The same day, earlier in the late afternoon, Mae was looking at the boy as they walked through the slums. She could still not believe it, she had found her son at least. The kid looked to be about twelve years old, with chestnut hair and green eyes. One could glimpse at his rags and see he was too skinny for his age. Growing in the slums, what else could you expect, she thought. The amazing thing was his aura, he had a naive air about him, she still could not conceive it. Sebastian, that was his name now, had managed to keep a gullible look despite growing up in the hovels. Not the innocent face you would often see on street urchins, the one they used to lure you, genuine innocence. The fact that he resembled his father didn't hurt either.

"Are you my mummy for true?" He asked. She nodded. "Other boys say you a whore. That true as well?" She shrugged. "Then... you now how to do... things? Can you tell me?" She sighed.

"Listen, boy, if you want to make a woman happy, take a bath before. Then finish your business quick, and don't you fucking snore when it's over." She said dryly.

The boy looked confused by the explanation. "But... the other boys they say..." He blurted.

"The other boys are cunts." She spat.

By the twelve gods, the boy was naive! In a way wich made her recall Ben. Though the lad had never been innocent, even prior to the time of their encounter. He had been around seventeen years old back then, and already having survived more wars and hardships than most. Mae had never really been soft herself either. But if violent men sticking her was hard enough of a job, them wanting to do it with a sword was frigging ugly business. The bumpkin might complain all the time about 'damn cityfolks this and stinking that', Mae could see past it. He was a lot less tense now than back then.

Gravelroy was changing him, she realized, it was making him think a little. She would never have thought it possible. Ben had always lived in the Wilds and he had his whole world figured out there. He was impressive back then though, in his own kind of way. When in his homeland he was always watchful, he could track anything, wiggle his way out of any situation. It must be the traveling that brought the change, she reflected, especially discovering the big city. It was one thing to hear the world is big, but it was a different one altogether to experience it firsthand. Travel did that to a person, she had experienced it herself, it made you reconsider a lot of things. The transformation had taken the complete opposite of Ben's native land to happen. Gravelroy, the free city, her beloved metropolis. -Or because he drank wine all the time now-.

"Where are we going?" Sebastian asked.

"How many times do I have to repeat myself?" She answered in exasperation. They resumed their walk, between colored merchant stalls and passersbys.

A coughing fit shook her for a long, painful minute. Holy twat, dying was a nasty affair! She wiped her mouth using an old kerchief, glad Ben wasn't here to see the blood on it. Mae would have to keep him busy, or the lad would be annoying, fretting all the time and smothering her with concern.

"Are you alright mom?" The kid asked, giving her a worried, sad look.

It made her freeze. Again, it reminded her of Ben, at the beginning of their relationship. He had called her mom as a jest once, years ago. It had made painful memories come back. Lots of other prostitutes had kids but not Mae. She would not bring a baby into her ugly world, so she'd always taken the right herbs. The frigging things were nasty, and probably one of the many reasons her body was growing weak. Mae had told Ben at the time that she wasn't his damn mother. He'd answered that maybe she wasn't, but she was better. His own parents probably had abandoned him without care, he had explained. The boy hadn't realized how close he had hit from the truth, nor how many ghost babes had been haunting Mae. So she had lashed out at him in anger.

It had always been hard to stay mad at young Ben though. He would follow her with puppy eyes from a distance afterward. Scrambling off each time she glared at him in annoyance, and then coming back with little presents. The kindness had been novel, for kindness without expecting any tumble in return was so. It had softened her hardened heart a bit, though she would not admit it. And because of frigging puppy eyes.

"Don't you try them puppy eyes on me boy! I know this look and it won't work, I tell you." She scowled. "Keep it for later, we are going to need it." She reminded the boy of his coming part for the hundredth time.

They took a detour. She was indulging herself, for the sickness didn't allow her to go out much these days. Her joints ached now, Mae was going to pay for it later, she knew it. The both of them were heading towards her favorite part of the city: the harbor. Ben often complained about the stench, but she loved it. It was the smell of people, of life. People from everywhere, who accepted everyone and everything. All but a king. Well there was the Parkhat of course, but the man had the decency to stay hidden, so he was alright. He didn't put a frigging crown on his head before going and ordering folks around. The mysterious figure had always been a fantasy, and now meeting him seemed within her grasp, she marveled. If their disparate little team succeeded, she would leave happy. She would die knowing she had met someone who tens of thousands thought to be a legend.

