“I leave my home for a year and I come back to chaos.” Amalric murmured as he slowly walked back and forth in front of me, talking to himself, “And every time I try to make sense of things I always end up hearing your name, murk.”

His entourage spread out a fair distance away, silently watching all of us and scaring away any passers-by. Groupies all of them. Close enough to provide him support and protection, but far enough not to interfere with his speech.

Amalric’s eyes glanced at our group, “Leave us. Now.”

So that is why the others were so far away. Looks like he wanted a private conversation.

I heard the shuffle behind me. Looking back, the girls only moved closer to me. Even Viter didn’t move as much, choosing to shoot me a careful look instead.

“Please,” I said, passing the pouch to Yeva, “Do as the Young Master said.”

A quiet whisper between us and Irje nodded, pulling Yeva along. A quick glance at Viter and he had done the same.

Leaving me alone with the frowning Amalric.

“And now my mother’s slaves listen to you instead?”

“It was Domina’s own will. They were either sold or given to me so that they can help me in my tasks.”

“They might be yours, but remember that you belong to Kiymetl.”

I silently bowed in agreement, denying him of a potential continuation of the argument. Acknowledging that he was my master could likely result in him easily demanding something out of me on the spot. While specifying that it was his mother that owned me could lead to needless posturing. Surrounded by his cohort, Amalric would be unlikely to take kindly to any statements undermining his authority.

“Tell me, murk. Where did you come from and what have you done to earn my mother’s trust? I have heard the rumours in the Manor. It has been less than five tendays since you’ve arrived and yet you are now a common sight within my mother’s meeting rooms.” He pressed on.

“I was bought as a work slave for the washing pits. In her boundless wisdom, Domina has noticed my aptitude in alchemy as I worked there, and then - my skills at math. She had sent me to meet Virnan Shah himself so he could observe me.” I conveniently skipped my origin story trying to distract him with the golden bauble on my neck, “Having tested my ability, he gave me this.”

He squinted at the Gestr and I could feel it vibrating in my hand. A string of runes shining through.

Amalric harrumphed but didn’t challenge my statement. Whatever that was, it apparently worked as some sort of identification, most likely confirming its authenticity.

“Do you know what I think as I look at you?”

“Young Master?”

A hand lashed out with a supernatural speed, aiming for my throat. I barely had the time to insert a finger around the carotid artery as his hand grabbed my neck like a vice, nearly crushing my windpipe in the process. Bastard meant business. Luckily for me, I had secured the blood flow to my brain. In the meantime, my throat muscles started to rapidly readjust themselves in order to allow fresh air in again.

“I see a liar,” He murmured into my face as he lifted me from the ground. He wasn`t as tall as his father, but taller than Aikerim and me. “Do you really think that I would believe some smelly farm slave managing to impress the Wise Fox of Kiymetl himself? How do you even know what math is.”

“Some say that math is discovered, and not just invented,” I made a realistic sound of wheezing, “It is all around us, we just have to notice.”

“And some say nothing but farts into the air. A murk like you discovering anything my Grand-uncle hasn’t seen before?”

“An ant crawling on the ground sees the world differently than a hawk soaring in the skies.” I kept croaking my poetic garbage.

Of all the people to pick up on my spectacular rise in the ranks, why did it have to be him? I guess I grew complacent after every other wermage took my knowledge for granted and, most importantly, never bothered to ask me uncomfortable questions. And now the lovestruck fool was demanding reasonable answers that I was not prepared to give. Especially to him. Even putting the sneaky snake business aside, Aikerim would be absolutely livid if I divulged my story to him first while keeping her ignorant.

“You sing like a bird,” Amalric smirked, “I wonder how pathetic you will sound when you find out that we have a Gift exactly to weed out the likes of you.”

“The Orb of Truth?” I asked incredulously, holding back my own grin as I saw the look of dismay on his face, “Domina has been testing me with it since our first meeting. Just like you, she had made sure that I would not be here to undermine Kiymetl.”

Amalric growled and threw me to the floor, his foot landing on my chest. “And yet you caused havoc yesterday! An important meeting had been postponed because you chose to stroll across Samat!”

“I was out by orders of Domina herself when I was assaulted on the streets. The rest was Domina reacting to me being potentially kidnapped or even killed.” I ‘coughed’.

