Free Challenges by Sharon Green Page B

claimed that they thought they were protecting you from some sort of attack, and now I ask if that statement was true.”
    “Of course not,” Allestine responded at once, her voice soft and entirely free of reluctance. “They knew the guardsmen were there to arrest us, so they tried to prevent that from happening. It was what they were supposed to do.”
    A not-quite ripple went through the people in the room, a voiceless reaction to the easy and damning admission. Jovvi could tell she wasn’t the only one who had never seen the results of Puredan use, and the others seemed as shaken as Jovvi felt.
    “That sounds more like it,” the prosecuting judge said with satisfaction. “And now you may tell us about the reason for your presence in Gan Garee. Did you really come here to see about expanding your business?”
    “It would be rather impractical for me to expand all the way here,” Allestine replied calmly. “The residence at home requires my close personal supervision, and so would any other residence I opened. I might be able to divide my time if the two were in the same city, but not with them being so far apart. No, the only reason I came here was to see what Jovvi was doing.”
    “Didn’t you know what she was doing?” the judge asked next. “She came here to test for High practitioner, didn’t she?”
    “Certainly, and that’s why I had to follow,” Allestine agreed. “She’s always been so quick to do just the right thing for herself, that I knew she would choose to stay here if she passed those tests. And maybe even if she didn’t, since any residence in the city would have accepted her gladly. But she brings in more gold than all the rest of my ladies combined, so I simply couldn’t afford to let her go. I made up my mind to come after her and bring her back, knowing no one would notice the absence of one single girl.”
    “Didn’t you realize that she’s more than just another girl?” the judge pursued. “How could you think that no one would notice the disappearance of a competitions entrant?”
    “Everyone knows that competition business is nonsense,” Allestine said, almost adding a small laugh. “Real people never bother about it, so why should I? Besides, I
wanted
her back in my residence, and I usually get what I want. Ark and Bar make sure of that, so why shouldn’t I have tried to kidnap her? It didn’t even matter that she said she would report me to the authorities. I
wanted
her back.”
    “Is that why you didn’t leave the city when your attempt failed?” the judge asked next. “You had all your possessions with you and you’d paid your inn charges in full, our investigators told us, but then you went back to the inn. Were you going to try again?”
    “Of course, but that isn’t why I didn’t leave,” Allestine answered, her hands folded comfortably in front of her. “It wasn’t possible to leave, it just wasn’t, and that’s why I decided to try again. We would have made sure she was unconscious that second time, but I’m not certain about what I would have done with her. It wasn’t possible to leave…”
    Allestine’s voice trailed off as though she were confused about something, but she really had nothing in her mind that could
be
confusing. Jovvi, however, wasn’t in the same position, and she was both confused and disturbed. Something wasn’t right here, she knew, but before she found it possible to figure out what, the defense judge spoke.
    “Did you regret your actions at all?” he asked, his mind weary with the necessity. “Weren’t you the least bit sorry that you tried what you did? Wasn’t there the smallest chance that you would have changed your mind about trying again?”
    “No, I wasn’t sorry,” Allestine admitted quickly and easily. “Why would I be sorry about taking back what’s mine? She belongs to me, you know, and always will. Just like the other girls in the residence, only she’s much more valuable than them. When I get