Emissary

by Fiona McIntosh

  Pez managed a tiny shrug. “As I say, can you blame him?” he ground out.

  “No.”

  “Envy is a terrible thing,” Pez added. “I think my jaw’s broken.”

  “I don’t know how to apologize enough.”

  “I can fix it. The Lore has many skills and I think healing cracked bones is not beyond it. Even though your sickness was.”

  Lazar hung his head. “I’m so ashamed, Pez. I pride myself on always being in control of myself and my actions.”

  “The heart is a law unto itself, Lazar. You have no control over it.”

  “Nevetheless, I—”

  “Stop, please. I know you’re sorry—I can see it on your face, hear it in your voice. I, too, am sorry, for goading you so ruthlessly. So we’re both sorry and I can fix my jaw, although I refuse to mend your aching hand. Let it hurt for a while,” Pez jested gently, his tone now kindly. “Let’s get on with the important matter at hand.”

  Lazar nodded, contrite. He rubbed the back of the hand that had connected with Pez’s large jaw. “What do you suggest?”

  “Get to the temple. I need you in the city faster than we planned. Perhaps with Zafira we can think this through.”

  “But Ana?”

  Pez looked directly at Lazar. “Ana is not yours, Lazar. She belongs to the Zar. She is only a vessel for something far more important to all of us. And furthermore, she is sixteen. She is a woman and ready to face the hurdles of her sex. Harem women pleasure the Zar; that is his right. We must not do anything reckless to unsettle the balance of the palace, Lazar. We have far higher things at stake.”

  “What about what Ana wants?”

  “It doesn’t matter what Ana wants. You bought her as a slave. She is expendable in all of this. This is about destroying Maliz—that’s what we’re here for.” He coughed painfully.

  Lazar’s expression grew stormy again. “That might be what you’re here for, Pez—or Iridor, whatever you prefer to be called these days—but I am not a slave of Lyana. I will not be manipulated. I accept that Ana has a role, one I purchased her for. That’s something I have to live with. But I don’t have to forget who I am and what I feel simply because some age-old crone demands it. You dance to Ellyana’s tune too readily, dwarf.”

  Pez shook his head sadly. “You are fooling yourself, Lazar. You’re in this struggle up to your neck, as am I. We may not know why but your role will become clearer.”

  “So be it,” Lazar said with resignation, and then his tone softened. “Again, forgive my assault. I will find a way to repay the debt I now feel I owe you.”

  Pez sighed. “As you wish.”

  “I shall see you in the city,” Lazar said as farewell.

  He watched the snow-white owl take off gingerly from the cliff edge. Then he returned to the hut to pack a small sack of items, none of which, save a small bottle of liquid, were important to him. He had to get himself off the island and back onto the mainland quickly. And he would need a disguise and a way to sneak into the palace. As he moved around, plotting and planning, he firmly kept his thoughts away from the final imprisonment—being Chosen—of the woman who owned his heart.

  SALMEO HAD BEEN SUMMONED to Herezah’s salon. Now seated, he was delighted at being served the bright red pomegranate tea by her own hand.

  “Did your excursion go well, Valide?” he lisped as she settled herself back into a divan plumped with thickly feathered cushions.

  “Oh, very well,” she answered, amusement in her voice. “Ana fainted.”

  “At the news?”

  Herezah smiled. “It was a slow buildup. She thought she had her emotions under control, but it was rather fascinating to watch her gradually disintegrating over our shopping expedition. Rather naive of her to think Boaz at seventeen isn’t going to want to bed her—or, indeed, a dozen women.”

  “She’s a strange one. I think Ana is beyond the other girls.”

  “What do you mean, Salmeo?” Herezah queried.

  “Oh, it’s fanciful, Valide, I know, but it’s as if she knows something important the rest of us don’t. And that knowledge gives her the immense aloofness and courage she has demonstrated.”

  “Not so courageous today,” Herezah remarked with a sneer. “But I take your point. She certainly doesn’t lack for spine. In fact, she doesn’t stop surprising me with her insight and forthright attitude.”

