Chapter 157: Terms and Agreement (P3)

She stood there with little to no shame, hand out and expecting. I let out a tired sigh, quite honestly the woman can have whatever shit she wants if she just leaves me with my head.

But I know that's behaviour worth admonishment from someone who's about to take the reigns of the entire March. I need to negotiate, to show at the very least that I don't intend to be a push over leader.

It's as much for her as it is for me.

"Why do you even need any of that? Gold I mean, you and the elves under your care can just come back topside, stop living in that suffocating place. I'm in charge now."

I utter the last part with a bit of hesitation and shy away from her gaze.

"Relax, Asher, you are in charge. I will not usurp your…fleetingly earned fief." She says soothingly, bringing back the lax young voice that holds an odd tinge of depthless wisdom as usual. Yes, this is what Maylin sounds like.

Not the terrifying, commanding warlord she barged in as.

"I can't afford to take control over a fief, too many complications, the Synagogue would be on our heads within moments. Which is also the answer to your other question, I need gold because I, as well as several other elves living under my care will be taking our leave."

"What? Why? I just told you, I'm in charge now."

She nods, dismissing me, "Yes, but you do not want to go against those thirsty for elven blood, much less a free elves blood. It's dangerous enough that Kaylin wishes to stay here, add me to the mix and you'll have a war on your hands."

"I'm already going to war."

"Yes, but not with the full weight of the Synagogue and the Kingdom bearing down against you. For the moment all you'll have to deal with will be the men Serue will be sending, the ones who will try to retake Aste as quietly as possible to avoid further embarrassment to the House Ire name."

Her shoulders rise and fall with a terrible weight, "But if it were proven that you have more than one free elf in your court, worse of all me, then…well, it'll be a radical extermination."

Huh, well. I suppose that makes sense. But…

"Why wouldn't they do the same for Kaylin?" 

"Because…Kaylin is not an indigene of this Continent and she's a woman."

I raise my eyebrow at this.

"I birthed her when I ran from here, I ran to one of the many elven Kingdoms and Empires that lie calmly across the wide sea, the ones untouched by the insanity that is the Synagogue…they will think she is not one to be feared because, well, elves of those Kingdoms rarely come here, and when they do they swiftly leave, there's also the fact that they're relatively less likely to cause trouble with magic…if they even practice magic" she sighs with disappointment at the last part and I wonder just how different these Kingdoms must be.

She continues, explaining the 'woman' part next, "Thanks to the seal they've place on the elves indigenous to this continent," she makes a point of fiddling with her own spiked ear, "Men cannot transfer the powers of magic to the women, even if she's a free elf like Kaylin. If Kaylin were a man though, there stands a chance that free elves would be birthed from the women she lays with."

That's…interesting biology…genetics? I'm not sure.

"But why didn't you? Why didn't you just stay there and have a life, a free one with Merlara and Kaylin? Why did you come back?"

Her lax visage falls, a burdening stress befalls her as she sighs, "Because I came here to help the elves, just like you're trying to do now, in the same way, perhaps more violent."

My eyes widen at this, "You…you were me! Ha! What made you stop?"

Unfazed by my excitement she stares me dead in the eye and says, "Because I realized I wasn't helping anyone. In fact, I caused more harm than good in my radical, extremist ways. So many innocent elves died serving those fowl humans as bait to call me to my supposed death."

Sneering more at the memory than at me she spits, "It ended up being theirs."

My mouth claps shut and I don't ask any more questions regarding that part of her life any longer. 

A moment of silence later, she falls back into her lax state, "And that's why I need the gold."

"And the food?"

"I'll be taking people with me."

"Did they say they wanted to go whereever it is you're going?"

She raises an eyebrow at this. It speaks for itself; she's their leader, their matron and caretaker. The one who has given them free food and shelther all this time. Of course they'll want to follow her.

"How many are you taking?" I sigh. My intent of liberating the elves doesn't really work if there aren't any elves to testify to how much better life has gotten since I took charge.

…

That sounds so narcissistic.

"The entire thousand."

My eyes bulge at this, "You have a thousand elves living down there?"

"Some go back to the top and we haven't done a census in a while, there may be more."

I can't just let a thousand elves migrate right out of the city the moment I announce my take over. That is, if it isn't already apparent.

"I'll give you what you want if you just let me talk to them."

She scoffs, "What do you want to say to them? You want to tell them that everything will be alright, will be different?"

"No. You're at war with a member of House Ire and according to your ghost friend, a target of the freaking Cult. You'll be throwing them into an even worse situation."

"You think the prosecution against the elves will just up and disappear the moment you take charge?" Angrily poking her temples with her fingers, she yells, "Think Asher, think!"

"You'll have a whole new problem on your hands, elves seeking out vengeance, murder on the streets every single day. You killed over a hundred guards out there, you're already short-staffed on security!"

She huffs, breathing heavily from her frustrated screams.

Slowly she takes deep breaths and tries to calm herself, "I'm sorry, I know you mean well, I know you want to make this work and a part of me wants to believe you can, which is why I've decided not to force Kaylin to leave with me or kill you. But…it won't be easy, Asher."

I nod. "I appreciate your concern, Maylin, and your help since the day I met you, thank you."

Again, she sighs, "I'll let you talk to them, once they've gathered their things. It'll be at least another week before we're all ready to leave so, you have time to prepare your pretty words."

I snort at that, "I'm not much of an inspirational speaker, I'm really just hoping I get them to see my side of things. And yes, I know it'll be hard keeping my promises, I know it'll be extremely difficult to keep things under control, especially with my head being hunted."

"I know the elves who side with me will not be spared, but I believe…I believe I'm strong enough to pursue this goal of mine. I know I have the potential within me."

Maylin shakes her head, seemingly disagreeing with every bit of what I've said.

"You do have the potential, Asher. But that potential is yet to be realized and perhaps won't ever see realization if tonight has been any indication."

"You mean Serue?" I scoff, puffing my chest a bit. "I would have had him dead if you hadn't stepped in."

Again, she shakes her head. "You've been extremely lucky tonight Asher. I don't know what makes you so hard for Serue to breach with his Illusions," she says this, messing around with her rather ugly gloves, "But he's a very powerful illusionist, and by the look of things when we came in, you only just broke out of his illusion."

"Meaning I could have killed him with Circle of Death the moment I went through all my options."

For the third and very annoying time she shakes her head. "If he had any more mana to hold you in place for a second longer and was smart enough not to gloat, you would have died without even knowing it. That's how terrifying of an illusionist Serue is. I suggest you get better defences."

She doesn't stop there, "Oh and…this circle of Death? It might have worked on Serue but…there will be people after you, people who stand in your way or people who find you far too annoying to be left alive, people whose power is ways above that of a mere Gamma Warrior, do not delude yourself to believe this power of yours will be a match to them."

"Ha…" I laugh sadly, "You mean people like you, don't you?"

Finally, she nods, "And worse."