Chapter 23

Norlan rushed through the corridors of his palace, his stomach still rumbling for the evening meal he had just been denied. The moment he stepped into the parlor, a stone-faced High Lord Ardon thrust a parchment into his chest. "Is this what you are supposedly looking for, Lord Ambassador?" said Ardon in a strained voice.

Norlan took the parchment and examined it. He nodded once and tried to return it, but Ardon had turned away. "An expense report in my name but not written by me," Norlan said. "Yes, I would say you have discovered a critical piece of evidence."

"And you are quite sure you did not submit this yourself?" Ardon said without turning around.

"I of all people would be the last one to submit such a vague expense report. I account for every platinum piece I spend specifically to avoid being reviewed into oblivion by the High Minister of State."

Ardon folded his arms and took a deep breath. "There are some among the High Lords who would prefer to believe otherwise."

"I am sure there are. Just as I am sure you are not among them."

Ardon said nothing in response.

Norlan let the parchment flutter to a table and stepped towards the High Lord. "Ah, I see. They see me refusing to be richified further by the High Lords so they believe I have turned elsewhere for my platinum."

"It is not uncommon to arrange for such kickbacks from other sources." Ardon paused and turned around, his eyes narrowed. "Such as the King."

"And I assure you I am doing nothing of the sort. Or do you forget this particular Monarch is not inclined to dispense such favors? He prefers to ensure loyalty by other means. He is as much of a tightwad as he is a power monger."

Ardon's eyebrows rose.

"Seriously, my Lord, let us stop with these games," Norlan said. "You have done your duty by the other Lords. You executed the proper suspicion and launched the proper amounts of accusation at me. Now let us move past this and onto business."

Ardon's gaze slowly softened. He sighed and fell into a chair, wiping his face with a hand. "You really think Mandas' hand is in this?"

Norlan stepped towards the wine cabinet. He did not speak again until he had a full goblet to hand to the High Lord, which was eagerly accepted. "I can see no other. Allow me tell you of the incident which convinced me something was amiss."

He explained what had happened the evening the slaves were presented to the Oceanus fleet. Ardon shook a finger at Norlan. "I told you he could not be trusted with handling your slaves!"

"Yes, and I bow to your superior wisdom," Norlan said in a flat voice as he sipped his own goblet. "But perhaps now you are more inclined to believe me."

"But what is he planning? What could he possibly hope to gain from this?"

"The intended end result will be to cast me in a bad light. He so much as stated from the beginning this was not a partnership but a contest where there could be only one winner. He is setting himself up as the winner."

Ardon frowned. "There has to be more to it than a forged expense report. That would earn you no more than a reprimand and a withholding of the requested funds."

"Yes, so there must be a plan to spend these monies on something illicit, something which would also have my name attached to it. Then it would be a simple matter of tying it to the expense report as proof. Erodon's dislike for me would be enough to prompt him to convince the King to expel me from my position, and perhaps from court altogether."

"But what could he be planning?"

Norlan took a long sip of his wine and remained pensive.

"You said before it might involve one of your slaves," Ardon said. "I was unclear on that point. What could a slave possibly do other than convey simple messages or deliver small objects?"

"The slave he is potentially working with is Amanda." When Ardon did not respond, Norlan found the High Lord giving him a confused look. "She is the one I acquired from the D'ronstaq Manor."

"Oh, yes, I remember her. But what of it?"

"Please, Lord Ardon, try to jog your memory. Oceanus slaves in general are more intelligent, and she especially so since she is undraughted. And I suspect she had been used by her former Overlord to spy for him on other Overlords."

Ardon shot to his feet, nearly spilling his wine upon the carpet. "What?!"

"Yes, I know, it is quite unheard of, but--"

"And you purchased her in light of that?"

Norlan paused with the goblet halfway to his lips. He slowly lowered it and sighed. "Yes. Perhaps I have reconsidered the wisdom of that," he said in a low voice.

"I still do not see how that is even possible anyway! Slaves are allowed no resources which could allow them to operate in such a fashion, unless you have violated that protocol as well!"

"I assure you I have been treating her the same as the other slaves."

"So you say!"

"But that would not stop Mandas from colluding with her without my knowledge. I have since learned that Mandas used Amanda during the High Feast. Thus he was alone with her at least once and could have struck some sort of deal with her."

Ardon closed his eyes and started shaking his head halfway through Norlan's last sentence. "The idea of someone conspiring with a slave is so utterly ridiculous I cannot wrap my mind around it."

"With all due respect, my Lord, you had better learn to accept it if we are to get anywhere."

Ardon opened his eyes and stepped up to Norlan. "Then get her here this instant and force her to confess her collusion! If you do not have the stomach for such things, I can summon my Slavemaster, and I assure you he will extract the confession you need!"

Norlan's jaw tightened, and he let go a small sigh despite all efforts to repress it. "I have my own methods which have proven effective in the past," said Norlan in a curt voice. "I plan to confront her tonight after evening meal."

