Spirits of the Earth

It had been a wonderful nineteenth birthday, to say the least.

Namely because Valor had spent the latter half of it gloriously drunk, boozing it up with his friends and eating himself sick--so that he had room to eat more, of course. The earlier part of the day had been spent with his family, where they had had a respectable meal together and given him gifts, family heirlooms and other such garbage he didn't really care about. But he could pretend to be respectable long enough to make it to the real party.

That party had spanned across several taverns and lasted until they got kicked out of the final one for being too rowdy. Finally, as night stretched toward the morning hours, they returned home, and Valor finally trudged up to his quarters and collapsed into bed, still fully clothed, reeking of stale beer, and smeared here and there with some lady's bright red lip paint.

He didn't get much rest at all before a knock sounded at his door, along with muffled laughter. He groaned and lifted up onto his elbows. He really just wanted to sleep now.

"What is it?" he called, and the door cracked open to admit one of his best friends, Pari. Who was wearing a shit-eating grin and shuffling his feet.

"Oh, nothing! I just realized I'd forgotten to give you my gift to you. The time just wasn't right, since I figured you'd want to be alone to enjoy it."

Eh? Valor rubbed his eyes and lifted an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Looking out into the hallway, Pari snapped his fingers at the servants waiting beside him. "Go on, bring him his gift, then! Oh, Valor, you're going to love it, I know! Tell me all about it tomorrow!"

And with a final wink his way, Pari left, leaving the servants behind to bring him...whatever it was they were bringing him.

Ka'lei had been having a bad day.

Or rather, another bad day in a series of bad days in a bad month that- well, things hadn't been going well. It had been maybe a week since she'd been dragged off a ship on a dock in Cerenis and then carted hither and yon and who knew where else before coming...here.

She honestly didn't really know where she was.

She knew she didn't like it though. She'd been dressed- despite her best efforts to fight her way out of it- in a skimpy, sheer little outfit that barely covered anything important, a heavy gold collar clasped around her neck and connected to two pretty but very effective gold chains that looped through the cuffs on her wrist and were held by the two servants.

At least her wings were free, even if they wouldn't do her much good at the moment. Her flight feathers had been clipped barely a month ago, it would be at least a few more weeks before she could fly again.

And damn did she wish she could fly. She'd been a slave long enough to know what it meant when a girl was prettied up and dragged into a man's bedchambers. Ka'lei scowled at her newest master, eyes snapping fire, though she had the good sense to keep her mouth shut- for now- as the servants tossed her chains into the room and closed the door behind them. Her wings arched up behind her instinctively, her body ready to fly even though her mind knew that trying would be useless.

Oh, he should have known.

Valor stared up at the woman that was dragged into his room. The barely clothed, winged woman.

Wings? Another man's eyes might have lingered on her breasts and curves and lips, but he just gaped at her wings, because he'd seen plenty of naked women, but he'd never seen one with feathers. He gaped as the door shut behind her, then caught sight of the chains and followed them to her hands and neck. Oh. So this wasn't just a whore. Pari had actually bought him a slave.

Oh, Kia. That...well, he supposed he should be flattered, but whores at least got paid and wanted to serve him since he paid well, at that. A slave...?

Finally, his eyes met hers, and he saw the fire in them.

Nope. This wasn't a happy girl.

Had Pari been drunk off his ass, too, when he'd thought this was a good idea?

With a slight groan, Valor passed a hand through his hair and sat up. Well, not much he could do about this now. He was exhausted, his head was a little achy, and it would be better to process this when he was stone cold sober. "Nice wings," he said, and hid a yawn behind his hand. "Do they actually work?"

...Well. There had been a hundred different things he had been planning on saying, but that was the first thing that decided to tumble out.

She blinked at him, utterly dumbfounded for a moment.

Then she sniffed, tossing her hair and planting her fists on her hips, chains clinking with an almost pleasant little chiming sound. "At the moment? No." She flicked her wings out to their full length- or as near to it as she could get in this room.

To anyone who knew birds, it would be clear that her primaries had been clipped, and she wouldn't be flying until the next time she molted. Sniffing, Ka'lei shuffled her feathers and folded her wings against her back again.

"I suppose you'll want to know when I molt? So you can clip them again?" she spat, taking a step back toward the door. She wasn't stupid enough to think she could really make a break for it, but it was oddly comforting to know the door was there.

Scowling fiercely, she added, "If you touch me, I'll bite you." Not her best threat, but it was the only one she could really follow through on at the moment.

Valor's eyes did rake over her body then, as the hands on her hips only drew his eye down to them. But then he looked back to her wings as she spread them, eyebrows rising at their impressive span. Then he noticed the feathers themselves. Clipped. Ah. So she could fly with them.

Good to know!

At her snap, he waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, don't worry. I only like touching people that want to be touched," he said with a tired smile, and stretched back out onto his bed, laying on his side with his head propped up on an elbow. "So if that changes for you, let me know, and we can have a wickedly good time together! In the meantime, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm truly exhausted. You won't strangle me with those chains if I nap, will you?"

Ka'lei's jaw actually dropped open. "You- you don't- you're not going to-"

She just stared at him for a moment as he flopped onto the bed, utterly stunned. She wasn't quite sure that she should believe him, but- she was tired too. So, so tired. It felt like she'd spent the last month on high alert, unable to rest without her other half there to watch her back...

With a sigh she sank down onto the floor, leaning back against the wall. "No," she muttered, watching him warily. "I won't...hurt you. Not unless you hurt me first."

"And I've no intention of tarnishing my birthday gift," Valor said with another yawn, nestling into his pillows and still too comfortable to change out of his clothes. Which was a good thing for his new guest, really, since he slept nude. Ah, yes, he'd definitely have to figure out what he was going to do with his gift. He didn't want to be rude and give her back, and honestly, she was quite lovely under all that fire. He was certain he could figure out some use for her, even if it wasn't the use Pari intended.

Hm. Speaking of that...

He gave another lazy wave and pat the mattress.

"You don't have to sleep on the floor like a dog, either. There's room enough up here," he said, which was true. His bed was massive, large enough to fit several people comfortably. He may have put that to the test, once upon a time.

"Even with those huge wings of yours. I don't mind, so long as there's no aforementioned strangling and I don't wake up with feathers in my mouth. Oh, and if you don't mind, you could moan a little, too." He jerked a thumb to his door. "I don't want to disappoint anyone."

Ka'lei started a bit, surprised by the offer. "Really?" She hesitantly got to her feet and took a step forward. Gods but that bed looked inviting- though she was still a little wary of her new master.

A wariness that was tinged suddenly with a combination of surprise and indignation at his odd request. "I will do no such thing!" she snapped, huffing and folding her arms with a tinkling chime from her chains. "You'll have to order me," she amended after a moment. Even she knew better than to disobey a direct order, at least not too often.

This strange young man seemed like he wouldn't be too brutal of an owner, but who knew when that would change?

With a small sigh, Ka'lei inched toward the bed again. "You'll...stay on that side?" she muttered, perching on the edge and bringing her wings around to hug her shoulders.

"Oh, fiiiiine," Valor sighed dramatically, feigning a pout at her sheer indignation. Really, was it such a vile request? "I suppose I can live with not getting fake-laid tonight and chalk it up to whiskey dick. But if anyone asks, we made up for it in the morning in a blaze of passion so wild your face went numb. I've got a reputation to uphold, you see. And I don't want my friend to think his generosity was wasted. He's sensitive."

He turned to watch her creep toward the bed, as wary as though she thought he might pounce, when really, he couldn't be bothered to move if he wanted to. At her question, he snorted a laugh and nodded. "Cross my heart," he said, and marked an X across his chest. "But don't kill me if I start to drift. Awake me isn't responsible for asleep me."

She actually felt her lips start to twitch up on one side in a crooked smile. "Fair enough." This man's sense of humor was rather similar to her own, all things considered.

She supposed things could be worse.

With more clinking of chains and a few muffled curses as she tried to figure out a way to lay comfortably in her ridiculous outfit, Ka'lei settled herself on one side of the bed, as close to the edge as she could manage.

After a moment, she muttered, "You know, if you really want to sell a fake-lay, I could rip some of this." She held up the flimsy fabric that made up her "skirt". "Call it a thank you for...for not forcing me." It was about as close to a friendly gesture as she could manage.

Valor heard the clink of chains, creak of the bed, and the slight shifting in weight as she climbed in next to him--along with those rather unladylike curses. He turned again to look at her, and couldn't help but smile. Ah, a lady after his own heart, with those manners. Though...hrm. Those chains. It was probably the alcohol making his brain sluggish, but he prooobably should have seen those chains taken care of. They couldn't be comfortable.

And she couldn't strangle him with them then.

He was still pondering that when she spoke, and a startled laugh bubbled out. "Well, there's hardly anything there to rip, but I'll take it!" he said, and reached out absently to pluck at the fabric. "What is this even made of? Spiderwebs? You may as well be naked."

Stretching his arms over his head, he rolled over all the way so he could face her properly. "In any case, I think if I'd tried anything funny, you would win that battle anyway. I'm a lover, not a fighter, and you've got a chain. Why they'd send you in here practically armed, I will never figure it out. Perhaps the joke truly was on me. Here."

He grabbed at one of her wrists and inspected the manacle. "Of course it needs a key to open. They really didn't think this through. Not only did they send you in weaponized, but those chains would get in the way terribly even if you had been willing. Ridiculous. I'll have them removed in the morning."

Ka'lei tensed at his touch, then found herself suddenly laughing, albeit bitterly and quietly. "I believe that's the point?" she noted to his comment about her being practically naked, arching an eyebrow.

As he continued chattering away- strange, the men in Essyrn had never bothered to actually talk to her- the other eyebrow crept up to join its twin. "Well...yeah, I guess that's all true," she said slowly, turning over to look at him and tilting her head. Her wings shuffled behind her as she resettled herself. "But, I mean- I doubt they'd expect me to fight back. Good little slave girls just do what they're told."

Narrowing her eyes slightly, she added quickly, "Which is why I'm not a good little slave. Which I don't exactly hide. I think your friend was drunk off his ass, or not very bright. Probably both."

She sort of winced as the words slipped out, instinctively expecting him to hit her for the insult to his friend. Damnit, Kai was right. She really needed to learn to keep her mouth shut.

But rather than be offended, Valor cracked a wide grin, his eyes sparkling with mirth.

"Oh, I think I like you," he said. "Good little girls were never my thing. And besides, you're hardly little." He swept a look up and down her to make his point. He hadn't stood up to check, but she was a taller woman than he was accustomed to--maybe as tall as he was.

And as he looked at her, already the wheels in his head began to turn. He would have to sit on the thought, wait until he was sober before deciding if it was a viable idea, but perhaps good ol' drunken Pari had just hand-delivered him an opportunity. Sure it wouldn't be what he'd intended him to use her for...but he was beginning to see how she could be useful in other ways.

He yawned again, and let his eyes drift shut. "What's your name, anyway? I'm Valor."

She relaxed fractionally when she realized he wasn't going to strike her. And automatic frown stole over her face at the words "I like you"- that had never boded well for her before- but then her expression cleared.

Yes, this could definitely have been much worse.

"No, I suppose I'm not all that little," she agreed with a huff and the tiniest flash of a smile. She rather wanted to roll onto her stomach to sleep properly, but the chains prevented it. "Name's Ka'lei," she added, dropping her head onto the pillow with a sharp exhale. "Damn, this is soft..."

"Mm, it's silk," Valor murmured around another yawn, already starting to fade. He nestled his face into his pillow. "Imported from Thanatos."

And before long, he was softly snoring, the alcohol and exhaustion lulling him off fast.

Ka'lei snorted quietly. Silk imported from Thanatos. Well of course. Why not? Perfect bizarre ending to this bizarre day.

It took her a little longer to fall asleep, tense and wary as she was. Eventually though, sheer exhaustion won out and she drifted off. She turned into her side and curled up in a little ball, chains chiming and wings fluttering as they settled around her body like a feathery blanket.

A feathery blanket that, sometime during the night, Valor tried to use as an actual blanket.

Because Valor had been too lazy and drunk to climb under the blankets, and instead fell asleep on top of them. And with Ka'lei sleeping next to him, a nice, warm source, he naturally drifted in his sleep and wormed his way closer. And closer. Until before long he was nestled up into her feathers and curling up against her, still happily snoozing.

She woke at the touch, but just barely. She was so tired...

"Kai," she groaned, still half asleep and believing it was her twin curling ever closer into her back. "C'mon, move back to your side." Ka'lei gave the body beside her a sleepy shove of protest with her wings, half turning as she did.

It was only then she remembered where she was, and that the man she was sharing a bed with was not her brother. She bolted upright with a distinct jangling of chains and shot so far toward the edge of the bed she almost fell of. "Oi! Thought you said no funny business," she snapped, eyes narrowed.

Valor didn't wake at the nudge.

But he did wake at the loud jangle of chains, and when the warm, fluffy blanket he'd curled up into suddenly yanked away and left him shivering. He grabbed for it groggily, but his hand only groped at empty space, and then a somewhat familiar voice was snapping at him and he blinked groggily in the dark.

Eh...?

Oh...the slave girl.

He let out a loud yawn, and only then did he realize he was now occupying most of the large bed. "I did," he said, rubbing at his eyes. "See? I'm not touching you. Just like I said."

Oh. He'd been asleep.

Okay, maybe she'd overreacted a bit.

"Right. Um...right," Ka'lei muttered, settling back down on the bed. "Just- scooch over, would you? This bed's big enough, you don't need to be all pressed up against me." She gave a little huff and twisted to put her back to him again, feathers ruffling.

"Mm? Oh..." Valor blinked groggily, yawned again, and wriggled his way back over onto his side. Then with a small shiver, he pulled back the covers and climbed beneath them, yanking them up to his chin.

"Want under?" he asked sleepily, already starting to fade again.

Yes, she did actually. Warily, Ka'lei nodded and slipped under the edge of the blanket. "Oh wow," she sighed, lashes fluttering against her cheeks. "What the hell, it's like you sleep in a cloud."

"I do," Valor murmured, only vaguely awake--and before long, he wasn't awake at all, his breathing going even and coming out in soft snores.

This time, at least, he was warm enough that Ka'lei very well might survive the night unmolested this time!

Ka'lei was asleep quickly, despite how wary she still felt.

She woke early, though she still got more sleep than she had in- well, since she could remember. Yawning and stretching, then wincing as her chains clinked cheerily, she sat up in the bed and glanced around at her strange bed mate.

Still asleep. Hmm...

Very, very quietly, she tried to slip out of the bed. Unfortunately, the cuffs around her ankles got tangled in in her chains and she wound up collapsing on her side with a loud clatter, some clinking, and a decent amount of swearing.

Valor shot bolt upright with a gasped curse, his heart leaping clear into his throat. Nothing like getting woken up from a deep, peaceful sleep to the sounds of crashing and clanging!

"What the--?! Gods, Maribel, you clumsy oaf, did you spill the--oh."

He froze in mid speech, glimpsing some of those chains hanging off the edge of his bed, and rubbed sleepily at his eyes as he scooched forward and peered over the edge of the bed.

And saw, crumpled on the floor, a barely clothed winged girl.

Ohhhh. Well.

The shock quickly turned to a sly smile, and he reached and tugged gently on the chains. "Who're you?" he asked, and his grin broadened, "And how much fun did we have last night? I'd say from the chains, things got a little...naughty." But then he blinked, and looked more closely at the chain in his hand. "And startlingly devoted to accuracy. I usually go for the silky ones, but I must admit, these also have a certain forbidden allure."

...

What?

"Oh gods." Ka'lei groaned and rolled her eyes. "Just how drunk were you last night?" she snapped, jerking her hands to yank the chains away from him. "You really don't remember?"

Of course, he could always be faking to try and...seduce her or something. Although she had to admit she was having a hard time figuring out just what his little "amnesia" angle would be.

"Forbidden allure my ass," she grumbled, scowling at him. "They're real, idiot. I'm a slave. I was your birthday present, remember?"

...What.

Valor blinked at her, and then rubbed his eyes again. Real? Slave? Bits and pieces from the night before filtered in, swimming around in his fogged up brain. He was a little hungover, and his head was a little achy and confused, but it wasn't terrible. Not like the hangovers he'd had in the past when he could barely hold his liquor and hadn't learned to keep hydrated and eat a lot of bread.

Some of those memories did, indeed, involve her. Her, in his bed.

An actual, real slave in his bed.

"Oh gods!" he said, jerking back and letting the chain fall when she yanked it. His birthday present?! A slave?! His face paled. "I didn't...I didn't use you did I?"

"Use me- Oh. Oh! No! No no no no no." Ka'lei shook her head vehemently.

"You ah...you said you didn't want to..." She took a moment to think of the words. "Something about not touching people who don't want to be touched." Her eyes narrowed and she shuffled back, but her ankles got tangled again and she sort of sprawled onto her back.

Fighting to right herself, she spat out, "But I swear to gods, if that was just whiskey dick talking I will strangle you with these." She shook the chains to make her point.

He felt a little guilty for finding all her flailing around comical.

A little guilty.

But mostly, Valor was just plain relieved that he hadn't taken advantage of her. It was true, he was a playboy and damn if he didn't have a reputation for bedding whatever looked his way, man or woman. But his partners were always just as happy to be in his bed as he was to have them there. He didn't understand how some people could do the things they did, taking unwilling "partners" and other such vile acts, but judging from her spunk, he had a feeling if he had tried anything, he probably wouldn't have woken up.

