Within the peaceful bower of her garden with its blooms and blossoms which scented the air and the games shadows played upon the lush carpeting of meadow soft grass, Letta invoked the image of mythical creature at repose. What those eyes of her gleaned from the physical reaction and interaction of the angel beside her, was her own to partake of. Each would be untangled and reviewed as it pleased for her to do so, each delicate breath, each tiny tell of where eyes fell or did not fall, each motion of the angelic creature noted and memorized as if in those details and the words that bubbled from such sweet lips was where truth may well rest.<br/><br/>There was a calmness about her, a serenity that came not merely from those words given so brutally raw and truthful in their confession from her Alessandro, but of something more. His love was but boon and bonus, it was not of folly or circumstance but given and returned with a freedom that few would ever understand. No, Nicoletta's confidence was that  of a woman who had constructed her own throne and kingdom from her pain, her blood, her tears, her joy, her cunning and  her strength -all things that were hers and hers alone, no man had gifted such to her and thus she could reside in the knowledge that it could never be taken from her.<br/><br/>It was not her impeccable timing or charming forms of manipulation that lead her to give her total attention to  Serafina, but it would be impossible for the girl to not feel the full weight of that attention upon her, the vivid color of those jade swirled orbs watching her with a warm amusement as she spoke in earnest, at least in that was how Letta took the words that flowed from her lips. The words that came brought a feeling of familiarity in response to the beauty beside her and more then once she had to fight the curve of her lips at the realization that somehow Alessandro's 'gift' had once more been spot on. The girl, with the proper training and little bits of polish, could easily eclipse her own fame and fortune.<br/><br/>Nicoletta allowed her fingertips to drift  upwards,  slender digits seeking in practiced touch to slip hair pins from the sunset colored curls, allowing them to fall heavy and loose to her waist as she sighed happily.<strong> "May you always not lie to me, Serafina. I do fear my heart would tear slightly, should I be forced to correct such behavior from one I do wish to take into arms and tend to as I was tended to by one Beloved to me, beyond all others. Alessandro spoke his truth within the carriage and you have given yours to me, I do believe." </strong>The jewel adorned pins and the netting she pulled from her curls to allow them their freedom were placed upon Fina's lap as a tribute, the first the girl perhaps had ever received for her 'company'.<br/><br/>Letta drew in a soft breath, a thought bringing another within the webbing of her mind to be consumed in smaller bites, to be pondered upon later. For now was not the time for such conversations, it was a time to assess the situation that both had found themselves in. Oh, they might be free and fearless, but Letta was under no illusion of her place and would give no allusion otherwise to the girl. The truth was simple, women could only be 'so' free, their hands forced by a culture and a society that in it's own way forced them to make choices that damned them to walk outside politeness, to trade flesh and the pretense of love or merely claim in order to achieve the basic rights secured by any person with twig and berries between their thighs. That idea was more then offensive to her, it was repulsive considering how many fools she had suffered, who squandered their freedom without understanding it's weight or worth.<br/><br/><strong>"Those who chose this path for the pleasure of body are far to soon used and spent, husks of the women they could have been. It is a tragedy and you will in your life time, my darling angel, learn to mourn for them, as if you were one of them.  And you will rejoice as well, for you are a creature of contrasts and wisdom even now, your words show you capable of making logical reflections even when the logic burns your soul. That is power too. You are wise to know that it is not the pleasure of flesh alone that makes one great. It is the knowledge and education, it is the over all application of such things  that strikes men weak or gives them the wish to worship. Desire does begin within the mind, once you have mastered how to control perception and to properly read the desire, you can 'become' what is hungered for. I will teach you to inspire a man to feel himself a God, or to with but a inflection change and a shift of position make him grovel like a worm. Those are easy lessons. "</strong><br/><br/><br/><strong> "They chain themselves really, for they cannot stomach the contrasts. They wish their women on a whole, to be cowering virgins, without