Lillianna

We woke up just after dawn and leave to explore the city. Not wanting to look suspicious I leave behind Enenra and command Nat to follow us without being seen. Erick guides me around the different districts and provides helpful titbits of information as we go along. From what he had told me, Fornall was a rather unremarkable city. Its trade consisted mainly of crops from the provincial towns and villages, which is sold to the cites further south. The province Fornall ruled was better suited for farming than the lands to the south and due to this, its main industry was farming.

Sometime around midday I beckon Erick into a clothing shop.

“You want to buy more clothes?” Erick questions.

“Dear husband a woman can never have enough dresses to wear” I reply in a cheerful manner.

“Besides we can’t keep wearing the same clothes we bought in Springhill the whole time we are here can we?” I add in a hushed whisper.

“I see…”

I lead Erick further into the shop and we purchase a number of outfits for our stay in Fornall. Erick seemed unhappy at having to spend the livres I had giving him, but in the end he did not voice any complaints. I had arranged for the items to be delivered to our room at the inn, another expense that Erick did not like.

“Was it necessary to pay for them to send it to the inn? I could have just carried it for you” Erick questions.

“We have more things to do and I don’t want you weighed down in case there is any trouble. I’ll reimburse you when we get back to the inn”

“What’s this about trouble?” Erick asks in a worried tone.

“I need information on the Count and we don’t have much time before he realises that his men haven’t returned from Riverbrook. That means that I will need to gather information quickly and possible with force”

“I see… I almost forgot why we were here”

“I’m glad you remembered. Now I need you to go buy me some daggers, two of them if you could. Something simple but make sure they are made of steel”

“Are you not coming with me? Also steel is expensive are you sure?”

“It would be unseemly for a noble woman to enter a weapons store and yes make sure it’s steel. Also buy me a leather strap, make sure it’s thin but long enough to wrap around my chests. I’ll compensate you for any expenses you incur today”

“Noble woman?”

“What do you think we look like to the commoners? We are dressed in fine clothing and spend livres like it was nothing. It’s better that the common folk leave us alone while we are here so it works in our favour”

“Did you plan for this?”

“Of course”

Erick then leaves to find a weapon merchant and proceeds to get the daggers I requested. I wait for him outside of the store while he goes about the task. Upon exiting the store I lead Erick into a side street away from any onlookers.

“Show me the daggers” I command Erick.

Erick hands me two fine steel daggers and I inspect them carefully. They had ornate wooden hand grips with a floral design that was common in Fraul and their cross guards also had a similar floral design etched in gold. The daggers appeared to have been designed as a pair, as their appearance complimented one another.

*I thought I asked for something simple*

“Why is it so… decorative?” I ask Erick slightly annoyed.

“Ummm, I thought they suited you” he replies embarrassed.

“I suppose they will do, now help me strap these to my back”

I begin to strip off the top of my dress and take the leather strap Erick had bought and tie it around myself just above my breasts. Erick doesn’t seem to be as shy as before and follows my instructions to sheath the daggers into the leather strap around my back. Upon getting dressed again I arrange my long hair so as to cover my back and hide the impressions of the daggers.

“Let’s be off, we need to get some information on the Count”

Erick nods in acknowledgment and follows me out of the side street and into the main thoroughfare. We make our way to different guilds and shops asking about Count Ramuse. One of the stops along the way was a guild of bankers that operated throughout Fraul. The purpose of the visit was to gather information regarding the finances of the Count. It was no easy task as the bankers we unwilling to divulge much information but I did learn that the Count had recently come into possession of a great deal of wealth. Rumours had been going around the city about how he had gotten this wealth but I could not ascertain the true source of his new found fortune.

Another residence we visited was an establishment for nobles to while away their days socialising and enjoying the luxuries only they could afford. We had gained entry by masquerading as nobles from across the sea looking to make a home in Fornall. The story was flimsy but by spending livres like mad men we had quieten most of their suspicions and had started to discuss the politics of Fornall. The women of the nobility were more than happy to gossip about the goings-on of court, which made my task easy. While on the other hand Erick was finding it difficult to mingle with the noblemen and after a few attempts simply resigned himself to enjoying the food and drink on offer.

