Possessions

Hell, my loves!

Here is Chapter 6 of Possessions! Sorry for the long wait!

I want to give a huge THANK YOU to my Beta Reader nthusiastic (as she says "not a typo, there is no [ e ] involved"). She is absolutely amazing and doesn't pull punches when it comes to helping me out!

*****

The door crashing open made Trivalm bolt upright in the bed. His head spun, making his stomach churn. When he was sure he wasn't going empty his gut onto the floor he looked up, expecting to see the healers pouring through the door as they had the previous morning. Instead he stared at an infuriated Ehrik. Trivalm knew the War General was dangerous. With his face etched with rage and anger practically coming off of him in waves, he oozed menace. There had never been doubt in Trivalm's mind that Ehrik was deadly. And he looked ready to kill.

Sarantha donned her gentle demeanor, her face placid, as if Ehrik's anger wounded her sensitive feelings somehow. Trivalm watched the nuances of her face and posture, trying to discover any sign that her behavior was insincere. He found nothing. It seemed she really was upset that she had done something to raise Ehrik's ire.

Beneath the bed, Ebon pulled a trembling Ivory into his arms. She looked scared and confused as she clung to Ebon, who whispered into her ear and stroked her hair soothingly. Ebon looked a bit incensed at the discourteous wakeup, but otherwise seemed uncaring of Ehrik's temper. As always, he was much more concerned with Ivory's wellbeing than anything else happening.

"What were you thinking? Did you honestly believe that I would not find out about this? Have you completely lost your mind? Have you no sense?" It was the first time Trivalm heard Ehrik shout, and it surprised him that it was at Sarantha.

The small brunette stretched lazily, boredom replacing the demure look on her face. "It was just some cake. Disobedient asses. Really, they can't even keep their mouths shut for one night!" She rolled her gorgeous green eyes before glaring at Ehrik. "You overreact. Stop shouting at me!"

That

was an act. No doubt about it. Even if Trivalm hadn't been able to see her, that last demand would have given her away, as shaky and wounded as it was. Ehrik, in his rage, may have missed the slight tightening around her mouth, or the tears that she hastily blinked away as she turned her head from her brother-in-law, but Trivalm didn't. Ehrik was hurting her feelings.

"Cake?" Ehrik looked genuinely confused for a moment before his face darkened again. "What cake? What are you talking about? Who brought you cake, little sister? I know you wouldn't have left this room to get it on your own. I

know

you wouldn't have left this room

alone, with three war slaves

! I

know

you wouldn't have been that careless!" His voice rose with each accusation.

Trivalm's head still spun, but even so he had to bite the inside of his cheek to remain silent. He was already irritated by being woken so suddenly and rudely, and now Ehrik's behavior was pushing him toward anger. Ehrik had no right to storm into Sarantha's room and upset her so. Wasn't it Ehrik who demanded that she obey the Healer's instructions as far as resting and remaining calm? Was this how women were treated in this country? Shouted at? Belittled? Was it acceptable here to so insinuate a woman was unintelligent in such a way? Especially a woman with child.

But this country was different. Women weren't as protected here; here they were treated exactly the same as their male counterparts. They were freer, less reserved. Alaliya had thought nothing of intimately caressing Ehrik in front of slaves, guards and even Captains. Sarantha evidently though it acceptable to be involved in the young soldiers' training. Allek told him as much on his first night, hadn't he? He had said that Sarantha ran the obstacle courses and even sparred with the soldiers. Such a thing was unheard of in Trivalm's country.

"No cake. What cake? Why am in trouble this time?" The words tumbled out as Sarantha donned her face of angelic innocence.

Ehrik opened his mouth, but before he could speak Alaliya came stomping into the room, dressed, but with no cosmetics, and looking just as enraged as her husband.

"Have you lost your mind, little sister? Why did you say nothing? Why did you not inform us the healer's improper behavior? Why did I have to hear of such behavior from both a servant and my Triya? Why did I have to hear that you were being mistreated from my

slave!

"

Sarantha's eyes slid down to the bed, as if she could see through it to where Ebon laid with Ivory in his arms, both listening intently. "And just how did your slave know of such things when she had been away preparing for your trip to the Capital?"

"Ebon did not tell her; she heard it elsewhere!

Which is even worse!

