Erick

It was almost dawn and I had been up all night thinking over the events of the day that had passed. What Lillianna had said resonated in my mind: “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?”. Those words had taken me aback, I had forced her hand in deciding what to do about those men. If I hadn’t intervened they would still be alive but Elizabeth would likely be dead. I had to take responsibility for their deaths and make sure in the future that if I needed to, I could make such a decision without Lillianna there to help me.

The same thing had happen outside of Riverbrook. We all begged Lillianna to save our village but in doing so it caused the deaths of the men the Count had sent. I had not thought about the consequences of that request and in the end I, we, were still relying on Lillianna to save the village once again. The more I thought on the matter the more I realised that Riverbrook was indeed severely indebted to Lillianna and that we had a lot of blood on our hands.

*Thud*

I look towards the window next to the couch I was sitting on and see Lillianna recovering from jumping through it.

“Where have you been?” I ask.

“I had a little chat with our dear Count” she said with a smile on her face.

“Is he dead? Is Riverbrook safe?”

“I didn’t kill him, but Riverbrook is safe for the time being. There is still work that needs doing but most of that can wait a few days”

“You didn’t kill him? I thought that’s why we’re here” I said in a confused manner.

“I never said I was going to kill him. If you recall correctly I said that I might have to kill him”

“What do you mean by having a chat with him then?”

“I got him to agree to give me a Writ of Trade and a guarantee for the safety of Riverbrook, but only if I took care of one of his rivals for him”

“Take care of one of his rivals?”

“He wants his fiancée dead”

“And you’re just going to kill an innocent woman for him?”

“Of course not… well probably not. From what we’ve learned so far, she’s just a sheltered girl and hasn’t done anything that is worth being killed for”

“What do you plan to do then?”

“I’ve said this before but you really do ask a lot of questions, you know that? I merely agreed to make her disappear, that doesn’t necessarily mean killing her. The Count just assumed I meant that I would kill her, I wasn’t about to relieve him of his misunderstanding though”

“I see…”

“Let’s change topics and discuss your friend over there. What did you tell her?” Lillianna said pointing towards the sleeping Elizabeth.

“I didn’t tell her much yet. I just said that we would talk about it tomorrow… well today since it’s pretty much dawn”

“Okay, well then I’m going to get changed and get some sleep, you should too. I’ll wake you up around noon”

I watch as Lillianna takes her off cloak and places it into her bag. I notice that she only has one of the daggers that I had bought for her.

“What happened to the other dagger?”

“I seem to have misplaced it” she says with a shrug of her shoulders.

I didn’t think it would be a good idea to investigate what happened any further.

Elizabeth

I felt the warmth of sunlight on my face as I woke up, my body was still aching but I was used to such things. Remembering the events of last night was like remembering a dream. I had been saved from those men and was safe in a warm bed. A thought flashed in my mind, the thought of my little sister that I had left back at the farm. With all that had happened since I arrived in Fornall I had forgotten why I had left the farm in the first place. I had run away thinking that once I was free, I could come back for my sister and finally we could be free together. I didn’t know how I would do it, but when I saw an opportunity to escape I took it and left my sister behind.

*I’m sorry Lauren, I’ve been a terrible sister*

I bolt upright into a sitting position and try to get a bearing of my surroundings. Looking around the room I find Erick and a woman sitting at the dining table eating and talking.

“Are you really drinking ale this soon after waking up?” Erick asks the woman.

“Why, do you want some?” she replies.

Upon noticing me staring at them, they shift their attention towards me.

“Elizabeth you’re awake, are you feeling better?” Erick asks.

“Ummm… I’m feeling much better”

The woman looks at Erick with a raised eyebrow before turning her attention back to me.

“Ah hum, this is Lillianna. She the one who saved you yesterday” Erick explains.

I focus on Lillianna and find it hard to believe that such a fine looking woman was the one that saved me. She was wearing a blue dress and her white hair was flowing down her back, apart from her posture, which was rather casual for someone dressed so finely, she looked like a beautiful noblewoman. But I had no reason to doubt Erick when he said that she had been the one to save me.

“Thank you very much” I say as I bow my head.

