8 Chapter 7

Alvira sprang up from her slumber with her rapier drawn and at the ready. It's been almost a week since the whole kidnapping incident. She glanced around the room confirming her surroundings as the moon light lit up her room through the open window. As soon as she was sure that she was alone, she sheathed her blade. She looked outside and thought to herself "I suppose I'll take a quick look around the house to be sure. Then I'll make breakfast". This had become her regular routine since the incident. Her brother was still in the same condition as when they arrived. "I know that women said he would be fine, but its still unsettling. Honestly, how could he sleep so shamelessly, for so long. While I only manage a couple of hours? I'm going to hold this over him for the rest of our lives". She thought to herself as she peeked into Alastair's room. After confirming that he was still alive and sleeping, she walked to her parents room, who were fast asleep. She went to the kitchen, set her rapier within arms reach, and set to work making a fire in the stove. Once the fire was lit and the stovetop was properly heated, she began to brew some tea. While she waited for the water to boil, she decided to practice reading one of her school books. After about thirty minutes past, the water began to boil just as dawn began to break over the horizon. She finished brewing the tea and began making breakfast for her and her parents as was her new routine. She could hear movement upstairs and instinctively grabbed hold of a nearby butcher knife, spun around to see her father descending the staircase. She spun the knife between her fingers to hide the blade against her arm. She greeted him with "good morning daddy". As she spoke, she tried to discreetly return the knife to the counter. She didn't want her father to be any more worried than he already was. He returned her greeting with "good morning, sweetheart. Up early again I see". She replied "yes. I've been having some trouble with school so I decided to try to study before I get there". Although she was smiling while she returned to cooking, he could tell she was still on edge because of what happened. Then there was Alastair's current condition that all of them were concerned about. Viktor felt guilty for not being around when his family needed him most. He never thought anyone would be ballsy enough to attack them outright the way they did. He also didn't expect Alvira and Alastair to be captured so easily. As the trio ate breakfast in silence, Viktor thought to himself. "How could I not see this coming? And the damn kids... They were taken without resistance. FUCK!!! How could I be so complacent"? In retrospect, he thought, "they may be physically strong, but they are still just kids. I guess it makes sense that their mental resistance to mind control and even sleeping spells would be different from that of an adults". The trio finished cleaning up and Alvira left for school. She had her books and lunch tucked under one arm, and her rapier on her hip. After Viktor explained what happened to the headmaster, he arranged for Alvira to test her ability against some of the A ranked adventurers that the school hired as security. After she defeated all four of them single handedly, she was granted special permission to keep her weapon on her at all times. He also agreed to let Alastair take the same test when he wakes up. Krystos sent his report up his chain of command and was surprised to find out the grand duke himself gave the order to post gaurds to escort Evee around town as well as patrolling the immediate area of their shop. Viktor also decided not to take on anymore apprentices as well as changing his stock from high quality weapons and armor to household goods. He no longer felt comfortable leaving the city for materials so instead of collecting them himself, he decided to outsource to the adventurers guild. The more Viktor thought about their current predicament, the more frustrated and depressed he became. His thoughts then shifted towards Alvira. Even though she thought it went unnoticed, he new she was up early out of paranoia that something might happen again. He wondered what the future might hold for her. He wouldn't be around forever to protect her. Then he thought about what would happen if she got into a fight with someone stronger than her. These thoughts agitated his growing anxiety even more as he tried to predict all the possibilities. Finally he yelled out in anger "FUCK EM!! I'll deal with the bastards myself next time..."