Altarreese kept asking questions. Digging, trying to figure out if there was an untruth. I told her whatever she asked of me. About my homeland, the buildings, the vehicles. When I started talking about weapons, her expression morphed into horror. The first time I've clearly seen an emotion on her face. "How can any of this be true?"

  "Majesty, as you know, Slaves can never be lied to by their owners, anymore than a Slave can lie to them. I can attest that everything she said is the truth. Only the Goddess could explain the how of any of it." Jenna kept her head bowed in respect.

  "We have decided! Your Rank will be Dutchess. With your knowledge and achievements, we must assign you a Rank second only to our own. None may slander you save myself. We realize you wish little responsibility, yet we must grant sufficient lands to meet your title. You may set this Village we mentioned as your territory's capital, but you will have much more land, and the rents that come from them as well. Your commencement ceremony shall be held tomorrow."

  ***

  I wasn't happy. Not in the slightest. Roughly a thousand kilometers of the country around my village was put under my control. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people would be reliant on my judgment. I had a jewelled dagger of office in a box lined with velvet. I wanted to throw it away and just vanish. But that wouldn't change anything. I was in a carriage with a new insignia on it... MY insignia. The carriage moved relentlessly towards my doom.

  We'd already been travelling for a week. My butt was sore, my back ached. Jenna didn't seem to be affected in the slightest. "How are you not in agony?!"

  Jenna snorted. "You're too soft, Mary. That other life of yours was too kind to you."

  I was starting a proper pout when a knock came at the carriage window. Instantly, I schooled my expression as Jenna opened the shutter. "We're nearly at the village now. I expect some concern from the citizens."

  "Very well, make a space near the center of the town for us to greet them." My voice sounded commanding, but I didn't feel it. I was sweating buckets mentally. I didn't have butterflies in my stomach, but full-on dragons flying around in there, or so it seemed to me. The village wasn't that good. Ramshackled sheds served as homes. Clearly, it was just a place to sleep while most of their time was spent at sea. The carriage stopped in the center of the town square. Jenna stepped out first, getting a joyful cry from a woman in the crowd who was desperate to reach Jenna, even with the Guardwomen blocking her way. "Let her pass!" I called, and once the path was clear, she practically bowled over Jenna.

  "Mother, please, I'm happy to see you too, but this is an important moment. My mistress is about to speak to the people for the first time."

  "I thought you were dead! So stupid supporting the Empire like they were in the right! When they lost the war, I was sure you'd be stuck inside that stupid capital! You're alive, though, everything is right with the world!" It seemed as though she was about to squeeze Jenna into a pulp, but I couldn't help smiling. Her grip suddenly relaxed, and she pushed Jenna to arm's length. "Mistress?!" She saw the collar, then started looking around, clearly confused. "Is it one of the guards?"

  I coughed into my fist, catching her attention. Her eyes suddenly widened. "Despite how I dress, I am in fact a Woman, and Jenna is unfortunately my Slave. Don't get me wrong, there, I love her to bits, but I HATE slavery. The Queen demanded she become my slave; I wasn't given an option. Anymore than I was given an option about becoming a duchess, or being put in charge of a thousand kilometers of land. I intend this to be my territory-capital. Don't stand on ceremony if there aren't any other nobles to appease. I HATE the etiquette of noble society. When I do have children,... which still surprises me, is possible without getting married... I want all of your help raising them to know their PROPER place. I don't want them arrogant, I want them to understand they are public servants, not overlords... or overladies, I suppose. I expect each and every adult in this, soon-to-be city, to discipline my children whenever they get in trouble. Don't let them get away with ANYTHING!"

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  "But commoners aren't meant to strike nobles." One of the crowd stated.

  "Fair enough, except my CHILDREN won't BE nobles. I will be the Noble until I pass. If I were to marry a Woman, SHE would be a Noble under me, but not our Children. Not until they take up an office themselves, by which time I hope they have proper decency beaten into their thick skulls. So they don't ever think they own commoners, but if anything, think the commoners own them. The Common folk of the nation ARE the nation. Nobles are meant to steer the nation through safe waters, but without the hull, the boat sinks. Merchants are the sails without which nothing happens. A Captain can bark orders all day, but without a ship, nothing happens. YOU are the ship, at best, I'm a Bosen."

  "You're a good person. I accept that you're my Daughter's Mistress. Will you let me be your aide? I'm fairly knowing of how things work here, and might be able to swing people to agree with any changes you'd want to make. Ain't that right, lasses?!"

  A chorus of affirmation spread through the crowd. "If I wouldn't be taking you away from anything more important, I'd appreciate getting to know Jenna's Mother. I'm Mary Tanner, by the way. I'm foreign-born, and not a Noble from there. I'm stuck in this predicament because I picked up the defender's sabers and defeated all three casters that the empire had. Without missing a single block. Jenna was still inside the circle, passed out, when the third one killed himself with a Multi-pattern cast. He was smitten with Jenna and thought she had died, I think. So he was trying to take revenge."

  A ripple of stunned silence went out across the crowd. "So you're not born to the Nobility at all?" I shook my head. "They didn't send an advisor?"

  "No need, I proved I was better educated than any of the Nobles in the nation as is, and they need all they can get to cover the lands formerly conquered by the Empire. I do have changes to make, BUT I expect to have Town Hall Meetings to discuss things, explain WHY I want the changes made, and get feedback on HOW to make it happen. I don't want to overwork anyone, and I intend my changes to improve EVERYONE's lives, and livelihoods."

  "Why have you left Jenna's Collar exposed? Is it to prove dominance or somit?!" Asked a little girl.

  "Actually, I would rather get rid of it entirely. But what exactly do you mean by leaving it exposed?"

  "Mistress Mary, she means that you can have the collar fuse with the skin of my neck. It would look more like a brand, and wouldn't have any weight anymore either."

  "Why didn't you tell me I could do that?! You know I don't know anything about this stuff!"

  She smiled. "Until you asked about it, I couldn't talk about it. Slaves aren't allowed to ask for their collars to be hidden. I knew you'd have done it instantly if you knew, but I couldn't say anything."

  "Stupid slavery rules! Stupid Slavery!!!" I pulled Jenna in for a tight hug. "Tell me how to do it."

  "Just will it, Mary, that's all." I did so, and with a blue glow, the collar sank into her flesh, and for some reason became a pattern similar to entwined roses. There were white, lavender, and red roses intermingled in seemingly equal numbers.

  Jenna's mother gasped. "Really?!"

  "What is it, Mother?"

  "Your collar tattoo is entwined roses, white, lavender, and red, all equal in number."

  Jenna's eyes bulged. "Mary, you, you, love me!? I knew you found me attractive, but LOVE?!"

  "What? I don't understand. I. I mean. Why do you ask that?!"

  "Mary, rose colors have meaning. When the collar took on a rose pattern, that in and of itself is not surprising. If it were only Red Roses, that implies Passion, or Sexual Attraction. White roses symbolize purity and loyalty. While Lavender roses are all about love. YOU subconsciously determined what the Collar would look like. Another way the Master and Slave can't lie to each other. Just like I can't lie when I say I feel the same way. It's still tinged with... I don't even know what to call it. You did cause my Mentor Pain, even if it was entirely the Empire's fault; the emotion is still there. It's not strong enough to keep me from loving you, though."

  "That collar may as well be a Marriage Troth. That makes you my Daughter-in-law. Maybe not legally, but it counts for me. Let's get you in to supper, both of you, you're both too skinny!" Jenna's mother grabbed a hand of each of us and dragged us off to her house. "I'm Korra by the way, but you should just call me Ma!"