All heads turned to the small shadow in the doorway.
"Come outside," Jax ordered in his rough and low voice.
"Run inside, you silly girl!" the old man shouted, "Don't just stand there and…. "
Jax leaned right into his face, "You really think she can outrun us? Outrun me?" He shook his head and cracked his knuckles, "We've wasted enough time on this useless talk. Calm down and tell the girl to get out here. Just do what you're told, and we won't kill you."
The old man hesitated, nodded, and then, with heavy reluctance and deep dread, signaled the young woman to step forward.
A fair teenager in a dusty red dress and flowing yellow hair walked out. She looked terrified, clearly the old man's daughter or grand daughter, though there was hardly any resemblance between them.
"She is...?" Zot'r asked furrowing his brow.
"I am his wi…" The girl froze, unable to finish.
"Wild granddaughter!" the old man cut in quickly, forcing a smile, "But who are you people anyway, asking about our business?"
Rena caught that strange slip instantly. Her face went cold, and she clenched her fists behind her back.
Zot'r pressed his heavy cleaver against the old man's throat, "You think you have room to bargain or throw your weight around? Do what you're told if you want to keep breathing!"
Rena leaned down, whispering in his ear, "And don't give me that tough act about not caring if you die. I know a hundred ways to make people beg for death."
Cillian and Maeve watched, deeply unsettled. Watching the Veridians bully and torment a helpless old man right in front of his child made their stomachs turn. But they held their tongues because they were on an official mission, and Rena was in charge.
"Judging by the way you talk and move, you're not from the Empire," the old man grumbled, narrowing his eyes, "You're…. "
"We're all running from the law," Zot'r cut in, pointing at Jax, "He killed his master and fled. And her," he pointed to Rena, "she was a swindler, playing rich men until she crossed a Duke and had to run for her life."
Zot'r patted his own chest, "Me and my brothers did banditry, but the local lord wiped out our crew and put a bounty on our heads across the seven cities. So we bolted."
Rena played along smoothly, "We all ran into each other on the road while hiding from the states, and decided to start fresh in the Lawless Land."
"What about these two?" the old man asked, glancing at Cillian and Maeve.
"Ever hear of the coup in Valoria?" Zot'r asked in a hushed, secretive tone, "They were part of it. When it failed, they had to drop everything and run."
Rena thought something in her mind and suddenly leaned close to the old man, dropping her voice to a playful whisper, "Between you and me, I think they're siblings or cousins…. and totally in love."
Maeve overheard her sharp hearing catching every word, "WHY, YOU…." she snapped, but Cillian quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her back, though he was just as baffled by Rena's weird lie.
"All right, I get it, I get it!" The old man grinned, finally relaxing, "Don't worry, you're in the right place. The Lawless Land is made for people like us. The stupid laws of society don't apply here. We are free to take whatever our hearts desire. No one judges you!"
Rena smiled and crouched down beside him, acting easy and warm. She traced a finger lightly across his cheek, "Ah, you really are my kind of people. Coming here was the right call."
A faint flush of red appeared on the old man's face as he nodded. "So, what's your story?" Rena asked, dropping her voice lower.
"It's been almost two decades since I came here with my brothers from Aethelgard," the old man began, puffing his chest out, "We were top commanders, but we had an... 'exclusive' preference that got us stripped of our titles and kicked out. We knew no city, empire, or snobby elf court would ever accept us. So, we came to the only one place in this whole continent- that was beyond all ideas of good and evil, right and wrong- the Lawless Land, where all the senseless rules stop. This homestead- it used to be a basic pleasure house. But we're men of Aethelgard. Why pay to rent something for a little while when you can just take it forever? We killed the owners, took over the farmhouse, and kept the women as our... you know." He gave a sick, greasy grin.
"And the girl is…" Rena asked with a dry, flat smile.
"my granddaughter, according to the wretched narrowminded world you left behind," the old guy grinned, "and my dear wife in this one!"
Jax crossed his arms, frowning, "Didn't get that."
"Well, see, we had a deal with a local gang," the old man explained, oblivious to the trap, "Any kids born here or girls we snatched from the border- the gang got first pick to buy them, and we kept the leftovers. In trade, they promised us protection. Not that we needed it, but extra muscle for a few spare mouths was a solid deal. The gangs rolled through once a year. But with her..." He paused, looking at the girl, "As she grew up, me, my brothers, and my sons couldn't bring ourselves to hand her over. She was too precious."
