“I told you that my husband and I decided to move to Tyine,” Maurice began. “But the truth is that it is only partially true. The reality was that we had no choice.”

Cass nodded, she had sometimes felt that Maurice was hiding things from her, but she had never begrudged that. Life was not so simple that someone would not have something they did not want others to see.

“The area was overseen by a baron, a kind and gentle man unlike any noble I have ever seen before.” Maurice looked off into the distance as she recalled her past. “He was devout, and generous in his contributions to the Church and cared for the people he ruled over.”

It would be more believable for Cass to grow wings than to find a noble like that, Cass thought. But she kept it to herself, after all, the more she learned the more she realized that the world was bigger than she knew.

“But despite his efforts, the territory grew more impoverished each year, while his neighbor prospered.” Glancing down at Cass, Maurice said, “I would imagine you can understand what I am going to say next.”

“They were bordered by Lord Hall’s family, his father, the Viscount?”

“He was not a viscount at the time, but they did border each other.” Maurice scowled, “the former ‘Baron’ Hall grew rich off the suffering of our land, when the crops began to fail he would sell food to us at ridiculous prices forcing our kind lord to pay for part of them just so that we could afford it.”

“The Hall families men would walk through our villages like they owned the place, taking whatever they wanted and whomever they wanted.” Maurice looked to the side, “I met Paul when he rescued me from them, the things they had said and the things they wanted to do to me still cause me to wake up at night screaming.”

Cass could understand that, it was not an uncommon sight in the alleyways. Though on the streets, crying out in a nightmare generally only attracted people to make you shut up or make you scream louder, so those who could not suffer their memories quietly never lasted long.

“The Churches were torn down and sold to make payments on the debt,” Maurice said sadly. “The chapel where Paul and I were married was sold for scrap to make up the costs to the bastard Halls. And eventually, it was just too much, the barony collapsed.”

“Our kind baron and his family were exiled from noble society and tried to commit suicide, but for some reason the son survived, though I heard that the poison they used and damaged his mouth and twisted it. He had been such a beautiful young boy, he had such wonderful dark hair and eyes, now thrown out of his home and onto the street.”

That description sounded familiar, Cass thought to herself, but she could not quite place it. She would have to think about it later.

“And how was the Hall family punished for their treachery?” Maurice’s voice trembled with anger. “They were given the status of Viscount and rewarded our Lord’s barony.”

“What was your Lord’s name?” Cass asked curiously.

“Lord Rattan. A good family and a good man.”

Impossible… The coincidence was too great, but she would have to check… As for the rest of the story…

“But that was my Master’s father, right?” Cass did not think Sarius Hall would do something like this. He liked to cause pain, but he had control over his impulses, he used pain to drive people to rise above their limits and then rewarded them for it. For that matter, Cass was unsure that this was even the Hall families fault, why couldn’t the Rattan family have purchased food from elsewhere? The even larger question was why did the barony become more and more impoverished? For all his generosity, Lord Rattan did not seem good at his actual job.

She asked Maurice some of these things, though kept the last observation to herself. Maurice replied that Hall had messed with her thoughts and asked Cass to trust her.

Cass was unsure how to deal with the confusion this brought on. Normally, she did trust Maurice, almost as much as she trusted Lord Hall. Cass imagined that Maurice would be the closest she would ever have to a mother, but… Well, it seemed even Maurice was not above hate, and while Cass knew that the nobles could be the cruelest of the cruel, there were so many holes and questions in Maurice’s story…

Maurice spoke of other things to, the rumours that the Hall family had abolished the Churches in their barony, the persecution of missionaries and priests. She spat on the ground with contempt when she spoke of the barbarity of their soldiers, who would rape and murder at will all under the protection of the Hall family.

Cass listened, but she could not quite believe it. The pure hatred that was rolling of Maurice was scary to see, to think such a kind and loving lady could be filled with such loathing just beneath the surface.

“Hall even took my child from me,” Maurice continued, nearly growling now from sheer rage. “When we left the barony, we were not able to hire a carriage, and… and the traveling cost me my baby. That was all the fault of the Hall family!”

Cass put her arms around the now sobbing Maurice, trying to comfort her, but confused over just how to respond. It seemed, unbelievable to her, and raised many more questions than it answered. Cass supposed she would ask Lord Hall about it tomorrow, but for now she would try and comfort this woman who had done the same for her. No matter what was actually true, Maurice believed what she said, and had delved into those painful memories to try and help keep Cass safe.