We should have been the first to know of such a problem and it seems that we are the last! We are learning information that has been passed from ear to ear when it should have been our ears that were the first to hear such things!" Alaliya was so upset she seemed to be rambling.

Sarantha opened her mouth to reply but before she could both Ehrik and Alaliya started to speak at the same time, Ehrik trying to find out what had happened when they left to get cake, and Alaliya berating Sarantha for not bringing the healer's behavior to their attention. Suddenly they both froze.

Sarantha frowned, her face contorting with discomfort. One hand fluttered to her swollen belly as the other rose to cover her trembling lips. "I don't feel well." Without warning, she flung herself to the edge of the bed and emptied her stomach's contents onto the floor.

Instantly, Ehrik was at her side, pulling her hair back to keep it from becoming dirty. Alaliya was on her feet, pouring a goblet from the pitcher Sarantha had brought back the night before. She tried to hand it to the trembling woman, but Sarantha shook her head and requested water instead. Frowning, Alaliya set the goblet aside and quickly complied with the request.

After she rinsed her mouth, Sarantha seemed to lose her composure, tears sliding down her face. Those in the room honestly couldn't tell whether she was crying because she was sad or because she so angry she couldn't find another way to express it. As she cried, she pounded her fists and kicked her little feet at the blanket until it was so skewed that it offered her no comfort or heat.

Finally, after what seemed like ages of her tantrum, Sarantha seemed to run out of energy to continue and contented herself with a silent tears and a few errant hiccups. Ehrik guided the trembling woman's body down and turned her onto her side to rest her head gently in her brother-in-law's lap. Alaliya released the slaves beneath the bed before crawling to settle herself near the pair. As Ehrik stroked Sarantha's hair, Alaliya fixed the blanket, pulling it up to the smaller woman's chin and tucking it around her. As Ehrik rubbed her back, Alaliya sang a soothing lullaby, one she often caught Sarantha singing to her swollen belly. Soon Sarantha was calm. She closed her eyes, comfortable and warm.

Trivalm listened to the conversation as the slaves silently went about their morning business and readied themselves for the day.

"Why did you not tell us about the healer's behavior, my precious little sister?" Ehrik asked softly, his voice once again the soft, gentle cadence he normally used with her.

"It would have been a burden for you to search out another healer as skilled as this one. Anytime I complained, you told me the same thing, to obey the healer until you spoke to her. I told you they made it so I couldn't rest. I told you that it was difficult for me to remain so still throughout the day. You never listened to what I said; you only ever said that you would speak to the healer about my restrictions. Her words meant more to you than mine. And she would say the same things, twisting her lies, blaming me, saying that my behavior was the cause of my illness. There was no point. You didn't care."

Ehrik's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He actually looked hurt, greatly so. "Sister..." He didn't seem to know what to say or how to respond to such an accusation.

Fortunately for him, Alaliya was able gather her wits and form a response for him. "You are not a burden. You are never a burden. This particular point of conversation is getting tiresome. You will remain here-"

Sarantha bolted upright, anger etched into her normally gentle features. "I will do whatever I damn well please!"

It seemed that Alaliya realized her mistake, because she instantly backtracked. "Of course, precious sister. What I meant was that you are always

welcome

to remain here." There was an uncomfortable pause, before Alaliya asked softly. "My sweet darling...What happened to the Healer's assistant? Yesterday, the healer made a recommendation that Ivory be removed, based on observations from her assistant. Today, her assistant is silent and..." There was another pause as she looked to her husband for assistance.

"She is silent and looks to have been assaulted, though she denies any such thing happened." His eyes slid to Ebon, who, even though all knew he was listening, didn't react to the information in any way.

Sarantha's eyes moved to her slaves as well. She smiled slightly as Ebon finished combing Ivory's hair. "Perhaps the woman is clumsy. If she denies she was assaulted, then we have no choice but to believe her unless a witness comes forward claiming otherwise." She focused on her brother-in-law again. "You have no reason to suspect any wrongdoing because the assistant's recommendation doesn't matter. Because you would

never

think to try to take my Ivory away from me. You know I'd

never

allow such a thing."

