Danica followed Captain Landon through the wide cobbled streets of Norport in awe of the many places she had never been. They passed shops filled with fantastic clothing in the windows, some smelling of delicious foods, a few even had pastries prominently on display. Every building was a grand stone and wood structure that seemed to hold fantastic items all for the right buyers. They were packed in tightly against one another creating an illusion of them being all one massive building the entire length of the street.

Eventually they arrived at the city wall and a massive building attached to the side of it, taller than the wall itself.. It was an imposing structure, built with huge stone slabs, some larger than she was. She had only ever seen part of this place once before, and from a distance, but even then she had been in awe that anyone could build something so large.

“A castle….,” she said, her mouth opened in wondrous awe.

“Castle?” Landon asked, turning towards her. “Not quite. Headquarters of the city guard.”

“Headquarters…,” she said with just as much amazement.

“Come along.” And with a small push on the back he set her to moving again.

They had passed a few guards that saluted him and gave their sirs respectfully along the way. It was shocking to her that one man could command so much respect from others. These were adult men, some with rather large muscles, stopping in their tracks just to acknowledge his presence.

She looked up at him. “How did you beat so many men?”

He glanced down at her. “What do you mean?”

“Well they’re all afraid of you,” she said as another duo of guards stopped to salute.

She heard him curse the matron quietly, but not so much that she couldn’t make it out. She didn’t think that he cared for the woman in the slightest. He never answered her question but instead continued walking, obviously deep in thought. She didn’t think she should ask any further questions for now and simply decided to enjoy the sights around her.

They continued towards a massive gate entering the large structure. There two guards, their chainmail armor shining brightly in the sun saluted him crisply. One of them stepped forwards, reaching down to his side sword. “Welcome back sir. Shall we take the prisoner to the dungeon?”

Danica gasped and froze up in fear. She hadn’t realized that she had committed any crimes to get arrested for. Tears began to well up in her eyes as her whole world started to crumble.

“Guard Wellis,” Said Landon in a very calm and cool tone, “If I wanted her taken anywhere, I would do it myself or tell you. I believe you owe my guest an apology.”

The guard looked at Danica with clear confusion on his face and then looked back to his captain. “I’m sorry sir, but….”

Landon stepped up right into the other man's face looking him right in the eyes. “Do I look like a small girl?”

“No sir,” the man said with a tremble in his voice. He quickly turned to Danica and bowed. “My apologies, young lady.”

Landon grunted in approval before continuing inside. Danica just stood there for a moment longer staring at the guard unsure of what was happening. It was all so new and strange, no one was beaten, and she had never been called a young lady before. She was snapped out of her wayward thoughts by Landon calling for her to move along.

They continued on into a massive room with a vaulted ceiling overhead. Everywhere she looked, doorways seemed to branch off in different directions. Large windows allowed sunlight to flood in and gave the place an air of warmth and comfort, despite its size. It was adorned with tapestries and other interesting decorations like weapons, armor, horns, and pelts of beasts.

He gave her a moment to take it all in and then patiently pushed the overawed young elf child along, down a dimly lit corridor, turning a corner, and up a long flight of stone steps. He stopped before one of the many doors and pulled out a ring of many keys from his belt. It took a moment, but he finally selected a small black key and in a swift motion he had the door unlocked and opened.

Inside the dimly lit room sat a bed with no coverings and a simple wooden chair against a plain table. A small fireplace sat unused, with fresh wood sitting beside it. The window was at an odd angle and allowed just enough light in for a human to see, but Danica didn’t really need that since there was barely anything in there at all to look at.

He turned to Danica and forcefully, but gently, moved her into the room. “You stay here for now. A lady will be along shortly to attend to you.”

She looked up to him and began to wring her hands together worriedly. “Is she a mean lady?”

Captain Landon sighed with frustration and shook his head. “No, but if she is, you can tell me.” He knew she wouldn’t mistreat the child, but he suspected that it might put the girl at ease to hear it.

Danica stood sharp and attempted to salute him like the other guards. “Yes, sir.”

He nodded at her like he would them and closed the door, leaving her to process all that had happened so far.

