Chapter 20

Roquan politely but firmly turned away both Rennis and Doran when they came to his quarters early in the morning. He did not offer them any excuse whatsoever despite their puzzled looks. This was his Manor. It was time he began to assert some more control over it. He had no need to justify his actions.

He had Amanda summoned to him, as he had the previous two mornings. For the first time in his memory, he actually felt anxious about meeting with one of his slaves.

Amanda arrived, escorted by Sirinna as always. Sirinna gave her master a warm smile as she handed the chain to him, and quickly took her leave. Amanda appeared surprised to see the Overlord here. Normally, she was simply brought to his bath and prepared for her continued Presenting to the Overlords.

Instead, Roquan appeared to consider Amanda for a few moments in silence. She looked back at him, slightly nonplussed. Finally, Roquan bid her to turn around and removed first the restraints and then her chain, putting both aside.

Amanda glanced towards the inner chamber, and then returned her gaze to Roquan.

Roquan's eyes swept over her. She was so very different from his other slaves. He could see it just in the way she carried herself when she stood. There was that remaining trace of independence that he would never train out of her.

And now, ironically, he was about to come to depend upon it.

Yet even after having decided on this course of action, he was loathe to commit to it. He stepped away from Amanda for a moment to retrieve the goblet of wine he had filled just prior to her arrival. He normally did not drink in the mornings unless he had company, but he made an exception in this case.

He paused to take a long sip. He was still reconsidering even now.

Amanda began to wonder now if she had done something wrong. Was he to punish her now? Had he heard how she had spoken so sharply to her Trainer the day before? Or perhaps he approved of what Freya had done to her and was disappointed that she did not act properly?

He finally turned to her and took a breath. "Amanda, do you recall when you were given to Master Trennan?"

Amanda slowly nodded. "Yes, master." A pause. "Was he not pleased with me?"

"He was. That is not why I asked."

Amanda nodded again and remained silent, though it was obvious to Roquan that she was curious now.

"When you were with him, another Overlord visited him. One called Berin."

"Yes, master."

Roquan hesitated again and turned away, raising the goblet. "It is my understanding," he said as he idly swirled the wine around. "That he and Trennan had a discussion of some import."

Amanda said nothing. He had not asked her a question.

Finally, Roquan did. "Is this true, Amanda?"

"Yes, master," she said cautiously.

Silence for a very long moment. Roquan stared into his goblet, took a long sip again, and took another deep breath. In a low, slightly strained voice, he said, "Tell me what was said."

Amanda's eyes widened in surprise.

Roquan turned when Amanda did not answer. "I wish you to obey me, Amanda. Tell me what was said between the two Overlords."

Amanda met his cool gaze with her own steady and resolute one. "I can't, master."

"And why is that?"

"Mistress Sirinna said I am to be loyal. I... I can't repeat what I hear from others."

Roquan looked about to bristle at her, but subsided. He let his breath go through his nose. "I suppose I should commend you for remembering that."

"Thank you, master."

He stepped towards her, lowering his goblet. "The fact of the matter remains, however, that I still wish you to tell me what I want to know."

Amanda was confused. She glanced off to the side, as if expecting Sirinna to pop in and tell her what to do. "But, master... I don't understand..."

"Amanda, it is very simple. I am your Overlord. You are my slave. I am giving you an order and expect it to be obeyed. Do not read any more into it than that."

Amanda's heart raced. She lifted her gaze to him again. "Why?"

Roquan looked taken aback. "I beg your pardon?"

"Why do you want me to tell you, master? Why do you want me to go against my loyalty?"

The truth of the matter was, Amanda was more than happy to tell him what she knew. She had had it rolling around in her head since she had heard it. The memory had not diminished by very much. But she wanted to know why he was having her break a rule. Roquan never did anything like this before. There had to be a reason behind it.

Roquan stared at her with narrowed gaze. To his frustration, the old defiance was back in Amanda's eyes.

"Your loyalty to your Overlord is more important in this case," he said evenly.

