Closed Old Acquaintances (Valerius)

[Tanjun Vorot]

The little girl couldn't help but gaze around the kitchen. It was so clean and the tools looked so new! It wasn't anything like hers. Hers was rather dirty, her tools looked dirty, but well-used. Well... she was trying to improve her cooking, though horribly failing at that. She managed to even burn a watery soup! It was no surprise that her cooking pans had always been black. Right now she didn't even have any anymore... because of money issues. And then, after she sat at the table, she saw this delicious food in front of her. She immediately started on the vegetables. Even though she hated them, it was best to get it over with and then move onto the more delicious stuff. Yet she tried, really tried hard, to eat decent. She knew that it was still probably looking really bad in the eyes of Valerius and she had to blush. She didn't want him to get a bad opinion of her, for some reason. After she was done with the soup, and wanted to start on the meat but waited, she heard him say that she should wear a WHAT!? A dress!? Wha... why a dress of all things! She hated those. Skirts were ok, but a friggin' dress!? No way, no way, NO WAY. "No, I ain't wearing some petching dress. I wont do it, no matter what!", she blurted out defiantly. Puffing her cheeks she turned away from him, pouting. Why was he so mean to her? What had she done wrong? Didn't she eat decent enough, or was it something else? Everything else he had asked, was perfectly reasonable, but that dress.... why a dress of all things! Couldn't it just be some regular clothing? After all.... that's what suited her best. Especially when they were slightly intimidating. Those clothes were the best. Just like her black corset. As if to set more pressure to Valerius, she even crossed her arms in front of her.... rather obviously. No matter what he'd say, she would not wear a dress.

[Valerius Nitrozian]

As Miss Vorot sat down at the table, Valerius wondered whether he should have put something on her chair so that she didn’t make it dirty. But then again, he could just order a slave to clean it – and to throw Miss Vorot’s dirty clothes away after she had had a bath. He doubted that anybody could claim them and repair them. „Is the food to your liking?“ he asked her as she started eating, although he didn’t sound as if he really cared. She had, he observed, bad table manners, but he had not expected anything else considering the state she was in. To his relief her manners were at least slightly better than that of one of the Kelvic he dealt with at the Kelvic Research Institution though. „Eat slowly, Miss Vorot“, he told her and made a face. „And chew the food thoroughly. If you eat quickly, you will get hungry again much sooner, and your stomach will start to hurt.“ As she refused to wear a dress and started to pout, the Nitrozian looked at her incredulously. What was wrong with her? Was she suffering from brain damage? „A lot of women wear dresses, Mis Vorot“, he coldly informed her. „Even some men do. Priests and mages often wear robes. What would you rather look like? A lady, somebody of power and influence or a beggar that lives on the streets? Don’t you want to have a better life?“ He paused for a moment and looked at her, thinking, before he asked, „What would you do for me if I gave you different clothes, Miss Vorot, appropriately feminine ones?“

[Tanjun Vorot]

Tanjun felt her stomach rumble a little again. Perhaps it wouldn't be a good idea to leave the meat standing. Especially since it looked so delicious. She did listen to Valerius' advice though and ate a little slower. She tried to savor the food now, though old habits die hard. Her eating would still look she was eating fast. "This is so delicious!", she thought to herself, unable to say it out loud because of a full mouth. Valerius explained her that a dress made her look like someone of wealth and power. Right... as if she wanted that. She just wanted enough money to pay for food and just have fun. "I don't mind what I look like, as long as I can have fun, mister Nitrozian.", she said, "Besides, dresses don't fit me anyway." She had calmed down a bit now, perhaps it was because of the food. After all... which kid didn't calm down if they got to eat really good food? What would Tanjun do for him? Anything. If he said to attack someone from the Black Sun, she'd do it without a second thought. There were a few limits though, like taking her own life of mutilating herself, but mister Nitrozian wouldn't ask that now would he? "You mean, if I do something for you, Mister, then I get a skirt and a corset? I'll do anything you ask then. Please gimme those clothes.", she said with a beaming smile. Mister Nitrozian was really nice, he gave her food, now clothes and a bath. And that all for a piece of paper and what she knew of her history.