So how the hell had she gotten in his bed? Birthday present? Oh, Kia. He had a feeling he knew who to blame.

He rubbed at his temple, shaking his head, a wry smile on his lips. He waved a hand at her threat. "Oh, no, no. Believe me, love, if I wanted to bed someone I know where to find people that won't break my neck. Er..."

He rose to his feet, wrinkling his nose since he was still dressed and smelled sickeningly of booze, and paused for a second to keep from wobbling. When he felt steady again, he offered her his hand. "Why don't you get off the floor and we can deal with these chains, hm? Before you break your neck."

Ka'lei couldn't stop the sigh of relief that left her. At least it seemed that, even drunk, most of her strange master's personality had been a fairly accurate representation of him.

She nodded and took his hand warily, allowing him to pull her to her feet. "Thanks," she muttered rather grudgingly. Chains clinking, she held her cuffed wrists out so he could see how everything was connected.

"I think your friend- the one who bought me- still has the key," she noted with a huff and scrunched up her nose. "But I'm pretty sure if you tug hard enough from both ends the chain at least will snap." She would have tried it herself, but with the way the chains were attached to the cuffs she hadn't be able to get the right angle.

Oh, Valor had a feeling she was severely overestimating his strength, but he took hold of the chain anyway. The chain did look pretty old and badly rusted in places, and as he examined it, he clicked his tongue in disdain. Such poor craftsmanship...

"I'll see what I can do, but I daresay I'm not the sort of guy generally known for chain-snapping strength," he said. "Though if I manage it, I claim bragging rights for the rest of forever."

And with a grunt, he yanked. And yanked some more. He felt the chains give a little, heard what he hoped was a faint cracking noise, and then he grit his teeth and pulled again--

Snap!

The chain snapped free and Valor let it fall to the ground, shaking out his wrists.

"Whew! Bragging rights it is!"

Ka'lei gave the man an up-and-down sort of look. Honestly, she wasn't quite sure he could do it either, but gods she just wanted the damn things off. Then the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard.

Snap!

"Oh thank gods!" She actually laughed, reeling away from him slightly so she could wave her arm exuberantly and drop the chain through her cuff to the ground. She was still cuffed and collared, but at least she wasn't quite as bound anymore.

"Thanks." Ka'lei beamed at him, for maybe half a heartbeat her expression soft and bright, showing the girl she might have been had her life been different.

Then she sobered and cleared her throat. "Mind taking care of these, then?" she asked a little hesitantly, tapping her collar and left cuff.

"Now, now, I know what I just did was pretty impressive, but let's not get our hopes too high," Valor said as he stepped in closer and laid his hands on the collar. He frowned at it, smoothing his hands along it to look for where it opened and shut, but felt only smooth metal.

A quick examination of her cuffs showed the same thing.

"I'll definitely need the key for these. Because it looks like it's not even a conventional key that unlocks it," he said with a frown and a rub of his chin. "I could always try to sing them off, I suppose, but these things usually have wards against that sort of magic. You know, in case the captive is a mage. It would be too easy."

With a sigh, he clapped her on the shoulder. "Looks like you're coming with me, then. First: something for this gods be damned headache." And the awful nausea. Eugh. "Second: tracking down Pari. And if anyone asks, we had a wild night and you enjoyed yourself immensely. Come, now!"

And he motioned for her to follow as he started for the door, not stopping to consider her scandalous clothes.

She sighed at his assessment, but what could she do, really?

A small snort of laughter escaped her and she rolled her eyes as she started to follow him. "You seem to have a great deal of confidence in your, ah- skills," she noted with an arched eyebrow.

"Not without good reason!" Valor boasted with a puff of his chest, leading her out the door and into the hallway, which was lavish as the rest of his home. "Of course, reputations are fragile and need work to maintain.  You understand, I'm sure."

He rubbed at his temples as they walked, turning a corner and following the savory smells of cooking. "Ahh, we'll stop by the kitchens first. See if there's anything good and greasy ready," he said, though his stomach churned at the thought. But greasy food was always good for a hangover!

And as they walked, he was too single-minded in his pursuit of food to notice the looks his "slave" was drawing: looks of scandalized horror from the maids and servants--except for the men, who eyed her hungrily.

Ka'lei was used to the looks, from the men and women alike. She'd always been pretty, exotic, a treasured oddity. At least until her masters figured out her unusual allure wasn't worth her smart mouth and sharp nails.

Still, she didn exactly love the attention. She stuck close to Valor's back, wings tucked securely against her back and arms sort of wrapped around her middle, shoulders hunched as though to chase the stares away.

"So, I was thinking," Valor said as they turned down another hallway and into a spacious dining hall. "I was thinking just now, what use could I possibly have for a slave? I already have servants to clean and carry out tasks and couriers to deliver messages and counselors to...well, ignore. And if I want sex, I just go out and woo someone the old fashioned way--with songs and drinks and flattery."

He gave her a look. "Not that you're not exceedingly attractive, mind you. If I saw you in a tavern, you would definitely be on my 'to-do' list. Anyway, I've never had a slave before. Never really thought about it before. So this is a little awkward, because Pari also paid good money for you, I imagine, and it would be rude to send a gift back. But then, well, an idea just came to me now."

There were some heavy doors ahead of them from which the rich smells emanated, and Valor pulled one open and lead the way into the steamy kitchen, the sounds of clanking dishes and the shouts of the cook ringing out.

"My parents just won't get off my ass about marriage. And I've no interest currently. My, ah, lifestyle just don't complement marriage, see. So I thought, well..."

He flashed a smile her way. "You can be my pretend bride!"

If she was being perfectly honest, Ka'lei was only half paying attention to him as he talked, part of her mind focused on mapping out the area around her with a wary sort of instinct. She couldn't help chuckling quietly as she caught his "to-do list" comment; once upon a time she might have been offended, but now it was just amusing.

Then her eyes went wide and her feet stuttered to a stop. "Your- a p-pretend- what?!" she sort of whisper-shrieked, gaping at him. Her wings fluttered in surprised agitation and she blinked rapidly. "You- are you serious? What does that even mean?"

"Was I unclear?" Valor asked with a frown, brow knit in confusion. Maybe he was speaking too fast for her.

"My...pretend...bride," he repeated. "A bride who is not really a bride. Or perhaps the more accurate term is my fake betrothed. My farce fiance. We won't actually get married, of course. We'll keep extending the date because your parents are very busy people who live very far away and we simply can't have a wedding without their presence and their blessing."

He linked their arms. "Oh, my parents will be livid, you being a slave and all, me marrying embarrassingly far beneath my station, but if it doesn't make people talk then it's not worth doing, I always say. But after our wild night of passion, I was just so taken with you, I couldn't help myself. What a romantic rags to riches story, don't you agree?"

For several long moments Ka'lei just gaped at him, speechless.

"Oh my gods you are serious," she muttered, a rather startled- perhaps slightly hysterical- laugh bubbling up in her chest. "You're mad, do you know that?"

But, well... He was by far the kindest person who'd ever owned her, even if she'd known him less than a day. And being some little lordling's fake bride was infinitely better than scrubbing floors or...less savory tasks.

Slowly, she nodded. "Alright," she decided, brow furrowing slightly. "I'll play along. But I want a favor in return, deal?"

Perhaps she should have just been grateful for the offer, a slave like her could never have expected something so good. But Ka'lei had always been one to push boundaries. The way she saw it, while Valor could force her to obey him, she could either make it easy for him, or very very difficult.

"I've been told that once or twice, yes," Valor said with a wide smile--a smile that turned ever more amused when she stated she would comply. For something in return.

Wasn't that adorable.

"Darling, you realize you are a slave, correct?" he said. A slave demanding favors of her master! Honestly! What a risky thing for her to say, considering how any other master would react to such a bold demand.

He shook his head but quickly added, "Fortunately, I'm not a dick. Usually. Except when it would be funny. What sort of favor were you thinking? If it's within my power to grant it, then by all means, I don't see why I can't honor it."

Her eyes hardened with determination. "My brother," she said simply. "We were...separated a few months ago. As far as I know, he's still in Essyrn."

A rather wicked smile twitched her lips up on one side. "And I'm quite aware of my position. But evidently your friend didn't talk much with the man who was selling me- I'm not really a slavish sort of slave. And I can make this charade a whole lot easier for you if I'm getting something out of it."

Honestly, with another man she might have been more cautious, but with this new master- she had a feeling a bit of boldness might actually work in her favor. It seemed to amuse him, at any rate.

Valor turned to look at her fully then, surprise in his eyes.

"And you want...what? For me to deliver your brother from Essyrn?"

"Yes."

Her eyes suddenly softened, the walls coming down just for a moment to show the hurt, the grief, and the barest flash of hope at the idea that he may be able to help her.

"Please." Her voice was quiet. "There has to be something you can do. Anything."

Valor frowned at that and rested his chin in his hand, rubbing thoughtfully. He wasn't usually one for selfless acts, but...shit. it was the damned eyes, the begging. That flash of hope. And whatever, he had money, right? Contacts. Hell, maybe he could use this to his advantage, get an excuse to get out of Serendipity for a while and visit Essyrn.

It was supposed to be a true den of iniquity with a lot of nearly-naked people and wickedly wonderful booze and drugs.

He had no idea how he was supposed to find a single slave in a vast nation, but whatever. It wasn't like he had to succeed. He just had to try. Who knew? This could be fun.

Finally, he shrugged. "Yeah, I could probably figure out something," he said, looking at her. "No guarantees I'll succeed, but I can try. That good enough for you?"

Ka'lei could have cried with relief. Her eyes actually welled up and she clenched them shut, taking in a shivering sort of breath before whispering, "Thank you."

There was such raw gratitude in her voice it even surprised her a bit. "So. Ahem." She cleared her throat and glanced away, taking a few breaths to get ahold of herself. Looking back to him, her eyes were once again bold and calculating, with just a hint of mischief.

"Seems we've got a deal, milord. Or should I call you husband or something now?"

Now that Valor actually thought about it, this deal was sounding better and better! He could go to Essyrn with the excuse of needing her father's approval for her hand in marriage, and in doing so he could explore a whole new culture--and its beautiful, beautiful people--and also avoid his family. Actually, this was bloody well perfect! Gods, he was a genius!

So while Ka'lei teared up, Valor merely grinned and reached out boldly and brushed a thumb against the corner of her eye, catching one of those tears before it escaped. "Husband will do nicely. I actually like the sound of that, wife."

And his grin turned mischievous as he gave her a thorough once over. "You know, I know little about Essyrni culture, but in our culture at least, marriages must be consummated." And he gave her a saucy wink.

Ka'lei froze as his hand touched her cheek, wiped away an almost-tear, but she didn't pull away.

His flirting inspired a quick, short laugh and she arched an eyebrow at him. "Even fake marriages, husband?" She crinkled her nose at him and tossed his hair, then baited, "Honestly, I'm not sure you could handle it, mister posh lordling."

She really wasn't sure where the playfulness was coming form- maybe the chance of seeing her brother again- but it felt damn good.

Valor snorted and reached up to fix his mussed hair. "I don't see why fake marriages shouldn't count, miss fluffy birdling," he teased right back. "There's a first for everything! And wings are definitely new for me."

He held his arm out to her and cocked an eyebrow. "Hang on my arm and act like you love me, now. We're going to meet the cook, and she's the biggest gossip ever."

She nodded like a soldier receiving orders and took his arm. "Got it."

A soft clearing of her throat- then she melted into him, seeming an entirely different person, all wide eyes, batting lashes, and pouty lips. She tossed her hair and giggled, hugging his arm to her breast and tucking her head into his shoulder.

"Like this?" she asked softly out of the corner of her mouth. 

It was like she'd gone and become a completely different person.

Valor stared at her, his eyebrows lifted clear to his hairline, and blinked several times in disbelief.

She did that...almost too well. It was kind of unsettling! Though he couldn't say he minded the placement of his arm.

"That's...that's so perfect, it's a little scary, to be honest," he said with a laugh as he drew her along. "Have you had much practice?"

Ka'lei blinked at him innocently, but there was something hard in her eyes. "Do you really wanna know, or are you just asking?" she quipped with a little toss of her hair.

After a moment she admitted, "I've had practice. Lots. But only recently." Before that, she could get away with being herself because Kai was there.

"Well, thank the gods for that," Valor said with a grin. "Keep it up, at least a little longer."

But hopefully not too much longer. While Valor did love having a pretty woman hanging all over his arm and making bedroom eyes at him, it was a little unsettling coming from Ka'lei, especially with how easily she could just fall in and out of the roll! Yikes.

Assured by her behavior, he lead the way to the end of the kitchen, to the great hearth where a rotund older woman was currently stirring a massive pot, her back to them. Valor cleared his throat.

"Hey, Ennis, I know I missed breakfast, but think you can whip me up something quick and greasy?" Valor called to her, and the woman gave him a slow, very knowing glance from over her shoulder. "And something less greasy and more decadent for my little desert rose here, eh?"

With a low sigh, Ennis turned around and fixed them both with a look, her eyebrows raised at the sight of Ka'lei. Then she snorted, rolled her eyes, and turned back to her pot. "A slave now, my lord? That's sleazy, even for you."

"A slave? Why Ennis, don't be so judgmental! This is Ka'lei of Essyrn, and my beloved! I'll have you know she's a slave no more. In fact, she's to be my bride."

That got Ennis to whip her head back around so fast she was likely to get whiplash. "It was love at first sight, Ennis, let me tell you. Isn't that right, my little desert rose?" Valor added, with an affectionate stroke of Ka'lei's cheek.

She had to bite her tongue not to quip something at the cook when she was apparently dismissed as merely a slave by the woman- luckily she wasn't really looking at her and didn't see the sour expression on the younger woman's face.

But then she was back in character, leaning into Valor's side with a shy little giggle and even turning to hide her face against his shoulder when he announced point blank that she was going to be his bride.

Well she certainly couldn't fault him for not being direct.

She leaned into his hand as he stroked her cheek, batting her eyes and smiling at him with what she hoped was an expression of rapture. "Oh yes. Like the stars aligned," she breathed, playing up her Essyrni accent a bit.

Leaning in to kiss his cheek, she murmured wryly, "Desert rose? Really?"

Valor couldn't help but grin. "Why, you're as lovely as one, so it's fitting, don't you think?" he whispered back.

Ennis was just staring at the two of them with increasing levels of visible disgust. With a scoff and a roll of her eyes, she waved her hands at them to shoo them away. "Save it for your bedchamber!" she said. "Go on, get outta here! I can't fix your breakfast with you two being all disgusting together, it'll curdle the milk."

With a beaming smile, Valor blew Ennis a kiss. "Thank you, sweetness!"

"Off with you!"

Still snickering, Valor tugged Ka'lei along, leading her out of the kitchen. "Why, if I didn't already know the truth, I might have been worried I really did steal your heart."

Ka'lei had to bite back a chuckle as she accused in a whisper, "Flirt," before the cook was shooing them back out of the kitchen.

She did laugh once they were out of earshot though, giving Valor a wry look. "Not my heart, but certainly my interest," she admitted. "And honestly, that was kinda fun. Did you see her face?"

She giggled and tossed her hair, feathers shivering though she didn't seem to notice. Still holding her newest master's arm to her chest, she "hmm"ed quietly and tilted her head at him. "How many more times do ya figure we'll have to do that today?"

"Oh, many, many more times, I imagine!" Valor said with a wide grin. "The way Cook blabs, the whole kingdom will know by high noon. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Giving Ka'lei a curious look as her feathers caught his eye, he reached out and passed a hand over them lightly. He hadn't had much time to properly inspect them, or appreciate them, and now that he was sobering he had to admit, they really had his curiosity.

"Wings, huh?" he said, almost to himself. "Hope you don't mind this, I just don't think I'm ever gonna get over the fact that you have wings."

Her eyes suddenly widened and she gave a rather girlish squeal, his touch making her jump and twist to face him.

No one touched her wings. Not like that anyway- she didn't let them. Sure, he'd been cuddled up against them last night, but they'd both been half asleep. Kai was the only person who'd ever stroked her feathers like that, and that was usually when they preened.

But oddly, it felt...sort of nice. She shuffled her feathers again and ducked her head, flushing a bit for the sound she'd made. "Er, yeah. I, um...ahem. A gift from a Yoreiqi father," she muttered by way of explanation.

WHOA!

Valor about jumped out of his skin when she squealed and jerked, snapping his hand away from her as quickly as if he'd been burned. For a split second, he thought he'd hurt her; he knew bird wings were delicate, their bones fragile. Had he just broken her?! Bruised her? Maybe she was already injured there and he'd just hit a sensitive spot!

Heart in his throat and apologies on the tip of his tongue, he was about ready to spill them all out, "I'm sor--!"

Until he noticed her blush.

A blush.

...Oh ho ho.

That hadn't been a squeal of pain.

He clamped down against the apologies, a slow, sly smile replacing wide-eyed panic. "I see," he said, and flicked a look at her wings. "I also take it they're...sensitive?"

Midnight blue eyes blinked at him for a moment, almost dumbfounded. "Um..." She sort of wanted to take a step back from him, but at the same time didn't want to show any sort of weakness- retreat was a sign of weakness.

So she flipped her hair over her shoulder and tried to ignore the way her wings were still shivering delicately. "Maybe. What of it?" So what if he knew her wings were sensitive? It's not like it was a secret or something. Plenty of her old masters had taken advantage of that, once they figured it out.

