WARNING: This is a work of erotic fiction. It contains depictions of
nudity and graphic sex.

Author: A Strange Geek
Title: Amanda's Choice
Summary: A 14-year-old girl with a troubled home life is swept away to
another world by an older female lover, where she must make the
ultimate choice between love and freedom.

Part: 16 of 19
Keywords: FF+, Fdom, MF, Mf, Mdom, oral, spank

Note: Story codes are for this Chapter. See Chapter 0 for complete list
of codes

Copyright A Strange Geek, 2005

Feedback welcome! Please email me at astraYOURngegeek@comMINDcast.net
( lose YOUR MIND to email me )

Or to send anonymous feedback, use the form at bottom of HTML version:

/~A_Strange_Geek/novels/AmandasChoice/Chapter16.html



---------------

Roquan uttered a snort of disgust as he picked up yet another
Farviewing pearl from the hearth and dropped it back onto the velvet.

Three clients now! Three! Three that he almost lost and had to convince
not to terminate their existing contracts with him. Damn Lord K'garon!
Thanks to his insufferable arrogance of sending Tanyee back to the
Manor, other clients who had already heard rumors of obedience troubles
with Roquan's slaves took that as a signal to reconsider their business
with him as well!

Roquan had come up with the idea of contacting his clients one by one
to check on how satisfied they were with his slaves and to feel out
possible expanded business with them, only to find all this discontent
having been sown, turning negotiations into damage control. While he
had managed to stop all of them from terminating their contracts, he
wondered now just how many of the ones he had yet to contact were
waiting for the opportunity to sever their ties to Roquan as well.

At that moment, Roquan was not sure with whom he was angrier, Rennis
for instigating the sabotage, or Emperor Z'haas for precipitating the
crisis in the first place.

In either case, he was in no mood for interruptions, so it was with a
very curt voice that he turned and snapped, "Enter!" when the knock
came at his door just as he had picked up the next pearl.

Very cautiously and quietly, Sirinna entered the room.

Some of Roquan's anger dissipated, but not very much. "Sirinna," he
said in a more civil but edgy tone of voice. "Can this wait? I am quite
in the middle of something rather important."

Sirinna considered for a moment, and came close to nodding in
submission and turning away. Instead, she stood where she was and said,
"It is very important that I speak with you, master. I humbly apologize
for my interruption."

Roquan sighed through his nose and dropped the pearl back onto the
velvet. "And what is this about, Sirinna?" he asked, his eyes hard.

Sirinna took another few seconds to work up the last of her courage.
"The other night, master, you told me to report to you anything I might
find important with regards to the disobedience problem. To help catch
the culprit, I believe you had said."

Roquan folded his arms. "Aren't you a little late, Sirinna?"

"I only came upon this information today, master."

Roquan's eyes narrowed. "Do you remember what we spoke about earlier
today, Sirinna?"

"Yes, master."

"About your loyalties? About your feelings for Master Rennis?'

Sirinna swallowed. "Yes, master," she said in a nervous voice. "This
... is not the same, master."

There was silence for a long moment, as Roquan studied his slave. "So
then what you have to tell me has absolutely nothing to do with
Rennis?"

"Not ... directly."

"And you are sure of that?"

"Yes, master."

"You best be sure of that," Roquan said sharply, stepping up to her.
"You best be /very/ sure of that, Sirinna. /I will not tolerate/ any
willful disobedience or disloyalty from any of my slaves. That includes
you."

Sirinna's heart was pounding, but she returned Roquan's cool and
steel-like gaze with her own even one. "I understand."

"Then if this does not have to do with Rennis, who does it have to do
with?"

"Amanda."

Roquan raised an eyebrow. "Amanda?"

"Yes, master."

Roquan paused, then nodded once for her to continue.

"Amanda told me something a short while ago she did not earlier,"
Sirinna explained. "She had taken a bath with Tanyee, and somehow
Disalla got into their bath."

Roquan took a deep breath and let it go, his anger rising. "What did
you just tell me about this not being about Rennis?"

"It is not about Rennis, master," Sirinna said. "It is about Amanda.
She did not know it was Disalla until she described the effects to me,
and then I knew it could not be anything else. It appears, master, that
she got it into her bath because she stepped in some in the Healer's
office."

"In the Healer's office," he said tonelessly.

Sirinna's heart was racing. "Y-yes, master," she said in a quavering
voice. "When she was walking out after her Kaylaxxa treatment. There
was Disalla on the floor, right at that moment, master, right as she
was leaving."

Roquan turned from his slave and walked a few paces away, taking a few
deep breaths. When he was sufficiently calm, he said in low but clipped
tones, "Duly noted, Sirinna. You may go."

Sirinna stared at Roquan's back with a stricken look on her face, and
she did not move.

Roquan turned. "I said, Sirinna, /you may go/."

Sirinna took a breath, started to turn away, and stopped. "Master, if I
may ask ..."

"No, you ..."

" ... what should we do about this?"

Roquan's eyes burned. It was all Sirinna could do not to cringe. "Why
should 'we' do anything?" he asked in an icy voice.

"B-because, master, you ... you don't approve of Disalla," Sirinna
said. "It might be important to find out how it got in the Manor."

"We have no Disalla in the Manor, Sirinna."

"Yes, master, not now, but when Amanda ..."

"And we did not have it then, either."

Sirinna blinked. "But Amanda said ..."

"Amanda is lying to you, Sirinna."

Sirinna looked aghast. "Master! Amanda would never ...!"

"Must I explain everything to you?" Roquan declared, his voice rising.
"You are far more intelligent than this, Sirinna. You have already told
me that Amanda fancies you. If she has indeed taken such a great liking
to you, she may very well be willing to lie in order to make you happy.
And what better way to make you happy than to tell you something that
makes Rennis look innocent of wrongdoing?"

Normally, whenever Roquan explained something to her in this manner,
Sirinna simply accepted it. On the very few occasions she harbored a
contrary opinion, she kept it to herself. But this time she could not
hold her tongue, for now Roquan was of the wrong impression of not one
but two people very close to her heart. "Master, I-I don't think Amanda
is lying, I think ..."

"What you think does not matter. What matters is what I think."

Sirinna was near tears. "But ..."

"And what I think I have made clear to you," Roquan continued. "Amanda
is lying. Rennis is guilty. It is as simple ..."

"Master Rennis can't be guilty!" Sirinna cried. "He can't! He would
never do such a horrible thing! He ...!"

"/SIRINNA!/"

Sirinna quieted, fighting to hold back her tears and failing. They
trickled slowly down her cheeks as she struggled to hold her gaze even
with her master.