He paled briefly as he quickly took his foot away from my body.

I chose not to move, continuing my play of a fragile murk. Less hassle that way. He put himself in this position and I let him simmer in it as I ‘recovered’ my breathing. The message was clear to both of us, his mother wouldn’t take it lightly if he continued this interrogation. Not only that, but by staying down I prevented him from feeling challenged and thus retaliating out of spite. And now reason wouldn’t let him take that path. He could either help me get up and apologize or…

“Consider yourself lucky,” He spat, stepping away from me, “Do not speak about this to anyone, but know that I will be watching you. And I will make sure to keep my Manor safe from your kind.”

…Or he would withdraw and leave me alone. Just like that.

I slowly sat up from my lying position. Amalric group have disappeared and I was alone on the pathway with only some faraway gawkers. Curious about what was going on but unwilling to come closer and intrude on the Young Master performing local ‘justice’.

It was a good thing that I told the girls and Viter to head home. It would have been much harder to handle this if they tried to intervene, or he would try to get at me through them. The question is why did he bother to seek me out now? He could have easily found me yesterday if he looked. This means he decided to look for me today. But why?

I started to carefully dust myself off and fix my hair. Apart from rowdy Young Masters, I had horny Big Cougars to worry about. And I knew that she would raise a fuss if I came home looking beat up. Most likely demand me to seduce some other wermage or something.

An unconscious shudder ran down my spine as I imagined Irje telling me to seduce Amalric himself.

“Are you alright?” A soft melodious voice interrupted my nightmare.

I jolted only to jump up and try to dust myself off as quickly as possible. “Lady Shahin Esca! It is nice to meet you, er… May the warmth never leave your house!”

Amalric, you horny bastard! How gullible can you get? ‘Keeping my Manor safe’ my ass!

“And may the warmth never leave your breath,” The eyes crinkled with a hidden smile, “You know of our customs, do you hail from Yusuf yourself?”

“I’ve never been farther than a tenday walk away from Samat. But I remembered the greeting my mistress used when she met you for the first time.” I spoke as I carefully picked my words.

She obviously knew her way around conversations, or she would not be an envoy, especially with such a small escort. Shahin was most likely the one who pointed Amalric in my direction. I quickly tried to remember how much I managed to say in front of him. And calculate how likely that she had heard everything.

“A sharp mind in a boy so young,” She slowly spoke as her hand moved out to fix my ruffled hair. Her skin surprisingly hot to touch. “Do not worry, child, I will not harm you.”

Her other hand was held open in front of me. Some exotic sweet in her palm.

I quickly glanced around as if to make sure no one was looking. Thankfully for me, I could see some onlookers still paying attention to us. My hand quickly grabbed the snack and threw it in my mouth.

Mmmh. Some roasted nuts pressed with honey. No traces of poisons either. Not that it would affect me anymore, but I would have hated to have the taste ruined. Besides, you don’t say no to offered food. That’s Blasphemy. The Gods of Food will strike you down.

“Thank you for your generosity,” I spoke with my mouth full.

She chuckled, “Do not mind it, I just do not want to see unnecessary pain. And please forgive Amalric Karim, it is just the custom of these lands. The harsh life makes them grow fearful and they would prefer to be safe rather than to venture out and get hurt.”

Uh-huh, lady, your gifts are sweet but your tongue is insidious. I guess I looked gullible enough with my mouth full of food. That didn’t mean I would stop playing the cards which were dealt to me.

“Rest assured, my Domina has been benevolent to me.” I happily nodded as I finished masticating. The sweet was extremely chewy.

“That is good to know,” She nodded without missing a beat, “It is always a blessing to have an honest master. One should pray to the Gods that they stay that way.”

I glanced at her and she sighed, “It is always a worry if one in the family acts improperly. One would always wonder if that is just an unlucky occasion or a sign or something else. Who knows from where the wind would bring the sand next day.”

Her warm hand patted me, as she kept slowly talking with a very soothing voice, “But you should be fine in her hands. I can see that she values talent, and I promise you that she will keep you safe as long as you are useful to her. No matter what her family might say or do. But if there is doubt in your heart, my ears will always listen to your pleas. Find me in my quarters then.”

