As Elizabeth made a beeline for the living room, several wires blocked her path.

("Tch, did they set these all up in the short time I was upstairs!?")

She again tried to cut to it, to no avail before she dodged a kick from Avis aimed at her neck. Her leg was similar to a hammer and if Avis weren't wearing the shoes she had on it, her leg would have been sliced in two when she hit the wire.

("No wonder that kick stung, she has some sort of metal at the bottom of her boots. But I must admit, it is quite commendable of her to keep up with me, with those things on.")

She swung her sword at the exposed leg but her foot was quick enough to block the blade.

("Is her entire shoe made of metal?") She briefly wondered before getting a better look at it. Avis ensured her shoe was perpendicular to Elizabeth's blade and she realized why. She had a wire wrapped around her shoe.

("When did she have the time to do this? Now that I think about it, I didn't get a look at her feet in the first place. That long skirt of hers covered them up.")

Elizabeth backed away when Avis kicked her blade and tried to search for a possible room that would be more ideal than the hallway they were fighting in. It was somewhat cramped and she'd have liked a more open space for her swordsmanship.

Avis didn't seem in any rush to catch up to her but she was trailing behind.

("I see. I imagine the room not barred off is trapped.")

She saw an open room and decided to ignore her reasoning and enter.

While the space was more open compared to the hallway, it was also filled with several gleams she could make out.

Avis blocked the entrance and the sole window in the room was covered in wires.

"I assume you want to kill me, correct?" Elizabeth asked.

"That seems like an odd thing to ask," Avis commented. "Do you think these wires aren't capable of killing you?"

"In your hands, I'm not quite sure."

They had entered a large ballroom (which Albus considered a waste, since none of the maids had any interest in using it.)

She tightened the wire in her hands. "Would you like a demonstration?"

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

As Elizabeth eyed her opponent, she realised there was a distinct lack of her cronies who set this whole headache-inducing situation up.

("I don't want to think she did but...") Before managing to finish her thought, Avis quickly approached.

----------------------------------------

In the guest building the trio of Tina, Grace and Jake were sitting in the living area.

"You hear those explosions, Grace?" Tina asked.

She turned her head and cupped her ear. She seemed to be focusing and closed her eyes.

"Is that what that was?" She commented.

"Of course, you idiot." She commented.

"Who are you calling an idiot, you third-rate adventurer!?" Grace replied.

The two began arguing, while Jake looked out of a nearby window. He saw something moving by the window but he assumed it must have been a wild animal or something. He sighed as his mind went back to the day before.

That sigh brought attention to himself and Tina decided to ask him something.

"Jake, why didn't you call us to help you out when Tibaut left yesterday?"

("Eh!? Why have you moved on to me? Weren't you arguing with Grace a while ago?")

"Yeah, why'd you run off with them without saying, shorty?" Grace interjected.

("Shorty!? I'm average height!") He thought. "Well, uh, I feel like they probably would have just left if they tried to do something like that."

"I suppose that makes sense," Tina said.

"Yeah, Avis would probably leave you behind."

"(Why are you two so easy to agree with me!?) But Grace, that Avis person is kinda amazing. I'm surprised no one got hurt when Tibaut and Tina met her."

"Really? Well, I've never seen her fight before, so I couldn't say."

"Hold on there, you haven't even seen her fight before?" Tina asked.

"Not once. Honestly, I thought she just looked scary."

"Bullshit, you can also fight can't you? Then you must be some guard. And you're telling me you've never seen your lord's personal bodyguard fight?" Tina asked as she eyed Grace suspiciously.

"Personal bodyguard? She calls herself that? Well sorry but as far as I can tell the lord doesn't really have bodyguards. The only thing we have on the property are just regular guards that do the rounds and I ain't one of them."

"So you're saying it's a coincidence you can fight?" Tina asked.

"Well, not exactly," Grace responded. Tina made a "Huh?" noise but Grace continued, "Before I got hired, the maid I talked to said they'd give me priority if I knew how to fight. I showed her some moves then after that, I saw that master of ours, talked to him for a few minutes and got hired. The strange thing is that it never came back up. I thought I'd be beating up people but this isn't too bad as an alternative." She said as she made herself more comfortable on the couch she was lying on.

"Well, that's strange," Tina added.

"I know right?" Grace said, burying her face into the couch before quickly removing it after noticing the smell that permeated it.

Tina laughed at her and she blew raspberries in response.

("She got priority if she knew how to fight? Are they other maids on the property that got similar treatment?") Jake wondered in the chair.

A glass bottle smashed through the window with a lit cloth attached to its mouth. Grace and Tina reacted to the sound and immediately stood while Jake managed to dive to the floor and catch it. He quickly set it down after realising how hot it was.

"A molotov?" Tina commented.

"Shit, we gotta get out of here," Grace commented as she picked up Jake off the floor.

Before Tina could ask why she noticed the smell of something burning.

"Shit, they've already hit the house!" She realised as she picked up both of them and booked it outside.