Remembered (4 page)

I’m not alone,
Galia tried to tell herself.
I’m not.

Though she knew she ought to be hungry, it was the bed that drew her attention. All she wanted to do was curl up in a ball. She forced herself to remove the beautiful dress, careful not to brush her sore nipples. Then she climbed into the feather-soft bed. The covers were cold to the touch when she slipped between them. She rolled until the edges of the covers were tucked around her. It was close to feeling like there might have been someone next to her. She could pretend that it was Mina on one side and Strayke on the other.

But she couldn’t think about Strayke for too long. If she did, she might imagine the way his face looked when she betrayed him.

Despite her apprehensions, she could feel the tides of sleep tug at her. Some of the frantic energy that had kept her going for all of the previous weeks was leaving her now. No matter how dangerous the palace was, it was safer than a slaver’s ship or a mountainous wasteland. Now she could stop and allow herself to rest.

Galia’s eyes drifted closed. The covers felt wonderfully decadent. Her body felt soft and warm, a feeling she’d nearly forgot, but nevertheless was restful.

W
hen Galia woke
it was to the sound of scratching. At first, she thought that there might have been a cat roaming the room, or perhaps a rat. In the village, animals had the run of the space. Then she remembered that she was not in the village. She sat up in bed, listening intently.

When the scratching came again, she draped a blanket around her, and made her way to the window where the sound originated. Puzzled, she undid the latch. Below the window was the city of Tenebris, the lights soft and warm. From the barest light in the sky, it looked as though dawn was still a couple of hours away.

“Hello, beautiful.”

Galia gasped to see Mina perched on a ledge outside, as if she was sitting on a bench. But her delight turned to shock when she realized how far up they were.

“Get in here before you fall to your death!”

Mina laughed as Galia pulled her into the room, shutting the window after her.

“Are you surprised to see me?”

Galia couldn’t stop a relieved smile from stretching over her face.

“You have absolutely no idea,” she said. “What’s happened to you?”

Mina’s smile was wide.

“So many things. They fed me good food. They let me wash. They gave me clothes, and that woman, Rhea, sat and talked with me. We figured out that I would be terrible in the kitchen or at the seamstress’s, and then she suggested that I should join the guard.”

“You’ve always done well with the stick-fighting at home.”

Mina snorted.

“Rhea took me to see the guards. These people, men and women both, they’re warriors. Some of them have been training since they were children. But Galia, they say I can be one of them.”

Galia fought to keep a smile on her face, happy at her friend’s happiness. But then Mina frowned.

“What happened to your lip?” she said, stepping close. Before Galia could look away, Mina cupped the side of her face. Her thumb lightly drifted against Galia’s mouth. Then her face screwed up furiously. “Who struck you?” she demanded. “What cur deserves to die?”

It was a heartfelt blast of concern that was pure Mina. It had only been hours, but how Galia had missed her.

“Oh, Mina,” Galia said, falling into her arms.

Mina held her close. “You’re trembling,” she whispered, running her hands over Galia’s bare shoulders. “No wonder. You’re freezing.” She checked over Galia’s shoulder. “Back to bed,” Mina said. “Let’s get you warm.”

At the side of the bed, Mina began to strip. Though it was nothing the two of them hadn’t done before, especially to keep warm, Galia hesitated.

Mina was throwing her new clothes to the foot of the bed but paused. “What is it?”

Slowly, Galia unfurled the blanket. The nipple rings glinted gold.

“By all the gods!” Mina exclaimed. “Galia, what did they do to you?” Tears came to Galia’s eyes, and her throat was suddenly tight. “Oh my poor Galia, what have they done?”

In moments, Mina had gently ensconced them both between the sheets, and pulled the thick covering over the top of them.

“Come close, if you can,” Mina said, their noses already almost touching. “Here,” she said, lifting the covers a little.

But as she and Galia both shifted, and Galia nuzzled close, her lips brushed against Mina’s.

It was innocent, of course, but both of them stilled. Mina’s soft eyes, looked into hers. She seemed puzzled at first, and then surprised. It was as if the same question were playing through her mind as played through Galia’s: Had that been intentional? But in truth, in that moment, Galia didn’t know.

What she did know was that something was about to change. As though a line were drawn somewhere in the air, Galia knew they were about to cross it. Once they did, nothing would be the same. Galia knew that she should get up and send Mina to her bed. She knew that there might be trouble if they were caught together. Yet when Mina smoothed her fingertips along Galia’s face, all those thoughts fled from her mind. She knew that Mina had done that before, but she could never remember it being so tender. Mina’s fingers drifted back to Galia’s thick hair. They combed back to the nape of her neck. She held Galia still and slowly pressed forward, and when their lips brushed again, there was no mistaking the intent.

