could capture someone like you?"
"Fair question," Medb said in a tight voice. "I was careless. I did not believe it was possible for anyone to get the better of me by physical or magical means, but I did not consider the possibility that someone could outsmart me." She sighed then, as if finally conceding that prospect to herself.
In a more even voice she continued: "I was in a tavern, asking questions about you. I had by then been in the city for a week, trying to track you down, and I had just learned that you had disappeared. I also heard through one of my companions that the slavers in the city had acquired a valuable new commodity at around the same time. It seemed reasonable that they were referring to you, so I came up with a plan. It was my intention to draw attention to myself, in the hope that an informant might turn on the slavers for a hefty reward and lead me to them. Alternatively, they might try to silence me, which would allow me to capture one of them. In either event, it would then be a simple matter for me to persuade someone to tell me where you were being held, so I could rescue you."
Medb sighed again. "My plan worked better than I had hoped. A merchant approached me and offered to buy me a drink. He pretended he wanted to negotiate for my services as his bedmate, but when we were alone he claimed to know of the slavers and their activities. The last thing I remember was feeling drowsy during our conversation, then I awoke in the slave pit." Grimacing, she added, "He must have drugged me somehow. I would like to find out what he used; normally that kind of thing cannot affect me."
"I'm sorry you got involved in this."
The sincere regret in the girl's voice caught Medb off guard. "How did you come to be taken?" she asked.
Sahr made a disgusted face. "By being stupid," she replied in an angry tone, though at herself, not Medb.
Medb smiled, feeling better about her own foolishness having a kindred spirit. "How so?" she inquired.
"My father had arranged my marriage to the son of the Khalifah of Rayy, a rival city, to cement an alliance. I had no desire to marry him, so I ran away to avoid it. I fled here, to obtain passage to Celephais, but I was betrayed to the slavers."
"Probably in the same manner I was," Medb said. Then she asked, "What was wrong with the prince?"
"Nothing I know of. I was told he was young, strong, brave, and very handsome."
"Sounds like he would make a fine husband."
"But that's just the point; I know nothing about him. I had never met him; I wouldn't meet him until the betrothal ceremony. I have no idea what kind of a man he really is."
"Do you believe your family would lie to you?"
"No, not exactly, but my father wants this marriage so badly he could have instructed the Khalifah's ambassadors to exaggerate the Prince's virtues."
"Then I do not see the problem. No man ever lives up to his reputation. Provided he is not the complete opposite of his description, you should have few regrets."
"But I don't love him."
"Why should that matter? I did not love any of the men I married; to me, they were simply possessions, meant to increase my wealth and power. But I did lust after each and every one, and I enjoyed my nights with them immensely. Could you enjoy him as well?"
"Well, yes, I suppose, if he's everything he's suppose to be." Then she gave her head a furious shake. "But that's not the issue!" she spat.
"Then explain what is."
"I resented being treated like chattel, to be gifted to whomever could offer my father the best advantage. I mean, he didn't even ask me, he just told me, as if my feelings didn't matter at all. I might have been willing, if the prince came and made the offer myself, but to simply be told I now belong to some stranger, like I was a slave bought and paid for, was unbearable."
Now that made sense, Medb thought. Aloud she said, "I see your point. Where I come from, women may marry whom they choose, and they cannot be forced to marry against their will, not even by their fathers. They also set the conditions for the betrothal and they set the bride-price that the men had to pay."
"Then...you understand!" Sahr said, at once astonished and hopeful.
"Yes, but I also understand that other cultures have different customs, so while I can sympathize with your plight, I have no right to usurp your father's authority in this matter."
"I suppose he paid you well for your service," she countered in a bitter voice.
"Yes, but I received only a third of my fee. I will receive the rest when I deliver you safely."
Sahr brightened as if sensing an opportunity. "What if I were to pay you triple what he owes you to escort me to Celephaïs instead?"
Medb grunted, but with a humorous tone. "With what?"
