Chapter 341

"Layali, you know that's not it." Brain said, and the little girl fell silent, she put her head against his chest and just listened to his heartbeat, his arm went around her back and he stroked it until she fell asleep there.

When Layali was asleep, he continued to stroke her back and put his free hand back on the sheathed blade. "She knew, didn't she, about the damage my previous sword took? That's why she's not been sleeping well, that's why she asked what she did a little while ago?" Brain asked, but it was a needless question.

"Yes." Zesshi crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I didn't toss the slag far enough, I guess. She must have found it, I didn't think she'd go close enough to the water to find it, but she must have."

"You explained things to her, right?" Brain asked, his hand unconsciously moving up and down the length of the sheath.

"Yes, but she's a kid, more of a child even than I am… not that I'm a child or anything but… a lot of things are still, I'm just inexperienced, in some ways and in others she's more experienced than me but I tried to tell her. I've seen a lot of monsters, and I know the world is dangerous, if you're going to travel, there's always the chance… look, I told her all this. But she's fixated, doesn't want to leave even if it's what's best." Zesshi dropped her arms to her side and let out a little snort. "She even suggested I stay too. I mean, she's right, I've got nowhere to go, but what do I know about being a mother figure? Mine has been dead for decades and I mostly remember her looking sad whenever she looked at me. Even though she tried… I'm so messed up I'd breed with a monster if it just meant that a child I had would be strong enough that they'd never go through what my mother did. What my… what my siblings evidently still do."

"Zesshi…" Brain shook his head, "That's not messed up, not as much as you think. A strong mate is as safe as anything can ever be. A strong parent too, for that matter. In all my travels, I've seen plenty of times when people wished their parent or mate was stronger, never once did I see someone wish, or be glad, that the other was weaker. Maybe you take it to a little greater an extreme than most… but then you are extreme already, just by being you." He smirked a little at her, and she smirked back in response to the teasing taunt.

"Getting a thing for me, Brain? Is that how former bandits and human swordmasters flirt with warrior women?" She didn't force the laugh, but nor did she dive into the humor when his boyish grin grew.

"Nah, nothing like that, besides, I can't beat you, not even with this." He tapped a hand on her gift to him. "Besides, you're pretty, but far too innocent, I think I'd feel bad about corrupting you no matter how good it felt along the way." He laughed when the half-elf turned a furious shade of red.

"It's not my fault. I just don't get out much and everybody around me is so… weak. I'd probably snap them in two. That doesn't make for good seduction, even I know that much." She snapped at him with mock anger.

The brief attempt at flirtation fell away when she said, "But… back to her… we shouldn't look for a place here, it will just upset her for the rest of the trip, plus it is still way too close to the Slane Theocracy. She'd never feel safe, they even made incursions this far a few years ago… so we should go farther north, to the Kingdom of Nazarick, there are some towns along the way, Raymond showed me on the map that he said were sizable."

"You can read a map?" Brain asked, and Zesshi's blush returned.

"No. But I know what town pictures look like and he'd drawn our route, he said we'd be taking the main roads the same as the other leaders. If we do the same, we can stop at a town just before the city of Peronia, that's about the halfway mark. I'll bet we can find somewhere there, a farm, a good orphanage or something." Zesshi suggested, and Brain got to his feet still cradling the half elven girl.

"Okay…" Brain said as he put Layali down in a bed far larger than she needed. "But let's… not talk about that for now. I'd rather not think about it."

"Me neither…" Zesshi answered, "Me neither."

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"Master is worried." Nua said as she held the door to the carriage open.

Raymond said nothing as he got in, and nothing as Nua followed.

He said nothing at all until the door was closed behind her. "You were right. They said nothing. They condemned your country for its actions, but let you walk out of here with me, thinking… no… they let you leave with a slave in tow."

"Nua." Raymond said and put a hand on her knee. "You know I-"

"I know." She said to him and put her hand over his own, "But they don't. For all they know you do to me every night what Dominic did to make sure I was broken… playing pretend to hide myself behind a mask is… exhausting, now that I've stopped, I don't know if I could do it again. So… what will you do?" Nua asked of him, and Raymond drew back his hand.

Nua's references to the fire-tempered Cardinal were always a sore point that stuck in Raymond's guts, though she never spoke of anything directly, the ugly wounds she had spoke of a truly sadistic streak and a deep seated hatred for elves.

"I will write a letter… they'll have to be eased into this, little by little. Berenice and Ginedine… maybe I can convince them. The old man is intelligent, extremely so. I can probably argue him down on practical grounds. Berenice is a somewhat motherly woman. She can be fierce, and coldly practical, but give her a choice and she'd prefer more peaceful coexistence, and she might make concessions to get it. Maximilian… I don't know, he is fixated on the law. He was once a judge and he's the Cardinal of Darkness. He could go either way. Yvon, he and Dominic see eye to eye far more often. Then there's the Pontifex Maximus, Necran Adama… a man less suited for politics, I've never met. This is going to be an uphill fight no matter what."

"Then shall we begin, Raymond?" Nua said and opened up her scribal kit, she set it on her lap along with the quill and ink. "Tell me, master, what will I write, that will set my people free?"

If she seemed beautiful before, when he looked up at her again, she was positively radiant then. He threw open the curtain of the carriage and flooded the enclosed space with the light of the sun just to watch the way the light played with her short, golden hair, then he cleared his throat and began to dictate the first of what he knew then would be many letters, while the carriage rolled steadily on toward Arwintar..

"To my friends and comrades… the days ahead will challenge us all, but to understand that challenge, let me begin by telling you the things I have seen with my own eyes…"