Plans for the Future

They ate in silence. Lucas placed a lid over the pot and set it aside for later. He crushed herbs to make medicine for her.

'I should just tell her what has been done,' he thought.

She didn't know what giving her his cloak meant. Maybe she would have never accepted it if she knew. That thought saddened him. He kept stealing glances of her from across the fire.

Perhaps she would warm up to his presence if he escorted her to a safe destination. The forest was too rough for her to travel alone. The roads were probably filled with the human scum that were hunting her.

That blue hair of hers was unique enough to make her stand out. Placing the ground herbs into a pouch he left the fire.

'She probably needs a comb to brush her hair,' he thought.

Eva took a sigh of relief when Lucas stepped away from the fire. She had no idea how to talk to an elf. He refused to listen to her. Also, where was he always going off too?

It was beyond normal for a person to take care of another to this extent. Did he take pity on her? Feel sorry for her situation? Most importantly, was she some damsel that needed saving?

Unfortunately, that last part was true. She would have died if it hadn't been for his help. She couldn't blame him for thinking she couldn't take care of herself.

The noble demeanor she had been taught her whole life was completely gone. No one would have anticipated her seeking help from an elf. So she supposed that Hans would think she died in the woods.

What was she supposed to do now? She didn't dare use her family name now. Hans would be able to find her immediately if she did that. Did that mean she was the same as any other commoner now?

Her family's land was in the southwest region of the Kingdom on the edge of the mountains. Huge amounts of forest and wilderness surrounded this area. That left her cut off from most of the Kingdom.

It was clear that the safest option would be to leave the area and go somewhere where lots of people traveled. That way she wouldn't seem suspicious as a newcomer.

What if I traveled to the Capital? The distance seemed daunting. The Capital was all the way on the other side of the Kingdom. A huge city that was situated on the East Coast. There was practically no way Hans would be able to find her all the way over there.

She would just have to be careful when they had their ten year nobles meeting. To have Lucas' help to traverse that distance would be invaluable to her. No one knew the wilderness like the elves.

Besides, the closer she got to the Capital the less strange it would be for her to be seen traveling with an elf. By the time Lucas had returned to the fire she had made up her mind.

"I will accept your invitation to travel together. I intend to go to the Capital. Would you still be willing to escort me?" she asked.

His heart skipped a beat. "No problem," he said.

She watched as he began to expertly carve a piece of wood. He was so focused on his work that she could not help but watch him. After rubbing oil all over his creation he handed it to her.

"You made this for me?" she asked. A flower was carved into the base of the comb. She had never received a gift like this. Her eyes softened, "This is beautiful. Thank you."

Lucas smiled. Wood carving was a skill he had picked up from his adoptive father. He was confident in his carving skills. Seeing her smile for the first time felt like a gift of its own. The sun had started falling in the west.

Eva's stomach growled. She hugged it embarrassed. Lucas built the fire back up and placed the pot from earlier on it. Humans seemed to need to eat a lot more than elves. Lucas filed this information away for later.

—

"What do you mean you haven't found her!" Hans slammed his fists on the table.

A small base of operations had been set up near the ruins of what was left of the Arco Manor. It was a waste, but he needed his story to be believable.

'How can my plan have gone this badly?' he thought to himself.

It would be better for him to have Eva here by his side no matter how unwilling she was.

'No, it is ok. Women need merits before they can appear in the noble world.'

That weak girl was not going to get in his way.

"Move to the second part of the plan," Hans ordered. The man to his right bowed and left the small tent Hans was currently stationed in. He needed to kill off all the liabilities from the attack. No one would be left alive to tell the tale of what really happened to the Arco family.

'This is why I suffered through all of those appearances with that fool.'

Hans gripped the side of the table. Too much money and time had gone into this plan. So what if he lost track of a silly little girl. He would have liked to take advantage of her, but he would just have to settle for the clear victory today. The paperwork had already been filed, and everything belonged to him as of this morning.

Old man Arco had even had Count Rosenberg witness the giving of the title. He just needed to marry a rich noble woman and his place as Viscount was settled. It really was a rare stroke of luck that the Count only had that morning free.

Eva was beautiful, but she didn't have the noble air he wanted in a wife. Her father had been much too free in how he raised her. His memory of his first visit to the Arco Manor came to mind.

His family was merely the lowest ranks of nobility. Partly because they were an offshoot of the Arco family from several generations ago. If things had gone differently back then his family would hold the title of Viscount. With his parents dead it was up to him to return honor back to the family.

The first time he visited the Arco Manor was like any other day. The sun was shining brightly. The knights were practicing in the training yard. He remembered that day because, much to his surprise, a young girl was also on the training yard. She held a practice sword and was sparring with a knight who was clearly taking it easy on her.

'What a waste of their time.' He had thought.

He had rushed into the Manor to meet the distant relative who wanted to reconnect with his part of the family. That is when the plan to take over the Arco family had truly started. Karl Von Arco had requested Hans to marry his daughter to keep the title in the family.

'You want me to marry that tomboy?' he had thought.

Of course, Hans had accepted the man's offer. From that day on, he brought Hans to events instead of his daughter and proudly introduced him as his heir. It was almost too easy to betray that fool.

Then Count Rosenberg almost ruined it when he asked the Viscount, "Are you sure you don't want to pass down the title to Eva, Karl?"

His question almost made Hans lose his composure before the paperwork was done.

"No, this is for the best. I want Eva to be free to do whatever she wants," the Viscount replied.

Hans almost looked at the father in pity after that comment.

'I guess you really did get your wish, old man,' Hans thought.

Eva fled him. Maybe he had been a little too harsh when he executed her parents in front of her. That was probably his only regret. She really had grown into a beautiful woman. It really irritated him that she couldn't be his.

I will just have to find a beautiful wife to replace her. Someone more beautiful!' he thought.

The sounds of men shouting filtered into the tent.

"Sir, some of the men have turned on us!" a soldier dressed as a rogue yelled as he came running into the tent.

Hans sighed, 'These men need more training.'

He unsheathed the sword at his hip and approached the soldier. The soldier looked relieved as he thought the leader was going to help with the insurrection. He turned away from Hans, ready to show him what was happening, when a sharp pain passed through his chest. He looked down and realized that a sword was sticking out of his chest.

'But? No, I have to get back to my family,' the soldier thought.

His thoughts were useless as the blood flowing from his chest increased as Hams pulled the sword from his back. The man began choking on his own blood. He reached out towards the opening of the tent. The hand fell to the ground as he passed away.

Hans kicked his dead body. He used the man's clothing to clean his blade.

"Useless," he said.

Some time later, the same man he had given the order to bowed in front of the tent.

"It is finished," he said. Then his face went pale when he noticed the body in the tent.

"Clean that up," Hans commanded as he pointed at the dead body. "Double check that everyone was taken care of. I don't need any more mistakes today."

Hans then turned away from the gruesome scene and returned to what he had been doing before the soldier had interrupted.

******

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