Chapter 30: The Grand Ball Part 1

I exited my room wearing full armour. I look at Jacob and Ivan who are sitting on the couch. They both wore white victorian style suits with gold trimmings, long coat tails and this weird fluffy collar.

“Yo Katsuro why aren’t you wearing the suit?” Jacob asked curiously from his spot on the couch.

Ivan had his arm around Volva’s shoulder. She was wearing a blue victorian dress with exposed shoulders. As I scan the rest of the room I see the dresses of the other girls were all in a similar style, all ornate and finely made. They also had make up on, the attendants must have applied the makeup for them while I was taking off my fucking formal dress and rewearing my armor.

“It looks like crap on me. It fits me like a plastic bag.” I reply sourly as I walk out and take a seat on the couch.

“Huh? Fits you like a plastic bag? The attendants said the clothes were magical and it would fit our bodies perfectly.” Jacob said as he furrowed his brows.

I looked over at Jacob and saw it was true, his clothes fit him perfectly.

Jacob is more broad shouldered and had a generally good body shape with a muscular chest and thin belt line. His suit accentuated the best parts of his body, making him look quite masculine.

Ivan is skinnier and shorter but the suit still brought out his figure in a way that made him look quite fit in a... long distance runner kind of way.

“Mine is black and red, it makes me look like a vampire. Mine is also definitely not magical, it didn’t change at all.” I reply.

Then I hear Charlotte’s door open. I turned and I saw her wearing a dress of white and gold. It was covered in sapphires and it was clearly a much finer dress than the other girls received. In fact it looked like a white version of the red dress that Filianoreh wore. On her hands she wore white lace gloves then went up to the middle of her upper arm. Her gold hair was put up into a beautiful and elegant knot. Her dress was also more revealing in the same style of Filianoreh with a v-neck cut revealing more of her chest. The dress also pushed her chest up in the same way as Filianoreh's dress did..

She looked gorgeous but somehow I just don’t feel comfortable with how much of her chest is showing…

“Katsuro why aren’t you wearing your formal clothes?” Charlotte asked.

“The king gave me a piece of crap suit. I think he wants me to look bad in the court.” I reply.

Immediately I could sense that they all weren’t pleased with his arrangement. I saw Charlotte’s eyes narrow in cold fury as she scowled.

“Well then we shouldn’t wear ours too.” Ivan said in a low tone, his voice clearly showing his displeasure at the insult the king threw at me.

“Yeah, we’re a team, all for one and one for all. We aren’t going in there while you look like you have nothing to wear.” Jacob said hotly.

“I’ll get changed.” Charlotte said in a clipped tone as she turned and prepared to go back into her room.

“Wait.” I say stopping her, she freezes as she turns around to look at me.

“I appreciate it, really I do. But I don’t think that would be smart. We shouldn’t all piss that old shit off. He hates me already, if I don’t wear it at best he’s pleased that he gets to make me look bad, at worst I piss him off. I mean throwing a litre of petrol into a forest fire isn’t going to change anything.” I say and I watch as Charlotte’s eyes flicker as she bit her lip. I could practically see the inner conflict raging inside her, do what she wants or do what’s smart.

“The paint is peeling, the water’s boiling and your curtains are gone, what do you fix first?” I ask.

“None, the room’s on fire…” Charlotte said softly as the fury in her eyes started to fade.

Ivan was looking very confused, Jacob was looking only slightly less confused. He heard the riddle before but that was in a completely different context.

“He hates you, even if we show him that we don’t like him hating you, it won’t make him hate you any less.” Charlotte said with a sigh as she walked over to the couch and took a seat.

“Oi attendants!” I shout and I watch as they all appeared standing around the room looking at me quizzically.

“Who do you serve?” I ask as I look at all of them.

“Regus Dark Hero sama.” the attendants said as one.

“Who do you really serve?” I ask again as I stare at them.

They hesitated for a moment as they looked at each other.

“The king?” I say, still they remain silent.

“If you don’t tell me I’ll kick the lot of you out then you won’t be able to report to your real master.” I say as I narrow my eyes.

