(TenII and his Mistress)

(AU Earth 1700)

Sebastian walked through the market seeking a trinket for his daughter. Her Coming of Age ceremony was three days away, and he had already made all the major arrangements for the party. Now, he was looking for a present. It was so much simpler when she was a small child. What did you get a girl who was about to become a woman? Dresses? Jewelry? No. Those things she would be receiving in ungodly amounts from other guests. He needed something…unique.

A commotion around the corner brought him out of his train of thoughts and he followed the noise. A make-shift stage sat at the juncture of the intersecting cobblestone streets. On the stage were two humans, one male, and one female. The female was being dragged off the stage to the waiting hands of her new master. She had likely been sold as a sex slave as small and thin as the poor girl looked. The male, Sebastian noticed, was putting up one hell of a fight, despite the fact that he looked just as thin as the girl, taking four of the slavers to hold him back while a fifth grabbed a whip, raising it in the air.

"Stop!" Sebastian yelled as he moved quickly toward the stage. All six men looked in his direction. The red skinned alien slaver holding the whip stepped forward as Sebastian reached the stage.

"You wish to purchase, Noble One? This one very unruly. Not good for noble like yourself. Still needs training." The slaver's voice was just as offensive to Sebastian as his occupation.

"Yes, I'll purchase him," Sebastian replied with barely contained disgust, but quickly schooled his tone and features, smiling at the slaver. "My daughter's Coming of Age is in but a few days, and she has a penchant for unruly slaves. Seems to have a way with them. Perhaps it's her soft hand, hum? How much?"

The slaver eyed Sebastian up and down for a moment before shrugging and responding. "250 credits."

"For this scrawny thing?! Tell me why you think I should pay you that much for something so obviously malnourished on top of being unruly, as you yourself put it."

"Is stronger than it looks! But, also pretty, yes? And well…equipped." The slaver snickered knowingly. "Surely, daughter will be pleased. However, masters did remove its ability to speak." He thought for a moment. "200 credits. Final offer."

Sebastian found himself in no mood to really argue, though he still thought it was highway robbery. "Fine." Taking out a credit stick, Sebastian handed it to the slaver, who immediately handed the heavy chain worn by the tall, skinny man he'd just purchased. Sebastian fought the bile rising in his throat. Despite the fact that he knew he and his daughter would find a way to get this poor man off this gods-forsaken world a free man, the idea of buying him as if he were actually a slave still sickened him. He knew his daughter wouldn't feel any better about it. He turned to the man in chains walking slightly behind him.

"That girl they dragged off…was she with you?" His question was answered with a shake of his head in the negative. Sabastian nodded. "Sorry it's a bit of a walk, but as soon as I get you into the safety of my home, I'll get this damnable chain off you." He softened his tone and demeanor to ease the other man.

Once inside the house, Sebastian removed the chain from its collar, as promised. But when he tried to remove the collar itself, the man before him backed away, eyeing him with suspicion.

"Blimey, how long have you been stuck in that thing? Alright, alright." He raised his hands up, palms out to show he meant no harm. "One step at a time. Come on, let's get you something to eat. And find my daughter. Sophia?!"

"In the kitchen, Da," her sweet voice nearly sang her reply.

Sebastian chuckled low. "The girl likes to bake. If her cooking doesn't put meat back on your bones, nothin' will."

They entered the kitchen to find Sophia bent over in front of the oven, pulling out fresh baked apple pie. The man who had worn chains studied Sophia's form. The fabric of her dress was so thin, he could make out the shadow of her shape. Her full, waist length dark blonde hair was like threads of golden silk. As she stood, placing the baking sheet on top of the stove, she turned to face him and her father. She smiled, with full pink lips, a smile that reached her almost unnaturally green eyes. Eyes that held him in place. He felt a twitch beneath the barely-there loincloth covering his groin and moved his hands to better cover himself as he looked anywhere but at her.

"Another stray for me to nurse back to health?" She raised her eyebrow at her father as she approached her new charge, who raised his own eyebrow at her at being called a stray. Her eyes roamed over his exposed skin and gave an amused smirk at his attempt at modesty. She circled behind him and noticed the whip marks on his back, tracing a few of them with her index finger. He shivered beneath her touch and she could have sworn she felt the hint of and electric shock in her fingertips. He was beautiful, she thought, but he wasn't hers to claim, not really. She came back around and moved toward the stove again, pulled down a bowl from the cupboard above her. She then filled it with the stew bubbling on the stove next to the pie and brought it to the table in the middle of the kitchen. "Eat," she ordered.

"Here, try these on. They were my brother's." Sophia handed her charge a pair of blue silk pajama pants. He looked at the small bundle in her hand warily, still trying not to look at her directly. "It's alright." She reached a hand out, cupping his face and brushing her thumb over his sideburn. "No one's gonna hurt you here. Not in this house. Now, try them on, then your bath should be ready." Sophia stepped out of her room to give him the privacy to change.

