Brought the Stars to You (4 page)

"It really was." There was a lot of truth behind that,
honest and genuine agreement, even if she was an 'inhuman' slave
girl, stripping for her masters. "I really look forward to
seeing you tomorrow," she guided him towards the door, "At
dusk."

They looked like lovers as they moved through the strip club, and
truthfully, he felt they were, in some sense. His smile was laced
with affection but conflicted, "Til then, Ardanna. Rest well,
and until next we meet." He bowed his head respectfully to the
woman, "You shall be in my thoughts."

"It was a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise, fair lady." Kieren stepped out of the club
into the breaking of dawn on the ruddy, industrial city, he smiled
quite pleasantly. Striding down towards the building that housed his
room for the duration of his stay with almost a spring in his step,
he took a while before even pulling the brown hood back over his
head, forgetting his covert mission, so lost was he in thoughts of
the woman he had barely parted from.

Kieren experienced a more restless night than he had experienced
in ten years. Even meditation was difficult for him, and he neglected
his study of the assignment until the last moment, only to put it
aside again quickly to prepare for his visit to the club.

Arriving early, before dusk had even set, he waited outside,
pondering their next encounter. Time had allowed him to think more
clearly, to get a grip on himself, and though he might have talked
himself out of this second meeting based on the grounds of his
training, his commitment to her to show trumped all else.

Remembering her words from the night before, he pulled his robe
off, standing in his shirt and pants as he paced the grungy sidewalk
outside. When finally the sun was set beneath the polluted
skyline--or nearly so--he made his way inside, through the entrance
and past security beyond into the odd lighting of the inside, gazing
around for the Phhia.

Ardanna noticed him immediately as he entered, walking to him in
her simple shoes and bright eyes. She had changed from the night
before, a light lilac coloured bikini top with matching bottoms. It
had frills along the thighs and the cleavage of her breasts,
accentuating her curves. She drew him in for a hug, her eyes
twinkling, "I knew you'd come."

He returned the gesture and seemed sheepish as he wrapped his arms
around her in a chaste manner, "Of course," he said, as if
to doubt his word was somehow absurd, "I promised I would. I
like the new outfit, Ardanna," he smiled as he looked over her
fit body.

"And you," she said in her calm manner, "look much
more comfortable. Very dashing." Her hand rested on his bicep,
"Do you want to go right to the room or did you need a drink
first?" she asked politely.

Feeling quite full of himself with her on his arm again, he
grinned pleasantly, answering promptly, "To the room, certainly.
I want to make the most of things before I have to wait on my
friend." After a brief pause he said, "Oh, unless you want
something to drink of course. Do you?" He looked to her, eager
to please.

"A little champagne never hurt the mood, Kieren," she
said with a slight motion of pressing her body up against his side,
"Wouldn't you think?

"I wouldn't know, but if you believe so, then I am inclined
to agree, Ardanna." Gesturing towards the bar he asked, "Shall
we get a bottle of it then? Is that the right amount? A bottle? Or is
it too little?"

She giggled politely, "If we want any more, we'll ask,
alright? A bottle for now will set the mood, don't you agree?"
She moved lightly towards the bar, "How was your night last
night after you left? Did you hear from your friend about why he
didn't show?"

Smiling he opened his mouth to answer, though he felt a bit
embarrassed, "I'll see him when he gets in town. Not before, I'm
sure. I'm in no rush for it, Ardanna." He put aside the other,
more personal question, for later.

She held the two long stemmed glasses daintily between her
fingers, leading the way, as he took the bottle of champagne, "I
see. He sounds very mysterious, this bald man," she gave a
playful wink, "But then, so are you, aren't you?"

The act of having such a lovely woman on his arm made him feel
more self-important, his chest puffed slightly. "Mysterious? I
suppose so," he said, smiling a little, "Though you seemed
to ferret me out rather quickly as 'out of place' the other night."

She opened the gap in the heavy material and let him into the same
room they had occupied so few hours ago, "Well," she said
with a pause, "You tried to hide. I get an uncontrollable
impulse to make people who hide more comfortable," she moved to
the table, placing the two glasses atop it, "Do you want to do
the honours?