Ardon drank down the rest of his wine in one go and slammed the goblet to the table. He snatched the expense report. "You'd best see that you do. Be aware, Norlan, there are High Lords who want to use this parchment to hang you out to dry. You have one chance to make good."

"My Lord, with all due respect, I feel I have a lot more riding on this than anything the High Lords can do to me," said Norlan. "I do not believe Mandas would be satisfied with anything other than my complete destruction, even if it means bringing down the Urisi Nation with him."

Ardon paused, the blast of alcohol slowing his thoughts. "Do you believe this has anything to do with the man you believe Oceanus wants? What was his name again?"

"Fleet Captain Gedric V'riis," said Norlan. "That Amanda was his exclusive slave over three nights would tend to support this. More to the point, Gedric was formerly a member of Oceanus Nobility, people who have dealt with Oceanus slaves much of their adult lives. He would be more willing to collude with someone like Amanda, who was once an Oceanus slave herself."

Ardon let out a slow sigh. "This is proving to be a tangled mess. I find myself hoping you are wrong despite what my fellows will do to you."

Norlan nodded once. "In a small way, I suppose I am hoping the same thing."

Ardon gave him a strange look.

"And once more, my Lord, you underestimate my level of concern for the Urisi Nation." Norlan took another sip of his wine and left the still half-full goblet on the table. "Good day to you, Lord Ardon," he said in a stiff voice as he left the room.

Amanda's heart pounded harder the longer she was left waiting in the pleasure chamber for the arrival of her Master. She had never felt so helpless or so bereft of counsel. Events carried her along, and she felt powerless to affect them. Her anxiety nearly overwhelmed the warm flood of arousal which had come over her from the generous amount of the drug she had been fed with the evening meal.

She knelt in the center of the chamber, her ankles shackled, her thighs chained to them in turn. Her wrists were shackled behind her and held to her ankles with a short length of chain. Her pussy oozed through the restored sex seal. Her bondage was welcome, as it told her what Norlan wanted of her that evening. And yet the more time passed, the more doubt crept over her.

She flinched when the door finally opened. She took a quick, deep breath to compose herself, yet as the chamber door thudded shut behind him, her breath caught in her throat when she looked up at his hard face.

For the next few moments, all Norlan did was stare at her, his eyes cool and unyielding, his robe still sashed tight around his waist. Amanda maintained her gaze to his for the proper amount of time, then looked away before her eyes could shimmer in growing fear and cast them towards the floor. "Your slave eagerly waits to be used for your pleasure, Master," she said in as steady a voice as she could muster.

The silence was far more unnerving than any words he could have said, no matter how harsh. She heard a deep intake of breath, and then a slow sigh of ... what? Frustration? Anger? Impatience? Without daring to look up at him and see his face, she could not tell.

When Norlan finally spoke, Amanda's stomach clenched at the sharpness of his voice. "And what would you do if I were to leave your sex seal in place for an entire moon?"

Amanda tensed to repress a shudder. He had asked it as a question, so she had to answer. "This slave has no say in such things," she said in a low, flat voice.

"Yet that does not mean you do not have any thoughts on it."

Amanda's curiosity forced her to look up. The eyes which met her were not what she had expected. While she saw the same visage of anger and disappointment he always wore when he was disappointed in her, she also saw something quite rare: frustration.

"You would not care for it, would you?" Norlan snapped.

Amanda paused, then shook her head slowly. "No, Master, this slave would not care for it."

"Or if I left you sealed for a season."

Amanda's heart hammered. She thought this had to have something to do with the incident with Larra. She believed herself a fool for thinking it would pass without repercussions.

"Or a year. Or two years."

Amanda's eyes shimmered, but she said nothing. She shivered as another wave of lusty heat steamed in her pussy. She was sure within less than a candlemark she would be squirming and silently begging for relief.

"And none of it would matter."

Amanda blinked, and her eyes widened as she beheld upon Norlan's face a look of equal parts fury and frustration.

"None of it would matter to you."

Amanda simply stared. She had no idea what to expect from him now, and her wrists tugged at her restraints.

Norlan suddenly dropped to one knee before her, and she recoiled before she could catch herself, her chains rattling. "Do you understand what that means, Amanda? Do you really understand the implications of what I just said?"

Amanda slowly shook her head, unable to speak.

"None of it has worked, has it? None of the discipline, none of the instillation of duty, none of the denial of pleasure, not even the unspoken threat to your only link to your former lover."

Amanda trembled but again said nothing, for she had no idea how to respond.

"You simply refuse to be treated like a proper slave," Norlan said in a low voice. "No matter what happens to you."

Amanda wondered at his words. Was her defiance still so strong she simply did not imagine herself the slave? Had she fit so well into acting the role that she had literally become the consummate actress, her life simply a play which continued without intermission?

Norlan stood up and turned away from her. "Which means I am forced to use other means to obtain what I want from you."