Roquan stared at her. She had just flagrantly disobeyed him. She had
been disrespectful and disobedient. She failed to show proper deference
to him. She had done everything that a good slave is not. She had just
earned herself a demotion to Trainee.

Yet he hesitated, and ultimately, he knew he could not do that to her.
He had been right. He had grown just as comfortable with her as she had
with him. That had to change, and it had to change now.

"Position," Roquan said tersely.

Sirinna did not hesitate. Still sobbing softly, she dropped to her
knees, legs apart, hands palm-up on her thighs, her head bowed. Tears
dripped silently into the furs in front of her.

Roquan walked up to her. She started trembling. "You are a slave,
Sirinna," he said. "And what is the first thing that a slave learns?"

"A s-slave is loyal," Sirinna said in a choked voice. "A slave is
sensual. And ..."

"And?"

"A slave ... is ... s-submissive."

"Submissive," Roquan declared. "Loyal and sensual, yes, those are
important. But ultimately, it all comes down to the last one.
Submissive. And it is in that last one, Sirinna, that you have failed
most miserably."

Sirinna squeezed her eyes closed tightly.

"I would give you to Hiatha, Sirinna," Roquan began, eliciting a loud,
despairing sob from Sirinna, "but she will have her hands quite full
with Yanna, so I will not do that."

Sirinna sighed with immense relief. "Th-thank you, master."

"Thus the task will fall to me to teach you," Roquan continued.
"Strokes with the paddle will not do, that is plainly apparent, as it
impressed nothing upon you earlier this morning. So I will attempt
another approach. Ultimately, the lesson you will learn, Sirinna, is
the proper show of submissiveness without an expectation of reward.
Therefore, this is your punishment."

Sirinna sniffled once, but then fell silent, her breathing ragged.

"Until I say otherwise, you will refuse no request from any slave in my
Manor for sexual pleasure," Roquan said. "You will administer pleasure
whenever demanded and whatever is demanded without question and without
complaint."

"Yes, master," Sirinna said softly.

"That is the first part. The second part of your punishment is this:
Every day, you will be treated with Hiroxxa."

Sirinna gasped, blinking away renewed tears, but she struggled to
retain what little composure she still had.

"Enough to prevent orgasm until the next treatment. You will not refuse
if another slave wishes to attempt to pleasure you. That will serve to
remind you of the privilege you have just lost."

"P-please, master ..." Sirinna cried, her eyes still downcast.

"Do not speak any further, Sirinna," Roquan said. "Do not plea. Do not
beg. You will make your punishment worse.

Sirinna bit her lip. She had so little time left with Amanda, and now
she would not be able to enjoy any intimate time with her. Roquan had
little idea how truly cruel his punishment was, and it was all Sirinna
could do not to completely break down before her master. She could not
let Roquan know what Amanda meant to her. She would have to accept this
punishment, and hope that Roquan was merciful and lifted it soon.

However, Roquan did indeed suspect something. He knew Sirinna well
enough to know that she could not simply turn off her feelings for
another. That was the cause of the problem in the first place. But how
to punish her for that? And what good would it do? No, he had to
confine himself to punishing for behavior and not feelings. He was not
so much a fool that he believed he could punish someone's feelings
away.

"Understand this, Sirinna," Roquan said, feeling oddly compelled to
share some of his thoughts with his slave. "Your feelings for Rennis
are noted. However, you must not let that change the fact that you need
to know and respect your place. And it is not your place to openly
question my decisions."

"Yes, master," Sirinna said in a small voice.

"For that path will take you to disloyalty, and I am sure you do not
wish to go there."

"N-no, master," Sirinna sobbed.

Roquan looked down at her, a very small sigh issuing from his mouth. He
was not at all hopeful that this punishment would do anything to change
her, but he had nothing else he could do.

He parted from her briefly, just long enough to retrieve a small glass
vial from his bedchamber.

"Stand."

Sirinna rose to her feet, keeping her head bowed.

"Legs apart."

She drew her breath in and let it go, slowly spreading her feet apart.

Sirinna held her breath as Roquan generously slathered his remaining
supply of the Hiroxxa salve over her mound, working it in with firm
strokes of his fingers that cruelly made her rise towards an orgasm she
knew would not come. She barely suppressed a moan as he thrust his
fingers into her cunt, spreading the concoction as far inside her as
possible, driving her further but never over.

By the time he withdrew his fingers, she was panting, and her pussy
already ached for release that it had been denied. Tears threatened to
well up in her eyes again, but she held them back successfully.

Roquan noticed this, and lifted her head by the chin. "Better," he
commented. "Just because it has been a long time since you were
disciplined, Sirinna, does not mean you're excused from facing it like
a slave should."

"Yes, master," Sirinna said in a forlorn voice.

Roquan fetched a towel from the sanitary to wipe his hands. "Your
punishment starts immediately. When you leave her, you are to go
directly to the Circle, and solicit the other slaves to aid in your
discipline."

Sirinna's eye widened, but she did not protest, though for the first
time in years her cheeks burned brightly. To have a slave ask others to
assist in her own punishment was the penultimate humiliation. Only a
demotion to Trainee was worse.

"Have I made everything clear to you, Sirinna?" Roquan said. "Do you
finally understand?"

Sirinna swallowed and sighed. "Yes, master."

"Then you may go."

Sirinna did not raise her eyes until she had turned away from her
master, and she left the room walking with a slow and dispirited gait.



In Sirinna's immediate absence, Amanda had strolled around the gardens
for a little while longer, until the threatening storm that had been
brewing on the horizon much the morning began to move towards shore.
Billowing and darkening, the storm rolled in behind the swelling surf,
which crashed and sprayed against the shore as if in warning. Thunder
rumbled low and increasingly insistent, and the air smelled of fresh
moisture.

Amanda decided to return to Sirinna's quarters and await her there as
the breeze back to rise. For once she was grateful to be in the
tropics, as she understood that hail was rare in that part of the
world. Still, this storm looked nothing like what she had experienced
her last day on Earth. It was just a summer storm, nothing more and
nothing less.

Amanda brooded as she watched the storm come in from her window,
growing more anxious as time passed. What was taking Sirinna so long?
Surely Roquan would see how obviously wrong he had been about Rennis.
Even he could not be so stubborn, or so hung-up on his own importance
as an Overlord. He trusted Sirinna, did he not?

As the skies continued to darken, she felt a shiver up her spine as she
was reminded of sitting by her window back home, waiting for her father
to come home, and the hell that had followed.

At this thought, Amanda shuddered and bolted from her bed. She grabbed
her gown and slipped it over her head as she headed out the door. No,
she was not going to just sit around and wait this time. She had done
that before and look where it had gotten her. At least here, there were
a limited number of places that Sirinna could be.

