Futures and Legacies

[Stare]

The door shut. Silence fell. Avis let out a huge groan and folded her arms. Looking around the room she saw three doors, one going back to the corridor, one opposite it with a small window within, and perpendicular to these the door Vitruvion and Brer has disappeared through. A sudden feeling of déjÃ* vu came over her as she realised this was the exact set out of her old bedroom. Curiousity struck into her and she headed over to the windowed room, partly intrigued and partly disgusted. Holding her arms around her she narrowed her eyes, staring at the window, the view coming clearer with every step. She saw glimpses of red, stone, furniture - then a limo formed in her throat when she saw it. It was her old room. Now empty, void, and in dimness. But still the same one, with the bed, the tapestries and the swathes of material.

Trust Vitruvion to leave her here. For his own amusement.

Hating it, she turned swiftly around and stalked over to one of the plain tables, placed against a wall. Shifting the ropes and mancles on it to the side she moved onto the surface and tucked her legs under her. Leaning back she summoned up the will to be incredibly bored, realising then she should have brought her book. Yes, she could probably head into her old room and hunt around in search for one there that she had maybe left in a hurry, but then what was the point? Vitruvion had told her to stay in this room, so she would. Knowing what circumstances lay in wait for her if she disobeyed him. Especially here, where all he wanted to be was in power.

Cupping her hands on her lap she let her eyes wander up to the ceiling, to not look at the bonds and other items of the room. That was one thing she did not regret with her new life - that she did not have to have herself bound constantly. Though the cuff at her wrist was its own manacle in its own way, there was still the fact she could walk and roam and move as she liked. She was determined to never be bound, never again.

The sound of a handle being depressed. She first glanced to where Vitruvion had strode through, but that door was still. And her old bedroom - well, it was empty save for the ghosts of her memories. Instead the one from the corridor was slowly moving and the sounds of several pairs of feet could be heard behind it. Scuffling, shuffling, and -

The door swung open. And one individual that Avis had put her mind to never seeing again appeared. Blaze. Vitruvion's 'guest' for more than two years. Dressed in nothing but a thin shirt, with her hands in manacles before her. And behind her were four guards, two humans and two elves, all bearing quarterstaffs. Her retinue.

As soon as Blaze saw Avis she stopped, wild red hair seeming to dance with fury. Just like her maddened eyes. Avis looked back, on the edge of the table, poised and tense. No idea what to say.

Silence. Fury. Irritation.

Gently Blaze was encouraged forwards by one of her guards. He was a man called Bertran, if Avis remembered, one who had been assigned to her for her first few weeks. Then Brer had formally taken over.

Bertran stepped in, eyes directly at Avis.

"What are you doing here? And where is your master?"

Avis tore her eyes away from Blaze with unease to turn to the guard. She sucked in her breath before answering.

"If you mean Vitruvion he had gone through there," she pointed with a clawed hand at where he had disappeared. "And I am in this precise room because this is where he told me to stay. If that is a problem, bring it up with him and not me." She lowered her hand to grip the edge of the table again.

Bertran paused. He looked a little confused but nodded. "Right. I see. We were told to bring ..." He gestured lamely at Blaze. Avis finished the sentence in her head. 'Told to bring Blaze here.' To the same room. Clearly this had been deliberate.

"Fucking bastard," Avis muttered underneath her breath, as she still saw Blaze staring at her, incredulous. The kenku paused, then went on. "He has some form of business. If you want him, go find him."

Bertran paused for a moment, then turned back to his comrades. He exchanged a few looks and a few short mumbled words that Avis could hardly here. Very gently they turned to Blaze, and led her over to the wall. Avis dared to watch as the fiery-haired beauty was sat down in a chair, then her ankles, torso and arms bound to it. Her wrists remained in the manacles, and her eyes remained on Avis, seething with anger. She hardly fought but kept herself tall with pride, taking the treatment as if she bared it every day.

Which perhaps she did.

Once done the guards stepped back. Bertran looked over to Avis, squinting his eyes slightly, studying her clothes and unbound form. She gave him a blank look as if to say, 'I dare you to even try.' in response he gave a small smile and turned, heading through the door Avis had indicated. The rest of the guards headed out the way they had come, presumably to take up stance there.