Mina’s kiss was feathery-light, and Galia realized she was doing her best to keep away from the swelling. But when Mina’s clever tongue slid along her lower lip, Galia couldn’t help but gasp. Despite the pain in her lip, Galia kissed her back. Mina’s mouth was so soft and inviting. The luscious flesh gave in easily. In response, Mina quickly deepened the kiss, but Galia discovered something she’d never suspected. There was a gentleness about Mina that was heartbreaking.

Galia instinctively pressed close, but just as suddenly broke the kiss. The nipple rings had pushed into Mina’s chest. Galia hissed a little and backed up.

“Oh, Galia,” Mina whispered, her voice almost a cry. “Do they hurt very much?”

“No, no,” Galia said quickly. “It’s nothing.”

Mina frowned. “You should know better,” she said seriously.

Galia gaped at her a little. She hadn’t wanted them pierced. “But it wasn’t me that–”

Mina gently put a finger to Galia’s lips. “You should know better than to lie to me,” she said. With a slight pressure on Galia’s shoulder, she said, “Lie back.”

As she did, Mina’s small hand gently palmed her breast from below.

“I’ve always thought your breasts were beautiful,” she whispered, and lowered her face to Galia’s chest.

With the same feathery kiss Mina had used on her mouth, she kissed the side of Galia’s breast.

Galia’s eyes fluttered closed, as she sank into the softness of the bed. After all the pain, the caress of Mina’s warm, moist mouth was like heaven. She exhaled in a shuddering sigh. With a slow deliberation, Mina placed a succulent kiss on the other side of the tender nipple, then above and below.

“That feels so good,” Galia breathed.

But as Mina’s mouth hovered over the nipple, Galia tensed and Mina paused.

“I want to comfort you,” Mina whispered, her soft breath slipping over and around the pierced tip. “I want to take this wounded part of you into my mouth.” Galia’s heart leapt into her throat. “But not if it will bring you pain. Not–”

“Do it,” Galia whimpered. “Please, just do it.”

It was beyond all reason, so soon after being lanced, the wound so new and vulnerable. But Galia was beyond reason now, desperate only for the succor of Mina’s mouth. And then it was on her.

Gods, the silky feel was incredible. Mina’s mouth covered the tip of her breast, enveloping it in soft, moist heat. Galia’s back arched a little, and her belly flooded with unexpected warmth. Gently, Mina moved with her, as though staying connected to the tip of her breast was all that mattered. Her gentle mouth was soothing and Galia felt a tightly strung chord somewhere deep inside her let go. She was safe with Mina, and so cared for.

Slowly, Mina shifted her scant weight, rose from the one breast, and moved to the other. It already ached for her attention, and Galia partly rose to meet Mina’s mouth. The connection was just as wonderful, as Mina gently suckled and warmed that injured part of her. Another shuddering sigh escaped from between Galia’s parted lips.

Mina’s hand gently massaged her other breast, slowly slid down her ribs, and spread over the flat of Galia’s tummy. But when her fingers glided down and cupped Galia’s mound, Mina froze. To Galia’s dismay, Mina released the tip of her breast and looked down.

“They shaved you?” she whispered hoarsely. Galia could only nod, as Mina massaged the shaved flesh. “You’re as soft as a baby’s bottom.”

As Mina’s slender fingers slid over the edge, Galia moaned and squirmed. Her own hand found the apex of Mina’s thighs, smoothing into the soft curls, and then Mina’s slick folds. Mina whined a little, shifting her body over Galia’s. The slender woman straddled Galia’s leg. Then she slipped her smooth but muscled thigh between Galia’s. She could feel Mina’s soft skin against the bareness of her shaved mound. Galia was already a little slippery, and now her folds opened slightly to allow the bud of her pleasure to stroke against Mina’s leg. She could feel Mina grow wetter as well. But more than that, she could feel the way that Mina needed her.

When Mina started to rock against her, Galia’s eyes nearly rolled backwards in her head. The pleasure of the movement, the heat and sweetness, made her breath come faster. Now that Mina had showed her the way of it, Galia was certain that she had never needed anything more. She rocked against Mina as hard as Mina pushed against her. She wrapped her arms around Mina’s sinuous body, needing to be close above all else. She ground herself on Mina, as Mina did the same. Tension blossomed in Galia’s mound and wound tighter with each passing moment. A storm of pleasure swirled there, that Galia barely understood. The low shaking in her belly almost caught her by surprise. She clung hard to Mina, and Mina to her, both of them breathing hard.

