Lost at Sea Bk. 02 Ch. 06

Bella took a deep breath and sat down on the bed. She was exhausted. She'd been standing unmoving, concentrating fiercely for hours. Her whole body ached. Fighting to remain in one position while the ocean rocked the floor beneath her had been much more difficult than she expected. Her thighs were quivering. In spite of her fatigue, her eyes were glued to the mirror, watching the scene play out in her alcove.

Tonya was naked, sitting on Bella's table, her legs spread wide and wrapped around Janie's hips. Her apprentice's heels rested on the backs of the taller woman's thighs.

"That was incredible," Tonya breathed between kisses. "You've really never done anything like that before?"

Janie giggled like a school girl. "No, never."

"You had him in the palm of your hand the whole time! Even beat him with the pull cord for the curtain! I thought he was going to get mad, but he just... let you! Where did you learn all that?" Tonya was too busy talking to keep kissing. Bella chuckled to herself. Her apprentice had a real problem with trying to use her mouth for too many things at once.

"I used to be a Magistrate Acolyte. I just channeled all the priestesses who taught me. And a bit of my mother thrown in too." Janie admitted a bit awkwardly. "I very much doubt they had this in mind when they were giving their lessons, but I'm discovering a lot of Magistrate skills translate well to other things."

Bella blinked in confusion. What was Janie talking about? Why was she working at Mary's? She continued to watch, her soreness and fatigue suddenly less at the front of her mind. The scene in the mirror was far too interesting.

"We need to get you an actual whip. You can't keep using the pull cord," Tonya giggled.

"I was terrified I might accidentally open the curtain!" Jaine laughed, her eyes wide beneath her veil.

"That wouldn't have been so bad. He was dressed. So were you. I'm the only naked one." Tonya looked down at herself. Janie's eyes followed. She very slowly ran her hands down the young witch's body, down her shoulders, around the outside of her small breasts, along her ribs and her waist, coming to rest on her hips. Tonya shivered at Janie's touch.

"If I were a real Sister I'd be flogging you for your wantonness." Janie's voice was full of heat and insinuation.

Tonya was torn between lust and worry. She'd been flogged before. It wasn't something she wanted to repeat. On the other hand, the way Janie said it made Tonya kinda want to see what she had in mind. "Am I a bad acolyte?" she said, biting her lip and looking up at Janie thought her lashes.

"Very," Janie smiled.

"I was just following the Sister's orders," Tonya did her best to look guilty. It wasn't an expression that came naturally to her. "I was trying to be good."

They both broke into laughter, unable to keep up the game, or the tension, any longer.

"I'm learning that it is very possible to be both good and bad at the same time," Janie said, leaning in to kiss the brunette apprentice again.

Tonya squirmed on the table. "Mmm, I'll say. Are all Magistrate folks like you? I might want to join up."

Janie shook her head, half-horrified. "Oh no, I'm... well, there's a reason I left. I don't think you'd like a Cloister at all."

"I don't even like that word. Cloister. Ew," Tonya's nose wrinkled.

"Ew is an apt description," Janie agreed. "I much prefer this one." She looked around the alcove, thinking that it really was about the same size as the small chamber she'd lived in when she was younger. She'd shared it with another girl too. Now, the idea of forcing someone to live in a space so small seemed cruel to her. Even the room she was now sharing with Tonya was more than twice the size of the alcove, and it barely seemed big enough for two.

"Here," Janie went and picked up the stack of coins that was sitting on the chair her first client had sat in. She turned and handed them to Tonya. "I want you to have these."

Tonya's eyes went wide and she held out her hands. "No, I can't. You really earned that. I just sat here and got stared at while you berated him for staring. The hardest part for me was not laughing. You did all the work."

"I couldn't have done it without you. I wouldn't have even known where to begin. I'd still be hiding in here," Janie insisted. "I don't need the money. I just wanted to see if I could do any of this."

"Clearly you can. I'd say you even have a knack for it," Tonya grinned. She reluctantly took the coins. "I appreciate it. Looks like he tipped you pretty well."

"He did? I'm not even sure what price I was asking. I just said my rates were standard," Janie said.

"Five crowns is pretty normal. We're allowed to charge more or less depending on what we're doing for a client. You just got paid for talking and hitting a guy what I usually get paid for fucking them. There's another girl who works here who does kinda what you did, but she doesn't to the religious thing, and she whips them and fucks them, so I'm not sure it's comparable."

