It didn’t feel good. Mila flicked the blood off of her dagger. It didn’t at all. She didn’t know what she had expected. In this raid, she had killed the vilest creatures, yet she did not feel any joy in freeing the world of the filth.
There was a relief it was over but also a disgust at the fact Mila had gained a part of the bug’s mana in the process. There was an expectation of improving Isabel’s mood - Kanna’s too. This was how Mila imagined she would feel after an exhausting workday.
Most of Mila’s previous actions had been an act to scare the man. She had been angry but not to the extent of doing all the showmanship without consideration.
In the end, it was a good thing Brandy was dead.
“So,” Anthony interrupted the momentary peace. “Do you want to talk here, or?”
The fight had not been long nor loud. Mila doubted anyone would discover what had happened here for a while longer. “Not here. The air in this room is rather stuffy. A breath of nightly wind would do wonders for our mood, wouldn’t you agree?”
Anthony deferred. “As you say.” He waited for further instructions.
“You can lower your hands.” Mila walked back from where she had come from. “Follow me.” She headed down, passing her earlier work. “Won’t people find it suspicious your body is not amongst the rest?”
“They might.” Anthony agreed. “But I can’t guess what they would make of it, as it is my mission here is over, and I have to wait for a new assignment.” Unmentioned was his probability of living until he could speak with his superiors.
“I guess that’s fine. I didn’t kill everyone. Some servants are alive. They might assume you just ran. Perhaps your mission can be continued.” Anthony didn’t look convinced. They reached the entrance, and Mila opened the doors and peeked outside. Her intrusion was yet to be detected. “Any other exits we could take?” She kept watching the yard critically.
“A couple doors for servants at the back and a passage out of the property in one of the lounges. A window would also work.” Anthony drily added at the end.
“A window would, yes.” Mila closed the doors. “Anyone else I should be worried about under the payroll of the bug?”
Anthony shuddered from the way Mila referred to Brandy. “Not anyone dangerous to you, no. Not under my deceased boss. The Basalt family is another matter.”
“I see. The nobles.” Mila walked to one of the side rooms she remembered had a wide window facing flowerbeds and a wall. No one would see them leaving from there.
“Robvo has a lot of money. His status also allows for more reliable hires and servants.” Anthony revealed.
“Anyone you know spying there?”
Anthony’s expression became strained. “Sorry, but I don’t know.”
“Don’t know or can’t say?” The man remained silent, and Mila didn’t push the issue. It wasn’t important anyway. “I am rather busy for the night.” She continued. “And I would rather not kill you. Can you be useful to me?” She was direct.
“Uh,” Anthony was taken aback. “Of course.” He watched Mila open the window and climb out. “But I do have a duty to fulfil in Stilag…”
“To make a mess or gather information?” Mila landed on the soft grass. The distant shouting reminded her of the lynching crowd running around seeking revenge. Mr Crow cawed at the sight of another person following Mila. That had not been the plan, but she gave him a sign to leave them be for now.
“The latter.” Anthony followed. “So while I might be interested in helping, I have lines I can not cross.”
“Even if I was persuasive?” Mila sent the men the deadest stare she could manage. While he appeared to sweat, he didn’t react otherwise. Clearly, Anthony valued his country over his life. She turned away. “I have two tasks I need to fulfil. Your help would be appreciated in return…” Mila reached the wall and leapt on it.
“I keep my life?” Anthony guessed. “You drive a hard bargain, Miss.”
“You do know my name, yes?” Mila suddenly asked and waited for the man to join her on the wall before, with a jump, grabbing the roof ledge and pulling herself on it. She studied the buildings where she had seen the thugs enter and exit.
Anthony sighed as he stepped over half-broken roof tiles. “You should be Mila.” There were no doubts in his voice.
It was proof Viola had passed the information of Mila up the chain of command. Honestly, with how Anthony acted, it may be a boon. With each passing week, Tordgo became more hostile to her little group.
While much could be said about the terrorist cell, the Kingdom of Imeglenmo had established they HAD been trustworthy. “Hmm, and the real name of Pepper?”
Anthony sighed. “She was never happy with her alias. Why wouldn’t she just tell it to a person she barely knows?” He lamented. “It’s Viola.”
“You are awfully forthcoming with the name. I thought you would be more caged about it.” Mila pointed at one of the buildings she had seen thugs walk in and out. “I assume Brandy owns that.”