After spending a good portion of daylight socialising I had learned a bit of valuable information about the Count. He had many enemies in the city and few friends, this was something I could use to my advantage. I was also made aware that he had recently been engaged to a noblewomen from a powerful house and was due to be wed in the coming weeks. The other gossip regarding the Count seemed to be just that, gossip, and provided no further useful information.

We leave the nobles behind just after sunset and make our way back to the inn. As we walk back, arms linked, I query Erick about what he had learnt.

“Did you learn anything?”

“Nothing useful, I’m not good at talking to nobles. I thought they would figure out I was a fraud every time I spoke”

“That’s fine, watching you squirm was entertaining enough” I reply with a sly smile.

Erick doesn’t respond and we continue our way down the street. Fortunately we had not come across any trouble during our questioning and had not revealed our true purpose in Fornall. About half way back to our inn Erick stop just outside of an alley, forcing me to wait for him.

“What is it? I have other things to do tonight I don’t have time to waste”

“Didn’t you hear that just now?”

*Of course I heard it, that’s probably the third cry for help we walked passed since the day started*

“Hear what?” I reply with a heavy sigh.

“Someone is calling for help down there, we have to do something”

Before I could stop him, Erick runs off down the alley and towards the cry for help.

Lilianna

I follow Erick at a leisurely pace down the dark alley and arrive to find him confronting three men. He has a dagger drawn in his right hand and is holding it in a defensive manner towards the men.

“What do we have here, a hero come to save the day?” the man closest to Erick says.

The three men have the appearance of ruffians, probably local thugs conducting their business, their clothes are unkempt and they reek of alcohol. As I make my way to the side of Erick, the man out front who appears to be their leader turns his attention towards me.

“And who’s this, another hero come to help this worthless bitch?” he sneers at me.

Looking past the men I see a woman unconscious on the cobble stone street, her shirt covered in blood and her face visibility injured. From the look of things this was no mere robbery but a beating meant to serve a purpose.

“Where did you get the dagger?” I whisper to Erick.

“You told me to be ready to defend myself so I kept it hidden in my vest”

*I’m glad he listened to my advice*

“Get the fuck out of here if you know what’s good for you, this is none of your business, that knife won’t do you any good” the leader of the group continues.

“I can’t let you beat up a defenceless woman. I’m warning you, leave now or I’ll have to make you stop” Erick replies in a shaky voice.

“Good luck” I whisper into Erick’s ears and take a few steps back.

“What?” Erick replies in panic and turns to look towards me.

Seeing an opening one of the thugs rushes Erick and tries to wrestle the dagger from his hand. They stumble about fighting for the dagger before Erick is punched in the face and forced to the ground. Luckily for him, he holds on the dagger and slashes madly at the man while trying to get back on his feet.

“Help me!” Erick cries.

I continue to do nothing and watch as Erick frantically tries to fight the man attacking him. The leader of the group and the other man watch on and apparently find the whole situation quite funny. They laugh and comment on the ensuing scuffle, giving advice to their comrade on how to fight.

“Kick him in the balls!” the other man jeers.

Erick fights on with all his might but it is quite obvious that the man he is fighting is playing with him. Seeing that he had no chance of victory against even one of the men, let alone all three, Erick turns his focus on me. His eyes are pleading for me to help him and in-between dodging and catching his breath he continues to ask for my help.

*Time to step in I guess*

I nonchalantly walk up to the man playing with Erick and interrupt the fight.

“Excuse me”

The man turns around surprised at my intervention and turns his attention towards me. Before he could speak or react I will Nin’s power into the palm of my left hand and place it on his forehead. Using her powers I rendering him unconscious and turn my attention towards the two other man.

~Cormon hold them still but don’t kill them~

~Yes Master~

“What the fuck did you do to him!” the leader roars.

I shrug my shoulders and make my way closer to the two men. They struggle to move but find that they are unable to run. Their arms flail and swing at me while their legs remain immobile.

“Get away from me you witch!” the other man cries.

Dodging the frantic man’s arms, I place my left palm on his head and subdue him. I do the same for the leader and once I am confident that they are no longer a threat, I turn my attention towards Erick. He is bent over, his hands on his knees, breathing heavily and is trying to regain his composure.

