Sado sat on the bed and waited. His armor was stripped off, in fact he barely wore anything at all, just a simple shirt and pants, a crude sort used by common laborers for working the gardens or otherwise tending the grounds. He didn't even bother with shoes.
His heavy eyes stared at the doorway and simply did not move until Solution entered.
"It was a bold move, Prince of Dreams. I will give you that." Solution said and tossed him a set of chains. They landed at his feet with a loud clatter and accompanying rattle noise. He looked down at them with regret etched on his face.
"Put them on. I know you're not going to run, but this is how the Starwatchers like things. A lifetime of faith, and this is their punishment to you for showing your love of one of your betters." Solution clapped her hands together and rubbed them in front of her body. "If it weren't so silly I'd enjoy it even more."
"Thank you…" Sado muttered as he bent over and took up the chains, he affixed them one by one to his wrists, "and you're right, it is ridiculous."
"But worth it?" Solution asked rhetorically as Sado moved to follow her.
"Yes, my lady. I can never be her husband, or her lover, but if I have to take a thrashing to bring happiness to my beautiful savior, then it is a price worth paying." Sado answered with resignation.
They were mostly silent the remainder of the way to the main temple for the city, and Sado bore the unpleasant reality of having to trot behind Solution's horse while stared at by countless suspicious faces.
She tugged lightly on the chain, yanking him forward as they drew closer to the temple at the heart of the city. Sado could feel the monster's enjoyment of it all. There was an integrity to her barbarism, a lack of hypocrisy to it that was in its own bizarre way, refreshing. 'The temples will punish me for disrupting their sacred ceremony, proclaim divine will and divine right, and use my pain to drive fearful compliance. How did I miss this before?'
"I'll be looking after you during the punishment, to make sure they don't kill you." Solution informed him as they got into the carriage. She brusquely gave her orders to the coachman and it pulled away from its position by the door with a slow lurch.
The wheels made mild rattling noises as they rolled over the cobblestones of the street and Sado's chains rattled whenever his hands moved. "I was a devout believer, My Lady." Sado finally said.
"Were you?" Solution cocked her head.
"Yes. I believed that was why some men died in battle, and others, sometimes less skilled, survived. It made sense, how else could it be that the less prepared lived while the better prepared did not? A man with ten years experience, a hero of countless battles, then a stray arrow in the eye kills him in his sleep during a surprise attack. He sleeps armored against it, but the arrow by impossible chance, passes through the narrow slit to see through and…" Sado snapped his fingers, "he is done. Meanwhile five hand spans away, a rookie battle virgin has arrows all around him and yet not only do none strike home, he survives the surprise attack without a scratch and even gets a few kills when attackers trip and fall over the body of the veteran during the attack." Sado snorted. "Fate seemed to explain that perfectly. The stars decided it was the veteran's time, but the battle virgin gets another day."
"And now you don't believe that." Solution concluded with a mildly curious look.
"I don't. It was believing that, that guided my thinking in trying to change things. It seemed like fate that I should be born where I was, when I was. That I should have as my dearest friend, the Prince of the only city to truly rival my own. That I should be born unbeatable…" Sado stopped speaking when Solution began to laugh.
The heroic slave Prince flushed a bit. "It was true at the time…" He grumbled a little and waited until she stopped laughing. "It just seemed like the right time and… well, now I know better about everything. There is no fate, just us and the things we do, which is why I was able to defy the stars today in the greatest blasphemy of my life." He gave a triumphant, broad smile to his cruel teacher. "It was worth it. Even for what they're going to do."
"Humans may be lower life forms, but you can be interesting lower life forms, I admit." Solution twirled a perfect golden curl around one finger, "The woman you love is about to go breed an heir with your closest friend, you're about to get the lashing of a lifetime for your attempt to honor your owner, and you can wax philosophically about how worth it, all this is." She tittered a bit before a malicious smile took shape.
"You're either the greatest fool I've ever known, or you've learned to be truly patient and take the long view on what you want." Solution said, cocking her head, the malicious smile stayed in place, but she was clearly curious about which was the case.
