Morrison was not usually a stupid man.

As a matter of fact, he could be frighteningly conniving at times. He could convince people that it was just fine for him to slap his daughter or wife or even his sister across the face, because he was the sole provider for the home. How dare they inconvenience him with petty trifles?

People might not have agreed, but he was convincing enough they could lie to themselves.

Oh he really loves his family, he's just a disciplinarian.

It was only illegal to permanently harm a female family member or spouse. Maim them, make them infertile or leave a scar and you'd be taken in for that. It was illegal to maim men too, but there were different rules around that.

So he always made sure to beat them with an open hand in public. And in private... he likely only hit places that couldn't be seen until the wound healed. And he likely made sure not to leave scars.

But he was angry.

When he lunged at me, I had time to step back, but I didn't.

The Blade caught him by the arm and sent him to the floor of the bandstand, in one smooth movement. His boot planted itself in Morrison's back and that was that. Morrison groaned and shoved, but he just couldn't lever himself up from that position.

"Well, this creates a whole other problem," I said after uncovering the crystal. "So, on top of Mish's punishment, there's this idiot. Who just attacked the ruler of a Subordinate Nation. Kay." I turned to regard her with a tilt of my head. "Would you rather I punish him, or Mish? I can transfer all of Mish's punishment onto Morrison, or I can punish Mish and give Morrison a slap on the wrist. I'm curious. What do you think should be done?"

Her eyes went wide and she paled.

"How can you even ask that!" Elle demanded. "How could she even choose between her husband and child!? You're being unreasonable!"

I quirked a brow at her and tilted my head. "Well, it's not like I said I would kill either of them, so what's the issue? I said 'punish'. Meaning... who do you think, is at fault? Mish for doing what she did, or Morrison for raising her to be a big pushover for any man who had half an idea of how to manipulate her? And for attacking me, we can just call that a felony misdemeanor. He didn't actually hurt me, but he DID intend to. So we can't punish him for a crime he didn't commit, but we can certainly punish him for intending to commit it, now can't we?"

"It's still cruel!" Elle insisted.

"Why?" I asked and tilted my head. "If you want my opinion, my love for any man would die the moment he put his hands on my child. Why should this be a hard decision then? Are you saying Kay is such a reprobate, that she seriously still loves her husband, after all he's done?"

Elle went pale and her mouth opened... but nothing came out.

"We couldn't leave," Greta said. "We have to live with him after you're gone, as well."

The older woman was the only one in the family with backbone, but she was old enough that her hands were knobby with arthritis and her hair was pure silver-white. She could've never stood up to Morrison, so she remained quiet, likely hoping that her daughter would do something herself.

It was a very subtle way for her to tell me 'Why wouldn't you kill him and remove this misery for us?'.

"Well..." I began. "I never said I wouldn't kill him, either. I'm only asking, genuinely... do you think he's at fault? Or is Mish?"

"The girl is an idiot," Greta said. "But she's just a girl. She has time to learn, especially if someone teaches her. But that demon has been eating my family alive for twenty-eight years, now."

"Mother!" Kay said in a wispy, breathless sort of voice. "He- He's just-"

"Are you going to make another excuse for him?" Greta demanded. "Look at what your daughter did because he taught her to step on the weak. Look at it! Your daughter might be executed!"

Kay looked from Greta, to me, confused. When she saw the placid look on my face, she went even paler than before and started to violently shake.

"My brother is just an angry person," Elle said in a muttered undertone. "We... we know how to keep him from getting angry. We've been managing it!"

"Why?" I asked.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

She shuddered and clenched her hands together. "He's my brother, he's family."

"I've always been confused by that line," I said. "If they were really family, shouldn't they be held to the same standards you're holding yourself to? Why does HE get to do as he pleases and you're the one who has to behave like family? It's just so very stupid, I think."

I then turned away from the family and back to the Mayor. "Is Mish nearby?"

"Yes, we'll remand her into your custody!" he said and scurried to the side of the stage. "Bailiff! Bring the Prisoner!"

Kay began openly weeping at the mention of Mish.

The Bailiff emerged from the nearby Doll Shop. So very strangely fitting for Mish. That's all she was ever allowed to be, after all. A pretty little doll who would one day get married and obey her husband, because to do anything else would bring down the wrath of her Father.

"Uh," the Mayor cleared his throat. "Eh-herm, well... what do you intend to charge Morrison Vant with?"

Mish was being herded up the stairs when she heard that and looked over to see her father on the bandstand, being stood on by the Blade.

She had no gag, so she simply screamed as much as she pleased. Obscenities mostly, but she also called me an evil witch and a frigid bitch. She went on at length about how I ruined her whole life by not seeing that Brint LOVED me and she let it really rip when she got a good look at my totally unaffected expression.

