“Hello, Gissandre,” the princess said, embracing her. “We’re happy to find you safe! Are you well? Do you need anything for pain? Or medical attention?”
Giss shook her head.
“Please sit. Here’s a wrap for you. We’d like to hear the details of your journey.”
She glanced at the com pointed at her. Did they intend to record her narrative? Would it be used as evidence against Larsinc?
She wrapped the blanket around herself and sat. “What would you like to know?” she asked.
“Start at the beginning.”
“Could Larsinc join us? He’ll probably remember details that I couldn’t.”
The princess exchanged a glance with the handsome warrior. “I apologize for not introducing Varse, my husband. Ketturan warriors can be intimidating at first. I know it very well since I traveled with a group of them on a journey that I hadn’t agreed to go on. We thought it would be better for you to be able to talk to us on your own. You’re perfectly safe, by the way. Larsinc can’t escape the chamber he’s in.”
“I don’t feel unsafe. Nor would I if he were free to roam the ship.”
A movement in the doorway caught her eye, and she turned her head to find Darx leaning against the frame.
“That’s interesting to hear,” the princess continued. “I’ll explain why he’s shackled later. First though, could you tell us what happened? And how you came to leave school and be on the ship where we found you?”
“I’d like him to be here to hear what I tell you.”
“If you plan to tell the truth, he doesn’t need to listen. His true story should match yours,” Varse said.
Giss studied him a moment. Was this warrior on Linc’s side? Or would he gain something by Larsinc’s downfall? Politics could be treacherous. On Orius, it paid to trust no one.
“One night, I was in a deep despair. A man was trying to force me to marry him. He’d done unscrupulous things, and I felt trapped. So I tried to drown myself. There was a bad storm, and I walked out into the ocean during it. Even when I regretted it, there was no way to change my mind. I was drowning, and Larsinc saw me and dove off a cliff into a mass of rip currents to save me. We spent the night in a cave for shelter.” She licked her dry lips, and Varse offered her water, which she drank.
“In the morning, we were discovered alone. That’s against the law. And if I’d admitted what I’d intended to do, there would’ve been consequences for myself and my sister. I would’ve been forced into the house of an abusive and dangerous man. Larsinc could’ve been killed too. So, too afraid to tell the truth, I lied about what happened, but I tried to say that Larsinc hadn’t known he’d been breaking the law. I said it was an innocent misunderstanding. I hoped the magistrate would believe that. Instead, Larsinc was sentenced to imprisonment.” Giss looked away, swallowing hard. “I tried to alter my statement, but I was threatened. And they would have killed him. So my sister and I tried to use money to free him from the prison colony, but it didn’t work. I was sent off-world to a secure school as protection. It was supposed to keep me from being found by the unscrupulous magistrate I was trying to escape.” Giss clasped her hands together in her lap. “I met Linc again on that other planet. He rescued me once again. We tried to live quietly on a deserted world, but we were pursued. So we escaped and decided to go where we didn’t think we’d be found. A scandalous pleasure ship, but one where all the men and women who act as submissive companions are there freely and of their own will. Then your men arrived and kidnapped us from that ship. And here we are.”
A snort from the doorway drew her attention to Darx, but all she caught sight of was his broad back as he walked away.
“Larsinc was falsely imprisoned because of you. Anyone would want revenge for that. It’s hard to believe you were never forced to do things or threatened by him,” the princess said gently. “Maybe you’re afraid to tell the truth? Or hesitant to share details in front of a man?” The princess gave her husband a look.
Without a word, he rose and left the room.
“Some things feel too shameful to talk about, especially if you had some pleasure during the acts. Ketturan warriors are skilled at giving women pleasure. Sometimes intimacy can be confused for love. It’s important to share the truth though, so other people, who might see things more clearly, can judge the situation.”
Giss’s gaze met the princess’s. “Nothing intimate that’s of legal consequence happened. I’m still a virgin. Choose a doctor to examine me.”
The princess’s violet eyes widened. Then they narrowed. “There is more than one type of sexual experience. Are you saying he never—?”
“I’m a virgin. What more is there to say to a charge of rape?”
“When you arrived, it looked like your nipples were pierced. That’s a practice reserved for sexual slaves.”
“Many of the other people aboard the ship had body jewelry. I thought it was pretty, so I decided to have it done too. As part of my disguise. The diameter of my hoops is very small. When they’re removed, no one will ever be able to tell my nipples were pierced.”
“Are you sure it was your idea?”
“I guess it’s shocking. But they’re very pretty.”
“You didn’t answer the question.”
Gissandre shook her head with a shrug. “Let him go.”
“Maybe it would be better for you to have a day or two to think. We’ll wait until you’ve had time to talk to your sister.”
