“This should be a simple choice, you know.” The mercenary leader gave me a knowing smile, his calm voice grating on my nerves. He had bright orange, wavy hair, even in the braids of his beard, and it clashed with his matter-of-fact attitude. “None of us here want to hurt anybody. We’re just setting things right. The little girl you took from Earl Triumph wasn’t yours.”

Before answering, I took my time and looked over the four men. Only the leader had a leather jack, but all of them had shorter swords, perfect for fighting indoors. From their scars and hardened muscles, I could guess that these four were the veterans that held the rest of the mercenary group together.

Ordinarily, I wouldn’t be worried. These were all peasants. They couldn’t possibly compete with the life of training only available among the nobility. However, they had taken hostages, limiting my options. If it came to a clash of arms, it wouldn’t end well.

In any case, I had to keep talking while I was figuring out a solution. “What makes you say the girl isn’t mine?”

“We know she has hair as black as night. Even if she IS a mage like we’ve heard, will you really trade away the lives of your actual family?”

I opened my mouth and closed it again. If things went south, he was planning to escape afterwards by going north and selling Eu to the Plainsmen. Apparently, he had no idea about what he was proposing. It wouldn’t help to explain to him how justice operated up in the plains. He wouldn’t ever believe me.

If there was even a whisper that he’d harmed an unarmed woman, let alone her unmarried daughter, he’d be better off dying right here and now. The plainsmen's Code had strict regulations regarding treatment of females. Furthermore, the penalties for breaking that Code were beyond belief. Vengeful, brutal, and malicious didn’t even begin to describe it.

Even his plan to sell Eu to the Plainsmen for money was foolish. Yes, a mage was valuable, but even if she were his own child, he couldn’t sell her. If he even hinted at breaking a Code prohibition like that, he’d go straight to the torturers. There was a reason merchants didn’t travel north. The laws there were too many, too complicated, and too extreme for anyone to risk their lives.

“Don’t you care for your wife and son? I can see you’re thinking it over, but there’s only one good choice here. Please, be reasonable!” He still had the same placid smile, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “You know we don’t have a lot of time before reinforcements arrive, so hurry up and THINK FASTER!”

There had to be some way out of this predicament! Unfortunately, the man had backed himself into a corner by taking hostages. He was desperate - and that made him dangerous. At this point, the only way out was through me, but for that, he’d need to make a deal. He couldn’t just throw down his arms and surrender - even at this point, the penalty for his crimes was a public execution.

He snapped his fingers to keep my attention. “You’re taking too long! You don’t have time! This should be a simple trade!” He sighed in anguish. “I suppose I need to hurry things along. How about we start with small stakes. Something to show that we mean business. What about your daughter here?”

Naturally, the man didn’t want to hurt anyone. He knew instinctively that wouldn’t end well for him or his men. But all the same, a mercenary group operates on a hair-thin margin. If this mission failed, they still had to feed themselves. With that many mouths, that likely meant selling their horses and gear for a few last meals. Eventually, they’d have no choice except pledging their lives to work as serfs. From his point of view, death at my sword might even be preferable.

Hearing his threat, Progress froze solid. She’d stopped sobbing once she’d heard my voice, but now, she stiffened up against Constance, holding on tight. I still couldn’t see her face, because she’d hidden it in her mother’s arms. However, she’d obviously been listening - and now she was terrified. I wasn’t sure what the man was proposing, and neither was she - but it clearly couldn’t be good.

Before anyone could act, a third party entered the conversation. I was stuck on the horns of the dilemma, so Eu decided to do her own negotiations. “Firebeard! YOU talk to ME!”

“Firebeard?” The leader chuckled, gesturing with a hand at his own bright orange beard. “That’s a good name! I should start calling myself that!”

I motioned for Eu to stop, but she just ignored my signal. “You violence ME? I violence YOU! You hostage ME? I HOSTAGE YOU!”

Firebeard’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Your son is quite the joker! He’s wounded, pinned to the wall with three blades, and still making threats?” Instead of backing down, he drew his own sword, adding another armed combatant to my list of obstacles.

Eu didn’t even hesitate. “I have YOUR daughter! I hurt her unless you let my sister go!”

I stared at Eu in my confusion. Just what was she doing? Was she trying to distract him? There were three more armed men! There was no way I could get across the room and stage a rescue before someone was hurt or killed.

In response, Firebeard chuckled. “What is this? Since when do I have a daughter? I suppose that it’s possible, but this is the first I’ve heard of it.”

“Your FUTURE daughter!”

“Huh?”

“I have your FUTURE daughter!”

“Uhh…” He looked over at me, mystified, but I had no explanation. She’d learned that word when we were talking about Grit’s “future” wife, but did she even know what it meant? Was Eu trying to win Firebeard over by confusing him? Did she think he was such an idiot that he would fall to a non-sequitur threat?

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

On the other hand, I had to admit, she’d already demonstrated some pretty weird magic. Could she see into the future? Was she reading the wind? She was speaking as an authority, so I couldn't simply discount her words. It was all beyond me. Regardless, it didn’t matter at the moment. Her nonsense wasn’t helping this stalemate at all.