"Maybe I'll work my way up to that," Janie mused. As soon as she said it she knew she wasn't really interested. Having sex with someone she didn't know, especially as a business transaction, really wasn't something that excited her. She didn't have any ethical problem with prostitution. Not anymore, obviously. She just wanted sex to be meaningful to her. Then she looked at Tonya on the table and realized she'd only known the young witch for a matter of hours and she'd already had thoughts of sex with her. That seemed fine, but the idea of sex with the man who'd just paid her was mildly repulsive. She didn't know either of them terribly well, and the man hadn't seemed like a bad sort. Why were they so different in her head? She'd put so much time into learning to diagnose motives. It rankled her to feel conflicted about her own. She'd have to think on it later.

Tonya tucked the coins away into her purse. "Should I get dressed, or are we going to be doing that again?"

"I think I am done for the night," Janie said. "It was an exciting experience, but it was mostly for my own self discovery."

"I don't know about you, but I definitely discovered some things." Tonya smirked.

"Oh?"

Tonya grinned. "Yeah. Before tonight I didn't know it was possible to talk a guy into cumming in his pants!"

All three of them laughed.

Tonya and Janie's laughter cut off abruptly, they whirled to face the mirror. Instead of their reflection, they saw Bella, nude, her face painted in white symbols. She was sitting on a large bed in a dimly lit room. She gave them a small wave. "Hi."

_________________________

Captain Vex sat on the steps of the sterncastle, her first mate next to her. Mister North sat a few steps lower, leaning back on his wife's knees as she ran her fingers back and forth across his bald head. Together, the three of them were observing the crew's nightly revelry, now that the day was done. The sun had gone below the horizon, leaving only a strip of lighter purple at the western edge of the black sky, and the lanterns cast long shadows that moved with the swaying of the ship. Having enjoyed their supper and their rum ration, some of the crew were dancing to the music of a lively fiddle, while others played games of dice and cards on barrels and benches scattered across the deck. New and old lovers alike cuddled up to each other, whispering soft endearments, accompanied by the waves.

"Is th' anchor down?" Belita asked.

"Aye, Colin did it right before he finally went to bed," Danica said.

"That boy's too damn stubborn by half," her husband grouched.

"This is about as close tae quitting as I've e'er seen him," Belita said with a small shake of her head. "I used tae think it was impressive, but now I wish he'd just... "

"Stop," Danica finished. Belita nodded. They were quiet for a short time, listening to the music of the fiddle and the rhythm of the waves.

"I really thought that would take longer," commented Mister North in his rich baritone, gesturing to where Will Sterling, Jacqueline Hunter and Lace Webber were sitting side by side together, thick as thieves.

"I'm not. Lace is all thunder and no lightning," Danica replied. "She gets mad easy, but I've never seen her hold a grudge."

"I mostly meant Will and Miss Hunter," her husband explained. "I thought they had a problem we were supposed to watch out for."

"Aye, they do. Looks like they're workin' through it," Belita said after taking a sip off her cup. She was pleasantly buzzed. "I ain't an Inquisitor, but I can tell what folks are thinkin' well enough when they ain't tryin' tae hide it. Those two're lookin' for any excuse not tae be mad at each other. They're both just shit at talkin' things out."

Mister North chuckled. "Speaking of folks who don't know how to talk, you're doing that thing with your accent again."

Captain Vex rolled her eyes. "Don't ye be givin' me none o' yer sass, ye Mainlander gombeen."

"Ouch, Captain, that hurts," North said with over exaggerated shock.

Danica started laughing. "What the hell's a gombeen?"

Vex had to pause to think about it. "A small time crook. A bloke who's always lookin' tae make a few extra coin, usually by cheatin.'

"Oh. Yep. He's definitely a gombeen," Danica said, rubbing her husband's scalp.

"Oh sure, take her side." North said with mock indignity. "She gets drunk and unintelligible, starts making up words, and my wife thinks it's hilarious just because she's right."

"You poor, poor gombeen," Danica mocked.

"Look what you've done?" North said to Belita. "You've taught her a new word, and I'm never going to hear the end of it."

"Sounds like she dinnae have a problem understandin' me," Belita said taking another drink.

