• Mature • Recognising the beauty of skin

[Faith Augustin]

"What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful than the garment with which it is clothed?"
~~~ Michelangelo ~~~

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7th Saun, 716

Closing her eyes, she considered her change in circumstances most carefully and the rumination on it left her with a smile on her face. There were so many things that were different now, that she really didn't know where to begin, had she been required to give a list. On the trial that he had bought her, when he had told her that she was going to be sleeping in a room, on a mattress, she had believed that it would be the most amazing difference. To eat her meals sitting at a table, with cutlery, was as great an astonisment. The clothes that he bought for her delighted her and his kindness was something which she could not easily quantify. Each of those were things which she had not ever dared to dream of; and the young woman was learning that being the best slave one could be did not need to mean being the most badly treated. Maybe, she had thought in more reflective moments, that had been what Jamal and the Owners in Athart had been trying to teach her; showing her the worst so that she might appreciate it when her Master was kind. Or maybe they had quite another motivation, she did not know. But right now, she did not care, either, because she was laying here and just.. happy.

Because really, the thing that she could not have imagined even for a trill was this

Laying on Master's bed, sheets wrapped and tangled around here somewhere having been long since discarded in the Saun heat and the physical exertion of their morning, Faith lay her head against Tristan's chest and just tried to steady her breathing. She was trembling from head to foot and she could hear her heart pounding in her ears. As she rested her head, she heard his heart racing also and she smiled, trailing one finger down his chest. "You have the most beautiful skin" she whispered, looking up at him impishly. "It's...soft" she kissed his chest, playfully "And it is flawless. How do you do that?" as though to remind her, the shifting movement of his breathing and her own movement caused the Venora brand to sting. She couldn't help the slight wince at the fresh burn, but she tried her best to hide it. Instead, she shifted her weight again, turning so that she was laying on her right side, propping herself up.

Her voice was still a little breathless, but returning to normal as she looked at him and she asked, most earnestly (as she did almost everything) "I hope that you consider the training from the House of Roses worthwhile, Master?" she asked, thoughtfully. "It was quite the revelation to me" she said, oh-so-seriously. In this, as in all things she sought to be the best for him that she could be. In truth, the realisation that *he* enjoyed it more if *she* enjoyed it was beyond a revelation - ironically, it was liberating for her and allowed her to perform much better than she would have had it been a chore. And that was another surprise to her - quite how enjoyable the whole pastime was, considering how Jamal had talked about it cruelly and as though it would be the most pain she would ever experience. Well, she could only conclude that Jamal had probably either never done it or had done it wrong all his life. But she determinedly put thoughts of Jamal out of her head as she listened to his answer. "I am able to go back and learn more, should you ever wish it, they were very clear about that. If there are specifics that you require or would like to try out" she said, with a lazy smile. "They like you, quite a lot." she added. But then, as a thought occurred to her, she added.

"I was offered training in this before. In an Inn, there was a man, I do not know his name. He offered to help me complete a task for Jamal, in return for sexual favours. I told him I was not permitted to do such and he offered to train me to make me more able to please Jamal. It was .... odd" she said and she leant forward, kissing him suddenly and with the kind of passion that might well have been surprising at first from her; not so now, but still. "I am grateful in more ways than I can tell you that you bought me. Thank you" she said and then smiled. "Shall I make breakfast? You have things to do with me today, do you not?" she asked, wickedly.

It was strange, the informality (relatively speaking) that they shared here. Because as soon as she stood from the bed, as soon as she pulled on her night gown or dress (whichever she had discarded some breaks earlier) then she returned to very formal. She would never consider kissing him in any other moment, it simply was not acceptable. But here, whilst it was what he wanted, it was different. It meant that she could be what he wanted her to be. So, here she was wicked and mischievous and sometimes she even bordered on teasing. But that was only here, and anywhere else she reverted back apparently with absolute ease. And even here, she was only ever exactly what he wanted her to be, the best way she knew how

[Tristan Venora]

Not in his wildest dreams could Tristan have imagined how thoroughly enjoyable owning a slave would be. He had bought Faith on a whim because he had been jealous of his cousin at the time, and she had been available and not particularly expensive. He had thought he would make her cook and clean for him and help him with his work (and parade her in front of his relatives in a silken gown so that they could see that his slave was better than theirs!), but he had come to the realization that she was capable of so much more.

