Chapter 195
Sibyl leaned forward on the table. "You're serious? Silva killed the King?" She glanced over at Silva as Bella continued to heal her. "Since the two of you ca back together, I assu you aren't too torn up about it... should we be preparing to ditch town?" she asked.
"No," Lorriene said, cutting in. "They're going to be watching for anyone trying to flee now, on top of trying to rein in anyone that had their collars removed with his death. Leaving town would just put a bounty on our heads. It's best to play dumb and show up tomorrow asking for your eting with Sir Noreth, pretend you never made it yesterday."
Talis was removing the guard's surcoat. "That should work. I talked to Sir Noreth directly before heading over. It's doubtful that he told anyone that wasn't in the room, the King working directly with the head of the guard is rather out of the ordinary."
"How did Noreth die?" Lorriene asked.
Talis glanced at Silva. "She killed him the mont he turned his back to us, caved his skull in sohow. Impressive way to kill soone of such a high level."
Bella started for a mont but then continued to heal her neck as Silva spoke. "I still have so tricks up my sleeve, I burned a temporary enhancent circle." She pulled up the leg of her pants and showed off a bleeding spot on the side of her calf. It took a mont to realize what she was showing us, the bloody spot was in the shape of a rough circle, below the part of her leg that transitioned into the fur of her rabbit-shaped legs.
Sibyl's brow furrowed. "You... had a ritual circle tattooed on your leg, under your fur..."
Silva nodded. "Temporary speed and physical strength boost. Lasts about a minute. Just enough to catch soone off guard. I don't like using them, it hurts to get them applied and hurts even more to activate them. Plus, once you use one up, you have to get the tattoo all over again."
"Just who are you?..." Sibyl breathed out.
Bella gave a worried look before reaching down to heal the bloody spot on Silva's leg next.
Silva shook her head. "Not yet. I want Torien to hear it too, but only after we're out of here." She gave a aningful look. "Go make sure she's okay... Please."
Raya looked back and forth. "So that's it? Silva committed regicide and we're just gonna hide out and pretend nothing happened? How are we supposed to trust you?"
Sibyl pulled Raya into a hug from behind. "Bastard deserved it... Let's give her the benefit of the doubt for now. We'll talk about this so more when the others are feeling better. Right Silva?"
Silva chuckled. "Don't worry. I won't leave you in the dark anymore. I believe that ship has sailed. I think it's better if things are out into the open now." She turned to the side and looked at Lorriene. "That goes for you too."
Lorriene sighed and shook her head. "Fine. We'll have to relocate first though. I don't think this inn will be safe for much longer. The Tamin paladins are going to tear the slums apart once everyone gets on the sa page about the dead king, we'll have to abandon this safe house." She looked over at Talis. "Do you think Sorsette will shelter us?"
Cecilia cut in, "Bad idea, the Great Library is too public, it'll draw too many questions. I have a better idea, we should hide out with the elves, the Northern Greens embassy will hide us if I ask them."
"And who the fuck are you?" Lorriene snapped at her. "Why would the elves give a shit about you?"
Talis coughed. "That's Cecilia of Silvergrove. I can confirm that she has ties to them, she was adopted into their family and is considered an elf by law. The head librarian has told to look out for her as well."
Cecilia raised an eyebrow at Talis.
"Nothing bad, I assure you. I was rely told to offer you, Miss Raya, and Miss Sibyl Steelglyph mbership to the Great Library. You're the only one of the three that had a dossier at the library so I read through it before leaving with Lilith."
"Another Silvergrove?" Lorriene asked suspiciously.
"The two are related," Silva said. "She confessed that she was sent to keep an eye on Lilith for the sa reasons we're interested in her."
"You're kidding, the Silvergroves know?"
"Apparently," Silva replied. "Doesn't matter for now, I believe that Cecilia can get us that protection she promised and she's tied to Lilith now, we can trust her."
Lorriene looked at Cecilia cautiously before scoffing. "Fine, I apologize. We'll hide with the elves. We'll need to take these three sowhere anyway. It's only a matter of ti before soone notices them missing," she said waving at the two other pantharians and the woman who smuggled them out.
I stood up. "Good, that's sorted. I'm going to go talk with Morrigan and Torien..." I glanced at Bella, she was still working on healing Silva. She had switched to healing the bloody spot on Silva's leg but her neck still needed more work. "Leave them to , Bella. I'll co get you when I've figured out what's going on."
Bella hesitantly nodded. "Okay. Take care of them for ... I couldn't get them to talk to at all earlier. It felt like I was just agitating them so I left them alone with Mimi..."
"I will." I started heading over to the stairs when Lorriene waved at .
Lorriene frowned and absently rubbed her bare neck. "As much as I know you'll probably need the ti, I'd like to leave in the night. Please get my nieces back on their feet." I frowned but nodded to her. I wasn't sure what was happening with the twins but it seed they needed to talk to , not anyone else.
I climbed the stairs and gently knocked on the door. Mimi felt my presence through the bond and wordlessly asked to co in. I slowly opened the door and stepped inside. Morrigan was sitting on the bed and had been crying while Mimi held her. Torien froze staring at , she looked like she had been pacing back and forth in the room. Torien looked like a nervous wreck, anxiety was oozing off of her. I had never seen her like this before.
"...Lilith," Torien whispered. Her hand gripped the space where her collar had been.
Morrigan looked up at and sniffled but didn't move. She just stared at with teary eyes.
I glanced over at Torien before sitting on the bed. "Are you two okay?" Of the two it looked like Morrigan was worse off, needed my help first.
Morrigan gripped her throat and shook her head.