Just...no one had ever stroked them. She'd come to expect pain from a touch to her wings, not...whatever the hell that tingling sensation was.

"Oh, nothing," Valor said with a wave of his hand. "I'm just saying, if you liked that, I'd be happy to do it again."

Ka'lei blinked again, then ducked her head, her very uncharacteristic blush deepening a few shades. "I, ah...I didn't dislike it," she admitted in a mumbled.

Then she gave herself a little shake and took his arm again. "Alright. I'm following your lead here, husband."

Duuuuly noted. She didn't dislike it. Mhmm. Valor filed that away for future use, trying not to grin so openly about how oddly shy and flustered she'd gotten, when she'd had no issues acting the part. But perhaps that was the difference: it was one thing to act, and quite another to genuinely feel.

"Ah, right. Right this way, wife," Valor said, as he lead the way out into the dining room--and it's larger than necessary table. It was large enough to seat a small army, and Valor lead them to the dead center of it.

During feasts and celebrations, it would be lit with candles and piled with flowers and more dishes than anyone could ever sample. Right now, though, it was just the two of them, and Valor paused to pull out Ka'lei's chair for her like a proper gentleman.

"There we are," he said, and leaned past her so he could pick up a decorative flint from where it was stashed among the candles. He lit the ones closest to them, enough to encircle them in light. "Breakfast for two. If I'd known ahead of time that I'd have a guest, I would have hired some musicians to serenade us."

Then he paused, blinked, and let out a laugh. "Or I could just serenade you, I suppose! I have a gift with that, you know."

Her eyes went wide as he led her into the massive dining room- who was she kidding, this was a hall, not a room. She gave a low whistle and shook her head in disbelief.

"You actually live in this place," she muttered with a wondering little chuckle. A very small smile twitched at her lips as he pulled her chair out and she took it a little hesitantly.

Yeah, maybe she could get used to being treated like this, even if it was just an act.

With a small chuckle and another shake of her head Ka'lei glanced up at him. "Serenade? Really?" She settled back in her seat- as much as she could without cramping her wings- and smirked. "I think I'd like to see that."

Oh, she was going to be a fun one, indeed. Her open, genuine wonder was, well, wonderful, and if she was this impressed over a dining room, then he couldn't wait to show her what other perks awaited her. He found himself looking forward to her reaction. Perhaps it was because he was so used to living like this, and took the lifestyle for granted, that it was fun to sort of...live vicariously through someone to whom this was all new and fresh.

But first things first: she had asked for a serenade!

Valor flashed her a grin and took a seat on the table near her, perched on its edge and mindful of the candles. He cleared his throat and tapped on his chest, less because he needed to and more for drama's sake.

"As you wish, m'lady," he said, and reached down to take her hand between both of his, meeting her eyes as he began to sing.

It was a song with themes of forbidden love between secret lovers, one he'd picked up in a tavern ages ago--as he did many of the songs he knew. But unlike the rowdier songs that played into the night, the woman who'd sang it earlier in the evening had been genuinely talented, her lyrics heartfelt and sweet. Valor's voice was rich and clear, and for a moment he considered pouring a little magic into it as he often did when he sang in taverns himself--but then he thought better of it. He could use his voice like an aphrodisiac, and he had seduced no small number of men and women with its help, but for some reason here it felt like cheating.

It felt wrong, even though he would have been more than happy to learn Ka'lei's body.

So he kept the magic from creeping in and finished the song off with a lingering kiss to the back of her hand.

At first Ka'lei rolled her eyes when she recognized his showmanship for what it was- she was hardly a stranger to such tactics- but there was a small smile twitching at her lips.

She had to resist the urge to jerk her hand back when he took it between his, not so much because she disliked the touch, but almost more because she was a little worried that she did like it. When his eyes met hers she found she was suddenly unable to look away.

And his song... She'd met plenty of entertainers in her time passing through different master's hands, but they were normally women, she was unused to how well-practiced a male's voice could sound. Her eyes softened a bit and almost closed once or twice as she allowed herself to relax and just listen to the lyrics.

The kiss, chaste as it was, nevertheless sent a little shiver down her spine and it took her a few moments to blink her way back into focus, wings shuddering delicately in an almost bashful sort of way.

"That, um..." She cleared her throat and ducked her eyes. "That was...very nice."

"Thank you!" Valor said with a grin. Oh, he had noticed the way the tension left her, the way she dropped her guard and closed her eyes--and the way her eyes had met his before that. For a moment, he worried that maybe he had added some magic to the song without even intending it; it was such an automatic response, like breathing, and just as much a part of him. But then he thought, nah. He shouldn't give all the credit to magic. He was just that damned good.

"I just learned it, so I was hoping not to slaughter it." He was still holding her hand, and hoped that pretending he'd forgotten about it would buy him a few more seconds. Cocking his head curiously, he met her eyes. "Can you sing?"

She laughed at that, shaking her head. "Oh, I can. What you should've asked is can I sing well." Her lips twitched up on one side and she propped her chin in her hand.

"Where did you learn to do that?" There was real curiosity in her eyes. "Is it a Serenian thing? No one sings like that in Essyrn."

"Oh, plenty of people sing in Serendipity. We have as many bards as you can throw rocks at," Valor said with a wave of his hand. "But me, I'm self taught, you could say. I've always been able to do it. Natural talent and all that."

He quirked a smile. "But your voice is already nice. I bet you could sing if you tried. Or if given the proper instruction." He winked. "I don't mind playing teacher."

Ka'lei flushed a bit and her eyes flickered down. "I...suppose. If you'd like." She cleared her throat and glanced up at him through her lashes a bit. "I never wanted to learn. Being an...entertainer in Essyrn, when you're a slave..."

She trailed off with a shrug and looked away. "But if you just wanted to teach me. Well. As my lord husband commands, I suppose." Her voice was almost playful, but there was a bit too much of an edge to it.

The implication sailed over Valor's head. Oh, he knew in some abstract way the many ways in which slaves were used. He knew there were plenty of bed slaves, for example--after all, that was why his friend had purchased Ka'lei for him. But he knew it all in a very distant sort of way. His image of bedroom slaves was idealized--men and women who were eager to please and lived for it, who were practically born for that purpose, like some scene out of a romanticized harem painting where everyone was smiling and naked. His image of other sorts of slaves was much the same. Entertainer, for example, didn't sound so terrible. So, she sang and played music and maybe danced? Hm. Why was she acting so...

Kicked puppy?

Ka'lei was his first up close and personal experience with an actual slave. A living, breathing human who had experienced its horrors first hand. Horrors he, in his privileged life, couldn't begin to comprehend.

He frowned, raising an eyebrow at her reaction. "Well, if you don't want to, you don't have to. If you're not actually into it, you'll just sound like you're bored and dying." He gave her head a playful pat. "Now then, what did you do if you didn't sing? You said you were an entertainer?"

Ka’lei had to resist the urge to flinch away from his touch, and she snapped an automatic glare up at him before she caught herself and forced her expression to smooth out. “I wasn’t...exactly...an entertainer,” she responded slowly, staring at him warily.

She hesitated for a long moment. It was becoming clear to her just how out of touch with the life she and her brother had led her new master was. There was a part of her that almost didn’t want to ruin his- well, innocence.

“I didn’t perform. For people who owned me,” she elaborated after a while. “I...sang a bit, for Kai, or other slaves we might’ve been living with.” She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “And I can dance. They made me, sometimes, but I can do it on my own, too.” She laughed a bit and shot him a slightly dry look. “Don’t think it’s the kinda dancing you northerners do though.”

"Oh? And what kind would that be?" Valor asked with a sly smile. He had a feeling it was the kind of dancing he would very much like. He'd never been to Essyrn before, but he'd of course heard the stories, and he had to say, it sounded like his kind of place.

"Perhaps you could show me. Or, better yet, teach me! I'd offer to dance for you in return, but the only dances I know are dull courtly ones."

She was silent for a long moment, just staring at him. Then, almost despite herself, she smiled and shook her head, something like disbelief in her expression. "Yeah, I could...teach you. If you really want," she said with a shrug.

Damn. Just what did this guy think Essyrn was, some endless party city?

Ka'lei looked Valor up and down. Okay...yeah, that was probably exactly what he thought.

Putting that slightly unsettling thought from her mind, she shook her head again and- her stomach growled. Loudly.

Her cheeks darkened with a ruddy blush and she snapped her eyes away, clearing her throat to try to cover the sound.

As though on cue, several servants came bustling out of the kitchen, carrying steaming plates heaped with more food than two people could ever hope to eat. Valor grinned at Ka'lei and gently elbowed her.

"Hope your appetite is as mighty as your roar," he teased. Oh yeah. There was no way he hadn't heard her belly-rumble. He could appreciate that! He liked food, and he liked a girl that could eat! There was nothing less appealing than those noblewomen who took a nibble and acted like they were stuffed. What a waste of good food.

The servants set down their plates, revealing freshly cooked eggs, bread, pastries--meat pies and fritters--and plenty of fruits. With a bow, they exited, leaving the couple to privacy.

"Well, I'm excited." Grinning, Valor scooped up a fritter stuffed with cinnamon coated apples. "You simple must try this. Say 'ahh', dearest," he said, and held the pastry in front of Ka'lei's lips.

At the sight of the food, her mouth began to water. She couldn't help it, it had been ages since she'd be properly fed-- and having lived her whole life as a slave, she figured she could safely say she'd never been offered food like this!

She was so absorbed in simply gaping at the array of food spread before her that she didn't notice what Valor was doing until the crumbly crust of the pastry was almost touching her lips. Her eyes quickly narrowed into a scowl.

But then her stomach grumbled again and her blush was back. Cursing under her breath, she leaned forward and took a massive bite out of the fritter, chewing almost defiantly as she rolled her eyes at her "fiance".

It didn't take longer than a moment for her sour expression to melt into pure bliss as the taste of it assaulted her tongue. Her eyes fluttered closed and she groaned, leaning back in her chair. Her wings shivered behind her, feathers rustling quietly. "Oh. My. Gods."

...Well, that was sexy as hell.

Valor stared at Kiri, one-hundred percent aware that she probably had zero idea what she looked like in that moment: the way her expression melted into sheer bliss, the way she shivered, the little sounds she made. All from a bite of pastry!

And he was more than happy to quietly watch her. But not for too long! Too long and she'd catch him staring, and then it would just be creepy.

He cleared his throat. "Do you, ah, need some alone time with the pastry?" he asked with a waggle of his brows.

"Mm?" Ka'lei blinked, coming down from the high of good food. Once she processed his words, she rolled her eyes. "Oh, ha ha, very funny."

She crinkled her nose up at him and stuck her tongue out, then took another bite of the fritter. "It's really good though," she mumbled as she swallowed. "Do you always eat like this? Or is the kitchen staff celebrating your engagement?"

She winked playfully as she leaned back in her chair again, looking significantly more relaxed that she had before the food. Her wings unfurled slightly from their tight curl against her spine, head tilted slightly as she looked at Valor.

"Oh, I don't always eat like this," Valor said with a wave of his hand to indicate the rich spread. "My usual meals are smaller and simpler. If I ate like this everyday, my waistline would suffer! Naw, this is just a little something extra special, and knowing ol' Ennis, our engagement is definitely a factor."

He looked at her curiously, grabbing a fritter for himself. "I imagine Serenian food is very different from Essyrni fare?"

She shrugged, eyeing the plate with meat pies on it. "Yeah, I suppose. I mean, obviously it's just different with what's available. I couldn't really tell you about flavor though-- slaves are kept to bread and water, mostly."

Glancing at him sidelong, she started to reach for one of the pies, an automatic, "Can I...?" out of her mouth before she could stop it.

Valor's mouth quirked into a playful smirk. "I don't know. Can you?"

Ka'lei glowered at him and snatched the pie up, stuffing nearly the whole thing into her mouth in a rather petty little show of defiance.

She promptly choked, but tried to hide it, chewing and swallowing as quickly as she could before reaching for a glass of water. "Ahem. Good. It's good."

Valor burst into laughter and handed her the water. "Maybe actually chew?" he suggested between breaths. Oh, he'd seen that defiant look, all right! He didn't know what, exactly, she was trying to prove by it, but he had a feeling it had something to do with him.

"I really don't know how I'd explain my brand new fiance choking to death on breakfast! Much less...a meat pie." He snickered. "There's such a thing as choking on meat but really..."

Blushing furiously now, Ka'lei took the glass and sipped at it as primly as she could manage. "Well, I know that," she grumbled, desperately hoping that she wasn't showing that she actually had no idea what he was referring to by "choking on meat".

From the smirk that curved at his lips, she guessed it was a sex thing. Actually, judging by everything she knew about his personality thus far, it was almost certainly a sex thing.

"So." She took another sip of water. "What happens next? Do you have to like...I dunno, tell your parents you're engaged? Or do you trust the rumor mill will get the news to them?"

A sour look crossed Valor's face at her question, and he took a large bite of pastry and gulped it down as though that would sweeten the topic.

"Oh, I'm sure it'll get to them eventually. Not that they'll care or even notice," he said. "I'm sure my mother will do something to one up me as soon as possible. She's not good at sharing."

He pushed the crumbs around on his plate, biting back a huff. "I'm the youngest brother of six," he grumbled. "The forgotten brother, the unimportant brother. The 'Flailing Through Life Digging For a Scrap of Attention' brother. Every time. I swear to the gods, every bloody time I do something, anything, someone has to go and just be...more. More successful. More handsome. More charming. Even my goddamned mother is more shocking! Maybe an engagement to a bloody slave will finally do something. Who knows!"

He froze as soon as the words left his mouth, wincing, and looked over at Ka'lei.

"...Sorry," he said, flushing. "I got a little carried away."

Ka'lei blinked, taken aback by his sudden vehemence.

"Easy there," she muttered when he paused, automatically reaching out to touch his arm before she caught herself and drew her hand back. She was quiet for several long moments, considering how best to react to this.

She settled for a soft, "You don't have to apologize..."

Gods, what was she supposed to do? A sisterly instinct to comfort warred with natural and practice caution in her chest, twisting her lips into a considering sort of frown.

"Well... Well, if marrying a slave doesn't set some heads spinning, I'm sure I can think of something that will." She tried for a smile, feeling awkward. Was this the right choice, making a joke? "Y'know, I can be pretty creative when I have to be."

Though a glum shadow had fallen over him, her words piqued his interest enough to pull those shadows back. Valor blinked over at her and arched a curious eyebrow.

"Can you now?" he said, and quirked a smile. "Well, then I should count myself very lucky indeed to have such a clever 'wife'. I like creative. What were you thinking?"

Well fuck. Now she had to actually come up with something.

Thinking on the fly, Ka'lei offered carelessly, "Well, according to stories I've heard, my father's people aren't exactly monogamous. You could...I dunno, tell your parents that you're respecting your wife's cultural heritage and that we have a handful of paramours in on the relationship or something."

She frowned, tilting her head to look at him. "That would be...attention-grabbing, in Serendipity anyway. Right?" Honestly she wasn't sure-- all she knew of Serenian culture was what she'd heard from slaves who'd been captured or purchased from further north.

Valor barked a laugh, eyes lighting up. "Oh, I like your father's people. That would be attention grabbing, indeed! Well, then, consider it done. I'm sure at least a few of my ancestors will roll around in their graves."

He grinned, head cocked as he regarded her. "Yoreiq, huh? I've not heard much about that place, except for the bits about winged people like you. Sounds like a fun place. I feel like I was born in the wrong location."

Ka'lei barked a laugh, short, sharp, and bitter. "I wouldn't know," she said with the barest hint of a growl in her voice. "I might have gone, once. Mother promised we would."

She reached for her drink and downed a large gulp of it. Suddenly speaking in almost a whisper, she added, "I dunno, dear husband. I think you're probably pretty lucky to be born where you are. Who you are."

She stared vacantly for a moment, then shook her head and glanced back to Valor, smiling wryly. "I mean, even if your family kinda sucks, you've got the money and power to just...walk away, don't you?"

Valor paused, staring at her. Until she laid it out like that, the thought had never even occurred to him.

"I, ah, that...that's true, I suppose," he said. "I could. Probably. I mean, yes, I definitely could."

Walk away from it all? Just like that? Could he really?

Would he even want to?

He rubbed the back of his neck, smiling awkwardly. "A holiday in Essyrn sounds nice, at least. After our little talk, and your devious idea, I'm thinking that that might be the best plan with regards to your brother. We get to search for him and partake in the local culture. Kill two birds with one stone, hm?"

He snapped a look at her wings as soon as he said it. "Er, no offense."

Ka'lei snorted and quirked an eyebrow at him. "I'm not actually part bird, y'know," she pointed out with a little chuckle.

Well. At least she didn't think she was. Although...

No. No definitely not.

Probably not.

Whatever.

"Yeah, so. Holiday." She looked back at their dishes, her appetite suddenly shrinking. She picked absently at some kind of blue and orange fruit...something. "A nice little jaunt through the desert." Her brow was furrowed, though she didn't realize it. "How exactly are we gonna look for Kai, hm?"

"Oh, I don't know," Valor said with a flippant wave of his hand. "But I'm sure it'll come to me. Besides, there can't be that many winged slaves named 'Kai', can there? It can't be that hard."

He flashed her a smile. "I'm sure I can just buy whatever information we need."

Ka'lei blinked at him in silence for a moment. Then she huffed and shook her head, looking back to the food. "Right."

Why wouldn't he? Money was clearly how he'd gotten through everything else in his life.