"You KILLED HIM!" she shrieked. "You KILLED the man I LOVE! I will NEVER forgive you!"

"As if you're the wronged party," I muttered, the crystal carrying the sound well. "Like you did absolutely nothing wrong."

"MISHRAKALA VANT," Elle shouted when Mish opened her mouth again. "SHUT UP OR YOU'RE GOING TO BE EXECUTED! DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE?"

Mish paused and looked at the huge crowd. Then back to her father, and then her pale white skin seemed to flush so red that I began to fear she might overheat and pass out. Her breaths were coming in pants and she was jerking as though her arms were spasming out of her control.

"Once again, Kay," I said and turned to the woman. "I'll offer you a deal. I can leave Mish alive and simply punish her aptly... or I can kill her. But in order to leave Mish alive, I'd have to know the root cause of the issue is taken care of."

She was still sobbing and started shaking her head.

"Does that mean you want Mish to die?" I asked. "Sorry, I don't speak inconsolable moron."

"JUST TAKE HIM!" Elle shouted.

"No," Greta said in the wake of her loud voice. "She has to do it."

Kay looked up at her mother with wide, teary eyes.

"Don't look at me," Greta said. "You are a weak woman, I've always thought that. T'isn't a sin. But to stand and watch as your husband backhands your daughter because she put on a dress that was a tad too tight, and then tell the monster that you love him and he's a good father- is something I never thought you capable of. That is not weakness. You chose to go through all that hardship and when Mish was old enough she shouldered the lion's share of the beatings with Elle. You were nearly unharmed for the past two or three years, or so. You don't love anyone in this family more than you love yourself, Kayva."

Ohhhh full name. The Vant family was very familiar with each other. They didn't call each other by their full names so I only knew Mish's because she went about bragging over it. Kayva was also an elven-inspired name, I thought.

Kay looked utterly gutted and just sat down on her ass, staring off into space.

"If you'll let me speak for my stupid daughter," Greta said, "take the bastard."

"Grandma!" Mish sobbed. "No! Daddy, I'm sorry!"

"Don't apologize to that man," Greta said in a harsh tone. "You're stupid, but you're not that stupid are you, girl? Do you want to die? For a man who never cared for you unless he could beat you or show you off to the world?"

Mish was shaking and gasping for air.

The people watching were wide-eyed, crowded close to the bandstand and some few were sneaking off into nearby buildings, trying to escape the sight without leaving the vicinity so they could still know what happened next. Small towns.

"Well," I said. "I dislike that Kay is escaping recrimination for her own part in this, but my hope is that people will see what a terrible mother she's been and hold it against her for some time," I said. "So, Greta, I'll take your choice."

"NO NO NO!" Mish was fighting the Bailiff with all the power in her tiny frame.

It was very effective to resort to tears when you wanted to look like a victim.

"So, do you offer to die in your father's place, then?" I asked her as she blubbered nonsensically. "No? Useless words then, aren't they?"

I stepped next to the Blade and knelt down. Morrison grabbed my ankle, but I was able to shove my hand flat against his head before he could do anything with it. And then he was a pile of ash.

It was strange to see it work with my eyes open. A flash of silver light went over his whole body and he dissolved to ash almost instantly.

Mish let out a sound that wasn't human and her mother just collapsed into a heap on the bandstand. Ella rushed to catch Kay, but her head still clunked on the wood.

"ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?" Elle demanded.

"Well, the person responsible for my near-rape is about to be punished and I just killed the person who made her think it was alright to do that to me," I said. "Yeah, feeling pretty happy. Why shouldn't I? Because someone died? And what if I'd taken my own life after what they planned to do to me? Would you have wept for me, Elle, or would you have said I was a fool who died over nothing?"

They were all sobbing except Greta. So I walked over to her and offered my golden hand. She stared at it for a bit before reaching out and grabbing it.

"Greta!" Elle seemed aghast, but it was too late.

Greta began to glow with an inner golden light. The power transferred, little by little. Turning back the clock. Oh, it wouldn't actually make her young. You couldn't do that without turning someone into an undead thing. But it would make her body robust and young-seeming until the day she died from old age.

By the time the full amount of power was drizzling across the connection and I took my hand back, Greta looked ten years younger. She was still weakened and her hands were still knobby and her hair was still silver... but she began to cry then, and gripped her hands to her chest. "Oh... the pain is lessened, so much. The pain... it's still there, but... gods, I haven't felt this good in decades."

"Now you'll have enough strength to whip your family into line," I said. "Though I will ask you allow me to keep Mish. I've decided her punishment."

"What would that be?" she asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I'm going to arrange a marriage for her," I said and smiled.