It was the day after the weighing of the concubines and Maeve had never felt so exhausted. She had spent the night on display with the other contestants; bound and gagged and subjected to so many orgasms that her legs were still shaking and her head was still spinning. At some point she had been returned to Shay's quarters and by some miracle she had managed to tell Shay about everything she had heard before collapsing onto the bed and falling into a deep, deep sleep.
She woke up gradually, blinking her eyes in the afternoon sun that shone between the archways that led out to the balcony. She could hear birds calling to each other in the palace gardens and felt a gentle breeze softly caress the parts of her naked body that were not covered by the thin, satin bedsheets that she lay beneath.
Shay sat at the desk across from her, her head down as she scribbled something into her spell book. She wore only a thin black thong that sat high upon her hips and for a time Maeve simply lay there silently, marvelling at the way the sunlight highlighted the streaks of purple in her otherwise black hair, and made her pale skin sparkle as if she were coated in a thin layer of star dust.
"It's rude to stare," Shay said without looking up.
"Busted," Maeve murmured sleepily, though she could tell that the Witch was smiling too.
Shay picked up her spell book and walked over to her, the swaying of her hips and the bouncing of her breasts as hypnotic as any spell she could have cast. She sat down on the bed beside Maeve and gently brushed a loose strand of hair from her face.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Fine," Maeve replied. "Just a little tired still."
Shay searched her face for several moments and Maeve wondered if the witch thought she was keeping something from her. The truth was, however, that she was absolutely fine. The weighing had been intense but she had stood on her plinth and stared into the faces of the many people who had come to judge and gawk at her body and though it had been humiliating to lose control of herself in front of them all as she came, she had also found the experience to be exhilarating and empowering to know that everyone in that room had wanted her.
Shay squeezed her hand and smiled gently. "You have all day to rest," she said. "The results won't be announced until this evening and the next round isn't until tomorrow. You did brilliantly, though."
Maeve accepted the encouragement with a smile. She still didn't fully understand what the spectators had been looking for whilst she had been chained up and displayed overnight, but knowing that Shay was pleased with her performance cemented her feeling that she had nothing to be afraid of.
"What about Katya?" Maeve asked quietly. "Were you able to find anything more out about what I told you?"
The witch chewed her tongue thoughtfully. "Nothing, yet. We have no proof that the Princess is plotting to take over the Sheik's throne," she said.
"But I heard her!"
"I know," Shay replied calmly. "But the Sheik will not believe the word of a concubine over the word of his niece. We need to find some actual evidence that connects her to this plot, and I think I know where to begin."
Maeve frowned. "You do?"
The witch picked up her book from where she had set it beside her on the bed and slid a piece of parchment from between the ancient pages. She unfolded the parchment and laid it out on Maeve's lap between them both.
"This is a map of the Golden City," she explained, tapping the north west corner to show Maeve where the palace was amongst the jumble of crooked streets and winding canals. The city looked like it had grown organically over many ages with new districts bolted on as and when they were needed. It was far removed from the neat, ordered blocks of Everdale.
Shay indicated several crosses that she had placed on the map in red ink. "These are all of the disappearances that I have been able to find out about so far," she explained. "I thought they were random at first but then I found this..."
She opened her spell book and turned the page to face Maeve. It was thick with writing in a language that she did not understand and the margins were covered with Shay's spidery handwriting where she had made notes on specific parts of the text. In the top the corner of the page there was a strange symbol that looked like a backwards number three with two lines cutting diagonally through it and a pair of diamonds above and below the symbol.
"What is it?" Maeve asked, uncertain what she was looking at.
"It's the mark of the Djinn," she said, a unusual note of excitement in her voice. "And look!"
She turned the book on its side and placed it on the corner of the map. As Maeve watched, she began to indicate the crosses where she had marked the disappearances, using her finger to slowly trace a line over the map until Maeve could see the pattern begin to emerge.
"It's the same mark," she said.
"Almost," Shay replied. "The symbol isn't complete yet."
"But this could mean that we will know where the next attacks will happen!" Maeve said eagerly.