"That's not how it was explained to me."

"That is enough explanation for you."

"No, it isn't, master."

Roquan simply stared at her.

Amanda's heart thumped. She was pushing him hard. She knew that it was likely she was already in trouble, but she could not stop herself. She felt she had endured enough these last two days that she deserved something for it.

Amanda dared to speak again, her voice soft. "Master, how do I know this is not a test you have devised?"

Roquan raised an eyebrow. "A test?"

"Yes, master, a test. I'm... I'm difficult to train. You said it yourself. I was a challenge. Those were your exact words. So why wouldn't you test me? It makes sense. And if that's the case, master, I don't want to fail this test."

Roquan suddenly found himself admiring the girl. That was far more logical thinking than he expected from his slaves. Not that his slaves were stupid. He loathed taking Captives that were less than average in intelligence. But their thought processes were not geared towards it. It reminded him why he went against tradition and tried to train her in the first place.

He also had to give her credit for wanting to do the right thing. She wanted to make the effort, at least. He could not fault her for that.

"I will assure you now, this is not a test," Roquan said in a lower voice. "I find your desire to remain true to your training to be admirable."

"Then I don't understand why you are asking me this, master."

"An Overlord is under no obligation to explain his actions to his slaves."

Amanda said nothing in response to this.

"I have attempted to be lenient with you, Amanda. But I must warn you that any continued disobedience from this point on will not be tolerated and will result in punishment."

"You would punish me for violating a rule a slave is supposed to follow, master?"

"This is not about rules!" Roquan snapped, her recalcitrance finally taxing his patience. "This is about vital information I require from you."

Amanda noted his choice of words. "Vital" information. This was important to him.

He could punish her for disobeying him. But he could not punish the information out of her. If she chose not to divulge it, there was nothing he could do about it. For the first time in a long while, she felt like she had control again.

At the same time, she was realistic. She knew she could not make arbitrary demands of him. But she could at least get him to treat her like an equal for a short time.

"Master," she said in an unfailingly polite voice. "Could you please tell me why you need this information?"

Roquan's eyes blazed anger for a moment, but he did not let it go any further than that. When he spoke again, his voice was icy, but not raised. "You would ask this despite what I have just said about being under no obligation to answer."

"Yes, master."

Roquan heard the unspoken corollary: just as she was under no obligation to tell him what he wanted to know.

Damn this girl! He found himself wishing she had had the Draught!

"Master, does this have anything to do with when you said you suspected the intentions of the other Overlords?"

Roquan paused. Some of his anger faded.

Hellfire, he thought. She is indeed a very clever girl.

Another unspoken question had been asked: if had been willing to share his thoughts with his slave then, why not again now?

He spoke in a careful, measured voice. "Amanda, when I stated that your loyalty to your Overlord is important, I meant it. You must never reveal anything we speak about in this chamber."

Amanda nodded quickly. "Yes, master."

"Do you know what this Conclave is about?"

"No, master."

"It is about the Emperor. And what he tried to do."

Amanda's eyes widened a touch at this, but she said nothing in comment.

She had known it was an Imperial agent that had posed as a slave and tried to kidnap Sirinna. Yet her anger over it had always been directed at Yanna. Yanna was someone she had trusted, someone to whom she had been close. The Emperor was more a concept to her than a person. She bore him no particular ill will.

Yet Roquan was upset enough about it to call this Conclave? There was something bigger going on than this, but she doubted he would tell her that much.

"I wish to have the Overlords confront the Emperor on this matter," Roquan continued. "I need support from the other Overlords to do this."

"And you need to know what I heard for this?"

"Support comes in many forms."

Amanda nodded. She understood perfectly. He was buying support. Suddenly, Narlass did not seem all that different from Earth.

"So I will ask you one more time. Tell me what you heard."

Amanda paused, but this time to collect her thoughts. "I heard Master Berin and Master Trennan making some sort of deal."

"This I suspected. Do you remember what Berin offered?"

"It was wine. And brandy."

