The first thing we did back in the guardhouse was to tie up and gag Ysabel, and then Beldrak put her to sleep for good measure. We stripped her entirely because as it turned out, she had quite a few magical trinkets on her person, like boots that could levitate her whenever she wanted.

Jim stayed with her as a permanent guard, Beldrak went to notify Morreio about the developments, and I apologised.

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

“I am sorry for saying the things I did, madame,” I told Mathilda.

“I am not from sugar,” the old woman waved dismissingly. “A little shouting doesn’t frighten me. Truth to be told, I might even profit from this. I can spin a tale about how the corrupt mayor shut the fragile old lady in his prison out of personal spite. It’s mostly true even. The townspeople will love it, especially the part where the little old lady stays true to her convictions even in the face of torture by the bloodthirsty foreign henchmen.”

I laughed. “I admit being bloodthirsty, but I try not to hurt humans these days. As long as I wasn’t convinced about your guilt, I certainly wasn’t going to hurt you.”

Mathilda sipped on her tea. “You don’t hurt humans, you say? You do hurt other things then?”

“Don’t you know, madame?” I grinned. “I am Arnold of Sky Hall, the famous dragon-slayer.”

“That sounds like a fascinating tale,” she rolled her eyes. “But I am afraid I have had enough of lies for a while. If you don’t mind, I would like to take my leave. These cells are cold, and I want to warm my old bones by my fire.”

“You can leave whenever you want,” I answered. “But do finish the tea first. I brewed my comrade’s best leaves this time. It would be a shame to let it go to waste.”

She smirked, but she obliged. She really did resemble grandma Popillia.

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

“You know who convinced me of your innocence?”

“I hoped that… I did that,” Elizabeth smiled shyly.

“Truth to be told, I was still a little suspicious you were playing my friend and me. You could say that you were too convincing for your own good, and made me paranoid. But you had a very persistent witness in the person of Dw’yllan.”

“The smith’s apprentice?”

“As it turns out, the boy is head over heels with you and followed you every time you went to the forest.” Elizabeth looked stunned and terrified.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“And other extenuating circumstances came to our attention as well. By the way, you don’t have to be afraid of Dw’yllan once again following you. I had a chat with him about that.”

“I… thank you.”

“After our last conversation, I owed you this much. But let me help a little more.” I took a vial out of my pocket and put it on the table. “My colleague says this should restore your mother’s health. She is old, so we cannot know for how long will she stay healthy after that. But if she is lucky, her mind won’t deteriorate again.”

Elizabeth’s eyes were glinting.

“How?”

“You better not know. Ysabel was not the person you thought she was.”

The girl gulped.

“What will happen to her?”

“She will burn, this afternoon.”

She sank her head, and I saw two teardrops running down her cheek.

“She was my only friend here…”

“Is there a reason why should you stay in this town then? You said the townspeople ostracised your family. Beldrak is going to retire in Sky Hall with plenty of money. Take your mother and go with him. He can help you to start a new business. He might even employ you himself. Potions and clothes are in great demand everywhere.”

“I will… think about that.”

“Think fast, because we are leaving tomorrow.”

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

After Elizabeth left, I sought out Morreio. He took over the guarding Ysabel from Jim in the meantime.

“Perhaps she will sleep through her own execution,” the Sergeant said when he heard my footsteps.

“I doubt it. Burning pyres tend to wake up people sleeping on them.”

“Aye,” he agreed. “And we have to drag her through the whole town before. She won’t sleep through even that. But it would have been better for everyone involved if she did.”

She almost killed dozens of children, yours among them. Why waste any sympathy on a person like her? I thought. But I didn’t say it out loud.

“What have you done with your girls’ doll?” I asked, instead.

“After all this? Burnt it.”

I chuckled.

“I bet they didn’t like that.”

“They understood.”

“I hoped I could put an end to the bickering amongst them. But it seems, I am going to give the little brats a cause instead.” I put the results of my diligent woodwork in Morreio’s hand. He looked at me with wonderment.

“I did a lot of carpenter-work on the estates of my parents and in the army,” I shrugged. “I also have… had two younger sisters, who pestered me a lot over the years to make dolls like this. I have plenty of experience in making them by now.”

“It is pretty good,” he said. “I bet the girls will like it.”

“Tell them not to argue over it too much.”

We let the silence stretch for a bit.

“Where will you go now, Arnold?”

“Beldrak and Jim should be waiting at the marketplace. Schultheiß is giving a speech soon.”

Morreio snorted in amusement.

“It will turn out he always had suspected Ysabel. A ten from know he will have uncovered her crimes alone. A month, and she will have been battled into the submission by our heroic mayor.”

“I have less and less desire to attend.”

“Go and have a drink instead then. If anyone, you deserve it.”

For better or for worse, I did not take his advice.