A Job Well Done

"Looks like you finished the job, then," said Soran as he, Monkey, and the maid entered the dining hall, coming from the foyer. One of the aristocratic folk that had been struck during the shootout stepped forth from rubble close to the entrance with his hands clasped together. Behind him were a few, but not all, of the people that had been struck worse than himself, and they had all been roughly bandaged and treated.

"Thank you, Monkey! If it were not for your presence, I'm sure we would have not survived this encounter. And I know what some of them say, that if you hadn't been present to begin with then those servants would not have opened fire in the first place, but how could you have known that they were after you? Let alone that they would not discriminate between who was to be felled," said the aristocrat, who was an older gentleman with rough lines of age upon his tired face.

"You're still here? I thought I told you to get away from here while you had the chance. There may yet be more battle," said Monkey who placed his hand upon the aristocrat's shoulder before shooting a glance at the rest of the aristocratic folk who sat in pain. "How are they holding up, my friend?"

"They are unfortunately in no condition to move anywhere, I fear," said the gentleman. "I'm afraid some of them may not make it."

"Can you heal them?" asked Soran to Monkey.

Monkey looked at his hand before clasping it tightly and grimacing.

"I wish I could, but alas, I cannot direct my magic onto other people in that way."

As they pondered and sighed, the maid slowly lifted her hand to speak.

"I think I could help."

"Can you cast healing magic?" asked Monkey as he grabbed her shoulders, grinning hopefully.

"Yes, it is within my repertoire. It is one of the reasons I was hired," said the maid, who proceeded to walk up and put her hands out in front of the bandaged gentleman, and soon they shone a soothing light green as energy slowly swerved around her hands. The aristocrat suddenly loosened his bandages and jumped out of joy.

"I'm healed! Thank the heavens!" he cried.

"What a lovely surprise! You should have said it sooner!" laughed Monkey before gesturing her over to heal the other aristocrats.

Soran didn't plan to stand waiting and was about to move on, but the older gentleman approached him with a heavy pouch in hand.

"Excuse me, sir. I wasn't able to show my gratitude to you, but I have much to spare, since I saw you fought with sir Monkey as well." He lifted the pouch higher. "Please, accept this from us. We are wealthy as is, so this is by no means a lot, but it is all we carried on our persons."

Soran took ahold of the pouch which forced his hand down as it landed in his palms. As he unsnared the thread that kept it closed, he peaked inside to see glittering gold, and lots of it.

"It is about a hundred gold coins, I reckon. Though, we didn't bother to count," said the gentleman.

Soran looked up with eyes of gratitude, and though his face remained quite cool, he could not help but crack a slight smile.

"A job well done, and properly paid. What else could a mercenary like me ask for? I'll gladly accept this as payment."

"Lovely! And thank you once more!"

The aristocrats had now all stood up and joyfully embraced each other, as each and every one of them had been healed by the maid's hands. Then they came forth and gave their gratitude in unison, except for one individual who would not bend his form to the 'lower class', but he was promptly disciplined by the others.

"Go home now. Nothing further awaits you here. And henceforth you shall remember my name: Monkey! And you shall tell of my deeds to all!" cheered Monkey with his knuckles at his side, proud as he was.

"Of course! I shall let everyone know!" exclaimed the gentleman, though the rest were not as eager to comply.

"Thank you, healer," said the aristocrats one after the other as they passed by the maid and into the foyer. Not before long was the hall empty, except for a dozen unmoving assassins dressed as servants that still lay sprawled out on the floor. As they began walking past the rubble and chaos, Soran turned to the maid. "You know, if fate would have had it, you might have ended up like them, too."

The maid looked around and gulped as they walked past.

"I did not realize you had-" she paused abruptly as she spoke. "-killed, so many..."

One of the bodies they passed suddenly moved and groaned, yet without any sort of lucidity.

"You left one," said Soran who promptly tightened his fist.

"Eh, come now, I didn't kill anyone. They're all fine. Well, maybe not 'fine', but I'm sure they'll recover. Probably," said Monkey. Although he had not cared too much for their neurological health after beating them senseless, he had at least had enough compassion to spare their lives. Something which his now partner-in-crime would not have even given a thought.

The maid sighed in relief at this prospect now that she was certain that she would not end up like one of her co-workers, but Soran scoffed.

"They charged at us with weapons in hand. You did not think they were going to spare our lives, did you? So why spare theirs? What's fair is fair."

"It's not up to me to decide who lives or dies. If I can help it, I'd rather them live," answered Monkey, his gaze set straight and unwavering.

"What if those that you let live set out for revenge against you? Or perhaps they were terrible monsters who deserved nothing else than to be buried and forgotten. What then? Do you still think it was worth letting them live?" said Soran who was making cutting motions against his hand as if to make his point clearer somehow.

"Yes."

"What if they would kidnap people if you let them live? Would it be worth it?"

"...Yes."

"What if they would kill a thousand people?"

Monkey finally gave in to the pestering as he sighed.

"You don't see life the way I do, Soran. It's not about the logistics and 'worth'. You can't apply rationality to something as bizarre as life. It finds a way—like trees. Even if all of their leaves wither and die during autumn, and even if they freeze during the cold winter, their seeds will still sprout come spring. I could look upon those trees during winter and think all that there is to their frozen form is death. And perhaps that is all that there is to them, and perhaps it will remain so for many days, but I cannot yet see in front of me the lively spring that will come in the future, so am I, someone who cannot even see what will and won't happen, then given the permission to decide what to do with that frozen landscape on the basis of my own perspective? Even if turns out that those trees had not sprouted during spring, who was I to decide things preemptively? Who are we to do such things?"

