The Keeper

Sira
I attempted not to choke on the dusty haze surrounding the crowds of Liotin, as I led Lilivia and Senalyn through the crowds. They were attached to me by a worn rope, which tethered their hands together. Senalyn and Lilivia were wearing the dusty clothes of two unfortunate - and now probably naked - slaves of Liotin. I, on the other hand, had switched into a plain-looking gown and a shroud which covered my head and shadowed my face. The plan was to attract as little attention as possible as we made our way through the streets of Liotin.

As we neared a slave stage close to the home of the High Priest, the castle, I pulled the two aside, undbinding the rope. "Here," I said to Lilivia, handing her a bejewelled satin blue dancing gown. "Put this on. It will most certainly attract the eye of the High Priest. Senalyn, see if you can get to the top of this building." I pointed to the one which we were standing under. "Be on the lookout for the High Priest's charge. We need to know when he's getting close to this stage so we can get Lilivia up there in time."

She nodded and in spite of her brave face I could feel her fear through our link. Senalyn began to climb the building silently while Lilivia changed. After a few minutes, he landed on the ground next to me. "He's coming," he said, sounding excited.

"Okay, good. Lilivia, as soon as you can, get onto the stage. Try to look the High Priest in the eye. You must capture his attention."

She nodded in response, and began to force her way through the crowd, heading towards the stage. Just as she secured a spot, the High Priest appeared at the end of the street. He was sitting on a golden throne, being carried through the crowd by four muscly men. Unlike most of the men who resided in his castle, he looked younger than ever. He was popular with the people here. The women swooned to get his attention, and the stage filled with even more women as they tried to compete for a place near him. The crowd parted for him, so he reached the stage quickly.

The stage cleared when Lilivia arrived. All attention was drawn to her as she began to sing and dance. The song was mesmerising -attracting a larger crowd than usual. There were no lyrics, only a beautiful melody. It sounded like something a blue jay might sing. I eyed the High Priest carefully, holding my breath as I watched him notice Lilivia. He looked as mesmerised as the other members of the crowd. They had already begun to place bids on Lilivia. The High Priest summoned a servant from the procession behind him. I tuned in to hear what they had to say, blocking out the sounds of the slave city around me.

"...get her," the High Priest was telling the servant.

The servant bowed. "Yes, your Eminence." He began to push his way through the crowd with a commanding stride. It was not long until he reached Lilivia, who had almost finished her song. He climbed onto the stage and took her arm, stopping her in mid-song. He took her off stage and back through the crowd, ignoring the groans and protests of the men who had stopped to listen and place bids. Lilivia followed quietly behind the High Priest as he made his way back to the castle and was soon lost in the crowd.

"Now what?" Senalyn challenged me. I began to walk back through the crowd, indicating for him to follow.

"I can see what she's up to," I told him, as we passed a crowd riot. It was better that I kept my mouth shut while I was here. There were too many people who could recognise me and alert the High Priest. The riot was, hopefully, a large enough distraction so that our conversation would not be overheard by anyone who cared.

The sun was setting by the time we made it out of the city. I didn't let Senalyn stop walking until we had reached the edge of the forest, where I was sure we wouldn't be heard. "She'll be in there for a while," I said, leaning against a tree. "It's not easy to get close to the High Priest."

"What do we do?" he asked, sounding impatient.

"We wait here, for her to return. I share a link with her. I can send her a message - tell her where we are and how to get out. I can also see what she's doing."

"Like reading her mind?" I chuckled, earning a confused look from him. "What?"

"I've just never heard anyone phrase it like that before. Hearing you say it makes it seem…stupid."

He looked away. "Oh," he said quietly. The silence was deafening.

I knew he was mad at me for his father, and possibly for Lilivia's father. It was pointless to argue with him. I slid down the tree until I was sitting on the ground. "I'm going to connect with her. It will send me into a deep sleep, so don't try to wake me unless something urgently needs my attention, okay?"

He nodded keenly, kneeling down beside me. "What do you want me to do while you're asleep?"

"Find us a place to rest the night. Set up a fire, and some beds if you can. I don't know how long I'll be asleep so I might not get a chance to tell you before the night is up."

