Chapter 70: 67 – Comeuppance

POV - Sara

It was the day after I contacted Her Majesty when Dolores began to stir. That evening as we sat at our makeshift camp on our way towards my target, she finally opened her eyes.

"Mmmm," she groaned as her eyes lazily fluttered open. Her head was on a pillow with a blanket under her and one covering her while Steph sat next to her, as she has since the incident. I sat across from them. Because the sun was barely poking over the horizon, we had shadow cloaks on to cover ourselves from the sun.

Steph and I sat there in silence watching her, not quite sure what to say. What can we say? Do we talk about the ogre in the room? Do we avoid that topic? I feel like we can't even ask 'how are you feeling' right now. We were unsure, thus, for better or worse, we stayed silent.

"Why?" Dolores weakly muttered.

"Why?" Steph asked back, tilting her head slightly in confusion.

"Why?" Dolores said with a little more strength. "Why did you stop me? I didn't want that. I didn't ask you to do that. So, why?" Her voice increased to a strained yell as tears began to form. "Why, why, why?!"

Steph grabbed her hand. When Dolores tried to pull it away, Steph held firm.

"It's because your life matters," Steph said. "You matter, Dolores. You deserve the chance to live. You deserve to be free. You deserve the chance to dream and hope. No matter what happened, or how long Sara and I have known you, it doesn't change the fact that we care for you, that you matter, and that we want you to live."

Dolores choked back her voice once, and then it began. A loud and cathartic release of tears and sorrowful wailing. Steph leaned down and held her close as the young woman released emotions that must've been held back for ages. 

I'm thankful I have such a caring wife. There have been more tears shed during this trip then I can remember. I think It's difficult to find someone that's as caring as her. She's so patient with me and Degare, and I'm well aware that I'm fortunate to be with her.

After long minutes of Steph silently consoling and comforting the grief-stricken woman, her sobs came to an end. Dolores fell asleep in her embrace, her body still weak. Steph gently laid her down and tucked the blanket around her once more. Again, I was powerless to help and could only watch.

Steph sat down next to me and rested her head on my shoulder as I placed an arm around her. "You're really good with her, Steph."

"If I was, nothing would've happened," Steph said.

I squeezed her shoulder and reassured her once more. "It wasn't your fault. She's here now, and she's alive. That's because of you. You're the one that healed her. You're the one that comforted her. Please don't denigrate yourself for something that you had no hand in causing. I love you, Steph."

She released a sigh. "I love you too, Sara. Thank you for being here… Dolores feels so fragile right now. When she held me or tried to pull away, it was like a child."

"That just goes to show how much blood she lost," I said. "We'll have to help her a lot, especially for these first few days. She'll likely sleep more as well."

"Is the plan to still attack your target?" Steph asked.

"Yes. Then we go straight back to Midnight."

"Do you know how long it'll take to get there?"

I thought about the map for a moment. "Without any delays, about three weeks to get there, and three weeks back to Midnight. Give or take a few days."

"That's not too bad," Steph said. "Do you think she'll regain her strength by the time we get home?"

"It's likely," I said. "With all of the blood she lost, it will take time for her to get her strength back. Healing magic can close wounds, regrow limbs, and do amazing things. However, it can't replenish blood. Her body will have to do that on its own over time. I would guess it'll be a month or so before she should move around much. Maybe a couple weeks after that to get back to completely normal."

Steph looked at the sleeping woman. "I'm just glad we made it in time."

"Me too. I'll try to hunt some more game for her while on patrol. She seems to be comfortable to some extent around you, so try to get her to eat meat and vegetables. If I can get a deer again, the liver or other internal organs could also be good for her to eat to help her recover. At least, that's what I remember hearing." 

After that, we swapped guard duty so we could both rest. In the morning, I carried a sleeping Dolores back to the wagon and laid her with Steph as we started our travels again. 

Later that morning, Dolores woke up once more.

"Good morning," Steph said with a smile, face visible under her hood. 

Dolores blinked a few times. "Good morning."

"You must be hungry and thirsty. Here. Eat as much as you would like." Steph took out food and water, and helped her to slowly sit up to eat. 

A full skewer and full cup of water were still a bit too heavy for her to lift easily right now, so Steph helped to feed her. She was still deathly pale, but hopefully now that she wasn't unconscious, she would regain some of her lost strength. At the very least, and as much as I hate myself for thinking it, she doesn't have the strength or ability to do anything else to herself right now. The irony of two vampires helping someone regain their lost blood wasn't lost on me.

