Something Elias had failed to mention to me was who exactly Kathlyn Bywater is. The city name is Watercrest. Her last name is Bywater. The Earl of Watercrest is Tobias Bywater, her father.
This information is only revealed to me when I asked why her house was so much larger than his own.
"That's because my father doesn't directly rule over Watercrest as a Duke, he has the Earl here report to him. The house I currently stay in to attend Elomburg, was gifted to my father by Earl Bywater. Her house, a mansion more precisely, is bigger because her father rules this city."
My teeth are gritted as I speak.
"You didn't think that was something important you should tell me?"
Elais backs away with his hands up when he sees my fists tightening.
"Easy there Kelric!"
I take a step towards him.
"Hey now, let's be civil about this! I thought you already knew! I mean, who doesn't know Watercrest's Earl and family! You'd have to have just arrived-"
I stare at him blankly as he puts two and two together.
"Ohhh.. my apologies… kinda slipped my mind that you just got to Watercrest a few days ago.."
He put a hand on the back of his head and rubbed it awkwardly as he tried to explain.
I can only sigh and let the matter drop.
This house, or mansion as Elias called it, was a sight to behold. The grass and trees surrounding the place made it seem like it wasn't in the middle of a city.
The amount of space the place took up seemed very wasteful.
As we got closer, various men and women headed onto the large stone path that led to the entrance of the mansion.
I didn't feel as embarrassed wearing the silly suit, when I saw others with even more extravagant clothing. I looked quite dull in comparison.
A few guards were checking people as they went through the gate that led onto the property.
"Are we supposed to have one of those papers?"
I indicated my head at the gate.
Elias put a hand to his forehead now and sighed.
"Oh yeah.. don't worry about the invitation, I'll just show the guards this and they should let us through."
Elias pulled the gold chain from under his shirt where it sat around his neck. This time, I can see that the chain is connected to a shiny medallion with a lions head carved onto it.
Shrugging my shoulders, I let him take the lead when we get closer to the guards.
They stop us and seem very bored as one of them stretches out a hand.
"Invitations."
"Sorry gentleman, but we forgot to ask for them. I hope this will suffice?"
Elias smoothly shows his chain with a smile.
The guards snap to attention like their commanding officer just showed up.
"Y-yes my lord!"
We get a couple curious looks as we pass the guards.
"What is that?"
He holds his hand over his chest at my words.
"Oh this? This is just a little trinket that shows my standing as noble. It's very useless except for incidences like this."
As we make our way inside, a huge open room enters my view.
On the left side there are too many tables too count with various finger foods. Butler's walk in between groups of people and offer goblets of wine. There's an orchestra softly playing a light tune on the right.
At the back left and right corner of the room are two huge stairs that lead upwards to the balcony overlooking the whole affair.
Elais grabs my attention and his face is serious.
"Can I trust you to behave while I find Kathlyn and Marinah? You're not going to kill anybody before I return, will you?"
My mouth goes open a little at his insinuation. Does he think I'm some kind of murderous… well maybe the question isn't that far-fetched.
I nod to him, and he leaves.
My attention is now on the food that not a lot of people seem to be eating. There are small plates and little wooden things that you're supposed to use to handle the food.
It seems a little too tedious for my liking and I walk up to a rotating dish displaying small crispy sausages.
Grabbing a handful, I shove it in my mouth.
Flavor explodes in my mouth as I eat as fast as I can. There are gasps of shock and horror at my back and I turn to see what was happening.
Countless eyes lock onto me, and I struggle to understand what they were looking at.
I reach behind me and grab the last bit of the sausage and stuff it in my mouth while staring back at the crowd.
'Have they never seen a man eat before..?'
There are whispered voices that reach my ears as I turn back around and look for something else to eat.
"…uncouth.."
"…countryside…no manners…"
"…bumpkin.."
I stop eating for a moment as someone approaches me from the side.
A butler looks at me with a grimace on his face. His hand extends a washcloth towards me.
"Pardon me sir.. but you have a little food on your face.."
"Oh thanks."
I grab it from him and wipe some of the grease off my hands and face.
Handing it back to him I say, "I'm probably going to need another one of those."
He nods stiffly at me and pinches the used cloth on the least dirty part.
Turning back to eat, I'm annoyed when a familiar voice whisper yells my name.
Elias is stomping towards me with an older gentleman behind him. I see Kathlyn and Marinah too.
Giving him a wave with one hand, I use the other to shovel a mystery meat in my mouth. It's very good and has a spicy heat to complement the smokey flavor.
His eyes go wide as I reach behind me again and pick up another handful.
He dashes the rest of the way over and stops me before I can savor the godly taste.
"What are you doing!"
His still whisper yelling.
"Eating?"
"I see that you dolt! Why are you doing it like a barbarian?! We just had dinner a couple hours ago…"
He takes a deep breath and hands me a rag before continuing.