It was probably something simple. She stopped to talk to a friend,
maybe Hiatha. Maybe she wanted to see what Hiatha was doing with Yanna.
Or she wanted to talk to Yanna. Or she just wanted to help out with
slave training.

Yes, that's it. The Circle. If Sirinna was anywhere, that's where she
would be.

Amanda heard a peal of thunder as she walked quickly down the path. The
sun had disappeared now behind the coming storm, though it had not
quite reached land, the dark shaft of rain under the bottom of the
thunderhead still some distance out. The breeze had picked up, and
grabbed at her gown. She ignored it after the first few futile attempts
to hold it down to protect what little of her modesty she had left in
this place.

As Amanda rounded the last curve in the path up to the Circle, she
steeled herself for what she would see, expecting to find all manner of
intimate trysts happening all at once. She stopped short anyway at the
initial shock of the scene, still not used to seeing such open display
of sexual abandon, but recovered quickly, her eyes darting over the
clearing, hoping to find her before anyone really noticed she was
there.

Amanda did not see Sirinna at first, and this was because her eyes were
trying to avoid directly looking at the most rabidly bawdy scene in the
Circle. Then when her eyes were finally drawn to it, more out of
curiosity than anything else, she still did not see her, for her face
was not visible. It was only when she saw the fall of long, light hair
spilled on the grass beside her that she understood at once who it was.

Amanda's eyes widened. "S-sirinna?" she said in a tiny voice.

There was no way Sirinna could hear her.

Sirinna lay on her back, pointing away from Amanda. At Sirinna's head,
Hiatha knelt in the grass, her knees spread apart, also facing away
from Amanda. All that was visible of Sirinna's face was her chin, for
the rest of it was buried in Hiatha's mound, her head wedged between
Hiatha's thighs. From the frantic movements that Sirinna made, and the
way Hiatha's thighs shook, it was clear that Sirinna was licking
Hiatha's pussy in a frenzy. Hiatha rocked her hips back and forth
quickly, stroking her cunt against Sirinna's cheeks and lips. She had
her head turned back, a sly smile on her face.

At the same time, two more slaves were both tending to Sirinna's pussy.
One stroked her clitoris while the other thrusted two fingers in and
out of her. Under this sensual assault, Sirinna writhed, her muscles
clenching as if she wanted to flee from the others, but the two slaves
at her cunt had draped themselves over her legs, preventing any escape.

Amanda swallowed, her heart racing, but not with desire or even
embarrassment. There was something wrong. Something terribly wrong.

Sirinna's moans were strident, desperate, and worst of all, pained. Her
body's movement was not the slow, sensuous ascension into increasing
pleasure and lust, but the anxious, frustrated quivering of someone
being denied relief. One of the slaves began stroking her so vigorously
that Amanda could not believe anyone would not rocket upwards
immediately into orgasm at such a rate. Instead, Sirinna uttered a
muffled, shrill cry, her hips rising into the slave's touch. The slave
delivered, stroking even harder, making Sirinna cry out all the more
despairingly.

But the worst of it were the taunts.

"Poor little cunnie, won't play nice and cum," said the one stroking
Sirinna.

"And it so wants to, doesn't it?" said the one with her fingers inside
Sirinna's pussy. "It's even nice and wet and everything."

"Ooo, that's it, Sirinna," Hiatha said in a breathy voice as she
panted. "Make me cum again ... another one you can't have ..."

"Amanda?"

Amanda was so startled she jumped, her heart feeling as though it would
burst out of her chest. "T-tanyee," she finally said in a shaky voice.
"I d-didn't see you there, I ..."

Amanda trailed off at the sad look on Tanyee's face. "I'm so sorry,
Amanda," she said softly.

"Sorry? About what? Tanyee, what ..."

"I'm sorry about Sirinna," Tanyee said with a sigh. "And here after I
just got out of training from her."

"What are you talking about?" Amanda demanded. She paused a moment when
she was distracted by a flash of lightning. "What's going on here?"

"You don't know?"

"No!"

"Sirinna's being punished, of course," Tanyee said.

"What??"

Tanyee glanced towards Sirinna briefly as she uttered a cry that made
Amanda's heart ache. When she returned her gaze to Amanda, they were
subdued, and when she spoke again, her voice was shaky and despondent.
"Roquan must be really angry with her," she said. "Hiatha tried to get
me to help but I refused. I can't do that to her, not after how kind
she was to me."

"She sounds like she's in pain!" Amanda cried.

"No, no, not pain. She just can't cum."

Amanda stared at her in total incomprehension and mounting panic.

"It's Hiroxxa, I think," Tanyee explained in a small voice. "Makes it
so you can't have an orgasm. And then she has to do whatever anyone
tells her."

Amanda turned and looked at the scene again, her initial panic waning.
As Sirinna's cries grew even more desperate, and Hiatha pressed herself
down on Sirinna's face even more, Amanda turned away. Tanyee caught her
gaze and flinched.

"Roquan did this?" Amanda demanded, her eyes burning, her body
trembling with fury. "He punished her?"

Tanyee, stricken, just nodded silently.

Amanda took a deep breath to try to calm herself. It did not work. She
turned and stomped off, even as the first raindrops began to splatter
on the ground.



Roquan looked thoughtful for a moment as he sat at his desk, looking
over the parchment before him, his fingers playing with the quill that
the held. His eyes scanned down the marks of black ink he had just
scratched onto the page, notes next to the names of his current
clients.

After sending Sirinna away, he had felt in a better mood, and his
thoughts were more conducive to new ideas. Punishing Sirinna, as
distasteful as it had been, had lifted a burden from his shoulders. He
felt ultimately it was what both of them had needed, and he was sure
Sirinna would come to understand this in time. In the meantime, it had
allowed him to clear his mind and conceive of some new ideas to pitch
to his clients and convince them to part with more of their platinum.

He dipped the pen into the inkwell and made another note. Lord K'sarus
was most enamored of his current slave, one with most generous breasts.
The two other slaves he had had in the past were similar. Perhaps he
would accommodate a second slave. Roquan knew of one that was most
proficient at pleasing another woman's breasts, and she was fairly
ample herself. Roquan mused that he could sell his Lordship on the idea
of watching the twosome frolic with one another.

So intense was his thought into this matter that he was quite startled
when, upon turning in his seat, he saw someone in a white gown stepping
into the room.

"What did you do to Sirinna?!"

Roquan was so utterly stunned that anyone would come into his presence
unannounced and make a loud demand of him that he failed to respond at
first, taking a few moments to recognize the identity of the person
that had just rudely interrupted him.

