Bonds of Silver, Bonds of Gold 10: Value (Part 1)

Not long afterwards, I became a regular fixture beside the baron at supper, kneeling next to his chair at the head of the table. Occasionally, he would offer me a bit of meat on his fork or a small piece of bread in his fingers, and I would take it in my muzzle, keeping my paws from my knees. Most times, he seemed to content himself with petting me as he ate, leaving me to my bowl of broth and boiled vegetables. On all fours, muzzle down into my stew, I felt exposed and vulnerable, but no-one looked twice at the Baron’s pet, any more than they might watch a domesticated dog. A few of the other attendants looked down their muzzles at me if I clattered my bowl against the ground or disturbed the table discussions, but otherwise I was as invisible as any other animal the baron might have kept with him at table.

After meals, Miss Datsia—, the captain of Deterikh’s military, insisted on at least a full hour of the baron’s time along with Mister Valentin, the sergeant-at-arms that had greeted Aura at the gate. During those discussions, my presence was quite clearly not welcome. If the two of them weren’t waiting for my master when he returned from the main hall, then they were close on his heels, arriving not long after we did, and the elder wolf, at least, made it quite obvious that once she was in the room, I had better not be. At first, she insisted that I be sent completely out of the baron’s chambers, but thankfully my master put rest to that idea. Her suggestion that Dion watch me for that time met with similar resistance, and so they agreed that I would be sent to my master’s bedroom while they talked in the parlor. Neither seemed completely happy with that arrangement, but it was far better than the alternatives.

I spent the time that they talked, kneeling on my mat and breathing quietly, trying to focus my attentions on the lights, and not on the muffled voices in the parlor. It had taken my master little enough time to adjust to having a personal slave. Inside of a week, a simple mattress, filled with straw and covered with a cotton sheet, lay on the floor near the baron’s bed, along with a thin blanket. It was the space I was to occupy when my master was not in the room, and to which he sent me if he wished to sleep alone. As much as having something defined as mine was an odd sort of comfort, as my cushion at the Blue Moon had been, it quickly became its own source of embarrassment and frustration. Sleeping in my bed meant not sleeping in my master’s, drifting to sleep surrounded by his scent.

Tonight, when the door opened, my master stepped far enough inside to snap his fingers and motion for me to follow, then turned around again and headed back into the parlor. I rose from my bed and hurried to heel. In the baron’s parlor, papers and maps lay scattered across the table, along with pieces of a tea service. The lynx, in a loose cotton shirt and leather leggings, had brought a chair over to one of the couches. He grinned as I entered, but the corners of his eyes narrowed. “Taneh.”

Before I could reply, my master dropped heavily beside his sergeant, then snapped his fingers and motioned to the floor before his hinds. Without a word, I dropped to my knees in place and took one of his hinds in my paws, caressing it with my pads. I did give the lynx a bow of my head once positioned, but otherwise I remained quiet, focusing my attentions back on the baron.

The lynx chuckled. “You’ve gotten used to that fast.”

My master lifted his head and turned. “Hmm?”

“Him.” The sergeant-at-arms motioned to me with a paw. “Having a slave.”

The baron groaned softly. “It’s ‘em,’ Valentin; I’ve told you that before.”

The lynx rolled his eyes and stood. “I’m sorry, you’re right. It’s hard to remember. I’m not used to hearing it. Why did Aura use it anyway?”

“Well, ey’s certainly no ‘he,’” my master chuckled, making me blush. “Stand up, pet, and let Valentin see you.”

Mister Valentin held out a paw, pads out, pouring tea with the other. “Don’t bother, I saw when Aura brought em. Dion was like a whelp with a new kite.” He grinned, then stirred honey into the cups. “Or maybe a new doll.”

I flushed harder, but as I started to rise, my master held out a paw. “No need, pet. Stay seated. Keep up what you’re doing.” I nodded and resumed massaging his hind; the baron responded by leaning against the back of the couch and groaning again. “Great Family, those are sore.” He rolled his head to the side. “You should let em have a chance at yours.”

“Oh, I couldn’t,” the lynx protested as he walked back to the couch. “My hinds might as well be hooves from all the callouses.” He sat back in the chair and passed the baron a cup, then sipped from his own. “Such is the life of a soldier. Besides, he seems content enough to deal with yours.” He stopped, then held up a paw. “Ey, sorry.”

The baron smiled and accepted the cup in one paw, then reached down and toussled the fur between my ears with the other. “Ey enjoys the attention. If I were in eir position, I probably would, too; I know ey spends most of the day alone in the bedroom. I’ve taken em with me to dinner a few times, but—”

“You didn’t!” Mister Valentin sat upright in his chair, his eyes wide. “Datsia will be livid if she finds out!”

