Chapter 21 #2
I willed chains into place around my wrists and throat, and they floated up into his hand as I gazed at him, pulling tight and damn near choking me.
The iron collar which I’d worn for as long as I could remember chafed at the tug of the chains, the spikes which were now permanently lodged in my flesh sending a burn of pain through me which I had long since grown used to. I hardly ever even noticed it now.
I looked up at my master as he studied the chains which I had magicked into his hand and surprise flitted across his features.
He had such a stunning face with those deep, dark eyes and cheekbones sharp enough to cut, his skin was a rich brown kissed by endless sunlight and his jaw was rough with stubble which only added to his appeal.
And his mouth… there was a tilt to the corners of his lips which promised easy smiles and the hint of dimples made my heart flutter, the sight of him taking me captive as I stared at his mouth for several unblinking seconds, trying to remember what words tasted like in the free air. Why had I thought he was ugly before?
Because you’re a fucking idiot. And I think the chains are overkill.
Master turned the chains over in his hand with a faint frown, seeming uncomfortable now and my gut knotted as I feared that I was right.
“Yeah, maybe I don’t like it so much after all,” he agreed with his friend and a spike of fear pierced my heart as I realised I’d done the wrong thing yet again.
Told you so.
I quickly willed the chains away, breathing a little easier without the collar pulled so tight against my flesh and forced myself to keep my mouth shut, hoping I hadn’t crossed the line.
I needed to figure out what he wanted me to be so that I could embody it entirely.
I couldn’t bear it if he sent me back into the coin again.
The thought alone was making bile rise in my throat and my pulse pound against my eardrums to a panicked beat.
I’d do whatever he wanted of me. Anything it took to ensure I wasn’t left alone once again.
“I just wanted to clarify that these things you claim to be able to do for me don’t come with any cost? There’s no payment at all, you just have to do what I want because I have your coin?” Master asked.
Just nod. Less words are better when it comes to you.
I nodded, agreeing with myself for once because I seemed to know better than me at the moment.
“Why have you gone so quiet?” the other one asked and I looked to him.
He had a nice face too. His hair wasn’t as dark as my master’s and his eyes were warmer, kinder, but they held their own share of pain and sorrow too.
Had something happened to the world to make men suffer in it while I’d been locked away?
Or were these just two unlucky souls, in need of their fortunes to change.
I opened my mouth to reply, then glanced at Master again, wondering what he’d prefer.
“She seems a bit unstable,” Master muttered. “One second she can’t shut up and the next she can’t seem to talk at all.”
“I can talk,” I breathed, a tremble racing down my spine at the thought of displeasing him. “I just thought maybe you would prefer it if I didn’t so much. And then you wouldn’t send me back into the coin again...”
Nice work, fool, now they’ll send us back for sure. Have you forgotten how cruel men are? You’ve told them precisely what you fear the most and they’ll be sure to use it against you now.
“I’ve forgotten pretty much everything,” I reminded myself irritably and the two men exchanged a look that said they were concerned about me. Not in a friendly, wanting to help kind of way either, more like a ‘oh shit, I think she’s cracked’ kind of way. And I was. But that wasn’t the point.
Talking to me makes you look crazy.
“How long were you in there?” the other one asked but I wasn’t sure if I should answer him or not, my fear over getting this wrong and ruining it again making me cautious.
I just had to do whatever my master wanted to make sure he kept me out here by his side.
If I focused on that then maybe it would work, maybe he would want me even though all others had forgotten me. I didn’t want to be forgotten again.
“Do you want me to talk to him?” I asked my master in a careful voice, lowering my eyes submissively so that he could see how willing I was to serve him.
“Err yeah, you can talk to Cassius all you like. You don’t need my permission,” Master replied, frowning at me like I wasn’t making any sense.
“I kind of do actually,” I breathed before turning back to Cassius to answer his question. “I’m not sure how long I was in there. How long ago did Emperor Farish die?”
“I’ve never heard of him,” Cassius replied with a frown. “Are you certain he was an emperor because I studied the royal line as part of my training and I’m certain there was no Emperor Farish listed over the last five hundred years. Perhaps you mean a king? From one of the other kingdoms or-”
“Is this all that relevant right now?” my master interjected, looking bored while I frowned in confusion and tried to figure out what Cassius’s words meant for me and how long I’d been trapped within the coin, but I instantly snapped my attention away from those thoughts as I realised it wasn’t what my master wanted to be discussing.
“No,” I said quickly. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters to me is what you desire.”
His eyes lit at that idea but still he didn’t ask me to do anything for him, he just took in the information and turned it over in his mind carefully.
I swear I could see the cogs of his thoughts twisting and turning and I was impressed by his ability to hold off on testing me.
He wasn’t a fool like so many of the others I’d served, and I couldn’t deny that I was pleased about that.
Though I would have done anything he asked either way to maintain my freedom from the coin, I had to admit that being a slave to a fool was a heavy burden to bear.
“So just to be clear, can you make me rich enough to be presented as a suitor for the princess of Osaria?” Master asked.