  “Presumably that will be her undoing, Valide,” Salmeo said, daintily placing his teacup on the table between them. “It’s that sense of herself that will push her over the edge into taking risks.”

  Herezah nodded. “Precisely, and I’ll walk naked through the bazaar if I’m wrong that she doesn’t take that risk tonight.”

  “She’ll take the bait, you think?”

  “I have no doubt in my mind. You’re ready?”

  “Completely. We’ll let her think she’s got away with it for a while.”

  “Which will make her hunting down and ultimate capture all the more sweet.” Salmeo paused, considering. “Actually, my Valide, I think the Zar’s decision works in our favor.”

  “It’s not like you to take so long,” Herezah teased. “Boaz did us a favor. His announcement forces not only her hand but it also makes her now answerable to him rather than to the harem.”

  “Yes, his punishment rather than ours.”

  “And he will be worked up, I’m sure. I know Boaz and how high his passions can run. He is such an intense boy, really. Ana’s actions will provoke a violent response, I imagine.”

  “I think we can count on it, Valide.”

  ANA WAS LED TO the magnificent domed building attached to the harem through a tiled walkway that housed the bathing chambers.

  As all members of the harem were currently enjoying the boating picnic, Ana was the only odalisque present. Everyone else was a servant or attendant and each had been charged with the information that this girl had been formally chosen by the Zar.

  Each new young woman to be called to the Zar’s bedroom to relinquish her maidenhood held special significance. But the First Chosen for a new Zar was traditionally symbolic of the success of the man’s rule and the prestige of his harem.

  In this instance it was even more dramatic. This was a virgin Zar choosing his first virgin. Ana’s head attendant, Elza, was impressing upon the silent Ana the enormous responsibility she now carried.

  “Everyone will be looking to you to make this go smoothly. You must please the Zar more than any who might follow in your footsteps. And you must remember, this is also his first time. You will be guiding each other. His pleasure is paramount. Yours is a gift from him should he so choose.”

  “And if he chooses to hurt me?”

  Elza did not hesitate. “That’s his wish,” she replied firmly as she slipped the robe off Ana’s naked shoulders.

  Kett knelt before Ana, gently helping her to pull her feet from the tall wooden pattens that the girls wore into the bathing chamber to lift them away from the constant water that flowed across the marble.

  “A soak first,” Elza said, guiding Ana into the vast pool. Ana had not yet experienced the full bathing process. It hadn’t been necessary until now for any of the girls to do much more than simple soaping and rinsing, although they had been learning about the long and tedious hours that they would spend in preparation each day for the Zar once he became sexually active.

  Kett walked her into the pool and she noticed that, undressed, his body and face had lost the pudginess of childhood. His cheeks were lean and his big dark eyes regarded her with concern. He was naked save a for linen around his waist that protected his modesty.

  “Relax, Miss Ana, the warmth will soothe,” he comforted.

  Ana slid into the pool, allowing the water to cover her head. When she emerged, Kett was still standing chest deep watching her, and Elza had left the chamber.

  She decided to be candid. “I feel very awkward about you seeing me naked.”

  “I’ve seen you before in this
state and it was my undoing,” he said gravely. “Please don’t be embarrassed on my behalf. All that makes me a man has gone, Miss Ana.”

  She didn’t believe him. “No…um?” She struggled to find the right words.

  He shook his shaved head. “No feelings at all. I’m told they got me early enough to take away the manly urges.”

  She swam over and touched his hand beneath the fizzing waters.

  He shrugged gently. “I have been rewarded by being made your servant.”

  “My servant?”

  “You have not been told? The Grand Master Eunuch Salmeo himself has appointed me to you.”

  Ana was instantly suspicious. “But why?”

  “I gather it was originally intended as a special gift for today, but from what I have been hearing, it may be more permanent.”

  Elza bustled back with pots of various descriptions. “No more time wasting now, Kett,” she chastised without feeling.

  Kett nodded acknowledgment. “May I wash your hair for you?” he asked Ana.