"Exactly!" the witch replied. She pointed to a part of the map near the city's southern gate. "I saw this mark yesterday when we entered the city. If I'm right then I'm sure this is where the next attack will happen."
"What do we do?" Maeve asked excitedly. She had forgotten how tired she was and how nervous she was feeling about the first round of the games. Shay's excitement was infectious and she was ready to help however she could.
"The attacks have all taken place after dark," the witch replied. "We'll go tonight and see what we can find. I'll need you to watch my back whilst I look around, assuming you feel up to it?"
Maeve had expected Shay to say that it was too dangerous for her to come with her, but hearing that the witch not only wanted her there, but also trusted her to protect her, filled her heart with joy. She had grown used to submitting to Shay's orders since they had left Everdale, but now she was excited to have the opportunity to act as her guardian once again.
Maeve was about to reply when a sharp knock on the bedroom door silenced them both. They looked at each other momentarily before Shay swiftly scooped up the map and her spell book and slid them under the bed before plucking her short, silk robe from where it hung on the bedpost and pulling it on over her body.
"Just a moment," she called as she beckoned Maeve out of the bed and remade the sheets with a wave of her hands. "On your knees," the witch whispered.
Maeve did as she was commanded, grateful that she did not have to try and stand on her still wobbly legs for any longer than was necessary. She watched as Shay wove her fingers through the air again, conjuring a golden chain between her hand and Maeve's collar and a matching ball gag that fitted snugly between her lips.
"What?" Shay whispered innocently, smirking at the look of surprise and annoyance that momentarily crossed Maeve's face. "It needs to look convincing!"
Maeve threw the witch a playful scowl before crawling along beside her as tugged on the chain and led her across the room. The witch pulled opened the door and Maeve smiled behind her gag as she saw Mhati waiting in the corridor outside, her dark skin framed in a long dress of pink silk with gold and sapphire accents.
"Good afternoon," the older woman said with a sly smile as she took in Maeve's gag and leash and the dangerously short robe that Shay had just donned. "I hope I'm not interrupting?"
"Not at all," the witch replied casually as if the sight of her and Maeve was completely normal.
Mhati was momentarily silent and not for the first time, Maeve got the distinct impression that she understood far more than she let on. She held up a scroll that she clutched in her hands and said, "I have the results of the Weighing, if you are interested?"
Shay tilted her head. "A little early isn't it?" she asked.
A smile tugged at the corner of the trainer's lips and she glanced briefly at Maeve before looking back at the witch. "Let's just say it wasn't a close competition."
"Then come in," Shay said, stepping aside and gesturing her into her suite. "Would you care for a drink?"
"Wine, please," Mhati said as she glided elegantly over the threshold towards the sofas that looked out onto the balcony.
The witch looked down at Shay and pointed with her chin to the gold and mahogany drinks cabinet behind the seating area. "Make it two," she said with a smirk that told Maeve she was having fun with this.
Maeve crawled over to the drinks cabinet as Shay and Mhati exchanged pleasantries, the gold chain dragging along the floor beneath her. She rose slowly to her feet, using the frame of the cabinet to hold herself steady. Her legs already felt stronger and she knew that she probably just needed to move around a bit more, but this wasn't exactly what she had in mind. She opened the cabinet and poured two glasses of blood red wine into gold goblets before setting them carefully on a tray. The distance from the cabinet to the sofas seemed immense and she could feel Shay's eyes watching her but with every step she became more sure of herself and she managed to reach the table between the two women without spilling a drop of the wine. She passed Mhati her glass first before handing the second to Shay and then took her place on the floor beside the witch.
"Thank you, dear," Mhati said before looking at Shay. "She is well trained."
"She is," Shay said, stroking Maeve's peppermint coloured hair. "She is the best that I have ever had."
Maeve blushed as she turned her head to look up at the witch, wanting more than anything to tell her how much she meant to her as well.
"It would seem that plenty of other people would agree with you," Mhati said as she passed the scroll that she had been carrying to Shay.
The witch took the scroll and swiftly unfurled it, her eyes flitting across the writing that Maeve could not see. She glanced at Maeve, her eyes full of pride, before turning back to Mhati.
