. 26-36

Chapter 26

Just like after the first time Rosa fucked my ass I wake up the next morning feeling tender, sore, and completely rejuvenated in both body and soul. What I had missed out on by not being bound this time around she had made up for by simply fucking me into submission. Thinking back through pleasure haze of last night I wonder how long had she pounded me last night? I could only guess. I let out a long happy sigh. After a night like that the day leading up to it seemed a distant memory. As I lay there, still curled up and held in my slave's slumbering arms, I feel truly sorry for that vast majority of men who had to go through their lives without ever knowing the erotic pleasures that a woman like Rosa could bring them. Satisfied didn't even come close to describing this feeling of deep contentment that filled me now.

Gently I slip from her embrace and leave a soft kiss on her cheek before tucking her in to keep her warm beneath the blankets. I grab some clothes and creep from the room. After opening up the kitchen and front door to get some more fresh air flowing through the house I head down to the river. The air is cool and pure, the smell of green permeating this whole forest swaddled clearing where the villa was perched, and the overcast sky was an ashen blanket that covered the land from above. Bordered by river, forest and clouds my land seemed insulated from the world beyond. My own tiny empire.

As I walk down the stairs to the garden I am once again struck that this overgrown estate truly was mine to do with how I liked. In my low moment last night I told Rosa that I wanted to run back home and be that simple farmer boy again. But nothing could be further from the truth. Deep down I knew that a return to my old carefree life would not bring happiness. I had seen too much, done too much, felt too much, to be simply a son and laborer again. I could be a 'boy' every night for my Lady but my childhood had died the moment I purchased her. I had land now. I had a slave now. I had a woman now. A woman who loved me, who needed me to step up, and one who believed in me. Here I was master. Master of my beloved, master of this land, and master of my own destiny. I think about the ancient African song that Rosa had sung so beautifully yesterday and about how it was a lament to the loss of old freedoms and the celebration of ones just discovered. In my own life I stood upon that threshold myself.

As I lower myself into the refreshing clean water of the bath, gingerly letting my pleasantly achy bum come to rest on one of the smooth rocks, I make out a familiar set of eyes peeking from the bush that I had first seen them.

"Good morning Danae." I chuckle. "How was the hunting last night?"

Her cover blown the fox trots out into the open to lay nearby yet safely out of reach. I try to coax her in with a pat of my hand but wild fox just tilts her head and studies me curiously. Her affection did not seem to extend beyond Rosa.

"Be that way then." I splash some water her way which causes her to yip and prance around playfully. I laugh and send a few more sprays toward her to dodge and frolic around. She hops and barks, easily avoiding the splashes yet never running out of range, before suddenly freezing in place. Her ears prick up and her head snaps back toward the villa. I follow her gaze...and spot my blind slave making her way down the cliff side steps by herself! I spring to my feet. "ROSA!"

She waves my way and shouts back. "I'm okay Master."

Danae dashes for Rosa the moment she hears her voice. Without a stitch of clothes on I am out of the pool and following the fox. Staying as far from the outer edge as possible and taking each step carefully Rosa continues descending one step at a time. She had made it as far as the central landing when Danae catches up to her.

"Good morning little sister." She kneels down to pet and kiss the happy, wriggling fox.

I am not far behind. Coming up beside her I take her into a hug. "Gods Rosa! You scared the life out of me."

She hugs me back...then feels around my naked wet body. "Well this is nice to wake up to!" She giggles as she tickles my dick. "Good morning to you too little Master."

"Rosa!"

"Calm yourself" She pats my butt. "I was fine. I know where the stairs begin, I know the count of the steps, and I know the path through the garden that we took yesterday. I can make it as far as the gazebo by myself." She says. "I will ask for help when I need it Quin.

"What if you fell? What if you tripped over Danae? What you stepped on your dress?"

"I'd get some bruises."

"Rosa..."

"Quin." She says as she looks up at me with wide unseeing eyes. "You have to let me struggle sometimes. How else can I learn?"

"Fine." I say as I scoop her into my arms. "But not this time."

She laughs and hugs to my neck. "Yes Master."

