Chapter 27: Chapter 26

I fidgeted in place as the sentinel captain stared at Camilla’s naked form, the moment stretching on and becoming increasingly uncomfortable until finally, he had the sense to look away to another spot in the room. 

“Forgive me… I — err, a strange noise was heard. I suppose that I could — give you a minute more.” Clearing his throat, he turned back toward the others. “Alright men, clear out of the room.” Much as they came in, the sentinels quickly left, leaving only the captain still facing the doorway. “Do please be quick.”

As the door shut behind him, or rather, failed to shut and instead hung slightly ajar, Camilla let out an exasperated sigh. Or perhaps one of relief? A black mist flowed along the floor from the darker corners of the room, rising up the sorceress’s legs and once more forming into her dress. When she turned my way, I became increasingly conscious of the fact that she was now fully ‘clothed’ once more, while I still stood holding a bundle of jumbled cloth against my body, only a foot or so away. Her eyes trailed up my figure, appearing to like what they were seeing. 

“We should probably get that dress back on you.” From the slight smile on her face, I could tell she wanted to do anything but. 

I gave her a swift nod and swerved around to face the wall, wondering if my cheeks would ever be a normal color again after today. After a few seconds of twisting my dress around, I finally managed to turn it the right way up and bent forward to slip into it. With Camilla’s assistance, I was able to quickly get laced up once more. 

“You shouldn’t be so quick to expose your rear like that,” she said quietly next to my ear, a hand rubbing my lower back. “Prying eyes might see things they shouldn’t.”

I let out a shiver as her breath brushed against my skin. “R-right,” came my flustered response.  

Her warm dark fingers slid across my shoulder. “Come on, best we not keep them waiting.” She hesitated for a moment, and I glanced over to meet her gaze. Her eyes were gentle and full of concern. “I suspect this is where we will part ways for the day. Be careful, okay?” 

“I will," I promised. 

We walked through the broken doorway, Camilla taking the lead in front of me. The captain had an annoyed frown on his face, though I partly wondered if that was just how he always looked. 

Clearing his throat once more, he said, “Good. As I said, we heard a loud noise, that I believe it is safe to assume came from your room?”

Camilla gave him a flat look back. “I’m not sure it’s necessary to break through a door in order to investigate a simple noise, Captain. And I believe that I’ve mentioned prior that I’d rather not be disturbed while together with someone in my room. Quite explicitly, if I recall.”

“Forgive me, Lady Camilla. I’m aware of your nature and preferences, however, I am under orders to prioritize the safety of you and your maid.” The man glanced my way, as though to confirm my wellbeing. “Orders of which, unfortunately, require that I investigate matters like reports of unexpectedly loud noises.” To the man’s credit, he didn’t seem particularly pleased either. Given what I knew, however, I was quite sure that ‘prioritize your safety’ was just their nicer way of saying ‘investigate anything strange or suspicious surrounding the Marked sorceress.’ 

“Well, I’m sorry for having wasted your time then, Captain. I simply got a bit too rough with the wall.” 

They made their way into the room, with me following along rather awkwardly behind them. Camilla and the captain shared a number of annoyed and passive-aggressive words with each other as sentinels eyed the rest of the room up and down. 

After what had happened only moments before, it was all rather anticlimactic. My embarrassment never truly died down though, not with the continual reminder in my head that they’d all seen me practically naked just moments before. As the sentinels finished their inspection, the captain gave several half-hearted apologies to both of us as they prepared to leave. Together, the sentinels, along with Camilla following behind at the captain's behest, left the room, the sorceress giving me one last glance. She stopped and the captain paused at the door. 

“I’m sorry, I’m going to be busy again today with somewhat sensitive matters. It’s probably best if you take another day off after cleaning things up here. I’ll see you this evening.” 

I gave her a curtsy, and then they were gone, the broken door cracking back open as it still failed to shut. I stared off after them for a long moment, as though to make sure that the sentinels were all truly leaving. Then, as Camilla had suggested, I began to tidy up the room. As I made her bed and did a few other small chores, my eyes kept drifting over to the desk in the room, and the small innocuous drawer attached to it. Ever so slowly, an anxious dread began to creep in. 

— — — 

The town was in full swing as morning began to approach closer to noon. Miners already covered in soot, lesei, and sweat moved up and down the streets carrying wood and equipment, or occasionally just taking breaks. Men and women came in and out of homes to collect water or do some bartering, the occasional child screaming something loud enough to be heard across town. 

The sun warmly beamed down onto me and the loose cobble below my feet as I made my way toward the sentinels’ collection of tents. But I struggled to really stop and appreciate it like I often would before. My mind was too much of a tangled mess of worry over what was to come. Would I be able to fool him? Would he see right through me? The man had already found out one of my secrets and had guessed I’d had another one, all on the very same day he arrived. The more I fretted over it, the more I realized that Camilla was probably right. He would find out eventually. Investigations were a large part of the man’s job, particularly with things regarding the Marked. The man was far too observant, and I far too terrible at lying. Still, I didn’t have to outright lie, per se. I simply needed to avoid and hide it, to make sure the possibility of my being Marked never came into question. A lie by omission. I’d been doing my best to hide my feelings of wanting to be a girl for most of my life, with at least some amount of success. Perhaps not as well as I’d thought, but well enough to at least have some experience at it. But would I be able to pull this one off against a man who lived to uncover them? I… wasn’t sure. 