“Don’t thank me. He’s the one who ran off to save you. If it was up to me, I would have just left you to your fate” she said in a dismissive tone.

“Ah… Okay” was all I could say.

I was a bit shocked by her words and didn’t quite understand what was going on.

“Are you going to explain our situation to her now?” Lillianna asks Erick.

“You want me to do it? Are you sure?”

“You’re the one who saved her. I already told you that it was up to you”

Erick then invites me to sit at the front of the table, facing both of them, and after joining them, he offers me some food. I scoff down the meal and after I finish I return my attention to the pair.

“This might be a bit hard to believe but Lillianna is a mage” Erick explains.

I tense up at the mention of the word “mage” and quickly stare down at the table to avoid eye contact with Lillianna.

“There’s no need for that. Just treat me like you would anyone else” Lillianna says.

I lift my head and continue listening to Erick.

“She helped my village a few days ago when it was under attack from the Count’s men. We are here in Fornall to make a deal with the Count so that he doesn’t attack my village again” Erick continues.

I nod a few times to show understanding.

“We found you yesterday when we were walking back to this inn. She healed your injuries and well that’s about it”

“A very nice story Erick, but you forgot the part where I would kill her if she told anyone about us” Lillianna had a smile on her face and was looking directly at me.

“Kill me..?” I ask in a meek voice.

“We can’t have word that a mage is running around Fornall trying to make deals with the Count, now can we? But don’t worry, if you don’t say anything, everything will be fine. I don’t kill people for no reason” Lillianna’s smile seemed more gentle this time.

“I won’t say anything… please don’t kill me”

“Good. Now that’s taken care of, let me fully heal you. There’s no point in having you suffer anymore”

I watch as Lillianna got up from her seat and walked over to me.

“This won’t hurt, just relax” she says to me.

She reaches out her left hand and places it on my forehead. I feel a warmth flow over me, like having warm water slowly poured over my head. After a few seconds all the pain in my body is gone and Lillianna returns to her seat.

“What just happened?” I ask Lillianna.

“I just used some magic to heal you. Nothing to worry about”

“Thank you… you’ve done so much for me already. I’m not worthy of your kindness”

“There’s no need for such words. Despite what Erick may say, I actually don’t mind helping people. Though usually only if it doesn’t interfere with my goals” her eyes turn towards Erick as she says the last part and she gives him an annoyed look.

“Ah… well now that you know our story, could you tell us more about you?” Erick asks.

My eyes jolt back and forth between Erick and Lillianna, as I try to think of what I was going to tell them. Erick already knew I was an escaped slave, but I wasn’t sure if I should tell them about my sister.

“I’m a run slave… I’m not sure what else to say” I reply in a frightened voice.

“We already know that much. Can you give us more detail on who those men were and if we should expect more of them to come looking for you?” Lillianna asks.

“They were probably sent from the farm I ran away from. Ah… I’m not sure if my Master sent more of them”

“Your former master” Lillianna corrects me.

“Does that mean I can stay with you?” I ask as I look towards Erick.

Erick blushes and seems embarrassed but doesn’t say anything.

“Oh what’s this? Did Erick take advantage of you in my absence? What an unfaithful husband” Lillianna quips.

“WHAT!? I did no such thing. I would never force myself on a woman” Erick replies in shock.

“You two are married?” I ask Erick, disappointment audible in my voice.

“I was just joking, we are not really married, but we are pretending to be while in Fornall” Lillianna replies with a dismissive wave of her hand.

I let out a sigh of relief at those words. I knew it was foolish to dream of being with Erick, but he was the first man to show me kindness and being with him made me feel safe. With that thought I felt an ache in my heart as I once again remembered my sister.

“Getting back to the topic of you running away from your former master. We need to resolve this issue before he sends more men after you. Where was the farm you ran away from?” Lillianna asks.

“It’s just south of Fornall, only an hour or two walk away”

“Good. Then let’s get this matter sorted first”

Lillianna

I had explained in detail my encounter with the Count the previous night to Erick and we were currently deciding what to do about Elizabeth’s former master.

“What do you plan to do?” Erick asks me.