I carry her to the bath where she allows me to remove her dress and help her into the water. Our dicks shriveled in the cool river and our nips as stiff as diamonds we wash each other, after a bit of snuggling and snogging of course. She goes first, exploring my flesh by touch before washing it. Her slender hands feel so damn good on my body, even better was the sense of comfort I felt in my own skin with this woman who loved me so. I then take my turn to wash her and her warm, lithe body felt just as good in my hands as her hands felt upon mine. I cock an eyebrow at the little smile she gets as I scrubbed her horns.

"What's that smile about?"

"I'm starting to get some feeling back in my horns now that I've let them grow." She says.

"Oh?" I take a grip of each of her two horns which now extended beyond the span of my hand, probably three times the length of the cute nubs she had when I first encountered her. They were hard, their texture like smoothed out bark. I notice that her pointed tips had been filed just a touch so that the ends were not so sharp. "You can feel that?"

"Yes." She giggles. "It's not the same as through skin, but I feel it."

"Huh."

"Do you still like them?" She asks. "They'll get a lot longer still."

"If you like them this way then I love them."

"I'll keep letting them grow then. Besides, they make good handles."

"Handles?"

"For when I'm going down on you."

"Rosa!" I laugh. "Not in front of Danae!"

Rosa chortles and pinches my tummy. "She's heard so much worse."

Once the bath is complete we settle in for short cuddle before turning to the business of the day. Rosa, her head resting on my pec as her fingers twirl about the other one, says in a more serious tone. "I meant what I said last night. About learning my father's craft to protect us." I look at her, the disturbing words I'd been told by Lydia echoing in my mind. "Yesterday opened my eyes. In the city I had trouble finding focus. Silvanus' power felt barely a whisper there. Yet still..." She smiles. "...still I made a droning spell sing. I could SEE the music Quin. I could SEE the power dance through my fingers. It was...it was amazing. I wish you could have been there." Her eyes glimmer as she peers back through time to remember the experience. "Lydia would not teach me how to tap my power but once magic was before me I found I could coax it to do what I wished." She says excitedly. "Without Silvanus to bolster me it was tiring. So very tiring. I needed to rest afterward, Lydia said we could do no more, but for a few seconds there Quin...I was doing it!" She snuggles into me. "Papa would have been so proud of me."

"I am sure he would have" I say in a grave tone. "I heard about what happened."

Her smile fades. "What's wrong?"

I had weighed what the wizard had told me carefully and no matter what angle I came at it by I simply could not keep this secret from Rosa. I was done lying to her and, more importantly, on this she needed to know the truth.

"Rosa." I take a deep breath. "That moment you are describing...it almost cost you your life."

"What?" She looks up. "What do you mean?"

"In confidence Lydia told me that this...gift you have, to see magic, she said that it is too dangerous to be in the hands of a slave." Before Rosa could reply I press on, wanting to get the whole truth out in one go. "She told me that it was only out of respect of you being a Lady in our lifestyle and that your blindness and lack of training limited what you could do that she didn't turn you over to some sort of wizard council to be killed."

"What?"

"She told me to discourage your training. She told me that as a slave you would inevitably turn your power on me, so that you could be free. And she told me without further education by a wizard that you could never tap into magic on your own." I hug her close. "She also said that she would not hesitate to turn you in...if she felt you became a threat."

Rosa blinks, her face a mask of puzzlement as she weighed up my words. "So that's why she wanted to stop so suddenly." She whispers. "There was a moment, after the spell, when she went quiet. I thought I'd done something wrong. I thought I sensed a tension between us. She assured me that everything was okay though. She lied to me."

"Now you know." I say. "Rosa. She didn't need to give us the warning that she did. I think she genuinely likes us. Perhaps it is best if we follow her advice."

My slave girl bristles. "You wish for me not to learn?"

"I didn't say that." I stroke her long wet hair. "I'm just thinking of your well-being. Of our well-being. You said that you don't want them to take me again, that you want to protect me." I kiss her head. "I feel the same way about you Rosa. I need you. I love you."

"I love you too baby."

"This could be trouble that we do not need."

She sighs, her taut shoulders relaxing once more. Wrapping her arms around my midsection she hugs me back. "I kinda miss the road, ya know? At least out there it was simple. One foot in front of the other."

"Instead of two steps forward..."

"...and three steps back."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know." She says. "If you forbid me I will...I will try to do your bidding Master."