Mimi reached over and pulled the armor off of in an instant and left dressed in my work outfit then ntally nudged with her intentions. I scooted closer and slowly pulled Morrigan into a hug. She flinched when I first touched her but she didn't fight . She let pull her over and even relaxed into the hug a little bit.
"Morrigan, what's wrong?" I whispered to her.
Morrigan started to cry again, so I just held her there and waited for her to answer. Torien nervously sat down on the bed next to us and hugged her legs to her chest. She didn't say anything but stared at as I held her sister.
After a few sobs, Morrigan finally whispered sothing, so quiet I could barely hear, "I'm scared..."
I rubbed her back and rested my head on her shoulder. "What are you scared of?" I whispered back.
Her fingers twisted in my clothes. "Don't... don't leave ..."
I pulled her tighter. "I wouldn't leave you Morrigan. Why would you think that?"
She gripped the space on her neck where the collar had been so tightly I almost worried that she was going to hurt herself. "Soone's always supposed to take care of ... The collar ant that I always belonged sowhere. Without it... what am I supposed to do? How do I know what to do? Who do I listen to?" Her words were interspersed by sobs and her voice cracked every other word.
I looked up at Torien who sat there silently watching . Tears had ford in the corners of her eyes too but she just watched quietly. My brows furrowed as I looked at her. I reached an arm out and beckoned her to co closer. She looked and my hand and then her ears went back. She looked scared too. Cautiously she got closer and leaned against . I pulled her into the hug as well and held the two of them against my chest. I didn't really understand. I knew they were hurting but I couldn't tell why this had affected them so much.
"It's okay," I whispered to the two of them. "Even without the collars, I will never abandon you. You can stay with ... with us, for as long as you want, or need to. You don't need to take orders anymore... but I didn't order you around much anyway. Nothing's changed, I still love you, both of you, you're just my friends now, not my slaves."
Morrigan sobbed again and buried her face in my chest. She was shivering and pressing herself against my body. Torien didn't say anything, she just rested her head against and closed her eyes. All I could do was hold them like that for a while.
After a few minutes, Torien looked up at and spoke in a whisper. "Lilith, make us succubi. Let us serve—"
"No," I said before she could finish.
Torien's composure broke and she suddenly looked hurt, as if I had slapped her. Tears poured down from her eyes and Morrigan wailed into my chest as she clutched to desperately.
I pulled Torien back against . She felt limp in my arms but didn't fight when I pulled her back against next to her sister. "Neither of you are slaves anymore." My words made them both freeze. "I won't allow you to substitute becoming succubi for slavery. We're friends, and Morrigan, you're my lover. I will never leave you unless you want to. I will support the two of you for as long as you need. Removing your collars doesn't change anything between us, you are my friends and I will take care of you."
"But..." Morrigan said between sobs, "we're worthless now. No one will be there to protect us. No one will be there to tell us what to do!"
"Shhhh," I whispered, "You don't need anyone to tell you what to do and your value doesn't co from serving others. I didn't love you because you were a slave, Morrigan. And Torien, I don't respect and trust you because you were my slave either. I love the two of you because you're Morrigan and Torien, my friends. Not my slaves. My friends."
Both of the girls were crying now, weeping quietly into my chest as I held them against . Mimi wrapped around them from the other side, holding them between us. I never asked about how they were raised. Their childhood. I was too afraid, and this was why.
I think I realized where all this was coming from. They were born slaves, raised as slaves, and they were told they would die as slaves. Their entire worldview and sense of self-worth was founded on being slaves. To them, not being slaves made them worthless because that idea must have been hamred into them too deeply. They were afraid of being tossed out like trash. Even Torien, the less emotional and more rational of the two, was scared. Nervous I would abandon them. That I would throw them away after I was done with them. The collars gave them a kind of comfort, it told them that as long as I owned them, they would belong sowhere. Be taken care of. Even if I had sold them or died, soone else would be responsible for them instead.
They were brainwashed into thinking this way. Brainwashed into thinking they didn't have any value otherwise. It made angry inside but I couldn't show it right now. Vicarious anger wasn't what they needed, they needed comfort and belonging. They needed to know that I wouldn't abandon them, that I valued them outside of their status as slaves. That's how I needed to fra this, how to make them understand.
"I need the two of you, whether you're slaves or not," I told them. They stiffened in response. "You two are my party mbers. My teammates. I trust you, rely on you two to have my back when we fight. All those tis when we fought alongside each other, we were doing that before I even owned you two right? Were you worthless to then? No. You were worth so much to I was willing to free you from slavery and take you with . I didn't even know you couldn't be freed rember? It had been my plan from the beginning. Why would I throw you away? We're partners. I need you to co with , to help , protect . And I'll do the sa for you, help you, protect you, whether you're my slaves or not. You're more important to than that, you're my friends, my family, my partners."
Torien sat up and looked at . Tears were still streaming down her face. "P-partners?"
I smiled at her, my own tears were wetting my face now, I wasn't sure when they had even started. "Yes, partners. I need you Torien." I turned to look at Morrigan. Her head was still pushed against but her cute ears were perked up, listening. "I need you too Morrigan. You're my mage, an amazing wild mage that can do more with magic than any other normal mage I've seen. And even if that wasn't true, I would still love you, Morrigan. Because you're an amazing person regardless of that."
She sniffled and looked up at . She still looked scared but her sobbing had slowed. I reached forward and wiped the tears from her cheek then turned and then did the sa for Torien.
"You two are the first friends I made here that didn't owe anything. You've saved my life probably dozens of tis over. So no more crying. It's a good thing the two of you aren't slaves anymore. Trust , believe in . Things will be okay."
"Okay," the two of them whispered together.
I pulled them back into another hug.
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