With a little flutter of her wings, she propped her elbow on the table and rested her cheek in her hand, glancing at him sidelong. "When exactly are you gonna set all this in motion then? Y'know, introduce the little missus to the parents and tell them our plans?"

"How's tonight sound, darling?" Valor said, flashing Ka'lei a bright grin.

"I know for a fact they're having a banquet tonight. I wasn't originally going to go, considering they decided to host it the day after my birthday while forgetting completely about my birthday--not that I'm mad or anything--buuuut..." He reached out and gently cupped Ka'lei's chin, thumb idly stroking her cheek. "This does change things a bit, doesn't it?"

She stiffened instantly under his touch, but a quick breath was enough to relax the tension again, quickly enough that she hoped he hadn't noticed.

"Tonight," she repeated, almost cautiously. Gods why did he keep touching her? And why didn't she know how to react to it?! Another breath and a smile broke out across her face.

She may as well get used to playing along now, right? She'd been doing an okay job of it so far.

"Sounds good to me." Her smiled turned into a smirk and she turned her head to press a kiss to his palm, fluttering her lashes at him dramatically. "I don't suppose you want your parents to meet your betrothed in this though, do you?" she added with a gesture to her current garments-- if they could really be called that.

Valor couldn't help but smile approvingly at that kiss. She was a rather good actress, he had to admit. They were really going to pull this off!

At her words, he looked at her--really looked at her--as though he'd forgotten her state of dress. Or rather, undress. Still in that skimpy outfit he'd jokingly called "spidersilk" for all it hid, and worse yet, still collared with manacles at her wrists. Right. Pari. They still had to track down Pari for the damned key.

"I mean, I don't think it's a bad look at all," he said with a wink. "But it's more a bedroom look. No, princess, you belong in silks and jewels. I'll have my servants bring you up something, and then we'll get you some proper clothing. Something that really shows you off. And then we'll get that ugly metal off of you."

He frowned, dipping his hand down from her chin to slip a finger beneath her collar, feeling at the skin beneath. "Is it chafing bad? I can't believe they put this on you. Eat up, lovely, and when you're done, we'll take care of matters."

Her eyes widened slightly, one eyebrow creeping up toward her hairline. "Silks and jewels, huh?" she repeated a little incredulously. The cheap gold manacles around her wrists and neck were the closest she'd ever really come to "fancy" clothing, and she couldn't say she was thrilled with it.

This would be...interesting.

Shaking her head, Ka'lei turned her attention back to her food. Or she tried to. Valor's finger dipping beneath the collar and brushing against her throat had her going stiff again, a flash of instinctive fear quickly replaced with confusion.

"It's, um--" She stammered a bit, then pulled herself together and answered briskly, "It's not that bad, really. I've certainly had worse." She didn't comment on his disbelief that she would have been chained. What could she say to that, really?

Carefully, she pulled back from him, wincing a bit as the metal clinked against her collar bones. Her eyes flickered to her plate and she grabbed for another bite of food, not really tasting it anymore as her head seemed to be spinning a bit.

One didn't have to be an empath to sense the sudden, sharp change in mood. The way she stammered, the way she tensed, the way she stared at her food, the way playfulness turned to something else entirely.

Valor let his hand fall away as she pulled back, a frown tugging at his lips. But the sudden shift brought with it a wave of recent memory--her fear in the bedroom, ready to use her chains as a weapon, thinking he meant to force himself on her.

He winced. For a moment there, he had forgotten she was a slave. An actual slave off the market, not just a pretty woman playing the part. His world was so far removed from that world--and honestly, he had never even interacted with a real slave before her. Sure, he knew they lived hard lives, but he didn't know the extent of it. He had no way to even imagine it, having lived a life where his only physical discomfort was having venison for dinner when he was craving duck.

"Worse. Really?" He cleared his throat awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "That's...not good."

"Yeah, no shit," Ka'lei snorted, giving him an arch look. "What, you think I got on a boat and left my brother three countries away willingly?"

The moment the words left her mouth she winced internally. They were a little sharper than she'd intended, though of course true-- but she hadn't really wanted to reveal that much to begin with. Valor seemed a decent enough sort, a few quirks that she could attribute to a wealthy existence aside, but she still wasn't sure just how much she wanted him to know about her. How human she wanted to seem.

One of the worst parts of the life she'd lived was being seen as less than human; so she'd learned to use that to her advantage. If you weren't human, you couldn't hurt the way that humans hurt.

How human did she want Valor to see her?

With a little huff, she pushed her plate away and sat back in her chair, as far as she could with her wings in the way. "I think I'm done," she muttered, sighing and reaching up to rub the back of her neck. The food was truly amazing, but she doubted she'd be able to stomach much more. Going from bread and water to this decadence couldn't really be good for her.

Oof. Clumsy, clumsy, Valor had definitely stuck his boot directly into his mouth. She was a bloody slave, of course she had experienced horrors. But it was so easy for him to forget that; he had never seen the horrors of slavery; he had only been the recipient of this one fiery slave.

It sobered him a little, the realization sinking in that she had been a gift. A traumatized human life was gifted to him for a night of fun, an object to be used and tossed away as he saw fit. He had laughed it off, because of course that was ridiculous and of course he would never, but...Pari had thought it was a good idea. To his friends, it was nothing. She was bought and sold and traded with no regard to her feelings or suffering...

And he was still using her, was he not?

No. That wasn't the same. This was for a purpose, a purpose they both benefited from! Right?

His head suddenly hurt. His life had been full of fun and flippancy, but this, he was slowly realizing, was...actually not just all fun and games.

His own appetite lost, Valor was quiet for a moment before he cleared his throat and stretched. "Right. Well. If we're done here, why don't we see about getting you dressed, hmm? I'm sure you're dying to get into something warmer. Not that I'll object to you choosing a revealing outfit or anything--if you've got it, flaunt it, I always say!" A wink. "And you've got it."

"Something...warmer?" Ka'lei glanced down at her gossamer-thin garments, then looked up at him again, almost confused. "I mean...yeah. Yes. That would be...good."

Right. It...actually made a difference to him, that she might be cold. Which, honestly, she hadn't been giving much thought--things had been happening so quickly, changes coming so fast she could hardly keep up, that her Essyrni-adjusted system hadn't even had time to properly process that she was...well. Cold.

But she didn't want too much of that to show on her face, so she shoved it quickly to the side and gave him an arch look as she stood from her chair. "Yes, well. If it's all the same to you, I think I'll save flaunting it until we have to scandalize some Serenian nobles." A thought suddenly occurred to her and she paused, then looked to him with slightly wider than normal eyes. "Er...it occurs to me that I have...absolutely no idea how one is meant to dress here. I've only ever..."

She gestured down at herself vaguely. If she wasn't being put in something ridiculous by her masters, she was left to rags. There really wasn't much in between.

Valor's eyes lit up at her admission, and he clapped his hands together with a bright smile. "Right! You wouldn't know how to dress here. Of course you wouldn't, how would you? Right, then, let's fix that now! Come, come!"

He practically bounced from his seat and held his arm out for her to take, the gloom leaving him now.

Because she had basically just given him free-rein to play dress up with her, and he absolutely loved dressing up.

Ooohhhhhh boy.

What had she just got herself into?

She eyed his arm for just a moment before taking it—nearly twice as quickly as she had the last time he'd offered it.

"I feel like I may have just accidentally unleashed a monster," she muttered as she allowed him to steer her from the room. But she was smiling a bit as she said it, that small, vaguely playful smile that chased some of the glassiness from her eyes.

"A monster? Me? Never!" Valor said, a hand to his chest in feigned offense. "Why, I'm pure as the driven snow."

As he lead her back from the kitchens toward his room, he caught the attention of a bustling maid and motioned her over. Leaning in close, he whispered something into her ear while she cast curious looks back and forth between he and Ka'lei, her eyebrows slowly climbing with each word he spoke. When he was done, he flashed the woman a smile and pat her on the arm. "Thank you, Hattie, you're a doll," he said, and as she hurried along to fulfill his request, he pulled Ka'lei along with him again.

Before too long, they made it back to his room, and he opened the door and motioned Ka'lei in before he followed after her. He strode across the room and plopped down onto his bed, stretching out lazily and beckoning her to join. "Come, get comfortable! Rest up. Your clothes will be arriving shortly, but until then, relax and digest. You've got to save your strength for the fashion show!"

"Save my strength," Ka'lei repeated, voice caught between amused and incredulous as she watched him. "Just how intense are Serenian fashion shows?"

She took a look around the room as she spoke--she hadn't really had a chance to before, what with the dim light when she'd initially been brought to him and...well. She'd had other concerns at the time. And then in the morning things had moved so quickly, but now she actually had a chance to be curious.

She picked her way around the perimeter of the space, hmming and poking at the bizarre odds and ends she found--well, bizarre to her. For all she knew, they were entirely normal in Serendipity. She found a delicate hand mirror and couldn't stop herself from picking it up, turning it over to examine the elegant, spiraling design on the back. She caught the briefest glimpse of herself in the reflective surface but didn't pay it much mind--she knew what she looked like. She didn't need to see the collar to remind her of its weight around her neck.

Still examining the design on the mirror, she noted off-handedly, "You said you might be able to sing the locks open, before. If they weren't warded against it. So...you're a mage?" She glanced up at him, all that natural curiosity now suddenly trained on him. "What did you mean, "sing it open"?"

Valor chose not to answer her first question, deciding it was better for her to just find out. Instead, he just smiled and watched her examine the room and poke at random items. He didn't mind it at all; as far as he was concerned, he was an open book with no secrets, while she was a slave with nothing to her name. She was free to have her fun--and besides, she was his "bride", so what was his was hers!

He was content to be lazy, happy to doze and idly observe her curiosity and wonder, when she asked about his singing.

Oh. Right. He had had mentioned that, hadn't he?

He propped himself up on his elbows, laying on his belly. "Ahh...that. Right." He gave a little shrug, resting his chin atop his laced fingers. "Well, you how I sang to you earlier? It's like that, only I can weave magic into it. So, yes, I'm a mage. Not a very good or powerful one or anything, but decent enough for what I need. It's mostly useless, but...I can use it to sort of influence things. And people."

He stiffened, realizing abruptly how that might sound, and looked up at her. "I wouldn't use it on you that way. Or anyone. Not without permission. It can be fun in the right contexts, you know? But anyway, what I'm trying to say is that if the locks weren't warded, I could perhaps convince them to not be locked. It's very subtle magic, but it works on small items like that." He shifted his cheek to one hand so he could use the other to give a dismissive wave. "Something something, might've been a siren in my bloodline."

Ka'lei watched him over the edge of the mirror, pretending--with only moderate success--to be studying the trinket while she really studied him. Her feathers shivered, and she noted with some interest the way he stiffened when what he'd said about his abilities seemed to actually register.

...For the first time since she could remember, she actually believed that someone with power wouldn't use it that way.

"That certainly sounds useful," she murmured, and replaced the mirror on the dresser where she'd found it with a perhaps surprising amount of care. Once it was safe from shattering, she abruptly whirled and plopped herself onto the floor in front of him, allowing her wings to sprawl open behind her as she crossed her legs and leaned forward over them intently. Hey. He'd told her to make herself comfortable. She was just taking him at his word.

"Show me."

Ooohhhhhkay, that felt nice. To make a demand and know that, even it was ignored, it wouldn't be met with punishment. It felt so good, in fact, that she found herself grinning up at him and shifting a little closer before she added, as an afterthought, "Please."

Whaaaat?

Valor's eyebrows shot clear to his hairline as she took a seat below him and flat out demanded him to show her his power. Show her? On her? He gaped, for a moment speechless, and for some strange reason he felt heat bloom in his cheeks and spread down his neck. She had done something few people managed: caught him completely off guard.

And it wasn't even like he was embarrassed to use his power! He had used it many times before! He wasn't shy to use it as an aphrodisiac, or to make bedroom play a little extra fun and spicy, but this was different.

This felt like a test. Like a trust exercise.

Ka'lei was truly exposed and vulnerable here in a way no one he had performed his magic on was.

"A...are you sure?" he said at last. She was full on grinning at him. Grinning! "Show you? On you? Is that what you want?"

His disbelief made her check herself, really consider what she was asking. She turned his words over in her mind, her grin morphing into a more thoughtful expression.

Abruptly, she held up a finger in a "wait a second" gesture, got to her feet, and crossed to his door to open it. Then she came back and resumed her place cross-legged on the floor.

"Yes," she said, with a firm nod. "Show me. On me. Just...something small. You said it's an influence, right? Just..." She let her head bob from side to side as she thought. "Can you...make me feel happier?"

Whoa. Okay, she hadn't fully expected to say that, but she realized with some surprise that she meant it. It seemed like a safe enough place to start.

And if he wasn't what he seemed, if maybe she shouldn't trust him after all—well. Best to find out now.

Valor watched as she opened his door before returning to her place on the floor, an eyebrow arching. Was that...for safety's sake? Oh gods. This was so incredibly awkward. He had performed these sorts of things numerous times over the years in multiple scenarios, so why did this feel so embarrassing and intimate?! Especially since they weren't even doing anything naughty! He didn't think he could even go there if she specifically asked him, not while there was metal around her neck and wrists!

Then, finally, came her specific request:

Make her feel happier?

...Oh...

That sobered him a little, broke him from his nervous thoughts with a pang of...pity. Sadness.

How broken was she inside despite the fierce and playful way she acted?

"I can do that." He rolled so he could sit up properly, legs crossed and back straight so his diaphragm was no longer compressed. Standing would be best, of course, but he was lazy.

"Look at me, now," he said, and met her eyes with his blue-gray ones, like an overcast sea. "Before I begin, I want you to decide on a safe word. A word you'll remember to say to me if you start to not like it. Alright? It's an influence, but it can be stronger in some people than others. Some people like letting go of control like that, but if you're particularly susceptible or just not used to it, I don't want to scare you. Tell me what you decide and we'll start."

Ka'lei watched his face, watched the blush fade to something like realization, then pity. She didn't like pity--it made her squirm uncomfortably--but she would take it, if it meant she could figure out more about him. She sat up a little straighter as he rolled into a more upright position, curiosity in the forefront again as he prepared himself.

She sort of expected him to just...start. Do whatever it was he did.

When he told her to come up with a safe word, well...

That did more to instill her confidence in this whole madcap notion--being his fake bride, finding Kai--than just about anything else.

She thought for a long moment, considering what he said. Then she nodded and decided, "Yoreiq."

Yoreiq. A place she'd never been, a word that was just a sound, and yet it meant something to her. It meant...it meant possibility. It meant home. It meant a safety that she had never truly known.

She took a breath and nodded again. "Yoreiq," she repeated. And then she gave Valor a smile--perhaps the first real smile she'd given him. "Okay. I'm ready."

Yoreiq. The corner of Valor's mouth twitched into a half smile and he nodded, finding that rather fitting for the theme.

"Yoreiq it is," he said. "If at any point you don't like the feeling, just say Yoreiq. Alright then."

This was new for him; he had admittedly never used his power for something so innocent. When he was a child, it was humming a simple tune to get his way--extra sweets, extra time outdoors, whatever it was he wanted. Of course, his parents had grown wise to him and, recognizing the ability, had taken it seriously and lectured him about its dangers. There were creatures out there with similar powers who used it to overwrite the free will of others--and that was a dark and lonely path to take that only ended in trauma for all involved.

Spoiled Valor might be, and even bratty at times, but he had taken the lessons to heart.

He found it ironic now, though, that he had been lectured about respecting free will only to gifted a slave by his friends.

Wonders never ceased, did they?

He straightened his back and cleared his throat, and then began to sing.

The words didn't matter, and he didn't even need to say words at all. What mattered was blending intent with melody. Just like some magic practitioners might use spells and potions to transmit their power, his power was carried on the melody like smoke, wafting to his intended target.

He sang a simple chorus to a song he liked, a song that made him happy, and he sent it to Ka'lei, and as he did his voice shifted to something with an almost ethereal echo to it, something slightly off from the singing voice he had used earlier. With it, he sent out his intent--happiness, safety. A spell that would conjure up pleasant memories for her and chase away her negative thoughts, let her drop her guard. But everyone responded in a different way and it was his first time doing this particular spell; he was curious to see how it would effect her.

Ka'lei nodded, showing that she understood, and settled herself back into her fully seated position, wings loose and open at her back as she stared up at him expectantly.

When he had sung before, in the dining hall, she had thought it lovely. Exotic, melodic, just...lovely. He had a nice voice, and the Serenian ballad he had performed had been both interesting and sweet--exactly the sort of thing that held one's attention long enough for them to hear the actual story to it, but was not so involved as to become trying to listen to.

This...

This was different.

First she registered the echo, the faint otherness to his voice that hadn't been there when she heard him sing before. It was almost eerie, for a moment, but not in a way that made her want to flee. Eerie in a way that made her curious, made her want to lean forward and listen more, try to figure out exactly what she was hearing.

Then the subtle magic of his voice hit her, and she drew in a short, sharp breath. Happy. Safe, soft, warm happiness, the sort of happiness she'd had once, but had nearly forgotten. Curled up in her mother's lap, preening Kai's wing while their mother told them stories, safe in an embrace larger than her whole body, home, safe, family--

"Yoreiq," she choked out, throat tight with the threat of tears. "Yoreiq, Yoreiq."