I don’t think Alaric does that for Alistair! he thought as he lay there, in his bed, still warm and slightly out of breath from the morning’s activities. He put his arm around Faith and played with her hair while she rested her head on his chest. She was so close that he could feel her breath against his skin and her heartbeat against his. He had been with other women before, but this was different because she belonged to him, he didn’t have to pay for her, and she could not make any demands like the noble ladies he had met.

As she complimented him on his skin, he laughed and turned his head to look at her. "It’s because I’m a Venora", he said in an almost overly serious tone. "We all have flawless skin, although mine is the most flawless of all of course." He laughed again and leaned down to kiss her. "Sending you to Madame Alessa was the best idea I’ve ever had. And of course the roses like me. I’ve spent enough time in their company."

What he didn’t mention that half his time at the House of Roses had been spent painting because that would have been a little pathetic, and he really didn’t have any interest in appearing pathetic right now. So he distracted himself by meeting her for another kiss before he finally sat up straight. As much as he hated it, it was time to get up and start working. Why couldn’t his family fund his luxurious lifestyle instead of making him have a real job so that he could just enjoy himself all trial long?

"Faith", he said her name to get her attention and briefly paused in his search for his clothes that he had discarded somewhere to look at her. "You should never agree to provide sexual favors to a stranger you met in an inn, for whatever reason. Such people rarely have good intentions. They might hurt you or kill you the moment you agree to go somewhere private with them. I don’t want that to happen to you."

"If you ever meet such a man again, you are to turn his offer of help down immediately and make sure you are in a place where you are surrounded by a lot of people so that he won’t be able to do anything to you. Do you understand me?"

"Breakfast would be much appreciated", he decided once the message had hopefully gotten through to her. He finally spotted his pants under a chair and his shirt on the lamp next to the bed (he was not sure how it had ended up there) and quickly put them on. "Make coffee for me. I didn’t get a lot of sleep tonight." He grinned a little as he said that because, at least this time, the reason for his lack of sleep had been very, very enjoyable. "You may pour a cup for yourself as you will without a doubt need it." He put on his shoes that he had discovered under the bed, which was strange, considering he was pretty sure that he had put them in front of the bed the evening before.

"I do indeed have things to do with you today", he confirmed in the same wicked tone. "Very, very interesting things that you have never done before and didn’t think you’d ever do. I have to finish a large order, and I’m way behind my schedule. You will have to help me. Today, Faith, you are going to sculpt!"

[Faith Augustin]

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The feel of his arm around her and his hand in her hair sent shivers of delight through Faith. She grinned at him as he said that his skin was the most flawless of all the Venora family "Of course, Master" she whispered, wickedly. "Do you all have beautiful eyes too? I can not imagine a whole family so well put together" she considered, thoughtfully. A whole family of beauty? It was almost too much to consider. But he was pleased that she had undergone the training in the House of Roses, and she was delighted that he was. Her job was for him to be happy - if he lived his life with every moment being utterly content, then she had done her job. The training that she had been given meant that she could do her job here better and she wanted to make sure that she pleased him in all ways.

When he said that he had spent a lot of time with the Roses, she shot him a smile "And that must be why they are all so very content" she commented "Like me". Rummaging around she handed him clothes of his that she found whilst grabbing her own. "I am sorry, Master, I should pay more attention to where we discard our clothes. I will try to do better. I find it hard to focus on anything when you.. I will try to do better, Master" she said, suddenly popping up from behind the bed with his other shoe and handing it to him with a smile. She thought that she had everything that they had discarded in their haste earlier, and she started to dress herself again.

As he spoke, she was pulling the dress down over her self, allowing it to fall over her and she turned to look at him then nodded, "Yes, Master, I understand" she said, of his instruction. "When it happened, I did not understand either what he was offering or asking of me. My rules as Jamal's property were very different to my rules now that I am yours. I will never allow anyone except you to touch me like that unless you command it, Master". She was very sure of his feelings on this and she would be very careful to follow his instructions.

"Breakfast and coffee, yes Master" she said, and then when she was to have coffee too, she nodded her head "Thank you, Master" She looked at him with a slightly quirked eyebrow as he told her that she was going to be doing 'Very interesting' things. What was it that Master has in mind for her this trial, she wondered. And then he told her and she looked at him incredulously. "Sculpture, Master? As it pleases you I will do my best" she said and then she made her way out to firstly, get him his coffee, which she brought to him and offered him with a smile and a quietly spoken "Master. There is more in the pot, as you wish it" and then she would drink her own coffee whilst she prepared his breakfast. It sounded like there was a lot of work to do so she made sure that he had a full and flavoursome meal before they got started. As he had instructed her on the first trial, she ate when he did but as always she laid the table out of him, made sure that he was served with everything that he might need and would serve his food. If he wished her to eat with him, she would do so but if he did not instruct her to, she would eat whilst he got ready, after he had.