Ehrik sighed as the conversation continued, but Trivalm was distracted as Ebon handed Ivory a goblet of water and Trivalm a goblet of herbed juice. Poured from the same pitcher that Sarantha had refused just moments ago. His eyes narrowed on it a moment before meeting Ebon's. Raikol's words echoed in his mind. Ebon's eyes were hard as they clashed with his, clearly unamused with his defiance. After a moment, Trivalm realized that the room was silent. His gaze slid to the bed to see all three of its occupants' eyes trained on him.

Alaliya looked slightly irritated at the interruption, but a bit intrigued, as if she were watching a theatre production. Ehrik looked amused, as if watching a child being caught doing something naughty. Sarantha's face was unreadable. The only thing that showed her temper was the way her eyes shone as they fixed on his.

He held her eyes as he raised the goblet between them. Neither blinked as he slowly turned it and upended the contents onto the floor. He didn't flinch as those green eyes grew stormy. Deliberately, he released the goblet, allowing it to clatter to the ground.

Just as deliberately as he had acted, Sarantha rose from the bed. She picked up the jug and a new goblet and walked to stand directly in front of him, uncaring that she was considerably smaller than the angry slave. With eyes trained on his, she filled the goblet and held it to his lips. "Drink, little slave."

Trivalm didn't move, didn't obey.

A smirk twisted Sarantha's lips. She refused to break the gaze, even as she spoke to Ehrik. "My darling brother? May I borrow your slave? Drimelk? My Ivory was so confused over his behavior last night. Perhaps he is simply less experienced in such things. I believe he would benefit from her feminine company."

Trivalm's eyes widened, horror making his blood run cold at the thought of Sarantha torturing his friend in such a way just to punish him for his disobedience.

"Of course, my precious sister. Anything you desire, you have only to ask and I will readily provide."

Trivalm's face twisted with an emotion that could only be described as pure hatred. He took the goblet, careful not to touch her skin, and slowly drank, emptying the cup. As the liquid passed over his tongue he tried to decipher the taste, get any clue as to what he was swallowing. Sarantha smiled as she took the empty goblet back, deliberately brushing his fingers with hers, refilled it and held it back out to him. Trivalm, his patience gone, snatched the goblet and drained it in two large gulps before throwing it across the room. He mildly worried about the amount he had drank, not knowing what concoction he was being forced to ingest, but he would not give Sarantha the satisfaction of knowing his concern by inquiring about it. He knew, without a single doubt, that she wouldn't kill him. That had to be good enough for now.

"Good little slave. Now, sit down." When he obeyed, still snarling, she smiled. Not a condescending smile of victory, but a real smile, as if she were simply happy he had obeyed. She even had the audacity to reach out and stroke back his hair back. She turned to where Ivory sat cradled in Ebon's arms. "Ivory, come give our new little slave a reward for being such a good boy."

Ivory immediately went to her knees, thinking nothing of crawling naked across the floor to kneel at Trivalm's feet, ignoring his growls of disgust and hatred. Much like she had that first night, she nuzzled against his thigh. She looked up at him with her oblivious eyes, and suddenly, Trivalm couldn't find it in himself to stay mad at the little creature. Trivalm huffed as he slouched back on the bed. Ivory, in her childlike stupidity, took the action as acceptance. Which, in a way, it was. He suddenly realized that there was no point in trying to resist what was going to happen.

Then again, he wasn't sure if that was really what he thought, or if the herbs that were already starting to make his mind fuzzy were making him complacent.

Ivory, all smiles and happy murmurs, spent less time teasing him with her warm breath this time. As soon as his cock was hard, she used her teeth to pull the fabric of his pants away from his straining cock, allowing it to pop free. As soon as it did, the little blonde smiled up at him. This time however, instead of taking him into her mouth, she used her hand to hold his cock against his stomach as she dropped her head to use her tongue to lap at his sac. Trivalm couldn't suppress his moan when she sucked one of the globes into the warm cavern of her mouth and continued to massage it with that skilled tongue that she so readily used. When he rolled his hips, she switched her attentions to his other globe.

It seemed to feel better than anytime he had received such treatment. Almost of its own accord, his hand found his cock, desperate to bring himself even more pleasure. Ivory, sensing his movement, lifted her head to see what he was doing. When her eyes fell on his hand wrapped around his cock, she gasped her outrage, turning to Ebon with horror on her face.

