People walked in a line down the ramp of the boat, each shackled and attached to the next by a long chain. A small group of men stood watch over them, whips at the ready for any trouble. Even from the distance we were at it was easy to see that all of the slaves were already beaten into submission, their heads low as they shuffled quietly along.

I put one hand out to block Taryn before he had a chance to act, worried he was about to run over and beat up the slavers. “Promise me you aren’t going to do something stupid.”

Taryn flashed a little smile at me but he didn’t try to push past. “So long as they don’t beat on the children I won’t do anything,” he promised me.

It was an answer that I had expected, yet it was one that I had somewhat feared. I looked past Taryn to Kaina who had just gotten off of the boat. “Can you keep an eye on him? Make sure he doesn’t punch anyone.”

With a dazed look on her face Kaina nodded back at me, but it was obvious she hadn’t adjusted to the trip over the ocean. I made a mental note to have a small talk with her later.

I turned to Rocky and put on my friendliest face. “Would you mind coming with me? I could use a little influence.”

“Oh, Flower, what are you up to?” Rocky asked with a laugh.

I gave a wink before I started to walk over to where the slaver ship had docked. Rocky caught up to me quick enough given his long stride, and he purposefully intertwined his one arm with my own. To any onlooker it would look like an old soldier escorting his younger daughter.

“Why does it seem like there are more slavers lately?”

Next to me Rocky let out a grunt. “Your dad isn’t helping with that.”

“What? I know we’ve bought some off the market before, but he isn’t helping them is he?”

“No.” Rocky shook his head. “When I was a kid nobody ever left their towns, except for the merchants and soldiers. The Plague made sure of that, you see, if you didn’t have a wall you’d die. Vandross and a few others over the last forty years have been cleansing most of the Empire, so people are starting to set up houses and little villages all over the place.”

It was something I hadn’t thought about before, but I’d already seen proof of it recently. A farmhouse far from a village which was raided, and a child who ended up losing her parents. “That’s so reckless of them though,” I said, “why would they risk everything like that?”

“Why’d you run off and leave your family behind?”

I came to a dead stop at that question and glared at Sciroco. “I didn’t leave them behind and you know it,” I managed to say through clenched teeth.

“Calm down, Flower,” he replied with a gentle tone, “what I’m saying is that they wanted to do what you did, get out into the world and make a name. If you claim a spot in the wilderness as yours the Empire usually lets you keep it.”

I didn’t respond to him after that, and instead I thought on his words as we walked. As we approached the slavers boat a few of the more muscular sailors noticed us. They called out to their friends, one of the sailors even going so far as to stand in our way, and very soon a large group of the sailors had gathered.

From further back a man started to squeeze his way through the sailors, as he called out for everyone to back away. He was a thin man, one who had an unsteady walk and a pale face, and as he emerged from the crowd he wiped at his forehead with a handkerchief.

“Everyone quiet down,” he told the sailors with a grimace, “my name is Leonard, how can I help you?”

I gave Rocky a slight nudge with my elbow and he caught on quick enough. “I am High General Sciroco,” he said in a confident voice, “and this is Lady Liliana Rose, daughter of Vandross.”

The already pale man somehow managed to go even whiter, and then he coughed into his handkerchief. “Sorry, I didn’t take well to the sea,” he tried as an apology, “but did you say the High General and the daughter of the hero?”

“Yes.” Rocky used his free hand to motion at the emblem on his uniform, a star with an anvil in the middle of it. “I’m certain that you have heard what happens to people who pretend to be a ranked officer in the Legion?”

“Kane’s told me some stories,” Leonard commented as he gave a small bow, “once more how can I help you?”

I looked over the slaves that had already walked down the ramp. For the most part they were men, some muscular and some thin, but a few children and women were mixed in. What caught my attention most were the ones with a sort of metallic hair and tanned skin, a sign that they’d originated from the desert.

“How’d you manage to get some of the Vharani?” I wondered aloud.

Leonard couldn’t resist smiling at that question. “A couple of the tribes had problems getting enough food, so some volunteered themselves,” he said, “the auction for them will be very rewarding.”

I could feel the twitch in my lip at that comment, but I stamped out the feeling of disgust in order to focus on the task. “Well, I’m looking to purchase every woman and child that you have here.”

The silence that my request caused was sudden and absolute. Even the sailors who had grumbled nearby turned to stare at me, eyes wide in shock. Leonard started to visibly shake as he licked his lips, and then he started to talk only to stop. Finally he spread his arms wide and his smile widened as far as it could.

