Cloths of Heaven
Part 2.
(i)
Ken looked at the report of the new janissary brought in, scanning each of the names carefully. Then he called up Kase, the man who had brought this batch in, “any of them worth noting?”
“Aya can read.” Kase told him, sitting back in the chair.
“Which one's that?” Ken said looking over the crowd as they were stood on the docks underneath the window of his office.
“The one with the braid.” Ken looked over them, “the redhead.” Kase continued.
Ken pursed his lips and then licked them thinking, then marked a large S on the form next to Aya's name. She would do well in the Seraglio, the girl was strikingly beautiful with long wine dark red hair and the eyes, he couldn't see from here were a light colour. It wasn't as if most of the girls in the Seraglio did much anyway, but look pretty when traipsed out for state functions. Nevertheless every now and then there was a gem in the fold; the Nemesis noticed all of them, eventually. “Any others?” He asked.
“That's the only one with any kind of education, even read to some of the others on the journey, one of the littler ones was kinda nervous, Aya took him in hand.” Ken looked at him, “well, looked after him, and didn't literally take him in hand.”
“What's the name, Kase?”
“Yuki,” Kase said, checking it on the roster, “he's the squinting lad with the greenish tinge to his hair.” Ken looked out over then, at the way that he stood slightly behind Aya, and then marked the form down with the S as well. He gave the crowd a quick and rather cursory look over and decided there was no one else worth the Seraglio
“Any of them as dumb as that chap in the last batch?” Ken asked. They had eventually given him up as too stupid to teach, and sent him out to the fields. “None of them are particularly interesting, but there was some Esset interest in Aya.”
“I can see why,” Ken said with a bit of a harmless leer.
“We caught Aya right on the border, Esset is just looking for an excuse, you might want to bear that in mind, I've put it on his file.”
Ken nodded and wrote “possible problem” next to the giant S.
(ii)
The four ladies of the Mask ran the Seraglio of the Nemesis, each of whom hid their identity behind a highly decorated mask and veil. Of course, as there were only four of them, everyone knew who they were. Hel's mask was covered in feathers, Ken, in his role of commander of the Janissary, dealt with them more than he would have liked. “The Nemesis wants to speak to you.” She growled, her arms crossed under her breast.
“What about this time?” Ken said. This was not in any way unusual, in fact the two of them got on quite well but Hel could make a polite request for a friendly supper sound like he was about to have you executed.
“Your new entrants to the Seraglio.” Hel said, “Yuki is too young, he's not legal.”
“He was Aya's shadow,” Ken said, “Aya was ideally suited for the Seraglio and according to the captain who brought them in she had pretty much adopted him.”
Hel barked out a laugh, “he,” she corrected smugly, “Aya is a he, and that's the other thing.”
“No,” Ken said rearranging the papers on his desk, ”I have her listed as a she.”
“I've seen him naked, Ken,” Hel said with a smirk, “believe me, he's lovely, but he's a he, to put underage boys in the Seraglio because a lady has adopted them is one thing, in fact I don't find it reprehensible in the least, it's even charming, but a full grown man in the Seraglio is another problem.”
Ken frowned, “with his wife in there,” Ken let out a low whistle through his teeth, “I'm in trouble, aint I?” he asked. Hel nodded, then smiled under her mask. “He'll forgive you, now the fact that Aya might have to be cut…” She was obviously trying her best not to laugh.
Ken squirmed in his chair. “It was an honest mistake.” He said, “with a name like Aya and all that hair.”
“We've put him in a separate room beside the crèche for the meantime,” Hel said calming her amusement. “But the Nemesis is too busy dealing with the fall out of him being taken to worry about what to do with him.”
“What do you mean?” Ken asked, “I just check them in.” He rubbed his chin as he thought, “Kase mentioned something about taking him from the border but that he volunteered to save some kid or other.”
Hel rolled her eyes, “the wrong side of the border according to Esset but I just manage the Seraglio it's not my place to judge.”
“Tell the Nemesis I'll be along presently,” Ken said, “once I finish everything I can to avoid seeing him.
Hel laughed, “I'll tell him, word for word.”
“Do that,” Ken said, “he'll appreciate the laugh if Esset are picking fights with him again.”
(iii)
The Seraglio of the Nemesis was an entire floor of the giant palace that overlooked the bay and Aya was fortunate that he had been given a room from which he could see the sea. The Lake at Herensea was no comparison for the sea, even the rich turquoise sea of Atzara and he had missed it terribly. When the ladies of the Mask ushered him in, whispering amongst themselves about someone called Ken's stupidity, his first act had been to throw open the windows to the sea and just breathe deeply.
