Eleanor:

The four slaver-boats adjusted their sails to catch the wind and slowly moved off.

Eleanor watched this, then collapsed to her knees.

This is fucking horrible. There's dead bodies all around, shit, that body is one of the guards - that's right, he's the one that woke me up this morning.

And, and, the Misfits! They're all dead, just like that.

She put her head into her hands.

"Oh fuck this all!" she said out loud. Then, she was surprised at someone putting their arms around her.

Oh, it's Lena. This 100% friendship vow has some good points.

Lena, with two orphans on either side of her, shared a hug with Eleanor.

Lena:

Ha ha, the prim and proper Queen is publicly swearing; I never...

She tightened her hug.

And if I don't watch out, I'll start screaming in public.

I don't want to disturb my orphans. More than they already are that is.

So hang onto Eleanor, the only adult on this damn Ringworld who cares for me.

And, what happens now?

Aragon:

By now, the initial horrible smothering effects of the slave collar had mostly faded. He was left with the vague feeling that he should be memorising some orders.

But, of course, since there was no ranking slave around giving orders, no such thing could happen.

He knelt on the sand, which was blotchy with patches of blood, and kept his gaze down. He didn't want to meet anybody's eyes.

I have a slave collar. It'll never come off. Never. I'll never be able to go anywhere without everyone knowing I'm a slave.

Sorry, Tanya, I'm a failure. Total failure. I'll never be able to do anything with this collar.

I certainly can't continue with Esther.

Esther disproved this idea by kneeling beside him and trying to hug him. He started to withdraw -

No! It can't work! I can't...

Ding! Hey, Aragon, snap out of your funk. You have made that vow to Esther, remember. You will continue to look after her. And you will let her look after you. You will not be allowed to have a choice in this matter. Besides this, Esther and Tanya had to endure wearing a slave collar. If they can do it, who are you to say you can't?

Oh shit.

He stopped resisting and let Esther hug him.

Esther:

Seeing that the slavers had retreated, Esther tried out her new ability, but in reverse:

[Turn On Language]!

Aragon:

He realised that he could understand speech again.

What was that weird speech stuff all about?

Esther:

Now Aragon has a collar. Just like me. This is all horrible - but I suppose his collar wasn't properly activated. He has never been subjected to any slave collar compelled orders.

Unlike me.

But what do I do now?

She had her arm around Aragon. And the other arm was holding Evereena.

How can I look after both?

Evereena:

Evereena was also feeling horrible. The memory of Cassy dying kept replaying through her mind. Over and over again.

Cassy getting a collar, Cassy being saved from receiving any orders by Aragon killing that red-collar slave.

Drayden killing Cassy...

Why did Drayden have to kill Cassy? Why? Because of some stupid 100% vow. Couldn't Cassy keep on living?

Evereena kept on looking across the sand to where Cassy's body was, wearing a blood-soaked tunic. The slave collar had already faded in colour to black and slipped off; it was lying close to Cassy.

Cassy's dead.

Aragon has a bloody collar.

He looks like he is freaking out, and Mum is trying to comfort him.

But Mum is also worried about me.

I suppose Aragon is alive, so maybe Mum should concentrate on looking after him for now.

"Ah, Mum, perhaps deal with Aragon first?" she said.

She didn't feel like letting Aragon monopolise her mother's attention, but what could she do?

What would Cassy do?

She gently pushed Esther into Aragon's embrace, then got up and, wobbling slightly, took a few steps away. And stepped right into Jane's body.

Jane:

She looked around the battlefield with a dour expression.

Sure, sure, we won. Sort of. Half a dozen of our guards are dead, another two have been captured, there's a whole heap of dead slaves, Aragon has a slave collar, but it hasn't been activated, and, bloody hell, the innocent Misfits are all dead, and, what was it with Drayden killing Cassy?

Let's see; the remaining guards are a bit disorganised; Eleanor and Lena are out of it for the time being, and so are Aragon and Esther, and, ah, right.

As Evereena staggered past, Jane stepped smartly in front of her and grabbed her arm.

"My dear, let's go and check in with Eleanor, shall we? We need to get Eleanor to start ordering a clean-up."

Was Evereena somehow killing those slaves that were just dropping dead?

Hey, Voice of the World, what is all of that about?

Ding! Evereena has [Intimidation], which has been overloaded at 200 out of 100 - the only one on Felixerra at present who has it at such power. At full strength, yes, she can [Insta-Death] someone.

Oh.

Jane had never, in her entire life, gotten such a comprehensive answer from the Voice of the World.

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It's the Misfits total bullshit principle, isn't it?

The Voice of the World did not bother to reply.