She was suddenly on her feet, wings flared wide as though she meant to actually fly away. But she couldn't. Her feathers were clipped. Her feathers--her brother--

A sob caught in her throat, the memories of happiness that Valor's song had conjured clashing with the stark reality of her world, and she staggered back from the bed, covering her face with her hands and drawing her wings in tight around her body as though that might somehow shield her.

It seemed to be going well at first.

Valor could see the moment the magic hit. He had gotten good at recognizing the look on peoples' faces when it happened, the subtle shift in their expressions. He heard Ka'lei's little breath and wondered what it felt like--he had never been on the receiving end, just listened to others tell him what it was like, but it was so different for everyone all the same. What did she think of when the magic moved through her? What was it like to let go after so much stress and sorrow and just be happy? She was looking for something when she made that request, and he hoped he had helped her find--

Oh no.

Yoreiq. Her voice was choked, sending a jolt of startled alarm through him. Immediately Valor shut his mouth and cut off his connection with his magic, but the effect would still linger for a few seconds after, like smoke that had been inhaled and needed to be breathed out again. Oh dear. Ka'lei was on her feet, wings spread, tears in her eyes and a sob in her throat. This was not the way this was supposed to happen! Had he gotten something wrong? Threaded in the wrong intent? Not cleared his mind enough?

Oh gods, what had he done to her?

He scrambled off the bed as she staggered back, wings shielding her, and though he reached out to her he didn't touch her. Wherever she had retreated to, wherever her mind had gone, he didn't want to scare her.

"Hey, Ka'lei, hey..." he said gently, speaking loud enough to hopefully cut through her thoughts, but not loud enough to startle. Had he broken her? Or maybe she just didn't like the feeling, the letting go and losing control? "Hey, it's okay, it's okay. I stopped. It's over. It may be a few seconds before it fades completely, I'm sorry, but I stopped. It'll be okay. Talk to me, what's going on?"

He stopped. The music stopped. The remnants of that pure, uncomplicated happiness faded, and Ka'lei felt her heart break as it went. She wanted it back--gods she wanted it back, but at the same time it terrified her.

But he stopped. He stopped when she asked.

That alone would have been enough to shock her senseless under the best of circumstances. In her suddenly fragile state, it actually buckled her knees. She sank to the floor, arms wrapped tight around herself as her wings fell open, useless and limp, and she curved forward with a low, keening sound in the back of her throat.

"I can't--I didn't--"

She was trying to answer him--really trying, not just because she felt that she had to, because all he'd done was what she'd asked, but because a part of her that she didn't fully understand wanted to. "I didn't...remember," she managed to gasp out around the tightness in her throat. "I didn't...know...I could...feel that..."

And then she was crying.

She hated crying, hated it, hated showing that vulnerability, that humanity. But she couldn't stop it. And even as she sat there hating it, she knew--she knew--that she had asked this of him. She had asked him to help her feel something, and he had done it.

"Thank you," she whispered through the sobs. "Thank you. I h-hate this. Thank you..."

Oh, no, no, no.

She was crying now, and the concern Valor felt spiked to panic. Crying! And not just a little cry, but the kind of pure, unbridled grief that seemed to wrack her whole body. He wasn't good with crying people; he never knew what to do. Worse, she was crying because of him, which made him panic a little more because he wanted to fix it. But he knew there was no right or wrong thing to do because it was different for everyone! There was no easy fix, and he was used to easy fixes. And even worse, she was giving him very conflicting signals here!

She hated it. But she was thanking him?

"O-oh dear..."

He climbed down onto the floor next to her, settling on his knees, and though he sat close he still kept space between them. "I, ah...you're...welcome? I think? Gods, I didn't mean this to happen. I swear to Kia I was trying to make you happy, not tear you to pieces. I don't know what went wrong, I...that's never happened, it's not normally like that..." He fidgeted, feeling utterly helpless, trying to retrace his steps and figure out where he had messed up.

"Tell me what you need, Ka'lei," he said gently, and then, "I'm going to touch you. Is that okay? Nothing weird. Just to get you off the floor, at least."

Ka'lei shook her head, trying to tell him that it wasn't his fault, but she couldn't get the words out. She more felt him settle onto the floor beside her than she saw it--and despite a brief, instinctive flash of wariness, she couldn't make herself move away. She didn't want to move away.

She wanted Kai. She wanted to be held, but her brother was the only person who had ever been safe to do that.

Slowly, she managed to at least get her breathing back under control, though she couldn't stop the tears streaming down her face. "Wasn't--" She coughed, throat literally raw from the sudden flood of emotion, then tried again, "Wasn't...your fault. I asked. I j-just...I didn't--"

She held herself a little tighter, struggling to swallow back a whimper. When he told her that he was going to touch her, help her stand-- No. No, he didn't tell her. He asked.

He asked.

A fresh wave of tears went pouring over her cheeks and she nodded. "Y-Yeah. Yes. That's--that's okay..."

"Right, here we go."

As soon as she gave the okay, Valor slid an arm under her legs and another beneath her wings to support her back, and scooped her up off the floor.

It wasn't totally effortless; he wasn't exactly a buff man, and they were the same height. But she was lighter than him, and he had carried many a woman (and smaller man) in his time, and he loved surprising people with the fact that he could do it. Besides, in their case, they didn't have far to go.

Swaying just a little, he turned and gently deposited her onto the bed. Then he joined her, settling in beside her and yanking at the blankets so he could drape one of them over her wings and around her shoulders, cocooning it around her. "I don't know about you," he said as he worked, sort of tucking her in. "But when I get in a mood, burrowing in warm blankets always helps at least a little."

He scooped her up, and it actually startled her enough that she stopped crying for a moment. She blinked at him, owlish, and just continued to stare as he deposited her onto the bed.

Just...put her on the bed. And pulled the covers around her. And despite his nearby presence, she didn't feel nervous to be in his bed.

A low, shuddering sigh left her and she turned her face into the blankets, burrowing in and curling her legs up a bit. She peeked out at him from the cocoon of fabric that he'd made around her, eyes still wide and red-rimmed, though slowly drying.

"...Thanks," she whispered after a long moment. Then she cleared her throat and added, a little steadier, "It...really wasn't your fault. I asked. I'm..."

She blinked, sniffled, and swiped at her eyes. "M'sorry," she mumbled. "It just...I didn't even remember I'd ever...felt like that. And then I did, and it was just—"

She closed her eyes and burrowed a little deeper into the blankets. From the mound of bedclothes, her muffled voice came again:

"...Your voice is pretty."

"Oh, I know," Valor said when she complimented him, flashing her a playfully arrogant smile. "But I don't mind you saying it."

It seemed his "blanket cocoon" technique had had the intended effect: Ka'lei wasn't totally recovered, but she looked like she was doing better. He peered at her as she burrowed in, unable to help but think that she looked...really kind of adorable like that. Not the part where she was upset and crying, but the part where she was all bundled up with barely her face poking out. She was an attractive woman, anyone with eyes would notice that, and strong and fierce--but it was this fresh vulnerability that caught him off guard and made his chest hurt.

"You don't need to apologize. Don't apologize for feeling. I did say it effects everyone differently, I just...wasn't prepared. But you didn't upset me or anything, I just, er...I didn't mean it to be a bad experience for you." He scratched his cheek awkwardly, glancing away.

"You didn't do anything wrong, so there's nothing to be sorry for. I just wish it could have been good for you."

"...It was." She sighed, letting her eyes close as she essentially allowed the blankets to swallow her up. "That was...sort of the problem."

She hadn't realized how it would affect her, feeling...well. Good. Happy.

Was that--could she feel that again? Without magic, could she just...be happy?

That was quite possibly the most terrifying thought she'd ever stumbled across in her life--the idea that she might actually be able to be simply happy, without fear of reprisal for the emotion. Without the fear that it might be suddenly stolen away from her. And Kai--

Kai. She was doing this for Kai. She had to be doing this for Kia, just for Kai. This couldn't be for her, too.

Right?

"If...if we actually do this," she murmured, peeking back up at Valor. "I mean, this whole marriage thing--slaves can't get married. Not officially. So I'm--" She swallowed, cleared her throat, and tried the words carefully, slowly, "I...wouldn't be...a slave, anymore?"

It was good and that was the problem?

Valor watched her, chewing the inside of his cheek. She...wasn't used to happiness. Was that it?

Did she not feel deserving of it? Did it scare her?

He didn't want to press too hard, not while it was still raw. So he let her have her moment, let her calm down, while sitting in standby in case she needed something. He was a little nervous of making her cry again, but he could at least be there.

Her question caught his attention.

Aha. So it had finally registered.

"You wouldn't be a slave anymore," Valor confirmed, and flashed a small half smile.

"Once the chains come off, you're free," he said. "We'll go down to the registry and tear up your contract. That takes care of the legality. Which also means you could run if you wanted—I won't stop you."

He plucked at the edge of her blanket, an idle motion. "Of course, if you do that, neither of us gets what we want. I...kind of figured once you found your brother, that would be it. We find him, buy him, whatever it is we need to do. You get your freedom. I say it didn't work out, maybe you ran off with some wild Essyrni and broke my heart. Maybe I bring home a dashing merchant prince and get people buzzing again. It's a fair exchange for putting you through this farce, don't you think? I get what I want—drama—you get what you want, and Pari gets his money's worth while learning a valuable lesson about gifts."

Not a slave.

Free.

Under usual circumstances, she probably would have been able to keep a decent lock on her emotions about that. As it was, she was still feeling pretty raw, and his confirmation brought a new surge of tears rolling up from her chest to stick in her throat.

She tried to roll onto her back, winced as her wings bunched uncomfortably in the blankets, then gave up and rocked back to her side, blinking rapidly in an attempt to clear her vision. "Yeah. Right. Okay."

She took a careful breath--and then laughed, sharp and startled and bright. "Wow. Okay."

Yeah. Maybe she was a little hysterical. That seemed correct. But she really didn't care.

She sat up slowly, still keeping the blankets bunched around her shoulders. Her hair was a certifiable mess, her feathers nearly as rumpled, but she managed to smile at him, and it was again close to that piece of sincerity that she'd allowed him to see before. "For what it's worth, the merchant princes tend to be assholes--I think you can do better," she told him, her voice still a little shaky, but clearly trying to find that shield of playfulness that she'd had before.

Oh gods she looked about to cry again! Valor had never made a girl cry so much, and it seemed whatever he said now just made her well up! Was she still reeling from the magic's effects? He bit his thumbnail, hating that helpless feeling that came with it. Usually when a friend or lover was in such a state, his go-to method was yanking them into his lap and into his arms, but he was certain that would absolutely freak her out.

He was awful with words. His words often made him sound like an asshole even when he wasn't trying to be—and, fair point, he often was a dick, too. He was aware his faults and owned them. He might not know the right words to make things better, so the best thing he found to do was to shut his mouth and just act.

Of course that only worked with people he already had that sort of relationship with. And sure, he'd casually touched Ka'lei before—a hand on her chin, or on her arm—but that still felt different in public than in private, even with the door open.

So for the moment, he took the safe route and said nothing, until she finally sat up (looking a right disaster) and smiled.

And even made a little joke.

Ah, that's the Ka'lei he knew!

He laughed, flashing her a wry look. "Oh, I'm an asshole too, we'd be a match made in hell," he said with a little flip of his shaggy red hair. "I'd leave him heartbroken and wanting and take half his fortune with me. That would probably cause some sort of international trouble. Hmm. But maybe you're right. Maybe I should set my sights higher like, say, the Shah?"

She snorted and rolled her eyes at him. "Well, no denting your confidence, is there?" She rolled her shoulders a bit, freeing her wings slightly from the bundle of blankets and letting the arch of them breathe. She shivered twice, making her feathers flutter and then lie a little more neatly in place.

"Also, I think she's too old for you," she added, twisting in place to try to look at the length of her wing. She frowned, picking at the frayed edges of one jet black feather.

She wouldn't say she was vain, but...she'd admit to liking her wings. And just now, the idea of getting them properly preened was far more appealing than facing any of the emotional repercussions of what had just happened. Not to mention Valor seemed happy enough not to dwell on it, which she appreciated. Still...

"Thanks," she mumbled in the general direction of her wing. "For, um...helping. Me."

She cleared her throat. That was the best she could do, for the moment. She would...think about all that later. Much later. As later as she could feasibly manage.

"Uhg, I'm going to molt soon," she realized, both relieved to have a change in subject but also a bit annoyed, crinkling her nose. On the one hand, a molt was a good thing--her clipped primaries would be replaced with full, healthy feathers. On the other hand, it meant she'd be shedding feathers for days, which she hated.

Ka'lei freed her wings, and Valor couldn't help but study them as she fluffed and arranged them—so like a bird. They really were magnificent, and he really, really wanted to pet them.

Her quip about the Shah's age, however, made him grin. "Age is but a number, darling. Maybe she'd prefer a youthful young stallion that can run long into the night." He winked at her, keeping the mood light until Ka'lei was ready to talk. Which it seemed she was—a little.

Once again, she thanked him. Valor tilted his head, curious.

"Ah, we'll, I'm glad that was helping. I was afraid I'd broken you," he said with a sympathetic wince. "It seemed...intense." And he was dying to know what had happened. All the better to prevent a repeat performance!

He watched her pick at her feathers and groan about molting, and his eyebrows shot up. "Wait, molt? Really? And you said you weren't a bird!" he teased. "What happens then? Do you go all bald and patchy? Does it hurt?"

"I'm not a bird," she snipped back, resisting the petty urge to stick her tongue out at him. "But feathers are feathers." She let her head bob from side to side as he asked his questions.

It was odd, to get questions. Usually her wings were just something that made her exotic. Desirable. People didn't usually care about how they actually worked. "Well, the old feathers don't actually fall out until the new ones are ready," she answered first, "so it's not so much patchy as...mmm...well, they look a bit shorter in some places, for a bit. At least, that's how it's supposed to work." She shrugged. "When they wouldn't feed us well, sometimes we'd lose feathers early—that's how you get the patchy spots."

She considered a moment longer, as though that didn't reveal maybe more than she would have liked, then added thoughtfully, "I wouldn't say it hurts, but it's sort of...itchy. And then if you fuss with them too much you can make them sore." Another pause. Then:

"You didn't break me. It— I didn't ever...actually remember being happy like that. Just...without anything else. Just happy. But then, when you sang, I was, and I remembered, before they took us from our mother, and—"

Her throat tightened and she looked back to her wings. "So. Uhm, yeah, sometimes I get tired, too. When I molt. Kai always gets really grouchy, I dunno what it is..."

Okay. She could do this. Sneak the emotions in between the innocuous feather information. That worked. This was fine.

Valor propped his chin up in his hands as he listened to Ka'lei's explanation, genuinely curious. After all, it wasn't everyday you met a winged person—and also, it just seemed like something he should be aware of, since she was currently under his care— 

...under his care.

The thought flicked into his brain in a flash, a fresh realization blooming. She was a slave. Even when she wasn't a slave anymore, she was still vulnerable, a stranger in a land she was unfamiliar with. It was the first moment he really thought of it that way, that he was directly responsible for another life. Well, a life that wasn't a cat or a lizard.

A human life.

Oh, Pari was definitely getting an earful later.

He winced at the part where she mentioned not getting fed well. And then the part about them being itchy and sore if they got messed with much—that sounded like a bad combination. It made his own shoulder-blades itch. He was still musing over that when she cut in with a subject change between the feather talk.

And then it was back to feathers again.

Hmm...

Peering at her curiously, he held up a hand and pointed at a wing, unable to resist. "May I?" he asked, and then, quietly, "What happened to your mother?"

Ka'lei seemed genuinely startled by the request, though perhaps she shouldn't have been. Lots of people were curious about her wings, she just wasn't used to...being asked if someone could touch them. And Valor was clearly the sort of person to whom physical contact came easily--when they were playacting for the staff in his dining room she had understood that, but now...

She considered for a long moment before taking a breath and nodding sharply, extending one wing away from her body a little bit so it was closer to him. Despite the clipped primaries and some ruffled edges, she really did try to take care of her feathers, when she could. Most of them were sleek and smooth, once she'd laid them properly flat. With her molt coming on, the softer down beneath her flight feathers was a little easier to see, bits of fluff occasionally peeking out.

"...I don't know," she answered his second question after another moment. Her eyes were fixed firmly on her extended wing, determinedly not looking at his face. "They took us from her, when they caught us. We were sold off a few days later. I never saw her again. I remember--" She cleared her throat, forced herself to say it like it was a story, like it had happened to someone else. "I remember she fought back. Screamed for us. I--I don't know if they..."

She swallowed, turning her head away. She didn't talk about her mother--not even to Kai, not really. She had no idea if the woman was still alive, if she was a slave, if she'd escaped...she didn't even know which she wanted to believe. Because of course she should want her to be alive and free, to be safe, but if she was...

Why had she never tried to come back for them?

Yes!

Valor wasted no time in petting her wing, feeling like a child all excited about getting to hold freshly hatched chicks. Of course he had never actually participated in the labor around farming or raising animals or any such menial tasks, but he did remember that experience, and how soft and delicate they had been.

Her wings were surprisingly soft too, but in a different way, smooth and sleek. He caressed the feathers gently, wondering if that felt like much to her—he knew nothing about this sort of thing, like of course dogs enjoyed being pet but did birds? Er, not that she was a bird, just that fur was more like hair and he loved having his hair stoked; it felt blissful. How much sensation transferred through the feathers down to her?

He idly stroked her wing as she spoke, the initial wonder soon turning to a pang of sympathy. He should have expected that answer; she probably would have mentioned her along with her brother if she had any hope of finding her again.