Sado relaxed, utterly at ease, he smiled despite her taunt. "All my suffering, and my people's suffering, was caused by my own desires that caused me to act rashly. Today's actions are just like that. Maybe I can't help having desires, but I can make peace with them, learn the difference between the ones that can be achieved and the ones that will only bring further suffering while never being fulfilled, and act accordingly. I will endure the whip, I will endure knowing the woman I love is in the arms of my closest friend. I will endure everything, certain that there is something better at the end of all this, if I just work to make it happen and learn to live with what I can't change."
Solution crossed her arms in front of her ample chest, turned her head away, closed her eyes and let out a petulant, "Hmpf."
There was quiet for a moment, and then she added, "Interesting… is not always the same as fun. Despair and pain, those are more fun for me, you could at least cry and scream and rage that you did all that and she's not even here to take care of you, not pleading for mercy on your behalf, not threatening them with retribution. Do something interesting. Serenity in prey is so… dull."
"I wish I could say I am sorry to disappoint you, My Lady. But I did this to myself, I don't expect her to take a risk to pull me from consequences I had already accepted before I even took action." Sado's wry smile was a little victory over the monster itself, and yet the integrity of the terrible woman in her shameless and serene acceptance of her own twisted nature, compelled him to throw her some consolation.
"At least you'll still get to watch." He said, and her minor petulance vanished.
"True, very true." She brightened when she answered, "Don't go down too easily, or I'll be disappointed in you… student. Oh look," she said and glanced out the window, "we're here."
Nua's departure with Rasgen was met with abundant fanfare, and while the guests busied themselves with more wine and food in the aftermath, the new couple entered the carriage of the Prince of Pas'en, where Nua found two half-elven women waiting for them.
"You must be his closest servants." Nua guessed, "You were with us last time. Though I'm afraid I don't recall your names…"
The twins bowed their heads. "We never gave them." The uncollared woman said politely. "There's no need, we haven't really used them for a very long time."
"I… see." Nua said, then looking at her new husband, "How badly will they hurt Sado?" She glanced away from him and out the window.
"Probably not badly, his friendship with me and past support of this city will probably lessen what they do to him. And your servant is there, she'll keep your interests in mind." Rasgen reassured her as the carriage began to move. His hand went to rest lightly over her own, and she visibly relaxed.
"I suppose so, but he was showing the depth of his loyalty to me… honoring us both… and he is one of mine." Nua clenched her left hand, and the black gem glowed enough that the light pulsed through the white glove. "If they do worse than the minimum…"
"So you do care for your slaves, mistress." The collared elf said suddenly.
"Yes, of course. They're still people, capable of loyalty, love, treachery, treason, lies, virtue and vice… they're like my children and I have to take care of them." Nua said emphatically. "Yes, they're mine! They belong to me, but that means I'm bound to them too. Letting one of them get hurt over an act of loyalty doesn't sit well with me."
The pair of half-elves shifted their eyes in unison over to their Prince. "I see why you like this one so much, master." They said together, and Rasgen flushed with some embarrassment, his back straightened a bit more at their statement and he coughed into his hand uncomfortably.
The memory of the vanished life that had meant so much to her, came rushing back in an instant, 'Raymond would have liked this one… wherever you are… I hope… no… I know you'd approve. Maybe not everything, when you're alive again, I'll beg forgiveness from you for all I've had to do, to be… but I'm not wrong. I just wish I didn't know how much heartache all this would cause you.'
To disguise and fight the distressing thoughts, she covered them by closing her eyes and laughing at his expression of discomfort. When the sound faded, she glanced over to him and shifted the topic.
"Kaiji and Priceless are following in my carriage. They'll be attending to us tonight before I leave tomorrow. Will you be joining me on the way to Komestra?" Nua's voice was casual, but her words were a serious matter, and Rasgen knew it.
His presence would be a complete endorsement of her claim on the throne and the reestablishment of the city as a political and military power in the region. There was also only one answer.
