Chapter 2: The fated meeting

Jack was on his way to the one of Runeberg family mansions. He was sitting on a train that was on its way to the city of Helming. After the city of Helming, the train would go to the port town of Jarvi.

To pass some time, Jack read the newspaper and saw many articles about the end of the decades long war. Relouch Union was heavily criticized about the crimes against humanity they had committed. Thanks to those crimes, the Union had to pay heavily and they would have to pay for a long time after the war. The estimate of how long they would have to pay was around thirty years.

Relouch Union still exists, but its borders were heavily reduced and many politicians were arrested and some even executed. The new government in Relouch Union is now heavily monitored and only those that the rest of the world approves can take the office. The new president Ulva Rinner was picked as the new leader of this country.

But Relouch Union wasn't the only country that had to pay for their misdeeds in the war. There were multiple counties that sided with the Union during the war, but those that decided to change sides were sanctioned a bit less than the ones that held on until the bitter end. But the crimes that they did hadn't been forgotten and the consequences of their past actions are already taking place.

Jack also notices some things that might be going too far when punishing the ones that lost the war. For example, the country of Ilmensul was only financially aiding the war effort on the Union's side, but they had to pay the same amount to the winning side now that the war was over, which will make Ilmensul a very poor country. It would be okay if the amount of time they have to pay was appropriate, but since they expect Ilmensul to pay the same amount that was spent in multiple decades in less than one decade. Ilmensul is a very rich country, but even they will have problems paying that much to the winning side.

Some other abuse of power was seen in the papers, but luckily the writers of this particular paper see that some of the war indemnities were over the line and criticized the handling of this matter quite openly. Jack thinks that while it's good that the abuse doesn't go unnoticed, it's highly unlikely that the critics will make the ones in power rethink this matter. He even goes as far as to think this might even cause another war of its own if things aren't handled properly.

This is a weird feeling for Jack since he has worked his whole life for the Republic and never questioned their actions. But at this moment he starts to wonder if the Republic is as good as he initially thought.

As he was questioning his alignment, the train stopped at Helming. People were starting to get off the train and only a few passengers were left on the train. A while passes until more passengers come to the train. One of the people that got in decides to sit next to Jack without asking for permission. Jack doesn't think much of this and soon the train starts to set off to Jarvi.

When the train had been going on for some time, the person next to Jack decided to talk. He asked Jack "So where are you headed?" And Jack answers with "To Jarvi." The man then says "I'm heading for the town right after that called Ilmen. I have some business to do there. The name is John Breck by the way. And you?" Jack turns the page of the newspaper and says "Jackson Ovlebeld."

John is a bit surprised that Jack didn't say anything more, so he decides to ask more. "What are you going to Jarvi for?" Since Jack knew he couldn't reveal any information that could jeopardize the mission, he just said "I'm heading there for work as security." John nods and says "I see, I see. Well I'm going to Ilmen to make some connections with fellow businessmen. I'm a merchant you see and in this profession, you need to make a lot of connections."

Jack mutters to himself "Is there a job that doesn't require making connections?" John heard that and said "Well… not really. But in some jobs it's more important than others. You don't seem to be much of a talker. If you want to get anywhere in life, you should learn how to talk with people. Security was it? Even in that profession, you should learn how to talk with people or you will get alienated and you'll get the short end of a stick. At least try to humor the people talking to you. Do you get it now?"

Jack turns another page while wishing that this man would have chosen any other seat. But since Jack knew that he shouldn't be rude to people, he said "I'll try my best, Johan." John then quickly corrected Jack and said "It's John." To which Jack then says "Oh I know. I'm just trying to humor you." John is silent for a moment and then bursts out laughing and says "Oh you are a really interesting one. I hope that we will meet again after this. If you ever hear of a company named Breakwater compatriot then feel free to say you are friends with John and they will treat you kindly."

Jack is surprised that the name has "compatriot" on it, so he decides to ask "That's a bit of an unusual name wouldn't you say? Where does the compatriot come from?" John smiles and says "Well you see, I was once a military man myself, but after surviving an explosion that decimated my unit, I decided to get out of the military and become a merchant. Our unit's nickname was Backwater, so to make sure that the people who died are honored in some way, I decided to put the name on the company."