  “Thank you, Kett,” she murmured. “You look so strong,” she added, noticing his sculpted body as he helped her up and led her to a separate pool.

  He gave a soft sigh. “I always wanted to be a warrior. The Elim have taught me that I am one, even though…” His voice trailed off.

  Ana felt his pain and filled the awkward moment with light conversation. “So you’ve been training hard obviously?”

  He began to lather her hair from behind. “Yes I have almost completed my Elim training. I will be given my full-time role soon. I hope it’s to protect you.”

  She found a smile. “What do I need protection from?”

  “Who knows? I shall do whatever is asked—I belong to the harem.”

  “Just as I do,” she reassured him, hoping to alleviate the wistfulness he clearly couldn’t shake. “We are kindred spirits, Kett.”

  Kett worked in silence for several minutes, carefully soaping Ana’s hair with a mix of suds and egg yolk to make her hair shine before rinsing it, then beginning again, each time massaging her scalp until it tingled.

  “It’s a shame to waste all those egg whites,” she commented sarcastically.

  He giggled, whispering, “When you’re older we use them to smear around your eyes to help with wrinkles, but for now I’m sure we can send them off to the Valide.”

  They both shared a conspiratorial laugh; then Kett grew serious.

  “Are you scared, Miss Ana?” he dared.

  “Yes,” she replied candidly. “But I am like you. Others decide my fate for me.”

  She heard him pause before he replied. “It need not be that way,” he said, tipping a bucket of clean, cooler water over her head.

  “What do you mean?”

  He came around to face her, looking abashed. “Now we must wash your body,” Kett said, his eyes glancing away from hers.

  Ana turned to see Elza approaching.

  “Come, Odalisque Ana, Kett will now soap your body.”

  Ana felt instantly coy. “Can I not do it, Elza?”

  The senior attendant laughed, her bare breasts over the top of her loose pants wobbling with the mirth. “You have to get used to the touch of a man, although Kett here is hardly that.” She laughed again, not unkindly. “You must also get used to this routine. If not Kett, then another of the youngest eunuchs will attend to your bathing.”

  “Why not you?” Ana persisted.

  “I am senior, Miss Ana,” Elza said archly. “I have more important roles.”

  Ana felt sorry for the woman. They were both slaves, both prisoners of the harem. The only thing that separated them was age and desirability in terms of the Zar’s needs, and yet Elza was left to take solace from the fact that her slaving duties were more important than Kett’s. She sighed. Status existed everywhere, even amongst the downtrodden.

  Elza and Kett sat Ana down on a stool near a fountain of running water.

  “Just let him do what he must,” Elza said. “Get used to it. He’s been practicing. He knows what to do for you.” She left them both, although Ana knew the slave woman would not go far, as her role was presumably to supervise.

  Ana didn’t want to make trouble for Kett. She looked toward his downcast gaze and knew he felt as awkward about this as she did. Once again, neither of them had a choice.

  “It’s not your fault, Kett,” she assured him. “I suppose we’d better get over the discomfort of our situation and get on with it.”

  He looked up and she knew he fought his treacherous eyes and his gaze that moved unhappily toward her breasts. She liked Kett—had always somehow felt responsible for his sorrowful situation, even though she knew in her heart that her circumstances that night had been equally helpless.

  Ana reassured herself that Kett would get used to the sight of her body and she would get used to his ministrations. They just had to overcome this delicate beginning.

  “Right,” she said brightly. “Do I need to do anything?”

  “No, Miss Ana,” Kett said. He reached for a soft sea sponge and dipped it into a bucket filled with perfumed suds. He gently lifted Ana’s long, slim arm, proceeding to soap it from fingertip to shoulder. She had to admit it felt good, and before long she relieved Kett’s embarrassment and her own by closing her eyes and losing herself as best she could in her own thoughts. It was the invigorating surprise of being doused with cool water that brought her out of her musings. She opened her eyes to see Elza in front of her.

  “Come, Odalisque Ana, now for the massage,” the senior servant said.