When she climaxed, she was torn away from her body. The release was overwhelming. She flew through a shower of stars and sparks, and when she came down on the other side, her cheeks were wet with tears.

Galia felt it when Mina found her own release. The other woman’s taut body clutched her with all the strength she possessed. She could feel Mina’s wet flesh against her thigh, she could feel the way the pleasure spread through Mina’s body.

This is what we have needed for so long.

They lay tangled in each other, their breath slowly coming back to normal. There was something sacred about their silence. In this strange place together, they had found themselves. They had created something just for them. It was the closest Galia had ever felt to something greater than herself.

Mina placed a last, soft kiss on Galia’s waiting mouth, and slid off to lay at her side. They cuddled together as they had done so many other times.

“You’re beloved to me,” Galia said solemnly.

“You are beloved to me,” Mina responded.

The first light of early morning had crept into the room. Without a word, Mina slipped out of the bed, and dressed silently. Galia watched her, aware that she looked different. She was still beautiful Mina, and yet now she was so much more. She went to the window, and scissored one leg over.

Galia felt a pang of fear seize her and quickly sat up, drawing the blankets close to cover her.

“No, Mina, please!” Mina paused, and looked back. “Not the window!”

Mina made a face as though she were the most long-suffering person in the world. But to Galia’s relief, she climbed back in, trotted to the bed and kissed Galia’s forehead, then went to the door and was gone.

A
fter she had washed
and eaten, Galia was escorted to a new door that opened to a wide room where one wall was made of pure glass. The morning light poured in like molten gold. Galia gasped at the beauty before she noticed that the Oracle was seated at a chair nearby, her white wolf sitting patiently at her feet.

“It is beautiful, is it not? The legacy of Tenebris’s beauty is something that drew me in, and it is one that I am still grateful for. How did you pass your first night here?”

“Very well, thank you, Oracle.”

The Oracle was quiet for a long moment, studying Galia as if she were a bug pinned under a glass. Galia refused to look away. If the woman knew about her and Mina, she would tell her soon. Either way, she had not lied.

“I am glad,” the Oracle said, sounding quite sincere. Whatever Galia had expected from the woman, that was not it. “You must understand. The priestesses of Tenebris must be beyond reproach. We are above others. If they wish to worship, we must guide them. We are not like them, and if we are, we lose power.”

Galia bit her lip, not liking the direction the Oracle’s words were taking.

The Oracle got up and walked over to a metal vase that Galia had not noticed before. She pulled out a handful of long switches, shaking them lightly to rid them of the water.

“Mina must be punished for her insolence, and you need to be the one to do it.”

Galia recoiled as if she had been slapped again. “No!”

“Yes,” the Oracle responded coldly. “Otherwise, I will see her sold to the filthiest inn I can find, a place where she will curse herself for daring to touch the divine. There are such places and, even if you don’t know it, I can promise you that she will.”

The switches in the Oracle’s hand looked brutal. Galia imagined them descending on Mina’s slight and unprotected body. She could imagine the cries.

“You decide,” the Oracle continued. “Consider it an exercise of the power that you may someday wield. What do you want for Mina? A beating, or a lifetime overworked until she dies?”

In the end, there was no choice. Almost in a dream state, Galia took the switches from the Oracle’s hand. She noticed that they must have been soaking for a while, because they were heavier than she would have thought.

The Oracle went to the door, and Mina appeared as if she had been waiting outside. Perhaps she had. For a moment, their eyes met.

Why did Mina not run? Why didn’t she resist? Where was the sure fury that was always just under her skin? But Mina looked away.

“Very well,” the Oracle said. “At the end of it, if you have not suffered enough, you will be sent back to the Bondage Wheel.”

The threat was clear. This could be no show. It would be a real punishment. It would hurt.

The Oracle directed Mina to drag a tall stool with a rectangular seat from the corner. When it was placed in the center of the large room, the Oracle directed Mina to strip to her skin and bend over it. Galia could barely look at her. Only hours ago she had lain next to that lithe and slender body.

When she was bent over the stool, the Oracle stepped close to Galia.

“You have likely never punished someone before. It is safest to strike someone from the area above their knees to where the crease of their buttocks begin. It will sting and it shames them, but it will not interfere with their ability to work.”

The Oracle stepped back, crossing her arms over her chest. She was watching Galia keenly. Galia took a deep breath, and stepped forward. She drew the bundle of switches back, and hesitated. Her mind raced, trying to think of any way out. There had to be a way to avoid this. Why did Mina not fight?