When Dolores was done with her meal, Steph spoke again. "Let us reintroduce ourselves, Dolores. My name is Steph, and this is my wife, Sara. Right now, we're on our way to the city that we live in that's in the monster lands. It's safe there, with high walls and no influence from the Empire. Would you still like to come live there with us, or do you have someplace you would rather go?"

After a few seconds, Dolores said, "Yes, please."

"Then there are also some things you should know," Steph began. "First, you're aware of what the church does. Unfortunately, situations like the three of us were in aren't isolated cases. With legal slavery being widespread and common, illegal slavery is unfortunately just as common. Do you have any questions so far?"

Dolores looked down at her feet. "Were… Were you both treated like that?"

Steph placed a hand on top of hers. "Yes, we were. Sara was a holy knight that was betrayed, and I was taken in by the same priest that had you and was kept in the same cell."

"...What happened to the priest?" Dolores asked without looking up. 

"...He's dead," Steph said. "I killed him myself."

Dolores just nodded and continued to sit silently, refusing to make eye contact.

Steph turned towards me. "Sara, could I please have a torch and could you close the front flap to block the remaining light?"

"Of course." I took out the torch from our bag and gave it to her before closing the curtain to the covered wagon. 

I listened to their conversation as I continued driving the horses down the road.

"Dolores, the church has lied about many things. One of the things you should know about the city we live in, is that it is open to humans, dwarves, elves… and vampires, as well as a new race called fairies." I heard the sound of Steph pulling her hood down. "Sara and I are vampires now. We chose to turn when Her Majesty, the Vampire Queen, Dalia Midnight, rescued both of us. 

"I made the choice in order to live a normal life. When the priest held me in the cell, I tried to run once, and he clipped my ankles. Changing my race allowed my scars and my legs to heal and gave me the opportunity to live a normal life again. Sara made the decision in order to become stronger to strike back against the Empire. 

"The Empire and the priests lied to all of us about nearly everything about the other races. In the city of Midnight, you will be given the opportunity to live your life in a way that you choose. There are programs in place to assist with transitioning to live independently. You will have food, clothing, and housing all taken care of while you begin to get on your feet. There are many other survivors of abuse and freed illegal slaves that are living there. Some were hurt worse than others, but everyone is treated equally and fairly no matter their race or their past.

"Dolores, if you are still interested, we would love for you to come live in the city. It's an opportunity to begin living once again, and not just surviving day-to-day. Will you give us a chance and join us there?"

After half a minute of silence, Dolores responded softly. "Why are you being so kind to me? I'm not someone that should be given this chance." Her voice became more firm. "Is it just because you were in that cell before? Do you think we're alike because of that?" She began yelling. "I shouldn't get this chance! Do you think you know about me? You don't! You don't know what kind of person I am! You don't know the things I've done! You know nothing about me! So stop it already! Stop treating me so kindly! For what I've done, I deserve to be whipped, raped, and tortured! I deserve to die! That's the only way I can pay for what I've done!" Dolores began crying through her words. I-I'm… Not a good person… S-so… Stop… Please… J-just treat me… Like the t-trash I am… Don't be… So k-kind to me… It… It hurts… P-please… Just stop."

After ten more minutes more of hearing Dolores cry, the sounds faded. Shortly after, Steph opened the curtain with her helmet and cloak back on and sat next to me.

"Is she asleep?" I asked.

"Yes." Steph scooted over and laid her head on my thigh. "What do you think she was referring to? What could she have done that she feels she deserved to die to atone for?"

"That, I don't know. I suspect she'll reveal her past if and when she's ready. Even if she isn't a good person like she thinks, she isn't a risk to us or herself in the state she's in. Additionally, regardless of her past, she seems aware of doing something she considers wrong and is attempting to martyr herself to atone."

"Hmm…"

I placed a hand on her shoulder. "Get some rest, Steph. I know armor isn't comfortable, but try to take even just a short nap. I know the past couple days have drained you emotionally as well."

After a while, I listened as her breathing evened out. The sound of horseshoes continued to clomp as the wagon rattled on.

For the next week, our travels were uneventful. We avoided staying in towns or villages, just passing through the couple we couldn't avoid. Dolores would wake up and Steph would tend to her. Slowly, she began regaining her strength and her complexion improved. She could feed herself, but still couldn't relieve herself without assistance. Steph took great care of her, and used her arcane magic to always make sure that Dolores and her clothes were always clean.