Trivalm's mind was too fogged to realize what he was doing. It only processed that the source of his pleasure thought to cease its attentions. He reached out and grabbed her hair, pulling her around to push her back to his aching cock. She huffed but obeyed the pressure of his hands, dropping her mouth over his cock. Effortlessly, she slid his rigid member to the back of her throat. When Ebon slapped his hands away from where they gripped Ivory's hair, Trivalm contented himself pumping his hips against Ivory's lips, desperate to find his release. When it came, he threw his head back, gasping in disbelief at the euphoria.

Almost immediately, Ebon's fingers fisted in his hair, raising his head and turning it toward Sarantha, who hadn't moved from where she stood next to him. Her eyes glittered. He couldn't manage to tear his gaze away from those beautiful green orbs that seemed too bright as he spilled himself into Ivory's luscious mouth.

Ebon released him as Sarantha leant down and pressed a gentle kiss to Trivalm's temple. "Such a good boy. My good little slave."

A soft moan brought his attention to the bed where Ehrik and Alaliya still lounged. Alaliya's head was tilted back and buried in Ehrik's shoulder as his lips trailed over her hair. Trivalm's eyes slid back to Sarantha as she smiled down at him, stroking his hair back.

Vile words, horrid insults, circled in Trivalm's mind and even thorough the blissful haze he opened his mouth to spew them at her. Before they could find their way to his tongue, though, Kriel burst into the room.

"Keeper, Ma'am. Apologies for the intrusion."

Sarantha gave him a droll look as she walked back to her bed. "Because

he

deserves your apologies for trampling into

my

room. And it seems I'm the one who gets ignored!"

Kriel continued to ignore her and spoke directly to Ehrik. "The King has just arrived."

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Sarantha had hoped that with the incident that morning and the King's sudden arrival that she would be left in peace to prepare for the day. No such luck. A few moments after Ehrik and Alaliya had hurried from the room to address the King's unexpected visit, servants had arrived. Different servants than had previously attended her though, which made her relax somewhat.

Captain Kriel's wife was there, which made Sarantha smile. She genuinely liked the woman. Kriel held a high enough rank that Melil did not have to continue her work as a servant. She had ceased her duties once, at Kriel's insistence, but then returned to her previous duties after only a few days. She claimed she had been bored, and speaking with the other officers' wives had been tedious and irritating. No one was dumb enough to believe that she wouldn't lean on her husband's rank if she were ever mistreated though, and that gave Sarantha comfort. Even though she was no more than a few years older than Sarantha, she often acted in a motherly way and had been exceptionally kind since Sarantha's arrival, even in the beginning when others had deliberately avoided her.

Other than Ehrik and Alaliya, Melil had been the first one to come into Sarantha's room after her husband's death, telling her in no uncertain terms that she was waking, bathing and leaving the room. The other servants had just gaped as the lithe woman had gracefully avoided the dishes flying through the air while she supervised the filling of the bathing tub and laid out a proper dress. When she had dared to direct Ebon to bring Ivory to the bathing halls while their Mistress was seen to, Sarantha had screeched at the woman, demanded she leave the room, called her horrible names, until Sarantha had finally dissolved into a sobbing heap. She had expected the servant to gloat, having won the confrontation, but instead the older woman just walked over, and pulled Sarantha's body into her lap. Melil stroked Sarantha's head as the servant sang soft lullabies until Sarantha finally calmed. That was the first time since her husband's death that Sarantha had left her bed. Before long, Melil had Sarantha eating regularly without being forced and moving through the keep. After the Healer had given Sarantha so many restrictions, Melil would still come visit her and give her advice on how to deal with the maladies of pregnancy, often bringing her juices and food that the Healer had deemed restricted.

Sarantha smiled and pretended not to notice as the kind hearted servant snuck Ivory a small piece of chocolate with a conspiratorial smile.

Sarantha had only known herself to be pregnant a few days when her husband had been slain in battle. The Healers thought nothing of preparing the General's body in his tent, not thinking of Sarantha's potential feelings or distress, since she had been in the infirmary helping as best she could. She wasn't a healer by any means, but she could follow simple instructions such as "press here" or "help hold him down". Standing there in the entrance to the tent, looking at her husband's dead body laying pale and still in the bed they had made love in the night before, Sarantha did something she had never done in her entire life. She fainted.