2 comments/ 9493 views/ 10 favorites Wild Cat Ch. 01 By: Tsania The brush was laid on the desk beside Juniper. It's tarnished silver glinting in the twilight streaming through the door. A hand lay on her shoulder and turned her on the stool. Juniper gasped as she looked at herself in the polished silver of her mother's mirror. The luxurious amber hair was piled atop her head, elongating her fine bronzed neck. Her cousins who waited upon her had used coal to darken her eyelids, and crushed beetles to redden her lips. This night would be the most beautiful of all. She stood, feeling the fall of the fine blue muslin around her legs. Finally she had come of age to step up and fill her mother's footprints. Tonight was her ceremony, to finally take the reins her father, the Chief of all the nomadic clans, had kept for her since her mother's death sixteen years ago. It had been so long since she'd last visited the tomb of her mother, out in the sands of the Sahara. She'd last taken the trip five years ago, when she'd begun her courses and by custom needed permission from her mother to become a woman. Normally, it would be a quiet family affair with her mother, sisters and aunts, but seeing as she had no sisters and her mother was dead already, she had to make the journey into the desert with her father's younger sister and her three daughters to visit the tomb and pray for permission. Tonight, on the eve of her inauguration as the Clans Mistress, she would journey into the desert alone. Her aunt was now too ill to make the journey and the two cousins who had come were both heavily pregnant and were only able to get her ready. It was an unheard of situation that a girl as young as her would journey alone, but this was the capital of their land, nowhere was safer than here. Her three older brothers would walk her to the edge of the desert, but then no further. The Sand Lands belonged to women and they were not permitted to enter. Juniper's mind came back to the present as her father pushed aside the tent door and strode in, his men-at-arms following closely behind. He, too, was dressed in his finest clothing, knowing in a few short hours when she returned before midnight, he would be required to put all the woes of his realm upon her shoulders. She looked so young and so frail. But she must go to the desert; she must become her mother's daughter and fulfil her destiny. He placed his hands on her shoulders and sighed. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. Then he put his hand inside his coat and pulled out a small blue-jewelled pin, pushing it into Juniper's curls. "This was hers. I gave it to her under the stars on the night we first lay together. You are so beautiful, I didn't think a beauty could eclipse hers, but you managed it. You do her proud." Tears came to Juniper's eyes as she fell into her father's strong arms, worn muscular after many years of being a warrior. They were sheep-people, true. But they knew how to defend themselves, and their property. The horn in the distance sounded the sunset, she stepped out of the tent. All around her, her people stood in fealty. They did not bend their knee yet, but they knew it would be the last time they looked upon her face as a child. Juniper saw tears in the eyes of the women who had raised her, and a few of the men too, particularly Urik, a pale-skinned man from the north who had taught her how to fight and use a sword. Finally her eyes rested on her three proud brothers, standing together in a small group behind others. They all resembles her father in build, tall and muscular, though while the eldest two were of his colouring, dark skin and dark hair, the third one was like her, skin browned by the sun and hair as red as flames. They represented the three most important aspect of nomadic life. The eldest was Hucbet, a Warrior like their father, he lead the Chief's guard, the most powerful force in their society. The second, Zanet, was a successful shepherd, though his herds were currently nearer the Nile at this time of year. The third was closest to Juniper, Julep. He'd become an ambassador to another Chiefdom, and married one of the Chief's daughters. She stood next to him now, also heavy with child. As Juniper approached, the crowd spilt. When she got to her brothers they were sedate at first, then Hucbet gathered her into a forceful, crushing hug. "We'll get you there safely, little sister." He went to ruffle her hair, then saw the pin and lightly touched that instead, with a smile. "You look just like her." He turned away, knowing the rest would follow. The people of the encampment followed until its limits, then it was just the four of them. They set out to the west, in the direction of the newly-set sun to the desert, into the dryness. Hucbet lead the way, while Julep and Zanet flanked her. She drew a candle from her robes, a crude thing of rolled beeswax, herbs and lavender and touched it to Hucbet's leading torch. It was the only light she was permitted when travelling into the spirit world. Juniper's brothers stopped at the posts marking the border between the grasslands and the desert. This was as far as they were permitted to go. Her heart rose a little when she saw that the women of the village had wound two of the posts with sweet flowering jasmine, to guide her back from the land of the dead. She kissed and held each of her brothers in turn, thanking them. Then she turned and sighed, taking her first