Brandy huffed as she rounded the stairwell, and headed for me.

“Don’t huff as if you’re tired,” I told her as she went to sit across from me.

She smirked as she sat down. “Well why not? You always leave me with all the burdens, the least you can do is let me complain about them,” she said.

“You toss those burdens on others, Brandy. Some heavy lifting,” I said.

Brandy waved me off as she leaned back into the chair, getting comfortable. “It’s a test,” she reasoned.

“Test,” I spat the word. I didn’t like hearing that from her.

She nodded as she glanced to the nearby balcony railing. She couldn’t see over it, thanks to where and how she sat, but she knew what was beneath us. This balcony overlooked the depot, and right now in the middle of the day it was busy and loud.

We were above one of the offices that used to be used, but isn’t anymore. It was now used as a storage room. One had to enter that office, leave to the patio outside and then walk up the steep stairs that rounded this balcony as to get to this balcony. It was angled in such a way that from the main floor, where they were loading and unloading wagons, that it couldn’t be seen. The only workers who probably even knew this place existed were the ones who have had to climb up top to the catwalks on the ceiling to untangle or fix the pulleys and cranes. And usually we didn’t let the humans do that, but our own members.

This balcony was a good place to talk and not have to worry about being overheard, or found. Few members looked here, if ever. Brandy and I used it often when here.

I had whistled at her a few minutes ago, since I had snuck back into the building without anyone noticing.

Didn’t want anyone to know about me just yet. Wasn’t in the mood.

“She’s lovely. All the letters, and everyone here, didn’t do her justice. She’ll become someone very important, I can see why you’re willing to let her stick to you like glue,” Brandy said as she leaned forward to talk to me.

Although I had just returned, Brandy had been back for a few days now. I had sent her on ahead with the women, as Ronalldo and I had docked the ship for the Society. The ship was in such a condition that I didn’t want people seeing me unload thirty one women from it. It would have been… well… troublesome.

Slavery was illegal in Lumen, after all.

So I had moored off the coast near the Bell Church and got Brandy. Luckily I had got to her right before she had left. Or well, she had actually left. I had gone to the church and had to run full sprint to catch up to her. Then I had to explain everything, and we had to work out how to get the girls to land and into a carriage. That had added a few days to our trip all on its own.

“You and the rest are looking into it too much. She just hasn’t found a place that makes her happy yet,” I said.

“Sure, sure,” she shrugged, accepting my… well…

It wasn’t a lie. Yet it wasn’t the truth either, was it?

My hope maybe?

“You gave her the eastern girls?” I asked.

Brandy nodded. “They’re at the human apartments. It was empty, so the perfect place for them. I have her getting them all cleaned up and checked out. Some were hurt,” she said.

“Abused,” I said simply.

Brandy nodded softly. “Like most women in this era, yes,” she said.

“People suffer in any era, Brandy. The last was no better,” I said.

“For us it was,” she said.

“So some women say,” I said.

“So we do,” she said, and seemed to be willing to let that debate end there.

“Your test you speak of. What’s the purpose?” I asked.

“See? You are worried about her. Don’t worry; I’ll not ruin what you’re doing. I just wanted to see how seriously she’d treat them… they being human, and whatnot,” she said.

“You should have known from the letters what she’s like concerning humans,” I said.

“Yes, but unlike you I can’t just test on trust. I need to see it for myself… and test in other ways. Every other way,” she argued.

“So? Just to see if she’ll do what you tell her to? A poor test. Even a dog can obey commands,” I said.

“Please Vim. I wanted to see how she treated them. The little details. Don’t act like you don’t know what I mean,” she said without getting upset.

I sighed. She was no fun. Too smart for her own good.

Which was what worried me about Renn. She was smart too… what if some day she didn’t play along with my teasing and jokes?

“Fine. So she passed already? You said she’s taking care of them.” I said.