Amanda was confused. What could he possibly want from her which she was not already giving him?

"I am forced to deal with you on your level, as I am sure you wish to be treated despite your lip service towards your duty as a slave. You wish to be treated as an equal, intellectually if not socially."

Amanda felt her stomach lurch again, and her heart thudded against her ears. Some part of her understood the truth, and fear crept down her spine.

Norlan whirled around. "Intellectually is all you will get. That will have to be good enough for you. I refuse to bow to you any further. I will speak to you on the level you wish, but you will not be freed from your restraints, and you will continue to acknowledge your lower social standing. I will not be pulled into this insipid fantasy of yours any further than is required for me to learn what I need to know."

Amanda fought down the desire to feel insulted by his condescending attitude, yet it must have flickered in her eyes, for Norlan suddenly dropped to his knee and seized her hair. Amanda bit her lip to suppress a frightened whimper as she stared into eyes blazing white-hot. His fingers tightened, and she winced as several hairs separated from their roots.

Norlan closed his eyes and let out a single, rattling breath. The hand holding her hair trembled, loosened, and fell away. His head slumped forward. "And I suspect violence would have little effect on you either," he said in a shaky voice.

Amanda stared in both horror and fascination as Norlan pulled himself to his feet and wiped his face with his hand.

"So I must rely on your own intelligence, that you will see how untenable your position is," said Norlan. "That is why I am forced to trust you will tell me everything of your collusion with Ambassador Mandas."

Amanda was not sure what had shocked her more, that Norlan already knew or the way it had been presented. Whatever panic had arisen now paled to the absolute fascination and curiosity she felt towards the way he had approached her. But in the next breath, her defiance rose like a rocket and demanded to know by what right did he deserve to know Mandas' plans. If he were this concerned, perhaps she held more power over events than she had realized.

Then Norlan turned around and cast a stony face upon her, and she knew the last was an illusion. Just as the idea of escaping the Urisi slave system was an illusion. She had let herself be duped by false hope, and now this was this price she had to pay.

And yet she felt she had her own play to make in this game. Yes, she understood now, it was a game, a big political game between Norlan and Mandas, and she was simply one of the pawns which had been put into play. But now was not the time. Norlan had the advantage; Amanda could only try to control which pieces she had to give up.

"Ambassador Mandas wished me to make contact with Fleet Captain Gedric of the Oceanus Fleet," Amanda said.

Norlan paused, and she wondered if he were digesting her words or was disturbed by her use of the forbidden pronoun. Finally he nodded and said, "There is more to this I am sure, as I could have surmised as such from what I already know."

Amanda suppressed a sigh. His supposed knowledge of any of Mandas' plans could have been a bluff, but she had no way to know. Keeping anything from him was going to be impossible. Yet telling him of the supposed escape plan for Gedric, even as much as she distrusted Mandas, felt like a supreme act of betrayal. "May I ask a question first, Master?"

Norlan uttered a windy sigh. "And if I told you no? Why should anything else matter given your situation? Surely someone who claims the ability to reason would understand this!"

"You said you wished to come to my level intellectually, Master," Amanda said in as careful a tone as she could muster, her voice quavering slightly. "That means I need to ask questions."

Norlan's hands clenched into fists.

Despite her pounding heart and rising panic, Amanda pushed on. "That's what you would allow of someone speaking to you as an intellectual equal."

Slowly, Norlan's hands unclenched. "Ask your foolish question."

"What will happen when the Inonni arrive, Master?"

A pause. "You would not be asking me in that manner if you did not already have some idea."

"I know they are coming for Master Gedric."

"Then you already know as much as I do."

Amanda tilted her head.

"Yes, that's right. Oceanus has been very tight-lipped about what they want and why they want it. They have not even stated in so many words that Gedric is whom they want. We have had to arrive at that conclusion by other means, and I suspect Mandas knows more than I do." His eyes narrowed. "Which implies you know more as well. So you will cease stalling with stupid intellectual games and tell me more of Mandas' plans."

Amanda hesitated. "Master, you ... you d-didn't answer my question."

Norlan displayed the first show of genuine shock Amanda had ever witnessed.

"Or maybe I should have worded it this way, Master: what do you think will happen?"

"You are a slave!" Norlan thundered. "That is all you will ever be. Nothing will change that. You delude yourself if you think otherwise. Your stalling is pointless! You simply have nowhere else to go!"

Amanda blinked away a tear before it could trickle down her cheek. Yet her moment of despair was tempered by what she saw in his face, something so unbecoming him that the machinations of both Mandas and the Inonni now truly concerned her: fear.

Amanda's resistance to his will was frightening him.

Amanda realized it was pointless to withhold further information. If she chose not to tell him of Mandas' plans, they would not come to fruition anyway, as Norlan would not let her leave the palace when the fake request came from Gedric for her services. If she told him, then Mandas' plans would be foiled, or Mandas would more likely claim Amanda had contrived the whole story. Again, nothing would have changed.