“Bravo Count Kalisz! An excellent boon to your collection!”

“Capital job on the bidding Count!”

“Bloody impressive acquisition there Count! Good show!”

Winifred fought the urge to roll her eyes for the hundredth time that evening. The auction had ended, the whole process had been mercifully quick once it had gotten underway. She’d been expecting some excitement over the Purene Ruby lot when it had been announced but its starting bid had been ridiculous. Ridiculous to the point that only one other noble had been truly in the running, though the Count hardly acted like it. The man had simply raised the bid without thinking of the price, until the artifact was sold for over a million gold pieces.

Hearing the prices go so high had nearly floored Winifred, and for a moment she’d been picturing literal heaps of gold changing hands. Thankfully, she’d remembered that platinum coins were a thing, each worth a thousand gold coins on their own. Still, the thrill of that exchange was the only thing keeping her awake through the boredom of the after party.

For the past half an hour she’d been forced to stand by Kalisz’s side with his arm around her waist as various other attendees congratulated him on his new acquisition. As well as being a complete insufferable arse, the Count was like an octopus again, his hands everywhere. She wasn’t stupid. It was obvious she was very much playing the part of the trophy partner. She’d seen her Mother do it enough.

“Perhaps my sweet flower for the evening would do me the honor of joining me in my private chambers?” The Count asked smoothly, causing the women around them to giggle and the men to grin and wink at him.

Winifred forced a simpering smile on her face. “Nothing would please me more my dear Count,” She replied placatingly, glad that Zacharias wasn’t around to hear. There was no way the wee shite would let her forget this anytime soon.

“Excellent, excellent. Well, I shall retire to the chambers for a soothing bath,” The Count continued. “Do excuse me gentlemen, after the excitement of the evening, this lovely lady and myself are in need of some rest.” Kalisz said, raising his voice so his gathered fanbase could hear. The men chuckled knowingly as his emphasis on the last word.

“I would like to admire my new piece this evening,” he said as he began whisking her off the ballroom floor. “Perhaps you would like to fetch my new acquisition from the lot room before joining me?” He suggested. Winifred’s eyes widened momentarily. How could the wee dobber be so flippant about something so bloody expensive? He was just going to practically put the gem in her hands, just like that? It was going to be easier than any of them had thought!

“Why certainly!” Winifred replied, suddenly unable to believe her luck and trying her best to remain calm and neutral. She remembered how collecting an auction piece worked easily enough. After the auction, each winner was given a small chip which they would hand over in return for the lot that they now owned. She tried to hide her disbelief as the Count handed her his token. It was a small silver coin-shaped item with Lord Casey’s family crest on one side, and the lot number on the other.

For a moment, Winifred thought it was going to be that simple, before the Count gave a curt nod to one of his looming bodyguards. The heavily armed man took a few steps behind Winifred before standing at attention.

Still, she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. After all the meticulous planning and trying to think of every way this evening could go wrong, the Count had just handed her his prize. Better than that, she wouldn’t have to do much more flirting and simpering!

She grinned to herself as she departed the ballroom and headed for the Lot Room, her newly acquired shadow in tow. Her night of sucking up to some rich old bastard was over! She’d take the Ruby and ditch it in the gardens just like they’d planned. After that, she’d make her exit from the ball and that would be the end of Lady Armara Of Blackmaul. She looked so different in her ridiculous getup that she wouldn’t need to worry about anyone recognizing her in the street. Hells, most of the people at the auction would rather die than sully their eyes with the sights of The Slums anyways.

With any luck, she’d be done before they called the final round at The Plagued Rat. All the wine quaffing and ridiculously tiny slithers of food that passed for fancy had left her with a craving for a meat pie and a jug of mead.

Really, the only difficulty that stood in her way now would be hiding the poor bodyguard’s body after she was done with him. Winifred hummed in thought as she walked through gilded hallways. She slid her eyes surreptitiously sideways when they passed any open rooms as she thought of where to ditch her unwelcome new friend.

Thankfully, it wasn’t long before she spotted a roomy closet with its door ajar. It was filled to the brim with overly expensive fur coats. Grinning wolfishly, she veered through the doorway as the bodyguard followed closely behind. So closely, the poor sap barely had time to react as Winifred stepped to the side and closed one of her hands around his left gauntlet.

Normally a well trained bodyguard, equipped with the finest armour gold could buy, would have nothing to worry about if a noblewoman lead him to a secluded area before laying her hands on him. But as Winifred’s grip tightened and crushed his metal vambraces as if they were made of silk, the poor man barely had time to hear her whisper a single word before he was wrenched off his feet.