"You're strong, and she's your mother," he said. "If you inherited that from her, then she's somewhere out there, right?"

Ooooooohhhhhhhkay.

Hm.

Okay.

It felt...different. He'd touched her wing breifly back at breakfast, and that had been a little startling, but mostly just because she wasn't used to people doing that. And he'd snatched his hand right back, so it wasn't like the touch had lingered. This was...

Different.

It wasn't bad. Definitely not bad. But other than Kai, no one just stroked her wings like that--the only times someone other than her brother had touched her feathers, it was either to clip them, pluck them, or try to oil them to "pretty her up" (that had only happened twice, thank gods, and she'd made her displeasure at the concept Distinctly Known). It sort of felt like...well. The closest comparison she could give was someone carding their fingers through her hair, the short, fine strands at the nape of her neck specifically--but that still wasn't quite right.

It was...sort of nice.

Really nice, actually.

She cleared her throat, glancing at him curiously, head tilted. "Maybe," she conceded to his assertion that her mother was alive. She shrugged, looking away again. "I guess it doesn't really matter, in the end." Finding her brother would be a feat in and of itself--she didn't even have a hope of finding their mother. Not after ten years.

Cocking her head the other way, she found herself starting to smile crookedly as he seemed so--so enamored with stroking her wing. "They're just feathers," she laughed lightly, unable to help it. "Are they really that fascinating?"

Ka'lei seemed to want to let the topic go, and so Valor refrained from prodding again—you know, lest he make her cry again like some jerk who made girls cry. He had gotten something out of her, and though it wasn't much, it was also probably best to stop before her walls went up completely.

Her comment made him scoff, fingers still gliding over her wing, pausing here and there to examine an individual feather and the differences between each type. He had never really paid attention to their arrangement, or the different sizes, even different textures—like between the long ones at the tip and the tiny fluffy ones beneath. 

"Just feathers, she says," Valor said with a shake of his head. "Just feathers. Maybe so, but do you see feathers on me?"

Obviously not.

He looked from her wing to her face, grinning, liking the sound of her laugh no matter how small. That smile looked good on her.

"Of course I'm fascinated. I don't have them, and I tend to be fascinated by anything I don't have, just like I don't have—"

He cut off, pressing his lips together before he could make the inappropriate comment. "They're just nice," he finished lamely.

"Mmm." Ka'lei tipped her head again as she watched him examine them, finding herself oddly tickled by it.

Almost literally; a particular stroke of his fingers nearly made her jump as he brushed over a bit of downy fluff and the already loose feathers shivered against the skin of her wing.

Then he So Very Clearly stopped himself from saying something inappropriate, and she found herself laughing again, snorting when he changed the comment to her wings being "Nice".

"Listen, I appreciate you looking out for my--currently non-existent--modesty," she chuckled with a vague gesture at the skimpy, sheer cloth still draped over her body, "but you don't have to do that. I promise, I've probably seen or heard worse at some point."

She didn't even necessarily mean that in the worst way--of course she'd had lewd comments thrown at hear as weapons, a way of proving someone's power over her. But she also had a brother who was far too easy to scandalize, and a mischievous sense of humor. She wasn't above an inappropriate joke now and then; it was just a matter of how it was said.

Expression softening just a bit, she added in a slightly more sincere tone, "Thanks, though. I'm...glad you like them." Which was true, she realized with some mild surprise. She certainly liked her wings--it was oddly gratifying to know that someone else liked them too.

Oh. She was probably going to regret that.

Valor raised his eyebrows at Ka'lei's assertion that he needn't censor himself. Really now! He was used to being the odd duck amongst a bunch of Serenian prudes. He didn't mind being the odd duck—he savored the attention and notoriety—but even he knew there was a time and place for treading carefully. The way he saw it, Ka'lei was one of those exceptions, because he really, really didn't want to scare her.

There was a difference between the relatively harmless offending of delicate and exaggerated sensibilities, and making someone feel unsafe. Someone getting their britches in a twist over his sloppy but consensual public makeouts was one thing—like, who cared? Who was that hurting? But making a slave fear violation was another. He remembered Ka'lei's fear when she was first shoved into his room, and he wanted to make sure she felt safe.

He had kind of figured making uncouth jokes while they were both in his bed might, you know, not be such a wise idea. But if she wanted him to speak plainly...

"Well, if you insist, but don't say I didn't try to be good. I was just going to say I like your wings for the same reasons I like breasts: I don't have them so they're extra fun to play with. You're thanking me for liking them but really, I'm doing this for me!"

He stuck his tongue out at her to show he was teasing, and resumed his petting—but with a little more purpose. He thought he'd felt her shiver earlier, and he was curious to see if he could get another one out of her. Was it a certain type of feather he'd touched? Or the way he moved his fingers? He explored her wing with the same idle amusement he felt when he scratched a dog and found a spot that got their leg kicking, and when he felt it again, he repeated it.

Ka'lei's smile softened a bit as she tracked his expression and thought she could guess at the dilemma he'd been facing. It made sense, really, even if the basic human decency behind it still kind of threw her. "Tell ya what," she said as he continued stroking her wing. "I'll definitely let you know if I'm ever...uncomfortable."

Which was...a miraculous thing to say, really. Why should she ever let someone know if their behavior caused her discomfort? For most of her life, that had been the point of a good deal of behaviors. To think that someone might listen, might adjust what they say or did to make sure she wasn't uncomfortable--well. It was still a little difficult to wrap her head around.

She laughed at his comment about breasts, nodding her head from side to side. "I suppose I can see that," she mused, still chuckling. "I did kinda always wonder why men tend to be so fascinated by them. They're just sort of...there." She glanced down at her own and shrugged.

His fingers stroked over another loose bit of down and she actually started a bit, sending some of the fluff cascading onto the bed as her wing shivered reflexively at the touch. "Oh." She blinked at the black fuzz, then found herself blushing and pulling her wing back, a little embarrassed. "Er, sorry, I'll--told you, I'm on the edge of a molt," she muttered, already moving to get off the bed so she didn't continue shedding fluff all over his imported silk sheets. It was a habitual move more than anything else--while he wings had made her an exotic wonder in Essyrn, they'd also meant that she was a particularly "messy" slave to keep at times, and plenty of masters had expressed just how unsavory that was.

"Hmm...deal," Valor said with a sly grin. "Come to think of it, I should have never been in doubt. You've never previously had any difficulty expressing your...displeasure." He cocked his head, rubbing at his chin. "I seem to remember something about biting me?"

At least his comment had been taken well, and even with amusement! Though he couldn't help but follow her own gaze down to her chest before he quickly snapped his eyes back to her face. Time and place, time and place, but also he wasn't blind! And she was still wearing practically nothing. That was not his fault!

Though he couldn't help but startle a little when she pulled her wing back and practically scrambled from the bed, fluff falling, which he honestly barely noticed. He was more concerned with her reaction, at first thinking maybe he had gone too far—until she explained.

His eyes dropped to the bed and the little shower of feathers scattered there.

"Why are you apologizing?" he asked with a tilt of his head. He scooped the feathers in his hand and tossed them off the side of his bed—a problem for his servants to deal with later—and pat the mattress. "There. Easy fix. If anything, I suppose I could save the feathers and have another pillow made, but...that would be weird, wouldn't it? Hm, yeah, that might be kind of weird."

There was a knock on the doorframe, and he looked toward the open door where several servants now stood, hands full of brilliantly colored fabrics. "Delivery," one of them called, and Valor motioned toward his armoire. 

"Set them over there," he said, and as they bustled to do it, he flashed Ka'lei a grin. "Here's the fun part."

Easy...fix.

Ka'lei blinked, watching him toss the feathers carelessly onto the floor. Well. Huh. She wasn't sure what she'd expected--or if she'd really expected anything--but perhaps she shouldn't be surprised. From what she knew about him, that seemed like an incredibly Valor solution to the problem.

Cautiously, she extended her wings just a bit from her back and gave herself a little shake. A few more downy feathers fluttered to the floor, and she giggled. Actually giggled, unable to stop the sound.

And then there was a "delivery" at Valor's door, and she spun to face the servants, partially shrinking back into a more defensive position instinctively. The surprise faded quickly though, and she straightened up and peered at the host of colorful fabrics that were being placed on the armoire.

Oh dear.

She shot Valor a highly skeptical look. "Fun part?" She looked the fabrics over again. She had to admit...they certainly looked nice. High quality. Certainly finer than anything else she'd ever worn. But... She cocked her head at him, and asked with some genuine curiosity, "Clothes are clothes, aren't they? How is this fun?"

"Yes! Fun," Valor repeated as the servants finished their delivery and scurried out the door. "Clothes are clothes, sure, but you could look at anything that way. Food is food...but some food is delicious and some is bland. It's all about the experience, my dear."

He rolled off the bed and crossed the room to where the clothes had neatly been arranged within the giant, ornate armoire--such a large piece of furniture that even Valor struggled to fill it. He pulled out one of the dresses and gave it a little twirl, showing it off first the front and then the back. That one in particular was an emerald gown made of slinky silk, with short sleeves.

"Ta-da! It's backless," he said with a smile. "They all are, just different styles and colors. Some lace up the sides, some tie at the back, and so on. Different colors, different sleeves, different materials. Our seamstress here, she's a wizard with fabric--literally, that's how she was able to alter these all so quickly. Go on, then, try them on. See which ones you like. Oh! You can change here."

From beside the armoire, he unfolded a wooden changing screen, ornately carved and painted with woodland scenes and inlaid with gold foil.

Settling back on the bed, he added, "If you need me to strap you in, I'm more than happy to assist!"

Ka'lei snorted and rolled her eyes at him, but she was smiling a bit. "The experience," she repeated, highly skeptical. She seriously doubted any of the clothes he was offering would impress her nearly as much as the spread at breakfast.

Then he twirled the gown for her, showing off the lack of back--and she once more found herself floundering a bit for a response. Backless. He'd had someone alter all these clothes just so she could wear them easily with her wings. And he said it like it was nothing, like it was no big deal at all that someone had used magic to change the dresses so that she could actually wear them.

She stared at him, lips slightly parted and eyes a little wide, as it dawned on her yet again that he said it like it was nothing because it was, to him. Not an issue to change some clothes for this feral slave girl who'd been dumped in his lap--oh, she has wings? Fine, fine, just change the styles. No problem at all to cater to what she needed.

She blinked rapidly, perhaps still feeling a little raw from her earlier emotional break, and cleared her throat as she stroked her fingers over a few of the dresses. "Okay...I guess I'll try a few," she muttered, trying--and she feared failing--to sound careless about it. She snorted a bit when he offered to help her "strap in". "I think I can manage," she told him wryly, and perhaps a bit overconfidently.

More carefully than she might have before, she gathered up the pile of fabric and ducked behind the changing screen. She plucked at the sheer wrappings that currently covered her, gave the screen a slightly nervous glance, then quickly shook herself and began the process of pulling on the first dress.

It was a deep, midnight blue affair, with a layer of pale gold in the underside of the skirt that peeked out in flashes when she moved. The bodice clung to her form, but also supported her posture, with a halter tie around the neck that she managed to fumble into something like a proper bow. She smoothed her hands down over the form of the thing, feeling pale gold embroidery picked out in rippling waves over the bodice that shimmered when she moved, like the glint of coins through deep water struck by sunlight. The skirt swished pleasantly when she turned in place, silk like liquid against her legs.

...Okay. Maybe Valor had a point about clothes.

"Well. Um...okay then." She took another breath and peeked around behind the curtain at Valor. "Don't. Laugh," she warned him as she crept out, arms wrapped loosely around her middle and her wings drawn in tight with a strange and sudden surge of nerves.

Ka'lei was skeptical. That much was obvious. But Valor's feelings weren't hurt, because he could see how a slave who had only worn cheap, scratchy garments all their life wouldn't feel particularly enthused about fashion. He was hoping to change that, of course. Whatever she had gone through, whatever her life had been before this, she was under his care, now. Was he an asshole, perhaps, for roping her into his dumb charade? Probably. But he was also determined to make the whole ordeal worth her time, and to spoil the absolute shit out of her in any way he could.

He had realized he wanted to spoil her the first time she displayed wonder at her new world here. The way she reacted to a simple meal, to his bed, to just...all the average little things he took for granted, because for him they were boring and mundane? It was like he was seeing the world for the first time through someone else's eyes.

It was...fun.

But also a little sad. To see someone get so excited over a soft bed or a hearty meal...

She vanished behind the screen, and Valor waited--more than happy to rush to the rescue if she got tangled or needed help with a clasp or tie. She was taking a little while, but he was patient. Hopefully she liked them? Or at least one of them. Maybe he should have gone for simpler clothes, on second thought? Would it be too much or...?

But then she spoke, and he perked up when she peeked around the screen. "Laugh? Why would I lau..." He trailed off as she stepped out. "Oh..."

Ka'lei moved like someone who wanted to hide, someone who was uncertain and didn't know what to do with themselves, but Valor paid no mind to that. Eyes wide, he stared at her--he didn't mean to stare, but he couldn't help it! The blue and gold contrasted perfectly with her black wings and hair and matched the blue of her eyes. And though the skimpy slave outfit had shown far more, leaving little to the imagination, he much preferred this. It flattered her, showing off her shape and accentuating her best features--and even better, she had gotten to choose it from the selection herself.

He covered his mouth, muffling the little giddy squeal that wanted to squeak out. "Oh. You're gorgeous."

That—

Was not what she'd expected.

She wasn't actually sure what she'd expected. Some light teasing, probably. Maybe a correction about how she was wearing the dress—despite how straightforward it had been, she couldn't quite get over the feeling that she'd somehow done something wrong with putting it on. Maybe a compliment, but a passing one, the kind you gave for politeness's sake.

But he told her she was gorgeous, and he looked so genuinely thrilled that she didn't even for a moment feel he was saying it the way someone in Essyrn might have, as though she was a pretty piece of art or an expensive trinket. He said it like he meant it, like she was a person.

So what popped out of her mouth was a soft, startled, "I—I am?"

She glanced down at herself, running her hands nervously over the skirt again. It really did feel nice...

Her shoulders loosened a bit and her wings unfurled from their tight curl against her spine, falling into their more relaxed position settled loosely against her shoulders. She smiled, not quite able to meet his eyes for more than a moment before she looked away, cheeks dark.

"I suppose you have good taste in clothes," she admitted with a small huff, though she was still smiling a bit. "It...it's a very lovely dress."

She took another step out from the curtain, feeling the skirts shift and ripple with her movements. A sudden impulse struck her and she glanced down, then twirled in place. The skirt flared out around her, gold and sapphire a brief whirlwind, and for just one single, silly moment it felt like magic.

She laughed and spun again, and when she staggered to a halt her arms had come back around her middle, but she wasn't hiding, she was...holding. Hugging herself lightly as she stood there in bare feet and the prettiest dress she'd ever seen and just beamed at him.

"Thank you."

Valor couldn't help it. For a few moments, he was helpless to do much more than stare.

He didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable, but she had genuinely struck him speechless—not just because she was gorgeous, but because she was gorgeous. The dress was beautiful and it looked good on her, there was no doubt about that. But more breathtaking than even that was how she had transformed. 

Laughing, smiling, even twirling, it was the most naked display of pure joy he had seen from her yet, this girl who was a mostly-closed book apart from her fear, anger, and brief flashes of trauma. But in this moment he felt he saw, perhaps, who she had been—who she still was, locked away inside. She had dropped her guard, and he didn't want to ruin the moment.

This was part of why he loved fashion. A nice set of clothing could be transformative—give you extra confidence, make you feel powerful or attractive, or even make you feel like someone else entirely. He was glad that she felt it, too, at least for now. 

Her smile was the best part of it all.

"No...thank you," he said when he finally found his voice, but he spoke quietly as though afraid to break this spell. "Truly. You are lovely." He wished he knew how to convey what he meant, that it wasn't just about the dress, but he felt a little tongue-tied. He had never struggled to compliment, flatter, and flirt, but Ka'lei was an entirely different experience—like trying to approach a wild deer and hoping they wouldn't bolt.

He cleared his throat. "I'm happy you like it," he finally managed, feeling oddly lame, and felt his face heat. He scratched his cheek. "Ah, there's others to try on too, of course—but you don't have to try them all now! I mean, you can, but you can also do it later if you like. This one is definitely a winner. You look like some Fae straight from another world."

The wings definitely added to the effect.

A hint of color darkened her cheeks and she glanced down, wings fluttering just a bit. "That... Thanks."

She looked to the mirror for a moment, considering his words. It was like looking at a stranger; that was her hair, her eyes, her mouth, the same damned collar linked around her throat, but everything else...everything else was different. Her mouth, yes, but not her smile. Not one she hadn't seen for a long time.

Maybe she never had.

"...Valor?"

It was the first time she'd addressed him by name. Actually, now she thought of it, it might have been the first time she'd addressed any non-slave by their given name. At least, without the intention of insulting them.

She let her arms drop to her sides and looked at the pile of dresses, then back to him. Her smile grew.

"I want to try them all."

---

It took a good hour or so for her to actually try all the dresses on, and there were one or two that she needed Valor's help with, unable to make sense of the fastenings--damn Serenian buttons and clasps, it felt like everything tied in Essyrn. Or at least, everything she'd ever worn.

In the end, she settled on the first dress. She couldn't get his words out of her head: You look like some Fae straight from another world.

She definitely liked the way that sounded. It wasn't just beauty, it was...power. Freedom.