During this week, Dolores didn't speak much. We told her about where we were heading, and about my revenge. Steph and I told her about our pasts, but she didn't react with anything but pained and sorrowful expressions. About the only question she had was what village Steph was from and how long ago she was taken. She would eat, and either stare out of the wagon or sleep. She would say one or two words at a time, and didn't ask any more questions or talk about herself.

During the late afternoon in the middle of nowhere between towns, we encountered something I expected to see at least once on this trip.

(Steph,) I said mentally. (There are at least a dozen presences hiding along the path in front of us. Keep your guard up and cover Dolores. This trash shouldn't take long, but stray arrows or bolts are always possibilities.)

(Understood,) Steph sent back.

I was wearing my monster hunter disguise over my armor, making it look old and worn. Next to me was a simple steel spear. My primary worry in this coming fight was for the horses. I trusted Steph's armor that Her Majesty made, and if she was covering Dolores, there shouldn't be any issues. However, if we lost a horse to a stray attack, that would be a major inconvenience. Good horses are prized commodities in the Empire, so I didn't have to worry about them being targeted right away. Bandits would want them alive to sell. The best course of action I could think of was to make sure all of their attention was on me, and me alone.

Twenty meters in front of me, two men and a woman emerged from the treeline and stepped onto the road. All looked dirty and were wearing mismatched and unmaintained armor with weapons drawn.

With a smirk on his face, one of the men spoke in a loud voice. "Well, well, well. What do we have h—"

He wasn't able to finish whatever stupid bullshit he was about to say as a fist sized rock impacted his head, sending blood flying as his skull was caved in. I'm not an archer or good with magic, so I have worked on my throwing skill. A throwing knife from this distance would be a toss up if it were lethal or not. None of that stops me from simply throwing a large rock from my pouch. Sometimes, the simplest weapons can be extremely effective.

His body was flung backwards and his two companions were momentarily stunned by the suddenness of the attack. It must've been a complete change from how they expected this encounter to go. Before they could compose themselves, I hopped off of the driver's seat and sprinted forward, thrusting my spear through the woman's neck. Withdrawing the spearhead, I smacked the remaining man in the face with the bottom of the shaft and slammed the pointed butt end through his skull. 

Refusing to allow any of the bandits that remained hidden to retreat, I dashed off to one side, quickly eliminating the five on this side as they screamed and tried to run. As I sprinted to the other side of the road, those bandits had already fled. Yet, instead of scattering, they ran off in the same direction together. Idiots.

With my current stats, there was absolutely no chance that any of them would escape. They weren't exactly being stealthy as they ran and yelled, making finding them inconsequential. With a few quick thrusts of my spear mixed with more screams, the last of the bandits died. 

Looking in the direction they were heading, there was a thin wisp of smoke that could be seen just above the trees. Deciding I might as well check it out, I moved forward cautiously. Within a few minutes, I came upon a dilapidated campsite. 

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There was a mule, an old wagon, and a small pile of crates. Looking inside, there was some preserved meat from an unknown source as well as some goods that were likely from a merchant. Bagging the wagon and goods, but leaving the mystery meat, I checked out the shabby tents. There wasn't anything of note besides a few coin pouches with mostly some coppers and a couple silvers. Leading the mule back to the road, I looted the corpses of a couple more pouches. 

"Is it done?" Steph asked from the wagon as I walked the mule to the horses.

"Yeah, all clear," I said as I began the process of hitching the mule with the horses. Thankfully, the wagon still had its harness I was able to use. 

Steph came out of the wagon. "Could I help?"

"Sure," I said. "Could you finish this while I loot the remaining bandits?"

"Of course."

I went off and got a couple more pouches, leaving the worthless armor to rust and bodies to feed any forest animals or low leveled monsters in the area. When I returned, I saw Steph was about to finish and I sat down in the driver's seat.

"They didn't stand a chance," Dolores said from behind me.

I turned around and found her sitting down and watching me. "No, they didn't."

"You killed them without listening to any of them," she said.

"I did," I admitted. "They approached us with obvious ill intent and I returned it in kind."

"The ones running away lost their will to fight," Dolores said.

"That's true, but they still initially stood against us. They also were a future threat to us or anyone that came down this road. They could've been a part of a larger group that may have perused us, or gotten other parties involved. An obvious future threat, based on what they've already done, should be eliminated swiftly," I said.

Dolores continued to stare at me. "So if I was a potential future threat based on my past, you would kill me?"