Either way, she made sure that when they left the house he was well fed and satisfied. With as many refills of coffee as he wished "What is the order for that you are behind on, Master? Should I bring anything with me?" she asked. She had never sculpted in her life and she considered it for a moment and decided that she was rather looking forward to learning something new.

[Tristan Venora]

"Thank you, Faith", Tristan said as she brought him coffee. He raised the cup to his lips and took a few slow, careful sips before he set it down again. The drink was still very hot, but nevertheless quite delicious, and he instantly felt a bit more awake. Or maybe he was just imagining things (Could coffee really work that quickly?). "Sit with me. If we eat at the same time, we’ll be finished faster and be able to start working much sooner." He gestured for her to take a seat opposite of him and then started eating the breakfast she had served him.

He was glad that he had bought her, not just because of the pleasurable activities they had shared together, but also because he didn’t have to cook and do the dishes (and clean!) anymore. He’d always hated those things, and he wasn’t particularly good at them either. With a beautiful girl that fulfilled his every wish he finally felt like a proper noble lord again.

"No, I don’t want to drink any more", he informed her as she asked him if he wanted a refill. "But take the coffee pot with you when we leave. I might need a few more cups before I’m done." Having that said, he stood up, retrieved the thick book with his sketches and gave her a sign to come with him. "I have to make a few sculptures for Rynmere Theatre. They’ll be used as decorations in a play. I don’t have to tell you how important that job is. If Lady Andaris is content with my work, she may be more inclined to give my new play a chance."

He had talked about his new play quite frequently, maybe too frequently as he usually did when he was obsessed with something. It was a tragedy that was inspired by current events (the protagonist was a teenaged king who was married to an evil witch), and it featured music, songs and colorful costumes (everything was better with music in Tristan’s opinion). He‘d dedicate it to both Zanik and Vri and hoped to invite … well, whoever sat on the throne once that bothersome rebellion was finally over – which he hoped was Cassander since he liked the boy king and wasn’t particularly fond of Veljorn’s wife, his very own cousin Zvezdana Venora.

"I recently bought a new workshop", he informed Faith as they walked out of the door, but stopped dead in his tracks as he heard a loud scream. It sounded as if somebody was being murdered in a most violent manner. For a moment he was seriously worried, but then he realized what was most likely the case and laughed out loud. "I think Mistral is fighting again. He does that a lot. I always picture him as the leader of a cat gang, defending his territory and terrorizing the neighborhood." He turned back to Faith who would, by then, most likely have realized that she wouldn’t be chained to him this time. Since they would only be walking a few meters that seemed unnecessary to Tristan.

"Where was I? Ah, yes, the workshop. As I said, I bought it recently. I should probably have told you about it sooner, but it slipped my mind. I've just begun to move some of my things into it. And here we already are!" The workshop was located just around the corner. It was a small stone house with a single window and a red roof and located behind a store that sold sweets which was quite convenient since Tristan absolutely loved sweets. The young noble handed Faith his sketchbook so that he could unlock the door and walked inside, hopefully followed by her.

It was obvious that the workshop hadn’t been touched by Faith yet. It was just as chaotic as Tristan’s house had been before he had bought her and made her clean everything. Half-finished sculptures were standing around, there were half finished paintings, sketches, various tools as well as a table and two chairs that were, surprisingly enough, comparatively clean. One painting stood out especially: It showed a female Aukari and a male Mer locked in a passionate embrace which was something that would never happen in real life as Aukari and water were a problematic combination.

"I have to make sculptures representing the seven patron saints of Rynmere", Tristan explained. "It will be a religious play." He made a face as he said that. Unlike the majority of Rynmere’s citizens Tristan had never particularly cared about Rynlism, but he cared about money and fame a great deal which was why he had convinced Lady Andaris that he would be the best sculptor for the job despite his religious convictions or the lack thereof. "We’ll do it this way. You’ll try and sculpt those lumps of clay …" He pointed at a large box that contained the lumps of clay in question. "… into the basic shape of the figures you see in the sketches over there, I’ll add the finer details, and then we’ll paint them together."

