Mystic: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll get to Conjure a Heart eventually. Life took over. This is an experiment, so just enjoy it and shut up. Actually, don't shut up. I really like reviews.

Madame de Hildegarde

Lady Hilda picked at her food.

She knew if she didn't eat, he would question her. Him with his fancy hair, fancy clothes, fancy codpiece, and frightening spells that gave even her pause. The meal itself was simple; meat, salad, bread pudding for dessert. Red wine provided drink. There wasn't any reason not to take part, unless one counted the wrecked nerves or continuous fear. So her fork scrapped at the china, and he continued to stare.

"I did not bring you to my palace only to see you starve."

There it was. "Today's my birthday." Despite not eating, she still sipped at her wine.

"Might I say, lady, congratulations," he said. "I'd have taken you to the theatre if I'd known."

"And look at what I have, sorcerer. A failed marriage, no children to speak of, captive to a madman in a codpiece." Kuja stared pointedly at her, a warning. Hilda sighed. "I should have remained a courtesan."

Kuja's fork clattered on his plate. "Pardon?"

"Life would be on my terms."

He smiled because she did not. "My, my, Lady Hilda. I never pictured you a former courtesan."

"It was a comfortable career, Kuja. I'm not ashamed of it."

"I wouldn't expect you to be." A black mage silently swept the outside hall. "Might I ask how comfortable?"

"Everything I earned, I kept after my marriage. I could live quite well with just a maid, even if I never returned to the lifestyle."

Curiosity was a double-edged sword for Kuja. "Would you ever return to it? Nothing remains for you in Lindblum, I assure you."

She placed a chunk of steamed owl in her mouth. "Well, it was actually my intentions, sorcerer, but you changed my plans."

"I changed your plans?" He laughed, credulously. "That airship was supposed to contain a skeleton crew."

"You were supposed to let me go."

Another laugh. "And how boring would that have been? Keeping you alive simply adds drama to the plot." When she rolled her eyes, he wiped his mouth with his napkin before shifting closer to her. "Continue the story, my lady. Spin the romantic comedy of how a beautiful courtesan ends her career by marrying a regent."

"I'd consider it a tragedy."

"Honestly?" he asked. "Because I lately find it all to be a laugh."

And when he did laugh again, Hilda pushed away from his table and left his dining hall.

xxx

When she awoke far too early, wisps of silver flooded her vision. Kuja grinned down at her, his elbows resting by her pillow. Hilda screamed.

His hand cupped her mouth, the other went to his lips. "None of that, lady." Hilda stopped her tirade and he released her. "You never finished your romantic tragedy."

"My word," she said. She pulled the blanket closer to her body as she sat up. Kuja, terrifying mage with lovely features, hopped in bed beside her and she fought another scream. "This is not the place for such discussions."

"Considering your past profession, I'd think a bed most appropriate."

"I was a courtesan," she said. "Not a common prostitute."

"And I am aware of the difference; I lived in Treno for a number of years. Still visit from time to time." He pushed the blankets off her chest. "Indulge me, Hilda. There's a shortage of perfect breasts in the world."

His words took a minute to form fully in her sleepy mind. "Kuja, that's from a fairy tale." Her nightshift was thin, perhaps too thin for a desert.

Kuja playfully fingered the low neckline of her sleepwear. "Yet, I speak truth." When those long fingers began to tug at the fabric, he was met with a gentle slap to his knuckles. Her lips, however, were quirked upward.

"I was at that time in my life when I desired family, children. The regent, being a noble, knew he needed a wife." Fingers dallying about her throat, another body in her bed, sparked once more a long-forgotten desire. "Not my best decision."

"Many courtesans have brats running around."

"Yes, illegitimately. I didn't feel like becoming one of them."

"And where would you be if you had denied his marriage offer?"

"Enjoying the company of men like I always did." And certainly not held prisoner in a desert palace where her nights were alone and cold as in Lindblum. "And maybe ... eventually ... I would have given birth once or twice." Motherhood still was not impossible. Lady Hilda was plenty young and healthy to catch a man's seed and allow it to grow. "Cid is not the most virile, if you noticed."

