Oh, little Varietal

Evening the next day,

Redwater Harbour.

…

At the port side of a speedy looking schooner stood two women.

Currently disguised as a young noblewoman in her early twenties, Vaiu stood quietly fiddling with a helm of her dress. It was red her favourite colour.

By her side, Lovell's eyes wandered and her expression one of reminiscence.

To any outsider, they would simply look like two quiet noble sisters on a voyage away from home.

"My ladies, the ship is ready to set sail, should we lift anchor?" A knight clad in stately armour asked walking towards the two.

"Yes."

Vaiu replied the faceless man with a small nod.

Staring fixedly in the direction of Greenfields Vaiu sighed.

"What do you think, Lovell?" She asked vaguely.

"About what, Master?"

Without looking away Vaiu replied.

"The Marquess." She said. "How much of what he was saying would you objectively accept as being true?"

Lovell pondered quietly for a moment before responding.

"I can't be sure why, but he seemed very confident in his words."

"And you just accept that as the truth?"

"I am not sure what to think either, master." Lovell shrugged noncommittally.

Vaiu gazed into Lovell's eyes and sighed softly.

Shaking her head she turned back to look in the direction of Greenfields.

"To be honest, I am not sure what gives him his confidence," Vaiu said with a small frown. "Although his methods and means as of late have been nothing short of amazing, they are nowhere near enough to give him the confidence to threaten the church."

"But again, given his personality and the innate ruthlessness he showcased recently he didn't seem like the kind to let minor achievements like felling a few minor characters inflate his ego and cloud his judgement."

"If that's the case what do you think, master?"

"How should I know, you are obviously the one oddly obsessed with that strange fellow. But then again he does somewhat fascinate me with his sometimes outrageous life choices."

Lovell glanced at her master who was smirking somewhat foolishly to herself and fell into deep thought once more.

"Master, when you mentioned taking his life he seemed-"

"Nonchalant?" Vaiu interrupted.

"Yes, why?"

Vaiu turned to face Lovell. Looking in her eyes she replied.

"Well, he just didn't care." She said with a shrug.

"Huh? Didn't care?"

"Yes, he didn't," Vaiu affirmed.

"The indifference you saw in his eyes wasn't faked. From your experience with the faceless, you ought to know by now that indifference has always been the hardest emotion to master."

"It seems he truly treats his life as an expendable resource."

Vaiu sighed noticing the hint of worry in Lovell's eyes.

Walking behind the younger woman she wrapped her hands around Lovell's willow waist.

"Have you noticed something about that young man?" She asked whispering into the younger woman's ear.

"What, master?"

"He loves to gamble."

"Gamble?"

"Yes, gamble." Vaiu nodded sniffing Lovell's hair. It smelled of fresh lavender.

"It seems to him his wealth, his home, his men and sometimes even his life are nothing more than stakes to gamble in order to achieve his goals."

Moving to face Lovell, Vaiu whispered.

"Levi is a true gambler, one who is ready to risk almost everything to get what he sets his heart to."

"From the night his brother robbed the castle, to the night he burned down Redwater stronghold, to the Battle of Redwater harbour, he has been gambling, taking risks that very few would never dare take."

"Even at our negotiations, he took big risks to make his value and future potential tangible in my eyes. By basically placing his life on the line every single time, he has on many occasions achieved what would have been impossible for others."

With a hint of approval, she spoke.

"Don't just fawn over him Lovell, learn from his ways as well."

"Aren't you encouraging me to take such reckless risks now?" Lovell joked lightly as she slipped out of her master's grasp.

"Definitely not!" Vaiu scolded with a smile as she watched Lovell squirmed away. "Don't compare yourself to that boy, he's probably just sick of living and a little bit crazy."

"But despite his surprisingly suicidal tendencies, he does possess a clear limit."

"What limit could Levi possibly have, master? Since he dared to threaten you what can he not do?" Lovell replied with a faint smile. A rare expression of amusement flashed across her face.

"Of course I wasn't referring to that, it's obvious his intemperate attitude has no limit." Vaiu chuckled.

"I was referring to that one thing he might never risk, regardless of the consequences."

Lovell who was moving to avoid her master grasp suddenly paused.

"Yes, you guessed it right?" Vaiu said

"That little girl, Javi Dragoon."

"For some unknown reasons, he appears to care a lot about that child."

"Yes, he does." Lovell nodded in agreement.

"Even more than he does his own father surprisingly."

"How is that surprising. " Vaiu scoffed.

Aden can be very foolish at times, sometimes even I wonder how I can manage to put up with his foul attitude." She said

Turning to face Lovell, Vaiu sighed.

"What I am trying to say is that the little girl gives him something to worry about, something to have to protect, something that makes him human."

"In my opinion, a man without a weakness is simply not human."

Lovell looked at her master and frowned slightly.

"But isn't the lacking a weakness the pinnacle of strength?" She argued back.

"No, it's not." Vaiu shook her head.

"The true pinnacle of human strength is achieving the ability to create the illusion of invulnerability. Having a weakness is normal, it is simply the human condition."

Vaiu said turning to gaze at Redwater harbour disappearing in the distance.

Lovell pondered over this lesson with a solemn expression.

"But I am impressed," Vaiu commented offhandedly

"You didn't blow your top despite how many times I mentioned killing him."

"I remembered when we just met, you would have already tried to stab me if I just made a random comment about his obviously girlish features."

Lovell glanced at her master and replied casually.

"That was in the past, how could such trivialities bother me now?"

"I knew you wouldn't dare touch him, you probably wouldn't be able to bear Aden's hatred. Besides even if you could bear it that's your problem."

Vaiu turned to face Lovell's expressionless gaze.

"If you ever dare try to lay a finger on him, I will personally kill you."

"You are the only family I have left, so please try to remember this."

Vaiu chuckled at Lovell's words.

Walking away she spoke.

"Rest while you can, oh little Varietal (1). We'll need to travel fast in order to reach Tequila in time, I guess this is punishment for indulging you the opportunity to babysit your little lover." Vaiu said dramatically as she walked away

"Oh, the things we do for love."

Looking towards her feet, at the wooden floorboards, she sighed to herself.

'The stupid things we do for love.'

Sighing again, her gaze softening.

'Such a troublesome fellow.'

'Thankfully, there is something that little bastard does care about. At least this proves he is capable of some human emotions.' Vaiu muttered taking one last glance at Redwater harbour that had now become a speck in the distance.

'Otherwise, given how obsessed you are with him, I would really hate to have to kill off such an outstanding young man.'

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Disclosable information:

The Tale of Varietal is a tragic love story by Leslie Aiden, a renowned Arien scholar. It was based on the tale of a naive young noble lady who sought the affection of a villainous Demon lord. Due to the soul-stirring emotional implications, the story showcased, it became a very popular piece of literary work amongst aristocratic young women.