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“Inspect me?” She bolted upright on the seat.
“You are my hanjin. You always represent me. You must be well-behaved at all times.” He wagged his finger at her and fixed a stern expression on his face.
How would he know what she did if he wasn’t allowed in the Yulta? She’d chill out exactly as she pleased. The idea of spending some time apart from Jamen suddenly appealed. She’d been with either him or Leesa for two weeks and it was starting to becoming suffocating. She needed a change of scene and not have him breathing down her neck. As for sex, he would probably be asleep by the time she returned. A respite was important, wasn’t it? She wasn’t sore or overly used by any means, but sometimes the longing for it was as desirable as the act itself.
An hour later, a gong echoed throughout the apartment, announcing visitors at the door. Paige smoothed out her skirt—the one with the three slits—and gave Jamen one last twirl. He nodded his approval and sighed softly.
Sava greeted her with a beaming smile, while Elga stood behind and when Jamen caught her eye, she scowled and examined her fingernails.
“Be good,” he whispered as Paige walked past him out of the door.
“I will,” she sang back.
Sava was chatty. Elga wasn’t. When they stepped out onto the street outside, which lacked vehicles since they flew past above their heads, Paige inhaled the fresh air. It possessed a familiar warmth, reminding her of the hot deserts surrounding New Phoenix. She followed Elga, who led the way, and practiced her fledgling Vendian on Sava, asking her about Conner.
“Senator Conner is a fine man. I have been his hanjin for two years,” Sava declared proudly.
“Is that a long time for a hanjin?” Paige had been promised a year with Jamen.
“Yes. Half a year is typical.”
“Where will you go then?” Paige asked.
“Another senator, maybe. Most hanjins seek an imperial role by serving a member of the emperor’s family or household.” She spoke with no obvious longing and gave a little shrug. “Or I’ll probably mate and bear a child.”
“Who with?”
She shrugged again. “A soldier. It’s usually a soldier or a worker. I want to leave Halos though.”
Elga quickened her pace, keeping her head down. She’d not said a word.
The Yulta was situated in a low building on one sprawling floor consisting of many chambers and few windows.
“Three swimming pools,” Sava announced as they entered.
The interior with its bold marble columns and domed ceilings painted with frescos of blue skies reminded Paige of ancient Earth civilizations. Colorful climbing plants decorated the walls and perfumed the air with floral scents.
A woman intercepted their arrival and Sava introduced Paige as Senator Hosta’s hanjin.
“Welcome,” the woman said, eyeing Paige’s dress as if it might slip off her shoulders and expose her.
Sava was keen to show her around, and equally excited to introduce Paige to whomever they met with a gleeful declaration that this was her ‘human’ friend from Earth.
Elga continued her mute accompaniment until they reached the indoor pool with its blue shimmering waters. Surrounding it were chairs and sunbeds, each one positioned under the glazed domed ceiling that radiated the lights of the city down onto the pool. Paige watched as one long-legged woman emerged from the rippling water.
Paige gasped, covered her mouth, and turned away. “She’s naked,” she said through her fingers.
Sava giggled. “Of course. Why swim in your clothes?”
“What about swim wear?” Paige asked.
Elga finally spoke. “Clothing for swimming? What’s the point of that,” she sneered. “They would get wet.”
“Modesty?”
“We are proud of our bodies. Aren’t you?” Elga snorted. “Or don’t you have the courage to strip off?”
Paige turned back to the pool. More women were entering. As she’d observed throughout the Yulta, there were women of all ages, some as wrinkled as her grandmother, others as young as herself.