Break…

Reaching deep into her newfound Core, Winifred casually pulled the bodyguard off balance as strength coursed through her body. Sweeping his leg, and ignoring the sound of metal screaming beneath her shin, she tossed him to the floor. The poor bastard tried to get up almost instantly, uttering a litany of curses. Winifred didn’t give him the chance to make any kind of comeback. She placed a hand either side of his hand and with one deft twist, she snapped his neck.

The man slumped to the floor once more, his body becoming a dead weight. Winifred grinned to herself. Her new power was certainly coming in handy! Not that she couldn’t have taken him on before, she thought to herself as she gave his body a quick kick with her high heeled shoe. But there was a marked difference between a close bloody brawl, and an almost pitiful execution.

She grabbed the bodyguard’s corpse and dragged it further into the room, tossing a few of the coats on top of the body before quickly tidying herself and leaving the closet. Winifred was quick to head back into the hall and start heading towards the prize. While she passed the occasional servant as she made her way forward, each one of them kept their heads down, obviously not wanting to risk pissing off someone in noble attire.

It wasn’t long before she made her way to where the artifacts were being kept. It was surprising just how much she remembered the layout of the place. She could only hope that once this bloody evening was over, she could expunge it from her memory.

Thankfully, the Chosen didn't have to wander too long through the opulent hallways before spotting her destination at the end of her current pathway. Fixing a small smile on her face, Winifred glided towards the doorway.

Two burly guards flanked the entrance to the artifact room, nodding at her as she showed her chip and made her way inside.

The small room was dominated by a massive safe. It resembled an old style bank vault, its circular door polished to perfection. Carefully etched into the center of the door was the Casey family crest.

In front of the safe, sat behind a desk and flanked by two more guards was an official-looking man dressed in a scarlet uniform with a large ledger in front of him. Sitting to his left, perched on the edge of the desk, still looking resplendent in her evening dress, was Lady Catalina. Her long, lithe legs were on full display, her mouth set into an inviting pout. It was obvious that, just like the auction, she was around for decoration.

“Name?” The man asked in a clipped tone, barely bothering to look up from his ledger. His grey eyes looked tired behind the brass-colored pince-nez that was perched on the end of his nose.

“Lady Armara, collecting for Count Kalisz,” Winifred replied loftily. She glanced over at Lady Catalina who smiled at her. It wasn’t the tight, professional smile she’d been wearing for the duration of the auction. It was friendly, almost flirty…it threw her a little and she felt a weird fluttering feeling deep in her stomach.

“Chip?” The man replied succinctly, holding out his hand. He sighed irritably to get her attention.

Winifred blinked and handed over the silver chip. The man took it from her and turned it over in his hands, investigating it from all angles and even biting into it. Clearly, he wasn’t taking his chances in the case of clever forgeries. Once he was satisfied with the chip’s legitimacy, he nodded to one of the guards next to him.

Winifred watched as the guard went to the safe. A moment later, he returned, placing an ornate wooden chest on the desk. He withdrew a small brass key from his pocket and unlocked the chest. He wordlessly opened it to reveal the sparkling Ruby inside. As the artifact was revealed, a massive wellspring of Mana was let loose inside the room, almost suffocating in its intensity. From the expressions of greed and discomfort on the guard’s faces, she could tell that they were quite the loyal servants of Lord Casey, as Winifred knew she wouldn’t be able to resist the urge to snatch any of the magical items, much less calmly give them away.

“One Purene Ruby,” The man at the desk said in a strained voice as he scribbled something into his ledger before reaching out to shut the chest. “Please give Lord Casey’s compliments to the Count.” He added shortly.

Nodding thoughtfully, Winifred made to snatch up the chest, when Lady Catalina stepped forward and placed a dainty hand atop the container.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

"Allow me to escort you to the exit,” Lady Catalina said smoothly as she picked up the wooden chest and placed it into Winifred’s arms. Winifred nodded wordlessly, breathing in the scent of the beautiful woman’s perfume. If she wasn’t mistaken, she’d smelled that scent before in the weird shop the Rat liked to frequent when he talked about a ‘Denmother’.

Lady Catalina swept her towards the doorway. The man was staring at his ledger importantly. If he noticed anything strange about the situation, he clearly wasn’t going to bother doing anything about it. The poor bastard probably wasn’t getting paid enough, but his loss was her gain.

“Meet me in the gardens in twenty minutes,” Lady Catalina whispered under her breath as they reached the door. “By the cherub fountain,” She added, giving Winifred’s arm a gentle squeeze.

A shiver ran down Winifred’s spine at her touch.

The raven-haired beauty had long, elegant fingers, and her perfectly applied black nail polish gleamed under the lights. She flashed that smile again, the one that was obviously genuine and before she could really think about it, Winifred found herself agreeing before dazedly leaving the room, Artifact in hand.

