It was suddenly very important to her to get out of as soon as possible and change back into her tunic.
Without another moment’s hesitation, she stood and quickly abandoned the floor, her eyes scanning for the nearest doorway and intentionally ignoring all else. As soon as she was through the door she veered into a nearby hall. For some reason she found she was breathing hard and her hands had begun to shake slightly. No doubt some strange after effect of her nerves just now catching up with her.
Once she’d settled and felt certain she’d not been followed or found out, she made her way back to the statue where her tunic was hidden. She replaced it with the veil and instrument for Penelope to collect later, and was in the middle of refastening her tunic when a throat cleared behind her, making her jump and causing the pin of her broach to stab the meat of her thumb as she slid it into place.
Subsequently her cry of surprise came out more like one of pain. She turned to see who had startled her and found herself staring open mouthed at Demitri who was looking questioningly back at her.
“You!” She explained, still near speechless.
“Me.” He replied dryly, then handed her a kerchief which she looked dumbly at, not sure what it signified. Had he seen her? Recognized her? Followed her? Did that mean others recognized her as well?
He shook the cloth at her and nodded to her hand. She looked down and realized it was bleeding, and that a rivulet of blood had already run down over the pad of her hand and across her wrist. She blushed at her silliness and took the cloth with a grateful nod, attempting to pull herself together.
“You startled me.”
“I noticed.”
“I was adjusting my tunic…” she explained, and reached up with her uninjured hand to touch the offending object.
“You’re the girl with the veil then?” Well.. no beating around the bush for this one, she thought morosely. But then that was one of the many things she liked about him… if she were to be honest with herself. In a way it was almost a relief that she’d been caught… the sneaking about hadn’t been sitting well with her to begin with.
“Was it obvious?” She asked, deciding to be as straightforward as he.
“Not really… but it was a rather eccentric performance… which caught the attention of a few people. Including myself, obviously, so I followed you. I assume you didn’t want to be identified, so you’ll be happy to know no one else did.”
“Are you sure? I didn’t see you at all.”
“What can I say? You’re not terribly good at intrigue.”
She smirked and let out a humorless chuckle. “You’re absolutely right. I was just thinking that I’m actually glad you caught me. I don’t like the idea of sneaking around.”
“It doesn’t suit you.”
“No, not at all.” She agreed.
“Then what are up to exactly? What was all that about? And why don’t you ever play for us?”
She laughed, a little more earnestly. Mostly because the most accusatory and emphatic question had been the last. “I hadn’t thought you’d want me to… and I don’t remember ever seeing any musical instruments around to play as it was. I suppose if it were a particular skill of mine I might have made more of a point of it, but as it is…” she shrugged. He gave her an odd look she had trouble reading… but ‘skeptical’ might have been a word she’d attribute to it. “As for why I was bothering to do this in the first place… well,” she sighed, “it’s not that interesting a story. The woman, the dancer, was in need of accompaniment as the other dancers somehow made that impossible for her. I happened upon her while she was quite upset over the matter. I felt sorry for her and was compelled to help, and, well, one thing led to another, and hear I am.”
“Alright… but why the veil?”
“The Master didn’t want me competing with the other slaves, and probably embarrassing him, so I thought it safest to go hidden so no one would know. I’m going to tell him after… better to ask forgiveness and all that.” He gave her that look again, and she decided to interpret it as censure of some kind. “I know, I shouldn’t have done it at all… but I promised without thinking… and I didn’t know what to do after that.”
He just looked at her another moment. “And the other news?”
She blushed, knowing immediately what news he spoke of. “Actually I was thinking of telling him tonight as well. He seems to be in an unusually good mood, so I thought that might soften it.”
“What does that matter? Soften what exactly? It is his, isn’t it?”
He leaned in as he spoke and took her arm, guiding her back toward the hall with him. She accepted his arm, noticing the firm muscle beneath her hand. It was a subtle reminder of what he used to do for a living before he came to work for Thelios. It wasn’t something she thought about often, but looking at him now it came back to her. There was so little she knew about his history, and he was never forthcoming on his own. She would have to ask one of these days for a few war stories.
She met his eye and smiled sadly, answering his question finally. “Of course. Yes… it is. Obviously.” She shook her head. “I don’t know, I worry he’ll be upset by the news. That he won’t want the child.”
“That’s foolishness.” he muttered gruffly. “Why wouldn’t he? A man likes to pass his blood on. It’s the way of things.”
“Well, that may be so with legitimate children… but most owners don’t like their slaves pregnant and will usually take measures to prevent it. At least in my experience. No one wants the cost of raising the child when it’s cheaper to buy a new slave.”
He shrugged casually. “Well if that’s the case he has no one to blame but himself. He was giving a damn good impression of trying to get you with child otherwise. Had me fooled at least.”
She let out a very unladylike like snigger at that. It caught the attention of a nearby flock of women and men lingering at the doorway. She covered her mouth and glared at Demitri who only smirked back, completely unapologetic.
“So, where have you been anyway? I’ve seen so little of you these last few days.” She asked, changing the topic to a less sensitive one as they entered the crowded hall.
“Around.”
She rolled her eyes. “Very helpful. Do you and the Master conspire to make me insane with your ambiguity… or is that just happy chance on your part?”
He laughed at that. “Oh, conspiracy, to be sure. We were so bored before you came along, now we spend every waking moment devising ways to make you miserable.”