[Valerius Nitrozian]

Valerius appreciated that she was at least trying to improve her table manners. That had to be worth something. Maybe not all hope was lost when it came to Tanjun Vorot. Maybe she would still be of use to him, that mysterious letter aside. „Fun, Miss Vorot“, he repeated somewhat dryly and looked at her. „Please tell me, what is your definition of fun? Torturing other people? You have changed …“ He paused for a second and made a face. „… somewhat since I last saw you, so I hope that you do not mind this question.“ He had feared that she would demand pants like that animator Tock, but apparently his fear had been unfounded. „A skirt and a corset are acceptable clothes“, he replied. „I asked you what you would do for such clothes, Miss Vorot, but if you’d rather be told what to do, that is fine with me as well. As I already said, I want to know more about you and that letter. And then, maybe, we can start discussing your future.“ „I won’t give you the clothes though“, he continued. „Tuuli will.“ He gestured for his slave that was still standing nearby to come closer. „After you have finished eating, she will accompagny you to the bathroom – I’ve already mentioned the bathroom, I think. And then she will give you something to wear.“ He did not ask her if she wanted to take a bath. If she wanted to associate with him further, she would have to. He did not like dirty people. „By the way …“ he murmurred and slid a napkin across the table to her. Seeing as her table manners still left a lot to be desired, she might not be aware that she was supposed to wipe her mouth after she had finished eating. He did not like people that still had bits of food on their mouth either.

[Tanjun Vorot]

Torturing people was fun yeah. Of course it was fun. It was such a pleasure to hear them scream and beg and scream some more. Didn't he understand how much pleasure that gave? The agony of others, oh it was like nectar. "Yep, playing with other people. Drawing out their screams. Having them beg for their lives, only to crush every little hope they have. That's fun.", she explained. Her whole face turned dark when she started to smile rather evil. Discussing the girl's future? What was he talking about? Oh... maybe it was about her having to work. Perhaps.... wanting to befriend him wasn't such a good idea after all. She hated having to work. Work was boring. She just wanted to be out there.... getting people to scream. But at least he wasn't gonna force her to wear a dress. "Well... ok. If that's what you like. It's not like my past is interesting or anything.", she mumbled. She had expected more then just this repeated request. She had actually hoped for it, but alas... he didn't ask for more. So, to hide her disappointment, she wiped her mouth with the napkin Valerius slid across the table. The girl looked at the slave for a bit then back at Valerius. It was ok if she gave the clothes, but she did hope that Valerius was the one that picked them out. "Do you pick out the clothes, mister?", she asked softly. "I hope so, because... well... you know." She didn't really trust slaves, at least not when they had to pick out her clothes. Most of them always picked really girly clothes. Just like the one they had when she was only six winters. She never really liked extremely girly clothes, but if it was to please Valerius, she'd put up with it for now. After that she followed the slave to the bathroom, getting a good wash... a really good one because she didn't smell too fresh. She actually smelled a little like a corpse, but she was used to it. However, the slave seemed to dislike it as she didn't just soap the girl once, but twice. Apparently she was really hard to get clean. But after a quarter of a bell.... she was finally clean. She hadn't felt this clean ever since... Tanir disappeared. And that had been a long time now.

[Valerius Nitrozian]

„Yes, it can be fun“, Valerius agreed as Tanjun talked about how much she enjoyed torturing other people. The tone of voice remained cool though. Although there were some things he preferred over others, the Nitrozian rarely ever got emotional. „It’s good to know that you are still interested in some of the same things, Miss Vorot. For a moment I was worried that you had become a completely different person.“ He was still worried about her. She seemed to be even more unstable than she had been before. Was it really wise to associate with her further? Or should he just question her, take a look at that mysterious letter and send her on her way?

„On the contrary, Miss Vorot“, he told her. „I find your past very interesting. But if there is anything else you think might interest me, feel free to let me know.“ With that he fell silent again and simply watched as she finished her food. As soon as she was done, Tuuli put everything back onto the tray and carried it away, making a face as she did so. She had been shocked by Tanjun’s table manners. What in Rhysol’s name did Master Valerius want from that girl? She looked like the embodiment of everything he hated!