He frowned. "Won't she be asleep for most of the night though? What are you going to do - watch her sleep?"

"It may save her life," I told him quietly, hoping that he didn't realise that Lilivia would probably be forced to dance and sing for most of the night anyway. It disgusted me that she would be forced to entertain the High Priest. I would do whatever I could to help her through the first night. For there would be many more to come.

He seemed to accept that that was the closest answer to the truth that he would get tonight. He began to walk away, into the woods. I sat at the base of the tree, closed my eyes and began to connect with Lilivia.

Connecting With Lilivia

Livilia walked into the dining room before many 'priests' who, from their grease stained robs and exotic dancers, were nothing more than animals. The group went silent as she walked in and Livilia bowed. "Your eminences."

None of them paid attention to her, instead they were eyeing the fatty second course which had just been placed in front of them. A few glanced at her briefly, but most were already stuffing their faces. "Well?" an outraged voice came from behind her. The High Priest stormed into view, jingling from all of this golden chains. "I didn't bring you here to eat our food! Dance and sing, whore!"

Livilia bit her cheek, this would be a real test of her mental endurance. She looked to the other girls and began to pound her foot, obviously wanting them to pick up the beat. As they did she began to clap slightly out of time and they picked that up also. The world went dark as she closed her eyes and when they reopened the world changed focus often as she danced. The men now gawked at her as she flowed from movement to movement and sang a haunting melody that matched not only the beat but the dance.

She could see the High Priest eyeing her and speaking quietly to a servant on the side, while his fat companions ate and watched her, the half-naked ladies snuggling close to them no longer of any interest.

With a note and beat Livilia stopped and tried not to breathe hard. The men around her whooped and called for an encore as Livilias eyes met the High Priests.

"That was good," he said in a thick accent, walking towards her, never taking his eyes off her. "However, you failed to…" paused, "...captivate me." It was a challenge. He turned his back on her, his chains jingling. "More dancing, now." He demanded. Livilia turned and whispered to the girls about what she wanted them to do. It was a daring dance - risky if performed wrong - but she felt confident about it. She began to dance.

While the other dance had been beautiful and almost like her flying this dance was more seductive with the others joining in. Their moves were less seductive, and more raunchy. It wasn't surprising when their clothing began to slip. Livilia was utterly disgusted with herself but she kept dancing and more importantly she kept her smile on for the high priest.

This time, the High Priest watched her from the back of the room, dismissing anyone who came near. Halfway through the song, shouts and jeers could be heard from the table of pigs, who were well into their third course and enjoying the view.

Livilia kept dancing, even when the other girls began to break away. Soon she was the only one left dancing. She ended her dance with a wink, blown kiss and extended hand, all towards the High Priest.

"Gentlemen," he said addressing the men at the table. "I am going to retire for this evening. Please," he said holding out an arm to the girls on stage and the food in front of them. "Enjoy yourself." He glanced back at Lilivia with a smile and sauntered out of the room.

"Dance for us, ya Ladybird!" The slang was unusual coming from this area of the world. Here, prostitutes were usually referred to as whores and dogs. It was strange that there would be someone from a different part of Irsia here. I dared not think that Alucar's domain was expanding.

With a curtsy at the leaving high priest she and the other girls continued to dance for the rest of the night until each man either fell asleep on the table or had a servant lead them back to their chambers.

As they all walked the main dancer, obvious because of her golden robes in comparison to their red, spoke. "You seem to have caught the eye of the high priest himself little ladybird."
"You think so?"

"Yeah, yeah, she won't survive long," one of the redheads who was particularly raunchy during Lilivia's second dance said as she walked past Lilivia, brushing shoulders with her. She threw a cool glare in Lilivia's direction. "I'd watch your back if I were you."

"Don't mind Ida, she's always like this with new girls."

"Why, what has happened to others?"

Ida chuckled darkly as she ran ahead. "You'll find out soon enough!" she called back, before disappearing around a corner.

The head girl sighed. "We don't speak of it for it brings bad luck, we can only hope that you don't find out."