"So." She was perched on the edge of Valor's bed, still running her hands absently over the silky fabric of her new skirts. Yes, she knew she was being a bit ridiculous about the clothes, but she couldn't help it. It was by no means the most impactful thing that had happened to her in the last day, and yet...it sort of was. The dress felt like a real, tangible thing she could touch, could hold onto, that said everything is different now. She crooked one leg up onto the bed, scuffing her other bare foot lightly over the floor. "Don't suppose we could see about getting that key now?"

She hooked a finger under the collar and tugged, pulling a face. "I swear, I know it's just thin gold, but I feel like this thing is leaving a dent on my collarbones."

Valor had been more than happy to enjoy the show, and more than happy to help her when she needed it. For him, the hour didn't drag at all. It was a nice excuse to lounge and relax on the bed as she tried on dress after dress, giving him a private fashion show that was as adorable as it was alluring. Her delight was so genuine, so pure, and though at first he had worried she might burn herself out and run out of energy, she didn't seem to lose steam at all.

And so he watched and praised her, and helped her when she needed it; he was never going to complain about buttoning up the back of a lady's gown or helping with the ties at the sides. It may not be quite as fun as unbuttoning a series of clasps and revealing more and more skin, but there was something to be said about doing it in reverse, too--covering up skin he would have liked to see more of, brushing fingers against her neck as he moved her hair out of the way, the light tickle of her feathers as he fussed with a particularly stubborn button. That she let him do that at all spoke volumes. Maybe they hadn't moved mountains over night, but she trusted him today far more than she had the last.

And she had said his name.

Had she ever said it before?

Hmm...

Finally, after who knows how long, they came full circle: she chose the first dress, the clear winner of them all.

As Ka'lei sat on the bed after her fashion adventure, Valor quickly grabbed some clothes from his wardrobe and took his turn behind the changing screen. He was still in desperate need of a proper bath after a night of partying and drinking, but a fresh change of clothes would be enough to tide him over until later.

"The key?" he called over the screen. "Oh, yeah! of course! That's the goal. We'll just have to track down Pari, but that shouldn't be difficult. He's nothing if not a creature of habit."

He was far quicker than she was, and soon emerged dressed in a forest green vest with gold brocade, deciding to sort of match her without making it too over the top. A pair of simple, clean breeches finished off the look, along with a pair of boots that rose to midway up his shin. He had even tidied up his hair--a little. At the very least, he had finger-combed the shaggy red mess into some semblance of order. He flashed her a little smile, though it faded in sympathy as she tugged on her collar.

"In any case, you're not a slave. You shouldn't have to wear the vestments of one. Come, now!" he said, holding his hand out to her. "Let's go track that fool down and get that disgusting thing off of you--" He paused, eyes flicking down to her bare feet. "...And get you some shoes, too. They seriously didn't give you shoes?"

Ka'lei actually returned his smile, albeit briefly. The glimmers of gold in his chosen outfit caught her eye, and for a moment she wondered... No. No, that was silly, she was being silly.

Still...as he held out his hand, she couldn't help thinking just for a moment about how they might look, standing next to each other. Certainly not like a slave and her master. A...couple? That was the scam they were going for after all, but...

Could she really pull off looking--being--like someone who belonged with someone like him?

She pushed the thought away, half because it was Too Big to currently address and half to focus on the more immediate problem: finding Valor's idiot friend and getting the key. Taking his hand, she allowed him to pull her to her feet with another quick hand smoothed down the front of her skirts before she forced herself to stop touching the new dress.

"Ah...they did, actually," she chuckled, looking down at her bare feet and tapping her toes against the floor. With a very slightly sheepish shrug, she explained, "I, um, threw them. Before they even got me here. Managed to beam one of my "handlers" pretty good in the back of the head, I think." Half-grinning--because, hey, that was a hard shot to make with dainty little slippers--she added, "I guess they revoked my shoe privileges after that.

She what now?

Valor stared at her, eyebrows rising at first in amusement—and then in admiration. What a mental image that was! A hilarious one, but also not a surprising one from what he'd learned of her so far. It also only confirmed his earlier suspicions: indeed, this was a lady who very well could have strangled him with her chains, because apparently everything was a weapon in her hands. No wonder her "handlers" (barf) had put her in practically nothing.

He nodded, smile breaking into a grin. "Nice," he said, genuinely, and laughed. "Well done! You know, in another life you may have made an excellent assassin. I'll be sure to never piss you off unless you're naked—and even then, I'll keep my distance."

He stuck his tongue out at her, teasing, and gave her a little tug to draw her along out of the room. "Well then, let's get you re-armed!"

Ka'lei laughed a bit with him, half because there was that instinctive moment of relief--she'd admitted to actually attacking someone (albeit with a shoe, and it was someone who absolutely deserved it) and hadn't been immediately punished for it--and half because, well...it was actually pretty funny.

"Ah, yes. My true calling," she said with a little snort when he joked about her making a good assassin. Rolling her eyes at his teasing, even while a tiny part of her marveled at the simple ability to do that, she let him lead her from the room.

"Okay, I'll admit you were right about the dresses, but I don't know if I have it in me to try on that many pairs of shoes," she pointed out as he lead her along. There were some habits she couldn't break--eyes flicking around to take stock of the exits, a hint of hesitation in each doorway as she evaluated a new space--but for the most part she was much more relaxed than she had been even that morning. "Is this gonna be, like...a whole other thing?"

"Oh dear gods, no!" Valor said, snorting. "At the rate you went with the dresses, we'd be done by midnight and Pari'll be in bed with some lady. No, no, I'm just gonna steal a pair from my mother and call it a day. We can take your measurements and send them off to the cobbler later."

They took a sharp turn down another long hall, and then he paused before an ornately carved set of doors. "Wait here," he said, before cracking the door open just wide enough to squeeze through and vanish inside.

His mother was out and about, so it was easy to snag a pair of her slippers and bring them back out to Ka'lei. He offered them out to her with a slight shrug. "They might be a little snug, but they should work well enough for now. They'll at least keep you from cutting up your feet outdoors."

"Steal a pair?" Ka'lei blinked. "Errr--won't your mother be mad? And likely blame me?"

Although...from the little that he had told her about his relationship with his family, and in particular his mother, at breakfast...maybe not. Maybe she would assume it was her youngest. Or maybe she wouldn't even notice.

It occurred to her that she wasn't actually all the concerned about being caught and punished for the theft--even if it did happen, she had the abrupt realization that she believed Valor would not let her be blamed.

When he handed her the slippers, she eyed them for just a moment before sliding them on. They were a bit snug, but certainly workable--and worlds better than exploring an unfamiliar city in her bare feet. "Thanks." She shuffled her feet a bit, tapping her heels together to adjust to the foreign feeling of the slippers; back in Essyrn, if she'd worn shoes at all, they'd typically been cheap sandals. She was unused to having her toes enclosed.

"Right." She looked up at Valor with a brisk nod, as though he'd just outfitted her for battle rather than give her a pretty dress and a pilfered pair of slippers. "Where to?"

They fit well enough, so that was good to see! His mother (and, well, his entire family) were all on the tall side. And though Valor was tall enough, by most people's standards, as with most things in his family...he came last on that, too. 

It was so obnoxious.

Oh well! With Ka'lei properly clothed now, she looked almost like she belonged—if it weren't for the shackles and collar outing her as a slave, of course, or the feathery wings outing her as Yoreiqi. No matter! She looked ready (ready to fight a dragon, really) so he offered his hand for her to take and then lead her along through the building.

"It's well past noon now, and I know for a fact Pari didn't get lucky last night, so if I had to guess, I'd say he'll be getting an early start at his favorite pub. He told he planned on taking today off, so unless he's nursing a hangover at home..."

The doormen opened the doors for them silently as he lead the way outdoors, onto a beautifully manicured property lush with natural greenery and native flowers. He took them down around the side of the property and to the stables. A stable hand saw their approach, and Valor leaned in to speak to him. "We'll be taking Cloud today."

Looking back at Ka'lei as the man went to prepare the horse, he smiled. "Have you ridden before?"

It was strange to wear shoes after so long of going barefoot—particularly shoes that covered her toes. Despite the fact that they actually fit quite well, her feet still felt a little cramped, just from being unused to the style.

The grounds were beautiful, and honestly she would have been happy to waste a few hours just wandering around them. But the collar and cuffs were more pressing, and she followed Valor out to the stables with the new ease to her movements that seemed to have come with her new garments. An ease that evaporated when she caught sight of a few of the animals in their stalls.

They were so. Big.

She blinked and swallowed, wings drawing in tight to her back. "Errrr...no. No, can't say that I have," she admitted, eyeing the massive animals with all the wariness and vague distaste of a cat introduced to a new, disturbing smell.

Valor had his answer even before Ka'lei opened her mouth. It was written all over her body language. He had assumed as much, her being a slave and all, but it never hurt to double check.

"Ahh, I see. Then you're in for a treat!" Maybe. She didn't look the slightest bit thrilled.

Cloud turned out to be a massive white draft horse dappled with gray, and she walked with all the majesty of a pampered beast rather than the plodding work horse her kind were usually bred to be. His family preferred large horses and had bred the beasts for generations, and of them all, Cloud was his personal favorite.

Valor looked at Ka'lei as the stable hand passed the reins off to him, and he stroked the animal's velvety nose as Cloud snuffled into his hand, snorting when she found no treats.

"This is Cloud," he introduced with a smile, watching for Ka'lei's reaction. "Don't worry, she's a gentle giant, and don't worry, we'll be riding together. She's an older gal, anyway, so she's a good one for a first-timer." Not to mention she was large enough to support them both.

He motioned Ka'lei closer. "Come say hello. She won't bite."

Holy hells that was a big animal!

Ka'lei gave Valor a mildly terrified look—she'd heard somewhere that horses could sense fear, and she had a bad feeling Cloud would know exactly how scared she was.

"Errrr..." She swallowed, then shuffled closer when he beckoned her. "Gentle giant," she repeated his words, clearly skeptical, but she took another step closer. "Right. Okay."

Looking between Valor and the horse, she slowly stretched her hand out to mimic his gesture. Cloud seemed intrigued by a potential new source of treats; despite being disappointed on that front again, she seemed interested enough in a new person to snuffle up from her palm along her wrist and forearm.

Ka'lei giggled. "That tickles," she accused quietly. Very, very carefully moving her hand, she hesitantly stroked Cloud's neck. "She's soft," she murmured. "I...didn't expect her to be so soft. They look too...intimidating. I thought they'd have coarser coats, like a boar or something."

There was a brand new light in her eyes as she took a slightly more confident step toward the animal and stroked her neck again. She looked at Valor, drawing her bottom lip between her teeth. "She's really tall. You won't—"

She cut herself off before she could finish the sentence: you won't let me fall, right?

Oh dear, the poor thing looked so scared.

He could hardly blame her. Cloud was large even to those who were used to horses. But true to Valor's word, he was gentle when Ka'lei finally edged closer and, to his surprise, went for it.

Valor's eyebrows rose in surprise as he watched Cloud examine this interesting new person's hand and arm, and his smile grew when she laughed. Oh, good, that was good. For a moment he had been worried that this...might be a problem. If she was too afraid, he certainly wouldn't force her onto the horse; they would just have to go on foot, which was fine but this would be quicker and more impressive! But then she was stroking the beast's neck, incredibly brave despite her obvious unease.

"I think she likes you," Valor said, and pat the horse's neck. "Don't get me wrong, she is intimidating. All horses are in their own way. It's healthy to respect them, but you don't have to fear them. She's probably a bigger scaredy-cat than you." He flashed a teasing grin at Ka'lei to show he was joking and scratched along Cloud's whiskery chin. "They're prey animals so they jump at shadows...or strange rocks...or twigs...or anything really. Just stay where she can see you and she won't get spooked, though his girl's gotten much calmer and more patient as she's aged. It takes a bit more to ruffle her these days. She's a good horse, aren't you, Cloud?"

With another gentle stroke along her nose, he moved to her side. "I'll help you up. You'll have to ride side-saddle behind me--I, ah, I'm afraid I wasn't really thinking when I had you pick a dress. It'll be fine though, noble ladies do it all the time, and we'll be going slow. We're not running any races today."

Sticking a foot in the stirrup, he swung himself up and into the saddle. Once he was settled, he moved his foot out of the stirrup and reached a hand down to Ka'lei. "I'd prefer you in front of me, but with those wings, well...I'd be eating feathers the whole trip. You'll just have to hold on tight, okay? Put your left foot in the stirrup now, I'll pull you up the rest of the way. Trust. It'll be okay." He was stronger than he looked.

A large prey animal who could be dangerous when she was frightened.

...Nope. I am choosing not to examine that too closely. She'd had quite enough Feelings for today, thank you very much.

Ka'lei shot him a wry look for the teasing, but was presently too enamored with stroking along Cloud's neck to quip something back. Then he was mounting up--making it look so damned easy--and suddenly holding a hand down to her as he explained she would have to ride sidesaddle.

Oh, perfect.

"Oh goddess help me," Ka'lei muttered, quietly but furtively, as she reached out to take his hand. Okay, left foot in the stirrup, and--

Trust, he'd said. Like it was easy. Still, after a moment of awkward hopping with her right foot, she did let him take her weight, and found that she was suddenly up on the back of the horse with relative ease. It took her a few seconds of fidgeting to get her legs and skirt settled--and the entire time she kept one arm firmly around Valor's waist, still mildly terrified that she was going to fall.

"O-okay." She swallowed and cautiously wrapped her other arm around him. "I think I'm ready..."

Oh dear gods, why was she suddenly so warm? She was inclined to blame it on the proximity of both Cloud's and Valor's body heat, but she had a sneaking suspicion that she was also blushing.

With a grunt, Valor helped Ka'lei up and helped her get settled. Poor thing, he could practically feel her fear as she fidgeted and held onto him, and he couldn't really blame her! He had been nervous his first time on a horse, and it hadn't been a beast nearly as large as Cloud.

Yeah...he supposed it was pretty scary, when you actually thought about it. After all, they were sitting atop a creature who, if she had a mind to do it, could toss them off her back and stomp them to a pulp like grapes in a barrel. Grim.

With a smile, Valor reached down and gave one of her hands a warm squeeze. Ka'lei was going into this like a warrior resigned to a bloody battle when they were just going across the town.

"Just hold onto me," he told her, and then they were moving at a smooth walk that wouldn't get much faster. "Don't look down. Just look ahead at the road. Take in the sights! Feel the wind in your hair and feathers! Isn't it great?"

"Ooooohhhhhh oh oh oh oh oh ohohohoh. Oh. Oh..." Ka'lei clung to him so tight she might've winded him. "High," she muttered, eyes squeezed shut. "So high, very high, so very very hiiiiigh..."

Okay. So maybe it was a little bit strange that someone with wings might be anxious around heights. Even ones as minimal as those from a horse's back. But it was different with her own wings! That was her body she was trusting, not some four-hoofed monstrosity's.

...Monstrosity wasn't fair. Cloud seemed like a perfectly placid and friendly creature. She was just nervous.

Muttering something to Valor about "easy for you to say", she slowly started to relax her grip on him, cracking one eye open. "Okay. Whoooooo okay. This..."

She sat back a bit—not too far—and chanced a proper look around.

Huh.

This...wasn't so bad.

Just don't look down.

"Is it normal for her to sway like this?" Ka'lei asked after a moment, cautiously peering over his shoulder at the road ahead of them. "They look like the move so much smoother from the ground..."

It was an effort not to laugh at her reaction when it was so danged cute. This fierce winged woman, the same woman had been about to beam him with her own chains the night she was sent to his chambers, was afraid of...heights?

But Valor bit his lip to keep the laughter inside, not wanting her to think he was laughing at her. Well, he was, but not in a mocking way! He was just honestly amused and delighted at her reaction.

"It's perfectly normal," he called back to her. "Don't you sway a little when you walk? Cloud's gait is one of the smoother ones, too. Her breed was made for grace despite their size. Hold tighter if you need to--that way if you fall, there's a good chance I'll cushion you."

He grinned back at her with a little wink, then faced ahead to watch the road. Amusement aside, though, her reaction made him curious. Those wings of hers...

"I would think a bird-woman would be used to heights," he said, curious.

"I guess so," she muttered in response to his query about her "swaying" when she walked. "I just never really...thought of horses having hips..."

Even without his instructions, she found herself clutching him a little tighter with any minor change in Cloud's gait—which really was quite smooth, from an objective standpoint, even if she was wildly unused to trusting another creature with the entire weight of her body; and just assuming that creature wouldn't dump her onto the cobblestones.

She huffed quietly at Valor's comment about her discomfort with heights. "That's different," she mumbled. "It's not like I'm afraid of heights. I just—I don't much care for the ground from heights. Which is fine, if I'm the one keeping me up. If it's someone else..."

Another little huff. "Besides...I mostly glide. And usually they kept my wings clipped, so I couldn't even do that unless I hid my new feathers long enough."

She said it without thinking, using the caustic "they" that always referred to the same thing, even if the individual changed: masters. Owners. She could never claim to be particularly guarded of tongue, but...that was a bit of a slip. She was talking to Valor like he was...well, not like he was one of "they". Which was perhaps more telling than she wanted to admit to herself in that moment.

Valor had been about to tease her more, because it was so, so easy, but all the mirth drained from him the moment she uttered that sentence: that they kept her wings clipped.

He could only assume who they were: whoever owned her before he did.