With a single flex of her tail, Shahin easily lifted her torso up and away from me, ending the conversation on a rather unusual note. She left as silently as she had arrived, leaving me dumbstruck in the middle of the path.

Somehow I expected her to try and kill me on the spot if she had a chance. And I didn’t think it would have been that hard. Cautiously using Amalric as an example of a wermage's physical strength, I felt I had at least some chance against someone like him. That tail alone would have likely crushed both of us without a second thought.

Despite that, she decided on a soft approach. And she managed to achieve whatever she went out to do. Or she wouldn’t have left in such a fashion. The question is, what was she really after?

Or did I misunderstand their methods and they opted out to buy and recruit, instead of removing competition?

I shook my head. Whatever it could be, this was not the time to think about it. If Shahin really was as benevolent as she sounded - she could wait until my family was secure. And then we would talk business. If that was just a ploy of a snake to lower my guard. Tough luck for her. I was already dancing on the edge of the blade here and leaving myself vulnerable would be plain stupid.

XXX

The reunion at my living quarters was full of relief as I managed to hide the details of the prior altercation. My assurances that everything was fine were met with a begrudging acceptance, which was only placated by my continuous reminders that Amalric still saw me as a normal murk. I kept quiet, however, that if I was a normal murk I probably would have had at least a few of my ribs broken. And my nanites hid the marks on my skin.

A slightly forlorn look on Yeva’s face told me that she picked up on what was left unsaid. She chose not to speak about it, letting Irje’s content wash over us. Our cougar was perceptive, but it took a murk to understand another murk. No wonder that it was she that reminded me to keep hiding in obscurity and bury my pride in it. Not like I had stopped doing that either, no matter how much new knowledge was jammed into my head - old habits died hard.

Irje left us soon after, choosing to resume her usual responsibilities and graciously allowing Yeva to spend some time with me and relax afterwards. To compensate for having me all to herself during our trip as well as her having to weather the Young Master’s snooping.

Yeva immediately cuddled into my lap, demanding head pats, snacks that we have bought for her, and stories of our trip.

I let her laugh merrily as I told the story of our toy connoisseur and the mental damage her shopping trip caused to my psyche. She promised me that she will keep me safe from evil shopkeepers as I fed her yet another morsel of food.

And then she kissed me feverishly as I put the medallion on her neck. It was my promise to her, and I finally let it happen. From now on Yeva was both free and mine, and I was hers. And she made sure to make it obvious: her demands for my touch skyrocketed immediately after.

“I want to hear you play,” Yeva murmured as she snuggled into my hug. Her naked skin flush with my own.

“Soon, love. I yearn to hear it myself but there are still things I have to do today. But I promise that it will be ready tonight.”

“Like the Lady of the House?” She teased me back, her stuck out tongue making it quite obvious.

I groaned, “Behave. Or I will spank you like our cougar. Aikerim, however, might visit the alchemy lab soon and I want to have two projects of mine complete before then. And cover up a hole in the wall.”

“Will you deal with that annoyance too?” Yeva asked after she stopped giggling.

“Absolutely. I might have ignored him otherwise but I will not stand idly when he dares to threaten you.”

A wistful sigh escaped her delicate lips, “I wish to say the same to you one day.”

“Perhaps you will. Or perhaps we will get to where you won’t even need to do that anymore.”

Yeva chuckled, “You and your dreams of grandeur. Now go while I still let you. Impress Domina and her daughter. And then rush back to my side.”

She stretched on our bed, the beads of sweat glistening on her soft skin, “For I will be waiting on you here.”

XXX

“Domina is here to meet you,”

I pulled a piece of glass from the molten salt bath without acknowledging Viter’s voice from outside. While my nanites rerouted blood in my neck capillaries. Aikerim was likely to come in without waiting for permission, but I needed to be ready for her immediate arrival. Not that I would bar her from entering but dealing with someone unaware of the term ‘occupational hazard’ required some extra precautions.

Wermages could probably scoff at a lot of things deadly to murks but I didn’t want to test how hot was too hot even for Aikerim.

Carefully covering the molten saltpetre with a lid, I turned around to see Domina glaring at my guard. To his credit, Viter looked extremely uncomfortable but didn’t leave his spot.