“Yes. It’s one of the places his people use to rest. As for Viola… I would be more guarded, but she has been a pain in the rear about it.” Anthony didn’t hide the reason. “She keeps pestering anyone in the earshot about how stupid she thinks the name ‘Pepper’ is.”
Mila nodded. The woman had been rather outspoken about a lot of things. She also showed signs of not respecting authority. It was believable Viola had ticked off the more earnest part of the spy network they were running. She added more prodding questions to establish where Anthony stood and their goals. One of the questions was about his name.
“No, Anthony is my real name,” Anthony repeated. “I know better than to lie to you. Not giving information is different. I can’t discuss a lot of topics, but my name is not one of them.”
The man didn’t tell much otherwise, but just enough for Mila to leave him alive. She led the man towards one of the quieter buildings Anthony had claimed to be Brandy’s. While Mila believed the man was far from innocent, she would let Isabel decide his fate.
After they jumped on its roof, Mila raised a question. “Are there innocent people in this building?”
Anthony looked down at the tiles. “Innocent? No, not really. Although I would argue some of them had no choice. But that is true for most of the Stilag. Why?” While he asked, the tone indicated he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer.
“I need a change.”
“Oh.” Anthony realised. He looked appalled at the state of Mila’s robe.
“Oh indeed.” Mila felt helpless about it. It wasn’t like she had purposefully done it. She had used the horrifying appearance to instil fear into Brandy, but it hadn’t been her goal to dirty herself like this.
While finding someone to steal from was possible, Mila didn’t want to hurt any bystanders and would take what was here, where she knew people no one would miss were.
The faults in her logic weren’t lost on her. Mila knew full well that Anthony’s words held some truth. But she refused to acknowledge the humanity of her enemies. It was easier this way. It let her avoid morbid thoughts.
Thinking about Isabel also helped. Her girl would certainly scold Mila if she showed up in front of her like this. And now she wanted to see Isabel. What was her girl doing now? Probably still taking care of Kanna…
While distracting herself, Mila found a shakier part of the roof and stomped. The shoddy construction caved under her strength and revealed a hole. She peeked through at what looked like the attic.
Another couple of stomps later, the hole was large enough. After inviting Anthony to follow, she jumped down. “Ugh…”
The space was filled with rotting fruits. Mila didn’t hesitate and headed for the shaft leading further down. Anthony repeated her sentiment when he landed on the floor.
Only when after entering the corridor did Mila breathe again. “What was that?”
“If I remember correctly, one of Brandy’s men wanted to brew spirits from these fruits. It never happened. I was wondering where they went.”
“And you know that because?” Mila reached the first doors and yanked them open. The room was full of broken furniture.
“I did work as Bradny’s accountant for several months. I had to approve the purchase.”
“Neat.” Mila heard someone coming up. She ran towards the ladder at the end of the corridor and quickly dispatched the scarred, drunken male. As he bled out on the ladder, Mila returned to checking the rooms.
On the third try, Mila found a room filled with the smell of alcohol and sex. A snoring man was sleeping on top of a wide-eyed woman who was looking back at Mila in horror.
“Be quiet, and I won’t kill you.” She walked inside. The discarded pile of skimpy clothes did contain a light cloak. It was just barely enough to protect the whore from the nightly winds.
“...please…”
A barely audible whisper reached Mila. She looked at the woman. Young - was the first thought. Pittable - was the next. “Think carefully of what you are about to ask.” Mila took a step into the small amount of light that came from the window.
Having a better look at Mila, the woman averted her eyes but spoke. “... I don’t want this.” The woman murmured. “I don’t want this.”
The man coughed. His spasms crushed upon the girl, who winced in pain.
“Then what do you want?” Mila asked.
“... Away… I want to be elsewhere… They took my home… Burned it… Had to run…”
Mila glanced back at the doors where Anthony was hiding. She suspected who ‘they’ were. This was how the war was. A moment of silence was enough for her to gather her thoughts. Isabel would help. “And now, you are made to be a…” She wanted to say whore, but changed her thoughts midway. “...lady of the night.”
“... forced.” The girl was too quiet. The sentence didn’t reach Mila fully.
There was no time. Mila looked out of the window, then rammed her dagger right in the side of the man, piercing his heart. She grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the bed, freeing the girl. “I will give you a chance. Whether or not you will use it is up to you.”