"It's not my fault that when you get drunk you forget things like the ends of words and which vowels go where," North snarked. "My wife's just more fluent in drunken pirate than I am."

Belita raised her middle finger and waved it back and forth in front of North's face. "Ye fluent in this?"

"Absolutely. I might not be fluent in north islander gibberish, but I'm practically a scholar of rude gestures," Mister North grinned.

"Have any of the new crew done anything stupid yet?" Danica asked. "I was a little worried after the announcement this morning about having a witch on board."

"Not yet," North said. "Give them a few days to settle in."

"Ye think someone's going tae do somethin' daft?" the Captain asked.

"Probably." Danica said. "We didn't have time to vet the new crew quite as thoroughly as we usually do. They're all competent sailors, but we weren't as careful with figuring their temperament this time. I'm betting there's one or two that aren't really Kestrel material. Hopefully they'll keep their mouths shut and just get off at the next port instead of causing a problem."

"I trust ye tae handle it. Maybe we c'n change some minds," Belita said.

"Ever the optimist, Captain," Mister North said raising his cup. "Hope you're right."

"When is the next port, anyway?" Danica asked.

"Two weeks." Belita replied. "We're adding a stop on account'a having tae leave Bastard's Bay wit'out our full load of supplies," Belita said. "Should be easy sailing 'til then. We'll have tae follow th' Akula buoys tae get through th' Kinnet reef. Besides that it's a pretty straight course. This time of year th' waters are pretty calm, an' there's a lot o' Magistrate patrols 'round that passage. We might be stopped again, but I had that Lieutenant stamp our papers, so th' next inspection ship we run intae should let us through wit'out much hassle."

"Lace will like that news. That will give her time to sort out all this stuff with the smallboats and the new ladders," Danica said looking at all the ropes that were still tacked down all over the deck.

"What's all that about anyway? I had to bust my ass to get the rigging ladders she wanted, and now she's just making new ones?" Mister North complained.

"They're too big. They messed with the crossbeam," Danica explained.

"We already cut the bottom twenty feet off the first ones she tried. No way I can sell those now," North griped.

"Once she's done with the new ladders I'll have her splice the old ones back into working shape. You can sell them at a discount. We might not recoup everything, but you'll find a buyer. You always do," Danica rubbed her husband's head again.

"Ye Gombeen," Belita snorted.

All three of them laughed and Danica stood up. "Come on, gombeen. Take me to bed."

"Duty calls," North said with a look of exaggerated suffering on his face. He stood up with a groan.

"Good night," Captain Vex said to the pair as they left. She sat on the steps for a few more minutes, then stood up too. Bed sounded pretty nice. Or a bath. Or both.

She made her way to her cabin, enjoying the floating sensation that the rum had given her. When she opened the door, Bella was naked and talking to the mirror.

_______________________

"Where's your big green friend, anyway? Haven't seen him since Lace tried to stab him," Will asked Jack.

"Oh, he's around. He doesn't like people much, so he keeps to himself," Jack answered. Her voice was a little tense.

"What?" Will asked, noticing Jack's tone.

"I really don't need to do that thing where the former man in my life tries to subtly learn about the new one," Jack said flatly. Lace burst out laughing.

Will tried to backstep. "I wasn't... alright, maybe I was a little. I'm mostly just curious. I've seen a few Asura before, but never met any of them up close before Quinn. He lives up to the reputation."

"He's not quite what the stories make them out to be," Jack said.

"Well now you have to tell," Lace said, nudging her with a shoulder.

It was a warm night, but after being trapped in the galley for so long, they were all enjoying the comparative coolness of the air.. Jack had put her wet shirt back on the right way. Will was still shirtless. Lace was wearing her usual nearly-topless outfit, and wasn't wet in the slightest. How she'd managed that after the steam filled galley was a mystery. Jack's shirt was slowly drying, but was still damp enough to hang heavy and cling, outlining her breasts nicely. Will was having trouble not looking. Jack had noticed and found it amusing, but hadn't said anything about it.

"Asura are... servants. It's a cultural thing, and I don't actually know a lot about it." Jack said. She swirled the rum in her cup and spoke as she thought about it. "So it's not an equal relationship. It's not even really a relationship at all. He does what I tell him to, and he looks out for my interests. He does it all on his own terms though. He's not some obsequious footman. He speaks his mind, and he does things according to what he thinks is best for me, even if I disagree. If I ordered him to do something he didn't want to do, he'd do it, but he'd probably do it in a way that made me regret my decision. I try to be careful not to do that."

