The Baker's girl - A tale of Gradzlata

[DramaNerdette]

"I'd be happy to recall a thing or two for you from time to time. Of course, price being a price, one has to wonder a few things. How long do you want me to be supplying the little tales for you? My current access to those parties is limited to my current work for one of the partiers. If her husband, my actual client, does not return from his current endeavors... well, she'll be out of town as surely as I'll be out of a job, recalled by grieving family." Ziva shrugged broadly, as if lamenting how helpless she'd be to alter such a circumstance. "There's also the issue of duration. I've no intent to find myself permanently paying you back for a little temporary relief of my ignorance. We'd need to come to an agreement on how long I'd supply you with these tales, my dear Kemal."

 

[siobhancan99]

"A Dozen times!" The Eunuch laughed "you're giving me nothing in exchange for everything. After all." he stroked his face "Ah but you're such a sweet little thing. I will tell you what, for the location of brave Captain Trinthalas, hero of the battle of Zagreb point... I will merely hold you to three vists. Three visits from my little sparrows who shall ask you to only recount things as you have seen them, and others saw them. Doesn't that seem fair little Ziva? the secrets of the hero of our age. The man of the hour, who brings so many disparate interests together under one roof. For six I will tell you where he goes when he thinks nobody is watching, but... adventurous as you are I don't think you want to be in my debt. So three tales for one. That's the price"

 

[DramaNerdette]

"Deal." A sly grin spreads across Ziva's face. "Up for another? Rich kid named Banimir. Went on one of those ego trips to the underworld rich kids go on from time to time, and he's not back as quick as he could be. The wife is worried. You happen to know if anyone might have gone along to cause an accident? It's easy enough to get your face chewed off down there if no one's trying to tickle your spine at the same time." She watches the bloated man's face, hoping not to see a spark of recognition at the name, afraid she will all the same. That, or a practiced lack of reaction, or anything really but disinterested curiosity, probably all means her guess was right in some way. She was not looking forward to bribing Yvginy into using his magics to mount a recovery trip into the Dark. Part of her was getting increasingly uncomfortable with how far out on a limb it seems she's found herself willing to go for the couple, but honesty would compel her to admit she'd always been that way. Ziva was a collector of strays. Draping them in silk and feeding them honeyed wine did not change that those two fit the bill.

 

[siobhancan99]

Kemal favored her with a cool look "nothing in this world is free, little Ziva." He leaned back, folding his hands over his ponderous bulk. "So here is what you have actually bargained for. Trinthalas grew up Janek here on the very mean streets of Gradzalata about 100 years ago. Some of his wild tales are true. He was a captain in the navy and did indeed fight and attain quite a bit of recognition at Zagreb. Thereafter he got a taste for the finer things. Things his commission couldn't get him but his looks could. He left the navy and became something of a gigolo. He's a sometimes academic, a passable poet and an excellent con man." He gestured and a girl came forward with a scrap of paper with an address on it. "You're best investigating the apartment while he's balls deep in your employer. You should take along a wizard if you want to circumvent the alarms."

 

[DramaNerdette]

Ziva groans, "Always with the magical alarms. Can't people just come up with clever mechanical traps so I can circumvent them if I'm smart enough?" She shakes her head, and lets out a stressed breath. "Ok, thanks for the info. And for the record, I was serious about offering a second deal for that other info. But... whatever, if it's not in your line of interest, it's not. I'll live with that." Watches the fat man for a moment, wondering how many other thieves in town owe him for this or that speck of information. How many he's buried under those debts. "I assume I'm to write these reports and deliver them to a middle man rather than to you personally? And since I owe you three, does the one I already attended count? I can only assume the quite little get together at my mistresses home wouldn't be of interest."

 

[siobhancan99]

Kemal shakes his head "No. You won't know what I find interesting and so your reports would be meaningless. I will want you to confirm things, or provide me additional perspective for events I am already aware of, or am aware are going to occur. Someone will find you, and they will leave instructions." He sits back, and his helpers give her the address again. "as for mechanical locks, there will be plenty of those as well. I won't insult your skills by giving you a list of the traps. I trust you'd prefer to be respected enough for me to assume you'll find them."

 

[DramaNerdette]

Ziva shrugs, "Plus, I mean, if you assume I'm good enough to find them, then you'd also assume I'm paranoid enough not to trust whatever list you might give me. Either that or you're assuming I'm not good enough to find them, and lying about it, meaning I couldn't trust any list you might hand me in the first place. Either way, I think I'm good, thanks." The thief looks around the room, taking in the decor, wondering about the kind of man who plays spymaster in the shadows. Does he work for a greater purpose? She doesn't think so. Her initial impression is that this is a man who does what he does for the love of the game. For the power it lets him accrue over others. Not that it much matters if she's right or wrong. The curiosity is mostly idle, wondering who all would be after her if this business relationship were to turn oh so sour.