Unfortunately, his pause only encouraged the intruder to speak again.

"Why did you do that?" Amanda demanded. "Why did you have to punish her
like that?"

Roquan rose to his feet and stood over Amanda, glaring. Amanda's anger
had yet to wane, however, and it temporarily gave her the courage to
remain where she was and not cringe, though a tremor did pass through
her body. "Do I even need to answer your first question?" Roquan said
icily. "For you would not be here if you did not already know the
answer to that."

"All right, I know what happened to her. What you did to her," Amanda
said bitterly.

"And you expect me to respond with apologies and remorse simply because
you bring this to my attention?"

Roquan's words were only making Amanda more furious. "Stop playing
games!" she shouted. "No, I don't expect that! I just want to know why
you did it!"

"And when do you believe I started rationalizing decisions about my
slaves to outworlders?" Roquan asked. He shook his head and sighed,
turning away from Amanda. "Leave. Now. I have no patience for you
today."

"No."

Roquan paused and turned. His eyes burned. "I beg your pardon?"

Amanda clenched her hands into fists. She had to keep the anger up. It
was the only thing that stopped her from being intimidated by this man.
"I said no!" she cried. "I'm not your slave and I don't have to do what
you tell me to!"

Roquan turned away. He strolled very casually up to the wall to the
left of the hearth, and without hesitation, picked up a Trainee collar
and chain.

Amanda's mouth dropped open, and panic briefly engulfed her. She tensed
and quivered, but she held her ground, even as Roquan walked slowly
back to her, swinging the chain idly from one hand, and playing with
the collar in the fingers of the other. Her heart pounded, her eyes
darting from the collar to Roquan's eyes, trying to determine what his
true intent was and failing. He came closer to her, tapping the little
padlock on the collar with a finger, until he was within arm's reach of
her, and still she remained where she was, returning Roquan's even gaze
with her own.

"I could settle this quite easily now, Amanda," Roquan said darkly. "I
could place this around your neck, and you would be my slave."

Amanda did not respond, her breath short.

"I am quite, /quite/ tempted to do that now, if for no other reason
than I can tell you to be quiet, and would be within my rights to
punish you if you disobey."

Amanda swallowed again, looking at the collar once more, then back up
at Roquan, eyes shimmering.

"Do you know, Amanda, that Trainees are forbidden from speaking with
the Overlord unless first spoken to? I would quite relish the thought
of you unable to speak to me. I would quite enjoy the silence."

Amanda finally spoke, heart hammering in her chest. "So do it," she
said, her voice quavering yet still defiant. "But don't expect me to
just stand here and /let/ you do it."

There was a long pause, then Roquan's hands dropped.

Amanda was shaking with relief. She had made a huge gamble and won. She
guessed that Roquan could not force her, that he could not hold her
down and collar her. There had to be some willingness on the part of
the collared. Sirinna had hinted that Captives were treated with
kindness and patience when they first arrived, and Amanda had taken
that to a logical conclusion, that they were collared when they were
calm enough to accept it without struggle or resistance.

And where tradition and custom were very important to Roquan, she again
guessed correctly that he would not break with this even with Amanda.

"Didn't Sirinna tell you what I had told her about the Disalla?" Amanda
asked in a calmer tone of voice.

Roquan did not want to answer the girl's questions. By all rights, he
should not have to. He was an Overlord. He did not have to justify his
decisions to anyone, but there were no protocols for dealing with an
outworlder who was not a slave, or not destined to become one.

"Yes, Amanda, she told me," Roquan said curtly.

"And for that you punished her?" Amanda asked, her voice rising again.

"No," Roquan said firmly. "I do not punish a slave merely for telling
me something she believes to be true."

"Believes to be ... You mean you don't believe me? You think I'm lying
about this?"

"Yes, I do."

Amanda was a little stunned. She was not used to talking to someone who
states such things so baldly. "Why would I make it up?" she demanded.

"That should be obvious, Amanda, especially to you."

Amanda paused a moment. "You think I made it up because I like her. Is
that it?"

"You deny this?"

"Of course I deny it!" Amanda shouted. "I wasn't the only one that it
happened to! Tanyee was in the same bath with me when the Disalla ..."

"/Enough!/"

Anger flared in Roquan's eyes to the extent that it made Amanda flinch,
and for a brief moment she thought she might have pushed him too far,
that he was about to strike her. Instead, he turned away, taking
several deep breaths.

"Whether or not you made this up is not the issue where Sirinna's
punishment is concerned," Roquan said angrily, turning back around to
face Amanda. "Sirinna told me, I noted it, I dismissed her. She
disobeyed me by continuing to talk about it. That is why I punished
her."

"Only because you disregarded what you told her!" Amanda cried. "You
just ignored it!"

"That is my prerogative. I am under no obligation to pay attention to
anything a slave tells me."

"Why? Because you might have to admit you were wrong?"

"I am the one that determines what is right and what is wrong in this
Manor!" Roquan thundered. "Not you or any of my slaves!"

"Then you're not doing a very good job of it if even and outworlder
girl like me can figure out that you're wrong!"

It happened so fast that by the time Amanda got over her initial shock,
it was too late to pull away. Her words had barely finished leaving her
mouth when he had her wrist in a tight grip, at the same time reaching
down and flipping the chair of his desk around. So stunned at this was
she that by the time she tried to pull away from him, he had dropped
into his seat, pulling her off her feet with one yank on her arm. She
fell squarely across his knees, knocking the wind out of her. Her shout
of protest was cut short when Roquan's hand cracked sharply against her
backside.

The sharp sting of pain silenced her momentarily, her whole body rigid.
She broke out of this only when he brought his hand down again and
again, spanking her like a little child. She struggled between loud
yelps of pain, her face cheeks blushing with humiliation as her ass
cheeks blushed with punishment. By the time he reached the tenth
stroke, she broke down in tears.

As quickly as it began, it was over. Roquan let go of her and pushed
her to her feet. Amanda scrambled back from him, rubbing her now red
backside, giving Roquan a horrified look, sobbing softly.

"You are not a slave," Roquan said in a flat, calmer tone of voice.
"But there are limits to my patience."

Despite the pain, both physical and emotional, Amanda was no less
defiant than she had been. "So that's you're answer to everything," she
said in a choked voice. "More punishment."

Roquan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Amanda, please leave,"
he said in a low voice. "Do not make me do anything more we both may
regret."

Amanda wiped at her eyes in annoyance, tired of looking like a baby in
front of him. "Just let me ask you one more thing, Roquan," she said.

Roquan did not wish to grant this, but had little choice. He nodded
once.

