BRETVER 13TH YEAR 552 ASMERIAN CALENDAR.
Jackson woke up next to Ruby, Carter was nowhere to be seen yet. He still felt worn, he'd been cleaning the keep and even setting the table to Lord Daniels and his family. It was worse than what he had been tasked with before for the only reason of having to interact with Lord Daniels as a house slave. Not to mention the other slaves refusing to aid him in his duties, exempting Ruby who did her best to help.
Carter never did do anything about what happened at the servants' bath. Jackson was grateful for that and he showed his gratitude in a simple thank you but that meant a lot for Carter who still felt indebted to James Scottkey. Jackson began to think of ways to repay Carter once he gained his freedom. He had trouble coming up with any ideas. After all, what did a simple slave have that a man like Carter would want.
It wasn't long before Carter came strolling down the stairs with a spring in his step. He was also whistling an old Asmerian folk song. "Good morning kids!" He exclaimed happily, "How are you two this fine morning?"
"Good morning Carter, do try to not be so joyful while the rest of us are trying to enjoy our suffering." Jackson jested, Carter laughed as he opened the cell door, and reached behind him to reveal a leather bag.
"If only you knew why I was so joyful. Here put these on." Carter replied as he reached into the bag and threw new clothes at Jackson and Ruby. "If you're going to continue to serve Lord Daniels in his keep you need to look as if you're worthy of such a job. You're also moving out from this forsaken cesspool of a cell."
"Really?" Ruby exclaimed. "Are we Carter, are we really?" She jumped off of the bench and hugged Carter.
"Yeah, yeah you are, though it's not much of an upgrade. But at the very least you get an actual bed and a fire pit." Carter said as he pulled her closer. "Y'know, I'll even be close by all of the time now as I've also been promoted to a Corporal. Though, I still need to sow the insignia onto my jacket."
He pulled out a small piece of fabric that had a single chevron and a five-point star just below it. It was clear to Jackson that Carter was quite proud of his promotion by the smile on his face reaching ear to ear. Jackson stood up and held out his hand. "Congratulations Carter, you deserve it after putting up with me for so many years."
Carter took Jackson's hand and gripped it firmly as they shook hands. "While I'm proud I got it for the extra pay, it means little to me, master."
"I'm glad to hear it, Carter, after all, I still need you to escape from this shit hole of a castle."
Jackson and Ruby got dressed while Carter waited around the corner. He waited, when Jackson and Ruby rounded the corner he was surprised at how well they looked in their new uniforms. Jackson had a dark brown coat with a grey undershirt and dark brown pants. He also had black leather boots that actually fit him. Ruby wore a maids gown and simple black shoes. They both bowed to Carter; they were stunning to him, he had only ever known the dirty and feces-covered rags that they used for clothing.
"Well?" Jackson asked rather smugly.
"What do you mean by well? You two look stunning and miss Ruby, your beautiful Red hair contrasts so well with your uniform it's hard to even describe." He said in awe, he turned to Jackson and gave a thumbs up, to which Jackson returned the gesture.
They headed out of the slave barracks and into a small house next to the keep. There were two other slaves standing outside of the house. Both of them were Varin's like Ruby. Except the boy had blond hair and blue eyes while the girl had dark brown hair with brown eyes. They wore the same clothes as Jackson and Ruby and they were also familiar to Ruby and Jackson.
"Welcome, we've been expecting you, master Evans." The boy said. "Please, come inside."
Carter opened the door and held it for the four slaves to enter. It was a striped-down cabin. It had two bunks on both sides and a firepit in the center. There was nothing else to the place other than a small window. "Alright, you four. You are all expected to cut and maintain your own fire. You are allowed to take firewood from the woodpile behind the cabin. You four are special to my lord and as such you are being given special treatment. You are not to cause any, and I mean any disturbances while you are staying here or you'll return to your previous cells or barracks. Is this understood?"
"Yes, master!" The two Varin's replied. Jackson and Ruby just took a look around the cabin. It was close to the exterior armory and guardhouse, the only armory outside of the keep. The room was covered in ash from the fire pit and the ceiling had layers of soot all over. The two Varin's looked awkwardly at Jackson and Ruby, mainly because they seemed to ignore Carter completely.
"What are you doing?" The boy asked rather angered. "We just got here so don't mess it up for us." He snapped.
"Relax, Yumi if I remember right, you were Mister Keller's slave weren't you?" Jackson said calmly and composed.
"Yeah I was, do I know you?" Yumi asked as he took a step back.
"You do, I'm Jackson Scottkey, and this is Ruby. Mister Keller was a manager of sorts for my father Connor Scottkey." Jackson turned to Carter. "I don't suppose you could leave us alone for a moment, could you?"
"Of course, do what you must," Carter said as he exited the cabin.
Jackson took a seat on the right bunk and looked at Yumi and the girl next to him. He leaned forwards as if he was going to say something any second but never uttered a word. Yumi was put on edge, he had no idea what just happened right in front of him. How could a slave talk to a guard in such a way? "What are you? You're not a slave, right?" He asked.
"Ha, in title only I'm a slave, yes. However, I'm a Scottkey and son of Connor Scottkey. Your former master's employer, at least I assume your former master unless Mister Keller now lives here in the castle." Jackson said calmly. Ruby went ahead and jumped onto the bed next to him and leaned against his side.
