There were no clothes waiting for her when she got out, only that House-slave that smiled and held out a blue, shining robe. She bowed a small bow, that smile on her lips so soft and light as she said, "Follow me."
That robe was soft, softer and smoother than any fabric Phoenix had ever felt before and it shone wherever it caught the dim lights of the corridors around them, and Phoenix had to struggle to keep from watching it, had to force her hands away to keep them from smoothing it under her fingertips.
"This is your wardrobe," the House-slave said, stopping outside of a door. "You're not supposed to use the common one anymore."
Phoenix eyed those bottles and jars on the shelves, but this room was so quiet, no machines were buzzing or humming, no other slaves were lined up on the side, waiting for their turn in that chair. Those two House-slaves in front led her through to get dressed first this time, dressing her in a tight, black suit and clipping thick leather pads on her shoulders, and then they led her back to that chair, spraying and painting her just like they had before.
She closed her eyes, thinking on the last time she'd had that black paint around her eyes and how close she'd been to all those men dressed in white, but this time she would be with him, just like Cassie had been, not out in the open like before. She felt that prick then, hearing that click right beside her ear, and she opened her eyes, seeing that gold chain, looping through the holes in her ear and that small, golden leaf hanging off it. So slowly her fingers reached for it, not knowing what to think, not knowing what to do with it. She didn't need it, she'd never needed anything like that, so why was she smiling?
And she was still smiling when she walked back to that room with the big wooden table, Cassie leaning against the wall and Belfire already piling food in front of him. They were dressed in thick leathers like her, small bells tied to those bands in their dreads that jingled whenever they moved. Belfire looked up when he heard her come in, smiling and tapping at the bench beside him and pointing at things for her to take.
"Do you know where we're going?" Phoenix asked, sitting down beside him and looking at Cassie, but Cassie tutted, folding her arms across her chest and looking away.
"Probably another Master's house," she said. "You two have to behave, they'll be watching us, especially you, Belfire. Don't do anything to embarrass the Master."
"I get it, Cassie," he said, but she tutted again, her eyes flicking back to glare at them.
"And I sit at the Master's feet, I earned that spot, you understand?"
Phoenix stared at her, a strange burning in the pit of her stomach, her mouth so dry, but she didn't know why, she didn't know what to say to Cassie either, but she was glad when Belfire said, "We get it, Cassie."
Cassie glared at him, her face so tight, the corners of her nose twitching like she was fighting back a scowl, and then the door beside her slid to the side with a hiss. There were three House-slaves at the end of the corridor, holding up fresh boots for them to take, and then Phoenix was outside, her eyes big and wide as she turned to look at the front of the house. It was so strange to be on the other side of those pale, stone walls, her eyes flicking up to stare at the two floors in front of her and then to the gardens on the other side of that slick, black car, but then the car door slid open, him sitting in the back dressed all in white, his fingers flashing across a hologram keyboard, his eyes fixed on the screen in front of him.
Cassie didn't wait as she slipped in beside him and glared at them until they got in too, taking a side each on those long seats that lined the sides of the car. Phoenix barely felt when the car started moving, but she saw it over Belfire's shoulders and then she was twisting and turning to stare out of her window. They were through the gardens then, driving through big gates and then they were out into The City, tall, dark buildings lining the streets, colouring the pavements below with their strange, fluorescent billboards and bright, patchy lighting. And the people, Phoenix saw them running, darting and diving down streets to hide before the car came close or leaning to cover their faces with their dark grey hoods when it did.
"Not much to look at, hmm, Phe?" Belfire asked, his hands clasped behind his head as he watched her and she turned to him, her eyes wide, imagining him in one of those hoods.
Had he run away from cars just like them? Somehow she couldn't picture it, somehow she couldn't see why he wouldn't when everyone else was.
"Why are they running?" she asked.
"They know a Master's in here," Belfire answered, and she looked at him then, his fingers still flashing across that keyboard, his eyes glued to the screen.
She'd tried to run from him too once, but now she wasn't sure she ever would again as he sighed, that hologram vanishing, and he sat back in his seat.