The Oracle tsked loudly.

Galia found that she had lowered the reeds. She raised them again, her throat and chest tightening.

Forgive me, my love!

She brought them down across Mina’s buttocks. Mina did nothing more than draw in a sharp breath.

Do it again,
Galia thought.
Do it again or it will be worse for her.

She started striking Mina, watching from outside herself as her lover’s flesh grew red and began to raise in small welts. Mina’s breaths turned into writhing moans, and then tortured grunts. Galia saw Mina’s knuckles go white gripping the legs of the stool. Her back arched with each strike. Her head jerked up. The beautiful flesh jumped with each smacking lash. The stool scuffed loudly against the floor. But Mina never cried out. Galia felt woozy, the reeds hard to grip in her sweaty hand. Though Galia still struck her, Mina had stopped jerking. The sharp corners of the stool bit into her stomach and heaving chest. Galia was just thinking that the punishment was meant to go on forever when the Oracle called for a halt.

“All right, that’s enough. Mina, get up.”

It took every ounce of willpower that Galia could summon not to rush to Mina’s side. At first Mina fell to one knee, her breathing harsh and uncontrolled. Her arms shook with the effort to push away from the stool.

“You may consider this incident closed,” the Oracle said to her. “You can put on your clothes and return to your work. You took that well.”

Galia let the rods fall from her numb fingers, so cold that she could barely feel them. Mina dressed stiffly, her rounded flesh almost raw. Galia winced at her jerky movements. Still, Mina bowed deeply to both of them.

“Thank you, Lady,” she murmured.

Galia nearly vomited.

Mina staggered to the door, tugged it open, and left. When someone else closed the door, Galia turned a heated glare to the Oracle, only to see her smile approvingly.

“There are many who have the spark, but few have the ruthlessness to do what must be done. I think you may last.”

Galia saw the truth in one painful flash. This was the true reason the Oracle had allowed her to bring Mina. She was a tool to be used to control her.

“Would you rather she had been sent away?” the Oracle asked, as she watched Galia’s face. “I did not exaggerate about a lifetime of overwork.” Galia clenched her jaw, not trusting her voice for a reply. “Of course I cannot compel you to continue this way,” the Oracle said, sounding philosophical. “An unwilling heart is one I cannot turn. If you stay, you will become as I am. Someday, you might watch a heartbroken girl whip a lover, and you will feel nothing but satisfaction. At this moment, the decision is yours in a way that it never will be again.”

Galia felt her mouth go dry. Here it was. This was where her life turned. It was where she and Mina would live or die. In the end, as with all choices when it came to Mina, it was no choice at all.

“I will stay,” Galia said.

The Oracle’s smile was like the sun coming out from behind the clouds.

“What a fine decision.”

I
t was
five days before Mina appeared at her window again. When she did, Galia gasped.

“Your hair!”

Mina’s white hair had been cropped down to nearly nothing. There was a livid purple bruise on the side of her face.

“Like it? It makes it hard for anyone to grab me. Like the bruise?”

“I don’t! Are you all right?” Though Galia carefully caressed the side of Mina’s face, it wasn’t the bruise she was talking about. Tears instantly stung Galia’s eyes. “You shouldn’t have come,” she whispered. “But I’m frightfully glad you did.”

“It was my fault,” Mina whispered, pulling her into an embrace. “I should have left by the window. I won’t make that mistake again.”

“Why didn’t you run? Why didn’t you fight?”

“They said they would punish you,” she said, resigned.

Galia was ashamed for not already knowing the answer. It was obvious, wasn’t it? The Oracle used each of them to control the other, their love twisted into some cruel tool.

Galia shook her head, tears running down her cheeks. “Can you forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive,” Mina said, wiping away the tears. “I’m not one who wants to fetch pots all day, you know.” Mina brightened. “Besides, now I’m learning to fight!”

As Mina pulled her to the bed, Galia couldn’t help but smile. Despite the short hair and bruise, Mina talked excitedly about her training. She was nowhere near as large and tough as some of the fighters on the field, but her speed was making her a legend. She spoke of the men and women who surrounded her like a new family. She spoke of the food that was plentiful and the way the instructor told them that their bodies were weapons, and therefore had to be tended as if they were such.

Galia’s own training had been far less notable. She worked with the Oracle honing her skills of concentration. She dived inward to touch her own power, even as Mina burst outward.

As her lover spoke, Galia finally understood that she had made the right decision. If the price of their happiness, of Mina’s ability to smile again, was for Galia to dispatch cruelty as though she were born to it, then so be it.

