1 #3
The reality of it was, psychics in my homeland were feared more than anything.
A few were deemed borderline acceptable—mostly those who could find things, as it was almost looked upon as harmless.
People with talents like mine, though, were outright shunned.
I’d lived on the fringe of society my entire life, trained to stay out of sight and quiet.
And in the end, even keeping myself small hadn’t been enough to save me.
I had no time to gather a rebuttal together, as we’d reached an entrance decorated with sheer curtains.
Prince Donovan lifted a hand, pushing the curtains aside, and ushered me into a very comfortable looking room.
A carved pit in the ground with tons of soft looking pillows stacked about was immediately to our left. Meant for lounging?
Past it was a very wide bed, with the same gauzy sort of curtain draped around it on all sides.
To keep bugs out, I would assume. Beyond the bed was a patio area, and I could hear birdsong and the flow of water.
A very large pool of water was situated in the middle of many plants, shrubs, and trees, and I wasn’t sure if it was for relaxing or bathing.
Maybe both? The clear water looked divine, though. I wanted to throw myself into it.
A beautiful room with rich, bold colors. I never wanted to leave. Just deliver food every once in a while, and I’d be fine.
“Rest here,” he encouraged me. “Bathe in the pool if you’d like, or sleep. I can tell you’re tired.”
My exhaustion had accumulated over a four-month span of being enslaved, so a nap wouldn’t fix anything, but damn did I want to try, not going to lie.
“I’ll have fresh clothes and food sent in for you shortly,” Prince Donovan promised me. “Rest and unwind. I must assist my sister in settling in everyone else.”
“Thank you. For everything, truly.”
He gave me a courtly bow over one hand, then winked before turning and sauntering back out.
The second he left, I started shedding clothes. I had to soak in that pool first, I just had to. I was too hot and I wanted to be cool. I hopped in and sank right up to my nose. Ahh, bliss. The water was perfect in temperature and I wanted to sleep in here. If I drowned, I drowned, such is fate.
To mitigate said drowning, I oriented myself so my head rested on the lip of the pool, then closed my eyes and floated for a while.
Prince Donovan was truly a confusing issue for me.
I believed everything he said—not like he could lie to me anyway—but at the same time, I didn’t know how to respond.
To grow up being told consistently I had no value, only for me to come here and have this incredible man think I was the epitome of valuable, was…
bewildering. To say the least. I had a feeling this was a huge gap in culture.
Did I dare take his words at face value? Act from this point on like I was worth a prince’s ransom? It felt so unrealistic and cocky, in all the wrong ways.
From the doorway came an enthusiastic “Hello, hello!”
Eh? Person? I twisted about, not leaving the pool, but popped my head up to see who had just come in.
On the surface, he was sort of average—a man with a slightly chubby build, dark brown curly hair and, interestingly, the same pale skin as myself. He was cute, and—oh, huh, a Medium. A rather powerful one. His lines were sparkly in the best sense, and sweet by nature.
“Hi, I’m Mack,” he said, walking straight toward me. He lifted each arm up a little as he spoke. “On my right, I have fresh clothes for you, on my left, a hearty snack as dinner is in about two hours. Donovan said you’re Jon?”
“I, uh, am. Nice to meet you.” I sat up a little more, taking him in with growing confusion. He was the brother-in-law of Prince Donovan, unless I missed my guess. “Did he ask you to come to me?”
“No, I volunteered. I remembered how I reacted to everything here in the palace on my first day and chose to have pity. Didn’t think you’d want three strange women coming in to assist you with a bath.”
I shuddered at the visual. “No, thank you. Um, that’s…standard?”
“Ladies in waiting,” he explained with a shrug. “You get used to it. Well, I didn’t, but that’s because Brandon insists on assisting me in the bath himself. He’s not happy when other people put hands on me. So that worked out.”
“Oh.” Pieces filtered together to form an overall picture. “You were brought to the palace because you’re a Medium?”
Mack set everything on the pool’s edge, then straightened, his brown eyes studying me curiously. “You can see I’m a Medium?”
“Yes. You’re quite powerful, to the point you can exorcise. I rarely see people with that level of talent.”
“Ho, damn, your eyes are very good.” He lit up in a smile.
“Now I understand why Donovan’s this anxious.
Yes, I was brought here initially because of my talent.
I wasn’t enslaved, like you, but I was under a beast of a work contract that pulled me all the way here despite my wishes.
Turned out to be a blessing, though, as after I arrived I realized I could ask for help, get out from under the contract.
I reported my situation to Donovan, who brought me directly here.
Then I met Brandon, who basically swept me off my feet, which was how we got married.
I should warn you, this family only knows how to forge ahead.
Don’t let them overwhelm you; they will do that without realizing. ”
“I…had a feeling. Thanks.” I looked around the room better and the obvious hit me. “This is his room, isn’t it.”
“Took you this long to realize?”
I whimpered. “I… Shit, how am I supposed to respond to this?”
Mack laughed again, enjoying my dismay. “Jon, I can tell you’re from Orleansa like me, so I can hazard a guess over your reaction.
Let me explain something. Psychics in Tennoa are treated like the gods’ gift upon humanity.
We’re literally bestowed with divine power, that’s how they see it.
So you? You’re a walking gift. It’s why Donovan’s jumping through hoops trying to please you. He really, really wants you to stay.”
I knew part of that, but had to ask, “Divine power? They really think I have divine power?”
“You, me, and every psychic. We’re almost celebrities to them? Or like minor nobility? It’s hard to explain because our culture doesn’t have anything to equatable. But you’re in a situation where you actually have more value than a prince of this land.”
My eyes nearly left their sockets. Some part of my brain froze, unable to comprehend, and yet words still tumbled out of my mouth. “I’m more valuable than a prince?!”
“I’m not overstating when I say that.”
His lines said he believed his own words completely but…but…seriously?!
“When Brandon first met me and I told him what I could do, he was incredibly excited. There was no living with him for, like, a month, as he took me to all the most haunted places in this country. Worse than a child at the toymakers, I tell you. Donovan’s going to be worse, I can see it now.
He’s oscillating between being completely giddy and absolutely enraged at the Orleansan king. ”
“Wait, wait, so if he knew that our situation back home is so bad, why is he so mad now?”
“Final straw,” Mack explained with splayed hands.
His lines were all evil giddiness, though, pumpkin orange twining with bright yellow.
“Tennoa’s been arguing with the Orleansan asshat for years, and we honestly thought our last message was direct enough to get it across: We will not do business with a country that enslaves anyone.
So to be offered not only people, but psychics, well… ”
“It’s like a slap in the face when Tennoans think we’re divine.”
“You got it.”
“So, Prince Donovan’s campaigning to be my anchor…”