After more than two weeks at their home, Samantha was much improved with a few of her shallower wounds already healed. With her restored health, James allowed Samantha to leave solitary confinement with the understanding if she fled or attempted to harm either him or his niece she would be returned to the bed with ever more constraints put in place. Where these bindings would come from he didn’t say and didn’t have a plan for, but thankfully the threat worked. Not that she saw it as much of a threat already well accustomed to being locked up for days on end, but the addition of a soft bed and regular delicious meals was too good a deal to pass up. She also didn’t exactly have anywhere else to go and wandering that infuriatingly bleak forest was the last thing she wanted right now, at least not until she had bested its knife wielding guardian. There was still an uneasy tension between Samantha and Valerie, the two could eat at the same table without going for each others throats but any real friendship forming was far off much to James’s dismay. There was however a dangling thread of a possible bond as Samantha enjoyed watching Valerie train or clean and prepare a fresh kill, the morbid curiosity she displayed conveniently ignored by her overseer. James would take whatever progress he could, which was why he decided now was the best time to put his plan into action.
The three cohabitants sat at the dining table finishing up a decently prepared and filling rabbit stew. Samantha still sported a few bandages across her slight frame although the rags she arrived in had been replaced with some of Valerie’s childhood clothes. She refused to part with her cloak however, wearing it at all times even while she bathed or slept. It was not the strangest sight to James as his niece regularly wore her training gear from dawn till dusk and had somehow napped in the less than comfortable attire on more than one occasion. Peering at the two inappropriately dressed girls, he couldn’t help but think yet again that they had more in common than either would admit. Both were fundamentally orphans, had little to no social skills choosing violence as their first greeting and an absolutely voracious appetite, where they packed it all away who could say. Believing this calm atmosphere the best possible time to discuss important matters, James loudly coughed addressing the table.
“I believe it’s time we discussed your situation, Samantha. Valerie you are excused to your training.”
The look he gave his niece let her know it wasn’t up for debate, and he didn’t care what she did as long as she was out of the house for the time being. Staring daggers at her uncle, Valerie left the table and stormed off outside the cabin. She briefly lingering in the doorway, a complicated expression on her face, unseen by Samantha or James before she disappeared. The topic of discussion picked up none of the subtle and obvious undertones the two family members displayed, instead focusing on a remaining piece of her meal that refused to catch on her fork. Clearing his throat again Samantha’s attention finally broke from the scraps, her unsettling gaze focusing on James. Although he rehearsed this speed many times, he couldn’t help but fumble at the penetrating stare.
“Samantha, you have been with us for some time, and we have… endured your company.”
Smooth James, he thought reprimanding himself. She wasn’t exactly bad company to have, confusing, befuddling, an enigma wrapped in a riddle with a pinch of puzzle perhaps but not a terrible house guest. In many respects, she reminded James of Valerie when she was a child, so innocent but infuriating to handle. It didn’t help he eventually figured out she was indeed around the same age as his niece if possibly a year younger. Samantha had little to no clue what the date was let alone her own birthday, yet she knew unquestionably she was around fifteen years old. The knowledge was a remnant from her time in the mine and one of the last present gifted to her by her Papa alongside her cherished cloak. She didn’t speak about much, but on occasion Samantha would bring up her father and all the things he taught her. From what little James had been able to eek out about the man he sounded very similar to himself; a lone guardian whose charge became his world. Yet another commonality that seemed far too convenient for his liking, almost like someone was trying to force these two girls together through shared experience. These thoughts weren’t helping, it only made Samantha a more sympathetic and confusing girl, James needed to be objective here.
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“What I mean is, We… I… well…”
Which was proving far harder than he thought it would. Thinking about taking charge of what fate had dealt him was one thing, actually doing it was another altogether. Breathing deep, James hurriedly announced his plan before his nerves got the better of him.
“I want to give you a choice, it’s very important and I am afraid I cannot wait for an answer it has to be now.”
Samantha blinked; no emotion evident on her face while the deep black of her eyes bore deeper James. What he wouldn’t give to be anywhere else right now, fighting a monster was preferrable to this stressful situation. Shrugging her shoulders and then wincing at the lingering pain, Samantha nodded for James to continue.
“There is a town some distance from here. It’s not the biggest and may not be the most welcoming to outsiders but it’s a start. I can help direct you there and provide enough food and money for you to start again. Find your own path in life or see the world if you wanted to.”
It was abdicating his responsibilities as her short-term caregiver, but at the end of the day his niece was his priority. He did not add that should Samantha attempt to search for the pair again or lead others to their hiding spot all they would find is an abandoned home and no tracks to pursue them. Fate had led this girl to them, but they didn’t have to play into its hands and whatever came next they would endure. The alternative would likely seal both Samantha and Valerie’s fate, even if they went their separate ways, James knew both girls lives would be inexplicably connected in some way.
“On the other hand… you can stay. You would have a home, but your goal may be put on the back burner or perhaps never come to fruition. You will also be required to become essentially my pupil and learn to fight. I have trained my niece all her life so that she can protect herself should anything or anyone try to invade our home. If you remain you WILL be forced to undergo the same tutelage that is non-negotiable.”
That was it, leave and never see them again or stay and become entangled in whatever future his niece would have. There was no doubt Valerie was already planning her exit, missing food, long unexplained absences and her mounting dissatisfaction were all the indicators James needed to figure out what his niece was up to. She was too young to foresee the dangers or trust James’s warnings of the outside world. Samantha’s face took on a contemplative expression and she thought over the proposal while cupping her chin. She looked James over, then towards the door Valarie had left through and finally set her sights back on the nearly finished meal before her.
“Hmmm…. Hmmmm? Hmm. Hm, hm, hm.”
Making humming sounds, Samantha playing out an imaginary argument in her head going over the pros and cons, at least James hoped she was. After an agonizing minute, she finally piped up with an answer.
“Okay, I’ll stay.”
James’s jaw dropped, he spent the better part of a week agonizing over this decision trying to justify every option presented and assuage any guilt he may feel over the options. To have his crucial and possibly life defining offer answered so flippantly reset everything in the man’s mind to zero. Trying to understand Samantha’s reasoning, he stuttered out a reply, enquiring if she was sure and if she understood the implication, the dangers, the back breaking and intense work she would be put under to even come close to Valerie. Samantha answered in a completely unexpected and on brand manner as she lazily rose atop her chair, stood at attention and saluted.
“Samantha reporting for duty captain. When does training begin?”
James sat at the dining table long after Samantha left to find Valerie, no doubt his niece would end up in a similar position from the girls callous disregard for danger. He would have to restrain himself from making Samantha’s training regimen too extreme, not that he believed she would buckle from the pressure but that he may become too invested in finding the girls breaking point. If she had one that is.