Mila leaned closer to the girl, her eyes burning into the girl’s. “I’ll kill everyone but your companions in the building.” She whispered. “And I’ll give you an address. If you can get there, perhaps there will be a chance for you.” Another few centimetres lower, Mila reached the girl’s ear and whispered the way towards one of Naran’s holes. “I’ll be taking your cloak as a payment.”
And with that, Mila left the room with the new cloak in hand. It was bigger than the current one and thinner. But it was clean, and it was what mattered. She looked at Anthony, who loomed around the corner. “If you help, it will be over sooner.” She sweetly whispered, making the man tremble.
“...Sure…” He finally answered and joined Mila, who was gliding towards the next door. He recited a short prayer, asking the Sea Father for forgiveness and protection.
Fifteen minutes later, Mila stood back on the roof. The new cloak flapped in the wind. In addition, she had procured another set of garb to disguise herself with.
There hadn’t been just girls who had been forced into being pleasure slaves. Young and old, males and females. All were used just the same - both by men and women. Whatever else could be said about Brandy, he didn’t care about the preferences or sex of the monsters he employed.
Now, everyone who had survived Mila’s purge had gathered on the first floor and waited for an opportunity to slip away in the chaos that would soon ensue.
Mila jumped over to the building next to the current one to have a better angle. She pulled out one of her throwing knives and aimed at one of the guards who was watching the street. A moment later, the guard collapsed, and they were gone in the night.
With this, Brandy’s men would find the corpse of their deceased Boss. After all, they had to report the murder in the middle of the street.
Soon, they arrived at the Guard station. With their speed, they had come before the slaughter was reported. Mr Crow was already there. His gaze lingered on the window of the room Andrew was in.
Enkiari
I found a solution for the cold weather! Instead of using three layers of wear, I use four! Genius! It’s actually quite cosy, all things considered.
Well, the worst of the cold has passed. It was -22 this morning, and tomorrow’s forecast claims it will be around 0. What’s with that? That is certainly not how the weather should work! But I'll take it. It's better than guarding my nose from freezing off.
Anyway! I hope everyone is doing great! Stay warm!
Cheers,
Hopeful Enkiari
It didn’t feel good. Mila flicked the blood off of her dagger. It didn’t at all. She didn’t know what she had expected. In this raid, she had killed the vilest creatures, yet she did not feel any joy in freeing the world of the filth.
There was a relief it was over but also a disgust at the fact Mila had gained a part of the bug’s mana in the process. There was an expectation of improving Isabel’s mood - Kanna’s too. This was how Mila imagined she would feel after an exhausting workday.
Most of Mila’s previous actions had been an act to scare the man. She had been angry but not to the extent of doing all the showmanship without consideration.
In the end, it was a good thing Brandy was dead.
“So,” Anthony interrupted the momentary peace. “Do you want to talk here, or?”
The fight had not been long nor loud. Mila doubted anyone would discover what had happened here for a while longer. “Not here. The air in this room is rather stuffy. A breath of nightly wind would do wonders for our mood, wouldn’t you agree?”
Anthony deferred. “As you say.” He waited for further instructions.
“You can lower your hands.” Mila walked back from where she had come from. “Follow me.” She headed down, passing her earlier work. “Won’t people find it suspicious your body is not amongst the rest?”
“They might.” Anthony agreed. “But I can’t guess what they would make of it, as it is my mission here is over, and I have to wait for a new assignment.” Unmentioned was his probability of living until he could speak with his superiors.
“I guess that’s fine. I didn’t kill everyone. Some servants are alive. They might assume you just ran. Perhaps your mission can be continued.” Anthony didn’t look convinced. They reached the entrance, and Mila opened the doors and peeked outside. Her intrusion was yet to be detected. “Any other exits we could take?” She kept watching the yard critically.
“A couple doors for servants at the back and a passage out of the property in one of the lounges. A window would also work.” Anthony drily added at the end.
“A window would, yes.” Mila closed the doors. “Anyone else I should be worried about under the payroll of the bug?”
Anthony shuddered from the way Mila referred to Brandy. “Not anyone dangerous to you, no. Not under my deceased boss. The Basalt family is another matter.”
“I see. The nobles.” Mila walked to one of the side rooms she remembered had a wide window facing flowerbeds and a wall. No one would see them leaving from there.