After a while, the two of them fell silent, sitting next to each other on the bed. This time there was no faltering preamble or accidental touch. When Galia looked into Mina’s eyes, Mina leaned in to kiss her, and Galia melted into it.

I’ll strip the skin from her if I have to, but if they make me give up Mina, I’ll turn to stone in their hands.

Her body longed to give in to the pleasure that Mina offered. In fact, she knew she would. But before she could allow it, there was a price of her own that needed to be paid.

“Wait,” Galia said, pulling away. “Wait just a moment.”

“What? Are you all right?”

“I am but first, there is something I need.”

Galia had slowly and secretly gathered long, thick reeds as the floral arrangement in her room had been changed. It was quite beautiful, purple flowers set with spring branches and green leaves. Now she crossed to it as Mina watched, mystified. Galia pulled the three branches from the arrangement. She stripped the green leaves from them until they were bare. When she swished them through the air, they made a soft whoosh. She nodded. She had been right, they would serve.

“Galia, what in the name of the gods are you doing?”

“I need you to strike me,” Galia said, coming to the bed. “I need you to strike me hard.”

In the dim light of the candles, she saw something flicker across Mina’s face.

“What are you talking about?”

“You heard me. I’m going to strip to my skin, and I want you to beat me.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Please,” she took Mina’s hand and pressed the switches into them. “Please, I need this.”

Whether it was Mina’s hunger or her own pleading voice that tipped the balance, Mina took the branches.

Galia quickly slipped her dress from her shoulders, and climbed up on the bed. She pulled a pillow close as she got down on her knees and her elbows.

“The safest place to strike is the area above my knees to the crease of my buttocks,” she said softly. The words had echoed in her mind since the Oracle had said them. Now they came out of her mouth as easily as breathing.

“All right,” Mina said, her breath slightly rough.

Galia wondered what was going through her lover’s mind. She wondered if Mina was afraid, or hot with need, or something else entirely. Then the switches came down, and her mind was clear of any thought at all.

The first swat was a stinging blow that shocked her completely. She had been struck before in her life, but never bare-skinned. She had been slapped by her parents. She had been hit when she was herded onto the slave ship. But none of that had ever been close to the woman she loved striking her so deliberately.

When Mina raised her hand for a second blow, Galia grabbed the pillow and buried her face in it. She knew they had to be quiet. When she cried out, she let the fabric and feathers carry away the sound. The second blow was even harder than the first, and the third harder still.

Her body strained against the pain the way that Mina’s had. Sweat beaded up on her sides. She writhed and jerked, but she didn’t try to move away. She welcomed it. She let it carry her away to a place that was clean and free: free of the hard decisions, free of the training that was changing her in ways she couldn’t understand.

The blows fell without pause. It was up to Mina to stop, because Galia never would. Her flesh was on fire, each blow worse than the first. But she screamed into the pillow. How Mina had stood it without crying out, Galia would never know. Her legs and arms quivered, and as each new blow came down, her entire body convulsed.

Finally, a blow fell and no other came after it. Galia’s body sagged, but then a stroke came that made her shriek into the pillow. It was harder than any of the ones that came before it. For a moment, she was certain that Mina had split her skin. Her hand flew back to touch the abused flesh. But she was startled to feel nothing more than hot skin. Mina pulled her hand away.

“Beautiful, beautiful Galia,” Mina murmured.

Galia started to turn around, but Mina’s hands on her hips kept her right where she was. Galia’s legs had slid apart, revealing her damp sex. Now Mina knelt behind her and pressed her face into Galia’s most private parts, her tongue damp, hungry and seeking.

The shock of Mina kissing her so intimately was quelled by the intensity of the pleasure that she felt. It rose up through her like a tide. As it had the first time they were together, it took her over. Her climax crashed into her, and when it threatened to ebb, Mina’s hands on her smarting rear drove it higher.

Galia screamed into the pillow again, but it was pleasure this time––pleasure that left her sobbing.

The last pulses of it were riding through her when Mina pushed her down on the bed. Mina latched her legs around Galia’s body, rubbing her clit against the curve of Galia’s hip. In just a few moments, she found her own pleasure and lay shaking next to Galia’s side. Their bodies were limp and damp with pleasure. Galia had never felt so drained and so good.

“Thank you,” she whispered, running her hand over the soft bristle of Mina’s pale hair.

“I can understand it,” Mina said softly. “When I’m on the practice ground, everything is gone but me and my opponent. The pain is good whether I am giving it or taking it. Here, there is nothing but you and I, and what we can feel together.”