Sam and I are quiet on the way back to my Guild, and I can't really blame her. That was... a lot to take in for a pleasant afternoon in town. We're back home in minutes and without a word of confirmation the two of us sit down on the nearest dining table. After I clean up my eyes, I mean. I didn't want to spend the rest of the day looking like I just had daggers shoved through my face.
"So-" Sam and I start to say at the same time, causing us to laugh just enough to lower the tension a little.
"You start?" She asks with as comforting a smile as she can muster.
"This was my grandpa's Guild. He was a legend around here. He single handedly made this town thrive from the adventurer economy the Guild created. There wasn't any infrastructure in place to support the town if he died and took the economy with him." I really don't want to make this a thing. I try and sum it up as neatly as possible.
"And... he died because of you...?"
"...In a manner of speaking... yes. We were arguing, and I told him no to something very important, and he..."
Sam places her hand on mine, urging me to continue. Her eyes sparkle with green, honest compassion. "He what?"
"He... died of disappointment right there, on the spot."
The compassion fades instantly and is replaced by a look that screams 'are you shitting me?'. As expected.
"Trust me, I couldn't make this up if I fucking tried. They actually diagnosed it and everything."
"Well fuck me, Boss. So you're saying they let you run this place when you were only 10 years old... a-and then everyone's blamed you for the collapse of this shithole ever since...?" Her voice cracks from disbelief.
"Well when you put it like that it sounds absurd, but yes."
Sam grows distant and although my eyes still throb with pain I can tell she's showing different signs of regret. "And here I am telling you to man the fuck up and saying it was your fault the guild failed."
"Sam-"
"I'm sorry, Boss..." Her youthful face is stained by ugly tears, and my heart drops at just how much she actually cares.
"You couldn't haven't known. And besides- you were still correct. I failed because of myself, but now I'm going to succeed because of myself, too."
Sam raises an eyebrow, "You mean by becoming the villain?"
And then the reality of what I did back there starts to really creep in. I've got no idea how to go about explaining my actions. Why I did it, what was going through my head, nothing. I just... snapped. Something just told me to stop taking this shit, and embrace whatever power they wanted to give me.
It felt good at the time but now it feels worrisome- like I just made a gigantic decision on a spur of the moment whim. There's no taking it back anymore, and I really did mean what I said. I'm not sure why I did it the way I did it... but when I say it felt good... I mean it felt really, REALLY good.
"Was that a little much, you think...?" I nervously scratch the back of my head, looking away until Sam grabs my by the collar and pulls me close inches from her lips.
"I think it was the coolest fuckin' thing I've ever seen. If we didn't have shit to do, I would beg you to fuck me right here, right now, Daddy." Her emerald eyes are burning with a weird mix of respect and lust- all of it directed at me.
"SAM." I slam my open hand down on the table harder than I meant to and startle her. She pulls away and then blushes, ashamed that she fell into the deep depths of horniness so quickly.
"Whoops. Sorry, sometimes a girl can't help herself ya know?" She giggles and distractedly fiddles with her twintails to cool herself off. "But you were seriously cool back there, Boss..." She shows off her fanged smile and I can't help but smile back.
"What about you, though?" I unfortunately feel the need to bring that up. "You... weren't actually going to attack the village chief, were you?"
Sam looks at me with a nervous and frenzied panic suddenly tearing across her face. She sweats heavily and refuses to make eye contact. "Of course not. I just couldn't stand how he was treating you."
"Sam, that was a lot fucking more than just-"
"I don't want to talk about it." She cuts me off using that royal, intimidating tone she pulled on me the other day in bed. Even with my increased confidence I can't help but shrink before her commanding might.
Or at least, that's what I would have done a few days ago. I hold my ground and look straight back at her. "You can't get away with what you were about to do back there. He's a shitty person, hell- most of the town is shitty. But no matter what they do or what they say... we have to be better than them."
I choose my next words very carefully, because I need her to understand them and not dodge the point. "When you get older, you're going to hold a certain... position of authority. You're someone great, Sam- you can't change that. If you had acted on your impulses your entire future would have been cut to ribbons along with the village chief. Over what, my pride? I'm not so weak that a teenage girl needs to fight all my battles."
"...Boss." Sam hesitantly smiles back, and for a moment opens her lips like she's about to say something. There's a soft silence in the room broken when she forces herself to continue, "I... don't think anyone has ever talked to me like this before. Feels kinda weird having someone telling me to behave myself."
"That would explain a lot, wouldn't it?"
She giggles loudly, though still keeps herself from meeting my eyes.
"Fuck off, Boss."
"You'll be ok. You're a good kid." I say, and the difference in our ages really hits home when I think about it. "You need a distraction. I hope you're still in the mood to get some work done, my dear." I adjust my glasses and stand up, walking to retrieve the recently arrived envelope of quests.
It takes Sam a moment, but she's back to normal-ish and sports her trademark grin. "Whatcha got for me?"