She saw some boats entering the bay. They brought in silks, spices, and wines from the southern continent. It reminded Mae of her own voyage. More than a decade ago as her looks were fading, she had traveled overseas. It had not been so bad to be a whore there, she was 'exotic' on that side. But then the frigging crusades had started, and the locals began hating fair skinned people. Mae could not blame them, she had heard the stories, the atrocities still made her skin crawl. Rape, plunder and enslavement, so much for the benevolent god. She spat. So she had left for safer prospects and tried other countries, only to find white clerics everywhere by the time she had come back to the mainland. They hunted whores, witches and heretics. Lapidation had been introduced like some new kind of spring fair. She had not wanted to return home with her tail between her legs, so It only had left Mae a single option: the Wilds. There was always work for harlots out there since women were scarce. And then had began her harsh life as a camp follower.

"Where are we going?" Again. The brat's voice interrupted her recollection. He seemed to understand they were in the wrong place.

"We are going to the high district." She sighed, before switching back to the original course.

She turned her head to give the port one last glance. A particular vessel caught her attention, it had vividly colored sails and was manned by dark tanned men. She recognized the flags and felt a pang of nostalgia. She had liked it on the other side of the sea, the climate was warmer and drier, the foods as novel as they were spicy. And the way the women dressed! They almost had shocked her, HER, frigging Mae-foul-mouth! The woman cursed worse than a dozen sailors altogether but she had been startled. Here on the main continent, the white priest would lose their marbles if you showed a bit of leg. No wonder they were going nuts about their crusades. Mae recalled fondly some of the scandalously clad girls she had befriended, they knew their business for sure. Well, it had never been too late to learn, even for an old prostitute. As much as Mae loved Gravelroy, she must have been born in the wrong country.

"Am I really going to meet him?" He asked, nervous in expectation. She grunted for an answer.

As the pair was now climbing up the trader's streets, she considered her attire. Ben had scrounged a good enough dress for the job ahead of her. It was not a pretty one though, for the lad had no sense of fashion whatsoever. She had had a great deal of trouble, making him give up the creepy shaved head once they had arrived in town. But her demands about the disguise had been met, she observed with satisfaction. She had to look 'miserable'. Not in the usual slums way, mind you, it would have been easily done. She had to look like the idea noblemen had of a miserable woman. It meant a robe a lot more expensive than what she had become used to. It was plain, with only a few strategically placed holes and patches.

Mae and Sebastian were strolling through the rich neighborhoods when he asked, right on cue: "What's he like, my daddy I mean?" She ignored him as she squinted her eyes, searching the surrounding houses.

Not a single one was made of wood, this was a given. There were white walls and bright red roofs, colorful household flags flapping proudly over them. The all-around cleanness was the noble's way to show their wealth here in Gravelroy. The little ghost girl grew up in some place like this, though that hadn't worked out well for her, Mae remarked. The Lady sounded like the city and its Parkhat, an ugly sight maybe, but underneath resided a great mind. Perhaps she was another reason for Ben discovering he had a brain.

It was strange, trying to picture a woman Mae had never seen, going only by Ben's descriptions. That idiot bumpkin. His storytelling was like scrapping off flour from a tabletop and throwing the lot at someone. He gathered the stuff, together with other tiny bits, before blurting it all out at once. You ended up in a puff of white smoke, coughing in confusion, and there were frigging bits everywhere.

She turned to her companion and marveled at his ingenuousness. The weird kid had gobbled the whole story without question. He was the bastard of a noble councilman, and he was going to be given a home and a family. It should sound like a fairy tale to a street urchin. Gods, the sham could actually even work. She shook her head in disbelief. The credulous little brat would eat a decent meal at least. That would be better than what he'd usually get on a given day. She looked at his skinny form, he needed food and she had to blackmail someone, she convinced herself.

"You'll see for yourself soon enough, boy." She said as she found the domain she was looking for. They began hiking its way.

Lord Gilbet was a former patron, one from a completely different part of her life. She had been such a pretty thing back then, and her clientage an entirely different one. Fancy merchants and perfumed bluebloods. They brought silver or gold coins even, jewelry and silk. It had ben a whirlwind of dances, promises, and sweet words. She had lost herself in it completely while years had gone by in a flash, then the tragedy had hit her like a ton of brick. Age had caught up with her, frigging cunt that it was, before her thirties had even showed up. Presents had grown rarer and cheaper, rubies dimmer and fabrics rougher. She had begun glancing every day in angst towards the lower town. The slums, where a terrible future had been waiting for her all along. And so younger Mae had taken flight, a boat had spread his sails on the seas and she had ridden the winds with it.

