Ally returned a few moments later, two or three cloth napkins in hand.Ally returned a few moments later, two or three cloth napkins in hand. We ate for a while, enjoying the sunlight that fell on the upper dining hall in daylight, watching the birds fly by. Once I spotted a dragon, flying low and fast just to the spin of us. I pointed it out. Ally's reponse was less than heartening. "Ally, you can't just mope all day," Aaden said. "What do you know?" she said. "Cedza and I were this close for two years, living here, working out of here. Even when I was on assignment, he was with me, and we always came home to Rhysh. Now he's closed down his residency in town and left Rhysh, left me. He burned my contract last night, and I don't know what to do." A small tear appeared in one eye. I reached out to brush it away. "Ally," I said quietly, fishing my notebook and pencil out of my jacket pocket, "Let me see if I can help you find someone. Not to replace Cedza- I know nothing will ever do that. But just someone to take your mind off of it. How do you like to be treated?" She smiled and said, "I appreciate it, but-" "No 'buts.' What do you like?" She pursed her lips for a second and said, "Okay. I'm a quick submissive, so I don't want someone who's looking for a fight." "Fair enough," I said, writing that down. "I like to be tied. I like to be made to serve. And I especially like to be slapped." "As in spanked?" "No, slapped. Across the face. Open hand." "How hard?" I asked. "As hard as you can manage," she said. "Aren't you afraid of losing a few teeth?" Aaden asked. "Not anymore," she said with a smile. The implications of that statement chilled me. I was suddenly thinking that this might be a bad idea; I doubted I had the resolution to hit a woman across the face with that much force. I decided to keep going anyway. "What about... watersports? Blood?" She made a face. "No, and no. A little blood during a whipping's okay- I've done that lots of times. But not as a goal." "Then I assume no piercing of either kind. |