“She has. In that form, at least. Without me actually telling her entirely about the plan, she parsed it from me and Lamp. Once she found out about the Eastern Embassy, she formulated the idea herself and asked me for permission to go check it out. Check it out, I note. She wants to make sure it’s legitimate before giving them over,” Brandy told me of what’s happened with a smile.

“She’s wise like that,” I said.

“She is. She really is… A part of me thinks she hates humans, yet then she does that. I can count the number of our members on one hand who would have been concerned enough over them to even consider that the embassy could be bad for them,” Brandy said.

“I can think of a few more than five,” I said.

“Because you remember those no longer here anymore,” she said.

Tilting my head at that, I wondered if she was right.

Brandy waved the topic away. “In the next few days we plan to go the embassy. To see if it’s legit or not,” Brandy said.

“I hope it is,” I said.

“Sure you do. Not for their sake, but for Renn’s I’m sure,” she said.

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Frowning at her, I wondered why she found that odd. Of course I was thinking about Renn. She was a member of the Society, they weren’t.

“You’re right. I should be more careful. She would dedicate…” I stopped talking as I realized something important.

She had dedicated years to humans before.

Leaning forward, I groaned as I realized I had made a horrible mistake.

I shouldn’t have let Brandy actually act out her idea of letting Renn handle them. I should have just done it myself.

“Vim?” Brandy didn’t sound too concerned over me, but that was normal. She never worried about me. Why would she? She’s known me for nearly five hundred years and I’d never broken in front of her. She had never actually seen me truly struggle, so didn't know it happened often. She like most in the Society had no clue how much I worried sometimes.

Renn had never told me the whole story about those human siblings… but from what I had gathered, she had basically raised them. She had chanced upon them, and one thing led to another and she fell in love with them. Then there was that Nory. The human woman who had been raised in an orphanage, and abused. She had spent almost eighty years with her.

I might have just doomed Renn to a generation of helping and supporting all those women.

A harsh, cruel, and needless burden.

How was I going to get her out of it if that embassy didn’t pass her judgment? If it wasn’t safe enough in her eyes?

Would I have to deliver those girls home myself, to make sure Renn wouldn’t get dragged down by them and…?

“Vim, really. What’s wrong?” Brandy waved to get my attention. She was tired of me being lost in thought.

“Nothing. I’ll come with you,” I said. Maybe going with them to the embassy would let me… in some way, ensure it worked.

“To the embassy?” she asked.

I nodded.

Brandy leaned forward a little more, to study me. She blinked, and then I noticed she had figured something out.

“What?” I asked.

“She is special,” she stated.

“No more than any of you,” I said.

Brandy smiled in a way that told me she didn’t believe me at all.

Sighing I sat back and made a promise to myself. To never let such a foolish thing happen again. Why hadn’t I thought of it?

Lately I’ve been doing very badly at being preemptive. What was wrong with me? Was I tired? I couldn’t even blame Renn for this one, since it was about her. Entirely about her.

“You had Brom sparring with her,” Brandy then said.

“Yes. Don’t tell me anything about it,” I warned her.

Brandy blinked, and then gave me a toothy grin. “I see.”

I ignored her stupid smirk and wondered if I should go back to the boat.

Maybe I should just sail away. That ship was beaten to hell, but I could fix it up… make it better… head east then south…

To the islands near the ice. It was nice there. I missed those islands.

“You’re making a mistake, Vim,” Brandy then said.

“I am?” I asked. I mean. Yes. I was, and had, but she couldn’t know what or how.

“A horrible one,” she nodded.

“How so?”

“You mean who,” she corrected.

“Renn?” I asked. Wait… there’s no way she actually realized what I was thinking. Brandy, unlike most of our members, saw humans as valuable. Assets for the company. Tools, yet not. Most of the measures the company and Society had to support our human members and those who were involved in the Society were thanks to her. She was one of the few who advocated for humans. There was no way she’d see Renn’s willingness to help and dedicate years of her life to help a human as a negative thing.

“Who else?” she said sarcastically.

“Do tell,” I gestured for her to tell me already.

“She’ll be wasted here,” Brandy then said.