He emerged from her room dressed in the silk pajamas Sophia gave him with a smile that split his face. They were well fitting on him, Sophia noted, and the color looked good on him too. Now it was her turn to look anywhere but where she wanted. "Come on, I'll show you to the bath." He followed her down the hall and through the kitchen to a room beyond. The bath itself stood in the center and seemed to take up half the room. It looked more like a small in-ground pool then a bath. It was made of white marble and had a bench, for lack of a better word, at about mid-thigh level that ran all around the edges. The water within came up to his waist as he stood. It was steaming and smelled slightly of white jasmine. She stayed in the room, keeping her back to the bath, in case he slipped. She didn't want to stray far since he couldn't call for help.

Once done in the bath and redressed in the silk pajamas, Sophia led him back to her bedroom. She pulled back the covers and patted the mattress.

"Come, get some rest," she beckoned. Slowly, he approached the bed. Sophia stood up to give him room to climb in, but he only stood with her and she noticed he still wore the collar around his neck.

"Let's get this off you." He stiffened, still uncertain of his new mistress, what she expected of him and his own feelings concerning her. But allowed her to reach up around his neck and unhitch the collar. As Sophia pulled the collar away from his neck, she saw the scar where his adam's apple rested and traced it with her finger. Her brows furrowed in concern and quiet anger.

Looking down at her through lidded eyes, he gripped her wrists and held them to his chest, drawing small circles into the undersides. He then threw his arms around her, burying his face in the crook of her neck. She ran her fingers through his hair in a comforting gesture.

Heat pooled low in her abdomen when he had captured her wrists, leaving a dull ache between her legs. She was surprised at both his action and her own reaction, now his closeness, his arms wrapped around her waist, only made it worse. She needed to leave, before she did something they both might regret.

"It's alright. Just…get some rest. Tomorrow we'll try to get some things figured out."

He nodded against her shoulder, kissed her forehead and disentangled himself from her to crawl into the bed, pulling the covers up over his shoulders. Sophia watched him, fighting the urge to kiss him on the forehead. He looked more like a scared child now than a grown man. She turned to quietly leave the room once he had closed his eyes and headed toward the bath.

As Sophia soaked in the hot bath, she tried, and failed, to focus on anything but her charge. Granted, even the things she was trying to focus on had something to do with him, her treacherous mind kept going back to his strong, gentle hands holding her wrists to him and his mouth… She imagined, quite vividly, his mouth in places other than where it had been. Heat pooled in her again and this time it seemed stronger, unwilling to be ignored. This feeling is what scared her before. It's not like she'd never been kissed before, but never had it brought such a reaction, like when she had touched him to examine the scars left on his back. He hadn't even kissed her on the mouth, for Goddess' sake!

She had known he was different from the moment she laid eyes on him. There was something more than raw intelligence behind his eyes, something that told her that he was no ordinary slave. It was even more likely he wasn't a slave at all and she'd be surprised if he was even actually from her world. She made the decision to risk using her, admittedly limited, telepathic abilities to find out what she could from him, to help get him back to wherever it was he called home. She then turned her attention to alleviating the ache between her legs.

Dressed in her nightgown, Sophia stepped outside and walked toward the gazebo in the back garden. Looking up at the sky, she focuses on the full moon and closes her eyes.

'Mother, what's happening to me?' Even in her own mind, her voice seemed small and more than a bit scared. She could hear her mother's half amused response, as if she were standing right there next to her daughter.

'You know what's happening, child. Sooner than it would if you were full Estonian, but same results.

'Yes, I know. Of course I know, just… no one told me it would be so strong, so powerful.

'I'm sorry. You were so young when I left you…There was so much I hadn't yet taught you'

'Mum, you didn't leave us, you were taken from us. I don't blame you for any of this, please believe that.'

'Does he bring you joy?' Her mother chose to change the subject back to the previous conversation.

Sophia looked to her right side, were her mother would stand beside her, but she couldn't see the ghost image of the other woman there. 'Sometimes I hate that I'm not as strong as you. I can't see you.'

'I'm the only one allowed to avoid questions and change subjects.' Sophia heard her mother chuckle. 'Does he bring you joy?'

'Honestly, it's far too soon. I've known him for less than a day.'

'Still, a woman knows when she's found the right man. You are a woman now, Sophia. The ceremony is just that, a celebration and official acknowledgment. But it doesn't make you what you are. Only you make you, not a bunch of stuffy old nobles. Never forget that. And if you even think you love that man, hold onto him. Because, even if you lose him, it's worth it. Love is always worth the heartache. I know your father and I regret nothing of our time together.'

'We're cursed, aren't we? To fall in love, with slaves no less, only to lose them. You were a slave when Da met you. And he lost you! He still hasn't told me the whole story behind that. Khoshi fell in love with Maranda when she was still a slave and lost her. And then he was lost to us only weeks after. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I'm worried something is going to happen if I let myself get close to him. What do I do, Mum?'

'Do you remember what I told you? About watching a man sleep?'

'Yes.'

'Do that. You'll know what to do from there, I think. I love you, my child, but my time with you is coming to an end, for now.'

'Good bye, Mum. I love you too.'