Notes:
First and foremost, this is a tale. Hopefully, you’re reading this second installment because you appreciated the first. If not, let me just say that time is devoted to plot and character development, so please be aware of that in case it isn’t your style. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy this next glimpse into Rafe and Ariana’s world!
*****
Rafe peered through the steam, barely able to make out the form of the boy leaning against the opposite doorframe. He produced a coin from his belt pouch and flipped it across the room. The boy caught it easily in one hand and raised his eyebrows.
“Wine,” Rafe grunted.
The boy scampered out of the room and Rafe found himself alone. He peeled off his leather jerkin and trousers, piling them on a bench, then stepped into the shallow pool, easing his powerful frame neck-deep into the water. After a long sigh, he let his thoughts drift with the steam.
It wasn’t all that long ago that he was the boy running for the warrior’s wine, before he had been tried and tested - earning the twin blades of the Darian. No, it wasn’t a long time ago. But now, irrevocably, it was a world away.
The boy returned with a filled mug. Drinking a few mouthfuls, Rafe once again gazed unseeing into the steam.
“Darian?” The question was hesitant, almost timid.
“My thanks,” he murmured. “You can go.”
The boy inclined his head and left.
Rafe took another swallow of wine and lay back in the water. He didn’t know how much time had passed when he heard the girl pad softly into the room. Turning only his head, he confirmed what he already knew. For the staff of the Darian complex, being pleasing to the eye was a prerequisite, after all there was a chance they could come into contact with a Torian taking a tour or making inspections, and the nobility found plainness repugnant. So Rafe wasn’t surprised that the naked servant walking toward him was petite and pretty. Pretty blue eyes, pretty honey-hued hair, pretty creamy breasts and a prettily trimmed bush.
What more could a warrior want?
Even inside his mind, the thought dripped with sarcasm.
He drained the rest of his liquor and closed his eyes. After a few moments, Rafe felt the girl delicately position herself on the edge of the pool, one leg to each side of his shoulders, the water half way up her shapely calves. Without words, she began to sponge his back with scented soap.
***
Su was careful not to let any part of her body make contact with the warrior’s wet skin. She valued her life; however menial an existence it currently was, and knew all too well that to touch a Darian uninvited - flesh-to-flesh - was a death sentence.
She continued her work with the sponge, admiring the well-defined muscles of the back of the warrior before her. She tried to concentrate but she couldn’t help but think of the stories shared with the other servant girls, about their experiences with Darian warriors in the bathhouse. Although it was their duty to serve in any way they were commanded, it was considered a great privilege to provide release for a Darian, and if a girl was specifically requested by any of the warriors, she instantly achieved a higher status amongst her peers.
Some said that if a warrior requested you enough times, he could take you as a concubine after you had served your time at the complex. Then you would be allowed to dress in fine fabrics and even wear metal jewelry, a true and formal elevation of status, not just another rung up the ladder of a contrived servant’s hierarchy.
Su wondered if she would gain another story from today’s work. She used to blush at the whispered descriptions, graphic details they told to the younger girls of how it felt to have a Darian suck and lick at your breasts, or if you were lucky, between your legs. In more recent times, despite still being relatively inexperienced when compared with some of the others, Su would find herself giggling when the girls joked about their bath house antics. They would try to imitate the expressions on the faces of men just before they spilt their seed, or they would beg Su to tell the story of her first warrior, the one who liked to be slapped across the buttocks with the flat of his own swords. Giggle or blush aside, Su relished each chance she had to be the female character in their lurid tales, loving nothing more than to be bent over a bench and thoroughly fucked by a tall, strong Darian amidst the clouds of steam.
Su started slightly, realizing she had come close to losing her focus on the task at hand. The warrior before her must have noticed, for he stood up, turned, and sat down facing her. She breathed a sigh of relief, as his voluntary movement had given her easy access to the rest of his body. She dutifully kept her eyes on the path of the sponge as she washed his arms, chest, and thighs.
Nearing his groin, she raised her eyes to meet his for the first time, and was startled by their intense green. She felt completely naked under that gaze, not just unclothed. And she knew that had she been dressed, the feeling would have been the same. He nodded once, silently giving his permission, and she ran the sponge between his legs, washing his manhood thoroughly, though not so much that she could be accused of lingering. Her movements were now self-conscious and she was annoyed that her composure had slipped in front of the warrior. Nevertheless, she felt a tingling between her own legs as she washed him, excited by the contact, even if there was still a sponge between them.
Su stood then and, familiar with the routine, the warrior stood with her. She stepped out of the pool and bent to pick up the large jug she had carried in earlier, realizing her position would expose her pink slit like an open flower to his gaze. Considering this, she took longer than she had to, hoping he would be aroused by the view. When she again stood upright, she was surprised that he appeared unmoved, calmly taking the pitcher from her and pouring the contents over his head. She watched him shiver as the cold water ran over his body before he exited the bath to allow her to towel him dry. Irritated that she hadn’t teased a reaction from him, Su again set about her work, having to stand on the tip of her toes to reach his shoulders.