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“There are some occasions in life where we have no choice.”
I shook my head, daring to reach out and gently wrap my fingers around her arm.
“We always have a choice… And if there’s anything I can do to resolve the problem itself, I will do everything within my power to help you regardless.”
Her brow furrowed, face almost twisting in a scowl.
“Why?” She asked bitterly. “You have nothing to gain from it. You have no idea who I am. I could be here to rob you blind for all you know. Why would you want to help me?”
My mouth twitched at the irony of her words.
“Firstly, I absolutely have something to gain from it. Your peace. Your trust. Your affection. And most of all, your heart - in case that wasn’t clearly my intention already. Secondly, if you are here to rob me, you can save yourself the trouble… You need but only ask, and I would happily give you everything I have and more.”
Mareina’s brows pinched. Her expression hardened.
“Words are like dandelion fluff. Here one moment and gone the next at the faintest breeze…”
I had to bite back the response I felt, trying to claw its way up my throat. The fact that she was mypoa hanei.But I knew I needed to water it down, at least. Mareina had a wall that wouldn’t even allow hersoulboundto pass without having proven loyalty.
“I… Because I feel like I know you… And I know that Ineedto make sure you’re ok… As strange as that may sound.”
While the tension in the air was palpable… Much to my dismay, there was nothing even remotely sexual about it. I had at least hoped to taste her lips and caress her tongue… Touch those ample curves hidden beneath her leathers. Tease her and give her something to pine over.
She studied me, and the scowl gradually replaced with a sigh.
“I would enjoy taking a bath before…”
“No pressure… If you need to sleep afterwards, that’s fine too…”
Her brow tensed with wariness as though surprised I’d give up the opportunity to fuck her. I gave one last attempt to lighten the mood, letting a devilish grin curl the corner of my mouth.
“We’ll have plenty of time on the journey to Vyssini to become better acquainted…”
She studied me for a moment longer, again entirely unaffected by my charms.
I’m not sure I’d ever had this effect on women before… That is to say… None at all…
“My bedroom is just across from yours if you need anything.”
Moments later, in my bedroom, I stared down at the gold and jewels we’d looted from some decadent, debauchedLordin Hallofrin, a mining town a few days from Ouvelleete. He’d been a horrible cunt that employed indentured servants and was notorious for withholding their wages and sexually exploiting the females who worked for him.
I often experienced guilt for my lack of hesitance or remorse when I ended their lives. Perhaps they one day could have found redemption and done greater things… But… That was rarely the case, if ever… And I couldn’t help but feel a twisted satisfaction because I knew in my heart of hearts… That they fucking deserved it.
I had experienced too much oppression. Had been forced to live in exile on thisAkash-forsaken continent in poverty for too long because of people like him.And fucking Zurie.
When I’d first begun looting from the Lords of Atratus, I’d been alone. The first Lord I’d targeted, I’d followed him home from a tavern. He’d initially drawn my attention because he’d gotten aggressive with two of the females from the local brothel. Dressed in finery, he’d climbed into a gilded carriage. It had been entirely on impulse that I’d followed him home and discovered that he was just as aggressive with his wife. I’m sure if I’d allowed him to live longer, I would have seen that he was equally so with his servants, whose hardship was carved into every line of their gaunt faces.
When I found his head in my hands, I knew that I couldn’t subject his wife and the people he employed to the poverty that would surely follow with no Lord to support them. Especially if I was going to be alleviating his liquid assets. It was only then that I’d consciously realized it would make me no better than the Lord I’d murdered if I hoarded his wealth to myself.
Since then, myolana kah’heiand I would pay ourselves a portion of this, Pomona would distribute a portion to the late Lord’semployees,and for the last couple of years, we'd begun reserving a remaining third to fund The Uprising.
We used these proceeds to house a number of our members. In addition to training and facilitatingoperationssimilar to the ones we’d just conducted. We also used it to purchase weaponry, among other necessities. It had been two years, and it finally felt like we'd been progressing. Unfortunately, that came at a price: Zurie’s attention and, thusly, her wrath. Thankfully, all of us had vowed our secrecy and discretion in blood to eliminate any chances of our actions being traced back to anyone beyond any individuals who might have garnered suspicion, whether by family, friends, etc., that might feel inclined to report them.
Zurie had a rather handsome reward system for those willing to rat out anyone suspected of being a member of The Uprising. Often paying them a fortnight’s salary to do so. And anytime the reports became too numerous, the town was oftenpurged.Her favored method of exacting her revenge and quelling any Uprising members was to have their heads mounted on pikes in the offending town’s square. Both methods are equally effective at stifling our ranks.
Eventually,we would have the numbers and the weapons to form a coup and put Zurie’s head on a fucking pike outside her own palace.
All without the help of fuckingaetra.