She looked at the bed for a moment, curious as to who it was for. The mattress sat nearly three hand lengths off the floor and it was filled full of something soft. She looked underneath it at the fine layer of dust that had accumulated on the wooden floor. She felt an overwhelming urge to clean it to perfection before anyone else noticed.

Next, she walked towards the window and peered out over the city splendor. She was higher than her old room now and could see all the way to the docks. Ships, as big as buildings with massive white sails, sat at the harbor bringing goods in and out of the city.

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The city itself was so much bigger than she had ever really imagined before. She scanned through the many buildings, trying to find familiar places but it was just too much. There were so many buildings crushed in on each other that she doubted anyone could ever count that high. She stood there losing track of time, enjoying the splendors of a home she never had a chance to know.

****

Had anyone seen Captain Landon at that moment, they wouldn’t have known that he was dealing with anything out of the ordinary. Decades of hiding his emotions gave him a reputation for being a man that was always cool under pressure. One person even wrote on a missive that he could stare down a basilisk and turn it to stone. Yet for all his reputation as someone who was apparently unshakable, he couldn’t stop the troubled feelings that broiled within him.

He had been rather quick at seeing the girl as a useful tool, and he overlooked the possibility that she would be so mentally gone as to be unfit for use. He’d refuse employment to a man that damaged by trauma, and now he had a child displaying the same qualities. Damn that woman Stenouse and her needless cruelty for what she had done. He also saw in her desperate need for compassion as well, something the city had been seriously lacking for quite some time.

He went through the dining hall taking note of the few men eating at a table. He specifically trained them to not stand at attention while dining as it seemed to him disrespectful to interrupt a good meal. He did note they glanced at him while having hushed conversations. There also was a distinct lack of women attending to the tables and he had a feeling that he knew exactly why. Rumors and recent happenings seemed to spread faster than a plague and could be, in some cases, just as deadly.

In the kitchen, his feelings were very much verified. Dozens of women, practically the entire female staff it seemed, had congregated here and were now having multiple frantic conversations. They all trailed off whatever they had been talking about as soon as he cleared the doorway. It wasn’t too hard to guess who and what they were talking about, but there were tasks to be done and they wouldn’t get them finished by standing around gossiping.

He cleared his throat and commanded loudly, “You can return to your duties or you can find new employment.”

They all immediately separated and headed in their respectful directions, frantically shuffling through doorways until the kitchen was nearly empty of people. At last, only a few of the ladies remained and they busied themselves with stirring pots, cutting vegetables, or any other number of duties. They’d continue their talks later when he wasn’t around, as was the way of things.

All of them resumed their duties save for one who stood there in the middle of the kitchen staring him down. A lady of middle age, like himself, wearing a sour look upon her face. She stood there rhythmically slapping a large wooden spoon into her palm while staring nearly right through him. If anyone truly could look into the eyes of a basilisk and come out on top, he knew it was her. Angela Benard, head of staff at the Norport guard barracks.

He nodded his head towards her in acknowledgement. “Mistress Angela. If you would be so kind as to join me outside.”

She removed her dirty apron and casually tossed it, and the spoon she had been holding, onto the counter and walked out the back door into the courtyard with Landon following right behind. This was the area where food deliveries usually came in, but there was no one there at the moment. It was probably one of the best spots around that two people could have a private conversation without worrying about eavesdroppers listening in.

They walked some distance before she turned towards him. “Seems you brought a demon back with you.”

“How tall is she now?” he asked, taking a look around.

“Big as an ogre, according to Gerling.” She paused for a moment, then added “With fiery eyes that’ll steal your soul.”

He whistled, obviously impressed. “That fiery eyed ogre is to your right, currently peeking out of a window.”

She looked over to see the small head of the dark elf girl barely above the window sill. She turned back to Landon, trying to put her puzzled thoughts together. “Black hair?”

“And blue eyes,” he casually added. “She’s a half breed. Never knew a dark elf to couple with a human, but there she is all the same.”

Angela nodded in agreement. “So, why did you bring her here?”

He rubbed his clean shaven chin for a moment, feeling the stubble already starting to grow back. “She sees things we can’t in the dead of night. I think we can use that to start making a difference. There’s just one problem.”

“There’s more than one problem if you think about it,” she said. “What’s your point?”