"Yes. I will. I will bring an escort of one hundred cavalry, twenty five men from each division, the differences in their banners should make their presence clearly symbolic. I've also taken the liberty of writing to Prince Yanlim, suggesting it would be in his interest to appear there himself. With two of the great cities supporting you, I have no doubt the rest will fall into line in acknowledging the rebirth of Komestra." Rasgen's embarrassment morphed into an affectionate smile, "It will be good to be able to openly treat you as a friend and equal."
There was no response needed for that, and the rest of the trip was both quiet and relatively pleasant, though Nua did turn a thought to Sado, she did not suggest diverting the carriage from their path to the palace. 'As much as I regret this now… they will regret it more in time.' She quietly promised, repeatedly, until the carriage stopped at the home of the Prince.
"On the charge of blasphemy, how do you plead?" The Questioner asked, more for the people watching, than for the accused.
"Guilty!" Sado shouted.
"On the charge of disrupting a sacred ceremony given to us by the stars themselves, how do you plead?" The Questioner asked again, his voice cracked with age, the veil hid his face, but Sado didn't need to see it to know the righteous satisfaction that lay there.
"Guilty!" Sado shouted again from his place on his knees.
"Do you have any words to offer in your own defense?" The Questioner asked in the same formal tone as the one used to condemn Sado a moment earlier.
"Yes. My goal was not to disrupt, but to render proper honors to the mistress of my house. Nothing more. All else beyond that, was happenstance." Sado confessed. "Now get it over with."
"So be it. In deference to this holy day, the noble Prince, and your… less blasphemous intent, your punishment will be as merciful as it is just." The Questioner remarked, and stepped aside.
Sado didn't see the nod, he simply took a long slow breath, and waited.
Solution watched as the lash ripped open the cloth and flesh of Sado's back. He didn't cry out when the strip of blood appeared. 'Inferior… but stubborn and amusing.' She mused and watched contentedly from the sidelines. The blows fell one after the other, and yet to her surprise, he didn't cry out. 'Interesting. I suppose it's revenge in a way, if he doesn't scream for them, the public punishment loses half its power.' Solution covered her mouth to hide the laugh she felt rising as the warrior passed beyond the limitations of the flesh they sought to punish.
'I shouldn't be surprised I guess, I mean I've hurt him much worse than this. Novices. They're not even as good at this as my student's former masters.' Solution's estimation of the Questioner's capabilities dropped a few notches while her estimation of the fallen Prince rose a slightly begrudging notch in turn.
The Questioner was clearly growing frustrated, with the lack of response, the long dark whip went out and back again, the resounding crack drew winces from the watchers, and yet the fallen Prince of Komestra gave no indication that he cared.
The criss cross red had shredded his shirt and turned his tanned back covered in crimson red.
Finally, resolution struck. 'That is enough, if they continue, they really will kill him.' Solution acknowledged, and stepped from the crowd.
The whip came back, the Questioner saw nothing, and Solution caught it with ease, allowing the end to wrap around her hand and catching it at the tip. He tried to tug it forward, and discovered that the taut leather would not move.
He glanced behind him, and through the veil of white the golden haired beauty stood waiting and holding the lash in an iron grip.
"He's had enough. His punishment was supposed to be light. Much more and you'll skin him." Solution said, somewhat disappointed. "As greatly as I'd enjoy watching that, you may kill him, and I can't allow his life to end. Not here. Not yet."
"Wh-" The Questioner began to ask, and Solution 'stepped' forward, in an instant she had closed the distance and was inches from his veil, her hungry blue eyes piercing the veil enough to see the face of aged terror behind it.
She whispered the words softly, "I am the Teacher and bodyguard of the new Komestran Prince. I am responsible for that slave's life, and you have done enough to the property of the Skinner Prince. Don't you agree?"
The Questioner did his best to recover his dignity, his lips moving without words for a moment, he took an involuntary step back.
He drew himself up, tugging lightly on the heavy white cloth that covered his body, "I, well yes, perhaps he has." He said after glancing at the blood riddled back. He stepped aside, and Solution dropped her hold on the whip, allowing the bulk of it to fall limp to the hard stone at their feet.
"Then I will take him from here." Solution said in a command voice, and brushed past the old man as if he weren't present at all.
"Get up, slave. It's over." Solution said when she crossed the few remaining paces to where he knelt.