Page 29 of The Jester

“Have you settled into your chambers?” I ask, pacing around her as she stands stock-still, taking in the curve of her hips and the way her hair hangs down to the middle of her back.

“Why have you given me chambers?” she counters.

“I’m glad you found the dress I left you.” I ignore her question and continue talking. “And the gloves.” I stop in front of her, reach out, and tweak the index finger of the glove closest to me.

Alana Leafborne meets my eyes. Defiance swims in them. She breathes slowly and steadily and does not even flinch as I slowly tug the glove from her hand. “You know why I wear them,” she says – a statement, not a question. “If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have gone to the effort of retrieving them and giving them back to me.”

“An astute assessment.” I look down at her hand. Pale and naked, it trembles a little and she clenches her fist, biting into her palm with her nails in an effort to stop it.

Slowly, very slowly, I reach out and wrap my hand around hers, engulfing her fist with my palm.

Her eyes widen. Her mouth opens a little and her entire body stiffens.

“You cannot hurt me,” I growl.

“How can you be so sure?” she breathes.

I wait, holding her, staring into her eyes.

When nothing happens, a surge of frustration shakes my wings and I stride away tutting. Turning back, I see her attempting to return the glove to her hand.

“No.” I shake my head at her. “Leave it off. Both of them. When you are here, with me, you will not wear them.”

I cross the room and snatch them from her and then, with a wave of my hand, I unfasten the binders on her wrists. “These neither.”

As she rubs the red marks left by the cuffs, she stares at me, confusion etched on her porcelain face. “You’re not worried I’ll use my magic?”

“What magic do you have?” I ask, my lip curling. “You can read my thoughts, Alana, is that right?”

She does not look away from me as she says, “That’s right.”

“But the binders haven’t prevented you from doing that.”

I see the realisation wash over her. “No, they haven’t,” she says slowly.

“And you possess no other useful magic except the ability to cast incantations and enchantments? No elemental magic?”

She shakes her head.

“Then you will wear them outside of this room, to make those around you feel safe. But here, they will be removed the second you enter. Do you understand?”

For a long moment, she stares at her hands. Then she looks up at me. “I am to visit your chambers often?” she asks, tilting her head.

She thinks I intend to fuck her. She thinks that is what I brought her here for. Sadly, she is wrong. “Yes. Every day.”

“Every day?” She presses her hands to her stomach and swallows hard.

“I wish to converse with you, Alana. Nothing more.” I gesture to a chair by the fire. She frowns at me. “I wish to learn about you, and your people. I don’t want anything else from you.”

Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she shakes her head. “I don’t understand.”

“You are not a stupid woman. I think you do.”

She frowns, then says, “Why me?”

I shrug and flop back into my chair. “Because you are nice to look at. And if I’m going to spend my days talking to someone, it will be someone pleasing to the eye.”

“I’m sure there are many other–”

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