I tried my best to defuse the angry glares of the other three swordsmen. “Just ignore my son. He’s not thinking straight. See? He can’t even talk right. Did he hit his head?”

“That won’t matter if we TAKE HIS HEAD OFF!” I could see the moment when Firebeard’s patience snapped. The light of hope had faded from his eyes and his sword started shaking in the depths of his regret and despair.

Hearing his leader’s order, the larger of the two men holding Eu to the wall muttered a short prayer for forgiveness, then drew back his sword to give a solid chop.

I couldn’t delay any more. “WAIT! STOP! You win! We can end this without bloodshed! I’ll give you the girl.”

Firebeard breathed out a sigh of relief, then he held up his free hand to forestall his prior command. After that, he motioned to me with his sword, pointing the tip down the hallway. “It’s your house. You go get the girl for us. Then we can trade.”

My legs were shaking, but I was able to walk. I moved through the kitchen, trying my best not to provoke the captors to action. The man towering over Eu still had his sword drawn back to strike. In order to get to the hallway, I had to move within striking distance of him, so the slightest misunderstanding could set them all off.

Each of the men’s eyes were glued onto me as I warily passed the narrowest point between me and them. I still had my sword and dagger ready in case the mercenaries tried something. After that, the moment passed, and I moved into the hallway. Once there, I paused at the storeroom door to collect my thoughts.

The problem was that there was no way I could get the girl that they actually wanted from the storeroom. Swift had blond hair, but they’d already been told that their bounty had “hair as black as night.” What could I do? Perhaps I could stall them if Swift was wearing a bonnet?

My only other choice was to reveal Eu. I could, but I couldn’t! I’d taken her from poverty, dragged her along behind me, fed her, helped her each step of the way, adopted her against my better judgment, I'd even bought her a pony, and she’d still been nothing but trouble. Despite all that, I couldn’t betray her into their hands! It would stain my honor and self-respect. I’d rather die first.

What about the lives of my family? I wasn’t being fair to them! Didn’t they matter more? They’d done nothing wrong, especially my children! It was only fate and circumstances that had led me here.

Even so, this situation was resolving itself. These mercenaries wanted a girl with black hair. I didn’t have that girl, unless I gave them Eu. I wouldn’t do that. So, there was really only one choice. I could only pray that it was the right one. If not, I could only do my best in the aftermath.

“Grit, open the door.”

He’d apparently been listening through the wall, because I could hear the barricade inside being quickly disassembled. A moment later, the door cracked open, and I could see his face. “Father?”

“Swift is in there with you?”

“Yes, she’s hiding.”

“Send her out.”

I could see the confusion and betrayal in his eyes, but then I saw his resolve. He knew he could trust me, even when all signs pointed elsewhere. “Swift, Father is calling for you.”

Swift came immediately to the door. Her hair was mussed and her face was wet with tears. She’d probably been crying quietly this whole time. It broke my heart that she’d have to go through this. Naturally, she would be terrified, but she was what I needed. She was the only option I had left. After sheathing my weapons, I picked her up gently in my arms and carried her back into the kitchen.

“Is this the girl you’re looking for? This is my daughter, Swift.”

All four men stared at her hair in agony. Obviously, the color was not “black as night.” In other words, it was clear that they’d made a mistake. The question was whether or not they’d figure out the truth.

“Where’s … the girl … with black hair?” Firebeard was speechless with surprise, so one of his veterans spoke instead.

“Not here.” I lied without even blinking. At the same time, I pulled Swift’s face into my chest. Her gaze was unfocused, but I didn’t want her eyes to scan the room and land on Eu. I could trust Constance, but Swift might reveal my deception by accident.

“Where?”

“She’s staying with a comrade, a knight. I’d heard that bounty hunters like you might be coming, so I moved her several days ago into the care of my old Knight-Master.”

At that point, there were no more words. The four men stood motionless, slowly realizing that their mission had failed despite their best efforts. The life of a mercenary was filled with defeat and disaster, so dashing their hopes like this was just one more straw.

“You’ve lost. If you leave without harming anyone, I promise that I won’t give chase.” Of course, I couldn’t speak for the authorities. Breaking into a squire’s house and stealing food would be considered banditry, rebellion, and perhaps even treason. The typical penalty for any of those would be a slow, painful execution.

Firebeard swayed on his feet, but I’d narrowed his options when I suggested an outcome. In moments, he made a decision. “Quick! Let’s go!”

The other three retreated, keeping their swords free as they fled for the door leading outside. Strangely, HandEater read my intentions and stepped out of their way as they went out.

Firebeard himself went last, watching over his men. Before he slipped away, he glanced back at me, respect in his eyes. “You’re an honest man. I wish your family well.”

I gave him a respectful nod in return. He’d acted wisely and so we’d both avoided conflict. In contrast, I had deceived him. Regardless, I felt no guilt. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

His parting words gnawed at me - and I sensed a strange truth to them, “Perhaps someday, we’ll work together on the same side.”