"What are you going to do with the mages and Miss Abigail now that we left them in the old candy shop?" Delic asks as he hands me a cup of hot chocolate.
What Abigail did is enough to have her jailed or even exiled from the city. I'm pretty sure if her father hears about what happened, he would drop her before anyone in the city would. Abigail is right that money makes the world go round, but fear and true loyalty are what leaders use that can't be bought with any sort of money.
"I'll let her go," I respond, taking a sip of the hot chocolate. "Regardless if I sent her to the police or freed her, there will always be a chance that she will come back after me. Maybe she won't come after me since I foiled her only plan. Either way, I don't think I will need to worry about her anymore for the time being."
Delic takes a seat next to me, and we watch the dark elf villagers happily talk amongst themselves. Xander and Alex approach me with an old man next to them.
"Master, this is our village chief, Shyrrik," Xander introduces as he points to the old man.
I stand up and extend a hand out. "Good evening, Sir Shyrrik. My name is Viola Winter. I am the head of the Winter Family and the owner of this estate. Please do make yourselves at home while we make arrangements to send everyone back to your village. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask me or my secretary, Delic." I gesture over at Delic who is now standing as well.
"I will be the one to ensure everyone's accommodations and meals in the meantime," Delic adds as he bows.
Shyrrik shakes my hand and gives a hearty laugh. He may be old, but he is a far cry from weak judging from his grip. "We really appreciate you guys for rescuing us, and just call me Shyrrik." He pauses for a moment and looks over at Xander and Alex. "Man, it must have been a miracle for those two to have found you, Miss Winter. Seeing how they call you 'Master' and 'My Lady' must mean that you beat them in a match and served you. I hope they didn't cause too much trouble."
"Oh, please! Don't call me Miss Winter. Viola is just fine," I say laughing. "The twins were absolutely no trouble at all. They were extremely helpful as my personal aides." I look at the twins who seem so tired yet so relaxed to finally have such a huge burden off their chest. "The agreement we came to was that they would become my aides if I helped them find and rescue their village. Now that everyone is free, the twins can return to the village with you all."
The twins have the same expression as they did the last time I mentioned the end of our agreement. Conflicted and hesitant.
"I don't think we can go back to our village now, though," Shyrrik mentions.
"Why do you say that, village chief?" Xander and Alex ask.
"Those mages ransacked the entire place, setting the whole place in flames. There's nothing to go back to, and we don't have the funds to rebuild it," explains Shyrrik, shaking his head. "We are going to have to find a new place to settle and earn money."
"Um... if I may," I interrupt, "I think I might have a solution to your problem."
The five of us make our way to the meeting room where it is a bit quieter to discuss the details of my solution.
The Winter Warehouse is about to restart its operations again in a few days. However, I couldn't rehire most of the original staff since just about everyone has found new jobs. On top of that, I'm going to need people to rehabilitate the old fields that my father used to grow our crops. With a little over eighty eligible workers, this should be enough to fill in the spots that need people. I will be able to pay the dark elves which should fund their project of rebuilding their village.
"Ah~ I see," Shyrrik says as he leans into his chair. "So you get the workers you need for your business, and we get the money we need for our village."
"If you would like, you can use a part of the Winter Family's personal forest. We have a lot of land, so it wouldn't be much of a hassle to let the dark elves use it for their home. Besides, once you work for the Winter Family, you become part of the Winter Family," I add with a little smile. "So why wouldn't I help someone in my family start their new life?"
Shyrrik bursts out into a fit of laughter and faces the twins. "You two must be proud of your new master. I didn't think anyone in the city would have had such a large heart such as yours, Miss Viola." The village chief's laugh subsides as he begins to reclaim his composure. "Okay, Miss Viola. I will take you up on your offer. Once everyone is recovered, we will begin being of service to the Winter Family. The men will work in the warehouse while the women and children will work in the fields."
"But they are just kids," I interject. "I wouldn't want to ruin their childhood by making them work for me. Why not send them to school?"
"School? All of the kids in the village have been homeschooled. They have never really interacted with kids that are not dark elves before. Plus, I don't think that they will mind working for you," Shyrrik responds.
"No," I mutter. "Kids are supposed to go to school and have fun with their friends. They can worry about working when they get older."
"That's a strong opposition from a kid who's working," Shyrrik comments with a chuckle.