[Stare]

Silence. Avis' gaze fluttered between the doors, still bored, but now tense. She swung her legs over the edge of the table.

"We thought you were dead."

The kenku paused, and let out a small sigh before she looked over to Blaze. "What?"

"We - Reign and I thought you must have died," she was speaking in rough, harsh and jealous tones.

Avis shrugged, "I didn't. I just moved."

"Where on Althanas have you been?"

Avis paused for a moment, "Living in Vitruvion's mansion. In the city." She looked away from her and at the ground her feet swung above. "Only there."

Blaze's eyes seemed to glow with fire as she watched the kenku look away. She shook her head with disgust. "What did you promise him for all of this? Are you pregnant or something?"

With that suggestion, Avis looked back up to her, alarmed. "Pregnant? Of course not! My race cannot reproduce with another for a start. And you know he has ways of preventing anything like that!"

It was a truth not very commonly discussed. Every 'host' or 'brother' in the Hollow had a responsibility to ensure no reproduction was taking place in the Hollow.

Blaze continued to stare. "Well you might have been. You might have persuaded him with whatever wiles you use."

"I did nothing of the kind," Avis spat back. "You know exactly why he took me away from here. I told you everything that he told me. And then you got carried away in your jealousy and-" she looked away again. "The only thing that has changed, Blaze is that I am not here anymore. He uses me for a different purpose. He still controls my fucking life."

"I doubt that very much," Blaze responded with a bitter laugh. "You are clothed! And not even bound in any way!"

The kenku looked over to her, studying the ropes that held her there. Blaze seemed to take the situation with a calm relaxation, not seeming in discomfort in any way. Avis blinked slowly, her chest rising up and down and in that moment she considered telling Blaze everything. About what Vitruvion considered about her power. That she might be magical beyond the norms. That at her wrist was a device through which Vitruvion could see her, hear her, speak to her ...

"What?" Blaze testily said, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

With a slow intake of breath Avis sat up taller, her shoulders rolling back. "I'm not looking at you like anything. Trust me, you would know if I was."

There was a silence then as Blaze's brow creased. A curiosity came into her eyes. "You were in here, with the door unlocked. Does Vitruvion trust you now?"

A short, bitter sounding laugh. "Not quite," Avis said quietly, the conversation now more gentle in tone. She looked back down at her feet. "He's very likely never going to."

Silence came between them. Blaze pursed her lips and looked away, seeming to think other things. The anger in her eyes was beginning to die away.

"So," she said softly, after a long pause. "What do you do for him now?"

"Nothing much at the moment," Avis replied, black eyes also dimming from the agitation she had felt. "Just not sex." Though that was partly a lie. It had just been that night that he had taken her, her consent entirely there.

"Then what has he got you out there for?" She said, eyes large, gesturing to the ceiling with her head, to 'up there', to the surface.

"It's better to ask him," Avis said, a sigh on her beak edge. "Because sometimes I have no idea."

Blaze frowned slightly, but she took the statement as an answer. "Then what is it like? To be up there, free to do as you want?"

"When did I say I was allowed to do as I want?" Avis murmured in reply.

Just as the door opened. Just as he stepped in, Brer and one man Avis had not seen in a long time. Raevin. Vitruvion's captain of the guard in this horried hell-hole.

[Stare]

Their eyes met, the elf meeting the kenku and a thread of mutual surprise flittered through. The captain arched his brows, lips forming a small circle as he took in the sight of the woman he had guarded so many times and only just heard rumours of the new state of.

Vitruvion stopped short, his eyes flickering from Blaze to Avis. It was then Avis realised he had probably deliberately done this, made them end up in the same room. His two prize girls. His two prize possessions, one's fate changed, the other still the same.

A small look if amusement came to his face, affirming Avis' suspicions. She rolled her eyes slightly as she began to hop down from the table. At that moment Vitruvion began to speak.

"Stare," he said. Her eyes swept up to meet his, a look of annoyance in her eyes that said 'why did you arrange for us to be in the same room?' And the thought permeated her mind.

His lips smirked. "Because I am able to," he openly replied.