knowledge, or insight other then that which care takes for them. But in their hearts, in their secret hearts, they pine for that which is truthfully of their ribs, made of them, not to held as lesser. Why do you think there are so many Goddesses in the old Phaethon? Or why the Church seeks to make either virgin or whore of what is in their text? You see they would trade their wives, their mothers, their daughters for that touch of glory, in the heat of passion. And they will regret nothing of the exchange because still even with a courtesan it is simple to say "She is but a whore." or "It is of the devil, what she works is not her own." </strong><br/><br/><strong>"Alessandro should well perplex you, Serafina. He sees within you something he has never seen before and oh, my sweet angel....you could find the nearest thing to freedom with him. "</strong>The words cost her no pain to say as she leaned her head back upon the rest of her chair, her fingertips sliding to play with the fiery kissed curls that glimmered and glistened in the half light.<strong> " I will train you, as if you were my own. I will love you and feed you all of the knowledge you wish to consume, I will spare no effort and no expense as long as you are honest with me in all things. " </strong>What Letta gave Fina was more then acceptance as she smiled to her.<br/><br/><strong>"But make no mistake, my darling angel, you have no choice of if you are in a cage or not. Merely the cage of your choice. Let me be clear, you will not be ignorant or helpless, but you will still have a cage. If you become what I believe you can be, you would only need tend to Alessandro, and in his love and his glorious warmth, he would spoil you and allow you all the freedoms his name and weight carry. If you become what I believe you can be and reach for what you 'think' is freedom, you will serve until you make name for yourself, each touch, each venture, each plundering the cost of your knowledge by way of your body. They may believe we whore ourselves for coin, but for myself, it was never about the money. It was about the protection the money and status afforded me, so that I could hold the reins to my own fate. " </strong><br/><br/>Nicoletta turned her face to the girls own, the tilt of her head showing her observation as she remained unmasked and in all ways herself. It was not the mask she wore when entertaining or when working, it was that which was her. Introspective and truthful as her brow arched slightly and she would lean over to whisper in the girls ear, her fingertips sweeping over the beautiful blonde tresses so that her breath could find the flesh warm and sweet, her words merely for the girl herself and not those who may or may not be observing.<br/><br/><strong>"I see reflections of myself in you. Is that vanity? No. Because you can become far more then I ever could be. I love my Beloved more then myself, by choice, not by need. And he within you sees something that inspires the goodness of his soul and  I am inclined to feed that. You say you have admired me for some time. If you agree to the training, to the purpose and the tasks and give me your loyalty, I will in turn and in sacred trust see you to the stars, little Angel, and more import, I shall make promise to you: If you choose a life different then the one that my Beloved may well see for you, I will aide you as best I can to find the cage of your choice, with us or not. It will not be an easy road, even as gifted as you are, lovely, I will not lie to you. " </strong>Her lips brushed the girls temple as she let her body return to it's natural reclined position, the servants appearing with the light refreshments to set them upon the table before the two beauties.<br/><br/><strong>"It is your choice, darling girl. I would not take under wing one who did not wish to absolutely be there. It takes far to much time to educate and if your intentions are at the present to break my Soul's heart, well then, I must view you as enemy of that which is most precious to me. I do not believe you are foolish enough to make enemy of me, it would make little sense to at this junction.  And I believe it goes without saying and yet I must say such since we are being absolutely honest with one another: if you feel yourself clever enough to play games with Alessandro while he is being so unmasked and delightfully himself with you, I will dine upon your still beating heart, before his tears even have time to fall. "</strong>The servants poured from their jars, settling the selection of fruits,cheese and thin slices of smoked meats before them, Letta plucking a slice to bite from as she watched the beauty beside her.<strong> "And I would adore the company of another of like mind within the house, I won't lie, it gets lonely from to time. I have the feeling you would be a spirited conversationalist upon the topics that bring me joy. " </strong>