Jack grows a bit more interested after hearing that John is a former military man, so he wonders "I've never heard of a unit called Backwater before." John then says "Well that's no wonder, it was a secret unit that belonged to the Union. I'm glad that I got out before the leadership became even more crazy." Jack is a bit surprised and grows a bit of alertness, but since he doesn't sense any hostility from John, he calms down a bit and says "I'm sure you had your reasons." To which John says "You can pick your friends, but you can pick your family." Jack says to that with a short "I see."

Then the conversation continues with a minor chit chat, until the train reaches Jarvi and it is time to part ways. John says "I hope we will meet again." To which Jack nods and says "I'll be waiting to hear of your success."

Jack gets off the train and starts to walk to a car that was seemingly waiting for him. Jack was a bit surprised about this, but stepped in regardless. A short ride after, Jack reaches the Runeberg mansion and he gets out of the car.

Once outside, he sees three ladies. One in a wheelchair in a ladylike dress, one standing behind the wheelchair in a maid uniform and one next to the wheelchair with elegant clothes that wasn't a dress. The person in the wheelchair had one arm, one leg and cloth covering her eyes. This was Eveline. The lady behind Eveline was the maid Evangeline and the lady next to Eveline was lady Ilianor Runeberg, the next head of the Runeberg household and the one who found Eveline.

When Jack gets near the ladies, he salutes and says "Jackson Ovlebeld reporting for duty." To which Eveline laughed and soon Ilianor gave a slight giggle. Jack then stops saluting and Ilianor then introduces herself "My name is Ilianor Olon Vi Runeberg, the next head of the Runeberg household and your employer. The lady in the wheelchair is Eveline Runeberg and she is your customer, meaning the one you were sent here to protect. The lady behind her is her maid Evangeline Oun who is responsible for the general work of the servants of this mansion and Eveline's personal needs."

Jack then asks Ilianor "I heard that the Runeberg household was former runesmiths that later became close with the military. I assume that you pulled some strings to get me as a guard, though I don't mind that. If not, then I must have been a thorn on the military's eyes and got dropped into the middle of nowhere. In any case, I promise to make sure lady Eveline will stay safe under my supervision. Ilianor then says to Jack "That's what you were hired here for, though you could drop the formalities and become more relaxed here. Jack then says "But I still need to do my job." To which Ilianor says "Do as you will."

Then Ilianor taps Eveline's back and says "I need to go to do some work so I will leave him to you." Eveline says to her "I will make sure he will feel welcome." To which Ilianor smiles and leaves to a car that came shortly after.

Then the three of them were left to get to know each other. Eveline started by saying "Greetings from me too. As you heard, I'm Eveline Runeberg and I'm the person you are supposed to guard. Hope you don't have too much of a reason to work. Oh, but then if that would be the case, you might be fired because there is no need for you. What should I make out of this? Hmmm…" While Eveline was thinking, Evangeline said to Jack "As you heard, I'm Evangeline Oun but most people call me just Eva, so feel free to do so as well. I will show you the routine around here as you follow me from 7:00 to 21:00 tomorrow onwards. Today you can feel free to look around and get a clearer picture of the mansion and the surrounding area."

Jack wonders for a moment and says to Eva "I think I will do that, but how should I príorisize your commands over Eveline and Ilianor?" Eva then says "Lady Ilianor is your employer, so her word should be the law for you. As for me and lady Eve, treat lady Eve's words as higher priority than mine. I thought they sended someone who was good at this kind of thing, so why are you asking me?" Jack just says "Just checking to make sure."

Eveline then says to Jack that "Oh, you should just call me Eve while you are here. Can I call you just Jack?" To which Jack answers "Whatever you wish to call me, I'll be okay with that." To that Eve says "Hmmm, I see." To which Eva gives a small giggle and returns back to her kind smile. Eve then says to Jack "Be sure to join us for supper at 18:00. You will eat with me at the same table." Jack then says "But I'm just your guard. I should eat later in the same place where the rest of the staff eats. And should I be taste testing your food for poisons?" Eve feels a bit annoyed and frowns a bit as she says "There is no need for taste testing you dummy. We trust our chef and so should you. And as for eating together with me, you should do as I command. If Ilia says otherwise later, then so be it. But today you will be eating together with me. Is that clear?" Jack then tries to convince Eve by saying "But I'm your…" But Eve then repeats herself with a stricter voice "Are we clear?" To which Jack gives up and says "Yes lady Eve."