"So, it sounds like our agreement is struck. I look forward to hearing from your contact. Is there anything else? Or should I just...?" She points over her shoulder at the door, offering to leave.

 

[siobhancan99]

Kemal nods "If you wish to play about in the man's house now would be the time. He's otherwise occupied." Ziva's ideas of Kemal were as good, and perhaps better, than anyone else's. He was a mystery wrapped in a riddle and swaddled in fat. Just massive amounts of fat.

As she heads out into the streets she notes that the soot of so many fires has turned the snow in the basin gray. Life in the big City was truly a wonder. The man had a bolt hole in her neighborhood, oddly enough. Close enough to her father's that she was able to check in on Milan and his helper. They seemed busy. The snow brought panic buying, and Milan and the boy were in full swing, there was a girl from next door even taking the orders so they could concentrate on baking. It was almost as if things were back to how they were before the accident. Almost but not quite. "Your Chernok friend was in asking for you yesterday. He said it was nothing important though. And this came for you." It was a basket of dried meats and fruits, from Jens-Dieter and his wife thanking her again for all she did to bring back the man. Ziva had a choice, she could go back to Banimir's or pay a visit to Yvginy. As Kemal had insinuated, a mage would be necessary to clear the magical alarms on the place. Still if she wanted to be in and out, if he was occupied it might take an hour or more to get back to his home....

 

[DramaNerdette]

Ziva grits her teeth and turns towards Yvginy's tower. She might miss her opportunity tonight... but there would be other nights. There would NOT be other chances if she tripped an alarm she couldn't see, and with his connections, there was every possibility an alarm would call up other defenses at the burglary site. She laughed a bit as the made her way across the city. Was she actually developing some sense of caution? Who was she, and what had she done with herself?!? Perhaps she would ask the wizard, she thought, as she banged her fist on the door to his home.

 

[siobhancan99]

Yvginy stepped out, seemingly unbothered by the weather. "You are so bundled up. Is like you never see winter" he rolled his eyes playfully "Come in kitten" gesturing at the interior of the tower. He stepped in and shut the door behind her. the tower looked like it would be drafty, but it was well sealed and warm on the inside. A pot of water was boiling over the fire and tea was laid out, along with a bottle of spirits. "I come by your place earlier. your father say you working. I thought I would offer you a warm place since you southerners are not used to snow" He grinned "you know winter is so much more bearable when you have someone to curl up against. For me I do not need this but you know, I am giver no?"

He stepped in and lightly tipped her chin up, leaning down to loom over her. His lips were close, but not quite close enough for her to feel his breath or the tickle of his dark mustache. His eyes locked to hers, and his long dextrous fingers gathered in her hair, tugging softly at the roots "what do you say kitten? hmmm? shall we bundle up this afternoon and hold the winter at bay? It's been a while. I could make you howl like the winter wind."

 

[DramaNerdette]

Ziva shivers with a moment's need before taking a single firm step backwards. "I... appreciate the offer. But I have a warm bed already, and I would not seek another without a more clear understanding of... of where that is going, I suppose." she clears her throat blushing furiously. "No, uh, this is... something else. A work thing. There's a conman, and he's kinda... using women. I've decided it offends me, so I'm going to kick over his snow castle, as they say. But his place..." her face turns sour with annoyance, " ...magical alarms. I need someone with expertise. Obviously, I thought of you. But not tonight. I do not think he will remain preoccupied long enough for the job. But soon, I hope. If you're in?" She asks, worried she might be trading too heavily on their... friendship? Association? Whatever it was she and the wizard shared beyond occasional deep mutual satisfaction.

"I brought a fruit basket!" she added hopefully, holding up her gift from Jens-Dieter's brood.

 

[siobhancan99]

Yvginy laughs until she offers the basket "rude. you regift fruit basket? tch. Chernoks would strip you naked and put you out in the snow, to give this thoughtful gift away. Bah. You are bad girl." he shakes his head "I no longer want to have sex with such a bad girl. Manners! I should have a talk with your papa about marrying you off to someone who would spank some sense into you." He blew a great breath through his mustache "I also get fruit basket. Mine has nice little card with drawings from the children. It was very touching." He leaned against the table and crossed his arms "what a world we live in." He shook his head and sighed "when you are ready to do this dangerous thing you let me know, but I hope in the meantime you learn a greater gratitude for your many blessings and the attention of your understanding friends. Also tell Ulricha I say hi"

 

[DramaNerdette]

"Ugh. I have never understood that. It's a gift basket. Right now it's MY gift basket, and I should be able to give it as I like. Also, don't lie, it's impolite. You absolutely still want to have sex with me specifically and bad girls generally." Ziva pouts, taking a strip of dried and spiced deer meat from the basket and chewing. She then thinks for a moment at the elven conman's schedule of visitations to try to time out when he'll be... enjoying the company of his charge next. "Meet me at this address when they're together. We'll go in, find what we can, get out." Then she steps back in, and rises up on her tip toes, kissing Yvginy on the cheek. "Thank you. Truly." before turning at marching off into the blustery cold of the city, back to the manor house.

