Innocent by Aishling Morgan Read Free Book Online

that I had such an easy lot.’
    Cianna made to answer, but stopped, remembering Aeisla’s words on the state of slavery. In her mind she would still be free, and when Sulitea came for her she would be free in practise as well. Sulitea would come, she had no doubt, and Gaidrhed was right. It was better to wait in comfort than not, while if she was to be fucked regularly, better by some wealthy man of status than a minor who barely preferred her over his goats, let alone by goblins.
    â€˜I will come,’ she said reluctantly.
    â€˜A wise choice,’ he replied, ‘and an attitude which will save you much pain. You are a strange one, unlike any woman I have ever known. Here in Makea, the women are wise, accepting their status as the lesser sex. Are the men feeble then, in your land?’
    â€˜No,’ Cianna answered, ‘but we have more pride, men and women both. Nor do we fuck goats.’
    â€˜No? More strangeness! Now come, we must leave if we are to reach Ketawa before the best of the livestock is sold.’
    He returned to the lower level, preparing the horse as she dressed herself in a wrap of dirty cloth, all that she could find. She was feeling confused and praying that Sulitea would come for her before too long. When she was ready she climbed down, to find Gaidrhed with the horse saddled. As before, she climbed on behind him, and they set off, following the narrow stream that ran down from the heights.
    For hours they rode, through grassland set with rocks and straggling trees, passing the occasional longhouse of a design similar to Gaidrhed’s, and once the ruins of a keep. At noon they paused for lunch, and sex, Gaidrhed making Cianna kneel in the lee of a rock to mount her from behind, once more comparing the feeling of her tuppenny to that of a nanny goat’s.
    Shortly afterwards, the track dropped into the head of a larger valley, in which the landscape changed abruptly, lush leaved trees and dense shrubs replacing the grass and rock. There were more buildings as well, clusters of longhouses and others, some of two or even three stories. These became more frequent as they descended the valley, until both sides of what was now a broad road where lined with houses and she realised they had come to the town. At an open square Gaidrhed tethered the horse, continuing on foot. The street became narrower, the air closer and hotter, leaving Cianna uncomfortable, her skin prickling with sweat.
    Despite her feelings it was impossible not to be fascinated. Before they had walked a hundred paces they passed more goods than would be seen in her village in a lifetime, both mundane and beyond her comprehension. Great open pots held grain and dried beans, while vegetables and fruit hung in clumps from hooks or lay in trays. Other shops sold meat and fish, or pottery and ironware, also glass and silver finer than any she had seen. One held books, to an astonishing number, another brightly painted mannequins which she guessed to be children’s toys, a third harness and riding gear, a fourth strange metal machines.
    There were people too, hundreds of them, thronging the streets. Most had the same grey-black skin as Gaidrhed, these in gay clothing, wraps of brilliantly coloured cloth, gold and green and scarlet, with elaborate patterns of blue and black and brown, worn loose by the men, belted at the waist by the women. Others, with skin tanned or a rich dark brown, were clearly slaves, of both sexes. The men were in loin cloths, the women stark naked, most with either a tattoo at the centre of their chests or with a slim metal collar around their necks. Not that they seemed cowed, or even especially servile, often talking together or pausing to admire the displays in the windows of the shops. Cianna looked on in shock, amazed by how anybody could accept so degrading a status, and at how the women could tolerate nudity with no show of shame.
    Gaidrhed walked on, apparently oblivious to the