"…take this and clean yourself, Earl Bywater is right behind-"
Elias jumps as the man's footsteps grow closer.
The man's voice is jovial as he speaks.
"Young man, are you Kelric Bladebane?"
"Yeah." I say nodding to him.
He then walks closer and shoves Elias out of the way and tries to pull me into a hug.
My reflexes kick in and I retreat with a backflip, putting the table between us.
My eyes go wide as the man doesn't stop and leaps over it after me.
"Kelric! Come, let this old man give you a hug for saving my daughter's life!"
I back pedal further and hit the wall behind me.
"T-that's quite alright. I really only saved Elias, so you can-"
I have to duck, and I hear the man crash headfirst into the wall above me.
He stumbles back and my shock only deepens. He neatly fixes his hair that fell out of place and turns to me again.
"Kelric, this old man will not let you get away without giving my heartfelt thanks."
His mood turns serious, and I can tell this man is strong. His arms open wide, and he bends his knees. Like a stone flung from a catapult, he burst forward. I grab his wrists as he closes in on me and his fingers wriggle disturbingly.
Kathlyn's voice comes just in time, this man is very strong, and I lose to him without my rage.
"Father! Stop making trouble for Kelric!"
The man looks somewhat abashed and stops his forward movement. I warily let his wrists go as he steps back. I turn towards Kathlyn to thank her, but my eyes land on Marinah. Her dress is enchanting, and her eyes sparkle with laughter.
My mind goes dumb for a second as I look at her and—
I'm suddenly grabbed from behind and am being swung from side to side.
Earl Bywater is laughing maniacally.
"I got you now, Hahaha! Let this old man thank you-"
In my half-muddled state, my body reacted to the sudden embrace.
My left heel retracts back and up to connect with his groin. My elbow slams backwards into his stomach while the back of my head crashes into his chin.
I'm immediately dropped as the man falls down behind me.
Turning to look at the man and realize I just assaulted the Earl of this city. He's holding his manhood and crumpled in a ball.
I turn towards Elias in panic and am met with him bent over at the waist laughing. Glancing down at Kathlyn's father, I utter a small apology.
"Sorry about that.."
After a whirlwind of apologies from both Kelric and Tobias, the group departed from the ballroom floor and was led to a private study.
Kathlyn's father cleared his throat before speaking after everyone sat down.
"Kelric, let me thank you once again for saving my daughter's life."
"Ahh.. okay."
My short answer seems to satisfy him.
"Very good. Now, let's talk rewards."
My eyebrow raises, "Rewards for what?"
I see his own eyebrow twitch in response to my question.
"For saving my daughter. Tell me Kelric, what do want?"
His question makes me falter slightly, other than killing every living Kalabarian, I don't have any special interests.
He takes my silence as some sort of bargaining tactic and starts proposing one thing after the other, each time the reward gets more valuable.
"… a house? Hmm.. what about 1000 gold? Too little.. Tch. You drive a hard bargain young man. Okay, you can't possibly say no to this! My daughter's hand in marriage, that's the most valuable thing I have, please accept it!"
"Father!"
Kathlyn's outburst takes the attention away from my wide-open mouth.
"My daughter, I think this would be quite a good match! He's not a noble… but he's already proven himself capable of protecting you. I'll go get the steward to make it official."
This is madness. How have things escalated so quickly?
"Can I choose something else? I don't really want to marry your daughter."
I hear three sighs of relief, all for differing reasons.
"Why not!? Are you saying my daughter isn't worthy of you!"
His sudden anger throws me off again.
"No! It's just that.." my eyes search around the room while thinking of an excuse. They land on Marinah and linger there for a touch too long.
The man's emotions fluctuate again as he laughs.
"I see, I see. You should've just said you had someone else in your heart my dear boy.. hahaha."
I hang my head in shame. Am I really so obvious?
Looking back up to the Earl, I speak in a clear tone, so he doesn't misunderstand my words.
"I don't need any reward, that's not why I helped Elias and inadvertently saved your daughter."
"Tsk tsk. That won't do. I'm the Earl of Watercrest, what would people say if they heard I didn't reward a benefactor of the Bywater family?"
I sigh in exasperation; this man won't give up. Then, a sudden idea hits me.
"Are you looking for any new servants? I actually know…"
After the reward was settled, both parties walked away somewhat satisfied.
Elias gets my attention as we make our way back towards the ballroom.
"Kelric.. when the dancing begins, please stay far away from me. I don't want to be stomped—"
Thwack
The ball's attendees stare at me curiously as we make our way back to the main room. An hour passes slowly as idle chatter dies down to the loudening symphony of the orchestra. People shuffle to the edges of the room as men and women couples drift to the center, hand in hand.
Elias takes Kathlyn away and gives me a small wink as I'm left with Marinah. Nothing happens for a moment until I remember I'm supposed to ask her to dance.