"Sounds like a relationship to me," Will said. "You wouldn't want an obsequious manservant anyway."

"True. It took me a while to get used to the idea of having a servant at all. I haven't had one since I was twelve. I didn't really miss it," Jack said. "I think of him more like a bodyguard than anything else. He looks out for me, and I care about him, but he never lets me forget that our involvement with each other is temporary and has very clear boundaries regarding the roles we play in regards to each other."

"Temporary?" Lace asked. "Why? Don't you pay him enough?"

"He'd be offended to hear you say that. Any payment he ever received for something I asked him to do, he'd accept on my behalf, not his own. If I ever personally tried to pay him for his service he'd never respect me again. To his people, service is sacred." Jack sounded like she was having trouble finding the right words. "It's a religious thing."

"Work for other people and never get paid for it? Sounds like a shitty religion," Lace scoffed.

"I won't argue with you. I don't really understand it, but so far asking questions has gotten me more confused, or been met with very polite non-answers," Jack said into her cup.

"How'd you find him in the first place?" Will asked.

"It was... shortly after the... when I cursed you," Jack said guiltily. "I guess I'd done enough to get noticed."

"Noticed?" Lace asked. "What, there's someone who hands out Asura bodyguards? Where can I get one?"

"Essentially, yes. The Asura only serve... well, they use the term 'great people.' It's some kind of meritocracy. That's why all the stories are about Asura serving kings or leaders."

"I've met a lot of great people who aren't kings," Will said. "Pretty much all of them."

"I agree, actually," Jack shrugged. "I don't think I'm a great person, but when Quinn offered to serve me I wasn't about to say no."

"So why is it temporary?" Lace asked.

"Eventually the term of service ends," Jack said simply.

"When?" Lace asked.

"I don't really know," Jack shrugged again.

"Doesn't make any sense," Lace rolled her eyes. "Hope the sex is good."

Jack smiled and took another drink. "He can go forever. Asura don't run out of stamina."

Will coughed into his cup. Lace's eyes went wide. "Damn," she said. "Can I borrow him?"

"Sure," Jack said.

Lace's eyes went wider. "I was just joking."

"I know. If you want some time with him though, just ask. He won't say no. He'll just ask me." Jack stretched her legs out from the bench she was sitting at and crossed her ankles.

"That doesn't seem right," Will said. "Being able to say yes or no is pretty important."

"To us, yeah. To Asura... well, I don't know. I guess it's a different kind of consent. When he consented to serve me he put me in charge of those kinds of decisions." Jack continued. "It was one of the first things we talked about when I first agreed to be his master. I asked a lot of questions. Some of the answers unsettled me too, but that's the way he is. He even... encouraged me to offer his services to people as a reward. I balked at it, but he said that I should consider him more as a tool to achieve my goals, rather than as a servant. He also said that power is only power if it is used."

"I don't know if I agree with any of that," Will said.

"Me either," Jack shrugged. "But ultimately it's his choice. He doesn't have to give me that kind of power over him. He isn't some kind of brainwashed religious zealot who gave up their free will because of nonsense. There's something deeper going on there, and I'm only starting to scratch the surface of it. I think he wants to see what I'll do."

"Like whether or not you're the kind of person who would order him to have sex with someone, regardless of how he really felt about it?" Will asked, a bit flatly.

"No," Jack shook her head. "You're misunderstanding. I think he assumes that I am exactly that sort of person. What he wants to know is under what circumstances I'd make that choice, and what I'd be getting out of it in return."

"That's... pretty fucked up," Lace said. Jack nodded and took a drink.

"So the Asura religion is all about giving humans control of their lives in order to... what? Test our morality?" Will was incredulous.

"I really don't know," Jack shrugged. "It seems that way from the outside, but I don't think I have anywhere close to the whole picture."

"But you're still willing to have sex with him?" Will asked. "Even though you can't really be sure if it's what he wants or not?"

"I was honestly hesitant at first." Jack said as she finished off her rum. "He brought it up, and offered the very first day. I guess that's normal for them. I turned him down. Occasionally he'd offer again. Eventually I just decided why not?"