Page 9
Story: Lost Companion
When they had the footstool, Riley hopped on, and Lagolian began measurements. The assistant dutifully recorded the numbers.
“Now, what designs can she wear?” Ranna smiled.
To Riley’s astonishment, the windows were darkened, and a fashion show of her in an array of outfits began. While the fashion show went on, the assistant was sewing something. Horib got in on the decisions, and Riley tried some of the fruit on the table.
Horib said, “She needs a court outfit if she is to be presented to your father.”
Riley blinked. “Presented how?”
Ranna laughed. “He won’t even look at you while you are my companion.”
Riley exhaled slowly. “Oh, good.”
Horib said, “You don’t wish to honour our overseer?”
“Not with my body. No.” She sighed. “I want to learn who I am again after all the things I have been forced to do. I used to be the kind of person people wanted to be near, and I hope to be there again.”
Ranna grinned. “You are close.”
Lagolian asked, “My lady, don’t think I am impertinent, but you are in remarkably good spirits.”
Ranna pointed to Riley. “I am passively feeding off her, and she has such delightful energy. Pursuit of joy is in every pulse of power she gives me, and it is helping.”
Lagolian blinked and turned to Riley. “You know she is feeding off you?”
“Yup. It is part and parcel of her heritage. I don’t mind. My species can be passively drained indefinitely and deliberately drained several times per day, but we aren’t going to do that because I am not starting an intimate relationship. It’s in my contract.”
Lagolian blinked.
Riley explained it. “While I currently don’t want a male to touch me intimately, I do not have sexual attraction to females.”
Legolian’s assistant huffed.
Riley shrugged. “Sorry.”
Ranna chuckled. “She’s a little small for my taste as well. Maybe one of her taller male counterparts could be available.”
“Run them past me first. The disaster didn’t bring out the best in a lot of my people.” Riley sighed. “All female enclaves only survived if they simply killed any men trying to force their way in.”
Ranna blinked. “Were you in one of those?”
“Nope. One of my charges was a teenage male. He would have been destroyed, so we kept walking until we found another group we could wait with. That is where the current aversion to sex came in.” There was something about a group of women that gave her the ability to lance bits of her memory.
Ranna gasped. “Oh.”
“Yeah. So, here, I have a female bondholder, a contract that doesn’t include sexual contact, and I just have to behave myself and be the best companion I can.”
Ranna reached out and squeezed her hand. “You are doing well on day one.”
Riley smiled. “Hooray!”
The other women laughed, and the attitudes softened. Lagolian took up needle, thread, and some kind of laser and worked with her assistant while they talked about life on the Education Station and her first flight on a long-range shuttle.
“I studied my old profession and languages while we travelled. Since we were landing on Arro, I studied Arran, Kevando, Rejick, and Cafor.”
Lagolian smiled and spoke in Kevando. “So, how did you do with your studies?”
Riley shrugged and answered in the same throaty language. “I believe I gained an acceptable competency.”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9 (Reading here)
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
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- Page 17
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