Realizing my hypocritical statement, I couldn't help but to laugh. "I guess you're right, Shyrrik. Nonetheless, I want the kids to have a memorable childhood that they can look back on and tell their kids when they grow up. I will sponsor them to go to school while you and the other dark elves rebuild your village. Once the village is rebuilt and the families have enough money saved to live comfortably, I will let the families decide on whether they would like to pay for their children's school. Is that okay?"
"I think we have a deal, Miss Viola," Shyrrik agrees, holding out his hand. "I guess you are my new boss now, huh?"
I take hold of Shyrrik's hand and firmly shake it. "I guess so," I giggle.
"So what are you two planning on doing?" Shyrrik asks as he glances at the twins on the other side of the table.
"What do you mean?" Alex asks, tilting his head.
"Miss Viola mentioned that you two are free to relieve yourselves as her personal aides once the village is free, but judging from how you two revere Miss Viola so much while you were chatting up a storm about her to everyone, it seems like you two don't want to leave," Shyrrik states crossing his arms. "So I'm asking you two what you're planning on doing."
The twins twist their heads to face each other and then quickly glance over at me before looking down.
The twin synchronization is scary with these two.
"Well, actually, Alex and I were talking about it a lot last night," Xander starts.
"And we really don't want to leave the Young Lady's side," Alex finishes.
"What do you mean?" I ask confused by their reactions.
The twins finally face me with a resolved expression. They stand up and quickly bow their heads to me. "Please allow us to continue being your personal aides!" the twins plead loudly.
I admit that I was taken aback. For the two almost three weeks that they have been here, I thought that they had only their village in their minds. It wasn't until this morning that I found out that the twins had feelings for me, but I didn't think much of it since I just assumed it was a fleeting emotion. Something that only happens when you are around someone admirable for a short period of time. I never really gave it much thought that these two would actually stay since they were desperate to get their village free.
Rising from my chair, I slowly stride over to the twins who are still bowing with their eyes shut tight. I know they hear my footsteps, but they aren't budging.
'Xander,' I call through the mind link. 'Thank you for being so strong. There were a lot of situations that I put you through that made you uncomfortable, yet you stuck it out for the sake of serving me to free your family and friends.
'Alex,' I continue. 'Thank you for being so kind and gentle. Your endless warmth was always something that I looked forward to every day.'
I set my hands on top of each of their heads slightly stroking their fine silver hair. "I got it. I got it," I sigh, trying to hold back my tears. "I acknowledge your bravery and your persistence of wanting to continue being my personal aides. If that is what you so wish, then there isn't much I can say now, is there."
The twins lift their heads to find tears trickling down my face. Astonished, they fall to their knees and huddle onto me, embracing me in one of the warmest hugs I have felt in a while.
"Thank you, Master," Xander cries as he fails to clear his face that's wet from his tears. "Thank you for saving our village. Thank you for taking such good care of us."
"My Lady," Alex stammers between each gasp of air he loses from crying. "Thank you for being so kind to us and for letting me continue to serve you."
I could do nothing but cry. These are their worries, their happiness, and their exhaustion escaping from their bodies. It reminds me of when I cried into Delic's arms the first time we met on that hot summer day. I know exactly how they feel. I can sense their hearts finally breathing for the first time in a while.
It took a while, but the twins and I calm down and eventually fall asleep from crying so much.
—
"My Lady, it's time to get up. You need to take a bath so that I can get you ready for school."
"Mmmm.... Five more minutes."
"Five more minutes, my ass! We are already running late as it is, Master."
A sudden wrapping feeling awakens my curiosity, so I squint open my eyes to find Xander throwing me over his shoulder and taking me to the bathroom. He hurriedly yet gently sets me down, and Alex begins removing my clothes and helping me into the tub.
"It seems like we overslept, so we don't have much time to waste," Alex says as he quickly rinses my body and adds shampoo to my hair. "We will have to eat a light breakfast, but Delic is preparing snacks for us to eat between breaks so that we aren't hungry before lunch."
"Master, your uniform is on the bed," Xander announces. "Alex tell me when she's finished so that I can get her dressed."
"Alright!" Alex yells as he rinses the shampoo out and lathers on the conditioner.
"Master," Delic calls out from the bedroom. "I have already prepared your plate for breakfast. It's just a sandwich and some orange juice, but it should get rid of some of that morning hunger for a bit."