Lifting it up he inspected the bottle, having no experience with
such things, "Sure, Ardanna." It didn't take him long to
find a method to pop the cork open, and poured it into the two
glasses, filling them both with a smile. "You're quite good at
acting upon your impulse then." He rested the bottle on the
table, "What do you think drives that desire?"

"Well, maybe it's that I don't like for people to look or
feel alone. Everyone has struggles, but no one needs to handle it all
by themselves. If I can offer some relief or hope, then I feel better
about the world," she offered politely, raising her glass to
him.

Lifting his own glass, he accepted her toast with rapt attention.
Touching the alcohol to his lips he didn't flinch at the taste of the
strong drink, swallowing it down as he appreciated her words. "That
is beautiful, Ardanna," he said softly, laying his robes out
upon the floor next to the table in a neat pile. "You are truly
as beautiful on the inside as the out to think in such a manner,"
he spoke with pure honesty, no hint of flattery or insincerity in
them.

A modest blush rose to her cheeks and she shrugged it off, sipping
her champagne and feeling the bubbly drink tease her tongue. "I
hope you had pleasant dreams last night, then," she smiled at
him, moving towards the bench.

His gaze glued upon her, he joined her and admitted, with some
embarrassment, the truth, "Pleasant visions accompanied me since
the moment we parted to the time we met again, Ardanna. Though I
slept little, and I was troubled with my lack of fortitude to resist
them."

She laughed at the honest confession, moving against him, her hand
pressed to his chest, her other holding the glass, "Oh my poor
Kieren." She brought her fingers to his thick, black hair,
stroking it lightly, lovingly caressing the dark locks, "We all
get like that sometimes. I hope that you'll be able to sleep more
soundly tonight."

"Somehow I doubt that will be possible again, Ardanna,"
he confessed, confident that thoughts of her would plague him to time
immemorial. "I hope your night went well, and you rested. If
not, at least you're able to relax with me now."

"How long will you be staying tonight, Kieren?" her eyes
locked on his, a pleasant curve to her lips.

His brows furrowed in some confusion at that question, just for a
moment, "Till dawn" he said softly, adding on, "if you
care for my company that long, I mean. I... do have to go check for
my friend later a while. So we'd have to leave here some time,
unfortunately." He did see that as rather unfortunate news, "But
after that, we can come back here again. And you could join me below
as before." Clearing his throat softly, he added, "If you
care to dance for me again I mean. I don't wish to put pressure upon
you."

She looked pleased with his response, genuinely so, and nodded to
him, "Of course," she said with a pleasant lilt. "I'd
love to keep you company," she took a longer sip of champagne
before putting it aside on the table, "Do you have anything in
mind you'd like to do, my sweet Kieren?" her eyes were glued to
his, waiting intently for his response.

Taking a sip of his own glass, he mimicked her then and laid it
aside. Letting his gaze rise up towards the ceiling at her question
he laughed breathily, "Oh, well... what would I like to do,
Ardanna?" He looked back to her, smiling, no lewdness to come
from him after that, "Last night was... special to me. But I
would love to speak with you more. Learn about you," he paused,
glancing over her, "if you'd indulge me, that is."

Resting her head against his shoulder, her tentils tilted down
along her spine, she smiled, "Is that so? I'm afraid there's not
really much to tell. I don't really get out much, so mostly I live
through other people's adventures."

"Never?" he asked, daring to twist his arm about her
carefully, resting his hand upon her bicep. "Were you born here
then, Ardanna?"

"I don't remember a time when I wasn't here," she
answered politely. Her hand danced along his chest, her fingers
trailing up and down along the centre, over his off-white shirt with
the mandarin collar, the material covering him soft and thin, giving
easy feel of his leanly muscled physique beneath.

"So you're my contrast. Someone who has travelled everywhere,
and me who has travelled nowhere."

He let his fingers rub along her bare arm lightly, "How
strange," he said, "I suppose if my master hadn't recruited
me, I'd have been much the same." Looking down to her, he asked
softly, "Are you not free to leave if you wished to?"

