Part 4
They had found the camp easily enough, with Tranth's keen eyes spotting the Courtesan's cook fires from the moment they had left between. A'gon had received a warm welcome when they landed, Elena thought as she looked up from her plate to where he sat surrounded by the courtesans.
"So what's it like to fly?" one was asking him.
"It's freedom, pure freedom," he said, sighing in pleasure as one of the Courtesans massaged his neck. On the other side of the clearing Tranth was getting his eye ridges thoroughly scratched by another group of Courtesans and rumbling in pleasure.
There were fifteen of the Courtesans, evenly spread out between Tranth, A'gon, and cleaning up the remains of dinner. Elena scowled into her slice of wherry and set her plate aside.
It was impossible to keep an appetite with A'gon and the Courtesans making so much noise. She clenched her fists when at the sight of one of the Courtesans moving to sit in A'gon's lap, without any objection on his part.
"Was something wrong with your wherry?" Aula, the leader of the group of Courtesans, asked as she approached Elena.
Elena looked up at her and smiled wanly. "No, no, nothing was wrong with it, I'm just not very hungry," she said, gesturing for Aula to sit down.
Aula shook out her long red hair as she took a seat by Elena. The Harper felt an unfamiliar twinge of jealousy at the sight of the woman. The Courtesan was beautiful, with full breasts and a slender frame, her shapely legs visible under her skirt. With her long legs, it was no wonder that men would pay her to dance, Elena thought.
"Um, how long have you been a Courtesan?" Elena asked at last.
"Hmm? About seven turns now, since I had seventeen turns," Aula answered.
"Do you enjoy it?"
Aula nodded enthusiastically. "It was that or end up gutting fish for the rest of my life."
"You're from a Sea Hold?"
"Yes, Glass Water Hold, it's towards the south. I get back there every couple of Turns, my family thinks I'm a dancer."
"But aren't you? A dancer, I mean?"
Aula turned to study the girl closely. "Yes, I am a, ah, dancer, I do other things though."
"Oh, yes, you sing, don't you?"
The Courtesan smirked, "Yes, we sing as well," she winked at Elena, "the men really like it when we sing for them."
Elena paused while she gathered her courage. "Do you think you could teach me to dance? They don't teach us how to do that at Harper Hall. I mean, not formally, but I need to know how if I'm going to get this part for a new play-" She trailed off, blushing again at blurting out so much.
"What part?"
"Oh, um, Kylara. I don't think I'll get it, but-" She stopped when she noticed Aula scrutinizing her face and shifted uncomfortably.
"Kylara, hmm? You're going to dance on stage? In front of an audience? Pretending to be her?"
"Yes, and sing. I'm good at singing."
Aula smiled and said, "Singing and dancing, on stage. Interesting. I'll have to tell Mistress Devala about this, she'll want to know that we're going to be having some competition from the Harpers." She moved closer to Elena and leaned over, her hands supporting her and plucking at the grass of the clearing. "I know I'd see that play, especially if you were in it. Although, when I first saw you, I didn't think you'd be the type to perform in front of an audience."
Elena cocked her head. "Really? We all have to perform in front of an audience from almost the time we arrive at Harper Hall, at the very least a teacher."
Aula raised an eyebrow. "Maybe I should have been a Harper, it certainly sounds like fun."
"It is, except, sometimes," Elena leaned over and continued in a conspiratory whisper, "sometimes we get switched, but Master Robinton doesn't like that and he's ordered that it be stopped." Elena saw that Aula's eyes were wide and she was breathing heavily. I hope she's all right, it won't do if she's ill, she thought.
By the Egg, Aula thought, I never knew Harper Hall was such a debauched place. She licked her lips and asked, "Do you do it in groups?"
"Of course, we all have to learn how to perform in groups. We do it all the time."
"So, do you prefer to, ah, perform, with girls or boys?"
"Well, there aren't too many other girls at Harper Hall right now, so I usually perform with boys. But I perform with boys and girls when I can. Master Robinton says we sound better when we do that."
Aula gasped and tore a clump of grass from beneath her hands at the image. She looked around the clearing, the dragonrider was still busy telling stories to the other girls and the dragon had rolled onto his back to have his belly scratched. "Come on, I'll teach you how to dance now," she said, pulling Elena to her feet and toward the forest. Dance until you scream, she thought silently, feeling desire flooding her.
Elena stumbled alongside her and then stopped. "Why do we need to go into the forest?"
Aula gaped at the girl, she had thought that she was a wanton, but this girl was amazing. "You'd do it right in front of everyone?" Then she stopped. The Harper was going to be Kylara in front of an audience, of course she wouldn't mind screwing in front of other people. "I don't want to bother the other girls," Aula said and tugged Elena into the forest, her other hand already loosening the ties of her dress.
The Courtesan pulled Elena back into the forest until the fire was barely visible and stopped. The forest floor was covered with a soft covering of grass and leaves, soft enough for bare skin to lie on.