Filianoreh knew me and Charlotte were close, much closer than usual. Someone had to give her that information. I have never shown Charlotte affection in public, the only place I have shown her any attention that would be given to someone more than friends was in two places. The carriage and here. There was no one in the carriage, but there were a few times the attendants saw me with my arm around Charlotte’s shoulder when they came to deliver food.

“Princess Filianoreh.” They said in unison.

“Good, that just earned you the right to enter this room at all in the future. Now get out. “ I say coldly. The attendants hesitated for a moment before they all bowed and left the room.

“How the hell did you know?” Jacob asked.

“Filianoreh knew that me and Charlotte were in a relationship. She put particular emphasis when she said we were close. She knew without a doubt there was something going on between us. There was only one place where she would have gotten proof of that, here in this room.” I reply.

“The only people to have ever seen you treating someone more than a friend were the attendants.” Charlotte said with a small smile.

“Exactly.” I say as I return the smile.

“You even used the male term of master instead of the female term of mistress. You did that to ensure that they didn’t know you were thinking of Filianoreh.” Charlotte said proudly.

“Err... yeah I meant to do that.” I say, honestly that was unintentional, but if it was good then great. Charlotte let out a small giggle at my reply.

“At least it’s a good learning opportunity, you’re starting to get the hang of it.” Charlotte said in amusement, clearly knowing I just said master by accident.

“Yeah well, I mean she seemed to know more than she should have.” I say.

“Hmm I thought she heard about it from court rumors. Those have a tendency to swirl around passing from ear to ear. More often than not something happening today will be known to everyone by the end of the week.” Charlotte said thoughtfully.

“I guess having different perspectives is useful.” Jacob said.

“Indeed, so Katsuro I assume you have a plan?” Ivan said as he turned to look at me.

“Yes, I suggest we give the king the impression that we aren’t as close as we really are. All of you keep your clothes as is. I doubt any of the court will be inclined to socialise with me or the girls anyway.” I say as I look over at the four girls.

“The rest of you have a good standing, go out here and socialise. Get some connections, maybe learn some interesting things. The more we know the better.” I say as I see the rest of them nod.

“So try not to spend any time with me. I’ll stand at the side with the girls and keep them company.” I say, it’s a good plan but I also get to dodge all the pretentious socialising that will happen at an event like this.

“Sounds good.” Jacob said.

“That leaves the final question, are you going to wear that?” Charlotte asked.

“Yeah why?” I ask curiously.

“I suggest you remove the helmet and the armour. Make it look like you are still trying to fit in. It would help to sell our little story.” Charlotte suggested.

“Hmm alright.” I say as I unlatch my helmet and put it on the table and begin taking off my chest armour.

“Your weapon as well, you can leave it here in the room. I doubt anyone would try anything with the Rifts. We can summon the weapons to our side after all.” Charlotte said.

We heroes could summon our weapon from anywhere, we merely need to wish the weapon to appear and the weapon will reappear in our hands. So we never have to worry about being disarmed, we only need to worry about losing the arm…

I reach down to take my pistol out of my holster and I suddenly feel a rush of anxiety. I freeze as I think about all that could go wrong if I didn’t have a weapon with me. What if we get attacked, the weapon takes a while to return, there’s a short delay. Those precious seconds could be all the difference between life and death.

“Katsuro? What’s wrong?” I hear Charlotte ask, I try to remove the pistol again and again I feel that rush of anxiety.

“Charlotte let him keep it.” Jacob said suddenly from the side. Those in the room all turned to face him slightly surprised at his sudden words.

Jacob sighed as he scratched the back of his head as if he was remembering a bad memory.

“Do you sleep with your gun?” Jacob asked tentatively.

“Yes…” I replied slowly.

I mean it’s not like I enjoy sleeping with a gun. It’s just a habit at this point, I always sleep with my rifle in hand back in Sapporo. In fact I feel strange without a weapon. I even bathe with my gun nearby.

“Do you ever not have your gun with you?” Jacob asked.

“No…” I reply again furrowing my brows, unsure where he’s going with this line of conversation.

“Do you feel anxious when you try to leave your gun?” Jacob asked again and I flinched. How the hell did Jacob know?