[Insta-death]? By just looking at someone? The sooner I can get Eleanor to deal with this, the better.

Eleanor:

She had her [Emotional Control] on full, but even so, she struggled to maintain calm. So she just kept hugging Lena and, incidentally, the two orphans.

Unfortunately, she still had work to do.

"Ah, Eleanor, perhaps we need to clean up here?" said Jane.

Oh, shit this, more bloody Queening.

Nevertheless, she consulted her [Battle Field Mangement] and discovered she had all the knowledge she needed at her metaphorical fingertips.

"Lena, dear, if you can look after Becky and Mason yourself for a while..."

Eleanor stood up and then realised that Jane had Evereena in tow.

Why isn't Evereena with her mother... Ah, right, Esther is dealing with Aragon.

And Evereena was somehow killing those attacking slaves without any weapons at all.

Hmm, I had better keep track of her.

"Say, Evereena, could you stand by me for a while? Jane is going to be busy..."

Eleanor took Evereena's hand; then she looked around.

I need to get the injured inside and make sure they are given medical care,

Also, we need to clear out all the dead bodies but separate the attackers from ours,

Pick up the dropped non-bonded weapons,

Wait! That downed slave is still moving!

One of the supposed dead bodies was crawling painfully along, still holding a bonded sword and trying to use it. But he was so slow and injured, the surrounding guards could easily avoid him.

Why ain't the guards doing something about him - oh, that's right. They probably don't want to kill someone who is no longer of any danger to them, but if they try to help him, he will just attack, no matter how incapacitated he is.

Sigh.

She looked down at her hand holding Evereena's, then up to her face. Evereena's eyes were red from crying, and she kept on looking over her shoulder to where Cassy's body lay. She had an idea.

Hey, Voice of the World. With all of this bullshit flying around, would you like to grant Evereena a slight extension to her [Insta-Death] skill?

Ding! Certainly! Evereena now has [Insta-Stun]. She can make someone sleep for a while without damaging them.

Holy Voice on toast, it worked!

Evereena startled and jumped a bit, then looked around in confusion.

"Ah, that was by my request. Could you cause that injured slave to sleep for a little while? Then we can look after him without having to kill him.

It gives Evereena something to do to make her feel part of the team.

Evereena looked at the injured slave, and a second later, he relaxed and appeared to be sleeping.

Memo to self: make sure to have a few words with her later. We must treat her with kid gloves and ensure she doesn't go off the carriage tracks.

Eleanor started using her [Talk to an Individual] skill to get the guards working. Naturally, her first orders were to get all of the injured under care.

After that, there was the collection of the bodies -

A lot of slaver collars are just lying around, although some are getting buried in the sand, and there are bound to be some in the water.

How do I ensure I collect them all without missing any? We must destroy all of them.

Ding! [Slave Collar Location] ability added. This will locate any non-used collars.

Wow, thanks, Voice of the World. Or should I thank the Misfits for their 'Total Bullshit' rule?

She just had to think about it, and she got an awareness of all the slave collars that were about her.

It's a shame we can't get any points from destroying the collars since we killed the slaves to get those collars.

She started to boss around some of the guards, to pick up all the dropped collars, then destroy them, including some underwater but within a metre or so of the shore.

She noted that there were half a dozen in deeper water.

They will have to wait. I can get some people in a boat to retrieve them cautiously. No way in hell am I going to let some guards swim out and try to fetch them.

She also had the idea to give some more orders about continuing the watch for more slaver ships.

With all the guards occupied with their duties, she turned her attention to her friends. She eventually got them organised and, with the help of a couple of guards to carry Mason and Becky, they began the walk back to the castle. Except this trip was a way lot slower than their trip to here.

In the middle of the afternoon, Eleanor and her friends staggered into the castle. Of course, most of the guards had been faster. Manifestoria had already been informed about the fight, and an initial report had been composed and sent out by light semaphores to Crysteth and other countries.

Nimbus (the Prime Minister of Crysteth):

It took him a few hours to fully digest the information and discuss it with his advisors.

What a horrifying mess. If Eleanor hadn't been so competent, we could have had another slave colony on our doorstep.

Come to think of it, Eleanor was amazingly competent. How did a girl brought up as a sheltered royal acquire such skills?

He decided not to worry about that; he had more important things to do.

He and his advisors didn't get to bed until the early hours of the morning.

Kelper (the slave emperor):

The slave emperor took longer to get all the relevant information because he had to wait until the ships returned. After perusing the reports, interrogating the two captured guards, and eavesdropping on the public semaphore messages, he was able to sit back and think about things.