"Dad lives here? But it's so big and clean and shiny and..." He rambled, eyes wide in awe. Gods he was good, he could make a fortune begging using this face. She wanted to slap him.

Here she was, back to where it all had started and none the better off now than then. She had chosen the aristocrat to deceive and was waiting nightfall to strike. There was no point in running into the wife now, wasn't it? It only mattered if Mae and the boy managed to pass the gates though. Lord Gilbet had been one of her favorite patrons once, gentle and generous, however dull he was. You could say what you wanted about nobles, once the clothes were off and the grunting over, they proved as dumb as the next man. She could ask him for help but it would be begging. Scamming felt better and that particular Lord was really gullible. She wondered if he would even keep Sebastian for good. Naiveness was useful in a mark but not as much as the wife being barren, or so the rumor said. In any event, she had not produced a single heir after ten years of marriage. The fact provided Mae with an opportunity.

She sat, back against a stone wall and her legs thanked Mae for it. Sebastian had not stopped staring at his future home. A good thing this was, he would not be pestering her with idiotic questions for a while then. The whore sighed as she let her gaze swipe the street.

Mae noticed a couple of holy men pass each other and she smirked. Black and white priests were giving each other a wide berth here. Ah! The bastards might kill each other everywhere else in the world, but here in Gravelroy, they had to be frigging civil. Gods, she loved this city. She thought about the colorless clerics. Righteous pricks those ones. They acted high-strung in daylight but it didn't stop them from seeing her kind once night fell. They were some of her worst clients. Why, that pent-up anger about heretics and having no wife had to go somewhere right? Her tumbles with mercenaries were not any less rough, but at least these didn't pretend to be anything more than brutes during the day.

Gods, her companion was babbling again. She pulled out a bit of bread from her pouch and handed it to him without listening.

Mae thought of Cleo, the bitch was thinking herself clever, manipulating Ben as she did. The Lady needed information so she had offered innocently to help. Though she had done so in a way that let her read everything before the Parkhat did. Ah! The girl was in for a treat if she believed she could lead him by the nose. Ben would only let you exploit him because he doesn't really care, don't let all the stupid fool you. He followed you around like a dog and you thought you could use him. Next thing you knew, you relied on the lad. Then one day you realized you needed him. But the girl could read, whereas Mae couldn't, so she had her uses. The whore never saw the need to learn, men didn't like educated women, it made their prick shrink.

Cleo was going to hit a wall, the day Ben would not want to do something, Mae smirked. The lad could be a real stubborn bastard when he chose to. The Lady was already deep in it now. Mae had seen the way he had been talking about the 'cracked girl', with them sparkles in the eyes. Ah! He was never going to let the lass alone now. Ben had looked at Mae like that once upon a time. He had made a tired, aging whore feel special then. She was not jealous no, she was absolutely not. Somebody had to take care of the burden after she passed, is all.

Something tugging on her sleeve snapped Mae out of her considerations. Right, it was night already. She signaled the kid to shut his trap and took him by the hand towards the gate. Two guards wearing the household's flashy livery stood there. They spared her a disdainful glance, before turning back to their conversation. She coughed politely.

"What? Don't you see you are in the wrong part of town? Now scramble off, old crone." He said dryly. Well, that was expected, and so was the sneer. She'd heard worse.

"Could you announce me to Lord Gilbet please?" Mae asked.

"I would think about it if you offered some niceties, only I'm not so desperate." He smirked and the other one chuckled.

That line must have taken him the whole afternoon to prepare. Why, standing still and waiting for folks to bully was a boring job after all. The other man seemed the type who would just sit back and watch unless he really had to jump in. Without looking at Sebastian, she gave him a slight, discreet nudge, praying he understood his part.

"Do you have peas for a brain lad? Look at the friggin' situation again!" She scolded the man and pointed at the kid. The speaker was stunned now, not having expected the outburst. Then both guards turned their eyes in the boy's direction. There it was! His best showing of the day, with watery eyes and a running nose. The fumbling hands were a nice touch, she noted. Holy prick, he was good! It had taken her two frigging days but she had found quite the gem. It was time to push now.

"Late hour, woman of little means, poor and innocent child?" Mae let the assumptions hang in the air, and waited. She just had to hope the two were not too dumb, and shove at the right moment.