“Clearly I’ll need proof of who you are before we can finalize any agreement,” Leonard told me, “and I did plan to take them to auction so the price will need to be sufficient.”

“Sufficient? I believe the normal rate for an adult is a thousand?”

“Except the Melbourne family has set up an auction to celebrate their colosseum.” Leonard tucked his handkerchief into his pocket. “I’ll need to ask for...fifteen? Seven hundred for the children, of course.”

“How many do you have?”

“Well, I’m not sure how many survived the trip,” Leonard chuckled as he scratched at his chin, “but last I knew we had seventy men, twelve women and twenty two children.”

It was a lot. My family was one of the wealthiest in the entire Empire, a side effect from compensating my parents for their hard work. Yet even I knew that my father would probably balk at the cost, especially given that I merely wanted to avoid a fight. One thing was obvious enough, I wouldn’t be able to afford the men as well.

“You sure about this, Flower?” Rocky asked in a whisper as he leaned in close.

“Don’t worry, my father can use it as my wedding gift,” I replied with a mischievous grin. For some odd reason Rocky turned and glared behind us.

“Do we have a deal, Lady Rose?”

“Yes, though I’ll need you to deliver them to Shiadone.”

Leonard’s eyes narrowed at the mention of the town. “Given all of the children...you wouldn’t happen to be connected to an orphanage?”

“I currently live there with a friend of the family.”

Leonard gave a small shake of his head. “That explains why the Legion refuses to help us,” he said as he looked past me, “you can keep your money. I’m not handing any slaves over to that silver haired bastard.”

Faster than my own eyes could follow my free hand found it’s way to Leonard’s neck. I yanked the thin man in close and leaned so I could whisper into his ear. “You have two choices. Either agree to my deal, or we kill everyone here and take them anyways.”

He squirmed in protest, a slight squeak his immediate response, but my grip only tightened. A few of the sailors nearby caught on to what was happening and moved in, but Rocky slipped between us and them. With an exaggerated flourish he pulled out his sword and held it in front, though he made no move to attack.

“I’d like to apologize, but they’re having a private business discussion,” he said to the sailors, “do you really want to fight a High General of the Empire?”.

One of the sailors took it upon himself to take Rocky up on that challenge. He tried to edge around and past Rocky, but the flat of the blade slapped him in the face hard enough to welt his cheek. That single move was enough to stop the other sailors in their tracks. Though I’d had no problem seeing what he’d done it was still too quick for the average person.

“This is a crime! The Legion shouldn’t allow this!” Leonard managed to squeeze out in a hoarse voice.

“As you said, there’s a reason the Legion have looked the other way,” I calmly whispered into his ear, “now, Mister Leonard, do we have a deal?”

“Yes!”

I let him go with a flick of the wrist, enough strength put into the release that he not only stumbled back but also fell down. As he flopped I glared down at him and hoped he understood how much I loathed him. “I’ll send a courier later. I highly recommend you don’t renege on our deal. I believe you know how connected my family is?”

Leonard flinched away from both my glare and words as he rubbed at his neck. His only response to me was a small nod of his head. Even as I turned and started to walk away he didn’t speak. I could hear the sound of the sailors as they crowded around Leonard, but not a single one tried to stop me.

Rocky caught up quick enough with me, his sword already in the scabbard at his hip. A few seconds of silence was interrupted when he leaned in and whispered to me, “I think we need to have a talk, Flower.”

I came to a stop and looked at him. “What?”

“You went too far back there.” Rocky let out a long sigh. “Have you changed that much while I wasn’t watching?”

I cocked my head a little to the side at his question, confused at first by what he meant, and then it slowly dawned on me. “I didn’t mean to be that rough,” I admitted to him, “I just got angry. I’m sorry, Rocky, I know I probably put you in a bad spot.”

“Yes, you did.” Rocky reached over and gently patted me on the head. “I love you, but don’t do that again. You and your boy have pushed the limits.”

“I’ll try.”

I could almost feel his scowl at my reply, but he remained quiet after that. We walked back over to join up with Taryn and Kaina, even as the carriage came into view. Soon enough we were well on our way out of Waterrick and heading to Scintallia.

♪ ♫ ♬ ♫ ♪

The carriage was plush on the interior, with soft cushions that made it easy to handle the long trip. The carriage itself rarely shook due to some type of invention built into it. I’d once been told how it worked but when you’re ten years old you don’t really care about that sort of thing.

