Brenda looked up towards the lone figure walking towards the manor, waiting almost impatiently as the figure made its way into her view. Upon seeing the figure revealed to be her father, Brenda's expression became elated as she ran up to him. As she met him, his stern and frowning face made her smile fade from her own.
"Where is that foolish maid, Brenda?" Reginald said with a twinge of anger in his voice, "She better have not left those steps."
"She is fine now, Father." Brenda said solemnly, "I arranged a changing of clothes, and I have healed her wounds."
Reginald snapped his gaze towards his daughter, anger fully visible now, "You've healed her? What compelled you to do that?"
"She was hurt, Father." Brenda said confused, "I thought she deserved new clothing and help with—"
"You thought?" Reginald turned to his daughter fully and pointed a finger in her face, "Listen here, daughter of mine. I am the one who decides things around here, and while you want to play nice and hero all the time to these elves, they are servants and they have duties. While this maid was doing her duties, she did so poorly and ended up getting into quite the mess. I do not have time to waste dealing with my servant's problems." He cleared his throat, and his gaze intensified even more, "Do I make myself clear?"
Brenda went to speak but instead nodded softly. Her hands fell to her sides as she lowered her head, ashamed, but bit her lip as she wanted to say more. Reginald scoffed and moved towards the manor once more, where the young guard and maid were waiting on the steps.
Seran immediately saluted when seeing his master reach the steps, and Nadia, now dressed in new maid's clothes, bowed lowly and deeply. Reginald stood in silence, staring at the maid as Brenda walked up beside him. The next few moments of silence were like daggers to everyone there, except Reginald.
After these few moments passed, Reginald, staring down the maid with an intense gaze, cleared his throat and said, "You understand that my time is precious, and I have you all do jobs for my home and family because my time cannot be spent on those tasks. "
Nadia went to open her mouth before she was met with a halting hand from Reginald, "I have not permitted you to speak. I will tell you when to speak, and when I do, you better speak as if your life depended on your next sentence. Do you understand me?"
Nadia nodded.
"Good." Reginald's gaze stayed the same as he continued to speak, "Those men are no longer a concern, and no more troubles should befall me on the preparation of today and tomorrow. I do not have time to play guardian. Do I make myself clear?!"
Nadia simply nodded again with a single tear streaming down her face.
"I will question you now, and your punishment will depend on your answer." Reginald looked back at Brenda, who was giving a hopeful but sad look towards her father.
Reginald then looked at Nadia and sighed, "Do you attest that you were doing your job to the fullest of your abilities?"
"Yes, sir. With utmost loyalty to you and the task." Nadia said with a nod.
"What can I do to prove this loyalty?" Reginald asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Anything, sir," Nadia said as she wiped the tear from her cheek.
Reginald raised his left hand, and in the blink of an eye, unsheathed his blade and held it in front of Nadia's face. "Are you sure of that? Are you willing to die as they did?"
Seran's eyes widened as he heard those words fall from his master's lips. 'He couldn't be serious, could he?' He thought with hidden fear for his fellow kin. Seran looked towards Brenda, who surprisingly held the same fear he had within her eyes.
"Father!" Brenda exclaimed in shock.
Reginald, without looking towards Brenda, said, "Servants need to be punished by their masters if they do wrong to them."
Nadia's face began to tear up further as she stared at the metal in front of her eyes. After a moment, she nodded firmly with a deep breath.
"Good," Reginald said as he slashed his blade forward, leaving a small gash across her cheek. "That is your punishment. Be glad you get to live another day." Reginald then turned to Brenda, "Do not heal that."
Nadia held her cheek as she began to tear up more. She then bowed slowly to her master and said, "Thank you for letting me continue to serve you."
"Hmph," Reginald said with the motion of his hand, dismissing the maid as she stepped back away from him.
Reginald then walked up to Seran, who instantly saluted. With a scoff, Reginald sheathed his blade. "It is nice to have someone who does listen to orders. Boy, you will be accompanying us on our monthly journey. We will depart in an hour, so prepare your belongings."
Seran's face gave off a puzzled look as he nodded, "Yes, sir."
"Good!" Reginald laughed as he began walking towards the door, "After all, it's good to have someone who won't cause me trouble."