“We should pay them a visit and make sure they don’t bother her anymore”

“That still doesn’t explain what you are going to do” he replies.

“Please I don’t want to go back to the farm… they would kill me if I returned” Elizabeth interjects, tears forming in her eyes.

“Don’t worry I don’t plan to hand you over to them or anything of the sort. We will purchase you for ourselves…”

“You want to buy her as a slave? You can’t do that, she only just got away” Erick rebuts.

“You didn’t let me finish. Once she is legally ours, we will free her. That way her former Master can’t legally take her back and if he tries... I’ll just kill anyone he sends. Otherwise we could get in serious trouble for harbouring an escaped slave”

“I guess you’re right. But I don’t think he would be willing to sell her so easily. Also how are we going to explain why she is with us?” Erick queries.

“I’ll think of something. We should get going then, I want this matter resolved as soon as possible. I only have ten days to decide what to do about the Navier woman”

“Ah that reminds me, why did you tell the Count to give you ten days?”

“I asked for ten days because I knew something like this might happen. I didn’t know how long it would take to resolve the issue with our guest here, so I gave myself plenty of time. That doesn’t mean though we can just waste it doing nothing”

“I see…” Erick replies.

“It’s only noon so that gives us enough time to get to the farm, deal with the issue and be back in Fornall just after dark”

I watch as Elizabeth drops from her seat and kneels down before Erick, clasping his hands.

“I know I have no right to ask but my sister is still at the farm, she’s just a child. Please could you free her, I will do anything you want” Elizabeth begged Erick.

Erick looks over at me and I just shrug my shoulders and leave the decision up to him.

“We’ll free your sister too” Erick replies.

“Thank you, thank you. I’m forever in your debt” she says to Erick, tears running down her cheek.

*Why is she thanking him? I’m the one who’s going to have to pay the tab…*

After a few moments Erick calms her down and she returns to her seat.

“Before we go though I need to visit the market district. I don’t have much money left and need to sell a few things” I say as I get up to make ready to leave.

Lillianna

After selling a few of my trinkets at the market we hired a coach to take us to the Elizabeth’s former farm. The trinkets I had sold were worth a small fortune in Fornall, they had been gathered from the three other continents of Mirth during my travels. Due to the ongoing war between Fraul and the Twin Cities of the Winroot Isles, oceanic trade with the other continents had become difficult. This had worked in my favour as it increased the sell value of my trinkets.

We were now sitting in the hired coach and would soon arrive at the farm. Erick was sitting opposite to me in the carriage with Elizabeth by his side.

“So what’s the plan?” Erick asks.

“The plan is to convince Elizabeth’s former master to sell her and her sister to us. As to how she came into contact with us, just tell them that we found her hiding somewhere in Fornall and wanted to return her to her rightful owners”

“And why do we want to buy them from him?”

“Just say that you want a pleasure slave and as we were in need of an extra slave while we were in Fornall, we thought it would be better to buy a slave we already knew. As for her sister you can say that we want her as leverage against Elizabeth so she doesn’t run away again”

“That makes sense, even if it is a bit cruel” Erick replies.

“Let’s hope her former master agrees. I will try to do most of the talking, but if you have to say something make sure you don’t say anything stupid. The last thing we want is for them to get suspicious of us”

“I understand” Erick acknowledges.

Our coach begins to slow down and the driver informs us that we have arrived. Upon exiting the carriage we are met with the sight of a large two storey brick building. It was quite impressive for a farm manor and I could see dozens of slaves going about their business in the fields near the building.

We make our way to the entrance of the building and find a guard standing watch.

“Let the master of this farm know we have business with him” I tell the guard.

“And you are?” he replies.

“We are nobles from Fornall and you are not worthy of knowing our names, now get your master before I lose my patience” I rebuke in an annoyed tone.

The guard looks unhappy but otherwise does as told and soon the three of us are left alone waiting outside the manor.

“Was that really necessary?” Erick questions.

“We need to act like nobles if we are to convince them to sell us Elizabeth and her sister. Now let’s put on a good show dear husband” I say as I link arms with Erick.