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Jacob said with a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Sorry just bad memories. Ok short story time.” Jacob said as he shook his head as if to shake the aforementioned memories from his mind.

“As you may have inferred by older brother James killed himself. When he got back from his tour of duty he always carried a gun with him everywhere. I guess it’s like a safety blanket or a teddy bear type of deal. He carried this pistol, it’s always loaded, he got really upset when we tried to take it from him. He even pointed the thing at my mother.” Jacob said as his voice shook towards the end. He took in a shaky breath to calm himself and I could tell he was struggling to say the rest.

“Anyway, eventually we gave up. It was either that or go to the police and lock him up in the loony bin. So he ate with it, slept with it, bathed with it nearby. He said it made him feel safe, like he had some way to protect himself in case something happens…” Jacob said as his voice tapered off.

The whole room was dead silent as we listened to Jacob. Is that what’s going on with me? Will that happen to me if I went back to live a normal life? My mind has always been on the next fight, the new recruits and how to survive the next day. I never even thought about what was happening around me everyday, I guess just blocked it out mostly.

“Then one day something did happen… some fucking burgler broke into our house. He set off our burglar alarm. I ran out of my room and I saw James ahead of me, gun in hand as he sprinted downstairs. I ran after him and I saw the burglar pull a gun on James. James didn’t even hesitate, he just shot the bastard in the chest. The burglar staggered backwards, his gun dropping from his hand. I thought it was over but James kept shooting. He shot the burglar five more times. Needless to say the burglar was dead by the time it was over.

Later when the police came, James barricaded himself in his room. The police tried to take him in for questioning. My parents were losing their minds as they tried to stop the police, dad was shouting about the second amendment and James’s right to self defense. But the evidence was there he gunned the bastard down like a dog. A normal person doesn’t shoot a burglar six times with a pistol.

I was just worried that James would start a shootout in our house. Then when the police threatened to break down the door, I heard a gunshot go off in the room…” Jacob finished, his eyes wet with tears.

“Listen Katsuro I know it isn’t smart to take that gun from you. I’m not going to lie, you have your shit together much better than James. So I think it’s best to let you hold on to it. Just… be careful, talk to us. Don’t bottle yourself up, because that’s the beginning of the end…” Jacob said with a sigh as he slumped.

“I’m sorry.” I say my mouth dry. I couldn't help but feel those words sounded strangely prophetic. I looked over to Charlotte and saw her eyes wide as she looked at me.

“Katsuro…” Charlotte said softly.

“I’m fine. If I want to shoot myself I’ll make sure to let you know in advance.” I say with a weak smile trying my best to diffuse the tension with a bit of graveside humour.

“That’s not funny.” Charlotte replied as her sapphire blue eyes shimmered in the way that they always do when she’s worried.

“I’m fine. Really. Yes I feel better with a weapon with me but I don’t think everything is out to get me.” I say as I try to soothe the worries that I’m sure are swirling in her head.

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“I think we should trust him to handle this. Katsuro has not given us reason to doubt him thus far.” Ivan said from the side. Those words made Charlotte look away and take in a deep breath.

“I’ll handle it, I know the signs of when a soldier goes off the deep end. Watching soldiers break under the strain of war was basically my part time job back in my world. I know the warning signs, I know them all, I’ve seen them all, I’m fine. I survived two years of war as a child soldier for a reason.” I say and as I watch as Charlotte nods silently as she looks up at me her eyes looking a little stronger than before. I give her a smile and she returns it weakly.

But how long until the cracks start to show?

Or are they already showing?

I hear Styx say in my head but I ignore him, nothing good ever comes out of me listening to him or the Dark God. Thinking about what they say is a sure fire way to drive me insane.

Then we hear a knock on the door, followed by a voice speaking through the door.

“Heroes? Are you prepared? The ball is about to begin.” I hear one of the attendants say. I look back at the rest as they look at each other.

“Masks on, show time.” I say with a reassuring smile. The rest return my smile with one of their own and we rise to our feet.

The trip to the ball room was quiet. We’ve never been to this part of the castle before. This part of the castle looked more… gaudy. Lots of large paintings showing the “Glory” of Regus, the walls were covered in gold ornaments and there were even gems inlaid into some parts of the walls.