A series of confused looks ran through the other faces - Raevin, Bertran who was behind him, Blaze. Only Brer seemed to understand and he grunted a little with laughter at the looks on his co-workers. Vitruvion's eyes wandered around, settling partly on Blaze who looked astounded, lips parting as she stared once more at Avis. Seconds ticked by, and Vitruvion took the time to start meandering over to Blaze, his eyes however constantly watching the reactions of everyone in the room. When Brer let out a second, louder rough chortle eyes grew wider still. Avis could not help but let out a small strangle of a sigh, making it clear in her mind that she just wanted to be out of the room away from Blaze.

"Go then," he gestured to the door leading to the corridor. "Raevin will show you the way. I want as much information as you can gain without breaking ... Doing as we discussed earlier." Breaking the law, he said into her mind. She simply blinked. He continued. "I will inform you when you have gained enough. After that let her rest for an hour, and then you will escort her back to her city house. You may inform her of such when you have finished your questions." He paused, now ignoring all the highly confused looks around, especially from Blaze, who was bordering on incredulous. "Then go back to the mansion. Yes?"

Her jaw tightened. She sighed again into her beak.

He arched an eyebrow, bore daggers into her with his eyes. Pain, they said, do you really want the others to see?

"Yeah," she said, looking away from him. "Yes."

He nodded once, then waved a hand like he was dismissing a servant. She wasn't much different. Eager to be away from him Avis turned with a deep scowl. Folding her arms across her chest she sought out Raevin's eyes. He smiled slightly and twisted slowly towards the door, indicating that he was ready to go. Avis rolled her eyes and started on herself, walking swiftly to the door, where she grabbed the handle and pulled.

A startled look appeared to her from the other side, by the two of Blaze's guards who stood there. Avis glared at them before pushing past. Coming in her wake Raevin apologised in a low voice, hurrying after her as she began to stalk down the corridor, swinging her eyes left to right.

[Stare]

"Eh, other way."

She stopped and turned in a full circle to look at him. With his arms folded the elf had his head tilted. He used it to gesture back the way she had come.

"We're going this way? Remember he said you can leave after you've met the duchess."

Avis let out a heavy sigh, realising she had been heading upwards towards the exit. "I don't see why he didn't just have her kept at the mansion," she spoke with a bitter tone.

"Because he desired for her to see just what he could do, even if he wasn't going to do anything on her," Raevin shrugged, watching her as she stalked back to him.

She clacked lightly on the inside of her beak. Well, at least it made sense.

"Fine," she muttered, coming to his side.

When they were close Raevin moved to walk with her. Avis noticed that Brer was not there - presumably the giant of a man was assisting Vitruvion. Perhaps, because of the high number of those truly loyal to him here, Vitruvion realised he did not need to have her followed by him. Or perhaps, Raevin was filling in Brer's position.

After a moment of silence the elf began to speak again. "Hello by the way."

Avis eyed him, "What?"

"I said, 'hello.' We have not seen one another since you left."

For a while she blinked, then she shrugged. "I guess not. I haven't really thought of you though."

"It is not everyday that your employer's concubines become his secretary."

She snorted. "Is that what he is calling me?"

Raevin smiled, amused. "It fits, in a way, does it not? It is blasé enough for people to not question."

"It doesn't have the same ring as 'pet project'."

The elf laughed. "Not quite I suppose."

He was speaking to her in a very different tone. Rather than the darker, more cruel humour than he had before Raevin had a lightness in his voice, a friendliness. It could only be that he saw her differently now. Exactly as Vitruvion wanted it. 'The same level as one of you,' she had said to the men of the mess hall.

Slowly, she breathed a sigh and looked at Raevin. "So, we almost there?"

He nodded and went a few more places until they came to a white-washed wooden door. It was as plain as the others, but had a certain cleanliness to it, as if this led to better chambers than most. Raevin depressed the handle and stepped inside. Avis kept her eyes dancing around, and saw within a sub-chamber of sorts. A gorgeous suite of chairs were tucked into a corner, and an ornate enormous rug covered the majority of the stone floor. The walls were filled with paintings of landscapes and fine portraits, all with only one occupant. A large burly guard, well dressed, sat on one of the chairs reading a small learher-bound book. The wall his chair was closest too had a door set into it. A door with no less than three bolts drawn across it.