"Many have noticed, lady." His fingers grazed a few strands of her hair, his gaze landed on her neckline, the bare skin that held much promise.

She watched him briefly as the purple and pink rays of dawn peeked through her curtains. Knowing the eventual answer, Hilda asked, "Sorcerer, why do you remain here this morning?"

Kuja tolerated a woman's attitude if she was beautiful to gaze upon. "As I said, lady, I still make occasional visits to Treno and I would prefer to have a lovely companion again." On his arm, by his side, a treat for the eyes to make other nobles ripe green with envy. Mayhap also, a companion with wit and ability to hold a conversation without bursting into giggles every few seconds.

"Wait here, then."

The lady performed all tasks with an air of elegance, even when she crawled out of crinkled bed-sheets and away from the warm form who watched her every move. Her movements were smooth and genteel; partly due to her years in finishing school, partly due to her own magick swimming through her veins. Once on her feet, she shook out her hair and exhaled, then grinned. An old habit returned, straightening her appearance after leaving a bed.

Kuja watched, very relaxed in his night-robes. "Are you about to bring me treasure, my lady?" He saw her bend down, rummage beneath the bed for a moment. He didn't mind at all.

When Hilda laughed, it was quiet and demure. "That all depends on how you choose to define treasure." A beautiful chest lay before them both. Truly, a masterpiece. The box was elaborate; encrusted with gold, lined with velvet, and indeed held a variety of treasure and other such spoils. Most meant for a mature audience when the sun dipped below the horizon.

"Many of my father's business partners were confident and strong men, yet also, very lonely widowers. One in particular took me under his wing." So to speak.

Eyes that normally sparked with spells currently stared with mischief. "Might I ask how many, Hilda?"

"How many what?"

"How many lovers? Gentleman callers?"

"That, Kuja, is an answer I shall take to my grave."

"Oh, please? I shall tell you mine if you tell me yours."

"You had gentleman callers?"

Kuja grimaced, scratched his head. "I really do not wish to talk about it." As the old saying states: What happens in Treno, STAYS in Treno.

Hilda, wise woman that she was, decided that was a story for another time. "I was comfortable in my career because I was skilled in many areas of interest."

"Tell me which ones."

In the dim light, their smiles were cast between innocent and cunning. "I am to this day, sorcerer, a skilled politician, dancer, gardener - and even a writer."

"A good courtesan fulfills many roles," he agreed. "What fanciful tales do you create?"

"Let's just call them bedtime stories," she said with a wink. "Of course, I know how to entertain a gentleman in ways beyond talking."

He examined the contents therein the chest. "I perfectly understand the body oils; jasmine is a favourite of mine. A blindfold intensifies the touch of flesh upon flesh, and the silk rope means you have a very naughty side that I have yet to see." Hilda continued to smile, controlled her flushed face. "These, however, elude me." A long finger pointed to a pair of small, glass balls.

"Honestly, Kuja? You supposedly spend your spare time in Treno and you don't know about the ben-wa?" The balls had a modest weight when she placed them in his palm.

"Elaborate."

"Invented by midwives. Originally designed to assist a woman's recovery after childbirth." Her eyebrows quirked upward. The sorcerer was smart; he'd figure it out in a moment.

"Ah," he said. Ideas and revelations swirled raucously in his mind.

"And you're probably unaware I'm using a pair right now." Kuja raised his head quickly, their eyes coming together. Then his prisoner chuckled again. "I jest, sorcerer. They're almost useless unless you're up and about on your feet."

Certain women weren't supposed to stay on their feet for extended periods of length. "That explains why you constantly walk up and down my corridors."

"Nay, Kuja. That's to stave off boredom."

"Join me in Treno then. Travel with me." There were many lovely ideas that involved jasmine oil and silk rope. "I guarantee you will not bored."

"As your companion?" She handed him a business card. "Here."

Impressed, he said, "Of course. No wonder you lived comfortably."

Hilda felt the fabric of her shift drop off her shoulder. Barely a whisper of cotton against smooth skin. "Are the terms agreeable?"

Kuja answered his companion with a kiss.