“Yes,” I agreed eagerly. “And you won’t drown in the money or anything.”
“What?” he asked with a frown, and I remembered the men I’d done that to in the past. The ones who had wished for riches and ended up crushed beneath the weight of what I’d conjured for them while I laughed at them for trusting me so easily.
But I’d learned my lesson in my years of solitude and all that kind of rebellion had ever gifted me was punishment and loneliness.
After I’d killed several of my masters, the ones who came next grew more cunning.
They were specific in their requests and cruel in their punishments if I didn’t obey them exactly as they wanted.
Though I still managed to kill most of them in the end, right up until my last master who had gotten what he wanted from me then hidden me away to languish in solitude and slowly fall into insanity.
But he didn’t know that the coin always returned here to this sacred place whenever it was left without a master, testing anyone who came to claim me with the temptation of the cursed treasure.
“Nothing. I just mean, your wishes will be fulfilled exactly as you intended them. I can do anything for you. Everything.” I bit my lip, hoping I’d said the right thing. I couldn’t go back in the coin.
“What are you exactly?” Master’s friend asked, eyeing me like he was afraid of me. But I wasn’t sure why. I was just me.
“I’m The Blessing,” I said slowly, unsure if his mind didn’t work very fast, because I had already explained this.
“But what is a Blessing? Are you a monster?” he pressed.
“No,” I balked, looking down at myself. Did I look like a monster? Had I accidentally made myself big and spiky, with four heads and lots of teeth?
Phew, I was still a woman, unless I’d gotten that wrong. Maybe I needed more breasts, or less breasts, or more shapely knees-
Get naked, men like that.
I frowned, unsure if I was right about that or not. The desire I saw in my master’s eyes wasn’t aimed at me, it was aimed at the riches I’d promised him.
Topless then, everyone likes looking at breasts, and you have nice breasts.
“They weren’t so impressed with my penis,” I muttered in denial. Showing off parts of my body hadn’t impressed them before, and I wasn’t going to risk frightening them off again.
“Did you just say something about a penis?” Cassius asked, and I shook my head fiercely.
Stop talking to me; they’ll think you’re insane.
It might have been a bit late for that, but I forced myself not to reply to myself.
You could only make one first impression after all.
And I’d probably blown it. But my master was beginning to smile, and it was such a pretty smile.
He really did have dimples. I hadn’t seen dimples in.
..well, I wasn’t certain I could even recall seeing them before.
“I think I like her,” Master said, looking at his friend.
My heart swelled and swelled, growing into a sun of its own as pleasure skipped through every inch of my flesh at his words and my silver skin began to glow with it.
“She might be the answer to all of the kingdom’s problems,” Cassius agreed, his gaze still weighing me. “If she can truly do what she says.”
“She might be the answer to all of my problems,” Master murmured, reaching out towards me hesitantly.
I stared up at him hopefully. I hadn’t felt the brush of anyone’s skin against mine in so, so long and the idea of him touching me sent a tremor of anticipation running through me.
Followed quickly by a flicker of fear. What if I just disappeared when his skin met with mine?
What if I was only the memory of a person now, and the moment he couldn’t touch me would be the moment I realised it and I just fizzled into nothing?
He pulled his hand back before it could make contact with my cheek and relief mixed with disappointment in my chest. But that was okay.
I was very strange. I couldn’t blame him for not wanting to complete that act.
And freedom from the coin was more than I ever could have dreamed of so if he didn’t want to touch me, he didn’t have to.
And it was probably better that he didn’t, just in case.
“Can I...” I wasn’t sure if I dared to ask but I had to. Because I couldn’t shake the fear of not knowing for a moment longer. “Can I just stay out of the coin though?” I breathed, my voice cracking with desperation as my fingers trembled at the thought of him refusing me that taste of freedom.
Begging? That’s super attractive. Besides, what master of ours has ever cared what we wanted?
“You want to stay out here?” Master asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
“It’s just that I’ve been in there for such a long time,” I hurried to explain, wincing in anticipation of a refusal, my heart pounding so fast that I could hear it whooshing in my ears.
“Sure, whatever. Stay out here if you like. So long as you’re giving me whatever I want, that’s fine by me,” he agreed as if it was nothing.
But it was everything. Absolutely everything.
My heart cracked in two and splintered apart before reforming and beating stronger just for him, this saviour of my sanity, this keeper of my soul.
Wow, you did something right for once.
“Are you sure you think that’s a good idea?” Master’s friend asked anxiously, so rigid in posture it was like he expected me to pounce on him and start eating his face.
“Yes, I do,” Master insisted.
I stared up at him and words failed me. Thank you wasn’t enough.
No words could express what that act of kindness meant to me.
So instead, I swore with all my heart that I would serve him well.
I would grant him anything and everything he desired to the best of my abilities.
I’d fulfil his dreams and make sure that his life overflowed with everything he could ever desire.
He owned me, mind, body and soul. And I was his for as long as he wanted.