"The next time I met Annie was about three days after that first encounter," Pip began, her voice steady but reflective. "I reported back to the Shadow Baron and lied about what happened. I told him I scared the man off—kept any mention of Annie out of it. He was disappointed at first, but after three days without sleep, he decided I'd done enough. He sent me out to patrol the slums that night, alone."
Pip paused, her eyes distant as the memory replayed. "He usually sent people in groups, but that night? It was just me. If anything went wrong, if I had to fight well, let's just say it wouldn't have ended well for me."
Pip's heart pounded in her chest as she roamed the dark, winding alleys of Ironhelm's slums. Every shadow seemed sharper, every distant sound made her tense. Living here her whole life should have made this easier, but that was exactly why it was terrifying. She knew better than anyone—you never wanted to be alone in the slums at night.
Suddenly, a scream echoed from an alley up ahead, raw and filled with pain. It was a man's scream. This kind of sound was all too familiar in the slums, and most people would just keep walking. But Pip couldn't. Not because of some moral code, but because of the Shadow Baron's orders. Disobeying him once had been risky. Doing it again could get her killed.
Swallowing her fear, she pulled out her dagger and gripped it in her hand and slipped into the alley, her breath coming in shallow bursts. What she saw nearly made her stomach turn.
A man lay sprawled on the cold, grimy cobblestones, his limbs twisted grotesquely at the joints—legs and arms bent in directions they were never meant to bend. His face was frozen in an expression of agony and terror, the kind of horror only possible when someone's mind is locked in shock. Standing over him, casually dusting off her hands as if she'd just finished an ordinary task, was Annie. That same smug smile was still painted on her face.
"There, now you won't be able to do it again," Annie said, her voice calm and sweet, a terrifying contrast to the violence she had just inflicted.
Pip's breath hitched as Annie's head tilted slightly, her eyes already aware of her presence. "Now, who just wandered in?" she said in that infuriatingly playful tone, turning to look at Pip as if she were expecting her.
Pip froze. Her feet felt like they were glued to the ground as Annie walked toward her with that same unnerving confidence. "Ah! It's the silly girl who fell to her knees before," Annie said, her voice light and teasing as she came closer. Her gaze flickered with amusement, completely unbothered by the horror she had just created. "We really need to stop meeting in alleyways with men around. Who knows what kind of rumors would spread?"
The joke—so casual, so callous—made Pip's skin crawl. But she found her voice, though shaky and unsure. "W-what is happening here?" she managed, her eyes darting from Annie to the man crumpled on the ground. "Wh-why did you do that to him?"
Annie glanced back at the man with a bored shrug. "Oh, that?" Her tone was so casual it was chilling. "That's because he's a slaver." She said it like it was nothing, as if breaking a man's limbs was just another part of her daily routine, before turning back to Pip, her smile as sweet and unsettling as ever.
"But enough about that. How have you been, silly girl? Your boss treating you well?" Annie asked, her tone light and casual, hands slipping behind her back again, as if to remind Pip she saw her as no threat.
Pip instinctively took a step back, her eyes darting to the man still groaning in agony on the ground. "How c-can you be so casual about this? After doing that?" she exclaimed, pointing at the twisted figure with a trembling hand. Her voice cracked with disbelief and horror.
Annie sighed as if Pip were being difficult. "Oh, come on, don't be so dull, silly girl. It's not like I killed him." She gestured lazily toward the man. "He'll live. Sure, it'll be in agony, but he'll live. Now, let's talk about something else, okay?" Her voice carried a subtle command, her smile fading into something sharper, making it clear she was telling Pip to move on, not asking.
Pip's pulse quickened as she hesitated. She slowly sheathed her dagger, knowing deep down it wouldn't do her any good against Annie anyway. "I—I haven't been doing too well," Pip admitted, struggling to act as if she were speaking to a normal person despite the grotesque scene in front of her.
Annie's eyes narrowed with a mixture of amusement and false sympathy. "I can tell," she said, stepping closer, her face inches from Pip's. Her finger lightly traced along the curve of Pip's cheek, following the faint lines of exhaustion and stress that had begun to etch themselves into her face.
"You need to rest more," Annie teased, her voice dripping with mock concern, her finger grazing Pip's jawline with a delicate, almost tender touch. "Or maybe do something more fun, like me," she added, her smirk widening as Pip's breath hitched, the heat rising to her face.
"Wha-wha-what?" Pip stammered, her words barely forming as Annie leaned in closer, her breath warm and unsettling against Pip's ear.
"Oh, it's like that then, is it?" Annie's smirk grew more wicked as she backed off suddenly, leaving Pip's heart pounding and her thoughts scattered. "We should leave this alley." Without waiting for a response, Annie began walking toward the exit, her voice still as playful as ever. "Come on, the Ironguard will be here any moment now."
Pip's eyes widened. "What? They never come here!" she exclaimed, trying to comprehend what was happening.
Annie let out a soft giggle, turning her head slightly as she walked. "Yes, well, I gave them a tip. Told them where to find a certain slaver," she said casually, the same lightness in her voice as if she were discussing the weather.
Pip quickly hurried to follow her, almost tripping over her own feet. "H-how did you do that? Do you have one of those new Echo Communicator things?" she asked, trying to make sense of how Annie had orchestrated this.
Annie shook her head with a laugh, glancing over her shoulder. "No, silly girl. I just tipped them off before I went ahead and twisted that guy's limbs." She smiled like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Pip's frustration flared at the nickname. "Could you please stop calling me that? I have a name. It's Pip," she said, her tone sharper than before.
Annie paused briefly, then tilted her head with a mischievous grin. "Okay, then. Silly Pip it is."
Pip sighed in exasperation, regretting that she'd even brought it up, but before she could say anything else, Annie continued. "Now then, silly Pip, you get to do something fun tonight." She gave a little twirl, her voice lilting with excitement. "You're treating me to dinner, because I haven't eaten yet."
Pip blinked, confused. "How would treating you to dinner be fun for me?" she asked, her tone incredulous.
Annie's eyes sparkled with amusement as she suddenly turned on her heel, closing the distance between them again. This time her voice was low, almost sultry. "Do you not want to?" she asked, her gaze locking onto Pip's with a knowing intensity.
Pip's words caught in her throat. She looked down, her face flushing red again, her mind scrambling for an answer. Something about Annie made it impossible to focus, impossible to say no.
Annie's smirk deepened as Pip's silence spoke louder than any words. "I'll take that as a yes," she said with satisfaction before turning around again, her pace light and carefree. "Now, let's go!"