We eventually arrived at a set of large double doors. There an attendant told us to wait for the doors to open. No doubt we heroes would be getting a grand entrance. Probably need to get the band and confetti ready or something…

Soon we heard trumpets and the door began to swing open. The attendants bowed as they gestured for us to enter the room. I stuck to the back with the four girls letting the other three take the lead.

As I entered the room I saw the other guests were already there and all eyes were on us. As I scanned the room I saw many eyes were on Charlotte and Jacob. The eyes of the male nobles gazed hungrily at Charlotte and the noble ladies hid their mouths behind feathered fans as they eyed Jacob.

Then I felt the gaze of the court shift to me still wearing my usual combat attire. I saw many eyes narrow in annoyance as they saw my clothes. I could tell some of the nobles were slightly insulted at my refusal to conform to the dress code. Some however, were eyeing me curiously as if I was some interesting specimen. I could feel that all too familiar chill on my neck as the gaze of most of the nobles shifted to me.

We walked forward until we ended up in the middle of the ballroom that looked to be the main dance floor. I could see ahead of us were a set of wide stairs that led up to an upper balcony that overlooked the ball room. Above us in the balcony I could see more nobles gazing down at us with great interest.

I noticed a Royal Guard walk forward until he stood in front of the stairs and in his hand he held a tall banner that showed the heraldry of the Regus. The court stilled as they all looked at the stairs in anticipation. I had a feeling the king was about to make his grand entrance, how typical of him to make the heroes wait for his glorious appearance…

A group of musicians started to play music setting the atmosphere for the arrival of the king. Then I saw the set of large double doors at the top of the stairs open. The king was standing at the doorway dressed in fine clothes that put everyone in the room to shame. His clothes looked to be made of threaded gold and his clothes were encrusted with gemstones.

Honestly I think if you shone a light on him and added some disco music you could turn this ballroom into a nightclub...

“Greetings Heroes, I am honoured to see you have accepted my invitation.” the king said with a smile as he stood at the top of the stairs.

“The honour is mine, your grace.” Charlotte said cordially as she gracefully curtseyed. The rest did the same as they all bowed to the king. All except me…

“Hmm Dark Hero, did you not receive the formal attire I sent to you?” the king asked as he saw me standing in my black greatcoat.

“The clothes weren’t to my liking.” I reply cooly.

I sensed disquiet and mutterings around me, judging by the chill on the back of my neck I can tell the court didn’t take kindly to my comment. Good, let me stand out from the rest. That way hopefully the rest will have an easier time getting information from the rest of the court. I’ll just go sit in the corner later, sulk and look like a social outcast. We get information and I get to avoid talking to any of these idiots, two birds with one stone.

“Hmph it appears my generosity is wasted on you. At least your fellows have a sense of social etiquette.” the king said with scowl.

“I must ask Lady Charlotte, did he explain why he refused to wear the attire I provided?” the King asked as he turned his gaze to her.

“We requested that he wear it but he refused to do so.” Charlotte said in a displeased tone that she thus far has never shown to the court.

That’s a really convincing lie, considering she even turned her tone of voice to one of displeasure. I had no idea she would be that good of an actor... Or is she? I know Charlotte would never sincerely badmouth me in public. Which means those words would be hard to say, so she could in theory just not hide her inner displeasure of having to say those words. In this context it would look like she’s upset at the fact that I didn’t wear the clothes, but she was in fact just annoyed that she had to bad mouth me.

An interesting trick, I’m gonna file that away for use later…

As the ball commenced I walked off the dance floor and found a relatively quiet corner of the room that had an empty table. Barely anyone was here and of course there wasn’t. This is probably one of the rare occasions that a Ball would have this kind of turnout. No doubt everyone who's anyone is probably trying to make whatever connections they can.

I take a seat and I see the four girls do the same. Amethine and Alfie just looked uncomfortable but Volva was looking at Ivan longingly. Momo on the other hand was looking all over the room in quiet fascination.