"What will it take to convince you? What will it take for you to
believe a slave's words to you? Or an outworlder's?"

Roquan stood and looked Amanda straight in the eye. "Proof," he said
simply.

Without waiting for a response, Roquan turned and strode out of the
room and into the sanctity of his bedchamber.



Amanda was panting by the time she reached Sirinna's quarters, and her
backside ached terribly, having run the rest of the way when the rain
began pouring down in earnest. Her gown was so thoroughly soaked that
it clung to her body everywhere, her skin showing as a faint pinkness
through the now semi-translucent material. Her hair was plastered
limply down her back. She finally had to pause and catch her breath
anyway, forcing her to stand in the pouring rain a few moments longer.
When she finally looked down at herself, she sighed despondently. What
had been the point of running in the first place.

She trudged the final way down the path, her feet dirty from the wet
sand that clung to her, water running down her body in tiny rivers,
sending a chill through her as the cooler air driving the storm before
it began to blow in on the tail end of the storm.

When she entered the building, she was greeted with near-darkness. The
only light was from the lamp on Sirinna's small table near her bed, and
what little leaked in from around the storm shutters that had been
closed over the windows.

No sooner than she had closed the door behind her when Sirinna was upon
her. "Oh, good gods, Amanda, you're soaking wet!"

A memory was triggered, and she drew in a breath, letting it go as an
emotional sigh.

"Here let me get you out of that thing," Sirinna said.

Amanda resisted Sirinna's ministrations at first, but eventually let
her peel the soaked gown from her skin, sending a renewed shiver
through her body. She had started to hug her arms around herself to
keep warm when Sirinna began to wrap a large towel around her and dry
her off.

"Sirinna!" Amanda groaned. "Stop fussing over me."

"Just let me do this for you, please," Sirinna said in a low voice.

Amanda looked into Sirinna's eyes. They were tired and very bloodshot.
Amanda knew right away Sirinna had been crying.

Sirinna looked away, a soft, distressed sigh escaping her lips. She
swallowed and patted down Amanda's sides, her legs, and her breasts. "I
was a little worried about you, Amanda," she said quietly. "You weren't
here when I got back." She paused and gave Amanda a forced smile.
"Tanyee seemed to have the funny notion that you went to see Roquan
about me."

Amanda said nothing, wordlessly lifting her arms for Sirinna to dry
under them.

"S-speaking of Master Roquan," Sirinna said. "I told him what you told
me."

"I know," Amanda said tonelessly.

"You do?"

Amanda just nodded.

Sirinna slowed her movements for a few seconds. She took another deep
breath and let it go, as if struggling to maintain her composure.
"A-anyway ... he, uh ... "

"He didn't believe you."

Sirinna fell silent. She let go of one end of the towel and threw it
around Amanda, wiping down her back, and then over her rear end.

Amanda yelped softly and jerked her hips forward before she could stop
herself.

Sirinna froze. She straightened up and looked into Amanda's troubled
eyes, her own eyes widening in alarm. "Amanda, turn around."

"Sirinna ..."

"Amanda, please. Turn around."

Amanda sighed and turned.

Sirinna gasped as she looked down at Amanda's pink bottom.

"It's nothing," Amanda said.

"Roquan /paddled/ you?" Sirinna asked, horrified.

Amanda turned around to face her, rubbing one ass cheek absently. "No,
he didn't," Amanda said firmly. "He just ... spanked me a little. With
his hand."

Sirinna looked stricken. Her lower lip trembled as she look at Amanda.
Finally she turned away, taking a few steps towards the bed, covering
her eyes with her hand. "I'm sorry, Amanda," she said in a barely
audible voice.

Amanda approached her slowly. "Please, Sirinna, it's all right. It's
..."

"Why did you have to do that?" Sirinna cried suddenly in a strident
voice. "Why did you have to make trouble with him? I told you not to
cross him, Amanda!"

Amanda felt her indignation rising. "I didn't know what else to do!"
she exclaimed. "Sirinna, I saw you at the Circle! What he did to you!"

Sirinna ran a shaking hand through her hair. "I was being punished,"
she said in a quavering voice. "I ... I was v-very disobedient towards
Roquan."

"Oh, come off it, Sirinna!" Amanda shouted. "Stop defending him! That
punishment was unfair and you know it!"

"Amanda, a slave has to act in a certain way," Sirinna said, swiping at
a tear that formed in one of her eyes. "And I acted against that. He
/had/ to punish me."

"Only because you dared to tell him that he was wrong!"

"That is not my place!" Sirinna cried. She breathed deeply again,
suppressing a sob. "I cannot go against my master, and I must accept
his punishment when I do. That's what it means to be a slave."

"You can't tell me that you like it this time, Sirinna!" Amanda said
hotly. "You can't tell me your slave life is all wonderful and happy
now, can you?!"

"Stop it! That's enough! No more of this. Master Roquan is did what any
Overlord would have done ..."

"Any Overlord? Even Rennis? You think he'd act that way?"

Sirinna stared at Amanda in stark silence. It took Amanda only seconds
to realize she had just said the wrong thing.

Sirinna sank to her knees, shuddered, and let out a loud wail.

"Oh God, Sirinna ..." Amanda raced over and dropped down beside
Sirinna, putting an arm around her. Sirinna leaned into her and bowed
her head, crying hysterically. Amanda fought back her own tears as she
cradled Sirinna's head, Sirinna's tears streaming down her face and
over Amanda's body. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean that ..."

"Why did he have to do this?" Sirinna cried, her voice choked and
strained. "Why did he make me disobey him? I was a good slave, Amanda!
I was a g-good ..."

She broke down again, letting out another cry of anguish, shaking
badly.

Amanda tried to get Sirinna up off the floor, but the woman's legs
could barely support her. She managed to get Sirinna as far as the edge
of the bed before Sirinna clutched at her, clinging to her, crying on
her shoulder.

"It's okay," Amanda said, her own voice strained. "You ... you are
good, Sirinna. You're a good slave."

"No, I'm not," Sirinna moaned in a defeated voice. "I'm not a good
slave anymore, Amanda ..."

"Come on, that's not ..."

"I ... I ... wh-when he w-wouldn't listen ... when he p-punished me ...
I h-h-hated him ... oh gods, Amanda, I /hated/ him!"

Sirinna let out another despairing cry and collapsed back onto the bed,
sobbing piteously.

Amanda did not know what to do. A few days ago, she might have been
glad to hear Sirinna feeling anything less than thrilled about her
life. Now, she felt remorse and pity. This was everything to Sirinna,
and now Sirinna believed it was all lost to her, when the simple fact
of the matter was that Sirinna was just being human. No one can be
expected not to react to something like this.