  Ana had never experienced the massage but she had heard plenty about it this past year in her training. It was unique to the Percherese and apparently one of the few true pleasures found in the harem.

  “You must lie on the marble floor over here,” Elza said, pointing to a large raised area. Ana noticed holes in the marble, through which fizzed warm water. She couldn’t imagine how that happened and she wasn’t given time to consider the ingenuity of the men who had designed the system. Dutifully she lay down, no longer bothered by her nakedness in front of Kett, his black skin gleaming from his exertions and a contrast to the bright red loincloth of the Elim that hooked around his waist and saved her the sight of his wound.

  “Kett has strong fingers,” Elza said. “He will make your body feel loose and pliant.”

  The water bubbling through the holes made the marble slippery and Kett was able to spin Ana into any position he needed. She laughed, delighted by the unexpected movement when he took her leg and pulled her around so he could work on her shoulders first.

  “Behave,” Elza warned.

  “I was told the women use this time to entertain one another, Elza,” Ana countered.

  “This is different, Odalisque Ana. There is no one here but ourselves and this is no ordinary day of bathing,” the servant reminded her, her expression stern.

  Ana fell silent, knowing it wasn’t worth the breath arguing the point with Elza. She watched the slave walk away as Kett dragged her into the middle of the marble. The water was hotter here; Ana sighed as the heat melted through her body and Kett’s fingers busily worked down her back.

  “What did you mean earlier?” she said softly.

  “Pardon, Miss Ana?”

  “You suggested that others need not decide my fate.”

  Kett didn’t answer immediately, although she felt his tell-tale pause as he massaged her. He resumed, his fingers working harder. “I spoke out of turn, Miss Ana,” he finally said.

  “She’s not here, Kett. Tell me what you meant.” Ana could sense him checking for Elza’s whereabouts. “Please.”

  He spun her around again to face away from him but this time knelt close to her head as he pretended to work on her neck and shoulders. He whispered, “I overheard Salmeo organizing for the bundle women to come up tonight. It’s a treat for the girls.”

  “Another one? We are spoiled,” Ana commented tartly.

  “I think he said t
he Valide wanted to add something to their exciting day on the water—something she can share with them.”

  “Doesn’t sound like the Valide.”

  He hissed softly to stop her saying anything more. “Be careful, Miss Ana.”

  “Why? A Zar wants my body. They can hardly hurt me.”

  “They can afterward,” he counseled.

  Ana knew he was right. “Go on,” she urged.

  “It’s just that I know one of the women. She can be bribed.”

  Both fell silent as the implications of this hung between them.

  Ana broke the tension, her breathing suddenly shallow. “How well do you know her?”

  “Not well. I’ve gotten to know her through my work for the harem. Salmeo uses me for errands and I come across her from time to time. I know she is corrupt. I know she can be bought.”

  “What’s her name?”

  “Sheffa. She usually brings the cheap shawls.”

  “Can word be gotten to her?”

  “Possibly, I’m not sure.”

  Ana could hear the pain in his voice and she spun herself around now on the fizzing water fountain. They both looked for Elza before she spoke. “You did the right thing in telling me, Kett,” she assured him. “Can you get word to her? Please, I’m begging you. Tell her I will give her something of immense value tonight if she will carry me out.”

  Kett looked forlorn, terrified. “I wish I’d never mentioned—”

  “But you did. And I haven’t forgotten that day on the terraces when you first shared the tale of the odalisque who escaped in the bundle woman’s wares, and I know you told me because you want me to escape.”

  “I can’t bear the thought of you going to the Zar unwillingly,” he said.

  Ana sensed that he was skirting the truth of what he truly meant but she no longer cared. “Neither can I. But escape is my risk alone and I’m prepared to take it. How can we contact her?”

  “I can probably do it myself. I’m frightened, though, Miss Ana. It was wrong of me to put this thought into your mind, but no one understands better how it feels to be trapped. I can’t escape but perhaps you can.” He was babbling, and she could tell that Kett was torn between her safety and his desire to free her from the Zar’s claim.