OLIVIA

With nothing to do after she promised Emily she would “keep the Hawk Merchant company” while Emily sprinted off to “solve their tracking problem,” Olivia found herself alone in the isolated village of Shadowfort with very little to do. It would take her half a day to walk back to Gloomwood Manor to check with Lydia for orders, and there was no telling what Emily would do if she came back to find Olivia gone. She was stuck here.

Part of her wished that she’d insisted that she either go with Emily to do.... whatever... or go back to the manor to see what Lord Gloomwood and Lydia actually wanted her to do, but it was easier to simply obey. Olivia knew she needed to be more direct and forceful in her day-to-day life, or at least... that was what Emily and others often suggested. Hearing and believing their advice was far easier than putting it into practice.

It didn’t help that her father’s directive to her the day she arrived had been “do what you’re told, and don’t ever argue with him.” Having seen what happened to thralls who did argue with Lord Crow, Olivia had taken Samuel’s philosophy to heart. Habits ingrained through fear remained difficult to break.

Even though Olivia knew Lord Gloomwood wouldn’t punish his people for speaking up like Lord Crow often had, slipping into reflexive obedience when confronted with a forceful personality remained a difficult habit to shake. Not to mention the forceful personality, in this case, was Emily. Emily was very difficult to ignore under the best of circumstances.

So, Olivia wasn’t leaving Shadowfort. She couldn’t even pick out a present since the Hawk Merchant’s best stock had been stolen by those bandits. So eventually, Olivia occupied herself by touring the few stalls that remained open every day.

She didn’t browse their goods for long. The way the sellers behind the stalls eyed her... as if afraid she could have them killed with her word... made her physically uncomfortable. She noted distantly that while everyone inside Gloomwood Manor was now confident their new lord was a good, just lord, rumors of Lord Gloomwood’s beneficence remained rumors beyond the manor. She made a mental note to mention that to Lydia when she spoke to her again.

Olivia finally ordered some not-so-rotten fruit that the vendor insisted she shouldn’t pay for and decided to take a walk through the town to occupy herself while she waited for Emily to return. As she strolled down the street between modest one-story homes, she caught occasional glimpses of the people living their normal, quiet lives inside. Despite having her own luxurious room in a huge and luxurious silverwood manor, she envied them.

This town had been her childhood for many years. She’d had a normal home and a normal life with a mother who loved her and a mysterious father who never spoke to her. If not for the sudden manifestation of her rarity at age thirteen, she’d still live here in this small town with her mother and her mother’s new husband.

While it still hurt to think back on how Samuel had kept her at a distance as she grew up, it was only now, with the perspective of having served beneath a tyrannical manor lord, that she understood why Samuel had pushed her and her mother away. He had been protecting them by keeping his distance.

Samuel had known what a terrible man Lord Crow was, and that Crow would take any opportunity to use people his thralls cared about against them. In the two terrifying years she had served beneath Lord Crow, Olivia had seen it happen more than once. With this additional context, she fully understood the distance Samuel had maintained. It must have been difficult.

Olivia also didn’t blame Samuel for her being forcefully conscripted into Gloomwood Manor by Lord Crow. It was her fault, not Samuel’s, that Lord Crow had found out about her rarity... she had been practicing in the woods to learn how not to set her home on fire, and some folks who witnessed her juggling fire reported her... and the only thing she still regretted was that they hadn’t all been able to grow up together. As a family.

That was the one blessing in all the gloom. She had barely known Samuel—her father—before Lord Crow pressed her into service, but once Crow did so, her father became a constant presence at her side. She had even come to believe he loved her, something she had doubted for most of her life. With her mother’s second husband, there had always been doubt.

Living in the shadow of Lord Crow had been terrifying. Even so, Samuel had sheltered her, instructed her, and, with Lydia’s help, done everything he could to ensure she did not run afoul of their manor lord when he was in a bad mood. The stress had been maddening.

After two years of sneaking around trying not to get her head chewed off, the arrival of the new Lord Gloomwood had been a boon from the Eidolons, one she had not dared allow herself to believe was real for fear of being disappointed. Now, of course, she had no more doubts. Lord Gloomwood had saved her father and trusted her with the protection of his manor, and now Olivia would follow him to the ends of the realm.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

But with nothing else to do while she waited for Emily, she should visit her mother.

The home of Margery Nellis (she had never taken Samuel’s last name, as they had never married) was a modest one-story home in one of the outer rings of Shadowfort. It had been built years after the town’s founding, and owned by only one family that moved away. Thanks to her duties at the manor, Olivia rarely got to visit... but that was probably for the best.

Olivia’s mother had a new husband and two children without rarities who required all the time she had. Olivia was old enough to be an adult, which meant she was old enough to live on her own. Still... that didn’t mean she couldn’t drop in and say hello.

