Persuasion

"What soldiers?" Silver asked, his voice lowering to a growl. He was already walking quickly back toward the village. "Is Borit back?"

It had been a while since the Captain had made threats, but Silver knew it would not last forever. Reacting to his sudden exit, Aiden, Ethyn, and Gilbert were on his heels while Conall supported his wife to follow after them.

With the couple quickly falling behind, Gilbert picked up where his mother had left off, "I did not see Borit. Some of the Baron's men came to collect additional tribute today. Sage must have put up some sort of fight because they nearly busted down her door to get her. We came to get you when they dragged her out in front of the inn."

"She looked positively terrified," Katherine called to them as she huffed along.

"I am going ahead. The rest of you catch up when you can." Silver quickened his pace to an inhuman speed.

"Wait for me!" Ethyn called, but his words were too late as he watched the Guardian disappear from view.

In a brief moment, Silver came upon the village square. He passed most of the force he had just been training. Their faces spoke of anger and frustration, but none of them seemed sure what to do. Along with them, the whole town was gathered as the terrible scene played out in front of them.

In the middle of the grassy square, Sage held on pitifully to a sack as one of the guards wrenched it from her hands. He pushed the woman into the dirt. When she spewed a curse at him, he struck her across the face. A small trickle of blood ran from her swollen lips as she worked to stand. Her legs gave way dramatically as she fell back in the dirt.

Silver pressed his way through the crowd. "Leave her alone!" he called.

The tall soldier stood erect and sneered at the cloaked man. "Stay out of this, Guardian. We are just collecting tribute and this one," he kicked at the woman on the ground, "refused to pay." Holding up the sack, the soldier passed it to another who added it to the rest of the collection.

Silver recognized the man as the lurker from the inn. Ansel had changed into his uniform, but the thin face was unmistakable. 'You,' the Guardian thought with murderous intent.

Rushing forward, Silver helped Sage to stand. He rounded on the soldier. "This woman rejects your advances, and you retaliate by beating and stealing from her!" 'And you waited until she was unprotected to do it.'

"Is that what you think is happening?" Ansel looked offended. "I assure you that I am only doing my job, and this wench got in my way." The soldier leered at the woman, belittling her with his gaze.

The Guardian balled his fist and lunged forward, only stopped by the tug of Sage on his arm. "Don't," she said softly, "I'm not worth it." There was an awkward pause. Silver stood ominously for a long time, but eventually stepped back from the thin soldier.

"I hope you all learned something today," Ansel said loudly to the gawking crowd. "I know I did. Let's go men." The soldier motioned to the others. As they filed out, Silver overheard the final order "We will take this tribute to the storeroom and count it in the morning. No use losing sleep over it."

It was mid-afternoon, and by the time the soldiers marched back to the baron's manor, it would be very late. The other men nodded as they passed down the road and out of sight.

Silver embraced Sage tightly as his fear and anger nearly overwhelmed him. He had not wanted to show too much affection toward her earlier, because he did not want the men to know that they were anything more than acquaintances. That would only have made things worse.

Releasing her now, he examined her face and head. Sage smiled at him weakly, her eyelashes fluttering in reaction to his invisible face being so close to hers. Aside from a bloody lip and a cut across her cheek, she seemed to be very shaken. Silver held her arm to steady her.

From the inn, Lily quickly brought a moist cloth for Sage to wipe her face. "Thank you," the brunette whispered. The scene being settled, the crowd dispersed leaving the trio in the town square.

"Are you alright?" the Guardian asked after he realized that he had been staring silently at her face for some time.

"I am fine, really. It probably looks worse than it is." Sage took the cloth and dabbed her lip, wincing as she saw the blood. Ansel had made good on his threat. Her body ached all over.

Sensing the weakness of her body, Silver lowered Sage back to the ground and let her lean against him. "What was in that sack that they took?" He asked gently.

Sage rested her head on his shoulder, and although she couldn't see him, it made him blush crimson. "Just a priceless family heirloom," she shrugged.

"Really?" Lily asked. She eyed her friend suspiciously, "I did not think you brought any priceless family heirlooms with you when you came to Rynnlee."

"You think I would trust anyone enough to show them my valuables?" Sage persisted. "It was a mirror." From beneath her apron, Sage pulled out a drawing and handed to it the Guardian. "I had taken it out into the woods to sketch it yesterday evening--you know how I like to draw when the light is just right--and I thought I was alone. But somehow that man found me. He demanded that I give him either the mirror or something of equal compensation." Sage's dewy eyes stared persuasively at Silver.

"That's terrible," Lily muttered, crossing her arms.

Sage continued with her tale. "When I would not give him either, he tried to attack me, but I was too quick and ran off. I had no idea he was a soldier. When he showed up this morning, I thought I could chase him off before he would cause any trouble. It seems he was just waiting for back-up..."

"I will get your mirror back for you. Don't worry." The determination in Silver's voice left no room for argument.

Nevertheless, Lily held up her hands. "Wait! Didn't you promise Ethyn you would not steal anymore? He told me as much when I went to check on him this week. He was so excited that you both had turned honest. Perhaps you should wait until you can talk things over with him before you make that decision."

Sage shot a glare at her friend, but the Guardian did not notice.

Silver also snapped his head at the petite blonde. "This is different. I am not stealing, I am retrieving what the Baron has no right to have. I am sure Ethyn will understand that it needed to be done."

"I doubt it," the women said in unison. Silver chose to ignore them, even if they were right. He helped as Sage stood once more, and she let him hold her close as she staggered.

"I am fine," she told him at last as she gently pulled away.

Silver gave a half nod. He looked at Lily, "Take care of Sage, please. And when Ethyn gets back, tell him where I've gone and that I will be back in the morning. Here's some money. Would you feed him dinner?"

Lily jerked her hand away from his coins. "I do not want your money. I will take care of my friends, Silver, including you if need be. I cannot stop you from going, but please be careful."

Silver replaced the coins in his pouch. 'Always caring for others, even someone like me.' Unable to keep his fluctuating emotions in check, he gave Lily a very uncharacteristic hug.

"Thank you," he said in her ear. Lily was startled by his breath on her cheek, and even more so when he pulled away and disappeared in the direction of the soldiers. She turned on her heels and glared at Sage.

"Care to tell me what is really going on?" Lily asked, the anger evident in her voice. "What have you done?"