Or not to fall in love with a silly outworlder girl, Amanda thought
ruefully.

Amanda coaxed Sirinna into lying in a more comfortable position on the
bed, and settled down next to her. Offering comfort was all she could
do now. There was nothing she could possibly say.



The rain tapered quickly to showers, the clouds breaking up from the
west to east, though just a bit too late to allow a peek at the sunset,
the remaining clouds turning fiery orange and crimson in the fading
light of day. The sky deepened to twilight, and then to night, the moon
rising in a now cloudless sky, a pleasantly cool and drier breeze
bringing much needed relief from the tropical heat.

Nights like this were very welcome at the Manor. Windows were opened
and soft bodies snuggled up to each other under warm blankets. Even
those who chose to sleep alone, such as Master Vanlo, were keen on the
cooler weather, allowing one to catch up on slumber frustrated by
sodden air and lingering heat.

Yet even as comfortable as the Healer was, sleep continued to elude him
no matter how quietly he lay in his bed, or how much the soothing
breezes blew over him.

Vanlo finally gave in, and rose from his bed.

He sighed as he slipped into his robe and strolled out into the cool
night and mercurial moonlight. The danger of an active mind, the Healer
realized, was that it could become too active, as his was that night.
The cure for it was no longer available to him. Listening to the soft
moans of pleasure from his slave always distracted his mind enough to
allow sleep to overcome him. He missed Yanna for that.

The thought of Yanna, however, only stirred his mind that much more.
Such disturbing stories had come to his ears throughout the day!
Sirinna severely punished? Amanda spanked by the Overlord for talking
back to him? And all from the actions of one wayward slave, a slave
that had already managed to render asunder what was, in Vanlo's humble
view, a very equitable alliance. Truth be told, Vanlo held Rennis in
high regard, and he was as loathe to reject this as Sirinna had been.
He even knew of the outworlder girl's Disalla story, and it sounded
rather plausible to him.

But it was all about proof, wasn't it? Roquan and his vaunted proof.

Vanlo strolled into the lab, flicking on a lamp with a spark and a
twist of a knob. He carried it and its dancing flame to his experiment,
where it sat as it had earlier, untouched and unmolested.

And, as he looked at the slowly filling flask at the end of the
apparatus, still unfinished.

He bent down and examined the dark red fluid with a critical eye,
holding the lamp close. It was still too early. He needed another full
day, at the very least. He could almost see something, but this late
and in his current state of mind, he could be imagining it. Wishful
thinking.

Vanlo straightened and banished that thought from his head immediately.
Shameful, he realized, that he should hope for such a thing, since the
implications would be rather staggering.

He sighed, stroking his beard. There was nothing left to see here for
tonight. He headed back out and trudged back to his bedchamber, likely
to lie awake for many more hours still.



The silvery orb of the moon acted as silent sentinel of the passage of
the evening. It slid across the skies, dipping towards the west as the
Manor slipped into the deepest part of the night. It was into this that
Yanna finally opened her eyes.

She came alert at once, sitting up in bed quickly, her chain clinking
softly next to her. For a moment she feared she had overslept. Hiatha
had been so relentless on her that day that she was dead tired when she
fell into bed earlier, so much so she barely remembered getting into
bed in the first place.

Yanna carefully took up the slack in her chain so it would not make as
much noise as she moved. She slid off the bed and glanced out her
window, examining the angle of the moonlight. It was later than she
would have liked, but not too late if she did not dally.

She reached under her bed and fished around for the blue pearl, coming
up with it after a few moments of concerned search. Pausing first to
listen for any sound of stirring from either Hiatha's or Garas'
bedchambers, she reached around behind her neck and felt for the tiny
padlock. She then took a deep breath and held the pearl to it.

Yanna had not had a chance to test the pearl. Her heart beat quickly in
the few worried moments that followed, until there was a click. With a
sigh of satisfaction, she undid the buckle on the collar and slipped it
off her neck.

She quickly hid the pearl back under the bed. She would not need it any
further that night.

Yanna fell to all fours on the floor and crawled cautiously to the
doorway to her mistress' bedchamber. To her relief, Hiatha appeared to
keep her small oil lamp on all night on its lowest setting, casting a
dim, ethereal glow throughout the chamber. Hiatha was turned away from
Yanna, her sides slowly rising and falling in sleep.

A sleep that Yanna intended to make deeper.

She crawled back to her night stand and removed the pouch of sleeping
powder. With utmost care and quiet, she crawled into Hiatha's
bedchamber, keeping her eyes on Hiatha for any move she might make.
Finally, she reached the side of the bed, next to the small night
stand. Carefully, she took a tiny pinch of the powder and rose to her
knees, dropping it quickly into the flames inside the lamp.

For a moment the flames sputtered, and Yanna feared it would go out.
Then the flame returned, crackling softly, and the somnolent mist began
to issue forth. Yanna waved it with her hand, directing it over
Hiatha's bed.

At that moment, Hiatha stirred.

Yanna dove back down to the floor and lay as close to the side of the
bed as possible, so Hiatha had a chance not to see her were she to open
her eyes. Instead, Hiatha turned over, breathing in the vapors. She
uttered a very small moan, and her breathing slowed even further,
dropping off into a very deep sleep from which she would not rouse
until morning.

Yanna smiled in smug satisfaction. She returned the pouch to her room
just before quietly sneaking out of Hiatha's quarters and into the
night.



Amanda's slumber was troubled and restless.

After finally crying herself dry, Sirinna had remained listless and
subdued all evening, touching very little of her dinner, and speaking
even less. She seemed to accept Amanda's comfort, but at some point,
the emotional drain was too much for Sirinna, and she dropped off to
sleep after claiming she only needed to rest for a short time. Amanda
had simply gone to bed in her own bedchamber after that.

Sleep did not come to Amanda easily, and when it finally did, she awoke
frequently, worrying that she would hear Sirinna awake as well and
crying again. Yet each time she went to peek through the curtain and
check on her, she was still sleeping peacefully. Amanda sincerely hoped
Sirinna would feel better by morning, even though she would still be
under Roquan's terrible punishment.

It was when Amanda had just risen to check on Sirinna yet again that
she was startled by the sound of someone tapping on the shutters.

When she turned and saw a shadow through the small gap at the bottom of
the shutters, her first thought was of what it might be on Earth, such
as an intruder or burglar. Realizing quickly how silly this was, she
crossed the room and pushed a shutter open, blinking with surprise when
she saw who it was.

"Yanna!" Amanda cried softly. "What are you ...?"