He reached out a hand toward the girl. She flinched, stepping back with her head hung low.
"Anyway, last week when the gang came back, they asked specifically for her, even though we hid her well. Don't know how they got to know about her. Anyway, my boys fought them off, but the gang butchered them all, taking the other kids. I hid in the cellar with my dear," he beamed at her, "Master always keeps my pretty safe, right? From all the bad monsters outside?"
"Yes," the girl whispered, trembling, "Master is best. He saves me and my sisters from the bad people."
"Who are the bad people?" Cillian dropped down to one knee, looking straight into her eyes, "Have you seen them?"
"Yes, the ones who killed the other masters and took my brothers and sisters," she said, "They're very bad people. The Elder Master told us."
"What about last year, or the year before?" Cillian asked, "Didn't your Elder Master send your brothers and sisters away to those exact same people?"
The girl's eyes went blank, as if she was trying desperately to connect dots that wouldn't fit.
"What are you babbling about?" the old man yelled, growing frantic, "Don't listen to them, my pretty! They're the bad ones!"
"Did your Elder Master tell you why those people are bad?" Cillian kept pressing, ignoring the old man's angry sputtering.
She looked down at the dirt and slowly shook her head.
Cillian gently placed a hand on her shoulder. She jerked back like she had been shocked. Cillian's jaw tightened, "Did he ever hurt you?"
The girl slowly nodded, "The Elder said it was training. He said it was how we paid him back for food, shelter, and safety."
"Listen to me... what's your name?" Cillian's voice cracked slightly.
"We sisters don't have names. The masters just call us pretties," she answered softly.
"And did anyone ever tell you your masters weren't good people?" Maeve asked, stepping in and gripping Cillian's shoulder firmly.
"Yes. Two big sisters told us the masters were bad. One night, they ran away..." she trailed off, her eyes widening as pieces finally clicked together.
"They were devils! Demons corrupted them and carried them off!" the old man shrieked in absolute panic, "If they were good, they would have come back for you! But they didn't! I am all you have! I am all you will ever need!"
"No... one of them did come back," the girl cried out, "The little masters caught her, hurt her, made her cry, and then... killed her." Hot tears spilled down her cheeks, "I saw it all. I saw how you hurt the big sisters, how you laughed when they begged for mercy. I tried to pretend it was a nightmare, but I couldn't forget. I still see her face covered in blood when I sleep. I can still hear her cries. She came back to save me, just like she promised, and you… "
"YOU UNGRATFUL, WRETCHED, FILTHY WH**E…." The old man lunged at her, but Zot'r caught him square in the groin with a brutal kick. The man collapsed flat onto his face in the dirt.
Rena looked up at Cillian and Maeve, "You sure about this?"
"Yes. If she agrees," Maeve said, turning to the girl, "Would you come with us? No one will ever hurt you again."
The girl stood frozen, torn between the only world she had ever known and these violent, terrifying strangers who suddenly offered a shred of kindness. She remembered the big sister who tried to save her. She remembered the old man's cruelty.
Cillian held out an open hand, "I promise you, as long as I'm alive, nobody touches you again."
"She's mine! She belongs to me, don't you dare…." the old man screamed from the dirt.
Rena silenced him instantly with a vicious stomp of her steel-booted heel right into his face. She grabbed him roughly by the hair, dragging his head up, and hissed, "I have plenty to discuss with you. You're going to tell me everything. And then we'll decide whether to give you a quick death or make you beg for death!"
She shot a brief nod at Cillian and Maeve. The two Valorian justicars gently led the girl toward the direwolves. At first, she flinched at the giant beasts, but when one of the wolves gave her hand a soft, gentle lick, she let out a small, watery giggle.
Maeve pulled her up onto her saddle, and she and Cillian rode off a good distance away…. far enough that the old man's screams wouldn't reach the girl's ears. They both knew the Veridians were going to make him regret the day he was born, long before the questioning was even finished.
As they rode away, Cillian glanced back and saw a cold, burning hatred in Rena's eyes. He knew the fire coming for the old man would be worse than any hellfire.