“Why… didn’t you… help sooner...” Erick asks between bated breaths.

“We are not here to beat up thugs, we are here to save your village” I reprimand Erick.

“So you would have let them beat that woman to death?” Erick asks, anger flaring in his voice.

“Yes”

“How could you…” this time he sounded more disappointed than angry.

“So what do you plan to do about these three?” I question Erick in a impassive voice.

“What do you mean?”

“I used magic in front of them, we can’t have them going around telling everyone”

“Why didn’t you just use the daggers we bought there was no need to use magic” Erick replies in an annoyed tone.

“I didn’t want to ruin my dress fighting and besides a woman brandishing weapons and fighting thugs in back alleys would cause its own fair share of trouble”

“I suppose you’re right. So what do you think we should do about them?”

“Kill them and lets be on our way”

“We can’t just kill them, they may be brutes but that doesn’t mean they deserve to die”

“That’s good enough of a reason for me to kill them. Anyway, as I said we can’t have them going around telling tales about us. Hurry up and kill them, we’ve wasted enough time here”

“I can’t do that... I’ve never killed anyone before”

“Maybe not directly but you did ask me to free your village. I must have killed over a hundred men, did you not consider their lives?”

“But…” Erick tries to rebuke my question but quickly falls silent.

“It’s easy to ask someone else to kill for you, but now that you have to do it with your own hands you can’t go through with it?”

“I didn’t want this” his voice full of sorrow and regret.

*Sometimes what we want and what we get are not the same thing*

I walk over to him and take the dagger from his hand, he lets go of his grip without much resistance. Turning my focus on the three unconscious men I casually make my way from one to the next, stabbing each one a few times and making sure they are dead. The stab wounds should seem like they were caused during a scuffle and unless closely inspected would not appear otherwise, finding dead thugs in an alleyway shouldn’t raise any suspicion.

Erick watches in silence as I clean the blade and hand it back to him.

“Let’s go then” I say as I pat Erick on the back trying to comfort him.

*I shouldn’t be too hard on him, he’s still young*

“What about the woman?” Erick quickly asks before I could walk away.

I turn to meet Erick’s eyes and show an annoyed expression to make sure he understands that I wish to waste no further time on this matter.

“We can’t just leave her here, who knows what might happen. She looks to be hurt as well, we need to get her help”

“And what did you have in mind?”

“We can take her back to the inn”

“How are you going to explain bring a beaten woman into the inn? Not to mention that she would start asking questions as soon as she woke up”

“I’ll think of something to tell her, please you have to help me carry her to the inn” Erick pleads.

*This is going to be troublesome but I need Erick’s trust*

“Fine, meet me in front of the inn, I’ll take her through the window. It would be best if people didn’t see us dragging a beaten up woman through the streets”

“Ok I’ll meet you there, but how are you going to get her through the window?”

“Just worry about yourself” I say in a dismissive manner.

I make my way over to the collapsed woman, kneeling, and place my left palm on her chest. I will Nin’s power through my hand and into the woman, feeling for injuries and any serious damage. A few of her ribs are broken and she has some internal bleeding, if left untreated she would be dead by morning. The thugs had beaten her to an inch of her life and would have taken it if Erick hadn’t intervened.

*Must be your lucky day*

Using Nin’s ability I restore her to a state that was not life threatening but one which still had injuries. If the woman woke up fully healed it would not be something we could explain away easily. She would live and recover in a few days, that was the most I was willing to risk for now.

~Cormon, take us to the rooftops and back to the inn~

~Yes Master~

Without saying another word to Erick I pick up the woman and carrying her in both arms I am thrown up towards the rooftops by Cormon

Elizabeth

*Am I still alive?*

My head was aching and my body was sore all over. The last thing I remember was being beaten by those ruffians. I was sure that they were going to kill me but right now I felt warm and was lying on something soft. They had found me trying to hide in the city after having run away from the farm where I had been a slave. The masters must have sent them and told them to make an example out of me.

