Surfacing Ch. 02

"What would you have of me in exchange for your protection, Elder Sister?" he asked bluntly, seizing the moment to bargain as close to equals as he could ever hope with an Elder Red Sister.

She didn't miss a beat.

"Firstly, a continuation of your understanding with the Sisterhood," she answered, "but more specifically to me, and only me. You will answer questions I ask truthfully as you know it and without omissions. With all others, you will be vague or misleading."

"My knowledge of the Priestesses will become more distant and irrelevant the longer I am kept here, Elder Sister," Auslan said.

"It is not your future or your present I would ask about. You have more than two centuries for me to probe."

Auslan swallowed at the word choice. "What might I expect of physical treatment from you?"

"Minimal discomfort and no injury, unless you are discovered to have betrayed my confidence. If you do, you will know both discomfort and injury on intimate levels."

She did not add more, so he decided to ask it outright. "And sex?"

D'Shea shook her head, her copper eyes closing for a moment. "You are not to my taste, Auslan. I grew to dislike the Consorts during my time with the Priestesses. If your beauty to others could be of use to me, I would consider it and let you come to no harm. I trust your resiliency in such matters, if your boldness now after being ridden by Red Sisters is any indication."

He wanted to deny that aspect of the proposition this instant. He shook his head firmly. "No. We may be back to discussing your son's resiliency instead, Elder Sister. Shyntre made it plain he does not wish me to become the Sisterhood's plaything."

"That lava flow is going to be hard to hold back the longer you remain here," D'Shea said flatly. "No one is untouchable, and status determines how often you submit to another. In this cloister, yours is the lowest possible status simply being male."

"But your status is second only to the Prime while Elder Rausery is gone," he said, a line of stubbornness coming into his back. "You can make the call on my behalf."

She huffed wryly. "I am not known for keeping male pets, Consort."

"You may have begun doing so, what with crushing four Sisters with your magic and taking me by the hair down the hallway."

D'Shea's mouth twitched, possibly in humor. "You want to refuse any possibility of couling with anyone, Auslan? You are... abstaining? Is that what you're saying to me?"

"I would not have you as my new Priestess selling my wares for favors, Elder Sister," he said, and got that touch of reaction he had been banking on. She disliked the comparison. He pushed farther.

"You are the one who severed my connection to the Sanctuary and covered up my location. You are the one who killed my Priestess and took responsibility for me in that cell. So you must know just as I do that I am no longer a Consort, Elder. If I had my own choice for the first time of my life, then I would choose to lie with Sirana and Shyntre, and no one else."

D'Shea's face finally cracked, astonishment betraying her calm as she sat up in her chair. "What?"

He didn't repeat himself; he looked at how his fingers were beginning to wrinkle in the water, which was now getting cool. It was a good excuse to look and reach for a towel. He covered himself with it and stepped out of the tub without her leave and slowly dried himself, keeping his eyes on the floor.

"You've taken pleasure with my son?" she asked, sounding recovered but not pleased.

His own voice grew a bit quieter. "Yes. Though it was a long time ago." Then he shrugged. "What? None bat an eye when two females lay together. Those who like it are very plain about it."

"The males are more secretive in their pairings, I'll grant you," the Elder Sister said, her eyes never leaving him as he dried his shorn hair. "More mothers and mistresses are jealous or see it as a waste of seed since it is not possible to reproduce."

"Hypocritical," he said, "when females use it for alliances and dominance, strengthening magic and ritual, pure recreation and bearing children. I can understand more control and jealousy if we were impregnating others without their leave, but that's impossible with another male. Why not just say they want to stay comfortable and make the decisions for us and be done with it?"

There was a pause and he chanced to look up. D'Shea was smiling a bit.

"There is the obvious, boy. You think many Matrons enjoy the thought that some of our best might choose to forsake their primary purpose and prefer the exclusive company of their own gender, if we gave them that choice?"

Auslan pulled the towel tighter around him and bowed slightly. "Perhaps, Elder, it is not as much to fear as they think. Our race would adapt, we're good at it. You see it among the Sisterhood, don't you? How many have borne children before you?"

D'Shea chuckled, and it had a dark slant to it. "More than after me."

"So you've been encouraging—"

"You can't compare the Sisterhood to the general population, Auslan," she interrupted. "Our primary function is not breeding, though the possibility remains open. Having said that, I'm not altogether in disagreement with your reasoning, though I would hold that any female invests much more in a pregnancy and therefore should have the say whether to breed or not, and who to breed with."

"Dare I suggest that females being able to abstain at times withholds 'the best' from our hereditary pool as well?" he challenged in a level voice. "Regardless of the motivation or individual preferences?"