Elizabeth seems upset at the last part but quickly returns to the meek demeanour of a slave. Not long after, we are greeted by a handsome middle age man in fine attire.

“Who are you and what business do you have with me?” the man says in an annoyed voice.

“We are nobles from Fornall, I am Lillianna and this is Erick my husband” I say in a calm pleasing voice.

The man’s eyes scans Erick and myself and soon wanders over to Elizabeth who is standing next to Erick.

“What is this? Did you steal my slave from me? Where are the men I sent to find her? I demand answers!” the man shouts.

“My wife and I came across this runaway slave in Fornall. I don’t know anything about your men. We have come to purchase her from you” Erick replies calmly.

He looks at Erick with accusing eyes.

“You steal my slave and then come to my home to demand that I sell her to you, what nonsense is this?”

“We did not steal her from you. We found her hiding in Fornall and decided to return her to you, however we are currently in need of a slave and thought of buying her for ourselves, if you are willing that is” Erick continues.

“You want to buy a runaway slave? Why?” the man queries.

“She has been with us for a few days and has been useful. We had business to attend to in Fornall and could not return her until now. I asked my husband to hurry up and buy us a slave but since we already had one, even if only temporarily, I thought it would be best to keep her. Consider it the whims of a selfish woman” I reply.

The man looks at me with inquisitive eyes, but soon his expression relaxes.

“She is a runaway slave and needs to be punished, even if I sell her to you, that cannot go unpunished.”

Erick interjects this time.

“Don’t worry I have already had by way with her and will continue to do so in the future. She hasn’t even begun her service to me. We also learnt that you have her sister, we want to buy her as well.” he says in an ominous tone.

“Why do you want the sister?” the man asks his eyes narrowing on Erick.

“We will hold the sister as a sort of hostage, if this bitch tries to run away again, my husband can just use the sister in her place” I reply.

Elizabeth flinches at my words and starts to shake slightly.

“Hmmm well if I sell her to you I guess it won’t be my problem anymore” the man replies.

“So how much do you want for both of them? My husband and I are busy and would like this done now” I say.

“Since you have already used her without my permission I want five hundred livres”

That was an outrageous price for a slave, the normal price for a fit male slave was around four hundred livres. Asking five hundred for an abused female slave and her young sister was absurd.

“Very well. Husband, pay the man and lets be done with this. We need to be back in Fornall soon and you can have fun with her once we get back” I answer.

Erick proceeds to take the livres out of a pouch that he withdrew from his vest and hands it over to the man.

“Pleasure doing business with you. If you want any more pleasure slaves, feel free to come by anytime, I got young ones like her sister if that’s more to your taste” the greedy man says with a smirk on his face.

*I’m coming back to kill this fucker*

After counting the livres the man sends one of his guards to fetch Elizabeth’s sister. A short time later the guard returns with the girl. The girl looks to be about five with light brown hair that reached her jaw line and had an olive complexion. She was wearing a plain cloth tunic and did not have any slave bands, as she was still growing. Slaves were only given their slave bands once they had stopped growing so as not to waste money on constantly replacing them throughout a slaves childhood.

“Lauren!” Elizabeth shouts and tries to run towards her sister.

Before she could move very far, I slap her with the back of my hand and knock her to the ground.

“Know your place bitch” I scowl at her.

“I’m sorry Mistress” she whimpers.

“Let us be off, I don’t want to waste any more time here, dear Husband” I say as I once again link arms with Erick.

The former master hands Erick the Writ of Ownership for Elizabeth and Lauren and we soon depart the farm. So as not to raise suspicion I make the two sisters walk besides the coach until we are out of sight of the farm.

Erick

Only Lillianna and I were in the carriage currently as we were still too close to the farm to allow Elizabeth and her sister to ride with us.

“Five hundred livres! That was twice what we expected to pay” I exclaim.

“I’ll get it back later”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t worry about that for now”

“But that was a fortune I can’t believe he asked for that much”

“That was more than I expected but a fortune it was not”

“You can live of that amount of money for decades, how is that not a fortune” I rebut.