"Your Lord might be in a very generous mood at the news, him not being lucky in that department." She finished and held her breath.

****

Mae was in the kitchens, looking at Lord Gilbet while the brat was eating beside them. They were sitting in silence around a table, alone at this late hour. The nobleman had changed in all those years, she remarked. His hair had grayed, deep lines were showing at the corner of his eyes and on his forehead. The fact that he was frowning, digesting the situation, didn't help the wrinkles. She had told the story, with the help of Sebastian's unique talent, and was now waiting for it to sink in.

"My dear Maeva, I recall clearly what had transpired from my courting you, but I can't wrap my head around the timing. You had rejected further meetings after some time, while rumors spoke of you seeing Lord Guillaudin." He finally said.

"I told you already, it was the summer we went on sailing. And you know the thing about rumors, that bastard probably started them himself to hurt you. As for avoiding you, well I had a friggin' pregnancy to hide." She spun the tale, adjusting it as things went. Well, it had been twelve years ago and a lot had happened.

"Always the same 'creative' language I hear. I am glad some things are not affected by time." He gave her a half smile. She scowled.

"I'm not here to listen to you spitting on my looks. I'm here for the boy. Your damn boy." she retorted sharply.

"My apologies, I was not so much criticizing your looks as I was referring to my... fading condition." He pointed at his stomach. She rolled her eyes, the belly just showed how much the fool ate in Mae's opinion

"About Guillaudin's slander against your character, I was only musing out loud. I never liked that scoundrel anyway. Once more, my apologies if there was any offense" He tried to soothe her.

It was a good reaction, she thought. Gilbet had always been too nice, he had never liked conflict. If you yelled at him he would always try to apologize and make it go away, instead of yelling back like a smart person. Now he was folding, accepting Mae's shaky explanation to calm her down. Meanwhile, the boy was eating voraciously, oblivious to his fate being decided right under his nose. She sighed.

"I just find it surprising to only hear about the child now. It has been twelve years, as you well know. Why not inform me sooner?"

"Listen, I know what happens to bastards in your world." He stopped her in shock, putting both hands on the boy's ears. The brat smiled innocently. Mae rolled her eyes.

"Same goes for their mothers. I didn't want to find damn poison in my supper." She continued. Gilbet's eyes went wide with horror. Gods, the man was naïve.

"I would not even have told you, were I not sick myself." She appealed to his kindness. It shouldn't be very hard, she remarked, the idiot's character was softer than a basket full of kittens. His eyes went wide in concern.

"Is there anything I can do to help? What do you need, tell me and I shall run to your aid!" He blurted out. Holy tit, he was too much. She didn't want to be lying on a sickbed when he discovered the sham though.

"I ain't asking for help." She nearly spat the word. "I just want someone to care for Sebastian once I'm gone." Mae glanced at the kid as she said it. Now would be the perfect time to use your weapon, she thought -come on lad water your eyes-. But he just stared stupidly at his newfound daddy.

"Of course, I..." He was interrupted by voices shouting outside.

A messenger wearing another household's uniform burst in the room.

"My lord! Oh, apologies... My lady, young man." The intruder saluted and composed himself.

"There was an incident, a fire I believe. House Chaffaud burned down. All of it, in fact." He informed them. The Lord gasped while Sebastian's attention went back to his food. Mae, on the other hand, held herself from cursing out loud. What had Ben done? She should never have let him go without doing the planning for him, she scolded herself. Gods, he was burning frigging houses now!

"How terrible! Please hurry and offer the family succor on my behalf. I believe I am the nearest among their acquaintances." Chaffaud proposed.

"Thank you, my Lord. It was the reason for my coming, actually. Very generous. I will relay your offer immediately." The messenger said before he left in haste.

Mae stood up and lifted the boy from his stool. The nobleman was still too shocked by the news to further speak, he shot her an asking glance.

"You have trouble of your own, I will come back with Sebastian tomorrow. Give you time to sort the whole mess out." The whore said as she was heading for the door, the kid in tow.

"You shouldn't, Maeva, we can find you somewhere to sleep. You don't have to leave right away, in any event." He protested, confused.

"We have more things to discuss. Plus the commotion will wake up your wife and I don't want to run into her." Mae answered over her shoulder as she left.

Holy frigging cunt! She was going to strangle Ben to death, after getting answers. Maybe before even, for she was right pissed. What had that idiot done this time?