Chapter Two
S age threw herself into learning at the Temple. She learned how to eat with fingertips or a single eating tool. The white novice robes that they put her in were changed out for blue by the end of the first week.
The matron called her out of etiquette class on the ninth day.
Mistress Sage, why are you here?
Oh, a jealous companion was worried and had me abducted and sent here for profit. Since the overseer was starting to look at me with a more than conversational manner, she guessed she might be out of a job.
Oh, are you content to go for master status?
Sure. What s involved?
Well, it will increase your bond.
Naturally.
You will have to take extensive pleasure courses.
Well, if I can make it work and not a hobby, that s good, too. Sage smiled. Despite what the trainees here thought, life at the Temple was easy.
The matron nodded. Also, you need to learn two instruments and take women s combat training.
Now, you have my full attention. Combat training? Sage grinned.
There are women s combat techniques that are helpful when you are an expensive companion. They deter those who would kidnap you for their own benefit. If you can t stop them, you can mark them.
Sage clapped her hands together. Excellent. Done. Great. Where do I sign?
Just like that?
Like what? I am alone in this universe. No friends, no family. No world. Anything I can carry within me, like knowledge or training, is what I own. Nothing else. I am always willing to add to my hoard.
The matron grinned. We will organize your education and add the fees to your bond. If you train any of the other young companions, you will get an educator credit and funds you can spend on anything.
It seems my farming has changed its crop. She smiled and bowed gracefully.
Excellent. Oh, you do need to be tested again.
That s fine. No one can afford me now anyway.
The matron laughed the careful and cultivated laugh that she had been trained for. Sage grinned. There was an actual laugh under that laugh. It was nice to hear.
Six months flew by, and Sage was in the Temple gardens, showing some edible flowers to two new recruits.
So, if you are with a new patron who has mouth contact on his mind, you can use these as breath fresheners as long as your patron does not have allergies.
Please verify that he does not have allergies if you want to use this method.
A young woman with buttery yellow and soft, velvety skin raised a hand. What if our patron is a female?
Same applies. One mouth leads to another, and you don t want to injure them. It s bad for business.
They all smiled and laughed. Across the gardens, some of the male companions were getting similar educations.
Sage looked around and saw the mountains in the distance. The Temple was a sparsely populated facility guarded by nature. They were in a mountain basin, and the atmosphere crackled with energy that defied all but the most insulated of vessels. And they had a steady trade in trained companions.
She smiled at her novices. Now, ladies, let s refresh our skills at a slow walk through the gardens. You need to seem happy, dreamy, and enthralled with the plants that offer their petals to you. This portion is another type of performance.
They walked slowly and lazily through the gardens. They looked at blooms, compared the scents, and slowly passed by exotic species that didn t grow anywhere else.
Sage reached up and gently touched the bottom of a bloom with her fingertips. She smiled slightly. It smelled like fruity cereal.
The yellow novice gasped. Mistress, you looked so lovely. How did you do it?
I was thinking of a memory from my home world. Something I consumed as a child smells like this flower.
Oh. Well, it gave you a soft and dreamy expression.
Thank you. Sage smiled.
There was a delicate chime from inside the Temple. Ladies, with me.
They glided together like a mother duck and her two ducklings. The matron was waiting at the doorway and nodded. Novices, please go and have a meal.
Fingertips today, even if it s soup. Figure it out. Sage smiled.
The matron smiled and said, Walk with me. We have had a query about your services.
Oh. Interesting.
They turned and walked into the gardens. Walking out here indicated that you didn t want to be disturbed.
Matron, you have piqued my curiosity.
Ah. Well, every five decades, the home of Ancient Zell seeks to wake him.
Drums? Annoying neighbours?
Funny. No. They have a tower, and they staff four sides with companions, and those companions try to wake him for seven days.
At the end of the seven days, those who are not successful get their bond paid and are free to find a husband or return to the Temple.
Women of the tower have no shortage of offers.
And if they are successful?
They are offered to Zell. Their fate is up to him.
Oh. Right. So, be good but not too good.