Soran sat down on the long table upon hearing this and gave himself a moment to think. Monkey came around and stood to wait for his answer.

"I get what you're saying, even if I can't agree to it."

"Why not?" asked Monkey, but not so confrontationally, rather more so out of intrigue.

"Because there are people that I can't forgive. Why should they be saved from my mercy?"

Soran's gaze darkened as he averted his gaze, and Monkey remained silent. The smell of burning and an iron tinge seemed to still linger in their noses.

"My apologies, I should be thankful. You stopped me in my darkest hour, and I know that I should not have let rage control me. What was that you said earlier today? 'By wrath, only destruction can be gotten', or something of the like? I know that well. Personal experience."

"Then how come you say that you cannot agree?" asked Monkey.

"Even if I shouldn't let rage control my hand, I still can't forgive that bastard. I feel as if it would've been better if I slayed him right then and there. What if the one you would let live is someone like that? Is it still worth it then?"

Monkey was about to reply, yet he was able to do nothing but grunt uncertainly.

"I guess life's too bizarre to have an answer for everything, huh," said Soran as he looked back to Monkey and smiled faintly, but his eyes did not meet Monkey's, rather they met the maid's; the maid who stood there impatiently with her arms crossed.

"You've been walking around and talking about something completely unrelated to what we were supposed to do, and you've completely forgotten about me! Was I not supposed to be your guide!?" complained the maid as she stomped in annoyance. Soran and Monkey had circled around the dining hall and settled near a table as they discussed, though it had not been more than three minutes since the aristocrats left, they still had urgent business. Aloof yet again, Soran cursed himself.

"We have to go get Arthur! Damn it, I got lost in my own gloom! Sorry!" he said and apologized to the maid. "I didn't forget you, just a bad habit. Take us to Arthur!"

"Once again, I don't know where he is! And didn't you say you needed to get your stuff first?" said the maid.

"Right. Equipment first. To the storage room, then!" said Soran as he began marching forward. The maid led them to the same door where the 'butlers and maids' had first come from, the one toward the corner of the hall, and as they walked, Soran spoke up.

"Thank you for being the one to end his life in my stead. It caught me off-guard in the moment, and truthfully, I'm not exactly sure what possessed you to go that far, but it helped me create some distance."

The maid looked at Soran but turned away nonchalantly as she sped up her pace.

"He looked like he deserved to die, and it seemed like he was your enemy, so I shot him. That way I could prove that I was on your side. You don't need to thank me, but, I'm glad I could help."

"Deserved to die, huh..." muttered Soran as they strolled on. "Well, what's your name? It all went so fast that we didn't have the chance to introduce ourselves."

The maid stopped as they finally arrived in front of the door, and she placed her hand on its wooden frame. She looked back to Soran and worded "aq-" but stopped herself from saying anything further, then quickly answering again.

"Alice. My name is Alice."

"Nice to meet you Alice, I'm Monkey!" said Monkey as he flung his arm around her shoulders.

"Yes, I know..." she muttered before tearing herself off of Monkey's familiarity. "It seems like they locked this door, so I will try to force my way in," she continued as she twisted the doorknob to prove it was in fact locked. "And I'll be using, these!"

Alice pulled out two thin and crooked metal tools from the inside of the frills of her maid uniform before crouching down to fiddle around inside the keyhole. As she struggled to work it open, Monkey stepped forward and kicked the door down, or rather kicked through the door, with a loud crash, sending splinters of wood flying and breaking the planks over the wrought iron. Alice recoiled back from the unexpected startle before Monkey passed through the now gaping doorway (perhaps 'hole' was more accurate).

"Tricky thievery will not be needed with me around! The shadows are where thieves belong, but I shine too brilliantly for any shadow to persist!" said Monkey before laughing powerfully.

"Quiet down, Monkey. Turn off your brilliant shine for one moment, please!" hushed Soran who could hear Monkey's laugh echo throughout the corridors past the newly opened entranced.

"Hah! I can do no such thing!" proclaimed Monkey.

"If we want to keep Arthur safe, I think we should keep it down a bit," said Alice.

"Ah, yes, yes..." pouted Monkey who reluctantly softened his posture, and after they all had made their way through the hole in the door, they proceeded onward. Now huddled together as they quietly but quickly made their way through the torch-lit corridors with Alice at their lead, she coughed politely before speaking in a hushed tone.

"To get to the 'storage room', as you keep repeating, we have to go to where the cellars are. I think I remember where the entrance was..." said Alice, before mumbling to herself.

"Cellars? Uh-oh," whispered Monkey.

"Oh, in the name of-, not more underground!" groaned Soran.

And on cue, before them was revealed a winding dark stone staircase leading down into the ground.

"Aha, I knew it! Here they are!" said Alice with a smile. "Who wants to go first?"

"Ladies first, is it?" smirked Soran half-heartedly.

"Guides first, in your case," huffed Alice before descending the stairs.

"Let's hope there are no particular red mushrooms down there. That alchemist fellow won't be here to save us this time," said Monkey before slapping Soran on the back.

"The alchemist, right, and here I almost started believing he was part of the hallucinations..."

"Keep it down, alright?" shushed Alice from the front.

Following her was Monkey, and then Soran, who wanted to remain the furthest back, and thus into the dark underground they went.