Liana

Who would’ve thought a lizard could stand on just its back legs? I looked down at the little creature walking like a person and then back up at Sofeigh, who was mostly watching me. Everyone here had been surprisingly welcoming since I came in yesterday. Still, I was getting tired of waiting around. Master and Mira should have been here already. What’s taking them so long? 

Then, as if to answer my worries, the massive doors opened and Mira stepped through. I leapt up and ran over to hug her. I turned, hoping to see Master, but instead found a dark-skinned woman from the Abbey who I didn’t know. 

“I’m so glad you’re alright. You took so long, I was starting to think something happened. Where’s Ma . . .?” I started to ask. 

“Mage? Where’s the dark mage, you mean? He’s safely imprisoned in the dungeon. You have nothing to fear from Errol,” Mira said, stressing the last word. Shoot, I was so excited, I almost called him Master out loud. Good thing Mira’s so on top of things. Master was lucky to have her to count on. I hoped he felt lucky to have me too, that he’d be impressed I came all this way on my own. 

I wanted to ask Mira more questions, but before I could, Sienna had Sofeigh and the new woman,Janelle apparently, escort me from the room. Rude. Mira looked stressed as I left. I wished I could have stayed to hear what they were talking about.  

The three of us left the fancy office, passing Averi as we did so. Once we were further down the corridor, Janelle spoke. “Sofeigh, you can head back to the library. I’ll take care of this.”

“Are you sure?” Sofeigh asked, looking between us. “The Matron told us both to do it.”

“She probably just wanted to be alone with Mira. Besides, you've been entertaining Liana all day. I can walk her to her room alone.”

“Oh, ok. That would be great.” With that, Sofeigh turned down another passageway and left me alone with Janelle. 

“So, you and Mira seem close,” Janelle said as we walked. 

Why was she asking about Mira? Did she suspect that we were sister slaves? I had to play it cool. “Do we? I mean, I don’t actually know her that well.” 

“You wouldn’t come all the way out here if she didn’t mean something to you.” 

“Um . . . I just wanted to thank her for saving me.” From a life of boredom. 

“How interesting,” she said, chewing her lip. “Forgive my rudeness, but I don’t see why you couldn’t do that during the time you were traveling together?” 

Double shoot. She definitely suspected something. She was smart. I could see the wheels turning behind her eyes. “Well . . . um . . . once she left, I just didn’t feel like I did enough to express my thanks, is all.” 

“You’re in love with her, aren’t you?” Janelle asked, voice taking on a hard edge. 

“What? No, what gave you that impression?” I stammered. 

Janelle stopped walking and turned to fully face me. “Don’t lie. I can tell you’re hiding something, and this is the only thing that makes sense. The signs are obvious. You came all this way, you’ve been asking about her and the mage she captured incessantly, and she was so happy to see you. I always hoped Mira liked girls, but seeing the way she looks at you . . . ” she said, her mouth forming a line. “I guess you’re just more her type.” 

She thought I was in love with Mira? I owed her so much for helping me find my purpose. But love? Did I love her? Before Master, I’m not sure if I would have known what love even was, but now I did. It’s a nervous giddiness to even be around someone. It’s when your whole body vibrates in tune with the sound of their voice. It’s when you get all tingly just thinking about them. I did feel that way for someone, but it wasn’t Mira. “Honestly, I’m not. I’m in love with someone else.”

She studied me for a moment. “You’re telling the truth, aren’t you,” she said, as her posture notably relaxed. “But that doesn’t make any sense. Then what are you doing here? Why come all this way?”

I had to think of something, something she’d believe. I couldn’t tell her that I was here to see Master. I was already taking a risk by disobeying him. I couldn’t get him in trouble. “I never liked being a barmaid,” I finally blurted out. 

“I see. It’s all starting to make sense,” she said, rocking on her heels. “So, you came here to escape your prior situation. You were unsatisfied with your life of service, and meeting Mira gave you a glimpse of a way out. You came here hoping the Abbey would take you in!”

Oh thank Master, she finished the lie for me. “Am I that obvious?”

Janelle broke into a warm smile. “That makes so much sense. I was worried for nothing.”

“What were you worried about?” 

“Well, Mira. . . You know, don’t bother yourself about it, Liana. Let’s talk about you. Most of the sisters train from a young age. We don’t typically take initiates with so much life experience, since it can make achieving true devotion difficult, but it has happened on occasion. . .” 

Janelle kept going on about the requirements to join the Abbey, and I kind of stopped listening. My brain was working on something else, putting together the pieces of what Janelle had said. “You’re in love with Mira!” 

She gave a rueful smile. “I guess I’m the obvious one. Although, you put it together in minutes, and Mira hasn’t figured it out after years.”

“So I was right?”