Given the time, her mother would certainly be home. With two young children to watch over (Olivia’s step-brother and step-sister, respectively) it was quite likely Margery would have both of them busy doing chores. Since her step-father, Owen, did day labor on one of the large farms outside Shadowfort, Olivia did not expect to encounter him today. While Owen was a nice man who seemed good for her mother, he still felt like a stranger to Olivia.

She hesitated once she was within sight of the house. What if her mother was angry with her for not visiting for so long? Could she explain that Lord Crow had never let her leave the manor, and that she had been too busy serving Lord Gloomwood to step away? Would Margery even believe that?

Perhaps this had been a bad idea. Olivia was on the verge of turning around and heading back to the merchant’s square to brave the wary eyes of the vendors when a soft gasp sounded from behind her. Was another villager afraid she was going to report them?

She turned to find a boy she knew to be twelve years old gawking at her from behind. He was thin as a pole, just like his father, and wore spare but well-maintained clothing. He also looked like he bathed regularly, which she knew Margery always encouraged.

“Oli?” Sven’s blue eyes widened in surprise. “Oli! It’s you!”

Before Olivia could even think of denying her identity, Sven dashed forward and threw his arms around her. Olivia couldn’t help but smile as her step-brother hugged her eagerly and unabashedly. Her step-sister, Priscilla, had been too young to really grow attached to Olivia before Lord Crow conscripted her, but Sven, at least, remembered her.

Olivia patted his back and gently disengaged. He was much taller than when she’d last seen him. He stood almost up to her collarbone, so he had hit his growth spurt early.

“What are you doing in town?” Sven asked with a mixture of hopefulness and alarm. “Is something wrong at the manor? Has there been another kromian attack?”

“No, none of that,” Olivia assured him quickly. “The manor’s fine. There was a bandit attack this morning on the road, which we’re... investigating... but there’s no threat to Shadowfort.”

“Well, that’s good to know!” Sven straightened as his cheeks reddened. He seemed stuck between trying to decide if he wanted to be her little brother or the man he no doubt wished to become, and settled somewhere between. “Are you... are you staying long?”

“I’m waiting for another battle maid to return with... reinforcements.” Olivia hoped that was what Emily was up to. “So yes, I’ll be heading out again in a few hours. But since I was here anyway, I figured—”

“Mom’s going to be so glad to see you!” Sven all but bounced past her and hurried toward the house. “She still talks about you all the time!”

“Does she?” Olivia couldn’t help but feel a bit unnerved. “Is it good talking?”

“Everything I’ve overheard. She’s very proud of you, Oli. We all are!”

That raised a welcome lump in Olivia’s throat. After two years stuck at Gloomwood Manor wondering if Lord Crow was going to execute her for putting on her shoes wrong, she had let herself fall victim to so many fears. That her mother thought Olivia had abandoned her. That Lord Crow had killed her family and Samuel hadn’t the heart to tell her.

None of that had ever occurred, of course. Her mother was proud of the role Olivia served, and apparently, she was living a good live with Owen and Sven and Priscilla in Shadowfort. If Owen had a rarity it would have manifested by now, and while Priscilla was only seven, everyone was holding out hope that the Eidolons would pass her over as well.

Though... now that Lord Gloomwood was a good Lord Gloomwood, and blood pacts, so far as everyone at the manor could tell, had vanished with the last of the kromian invaders, perhaps Priscilla manifesting a rarity wouldn’t be so bad as it would be otherwise. Either way, that was the future. Visiting her mother was the now, and Olivia was now desperate to visit.

Sven immediately ran ahead of her and threw open the door to his mother’s home without so much as a knock to announce herself. “Mom! Come quick! Oli’s come to visit!”

Olivia slowed on the threshold and decided to wait to be invited inside. She was an adult now, after all, and she didn’t “live here” any longer. The polite thing to do would be to wait to be invited inside by her host, not dash inside like Sven had. Olivia was nothing if not polite.

It wasn’t long before her mother pushed back the door and stepped out wearing a recently stained apron, which suggested she had been cutting up vegetables (or something similar ) for a stew while Owen was out working in the fields. Before Olivia could say anything or do anything Margery stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Olivia just as Sven had. In that moment, for just that moment, Olivia felt both at peace and at home.

“Hello, Mother.” Olivia was proud she didn’t hear her voice shake. “Sorry I haven’t come back to visit sooner. I’ve been—”

“Busy, I’m sure!” Margery interrupted warmly. “You’re a battle maid of Gloomwood Manor! I’m certain our lord has you busy with all sorts of important duties.”

Did burning kromians count? Olivia supposed it did.

“You’re always welcome here,” Margery continued. “You know that. Now come, step inside. Stay a little. I just started the stew, so if you’re not too busy with official Gloomwood Manor business... perhaps you’d like to help me?”

Olivia blinked back unexpected tears at the thought of preparing stew for supper as she had so many times when she was younger. She brushed off her cheeks and hurried inside Margery’s modest home. For the first time, she was very glad she had let Emily bully her today. She probably wouldn’t be able to stick around and eat her mother’s stew, but...

It certainly would be nice to make some with her.