The Alpha Emperor's Courtesan

Treat

When Rin returned to collect me I felt like a different person… I certainly looked like one.

I was wearing the sage green dress that had been made for me when I arrived, and I was rather happy with how I looked in it.

That made me feel horrendously guilty - I was going to feel guilty every time I even vaguely enjoyed anything in this new life. I shouldn’t have been happy with the dress, because it was betraying my own culture to adopt this one so readily.

At least I could use it to my advantage - Rin wanted me to adapt to this life, and admitting I lied some silly dresses was not the worst thing I could do. It wasn’t betraying the people I loved to wear some nice clothing - I wasn’t turning my back on my culture and traditions just because I was wearing their clothes.

At least, that was what I was going to tell myself.

Rin seemed to be rather cheerful for once as we left the dressmaker behind, and she handed the neatly folded bundle of my new outfits across to her henchman.

He looked rather amusing carrying those delicate fabrics in his arms, but I didn’t dare laugh because I wouldn’t be able to explain myself to Rin and I didn’t want her to be angry at me or to think I was ungrateful.

The little group of people beside the street food vendor was far bigger now - they were apparently still waiting to catch a glimpse of the gladiators, and I was glad that I hadn’t wasted time asking Rin if we could wait with them because these people had been stood in the hot sun all day to try to see these men and it seemed like there wasn’t actually any guarantee they would even show up at all.

My stomach growled when I smelled the food the vendor was offering. It had been so unappetizing to me when we passed it before, but I hadn’t eaten all day and I just wanted to something to fill my stomach now, no matter how sickly-sweet it smelled.

I took a chance on Rin’s good mood, making her a little more generous than she was usually and pointed to the stall.

“..eat?… please?… hungry.”

I really hoped those were the right words, and that Rin would be willing to stop for food now since we did not have anywhere to be.

She paused for a moment, fiddling with some of the material of her dress absent-mindedly and then, to my surprise, she smiled.

“OK.”

I was… thrilled. I grinned excitedly, and my heart was racing. I had asked for something, and she had agreed.

Her eyes were actually twinkling as she smiled at me, and I wasn’t sure what she was thinking, but then she nodded at the group next to the stand.

“You’re hoping to see the gladiators too?”

I understood exactly what she had said, and I blushed again.

She had me figured out. I was, apparently, exactly the same as all the other young women in this city.

“I am.”

She smiled. I had said something other than ‘yes’. I was learning, and I was trying to make an effort to show her that.

She rewarded me with the little treat from the vendor, and for the first time I saw that she was not a heartless evil witch… at least not all the time.

She had a sense of humor, and she was actually nice some of the time. If I made this much effort all the time, she might even be bearable to live with.

We stood together in the shade near the vendor eating our meal - it was some kind of fruit, prepared in a way that made it overly sticky to the touch. It was chewy, and I definitely would not want to eat it often. As an occasional treat, though… it wasn’t unpleasant.

I was actually enjoying my time away from the house far more than I had expected, and I looked eagerly around to try to catch sight of anything new and exciting that I might be able to ask Rin about.

I was never going to get used to the people shouting at passers-by, and it was not something I was interested in learning about, but the other things… I didn’t mind learning about those.

And now that it seemed Rin was happy enough to consider me worth training, I wanted to know what I would be learning. I was going to try my hardest to learn to speak the language, because as soon as I was considered proficient at that I would have a chance to meet more new people and to leave the house to do exciting things.

We waited for the gladiators for long enough that the little crowd of people had finally started to dissolve, and it seemed like they were not going to come out at all. I felt indescribably disappointed after Rin had been willing to wait there with me, and I hoped that it would not ruin her good mood to feel like it had been a waste of time to stand in the heat for these men.

“Time to go.”

I nodded my understanding reluctantly, then cast my eyes around one last time as if they might suddenly have appeared out of nowhere and then… just as I was about to give up and turn away… I saw him. Him. Jax.

And as my heart thundered and my mouth went dry with absolutely no warning, I realized that I hadn’t actually wanted to see the gladiators at all; I had been desperately hoping that he would be with them. And he was - he was with them, and he was safe, and he didn’t see me before Rin pulled me away, but I had seen him and I knew that I would be able to find him again.