"Shhh," Yanna said. "I need to talk to you, Amanda, please."

Amanda gave her a nonplussed look, glancing back inside the room
towards Sirinna's bedchamber for a moment. "Yanna, I thought you were a
Trainee now. Where's ...?"

"Not here, not through the window. Can you come outside?"

"Outside? But ..."

"Please, Amanda, it's very important. To both of you."

Amanda gave Yanna a surprised look. "Should I wake Sirinna then?"

"No!" Yanna said quickly. "Not yet. Please, I'll make everything clear
to you when I talk to you."

Amanda frowned. What was this all about? Yanna was the cause of all
this trouble in the first place, she was likely not supposed to be out
by herself uncollared, if Amanda understood anything about this society
by now, and yet Amanda was supposed to talk to her?

She sighed. She would never know what was going on if she didn't.

"All right, give me a minute," Amanda whispered, cautiously pulling the
shutter closed.

Amanda yawned and stretched, rubbing her eyes. She entered Sirinna's
bedchamber and tip-toed across the room, the soft furs covering the
floor making her footfalls almost completely silent. She reached for
her gown, which had been hung to dry after she had wrung it out
earlier. It still felt slightly damp at the edges, but it would do. She
slipped it over her head and headed out into the night air.

Despite the gown, she felt herself shiver a bit at the cooler air, her
legs quivering and goosepimpling. She spotted Yanna at once. She stood
at the head of the path, beckoning towards Amanda. Amanda walked
towards her, and then had to follow her a little further down into the
gardens, until the door to Sirinna's quarters was no longer visible.

"Yanna, what's this all about?" Amanda demanded. "Why aren't you
collared?"

Yanna smiled. "Just a simple unlocking spell," she said.

"Unlocking spell?"

"Yes, Amanda. Given to me by Master Rennis."

Amanda's eyes narrowed. "Yanna, /what's/ going on? Haven't you caused
enough trouble around here? Are you trying to get me into trouble now,
is that it?"

Yanna shook her head, sighing sadly. "No, Amanda, it's not like that,"
she said in a contrite voice. "I'm here because I think you deserve an
explanation."

"Oh, do you?" Amanda said in a snide voice. "And how will I know you're
telling the truth now? How will I know this is not another lie?"

Yanna looked at Amanda in surprise. "Another lie? I don't understand,"
she said innocently.

"Stop it. I know you lied about the Jol ... whatever it was."

"Jonalla."

"He never gave you that, did he? Rennis gave you Disalla instead. It
spilled on the floor, I stepped in it, and that's how I got it in my
bath!"

/Ah, so that's how she found out,/ Yanna thought. She had heard that
Sirinna had told some story to Roquan about Disalla, and that Amanda
was somehow involved. Oh, yes, Amanda was indeed turning out to be a
very clever girl indeed.

"I'm so sorry about that," Yanna said sadly. "It was when I heard about
the trouble that Roquan gave Sirinna and you that I felt I had to talk
to you. I feel responsible for it. So does Master Rennis."

Amanda looked at her in confusion. "Rennis? You mean you've spoken with
him?"

"Yes, just before I came to see you."

"I thought Roquan had kicked him out of the Manor."

"I used a Farviewing spell," Yanna explained.

Amanda rolled her eyes. "You're making that up," she said flatly.

"Feel free to ask Sirinna about it in the morning. A Farviewing spell
allows a person to communicate with someone else at a distance. Is that
really so hard to believe after seeing how your sanitary works? Or the
Disalla? Or the Kaylaxxa for that matter?" Yanna said with a small
smile.

Amanda sighed. "I guess you have a point. But I'm sure you're not
supposed to be talking to Rennis either, are you?"

"No, I'm not, if I were truly Roquan's slave."

Amanda blinked in surprise. "Huh?"

"Amanda, I'm still very much Master Rennis' slave," Yanna said. "I
never stopped being his slave."

"But I thought you were traded to Roquan."

"That's what Roquan thinks. It's all part of Master Rennis' plan."

Amanda made a face. "His plan? Are you saying that Rennis really did
sabotage Roquan's Manor?"

Yanna paused a moment, looking as if she were struggling for words.
"Well, in a way, yes, but not for the reasons that Roquan thinks."

"Oh come on, Yanna! Sirinna says its impossible for Rennis to have done
this!"

"Amanda, Sirinna had not been with Master Rennis for a decade now. She
truly does not know what tactics he would employ for his aims. But if
Sirinna knew what his aims were, she would very much support them, and
she would understand what must be done."

"You're not making any sense!" Amanda declared. "Why would Rennis
possibly want to disrupt everything like this? As much as I don't care
for this slavery stuff, Yanna, it seems rather dirty to pull what
you're claiming Rennis did."

"Then let me explain to you what Rennis' aims are, and then you'll
understand," Yanna said. "Amanda, you know that Roquan is very
traditional, right?"

Amanda nodded. "Yes, so I've been told," she said sourly, rubbing her
still tender backside.

"Rennis is different, Amanda. He's very liberal in this thinking. At
his Manor, slaves have a lot more privileges. They can speak their
minds more. They can get time off from being a slave for awhile. Listen
to me, Amanda. Do I sound like a lot of the other slaves?"

Amanda paused. "No, you don't, actually," she said cautiously. In fact,
this is something that Amanda had indeed noticed. Her conversations
with Yanna were nothing like those with other slaves, including
Sirinna.

"That's because of Master Rennis. We all have it far better under him.
And Master Rennis does not punish at the slightest sign of
disobedience."

"Does he free any slaves?" Amanda asked suddenly.

"No. There are some things an Overlord simply cannot do, regretfully,"
Yanna said. "But he doesn't use the Draught, Amanda. He gives Captives
more choices. Sometimes, he'll allow an outworlder to stay without
being a slave."

Amanda stared at Yanna, her heart beating rapidly.

"Yes, you heard me right," Yanna said with a smile. "We have a few
outworlders that help out at the Manor, tending the gardens, helping
prepare food. And they're not slaves."

"But how ...?"

"He has to keep it quiet, naturally. Amanda, realize that Master Rennis
is placing a great deal of trust in you by having me reveal all this."

"Wait a minute," Amanda said. "Rennis is interested in me?"

"Well, he's more interested in Sirinna, actually."

"Sirinna? What for?"

"He wants her back, Amanda."

Amanda remained silent.

"Amanda, you wanted an explanation for what happened," Yanna said. "So
here it is: Master Rennis did indeed have me use Jonalla on Roquan's
slaves. He didn't like having to do it, Amanda, but Roquan is simply
too conservative in his thinking. He has too much influence. Master
Rennis was desperate. He had to reduce that influence somehow, before
Roquan discovered what he was doing. If Roquan found out too soon, when
he was more powerful than he is now, Master Rennis' plans for a kinder
approach to slavery would have been for naught!"