 

[siobhancan99]

Yvginy shook his head "No. Regifting a fruit basket." He grinned a little though when she kissed his cheek. "I find this man you are curling up with and I get him to spank you. You should write a nice thank you note to Jens-Dieter's wife and the children. Also, you just let me know..." He gave her a little coin "throw this on the ground and then speak a message to me. Only works once. Then I will know when to meet you. And you know. give some real notice. I can't just drop everything if I don't have a reasonable idea of when to arrive."

When the girl made it back onto the street, it was still rough going in the rise. There was easily 6 inches of snow most places. She walked past a fancy tailor's shop, seeing a group of City elves looking smugly warm, standing outside in those atrocious long coats they all wore. They were drinking steaming beverages and commenting on the miserable looks on humans trying to wrap fall cloaks around their bodies to keep off winter chill. "Maybe this year they will understand coats are all the rage." followed by "Once they do, we will have to wear something else." One of them called out "you there, girl. you should come buy a coat!" A coat in the rise though would cost her dearly.

Eventually, as she made her way back to the house she was cold, tired and wet. The guests had left and the house was near empty, with the servants having stocked what they could Jerina gave them the day to be with their families. Ulricha was cooking sausages in a pan and Jerina was drinking a beer and watching. Ulricha brightened when she saw Ziva and clearly started towards her, then remembered herself "you should have a bath. You look cold."

 

[DramaNerdette]

She gives Ulricha a tired smile. "I should have a bath, because I absolutely am cold." She sets the gift basket onto the table. "Jens-Dieter sent a thanks for the whole kidnapping rescue thing." She looked over to the lady of the house, "Hey Jerina, your day go ok?" she asked, rubbing her hands together, trying to get some of the chill out of them before she set herself to steeping in the tub like a bag of tea.

 

[siobhancan99]

Jerina nods "as you might imagine, it's been entirely uneventful." She sips at her beer. "Why don't you take a moment to eat then the two of you can uh. Do... whatever." She waved her hand in sort of vague fashion "I doubt I will suffer any attacks here in the house, with the snow in full glory." She Sat a moment, then Ulricha portioned out the sausages and onions, along with a bit of bread. The trio ate in relative silence, then Ulricha cleaned up while Ziva went upstairs to draw the bath. The larger woman came in as the water was near an acceptable level of warmth and depth "Do you want someone to wash your back or do you think you want a little time to just soak and enjoy yourself?" She brushed her thick, dark blonde hair back from her face, looking Ziva over a moment before returning her eyes to her face.

 

[DramaNerdette]

She pauses for a moment, then shakes her head, pulling Ulricha down to kiss her fiercely. When she break's the kiss, her breath comes out with a shudder. "Well. Um, I think I should get warm soon. But we also need to talk about my day. I know where the conman lives. Gonna go try to get something on him next time I'm sure he's out and... busy. But I needed someone to help me get past his magical alarms so... so I went to speak to Yvginy." Ziva looks away, blushing. "I... I'm not sure what we are yet, but... he made a tempting offer. I didn't accept, but I wanted to. I feel bad about that." She steps into the water and sinks down, unsure what to say. Unsure if she wants to look at Ulricha and see betrayal in her eyes.

 

[siobhancan99]

Ulricha sat herself on the edge of the tub "well, we... haven't really talked about being anything yet have we? I mean i've fooled around with girls before in the field but I've never been involved with one romantically" She reached for a cloth and soaped it up, then started brushing the rough cloth along Ziva's shoulders, using it to exfoliate as much as wash, letting it drag along her skin and renew her. She smiled "But it touches me you said no and you thought of me and didn't just leap at the chance. And I like the fact that you came and told me." She kept up her washing, without getting into the tub or undressing, just running the rough cloth where she could to scrape the skin clean. "would you like us to be something, deadly girl?" Her voice is soft, not mocking or even asserting. Genuinely asking. She runs the cloth along Ziva's upper arms. "You're pretty and soft and fun. I've enjoyed our week together so far. It's nice to have someone to curl up with. It's nice to explore new things with you."

