Northstar Vale jayflower

tamar sucked in another breath.

she reached blindly for meadow, pressing her paws to those of the other woman. the little morphe shook her head. "you did not know. arsenio and i, we did not say. we kept akashingo a secret."

but that was not even the most vile thing between she, her husband, and the imperator.

and tamar was not sure how to speak of any of it and omit that someone had been bought to serve in her stead.

"nothing — nothing that you might think," she said breathlessly, trying to regain herself. "i was in the queen's household. i served the mazoi. the tradesmen." or she had been meant for that. once, sihaya had touched her with that intent but it had never been in the fullness.

"my father sold me to traders and they brought me to akashingo. i was not like the other servants, who stay of their own accord. i belonged to the palace. pharaoh gave me as a wedding present to the queen sobekneferu, satsu. i slept at the foot of her bed, i — made her meals, i was with her always."

she bit her lip. "when the time came for their wedding, queen satsu had — she had not lay with a man. so she ordered me to the mazoi, to discover it for her. to lie with one of them. to find out." what a humiliation. "so i chose arsenio." and her eyes were drying now, glittering with such a hatred as had never been seen on tamar's face before. "i told her the secrets she had wanted to know. when the pharaoh found out, they quarrelled. as fellahin, i was gift to her but still his possession. he wanted me before i had been sent to find this knowledge for myself." floating too close now, to the mercenary and the payment and the girl.

"she offered me to him, as though i was nothing. he said i was ruined and sent me away. arsenio too left the palace." and no mention of belen. 

how horrified the girl had looked! tamar began to softly weep again, this time in the shame that no one else could ever know. "it is a horrible place! reyson for all his soldierliness could not even bear it there!"