Well, I managed to kill the so-called Misfits, so there is that.

That vermin Lena and her two ferals are still out there, but they don't count for anything.

That damned vermin Eleanor - how come she was so good? I mean, she's a woman!

Sigh.

The main objective was achieved; I'll have to defer any more actions until we invade Crysteth.

The Treasurer:

I don't think I have any chance of subtly leading the Queen. Not a hope in hell.

What do I do now?

Esther:

Esther was worried about her daughter, but she seemed fine so far, as long as she kept with Eleanor.

So, I suppose I can look after Aragon?

But, what do I do? How do I do it? Maybe someone else is better qualified?

Ding! Right now, you are the best one to deal with Aragon. Get him into his room, sit around his desk and have a talk.

Oh, OK. If that's what the Voice of the World wants me to do.

Dutifully following her orders, she got the both of them to the designated location.

Am I supposed to talk to him now? What do I say?

Also, he is acting so differently - he won't look at me; he is fidgeting around - getting a slave collar has certainly subdued him.

She tried to recall when she had been enslaved. But it didn't do her much good, as her collar had been activated almost immediately, and she never had time to act independently.

Ding! He is freaking out and feeling ashamed. He dreads appearing in public and is just plain frightened to appear in front of the people he knows.

And you, Esther, are going to give him some tough love. You will be guided on what to say.

The Voice will guide me?

Yes!

So Esther, the timid grey-collar slave who had never bossed anyone around in any way, was forced to lay down the law and get Aragon moving again.

Aragon:

"Aragon, The Voice says you must get your act together."

How am I going to do that? This collar is never coming off...

"That's right, the collar is never coming off. But mine isn't either, but I still manage to live my life in a non-slave society. And Tanya had to wear her collar ever since she was three, but that didn't stop her, either."

Is she reading my mind? Oh, fucking shit.

"Ah, no, I'm not. The Voice is, and then telling me what you are thinking."

Gulp. Doesn't that give Esther all the power in our relationship?

"No, it doesn't. This mind reading is a once-off, probably never to be repeated. Also, The Voice points out that we are meant to have an equal relationship. Up to now, your idea of a relationship has tended to put you as the leader."

Esther leant forward and grasped Aragon's shirt front.

She also smiled. A smile that showed plenty of teeth.

Aragon started to sweat.

"But we are equals. Aren't we?

"Ah, yes, ah, definitely," said Aragon.

"Now that you have a blasted collar, we are even more equal. Correct?"

Aragon nodded his head.

"Of course, this is all new to me, so I will learn as we go along. Anyway, what am I trying to say? Ah, that's right. This all means that we are going to continue to develop our relationship. And you will treat other people the same way you always have. Right?"

Aragon had a renewed resurgence of shame and embarrassment wash over him.

"Sorry, Aragon, The Voice says that is tough; you just have to get over it."

Gulp. I guess I have no choice.

"So, what are you going to be doing tomorrow?"

Aragon started to speak but was interrupted.

"And look me straight in the eyes when you talk to me!"

He did. He didn't have any choice.

"So, tomorrow, right? I'm going to be helping Eleanor sort out the mess left behind by the attack and cooperating with Jane to reorganise the guards. I can already think of a few changes we must make to the guard's training and watch duties..."

Esther, previously straight-backed and steady-eyed, sagged a little. She let her own gaze drop to the floor...

Esther:

Ding! You're on your own now.

Ding! But don't undo all of your excellent work; look him in the eye and act confident.

Ah, right.

She straightened out and looked him in the eyes as ordered.

"So, Aragon, according to the Voice, that is what you must do - ah, if that's OK? I mean, it has to be OK. The Voice has said so. So I suppose it will be OK. Won't it?"

Aragon:

Is Esther becoming a bit scary here? Well, apart from that lack of confidence at the very end.

Right now, she's got the full power of the Voice of the World behind her.

Tanya had to put up with the blasted collar -

He had to resist the powerful urge to tug on it yet again. He was continually aware of it resting against his neck.

And Esther has to put up with it. At least I don't have any of those stupid Absolute and Standing orders weighing me down.

OK, Tanya. And Esther. Let's do this.

He took a deep breath, kept his posture straight, lifted his tail to a confident level instead of curling around his legs, and looked Esther in the eyes.

"OK, Esther, thanks for your help. I guess you should now find Evereena and then retire for the night? As soon as you go, I'm also going to sleep."

Esther left. Aragon lay in his bed and put the blanket to his chin. He could still feel the collar, but at least it wasn't too uncomfortable.

Tomorrow, I'll have to face Jane and the other guards.

What a pain.

Tanya, if you could do it, then I can too.