Elena looked around the small clearing they had arrived in. It didn't seem large enough to really dance in, but perhaps the dances Aula knew didn't require much room. "What type of dances did-?" She stopped in amazement. Aula had stripped naked and stood in front of her, the moonlight gleaming on her bare body. "What-?" she began and was stopped by the hungry press of Aula's lips to hers.
Elena staggered backwards until she bumped against a tree, Aula still clinging to her. Her eyes darted from side to side as she felt Aula slip her tongue into her mouth. She gasped when Aula took her hand and brought it between the Courtesan's thighs. Elena felt a warm, hot moisture there, exactly like the kind she had felt between her own legs a sevenday ago.
"Show me how well you've learned to sing," Aula said, her voice husky as she drew back and pressed down on Elena's shoulders.
Elena slipped out from underneath Aula's hands and cried out, "But you said you were going to teach me to dance!"
Aula shivered and pressed her naked body against Elena's. "Fine," she said, "I'll show you." With that she grabbed the waist of Elena's breeches and tugged down hard on them.
Elena gave a shriek of surprise as Aula tugged her breeches down to her ankles, leaving her drawers exposed in the night air. "What are you doing?" she yelled, trying to pull up her fallen breeches.
Aula gave an exasperated snort and crossed her arms under her breasts. "Trying to show you how to dance," she said. "I can't do that if you won't let me get to your quim."
"What are you talking about? You don't need to be naked to dance?"
"Maybe not fully but some parts have to be accessible-" Aula stopped and reddened. "You don't mean fuck, do you? You really thought we danced..." She trailed off, reddening further and snatched up her dress. "Shards!" she cursed as she pulled it over her head. "I suppose you really meant singing, didn't you?"
Elena had pulled up her breeches and stepped outside of Aula's reach. "Yes, singing. What did you think I meant?" she said cautiously.
"I thought you meant using your mouth to pleasure someone."
"Using your mouth?"
"Yes, I was going to put my mouth on you," Aula glanced meaningfully at Elenas crotch.
"Oh. Oh!" Elena's hand flew to her mouth as she blushed hotly. "That's-"
"What I do for a living, although usually to men."
Aula was too surprised to catch Elena as she fell into a faint and crumpled to the forest floor. "Elena?" she said quietly, kneeling by the Harper. "Shards."
"You have brought your men?" Cor' Eln asked Ordon. They were standing on the top of the road leading to the Hold proper.
"Yes, my lord," Ordon answered, fingering the hilt of his short sword.
"Good, bring them inside the to the great hall."
Cor' Eln grinned as Ordon yelled orders at his men below. They were a motley lot, made up of the most desperate and least moral of the holdless men wandering Pern. He watched as a pair of them reluctantly let a screaming woman escape their clutches as they started to march up the road. Yes, he thought, they would do perfectly.
"Damn Robinton, he should never have sent a girl like her on a mission like this," A'gon muttered.
"I'm sure he knew what he was doing. Robinton's a good man, but sometimes he has to send people to do difficult things," Aula said.
"It's unconscionable! Look at her! She's too pretty and too innocent to be a Courtesan! Those men will be all over her the moment she steps into the Hold. They'll-" He stopped, his fists clenching at the thought of what the guards might do to Elena.
"Too pretty?" Aula waved her hand at him, forestalling any more outbursts. "Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on her. The men won't get a chance at her. I'll keep her by my side at all times."
"Promise me that, promise me that you'll keep her safe and I'll do anything for you. Anything!" A'gon said urgently. He turned at the sound of Elena stirring. "Elena? Elena, are you all right?" he asked softly, gently placing a cool, damp cloth on the girl's forehead.
Elena's eyelids fluttered and she moaned softly. "What happened?" she mumbled.
"Aula said you fainted. How do you feel?"
Elena blushed and tried to sit up, only to be stopped by a gentle pressure from A'gon's hands. "Easy there, you don't want to faint again." Elena could see the worried faces of some of the Courtesans hovering over her. "I don't think she should go to Weoth Hold tomorrow," A'gon said to Aula.
Aula thought for a moment, weighing the need to discover why guards would attack a Harper and a dragonrider against the possible harm to the Harper girl. She looked over to A'gon's worried face and said, "You're right, I don't think she's in any shape to pose as a Courtesan."
Elena struggled upright. "I have to go, Master Robinton assigned me to this mission."
Aula looked at her straight in the eyes. "Elena, think of why you fainted. If you were pretending to be a Courtesan, you might have to do everything we talked about."
"I, I can do it, I know I can. I have to."
Aula looked unimpressed. "Just get me the score to Kylara's part," Elena said, climbing out of the bedroll she had been tucked into. "I'll show you."
Aula shrugged and picked up the pieces of paper from Elena's pack. "Would you like to go back in the woods?" she asked as she handed the paper to Elena. "It's more private there."