Janelle looked down. “Honestly, I don’t even know why I admitted it. I guess I was just desperate for someone to know, and you have kind eyes,” she said quietly. 

I put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s ok. I can see why you like her. She’s very brave and determined.”

“And you’ve only known her a few days. She’s always been like that, ever since we were kids. She works the hardest. She never gives up. She always stood up for me, when the girls from noble families would pick on me.” Just talking about Mira brought a smile to her face. “But it’s probably just a dream. I don’t even know if she likes girls. She’s never talked to me about anyone.” 

“Don’t worry. I think she likes girls fine,” I offered.

“What makes you say that?” Janelle said, a flicker of suspicion returning to her face. 

“Oh, just call it intuition,” I answered with a nervous laugh. “I’d be happy to talk to her and see if she's interested.”

Her eyes lit up. “You’d do that for me? But . . . you barely know me.” 

I thought for a second. “I don’t mind. I think it would be good for her to have somebody.” 

The hug caught me off guard. “Thank you, Liana. That would be amazing. I’ve tried to drop hints, but sometimes she can just be so oblivious. But, please try to be subtle. Perhaps you can tease out her intentions without mentioning my name? I would hate to ruin our friendship if she’s not interested. That’s why I’ve never just come out and told her.”

I raised an eyebrow. I usually liked to just say what I thought. It would be hard to talk to Mira about Janelle without mentioning Janelle, but if that’s what she wanted, I guess I had to try. “Ok, I’ll do my best.”

“And I’ll talk to Sienna about letting you join the Abbey.” 

Oh right, I was supposed to want that. “Yes, that would be great.”

After that, Janelle happily showed me to my room and left me there. 

I heaved a sigh when I was finally alone. I hoped I had done the right thing. If only Master were here. He would know what to do. 

***

“I hadn’t expected that interruption,” Mira said as she pulled her pants back on. 

“Yeah,” I said quietly, looking at the ground, feeling terribly guilty. I was supposed to talk to Mira for Janelle and I did, but she probably wouldn’t have liked everything that happened after. I just couldn’t help myself. Ever since I changed, disobeying Master or Mira has been hard. 

“Are you alright?” 

“Huh, yeah, yeah I’m ok. It’s just, I maybe screwed up. I think I need a second,” I said as I quickly left the room. 

Shoot, shoot, shoot. I shouldn’t have done that. It was just so hard to resist her. It wasn’t the same absolute compulsion I felt with Master, but Mira’s words did feel special. It would probably hurt Janelle’s feelings, I just couldn’t help myself. 

Maybe I should try to talk to her again. But what if she just commanded me to pleasure her? I didn’t know if I could resist that.

“I wish someone would tell me what to do,”  I whispered to myself. I could feel myself spiraling, so many options, so many responsibilities. I wasn’t supposed to have to think this hard anymore. I had a Master now. That was it. 

I had to see him.

He would know what to do. So I made my way to the dungeons. No one stopped me until I reached the entrance to the small row of cells. Then I ran into the lady with the black hair and the whip. 

“Hold on, where do you think you’re going?” She asked, placing a gentle but firm hand on my shoulder. 

What was her name? “Oh, I just wanted to see Ma. . The dark mage. I wanted to be sure he’s locked up and all,” I said sheepishly. 

“I promise he is. We don’t let sweet little civilians wander around the scary dungeons,” she said, running a finger down my shoulder. So why don’t you just run along.” 

I wanted to argue, but that piercing gaze of hers scared me too much. I supposed I could try The Thing. But if I tried it and it didn’t work, I’d probably get in a lot of trouble. That would be bad for Master. Even though I wanted to see him so desperately, I had to be careful. So, I turned and started walking back towards where I came from. I passed a couple more women in the corridor. 

“Did you hear?” one of them said excitedly. “That wizard Mira captured is apparently some kind of big deal.” 

They were talking about Master. I fell in behind them so I could listen.

“I heard he’s from some extinct family with stellar magic,” the other one said back in a hush. 

Were they supposed to know about that?

“It has to be true, or they wouldn’t assemble every knight and cleric like this on such short notice. There hasn’t been a Daybreak Ceremony at sunset in . . . well I can’t remember there ever being one.” 

“Who would have thought Mira had it in her? Some no-name loser capturing a Stellastrum? Almost seems too good to be true.” 

My footsteps slowed. Something was wrong. They shouldn’t know so much about Master. They shouldn’t talk about Mira like that. I had to do something. Master needed to know. Maybe he would be pleased that I told him. Then he would see that he shouldn’t have left me. I had to try it, The Thing. I turned back and ran towards the dungeons. 

“Back already?” Whip lady said as I turned the corner. “Maybe I didn’t make myself clear enough.” 

“No, it’s not about that,” I lied as I caught my breath. “I just came to get you. They’re calling all the knights and clerics for some kind of big ceremony. You should go. I can watch things here.” 