For showing such concern, Cass could only be grateful that someone cared for her so much.

After a while, Maurice calmed down and the subject ended up changing to far lighter topics of conversation. A few hours later, they said goodbye, smiling and laughing all the while after enjoying a pleasant conversation with each other.

But Cass did not head back to her room, but instead went to another. Paul was not at the door this time, but the guards still let Cass pass by them to see Rat.

“Here again, huh?” Rat sneered, not bothering to get up from where he lay on the bed. “Your ‘lord’ not able to satisfy you?”

Cass had to resist the urge to burn him right there, but she was able to ignore the jab and ask the question she had come here for.

“You are a noble child, aren’t you?”

Rat went still for a moment, then slowly sat up with an incredibly serious look in his eyes. “You speak just as well as I do, and from what I hear, even have a noble name and are not a noble. What makes you think I am one?”

“A story I heard from a servant.” Cass would call Maurice a friend, but it was best not to give Rat any ammunition to use against her. Who knows what might happen if he ever got the chance to strike at Cass? “One of the people in the tale reminded me of someone, right down to a similar name, only I cannot really believe it.”

“And who, precisely, do you think I am?”

“The son of Baron Rattan, who survived an attempt at suicide.”

Rat started laughing, but there was no mirth in it. “Suicide? More like murder, Father and Mother forced that down sister’s and my throats because of their shame!”

“So it is true, you are noble…” Cass was stunned, there were similarities sure, and enough that she had come here to ask, but she had never really expected…

“That isn’t how it works, you know.” Rat’s smile was grim, especially unpleasant due to his horrendously crooked and yellowed teeth. “The Rattan family was broken down from its status, losing our lands and title. Sure, technically, I am a ‘noble,’ but without a title that means nothing. I have no estate or family to help me, no knights or forces to command, not even a copper piece to my name. I might as well be dirt and trash, just like the rest of you.”

“How… How did it happen?” Cass knew she shouldn’t ask, and Rat probably would not really tell her. But he might know something about her Master…

“If you want details,” Rat layed back down again, closing his eyes in clear dismissal. “Ask your ‘lord Hall,’ with how much he seems to be enjoying you, he might tell you tonight in bed.”

Again, Cass let the barb pass. Though it was partially because after considering what she had said, this would of course be the conclusion Rat would have reached. And correcting him and explaining somehow felt more shameful than letting him believe whatever he wanted. But she did have one last thing she wanted to know.

“Could… Would you tell me your name?”

The room was silent, and Cass decided she was not going to get an answer and went to leave. As she opened the door though, she heard Rat reply.

“Owen.” Just that single word.

“Thank you, Owen.” Cass paused at the door. “I don’t know what you have gone through, but the our situations still ended up the same in the end. We both still have a chance to make something of our lives, remember that.”

And with that, Cass left, leaving Owen to his own thoughts.

Back in her own room, she sprawled on her bed staring at the ceiling. Lord Hall was at the center of Rattan’s fall, Owen had essentially just confirmed that, but his description of how his father acted was nothing like what Maurice described. Perhaps it had simply been desperation and a broken mind, but Cass wondered just how complex this story really was. Her Master would tell her, but she was not entirely sure she wanted to know.

Gritting her teeth, Cass made up her mind. She had to know, no matter what, Maurice was right that Hall had done things to Cass’s head. She did not even want to hear a possibility of him doing something wrong, and given her own situation that mindset was obviously twisted.

Getting up and pacing around the room, her eyes fell on her glyph designs. It was getting dark, but Cass used her magic to create a candle flame floating above the desk to light it as she looked over the parchments.

They were beautiful, and brutal. Acquiring them would cause Cass immense pain, but she would be stronger for it. Was her Master not the same? If Maurice was magic, what would she be? Was there any system out there so generous and kind to the beings that surrounded it? No, such things did not exist in nature, only in humans.

Perhaps that was nature itself telling humanity that the world was not so kind, that it was survival of the cruel and survival of the killers. Or, perhaps Cass was still missing something. She was not even an apprentice, merely a slave who was being taught magic to be used as a tool. Although her Master gave her access to whatever materials she was interested in, his own lessons clearly were readying her for battle.

She extinguished the flame and went back to her bed and closed her eyes. When had life become so complicated?