“Robvo has a lot of money. His status also allows for more reliable hires and servants.” Anthony revealed.
“Anyone you know spying there?”
Anthony’s expression became strained. “Sorry, but I don’t know.”
“Don’t know or can’t say?” The man remained silent, and Mila didn’t push the issue. It wasn’t important anyway. “I am rather busy for the night.” She continued. “And I would rather not kill you. Can you be useful to me?” She was direct.
“Uh,” Anthony was taken aback. “Of course.” He watched Mila open the window and climb out. “But I do have a duty to fulfil in Stilag…”
“To make a mess or gather information?” Mila landed on the soft grass. The distant shouting reminded her of the lynching crowd running around seeking revenge. Mr Crow cawed at the sight of another person following Mila. That had not been the plan, but she gave him a sign to leave them be for now.
“The latter.” Anthony followed. “So while I might be interested in helping, I have lines I can not cross.”
“Even if I was persuasive?” Mila sent the men the deadest stare she could manage. While he appeared to sweat, he didn’t react otherwise. Clearly, Anthony valued his country over his life. She turned away. “I have two tasks I need to fulfil. Your help would be appreciated in return…” Mila reached the wall and leapt on it.
“I keep my life?” Anthony guessed. “You drive a hard bargain, Miss.”
“You do know my name, yes?” Mila suddenly asked and waited for the man to join her on the wall before, with a jump, grabbing the roof ledge and pulling herself on it. She studied the buildings where she had seen the thugs enter and exit.
Anthony sighed as he stepped over half-broken roof tiles. “You should be Mila.” There were no doubts in his voice.
It was proof Viola had passed the information of Mila up the chain of command. Honestly, with how Anthony acted, it may be a boon. With each passing week, Tordgo became more hostile to her little group.
While much could be said about the terrorist cell, the Kingdom of Imeglenmo had established they HAD been trustworthy. “Hmm, and the real name of Pepper?”
Anthony sighed. “She was never happy with her alias. Why wouldn’t she just tell it to a person she barely knows?” He lamented. “It’s Viola.”
“You are awfully forthcoming with the name. I thought you would be more caged about it.” Mila pointed at one of the buildings she had seen thugs walk in and out. “I assume Brandy owns that.”
“Yes. It’s one of the places his people use to rest. As for Viola… I would be more guarded, but she has been a pain in the rear about it.” Anthony didn’t hide the reason. “She keeps pestering anyone in the earshot about how stupid she thinks the name ‘Pepper’ is.”
Mila nodded. The woman had been rather outspoken about a lot of things. She also showed signs of not respecting authority. It was believable Viola had ticked off the more earnest part of the spy network they were running. She added more prodding questions to establish where Anthony stood and their goals. One of the questions was about his name.
“No, Anthony is my real name,” Anthony repeated. “I know better than to lie to you. Not giving information is different. I can’t discuss a lot of topics, but my name is not one of them.”
The man didn’t tell much otherwise, but just enough for Mila to leave him alive. She led the man towards one of the quieter buildings Anthony had claimed to be Brandy’s. While Mila believed the man was far from innocent, she would let Isabel decide his fate.
After they jumped on its roof, Mila raised a question. “Are there innocent people in this building?”
Anthony looked down at the tiles. “Innocent? No, not really. Although I would argue some of them had no choice. But that is true for most of the Stilag. Why?” While he asked, the tone indicated he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer.
“I need a change.”
“Oh.” Anthony realised. He looked appalled at the state of Mila’s robe.
“Oh indeed.” Mila felt helpless about it. It wasn’t like she had purposefully done it. She had used the horrifying appearance to instil fear into Brandy, but it hadn’t been her goal to dirty herself like this.
While finding someone to steal from was possible, Mila didn’t want to hurt any bystanders and would take what was here, where she knew people no one would miss were.
The faults in her logic weren’t lost on her. Mila knew full well that Anthony’s words held some truth. But she refused to acknowledge the humanity of her enemies. It was easier this way. It let her avoid morbid thoughts.
Thinking about Isabel also helped. Her girl would certainly scold Mila if she showed up in front of her like this. And now she wanted to see Isabel. What was her girl doing now? Probably still taking care of Kanna…
While distracting herself, Mila found a shakier part of the roof and stomped. The shoddy construction caved under her strength and revealed a hole. She peeked through at what looked like the attic.