I slowly open my eyes and look around at my surroundings, my vision still blurry. I was in a soft bed with blankets covering me, the room had a fireplace which was lit and had fine furniture spread around the room. Trying to sit up I felt a sharp pain stab at my sides but I push through the pain and steady myself upright. It is then that I notice a man in fine evening attire sitting at a dining table eating and looking my way. Panic spreads through my mind, this place was to lavish for a simple commoner and those with money and power usually only wanted one thing from a female slave.

“Please don’t hurt me, I’ll do whatever you want” I whimper as I shield my head with my arms.

Erick

After returning to our room with the unconscious woman, Lillianna had washed her with towels and water before changing her into clean clothes. Her clothes had been filthy and Lillianna had insisted on cleaning her up before permitting her to sleep on the bed. Once the woman had been tended to Lillianna informed me that she had other matters to attend too and left through the window. Before leaving though, she gave me a pouch full of livres and told me to use them to help the woman with whatever she needed.

*She does have a soft side to her after all*

It had been a few hours since she had left and it was nearing midnight but I did not feel like sleeping, I wanted to wait until she returned. I had been thinking over what Lillianna had said to me in the alley and the deaths of the men were already weighing on my mind. If I hadn’t interfered those men would still be alive right now, they probably had families waiting for them, but now they were dead and I had been the cause. However I still felt it was the right thing to do, those men would have beaten that woman to death and if I had to choose between the lives of thugs and a defenceless woman, I would choose to save the woman every time. While still in thought I notice at the corner of my eye that the woman had begun to stir. Putting down the spoon in my hand I turn my attention towards her.

The woman had light brown hair that ran to her shoulders and her skin was a beautiful olive tone. Her figure was dangerously thin but she had a face with soft features, although bruises still marked her face they did little to diminish her natural beauty. Lillianna had dressed her in some of the clothes she had bought earlier in the day and the woman was now wearing a white nightgown that went to her knees.

“Please don’t hurt me, I’ll do whatever you want” she begged me while trying to shield herself.

*Why would I hurt her? Ah… this is what Lillianna must have felt like when we first met*

I stay seated at the dining table and calmly asked her to join me. Lillianna had assured me that the woman was not in danger of dying from her injuries and once she woke up, should be well enough to move around.

“Please come eat some food. I won’t do anything to you”

The woman looks at me with teary eyes which were peering through her arms that were still shielding her. I motion for her to sit opposite to me but she does not move and simply stays curled up on the bed.

“I won’t force you to eat so you can rest as much as you want. Come and eat if you want”

I did not want to intimidate her so I let her be and continued eating while wondering what to tell her. Lillianna had simply left the decision up to me, “tell her whatever you like, if she can’t keep her mouth shut I’ll just kill her”, is what she had said. I had no doubt that she would carry out her threat if needed but I also did not want to lie to the woman. Not because it was wrong to lie but because I would have to keep the lie going as long as she was with us and judging by the condition we found her in, that might be longer than tonight. There was also the issue of her finding out about us and telling someone before we could stop her.

After thinking on the matter further I had decide it was best to tell her the truth, for the most part, she didn’t need to know all the details. Well even I didn’t know all the details about Lillianna’s plan to deal with the Count.

An hour had passed before the woman decided to join me at the table. She had gotten out of bed weakly and limped over to the seat before carefully placing herself down, it was clear that she was still in pain due to her injures.

The woman stared greedily at the bowl of hearty stew I presented in front of her, but did not move. A few moments past and she reaches for the spoon next to the bowl. I notice that her wrists are bruised, likely from slave bonds, upon noticing me looking at her wrists, she withdraws them in haste under the table. Slaves were rarely found in frontier villages like Riverbrook, if ever, as the guards required to keep them from escaping were too expensive for such settlements. I had however seen them during my visits to Fornall and was not ignorant of the lives they lived.

“Sorry it's a bit cold now but eat as much as you like. If you want more let me know” I say in a pleasant manner trying to put the frightened woman at ease.

“Thank you Master” she replies in a meek voice, her eyes trying to avoid contact with mine.

“Please, I’m not your master. I heard you crying for help and did what any person would do and helped you out” I try to reassure her.

“Not many people would help a slave”

“Well I didn’t know you were a slave but that doesn’t matter, please eat something you must be hungry” I say in an embarrassed voice.