step into the desert. Instantly she felt the caresses of the souls brush her ankles, hands and hair, but she didn't allow herself to be afraid. ----------------- She clutched the post, sobbing and breathing hard. Everything was muddled in her head. She pushed her face into the sweet, pale blossoms. The light was wrong; it was too bright. She must have been with her mother for much longer than intended. She was supposed to welcome the dawn of her eighteenth birthday as a monarch. It seemed dawn had already come. Juniper sobbed again and looked around more clearly, her mind clearing of the fug caused by the heavy herbs in the candle. Her brothers should be here to welcome her, but they were absent. The light she had thought was the sun rising did not warm the sky, but instead glowed ominously from behind the hill. Stumbling forward, she scrambled up the gorse-covered dune. At the apex she stood, the wind whipping the skirts around her legs and the candle tumbled from her grip to be extinguished in the dust at her feet. Before her, she looked upon chaos. The tents and caravans her people resided in were either ablaze or smouldering, and no-one was attempting to put them out. Dirty smoke rose above the ruined site and screams -- women's screams --echoed in the distance. As Juniper walked slowly between the fresh ruins, she was oblivious to the tears which tracked clear paths through the soot on her face. She felt disconnected, as if she hadn't truly returned to the living world with her body, only her soul. As she approached the great fire where her inauguration ceremony would begin, she saw bodies of her compatriots slaughtered, limbs hacked away, resting in pools of blood. By the great fire, her father rest, as if asleep in his chair. The chair this day she would take as her own. His head was slumped forward, as it did when he'd taken too much wine. She watched for a moment, praying for his chest to rise in a snore, but she knew it couldn't. In her shock, she noted the impossibility of her breathing as four arrows were lodged in his chest, pinning him to the simple ash-wood chair. Juniper sprang forward in attempt to rouse him. It was this wailing that caught the attention of the attackers. They stood out of the glow of the ruined fire, their scarred leather armour streaked with blood. They paused for a moment, their feet crunching the last of the scattered embers before moving in. Juniper didn't resist much as they caught her, she was in too much shock to notice they weren't friends. Only when they led her to the outskirts of the encampment where she saw three cattle cages did she wake out of her stupor. Inside each cage were people she knew. In the closest one she caught the eye of her cousin, heavily pregnant and bleeding from a large wound in her temple. Juniper yanked her elbow from the grip of the man who held her and rammed it into his face before her had time to react. He reeled away, clutching his nose as the blood poured between his fingers. His yelp caught the attention of two other men. Juniper crouched low, as she'd been taught, and searched in the dry ground for something she could use. Her fingers closed over a thin, long stick which was barely visible in the faux-daylight of the burning village a little distance away. She raised the end, and when she measured the man on the right of the newest attackers was within range, she flicked it upward with force, aiming for his eyes. It caught him across the cheek and brow and he stumbled back, blinded by the blood from the wound she's inflicted. The second man looked shocked, momentarily confused about how she'd injured his colleague. In his moment of confusion, she stepped closer, within his range of attack, and brought the heel of her free hand up under his chin, snapping his head back. She slipped the dagger at his side from the sheath and flicked the thin switch up to strike him across the neck. It wasn't enough to stop him, however. As she danced back, he came forward again, this time more wary of her movements. She relaxed her body, seeming surrender, which surprised him, causing him to stand slightly straighter. Juniper took a deep breath and watched as he moved closer again, still cautious. He reached for her arms, intending to restrain her again, when she brought her hands upward, holding the handle of the dagger in one hand and pushing it with her other fist. It travelled under his ribs and into his stomach. He crumpled in front of her, pushing the blade even deeper, tilting his weight on to her. He gargled horribly in her ear, and she turned away from the noise. The hilt of the dagger became slippery as blood poured from the rent in his abdomen, so she released it. The hay men Orik had her kill never bled. Juniper looked up, hoping that her escape was certain, but she realised she was surrounded by more men, including the two she had injured previously. With no weapon and the blood of a man staining her hands and coronation dress, she hung her head, knowing fighting would be pointless now. Wild Cat Ch. 02 Author's Note: This is not a stroke story, so I'm sorry if that's what you expect. Later in the narrative I will have sexual activity, but non-consent is something that disgusts me, so I refuse to write about it. Also, this isn't intended to be historically accurate in anyway, but it is set in Ancient Egypt before the North and South joined. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy it. ----------------------- Juniper's hand caressed her cousin's hair mindlessly to the rhythm of the rocking cart. The three carts had rested at dawn and they were given water, but it hadn't been enough. Juniper had managed to keep alert for a while, but every now and then she nodded off. The deep breathing of her cousin was both reassuring and worrying. Juniper's once-blue dress was now stained with blood and dirt, and rent in several places where the men had dragged her to the cart. They had no shelter inside the cage, and dawn had been hours ago. Now the six women and three children lay in a tumbled heap on the floor of the cart. They were headed north, which Juniper could tell easily. She worried for her cousin, she hadn't woken for the water and the wound on her temple had ceased seeping blood. She still breathed, but she was unaware of anything. They couldn't rouse her. The babe inside still moved, Juniper could see it through the thin cloth of her dress. She looked across at the other two carts, one ahead and one behind. They also contained women and children, mainly female. In all she only could see about thirty captive from the raid. She wondered where the men were, where her brother's guard were and why they hadn't protected her father. Anger boiled up inside her, but she quelled it quickly, knowing she couldn't afford to expel her energy right now. She resumed the stroking of her cousin's hair. At midday the men stopped, threw blankets over the tops of the cart, affording them little reprieve from the worst of the sun's heat, and then lay down beneath the carts to sleep. There were guards still prowling and the dogs occasionally leapt at the cages if a limb was exposed through the bars. After the worst of the heat had passed, they woke and readied themselves to move off. This time there seemed to be more commotion. The men shouted to each other, and some of the women from the carts were shifted to others. Juniper's cousin was slapped into consciousness and dragged to the third cart. Three girls in their early womanhood were thrust into the cart in her cousin's place. They cowered in the back, while Juniper growled at the man who had brought them. She watched as her cousin settled blindly among some older women. Then the third cart moved off, heading towards the east, where the land was more fallow and there were farms all year round. As the cart jerked into movement, Juniper knew if she had enough moisture in her body she would cry. They slept a little in the afternoon, and the carts' progress north was slower than before due to the afternoon heat. As dusk approached, Juniper saw a mirage on the horizon. It was moon rise before they came to the city. Juniper stared in fascination at the sights, she'd never seen houses made from stone. The young girls huddled together and hid their faces at the people teeming on the streets. Juniper watched old men courting young girls who were lewd in their actions. She saw old women begging on the streets or selling rags and scraps of metal for coins. They turned into a large courtyard, which was almost empty save a few old mangy cats padding through the darkness. Around the edges Juniper could see wooden fences, sectioning off small areas. She had no idea what this place might be. The men hitched up the carts and threw the blankets over them, again crawling between the wheels to sleep. Dawn rose with a haze of human stench hanging over the squat sandstone buildings. The two carts were given plenty of water to drink, and then to wash themselves lightly, before being backed into a pen. The men seemed to be bargaining with a fat man about something, when one of them gestured to Juniper. The man cast her a sly look and nodded to one of the raiders. He opened the rear cart, advancing in slowly as Juniper backed away snarling. The man made a grab for her but she moved out of the way, almost hitting one of blades which had been thrust into the cart to deter the others from aiding her. She felt the man's hand close around the top of her arm and she twisted to release his grip, but he dragged her from the cage. Once they were stood before the fat man she stopped struggling and shrank back from his touch. The raiders spoke in a language Juniper had never heard and the man nodded. "You are fire demon?" He said with a heavy accent. She snarled and snapped her teeth, but turned her face from him. He muttered to one of the men, who answered encouragingly. Their attention turned back to her. "You understand this tongue, yes? Your father was very wily to bed a fire demoness and have her produce a child. Such a beautiful child." He attempted to hold her chin, but she yanked her face away. "I know who will pay a high price for you." He nodded to the men, who released her into the grips of the fat man's guards. Juniper let out a blood curdling scream as men with dark skin hauled her away, picking her up off her feet. She watched as the other women in the cart reached out for her and called her name. She tore at the grip of the men who held her, but only received a shake in return. She was thrown into a small room which smelt of earth and had no light. The man slammed the door behind her, and she threw herself against it, pounding it with her fists and feet. When her throat was ragged with screaming and her hand bloodied from the rough wooden door, she slid into a corner and watched the light increase as the sun rose. Time didn't seem to pass, muffled noise