Seran watched as Reginald disappeared behind the doorway, and he gave out a large sigh. He knew that he'd be met with troubled times as a guard of the manor, but to be met with such danger and troublesome tasks immediately—it immediately bummed him out as well, and Brenda could read this on his face instantly.
Nadia turned towards Seran and then to Brenda, "Thank you so much. I will resume my duties." She then bowed and left towards the elven housing of the manor, leaving Seran and Brenda to themselves.
"You know, Seran," Brenda said with a gleaming smile as she put her hands behind her back and moved right in front of Seran, "It will be nice to have you along with us. I'd love to see something new with new people."
As she spoke, Seran's eyes made contact with hers for the first time. The light in her eyes shown like the sun on the ocean water, and a calming sensation entered his heart and washed over him like translucent waves as he saw the genuine innocence in her words and composure. She meant what she said, and he knew immediately that she viewed him as another individual. It was strange for Seran, but he couldn't help but become flustered.
"I—uh," Seran said with his face turning slightly red, "Of course. I'd be honored."
"Great!" Brenda smiled brightly as she brought her hands together in a clapping motion. A moment of silence passed between the two, and she slightly turned red as well.
Brenda looked a little more embarrassed and cleared her throat, "I—um, I'd better get ready for the carriage. You should too."
"Yes!" Seran immediately straightened up and let out a low chuckle as Brenda began walking through the front door. Letting out a sigh, he whispered to himself as he looked down at his guard gear, "I was ready before you said it, sadly."
What Seran didn't know was that Brenda moved behind the door instead of walking down the entrance hallway. Seran's words made her frown out of pity, and she, too, let out a silent sigh as she began walking away from the door.
"Seran…"
----------
Near the outer edge of the forest outside of the Harenhart Manor
"Is it about time to move yet?" A hushed voice sounded from small underbrush, and with a bit of rustling, a pair of long brass cylinders with a small glass lens appeared in front of it.
"Not yet." Another deeper voice whispered, "We have yet to make sure when their guard is dropped entire—" The voice was interrupted by the voice of the previous speaker.
"We have company."
A slender figure appeared before the tree line of the forest and made a low whistled tune, which caused the underbrush in front of the figure to rustle intensely. Instantly, six men rose from the underbrush, each coated in dark leather armor and silver sheathed daggers, and each of them stepped to the side to let the figure on the outside of the forest move into it unhindered.
"The trees rustle in the evening." The figure moving into the forest said in a feminine voice.
From the center of the underbrush, a taller figure than the six rose and let out a low chuckle as he pushed aside his comrade with the brass cylinders. A glimmer of light illuminated the paleness of his skin and the long scar that ran across one side of his face to the other—from pointed ear to pointed ear. With a large grin on his face, he said, "And like branches, we hide in plain sight. "
The slender feminine figure stopped a short distance away from the man, making sure that the darkness hid her face, and cleared her throat, "The targets will be leaving this afternoon and departing for a month."
"They are what?!" The tall man's eyes widened as he formed his hand into a fist before punching the closest tree. The tree shook and several leaves began to fall, but as the falling leaves come to a stop, the man was wearing an even larger grin on his face. "Well, this might turn into our favor after all."
"What do you mean, sir?" The cylinder-holding figure asked puzzlingly, "We planned this attack for weeks." The man set down his tool and stood up. The light through the trees too reflected off his pale skin as he walked closer to the tall man, "The idea was to attack Lord Reginald when he let his guard down. He just fought those thugs we hired, so now is the time to act!"
"Nonsense, Rasul. Preparation means nothing when it comes to opportunity." The tall man chuckled, "We will have to wait a bit longer to strike, that's all."
"May the goddess protect us." Rasul clasped his hands together before being hit on the back of his head with a slap.
"The goddess doesn't help elves. I would be praying for the Harenharts if I were you." The tall man laughed loudly as he walked back deeper into the forest, and the other men began following him.
Rasul looked towards the slender woman and sighed, "Keep a close watch, I guess. Let us know if you have any more updates on the information or any dangers."
"Of course," The slender figure scoffed, "but I don't need you telling me how to do my job, Rasul."
"Hey! Screw you, --" Rasul said loudly as the figure turned around and disappeared from his sight instantly. He let out a low sigh and picked up his tool, "Guess they have to think of a new plan, now. I didn't even like the last one."