I was not used to hearing praise from people, even if she hadn’t meant it that way, it still felt like a compliment to me.

After she finished her meal I thought it was about time to get to know her better.

“What’s your name?” I ask in a casual tone.

She doesn’t reply for a brief time but eventual decides to answer.

“Elizabeth, Sir” her voice still weak.

“There’s no need to call me sir. My name is Erick, Erick Fuchs”

Elizabeth doesn’t continue the conversation and simply sits in front of me looking down at her feet.

“This might be rude of me to ask but do you know why those men attacked you?”

She freezes in place, clearly terrified of answering.

“I didn’t mean to scare you, it’s just that… well you see I’m in a bit of a trouble myself and wanted to know if you were still in danger”

“What kind of trouble?” she asks looking up at me, before quickly averting her gaze back to the ground.

“It’s a long story and I’d be happy to tell you tomorrow but I need to know what’s going on with you first”

Elizabeth appears to be thinking about whether to answer the question or not and remains silent for some time. Eventually she opens her mouth to answer.

“I’m a slave” she answers quietly.

“I already guessed that but why were the men after you? Did you do something wrong?”

Again Elizabeth pauses before answering.

“I’m a runaway slave… are you going to turn me into the guards? Please don’t, I’ll do whatever you want Master. I can cook and and ummm clean and and… if it pleases you, *sob* you can use me however you like in bed *sob*. Please just don’t turn me in”

A torrent of emotions spills from her and she weeps as she begs for me not to hand her over to the guards. My heart breaks at the sight of her pleading and I can’t help but want to protect her further. I begin to imagine the life she must have lead for her to offer her body to me over returning to her old masters.

“I won’t turn you in, please don’t cry” I say as I get up from the table to fetch some towels for her to wipe her tears. Returning to the table to hand her the towel, she drops off the seat and kneels before me, embracing me around the waist.

“Thank you Master, thank you, thank you” she continues to thank me as she hugs me tightly.

At a loss for words and not knowing what to do, I gently pat her head and try to reassure her that everything would be fine. After she calms down, I lead her to the bed and tell her to rest until morning.

“Master are you not going to sleep with me?” she asks with a worried face.

“I’m not your master and I don’t force women to sleep with me. Please just rest, there’s a lot I have to talk to you about tomorrow”

“But where will you sleep?”

“I don’t think I will be sleeping tonight. Don’t worry about me and get some rest”

“But…” Elizabeth replies in a soft but worried voice.

“I promise I won’t do anything to you while you sleep. Would you like a room to yourself? I can get one for you”

She doesn’t reply and after a brief moment pulls the sheets over her chest and closes her eyes to sleep. Not wanting to disturb her I take a seat on the sofa by the window and once again begin to ponder on the events of the day.

Elizabeth

It was like a dream, I still didn’t know what was happening. The man in the room, Erick, had given me food and assured me that I was safe. At first I thought it would end up being some cruel joke where at the end he would beat me and turn me over to the guards or worse. In the end though he had taken me back to the bed and told me to rest. I was sure that was when he would have his way with me but he did no such thing. Instead he offered to give me my own room and told me he wouldn’t do anything while I slept. I was still worried that he might do something to me but I was too tired and even if I wanted to run, I had nowhere else to go.

As I try and fall asleep I think back to the men who had beaten me. What happened to them and where were they now, I was still scared of them even if I felt a small semblance of safety at the moment. I begin to wonder if Erick had saved me from those men and if he did, why did he risk saving a slave, he must have known that I was a slave just by looking at me.

My thoughts shift to Erick and I sneak peaks at him hoping he doesn’t notice me. He is sitting on a sofa next to the window with his eyes closed. I thought he was quite handsome with his short blonde hair and chiselled facial features. Apart from the few noblemen who would go on to become knights, most were overweight and had the appearance of one who had never known wanting in their life. Erick felt different though, I had never heard of a noble who would risk not turning in a runaway slave.

Thoughts of a knight in shining armour who had come to save me flashed through my mind.

*I can dream even if it’s only for tonight*

I drift off to sleep tears running down my face.

“Please don’t let this be a dream” the last words I whisper to myself before sleep finally takes me.