Guarded by a small contingent of legionnaire cavalry we made quick time. As we moved along the main road between Waterrick and Scintallia we’d stop sporadically at small villages, though a couple of times we had to camp out.

It was about halfway through our trip, one that had been filled with silence, when Taryn spoke up. “Maybe I should head to the orphanage?”

“What?” was the only response I could think of given the suddenness of his question.

“You trying to run away?” Rocky chimed in from next to me.

“No!” Taryn exclaimed at first with a shocked look on his face. “I just think that...well, the last time I met your mother I left a bad impression.”

I couldn’t resist the laugh that came to me at that comment. “Do you really think she’s so petty as to care about that?”

“Bad impression? What’d the kid do?” Rocky asked.

“Nothing,” Taryn replied grumpily as he stared out the window of the carriage.

“My mom showed up to drag me off to meet you,” I told Rocky inbetween giggles, “and Taryn thought she was some sort of abductor or something so he picked a fight.”

Rocky laughed loudly at that. “He picked a fight with Esmeralda? I’m surprised she didn’t snap his neck out of annoyance.”

“Mom wouldn’t do something that extreme!” I lightly slapped Rocky on the arm. It was that act that made me pause, my laughter dying off, and instead I glanced at the unhappy Taryn and his right shoulder. “Maybe you can help me with something?”

“So long as it’s not helping to fight your mother, I’m alright with most requests,” Rocky said with a warm smile.

I leaned in and whispered to him, “I was wondering if you knew any way to recover a lost arm?”

Rock looked from me to Taryn, and then he shook his head. “There’s no way to grow it back,” he quietly replied, “but I might be able to help.”

“Oh?”

“The smarter boys have been working on the soul armor, you see, and they’ve started to figure out ways to create pieces of it. I mean, it runs off of your soul and thoughts more than your muscles so…”

Given who Taryn’s father was I could only guess that his soul would prove highly capable of handling the armor. “That would be a favor I don’t think I could ever repay.”

“We’re basically family, Flower. Now how about you relax and tell me about what you’ve been up to since we last met.”

The rest of our trip went quietly, as we worked our way across the Empire. We passed through a few more questionable towns, but the escort we had with us dissuaded everyone quick enough of attacking. There were moments when Rocky seemed disgruntled by the fact that nobody dared to ambush us, but given all the excitement I’d had in the past few months I was alright with it.

Our arrival at the mansion was without fanfare, though the small contingent of legionnaires that came with us drew some attention. When I climbed out of the carriage I was greeted with the sight of Vargos. He stood near the main doors of the mansion, his suit clean and crisp, and not a hint of emotion was visible on his face.

“Lady Liliana, a pleasure as always,” he said with a slight bow.

“Vargos, how’ve you been?” I stepped in close and hugged him. “My mother hasn’t killed anyone accidentally has she?”

“I’ve managed to keep her from hurting some of the more mischievous servants,” Vargos told me, “though Diana and a few others took a vacation.”

From behind Vargos a loud bang sounded, and the two servants who also served as door guards were nearly bowled over by the doors slamming open. My mother strode out of the mansion with a look of utter rage, but when she saw me a smile started to form.

“Lily,” she said in a gentle tone, “are you alright?”

I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her stomach, which had bulged significantly since the last time we’d met. “I’m fine, mother. Should you be up and about?”

“I didn’t lounge with you, I’m not about to with your sibling.”

While we talked the others climbed out of the carriage behind me. The legionnaires who’d ridden on horses alongside our carriage swung down from their saddles, and servants came up to help everyone in any way that they could.

“Mother, may I introduce my new friend Kaina of the Losson,” I said as I gestured at her.

“The Losson? The natives of the western continent? It’s an honor to meet you.”

Kaina’s only response was a nod of the head. She had emerged from the carriage with wide eyes, most likely still shaken by how many people and buildings there were. While Waterrick had been an active port it was still small compared to Scintallia.

“Mom,” I said to draw her attention back to me, “where’s father? I need to talk to him about a few things.”

My mother looked at me, her hands held together in front of her. “I almost forgot. He had to go to the palace. You and your friends should come in and rest up for the night, because in the morning you need to follow him.”

“I think I’d prefer to wait here for him to come back,” I replied, “the last time I was there the Emperor’s oldest son followed me everywhere.”

My mother turned and started to walk back into the mansion. “You can’t do that,” she said over her shoulder, “the Emperor himself requested your presence.”