Chapter 16: Relationships 1

Rel wanted to get the soldiers sorted quickly so she could deal with her main concern.

Still, she took the time to watch Lady Via stride away down the broad, airy road that was quickly forming into the town’s main thoroughfare. Exhausted as she was, the woman still held herself as tall as her diminutive frame would allow, black cloak and black hair trailing behind her like paired banners. Each step was marked with a flash of the strange metal that made up her armor.

Rel swallowed heavily. She hadn’t had such a long period of time with her Mistress in weeks now. That must be the reason why she was so affected.

I-I wish we c-c-could spend more time with her…

The voice in her head, Rel’s ‘Dream Sequence’ skill, agreed with her.

But they were both so busy. Case and point, the time she’d been staring after Lady Via was time that she was not handing out the assignments for the rest of the week. Luckily, a runner who’d been tasked to bring over the information had gotten started without her.

She returned to the group of men and women just as they began looking over the sheets that outlined their duties after handing off the hummingbirds and poisonous flowers.

“Only guard duty for the rest of the week!” Llen complained. “And I’m on a farm?” He pulled a face. “Not exactly the beasts I’m interesting in, Lady Rel.”

Rel still didn’t know how to react to people calling her ‘Lady’ anything. In her eyes, there was only one Lady, after all. Still, she couldn’t just close up anymore, not when her Lady was relying on her so much. “You have a report to write on monster migrations.” She placed a hand on her hip. “The Lady is counting on it.”

Still, at least Llen got one thing right; even he knew who the Lady of Lady’s Port was.

“Ah, Lady did say that.” He nodded, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “I’m, ah, not the best with my letters.”

“I’ll have some help,” Rel said, thoughts already going to some of the children from the school. Many of them were learning to read incredibly quickly, and they always wanted something more exciting to do… “The rest of you, you have today off, of course, but we will need you back in training or guard rotations tomorrow.”

Her words were met with nods all around. Everyone understood that they were short on hands: hands to build, hands to guide, hands to hold the myriad gifts Lady Via bestowed on them all.

Maybe the last one was just Rel. She had to stop herself from looking over her shoulder in concern, the direction that her Mistress had so swiftly departed.

I-is she s-s-sleeping enough? Rel’s special skill tingled at the back of her mind. She added that to the list of things to check. Mistress would lie of course, but if she checked with the kitchen staff first about her tea consumption, perhaps?

“And whatta ‘bout them birds?”

Rel jolted back to the present. “The birds!” She nodded, slapping her pants once, twice. The sleek black fabric didn’t hold the answers, just more knives. “The birds are…”

“Fear not.” Ishanti breezed around the corner, nearly gliding across the rough cobbles. “That was my assignment; we have brought blood to keep them alive until we can finish planting their grove as well. Quickly now, quickly.” She waved her hand, impatiently. “I was informed that they would not long live without nourishment, was I misinformed?”

“Whoop, nope!” Llen hopped to his feet. “Gotta get moving, Lady Rel! Talk about that report later.”

Rel sighed as the young man dashed off with a crate of the flowers. They’d be set up in a glade that had already been selected to the northeast of the town, essentially between Lady’s Port and Silverwall. It wasn’t expected to prevent travel between the two, but perhaps it would be a stumbling block to any organized aggression that attempted to cut through the jungle.

“Come,” Ishanti said to her helpers. “Put on the gloves, as you were instructed. We shall distribute the cow blood. The hummingbirds should be in a weakened state from hunger, but be cautious.”

Rel took a step back as the other women took the protective gear from the soldiers. They didn’t have an infinite amount of leather to make into thick gloves and face masks. For her part, Rel was just glad that the entire operation had gone through without a hitch.

Well, as much as any of Lady Via’s plans did, that is.

Sh-she makes good plans! Dream sequence said in her head. Th-they just n-n-need some help, sometimes…right?

Rel smiled. At least the little voice in the back of her mind was unequivocally on Mistress’s side.

O-of course!

Rel nodded, all of her supported Lady Via all of the time. She marched forward, coming to a stop next to the princess. “How do the birds look?”

Ishanti glanced up over her shoulder. “Most of them survived the trip. A few did not.” Ishanti sighed. “We’ve sorted the dead ones out from the rest.” She looked down at the bird in her hands. “This one has a wounded wing.”

Rel looked over the other woman’s shoulder. The bird was a pale green, scales flashing like tiny gems in the morning light. It’s wing was stretched out across Ishanti’s gloved palms, bent an odd angle.

“I do not think it will be able to fly.” A note of lingering melancholy filled Ishanti’s voice at those words. “Poor broken bird, the cage broke you before you could escape it.”

Rel opened her mouth, before closing it. She did not know much about broken birds.

She knew much more about the tightly wound pain in Ishanti’s voice. Rel’s Mistress did very much like collecting her strays.

“Lady Via only demanded the dead hummingbirds be delivered to her workshop.”

Ishanti blinked once, her silvery lashes brushing against her cheeks. She turned to look at Rel. “I do not understand what you are insinuating.”

Rel shrugged, glancing off to the side awkwardly. “It is only an observation…”

Ishanti rose, eyes narrowing. She did not return the bird to its box though, it remained, trembling weakly in her hands. “If placed with the others, it will starve.”