rose to an incomprehensible murmur outside, yet she couldn't make out any individual sounds. There was a crowd, which increased as the day wore on. Finally in mid-morning the door opened. Juniper shuffled back into the furthest corner to fool them into thinking she wasn't there. Three women stood in the doorway, clothed in black from head to toe. Juniper could only see their eyes. They cooed softly as they slowly approached Juniper. One held up a lantern and set it into a recess in the wall, sending soft light over the small room. They shut the door behind them, and Juniper heard a bar being shifted over it. The shortest woman set down a bucket of sweet smelling water, and produced a brush from her dress. The one who had the lantern also had a white coarse linen dress over her arm. The third, the tallest, approached Juniper softly with her arms outstretched, as if Juniper was a dangerous dog they were trying to gain the trust of. "I am Fatima, and this is Galla and Leah." She murmured, dropping to her knees in the damp mud floor. "What is your name?" Juniper's eyes darted from one woman to the next. With a gesture from Fatima, the other two also dropped to their knees. "I am named Juniper." Fatima inclined her head slightly. "Where am I? Where are my family?" "They have likely already been sold-" "Sold?" Juniper exclaimed. "Yes, sold. Fresh slaves rarely stay long here, as they are the hardiest and have not yet developed bad habits from previous owners." Juniper was silent as she attempted to process this information. She had guessed it already, but to have it confirmed broke her heart. "We are here to get you ready, you are to be sold to the most high of customers." "No, I won't let you sell me." Juniper's chin jutted out in defiance and she readied herself to fight. "Now then, if you do that was will have to strip and bind you, and you will go out in front of the crowd in nothing but what you were born with. Although baring your fair body may get my master a better price." Fatima tilted her head in question. Juniper huddled into herself and thought it over. "I won't fight you then. May I wash my hair?" Juniper saw Fatima's eyes smile behind her veil. "We shall do that for you, but first we must get you out of that horrible dress." They worked together to undo the ties of the once-regal dress and the last of the pins from her hair. The copper tresses fell around her face in coarse, tangled locks. When she was completely nude, they poured some of the cool water over her, crushing lavender sprigs into her hair. Juniper began to cry as Leah held up the ruined dress and tutted. "It was my coronation dress." The tears came freely as she sobbed. The women shared a look as they busied themselves with rough sponges on Juniper's skin. "Your coronation?" Fatima challenged. Juniper nodded mournfully. "You are a princess?" Juniper nodded again and hiccupped, allowing the women to finish their ablutions. Her hair was rung out as best they could and then brushed with the horse-hair brush Juniper had seen. Soon it feel to her waist, glimmering in the lantern light. The linen dress was slipped over her and the women stood back to admire their work. Juniper didn't see their faces, nor did she understand their words as they spoke in their own language to one another. She had ceased to care. They knocked twice on the door, and it was opened outwards. They exchanged a few words with the guard outside, who disappeared. "Come forward, Juniper. They're almost ready for you." Fatima gestured to the young girl, and wiped the tears from her face away. "Imagine it's your coronation, you're going to your throne and these are your people. You are a princess, remember, so act like one." The guard returned, reaching to grab her arm. Juniper just looked at him with disdain, and whatever he saw in her eyes made him falter. She stepped forward into the sun, holding her head high. The linen dress only came to her mid-thigh, exposing all her leg, but it was no worse than what she wore to ride horses. Her hair gleamed in the high sun, and the glare blinded her at first but as her eyes grew accustomed, she saw where she had to go. Without bonds or someone to guide her, she walked with pride and dignity to the plinth. As she came into the arena in the centre of the crowd, a hush fell over the courtyard. Juniper looked half-heartedly for faces she knew, wanting to see them, yet knowing if she did so, she would lose her facade. The guard trailing at her shoulder motioned for her to walk once around the yard, and she did so with grace, always keeping her head high. The heat soon dried her thick hair, revealing the true brightness. Once she'd made her turn around the yard, she approached the stairs to the platform. The plinth was high enough that she could see out to the other side of the yard, beyond all the people milling around. She recognised the three girls who had been in the cattle cart with her instantly. They were bound around the wrists and necks, tied to each other and then to the rear of a cart. As she watched, the cart pulled away, the new owner having paid for his newest addition to the household. Juniper shut her eyes, the image Fatima had created for her crumbled away as she heard the roar of the crowd begin bidding for her. Wild Cat Ch. 03 It was always northwards they travelled, putting endless days between Juniper and her family members. The chains around her wrists were made of the finest