A pit formed in her stomach as she watched them put their hands on her. Lalita looked at her with wide eyes. Pursing her lips she formulated a plan that would involve no violence as possible. If she was human she could easily steal her back but she was not. Letting out a heavy sigh, she stood and moved over to the group that had her human.
Kali motioned with her head for Lalita to move. The group of men watched her intensely, one of them reaching out and gripping Lalita's hand.
“Come on sweetie, you don't have to bother with that,” he said as if trying to comfort her. Lalita pulled herself out of his grip and went to hide behind Kali. Her head pressed into her back. The men collectively groaned.
“We have coin.”
Kali glowered at them. They stared back at her, another one repeating what his friend had just said.
“You're a pretty lass, you don't have to fuck that. We have plenty of coin.”
Kali closed her eyes, inhaling deeply before she spoke, wanting to keep her emotions in check.
“Outbid me.” They looked at her in surprise. Kali hated people like this that assumed so little of her. She waved over the barmaid.
“We’re going to bid for the company of this whore," Kali stopped momentarily as she felt Lalita thump her back, clearing her throat she continued, "We want you to be a fair judge and witness it,” Kali explained to the woman. She nodded, understanding that things may get ugly if she did not watch over the proceedings.
“You can start,” Kali said to the group of cocky men.
“Ten coppers.”
“What, for the lot of you?” Kali laughed, “Fifty.”
“Seventy.”
“One silver.”
“One silver and ten copper.”
“Two silver.”
“Three silvers.”
“Five silvers.” Kali leaned forward, placing her hands firmly on the table. They talked amongst themselves, deliberating amongst themselves, some looking put out whilst the others were determined.
“Seven silvers.”
“A sovereign.” They looked at each other in shock, then at Lalita shaking their heads as they begun muttering that no whore was worth that. Kali stood tall – taking a sovereign out of her coin purse she handed it to the small woman, that held her hand out expectantly. Leaving the defeated group of men and barmaid, Kali returned to her table with her arm around the small woman, gloating at the glaring men.
Sitting, she returned to her half eaten meal before she had been interrupted. How she managed to get herself into that sort of trouble Kali did not know. Lalita ate her meal in silence – with the grace one would expect of a noble. It was a stark contrast to how she had eaten on the road. Kali’s empty tankard thudded onto the table as she finished her drink. She held out her hand to Lalita, who looked at her curiously before placing her hand into her own.
Letting out an amused noise, she smirked as she spoke. “The sovereign.”
Lalita looked at her curiously, tilting her head to the left, her wavy hair framing her face. She sipped her ale as she candidly responded. “I earned it,”
“Oh, you have?”
“Yes, you gave it to me. So it’s mine now.”
“So you’re promising me sex tonight, because I payed for you?” Lalita smiled coyly, not responding to her question.
“That’s my money.”
“No, it’s mine. My kidnappers sold everything that held any monetary value apart from my signet ring. Those items would have easily fetched several sovereigns, possibly more.” Lalita looked at her hard as she quietly said. “The money you looted is mine – make no illusion of it.”
Blinking, Kali stared at the smaller woman – she had some audacity to speak so bluntly. “You really want that bloody mirror don’t you?” Lalita hummed in response, taking a final sip of her ale.
“What’s wrong with mine?”
“It’s warped, and bronze – making it hard for me to see any colour. I’d like a proper mirror.”
“Fine, I’ll buy you a mirror.”
“No, I’m going to go buy it myself.” Kali stared at her in silence, wishing she had another drink. She was really beginning to irk her with how much she was demanding from her. If she was going to go to the general goods store she may as well do something useful for her.
"Fine, get me everything on this list," Kali said as she handed her a list and additional coin to cover the cost. Lalita looked over the list and hummed in response, raising her eyebrow at some of the items on the list.
"I can retrieve that for you." Lalita stood, patting the dust off her dress as she exited the establishment. Kali watched her leave, her gaze resting on the group of men that had been fighting over her earlier. Only one paid attention to her leaving, when he locked eyes with Kali he quickly busied himself with his drink. Good, Kali thought. She did not want any trouble in this town.
Motioning the barmaid over, she asked for a refill and if they had any decent rooms for the evening. She wanted Lalita to have some comfort before they were back on the road again. The next town was over a month away. Keeping an eye on the entrance, she went back to drinking her ale in peace. Eventually Lalita entered the establishment, looking triumphant in her return. Standing, she guided Lalita to the stairwell.
“Got us a room.”
“Oh. Can we have a tub bought in?” Kali stopped, turning and rubbed her face. Going back down she arranged for a tub to be bought to their room, before she followed the small woman up the stairs. She really did try her patience, indicating they needed to continue going up, then arrived on a floor with two rooms.
Turning the handle, the door creaked open. Kali was impressed to see that it was befitting of what she expected from her money. It was decked out in furs and even had furniture that looked like it did not belong in a small tavern like this. A fire was ready in the fireplace, meaning they did not have to sleep in a cold room. Kali sighed happily as she sat down on the sofa before the fire. Taking the bottle of wine that Lalita had procured, she poured it into the tankards she had carried up. She handed one to Lalita. She sniffed it before taking a sip.
“This is a sweet wine,” said Lalita. “It tastes like honey and cedar.”
“You can tell that?”
“Can you not?”
“No, show me the mirror you bought.” Kali sat forward as Lalita begun to unwrap her package, she pulled out a delicate looking mirror. Kali took the mirror from her and observed it; the frame was made out of what looked to be real silver – which was good, if she needed it in an emergency she could convert it. The interior was interesting, it was pure and showed a clear reflection of her. It was startling to see herself with such clarity. Handing the mirror back to the small woman she gruffly responded.
“It’s nice.”
“Yes, I’ll be able to make myself up now," Lalita paused, chewing her lower lip before quietly adding "thank you."
“With what?”
“There was enough left over to buy a few additional things for myself.”
Kali grunted in response as she looked at the small woman. Before she was able to say anything, a young man burst into their room carrying a wooden tub. He placed it down, before leaving, over the next ten minutes people came and went from the room as they filled the tub with hot water. Kali glanced at Lalita, who seemed to become timid when there was company.
Lalita’s fingers drummed against the edge of her tankard. Kali knew there was something on her mind but she was not in the mood to coax it out of her. She would let her know when she was ready. Kali placed a hand on her thigh, squeezing it reassuringly as she drank her drink.
The last of the water was poured into the tub, and the door shut with a click behind them. Kali stood – stripping right down she took out her bar of soap and poured water out into the basin that was provided in the room. She began to clean the grime of travel off of her body. She did not want to get into the tub dirty, she wanted a clean and hot bath. She watched Lalita mimic her, she stood next to her cleaning herself, she held a sharp blade and began to groom herself.
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