Unlike Valerius Tuuli wasn’t at all sure that Tanjun possessed important knowledge, and she was convinced that the letter didn’t mean anything either. Judging by her appearance, the girl would just ruin the carpet with her dirty feet, clog the bath tub with the dirt on the rest of her body and steal something before she ran away. Tuuli was definitely not looking forward to bathing her. She wondered how she could persuade her master to assign the task to another slave or send the dirty girl away …

Valerius wasn’t aware of Tuuli’s thoughts. He currently wasn’t paying a lot of attention at all to her. His attention was still focused on Tanjun. As she asked him to pick out the clothes for her, he made a face. What was he? Some kind of servant? „Tuuli is trustworthy“, he informed her. „She wouldn’t give you anything inappropriate or excessively … frilly.“ He looked as if he found it hard to pronounce that particular word. „But very well, I will give you something to wear.“ Having said that he left the kitchen.

Tuuli turned to Tanjun and gestured for her to come with her. The bathroom was just as luxurious as the rest of the house with fine marble tiles and a bath tub that looked big enough for two. „Undress and climb into the bath tub“, Tuuli ordered her and wrinkled her nose. By Rhysol, Master Valerius‘ newest toy smelled like a corpse! Where had she been? Had she lived next to a corpse? Shared her bed with a Nuit. She tried to breathe as little as possible as she scrubbed Tanjun’s skin – and scrubbed her again becaus she still stank!

Then she washed her hair. In her opinion it would be better to get rid of it, but she doubted that Master Valerius would approve if she shaved his guest’s head. Finally Tanjun smelled pleasant, like roses. Content, Tuuli handed her a soft towel. It was just then that somebody knocked on the bathroom door. Tuuli opened it. Somebody had put fresh clothes onto a chair next to the door. Tanjun would never find out whether Valerius had decided to be nice and pick the clothes for her because he didn’t want her to throw a temper tantrum or had simply ordered one of the other slaves to do so.

There were a corset, a blouse, a skirt and a pair of simple leather shoes that she would hopefully find adequate.

[Tanjun Vorot]

If only that slave was a little gentler with the scrubbing, then the bathing would've been such a pleasure. Instead she was rather rough handed. She disliked Tanjun huh? Should she return the favor, or should she just leave Mister Nitrozian's toy intact? Decisions, decisions, decisions... Meh, it'd be best to just leave her intact. After all, Valerius wouldn't like her if she broke one of his toys. At least she had done a good job on cleaning the girl... that was commendable. The petite girl took the towel from Tuuli and started to dry herself off. She didn't react much to the knock on the door and just continued getting herself dry. Only when Tuuli came in with the clothes, did she start to pay attention to it. The clothes looked nice, but... they weren't black. Great, now she had to watch out so that they wouldn't get stained with blood. It was such a pain to get something like that out. Yet, despite that she put them on, seemingly liking them. Only after that did she finally open her mouth. "Thanks for washing me, miss.", she put extra emphasis on the miss, making sure that Tuuli knew that Tanjun didn't like being scrubbed like that, "And thank you for the clothes. I'll make sure to make myself a little more presentable next time." Oh she was angry on that slave. If Valerius would allow her, she'd break this woman in a split of a tick. "Now, would you please show me the way to mister Valerius? I want to do what he asked of me.", despite the polite words, she just couldn't hide her vile. What was worse, was the wide grin she gave the slave. Oh she was not going to forget this soon, no she wasn't.

[Valerius Nitrozian]

