Book 1: Chapter 19 - About the Town [Part 2]
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Seraphina stood with her arms crossed, her placid expression belying the impatience simmering beneath the surface. She tapped her foot lightly on the smooth well-worn stones of the square.
"Just out of curiosity… nothing serious, mind—why do you want to catch a street urchin like that?" Frest asked, rubbing the back of his helmet with a gloved hand.
She shot him a sharp glance, irritation flickering in her eyes at his questioning. The red-eyed boy was crucial—an important character in the later stages of the game after the time skip. More importantly, he would be a great ally and supporter of the protagonist because she'd taken pity on him: Este Lize the Deliverer, the Savior of the Silver. Loved her even for that act of mercy.
Removing him from the silver witch's clutches would secure her own access to a great source of violence on call and lessen the threat Este Lize would pose. But what would Frest know of that? Still, since he was privy to her more clandestine sins, she decided to enlighten him. Sometimes, genius needed an audience.
"That boy is important—not for what he is now, but for what he will become. You must never speak of this to him, lest it affect his path. He will grow to be one of the greatest swordsmen Aranthia has ever known. A child born out of wedlock between a Hazagadami woman and an Aranthian merchant, he has been abandoned. The bastard's future lies on the warrior's path," she explained to her protector and subject.
"How do you know... Oh, yes, forgot about that, sorry," he began, then corrected himself, waving his hands and making exaggerated mock mystical sounds.
One day, I'll fix that insouciant attitude of his, Seraphina swore to herself.
"You must still be new to our service, Sergeant Frest," the blonde girl commented coolly. "Most of the men know of my mother's gift of the Sight."
He nodded his head, but was still unconvinced. "I heard the men in the barracks and all that. And I guess I saw what you did to that old man..."
"Not so loud, Frest," she warned through gritted teeth, her smile tightening. "We're in the middle of a public square."
"Sorry about that, milady. Of course. But I'm just saying, if she could see the future and all, she could be the best gambler in all the land..." he suggested.
"She married my father, did she not? A blessed life of comfort with the second most powerful man, next only to the king himself? If that is not gambling and putting your money on a winning horse, then I don't know what is," she replied with a sigh.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully before speaking. "It's not that... What I'm trying to say is, that's not quite predicting the future, is it? I mean, it could be that your mother, Lady Anaselena, is just really good at discerning things. Figuring things out. And that whole thing we did in the woods could just be that you've got very good informants and spies. Goddess knows we always had tips about caravans and merchant trains back in the day."
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"You will have to trust me on this—she can see the future. Though it has its limits," she said testily. It was a dangerous game she played, especially if she misjudged the extent of her mother's abilities.
"I heard the future is like a stream... or branches of a tree. Some branches are thicker and stronger, more likely to happen," opined Miriam wistfully, an uncharacteristic insightfulness coloring her words. "Lady Seraphina," she added, realizing she'd momentarily forgotten the honorific.
When did monsters ever have time to think about such things? Then again, why was Miriam mingling in human society, masquerading as a servant? It was odd, to say the least.
"Thank you, Miriam. That is actually quite correct. My mother can see the most likely futures. By the way, did you remember to register with the Town Hall about you being the new owner of the Crossed Crows? It was a devil to get my father's signet, you know."
Seraphina had 'borrowed' the ring from her father at dinner one evening, pressing it into a soft potato of all things before returning it to him. Later, she had Frest make a simple copy with heated lead and potter's clay.
"I got it registered," Miriam squeaked. "And... I'll get it cleaned up as soon as I can and find a tenant for the place!" the maid promised.
"Well done!" Seraphina praised her with a thin-lipped smile. "You are now a propertied woman. Were I a gambling sort, I would wager you will have suitors lining up outside your door any time soon."
Gambling. The word niggled at the back of Seraphina's mind, planting the seeds of a hazy idea. Gambling.
"Yes, Lady Seraphina," the maid agreed automatically, blushing.
"Now then! Where are those two? Really, how long can it take to catch a single boy?" Seraphina wondered aloud, nearly stamping her foot like a petulant child but catching herself at the last moment.
That was the problem with being in a fifteen-year-old's body—her hormones were all over the place, and Seraphina found it difficult at times to keep her self-control. It was almost infuriating.
She waited another ten minutes before a defeated-looking, out-of-breath pair of brothers returned.
"Forgive us, milady..." Crayton wheezed. "The scamp got away. We couldn't catch him. Giles almost had him, but that one's as slippery as an eel. Lost him at Butcher's Row... don't think he could've gone far."
"Yeah, I reckon he's a daring one. He dropped his apple too," added his brother Giles, biting into the red, only partially bruised fruit.
This display of unhygienic behavior caused both Seraphina and her maid to wince. The maid’s reaction was quite surprising, for Seraphina thought the Palisa Slug was capable of eating much worse.
"Sergeant Frest!" Seraphina called out in her best impression of Kellan's authoritative voice.
The man snapped to attention instantly, his fist smacking against his breastplate.
"We are not all bandits here. These men are your responsibility. You have had an increase in your stipend now that you're a Sergeant—pay that merchant for the apple," she commanded.
"Right you are, milady," he accepted, giving Giles a look that could wilt flowers. The larger man almost shrank under the harsh gaze.
"So, Lady Seraphina, would you like us to get the town guard together to catch that rat?" asked Crayton, trying to win her favor by showing some initiative.
She smiled at him, and he felt as if dawn had risen a second time. "That won't be necessary. I have another idea."