As I ruminated, it was with some amount of surprise that I found the sentinels' section of tents along the edge of town to also be bustling and full of people. From the direction of the station, men were working together to carry long beams and planks of wood, making use of a few horse-drawn carts and motorized motos to move large stones and stacks of brick. As I made my way closer, I noticed several others working digging out a large area just off the tents’ side. There were even several sentinels among them all, appearing to help manage things and relaying orders. But for the most part, it was being done by numerous workers I hadn’t seen before, and I wondered if they'd all shown up just this morning. As I got closer, I spotted a few town residents mixed in who were likely here to earn a bit of extra coin. The Empire tended to pay well for hired labor, I’d heard. 

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I became increasingly hesitant as I made my way toward the tent I’d met with the Praevus in the day before. Various men shuffled past and beside me, largely ignoring my presence as they went about their business. I gripped the diary tightly in hand as I fretted over whether Praevus Emver would actually be here, or if he might have been somewhere else entirely. As I approached the tent, I slowed. Several voices could be heard coming through the flaps, but I had no idea whether I was supposed to announce my presence or something else. Last time there'd been a sentinel to guide me. 

Instead, I ended up hovering around just outside it, staring with creased eyebrows and trying to decide what to do. I could just leave, turn around and forget all about this, I thought. Tell Camilla that I couldn't do it. She'd think up some other plan, I was sure. Perhaps I could even help. 

“This area here?” said a familiar voice within the tent. I heard a muffled response before the Praevus replied, “That should be fine. I’ll leave it up to your professional discretion. Just so long as they lay down a proper foundation.”

The tent flap fluttered open, and Praevus Emver strolled out, a large parchment in hand. I moved back and off to the side, away from the entrance as a sentinel and another man followed him. 

“What do you think about — Ah, Pearl!” he exclaimed as his eyes found me. I froze up on the spot. Turning back to the other man, he said, “Let’s continue this in a moment, shall we? I’ll meet you over near the wagons.” 

The man gave me a curious look before nodding. “That sounds swell, Praevus Emver.”

Handing off the parchment to him, the Praevus then fully turned toward me. “Good morning, my dear. Forgive my rudeness, we’ve had quite the busy day so far. Please, come in, come in.” Without a word, the others bowed and left despite the ambiguous dismissal, as the Praevus lifted the tent flap for me. With a fair amount of hesitance, I moved forward and through them, entering the cozy tent once more.

“I do hope you find yourself well this morning? And I see you’ve brought the book with you, excellent! Unfortunately, I don’t believe I have the time for a prolonged chat at the moment. Though if you’d like, I’m certain that we could have some tea quickly brewed?”

I licked my dry lips. “No — I mean thank you, Praevus." I did my best to give him a curtsy with the book in hand. "I’m fine, thank you. I understand that you’re busy. Umm, and yes, I brought it.” 

I stared down at the diary for a moment, guilt jabbing repeatedly into me. Camilla had told me to do this but was it really right? Should I have ignored her, stuck with my principles, and refused to spill her secrets to him? It didn’t feel right, and yet, here I was. 

I released my left hand's tightened hold around it and held the book out to him. 

“Thank you, my dear,” he said, slipping it from my grasp. I felt somehow emptier, unstable. Yet another thing that had slipped from my control. “I realize this has been somewhat difficult for you. It’s quite commendable to hold loyalty toward those that you serve, especially so when considering your mistress's darker and more dangerous nature and how you've only been her maid for a handful of days. It's an admirable trait to have, one that I take pride in sharing regarding my dedication to the Empire. If only more were so principled.” He shook his head. “Although I will say, that’d make my job quite a bit harder.” He gave me a humorous smile, reaching out a hand to pat my shoulder. “Know that your deed here, while seemingly terrible on its face, is in truth a necessity for the safety and prosperity of everyone in the Empire.”

I gave him a smile back, though I was certain he could tell it was a bit forced. The man was far too perceptive. “Thank you, umm, I know you are busy.” Hoping to sell that I was on his side, even if reluctantly, I asked, “Is there another task that I can do for you?”

He rubbed his chin, appearing to think for a moment, though his eyes never left me. “Perhaps in the coming future, I will have something more specific like this one, though not just this moment. I just ask that you keep your ear to the ground, and keep me updated on your mistress. I hear there was a bit of a debacle this morning up in the Reeve's home. I'm glad to see that you’ve already developed a connection with her. Just remember what I’ve told you.” He raised an eyebrow, and my thoughts went back to the evening before. “Do not forget her nature.”

I could feel a cloud of gloom surround me as I thought back not just to what he’d said about Camilla, but about myself as well. About my vice. “Of course, Praevus Emver. I won’t,” I spoke somewhat glumly. 

“You are right, though, I have much to do today. The architect will be patiently waiting for me, I imagine, and this new barracks isn’t going to build itself.” With a chuckle, he walked forward. “Here, let me show you out.” His hand reached to lift up the tent flap, and I shifted underneath. “See you in a few days, my dear. I’ll have someone send for you.” 

“Thank you,” I said once more, giving him a curtsy before making my way back into the town. 

With a large sigh of relief, I quickly moved back toward the mansion. It had gone well; surprisingly so. Yet, how long would that last? Could I keep it up for however long he was here, or at the least until Camilla found a way for us to leave? I would have to do my best and stay on my toes. I’d been prepared to spy on a sorceress when I first started my little adventure. Going toe to toe in a battle of guile and wits against a dangerous foe certainly fitted into the adventurous narrative. The fact that the opponent was a Praevus wasn’t exactly what I had imagined happening, but one ultimately didn’t get to decide on what kind of obstacles they would face on their grand journeys. I would simply have to find the strength and wisdom within me to survive down this dangerous path in which I found myself.

A small smile slipped across my face, and I began mentally readying myself to tackle the next difficult task of the day. Speaking once more with Lena.

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