My master shrugged, still grinning. “She probably already knows, but she hasn’t said anything to me yet. Besides, what’s she going to say?” He sipped the tea from his mug, then scrunched up his muzzle. “Ugh, cold.” He sipped at it again, then set the cup to his side. “Really, what can she say about it?”

The lynx sat forward in his chair, his elbows on his knees. “Listen, Erik, it’s not about Datsia.” He sighed. “It’s about what happens if something happens to em, if ey overhears something important. It’s why Datsia doesn’t want em in the room when we’re talking strategy. You just don’t bring other people to those kinds of places.”

“But Taneh’s not a person; that’s the whole point of a slave.” My master grinned and stroked my ears, making my cheeks flush darker. “Ey’s no more a person than my horse is, in the eyes of the crown.” He looked down at me. “Are you, pet?”

The sudden question caught me by surprise. I opened my muzzle, then closed it again, unsure how to answer. Some days, I felt more like a person than others. I resented the time I spent alone in the room. I looked at what Miss Aura had done to my paws with shame. I thought about my time at the Blue Moon and in Dion’s “care” with frustration and disgust. I felt indignant and angry at all that had happened to me since walking into the Slavers’ Guild all those months ago. And yet, for all that, I made no attempts to change anything. Aside from my one thought of running, before I’d even been sold, it simply never occurred to me that I could or should try to seek my freedom. This was the life I had chosen.

I shook my head and closed my eyes. “No, master.” My voice seemed very small when I spoke.

The baron’s smile widened and his ears perked at my words, but Mister Valentin merely groaned. “Erik, it’s not even about what ey thinks ey is. It’s… no, never mind. Listen, do me a favor and don’t tell Datsia. Okay? She’s pushing you hard enough as it is.”

That brought a fresh growl from my master, who pulled away his hind and extended the other. “Don’t remind me. She’s trying to break me, I know she is. She’s obsessed with turning everyone in Baris into a soldier, and the whole of the Barony if she thinks she can get away with it.”

The lynx shifted in his chair. “Listen, Erik….” He trailed off there, staring into his teacup for several moments before continuing. “She’s just trying to protect the barony. You understand that, right?”

My master cocked his head to the side. “What?”

Mister Valentin rose and walked back to the table, speaking as he went. “I just want to make sure you understand that this isn’t her against you, or even me against you. We’re all trying to do what we think is right for Baris and Deterikh. We’re all working towards the same goals.”

“And drafting half of Baris is the right way to achieve it?” the baron scoffed. “I won’t have it, not until I’ve had a chance to talk with Baron Jazinsk. I swear to the Family, if Dion isn’t less than half a day’s ride ahead of their carriage, I’ll go there myself.”

The lynx shook his head quickly. “That’s a bad idea, Erik. If it’s really as tense as the reports suggest, then you’re putting yourself in too much risk. And Baron Jazinsk probably won’t be coming here, for the same reason. Hopefully he’ll send his envoy, but I wouldn’t even count on that.” He shrugged and picked up the teapot, then set it down again with a sigh. “Empty. Just as well, though.”

The baron held out his cup. “Finish mine; I’ve had too many pots as it is.” After Mister Valentin took it and sat back down, my master sat up and withdrew his hind, then patted the couch beside him. I rose onto it, then lay down with my head in his lap, and he began to stroke my fur and tousle the chains between my wrists and collar. “If anyone could persuade them to send someone, it’d be Dion; he’s got a golden tongue.”

Baris’ sargeant-at-arms shifted again in his seat. “Yeah, listen, Erik, I wouldn’t put too much stock in Dion’s talents. He’s good at what he does, but… well, he’s just one person, and Jazinsk has a lot of hungry and grumbling muzzles.”

“Valentin, what are you trying to say?” My master turned to the lynx, his fingers tense agianst my shoulder. “Don’t tell me you’re on Datsia’s side.”

Mister Valentin’s smile was gentle, almost sad. “I’m on Barony Deterikh’s side, Erik, the same as you and she, both. Listen, It’s getting late, and I’ve got drill at dawn.” He drained the cup, then walked to the table and set it down. He chuckled softly. “Do you remember when we could afford to be whelps, the both of us?”

My master sighed. “I don’t think I’ve ever really had the chance. Not since Mother died.” He looked up at his sergeant-at-arms. “Valentin?”

The lynx stopped by the door. “Yes?”

“If…” My master stopped, then tried again. “If war is inevitable, and something happens, I’d rather you succeed me.”

Mister Valentin hesitated, then smiled. “Nothing like that is going to happen. We won’t let it, any of us. Goodnight, Erik.” Then he was gone, leaving my master and I alone in the parlor.