Amanda wanted to believe this. She wanted to believe that someone on
this world had the sense to realize that people maybe don't want to be
slaves. "But, Yanna, what about the Disalla?" Amanda insisted. "I
/know/ that was Disalla on the floor! It had to be!"

"Yes, Amanda, it was Disalla," Yanna said with a sigh. "Master Rennis
was indeed supposed to give me more Jonalla that day, but when he came
in while I was still treating you, I gave him a signal that we were
being overheard. He was already fearful that Roquan was suspecting him
anyway, so he quickly substituted a pouch of Disalla which he carried
with him just in case of something like this. Unfortunately, he fumbled
it a bit, and spilled some on the floor."

"Wait, you expect me to believe he just happened to have some Disalla
on him?" Amanda asked in a dubious tone of voice.

"No, no, listen," Yanna said urgently. "I said that Roquan already
suspected. The Disalla was meant to be a ruse. Think about it. Roquan
knows Master Rennis is up to something. If he finds nothing, he remains
suspicious. If he finds Disalla, his suspicions are justified, and he
berates Master Rennis for it, and everything continues as before."

Amanda had to admit that it made a certain amount of sense. "Well, all
right," she said finally. "But what happened? Why was I called in as
some sort of witness? And then you went ahead and spilled the beans
anyway?"

Yanna cocked her head to one side. "Spilled the beans?" she asked in
confusion.

"I mean, you told everything, the whole plan, but you acted like ..."

"Like I was innocently trying to be loyal to an old master?" Yanna
asked with a wide smile.

Amanda was silent for a long moment. "Another ruse?" she asked
tentatively.

"Oh, yes. And a very good one."

"But why?"

"I'm still here, aren't I?" Yanna said. "I may be a Trainee again, but
I'm still in Roquan's Manor. I can still feed information to Master
Rennis. Roquan won't suspect me. You heard him. The idea that a 'mere
slave' would concoct such a story he found amusing."

Amanda nodded silently. Certainly if there was anyone that understood
what kind of blinders Roquan wore it was Amanda.

"And more importantly, it lets me do what Master Rennis wants now that
his initial plans are complete. He wants me to help bring Sirinna back
to him."

Amanda looked up. "And how are you going to do that?"

"The Mage that Roquan hired to fix the Portal left the other day. That
means Roquan is ready to energize the Portal to send you home by
tomorrow night."

Amanda drew in her breath sharply. "Tomorrow night?" she cried. "That
soon?"

"Yes, which is why there is not a lot of time. Amanda, Master Rennis
has shown me how to operate the Portal. Portals not only can be opened
to other worlds, but they can be opened to other places in the same
world. In fact, it's much easier to do. He showed me how to adjust
Roquan's Portal to open a passage to his Manor."

Amanda's eyes went wide. "And you want to take Sirinna through?"

"Yes, Amanda. And for that, I need your help."

"/My/ help?"

Yanna drew closer to Amanda. "Amanda, you and Sirinna are very close,
aren't you?"

Amanda bit her lip and said nothing.

"You don't want to be separated from her, do you?"

Amanda shook her head slowly, unable to speak.

"I'm going to speak to Master Rennis again tomorrow," Yanna continued.
"I can tell him how you feel about her. How she feels about you. Master
Rennis will be sympathetic. You can come with Sirinna to Master Rennis'
Manor. You can be with Sirinna. /And you don't have to be a slave./"

Amanda swallowed, her heart thundering. "Yanna," she breathed. "A-are
you sure? Are you really sure he would allow it?"

Yanna smiled. "Very sure. I'm going to find some time to talk to Master
Rennis over Farview tomorrow. I'll make sure it's okay with him."

"But how will I know? How will you tell me?"

"Come find me in the afternoon," she said. "You know the path that's
near the shore here? Keep following it around. Hiatha's quarters are on
the other side just as the path turns left. But just make sure it's in
the afternoon, okay?"

Amanda nodded quickly. "If he goes for this, Yanna, what do you want me
to do?"

"Roquan is a traditionalist even when it comes to something as trivial
as a Portal opening," Yanna said with a small smirk. "He will wait
until full night had descended before coming to the Portal building. I
need you to get Sirinna there earlier than that, during twilight. We'll
only need a few minutes, but we shouldn't cut it too close."

"But how do I do that?"

Yanna grinned. "You're a clever girl, Amanda. I'm sure you can figure
something out."

"Can't I just tell her about this?"

"No!" Yanna said quickly. "Absolutely not, Amanda."

"But she's already really upset with Roquan, Yanna. She'll want to go."

"Sirinna is still very loyal to Roquan, don't fool yourself."

"But then how do you expect to get her through the Portal yourself once
I get her there?"

Yanna paused, thinking furiously. Yes, Amanda was indeed clever.
Exasperatingly so. "I will Farview to Master Rennis if I have to," she
said airily. "Just don't worry about it. Master Rennis trusts me to
make everything turn out right. You just need to get her there, and
both of you can leave this horrible place."

Amanda looked uneasy, glancing back down the path towards Sirinna's
quarters. "I don't know about this, Yanna ..."

"Do you /want/ to go back to Earth and leave Sirinna behind?"

"No," Amanda said in a helpless voice. "I don't. But I don't want to
get Sirinna into any more trouble."

"It won't matter, Amanda, not when both of you are safely in Master
Rennis' Manor. Do you really think he would let anything happen to her
there?"

That was the problem. Amanda did not know Rennis enough to answer this.
She only knew what Sirinna had told her. At the same time, Amanda was
desperate. She couldn't go back and she couldn't stay. This was the
only alternative. It had to be better than her other choices.

"All right," Amanda said. "I'll try."

Yanna smiled. "Very good, Amanda. I knew I could count on you. I'll be
sure to tell Master Rennis how good you've been to us."

"I better get back," Amanda said nervously. "Before Sirinna wakes up."

Yanna stood on the path and watched Amanda hurry away, until she was
out of sight.

Yanna was very pleased. She had managed to get Amanda to do the hardest
part of the job for her. Now all she had to do was contact her own
master and let him know to expect not one but two captives.

She glanced up at the moon and sighed. She wished her master would let
her Farview him at night. It would be so much easier under the cover of
darkness. Instead, she had to hope she could convince Hiatha to leave
her alone long enough for her to make contact.

She smiled. Why was she worried? She could fool Hiatha just as easily
as the others. After all, she had already put on two grand
performances. What was one more?