IN DEEP

After a week of training and interrogations by members of the resistance Risa was happy to find herself in one of the most dangerous places she could have been, Legate Nubeer's kitchen. A girl could only take so many lectures and lessons, and she was glad to be doing something . . . anything. Within hours of arriving at the estate she learned how to fade into the background, avoiding the cruelty of Nubeer's men. It only took her one beating to learn that lesson. Most of the time even the rest of the servants didn't notice her, none of the female servants anyway. The head cook certainly noticed her. He was a revolting man . . . fat, greasy and lecherous. Risa learned never to go into a storage cellar alone, and quickly became adept at avoiding his rough hands. She couldn't, however, keep his beady eyes from following her every movement, indecent thoughts flashing behind his cruel stare. A few of the girls traded their bodies for small privileges, or first choice of duties. Risa spurned his advances and offers, knowing that if he ever got her alone she would regret ever setting foot on Nubeer's estate.

After the passage of a fortnight Risa was a pariah among the servants because of her unwillingness to bow down to the cooks tyranny, unintentionally making his anger greater and their jobs harder in the process. She was unhappy and as alone as she had ever been since leaving home, and she began to despair of ever finding what she sought.

She was beginning to think that she could no longer stand it, preparing to leave when all of the pieces began to fall into place. One of the serving girls came down with the `flu.' The girl had already been shipped off by the time Risa and the rest of the servants heard about it. As luck would have it Risa happened to be the perfect size to fit into the serving girl's uniform. The cook would never have let her serve that evening, preferring to keep her within easy groping distance, if Nubeer hadn't decided to host a
dinner party at the last minute. They needed all the servers to keep up with the number of high ranking military personnel and collaborators who had received invitations.

Risa came down the stairs from the servant's quarters, smoothing the wrinkles out of the black silk. No sooner did her foot hit the bottom step than a serving tray was thrust into her hands with a jug of wine. The jug almost toppled to the ground as she was pushed through the door, jostled about by all of the serving girls running back and forth.

The appreciative looks she received as she went through the dining room doors startled her, making her stumble over the hem of the dress that was just a bit too long for her. She wasn't used to the attention, not knowing that she was a rare beauty with the grime of the streets cleaned off of her. She caught herself, almost loosing the jug again, making her way to the table. She was careful to keep her eyes downcast, far too nervous to look anyone in the eyes. She made her way around the great table, filling glasses as she went, careful not to spill any of the wine.

She was on her second jug when she stopped near the head of the table. The hand that crept up her skirt, fondling her thigh shocked her into looking up, her eyes meeting those of a tall, well built Sarcosan. He smiled when he noticed her look up, the smile cruel, promising more as his hand moved upwards, continuing his exploration. She stepped back quickly with a blush, his hand unable to keep a grasp on her as she moved to the next guest, filling his glass with shaking hands. The harsh sound of a chair scraping the floor brought her eyes back up, a tremor running through her as she eyes intent on her. She glanced around frantically, her eyes meeting Legate Nubeer's cold gaze. With a calculating glint in his eyes he looked her up and down, motioning for her to come to the head of the table. Relief and terror warred for dominance in Risa's mind as the Sarcosan frowned, taking his seat. She reached out to fill his glass as she reached the head of the table. The hand that he placed over the glass to stop her had the desired effect, making her look up questioningly into his eyes.

"What is your name girl?" Nubeer asked quietly.

For a moment she couldn't answer, terror welling in her throat to choke her words before they could come out. "Risa my Lord." She finally managed to answer in a shaking voice. She shivered as his eyes captured hers, holding her pinned where she stood. There were no emotions in his eyes. It was like looking into the eyes of a dead man.

When she shivered a smile spread across Nubeer's face. He reached out to brush a lock of hair from her forehead, motioning absently for her to continue down the table. As she hurried to the next guest Nubeer called for his steward. "Bring her to my rooms tonight; maybe she will afford me some pleasure while she lasts." He said, the words causing a ball of fear to form in Risa's stomach.

"As you wish my Lord." The steward said, backing away as quickly as possible, his sad eyes lingering on Risa for a moment.

Risa served the rest of the meal in a daze, not remembering much about the rest of the evening. One thing she did notice, no one else laid a hand on her, not after Nubeer's instructions were given.