Eager, she replied, "I brought jewelry with me --"
"Which would have been taken from you when you were captured."
"Only a few samples. The rest is in safekeeping with friends."
"And if it was these 'friends' that betrayed you?"
"Then I have more friends in Celephaïs who will reward you handsomely for bringing me to them," she pressed.
But Medb shook her head. "I pledged my word to your father, and I never break my vows. Besides, running away will not solve your problems."
"Even when those problems are unsolvable otherwise?" she asked in a dejected manner.
"An arranged marriage is hardly an insurmountable problem; there are always options."
"But I did not run away because of that."
"You gave me the impression you didn't want this marriage, that you were trying to avoid it."
"I am, but not because of my resentment. I would have gone through with it anyways."
"Then I do not understand what the problem really is."
Sahr looked away, but before she did Medb could see her face twisting as she debated with herself over what to say. Finally, she said, "I'm in love with someone else."
"I still fail to see the problem."
"I cannot marry the Prince if I love another man!"
"What difference does that make? Take him as a lover; your marriage should be no bar, provided you are discrete. I always had at least one man in the shadow of another, even when I was married, but I made sure all my men were free of jealousy."
"Our religion forbids adultery."
"Would your husband have a harem?"
"He is permitted up to a dozen concubines."
"Then I fail to see why you would not be permitted to have a lover or two, if you wanted them. Do you think this prince would object?"
"I don't know. But wouldn't any man?"
"If you do not object to sharing him with other women, why should he object to sharing you with another man, as long as he knows your children are his?"
"It doesn't matter whether I approve or not. Our culture --"
"Damnaigh! Culture is irrelevant. What is important is having the maturity to handle your marriage well, to deal with your spouse on equal terms, to be willing to compromise as needed, and to work together for your common good. Above all, it means respecting each other and making an honest effort at cooperating."
"Well, did any of your husbands resent you taking lovers?"
Medb realized she was trying to change the subject, but she did not care. "My first did, though truth be told, I believe he was more offended by the women I slept with."
Sahr shot her a shocked look. "You sleep with women as well as men? Do you prefer women over men?"
Medb couldn't help laughing; in fact, she laughed so loud the sound of it echoed throughout the tunnel, back and forth several times before it died away. "Such a question would curdle before me, my dear. No, no, I enjoy the company of men immensely. But I have also had my share of women. Not as many as the men I have had, but more than most men themselves would have."
Medb glanced sidelong at Sahr. She noticed the princess examining her closely with a worried look on her face. Divining her thoughts, she remarked in a casual tone, "You need have no concern; you are too young for me."
Blushing, Sahr replied, "I.
..wasn't thinking that --"
"But of course you were," Medb cut her off, "and were you perhaps five or so years more mature, I would gladly take you to my bed. But I do not focáil children, and to me you are still just a child. Besides, I was commissioned to return you to your father, and it would be unprofessional of me to take advantage of you. Which reminds me: you still have not told me the truth. Everything you have said up until now can explain your reluctance to marry the prince, but it cannot explain why you ran away. What is the truth?"
"My lover and I have already consummated our affair."
"So?"
"So, I'm no longer a virgin."
"So?" Medb repeated in an impatient tone.
"By tradition, the men of the Khalifah's family must marry virgins. My father assured him I was still unspoiled. Once he finds out, he will cancel the marriage and the alliance, and I will be ostracized by my family."
"Who will tell him? You? Your lover? Does anyone else know? Surely you can bribe them to stay silent."
"You don't understand. He'll find out the first time the Prince and I make love --"
"At which time it will be too late. Though I doubt the prince would say anything, since he would be shamed as well."
"No, no, no. Part of the betrothal ceremony involves us spending the night together, while our fathers witness the act from behind a screen. The prince will claim my maidenhead, and the blood on the sheets will prove my purity."
"Ach, you do have a problem, my dear."
"That's what I've been trying to explain!"
Nettled, Medb said, "And I would have understood sooner had you been forthright from the beginning."
Sahr sighed. "You're right, of course."