“She’s been through it. Matron Stenouse poisoned her mind these last few years.” He looked down at the ground and shook his head. “Grown men I can handle. I don’t know where to even start with her and I need someone I can trust.”

Mistress Angela looked back at the little girl again and sighed. “We all knew about her, Landon. They removed all non-humans from the northern territories so many years ago, but decreed that the child was not to be harmed under penalty of death. It just doesn’t make sense.”

“I agree,” he said, looking at the woman solemnly. “For now though, maybe we can do something good and later find out the why of it.”

“We’ll see,” she said, turning back towards the kitchen. “I’ll try my best, but I think you’re playing a dangerous game.”

He looked back to the window, seeing the little girl look down at him. “Maybe I am,” he whispered quietly.

***

Danica watched the captain speak with the woman down below. They were too far away to make out what they were saying, of course, but it did pique her curiosity. She wondered if they were friends the way they walked and talked together. Soon they disappeared back inside and she was left to watch the city again as entertainment. She wasn’t really used to having nothing to do and was having trouble coming to terms with the boredom.

Sometime later, the door opened and the lady that had been talking to the captain came into the room. She wore a stern face and didn’t look nearly as relaxed around Danica as she did earlier in the courtyard. She stared up at the woman, wondering what this new human would be like. Captain Landon told her to tell him if the lady was mean to her after all. Did this woman know about that?

“You, child, will address me as Mistress Angela,” She said, looking coldly down at Danica. “What is your name?”

Danica walked over and stood straight in front of the older woman, looking down at the ground. “My name is Danica, Mistress Angela.”

She harrumphed rather loudly. “Look at me.”

Danica did so solemnly expecting any moment to be hit like she had been before by Matron Stenouse.

“Impressive,” She whispered quietly while staring at Danica’s eyes. She turned and walked to the doorway, yelling into the hall. “Bring it!”

Danica watched as nearly a dozen women walked into the room carrying a massive tub first and then dumping steaming buckets of hot soapy water into it. They looked at her as they came and went, some with curiosity, a few glancing fearfully and a couple with what appeared to be disgust. Regardless of how they looked at her, they came hurrying in and left just as quickly, leaving Danica and Angela alone with a massive tub of hot sudsy water.

“First thing, girl, you need to clean up and then after that, you will get to eat.” Danica began to appear panicked and upset. She looked at the girl curiously. “What?”

“But mistress,” her tiny voice crackled. “I’d die of hunger before I could get this whole place clean.”

Angela sighed in frustration. She knew right then that this was going to be the ultimate test of her patience, but for Landon Marshall, she would do nearly anything for her closest friend.

She managed to get Danica into the tub, noting the many bruises across her body. Large mottled spots in various stages covered her, but there were no signs of scarring. She shuddered to think what kind of abuse the child had already suffered and what else would have been in store for her had they not gotten her out of there.

She cut the tangles from Danica’s hair, leaving it too short for any sort of braiding or design. “It will grow back,” she assured her while trimming away with the scissors. Danica didn’t raise a single bit of protest or really even seem to care if her hair grew back.

With the bath finally finished, and Angela’s satisfaction that all of the filth had been properly washed off, she took on trying to dress the girl. The quartermaster, used to outfitting grown men, could only provide a cloak and a rope to tie around her waist. Everything else he had available was simply too large to fit the malnourished child. This would work for the moment, but they’d have to find something more suitable for later.

Hot food was brought in and set upon the table. A large piece of pork roast in gravy, potatoes and carrots,all sitting by a large piece of buttery flatbread. Danica wanted so badly to tear into it, but she had to be reminded to eat slowly. She did so and soon found herself full and unable to finish the rest of the meal.

There was a knock at the door and in stepped Captain Landon. He nodded to Angela and then to Danica. “I see you’re looking much better now.”

Danica stood at attention, holding a hunk of bread absentmindedly to her head in salute. “Yes, sir.”

“Well,” he said, eyebrow raised. “Excellent. I need you to be ready for tonight. We’ve a trap to spring and I want it to be executed flawlessly.”

Danica had no idea what he was talking about, but it certainly sounded exciting. If it meant more good food and clothes, then she’d be more than happy to do whatever he needed.