"Are you excited, Faith?" he asked her as he stepped behind her, very close to her as if … as if he were going to put a lump of clay directly in front of her which was exactly what he did.

[Faith Augustin]

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"Thank you, Master" she replied, when he told her to sit and eat with him. She did just that, carefully and slowly eating and making sure that she ate properly, as she always did. She had worked hard and practiced to make sure that she did not embarrass him by the way that she ate or anything like that. As she did so many things, Faith was careful and meticulous about her eating, ensuring that she acted in an appropriate manner at all times.

Picking up the pot she followed behind him as instructed. She listened carefully to what he said and then considered thoughtfully "Lady Andaris? From the Andaris family? Their symbol... A dragon. The Duke, His Grace Thomas Andaris was married to Her Grace Duchess Hellen. She died. They had three children. Who is it that works in the Theatre, Master?" she asked, thoughtfully. She had been reading a lot and researching noble houses. After all, she was very clear that he needed her to be clever not stupid and she was, therefore, reading as much as she could in order to make sure that she was not stupid. "I will do my best to make a positive impact on it. But your talent is beyond question and Lady Andaris will undoubtedly see your genius" she added, most sincerely. He was able to sculpt and he had told her of his play - it was a wonder to her that he was so very talented; she had never come across such in her very limited views and experiences of the world.

As they walked, she could hear the screaming and he considered that he thought that the cat was a gang leader. Maybe it was, she thought. Maybe it was the leader of a group of evil cats, she considered. That would be about right, she considered. "I can not imagine that there are many cats in his gang, Master. An elite group, perhaps?" of lunatic sadistic brain-eating cats. That was a very elite group.

The workshop was close by and as they made their way in, it was chaotic in the way that Master's home had been. She looked at him from underneath her lashes and asked, quietly "Would I be allowed to clean this place, Master? To include it in my duties?" And yes, she sounded almost pleading. And then, he walked towards her, stepping behind her and she felt his breath on her neck. And he dropped a lump of clay in front of her and she looked at him with a flash of amusement in her eyes. "Master, I do believe that you are playing with me" she said, softly, looking up at him from beneath her lashes.

But shape it in to the rough shape of the seven sketches that he had made. "Yes, Master, I am excited" she said and she looked at the clay and then back at him. "What... How?" she asked, unsure of how she was going to transform this big lump of clay into anything, *anything* resembling those sketches. "Are there tools or do I use my hands or....?" This seemed to be quite difficult, but she would do her very best to comply with what he wanted her to do.

[Tristan Venora]

"Lady Andaris", Tristan confirmed. "From the Andaris family who are one of the seven noble families of Rynmere. Lady Jane Andaris to be exact. She took the theatre over after her mother died. I’m not sure how exactly she is related to the Duke or why an Andaris and not a Venora is managing the theatre though." He paused for a moment, secretly thinking that he would make a fine successor should anything happen to Lady Jane before he remarked, "I didn’t know that you were familiar with the noble houses of Rynmere. That’s quite impressive. I’m proud of you."

He was indeed proud of her. When he had told her that he wanted her to learn something, he hadn’t thought she would work that hard and learn so much in such a short amount of time. He was almost tempted to gather his savings and make her get a degree from the University so that he could tell everybody that he owned a slave who was more intelligent than most free citizens of Rynmere. He doubted that even King Cassander had such a slave!


As Faith asked him whether she would be allowed to clean his workshop, Tristan took a look around to see if it really needed cleaning. In his opinion it didn’t look too bad. There were no leftovers from his last meal rotting in the corners, he hadn’t spilt any wine, it didn’t smell unbearably bad, and he had never had any problems finding his things. But he just couldn’t say no when she looked at him like that. She was practically pleading with him.

Besides, he admitted reluctantly, she had made his house look rather nice.

"Of course I’ll allow you to clean this place", he thus said to her. "How could I say no to that? I’ll even give you a key of your own so that you can always come here when you feel like cleaning and doing other slave work. How does that sound?" He grinned at her and made a step back. "And of course I’m playing with you. Life would be unbearably boring if I were always serious and acted like a proper slave owner, whatever a proper slave owner is supposed to act like. I think I forgot something though …"

He searched the room for a couple of bits and finally picked up a box with a small sound of triumph. "Ha! I found them!" He carried the box over to the table and put it in front of Faith as well. She could see that it contained a couple of constructs made of wire. "I finished the armatures yesterday. I’m not sure why I put them into a box, but anyway, these are, as I’ve already told you, armatures. Think of an armature as a sculpture’s skeleton. It acts as a support structure and keeps the sculpture from breaking easily."