Where the duchess was kept.

As Raevin stepped into the room after Avis the guard began to stand, presumably to attention as he raised a hand. Raevin smiled and waved a hand.

"Xabe, this is Stare. I am sure you have heard of her."

The burly man, who Avis now saw was an elf typically of Raiaera due to his small pointed ears, rolled his eyes over to the kenku. She blinked back at him.

"Apparently I'm a secretary," she answered, reaching up to undo the clasp that held her cloak.

The burly man raised his monobrow and Raevin laughed. "Apparently so. Xabe, how is the duchess?"

A grunt. Watching as Avis carefully draped her cloak across a chair. She felt she needed freedom of movement to be able to do this properly.

"She's as irrita'ing and eager teh be ou' of 'ere as she'll ever be. Guessin' the master sending 'er 'ere ...?" The thick accent man tossed his head towards Avis.

"To get what we have not been able to so far from her, yes," Raevin nodded. "Vitruvion said you would know when enough information is gained."

She shrugged. "He'll let me know."

Blinks came from most elves but she ignored them. Instead she tried to think 'pig' and readied herself to find all the anger, fear and frustration she had. Beside her Raevin shifted.

"You can get her to talk?"

"I got her father to pay, did I not?" She asked, eyeing him with a hint of amusement in her voice.

Raevin shrugged a little but nodded. He gestured invitingly with a hand towards the door. With a small glint in her eye Avis turned and watched as Xabe unlocked the door. The three bolts, then a tiny key later and it opened, revealing the ornate room. And the ornate beauty that lay beyond.

[Stare]

Like her father the Duchess né Heysan was something to be intrigued by. Her long, flowing, fair and wavy hair was clasped back with a number of large pins in some fantastical fashion of the day. Over her thin but endowed form she wore an elegant dress, in deep rose and purple, reaching to the ground and to her wrists. Quite rigidly she sat, straight backed, on a dining chair set to the side of this gloriously decorated room, which echoed the ante-chamber outside. A large four poster bed. A table. A vanity desk. Shelves, filled with the latest beauty trends. And to the side, by the wall was a young girl, her arms folded and her attitude resolute. Avis then realised that she recognised her, as one of the ordinary staff of the Hollow.

As she stepped in, the click of her claws dulled by the rugs, Avis saw the duchess stiffen. Abruptly she turned dark eyes onto the kenku. Her lips formed a thin line, pride in every fibre of her being. Clearly she hated being in here.

"I think you can go," Avis said gently after a moment of silence looking to the girl. When the girl opened her mouth to talk, Avis said, "If it bothers you that much tell Vitruvion I need you gone for me to work better."

The girl paused a moment, then shrugged and kicked off the wall. Though she was clearly here to serve as a lady's maid her attitude failed. She strode past Avis with a mild bored expression. Avis paused, then looked behind her to see Raevin standing there in the room's doorway.

"Are you staying or going? What did he say to you?"

"I cannot pretend I'm not intrigued," the captain smirked.

"Excuse me!" A high, royal voice proclaimed. Only one person. Avis looked back to the duchess with a slow, deliberate blink. When a moment of quiet had passed again, the duchess continued. "Good. You are finally talking to me. Now, you will tell me who you are, and just what exactly you intend to do. I would have you know your master has threatened me exceedingly colourfully thus far."

Eyeing the very fine woman for a moment, Avis paused, then moved to go take a seat opposite her. She deliberately moved the chair so it faced hers, and remained at a considerable respectful distance from hers. As she sat she heard the door click closed and footsteps move close by - a sign Raevin was remaining inside. A faint sound told them that they were being secured inside.

"My name is Avis. Well," Avis grunted. "My 'master,' as you call him, and everyone here calls me Stare. I have been sent here by the bas-" she paused, knowing that Vitruvion was likely listening and remembering what he had said before about the appearance of respect. "By him in order to help you give us what we need. Once you have given us the information then I am to escort you back to your castle."

She finished with a small smile at the corner of her beak - the only place a smile would appear on a kenku.

