Arioch's touch, so gentle and reassuring, eases Mariska's fears a little.  Still, she looks at him with a troubled expression.  "I've never told anyone," she says, her voice nearly inaudible.  For several moments she says nothing as she seems to be considering.  Then she looks at Arioch directly again, as if meeting his eyes helps to increase her courage.<br/><br/>"There is someone there...if I returned and he caught me, he'd kill me.  Or worse..."  She shivers a little, as remnants of the dream flare up again.  What she has said is the truth, but it is much more complex than her fear of Asair Jassan; as much as she wants to deny it, Mariska knows that there she still has a bond to him. What she itruly fears would happen, if he caught her,  is that he would not kill her, but instead enslave her, and there is a part of her that not only would not resist that idea, but would embrace it.<br/><br/>"Asair.  Asair Jassan.  I was younger.  I didn't know what I was doing..."  She trails off again, and Arioch can see tears shining in her eyes.