“I welcome you, my Domina,” I bowed, “And thank you Viter, you have done well. Please leave us.”

The wertiger signed in relief and disappeared.

“Please forgive him, Aikerim. I didn’t want you to walk into the nasty fumes and things hotter than they could ever be,” I apologized as I took off the product of a forbidden relationship between an apron and coveralls. She wasn’t the only one who needed protection in this room.

She smirked, anger nowhere to be seen on her face, “I am quite surprised how quickly you have gotten him under your thumb. Perhaps you do know a thing or two on how to rule.”

Her brows furrowed immediately as soon as she glanced at me. “You have been hurt. Have you been attacked on the streets again? Explain.”

I glanced down at the ugly bruise revealed by the open collar of my tunic. “This had happened inside the manor. And I have been told not to speak about it.”

“Speak plainly, or I will consider adding more to your skin. I’ve heard enough from Irje to know this isn’t from your sadaq. So tell me, who dared to raise a hand on my Alchemist? In my own House?”

“Your own son, or that is what I would have told you if you used the Orb of Truth. Otherwise, I have tripped and fell.”

“Why was he near you?” She instantly pressed on ahead with her questioning.

“He sought me out, or I should say he found my sadaq while looking for me. He has been very concerned about my rise in your household, or so he said. And he demanded to know more.”

Aikerim sighed and closed her eyes. Her jaw muscles flexing under her skin, “And what have you told him?”

“By your orders, as little as I could. We were in public after all. You have noticed my skill in alchemy and math, sent me to Virnan to confirm, and made sure I didn’t lie by using the Orb.”

She groaned, and slumped on a nearby chair, uncaring for its cleanliness. Her fingers massaging her temples.

“You respond to me, and you will be questioned by no one but me. Nor shall anyone else dare to discipline you. Or your sadaq. Not my children, nor my husbands. None of the Kiymetl, not even my Matriarch mother. I will make sure that all of them will be informed. And I will deal with my son myself.”

I shuddered from the way she spoke her last words. Thank you Amalric for your service, your life was short but your gift to me will be treasured forever.

“Do not abuse my generosity, however. For I will hear every complaint about you myself. And I will not take it lightly if you abuse this gift.”

I bowed, “Thank you Aikerim, this is already more than what I could hope for. But there is more. As soon as Amalric Karim left me lying in the dirt,” Aikerim scrunched her nose at my description, “I was immediately approached by Shahin herself. Who was nothing but receptive to my plight. Helping me to get up and even giving me sweets as well. I have a suspicion that she wasn’t there on accident.”

“I wonder,” She murmured as she slowly stroke her tail, her ears back and down as soon as I mentioned the snake. “If there is a spell to remake a son? And what is with you and food? You have access to the kitchens for a reason.”

I scratched my chin, “The only one I know of takes nine mo-, I mean twenty-eight tendays. And food is sacred, my Domina. How would I refuse! Especially if she sees me as gullible in the process too.”

Aikerim barked in a loud laugh, “Thank you, Erf, I needed that. Unfortunately, I still love my son to simply get rid of him. Nor do I have the time and will to make another one right now. So that would have to wait. In the meantime, tell me of your conversation with her.”

“Shahin is insidious for sure. She spoke little, mostly planting doubts within my mind as far as I could tell.” I quickly relayed the rest of our conversation. “I have no idea what her real target was, however. But right now, she could wait for all I care.”

Domina sat in silence, her tail still inside her lap, “And what about your mind? Do you doubt my rule?” she spoke quietly.

“No,” I shook my head, “You are smart, Aikerim. You are guided by reason and not by the fleeting fancy of the day. That makes you predictable to a certain extent. Which clears my doubts about you.”

“You know, sometimes your praises don’t really sound like ones.”

“Because it wasn’t. A praise, that is. I simply told you the truth. And like many truths usually are, it is not good nor bad. It just is. And it is our job to understand our strengths and limitations and, in knowing them, avoid a bleaker future.”

“Strengths and limitations, huh,” She slowly murmured, her ears slowly lifting up, “Still I would prefer to make sure. Perhaps I should leave the glass-working to you and your family. Let it be the tangible proof of my promise to keep you safe.”