She didn't meet his eyes, but her face never revealed any anguish
or upset, "I don't believe so. I have a debt to repay that can't
ever be repaid. But I'm happy here," she quickly tacked on, not
wanting him to worry, but not wishing to give him false hope, "Your
master?"

"Former master. He was the one who trained me. Not master in
an... ownership sense." He cleared his throat, letting his gaze
trail over her beside him, feeling the strain of unpleasantness that
tempted to ruin the moment with his sympathy for her, chained to one
place against her will. "You have danced your whole life then,
Ardanna? Since you were a girl?"

"Yes. I've been dancing since I was a child. Luckily I enjoy
it a great deal. They train us, and we begin entertaining outside of
the club. Once we're more comfortable dealing with people, we're
moved in here. We're like a family, the other girls and I," she
rubbed his chest soothingly.

"I see," he said contemplatively. He didn't feel so bad
for her after that, if the other women were like family to her. "It
must be nice then. To have family around you. I've never known mine,
Ardanna."

Her lips turned to a frown, eyes upon him sympathetically, fingers
moving to his neck. "What brings you to this planet, Kieren?"

"I'm in search of this person, the bald man. He and I have
business," he said, trying to carefully phrase it so that he
wasn't lying, only speaking in vague generalities. He didn't want to
lie to her, and even keeping things to himself was difficult.

"I'm sorry I couldn't have been more help yesterday,"
she said apologetically, one hand on his chest, the other up around
his neck as she did her best to soothe and comfort him.

"You don't need to be sorry, Ardanna. I'm sure he just didn't
show. And I'm not in too big of a rush. I've been given dispensation
to do the job, there's no strict time table." He gave her a soft
smile, trying to comfort her.

"Did you want more champagne?"

Glancing to his own glass, having forgotten about it, he looked
back to her, "I... still have plenty," he reached over and
lifted it, sipping some more. "It's a strange beverage."

She mirrored his motions, "I like it. The bubbles... the
warmth," she smiled brighter, letting the liquid careen across
her taste buds. "I don't drink it very often, but I enjoy it
when I do. It's best for relaxing. Letting your worries slip from
your shoulders," she moved her body in a carefree manner, as
though that was just what she was doing, "I love it."

Watching her revel in the drink so much, professing her love for
it, he let his hand move up her arm to her shoulder, trying to rub it
in the same comforting manner she did to him. Meanwhile he took a
bigger taste of his own drink, suddenly finding more to appreciate
about it now. "Then we drink of it as much as you like tonight,
and every night we meet, Ardanna. Just say the word for more, and I
shall get it," the young man's awkward phrasing always added to
his sense of displacement.

She laughed in an innocent, beguiling manner, finished off her
glass and moved in towards him, "Did you want me in your lap,
Kieren?" The way she said it, the slight hint of naughtiness to
her voice made it seem so much dirtier, laced with innuendo, "That
might help you relax as well."

His eyes widened just the slightest bit, but the reflective sheen
on them at her words spoke of his excitement all the more. Shaking
his head slightly as he spoke, he said, "Oh, I am sure it won't
do any such thing as make me relax, Ardanna. But I would love it all
the same." Licking his lips he sipped some more of his sparkling
white wine before asking, "Do you want more?"

"I'll have some if you are," she paused, shifting to
allow him to pour more champagne for them.

"Did you want me to take off my top?" She didn't give
any of the teasing promises, the over exaggerated words that the
other dancers so often used. She had no need to hype herself up, to
tease and cajole the customers. She found they always enjoyed her
simple, sensual self.

His cheeks flushed a little, his answer honest, if in a roundabout
way, "Only if it pleases you to do so. I appreciate your beauty
in its fullness, Ardanna. You're... ravishing in and of yourself,
without any need for clothing to augment it."

She promptly untied the ribbon that held the bikini taut, then
removed the halter, exposing herself with a subtle sexuality. He
watched her display with rapt attention, seeing her nipples peak at
the onslaught of air. "Ohh," she mumbled, blushing a bit,
"Cool in here tonight," she accepted the glass, but quickly
moved atop him as he sat, "Warm me up?"