"Relax, Cassie," Master Gabriel said. "They're going to behave."
Cassie turned to him, her eyes big and wide, almost shining bright, and Phoenix saw how they must be together when they were alone in his room and she had to look away, not liking that burning in her stomach or how her mouth went dry. Phoenix didn't think any of this was going to get easier, not for anyone or any one of them.
"There's no need to panic, Cassie," Belfire said.
"I'm not panicking," she snapped. "You two have no idea what you're doing. If either of you do anything to embarrass the Master, I'll-,"
"We get it," Phoenix cut in. "We're all on the same side, we don't want to mess this up either."
"So start following the rules," Cassie said.
"You don't get to decide that," Belfire said. "We're all the same rank now."
Cassie went so quiet then, her face so tight, her eyes so sharp and pointed like daggers when she opened her mouth to speak, her face scrunching up in a scowl, but the Master got there first.
"Enough," he said. "You think I brought you all with me so I could listen to this? You sort this out when we get back, I don't need to hear this and I'm not going to. Get it together. You're here to do a job, so do it."
It was a long while before anyone spoke again, before Belfire kicked his boot in the air and sighed. "So where are we going?" he asked.
"To see Quintus," Master Gabriel answered, and when the door opened, he stepped out, Cassie quickly holding her hand up to stop either of them from following him. Phoenix watched as their Master was led through wide doors by a group of House-slaves, and then a man dressed in a tight, black suit approached the door of the car.
"This way," he said, and he led them through a different door, showing them where to leave their boots, and Phoenix watched Cassie step up through a large, white pod, the sides lined with glass, another man in a black suit watching a screen beside it.
Cassie took two big strides in, standing in the middle of that pod, the bright light from the floor making her skin look so pale and white, and then there was a hiss, a burst of mist and the smell of chemicals as Cassie was sprayed with something and she stepped all the way through.
So slowly Phoenix stepped up to the pod, her mouth a little dry, her nose burning with the lingering smell of that spray. They would see them now, they would find those Implants and who knows what they would do then. She closed her eyes, blinded by that bright light, and when she opened them all she saw were those lilac eyes, staring back at her just like they had the night she'd been sold, but then she heard that burst of spray, feeling it coat her skin and burn the back of her throat, and she stepped through.
He was sitting in one of those stone stairs, both facing a set of open balcony doors, both Masters speaking to each other so softly as she watched him clasp his hands in front of him, tapping the tips of his fingers to his lips, and she knew that he was better, better than whoever had built that scanner and probably so many more.
Those bells in Cassie's hair jingled when she sat down in front of him, Belfire and Phoenix standing behind his chair with their hands collapsed behind their backs. Phoenix finally saw them then, those faces that had been turned to her before, but her heart grew heavier, not lighter at the sight of them and their pale blonde hair and lilac eyes. She didn't know them, that woman perched on the arm of Master Quintus' chair was a stranger, just like the man who stood behind it, but they didn't look much older than Phoenix, four, five years at most, so why didn't she know them? She felt their eyes linger on her for a moment, not bright and urgent like she knew her own were, but dim and hazy, almost like they were bored.
"Well, I'm happy you accepted my invitation anyway, Gabriel," Master Quintus said. "I didn't want what my cousin did to colour your opinion of my family… This is the one, right?" He stood, coming to stand by Belfire with his hands behind his back, but it was a long while before he spoke again, each passing moment making the hairs on Phoenix's arm rise higher and higher, and then he said, "I hope he didn't do too much damage."
"He's stronger than he looks," Master Gabriel said, and Master Quintus laughed, a short, high laugh, almost like he was surprised.
"How did you do it?" he asked. "How did you get a former Citizen to defend you like that? I have a few in The Mines and I wouldn't trust them to be in the same room as me, let alone..." he shook his head, his eyes lingering on Belfire's face.
"Why do you ask, Quintus?" Master Gabriel smiled, turning to watch him from the corner of his eye. "I wouldn't think that someone from your family would be interested in well-behaved ex-Citizens."