“Oh, I didn’t realize you had years of martial training and familiarity with our procedures. In that case. . .” she said with overt sarcasm. “You still need to leave. Yes, I know there’s a Daybreak Ceremony happening. But I have a duty here, and no offense, it’s not a duty for a waitress.” 

Ok, so much for plan ‘lying’. Time for plan ‘do the thing’. “Right, right of course. Still I owe you for keeping the mage safely away from me. Can I thank you with a song?” I said as sweetly as I could. 

“You want to sing to me?” she said, raising an eyebrow. 

“Please? I don’t have much money, but I’m a good singer. It’s the best way I can thank you.”I looked up at her with the biggest, cutest eyes I could manage. 

Whip Lady put her hand to her forehead. “You know what, it’s a long shift and I could use some entertainment. Sure, go wild.” 

“Oh, thank you. You won’t regret it.” Although I might regret it if this goes badly. I started singing. No words at first, just a soft melody. The echoes from the stone hallway surprised me, but I adjusted my cadence to compensate. I went for a slow, relaxing song. The whole time, I kept an eye on Whip Lady. 

At first she looked kind of bored. 

So I gave it my all. I added a vibrato to my long notes, bringing them to life. One tone at a time, I could see her leaning in, bobbing her head a little. It was now or never. So I reached deep inside and did The Thing. I turned my attention inward and I saw it, a little ball of light floating inside me. I hadn’t taken any since I used it on those merchants, so a little bit had built up. I prayed to Master that it would be enough. 

I took it all. 

The power coursed through me. I started sounding like a whole chorus, layering my voice over itself again and again. Soon Whip Lady was swaying in time with the music, her whole weight shifting back and forth. I sang and sang for all I was worth, but I could see it working. Her expression had been harsh and judgemental, but her face was softening.

I pushed harder, forcing the light into my voice, burning through everything I’d saved. The rhythm sped up, the harmonies with myself drawing, no demanding, all her attention. After a few seconds her mouth was hanging open and her eyes went all unfocused.

 She was ready.

 It took all my strength, but I forced the symphony of sound into words. 

“Just relax and listen to this feeling of bliss”

“Bliss,” she repeated vacantly.

I had her, but I could feel the light getting dim. “Know that you can trust me.”

“Trust,” Whip Lady said, eyes staying glassy. 

“All your sisters together, you can’t miss this,” I said in a chorus of voices. I could feel the light running out. I had to hurry.

She just nodded, strands of jet black hair falling into her face. 

“So give me . . .” my voice faltered and I coughed. 

A spark of awareness returned to her eyes. Not good. 

I drew on the whole rest of the light and my voice returned. “So give me the keys and be free.” I said as the power ran out and I keeled over coughing. I stayed like that until I saw something dangling in front of me. I flinched, expecting her to strike me. When I looked up, I saw a set of keys swinging on her finger tips instead. 

“These are the cell keys,” Whip Lady said in a spacey voice. “Thanks for watching the cells for me. I can’t miss the ceremony.”

I met her eyes. Her gaze had faded to a vacant dullness. The Thing had worked. Thank Master. I was so tired, but it worked. “Of cou . . .” Another fit of coughs overtook me. “Of course, happy to help,” I finally managed to say as I took the keys. 

Without another word, she wandered off down the hall, leaving me alone in the dungeon. Finally, I could talk to Master. I stumbled down the row of cells, until I reached the last one. Even huddled against the floor, he was the most handsome man I’d ever seen. The way his hair fell in his face, his strong jaw with just a hint of stubble, his effortless confidence. “Master!” I called out in a hoarse voice. 

“Who?” He asked, lifting his head. “Liana!? What are you doing here?” 

Just seeing him calmed my racing heart. It felt like coming home. “I had to see you. I missed you,” I whispered. 

He opened his mouth wordlessly before speaking. “Liana, I’m truly flattered that you would come all this way for me. Truly, I am. But, you can’t be here. The guards will see you and give everything away.”

“Whip Lady?” I said, shaking my head. “It’s ok. I took care of her with my song, but I don’t know how much time we have.”

“With your song?” he repeated, eyes studying me, like he was seeing me for the first time. “Explain,” he commanded. 

Oh goodness, a command from Master. How I missed that. “Sometimes my song can make people do things,” I said, working hard not to cough in front of Master. “But it uses up the light inside me and makes my throat hurt.”

“I see. Intrinsic magic. I should have realized at the campfire that night. Liana, developing a spell on your own like that is very impressive.”

I Impressed Master. “Oh, thank you, Master. I’ll sing for you whenever you want,” I said, beaming. 

He smiled that radiant smile. “Yes, we’ll have to put your mouth to all sorts of uses later. But you really must get out of here. I assure you the situation is under control.” 