“It will.” Rel nodded. “Sometimes…I think…” She didn’t know what she was saying, but the words kept spilling out regardless. “Sometimes birds need a tender hand to heal them. Some…someone to keep them safe, before they’re ready to fly.”

Ishanti blinked again, golden eyes drifting slowly shut, again, before returning back to the bird in her grip. “They eat blood, it is said?” she asked.

“Yes.” Rel nodded again. “And nectar.”

Ishanti said nothing more for a moment, then she lifted her head. “Girls, transport the birds to their assigned glade. I shall handle the delivery of the ones that did not survive transit.” She looked towards Rel. “And if I should also need to commission a cage?”

“Scrap metal will be enough for bars. Lady Via’s Soot Imps should be able to help you quickly.” Rel jerked her head towards the artisan’s district that had sprung up next to the port. The two imps had a whole shop to themselves, and all the metal they could ask for. Rel pulled a face. “I need to tour the place, actually…”

Princess Ishanti, for her part, did seem to sense her hesitation. “If you inform me what it is I am to inspect, I could perhaps manage that task for you,” the silver-haired woman said.

Rel shifted. On one hand, it was a task that Via had given to her, and she was loath to part with those, especially to Ishanti.

On the other…

Sh-she did tell us to d-delegate? Dream Sequence added. A-a-and to…get along?

Rel sighed. “That would be very helpful.” She sucked on her lip for a moment before adding, “Thank you.”

“It is of no moment.” Ishanti rose, the wounded bird still cradled gently in one hand as she held out a small rag soaked with cow blood, dripping it into the hummingbird’s waiting beak.

Rel thought it looked disturbingly like feeding a baby, only nothing like that at all.

“I’ll give you the specifics of the task?”

Ishanti nodded. “Just so.”

“It is simple. Ask the workers if they have any complaints, or if any of the equipment looks like it needs to be replaced.” Rel glanced off to the side. “Also…make sure that Coaline and Mr. Burns haven’t killed each other.”

Ishanti raised an eyebrow. “Is this likely to be the case?”

Rel shrugged helplessly. “They don’t…like each other? Lady Via ordered two different forges built to keep them farther apart.”

“And now she visits only rarely…” Ishanti mused.

Rel bit her lip at the potential parallels between their own situation. “Thank you, again, for helping,” she said at length.

Ishanti sank into a brief curtsey, making her simple green and brown dress look like something far more elegant. “Let us endeavor to escape our own cages, then,” she said.

Rel’s lips turned into a smile, looking down at the ground. “Before they start sending people to make sure we haven’t killed each other.”

“It is just so.”

Th-that wasn’t so b-bad…

Rel nodded to herself as Ishanti walked away. If only she could be certain that the princess was completely in Lady Via’s camp. Even if Silverwall was closed to the woman, Ishanti still had connections in the capital that she could potentially leverage.

Yet here she remained, playing secretary to Rel’s mistress.

Was she just another bird with a broken wing, waiting for the right moment to fly away?

Maybe…she hadn’t m-made her choice? Dream Sequence asked.

“Then she’d best decide quickly,” Relia murmured.

A small hand tugged at her elbow.

Rel blinked, looking down to see her own minion standing at her elbow. The girl still didn’t have a specialized class, or if she did, she wasn’t sharing, but for some reason she’d kept coming back to Rel for work.

Rel held back a sigh. So much for getting back to Lady Via in any reasonable amount of time.

“Hello again.” She crouched one knee on the cobble. “What do you have for me, Miina?”

Miina looked up at her, bright green eyes peeking out from beneath her brown hair. The girl had light brown skin to match her hair, and a solemn expression that turned utterly terrifying when she held a knife.

She’d taken to blades nearly as quickly as Rel had herself, and Relia had had a skill helping her out.

After a moment, Miina reached into the small satchel she had, pulling out a sheaf of papers. She held it out to Rel with one hand, the other pointing towards the Lightning Mill.

Rel nodded. “Daily reports for Lady Via?” Perhaps she’d get to see her faster than Rel thought.

Then Miina shook her head, making a jagged chopping motion with her hand.

“For…Electra?” Rel asked. Miina nodded. “I see, these are the sketches then, for the forge, docks, and other public spaces?” Rel flicked through them, revealing diagrams and other important information that Electra and Via said they needed to expand the lights.

Miina nodded.

Rel pushed herself back to her feet, tucking the papers into her jacket. Still, the little girl stood at her feet, looking up at her expectantly.

Rel still wasn’t sure what to do with the girl. Miina could speak, she just chose not to most of the time. At the same time, having a personal runner and helper really did streamline Rel’s own tasks.

And yes, maybe she recognized a little bit of a kindred spirit in the small, quiet girl.

“Good work,” Rel said. Then, slowly, consciously, she reached out and ruffled the girl’s hair. Miina tilted her head, staring up at Rel as she blinked. Rel took back her hand. “How are your letters? I need someone to write up a report for Lady Via.”

Miina looked at her for a moment longer, before nodding. “Kay.”

Rel smiled. “Go look for Solder Llen at the northern farm, let him know that you’ll write down his report on monster migrations for him.”

Miina nodded one more time before setting off, leaving Rel with yet another task to do.

She ran a hand through her own brown hair. “When did things become so busy?”

I bet Mistress feels like this…a-all the time.

The thought stayed with Rel for the rest of the day.