“It may seem like a lot of money to you, but for a nobleman they could easily spend that amount in a month, if not less”

“Ah... I’m not used to handling so much coin… it just seems… I don’t know what” I say as I let out a sigh.

“If you live as long as I have and see as many places as I have, you will realise that there is an almost impassable gulf that separates the poor and the wealthy”

I nod to show understanding.

“Ummm… I’ve been meaning to ask how old are you anyway?”

“It’s not polite to ask a woman her age, didn’t your mother teach you that?”

“Sorry” I reply embarrassed.

“Well… let’s just say I’m far older than your village elders”

“What! No way, you don’t look that old… I mean you’re so… pretty”

“Don’t forget I’m a mage. We don’t age after a certain point and as far as I know we don’t even die of old age”

“I see…”

I knew mages could live for hundreds of years, but I always imagined them to be old men with grey hair and arched backs.

“Since you asked me my age, how about telling me yours” Lillianna queried back at me.

“I’m nineteen” I reply.

Lillianna laughs at my answer in an amused fashion.

“What’s so funny?” I remark.

“Well I just thought you were much older”

“How much older?”

“In your late twenties maybe even early thirties. I guess being a hunter makes you look more mature” she muses.

“I’ll take that as a compliment” I reply back slightly annoyed.

“Oh please do... Ah this seems far enough away to let Elizabeth and her sister in. Please tell the driver to stop”

Elizabeth

As we are walking besides the coach it comes to a halt and we stop by the road side.

“I thought you left me…” Lauren says as she starts to cry, her face red with emotions.

I bend down to hug her and embrace her with all my heart.

“Please forgive me” I replied as tears ran down my face.

The carriage door opens and Lillianna and Erick look out towards me and Lauren but they say nothing.

“I’ve been a bad sister to you, can you ever forgive me?” I plead.

Lauren continues to cry in my arms but after a while begins to calm down.

“Don’t ever *hic* leave me again. If you *hic* do, I’ll never forgive you” Lauren says, her words interrupted by her hiccups.

“I’ll never leave you again, I promise”

After a few more moments hugging, I release Lauren and turn my attention to Erick and Lillianna.

“Eli, is that mean lady our master now?” Lauren asks in a hushed voice.

“She isn’t mean, it was just pretend ok? Do you want to ride in the carriage?”

“Can I really?” her worry instantly replaced with childish glee.

“Of course you can little lady” Lillianna says with a warm smile.

Lauren looks up towards me to make sure it was okay before we both step into the carriage.

Lillianna

I watch as Elizabeth and Lauren enter the carriage and take their seats. Elizabeth is sitting next to Erick while Lauren is next to me.

“My apologies for hitting you back there. We needed to keep up appearances, are you hurt?” I say.

“I’m fine, I’ve had worse” Elizabeth replies.

“Are you my new master?” Lauren asks me with childish curiosity.

“No, you are free, you have no master” I reply.

“Really really?” Lauren continues.

“Yep, you and Eli are free now” Erik answers in my stead.

I notice that Elizabeth blushes at the mention of her nickname from Erick.

*How cute*

“Yeh!!!” Lauren shouts as she jumps over to Elizabeth and begins to hug her.

“Once we’re back at the inn, I’ll sign the Writ of Ownership for you both and make you free” Erick interrupts.

The rest of the journey back to the inn was full of questions from Lauren and we answered them all to sate her childish curiosity. We of course left out the part about me being a mage. Once we were back at the inn, Erick signed their Writs and freed them, all that was left to do was to hand it into the city registry and it would be official.

“This room is getting a bit cramped, should we get another one for you two Elizabeth?” I ask.

“There is no need my Lady, we can just sleep on the floor”

“Please just call me Lillianna, and also you can use the bed. Erick and I are used to sleeping on the ground, take time to enjoy your freedom”

“I couldn’t do that, we owe you so much”

“I insist, isn’t that right Erick?”

“Ah of course, we can sleep on the floor” Erick replies hastily.

“Now all that is left to do is hand in the Writs tomorrow and you are free. We should go as a group tomorrow morning, in case there is any trouble”

“What kind of trouble?” Erick asks.

