"It's alright." The man's voice broke her concentration. Her eyes flashed open. Locking instantly upon his own. "I don't know why this isn't working but I will find a way!" He said and for a moment Silf felt something she couldn't describe.
She nodded. "Y~you're not g~going to hit me?" She asked timidly.
Magnius smiled. Moving his hand from her lap to her head. Scratching between her broken horn. She lowered her head. Like a cat wanting to be pet.
He couldn't blame her. This was probably one of the few times she'd ever experienced a tentative touch. "No." He answered. "I promise you, no ones going to hurt you.
Silf lifted her head. Tears pooling at the corner of her eyes. It wasn't a joke? No cruel games. This was real!? He actually intended to free her!?
The failure didn't bother her. How could it? She was going to be free, someday. Grief overwhelmed her and she broke down. Sobbing harder than she ever had. She could hardly breathe. Gasping for breath between moments of unbearable sadness and joy.
When the tears stopped and breathing returned to normal Silf found herself on the couch. She couldn't remember being escorted out of the study. Nor Zyom greeting her in passing. It had all been a blur of emotion.
She sat up. Pushing the blanket from the night before away. She'd been laid down. Had she slept? She couldn't recall.
Magnius and Zyom were in the study. The door was closed. She could see it from the couch.
She could hear their conversation. It was muffled through thick wooden doors and perhaps even magical protections but she could hear it. Faint, like a whisper. They were discussing what to do with her now.
"I'm not abandoning her," Magnius said, answering his friend. "I refuse to!" Zyom stood by the desk pouring over the notes Magnius had taken as well as the remains of the second Chain Breaker contained in its glass vial.
"I'm not saying we should," Zyom replied. He held a strip of parchment with Runes scribbled crudely across it. A recreation of some of the Runes on Silf's collar.
Magnius had been studying those Runes ever since the second failed attempt and having laid Silf down to rest in the living room. He still couldn't make heads or tails of most of it.
The complexity. It was almost maddening! He'd even tried Divination magic but to no eval. Whoever had crafted the collar had to have been a true master of Rune magic. Maybe even a god among men.
Silf looked at a mirror hung on the wall. Her reflection showed eyes of blue, green, and yellow. She'd never seen her own reflection with such colors before. But she'd never felt such a mixture of conflicting emotions either. Fear, Joy, and Optimism.
She stood feeling her leg wanting to give way under her weight. It hurt, but she wanted so badly to know what was to come of her. Was she going to be sold to someone else? Were they going to try again? Was it all too much even for a mage like Magnius who could teleport objects at will? She wanted so badly to know.
As she was within an arm's reach of the doors, they swung open. She yelped recoiling back. She tripped and fell. "I'm sorry I just~" Silf began, stopping short instinctively believing she was about to be punished for eavesdropping.
Magnius stood in the doorway holding the double doors open. Looking down at her perplexed. "Are you alright?" He asked, offering a hand to help her up.
Silf took his hand feeling his strength as she was pulled back to her feet. She looked up to the man then past him. There in the study stood a tall Elven man. His skin was like green wet grass. Long pointed ear half-hidden behind long silver-blond hair. He was of the Greater Elves.
"Hello, miss Silf. How are you feeling today?" Zyom asked as he approached.
Silf gave a shallow bow. "I'm a fine master" She froze. Eyes locking onto the man. Her hand had moved to her mouth.
She'd called him master. The collar had compelled her. This man. This elven man, he was her new master. Her owner. She knelt before him, hands resting on her knees. Ignoring the pain from the bruise.
"No, no please get up," Zyom said. "You're not my servant!" He sounded almost offended, she thought. Had he bought her simply to free her? Was his intention's as true as the man who'd bathed, fed, and clothed her? It was hard to believe.
There was a question in her colorful eyes. One he'd answered already. For others before her. But still it was an instinct to ask. But she wouldn't have to. "I told you," Magnius began. "Here, you are not a slave nor a servant."
Zyom smiled leaning against a bookshelf. His arms crossed. Silf wasn't sure what to make of him. He was her Master, but he also wasn't? "We need to talk," Magius said motioning back towards the chair, breaking her gaze from the elven man.
There was something in his voice now. This was it. She could feel the tears coming. The fear washed back over her. Consuming her. "Please master. I'll do anything. Please don't sell me!" She pleaded, feeling a hand direct her to the chair. She didn't resist.
"It's alright," Magnius said, trying to soothe her fears. He knew this was all so very much for her. How could it not be?
Magnius and Zyom then took turns explaining the situation. It was ... a little overwhelming. To learn Zyom, her Master couldn't keep her. That the collar couldn't be removed yet. That the promise of freedom wasn't a lie but instead wasn't possible, yet.
All color drained away from her eyes, returning to a stagnant gray, not even the ring of yellow remained.
"There are two options," Zyom added when all else was said. Zyom shifted his stance. "But the choice is yours to make." He continued.
Silf wiped tears from her eyes. She'd never been given a choice from her Master. Despite her grief, he held out a glint of hope. A possibility. She nodded.
"We can look for someone who'll treat you well." Zyom said and Silf felt the tears returning. She couldn't stand the idea of being sold, again. She shook her head. "Or I can keep ownership and Magnius can continue to work to find a way to free you." He finished, and Silf felt a wave of shock wash over her. "You'll stay here naturally."
Silf was glad she was already sitting down. She thought she might have fallen over, or to her knees, had she been standing. She felt dizzy and numb all of a sudden. She couldn't help but feel like everything was falling apart around her.
But ... shouldn't she be happy? Staying with the man who'd so far taken such good care of her was better than she could have ever hoped for. But this feeling. Why did it feel ... wrong?
Magnius cleared his throat and spoke up breaking the growing tension. "There is a third option," He moved to his desk and from a drawer, pulled something out.
Setting it down Silf could see what looked to be a strip of parchment wrapped between two short wooden poles, capped with ornate golden heads depicting the heads of the divines. A Lion, Crain, Scorpion, and Ape. A scroll? It was tied closed with a length of twine.
Untying and unrolling the scroll Magnius set it across his desk. "While it goes against my principles, I propose taking ownership." He said calmly, now setting a quill to the parchment and began writing.
Zyom practically jumped off the wall he'd been leaning against. "You'll do what!" He yelled. His mouth left slack. His expression was one of confusion and questioning.