The duchess just stared. "Your master is known by me outside of these walls. He is a nobleman, and thus will be subject to the court. If you intend to lay a physical hand on me in order to gain what information I might-"

Avis shook her head. "I'm not going to even touch you, your grace," she said calmly, deigning this precious princess the use of the honorific. Just this once. Maybe more. "I'm going to first of all let you just tell me without any further words."

The elf blinked, and narrowed her eyes. "I have been here trapped for eleven days now. I have not as yet told your master anything. And if he things some - some tengu will gather more from me-"

"'Kenku,'" Avis interjected.

"What?"

"The term is kenku not ... Ten-ten- whatever."

The duchess frowned. "Your species is tengu, surely? As scribed by Karas the Wise during the uprising of the Forgotten Ones?"

Avis shook her head. "No. It's 'kenku'. And we're not even from here. Originally we come from across the vast sea." She clacked her tongue as the duchess' frown grew. "That does not matter, we should talk about information. I am asking you - imploring you - to give it to me of you own, free will."

The duchess blinked, her eyes growing wide with alarm. "You mean to force it from me? I tell you, your master has tried to ply at my mind, but I am an elf from the line of Heysan. Our minds are strong, they do not falter easily."

Avis sighed slowly, shaking her head, really very reluctant to do what Vitruvion had brought her here for. "No, it doesn't work like that. It's something different. Something I don't even understand," she paused and looked at the duchess solidly. "Please. Let me know what else you father is planning, how the guards knew we were in the carriage that day, what else he has been keeping from ... Sir Elssmith." He opted for Vitruvion's lordly title, knowing that it sounded better than simply 'Vitruvion' and was a good compromise from 'master'.

Light skinned fists formed from the Duchess' hands. "If I could use my power," she hissed, "My magic, I would tear this place apart. You and your people would be reduced to ashes, my husband and I would storm this place, throwing you all off guard and ..."

Avis ignored the rest, knowing that it meant her suggestion was being denied. Absolutely. Running a hand through the feathers at her crown she groaned under her breath and turned around slightly. She caught Raevin's gaze.

"You sure you want to stay for this?" She said quietly. In the background the duchess' rant grew madder.

The captain raised a single shoulder in a hapless shrug. "Call it curiousity," he smiled at her.

Avis rolled her eyes a bit but nodded. Then she blinked a fair few times, taking in a breath. Her hands formed light balls on her lap as she let the duchess' words fade to the background, and let her own emotions begin to ebb forwards. From what she had learnt with the pigs she knew several things. Several emotions she could latch onto.

Hatred, for the capture. For the stun. Fear for the nightmares. Rage for the unbelievable realisation of inevitability. That you are going to die. That we are all going to die. That your lover will, one day, die.

Slowly she let these feelings, and the memories tied to them, come to the forefront of her mind. Taking a deep breath she paused, then raised up her eyes, capturing the duchess in them. In her stare.

And at once the woman fell silent.

[Stare]

All eyes on her. Something she was quickly needing to get used to.

Avis felt exhausted and awkward, not two feelings that went well together. But after her feat with the duchess her entire body felt drained of energy. After she had given the duchess her thanks, and said in a hollow, guttral voice that she would be back for her in an hour, Avis had stood. And slammed on the door. Raevin had quickly followed. Indeed as she had begun to stumble haphazardly from the rooms and into the corridor he had taken a hold of her arm. She had tensed at the contact but his quiet voice had said, "You look awful and need to rest. Come with me."

Without anywhere else to go, and a knowing that Raevin wouldn't take her anywhere she would be hurt - for fear of Vitruvion's wrath - Avis had followed. And ended up in Vitruvion's guards' personal hang out. Or 'The Hall' as they called it. A stone, dry room down the far end of Vitruvion's territory, with a barrel of ale and chairs aplenty.

Now she was in such a chair, a large mug of ale in her hands, feeling as if the world had turned mad.

All eyes on her. Staring at the girl they used to guard, chain and lock away. Sitting there with them, as one of them.

"Will you all bloody stop staring," she growled, not for the first time. "Pretty sure you've all seen me before."

"Yeah but not clothed," one man commented.

That sent a howl of laughter through the five or so of them in the room, besides Raevin.

"Yeah something you'll never get to see again, so shut your arse mouth," she replied, downing a large gulp more of the alcohol.