The Elder Sister kept her eyes on him; her mind had been fully engaged by this and she could not really help herself in debating. Auslan was fully aware that he had begun to prod a deeply personal subject for her several moments ago, yet he was amazed how intellectual and agile the Elder remained despite the emotion involved.

D'Shea continued to ponder. "If it's required of her, she gets pressure from her elders just as the males do. Consider next that same female choosing to breed, and next choosing a male for his line, only to discover him 'out of practice' with females."

"Hence the overt control and the inevitable secrecy and discoveries, punishments and occasional sacrifices," he replied, already anticipating that angle. "And it'll remain this way as long as we fear shadows of the future and lack faith in our own ability to adapt."

"'Fearing shadows'? 'Faith'? Do you fancy yourself a Priest of coming times, then, Auslan?" She was clearly making fun of him.

"There is no such thing as a Priest," he retorted, realizing the possibility that she may come to know anything of his visions—or his name—was a very high risk.

He had admitted to her just how close his physical bond with Shyntre had been to force a negotiation...but now he had to hope she did not make the connection that Shyntre might know his true name. If she had that power over him, she would be even more ruthless in using it than Wilsira—who had not known of the visions and had lost a lot of interest in the Red Sister's child as time went on.

By some strange turn in events, Auslan no longer shared a name-bond with any Priestess... though he still felt it strongly with one wizard.

D'Shea grinned widely without reply, and in the following silence they were at something of an impasse, each unwilling to say more on the subject, wary of where it would take them... though he did not know D'Shea's reasons for holding back now.

The next moment her grin became a smaller smile. He thought it looked something like a Drider contemplating a something tasty in her web trap.

She said, "As you've chosen to give me a far better understanding of your value to my son, Auslan, I'll alter my proposition. You will be truthful with me, and I will keep and protect you as my pet though you will be free of compulsions for now. I won't touch you for pleasure as I genuinely have no interest in you, but we may negotiate visits with my son. He need not fear your continued abuse here, though you must remain here and your presence must be kept secret from the outside. You will not misspeak of my generosity now or hold my miscalculation this eve against me."

He frowned a bit, thinking how it would take until his netherhole stopped burning to let that go. "I will not praise you falsely to him, Elder Sister. He would see through that."

She waved her hand. "Of course. Only don't misrepresent me."

The former Consort thought it over. "How long does this agreement go?"

"Either until Sirana returns, or..." D'Shea shrugged. "Or until circumstances otherwise change to make it impossible to keep. Isn't that always as agreements go?"

Auslan understood that he would have to keep working for circumstances in his favor; it would never be set but he had a foundation from which to start. He nodded. "Agreed, Elder Sister."

She nodded once, watching him as he hung her towel to dry, donned his wrap, and covered himself again with his cloak. He left his feet bare.

"Now answer me one thing," she said.

He stayed standing and turned to face her. "Yes, Elder?"

"You said you would choose Sirana as a bedmate as well. Why? It cannot be just that she caught a child by you. I wager you've lost count of that occurrence since it's your function to breed more than most males."

Auslan snorted softly and nodded in agreement. "She sees me."

D'Shea rested her chin in her hand, a finger pressed to her temple. She looked skeptical. "She...'sees' you. How fanciful."

"She was only the second female to do so. It has happened only a handful of times in my life, Elder, I do not find it fanciful. Everyone you have met sees you for who you are, even if they are against you. I'll wager you have lost count of the occurrence since it is your function to be known more than most females."

Her eyebrows rose together, just a bit. Some small perception blossomed in her eyes. "Hm. At least if Sirana does give birth, we can assume the child won't be a pretty idiot."

"It was your assumption that I was an idiot at all, Elder Sister."

She smirked a bit. "Not wholly, but I did wonder how much Sirana may have exaggerated your wit. She's always noticed you more than she should. However, I can say now that I look forward to our future conversations."

He acknowledged her in a small bow but did not feel the same. He began to notice the growing his fuzziness in his head as well; he felt exhausted to a level he rarely reached without expending most of his magic at once, as when he healed another. The constant stress these past cycles had weighed on him, and only now did he feel even partly safe here, despite the power of the chamber's owner. His remaining strength would soon abandon him.

"If we are at a point, Elder...may I rest?"

She gestured farther past the desk and the bath. "Use my bed. I will be up for a while yet. If I must leave you in here, do not touch anything. I will not apologize for what happens to you."

Auslan nodded. "I will not snoop. I report to no one but you and could not reach the only ally I have remaining outside this room anyway. Further, you have agreed to help me reach him when I have earned it."

She smiled more relaxed and appeared satisfied. "I am glad that we understand each other. Rest well."

Elder D'Shea turned then to switch out her candle burning too low with a new one and continued working as Auslan tentatively crawled onto the spider-spun silk covering the mattress, much softer than his cot down below, and soon fell into deep reverie.