Cassia knocked on the door of Bart's apartment. The door opened, and Bart was standing there. He smiled to her. "Hello, stranger," he said.
"Hello."
She reached up to him. He brought his arms around her waist. He bent down slightly and kissed her. To her it wasn't a sensual kiss, but neither was it a friendly peck. It was slow, earnest, and compassionate. It was what she was hoping for.
He edged back. "Tired?"
"Very."
"Legs?"
"Feet."
"Take the couch, and I'll rub them."
She entered the apartment. She walked to his couch and sat down. She slipped off her shoes. She waited for him to sit before swining her legs onto his lap. An instant later he was rubbing the soles of her feet.
"You checked in, right?" he asked.
"Of course. I checked in, changed, showered, brought Harrison back in and told him what happened. That last did not take as long as I thought it would."
"Nothing eventful?"
"No. One of the girls was sullen."
"Typical teenagers?"
"Yes."
"How did you handle her?"
"First, by beating her in a fight. Neither of us had serious wounds, but I damaged her pride somewhat. After that I let her remain in the back of the line. I did leave her in charge of the other girls on my two trips into villages to get extra food. I think that may have mended her mood."
"You should pass that along the next time you visit Freeman's Hold."
"I will. There was another girl. She was separated from her sister well before the raid. She wanted to learn to fight so she could free her."
"What did you tell her?"
"That freeing her sister would be difficult, but if she was willing to learn to fight, she might make a difference."
"You taught her, didn't you?"
"As much as I could in the time we had."
He smiled. "A Cassia in training?"
"Perhaps."
Suddenly his expression became more serious. "Your face. It looks a little wan."
"What?"
He reached under her dress and ran his hand up her left leg. At first it felt sexual and startling. But quickly it felt more clinical, as it did when he did the same thing to her right leg. The fact that his expression didn't change worried her.
"What is wrong?"
"You've been walking for two weeks," he said, removing his hand, "yet your leg doesn't feel as muscular as I thought it would. When you changed, did you look at your body?"
"I suppose so."
"Could you see your rib change?"
"Somewhat. I suppose I have lost some weight. Why?"
"Monday we'll take you to the Bureau's doctor for a look. I think you'll need to lay off the exercise for the next two weeks, and eat a little more than usual."
"Is it bad to lose weight?"
"It could be. There was a disease back home, in which girls starved themselves to be thinner. They couldn't see how thin they were getting. They could only see that they were fat."
"You are serious?"
"Very serious, Cassia. It's almost nonexistant here. I just want to make sure you don't think being as thin as you are now is normal or attractive."
"If the way around that is eating more food, I think I shall be fine." She touched his right arm. "Thank you for being concerned."
"Sure." They were silent for a few moments.
"Something did happen in the second village," Cassia said.
"What?"
"I had the second girl, Vina, the fighter, with me on both village visits. In the second village I learned that a local woman was sick. She had the red fever."
"Scarlet fever?"
"Yes. I had the proper potions, so I was able to help her and her husband."
"Is that all?"
"No. We had left all the collars behind. Her husband asked about Vina, and I told him that she was my servant, not my slave. I then told him that servants were more reliable than slaves. That I felt it was wrong for parents to have to sell their children. Vina asked me later why I said so much. The best explanation I could give her was that I am the Blue Pistol."
He smiled. "So you are."
She nodded. "I know. A year ago, I would have thought that a curse. Now, it expresses the journey I have taken. The name gives me a sense of worth, of confidence, of belonging. My life has meaning now. Thank you, if I have not said so recently."
"You're welcome. But the journey isn't over yet."
"No, it's not. I do have some ideas about that."
"Really?"
"Walk in the wilderness for two weeks with girls who have nothing to say, except one, and you will think about many things."
"What did you think about?"
"We need to set up some way to get money to poor families so they do not have to sell their children. We should establish a carriage service, to gather information and, when it's possible, to move slaves. We need more allies in the Domains."
"Allies? Like whom?"
"The nobility. They resent the Guild having so much power."
"Because they want that power for themselves."
"True. I was thinking of younger nobles, ones who might be more willing to change the way things are. Younger nobles who are closer to their people."
"Any names come to mind?"
"A few."
"Something else to do Monday."
"Indeed." They fell silent again.
Bart stopped rubbing her feet with his right hand. He used that hand and arm to take her left hand. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Welome home, Blue Pistol," he said.
Cassia clasped his hand in hers. "Good to be home, Blue Pistol," she replied.
--- The End ---
I hope you enjoyed Cassia. There are six books in the "Blue Pistol Series," including this one. The ebook edition of Cassia is free at Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. There's also an ebook edition of the whole series. For store links to all of those works, please visit "The Blue Pistol" page at my blog:
http://robertlcollins.blogspot.com/p/the-blue-pistol-series_1.html
Thanks for reading!