"Is that so?" One dared to ask.

A short silence as Raevin looked up. And Avis felt rage rising in her, despite the fact she was tired of feeling those negitive feelings. Forcing them on the duchess. The shivering, whispering duchess who had been left begging. Begging for her to stop. Begging for her to go and let the nightmares go. Spilling everything she had about her father. How he had tracked the carriage by sending spies throughout Beinost. How he had a vast network of such people. About where they were based, how they worked, how they were essential to his operation ...

"That is so," Raevin said, power in his voice. "Sir Vitruvion has chosen to take Stare on as one of his staff. She's not a guest here anymore. She's one of us."

"When have we ever had a female guard?" Another man asked. "When has any other female, apart from the kitchen wenches, apart from the Lady Ventrua, ever wandered these halls free?"

"Never as far as I am concerned," Raevin shrugged. "But our employer has decided that it is to be, and so it is. Maybe if Spice had not died we'd be in the same situation, who knows."

"Nobody else has," Avis cleared matters after draining her mug. She motioned for Raevin, who sat right beside the barrel, to refill it for her. He obliged.

"As to being free, I'm not even paid by the bastard. So you've got that up on me." She stared up at the man who had asked the question with dark eyes. "You and I both are going to have to deal with it that I am here." She snapped her beak sharp at him.

The man fell silent, looking at her with exceptionally raised eyebrows. From the corner of her eye Avis could see Raevin looking amused, but also intrigued. Ever since she had conducted the interview with the duchess, and Vitruvion had finally spoken into her mind, That is enough, she had caught him watching her with a mildly fearful, but in awe look. Like somehow, simply watching what she could do had made him suddenly realise why Vitruvion had such an obsession with her. Like he now had respect for her.

His words in this place seems to back that theory up.

"Do you know if you'll be down here often?" He asked her.

She paused, feeling a strike of discomfort at the idea. "I certainly hope not," she said in a low voice, the bitterness clear. "It doesn't exactly strike find memories."

Raevin nodded a little. "A very fair and reasonable reaction. But will you be able to avoid it if he does ask you here?"

A quick intake of breath. Twisting around to him, Avis fixed him with a steely stare. The elf reacted rather oddly: he stiffened suddenly as her eyes lay upon him, and his spare hand flashed to his side, where she knew his blade was hidden under his coat.

Around them the room had returned to a low hub-bub of normal voices, though there was certainly an air was awkwardness remaining. Despite this, the other men seemed to go back to their conversations, and were chatting idly away, leaving the elf and kenku to their own talks. For some while Raevin watched Avis with uncertainty - the first time she had ever seen such a thing in the usually so calm and proud man. It made her feel strange. Like a twinge of honest guilt had planted itself into her heart and was pulling, harsh.

"I'm not going to do anything to you," she said in a quiet voice, finally looking away. "I don't think Vitruvion would forgive me if I did."

[Stare]

Raevin still looked concerned. "You can do that here, however," he murmured. "That power ... It rivals even his."

Thinking of the cuff at her wrist, Avis shook her head, staring into the brown sloshy liquid before her. "No it doesn't. And I don't want to be compared to him."

"But is it magic?"

She hissed sharply. "I don't know and I don't want to talk about it."

He looked at her with a little bit of irritation then, pursing his lips. She saw a hint of the proud man she had known before her ... Promotion in it.

"Okay then. We will not talk about it." He inclined his head.

Carefully she drank more of her beer, taking the moment to allow a pause.

"Are you feeling better?"

She sighed, "Yes. I'm fine. I just can feel disoriented after a strong ... Session."

"Who else have you interviewed in that way?"

"Ten pigs, five sheep and six rabbits," she grunted.

Raevin smirked. "I see."

"Interviewing is a good term though," she replied. "I will use that in future if you do not mind."

"Mayhap I do," he shrugged. "But I will lend it to you."

"In exchange for what?" She allowed herself another chug.

He raised both brows in quiet contemplation, musing. Then his mouth twisted up in a smirk. "I'm sure I'll think of something."

Avis rolled her eyes. "Well you can't get sex from me. Not now."

"Yes," Raevin suddenly whispered. "Because you're still having sex with him."