The two men locked eyes for a moment, a moment that was long and heavy, and then Master Quintus laughed again. "So that's how you do it? The carrot or the stick?"
Phoenix wanted to tut, she wanted to give into that burning in the pit of her stomach and push him away, but then she heard Master Gabriel laughing, a soft, easy laugh, and he shook his head.
"Each one is different," he said. "But understanding people is my business."
"People?" Master Quintus asked, turning to face him. "I didn't take you for a Sympathiser. They're not people, Gabriel, even a Quarter-Master like you should know that."
"Maybe that way of thinking is what has you asking for advice from a lowly Quarter-Master like myself," Master Gabriel said, and there was a long moment, one that was thick and heavy, one that had Phoenix's heart racing, but then Master Quintus sat down in his chair, crossing his legs and watching Master Gabriel closely.
"I'm not asking for advice," Master Quintus said. "I'm just curious… I'm sure they'll understand after what he did for you, but… how will you explain making him a Favourite?"
"I don't need to explain anything."
"Hmm," Master Quintus hummed. "You won't last long here if you keep thinking like that."
"Did you invite me here just to lecture me?" Master Gabriel asked, and Master Quintus stared at him, his head tilting to the side, his eyes never blinking.
"You're a difficult man to help," he said. "Still, I bet he'll be even more loyal now. He probably lives better as your Favourite than he ever did as a Citizen."
She felt Belfire tense beside her, felt him begin to shake with that strange hum and Master Gabriel went so still, his eyes not even blinking as he stared at Master Quintus, and then he rested his hands on the arms of his chair.
"Just say whatever it is you want to say, Quintus."
"Don't get angry with me, Gabriel, I'm just telling you what they'll all be saying. You can't make an Offender a Favourite, think of the example you're setting. We'll have people breaking the law just for a chance at something better."
"No, not that," Master Gabriel said. "Just get to the real reason why you asked me to come."
Master Quintus went stiff, his face so tight and blank and it was a long while before he spoke, before a soft smirk sprang to his lips and he leaned back in his chair.
"You're quite different to Astor… but that makes more sense now that I think about it. How else would you have made it this far?" he said, pulling his Favourite's legs into his lap and trailing his fingers up and down them. "My cousin Sextus is also a difficult man to help. Sometimes as a family we have a hard time-,"
"I understand," Master Gabriel cut in, and Master Quintus studied him for a moment, his fingers stilling on his Favourite's leg.
"He's-," he started.
"I understand," Master Gabriel said, lifting a hand up to stop Master Quintus and for a while neither of them said anything, for a while the two men only stared at each other, and then Master Quintus started trailing his fingers again, a soft smile springing to his lips.
"Sometimes it just helps to get something off your chest," he said, and she felt something shift between them, something ill-defined and heavy, and then it was gone and the air was lighter and both of them were smiling. "I heard about your Woodlander," he said. " I heard she made quite an impression," there was a laugh hidden somewhere in his voice, a laugh that was light and airy. "It was brave of you to have her tease them like that."
Master Gabriel crossed his legs as he tapped the tips of his fingers to his lips. "Who says I did?"
Master Quintus went stiff, his forehead furrowing into a slight crease. "Don't tell me you gave her a weapon when you can't control her?" he asked, but Master Gabriel smiled, tilting his head to the side.
"I never said I couldn't. Are you doubting me already?"
"I'm not doubting you, Gabriel, but I wouldn't be here now if I trusted everyone I met."
"That's the difficult thing, isn't it?" Master Gabriel said. "None of us can survive on our own, but trusting the wrong people can be even more dangerous."
She studied him for a moment, watching those Implants flicker, watching that soft smile, and she knew that he was right. There was the sound of metal scraping, a sound that had her eyes flicking up and made Belfire tense beside her, but Master Quintus laughed, a soft, quiet laugh, holding his palm out for his Favourite behind him to hand him a fruit knife.
"He really seems to mean it," Master Quintus said. "Or is he just nervous after the last time?"
"Do you want to find out?" Master Gabriel asked.