Tuuli didn’t say anything as Tanjun thanked her for washing her. The slave was just glad to be finally done with the unpleasant task, and she didn’t car at all that the girl hadn’t liked being scrubbed like that. In Tuuli’s opinion it had been necessary. She couldn’t have let her walk around the way she had looked like before, at least not where other people could see her. Lord Sitanos would have had a heart attack! She made a face as she watched Tanjun put on the clothes. The girl herself smelled like a normal person now, but in the path the smell of blood and corpses still lingered. Tuuli coughed a little, and then she abruptly spun around and opened the window. That was better! With only her thumb and her index finger she picked up Tanjun’s old clothes, wrinkled her nose and dumped them into a wooden chest that served as the garbage container. There was no point in trying to wash them! „In a moment“, she replied as Tanjun asked her to show her the way to Valerius. She produced a brush. „Turn around. I need to do your hair. You can’t show up in front of the master like that.“ Whether Tanjun agreed or not, Tuuli would brush her hair thoroughly. Again it was slightly unpleasant, but after Tuuli was done, Tanjun looked better than she had in years. She looked almost … pretty now! There was a mirror on the wall so that she could take a look at herself if she wanted to. „Now we can go“, Tuuli said, satisfied with her work. „I think Master Valerius is waiting for us in the sitting room on the first floor.“ She didn’t think that he would allow the strange girl to see his personal quarters, even if he seemed to find her useful. „Follow me.“ Tuuli didn’t say ‚please‘. She just assumed Tanjun would come with her. The sitting room looked just as nice as the rest of the Nitrozian Estate. A marble fire place stood at the left wall. A fire burned in it and filled the room with warmth. The floor was covered with a soft carpet. A low wooden table that was decorated with carvings stood in front of the fireplace. Around it stood four comfortable looking arm chairs. The right wall was occupied by several bookshelves. Through the two large windows opposite the door the canal was visible. Valerius was sitting in one of the arm chairs. He didn’t stand up as Tuuli and Tanjun entered the room, but only inclined his head. As he took a closer look at the torturer, his eyes widened slighlty. „Miss Vorot“, he remarked. „You look quite different. Tuuli has performed a miracle.“ Indeed, she looked almost like a normal person now, somebody that he wouldn’t have to be ashamed of and could associate with. He gestured for her to come closer and take a seat opposite of him. „Now that you have received food, clean clothes and a bath, do you think you are ready to do what I asked of you?“

[Tanjun Vorot]

Could that woman be any rougher? It was really unpleasant having her hair brushed like this. She was going to make her pay. The only thing was... how was she going to do it? She seemed rather attached to Mister Nitrozian, so could she make use of that? What would be a good thing to do to make her pay for the harsh bathing and now brushing. She started to think about it, only coming up with childish ploys. But well.. if they were effective, so be it. Once that slave was done, Tanjun looked in the mirror for a second and actually felt like a real girl or a change. Despite her rough treatment... the slave actually was capable of doing this kind of stuff. It wasn't going to make Tanjun stop from getting revenge though. She looked at the woman as she was told to follow and cocked her head: "I really don't like you. I'll make sure you regret getting on my bad side." However, she still followed that slave. After all.. she wasn't familiar with this place at all. She was still looking around all the time while following. Even though she had already seen most of this, it was still quite a sight to behold. Everything just looked so expensive. What would Mister Valerius do if this slave broke something because of her clumsiness? She couldn't help but grin when she thought of the possibilities. And then... they had already reached Valerius. The sitting room he was in looked so... gorgeous. She was actually getting a little jealous. He owned slaves, a personal cook and such a big and expensive house. He even got to eat really good food all the time! Would it be possible for her to also get this? But how could she? She just thought of a way until she plopped herself into a chair across Valerius. Oh right, she had to tell him about he past. Well... there wasn't much to talk about, but oh well. If he wanted that, he could have it. "Well... There's not much to talk about really. I just grew up here in Ravok, got teased because I look so boyish. Killed my dad and got rid of mom, and since then... I lived with brother, till fall before previous fall. That's when he left or so. Haven't seen him since. Don't care either, coz he missed two of my birthdays. Since he left I've just been enjoying myself. Those outsiders are so naive.", she said.

[Valerius Nitrozian]

As Tanjun threatened her, Tuuli just shrugged her shoulders. She really didn’t care whether some kind of street urchin liked her or not, and she wasn’t particularly worried about her threats either. Tuuli might be a slave, but she was privileged slave, and her master, Valerius, would hate to see her hurt.

While Tanjun walked over to Valerius and sat down across from him, Tuuli remained standing next to the door, waiting for further orders. Valerius noticed that she was still there and informed her, „You can go now, Tuuli. I think I’ll manage without you now. You may wait outside the door.“ The slave nodded and left, although she would have loved to find out just what kind of business her master had with this … this creature.

If Valerius hadn’t grown up in an environment where keeping one’s composure was of the utmost importance, he would have looked shocked as Tanjun admitted to killing her father. But as it was, he only arched an eyebrow. „You killed your father?“ he asked. „Tell me, why did you kill him and get rid of your mother? Did they not … treat you well?“ Another man might have called the guards or the equivalent thereof, but Valerius didn’t care. As long as she didn’t kill him everything was fine.

„You also mentioned a letter“, he reminded her. „Could you take me to your home – or bring the letter here?“ If Tanjun’s previous appearance was any indicator, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to enter her house. It might be dirty and untidy and smell bad.