He carefully took one of the armatures and handed it to Faith. "This one will become Warrick, the Patron Saint of War." On the corresponding sketch she could see a knight in armor holding a sword. "Nothing represents war better than a warrior in my opinion. What I want you to do now is take a chunk of clay and put it on the armature, and then another one and so on until the whole armature is covered with it."

"I’d appreciate it if you tried to make it at least resemble the knight in the picture somewhat as it will constitute the foundation I will have to work with. For this part of the sculpting process you can just use your hands. Once you are finished, you’ll hand the sculpture to me and start working on Venora while I add the details."

"Unless you want to help me with that as well?" He grinned as he said that, and then he sat down and leaned back to watch her and make sure that she didn’t make any mistakes. He didn’t particularly like playing the part of a teacher, but he liked giving orders very much!

[Faith Augustin]

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"I have been trying to learn, Master" she said, of the noble houses. "The library is an excellent source of information and I have been reading as much as I can. Thank you" she added, shyly and she blushed a little. "I.. will always do my best to be the best slave I can be. You do not wish me to be stupid, I will learn as much as I can" she said, awkwardly. She was awkward because, in truth, it was a compliment and the young woman was simply not used to receiving such. Especially genuine ones and especially from her owner. She worked as hard as she could and she promised herself that she would train herself to sleep less than she did, so that she might have more breaks in which to work, to learn and to become the best slave she could.

However, in the studio, he looked around and considered whether he wanted her to clean the place and then agreed. And he would trust her with a key? She smiled, genuinely delighted "Thank you, Master. I will try to ensure that I only make it easier for you to work. That sounds wonderful, thank you" she chuckled though and shook her head when he spoke of a 'proper' slave owner. "A proper slave owner is one who acts as themselves at all times and whose slave responds to their needs and wishes. I believe that you are proper slave owner, Master, and behave as such at all times." of course, the very specific twinkle in her eye told him that she was thinking that he behaved properly at some very specific times. Very properly indeed. "I feel very fortunate to be owned by you" she said, genuinely.

Although, she might feel less so once she'd worked out this whole clay sculpting malarky. A frame, and clay and hands and sometimes tools? Faith looked up at Tristan and she went through the steps he had given her. "No, Master, I believe that I can try on my own. If you feel that I am not performing to standard, perhaps you could help me then?" she said, but she wanted to be able to do *this* so that he could do the important stuff.

So, clay on to the armature. That was fairly straightforward, but she quickly discovered that what she needed to do was to make sure that she was putting pieces of clay on and immediately smoothing down lines in order to make it even. Otherwise, it was going to be an enormous job when she got to the end. So, a little more time now for a lot less time later, that was good. And then it was the much more difficult task of trying to make it look like the Patron Saint of War, the Warrick fellow. "I met someone from House Warrick before I met you" she said, quietly "Some thugs were trying to attack me, and I was in the process of telling them that if they tried to touch me I would kill them" she *seemed* perfectly serious as she spoke. "Then he came around the corner and they ran. He was young, very young. Maybe... fourteen or fifteen? Rafael, that was his name" she said, frowning in concentration as she looked at the drawing and then at the clay. She was doing her best and she was careful and detailed focused, but in fairness, he would have a lot of work to do in order to make it anything resembling anyone specific. But she had managed a human shape and it was, at least, all one piece, not a lot of uneven blobs.

"I am sorry, Master. I will do better with practice, I assure you" she said, frowning at it as though it was a personal affront to her.

[Tristan Venora]

"That’s very nice of you to say", Tristan replied as she called him a proper slave owner. His eyes twinkled as well as he spoke, as if her words had amused him even though she had, come to think of it, only said the truth. He owned a slave, and thus he was a proper slave owner, unless there were certain additional and as of yet unknown conditions that had to be met before you could call yourself such. "I feel very fortunate to own you as well even though I probably shouldn’t tell you that all the time because it might get to your head and you might stop being such a good slave. But I just can’t help myself. I’d rather be nice to you than whip you all the time. I don’t even own a whip."