Roquan furrowed his brow. "Brandy? But Doran does not make brandy."

"It wasn't a brand called Doran. He seemed to think it was better than that."

"Master Doran," Roquan corrected. "He is another Overlord. He is also the only source of fine wine in Oceanus."

Amanda paused again, her eyes darting as she chased down a memory. "Master, I think I remember him saying it was not from Oceanus. I think he said it was from, uh, Col... Col-something."

Roquan's eyebrows shot up. "Colos? He offered him Colosi wine?"

"Colosi. Yes, master, that was it. And the brandy as well. I think master Trennan particularly liked that."

Little wonder that he did! It was no longer a mystery at all to Roquan why Trennan abandoned his offer without giving him so much as the time of day. There truly was no way that Roquan could top something like that. Not without offering something even more exotic and foreign.

"Is there anything else you heard, Amanda?" Roquan asked in a tired voice.

"Um..."

Roquan turned fully towards Amanda, sensing the hesitation in her voice. "Yes?"

Amanda's mind raced. Should she tell him? Should she say something disparaging about an Overlord?

I suspect the intentions of the other Overlords.

The civilized man follows the rules; the wise man knows when the break them.

Amanda swallowed. "Yesterday, when you brought me to Master Gronnus... when we went inside... Mistress Freya was there."

Roquan considered this. "And did they speak on some matter?"

"No, master. He didn't stay."

"He didn't..." Roquan paused. His eyes grew hard.

"He... he gave me to Mistress Freya, master."

Roquan's eyes went from merely hard to blazing anger. The transition was so abrupt that Amanda actually backed up a step from him in fear.

"No, Amanda," he said, his voice strained but calm. "I am not angry with you at all."

"I couldn't tell her no, master..."

"I know. You did as you should. You are not at fault for this... this... " Roquan managed to stop himself before he said anything disparaging himself, but just barely. He had to take a deep breath to calm himself.

Once she realized who the target of his anger was, Amanda felt relieved. It removed any further doubt from her mind that Freya had indeed done something wrong. It also helped loosen her tongue.

"Master, there's... there's something else you should know about Mistress Freya."

Roquan gave her a stony look and nodded once.

"When she first had me, she... I think she tried to get me to talk about my life before coming to Narlass."

Roquan remained silent for a long moment. "Are you quite sure of this?"

"Yes, master. I didn't fall for it. I stuck with the story that I had had the Draught, as you told me."

What she did not tell him was that she had slipped just a little. Possibly it was enough to make Freya suspicious, but she did not want to risk Roquan's reaction if she told him. It was better for him to think she was blameless at the moment.

"Is there anything else you need to tell me, Amanda?"

"Mistress Freya... used something on me."

"If this is about the Naiduna, I am aware of this."

"No, master, this is something else. She... it... it was some kind of sex toy. Something Master Gronnus had. It was very odd. It made me cum. Continuously. It..."

"Contraband," Roquan said flatly, his voice one of forced calm.

"Master?"

"Contraband, Amanda. That is what Gronnus brought into my Manor. If this happens again... with any Overlord... you will tell me at once."

Amanda nodded quickly, and then looked curiously at Roquan as his anger turned to intense concern. It was as close to real worry as she had ever seen from him.

"When Freya used this on you... did she say anything to you about it?"

"Just that she used it as a reward for her own slaves. She seemed to believe I should enjoy it the same way."

Roquan did not respond to this immediately. Now Amanda was sure she saw a troubled look in those eyes.

"Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it. I had to have her stop, master."

"Yes, I understand."

"Why would she think that something like that would be enjoyable if..."

"I believe that's all I need from you at the moment," Roquan said quickly. He turned away to retrieve the chain and restraints. "I will not be Presenting you further this day. I will instead take you back to Sirinna... You deserve a rest."

Amanda blinked at this, surprised. "Thank you, master."

"You must not let anyone know we spoke of these things. Not even Sirinna. Do I make myself clear on this?"