I’ve been thinking about it but Volva, Alfie and Momo were slightly emotionally stunted. Their mindsets were too simplistic for someone their age. In fact they behaved like they were about five years younger. Their development as people have been derailed by the instituition that is slavery. Even if the slaves were to be set free I feel it would take decades for those affected to recover, perhaps they would never recover. Perhaps only after a new generation grows and the old generation passes will the scars fade.

“Amethine?” I ask as I turn to face her.

“Yes?” Amethine replied, that’s another improvement right there.

No more sama this and sama that. Well she still referred to us with the sama when mentioning our names but at least she was replying with a simple yes instead of a yes Katsuro sama… baby steps...

“See anyone you recognise?” I ask as I turn back to the crowd of nobles. No one was dancing yet, there was only the sound of calm ambient music from the musicians.

“Yes, my family is here. They’re over there.” Amethine said as she turned her gaze to small group nobels.

I follow her gaze and I spot the mage from the arena standing there amongst a small group. They had similar faces and the same dark hair as Amethine minus the purple highlights.

“That reminds me, did your mother have purple hair?” I ask as I look back at her.

“No, blood heirs all have purple highlights. That’s the clearest sign of a blood heir.” Amethine said.

Hmm now that I think about it I wonder if the Archmage Anna is a blood heir? I never got to see the Mage Councilor’s hair, it was hidden under her hood. I would assume her level is high but as an Errat I doubt she would get powerful parents. I guess being a blood heir Errat is not something you want to advertise. She probably wears the hood out of habit, Davis did say mages often put their hoods up to obscure their faces.

“Why purple highlights?” I ask, it seems awfully specific.

“Colours have meaning in this world. Purple is one of the colors of the Dark God. It is theorised that the purple highlights indicate an affinity for the [Dark]. It does make sense as blood heirs are just the positive side of the deal, there are those known as defectives who take the lower level of the parents. Those people have hair highlights of dark red, the other colour of the Dark God. The Dark God is chaos made manifest, the complete opposite of the order of the seven. So normal births are orderly but the blood heirs and the defectives are the exception. A symptom of chaos.” Amethine explained.

That’s interesting, it does make sense if you follow the beliefs of this world. Hang on she said affinity for the [Dark]?

“Affinity for the [Dark]?” I ask.

“All abilities have an alignment factor. The simple [Heal] spell has the alignment of [Life], so those with a natural affinity towards the [Element of Life] will be able to cast stronger [Heal] spells. The [Element of Dark] can be introduced to any spell and it creates a usually more powerful and destructive version of the spell.” Amethine explained, she was smiling as she spoke and her voice seemed more eager than usual.

I could tell she was enjoying the conversation. I guess we rarely spoke with her beyond simple small talk. She obviously has a genuine passion for magic, she talked like a schoolgirl speaking of her favourite subject.

“You have an example?” I ask.

“The [Spear] spell is what is known as a void spell. These spells can be coloured by implanting elements within the spell. Charlotte’s spell [Divine Spear] is made from the elements of [Life] and [Light]. This combination is quite common as Light and Life have natural affinities.” Amethien explained enthusiastically.

“Then what about yours?” I ask as I crack a smile as I see her eyes were alight with excitement.

“Yes, [Lightning Spear] is made from combining with [Light] and [Dark]. For lightning is [Light] imbued with the properties of the Dark, it is more lethal, has the tendency to arc unpredictably and is more draining on the caster.” Amethine explained.

“Hmm so like the Dark God then? He rules Death so that explains the increase in lethality. He is also the God of Chaos and Madness which makes the [Lightning] tend to arc… as for the increased drain…” I say as I taper off. Can’t really think of why the drain would increase…

“The drain is because the Dark God is also the god of equality, he lends you power but robs you of strength. For all are equal in death and the chaos of luck favours no one. This is why they say the seven deal in requests and gifts but the Dark God only deals in bargains. For the Dark God gives with one hand but takes with the other, he will always have his due eventually.” Amethine explained.

“He doesn't seem that big on equality, isn’t equality a good thing?” I ask.

“No equality when applied with the teaching of the light leads to justice. But the equality of the Dark God represents true impartiality. It is like giving two halves of medicine to two sick individuals when half a dose of the medicine will cure neither.” Amethien explained.