“No need, Aikerim. Really. I care little for glass as long as it is being made. One of the main reasons why I wanted it is because I needed better glassware for myself. Sometimes if you want to make it right you have to do it yourself. I did. And now I am ready to move forward. To bigger things than just some molten sand.”

“Take a look at this, for example,” I picked up the cooled ring of glass, and threw it. Not to Aikerim but into the floor.

She gasped as it hit the wooden floor only to bounce away intact.

“Is that what you were talking about?” she picked it up from the floor.

“Yes, chemically treated glass, soaked in molten saltpetre. Now it is many times stronger than glass from Esca.”

“Can they make it?”

“Not unless they know about something only two of us are aware of. Even then, they can’t just dunk any piece of glass and get similar results. The glass itself needs to be made properly to obtain the best benefit. However, they can temper their glass in air like one would quench steel blades in oil, but that would only work on simple shapes.”

Her tail swished in a familiar and relaxed way. “Yet you don’t even care about that?”

“I care that I could have resilient glassware. Soon I will be able to make glass that one could boil liquids in without fear of it shattering from heat. I care that I can have clear glass for other projects. But I do not care who will make it.”

“Why?” Aikerim looked at me, “Why would you discard it so easily? You know how valuable it is.”

“Time.” I spread my arms, “Yours and mine. They are much more valuable than that glass. You have earned a fortune trading textiles. Yet, you do not grow your own. Because your time is more valuable than to spend it tilling land and shearing sheep. Just like you, I would prefer to use my time on something greater. And pay someone else to provide me with glass instead.”

“I can see that. However, it only works as long you actually have something greater to replace it.”

“Absolutely, and I already do.” I picked up a wrapped object from the table. The product of my nitric acid hunt of yesterday. The one that Anaise had almost blown to smithereens. Forcing me to barricade the hole with wooden planks.

I smiled as I heard a loud swish of the tail. Aikerim looked away, her cheeks slightly pink.

“This is the reason why I needed that float glass and silver. And other ingredients I have been searching on the markets.” I said as I unveiled the glass mirror to her.

It was an experimental piece and wasn’t extremely large, just big enough to show her face. But judging by the look of amazement on Aikerim’s face, it was more than plenty.

Her fingers plucked it from my hand and she quickly lost herself inside the mirror. Her tail swaying with abandon.

“I have never seen my face so clear,” she murmured as her fingers traced the surface. “What a weird feeling…”

“This is why I don’t care for mere goblets or vases. Think of the soap - how important do you think it is now?”

“I believe I find it easier to understand your point of view with each thing that you make. Especially with soap. I remember myself coveting it like it was precious. And now I would be amenable to give that knowledge away, for a proper price of course, just to free more workers for your current projects.”

Aikerim glanced once more into the mirror and pulled out the silver comb, precious and exquisite. And offered it to me.

I took it without a single word and started to unravel her large braid, combing her hair free and letting her watch the process. Her ears relaxed and low as she leaned into every stroke of the comb.

“Your captive spoke,” She said out of the blue.

I glanced down and saw her looking at me through the mirror, but said nothing in return. I kept working, allowing her to continue at her own pace.

“Long story short, Samat had to offer some concessions in turn.”

House of Samat. The rulers of the capital? I wondered why the wersheep were so interested in me, but I kept my silence as my fingers run through her hair.

“I decided that since they threatened you, they should make it up to you as well. The construction of the estate will begin tomorrow. And you will get your aqueduct.”

“Thank you, Aikerim,” I smiled at her through the mirror.

She said nothing else about it, but I didn’t really care. I had other priorities on my mind. I needed my family safe and I needed to wait for Albin to finalize whatever plan he thought of. And I needed Aikerim happy in the meantime because I had a feeling she might find it irksome that I was planning behind her back.

I also needed to head out to see Anaise soon, but I had enough time to finish Aikerim’s braid.

And then I would be back home. In the embrace of my sadaq. And with a real guitar in my hands. None of that depressing political bullshit. Let Aikerim tackle that, she was born for these kinds of battles.

I inserted the clasp into her braid to keep it secure and passed the comb back to her.

“Keep it.” Her hand softly pushed the comb back to me, “Let your hair grow. When it grows long enough I will comb it for you.”

Her words quiet yet extremely loud to my ears, “And I will put them into twin braids myself.”