He did miss Herensea, he had been happy there, but he was a Fujimiya and he would do his duty by Inabayama, after an hour wherein he had walked the length of his small room thinking about praying to whatever god had given him this good fortune of being so close to the Nemesis who he had every intention of killing in revenge for his parents and Inabayama, they brought Yuki in to share the room with him.
“He won't settle,” the youngest lady of the mask, Todt, said as way of explanation, and then the servants, all burly men with golden moustaches and an aversion to shirts, brought in their clothes.
“Do you think that they'll throw you out of the seraglio now, I mean now that they've figured out you're a man?” Yuki asked quietly, he was very much out of his depth and terrified of everything that was happening. Rather than being shy Yuki was confrontational in his fear and Aya had defended him rather than having him hurt. He reminded him, though he couldn't have said why, of Naoe.
“I don't know,” Aya said calmly, he was sat the way that they had taught his sister to sit, perfectly still with his hands in his lap, “I suppose they will, but they put you here with me, they'll move you to be with me.”
“But,” Yuki protested, “they might have you put to death because you got in here under false pretences.”
“No,” Aya said calmly, “I'm in here because they thought I was a girl.” He said, he was learning to be economical with his words. “It's their mistake, not mine, whatever the fall out I won't be punished for it.”
“I'm scared, “ Yuki said, he had come from Inabayama and had seen the horrors there. But he was brave for every one but Aya, Aya would protect him, Aya had protected him, Aya would be there for him. He could be himself with Aya.
“There's nothing to fear here,” Aya said calmly, “I won't let anything hurt you.” Yuki offered him a small smile, but then it settled back into his customary frown.
“Excuse me,” a blonde boy said popping his head around the door, “I'm looking for,” he looked at the piece of paper, “Yuki,” he grinned, he was a pretty boy wearing a white sweater that appeared to be made of fluff and a kilt. He had white stockings on that tied up his legs and soft black moccasins. Aya had never seen anyone like him. “I'm Michel, I'm here to make sure you come to lessons, they don't think you know where they are and well, I'm going too so I said I'd take you, and everyone was like, okay, you can take him Michel, but he's a bit grumpy, I don't think you're grumpy are you?”
“You talk a lot.” Yuki said, rather shocked by the display of verbosity from the child.
“My brother says that too,” Michel continued, “I just have a lot to say and I want to make sure I get it all out, my brother says sometimes he wants to gag me but I don't think he will, I've cleared it with the Ladies of the Mask and Schon says you can come with me, and I'm sure we'll be great friends.”
Yuki looked back at Aya as if looking for reassurance or possibly help, Aya just nodded. “I'll make sure everything's unpacked.” He said, sure that in a fight that Yuki could beat the strange golden haired child.
The Seraglio was a warren of tiny rooms set about larger courtyards. Aya noticed his room was nowhere near any of the ladies, with a small smile. It wasn't like he had any interest in them anyway. He wore the loose robes that they had laid out for him and moved into one of the courtyards to have his tea.
He knelt down before the boiling kettle, making sure the tea was steeping properly. “What are you doing?” The girl behind him asked.
“I'm making tea.” Aya answered, “Would you like some?”
“I've never,” she began and then offered him a smile, and he was caught because she looked almost exactly like his sister, “yes, thank you.” She said.
He lifted a bowl for her, “sip it slowly,” he warned, “it's hot, you'll scald yourself.”
“I'm Sakura,” she said smiling at him.
“Aya,” he answered calmly, because he had already taken his sister's place and it was only right he take her name. He would avenge Inabayama but it would be his sister who was remembered for it. “My name is Aya.”
“I hope we can be friends,” the girl said sipping her tea as he had warned her.
“I don't think that will be possible.” Aya said, “I'm not supposed to be in the Seraglio, they will probably move me soon.”
“Is that because you're a man?” Sakura asked. Aya nodded, “I don't think he'll mind you know, he's open about that kind of thing.”
“They think I'll seduce all the ladies here,” Aya told her.
“But that's silly,” Sakura said, “it's obvious you like men.” Aya didn't laugh, even if he had wanted to.
Though he didn't know it at the time Aya was watched through this exchange from the balcony over the courtyard by the Nemesis himself. “He can stay,” he said calmly, “Free,” the Nemesis' personal manservant bowed his tall head to look at his master, “You are now his personal guard, to protect the ladies, of course.” Free nodded his head in answer but said nothing, “And Neu,” he said to the Lady of the Mask who accompanied him, “Arrange for me a private supper with the man, I think he might have something interesting to say if he can charm my wife in such a quick manner.”
Neu nodded and looked down at the young bride of the Nemesis sit with the young man, laughing, even though he was stony faced. The man was beautiful, she thought to herself, and the Nemesis did collect beautiful things.
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