The entire world will be watching.
Sage laughed. I can t see that possibly going wrong.
The matron chuckled. They have gone through our files and selected you.
And three others?
They have purchased others from bond auctions. You are the only trained companion.
Hm. Is there a reason for that?
Yes. Your species has begun to be associated with Hmrain consorts. You seem unusually adapted for them.
Ah. I have been reading those notices as well. Yeah, we are rather uninhibited out of our basic societies.
Matron smiled. You don t say.
Sage chuckled. Aw, I passed my sex class with flying colours.
You did. Impressive ratings and astonishing long answers.
Sage grinned. Thank you. I did my best.
So, are you willing to go to try and wake Zell?
Sure. Can I come back here when I fail?
Of course... for a fee.
They laughed together, and Sage went to pack a bag. Her shuttle would be waiting at the front of the temple, and the matron would take over her novices until a suitable mistress could be found.
She put her bag on a levitator so that her precious self didn t have to sweat, and she picked up the follow beacon.
Sage looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing four layers of gowns, two layers of outer robes, and half a dozen sashes that held the works together.
Each piece meant something. Her hair was pinned up in a dozen braids with long pins holding them in place.
The first thing that the Temple had done was to take her hair from three inches to three feet.
She laughed and shook her head, checked her glossy nails, and looked up at the heavy makeup.
She had changed a lot since the day she arrived. She walked through the marble halls where statues and artwork were next to precisely arranged floral displays. They were trained for beauty, comfort, and lust. Love had little to do with the life of a companion.
Sage walked to the front of the Temple and paused when she saw the line of companions waiting to see her off. Aw, Matron, I will be back.
The matron smiled and said, I hope not. Get hugging.
The ladies giggled, and the males chuckled. She started with the novices and hugged the men and women who had been with her during her training and who had been trained by her in return.
She kissed lips, hugged, and was passed from one trainee to another. The matron hugged her and said, I will miss playing strategy games with you but will not miss your musical efforts.
The laughter rippled through everyone, and the scuff of a boot on the gravel made Sage look toward the twelve men in dark, blood-red livery.
The matron released her, and Sage turned to the commander. This is Sage, daughter of the Temple. She is beloved by all of us, and we will be watching her progress. She will not disappear into the stars. We will be looking for her.
Sage looked at her friend and said, Damn. Just tell them that every whore in the system knows what I look like and will be watching for me.
Matron grinned. I just did. Now, off you go. Go shake the tower.
Sage looked, and one of the crewmen had come to take her bag. She sighed and said, Yay. Another new world.
The men bowed, and the commander murmured, Please come with us, Mistress. You are under the care of Zell s tower.
She nodded and said, I place myself in your hands.
The men shivered, and she realized she had used client voice . She sighed and placed her hand on the wrist of the commander and let him walk with her into the shuttle that had clearance to arrive and depart from the Temple.
Sage sat in the seat, surrounded by strange men, and mentally played a game of "Guess the Member Size." It used to be guess the penis until the matron had informed her that what she was facing might not always be a penis. Cock was for when they were up for funzies.
She kept her brain playing silly games as they arrived at the station and transferred to the Zell ship.
The commander led her to her quarters, and they were nine times larger than the one that she had been in when she had been stolen.
When she was alone, she unpacked her lute and tuned it. She wasn t bad at the lute; she just wasn t good. She had time to learn, so she was taking it.
The songs she sang were pop songs from Earth.
Matron wasn t a fan, but they made Sage smile as she softly sang ballads that she had listened to endlessly on the radio and online.
When it was time for tea, she got the supplies from the unit, laid everything out, and practiced measuring, stirring, and pouring into small teacups.
Her sleeves flowed as she moved her hands with slow focus.
Months of lotions and massages had taken callouses down, and her hands were actually pretty now.
She wasn t allowed to get any rough patches, so even playing the lute had to be done in moderation.
Treating herself like a limited-edition collectible had been awkward, but once she had started passing weekly inspections, things had gotten smoother in all senses of the word.