Then Eve says to Jack that "You should drop the "lady" part off. I'm tired of people calling me lady. Only Ilia calls me just Eve so I want someone else to do so also." Jack then says "I… understand lady… *ahem*… Eve." Eve then just says "Good, see you at supper. Let's go Eva." Eva again gives a slight giggle and returns to her usual self in an instant. After that, she takes Eve back to the mansion and leaves Jack to look around himself.

While wandering around the mansion grounds, he noticed a small shed in the middle of the forest. He had talked to other staff members about the mansion, but no one said anything about the shed. He looks around and finds out that it isn't even locked. There doesn't seem to be any indicators that the shed is used by someone as the dust and spider webs have taken over the inside. While snooping around, Jack finds that there is a trapdoor below the rug and he moves it. He tries to open it, but it seems to be hard to open. He thinks that the trapdoor isn't locked by the sounds it makes when trying to open it and how it feels. He pulled harder and eventually got the trapdoor open. It was a bit heavy, but Jack had no problem with the weight. He sees stairs and starts to walk inside.

While it was dark, Jack had a flashlight to show him his path. While walking the hallway, Jack wondered why is it here and why is it so long? He entered the underground just out of curiosity, but now he wonders if this is a security issue. And after a while of walking, he sees a wall and a switch. He pulls the switch and the wall starts to open inwards. On the other side he sees the basement of the mansion he was checking before he left to look at the surrounding area. Since he didn't know if there was a switch on the mansion side, he got back in the hallway and closed the stone wall. He then walked back to the hut and put the things back the way they were. Though he can't do anything about moving the dust around.

He then started returning to the mansion itself while thinking what Ilianor would say about this. Did she know or was she unaware? When she returns, he will ask her about this matter. He had to hurry though, since the time was almost about to begin supper and the distance of the shed was quite a walk away.

While Jack was out wandering around the mansion, Eve was listening to Eva as she read books to her. If there was one thing that Eve missed, it was that she couldn't read any books anymore after her eyes were gouged out. She had to settle with just listening to Eva as she read the books out loud to her. Eva had gotten quite good reading out loud after doing it for Eve for a while.

When the book hit a good point to stop at, Eva said to Eve that "You really love to joke around with people even though they don't get it." Eve just said "It's more fun when they don't get it. Don't you dare to tell him about those jokes." Eva said to that "As you wish. I won't reveal the blind jokes you give to Jackson." To which Eve said happily "I'm glad we see eye to eye." Eva then gives a slight giggle yet again as she says "You like those types of jokes, don't you?" Eve just says "I don't see where you are coming from. I just speak as I go. They are normal phrases that people use, are they not?" Eva smiles and says "Whatever you say lady Eve. Whatever you say."

Eva then takes Eve out so that Eve can listen to the noises from the outside. While she was listening to the sounds of the forest and Eva trimming the bushes, she heard a stone wall opening from the basement. She hadn't heard that happen before so she became a bit curious and asked Eva "Do we have a stone door in the basement?" To which Eva answers "I don't think we do." Eve then just mumbles to herself "So not as far as you know." Eva continues to trim the bushes and Eve just thinks that it must be the act of the new guard wondering about. She could tell by the sounds of the boots her guard was wearing. It's in these times that she likes having such sharp senses. Eve then asks Eva "What is the time?" and Eva answers after looking at her watch "17:47. The supper should soon be ready." Eve then says to herself "Hope he won't be late for his first meal here."

The supper time has come and Jack manages to get back just in time to be seated opposite of Eve. He is sweating a bit, but it is too late to do anything about it. Today's supper seems to be meatballs and smashed potatoes. Jack finds this quite odd given that this is what a noble woman is eating. Nevertheless he doesn't care and just digs in. Its taste is one of the better ones that Jack has ever tasted since he is used to just eating MRE's.

While eating, Eve says to Jack "You seem to have to run here since your odor is a bit salty. How far off did you go?" Jack answers "I didn't go that far. I just had to double check something." Eve just says "I see. Well I'm sure it was worth almost missing your first meal here." Jack says "It depends on what lady Ilianor will say about this matter. Why do I get the feeling that this meal is important to you or something?" Eve takes a few bites of her plate as to by time to think. Then she says "I just wanted to have someone to talk to while eating."

