The granny’s soup, Isabel decided, was tasty despite the suspicious chunks floating in the dish. She chose to firmly ignore those. Vatim was silently enjoying it, too. He was less concerned about the random pieces of unidentifiable lumps. Good for him, she decided.

With the assholes tied in the corner - blinded and gagged, it was peaceful here. Isabel had worked hard to bring them here without anyone interested in what they were carrying noticing. They sometimes wiggled and released muffled screams, but those were not nearly as loud as the commotion that came through the open windows.

Isabel looked around the room. It felt… Old. The granny - an old friend of Mortimer’s father - had probably spent her whole life here.. Various knick-knacks littered the place. Every spot on the walls was covered in knitted clothing depicting animals and nature. The furniture was crooked and in need of a fresh coat of paint.

The old lady was humming in the kitchen, cleaning the pots and plates Mila and Andrew had eaten from before they left a couple of minutes ago. She hadn’t even asked about the thugs, electing to just shake her head while muttering about Mortimer’s father.

And thinking about all of it was just a distraction. Isabel finally acknowledged Mortimer’s glances. He had been sneaking in looks constantly. “What?” She tried to not show the annoyance she felt in her voice.

Mortimer turned to look at her properly. He even tried to straighten his back, but under Isabel’s stare, he quickly shrunk again. “Uh, Isabel, yes?” His eyes floated around before focusing on her again. “Why… No, no, how… That’s not it.” He kept hesitating and cutting himself off.

“What is it?” Isabel finished her portion and pushed the plate away.

“It’s-” Mortimer took a breath. “It’s about the girl you had-” He finally spoke. “-an intimate moment with.”

A groan escaped Isabel as she hid her face behind her palms. She so didn’t want to deal with this.

“N-no, but you see-” Mortimer pushed on, speaking faster as he gained steam. “She does look very young.” He pointed out. “Even if she is of age, it leaves y-your tastes in question. Just look at her. And do you really believe her? Do you believe she is older than you? C-children tend to tell half-truths.”

Another groan espaced Isabel. She felt like she was being repeatedly punched in the gut. “This can’t be happening.” She muttered.

“And furthermore, how long do you plan to have her around?” Mortimer kept talking. “I don’t know how it works between g-girls…” He paused. “Is that allowed? I guess?” His voice was full of confusion. “How will that work out? How long will it last? You are both still young, but-”

Isabel felt herself shrunk. The forgotten insecurities started to crawl from the deep recesses of her memories. Mila had done much to keep them at bay, but they had never left Isabel.

“-And what if you or her want to have children-” Mortimer didn’t stop.

These words chilled her. Isabel knew all of this. How could she not? Her parents had raised the same points and had been more brutal than Mortimer now. He just sounded confused, while her mother…

That was in the past now. Isabel had Mila now. She could be brave with her girlfriend next to her. Except, Mila was out for the moment. Some of the borrowed braveness still lingered, so when Mortimer raised the next question…

“-Are you even dating?”

Isabel could instantly answer. “Yes.” She could give it with confidence. “We are an item.”

It left Mortimer speechless. “I don’t get it.” He finally said. “It’s all new and strange to me. However, that’s not even important! I got distracted! What about the way she looks? I have to ask, why? I’ll h-have to o-o-object if you are just a-attracted to her because of… You know.”

“It’s not that.” Isabel hurried to deny the accusation. She ruffled her brown crown. Her hair was dirty. She really needed to find an opportunity to clean up. “Look, you don’t… You don’t know her. She is… Don’t get me wrong, I am attracted to her. A-and she doesn’t look that young. I would say around fourteen or fifteen? But it’s not the looks!”

Mortimer didn’t look impressed. He knew Isabel was pushing it with fifteen. But it was the truth. The looks weren’t why she had fallen for Mila. After all, her first unfortunate love had been more… Well… She had been more well endowed. But just as confident. Something Isabel lacked.

It had been a while since the last time Isabel had thought of that girl. This wasn’t the time either. She had to express what was so great about Mila.

“... it’s how sure she is.” Isabel’s mood started to improve once she began to think of her girl. “When we arr-” She stopped to rephrase. “When we met, she stood up for me. Brave, bold and a bit foolish. She saved me. Soon after.”

Mortimer still looked at her with suspicion.

“And more than that, it’s the little things - her stiff face blooms into a smile when she speaks with me. The way she teases me. She patiently taught me how to fight. She doesn’t shy away from my insecurities. I-”

“That’s enough.” Mortimer lay back in the chair. “I get it, okay.” I still think it’s questionable, but I get it. If she is older than you-”

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“She is.”

“-then that’s fine. Probably.” Mortimer still wasn’t entirely convinced, but he didn’t press on.

“Um…”

A third voice used the moment of silence to interject. Vatim had finished eating and now was fidgeting in place. “I-” He looked at Mortimer, then Isabel. “I have to go now.”

“You can’t!” Mortimer shot down the suggestion with prejudice.

Vatim flinched from the sudden outburst. “S-sorry.” He moved back, slowly slipping off of his seat.