It took all my strength not to leave when he told me to, but he needed to know what I heard. “But, Master, you don’t! It’s not under control. You have to get out of here,” I said, jangling the keys. 

“Liana, darling, I’ve thought of everything.”

“But they know about you! They know your surname. They know about your powers.” 

“What!?” 

“I don’t know how they know, but I heard them talking. They’re going to tell the Queen and some Arcmagpie about you.”

“The archmagus!? That cannot happen, Liana. They cannot know I’m alive,” he said, his voice colder than I had ever heard it. 

“Did I?” I said, hope filtering through my scratchy voice. “Did I do good, telling you about this?” 

“What?” he asked, before collecting himself. “Yes, you did very well. Now open the cell door. These bars are enchanted to suppress magic.” 

“Oh thank you, Master,” I said as a bolt of pleasure shot straight between my legs. His praise felt almost as good as his touch. I couldn’t wait to have him free, standing beside me, against me, inside me. I took out the key and held it toward the lock. He would be with me again. I put the key in the lock. We could be together forever. 

Unless he left me.

“Liana, what’s wrong. Why did you stop? You were right, we need to go.” 

“And then what?” I whispered.

“We don’t have time to worry about that.”

“What happens after I let you out? Will you leave me again?” 

“Liana, darling, I didn’t leave you. It was just a strategic repositioning.” 

“I didn’t like being repositioned,” I mumbled. “I like a lot of positions and that wasn’t one of them.”

“I know it’s hard for you to be away from me, but we had to keep a small crew for this operation.” 

“So important that you recruited a random highwayman who tried to kill you?”

“How?” He balked. “You’ve talked to Mira.”

“You trust him more than me. You didn’t trust me enough for the mission,” I said, anger stinging my eyes. 

“What? No that’s not . . .”

“It is true! You didn’t think I could help, even though I live and breathe for you. How dare you?” 

“Liana, I am your Master and I can do whatever I please. Now open the door.” he said in a firm voice. 

I snapped to attention. I knew he was right. He was some powerful stellar mage. He was the center of my world and I was nobody. My body automatically moved to comply, but then I stopped again. Even if he was right, even if I had to obey, I couldn’t be without him. Mira was right, Master didn’t understand. If I wanted to please him, to be with him, I had to disobey. “No,” I said shakily.

“What did you just say?” 

“I said no,” I repeated, trying my best to sound confident. “Say you’re sorry,” I ordered to the most powerful, magnificent man in the world. 

He laughed. “I don’t apologize, Liana. I take what I want.”

“You want out? Then say you’re sorry for leaving me.” 

“We both know you can’t disobey me,” he scoffed. “Now open the door, slave.”

The words hit me like a big wave. They almost knocked me clean over. I should open the door, I should obey, like a good slave. But as the current of Master’s will carried me, I grabbed onto a memory, Mira’s words. If I wanted to please him, I had to disobey, and pleasing him was most important of all. I clung to those words like a rock at the edge of a waterfall. “Say you’re sorry,” I whimpered, straining from the effort of resisting. 

Master stared, his mouth hanging open. “You shouldn’t be able to do this.” He was quiet for a few seconds. 

A tense silence hung in the air between us, broken only by my strained breathing. 

“Fine.”

“Fine?” 

“I’m sorry I left you, Liana. I’ve clearly underestimated you in several ways.” 

“And you won’t do it again?” I prodded. 

“Unbelievable. I’m getting ordered around by my own slaves. What have I fallen to?” he said under his breath. “You are unlike any slave I’ve ever had, you know that? I still don’t know how you’re disobeying me, but I won’t leave you behind again until I figure it out.” 

I could feel the smile threatening to take over my whole face. I did it. I really did it. “Oh, you won’t regret this Master.” I opened the door in a flash. As the bars swung aside, a burst of purple lit up Master’s eyes. I guessed that was his light coming back. 

“Now we need to get out of . . .” Master started to say, before my lips crashed into his. I was on him before he knew what happened, but he reacted so fast, like a real Master. His arms wrapped around me, tilting me down, as his tongue surged into my mouth. Every touch set my body on fire. Nothing could compare to his touch. 

My hands moved on their own, unbuttoning his shirt. Everywhere my skin brushed his, another jolt of pleasure shot through me. I missed that feeling so much. I missed Master.

I pressed my weight against him and felt him harden. I was pleasing him! I did the right thing! The last few days had been so empty, but finally the world felt right again. 

As I started to pull his shirt off, he stopped my hands. “Liana, as much as I’m enjoying myself, and more importantly you, this isn’t the best place.” 

“Whatever you say, Master,” I answered with a contented sigh. 

“I say we’re getting out of here. I need to teach you a thing or two about obedience,” he said. 

“Oh yes, Master!” 

Master raised his hand and the whole cell vanished.