Forcing herself to walk with calm, tempered steps, Winifred found herself distracted from her current task. Just picturing that sly smile had her head bogged down with errant thoughts.

In fact, Winifred was so dazed by Lady Catalina’s grace, that she barely noticed she was making a beeline for the intricate gardens.

Nobody paid her any mind as she entered the ballroom with the chest tucked under her arm. Most of the revelers must have retired to their rooms as the ballroom was now almost empty. Various Halfling waiters were bustling around, tidying away the remnants of the glorious buffet and mopping up spilled wine. Zacharias wasn’t amongst them.

There was a clump of men dressed in tuxedos standing by the wine fountain smoking fat cigars and congratulating each other. They each held a cut glass tumbler full of whiskey. Winifred rolled her eyes at them. They looked for all the world like fat hogs wallowing in thier own muck.

She walked through the glass double doors that lead to the gardens. Zacharias had managed to find a map of the layout which she could clearly see in her mind’s eye. While she was excited at the prospect of what Lady Catalina wanted from their meeting, she needed to keep her eye on the prize. She didn’t want to take the risk of it being some kind of ruse orchestrated by the Count. Perhaps to test her honesty. No, she wasn’t going to take that chance.

Picking up her stupid long skirts, she tried to look as casual as possible as she hurried towards the pre-agreed drop-off point. It wasn’t too far that she would risk being caught by one of the patrolling guardsmen yet wasn’t close enough for anyone who may be looking out from one of their balconies to be spotted.

She muttered a curse as she nearly went headlong into the bushes. She couldn’t wait until the high heels she was wearing were a thing of the past. Pretty much all evening, she’d been fantasizing about shedding them and possibly chucking them off the nearest bridge to boot.

Thankfully, for all that Lord Casey promised a secure estate for the Auction, all of the attention was on the outside wall. It really wasn't too much issue avoiding any errant eyes.

When she reached the drop-off point, she could clearly see Meekknuckle’s grinning face in a gap through the Rhododendron bush.

“Scary Lady!” Meekknuckle greeted in a stage whisper. “You have shiny gem for Meek?” The Goblin’s eyes lit up when he saw the chest under her arm.

“Here,” Winifred whispered properly, double-checking her surroundings to make sure the Goblin hadn’t attracted any unwanted attention. “I’ll see ye back at my place with the others. I have something I need tae do first,” She added as she handed the chest over. A wave of relief washed over her and she wasn’t entirely sure if it was because her part was finally done or that she could finally speak in her natural accent again.

“Ok, Meek leave fast,” The Goblin gave her one more grin before disappearing back into the bush. The blooms started to rustle and sway as he made his way back through the massive bush. Winifred wasn't too worried about the little cretin, Jormir had given them access to the guardsmen's routes, so as long as the Goblin didn't completely much up the timing...

Winifred let out a sigh and consulted the map in her head once more. The cherub fountain wasn’t that far away, just a short walk through a cherry tree grove. Picking up her skirts once more, she hurried off in that direction.

Carefully retracing her steps, Winifred lithely avoided any guards until she spotted the fountain amongst the trees, a fountain topped with a cherub. Freezing momentarily, she knew that she should really be getting back to the ballroom and letting Zacharias know that they were home free. But all such thoughts of her companions disappeared from her head when she saw the fountain in front of her. Or more accurately, the person sitting on the bench beside it.

Awkwardly brushing little bits of dirt and leaves off herself, the newly minted Chosen, victor of dozens of pit fights, and an experienced hand at dispatching foes,... quailed at the idea of approaching a pretty lady.

Still, Winifred had to fight to keep her pace steady as she made her way closer, not wanting to show just how eager she was feeling.

As soon as Lady Catalina saw her approach, she smiled that beautiful smile again. She’d let her hair down from its tight bun, the simple act making her appear much more relaxed.

“Good to meet you again Lady Armara,” The Lady called out as Winifred approached her. The brunette cocked an eyebrow. Catalina was acting like she was surprised by her appearance. Maybe she wasn’t as smooth as she liked to think she was.

“Aye well…” Winifred started to answer automatically. She coughed and cleared her throat and hoped that she didn’t look as embarrassed as she felt. “You did invite me here,” She tried again in her ‘ball voice’, her tone light and teasing.

“I just wanted a break from that bloody awful show up there,” Catalina nodded towards the mansion house, illuminated in splendor behind them. “Men and women congratulating themselves for being rich, all while forgoing showing any sense of real class.” She rolled her stunning eyes, each looking wonderfully expressive with the carefully drawn black outline.