As he said that, he wondered if he should buy himself a whip, just for show, but then decided that a new broom would be better than a whip that he’d never use (she’d be able to clean his workshop so much better with a new broom rather than that ugly old thing that was almost falling apart!). Besides, he already had the chains and the manacles and all those other slavery related items. Maybe he should buy her new manacles made of silver as well to underline her status as a noble’s slave rather than keeping the ones she had come with?

He considered that question for a few moments until he realized that he’d better be working or make sure that Faith was working at least, otherwise he wouldn’t have the money to buy anything. So he turned back to her. "Of course I’ll help you if you need me, but try to do your best nevertheless. If I’m helping you, I can’t work myself, and Lady Andaris might get mad if I don’t deliver the sculptures on time." If that job weren’t so important, he’d actually be looking forward to that as he loved arguing and was curious as to what Lady Jane looked like when she was mad, but as it was it would better to wait.

"I’ve never had any close contact with Warrick. They aren't very interesting," he remarked as he watched Faith work on the clay. "But I think the boy – what was his name? Rafael? – could have been one of the Duke’s grandchildren. Maybe I should thank him for saving you, even though you weren’t my slave at the time." With that he fell silent as he was worried that he might distract Faith if he talked all the time, and she would make mistakes.

Once she was finished, he walked over to her and took a look over her shoulder, much like a professor who was appraising his student’s work. "It doesn’t look too bad", he finally decided and walked over to the side. "You just need to smooth it a bit more. Like this." He ran his hands across the sculpture, removing any irregularities he could find until it was completely smooth. Once he was done, he carefully picked it up and carried it to his side of the table where he had already arranged a number of different tools.

"As I’ve already told you, I’m going to add the details. For the broader details I’m going to use tools with large tips and for the finer details I’m going to use tools with fine tips." He picked up a chisel with a fairly large tip and started carving out the knight’s face. His hands nearly seemed to fly across the clay, and before too long Faith could see the beginnings of a human face. After a while he replaced the chisel with one that had a smaller tip.

"You know, Faith", he said and looked up for a moment. "People were always so worried that I would become antisocial because I spent so much time sculpting alone. Lady Elyna Burhan once caught me talking to a sculpture. Now that I have you they don’t have to worry about my becoming antisocial anymore, but I’ll still talk to inanimate objects sometimes, because I can. I hope you don’t mind that. You may talk to your sculptures as well of course whenever you feel like it."

With that he handed her the armature he had made for Venora so that she could start working on it while he finished sculpting Warrick.

[Faith Augustin]

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"Master, when you tell me that I have done something that pleases you, you are instructing me. A whip tells me what you do not wish of me, and that is important. But to tell me what pleases you is as important, moreso, than what does not. Because I would rather that you whipped me than I became a worse slave. I want to be better. I am not going to get complacent, I want to be perfect for you, nothing less" She was most genuine and she wondered if he knew that. There was nothing else that she wanted than to be the best for him. "To make you happy is all I aim for" she explained earnestly, her silver grey eyes clear. Although had she known that he was considering a new broom, she might have made an exception to her maintaining formality around him when they were not alone and intimate. Because the old broom was about as useful as a teapot made of butter. But she managed.

"I will do my very best, Master, yes" she said and she turned her full attention to the job in hand. "The seven founders, each one of whom is patron to one of the seven virtues. Warrick is the Patron Saint of War, as you say. Their virtue is 'thou shalt conquer'. I spoke about it with a monk, some time ago when picking up a body" she did not speak of Tristan thanking Rafael, but then she stopped and she looked at Tristan seriously. "Master, Rafael Warrick helped me against some thugs, but he was obviously very uncomfortable at leaving me with Jamal. If you thank him, you put yourself in his debt. However, if you ever need to have any kind of advantage over him" she said, considering it carefully, thinking about what she was saying and how it might be used "Well, you could tell him of Jamal's punishment of me after he delivered me back to Jamal and how you rescued me from that mistreatment. It would... Put him in a position of debt to House Venora, I believe. Would that be useful?" she asked, thoughtfully.


She worked on the Venora sculpture whilst he added the detail to the Warrick one. She was silent as she worked, not speaking until he spoke to her and told her of Lady Elyna Burham. "I have read about House Burham, Master, but have not met any of them. Burham is the patron saint of knowledge, I believe, with the virtue of 'thou shalt seek knowledge'. Did Her Ladyship seek knowledge?" she wondered. Of course, in fact Faith had met said Lady on at least two occasions, but both of those were dreams and she had no knowledge (ironically) that it was her.