Suddenly everything seemed to grow cold. Swivelling around she fixed him with a bright, uncertain stare, her beak parted as one might part lips in shock. Breath caught in her chest she gazed at him for a long while, unsure and unsteady as to how on earth he knew ...

A soft smile played on his lips as he turned his eyes from her, turning to scan the rest of the room, his voice dropping to barely more than a whisper.

"I'm the captain of his guard and generally second in command here. He tells me a hell of a lot. I even know how he controls you now."

Her right hand shot instinctively out, letting go of her mug of ale, and wrapped itself tight across her left wrist. Where she had tied the scraps of leather to hide the metal from view. Eyes growing mad with fury and with agitation she felt her heart begin to rapidly beat.

Suddenly Raevin's hand moved, grabbing the top of her right hand and pulling it, along with the left, beneath the table. Avis uncomfortably tore it out of his hold, but kept it there - the sign of her agitation away from these people she now was beginning to see as equals. Except ... Except they were not.

[Stare]

"Please stop looking at me like that, Stare," he murmured, eyes turning back to hers. "I'm not going to do anything. I'm not even going to tell anyone, he doesn't want that."

At least her instinct not to tell anyone about it had been correct. But it still did not make her fury dissapate. Finally, also because he had asked, and kindly, she looked away, right at her ale.

"What I'm saying is you are worth more to him now than any girl here," Raevin looked down at his own ale, moving his hands well away from her to clasp them on his lap. "You're worth more, I suspect, than many of the men here, the lives, and from what I saw here today, maybe even his sister and I." A soft tongue ran across his lips, moistening them. "Bound by oath to him as I am, so long as I am able to do so, I will ensure that you are treated with the utmost respect."

Her jaw clenched, but his words made her passionate heart flutter a little. Just a little.

"You need never fear anyone here again. If they lay a hand on you, touch you, say anything inappropriate about you, you are protected. By me, by Sir Vitruvion. By Brer, who I suspect is as much there for your protection as he is for security."

If not for her feathers, one could have seen the colour drain from Avis' face. She suddenly felt small, very small, like what she had felt that first night when Vitruvion had placed the cuff on her. With the metal laces appearing from nowhere and lashing her destiny to his will. With that vulnerable feeling she took her right hand slowly off her left wrist and rubbed at her eyes, a small sigh forming.

"Do you want me to say thank you, then or ...?" She asked in an honest, still quiet voice. There was no sarcasm there.

"You don't need to," Raevin took a swig of his ale. "But rather be safe in the knowledge that despite your situation, you are no longer, in any way, in danger of being placed in the down deeps of the Hollow."

The down deeps, the lowest depths of the old catacombs. Where the 'guests' of the Hollow who no longer pleased their hosts were sent, into the mercy of the guards, where there was no limit to what they were allowed to do. In her time that she had been liberated from that world, Avis had learnt that few women down there survived six months.

"I know that," she murmured into her mug. "It's been one comfort at least."

"And you'll have my company for the foreseeable future," the captain smiled.

"Great. How do I get out of this again?"

Raevin let out a warm laugh. He paused for a while. "It's been about an hour, you should see to taking the duchess back to her castle."

With a groan Avis remembered. And she sank slightly. "Princess stupid fancy pants," she muttered before downing her drink. She stood, and recieved eyes on her again. Without a glance to Raevin she looked around the room briefly. "Well gentlemen," she drawled to them all, "It was lovely knowing you."

And with that she strode from the room, her mood sour, her tiredness gone, but now replaced with tipsiness.

[Stare]

Luckily Avis managed to keep her nerve when she returned to the duchess. The woman had managed to gather herself enough to place on a fresh, more road-worthy dress, and collect the few things together. It seemed she had been provided with all the clothes and beautification tools.

When Avis arrived the duchess silently understood. She rose, taking her small pack and followed the kenku out without so much as a word. Avis waited in the ante-chamber long enough with the intention clear in her mind for Vitruvion to acknowledge it.

Raevin will come with you. He knows where her castle lies. She is a duchess, so do not ride within. Drop her off, then head back to the mansion. A pause. Just remain in the grounds. You may wander the house and gardens, but do not go into town, or beyond the hedge.