"Brother, what do you think?" The girl asked. "I don't like this."
"What do you dislike about this?" Jackson asked, his eyes fixated on the two Varin's.
"I never met you, only your father and even then I don't believe you're a Scottkey." She said.
"You don't believe I'm a Scottkey, tell me. Do you know what happened to the name of Scottkey?" Jackson asked. Yumi and his sister stepped back and Yumi just shook his head.
"No? Well, let me tell you. My parents betrayed this country and every Scottkey was arrested to my knowledge. So, why would anyone in their right mind claim to be a Scottkey? Doesn't make sense, does it?"
Yumi thought about what he said for a second before releasing a sigh and he shrugged his shoulders. His tail said everything when it started to beat against his legs. Jackson caught on to that quickly from living with Ruby. They would always beat their tails against their legs if they didn't know what to say or do. Jackson just laughed out of amusement. "So, tell me, what happened to Mister Keller? Did he die or did he just sell you away like the product he sold at his store?" Jackson stood up and approached him as he noticed something on the wall behind Yumi.
"He was hanged, not long after you were put on trial. We were sold to Lord Daniels and served in the Great Hall in Greendale for the past few years." Jackson patted Yumi on the shoulder as he passed by.
There was a strange grey spot on the wall, as he got closer the spot disappeared in a misty flow that ran halfway down the wall before disappearing completely. "What is it, Jack?" Ruby asked.
"I wonder if the lady's watching."
Everyone froze, confused more than anything. Suddenly Jackson was covered by a black mist. Yumi dove for cover bringing his sister with him as they hid under the bed. They watch as Ruby didn't even budge from the bed she was sitting on.
"Are you stupid, get down!" Yumi shouted but Ruby didn't move, she just looked at Yumi and his sister and smiled. The mist drained away from the room as Carter swung the door open.
"Is everything alright?" He asked, he then saw the two under the bed. "The hell are you doing under there for?"
Jackson noticed what happened and shrugged his shoulders. "I was only testing something out, no need to be frightened." He reached out his hand and offered to help them out but they only curled up tighter underneath the bed.
Carter barged into to room after hearing the commotion and seeing Yumi and his sister under the bed he snapped. "Get out from under there you kids!" He barked. They slowly made their way out from underneath the bed and stood up next to Jackson. "Now tell me what happened." He said much calmer.
"He turned into mist master," Yumi said as he stepped forwards.
"What? What do you mean he turned into a mist?" Carter was only slightly confused though he had a good idea about what transpired. Yumi explained what happened in detail, leaving nothing out while Jackson sat next to Ruby reading his book.
"We're not safe with him!" Yumi cried, "We must tell the master what happened."
"Hold on kid, you want me to tell my master?" Carter asked.
"Of course, the sergeant of the guard or even the captain. He's dangerous, I swear he is!"
"Very well, let me address my master." Carter turned to Jackson and knelt down in front of him. "Well master, what would you have me do? I say let me take them to the executioner and let the ax bury the story along with them."
"What about me makes you think I'm dangerous to you Yumi? Is it that you don't understand me? Or maybe because you pledged your loyalty to the man who murdered your previous master?" He asked, he was cold and showed no emotion, even Ruby got goosebumps from being so close to him. He finally stood up and looked Yumi in the eyes. "Did Keller treat you so poorly that you would betray him? If so, I'd be more than honored to avenge him as well."
Yumi muttered something but he couldn't quite make it out. "Could you repeat what you just said?" He asked as he stepped even closer.
"Don't talk about my master like that!" Yumi snapped and threw a punch at Jackson out of anger. Jackson not only blocked the swing but caught Yumi's hand and threw him over his back.
"Stay down, I'm not going to tell you again or I'll have your sister pay for everything you do from here on out." He used the same tone that gave everyone shivers. His hands were now covered by the black mist and in an instant, Jackson was wielding a sword. "Now, your master was a close friend of mine, he taught me a few things about caring for animals and was a kind man. You betrayed him and left him to hang didn't you?"
"No, never, I would never betray master Keller like that. I wouldn't!"
"Really, then why do you want to report me to your new master so badly? You have lost any loyalty to Keller." He now stepped on Yumi's chest. Yumi grunted out in pain, it felt like he had broken a rib from landing so hard on the floor.
"I never betrayed him, master Daniels hung him for being a friend of your family. I would never have betrayed him!"
Jackson stepped back and the sword in his hand disappeared without a trace. He turned to Yumi's sister. "And you? Did you betray Keller to the gallows? I understand if you think I'm the cause for his demise but I assure you the actions of my father were his own and your master paid for aligning himself with my father."
She shook her head and stepped away from him. He sat back down on the bed and laid back swinging his feet up and down off the side of the bed. "You know what Carter, let's keep them. I owe Keller a thing or two. So helping his kids to freedom. Well, that might just pay off my debt."
"But we're not his children." The girl asked, confused.
"While you may not actually be in his lineage he considered you his children just as Sir Miller considered Ruby his own. By the way, I don't know your name, it'll be hard for us to live together without knowing each other."
"It's Io, my name is Io." She said as she stepped forwards. "It'll also be hard for us to live together if you don't let us know what happened just now."
"Ha, a fair point I suppose but, in order for me to tell you there's something you have to do first."
"Like what?" Io asked.
"Pledge loyalty and fidelity to me and I'll set you free from this hell when the time comes."