Oh. Thank goodness. I smirked, and not just because she hadn’t figured out what was really bothering me. “Of that I doubt. You’ve not tested her well enough then. I thought you wiser than that,” I said.

“No Vim… that’s not what I…” Brandy started to say something, but we both went silent when a door beneath us opened.

I frowned as I heard someone enter the office beneath us. And had done so quickly… and then they walked out onto the patio right in front of the stairs.

Brandy turned, frowning as well. No one had ever intruded upon our meeting here since we built this place. Not once in the many decades.

Then I heard the sound of a huff. It was the intake of a breath. A quick one. Yet within that breath… within that intake of air… was a voice very familiar… that I hadn’t heard in what felt like a long time.

Renn.

“Well, she found me,” I said surprised. That was too bad. I wanted to sneak into her room and get in the bath and…

“Vim!” she screamed at me, upon hearing my voice.

“Up here,” I told her. A moment later she hurried up the stairs, and after a quick look around found me.

Frowning at her, I watched as she stormed towards me. Her hat was lifted upward, forced by her stiff ears… and her tail was actually out behind her. It too was stiff and straight.

She was furious.

“Renn?” I was about to ask what was wrong, but then she slapped me.

I rolled my head along with her blow, so that she’d not break her hand… and actually blinked a few times. My face stung.

Since I had turned my head with her attack, I was now staring at Brandy… who was sitting up straight in her chair with huge eyes. She looked so shocked it made me smile.

Turning to look at Renn, she flashed a toothy scowl at me as she growled and lifted her hand… for another slap.

Woops, maybe smiling hadn’t been the best response…

She slapped me again. This time much harder. The chair I sat in actually skidded along the floor from the force of the blow.

The sound of her palm and my face colliding echoed in the large depot, and even made the place become a little quiet. People recognized that sound.

“Spoils! Slaves? Vim!” she shouted at me, and her voice filled the depot.

Oh.

“Well,” I was about to say something to defend myself but she hit me. Not a slap. Not another scream. A full blown punch.

I let the fist force my head back. I was too tall for the chair, so the headrest wasn’t able to stop it. Which was a good thing; it let me bring my head back far enough to not shatter every bone in her hand.

Even though I completely rolled with the punch, I still heard and felt bones break. And not my own.

The chair lifted, and I had to quickly bring my feet down and re-adjust my weight to keep the chair and myself from falling over.

She had quite a punch.

“They’re people, Vim!” she shouted at me.

Taking a deep breath, I focused on the very livid woman. Had she ever been this upset with me before? With anyone?

Not as far as I could remember.

“Renn…” I raised my hands, not to try and calm her… but to block and catch any other fists thrown. I didn’t want her breaking anymore bones.

She took a huge breath, to yell at me and attack me again… but right as she did Brandy made a tiny noise. A mix of a cough and giggle.

Renn immediately turned her head, and her hat nearly fell off in the process. Her cat-like pupils went wide at the sight of Brandy, who lightly waved at her with an apologetic smile.

Then Renn went red in the face. A deep flush that reached her ears. She then turned to look at me, and I gave her as gentle a smile as I could form. She barely noticed it as she looked back at Brandy… and then her face scrunched up, and she let loose a very unique moan.

And then she turned and ran.

Renn hurried away, nearly leaping down the stairs as she did.

“Wait…! Wait, no! Renn! Aww… I wanted to watch more,” Brandy hurriedly stood from her seat and hurried after her, complaining and chastising herself for making the noise and alerting Renn to her presence.

As both women ran away, going downstairs… I sighed and sat back.

Opening my jaw, I noticed the faint tinge of a stiff joint. I reached up and rubbed the side of my face that had been slapped. It felt fine, of course… but…

Running my tongue along my cheeks, I tasted it. Sticking a finger into my mouth, I rubbed it against my cheek and then pulled it out.

Sure enough, there was a very… light red tinge on my finger.

“Tests,” I scoffed as I rubbed my blood between my fingers.