The Surprise – Part 3

Octavia opened her eyes forcing the darkness from her eyelids to recede. The sun was out and she saw it peering through the window.

What had happened, she wondered. The last thing she could recall was being locked in a death grip by the man she was fighting when all of a sudden, she heard something smash.

The first thing that came to mind, was that one of the other men had managed to break through the door to Sylvia's room. That might mean that they managed to get to her. They could be captured right now and Sylvia might even be hurt.

"Your awake!"

She turned to look at whoever had spoken but was assaulted by arms wrapping around her.

As she was held in two arms, she realised it was Sylvia hugging her, with tears almost in her eyes.

Relief poured from Octavia's face as she knew that Sylvia was safe.

"I'm so glad you're ok. What happened?" Octavia asked still a bit dazed after having awoken. The forceful hug also knocked her about a bit as well.

But, it would seem that at least some things went well, given the fact that both herself and Sylvia were alive, but she had to know how that happened. For all she knew they were fine, but that they were fine in some stranger's basement, having been taken there after she passed out.

Passed out again.

"While it adds to the count, there was a real legitimate reason for it this time." She said to herself, remembering her first day in this world and all the times she had ended up blacking out.

"Well, I managed to get to the bell and ring the alarm. I came back and found the man with his hands at your throat, but I managed to find a vase and smash it over his head. But by the time I did, you had already passed out."

"What about the other guy."

"He managed to break down my door, but the guards got to him in time before he reached me."

"That's good. I would hate it if something happened to you."

They just stayed there looking at each other, until a heavy pounding on the floor, from a plate armoured man's footstep, hit the ground near to them.

"Err, do, do we know why they were here?"

"It would seem, it was because of you," Sylvia replied.

"Me. Why?"

"I can answer that." Lord Desmon said as he walked over to the pair. "They are part of a slaver group. They call themselves The Hidden Collectors, which is run by a man names Ronald Maxwell."

"Not a very original name for a slaver group." Octavia thought. "You would think they could come up with something better."

"It would seem they wanted to kidnap you and sell you to the highest bidder. Whether they know you are a Lamia specifically or just that you are a species no one has seen before has not been determined. What is surprising is that they attacked the castle and managed to do it so well. I will have to talk to the knight commander about security here after all of this."

"Did you catch all of them?"

"We have the three men in the dungeon, being interrogated as we speak."

"Three, but there were five of them. Two men tried to scale the wall of the castle and enter through the window, but I managed to knock them down," she stated as she pointed at the window.

The lord turned to a few of the guards present and sent them to search the garden and gather more men to search the rest of the castle just in case.

"I would think that given the time since the attack, they have likely fled, but we shall search nonetheless, in case anything turns up. I deeply apologise that this was able to happen, something I shall be ensuring won't happen again."

"No, no." Octavia panicked, "It's my fault they are here. I should apologise and probably find someplace else to live. Staying here just makes you all targets."

"Wha-. You can't be seri-." Sylvia piped up but was quickly interrupted by Lord Desmon.

"Please, there is no need for you to apologise, or leave for that matter. While this instance may cause some lack of faith in the security of the castle, where else is there that you could be protected. Also, this is not your fault. These slavers operate in my town so they are my responsibility. We have tried to deal with them, but they are very smart. But now that they have tried to attack a friend and honoured guest, they shall be dealt with swiftly."

You could practically feel the room freeze as everyone listened to the Lords words, raptured by what he was saying. It was clear to see why he was the lord of the town.

As the men listened, they all knew that a large-scale manhunt for this group would be underway soon. He turned to his men to belay another order telling them to inform the Knight Commander to meet with him in the morning, before turning back to Octavia.

"We shall be increasing security in the castle forthwith. Things have been lax given the peace throughout the kingdom, which is likely the reason behind the ease that this group were able to enter. But that shall be changing for the better… Now I think it is time that we leave and let you get some rest."

"Thank you, Lord Desmon."

With a quick nod, he then ordered the men out of the room, who had been inspecting the scene, and left Octavia with Sylvia.

…

Octavia looked over to Sylvia and saw the tear stains down her cheeks. While she knew that it was because of her, it also brought back how things had ended the day before.

"How are you feeling?" Octavia asked.

"I think I should be asking you that. You were the one that passed out and had to fight off those men."

"Well, this isn't the first time I've been in a fight. Nor is it the first time I've passed out."

"It isn't. When did you pass out before? Are you ok?"

Octavia realised she probably shouldn't have said that.

After repeatedly telling her that she was fine and not to worry, Octavia was able to calm Sylvia down enough that they got onto the topic of how she was feeling.

"It's still a lot to take in, knowing that my mum is dead. I'll have to write a letter to my family to tell them in the morning."

"Does Lord Desmon know yet?" While unlikely, she may have told him while she was waiting for Octavia to wake up.

"No, not yet. That's another thing I'll need to do in the morning."

The sigh from Sylvia told Octavia that it would not be an easy conversation. Given that Lord Desmon sees Sylvia like a daughter, it was very possible that he and his family had a close connection to Sylvia's family.

"I-I want to see her… Can you take me to see her? When you have the chance."

Pleading eyes looked up at Octavia, but even without them, she would have given the same response.

"Of course. It's a few days travel in the forest though, so we need to prepare."

"Thank you. I need to say goodbye to her properly."

The discussion on when they would go to her mother's grave could happen in the morning. As they both yawned, they realised that now was the time for sleeping rather than more conversation.

"I think we should try and get some sleep."

"Yes, now about that."

Octavia looked over at Sylvia, not really sure why there would be more on that topic.

"Since the attack, I don't really have a door for my room anymore. So, I don't really feel comfortable sleeping in that room. It should be fixed in a few days, but would it be alright if I stayed with you until then?"

The blush that covered Sylvia's face quickly passed onto Octavia, as they both realised the intimacy of the situation. While it would be a completely platonic night where they just needed to sleep next to each other, it was still an embarrassing issue.

"Th-that's absolutely fine."

With the agreement from Octavia, she quickly scooted over in the bed and made some room for Sylvia.

Since they were all still in their night clothes, no preparation was needed, so she quickly jumped in without any further fuss, and snuggled into the covers.

The bed was quite large, large enough for two people to use and still have some slight distance between them, and so that is what they did. Where they were both able to truly get the sleep that they needed, given the taxing night they both had.