The Alpha Emperor's Courtesan

Power

I think I was supposed to be afraid of what Suki had just revealed, but after everything I had been through, I really didn’t care about some silly woman who sold her body in exchange for fancy clothes and jewelry.

I couldn’t have cared less about Xena being mad at me, and I didn’t even want the Emperor to pay attention to me, anyway.

I didn’t even know how to communicate with anyone in this city yet, but I already hated it.

The people, the sounds, the smells… everything here was too much. The people at the top were drenched in finery and living in excess, while others were living in misery and being forced to work for nothing, and I could see now that the life I had been sold into was not that of a slave… Suki, Xena, Rin… these women were not concerned with their basic survival, they were pampered enough that they could hold grudges over dresses.

“Suki…”

She looked at me with wide eyes full of concern. I still didn’t care about Xena, but I could see that she genuinely was.

“Maybe if we… perhaps…”

“I am sure the Emperor knows exactly what he is doing; he certainly seems like a man who enjoys playing mind games with people. Perhaps he enjoys making her jealous?”

Suki laughed nervously. I think it made her uncomfortable to hear me mention the Emperor as if I had some intimate knowledge of him, but he didn’t scare me and I wasn’t intimidated by him.

“I don’t think you realize how dangerous this is, Talia…”

“Dangerous? I borrowed a dress because I was cold. If the

Emperor likes her so much, he will buy her ten more to replace it. If he isn’t interested in her anymore, well, that isn’t my fault.”

Suki rubbed her arm and glanced at the doorway. She clearly wanted to leave, but I had no one else to talk to and there were still things I wanted to know that I wasn’t going to learn any other way.

“Suki… you didn’t tell me what I was supposed to be doing. We started to talk, and then I mentioned the Emperor and now… what am I supposed to be doing? What did you mean when you said Rin would train me?”

She glanced nervously out into the hallway again and then sighed as she accepted that talking to me was the right thing to do, even if it might get her in trouble.

“You don’t just get to be a Courtesan. We aren’t prostitutes, Talia. You need to be intelligent, and talented, and skilled, and beautiful… you are considered a living work of art if you are a well-trained Courtesan from the right House in this city, and Rin will do everything in her power to keep our reputation as the best House in the city. You’re going to have to learn to speak their language, and play instruments, and recite poetry, and…”

“…and what if that isn’t who I am? I’m not like that. I don’t enjoy sitting around looking like an ornament and reciting flowery poetry to doe-eyed men.”

“That’s not what a good Courtesan does. Men at the top… most of them marry docile young Roman women, but what they really want to do is spend their time with women who are just as intelligent and fierce as they are. They like spending their time with Courtesans because we are allowed to be spirited and to argue with them, and Rin will help you to learn exactly how to manipulate every last man in this city who is worth a passing glance. If you are a good Courtesan those men will confide in you - you will get to learn their darkest secrets and to know about what is being planned before anybody else finds out. You can use that to your advantage, and if you play your cards right, you might be able to influence the right people if there is something you want them to do for you. You can keep your loved ones safe, or have the people you hate destroyed without them ever knowing you were the one behind it. Talia… this is a chance to take as much power as you are skilled enough to handle. If the Emperor really is interested in you, I suggest you focus on doing everything you can to win his heart. Think about the things you would ask him to do for you if you had the chance, and every time Rin punishes you for making a stupid mistake when you are learning to recite one of the tedious Roman poems, or Xena puts salt in your drink when you are looking away… just think about the way it will feel to be so powerful you can get the Emperor to do whatever you want.”

Suki sounded so enthusiastic as she spoke to me that I finally understood how incredible the opportunity I had been given really was. I wasn’t going to be sleeping with strange men every night to keep a roof over my head; I was going to be whispering in the ears of the most powerful men in the world.

“The training…”

“You need to learn how to talk to these men before you get any ideas about taming them. After that… this is a subtle art, Talia. But it’s one you might appreciate, given time. And I know you think that we are all a bunch of prostitutes, but one of the first things you will learn is that sleeping with these men is the last thing you should do if you want them to change the world for you. You need to learn how to get them so desperate to spend a night with you that they will do whatever you ask without questioning it.”