Keeping her on her leash as usual. A long one at that, much better than the confines of her room. It was doubtful, however, how long she would be required to stay there.

Raevin opened the door to the corridor, looking unamused. His eyes flashed up to the duchess, who was all quiet and little movement.

"You should have waited for me," he said with a note of spite.

"I didn't know you were coming until now," she replied, and turned to look at the duchess. "If you please, your grace," she gestured to the door, finally granting the woman an honorific. After all she had forced her to go through, it was the least she could do.

It took a moment for the duchess to reply, but after that time had passed she raised her chin. The training she had learnt from childhood, and the pride inset within her by her marriage awoke: that internal, instinctual state of any noble.

Her hands clasped before her the duchess started out, and Raevin twisted to be at her side. Smiling with a vague, but respectful expression, he used a hand to show her the way, a bow in his waist. Then, with grace and poise he escorted the lady of high rank onwards, back up to the surface, with Avis bringing up the rear.

The carriage was ready, and waiting. Raevin opened the door for her, bowing once more. With eyes to Avis he nodded, slowly closing the door. They then flittered behind her, where the appearance of several guards stood at the building's doorway, a curiosity within them. Avis turned, seeing those who had followed them up, made room for them, intrigued not just by the duchess' exit but also that of the kenku they could no longer hope to touch. With a small sigh she moved, not giving Raevin a single look. She took herself to the back, where a small perch rested. Considering that if Brer could balance there, then she definitely could, and thus without even a hint she made her seat. Raevin strode to the front, where he greeted the driver of constant few words. Between them they held the duchess, between them they escorted her.

As the carriage was thrown forwards in the first lurch, Avis had to hold on. Her seat was simply made of a bench with little to no back and a hand hold. Thus, she had to rely on the latter to stay upright. Gripping it tight so the claws of her hand dug into the heel, she suffered and survived in silence, watching the world of Beinost wander by. As they moved from this horror of a backwater into a void of the city, and from there into then into one of the two major metropolises.

[Stare]

Life sprung from nowhere, like a spring in a dry desert. One moment there was dusty streets, the rest there was a lovely attitude. Lovers and friends walked down the streets, mostly high elves but many others too. Some hand in hand, others in groups, laughing and sighing and not saying anything. Houses became wide shops and town centres. One moment there was a university. The white marble that was part of the centre became more commonplace. The road itself was fairly easy to pass through, for it was simply a space for other carriages. And most folk strode. As they twisted down a straight main street, colour burst into life. And with that smells. And with that sights. And with that ...

Him. Skra. The baker, standing behind his stall hoisting a loaf in the air and offering it to a patron. He had a bright smile on his tough dwarf face, one made just for the customers. Still then he was here, the man who had taken Avis in. Who had been so kind to her, fed her, given her a job.

She gripped the rung of the seat tight, peering desperately past the block that Raevin's head in front made. Then there was a flag in the way, bunting, a monument and -

Then he saw her. Their eyes met across the crowded marketplace, two people who had been close friends and like father and daughter. Blessed opportunitied had given them both life, though Skra might never had mentioned it. Not though he looked mournful, a man without chance, gazing at her with shock and wonder and -

"Avis?" He mouthed.

Then the carriage spun around the corner. And her past was rapidly gone. But she was staring in the distance, desperately, wanting to let go of the carriage right there and go back to where she had come from. To be that baker's assistant once more.

Her hand began to leave the handle, leg slipping from the root of the seat.

Stop. Right there. Don't.

Her breath caught in her chest as she froze in place. And behind her the market was getting further and further away asrhe horses trotted - no, cantered - to a castle in the city. It would be defying death to risk jumping off now.

Stare.

No pain. Simply a name. Her name. At least one of her names.

Slowly her hand curled back around the balance, pulling her end back onto the seat. Skra was a good man, but he was another time, another life. He would probably despair at the kenku Avis was now. So bleak and full of hate and no hope. Never hope.

Her head hung, eyes boring a hole into the ground that kept rapidly moving beneath her and the carriage. She felt the minute bounces of the structure as it skipped over rocks and ditches, swinging on gentle springs. Skra was moving further behind her, as was an idea of what had been.