I was a little taken aback by her question. However, I chose to answer honestly. "Yes. If I thought you or your actions would endanger me or the people of Midnight, I would kill you or arrest you."

"What if you met a former bandit in town? Would you kill them for what they did in the past?" she asked.

I had to pause for a moment to gather my thoughts before I could answer. "If I thought there was a good chance of them returning to that life… Maybe, or at least have their actions monitored, or refer to our laws. If not... No. I was a holy knight. I carried out orders that, looking back, I would've never done had I known the truth. Such as transporting those the church deemed as heretics. 

"At that time, if I ran into Her Majesty, I have no doubt in my mind she would've killed me without a second thought. Yet, she accepted a former knight like myself as well as a few others like me when we were deemed to not be threats. Our ignorance back then isn't an excuse for our actions, but keeping those same beliefs or continuing those same actions, once we knew the truth, would be the same thing as refusing to open our eyes to reality.

"Her Majesty never punished me or the other former knights for our past mistakes. Some days, they still weigh heavily on me. I once heard the saying that ignorance is bliss. When I was ignorant of my actions and only followed orders, it was simple. However, after learning the truth… I'm not sure if I want to be held responsible for my ignorance or not. Maybe that's why I wanted to serve Her Majesty and help her with her goals. Maybe it's my way of atoning for my past…"

As I thought about myself for the first time in a long time, Dolores spoke again. "What if the family of one of those heretics you transported came after you for revenge? Are they justified in killing you? Would you let them if they were in the right?"

I thought about that for a few seconds. "Yes, they would be justified in coming after me. However, I wouldn't let them kill me. I wield my spear for Her Majesty, and she has work that she needs me for. I can't afford for myself to be killed, even if they may be justified in targeting me."

"Would you kill those coming after you out of revenge?"

"I would. If I didn't, they could try again, or try to hurt someone I care about in order to hurt me. Their revenge, even if I think it's justified, is a potential risk that I would need to eliminate."

After that, the conversation stopped. Steph returned, and we went on our way. For the next two weeks, Dolores went back to using one or two words, and never asked me any more questions, hypothetical or otherwise. 

After three total weeks of travel with Dolores, we were about five hours out from the town where I would take my revenge. On the road were what looked to be five shabby monster hunters.

As the wagon pulled forward, they all stood at attention and saluted me.

"""Captain!""" the disguised MSF soldiers said in unison.

"At ease," I said as I stopped and got off of the wagon. "Thank you for meeting me here. I know we went over the plan slightly over the FCN, but I wanted to run through once in person and also needed to give you the heads. To confirm, have you gained a good reputation with the Monster Hunters' Guild?"

"Yes," the sergeant said. "It hasn't been long, but we've made a good impression on them and consistently brought back monsters for the guild as well as plenty of animals. I believe we have the needed reputation for your plan to work."

"Excellent." I took out a pair of ork bodies and cut the heads off of them. "Take these heads and bloody your armor a bit. Return swiftly and follow through with the plan. Report that you've found a group of at least twenty orks about a mile or so north of here and managed to kill these two on the outskirts. That should be enough to mobilize the knights, but not enough to justify calling reinforcements or a joint assault with local hunters. 

"If Chad is still the same, he will refuse any help as well, wanting the credit to help him someday move up to become a captain. Contact me when they leave town.

"Secretly follow them. When they finally approach me, form a perimeter and run down any knights trying to escape. No prisoners, no witnesses. When they don't return and the guild sends people to investigate, either give them directions or lead them.

"I'll have ork bodies mixed with the knights to show a brave battle. The guild may be curious of the lack of prints or trail in the area, but ultimately it will end up being a mystery since it is unthinkable that those many freshly killed orks would be able to be there amongst the knights. Understood?"

"""Yes, Captain!"""

They took the ork heads and returned to town. Meanwhile, I bagged the bodies and led our wagon back the way we came. I would leave it with Steph when I go to eliminate them. I'm thankful that Her Majesty thought ahead. She gave me various types of monster corpses in the off chance we needed to play the part of guild members selling parts, or to lure groups like we are now. The ability to keep the bodies completely fresh makes this all the more realistic.

On the way, Dolores spoke to me from the wagon. "Why are you killing this group?"

"I'm taking revenge against people who betrayed me." I answered easily.

"Were they all responsible?" she asked.

"...No. They are unlucky that they will be present, and will die for it."

"Will taking revenge make you feel better?"

"I doubt it," I admitted. 

"Then why do it?" she asked.

"Why indeed... I guess because I can't forgive him for turning his back on me so easily."

