FIRE NATION

CHAPTER 12

"How long did you travel with the circus before I purchased you, Roseanne?"

Roseanne gazed curiously at Lalisa from between her splayed ankles. The Princess had been watching her stretch for the better part of an hour, but aside from an interruption part-way through when Lalisa had demanded the use of her mouth, they hadn't spoken much. It hadn't been an awkward silence, but a silence nonetheless. She removed her legs from over her head, lowering them until she was resting on her stomach once more. "Eight years," she said, forming a fist beneath her cheek. "Why?"

Lalisa didn't answer her question. Instead, her brow furrowed. "Eight years? But the circus has come to the Palace every year since I was a child. Why didn't I notice you?"

"I don't know... Mistress." Since the incident following Li and Lo's examination, Roseanne hadn't been sure what to call Lalisa. Once in a while, she took a risk and used the Princess's first name—which got her a few brooding, unreadable looks, but none of the promised punishments. Most of the time, she lost her courage and fell back on formal titles. She didn't ask Lalisa what she preferred to be called, for fear that pointing it out might rouse her anger... or perhaps earn an answer she didn't want to hear.

When Lalisa kept staring at her, Roseanne continued. "I remember seeing you at the performances. You always looked a little bored. Sometimes I wondered if you were sad."

"Irritated," Lalisa clarified. "Probably because I was being forced to sit next to my father and brother. But if you were with the circus for eight years, you must have been twelve, maybe thirteen when you joined. Why did you leave home so young?"

Roseanne tried to conceal her surprise. She had expected Lalisa to drop the subject, or continue talking about herself. She had no idea why her Mistress was suddenly so interested in her personal history. I guess there's no reason to keep it secret. It's not like she's going to send me back to my parents now that I'm carrying her pups...

She moved into a sitting position, curling in on herself. The days continued to fly by, but thinking about her situation was still painful. She wasn't certain of anything, not even how she felt. When she wasn't in denial about her pregnancy, she was scared and hurt and resentful, with a few random fits of inappropriate joy thrown in just to confuse her further. "I ran away," she said, resting her chin on her knees. "I'm from a noble family..."

"I knew I had good taste," Lalisa drawled, fixing her with a lingering look. "Go on."

"I was part of a big litter. There were seven of us, all female omegas, all identical. It got competitive."

"Competitive?" Lalisa repeated in disbelief. "I thought you said all your littermates were omegas?"

"I did," Roseanne said. "Forgive me, Mistress, but if you don't think omegas can be competitive, you don't understand us as well as you say."

A look of annoyance flashed across Lalisa's face, but she didn't argue. Instead, she settled back against the pillows, as if to continue listening.

"Since there were so many of us, we fought for our parents' affection. My father encouraged it. My mother tried, but there was only so much attention to go around." She paused, lowering her knees away from her chest and sitting cross-legged on the floor. "When we grew older, it got worse. My sisters and I picked different hobbies so no one could see us as the same person. I chose acrobatics."

"A choice I'm very appreciative of," Lalisa said with a smirk.

Roseanne gave a weak smile of her own. "Um, thank you?"

"But why did you leave? Plenty of people have awful parents. Not all of us run away to join the circus."

Roseanne sighed. "My sisters and I came into our heats when we were thirteen. It made my father realize we could be... profitable... for him. There were lots of noble alphas who needed fertile mates. He had seven daughters to offer."