Chapter 88

Chapter 88<~> Chapter 88

Once I finished eating I set my bowl aside and collected my thoughts while I waited for the other girls to finish.

Fae would have finished eating first at the rate she was going but she received a double portion since her meals had been rather light the last few days from the way she explained it. The cook had been skeptical but Tarklin made sure it happened. The way she ate didn't look particularly ladylike but the thought actually just made me smile. It wasn't until she noticed I had been watching that her face flushed and she slowed down. She still finished before Bella though.

I cleared my throat. "Now that you're done eating I was hoping we could talk a bit more..."

Her eyes briefly gazed at our adjoining wall and I quickly picked up on her issue. I cast [Zone of Silence] around us and she turned to me with an interested look.

"You claim not to be a noble yet you talk like one, have a charisma skill, and can even use [Zone of Silence]."

I raised an eyebrow. "And nobles are the only ones who can use this spell?" I asked.

"W-well of course not... Most people wouldn't have need for it."

"The one I learned it from entered girls' rooms at night," I said with a shrug. Absolutely not a lie, he had entered my room after all.

"I... see..." She clearly didn't have a response to that as evidenced by the blush on her face. Perhaps I shouldn't talk like that around a kid but she's remarkably wise for her age. I would be shocked if she wasn't aware of that kind of thing. It's not like I wanted to have that conversation with her though, let someone else teach her about the birds and the bees.

"Anyway... there was a reason you didn't want Silva to join us in this room. I decided to go along with it but I want to know why."

She turned away for a moment, seemingly to think before she sighed and looked at the ground. "She... scares me."

My eyes narrowed. "You have her in a slave collar..."

She took a shaky breath. "When we were escaping, when she was protecting me... I watched her kill half a dozen people barehanded. ...The reason she was my father's slave in the first place was because she murdered a noble..."

Ah I think I can see how these pieces fit together now.

"You don't trust that she wouldn't kill you too, since she's killed a noble before and doesn't hesitate when fighting. ...You don't think she would protect you if it wasn't for the slave collar."

She sat there for a moment in silence before continuing. "I haven't truly known her for very long... She had been assigned as my personal guard for a few weeks now. I didn't understand why my father thought I needed a personal guard to follow me around the house..." Her voice was barely a whisper now, "I wonder if he knew."

She looked away in thought for a brief pause but then continued, "When we were first attacked I watched her kill two men before I knew what was happening. She killed them in moments. I had been so afraid, afraid... of her, that I ran. One of the people that were attacking us, a human, found me before Silva caught up with me and stabbed me. She snapped his neck in front of me only seconds after. She threw me over her shoulder and kept going..." Her hand traced the part of her abdomen that had been pierced. "the knife was still inside of me when I got a kill notification... my party had killed someone."

I gently knocked on the door of the room the twins were sharing with Silva. I didn't have to wait long, it didn't seem as though they were asleep yet.

Morrigan opened the door for me. "Lilith, is something wrong?"

"Morrigan, can one of the two of you switch night watch with Bella tonight? I... think it's probably a good idea to keep an eye on Fae through the night. She needs extra reassurances right now."

Silva sighed loudly. "She's worried about me, isn't she?"

I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say.

She nodded. "It's alright. That girl has been through a lot. That night was... well... nearly everyone that girl knew is probably dead now. I had to kill several people around my level to escape and I let her get hurt almost immediately. I did the best I could to shield her from it all but she barely knows me and the single most memorable thing I probably did for her was kill a bunch of people." She shook her head. "Tell her that if she wants to get rid of me, I won't hold it against her."

I paused. "If it helps... she said she knows she should be able to trust you. But her heart won't let her."

Silva returned a pained smile. "It does."

I turned to Morrigan. "Will you switch shifts with Bella tonight?"

"Sure, I'll stay up with you now. Easier than trying to go back to sleep after."

I turned to Silva. "Sleep well Silva, I'm sorry things have turned out like this for you." I turned to Torien and nodded. "Sleep easy Torien."

"Goodnight Lilith," Torien replied with a smile. I hope she picked up on my intended meaning there.

I quickly popped my head back into my room to tell Bella that Morrigan was switching with her tonight. Fae, the young noble, was already sleeping soundly curled up next to Bella. She quietly nodded in reply and I felt acknowledgement flow through our bond.

[Soultouched connection has increased from level 3 to level 4]

I felt the range increase giving me a stronger connection to Bella, even at this short distance. I had been using the connection more and more lately and expanding the ways I use it. It was among my most used abilities now and I was growing more comfortable with it. It's a very intimate ability, sharing thoughts and feelings through it felt very personal. As a result, its use became more comfortable the more comfortable I became sharing that level of connection with others.

I gently closed the door and walked back into the hallway. Alone with Morrigan for the first time in a while. She smiled and gently took my hand, comfortable knowing most of the camp was asleep. It was still a bit early for our shift but we made our way over to the wall that people had set up the night watch at.

Morrigan squeezed my hand, happy for the quiet moment we had alone as we made our way to the lookout. We sadly let go as we made our way up the ramparts.