The boy’s frightened look moved Isabel’s heart. And seeing what Vatim wanted was better than talking about her relationship with Mila. “What happened?” She tried her gentlest tone. “Where do you want to go?”

And it worked. At least somewhat. Vatim sensed Isabel was willing to listen and immediately shuffled closer to her while still keeping a respectable distance.

“I-” He wrung his hands. “It’s about-” Vatim glanced towards Mortimer, who looked heartbroken the boy was talking to Isabel instead of him. “It’s about what I need help with.” He whispered, then glanced around.

Mortimer sniffed. “Vatim, speak to me. Didn’t I help you? I can do it again.”

These words did have an impact on the boy. Vatim shook and rubbed his eyes. “N-no. Y-you will suffer if you do. They will take you.” His words barely carried the sound to Mortimer.

“Why?” Isabel wanted to know. “Why didn’t you say anything sooner? What changed?”

The boy hung his head. “I need to bring food.”

“To whom?” Isabel leaned forward and extended her hand to try and put it on the boy’s shoulder in what she thought was a kind, calming gesture.

But Vatim shrunk back. “To my sister.” He whispered.

“What!?” The impact of this phrase was too much for Mortimer. “You have a sister?” He shot up from his chair. Seeing the boy retreat further towards the corner, he tried to calm his tone. “Why didn’t you tell me?” He didn’t understand.

Isabel couldn’t begin to guess for Vatim’s reasons. She didn’t know the boy, and apparently, neither did Mortimer.

“I need to bring her food,” Vatim whispered again. “If I don’t, she will starve until tomorrow.”

“I could have at least given you more food.” Mortimer was in disbelief. “I could have done that.”

“Calm down, Mortimer.” Isabel shushed him. “You are scaring him.”

Mortimer gaped at her, then looked at Vatim before collapsing back in his chair.

“Now, Vatim,” Isabel spoke again. “Is that why you asked for our help? To help you bring her food?”

Vatim shook his head.

Feeling helpless, Isabel tried again. “Then why now? Can’t you bring her food later?”

This time, Vatim answered. “The mansion holding her let her out for a short while every other day. It has to be now.” He began to wrangle his hands again. “I-I wanted to sneak out. Mr Mortimer brought me bagels. I wanted to bring them to Kanna, but…” He cleared his tears. “I missed the chance.”

“Is Kanna your sister?” Isabel put her hands in her lap to appear less threatening. Seeing Vatim nod, she continued. “Did you ask for our help to get her out?”

This question startled Vatrim. He jumped in fright but didn’t answer.

Still…

“Am I right?” Isabel asked again while being sure she was correct with the assumption.

“...yes.” Finally - a barely audible mutter left Vatim’s lips.

Isabel looked towards the ceiling. This was a difficult situation. Andrew would probably jump at the chance to help Vatim’s sister, but the small Mila in her mind cautioned her of the probable danger. “Vatim, I have a question.” She decided to try and get more information. “How long will your sister be outside?”

The boy looked at the sunbeams shining through the open windows. “An hour? Maybe?”

“And how far is it? Are there guards?”

“...not far,” Vatim whispered. “There are guards, but not at the crack in the wall.”

Isabel hated it. The more she spoke and learned, the surer she was of what she would do. Mila was definitely going to scold her. Less than an hour meant her Mila and Andrew would still be out. “Tell me more. What’s the building like? What about the surroundings? Are there other people held there? Anything you can think of.”

And besides, Mila would at least go and see what the deal was. Isabel listened to Vatim speak.

Sure, her girl knew how to do it and had experience, but just looking at a building wouldn’t hurt. And, hey, Vatim had done it several times before. It couldn’t be that dangerous.

All this contemplation and reasoning, but Isabel knew she had already decided. There were times when a woman had to be proactive.

“Hey, Vatim, can you bring me there?” Isabel finally broke the question. She had heard enough.

Vatim stared at her in surprise with his eyes wide. His tears even stopped rolling down his cheeks. “Uh?”

It wasn’t an answer. Isabel patted the sword at her side. “I am capable. And we don’t need to get into trouble. I just want to see what we can do to help. Can I? You wanted us to help, right?” She tilted her head to appear cute. It always worked on Mila.

Slowly, Vatim nodded.

Isabel broke a little smile. The head tilt always worked. “Good. Then get ready. I guess you’ll need some food. Let’s ask Granny. I have some coin too to give her.” She suggested.

“M-Me too!” Mortimer finally recovered. He jumped on his feet, scaring Vatim once more. “Sorry, Vatim. But can I go as well? I don’t know why you are against it, but… With this woman with us, it should be fine. No?”

“I-” Vatim opened his mouth. Various emotions flickered over his face until he finally nodded. “Okay.”

“Great!” Mortimer exclaimed. “I-” He looked at where his for-now empty apartment was. “Yeah, we will have to ask Granny for food.”

Isabel dusted off her clothes. They had just arrived in the city. This certainly wasn’t what she had expected to be doing. She had hoped for a bath or a moment of relaxation… Perhaps even a short date…

…Hopefully, Mila won’t be too angry.