silver, and judging by the delicate patterns of leaves around the key holes, she guessed they were more for display then to actually prevent her escape. The four guards constantly flanking her would see to that. Juniper sat alone inside a covered cart. She could see vague figures moving beyond the muslin and wooden mesh walls. There was a pleasant breeze now they'd left the city, which picked at the red robe draped around her. Once a price had been settled on her, she'd been clothed in fine cotton and placed inside this hand-held cart. She could see relatively well through the walls, but she was certain she could not be seen. The four guards were topless, but had brass bracers on. When one had handed her water and bread, she'd noticed a similar pattern etched on their bracers as was on her cuffs. She guessed they also were the property of whomever now owned her. The thought made her stomach sink until she had to hang her head. The cart had been pulled in turn by the men, but once they were out of the city, a donkey had been hitched between the poles; a docile, even-tempered thing which flicked its ears each time Juniper cooed at it. They had met up with others, men and women who carried goods on carts, until they stretched in a train of four carts, not including Juniper's, and around thirty adults and a few children milling around. Just before midday Juniper felt them come to a rest, and her donkey was patted and given water. There was a knock on the opening of her little cart, in surprise she called out to enter. "We have stopped to rest for a bit and relieve ourselves. You are welcome to move around until we move again, though you will be under supervision at all times." The voice was even and almost without accent in her own tongue. She pushed on the door and indeed found it unlocked. The guard who had called through the mesh stood back and quickly averted his eyes. "You mustn't wear just that, you must wear at least one of the robes." She had emerged in just the rough white shift given to her by the women in the market. Juniper turned and plucked out the thinnest robe from the tangle of material and swung it around her, fastening it at her waist. It came to just beneath her knee and was a faded vermillion. The guard nodded his approval and moved away. Juniper first went to the front of the cart and made acquaintance with the donkey. She made sure it was pampered with praise and ear-scratching before moving on. After discretely relieving herself, she walked from one end of the caravan to the other, silently nodding to those who acknowledged her. Eventually the guard came to fetch her, gave her bread and water and refastened the chain back to the floor of her cart, shutting her into a dim twilight. "We will walk for a few more hours, and then we will rest while the worst of the heat passes. Although the land we are now going into is lush farmland, we intend to protect you for our master. If you attempt to escape, we cannot guarantee those who you encounter would also." The guard said chillingly as the donkey was coaxed into movement once more. ------ Around dusk the guard rubbed the donkey's head and called out to the cart ahead. A reply was given just as Juniper felt the cart slow. "Look to the east, slave girl." The guard called over his shoulder. Juniper did so, taking a few moments to understand what she saw. It was a palace, she was sure. Oil fire cast an orange glow against white walls decorated with dark lines. The caravan turned to the east and Juniper saw that the road up to the building was lined with fine palm trees, swaying gently in the late night breeze. As they approached the line of pillars, servants scurried out to aid those unloading the carts. Rolls of materials were pulled in, and sacks of what Juniper assumed were seeds. Once the other carts were emptied and the people had disbanded to bed, her four guards lifted her cart from the wheels on to their shoulders, carrying her gracefully inside. She peered through the gaps in the wooden trellis at the murals of battles fought, painted in finite detail on the walls. The men moved through to a space which was devoid of decoration, and the walls in some places were crumbling with age. Juniper assumed this was the servant's and slave's place. They put her down, the rocking of the cart making her stomach lurch, then vacated the area. For a few moments she was entirely alone in the room. Finally she heard some quiet noise as the curtains obscuring the far wall seemed to move of their own accord. Three figures stepped forward into the circle of light thrown out by the central fire. They were clothed in dark material also, only their hands were visible beneath the heavy robes. Opening the cart and unclasping Juniper's chains, they motioned for her to get out. The robes were removed in silence until she again was in the white shift. The women dragged out a cool reed bath filled with sweet water and gestured for Juniper to step into it. They didn't insist on her removing the shift, so she didn't, but it was soon evident she couldn't cleanse the sand from her skin with it still on. She peeled the now-damp material as the women swabbed her thoroughly, even dunking her hair into the water and scrubbing it. Once they were satisfied with their ablutions, they stood back, gesturing for her to move forward. They lay a fine muslin robe around her shoulders and moved behind the heavy curtains Juniper had first thought they were