That gross, uncomfortable feeling settled over him again, that subtle horror at recognizing, more and more, exactly what slavery meant now that he was directly confronted by one of its survivors. Her words were a little familiar, too; hadn't she mentioned this before? But he had been too drunk at the time to to consider what it meant and had largely forgotten about it until now.

Placing one of his hands over her own, he gave her a light squeeze. "No one will ever clip them again. Ever." His voice came out a little rougher than he intended, surprising even himself; he hadn't realized how angry he'd become, how angry the idea of people holding her down and cutting her wings made him. And they'd no doubt have to pin her--she didn't seem the sort to take anything without a fight. It made his chest hurt as he remembered how she had been earlier, how she had sobbed when he'd dredged up painful memories...the thought of her enduring such violence was--he didn't want to think about it.

He took a deep breath, fingers touching her manacled wrist. "We're almost there."

Ka'lei stiffened slightly in surprise at the vehemence in his voice, even more surprised by his touch on her hand--not surprised at the touch itself, she already knew he was prone to physical contact, but surprised that...she didn't hate it. It didn't feel intrusive or dominating, it was just...there. She still wasn't sure exactly how she felt about it, but she didn't want to make it go away.

Much like Valor himself, she supposed.

When his fingers moved to her wrist, she flinched back a bit. Not because she though he was going to harm her or yank the chain or something, but because that was simply what she did when anyone might move to touch her bindings. She forced herself to breathe and hold still, not jerk back from him entirely.

"How close is almost?" she asked after a moment, hoping she sounded flippant and not strangely breathless. "I know it's just gold, but the sooner I get these off, the happier I'll be." She hesitated, then added somewhat cautiously, "And...you too, it seems."

"Close," Valor said as they turned down a quaint side street. The cobblestone roads were clean and well-maintained in this part of the city, one of the wealthier districts, and the tavern Pari enjoyed visiting was no exception. Expensive, clean, and with even more expensive ladies attending the patrons within. It was far too classy to call itself a brothel,  but let's be real--that's basically what it was.

It wasn't Valor's favorite place. He found it rather dull, and it didn't give his family the gray hairs that visiting the slummier parts of the city did.

It wasn't much longer before they approached The Gilded Nightingale. There was a hitching post and water trough outside, and Valor brought Cloud to a stop before it. His mood had sobered considerably; he kind of felt like a giant asshole now, bringing Ka'lei out in public with visible shackles still attached to her. But what was the alternative? He swung down form his horse, tied her reins to the post, and then offered a hand up to Ka'lei.

"Here we are!" he said. "Now come on down the same way you went up, but in reverse. Don't worry, I got you."

Ka'lei shot him a Look that spoke volumes as to just how she felt about the idea of "I got you". It wasn't even just hearing it from him--she didn't much care for the idea of placing that amount of trust in anyone. Kai might have been the only exception, and that was on a good day.

Still. Getting down from a horse wasn't exactly a life-or-death situation. And she didn't entirely relish the idea of sitting up on Cloud's back for longer than she had to. Especially not on her own.

So she took Valor's offered hand and swung her leg over the horse's back, dropping to the ground with a soft "Oof" of surprised breath when her legs didn't immediately quit underneath her.

"Ah--thanks." She nodded at Valor a little awkwardly and drew her hand back, curling and uncurling her fingers. Glancing up at the establishment they had stopped outside, she pulled a face. "Oh. Good."

Valor had his hands out, prepared to steady her should she need the extra support. Not that he didn't believe her capable, and she got down far easier than she got up.

Ka'lei made a face, and Valor followed her gaze toward the brothel.

This was going to be...interesting.

"One step closer to freedom, hmm?" he remarked and offered his arm for her to take. "Let's just hope Pari's still here and not laid up with...someone. Come now! We'll make this quick, promise!"

Because, as he opened the door and guided her inside the establishment, he couldn't imagine this would be a very comfortable experience for her. The smell of alcohol and perfume filled the air, along with raucous laughter and flirtatious giggles. Ka'lei in a gilded collar and manacles was not a good look, and Valor was suddenly strangely conscious of that fact, as though they were wrapped around his own skin. And all the whole as he maneuvered them through the press of scantily clad bodies, he kept an eye on Ka'lei—especially when someone let out a low wolf whistle.

As they headed toward the lounge he picked up on a familiar voice. And sure enough, toward the back of the room, a shock of blue hair stood out among the patrons. There Pari was, stretched out on a settee with both arms slung around the two women sitting on either side of him.

Valor shot Ka'lei a look. "Ready?"

Oh, she hated this.

Not so much the concept, really—she'd known in a vague sort of way that houses of "ill repute", as it were, weren't always the sort of horror she might imagine. She'd even briefly known a woman in Essyrn—a friend of a friend—who worked for a place called The Stray Cat that was by all accounts a more comfortable and safer environment than Ka'lei herself often dealt with.

And it only took one look at the men and women reclining with their clients here to know they were here of their own will; she'd known plenty of bed-slaves in her time, too, and none of them had had the spark in their eyes that these people did.

So no, it wasn't the concept of a brothel that raised her hackles. It was the fact that she was walking into one in golden shackles and a damned collar. At least she had proper clothes on now—she didn't even want to think about what it would have been like to arrive here in the strips of fabric in which she'd been delivered to Valor's chamber.

The wolf whistle made her gorge rise, caught between the impulse to whirl and bare her teeth like a hunted animal, or to shrink in closer to Valor's side and try to make herself as unnoticeable as possible.

The first impulse won out. She caught the eye of the man who'd made the sound and hissed and spat at him like a threatened cat.

It was evidently an unexpected enough move that it startled him from any further leering.

Ready, Valor asked. Like she hasn't been waiting for this moment her entire life. "Yes," she said quickly. "Yes, please, let's get this done."

Did she just...hiss at a guy?

Valor's eyebrows raised, impressed, and he honestly couldn't have expected any less from her after the greeting she'd given him on day one. Add another thing to the list of things people would get to talk about later.

There would be more where that came from.

With a nod her way, Valor cleared his throat and strode forward. "Pari, you rascal!" he announced, and the blue-haired man jerked his head away from the lady he was currently kissing to flash a startled look Valor's way. He'd been drinking, from the flush in his face and the watery look to his eyes and it took an extra couple seconds before he recognized his friend. When he did, his eyes cleared a little and he broke out into a wide grin.

"Valor! Hi!" he said, waving. "Didja come to play, too? Oh, who's the lady? She's pretty--oh!" He laughed, rubbing his forehead. "That lady! No wonder she's so pretty, I pick good ones, huh? But why's she still all..." He waved at her manacles. "You big doofus, you''re s'pposed to take them off!"

"Oh gosh darnit, why didn't I think of that?" Valor gasped, pressing both hands to his face.

"Yeah, honestly, that's really kinda dumb--"

"Maaaybe it's because, I dunno...you still have the key?"

"Like how would you all even...wait. What?" Pari cocked his head, blinking dully.

"Yeah. You never gave me the key, Pari. And I just cannot have my bride getting married in slave chains! Can you imagine? Who does that?"

"I guess that would be kinda--huh?!"

Valor sighed, flashing Ka'lei a 'play along' sort of look before pulling her in close, one arm around her waist. "You really did give me a gift, Pari. The gift of true love! Now hand me the key so I might unchain her body just as I unchained her heart!"

Pari had gone quiet, as had the ladies on his arms, and several people standing nearby had also trailed off in their conversations to eavesdrop. For a few long moments Pari seemed gobsmacked, his mouth hanging open, but finally the spell broke and he began to fish around for his coin purse.

"You're joking," he murmured, finally producing a silver key and holding it out for Valor to take. Valor snatched it and flinched, holding a hand to his heart.

"You dare question my love? My own best friend? You of all people? My dearest Pari?"

"Either that or I'm way super drunk."

"I'm just as surprised as you, honestly," Valor said, and passed the key off to Ka'lei. "Well! As much as I'd love to join you, my darling and I have much to do to prepare! But here--" He flicked a coin to Pari with a wink. "That girl's on me. Now then, darling, shall we?"

And he flashed a smile at Ka'lei, jerking his chin toward the door.

Wait.

This man had thought--

You're supposed to take them off.

That was not the sort of thing you said about the purchase of a slave--even if you were drunk off your ass and forgot to hand over the key. That was the sort of thing you said about...well. One of the absurdly pretty people lounging around this particular kind of establishment.

...Dear sweet Goddess.

She didn't know if that was funny or just sad.

She managed to keep to her role as Valor pulled her into his side and defended the "reality" of their love to this Pari person. She could feel what felt like dozens of eyes on her, but made sure not to let any discomfort show as she turned her face into Valor's shoulder as though bashful and let her wings rustle slightly.

When he indicated that they should leave, she nodded and smiled as vapidly as she could manage, not trusting herself to speak in the sudden influx of thoughts and emotions. She followed him back out onto the street, and waited until they had a little distance before releasing the tight breath that she'd been holding.

"Oh my gods." She bent forward slightly, bracing her hands on her thighs. "Oh my gods, he--did he think I was a prostitute?!"

She looked up at Valor, flabbergasted. "I mean, I knew he was an idiot, but really?"

"I...er...yeah. Yeah, that's...that's a thing Pari would do. Look, the gods sacrificed brains when they gave him looks and I say that with all the love in my heart. It explains a lot. Honestly, I'm relieved," Valor admitted, letting out a breath. "Pari's a dumbass, but he doesn't have a mean bone in him. I never pegged him as the type that'd buy a slave, and, well..."

He scratched the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly. "I mean, I thought you were just a kinky prostitute at first, too, so...y'know...speaking of dumbasses..."

"Sweet goddess." She clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a vaguely hysterical giggle. "That—y'know what, it's oddly reassuring," she laughed as she straightened up. Flashing a quick, sharp-but-still-playful grin at Valor, she elaborated, "I'd rather your friends have less brains than the gods gave to a chicken than be the type to buy bed-slaves."

She felt...bubbly. It was like an adrenaline rush, like she'd just gotten away with something risky that she knew she wasn't supposed to do. And she knew that had everything to do with the key Valor now held.

She swallowed, automatically starting to edge toward him before she forced herself to be still. She took a breath. "So, ah...suppose we get this off now?"

She held her shackled wrist out toward him, trying not to let the sudden fear show in her face. Fear that this had all be some sort of ruse, that he wasn't about to unlock her chains, that she was still—and always would be—a slave. Though she thought she managed to keep her expression steady, her whole body trembled just slightly as she waited.

Valor snorted at that perfectly apt description of Pari (and himself, though he wouldn't know it) and waved a hand through the air.

"Oh pish dear, we may be scoundrels but we're scoundrels with standards," he said, puffing out his chest with mock self-importance. "Besides, where's the fun if she isn't in on the game, too?"

He gave the key a little twirl as she held out her wrist. Ah, enough blabbing, of course she wanted the damned things off! He reached out a hand toward her wrist then paused to meet her eyes. 

"Here, let me just..." Gently, he turned the manacle on her wrist so the keyhole faced him, then held her limb steady as he inserted the key and twisted. With a click, the manacle fell free, and he was quick to remove the next one, dropping the metal to the ground like the trash it was. Which left only the collar.

"Lift your hair and turn for me?" he asked, motioning with a finger, then paused again. "Er, unless you wanna do this one yourself?"

Her breath caught slightly when he met her eyes like that, fear and hope warring for dominance behind her stoic expression. Then—

Clink. Clink.

The shackles fell to the cobblestone, one after the other, and she couldn't stop the brief burst of elation that fanned her wings out and fluffed her molting feathers.

Gone. Gone gone gone, and her whole body felt lighter. Even though she still wore the collar, she felt like she could have actually flown.

When Valor reached toward her neck, she found herself caught between flinching and automatically reaching to pull her hair to the side. But then he paused, asked if she'd rather do it herself, and she was frozen for a moment.

"I—" She took a breath. "I don't think...I think you'd better," she muttered after a moment, before admitting even more softly, "My...hands are shaking. I'm not sure I can... It'll be quicker if you do it."

In one brisk motion, she turned and pulled her hair over one shoulder, revealing the small keyhole at the nape of her neck—and that her hands were indeed shaking, strongly enough that the tremor read through even as she twisted them together in front of her body.

Valor didn't hesitate. He didn't dare make her wait any longer, for she had waited too long already—and gods but he felt like such an asshole now for having her wait as long as she had in the first place. For the first few hours of knowing her, the whole thing hadn't felt real, in a way. Like, he knew slaves were a thing, of course, but he'd never interacted with one. He'd never looked an imprisoned person in the eyes and seen their real fear or the way their hands shook or heard their story. It had always been an abstract idea in his privileged world and some part of him still hadn't fully grasped that she was a real real slave, and not just the fun and games type Pari had mistaken her for.

The moment Ka'lei pulled her hair to the side, Valor reached up gently and turned the key in the lock.

Click.

The collar fell to the cobblestones with a metallic clatter and she was truly free. Well, free save for the paperwork, but free enough still that she could run if she wanted—and he wouldn't have the heart to chase her. Well, no, that was a lie; he'd chase, but not to keep her against her will. 

He'd just chase because...well...

Well what?

Shaking the thought away, not daring to find out where it lead, he stepped around her again so he could face her and raise his eyes to hers. "You'll never again wear a piece of metal you don't choose for yourself," he told her, offering up a small smile, his own a little strangely uncertain. This was brand new territory for him. "The only metal that belongs on you is silver and gold adorned with jewels and given as a gift."

The weight fell from her shoulders, and her breath staggered to a halt in her chest. She just stared down at the open collar for a few moments, unable to see anything else.

She managed to lift her eyes when Valor moved back in front of her, but she could do little except stare at him either. She heard the words, even felt her mouth start to twitch up into a hint of a smile.

"Flatterer," she accused, though the amused bite to her tone that had become her default with him was missing.

She glanced down at the collar again, stared--and then in a burst of motion bent to pick it up, turned and flung it as hard as she could against the wall of the brothel. The thin gold hit stone with an oddly high-pitched clank, and it clattered back to the ground, dented and twisted.

Ka'lei bit out a sound that was caught between a laugh and a sob. "Fuck you," she snarled at the open, broken collar in Essyrni. "Never again." She swallowed, then repeated it in Common, a little softer, "Never again..."

She took a breath, then fluffed her wings, straightened her shoulders, and turned to face Valor again. "So. Well. Ah--thanks." She swallowed, eyes suspiciously bright, but was clearly working to slide back into the sharp, dry personality she wore like a protective cloak.

Valor watched as she vented on the collar, and though he didn't understand her words at first, he didn't need to. The message came through loud and clear in her tone.

He waited quietly, not wanting to interrupt her well deserved catharsis. This moment was about her and for her, after all—which was a somewhat strange realization.

When was the last time he'd ever put someone else first?

His world was a selfish one. Everyone was out for themselves, vying for power and alliances for their own gain, even his own birth was just to add to the numbers game. He wasn't interested in any of that, despite his family's occasional and disastrous attempts to use him as a pawn, but it was still the reality of his existence. He lived for himself and for his own whims and fancies and screw everyone else, because they would screw him over too if he were important enough to bother with. But Ka'lei wasn't from his world. She existed so far outside it, in fact, that the same rules just didn't apply. And for whatever reason, this just...huh.

It felt good.

And it felt disgusting. This was what some nobility bought. People like Ka'lei. This was what a "slave" looked like. Only there would be no broken chains for those others toiling away in the Houses of people he knew.

Valor sucked in a breath when Ka'lei turned to him at last, bright-eyed in a new way, and he shoved the darker thoughts away. Perhaps he was a fool for what he was going to say next, but gods help him, after everything he'd seen...after this...the thought had been scratching at his mind since that moment in his room, but it was louder now like nails scraping metal, digging in deeper in a way he could no longer ignore.

"You're free," he said suddenly, meeting her eyes. "Truly. You can leave if you want to. I'm not going to make you stay or try to stop you, and it won't offend me if you go. You're not my prisoner, not anymore. But..."

He quirked a little smile, tone playful. "I'd definitely appreciate it if you're still down for our farce. And I'm still down to help you find your brother. I just want you to know that whatever you choose going forward is your choice. Entirely."

Ka'lei sucked in a sharp breath. She...hadn't been expecting that. From her--admitedly relatively limited--experience with Valor, she'd come to the conclusion that he was a careless, vapid, but generally well-meaning child of wealth and privilege. She'd met her share of people like that in Essyrn, but always peripherally, and certainly never in any capacity where they might be inspired to free her. 

But she assumed if she had, they all would have wanted something in return. As Valor had said he did. And he'd offered not just to unchain her--literally and figuratively--but to help her find Kai. Any price was worth that. 

And here he was telling her that...she didn't owe him anything. There wasn't a price. That...how did she even...what was she supposed to do with that?!

She took a breath. She could go. She could just leave. 

But...

"I...don't have a trade," she said slowly. "I mean, I think I could find work, but I'm not established, I wouldn't know where to... And I'll never be able to find Kai without your help." Another breath, then she shook herself, wings and all, and refocused her attention so she could meet his eyes and hold them. "No one in Essyrn would believe that I'm anything but your wife. Hells, they probably won't even believe that, but you're an eccentric foreigner, we can make it work." She swallowed. "I...can't go back there alone. And I don't..." She trailed off, then started to smile just a bit. "I don't mind helping you out with your family. We'll just...we'll make sure we know where we stand about it."

She dropped her eyes and scuffed the toe of one foot against the cobblestone. "...Thank you, though. It--it matters. That you want me to have a choice."