Telion released my face then, and busied his hands with removing his swordbelt and breech. I stood quietly before him, nearly resigned to my lot while I dwelt among males, and was somewhat startled when his arms drew me to his chest rather than immediately putting me to my back.
“You are indeed a lovely morsel,” he said, touching his lips lightly to mine. “But for the shining black, your hair is much the same as Larid’s. I find much joy in your hair and hers. As I am unable to have her beside me, I thank the Serene Oneness that it is you who warms her place. She, too, I know, would be grateful.”
He took a deeper kiss then, and one so full of desire that my head turned with dizziness. Telion was truly a male fit for warriors, and was deep within me even before I had realized that he had lowered me to the fur. The pleasure he gave was intense but brief, for his name was called from without the tent when he had barely begun, and he made haste to satisfy his need before leaving me. With the spilling of his seed, his lips came to mine again, and then to my ear.
“There is no shame in giving a man pleasure,” he whispered rapidly, the smell of him strong in my nostrils. “It is a woman’s purpose, along with the bearing of his children. Learn this well, satya, and take joy in the joy you give others.”
Again he kissed me, and then he was gone, to replace breech and swordbelt, hurriedly don body furs, and at last depart the tent. I shivered somewhat from the rush of cold air his departure brought, and moved uncomfortably in the furs where he had left me. Telion’s desire had been seen to, yet mine growled hungry within me, aroused and scarcely touched. There was little joy to be found in such brevity of use, and I twisted about in the furs, commanding my hips to be still, finding myself disregarded by my own body. The lanthay fur was warm and soft, and I stretched wide upon it, my arms above my head, my body twisted to one side, the toes of my feet pointed, yet the heat refused to leave me. I raised my head to search for Ceralt, thinking to use his body to satisfy mine, and found Lialt’s eyes upon me instead. The male seemed interested in my movement in the fur, and a sudden heaviness within me brought to mind the sure knowledge that Lialt, too, must be served before Ceralt would have me. I turned to my belly and put my cheek to the fur, feeling the same impatience with Lialt that I had always felt, yet unable to move my gaze from where he held it. Lialt, a male, smiled with sudden amusement, and my cheeks grew red as the knowledge which had come to him also visited itself upon me.
“I see she is capable of learning,” Lialt laughed, and I knew he spoke to Ceralt. “See how she tries to hide her body, brother. She has learned that she must serve me if I desire her, and therefore seeks to hide herself from my eyes.”
“I have always known her capable of learning,” Ceralt chuckled beyond my sight as I twisted about in humiliation. “And now the thought comes that she may be taught other things of value upon this journey. I would much enjoy seeing her taught to read, Lialt, and perhaps your efforts would prove to be more fruitful than mine.”
“The thing is not difficult,” Lialt pronounced, looking at me thoughtfully as I stretched my head about to gaze at Ceralt in protest. I had no desire for this thing called “read,” yet Ceralt’s face seemed set and determined. Once before I had been forced to such foolishness, and the experience had not been pleasant.
“Reluctant students are often the best when finally reached,” Lialt said, seeing my lack of desire. “Come and see this, Jalav, and tell me if it holds meaning for you.”
Ceralt gestured briefly that I was to obey Lialt, and once again my fate was sealed. With a deep and weary sigh, I rose from the furs and went to where Lialt lay, seeing that he had moved the sheaf with black strokes so that I might look upon it. The strokes held as little meaning as ever, and knowing full well that I had once been beaten for the utterance said, “The foolishness holds no meaning for any with wit. Males alone find meaning where there is none.”
Lialt glanced up at me where I stood, and rather than show the anger I had expected, his eyes were filled with a patience I had not before seen.
“All things have meaning,” Lialt said, touching the black strokes gently as he gazed upon them. “In order to learn the meaning of things, one must first learn that there is, indeed, a meaning to be learned. Kneel before the book, wench, and we will begin by teaching you the names and sounds of each of these letters. ”
Lialt waited until I had knelt where he had indicated, then he sat himself straight beside me to point at various strokes and make odd noises. My repeating these noises seemed to satisfy the male, yet the process went on and on, finding no end. My body’s needs had not diminished, and all too soon I found that the nearness of Lialt had indeed increased them to the point where I was barely able to kneel without writhing. Lialt’s eyes remained upon the sheaf of strokes, therefore I turned my head to see what Ceralt was about. Had he asked it then, I would surely have begged my use without hesitation.
“You will not find the letters there,” Lialt’s voice came just as I had noted Ceralt’s dozing form. “What is it you wish from my brother?”
I returned my gaze to Lialt and found again that similarity to Ceralt was not as Ceralt himself. Lialt narrowed his eyes as he inspected my face, and then some understanding came upon him. He raised the palm of his hand to rub gently at my breast, and smiled at the gasp that was torn from me.
“Are you that badly in need?” he murmured, setting my body aflame with the touch of his hand. “I had thought Telion’s use too brief to see to you, and now you prove the thought true. Widen your thighs.”
I did as he bid, unable to refuse, knowing that I would sooner have his use than no use at all, shamed by the feeling but unable to deny it. Lialt was male and I had need of a male, yet satisfaction was not soon to be mine. Lialt touched me lightly, seeking and finding the flow of moisture from my body, and then his hand was gone.
“When you have learned the names and sounds of three letters, I will use you,” he informed me, a grin strong upon his face. “Until then, the lesson will continue, and should your attention flag I will increase it.”
He returned then to the strokes and their calling, and I moaned where I knelt, knowing full well that Lialt might easily have me writhing should it suit him, for he was male and I was chained by my need. A desperation had entered me, centering about his promised use, forcing my attention to the strokes he pointed to, yet I feared that all effort would be useless. Again and again I sought meaning in the meaningless, and when the strength of my seeking grew fainter than it had been, Lialt’s hand between my thighs renewed the desperation and the effort. At last, most likely through the intervention of Mida, some small similarity for certain of the strokes appeared to my eye, and Lialt pronounced himself satisfied with my learning. Weakly, nearly sobbing, I was taken in Lialt’s arms, and my hunger was such that Lialt was long in the seeing to it. Ceralt was again awake when Lialt left me, and I was sent to his furs as he saw to the flames within the boxes. I knew not where I would find the strength to serve Ceralt’s needs, yet the question was seen to of itself. Ceralt had the strength to tend his own needs, and my body, as always, was his to command. Ceralt commanded, I obeyed, and sleep was long in coming.
14
A place of meeting—and an exchange of slaves
Although the snow had ceased before attaining too great a depth, riding the next fey proved more difficult than it had previously. The lanthay plowed through the mounds, sometimes jumping from one place to another, and more than one of the village females had to be seated behind a male to keep her from falling to the snow. Our progress was slow until we reached a rising of the ground, and then we were able to continue more easily, for it seemed the snow lay to a lesser depth there. None seemed pleased by the presence of new snow, and Lialt looked constantly upon the deep gray of the skies, his worry clear to any with eyes. Should the snow come again, and in larger quantity, the journey so eagerly begun might well end no farther than the woods we rode.