Danica walked back through town with Landon after seeing the body of Matron Stenouse at the morgue. She confirmed the identity of the woman for them and inspected the damage to the chest cavity. Whoever it was that had come in after she left had indeed removed the heart. It was a sloppier cut though, lacking the precision that Galen had used. Landon suspected a copycat killer, though he couldn’t understand why anyone would want to bring that monstrosity back into being.

Wherever they went, people stared at them with hateful looks. She wasn’t sure if it was because of her this time or if they’d lost confidence in Landons abilities as guard captain. The news of the old woman’s death had spread like wildfire, as did the manner in which she perished. By now the embellishments had taken on a life of their own, referring to Stenouse as kind and caring, and Landon as an incompetent fool who could not protect them.

“They’re scared aren’t they?” Danica asked as a group of young women hushed their talking when the duo neared them.

“They are. We nearly had Norport locked down to find one man. Even though he’s dead and this murder was a poor imitation, it was enough to spark their fears.” His shoulders slumped down ever so slightly, giving him a look of defeat. “We told them they were safe again.”

A group of older boys approached, looking somewhat nervous. One of them, the biggest of the group, suddenly hurled a tomato at them. Danica reached out quickly with her left hand, snatching the overripe produce out of the air before it hit Landon’s chest. She debated returning the projectile, but instead casually tossed it aside to the street. The boys ran off yelling and laughing without further incident.

Landon looked to her and nodded. “Great reflexes.”

She didn’t say anything, trying to mentally quell the pain in her left arm where the crossbow bolt had wounded her. She hoped that it wouldn't start bleeding through the bandage and the sleeves. That’d be awkward to try and explain and she didn’t want to start lying to Landon about anything. She respected him too much for that.

They made it back to the barracks afterwards with no further incidents along the way only to be confronted by Jorin Corwell once they’d gotten inside the building. The man looked a little too smug and relaxed while sitting on a chair inside the great hall. He obviously had been waiting on them to arrive back, but probably not too long.

He stood the moment they entered. “Captain Landon. Danica. I must speak with you both, preferably somewhere more private.”

Landon sighed. “Jorin, I’ve had a long day already and I’d like to take a moment to try and find some peace. There’s no one around, so if you’ve something to say, then say it now.”

Jorin shrugged his shoulders rather mockingly. “Very well then. I’ve read the reports and conferred with a few of my colleagues. Given the nature of the recent murder and relationship to the victim, there’s talk that the elf girl may be the culprit.”

Before Landon could react, Danica was face to face with Jorin. “Why is that?” she barely spoke through clenching teeth.

Jorin just gave a slight smirk. “Well it isn’t an official accusation, of course. You grew up there and Stenouse wasn’t known for kindness. You had a motive. You were also involved personally with that killer, Galen.”

Landon pulled her gently aside. “Damn it all, man. Talk like that leads to rumors and soon they’ll be trying to lynch her on the streets without even a proper trial.”

“As I said, it’s not an official accusation.” Jorin held his hands up. “I’m just trying to give a friendly warning that some people are suspecting Danica of it. I personally believe she’s innocent.”

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She relaxed only somewhat at his words. “I appreciate your vote of confidence then. I’ve no plans of imitating that murderous bastard in any form.”

“Of course,” he said, somewhat smugly. “I’ll do what I can to suppress the rumors then.”

He gave a halfhearted salute to Landon and left. Danica was feeling somewhat conflicted about the whole incident. She had in fact killed Stenouse, but only after the woman attacked her. That was out of self defense in the heat of the moment, not murder. Would she have killed that evil old hag though before leaving the orphanage? That’s another question she’d most likely never get an answer for.

“Damn,” Landon muttered. “What kind of game is that fool playing?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. He’s not doing anything for me out of the kindness of his heart. I know that’s true at least.”

Landon nodded in assent. “For the moment, it’d be best if you stowed your gear with Dannig. Take Gerling’s workload while she watches after the children of the orphanage.”

Danica looked at him, shocked at what she was hearing. “I’m to be kept indoors now and off the streets? Shouldn’t I be out there trying to help?”

“There’s the possibility of another killer out there, and if you go out, they might start pointing fingers at you this time.” Landon sighed mournfully. “I don’t like it, but with Rowan still gone, there’s no telling what could happen if people started suspecting you.”

She knew he was right about it of course. He could fight, and most likely would fight to save her, but he couldn’t stop the entire city trying to have her burned at the stake or worse. They hated her, and always did. It wouldn’t take much convincing on anyone's part to form a lynch mob and tear apart whoever stood in their way. Still, his words stirred a question in her mind that’d almost slipped by.

“Why does Rowan care so much about me?” she asked while taking a nearby chair to sit in. “What is it about me that is so special to him?”

Landon remained standing, but started to pace the floor, trying to find the right words. “Angela and I wondered the same thing. I think everyone else did as well. It started with Alric right after you’d arrived and people started to protest your very existence. He made some very bloody examples of a few men and women on the palace steps before issuing a decree that if anyone harmed you, they’d face a tortuous execution as well. I think people feared him enough to stay in line after seeing that.”

“What about Rowan though?” she asked.

“Well he was at least decent enough not to paint the stones red again, but he reissued the decree after his father died. It might have been that people remembered well enough his father’s actions and decided not to test their new lord. Maybe they’d grown tolerant of you by that time. Why Sombec got a pass, I don’t understand.”

She wouldn’t mind knowing the answer to that as well, but she’d probably have to ask Rowan himself or pry the words out of Sombec’s filthy mouth. The latter she might enjoy though, if he suffered through it.

“Speaking of which,” she started, but then paused trying to find the best way to put the words, “ I ran into one of his men yesterday while I was out walking.”

Landon paused his pacing, his full focus on her. “Which one?”

Danica shook her head. “I don’t know his name, but he’s rather muscular and carries a longsword.”

“Garwin,” Landon nodded. “I’ve met him. He’s a former soldier and extremely dangerous. Stay as far away from that one as you possibly can.”

“He was one of the men who kidnapped me the night of the Harvest Festival,” she said, her mind drifting back to that fateful night.

Landon resumed his pacing. “I don’t believe there’s much I could do about it, as unfortunate as it is. Had I the ability to, I’d lock him and that damned priest into the darkest dungeon I could find and let them rot for eternity.”

She knew he would do that if he could, but the corrupt bureaucracy would simply free them the next day and remove Landon if he became too troublesome. He always seemed to have a rational reason to do the things he did and planned things out accordingly. That was a valuable lesson she should try to emulate instead of letting her emotions lead her into so much trouble. Perhaps one day she could be more like him.

He bid her farewell and went to take some time for himself away from everyone. She couldn’t really blame him for it after all the stressful events of late. She was feeling the strain as well and oftentimes felt on the edge of breaking. Perhaps some time spent doing chores and manual labor might help resolve some recent issues and give her a better chance to think things through instead of simply acting out her anger as she may have the night before.