Amanda nodded again, though inwardly she balked at not being able to say anything to Sirinna about it. There was still something about all this that bothered her, and she was not sure what it was. At the moment, she was simply grateful for a respite from what the Overlords had been putting her through.

At the same time, she wondered why Roquan seemed uncomfortable when she started speaking to him about what Freya had said to her. She could not help but think that she was still not being told the entire story.

Doran walked away from Roquan's quarters with heavy footfalls, a look of frustration on his face. Just as he turned onto the main path, Rennis came up to him.

"He is still refusing to see me!" Doran thundered, throwing up his arms.

Rennis narrowed his eyes and looked past the other Overlord. "That's very unusual for him, Doran. Perhaps if I talked to him."

Rennis started past Doran, but Doran stepped in front of him and pushed him back. "He made it very clear he did not wish to be disturbed by anyone, and that includes you."

Rennis made a face. "You can't be serious."

"I do not understand it any more than you do!" Doran declared. "We've lost Trennan! We must regroup from this defeat and find a means of offsetting it best we can. The longer we delay, the more likely Gronnus will be able to force an early vote! Gah! I've never seen such an apathetic, self-indulgent group of..."

"Easy, easy!" Rennis urged in a low but urgent voice.

Up the road, another Overlord approached them, on his way towards the merchant bazaar. Doran calmed himself enough to force a smile and a polite nod as he went on his way.

"And you were the one counseling Roquan on such behavior," Rennis said with a smirk.

"Oh, shut up! Surely you see it yourself. Most of the Overlords are more interested in the merchants than this Conclave. From what I know of past Conclaves, you could always find at least a few willing to debate the topic, and sometimes quite hotly as well! What is wrong with these people?"

Rennis sighed and gave the other Overlord a humorless smirk. He had started to see it himself. He knew Overlords were a rather staid lot, but never like this. Perhaps Roquan was right after all. The Overlords of Oceanus had indeed become too complacent, too concerned with the status quo and toeing the line.

"So what are you going to do?" Rennis asked.

"Well, nothing, now! I had some good ideas for some other deals we could make, but I need him for that."

"Perhaps you should go make them yourself."

Doran was already shaking his head. "I've told Roquan and now I'll tell you. It has to come from him. If it came from anyone else, it would weaken his position. He must look as if cares about his case."

"He does care about it. That's what's frustrating to him, and frankly now me. I'm starting to wish as he does, that he didn't have to jump through all these hoops in order to accomplish what he wants."

Doran thought hard for a moment. "All right. Give me a few days to think up some more deals. Then we'll force a Full Conclave."

Rennis nodded uneasily. A Full Conclave was a maneuver usually reserved for the host, thought technically any Overlord could call for one. Roquan had the right to demand once during the proceedings that all Overlords attend the next daily gathering. No one was exempted, and the only discussion allowed was on the merits of the case.

It was not exercised lightly. Overlords did not care for being bossed around, and the one that called a Full Conclave often drew some ire from the others. Yet it was a viable tactic for getting an issue on the table.

Rennis knew Doran must be desperate if he were suggesting this. Yet Rennis could see no alternative either.

"Rennis, nothing about this Conclave is going as expected. Nothing! I wish I knew..."

"Wait a minute, Doran," Rennis said, his gaze distracted by something past Doran and off to the side. "Take a look over there."

Doran frowned and turned his head.

The two of them spied a lanky, dark-haired young man approach Roquan's quarters and knock at the door. After a short wait, he opened the door and let himself in, closing it behind him.

"Now what in hellfire was that about?" Doran demanded. "Who was that?"

"I think that was the merchant that visited Roquan the other day."

"And why does he rate an invite and we do not? What game is Roquan playing?"

Rennis did not know. But even with as little information as he had, he did not like what he was seeing.

The Wanderer listened. He was very good at this. He let the Overlord speak without interruption, holding his tongue until the request had been made. When Roquan was done, Jollis appeared to ponder thoughtfully, his face holding an expression of polite introspection. He knew he must not appear too eager or too quick with the solution, even though he had been preparing for this very moment all along.