She still meant to have another go at changing his mind tonight, if he managed to return to his chambers before the late hour guaranteed she’d be sleeping. Right now she tried putting the matter from her mind. The strange craving she was having helped to do that.

The kitchen was busy at this time of day in preparation for the evening meal. Tedra wouldn’t have admitted it, but she found the place fascinating, all the human labor involved, the Darasha camaraderie, women enjoying what they were doing, though what they were doing were jobs considered obsolete on Kystran. But she wouldn’t spoil their fun or feelings of usefulness by telling them that. Besides, it hadn’t become common knowledge yet who she really was; only Challen’s warriors were privy to that information. The women still thought her to be a captive, the story of her being a challenge loser unanimously doubted by them all.

Tedra had made one sort-of friend besides Jalla, that day Challen had insisted they eat with the household in the gathering rooms at the front of the castle. Those rooms weren’t exactly segregated, as she had first supposed, but they could be if a meal was to turn into a warriors-only discussion, as sometimes was the case. That day, the lady sitting to Tedra’s right had struck up a conversation with her about, of all things, gardening. Nothing could have endeared the woman to Tedra more, the subject being of keen interest to someone starved for all things of a horticultural nature.

Her name was Danni Hal-Dar, a widow of nearly two years, and from her Tedra had learned things that Jalla wouldn’t have thought to mention, such as there being not a single job in all of Kan-is-Tra that would pay a woman a wage so that she could support herself. This was the reason all orphans and widows had to seek protection of a warrior, but then this was also the reason a warrior could not refuse a woman his protection, and the household of the shodan was, of course, the most prestigious household to be protected in.

Tedra could have laughed at the idiocy behind that ancient law, for the shodan was the one with the headaches of having so many idle women under his roof. And to think of the newly colonized worlds out there starving for women, and how most of these women might delight in an opportunity to go where they might be useful again, or be trained for jobs that were scarce and paid high wages. Of course, as she had already determined, something like that would take some heavy reeducation in the way these people looked at things, but it wouldn’t hurt to mention such an option to Challen-when she was no longer annoyed with him.

Danni wasn’t in the kitchen, but then this was the domain of servants, not of ladies of the household. Yet Marel, one of the younger ladies, was there, and it didn’t take much to realize she was being punished, her task that of peeling a vegetable called falaa, a strange one that was horribly odorous when raw, but cooked up into a sweet-smelling, delicious side dish.

If Marel’s expression was any indication, she was hating the punishment, as Master Lowden no doubt expected her to. Tedra didn’t bother to ask what she had done to get punished. Marel was of that large group of ladies who looked on Tedra as beneath their contempt, if not with outright hostility. This had never bothered Tedra one way or another, but Danni had thought to explain, confiding that many of them had hoped to win the shodan for themselves, that some of them had in fact shared his bed in that effort.

Now that bothered Tedra, though she hadn’t let on. Just let any of them try catching his notice now and they’d get a swift trouncing by a Sec in full fury. Finding the prettier ones mates was going to be Challen’s first order of business when they returned from Kystran-Stars, what was she thinking? Come back to this backward madhouse of a world? No, Sha-Ka-Ra could find itself a new shodan. She was going to talk Challen into staying in her part of the universe- when she was no longer annoyed with him.

“Are you looking for one of these?”

Tedra deftly caught the small purple fruit Jalla tossed at her, grinning. “How did you know?” Her mouth watered just looking at the sweetly tart thing.

“It is my job to anticipate a mistress’s wants and needs,” Jalla replied.

“Of course, my going nuts over these vechem yesterday had nothing to do with accurate guessing.”

“Certainly not,” Jalla said primly, then spoiled it by giggling.

Tedra joined her at the cabinet where she was arranging tall, jeweled goblets on a tray around a bottle of chilled yavarna wine. “More guests to impress?” she guessed.

“Merchants from Shalah,” Jalla admitted. “The rumor is, they have just been denied a very large order of gaali stones, for which they are most displeased. They will have to go many reyzi out of their way now to find another supplier, and no one can guess why the shodan refused to deal with them. The chest they brought with them was filled with tobraz to make the purchase, and you know how valuable are those light blue gems.”

Tedra didn’t know, but she could guess why Challen had refused the offer and she couldn’t help but smile delightedly. They hadn’t actually got down to talking trade yet, but he knew what she was most interested in, and obviously was making sure he would have a sufficient supply available.

“You find that amusing?” Jalla asked, perplexed.

Marel had overheard their conversation and interjected snidely, “That one finds everything amusing since the dhaya juice has been put back on its shelf. But it is not likely to stay there overlong.”

“If that was supposed to be a dig, Marel, I’m afraid it missed its mark, since I haven’t the faintest notion of what you were talking about. Nor do I care. But perhaps the Lowden uncle should be made aware that you haven’t got enough to do to keep you busy and minding your own business.”

The younger woman turned a bright shade of mortification when a good many Darasha laughed at Tedra’s remark. Tedra hadn’t meant to shame the girl in front of others, though, so she said no more and left the kitchen. Jalla caught up with her in the hall, her tray of jingling glasses announcing her, if her giggles didn’t.

“That was no more than she deserved, mistress. Lady Marel has ever been a sour mouth to anyone she is jealous of, and she is jealous of most everyone.”

“Another emotion only women feel the sting of?”

“What?”

“Never mind. But what was that nonsense she was muttering about? What’s dhaya juice being shelved have to do with my good humor? And I thought dhaya was a potent wine only warriors are allowed to drink.”

“That is so, but… how is it you do not know the purpose of dhaya, as juice or wine?”

“Is this another one of those things every woman should know? Well, consider me dense and enlighten me so I can join the club of knowing-it-all.”

Jalla shook her head with a smile. “What you say sometimes makes no sense to me, mistress, and yet strangely, it does. But there is no mystery to dhaya juice, and likely you know it by another name. It is what a warrior takes when he goes to raid or war so he-”

“That again,” Tedra interrupted. “It seems mighty unusual that, with as much as I’ve heard about raiding around here, I haven’t seen any proof of it.”

“Why, the shodan raided Kar-A-Jel just this last full moonrise,” Jalla said, surprised Tedra didn’t know that either. “But of course, the shodan of Kar-A-Jel, Falder La-Mar-Tel, he is no more than a pest. He snips at our feet, raiding the farms in our valleys. He has not the courage to face our shodan in challenge.”

“Just a regular pain in the ass, huh?”

Jalla giggled again. “This is true. So our warriors usually go twice a year to retrieve the women and hataari that are stolen.”