“So it is pure impartiality, devoid of judgement.” I say starting to understand. So the Dark God is neither good nor bad, he is just amoral.

“Yes, that is why many shun him, for the seven only gives and requests…” Amethine began.

“But the Dark God takes what he is owed no matter what the circumstances.” I say as Amethine smiled and nodded happily. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this happy now that I think of it. I guess she is pretty academically inclined, she must have been good in school…

“All bad things happen because of the Dark God…” Amethine said as her smile faded slightly.

“For all actions incur a debt and one day that debt is paid. It may not happen to you in your lifetime, but eventually one day the Dark God will come to collect his due. An action of a farmer in the west can doom a child in the east. For the Dark God cares not for who is deserving, he only collects what is owed to him.” Amethine said as her body slumped slightly her eyes glazed over slightly as if she was remembering some bad memories.

“So you have an affinity for the [Dark]? Isn’t that a problem?” I ask, I would assume spells with the [Dark] element would be considered… well dark magic…

“The Church of the Seven disapproves but most of the powerful offensive spells use the [Dark] element. So the practical advantages outweigh their theological misgivings.” Amethine explained.

“So what would constitute illegal and dangerous magic? I’m sure there are some spells that are considered too dangerous to use.” I ask.

“There are spells like that. Generally the elements have affinities and incompatibilities. For example [Fire] and [Water] are incompatible as elements, so is [Earth] and [Air]. Incompatible elements can still be combined but they lose a lot of power. So they are only used as utility spells, such as the [Mist Shroud] spell that is made from the [Fire] and [Water] element that creates a cloud of steam around the caster that can be used to obscure the vision of enemies.

The [Dark] element however has no affinities nor incompatibilities. The mage scholars call this the [Dark]’s ability to corrupt the other elements. For example, the schools of Soul Magic and Necromancy are made from combining [Life] and [Dark]. While Daemonology is made from combining [Fire] and [Dark]” Amethine explained.

“Hmm that’s interesting, I’m surprised you even know about this. I assumed knowledge about things like this would be under lock and key.” I reply as I cross my arms.

I expected knowledge like this wouldn't be spread around, I mean fantasy stories have plenty of dark wizards and witches causing havoc in them.

“The details of such spells are extremely restricted, knowing about the spell in vague detail does nothing. For us to learn spells we must achieve understanding through text and life experience. So reading about the spell is not enough. Those recorded are just the easiest spell to learn. Abilities are reflections of their users, powerful individuals have access to powerful unique abilities. Like I studied to learn the [Divine Spear] spell but I ended up creating the [Lightning Spear] instead.

The Heroes like yourselves are gifted with what we call [Divine Wisdom]; it allows you to learn abilities instinctively with very little formal study. That combined with your [Skill Tree]s makes Heroes formidable in ways far beyond a mere level difference.

I checked the archives and Lady Charlotte’s spell [Lux Vitae] is not in any of the records, the same is true for Ivan sama’s [Beryl Ambassador] and Jacob sama’s [Righteous Advance].” Amethine said.

“Then I’m assuming the records have nothing on my abilities?” I ask.

“No, all Dark Heroes have the most unique abilities, one of the past Dark Heroes had an ability known as [Absolution]; it was a healing spell that could heal allies and damage enemies. It is the only known ability that has two opposing magical properties.” Amethine said thoughtfully as she furrowed her brows as if troubled by the spell.

“Is it that strange?” I ask, a bit puzzled at her odd reaction.

“Yes, abilities in general are manifestations of experiences and the users personality. For a spell to be able to heal and kill, to change its effects based on the simple desire of the caster would mean…” Amethine muttered her gaze glassy.

“Mean?” I ask as I tilt my head slightly.

“That he understands healing and killing as the same thing… which isn’t possible… How is something like that even possible? If that was the case then how does one even distinguish between the two to achieve the control required to casually switch between the two?” Amethine asked, clearly confused.

“We Dark Heros are a complicated bunch, as you are well aware.” I reply with a smirk.

“Yes I suppose so.” Amethine said with a small smile.