“I don’t think there will be any but I don’t want to take the chance. Your former master might have sent more men after we left, he doesn’t seem trust worthy”

“I see…”

“You all should get something to eat and rest up, today has been an emotional one”

“What about you?” Elizabeth asks.

“Oh I have some business to take care of, I’ll be back in a few hours. Don’t wait up for me”

Erick and Elizabeth give me a questioning gaze but chose to say nothing, while Lauren was rolling around on the bed enjoying her new found freedom. I change out of my dress and put on my traveling attire in the bathroom and take Enenra out of my bag.

Upon leaving the bathroom Erick looks at me with a raised eyebrow, while Elizabeth is at the dining table eating, Lauren was already asleep on the bed.

“What?” I ask him.

“What kind of business do you have to take care of?”

“I’m going to get my money back” I reply with a sinister smile.

“Wouldn’t that cause trouble? I mean we just paid the man a small fortune and he ends up being robbed straight after” he counters.

“Maybe, maybe not, but I can’t have scum like that get away with my money. I’ll make sure no one suspects us”

Erick frowns at my answer, but remains silent.

“You’re going back to the farm? Isn’t that dangerous?” Elizabeth asks.

“I’ll be fine and besides do you really want the scum who was your former master to go unpunished?”

“Please don’t go, I just want to forget about him”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back before you know it. Just ask Erick and he’ll tell you that I can handle myself in a fight” I say with a wink.

“Don’t worry Eli, Lillianna is very strong, she’ll be fine. Though I don’t agree with what she’s about to do”

“See, nothing to worry about”

A farm south of Fornall

The full moon was shining down over the farm as Lillianna approached it’s outskirts. She was shrouded in darkness and moved like a viper through the fields of wheat as she advanced ever closer to the manor at the heart of the farm. The guards that surrounded the building remained none the wiser as she leaped up to the second storey of the manor and made her way inside. Upon entering the building she found the upper floor to be dimly lit with no persons in sight.

Skulking her way through the upper floor, she stumbled upon the room that the farm owner used to store his wealth. The room had a chest at the back of it and a desk at its centre. Lillianna made her way to the chest and used a silver blade made from Inanna’s essence to pry open its lock. Inside she found what she had been looking for, the livres she had paid the man earlier. After counting exactly six hundred livres, she placed the coins into a pouch and closed the chest, she then turned her attention towards the desk.

Lillianna examined the contents of the draws in the desk and came across something that had piqued her interest. She had found a contract that the farm owner had made with some nobleman in Fornall for a loan of three hundred livres. The contract itself was quite benign and the amount was wrong but it would suit the purpose she had in mind for it well enough. After making sure that she had left no evidence of her presence in the room, she made her way to the farm owners bedroom, remembering to take the contract that she had found.

She found the farm owner sleeping next to his wife, unaware of her intrusion. Lillianna quietly made her way over to the farm owner’s wife and placed her left palm on to her head. Using Nin’s power she made sure that the woman would not wake from the commotion that was about to take place. Moving over to the farmer himself she once again placed her left palm on the man’s head, this time though she paralysed the man but made sure he could still awaken. With a swift kick to the farm owner's face she woke him up.

The farm owner’s eyes shot open but the rest of his body remained immobile including his mouth. Fear beamed from the man’s eyes as he looked upon the shrouded Lillianna. He tried to scream for help but no noise would come out of his mouth, he tried to struggle but his body would not obey. In complete silence Lillianna formed a thin knife using Inanna’s power and held it close to the man’s eye. With a shift motion she cut the man’s cheek, but it was only a superficial wound. Using the man’s blood and her knife she wrote on the contract she had taken earlier.

“We’ve come for what is due” She wrote on the contract.

The intention of that message was to reflect suspicion away from her and onto a third party. That was also the reason she had taken six hundred livres instead of five. She then turned her attention back towards the terrified farm owner. The shadow around her now loomed over the man, its inky form slowly enveloped the man, until there was nothing left. On the bed, which was now absent of the man, she left the contract that she had written in blood upon it. With her deed done, she left the farmer own’s wife unaware of what had happened to her husband, save for the bloody contract that replaced his presence and made her way back to Fornall.