Disclaimer: Kushiel's Legacy and any of it's related characters, locations, and items do not belong to me, but the wonderful Jacquelin Carey. I make no profit from writing this.
Inspired by the 10_orders community on LJ; original prompt - "Tell me the truth".
Less than six months I've been here, hidden away in this lavish room beneath the palace in the Little Court. 'My choice of prisons', she had called it, standing in my dreary cell in La Dolorosa. In truth, it was no choice at all; the two places were as different as night and day. But it wasn't the comfort that enticed me to accept her offer. She knew as well as I why I came with her in the end. Whether it was the right choice, though, I have begun to question.
"Phèdre." It is her usual greeting as she enters my room, with a whisper of her perfume stirring the air. And for the first time since I came here, I managed not to run to her. I've tried too many times to ask the question weighing on my heart, only to fail when I see her. I steeled myself against the wave of desire that always washed over me when I met her sapphire eyes, and stayed standing on knees that begged to kneel.
"Why did you save me?" She tried to hide her surprise behind a charming smile, but I saw through it. From time to time, my lady forgets that I was trained near as well as she to notice things like this. As she moved closer to me, I could see her wickedly talented mind working, attempting to read my intent in asking so abruptly. I knew what she would tell me before the words even left her lips.
"I have told you already." When she reached for me, I withdrew. Only a step, though by her expression, it could well have been a mile that I put between us.
"Tell me the truth, Melisande." Her eyes raked over me for a moment, and I could read none of the signs of a lie in her voice or body when she spoke again.
"Because I love you," she said, reaching out again to caress my hair. This time, I fell to my knees at her feet as she touched me, eagerly lifting the fabric of her skirt. Whether she was lying to me or not no longer mattered; she had said the words I most needed to hear. Now, I intended to show her just how much I love her in return...