I smile. "Do you really think I would do that Rosa?"

"No." She says softly then falls into a silence as she swirls her fingers in lazy circles around my pec. Eventually she speaks again. "I'm not sure I can stop this Quin. Even if I wanted to. Papa gave me this gift. Silvanus revealed it to me. And you awakened it inside my soul. The three most important men in my life seem to be telling me something...how can I say no?"

"It's dangerous." I kiss her head once more. "You'll have to do it by yourself. We cannot risk a tutor. And you'll have to keep it secret."

"I'm an Amazon." She grins. "I'm used to keeping things hidden."

"Ha!" I chuckle. "Sounds like your mind is made up then."

"We shall see." She says. "I need to think. I need to pray. I need to talk to Danae about Papa. We shall see."

***

Chapter 27

Rested, clean, shaven, dressed, and content I face the day feeling as grand as the Emperor himself.

The first thing I do, as Rosa is getting perfumed and coiffed, is practice my positions. My Lady may be slumbering now but last night told me that she wasn't as far away as I once thought. The discipline and control of perfecting my seven known positions helped to sharpen my mind and awaken my muscles. And it kept me ready. I was still new to this lifestyle and I knew that my newfound skills would quickly erode if I let them. They also made me feel handsome and strong. I could remember well how happy my Lady looked when I did them just right. Finally, and most importantly, I wanted to be truly worthy of my Lady's collar again once the time was right. Once Rosa is looking radiant, and after a bit of cleaning up of our love nest, we set about our day.

With a little help from me Rosa is able to make some quick bread which we have with some oil, hard cheese, and figs for breakfast. After our meal we begin to organize what supplies we were able to buy and those we'd brought with us originally. For each item we put away Rosa ensures that she knows where it is and makes a mental note of what was close to what and how many steps away they were from some of her guiding points around the villa that she was beginning to use regularly. In the cool storage room we find a couple of loose magical tesserae that had come away from the interior of the cold box and my clever slave takes these to place in a few key spots to give her even further guidance when moving independently through the house.

I leave Rosa to her repetitions of memorizing our home and head out to the front porch. Hauling out the heavy metal tool heads that I'd lugged here all the way from the farm I get ready to whittle the good hardwood handles I'd bought yesterday into shape. When I open the sack my eyes are instantly drawn to my father's pugio sitting there among them, the military dagger clearly not belonging among these common implements. With the same respect that I always treated it with I remove the weapon and hold it in both hands. I draw the blade and admire the gleaming steel. It might gleam now but in my mind's eyes I could still see it dripping with dark, oily harpy's blood. Something had told me not to bring it with me to town yesterday. Thank the gods I hadn't or it would surely be gracing the belt of that corrupt town guard right now. I slap the blade back into its sheath and kiss the pommel. "Love you Dad." I then take my work knife, container of pitch glue, and a few small metal wedges and set to work on the various handles.

Before long I had a proper axe, hammer, sledge, shovel, hoe and pick. Holding out the axe I study it with satisfaction. With proper tools I finally could do some proper work. The plowshare I leave in the sack by itself. With no mule, oxen, or flat expanses of land to use it the plow would be little more than a memento from home. I then set to filing the axe's blade to a keen edge.

"I still can't believe you carried those tools all this way." Rosa says as she comes out and leans against the door frame.

"How did you...?" I look at the axe and back to her. "Are you sure you can't see?"

She wiggles her pointed ears and giggles. Walking out into the open she tilts her head up and listens to the breeze sigh through the forest. "It's cloudy today."

"Yeah."

She takes a deep breath through her nose. "It smells nice."

"Yeah."

"I think I'd like to go pray now."

"Okay." I nod and set down my file. "Let's see if we can find a shrine to Silvanus out back."

She shakes her head. "It's okay Master. I just need the woods."

"Oh."

"There was no shrine in the glade. There was no shrine under his old cypress. I just need to be...amongst him."

"Fair enough." I say. "If you need anything..."

Just then our attention is grabbed by the rustle of branches coming down our path. Instinctively I tuck my father's dagger into my belt behind my back and rise up with the axe held at the ready. I am quickly set to ease again as I see a familiar figure approach.

