The door slammed open.

“Where is she!”

Nira looked up. It was Sir Varus, accompanied by an attendant and Advisor Sweren.

Sir Bucken shot up to attention from his chair, though a little wobblily. He sneakily dropped the bottle on the ground where it rolled, empty.

“Sir, again, I apologize. I assure you that you will be compensated for everything damaged. The king has confirmed that to me personally. As for the girl, we will do everything we can to fix her, so a heinous act like this will never happen again.”

Nira wondered what story they had made up for her. Maybe she was sick and became crazy. Or she was taking drugs and needed money. Or she just was a plain, old, greedy thief. The anger, flushing through Sir Varus’ face, told her that whatever the fabricated story was, it didn’t give her even a miniscule amount of justice.

“You whore, what have you done!” Sir Varus said with the fury of a thousand storms. His face was completely red as he scanned the mess that was left.

Nira could only stare in fear of what was unraveling in front of her. She could try telling him the truth. But who would believe her? She was just a whore. A wretch. A prostitute. They were right.

Sir Varus came towards and looked down at Nira. Face fuming, eyes burning. The honorable man that she remembered from this morning – gone without a trace. Collapsed on the ground, she closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable. A chastising. A beating. Something. Anything..

And yet, nothing happened.

She slowly opened her eyes to see Sir Varus squatting down in front of her. His anger gone. Tears and despair in its place. In his hands, some fragments of the gilded paper.

“W- Why?” he softly asked, his voice weak and fragile. As if it would break any second. And then it did.

Nira could feel the knots in her stomach tightening. She had prepared her mind for a beating, but not this. Looking at Sir Varus cry tears of pain as he combed through the pieces on the ground, picking every fragment he could find with one hand and wiping his tears with his other. This was much worse. Tears of her own formed. He was right next to her, and still, she knew there was nothing she could do. Nothing she could say. It was her desires, her greed, that lead to all of this. If only she could go back in time…

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“Diplomat Levedi, we are truly sorry about this incident. I was unaware that these items had such a sentimental value as well. I will make sure the king is aware of this complication, so the compensation is just.”

Advisor Sweren waited for a response or some confirmation. He got none. Sir Varus could only focus on the scattered fragments.

“I will take my leave now. The attendant will be outside if you need anything. I will have Sir Bucken take the girl to appropriately reprimand her for her crimes. Due to the nature of the situation, we won’t be sending a replacement for this girl. Is that alright with you sir?”

“No.” His voice carried grim hatred. Not a man who had just lost his love, but one on a quest to get his peace.

“Pardon me. Would you like a replacement?”

“No.”

“Excuse me, but I don’t unders-”

“Leave her.”

“But sir, she needs to be pu-”

“Leave her and go. I will see to this myself!” Sir Varus yelled as he got up. He then unhinged his covered blade, and let the sheath dig into Nira’s neck to the point where Nira couldn’t breath. She tried to grab the sheath, but Sir Varus released his chokehold, and instead, he swung his covered blade at Nira’s shoulder with such force that she immediately crumpled deep into the ground.

“Sir, I don’t think this is wise. She is a crimi-”

“If I have to repeat myself one more time, I will attend to you and the officer as well.”

Advisor Sweren was shocked. Even Sir Bucken sobered up completely and slowly edged his way to the door.

Resigned, Advisor Sweren said, “As you wish, Diplomat Levedi. However, if you need any aid in handling the criminal… or disposing of her, let the attendant outside know.”

Nira choked on the last remnants of hope she had. She didn’t want to die. She had accepted she would be getting a beating, a severe one, but she didn’t want to die. She wouldn’t even get to talk to her friends or family again. Just one more chance, please...

Sir Bucken quickly rushed out the door, making sure no more unnecessary time was spent in here. In contrast, Advisor Sweren, who calmly walked to the door, took one last last look back at the mess, at Sir Varus, at Nira, and with a vicious grin, slammed the door.