"Would you take on someone else's revenge for them?"

"No," I said. "Especially when it won't make someone feel better, like me with this group. Personal revenge should be done by the person themselves. I would support them, but they need to carry the weight of their actions."

Dolores was quiet again as I pulled the wagon off the road. As pointless as this is, I still feel the desire to go through with it. Right or wrong, this is my choice.

=====

POV - Holy Knight Chad

My wife gave me a kiss on my way out the door. "Be safe on your mission, Dear. May Sol be with you."

I placed a hand on her very pregnant stomach. "I'll be back soon. May Sol be with both of you."

As I left to meet up with my soldiers, I couldn't help but to wonder if I'll have a son or a daughter. If a boy, I'll likely name him after my grandfather. If a girl… I would like to name her Sara, after the first woman I loved. I still regret never telling her how I felt, but in hindsight, that may have been for the best. Had I done so, I'm not sure if I could've distanced myself when it was discovered she was a heretic. 

She even threatened the priest we were working with. I don't know what made her go against our great Sol, but I wish truly she wouldn't have. She was an excellent knight with such beautiful spearmanship, and I always believed she had a righteous heart. We could've protected a lot of people together. Even so, I'm thankful I met my wonderful wife. She is the epitome of what it means to be a wife according to Sol. She takes care of all of my needs, tends to the cooking and housework, worships with me at church, and will take great care of our child. Maybe if Sara wasn't a heretic, I could've married both of them… I can't dwell on the past right now. We have a mission to eliminate a threat to the people that we must complete, as is the duty assigned to us. This may even help my chances to one day be promoted to captain.

After getting the four dozen or so soldiers under my command together, we formed up and moved out, following the directions of the monster hunters who spotted the camp. It's odd that such a large group of orks was this far into the Empire, but it isn't unheard of. Some lords have issues with citizens not paying their taxes, and find it difficult to hire competent knights to keep their people safe. If everyone just followed all of the teachings of Sol and obeyed the laws, everyone would be happy and the Empire would be an even greater place to live.

Just outside of the walls, we saw the group of hunters that spotted the camp and initially informed us of the orks. I decided to momentarily stop and express my gratitude. "Thank you for your work, hunters. We'll take it from here. May Sol be with you."

The hunters bowed their heads. "Yes, Sir. May Sol protect you as much as he can in your coming battle."

I smiled at their sincere well-wishes. "I appreciate that."

Leaving the hunters behind, my soldiers and I made our way in the direction they reported the orks were. After traveling for a while, we saw a trail of smoke a bit of a ways off to the north of the road. We went on guard, and sent more scouts out in front of us towards the smoke. As we walked onwards and got closer, I thought it was odd that none of the scouts had returned. There was also no noise from the direction of the fire. Monsters aren't quiet beings, and we haven't seen any signs of them in the area.

When the source of the fire was about to come into view and my uneasiness was growing, something dropped down from the trees above us, right in the center of our formation, impaling a soldier.

As everyone began to shout, I got a better look at the figure. An odd colored armor that was soot black, yet blue and silver at the same time. A spear made of a beautiful blue and silver material. I couldn't see their face through their helmet, but there wasn't time for that.

I began shouting orders. "Form up! Take defensive positions!" 

As I was yelling, the figure began cutting through my men. Every movement caused another death. They would stab through helmets and chest plates, swing their spear around and slash the spearhead across a mage's throat, then trip another with the shaft before crushing their helmet and skull with a foot or jamming the butt end through their head. 

A few times, a sword, spear, or magic was able to hit their armor. Whenever they did, they merely bounced off or were completely ineffective. The attacks only served to make that soldier the next target of the assailant.

Every second, more of my soldiers were dying. Yet, I couldn't take my eyes off of the assailant. Blocking out the screams around me, I was in a daze. This style. How they handle a spear. I've seen it before. It's something I could never forget.

With less than a dozen men left, they began fleeing the scene of the massacre, running back towards the road. I stood there, frozen, watching the figure as they walked up to me. The fighting style. That walk. Their height. I know it. I had seen it hundreds of times. It's the same as the first woman I loved. The woman who abandoned me and God Sol.

"Sara…" I said, and the armored figure stopped. "Sara, is that you? How could you do this? Why did you betray us? I used to lov—"

I was cut off by a spear being shoved through my stomach. I fell on my ass, then felt a foot come down, crushing my penis and testicles. The last thing I saw was a gauntleted fist impacting my face and crushing my skull.

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