Bonds of Silver, Bonds of Gold 10: Value (Part 2)

When we first walked back into his bedchamber, the baron’s ears hung forward and his tail was still and low. I had learned to judge his mood fairly quickly, and the rest of any night’s activities were mostly a matter of how his nightly sessions with Miss Datsia and Valentin had gone. On the nights that they went well, he often took me on a walk around the castle for a bit of exercise, leading me behind him on a chain hooked to my collar. Sometimes we would end up at the baths, so that I could tend to him. Sometimes we merely strolled the grounds, enjoying the coming summer air. Sadly, those nights were few and further between. Most times, little more than sleep was on his mind by then, and perhaps not even with his personal slave. If he thought to invite me to his bed, he might let himself coaxed into relieving the ever-building need with his fingers, but as often as not, he simply refused the advances, leaving me to spend a long and frustrating night beside him. At least those, however, were preferable to the nights in which he simply left me on the mat, able to see him, to hear his breathing, and to be unable to even feel him against me, while I physically ached for his touch.

Once, and only once, did he came to the room with eyes of fire and his tail stiff behind him. On that night, I learned what Mister Dion had meant by the baron’s temper. I don’t know what Miss Datsia said or did to infuriate him, but he wasted little time on taking it out on me, driving himself into me as if he were stabbing me, wordlessly snarling as he took me, then pushing me off of him when he was done. He didn’t banish me to my mattress in words that night, but I spent it curled on the floor anyway, curled in a ball, hurt in ways that transcended mere pain.

Sensing my master’s exhaustion, I stepped over to the bed as soon I could get into the room. “I’ll prepare your bed, master,” I said as I drew back the covers, slipping my paws beneath the top edge of the blanket.

The wolf stopped, his eyes wide and unblinking for a moment, and it appeared it would be another difficult night, but then he lowered his gaze and sighed. “I’m tired, but I don’t think I could sleep. My thoughts are a jumble.”

Surprised by his words, I lifted my head, still not quite meeting his eyes with mine, but my ears went up in curiosity. “Master?”

He laughed again, a hollow chuckle devoid of mirth. “It’s nothing I should be burdening you with.” He paused, then perked slightly, and a warmer smile crossed his muzzle. “Rise, Taneh. Help me out of this.”

I nodded and started helping my master undress, but he held out his paw when we reached his briefs. “No, I just want to wear something that’s not a uniform for a while.” He motioned back towards the wardrobe. “Find a plain tunic or shirt in there, and some pants.” He sat on the edge of the bed as I went looking. “Troops and training and readiness… I don’t see how my father dealt with this.”

“Master?” I turned, holding a roughspun, cream-colored shirt and loose-fitting pants between my paws.

Baron Deterikh shook his head again. “No, never mind.” He lifted his head, smiling wearily, and suddenly he looked much older than I despite his youth. “Thank you.” He took the clothes from me and shrugged into them. “Follow me, Taneh.”

I hesitated a moment. “Master? My leash?”

My master grinned, a faint spark in his eyes. “Are you planning on running?”

I swallowed hard at that. “No, master.”

The wolf laughed, then turned and left without another word, and I hastened to follow. Without the markings of nobility, few turned to look at Baron Deterikh as he passed, though a few did still recognize him—or his slave, I thought with a blush—and bow as he passed. The hallways of the castle were mostly quiet as we walked, with only a few guards patrolling to notice as he led me through the stone passages to a spiral staircase. “This way, but carefully.” The steps were narrow, even for his hinds, and so I had to walk carefully, relying on my master for balance.

As the baron pushed open the door at the top of the stairs, a fresh rush of summer air swirled down the stairs, filling the stairwell with the scent of warm rain. Outside, the air was clear, a deep and vivid blue, speckled with stars. Matska and Oshka were still early in the sky, while little Koshki was racing ahead as always, halfway across the sky. Even more stunning than the stars, though, was the view of Baris. I had never seen a city from this angle, and Deterikh’s capital was larger than any city to which I’d been before. Witchlights twinkled like fireflies in some of the windows, and in the streets at the larger intersections. The city square was thick with wagons, and more motes danced there. It was as if the sky had been reflected, in some small measure, in the streets below.

The baron must have caught my stunned expression, because he barked a laugh and stepped forward. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? I come up here to remind myself why I put up with all of Datsia’s fretting and fussing. This is what I’m protecting.” He gestured out across the skyline, embracing all of Baris in a sweep of his arm, then tilted his head back and breathed in deeply. “Ah, good. A little light rain will do the crops some—what was that?”

“I am ready,” I repeated, my eyes closed. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling the leaden warmth that quickly settled into my bones. The scent of rain tickled my memory, but then vanished behind the vast white fog that lingered in my mind and faded. “Master.”

“Taneh?” My master’s voice seemed far away, disturbed but curious. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, master,” I slurred softly. Each breath left me a little more relaxed, though I was quite focused on his voice and the lights dancing about be. Twelve lights. Thirteen. Fourteen.

A paw landed lightly on my shoulder. “What… is going on?”

I shook my head. “You spoke the words, master. I am ready.”

“Ready?” My master hesitated. “For what?”

I took a deep breath, then let it out. Five. Six. “Anything, master. This is the state Miss Aura taught me, to let her do what she did.”

“Oh.” The baron was quiet for a few moments after that. “You mean to change you?”

I nodded. Three. Four. “Yes, master.”

“I see.” Another pause from the baron. “How do you feel?”

“Aroused, master. Relaxed.” The lights flickered and spun around me as the words passed through me. “Curious, master. I have many questions, but I have been trained to keep my tongue to myself. I am trained to do as I was told, and I do it very well.”

“Open your eyes, Taneh.” I did so to see the baron staring intently into my eyes. “What questions do you have? Answer my question, pet; that’s an order.”

“Yes, master.” I nodded again, then drew in a deep breath and let go, sinking into relaxation. “You act as if you didn’t know about this; why didn’t Mister Dion tell you about this? Who is Melka? Why does Miss Datsia upset you so?” I opened my muzzle to ask another question, but the baron held up a paw in front of my face.

Before answering, he turned away and folded his arms across his chest. “I’ll take those in reverse order. The last isn’t a question I should answer, but I’m quite tired of doing what she tells me to do. Barony Jazinsk’s swelling its military, and it’s nearly harvest season. Right on the heels of the worst winter they’ve had in years, they’re pulling people out of their fields and putting swords in their paws. I’ve invited Baron Jazinsk for an emergency meeting to negotiate eye to eye, but there’s no word if they’ll answer. The middle is easy; Melka was my mother. You’ve seen her portrait, standing beside Father in my room. The first…” He turned back to me. “I can’t answer, but when Dion returns from Barony Jazinsk, I plan to ask him that myself. Now, a question for you. What did I say that put you in this state?’

I hesitated, trying to determine if I could say it myself, and what it would do if I did. It seemed safe to chance it. “Little light,” I said, followed immediately with a fresh wave of warmth and heaviness. “I am ready,” I murmured shortly afterwards.

The baron’s eyes shone. “Interesting. Very interesting.” His scent and the lay of his pants suggested more than mere interest. “And… how do you feel now?”

I smiled. “Relaxed, master, and aroused.”

The baron put a paw again on my shoulder and pulled me after him. “Well, little light, let’s go do something about that.”