"Now then, first question, can a lord hand over his title?" Ali asked the old man, whose eyes widened in surprise.
"If you think you can become a lord by threatening me—", the old man trailed off when he saw a giant purple dragon eye stare straight at him from the window behind Ali and the maid. His heart nearly jumped out of his mouth from fear and shock.
Ali waved his fingers, and the dragon eye slowly moved away from the window. Nicola started sweating and looked up at the stranger. 'Just who is he? Is he a mage and a dragon rider? Is he from the Empire?' Terrible thoughts raced through his mind. He couldn't comprehend why someone so powerful would end up in his office.
"To my children, wife…or I can sell my land and title…or lose it in a territorial war…", the old man answered.
Ali turned to the young maid and stopped his telekinesis. She collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. Breathing had never felt so good in her life.
"It seems you're ready for a new chapter in your life. How about you take out one of those papers and start writing a contract in which you hand over everything you have to me? I mean everything. After that, I'll let you leave this place alive with her," Ali said in his cold voice, his black eyes that the old man dared not look at.
"Please don't do this…please…There are better lands than ours. War is all around us right now. You can have better land and titles than mine. It's not worthy of you," the old man begged Ali.
"Start writing, now…Or you and your mistress are going to be food for my pet who can't get enough of human meat….", Ali responded, and the old man's eyes darkened. There was no escape.
'I had some questions I wanted to ask, but I'll just figure it out on my own. I don't feel like speaking to this guy anymore than I have to…', Ali thought as he sat down on a chair and watched Nicola take out a scroll and start writing with his feather pen and a pot of ink. His hand trembled as he wrote down the deed that passed his ownership and title…
"The name's Ali," Ali said to the old man. The old man closed his eyes and tried to calm himself before writing down Ali's name. He took out a knife from the drawer under the desk.
Ali didn't react. There was nothing the old man could do that Ali couldn't stop in time. So, he watched calmly as the old man cut his thumb with the knife and pressed his bloodied thumb on the scroll, finalising the deed.
"So, I'm a lord now…," Ali said mockingly as he stood up and picked up the deed. 'it's English, but the writing is different,' he thought, unable to understand what was written on the scroll.
Ali side-eyed the old man while reading the contract. He couldn't see any signs in his behaviour that would indicate he had messed with the contract.
"Good, well then, former lord stork, how about you leave my home?" Ali mocked the old man, who now had veins popping off his forehead.
Ali watched as the old man held the maid's hand, and they both started walking to the door. "Wait," Ali ordered, and the two froze.
"Do you have any living family relatives, stork?" Ali asked, his voice sounding like that of the devil himself to the two.
"NO," the former lord answered.
The two couldn't see it, but Ali was looking at them with his black eyes, devoid of any sympathy. They were capable of truly evil deeds.
Ali opened the window behind him and let the air in. As the two opened the door trying to leave, Ali flicked his finger, and suddenly, the maid and Nicola flew past him and through the open window. It was all so sudden that by the time they opened their mouths to scream, the world had changed. All they could see were…FANGS.
Ali watched from the window as Shadow disappeared back into the darkness. He then turned around and closed the door of the office.
'There's the old maid, another maid sleeping on the bottom floor, along with a cook and the two guards outside. That's everyone I found in the fortress,' Ali thought. "I should go get Miles and Fiona." He jumped out of the window and exploded forward towards the cliff.
'Did he take pity on them?' Miles wondered, gazing at the woman who looked up at the sky with empty, red-rimmed eyes. Her child slept peacefully in her arms.
CRACK STEP
Fiona and Miles turned to see Ali jump from under the cliff and land gracefully on the grass, his black coat fluttering behind him.
Ali's eyes met Fiona's, now covered in red and dry tears. She looked away, towards the forest, her hatred for Ali and the mask evident. 'He ruined our lives and killed my husband,' she thought.
"I'm the new lord of the village and that fortress will be our base for now," Ali said to Miles, who didn't need much explanation as he'd seen what happened to the former lord through his drone. "There's a lot of work for you to do down there," Ali continued, and Miles stood up, nodding. "I'm ready," he said.
Miles then walked up to the cliff's edge and fell forward. 'What the…,' Ali turned around only to see Miles hovering above the valley, a giant drone holding him up.
Ali turned back and slowly approached Fiona, who still refused to look at him.
"Come on, you can't stay out here," Ali said, crouching beside her. Fiona didn't respond, but Ali could see her shoulders shaking. She was crying…
SIGH
Ali scooped her under the legs and picked her up in a princess carry, whether she liked it or not. She still looked away from him. Ali remained silent and walked up to the cliff, using the Force to descend slowly towards the ground, careful not to wake the baby.
"I can walk," Fiona said the moment they landed, her voice trembling.
"I know," Ali responded, continuing to carry her and walking forward towards the fortress.
She didn't argue with him as the four of them walked around the now empty village, everyone in their homes at night. They quietly reached the fortress gate, where two guards noticed them and stood up.
"Stop there, this is Castle Stork. Who are you and what are you doing here?" one of the guards shouted, drawing his sword on the four of them.
"My name is Ali," Ali said, still holding Fiona in his arms. "I am your new lord. This is my fortress, my village, and my land now. You are my guards." Ali used the Force, shocking the two guards who stepped back. A scroll floated from his pocket and slowly opened in the air in front of them.
One soldier looked at the other, unable to read. "My god," the one who could read exclaimed, unable to believe the scroll's content.
"Why?" the soldier asked aloud.
"Move aside and open the gate to the fortress. I will explain everything inside," Ali said.
The two soldiers looked at each other, then back at the masked man holding Fiona and her daughter.
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