CANSTVER 14TH YEAR 548 ASMERIAN CALENDAR.
Alice and Erik rode into the gatehouse of Farmville, she was still visibly distraught. She watched as the Gregorian Marines cleared a way for them in the crowd of people going to and from Gregoria. Farmville was a massive town for trade and leisure. Prostitutes were all over and merchants far away from home and their wives were rampant. It was like nothing she had ever seen before. The town was far more exotic than any Asmerian town she'd been in.
They made their way to the bridge with the aid of the Marines that escorted them. The bridge was an amazing sight for Alice, it rose two hundred feet above the river and allowed for massive ships and barges to float freely beneath. "Do ya like watching the ships pass?" Erik asked as he guided the horse to the side of the bridge.
"There's so many," She said as she looked out into the bay. Fort Verio was in view and it was intimidating and stood tall over every ship that passed. Alice loved waving to the sailors below, they would even wave back to the pedestrians above.
They continued across the bridge where two men were waiting for Erik. They were Marines judging by their matte black breastplates and the green and gold gambeson underneath. "Welcome back Sir Hughes." The man on the left greeted them as he approached on foot. "I'm Lance Corporal David Stansil, I'm at your service sir."
"Thank you Lance Corporal, can you escort me to the Baronet's residence?" Erik asked.
"Of course sir, lead on." Stansil said as he bowed his head. He had one chevron on his shoulder and crossed daggers in the center. That was the rank insignia of a lance corporal in the Gregorian 3rd Marine Battalion. They were the only unit in the Gregorian military that used a separate insignia from its main branch. They were considered the most elite of the Gregorian military.
The marines escorted them all of the way to Axel Von Schnieder's home on top of the tallest hill in Concord. The house was massive and enveloped the hilltop. It was a stone house that was whitewashed and overlooked the rest of the city. Marines stood guard at the entrance of the manor and stopped them as they approached the gate. "State your business." The ranking guard barked.
"I'm Erik Hughes and I require Lord Schnieders audience."
"Very well, you may pass. The baronet is expecting you and will greet you in the central courtyard." Alice turned to Erik, who simply patted her on the head.
"Y'know, it's much nicer here than Greendale. Come on now, up ya go." He said as he picked her up and walked into the lavish courtyard. Lance Corporal Stansil took the horse around to the stable across the street. The servants looked on in awe and curiosity as they made their way through the manor. They finally came to the central courtyard, Schnieder was sitting down in a hammock strung between two trees. He had a book in his left hand and a cup of ale in the other.
"Ah, welcome back Erik, I see you brought them back, Miller will-" He stopped as Erik put a finger over his mouth.
"Only her, I have to go back, so please take care of her. She's crippled from the waist down and can't walk."
"I see, what's your name, child?"
"Alice, it's Alice Scottkey." she said rather shyly.
"Please address me as lord, I don't ask for much but respect and loyalty are key to me. Now set her down on the bench next to you Sir Hughes, and you may return to Asmeria to retrieve Ruby and the rest of the Scottkey's." Schiender stood up and put his book down. He looked at Alice and smiled.
"M'lord, Connor Scottkey and his wife are dead on the Zander road, their son Jackson and Ruby are still waiting for me there."
"I see," The expression on Schiendersface changed, he held his chin up with his hand and entered a deep train of thought. "I'll have to inform Sir Miller, now hurry back to Asmeria and return Ruby and Jackson Scottkey to us."
"As you wish m'lord.��� With that Erik turned and ran out of the courtyard towards the front gate. Alice sat there and said nothing. She couldn't clear her mind, and he could tell she was distraught.
"You'll find no distraction from your parents deaths here miss Scottkey, I'll fetch a wheelchair for you and find some reasonable lodging. You may stay in my home for the night and if Sir Miller wishes it, you may live with him."
"Thank you my lord, what will I do until then?" She asked quietly.
"I'll leave you to yourself, it seems to me that you have much to think about. If you need anything, please call on my servants, they shall heed your every word. Now, I will not be back until later tonight, I have a great many things to do and the day is running short. I will say, that's mainly my own fault for getting so invested in reading." Lord Schieder laughed as he took up the book. Alice still was unresponsive to his attempt at humor.
"Here, I think you could learn from this, it's a wonderful book about a foreign girl finding her way in an unknown land. I believe you can relate to such a tale." He said as he placed the book down in her lap.
"Thank you my lord, I'll read it." She said as she flipped the cover and gazed at the first page.
"Goodbye Alice, and I'm sorry that we couldn't reach your family in time." He said as he turned and walked away.
She started reading the book but tears soon filled her eyes as she read about the foriegn girls family also being killed, but she stayed strong and escaped captivity. She got enveloped as the main character struggled to survive in a shed in the woods, so much so that she couldn't hear the servants calling on her for dinner.
"Mistress." A woman in a servant uniform asked as she put her hand on top of the page. Alice, out of shock, let out a scream but quickly composed herself. "Oh my, I'm so sorry mistress, I didn't mean to startle you."
Alice finally looked up to see the servant, she was a beautiful woman with dark brown hair and crystal blue eyes and she had her hair brushed down over her left eye.
"You're fine, I was just reading and I got carried away I guess. I do that alot when my brother reads to me at night."
"I see, that is quite the novel to read, I've read it many times as I'm the only literate servant here." The servant said with excitement. "You're how old and you can read a book like this? Where did you go to school and who taught you?"
"Oh, um, well my brother taught me alot along with my uncle but I've only gone to school in the capital of Asmeria."
"Wow, that's such an impressive accomplishment for a girl, you're very lucky for a woman. Being able to learn in the capital of a country, you must be of noble descent." The servant asked even more starstruck now.
"Well, I'm a Scottkey, Alice Rene Scottkey is my full name." Alice said embarrassed, she didn't know how the servant would respond when she heard she was a Scottkey.
"I apologize m'lady, I didn't know you were a noble." The servant said as she bowed her head.
"No, no, no, I'm not a noble, we haven't been noble since the civil war, there's no need to bow." Alice said now even more embarrassed.
"I must m'lady, even if you aren't a noble anymore, you're still a descendant of a Scottkey. Your house helped Gregoria at the battle of Vern. Any Gregorian would bow their head to you m'lady."
"I don't even know about the battle of vern, I don't deserve this." Said Alice. "Please, forget my name and anything that goes with it, I hate my name!" Alice now cried, she almost fell out of her chair but the servant caught her.
"I apologize m'lady, I don't understand, why would you hate your name?"
"Because it... it killed my parents."
The servant helped Alice up and wiped her tears away. She looked Alice in the eyes and felt a sense of guilt overcome her. "I… I didn't mean to bring that up, forgive me. I'm so sorry m'lady."
Alice couldn't say anything, all she could do was hug the servant for comfort as she relentlessly cried.0 "Alice right?" The servant asked. "Is it okay for me to address you as Alice?" Alice nodded as she pressed her head further into her bosom. "My name is Hailly, I want you to know that a name can't kill, okay? You're a wonderful girl and I'm sorry, I'm so very sorry."
The night came to an end as Hailly brought Alice dinner and continued to read to her. There was almost nothing that could ease the pain Alice felt like the soothing voice of a woman reading a story to her.