"No, I'll do it right here."
"As you wish."
Elena moved over to the fire and held the score in her hands, carefully rereading the lyrics and memorizing the music. "I'm ready," she said, handing the paper back to Aula. She took a deep breath as she looked around at the fourteen curious and two concerned faces.
I've always known
I've always said
that men will think
with just one thing,
She began to sing, her hips beginning to swing slowly back and forth to the music in her head.
So all my life, I learned how
to get them to do my bidding.
She tried to remember what Alden and Tais had done when they had danced.
I tease them
I promise them
I show them
She spun herself towards the gaping A'gon,
everything that they want to see!
Elena pressed herself against the dragonrider, sliding her hands over his chest before slinking away from him.
Anyplace, anytime, anyway
I make them mine
hands and knees
bent over chairs
anything that will make them mine!
Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Elena launched into the chorus,
One man, two men, three men or more
whatever will get, what I adore
give me power, give me men
I'll take it all
in any way
at your beck and call!"
She stopped panting for breath and feeling sweat running down her face. She rubbed at it with her sleeve and looked at the staring faces surrounding her. "There, if I can do that, I can pretend to be a Courtesan for a night. Excuse me, please." She walked then ran away from the fire to the concealment of the forest.
A'gon let out a long, shaky breath after Elena had fled into the forest. "Through Fall, Fog, and Fire, that was, that was-"
"Incredible," Aula grinned.
"I'd better see if she's all right."
Aula smirked at him. "I'm sure."
"What? She looked upset."
"And I'm sure you'll do your best to calm her down, maybe get her to lie down and loosen her clothing..."
A'gon did his best to ignore the ripple of laughter that spread around the clearing as he followed Elena.
Elena fell to her knees by a small stream that ran through the forest. She felt sick, dirty from doing that dance. By the Egg, she thought, what will A'gon think of me now? She felt a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach as she remembered the horrified amazement on his face when she had danced over to him. She pounded one fist against the grass, feeling tears leaking from her eyes. With wracking sob, she began to cry helplessly.
That was how A'gon found her, her hair falling around her face as she knelt with her face in her hands.
"Elena?" he said softly as he approached her.
"What? Oh, A'gon," she looked up at him, scrubbing her face with her sleeve, trying to hide the unmistakable fact that she had been crying.
"Are you all right? You ran off so quickly-" he said, kneeling next to her.
"I, yes, I'm fine." She had turned her head away from him to look at the stream.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
A'gon reached out and put his hand on her shoulder, he felt a shiver run through her body as he turned her to face him. "What's wrong, Elena? Is it pretending to be a Courtesan?"
"No, it's nothing. I-" She suddenly stopped and dropped her head. "It's everything!" she shouted, "Ardeck might die, men are trying to kill Harpers, and I have to be a Courtesan!" She began to weep again, her whole body shaking with the force of her sobs.
A'gon pulled her closer to him and let her rest her head on his shoulder. He gently stroked her hair while making soothing sounds in her ear. He could feel the damp of her tears on his shoulder along with the warm softness of her body against his. Gradually, her crying slowed and ceased until she was still. "Thank you," she said quietly.
"My pleasure," he said, still holding her, his voice unsteady. He could feel his heart beating faster at the smell of her hair.
"You must think I'm a horrible example of a Harper," she said a little later.
A'gon laughed and pulled back to look at her face. "Elena, I wish every Harper could be like you." He reached out and brushed a lock of hair away from her face and brushed his finger along her cheek. He could feel himself being lost in the infinite depths of her deep brown eyes, almost unconsciously he leaned forward and kissed her softly.
Elena stiffened for a moment at the touch of his lips, then relaxed and let herself be drawn into his arms again. She hesitantly wrapped her arms around his body, letting her breasts press against his chest. She moaned into his mouth as she felt his hands slide up her back to gently hold her head. Her heart began to pound against her ribs. Will he want to take me now? she wondered. Will I let him? A part of her said yes, urged her to let him take her by the stream, urged her to let him take her in every way that the song said. Another part of her was afraid, deeply afraid of taking that one, irreversible step, of crossing that final border. She began to tremble as the two parts of her fought and struggled within her.
"Elena," A'gon sighed as he began to kiss down to her neck, his hands running over her sides and seeming to set her aflame.
The couple froze when they heard a polite cough. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, but we were going to go over our strategy for tomorrow," Aula said, gazing longingly at Elena before she shook her head angrily. "We can do it later-"
"No!" Elena gasped. "We can do it now." She reluctantly tore herself from A'gon's arms, looking at him wistfully as she stood.
A'gon breathed heavily and said, "Yes, it's better that we do it-, I mean discuss strategy as soon as possible." He stood awkwardly and motioned for them to go ahead. He watched them until they had entered the forest and then took several deep breaths to calm himself before following them.
Continued in Part 5
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