"Gods almighty." Cassie gripes as she swats the tips of tree limbs from her face. "This place is in dire need of a good set of shears!" The buxom farm woman, dressed in a common but fetching white dress, walks into the clearing leading a donkey behind her laden with a wooden box. The moment she sees Rosa her gait pauses a moment, but only for a moment. "A good morning to you both."

"And good morning to you Miss Cassie." Rosa smiles with the deferential bow of a slave gave to a free citizen.

Cassie's brows raise at my obviously blind slave recognizing her just by her voice. She, of course, had no idea that Rosa had listened in on our initial meeting. I could already tell that Rosa's demonic appearance had Cassie on edge, as it would anybody of her upbringing, and this greeting only added to the mystery. But to her credit she did not seem intimidated.

"Hello Cassie." I greet her warmly. "Rosa, this is Cassie. Cassie, this is Rosa."

"A pleasure." Rosa nods toward the sound of her voice.

"And to you." Cassie says. "Um...Master Quin didn't tell me how...lovely you were."

Rosa laughs. "Master Quin tells me that you are quite lovely yourself."

This sets both Cassie and I's cheeks to blushing. "Ahem." I cough. "So, uh, where are the other two Cassias?"

"Working." She answers. "Harvest begins in a few days."

I nod a knowing nod. "Long hours to come then. From what I saw Ceres was bountiful this year."

"Oh yes." She says. "Dad's expecting a bumper yield, if he can get it all in." Bringing the donkey up beside her she pats its neck then sets about untying the box on its back. "Actually, that's partly why I'm here. But first, a welcoming gift."

I hurry forward to help. Taking the heavy wooden chest by both ends I lift from the grateful donkey and set it on the ground. "This is for us?"

"Granny went around to the nearby neighbors and took up a collection." Cassie smiles. "If harvest wasn't so close we would have done a proper gathering to welcome you, but that will have to wait."

"A gift? No." I say. "You already gave too much with the river's feast."

"It was delicious by the way." Rosa says. "And greatly appreciated."

"We can't take this." I shake my head.

"It's already given." Cassie says. "You aren't turning it away I hope."

"No, of course not." I say as I kneel down in front of the chest. "I didn't even know that many people knew we were here."

"Are you kidding? Everybody's heard about the young Hercules and his happy demon already. You two are quite the talk right now." She says. "You'd be hard pressed to find someone who didn't know you were here."

"Hear that Master? We're famous." Rosa titters. "Happy demon? I like that."

"You shouldn't have. You really shouldn't have." I unlatch the box and open it. Within is a cornucopia of smaller gifts. Everything from honey, wax and cured meats to soaps, a woolen shawl, small clay cups and decorations in a local style and even some incense to use as offering to our household god.

"What is it?" Smiles Rosa.

"It's...so much!" I answer. "Granny gathered all of this?"

"If there's something going on around here you can be sure my grandmother's somewhere right at the heart of it." Cassie chuckles. "It's from everybody in the area. They send along their prayers and good wishes as well."

"Cassie...I...I..." I stumble over my tongue.

Rosa comes up from behind to hug me down around my chest. "What he means to say is, thank you."

"It's the least we could do."

How wrong she was. The least they could have done was to ignore us, to alienate these two strangers to their land, or worse yet try to drive us away. I'd seen such 'greetings' with my own eyes. I knew damn well that behind this there would have been debates, the age old fears and distrust pitted against these people's natural rural warmth. It gave me heart to see in this gift which side won out. The simple treasure contained within this rough wooden chest touched me in a way that gold, silver, and mysterious Atlantean codex's never could. This was the physical embodiment of hospitality and kindness. For good and for bad, these were my people.

"I don't know what to say."

"Your slave's already said it." She says. "And you are welcome."

I rise up and shake Cassie's hand. "Thank you, you and your family and...everybody!"

"Speaking of family." She says. "That's the other reason I'm here. My father wishes to talk to you?"

"Your father?"

"He heard about you being here without any family or friends."

"He did?"

"We told him about meeting you the other day." Cassie grins. "And he's heard that you might need some help getting started out here." She crosses her arms just under her voluptuous bosom. "And it so happens you arrived just as he could use some help himself. If you're feeling up to some work we're going to have more than we can handle pretty soon."