Chapter 414

Aola Sanfaseh entered the quarters of the Liberator just as he was rising from the wooden washtub. "Liberator," she said and knelt once before rising to her feet immediately and then turning her back to his nakedness, "I've sorted out the volunteers, you now have a full staff of elven administrators to serve your needs and I have a tally of many names to search for that were known by those who are being sent home."

"Good work." Vargas grunted as the water cascaded down his body and splashed back into his one little indulgence.

Whether an elf saw him or not, he was indifferent about it, he had no interest in their bodies, why would they have interest in his? Other than Aola, who seemed almost uncomfortably eager to approach him as closely as possible.

The others, while grateful, were far more standoffish, which suited Vargas just fine, however he needed someone to act as his secretary, and since his fellow scripture members were ill suited to the task, and the others were muted, that left…

"Also, My Lord," his last option said in her pretty, lilting voice, "there are questions about the journey to Wheaton… there are requests from your administrative volunteers that we be permitted to remain outside the city for your inspection." She shivered as if a chill wind caressed her body.

Vargas frowned, "That will be a burden but…" He furrowed his brow and stepped out of the washtub. He reached behind himself and caught the towel she'd thrown over her shoulder, "perhaps it would be for the best if I kept you away from humans. It won't be a long inspection there anyway. I'll just have to inspect the Breaker facility to ensure everything is in order. Then we move on to the latifundias. Those are far more likely anyway, once I get city records of ownership, we will be in and out of the region in a week."

As he stepped into his pants after toweling off, he heard a choked sob behind him, and looked over his shoulder.

Aola was hugging her body and clearly holding back much more noise than was actually slipping out.

She hadn't cried since her unexpected liberation. Vargas reached for his top to don it in turn, and while he slipped his arms through his sleeves, he studied the elven woman. "What?" He finally said with his brow furrowed.

"That is… a place of nightmares…" She whispered. "They teach the Breakers there… it's a place of monsters… I would prefer to be sold to an estate outside of Kami Miyako itself, rather than be there…"

"Oh." Vargas wasn't quite sure what to make of that, though he'd heard stories of what breaker academies and such facilities were like in general terms, it was a simple fact of life in the back of his mind. Why it should trouble her so…

"Were you there?" He asked.

"No…if I were…" Aola gave a tiny shake of her head.

"If you were, what?" That answer had Vargas curious.

"If I were… I doubt I could even be near you without weeping… I have always been…pliant, so I was never sent there. But I have seen some go there… they come back with haunted eyes, they are zombies covered with scars and marks and missing…pieces of themselves, male and female alike. Some, they whisper in their sleep, weeping through nightmares. Some, they scream as if they relive it in their dreams. No elf comes back whole from that place." She shook her head and shivered, turning around to face him when she sensed he was dressed.

"I see… well, it can't be helped." Vargas said offhandedly, "You won't have to go in, at least." He couldn't really think of what else to say to her, and went over to sit at his desk.

What he did not expect was that she would kneel beside where he sat and lower her forehead to his thighs. "You are a kind and merciful Lord…I am truly grateful."

Vargas shifted uncomfortably in his seat while her tears seeped through the fabric of his pants to moisten his freshly dried legs.

"Aola, there's work to be done…" He replied, only to find his little box of 'to do' items, empty.

"No, My Lord, there is not. I handled everything… you have all day to do whatever you wish." Aola replied with a sweet smile on her pretty, sharp featured face.

"Oh, then that means you're free to go as well, good job." He said at once, and her hands came up and grasped his thighs before he could stand up.

"Why don't you do it?" Aola asked.

"Do what?" Vargas demanded and grabbed the back of his chair with one hand, and his desk with the other to push himself up.

"My Lord knows what. You dragged us all out of the mouth of hell… isn't sleeping with a grateful woman, especially a beautiful one he has rescued, something all human men delight in? My ears are back, my scars were removed, I have been well fed and am at my full strength again… so then why…?"

Vargas exhaled deeply, whether this was the third or fourth such time she'd suggested such a thing, he wasn't sure, it depended on if her frequent hints were counted or not. But it was no less troublesome. "I have my own reasons, and I am not some character in a book, that I must abide by some child's daydreams and story format. You are grateful, I accept your gratitude, but…" He fixed his stare on her.

"You do not want to sleep with me, Aola. No matter what your reason. You want to sleep with the man you think I am. But I've hunted and killed your kind, I was part of those who were breaking down the way to your capital. I am not the hero you dream me to be. I'm the monster that haunts your nightmares. Now if there's no other work to be done… then go enjoy your day, and leave me to myself." Vargas rebuked her, though he didn't raise a hand to strike her for emphasis, neither did he temper his voice with any hint of kindness.

"I… I see…or, so you say…but if you really were that monster, Lord Vargas," Aola said as she rose to her feet, "then you wouldn't have hesitated to let me lie to myself for your own pleasure. Nor would we be here… but as you say, I will go." She promised, and bowing deeply at the waist, she left him alone with his thoughts.