And that he spoke to his sculptures? Faith flashed a mischievous grin at him "Master, I would tell you that it was not odd, even if I thought it was. But I have held entire conversations with corpses, coffins and cook pots. I would be a most dreadful hypocrite if I told you differently. But, on to the Patron Saint of Honour. Thou shalt not betray. I will endeavour to make it smoother this time" she promised earnestly and she turned her attention to the piece. She worked carefully and meticulously, trying to make sure that this time she had smoothed the edges more, made the piece more fluid. When she had finished, or she thought she had, she once again smoothed down the piece, as he had shown her, making sure that she smoothed her hands across the piece, carefully attending to the details. "Is that better, Master?" she asked, when she judged that he was able to be asked a question and wasn't focused.

[Tristan Venora]

"I am?" Tristan asked as she informed him that he was instructing her when he told her that she had done something that pleased him. "I don’t feel as if I’m instructing you. I just say what’s on my mind. I was on the receiving end of instructions more than once when I was still a university student – which wasn’t always pleasant - so I know what I’m talking about. I appreciate that you want to be perfect for me though."

"The only women who said that to me so far were the lickspittles in Granny Ebony’s palace - and the women I paid", he added, recalling the breaks spent at the House of Roses. "Not that I minded – they were very nice. By the way, could I have some coffee?" He really needed to have another cup to be capable of continuing to work.

"You are better at that stuff than I am", he observed. "I don’t always have the patience to memorize random facts about the noble houses of Rynmere – or not so random facts, for that matter. I wish I had found out about you earlier. You could have gone to class instead of me. Mother made me take classes in etiquette and politics. They bored me. Can you believe that she made me suffer through an entire lesson on how to hold your teacup correctly?"

He shuddered, but the expression of utter disgust changed to a wide smile as she spoke of Rafael Warrick some more. "I like putting other people in a position of debt to my Family", he (almost) exclaimed. "Faith, you are great. If you ever have an idea like that again, let me know immediately!" She was full of surprises. She was not only good at cleaning, cooking and sculpting and good in bed, but also good at politics. Who would ever have expected that? Jamal had been an idiot for selling her at that price!

"No, I don’t think so", he replied as she asked him whether Elyna had sought knowledge and recalled his meetings with the young noblewoman. "She was seeking a certain man – and a needle. She was doing needlework while I made the sculpture and accidentally dropped something. She eventually found the man, but not the needle." When he had met her, he had had the feeling that she was in love with a man that her parents didn’t approve of. That man had later on turned out to be Malcolm Krome which made the news of her upcoming wedding to Malcolm’s son Marcus all the more confusing.

Because of things such as these he had given up trying to make sense of his fellow nobles‘ actions. Some of them made him look normal and sane – which was saying something!

"Did any of them answer you?" he wanted to know as she confessed that she had had conversations with inanimate objects as well. He wasn’t sure if coffins or cook pots would be able to speak even if they were infused with magic because they had no mouth, but could a corpse that had been animated by a necromancer talk? He pondered the question for a moment and shuddered slightly because the thought of a walking, talking and potentially aggressive animated corpse was at least a little frightening (but also awesome!).

"Much better", he answered as he looked at Venora. "If you keep up the good work and make me a decent Andaris and Gawyne as well, I might let you do more than just put clay on a bit of wire. Actually, I think you can give Andaris a try and add details to him now. I already have an Andaris, but he isn’t wearing any clothes, and I doubt Lady Jane would approve of that. They even had an article on my Andaris sculpture in the Gazette!"

He looked quite proud as he said that, even though the article hadn’t been very positive, and then he went back to work. To add texture to Warrick’s hair he used a tool with an even finer tip so that it would at least look halfway realistic. Other people had a problem sculpting faces, he hated doing the hair. It was hard to get right. After what seemed like an eternity Warrick was finally done though, and he put him aside. The sculpture needed to dry before it could be painted.

If Faith had given him coffee (which she probably had since she was a good slave) he would drink that before he would take Venora (a pretty female knight with a rose in her hair because he was all for gender equality and thought that only sculpting men was boring) and repeat the process of painstakingly adding details to the sculpture’s clothes, face and hair - and then take the next sculpture. He was quite proud of his work so far. It looked good. But then, it always looked good!