Chapter 44: A moment of Peace


    "So what are you doing in here? ke pops the trantor earpiece into his ear before grabbing his shirt. "How did you get in?"


    Sherene turns away from ke as he dresses, "I-I followed the spirits here. They lead me here"


    Spirits? What is she talking about? Wait "Do you those green blinking arrows?" ke''s eyes narrowed in suspicion.


    "Ho-how did you know?" Sherene spins around surprised.


    ke groaned. Oh, those assholes in the bridge. Somebody is gonna get hurt real bad!


    "Nevermind how I know. What are you doing here?" Asked ke as he plots his revenge against the night crew.


    "I-I have something to ask you." She shyly peeks around the corner.


    "Alright,e on in." ke had dressed up properly, in a shirt and shorts and went to turn on the lights. He enters the tiny bar counter and poured himself a drink.


    "Can you drink alcohol?" ke asks Sherene who shyly tiptoed into the room. She looks around and finds his windowless room very simr inyout to her given room.


    A simple bed on one side of the wall, a bolted on desk and chairs on the other side. A door that leads to the wash area. Except for the inclusion of the bar counter, everything is almost exactly the same.


    ke gestures her to a chair and she sat down like a cat ready to jump away in a moment''s instant.


    ke chuckles seeing how nervous she looked and hands her a ss of tequ with a ssh of artificial lime juice.


    "Here, it is a little strong. Something to warm you up." He puts a shot ss in front of Sherene.


    She looks at the tiny vial crystal-like cup in wonder. How much must these crystal cups cost! Sniffing the clear liquid emitting a strong sweet alcohol scent. She took a mouthful and coughed hard as the liquid burn down her throat.


    "Hahaha, that''s not how you drink that." ke demonstrates as he poured a shot for himself, drowning it down in one go.


    Sherene was on the verge of tears, there was so much that happened today and now she just made a fool of herself, spraying and coughing the drink all over the table and on herself.


    ke hands her a towel and wiped the mess on the table with another. Seeing the elven princess looking like she was about burst into tears, ke tenderly reaches out and pats her head, knowing what she had gone through, trying to save her people while having to put up a strong front and unable to grieve for her family.


    "You did well princess. Your people are finally safe. Your family will be very proud of you." keforted the elven princess patting her head and let her lean against his shoulder. "Don''t worry now. You are safe now."


    Sherene finally unable to hold back her tears, finally cried her heart out on ke''s shoulder


    He carried her as gently as he could onto his bed and covered her up with a nket after he wiped her tears away. The elven princess had cried herself to sleep and but there was a peaceful look on her face as her headid on the pillows.


    Damn. This princess is so much trouble. And the night watch is IN TROUBLE. ke shook his head before turning the lights down and settled down on his work chair, flipping open his tablet to continue reading Dungeon and Dragons Forever.


    -----------------------


    Lyonel was hungry and scared, his thin frail body sore from the constant beating the Empire soldiers doe out, frequently and randomly to whoever that caught the blue-coated soldiers eyes.


    He crouched down low, trying to hide and hopes that the bluecoats would ignore him as they walked by.


    "Take this boy and that girl." A whip scored across his barely covered body. What amounts to clothes had been turned to rags in the past few weeks or days, which he totally could not remember.


    He gave a gasp of pain and fear, as the whip left a red swab on his back and legs kicked him. "Get up filth!"


    He dragged himself up, holding back the pain and tears and stood shiver in the cold. The weather had started to turn slightly chilly, with hints of winter approaching.


    The blue-coated soldier drew a dagger out and stood before Lyonel, grinning wickedly. He closed his eyes tightly, wondering if it will take all the pain and suffering away and instead felt the ropes tied to his neck parting.


    He opened his eyes and saw the noose around his neck cut away. "Get together!" Another kick sends him sprawling towards another group of half-dead prisoners.


    Rubbing his sore and blistered throat, Lyonel found himself herded along with a sizeable group of people with others joining them at different times.


    He noticed almost all the people chosen were mostly sickly looking or even ugly. Are the Empire soldiers marching them to be killed? He knows that the Empire chooses the best among them to be sold as ves, while the sick and weak looking ones are left to be worked to death.


    The blue coats forced marched them throughout the night and a better part of the day, before allowing them to slump down and sleep where they have fallen.


    Lyonel saw many new and old faces, mostly the old and weak, and those that copsed during the march were given a few kicks to get them moving again, if they could not move anymore, they get a few stabs of the spear and left to rot.


    A bucket of cold oat porridge with bits of congealed fats floating on the oily surface was dumped in front of the group Lyonel was in, the people around him still with strength quickly crawled to the bucket and scooped handfuls of the watery porridge into their mouths.


    Lyonel managed to squeeze his thin hands into the bucket, scooping out a small handful of soggy oats and unidentified fats and he quickly swallowed his meager dinner, before someone shoves him away.


    That night everyoneid together to sleep, sharing body warmth against the cold night. And the next morning, the soldiers roused them up and feed them another water porridge before they set off at a grueling pace again set by the soldiers.


    By the time the sun reached the peak, the distant jagged outline of a massive mountain range slowly came into view of Lyonel.


    ----------------


    Sherene slowly woke up, opening her eyes in the dim light. She sighedfortably, rolling in bliss to the soft bed while wrapped in the warm fluffy covers, before remembering that she was in the hooman''s iron castle.


    She sat up and stretched, feeling surprisingly rxed and recharged. Her unique pink gold hair spills down her shoulders like a waterfall, framing her stretching figure perfectly. And then she spotted ke dozing off on the chair behind the table.


    "WA-waa-what are you doing in my room!" Sherene yelled in surprise and anger, tossing a pillow directly at ke, jolting him awake. "How could you enter a maiden''s room without permission!"


    "Huh?" ke found himself chased out of the room by a furious pink hair princess and stood staring nkly at the closed hatch. "What is going on?"


    He scratched his head, ignoring the curious stares and whispers of his crew passing by, and double checked the namete on the hatch. [Captain''s Quarters] It stated clearly.


    Wait did I just got chased out of my own quarters? ke thought in confusion. He knocks several times on the hatch and waited for a reply.


    "Go away! Y-you pervert!"


    Impatient, he punches in his key code and the hatch slides open. He walked in and saw the elven princess searching the room madly, turning his neatly kept quarters into a mess!


    "What in the world are you doing? ke demanded.


    "Where are my luggage! My clothes!" Sherene absent-minded reply while flipping out the drawers and lockers. "Why are you in my room again! Have you no manners to barge into adies room?" She fumed, cing her fists on her tiny waist.


    "What your room? You are in my room!" ke yells back. "Have you forgotten?"


    "What?" Sherene froze while she processed the information. "Oh the spirits!" She smacks her forehead as she remembered.


    "Go-good morning Captain ke" She gave her best smile while her ears turn bright red in embarrassment. "I-I hoped I did not disturb your sleep!"


    "STOP!" ke raises his hands up in horror as he recognizes the smile on her face. Oh, shit its that SMILE! Please don''t fail my willpower to save! He tried to turn away from her look.


    Sherene tilts her head in confusion seeing ke who shouted stop but just stood there suddenly grinning like a fool at her.


    "Ar-are you alright?" She asked ke, with that silly strange weird look in his eyes. Her heart beat in panic as the way ke stares at her is creeping her out.


    "Oh, I am not too good." ke replied in a daze, "But you can make it better!" He gave a creepy smile.


    "I am so sorry!" She cried in a panicky voice, her face and ears red and quickly escapes out of the room.


    "Nooo! Come back! Make me better!"