"P-pause! Pause!" I shout from the tub. Everyone freezes immediately. The swiftness of the morning spins around my head. "What the heck is going on?!"
"We're getting you ready for school like we always do, my Lady," Alex responds, rinsing the condition from my hair to keep it from falling in my eyes.
"Why did we wake up so late?" I ask as I wipe my face.
Alex stretches out his hand, and I take hold of it in order to get out of the tub.
"We cried so much last night that we passed out from exhaustion," Xander embarrassingly admits, scratching the back of his head.
"Why didn't Delic wake us up on time?"
"I figured everyone needed a little extra time to sleep in," Delic mischievously answers. "Plus, the car is still at school, so we will be using Xander's Shadow Movement to get to school."
"Ah, but before we do that, we have a surprise for you," Alex adds as he passes me to Xander so that I can get dressed.
"What surprise?"
"Why on earth would we tell you what the surprise is? Wouldn't that ruin the surprise?" Xander says, laughing as he buttons up my shirt.
I quickly finish my breakfast, and the twins and Delic stand at the door.
"Shouldn't we head out to your surprise now?" Delic suggests holding the door handle.
I sigh and fix my uniform after I stand up. "I guess so," I agree defeated.
The twins laugh and guide me down the hall where the main reception area is. We turn the corner, and I'm suddenly blinded by confetti.
"Thank you, Lady Viola!" shouts an entire village.
I look around the room and find it decorated in paper snowflakes that the kids made last night.
"What's going on here?" I ask while I frantically take in the sight before me.
"The villagers wanted to show you their appreciation for what you have done for us," Shyrrik answers as he walks over to me. "I told them about the offer you made, and everyone wanted to thank you for giving them the opportunity. The kids stayed up making snowflakes while the women collected the unused pieces of paper to make confetti. The men, on the other hand, had a little meeting of their own."
Shyrrik gestures over to the men who were gathering on the other side of the reception area. Each of them get on one knee and face me.
Delic slightly pushes me in order to get me to move over to where the men are gathered. "They all have something they want to say to you," he whispers as he stands behind me.
I look down at the thirty some-odd dark elves who are kneeling before me. They have such strong expressions in their eyes. Almost like they are burning with a new passion in mind.
"Please make us part of the Winter Mafia!" the men shout as they bow their heads.
"Wh-what?!" I exclaim, shocked by the out-of-nowhere request. "D-Delic, what's going on?"
Delic slides over to my side and points at the men in front of me. "They wanted to know more about the girl who saved their village, so I took it upon myself to indulge them about you, your position, and your goals. When they heard that you are rebuilding the Winter Mafia, they figured it was a great opportunity to solidify the relationship between you and the dark elves."
"We want to protect the person who saved us from the torture we had to endure in that hell hole," one of the men states as he looks up at me. "The physical and mental scars that each of us hold from that place may not completely heal, but they will also be a reminder to us of who came to our aid when we needed it. Not to mention, you have given us a new chance at life. You have given us a place to work, a place to rebuild our village, and a place where our kids can grow up. We are forever in Lady Viola's debt. So we ask for you to allow us to become your first new members of the Winter Mafia in order to protect and aid you."
I squat down eye-level to the man who was talking. "What is your name, sir?"
"My name is Jassin, Lady Viola," responds the man.
"He is also our father," Xander adds as he and Alex set a hand on my shoulders.
"Him and the village chief helped us to escape in order to find help," Alex says.
I chuckle to myself and stand up, raising Jassin along with me. "How could I refuse such a generous offer?" I answer as I clasps onto Jassin's hands.
"You are far more generous, Lady Viola. This is just a small token of our appreciation," Jassin refutes.
"My Lady," Alex whispers in my ear. "If we don't leave now, we are going to miss homeroom."
"Oh geez!! How did I forget about school?!" I hectically look around and find one of the estate's maids. "Relay a message to Edward. Tell him that he is to train these men here, but do not start out rough as they are still recovering." I jolt around to face the dark elves who are now standing. "You are to start training immediately," I announce. "As the first and newest members of the Winter Mafia, you are to train everyday both with and without me. I want the men in my mafia to be resilient, but never ever forget where you came from."
"Yes ma'am!"
I turn around to face the women and children who were behind me and add, "Welcome, everyone, to the Winter Family!"