Another couple of stomps later, the hole was large enough. After inviting Anthony to follow, she jumped down. “Ugh…”
The space was filled with rotting fruits. Mila didn’t hesitate and headed for the shaft leading further down. Anthony repeated her sentiment when he landed on the floor.
Only when after entering the corridor did Mila breathe again. “What was that?”
“If I remember correctly, one of Brandy’s men wanted to brew spirits from these fruits. It never happened. I was wondering where they went.”
“And you know that because?” Mila reached the first doors and yanked them open. The room was full of broken furniture.
“I did work as Bradny’s accountant for several months. I had to approve the purchase.”
“Neat.” Mila heard someone coming up. She ran towards the ladder at the end of the corridor and quickly dispatched the scarred, drunken male. As he bled out on the ladder, Mila returned to checking the rooms.
On the third try, Mila found a room filled with the smell of alcohol and sex. A snoring man was sleeping on top of a wide-eyed woman who was looking back at Mila in horror.
“Be quiet, and I won’t kill you.” She walked inside. The discarded pile of skimpy clothes did contain a light cloak. It was just barely enough to protect the whore from the nightly winds.
“...please…”
A barely audible whisper reached Mila. She looked at the woman. Young - was the first thought. Pittable - was the next. “Think carefully of what you are about to ask.” Mila took a step into the small amount of light that came from the window.
Having a better look at Mila, the woman averted her eyes but spoke. “... I don’t want this.” The woman murmured. “I don’t want this.”
The man coughed. His spasms crushed upon the girl, who winced in pain.
“Then what do you want?” Mila asked.
“... Away… I want to be elsewhere… They took my home… Burned it… Had to run…”
Mila glanced back at the doors where Anthony was hiding. She suspected who ‘they’ were. This was how the war was. A moment of silence was enough for her to gather her thoughts. Isabel would help. “And now, you are made to be a…” She wanted to say whore, but changed her thoughts midway. “...lady of the night.”
“... forced.” The girl was too quiet. The sentence didn’t reach Mila fully.
There was no time. Mila looked out of the window, then rammed her dagger right in the side of the man, piercing his heart. She grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the bed, freeing the girl. “I will give you a chance. Whether or not you will use it is up to you.”
Mila leaned closer to the girl, her eyes burning into the girl’s. “I’ll kill everyone but your companions in the building.” She whispered. “And I’ll give you an address. If you can get there, perhaps there will be a chance for you.” Another few centimetres lower, Mila reached the girl’s ear and whispered the way towards one of Naran’s holes. “I’ll be taking your cloak as a payment.”
And with that, Mila left the room with the new cloak in hand. It was bigger than the current one and thinner. But it was clean, and it was what mattered. She looked at Anthony, who loomed around the corner. “If you help, it will be over sooner.” She sweetly whispered, making the man tremble.
“...Sure…” He finally answered and joined Mila, who was gliding towards the next door. He recited a short prayer, asking the Sea Father for forgiveness and protection.
Fifteen minutes later, Mila stood back on the roof. The new cloak flapped in the wind. In addition, she had procured another set of garb to disguise herself with.
There hadn’t been just girls who had been forced into being pleasure slaves. Young and old, males and females. All were used just the same - both by men and women. Whatever else could be said about Brandy, he didn’t care about the preferences or sex of the monsters he employed.
Now, everyone who had survived Mila’s purge had gathered on the first floor and waited for an opportunity to slip away in the chaos that would soon ensue.
Mila jumped over to the building next to the current one to have a better angle. She pulled out one of her throwing knives and aimed at one of the guards who was watching the street. A moment later, the guard collapsed, and they were gone in the night.
With this, Brandy’s men would find the corpse of their deceased Boss. After all, they had to report the murder in the middle of the street.
Soon, they arrived at the Guard station. With their speed, they had come before the slaughter was reported. Mr Crow was already there. His gaze lingered on the window of the room Andrew was in.
Enkiari
I found a solution for the cold weather! Instead of using three layers of wear, I use four! Genius! It’s actually quite cosy, all things considered.
Well, the worst of the cold has passed. It was -22 this morning, and tomorrow’s forecast claims it will be around 0. What’s with that? That is certainly not how the weather should work! But I'll take it. It's better than guarding my nose from freezing off.
Anyway! I hope everyone is doing great! Stay warm!
Cheers,
Hopeful Enkiari
