06: A new day, A new perspective

The sun shone through the window, blinding Amaris. Today was very different. Today was her first day of freedom. She rolled off the wooden cot that had been her bed for the last however many years; she wasn't sure how long she had been at the Inn exactly. After getting dressed in her tattered gown, she gathered her few meager belongings and went down to the front room of the inn.

Ivailo woke with the sun beating brutally into his eyes, his head no clearer from the questions that had plagued his sleep the night before. He got up and got dressed before trying to decide on his next course of action. Having no clearer idea what to do next, he found the piece of parchment that last night's questions were written on.

Looking at that parchment again did not help. It was as if he had reinfected his mind with the questions, questions that needed answering.

I want to get to know this Amaris better; he realised. I don't think that she is half as bad as the Lords of the High Council think she is, and I want her voice on the High Council.

Strengthening his resolve, he went out of the room to find Amaris. No matter what it took, he was going to get her to come back to Craester Castle with him, if only to have more interesting conversations with her. He found her in the front room, just about to head out of the front door.

"Excuse me, Miss," He said, touching her arm to get her attention. She spun around, as if he had pulled her by simply touching her. He let go of her arm.

"Can I help you?" She asked, touching her arm where Ivailo had grabbed her.

"Yes, I hoped I might buy you breakfast, if that is okay?" He asked. She nodded quietly.

"Yes, thank you. How about you order while I find us a place to sit?" She asked, glancing around the room. A room that, until last night, she would have expensed every single ounce of energy to keep clean and the patrons happy, but now she could enjoy as a fellow patron.

"Sounds like a fine plan," the werewolf, the emperor, Ivailo, responded, giving her a smile. She returned the gesture and went to find a quiet place to sit, away from the loudest parts of the room. She found a spot in the room's corner, often used by more wealthy gentlemen when they wanted to have midday meetings with their mistresses at The Bitterhead Inn, without wanting to pay for a private room. Now, early in the morning and several hours away from midday, the spot was completely empty. Amaris sat down.

Within ten minutes the man who had been her guest, Ivailo? His Majesty? She wasn't sure what to call him, came over to where she was sitting with two bowls of porridge.

"I do not think that many can say that the Emperor of Acad has bought and is serving them porridge for breakfast, so why am I privileged to such treatment?" She asked, genuinely curious why the emperor was taking such an interest in her.

"Straight to the point, I like it. You are a very interesting person, Miss, and I would like to get to know you better."

"What would you like to know?" Amaris asked, digging into the plain porridge. Wow, I didn't realise I was so hungry; she thought, savouring the plain oatmeal. Ivailo smiled.

"There is a lot that I want to know, and I doubt we would get through all of my questions in one sitting, so I will ask this. If someone was to give you a job that starts pretty much immediately, pays exceedingly well and includes living in a castle for the entire time that you took the job, would you take it?" He asked. Amaris thought for a moment.

He wants to offer me a Job that starts immediately, which is good because after paying for my freedom I do not have any money, she thought, not entirely sure whether she completely trusted the werewolf, the emperor sitting right in front of her. Apparently this job pays exceedingly well, and I would live in a castle while I had the job. This seems almost too good to be true.

"What's the catch?" She asked, seriously considering the offer.

"You would work with people who do not have a high opinion of vampires, much less ones who were once of noble birth."

"With? or for?"

"With," Ivailo confirmed. The offer was very tempting, she conceded. But how could she know he was as good as his word?

Ivailo could see the gears in Amaris's head moving as she decided. I hope she agrees to this offer. I really want to know her better, he thought, continuing to spoon porridge into his mouth.

"Okay, I will take the job." Amaris said, appearing to have concluded her internal dilemma. Ivailo was relieved. She had agreed to take the job, giving Ivailo the chance to get to know her better. "So, tell me more about the position," she said, taking another bite of the porridge. Ivailo grinned.

"Well, the position starts immediately. You will come with me to Craster Castle, when you have finished breakfast. You will not be a servant within the castle, however you will be a civil servant, meaning that you will serve the public and you will be a representative of the public while you are in office."

"Does this position have a title?"

"Yes. They would refer you to Lady Amaris Willow, Lady of the people."

Amaris was stunned. Here was a man, a werewolf, an emperor, who, over the two days, had tried to asassinate her, told her she used to be a princess, paid for her freedom and was now offering her a job in the court. This did not just happen to anyone.

"Why are you offering the job to me, of all people? Last night, you tried to assassinate me as I was, an indentured servant, and now, having bought my freedom and now wanting me to join you and become a member of the court. Why me? Why not kill me as I sit, eating the very food that you bought for me?" She interrogated, not believing that so much good could happen to someone in such an insufficient space of time.

"You are an interesting person, Amaris," Ivailo said, looking at her as if she were a puzzle to solve. "You did not meet my expectations, and those who do not meet what I expect often the most interesting people I will ever come across. I am surrounded by people who tell me everything that I expect to hear, or what they think I want to hear, but last night you did not. And that, that takes more courage than you realise you have. So the question really should not be why I picked you to be the Lady of the people, but whether you have the strength to bear such a lofty title."

Amaris sat back, trying to process everything that Ivailo had just told her. She was interesting. Never in her life had she been referred to as anything other than lazy or a wench, even though she had worked every single day and night just to not be pelted with a belt. She had surprised someone, an emperor, with her wit and intellect, when she had always been trampled on as if she was not a sentient being, but a farm animal barely good enough to grace customers with her presence. She had courage, where she had always felt as if she was a little bug, likely to be trampled on in a moment's notice. She was worthy of someone's attention when she had been treated as a slave, overworked and never paid, not even in sleep.

"So, when do we leave?" she asked, impatient to leave the place that had tortured her waking life for far too many years.

"Now, if you like. I will need to get my gear from my room, but once that is done we can go." Ivailo said, standing up and taking the bowls, left the table, presumably to go and pack his clothes. Amaris followed him, having nothing better to do while she waited for him.

A few moments later, and with the addition of the bag that Ivailo had brought with him, the pair were ready to go. They clambered down the stairs and into the front room of the Inn. Not needing anything from the front room, The Bitterhead Inn or Montego anymore, Amaris walked out of the door for the last time, Ivailo not far behind.

"I hope you brought a mount with you. I do not have money for any horses and Montego's mounts are quite expensive, for their slow pace," Amaris said, turning to Ivailo.

"That Montego loves to fleece his patrons, dosen't he?"

"Apparently it is to provide a 'higher quality service'. Still, do you have your own mount?"

"Yes, I do. Have you ever ridden before?" Ivailo asked, leading Amaris to the stables.

"No. I barely left The Bitterhead Inn's property, let alone be taught how to ride."