Lions of Parnatha Ch. 01

"I was unaware this courtyard was private property," he said in amusement.

"You were spying on me."

"Was I?" Slowly, he walked toward me. In the sunlight I could see that his body was lithe and muscular. His black hair was shaggy looking, rebellious despite obvious attempts at care. As he neared, I could see that his eyes were light blue, much like the small blue flowers that grew on the vines that climbed the walls of the compound. His gaze never left me as he moved, and I had the sensation that his eyes were looking into me, examining me. I shivered involuntarily.

"Well, what would you call it then?"

"Observation. I found what you were doing rather interesting." He stopped a few feet from me, his arms at his side. "What are you doing in this back courtyard? I was led to understand that the headmistress kept the ineligible women inside."

I snorted, which elicited an eyebrow to loft, and shook my head. "I'm not ineligible," I said curtly.

The man knit his eyebrows in confusion. "Were you hiding here, then? You are not with the other women in the viewing."

Smirking, I nodded, replacing a piece of my pale hair behind my ear. "Yes."

The guard looked somewhere between amused and incredulous. "Why in the name of Rion would you do that?" he exclaimed.

I shrugged. "Because I hate the viewings," I said simply. When he did not answer, I said with a grin, "Are you shocked?"

"Yes, I am," he sputtered. "Why would you hate them? I thought young women enjoyed being ornamented and showing their talents."

I began to stroll around the courtyard, and the man followed, his gaze still fixed on me. "Yes, I'm sure most girls enjoy being dressed up like dolls and paraded before the eyes of men who will never love or respect them like horses being bought for show," I said, far more bitterly than I intended. I was honestly shocked that those words had managed to escape my lips, and I shot a quick look at the guard, waiting for his reaction. I was used to making callers and their companions angry or disgusted, but my usual motif was to be lewd or unattractive. Saying something so radical would surely cause quite a stir amongst my keepers.

Surprisingly, the man was grinning. I stopped walking in shock.

"You are a very unique young woman," he said with a small laugh.

"That is probably not the word the headmistress would use to describe me," I said with a smirk.

"I gather not." He took a moment to appraise me. "You are clearly ornamented, but you hide back here to avoid being paraded. I take it you do not wish to be chosen by the caller?"

"Absolutely not!" I exclaimed. "Can you imagine? I'd rather have my teeth ripped out than be forced to marry some disgusting, pompous braggart who doesn't deserve the station he's in." "Disgusting? I hear the lieutenant general is rather handsome actually."

I crossed my arms, lofting an eyebrow. "You hear? You work for him, do you not? You wear the imperial colors." I motioned to his deep blue toga with my chin. Tiny bells tinkled from where they hung from my ears.

A fleeting look of panic crossed the man's face before he sighed and closed his eyes. "Yes, I do. I am caught, my lady." He smiled at my triumphant expression.

"Examining the pickings, then?" I inquired.

"Ah, yes, something to that effect."

"I hope you tell your master very horrible things about me," I said loftily as I began to stroll again.

This time the man did not follow me. "Why would you want me to do that?" he asked. I turned slightly to regard him over my shoulder, and saw he looked both confused and concerned.

"There is little else in this world I can imagine being worse than being forced into a life of servitude," I said quietly. "I am surrounded by walls here, but at least my mind and my time are still my own. I don't ever wish to submit myself or my body to the tastes of someone who doesn't deserve it." They were strong words, extremely strong coming from a woman in my position. "I don't want your master to pick me."

The guard slowly followed me, remaining silent for a long time. When he finally spoke again, he asked me about myself, about what I found interesting and how I passed my time. I was irritated at first, but he was amicable and put me strangely at ease. He asked me about my family and I asked him about being a soldier. We laughed and joked and poked fun at the headmistress and the politicians and talked about the university's library and the arenas. I had hardly noticed the passage of time when an eunuch appeared in the courtyard.

"There you are! We have been looking all over--" A look of horror passed over his face as he realized exactly who I was, and he looked ready to faint.

"Ah, yes, it must be near time for the viewing to end, sir," my companion quickly interjected. "I imagine the lieutenant general is ready to retire and consider his options."

"Ah..yes, of course. He must be. I was just coming to inform you of that..sir," the eunuch stammered in response. I knitted my eyebrows, suspicious of his response.

"My lady," my companion said as he turned to me, "thank you for your time. It was enjoyable."

"Yes, it was," I answered distractedly. Something important was happening, but it was so far over my head that it was impossible for me to see what it was.

"I will take your suggestion of Treton's plays into advisement when next I visit the library, if my master ever allows me the time," the guard said with a smile, and I nodded happily. His expression was strange, almost nervous, as he appraised me again. The way his gaze lingered on me made my pulse quicken slightly, and I crossed my arms to hide my nervousness. "I never did ask your name," he continued.

"Lithana Vitalis, sir," I said as steadily as I could. "Remember not to speak it to your master."

My words were met with a smile and I watched in amazement as he bowed before me. No one had ever done such a thing before. "I would never dare," he said softly. He smiled and turned, leaving the courtyard at a resolute pace. I watched him go and then looked at the eunuch, who was sighing and shaking his head.

"Go and join the others," he said solemnly. "The viewing is over."

I walked through the courtyard and down a corridor in a haze. Who had that man been? A soldier clearly, someone who worked for the lieutenant general certainly. Was he a spy? A trusted companion of his master? Whoever he was, I had enjoyed my time with him. He was intelligent, well read, amusing, and extremely handsome, I finally decided. The shiver I felt when he looked at me flew through my body again, and I smiled slightly. I believed him when he said he would not give my name to his master.

As I rounded a corner an odd noise met my ears. In a small alcove off to the right I could make out two bodies. One was a female servant, the other a tall, muscular man with dirty blond hair. He was dressed quite similarly to the guard I had just met, and I noticed quite suddenly that his kilt was hiked up around his hips. The servant woman's shift was also hiked up around her hips, and the front was pulled down to expose her ample breasts, which were striking the wall she leaned against with a slow rhythm. I watched in fascination as her round buttocks slapped against the man's thighs, and saw his hard shaft as he thrust in and out of her. Her mouth was open in a silent groan as he fucked her, one of his hands gripping her shoulder and the other her hip. Every now and again a moan or small noise would escape one of them, a vocalization of the ecstasy they felt.

I must have stood staring at them for a long time, because quite suddenly the man looked up at me. He grinned and winked in such a roguish way that I was shocked out of my fascination. I felt my entire body grow warm with embarrassment and I quickly hurried my way down the rest of the corridor.

The rest of my day passed slowly, as I was forced to listen to the girls regale each other with tales of their romantic attempts. I tried to ignore their gossip, but I could not help but overhear them discussing the fact that none of them knew what the lieutenant general actually looked like. None of the men present had introduced themselves, and none of them wore the official looking finery they had expected a man of such high status to wear. Perhaps the man I'd met was indeed spying, then. Perhaps the lieutenant general hadn't come at all, but sent others he trusted in his place to make the decision for him. It would certainly have explained all the questions the man had asked me, at least. I didn't trouble myself on the subject long, and instead found a quiet corner to absorb myself with a book in. It would all turn out fine for me in the end. It always did.