* * *

“Wake up!” Haria poked her boot into He's side. He gave a grunt but otherwise didn't react. Haria added a little power to her second poke. He grunted again, then blinked a few times before opening his eyes. There was an empty expression on his face while his mind tried to come to terms with things. At Haria's sight he finally seemed to recollect some memory. He tried to get up but found his hands restricted behind his back. For a moment He seemed to curl up on himself, then with a grunt he heaved himself into a kneeling position and looked around

Haria sat across from him in poking distance, reclining on a comfortable chair. He himself was on the floor, on a nest of straw. His hands were fettered behind his back and a chain ran from a collar around his neck down to the floor through a ring and then to an iron lock. The amount of chain on the floor suggested it was long enough for him to stand up and even move some distance.

He noticed the bandage around his belly. He also noticed that he was naked except for a leather loincloth which left little to the imagination and half his bum in the air. For a moment his dark complexion darkened even more under the onrush of a blush. Haria smiled a little at his discomfiture. He would get used to it.

“That was a close call.” She pointed to the bandage around his belly and then to a similar one on her arm. “You better take good care when close to Jaguarina. The woman definitely can bear a grudge. She tried to poison us both. With her usual ineptitude, thankfully.”

He's yaw muscles worked a moment then he said: “I think you owe me a few answers.”

Haria quickly got up, put her foot against He's chest and pushed him backwards. He fell heavily onto his chained hands. Haria pressed her foot onto He's throat and then said almost gently: “I owe you nothing. You have no right to ask, to demand, to require. But you owe me your respect, your service... and ultimately your life. The faster you understand that the better. You will only speak when I give you leave. And to ask that leave... kneel and kiss my boot.”

Haria withdrew her foot from He's throat and sat back down. She watched him roll over on his side and push himself back onto his knees. His yaws were working as he silently ground his teeth in an attempt to understand. Haria could see from the set of his shoulders and the stiffening of his neck, that he was not yet ready to accept the rules.

“I want to know...” He started. Everything else was cut short by the painful smack of Haria's riding crop across the side of He's thighs. He drew in his breath harshly but managed to bite down on an exclamation of pain while he scrambled to his feet.

Haria looked up at him. He wasn't tall for a man, but his slight stature and lithe body radiated a furious energy she found fascinating. But somewhere under all that apparent strength she felt something very vulnerable. He would need careful handling, like a rare opal. Sparkling with beauty... but brittle when roughly handled. And here he stood, chained, hardly bigger than her while sitting on her chair on a low dais, trying to intimidate her. She smiled almost gently.

“Go down on your knees. You are not permitted to stand while I am sitting.” He raised his chin a fraction. Haria sighed. “Must I really force you down? Stubborn, stiff necked... it will hurt only yourself. Will it be better for your pride if you were brought down to your knees like a dumb beast?”

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