 

[DramaNerdette]

"I... is it weird to say I don't know? I enjoy what we have. I mean..." Ziva laughs a little, blushing as she looks up at Ulricha. "... I really enjoy what we have. But... I haven't just never had a fling with a girl. I've never had a relationship. At all, with anyone. Part of the reason is that I'm not sure I want to... Ok. My father. He's a wonderful guy, but he's spent years trying to get me to settle down. And the whole time, I've always... hated the idea. Hated the idea of, I don't know. Being the one and only to someone? Someone being my one and only? I don't know if I have that in me, and it's unfair to... experiment with someone else's heart, so I've never tried. It's always been flings with men like Yvginy, where I know he's never going to be serious about things. Like... it's someone I know I'm not gonna hurt. Until you, my clever girl." She reached up, fingertips stroking Ulricha's cheek, thumb grazing across her lip. "I don't want to hurt you trying to make myself something I'm not." she says, voice barely more than a whisper.

 

[siobhancan99]

Ulricha nods and leans down, brushing her lips over Ziva's. She straightens a bit then soaps up the cloth again. She is quiet a moment as she cleans behind Ziva's ears, then her neck "well you might have noticed. I'm a big girl" She gives a small smile, giving a joke about the size difference as well as the comment about her maturity. "Why don't we agree that we're free to do as we please, but that we understand that at some point one of us might feel differently. And sort of along those lines whoever does feel differently should bring that up and make it clear to the other one." She takes the cloth and gently runs it along Ziva's chest, avoiding her breasts and still just genuinely washing her. "Maybe with the understanding that we seem to be drifting in that direction, but without you know. Some sort of artificial time table for when that has to be."

 

[DramaNerdette]

"Do you feel like... do you think we're drifting in that direction?" Ziva asks, looking up in the direction of her lover. Then she shrugs, embarassed. "I mean, we could be. I wouldn't mind that. I'll... I'll keep that in mind. It's a good thing to keep in mind, and we're smart and beautiful girls and.. and of course we're keeping it in mind and holy shit I'm just babbling now." She swallows down her nerves, climbs to her knees, and kisses Ulricha again, more gently. "Thank you. For understanding."

 

[siobhancan99]

Ulricha shrugs "the fact of the conversation itself sort of implies it doesn't it?" She tugs softly at Ziva's lower lip and then her upper, then stands. She drapes the cloth over the side of the tub "Enjoy your bath, deadly one. I'm going to do some training downstairs before I have my own. It's easy to get soft in a place like this. To let yourself go. It's best to remind yourself to keep your edge now and again, and to work on it."

 

[DramaNerdette]

Ziva nods, sinking into the water, letting the heat soak into her. She relaxed, thinking of Ulricha, Zvginy... both of them. It wasn't long before she had one leg over the edge of the tub, and fingers rubbing frantically over her little pearl. The orgasm came quick and sharp, and I had to clench my jaw not to make too much noise. Then I washed myself off for real, and climbed out, draining the water. Shortly thereafter, I was walking the house, enjoying the renewed feelings in my fingertips and my fresh scrubbed skin, checking the place over for anything unanticipated.

 

[siobhancan99]

The rest of the evening went uneventful. Jerina turned in early, as the sun dipped below the level of the Stulkin Vid early at the end of October. The sky was still lit, but the City itself had only the diffuse indirect sunlight that made it over the mountains. Ulricha and Ziva passed a quiet night, not talking much till finally, as the embers of the fire burned low Ulricha moved over and swept Ziva up into her arms. She planted a firm kiss on her lips and carried her upstairs, laying her down on the bed. She slipped out of her clothes, then slid under the covers with her little lover. Her hands roamed, exploring but also claiming. She kneaded Ziva's ass, kissed and bit her neck, moaned softly into her ear and whispered soft phrases in a musical language that was neither Volk nor Gradzlatan. Her even teeth raked along Ziva's neck even as a strong calloused hand found a pert breast. She pinched and tugged at Ziva's nipple beneath her top, then finally with a soft moan she whispered "I want to make you feel good." She wrapped the smaller girl in close with a powerful arm, then let her mouth find Ziva's, sucking at each lip, then biting and tugging at the lower, running her tongue along it.

 

[DramaNerdette]

While they kissed, Ziva slid a slender, pale thigh up between Ulricha's legs and against her sex, giving her something to press against. The smaller girl brought her hand up against the blond's flank, up further, cupping her breast, pinching lightly over her nipple as she started to suck on the woman's tongue. There was a soft, urgent need to their lovemaking, a heat to ward off the chill and a desire to feed each other pleasure. Ziva broke their kiss, ducked down, and licked a nipple with the flat of her tongue before suckling on it hungrily.