I do as Elias told me earlier and sweep my head low and grab her hand to brush my lips against the back of it. Looking up to see her wide eyes and red face makes me think that Elias pulled some trick on me.
I say the lines I rehearsed anyway, "Lady Marinah, would you dance with me?"
She nods her head in acceptance, and I lead her a little further away from the other pairs. As I put my hand on her waist and clasp the other into her own, I have to bite my tongue too focus.
Soon, I find out it's not just me who's bad at dancing. Marinah's two left feet keep making her fall and I have to hold her even closer to me as we dance.
"Sorry Kelric.. I'm no good at this sorta stuff."
I feel my lips break into a small smile, "I'm not either, I'm just using a method Elias's butler taught me, so I don't crush your feet."
Her look is one of intrigue as she responds.
"What method is that? Can you teach me?"
Thinking for a moment, I shrug.
"Maybe not the exact same way I was taught, but if you listen to my commands.."
A few minutes later, I'm smiling as Marinah giggles.
Spinning her around and around, before tossing her up in the air, she hangs suspended in time like we are the only two in the entire world. Catching her deftly, the downward momentum was turned into a twirl. Her laughing eyes sparkled brightly while we fully extended our arms, trusting that we would keep each other grounded. Bringing her close once more with a pull, Marinah stumbled a bit, and I have to catch her with both arms, so she doesn't fall over.
She's still laughing, it reminds me of a beautiful spring day. As I hug her close, my nose picks up on her perfumed floral scent. My head is lowering unconsciously and only stops when I'm an inch away from making a very big mistake.
I snap my head back as guilt, anger and yearning war within my mind.
The music had been lowering in pitch as the god's mercy falls upon me, I take Marinah's hand and lead her to where Elias and Kathlyn stood.
Elias doesn't tease me about what he saw and just stares pointedly at my hand which hadn't let go of Marinah's.
Releasing my grip, I mutter out a lame apology and walk towards the door. Not once looking towards Marinah since my barely avoided mistake.
Elias sees my intention and bids farewell to the girls.
He and I do not speak as we head back to his house. Even the butler seemed to notice the mood and didn't try to make conversation as he took our suit jackets from us.
As we enter the sitting room, Elias can't hold himself back any longer.
"So, so you want to tell me what happened back there or.."
His smile is genuine and not teasing as I expected it to be.
Shaking my head, I respond, "Let me tell you about my past first and then my goal, I hope then you'll understand why I can't be involved in such trivial matters."
With a deep breath, my story begins, "About two years ago slavers had attacked my village…"
I thought Elias was going to cry and stop my story when I told him how I killed Harry. He didn't then, but he did interrupt when I told him how much my slave buyout was.
"That's ridiculous! 150 gold! That means he only bought the other seven for less than 2 gold a piece!"
I nodded and continued, "I was quite angry when he told me this as well, I only had 5 gold in total after my third match. So, I asked what I could do to gain my freedom faster. The answer was more dangerous fights. I wasn't limited to just men anymore as beasts.."
My throat hurts a little and I don't remember the last time I've spoken at length like this. Taking a sip of water, my story goes on.
"Let me say this now, I'm not a good person Elias. After I bought out my contract, I didn't have any money. My anger is vengeful and full of hate. An unlucky man happened to show his coin purse in front of me. I followed him to his house and killed him and his wife. Using the money I stole, I bought passage over the White Sea back to my village."
Elias doesn't even seem perturbed by my admission of killing two random people. He just taps his chin with his fingers as he speaks.
"Let me get this straight, you, by yourself, are planning to destroy Kalabar?"
"No, I joined Elomburg to make allies to crush Kalabar with me."
He has a follow up question that makes me open my mouth in disbelief.
"So why can't you indulge yourself in a little romance? Seems like a waste to me."
"Because! Don't you see Elias?! I need to keep my focus on Kalabar, Harry will never rest in peace if I don't bring them to justice!"
It's his turn to shake his head at me.
"Kelric, I don't think you're being honest with yourself. You're trying to get rid of your guilt, not avenge your fallen friend. So, what if you stray from the path you've taken a little? If the end results the same, why does it matter?"
"Why does it matter? Because revenge is the only thing I've lived for, FOR TWO YEARS! Elais, I cannot abandon this path I've chosen."
He scoffs at me, making my temper rise.
"Did I say you should abandon your revenge? Your justice? No. I'm merely stating the obvious, you can live for more."
The sudden anger cools at his words and I slump.
"No.. no I can't. There's nothing that-"
"Gods damn it Kelric! Why are you being so obtuse? Do you think you're some wicked beast that doesn't deserve more than hatred and cruelty?"
His words strike me hard because that is exactly what I think. He stands and walks to the door. His final words make me question what I'm really even living for.
"For a man that has killed so many people, you sure are a coward. Keep running away from your problems Kelric, maybe one day they won't catch up to you."
I bury my face in my hands as the door closes.