part of. In the next room the women shed their dark robes and Juniper was treated to three smiling faces. Two were dark haired and the third was blonde and young. She was short and a little plump, with rose-red lips and fair unblemished skin. The youngest of the dark haired women was simply beautiful, her fair features were that of the northern tribes, her hair fell straight to her waist. The eldest of the three had he hair piled atop her head. She had once been a great beauty, Juniper could see, and time had been kind to her. Now she was older she had a regal air and elegant features. She opened her arms in a welcoming gesture to Juniper. "Welcome to our home. This is the harem of our Master the Lord Chamberlain Akmahnanet, who is bountiful in his praise. He likes beautiful, exotic concubines so his men have chosen well in you. His harem is home to sixty women, and here we may be ourselves, we may learn whatever we wish, and dress as we please. There is a delicate hierarchy which I'm sure you will come to understand with time, and until then we hope you enjoy it here. We are your new family." The speech brought smiles and giggles from the two younger girls. Juniper moved forward into the sharp turn which masked the room beyond. She took a step back when she saw what lay there. A huge room seemed to be filled with women in various states of undress, lounging around eating grapes and sat on large pillow and silk cushions. In the centre a few youthful women frolicked in a shallow pool which bubbled with a fountain. On the walls hung curtains embroidered with images of men and women at play, writhing together naked. In some there was more than one woman, but in each depiction there was only one man, the same man. The women who had accompanied her moved forward into the room, brushing her shoulders as they passed. The blonde stopped to give Juniper a little shoved into the room. "My name is Lace, and this is my good friend Alyssa. We'll show you around." Juniper was guided around by these two beauties and introduced to countless women of many ages and races. Juniper's new master, it seemed, had a wide taste in women. Finally they stopped in front of some women learning to dance. The lead was teaching them how to roll their hips sensually without moving their shoulders. It wasn't going well, and the teacher was getting more and more frustrated as her six nonplussed pupils kept failing. "You do it with your feet, not just with your hips." Juniper said without thinking. The class turned to look at the new red head. The leader was less than impressed. "What would you know? I learned this from the best concubines in the King's Palace, who learned it directly from the women of the Southern Tribes." The woman crossed her arms over her ample chest. Her eyes were wide set and almond-shaped, her hair was a luxurious deep brown. "I'm a Princess of the Southern Tribes, and it's a fertility dance, not a seduction." Juniper's chin went a little higher in defiance of the woman's tone. "You use your feet." "Well, if you think you can do any better, why don't you show us, Princess?" The woman threw Juniper a belt with small silver coins on, which jingled prettily each time it moved. Lace quickly brought Juniper a green and blue sheath dress which fell to her knees. It wasn't ideal, but in the circumstances it would have to do. Juniper tied the belt loosely on her hips and moved experimentally. Finally satisfied with the results, she nodded to the girl with the drums, who began a slow, sonorous beat. Instantly juniper felt the sand of her home under her feet, she thought of her cousin, concussed and heavily pregnant somewhere, her brothers, lost or worse in the wild and then finally of her father, his body pinned to the chair as his life blood extinguished the embers at his feet. She felt the force of her situation course through her as she moved her body, her eyes tightly shut. The beat quickened and her feet followed it. She felt her body move in the wake of her heart beating. Her arms rose over her head, she swayed with the rhythm, twisting out her misery. The beat still climbed and she shifted over the floor. She thought of her cousin's labour and poured all her hope into that image, praying for the child to live and be healthy, for her cousin to recover. Only the beat existed in Juniper's world. She felt it through the soles of her feet, each pounding on the drum shot a bolt of movement into her heart. Until it ceased. The room was silent. Juniper held her form, her breath coming fast and heavy. The sheath dress clung to her in the evening heat. She was aware of tears tracking down her cheeks and the room seemed to watch her. Or not her, but something close to her. She turned to her side to see an older man staring at her with a shrewd look on his face. He had a grey moustache which tapered into fine points on his cheeks. His hands were entwined behind his back and he stopped ever so slightly for this position. "You are the new one, yes?" He said pointedly. Juniper nodded without looking around her. "I already have plans for you. Rest for now, you will travel again in a week." He turned on his heel and paced out of the room silently. After a few moments Juniper felt the room relax back into its norm and Lace drew up to Juniper's elbow. "That was our master, you shouldn't disobey him. He seemed to like you though. Come on!" Lace was already tugging at Juniper's arm. "I have more to show you."