Winifred frowned at herself inwardly. What in the Hells was wrong with her? Gods Below, she never gave a shite about makeup. But she was noticing Catalina’s carefully outlined eyes, her artfully contoured face, and her plump, ruby red lips. They were parted slightly so that she could just make out a flash of white teeth. It was certainly a more inviting sight than the usual rotting maws of the Plagued Rat’s clientele.

“You’re here with that Count from Saint Aphrastro right?” Catalina asked. She patted the space on the wall next to her. “Come on, take a load off. If your feet are anything like mine, those heels are killing them,” She continued with a grin.

Winifred looked at the space with a hint of longing. As a matter of fact, her feet were bloody killing her. The heels she was wearing were stupid dainty wee things, a far cry away from the comfortable leather boots she usually wore. Still, the mention of the Count had suddenly made her wary. What if Catalina was some kind of security plant? Trying to wheedle things out of the guests?

“I’m not going to bite Armara,” Catalina said cheekily. She swept her mane of hair over her shoulder and leaned forward. The dress she was wearing was low cut enough that Winifred could see straight down it as Catalina bent low enough to take off her own killer heels.

Fuck it. She told herself as she sat down on the wall. The concrete felt cold through the slippery thin material of her gown and it helped clear the fuzz in her brain a little. She was just having a friendly chat is all. She didn’t need to give away any details. She could simply let herself enjoy being away from the mansion for some fresh air with a beautiful woman. It would be something to hold over the wee Halfling. She’d seen him looking at Catalina during the auction with the same lecherous look he reserved for the prostitutes of the Market District.

“How long have you been working as a hostess?” She asked, hoping that it would distract Catalina from asking any further questions about Count Kalisz.

“Long enough to wish I had a different job,” Catalina replied with a chuckle. She dangled her ridiculously high heels from their ankle straps. “It pays well enough but having to suck up to those people in there…” she rolled her eyes. “It’s a chore.”

"You mean people like me?” Winifred asked teasingly.

“No… You’re different,” Catalina said simply.

Winifred felt her chest tighten. Different? How could Catalina tell? She’d been so careful the whole evening. What had she done that had given away the fact she didn’t belong with these people anymore?

“Don’t worry, I know you still probably have more money than I’ll ever make in a hundred lifetimes,” Catalina continued. “You’re just not as up yourself as the people in there. You seem more human. Maybe it’s just because you don’t treat the staff like they’re shit stuck to your heel. I saw you talking with that Halfling waiter. You were actually making eye contact!”

“Oh! Yes…well…” Winifred let out a dainty tinkling laugh, a perfect copy of the one her Mother used. “He was very helpful,” She added awkwardly.

“It was- oh crap!-”

All of a sudden, Winifred felt herself be catapulted backward as Catalina grabbed her arm and pulled her down into a large bush. Before she could let out a cry of surprise, or curse the crazy woman out, a hand was clamped over her mouth.

“Ssh!” Catalina whispered in her ear, her breath tickling her ear lobe.

They stayed like that, frozen for a moment or two before Winifred heard two voices. From the noise they were making, it sounded like they were wearing heavy boots. She could hear the clinking of armor as they moved.

“‘Ow many more times are we gonna walk round this ‘ere fountain eh?”

“Shut yer trap, we can clock off after this, Captain says most of them posh nobs ‘ave gone to their rooms.”

Winifred listened as the two guards continued to bicker, their voices getting quieter and quieter as they walked away. Catalina moved her hand and let out a sigh.

“Nearly!” She said as she got to her feet, brushing some stray leaves off herself. She held out her hand.

Winifred took it and was hauled to her feet, Catalina having a surprising amount of strength for her lithe form.

“What was all that about?” She demanded, barely remembering to use her 'more elegant accent’. It wouldn't do to slip back into her more Dwarven accent. Though perhaps she could blame it on the tumble, even if the fall hadn’t hurt, it had taken her by surprise.

“Didn’t want to get caught,” Catalina explained, stepping out of the bush. “Oops! I left my heels on the wall,” She chuckled. “Still, I doubt those two idiots even noticed.”

“You can’t just pull me into some bush and say you didn’t want to get caught!” Winifred bristled, brushing down her own gown which was covered in little twigs and leaves. “Didn’t want to get caught doing what?”

“Fraternizing with a guest,” Catalina smirked at her, a mischievous look in her eyes. Gods, if it wasn’t for her beauty, Winifred would give her a good smack in the chops. As it happened, she couldn’t help but smile back at her.

“And that’s what we were doing?” She asked instead. “Fraternizing?”

“Well…that,” Catalina replied. “Or flirting…”

Winifred’s grin widened, feeling her pulse race in her chest.

Maybe the Count was right, there was worse things then spending an evening with a beautiful woman...