it. I'll carry the two full ones, though. Deal?"

[DragonSong]

Somehow that made him feel marginally better, put him a little more back in his comfort zone. "Yes, of course, Sir Aytin," he said, slipping around to get the door for her and holding it open with his head lowered automatically.

[zozee9]

Nitya and Kai grabbed the boxes and brought them to the market. After barely finding a spot, they set up the stall. Nitya collected and trading all sorts of things, ranging from spices to jewelry to precious stones.

"Rules for trading. First off, look at customers in their eyes. And smile. And be nice. I would recommend not complimenting them unless they're a traveler, some Essyrni may take it offensively. If someone is upset, guide them to me. You do not know the prices of anything, so ask me how much something costs if someone wants to buy it. Or direct them to me. Keep your eyes on anyone who is touching wares though—they're allowed to, but make sure they don't steal it. As long as they know you're watching, they shouldn't." Nitya paused, thinking if there was anything she had forgotten. "Customers will barter. That is alright. The prices I set will be high enough to count for that—don't tell anyone who is willing to pay the full price that though. But if they want to barter more than a tiny amount off, let me know and I'll talk to them. Got all that?"

[DragonSong]

"Uh- y-yes, Sir Aytin," he stammered out, eyes widening. She expected him to take part in the trade? He'd thought he'd just be setting things up, maybe hauling bigger items around.

This was so far out of his comfort zone. But he just nodded and shuffled his feet a bit, for once glad of the veil that hid most of his expression.