“Sometimes it's better not to know some things. You may not like the answer.” I reply, I have a feeling that past Dark Hero must have had a really fucked up life to have ended up understanding healing and killing as the same thing.

“Yes I suppose, my teacher at the academy did say not to pry too deep into things you do not yet understand. The past Dark Hero was also a strange fellow, he apparently arrived dressed like a bird.” Amethine said.

“Like a what?” I ask slightly stunned at her description of the past Dark Hero.

“Hmm? Oh he arrived in black robes, a wide brimmed black hat and a beak like mask. He also had a cane and not an inch of skin was showing.” Amethine said. I furrow my brows as I look at her.

That sounds like a plague doctor, beaked mask, black robes, a healer and a killer…

“Katsuro sama?” Amethine said as she noted my silence.

“I think it’s better you didn’t know why he could do that…” I reply as I think back to all the statistics I could remember about the Black Death. With it killing half of europe...

“Oh…” Amethine said as she looked at me quizzically.

“Trust me.” I say and she nods slowly in response.

I look back at the other three and see they were talking happily enough amongst themselves. Well mostly happily, it looked like Alfie and Momo were teasing Volva who had her head down and blushing.

“What do the two of you do at night?” I hear Alfie ask.

“Nothing!” Volva snapped in response, her voice a pitch higher than usual.

“Really? I just want to know what it feels like when Ivan sama put his thing into your…” Momo began.

“Stop!” Volva said, her face now as red as a tomato.

“Alright, cut it out.” I say with a chuckle as the three turn to face me. Alfie and Momo seemed slightly put out by my intervention but Volva looked VERY grateful.

I decided maybe some food would be good and it might also give Volva some respite. I can understand the other two’s curiosity. They know what sex is, thanks to that slaver… so I suppose it would be normal for them to be curious.

“Come on, you girls hungry?” I ask as I watch them look at each other for a moment before nodding.

“Let’s go get something to eat then.” I say as I stand up.

We head over to the buffet table while drawing stares from every direction as we do so. The same wariness and distrust also made sure no one barred our way. When I arrived at the buffet table I looked at the food available, I saw the King had spared no expense. There was an entire roasted pig with what looks to be a golden apple in its mouth, what looked to be a swan with its neck held up in it’s typical curved fashion, an assortment of meats arranged in the pattern of a flower and sculpture carved from cheese…

I put some food on my plate as I keep an eye on the girls making sure none of the other guests give them any trouble. As I turned my gaze to the drinks I saw an entire barrel of wine available. I doubt the king would serve cheap swill at an event like this…

I reach for one of the glasses on the table that have been pre filled and I take a sip. The wine was strong, very strong, much better than the stuff they give us normally. I lookover and I see one of the servants holding a jug filled with wine. He was filling fresh glasses as nobles walked past and took fresh glasses leaving the used glasses behind to be collected.

Well I don’t want to walk over here every time I want a refill…

“Hold this.” I say as I hand my glass to Amethine who was next to me.

I walk over and I reach for the jug. The servant is confused at first but I grab the handle of the jug and just take the whole thing.

“This is mine now.” I say calmly as I turn away without waiting for a reply.

When we were reseated back at the table I noticed that Amethine had taken a balanced meal of bread, meats, greens and cheeses. The other three on the other hand had taken nothing but meat.

“Better not let Charlotte see you eating like that.” I say with a smile. Charlotte always tried to make sure all of them ate a balanced diet. Alfie, Volva and Momo would eat nothing but meat if we let them.

“You won’t tell her will you?” Momo said tentatively, talking like a girl who has just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

“One night should be fine, enjoy yourselves.” I say as I take another sip of wine.

I looked over at the girls happily eating and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of calm settle over me. As much as I hated this event, it was nice to just spend some time with them. For a moment I could almost forget where I am and just pretend I'm out for a meal with some friends.

“Hey Volva?” I ask as I feel a mischievous smile grow on my face.

“Hmm?” Vovla mumbled with a mouthful of food. Ivan always told her notto talk with her mouthful, I guess I'm like the loosey goosey dad that lets the kids have their way when the sterner parent isn't around...

“So what do the two of you do every night?” I ask and Volva turns beet red as she chokes on her food.

Just kidding...