Jack then changes the topic and asks "Don't you find it difficult to eat with only one hand and no sight?" Eve just says "This food is quite simple since it doesn't require much cutting. If it needed some cutting, Eva would do that for me before handing me the food. As for sight, you might not do so elegantly, but you can still eat without sight. Though sometimes I have Eva feed me. Today's supper is so simple that I can eat it without much of an issue." Jack looks a bit how Eve eats and notices her having little trouble getting food on her fork, but still managing to eat nonetheless. As if she can feel the weight of her hand pushing on the food ever so slightly.

After both of them are done eating, Eve asks Jack "Are you still going to look around?" To which Jack says "I will ask around about certain matters. And when lady Iliana comes back, I have some questions for her." Eve tilts her head a bit as she wonders out loud "And why, pray tell, can't you ask me anything?" Jack looks a bit troubled, as he doesn't want to worry Eve about this matter, but he also feels that it might make things worse if he doesn't tell her. In the end Jack decides to mention about the shed he found in the woods and the passageway to the mansion.

Eve thinks for a moment and then says "So that's what that sound was. Anyways, I don't know much about it since I haven't lived here for very long. And to be honest, I doubt anyone would have told me in any case if they knew. As you were going to, you should ask what Ilia knows about this. But I don't think you should worry about this. There haven't been any invaders during my time here. Though then again, Ilia saw it was for the best for me to receive a guard. Who knows. Anyways, Eva let's continue with that book now shall we?" Eva takes Eve to the library and they start reading the book they previously read. As for Jack, he still had to look around a bit to get a clearer picture in his head about the place.

As the time went on, it was already 21:10 and the lady of the house returned from her trip. As her servant helped her take off her coat, Jack said to Ilianor with a serious face "We need to talk." To which Ilianor said "Meet me at my office." Jack followed her upstairs and entered the office with her. Ilianor sat down on her chair and asked him "So what is this about?" Jack then mentioned the shed and the passageway to the mansion. Ilianor thinks for a moment and says "I thought that this would be something bit more serious, but in any case. I haven't heard about this before. I should bring this to my father and ask if he knows anything, as this is his childhood home. As for what we should do, find if there is a switch on the inside. If or when you find the opening mechanism, go and ask for a lock to the trapdoor and make sure no one will enter the passageway from the outside. Return the key to me and we make it stay that way until my father says otherwise. If he doesn't say anything about it, then we'll just keep it locked."

Jack salutes and leaves the room and goes to find a person who has a lock somewhere close by. As he does that, the old man who hands over the lock and its key mutters to himself "Hope this doesn't cause more trouble." Jack heard what the old man said, but paid no mind to it. He goes and searches the room where the hidden door was and eventually finds a button behind an empty bookshelf. He then goes and locks the trapdoor from inside and returns to Ilianor as soon as possible.

When he hands her the key, Ilianor says "Good. Now that that's out of the way." as she puts the key to her pocket. She then taps Jack on the shoulder and says "Good work, now let's go to bed *Yawns* I'm done for today. Julia, show the new guard where he should sleep and after that come to my room with the usual." The maid who was standing there seemed to appear from out of nowhere in Jack's point of few. He didn't even notice her before entering the office, which is very hard to do to a trained soldier like Jack. She must be a pro or something. She had a black hair with black cat ears and tail. She was one of the rare animal people who usually live in tribes or small groups.

Julia then says to Jack "Follow me please." Jack does as the "maid" says and follows her. He is led to a small room that was next to Eve's room. It had a bed and a nightstand on the side. It also has a wardrobe with a couple of clothes inside of it. Jack asks Julia "Now that I think about it, do I get any kind of uniform?" To which Julia says "Mistress has informed me that you are free to dress as you like for, and I quote, "for the pleasure of Eve."" Jack wonders and says "What is that supposed to mean?" Then Julia says "That's my job done. Now if you excuse me." And she leaves.

Jack then puts his clothes in a basket that is on the side and looks at his wardrobe thinking "You expect me to wear these all day long?" The clothes were a bit more colorful than Jack would have liked, but since there is nothing else to wear tomorrow, he just accepts his fate and goes to bed. Tomorrow the real work will start.