Chapter Eighteen: And Other Sins (Part Two).

The night carried on, and the drinks kept flowing. A band played in the corner but the music no longer offended her ears. It was an energetic dance tune. Fast and joyous. She and this Cara danced till they sullied their clothes with sweat and spilled drinks, then they danced some more.

Ash was truly awful at it. Stiff and mechanical, while her snug paramour seemed as free and flowing as her bounding red locs. It didn't matter. She was happy following Cara's lead, and for the first time in her life, she was happy amongst the crowd. Elated to be in someone's arms. To feel the heat of another's body, to be in the eyes of so many. A matter of weeks ago, she'd have had a nightmare about a situation like this. Now, she couldn't think of anywhere in the world she'd rather be.

Hopefully that was because of the greatness of current company, and not a result of the general degradation of the world beyond these mouldy brown walls.

Cara's short red skirt caught against Ash's sheath as the two moved closer. The flame haired beauty giggled as she unhooked herself, then she brought herself closer and placed a gentle hand against Ash's heaving chest as she gently swayed side to side.

A couple of times, Ash tried to talk to the woman who's hips she so gladly held, but all sense had been robbed by the many, many drinks and the words came as a jumble of insubstantial nothingness.

Cara smiled and took her hand, leading her back towards the table. She stumbled across the dancefloor and collapsed down into her seat, before Cara decided her lap seemed a more comfortable surface than the old oak bench.

"Hey," Ash slurred.

"Hey," Cara smirked. She wrapped her hand around Ash's face and stroked away a single stray hair. "Wanna get out of here?"

"Mhmm," was all Ash could manage through her stupor. The redheaded woman took her hand and started to lead her onwards to the natural next thing.

"Nope," a man's voice ordered. It was Amell. He came through the crowd with a strangely severe look. "You two are going nowhere," he declared.

"What do you mean?" Cara confusedly asked.

"She's drunk, child. In no condition for any... merrymaking."

"She's okay," Cara meekly protested. "Right?"

"Ye," Ash quietly grunted. "I'm fine."

"No, you aren't. If the two of you want to make off, then do so another day."

"She was still into me when she was sober," Cara protested, though it seemed like she was soon to agree with Amell.

"Then she will still be 'into' you come the morrow. Tonight, she will sleep alone. Understand?" "Shit, you're right. I wasn't thinking. Would you give her this when she sobers?" Cara asked with something of a blush.

"Of course," he nodded, "but for now, I think it is time we made away."

 "Of course. Thank you, ser... For looking after her, I mean. It was a pleasure to meet you both."

"So, I looked up and there she was; hair on fire and the gerbil in a cage!" Ash drunkenly recalled.

"And what did she say?" Amell cackled.

"She said, 'I'm glad you're here Ash, I think I smell a fire.'"

The two burst out laughing in the silence of the nighttime streets. Their breath clouded in the late autumnal air. The freshness, and brisk cold, helped sober the both of them up to some degree; but Ash was still barely able to stand on her own.

They pottered along the old cobbled paths, passing hazy lamplights and grimy alleys on their way.

Eventually, around twenty minutes into their walk, they had to rest on a curb beneath a beaming orange light.

Amell wrapped his lapis cloak around her as she started to shiver. The efforts of the day mixed with the drinks of the night stole away her strength and left her to lean her head against his shoulders as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

"Amell," she whispered after a while.

"Aye?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Joining us. I know its riskier than you let on, being here. I'm glad you're here."

"Thank you, Spinny. I'm glad you let me tag along."

"Can I ask...?"

"Of course."

"You said I reminded you of your son. Can you tell me about him?"

"Ah," he sighed.

"You don't have to," she weakly said.

"No, I'm glad to," he smiled. "My son... well he'd be just a little younger than you. Seventeen now. Not a particularly studious lad, but witty and clever. Must have got that from his mother," he chuckled. "I think he'd have liked you. He tended to enjoy people who pushed themselves a little too far."

"Who knows, I might have been your daughter-in-law," Ash chuckled.

"I... did not think that was your... route? Not after tonight," he awkwardly said. Ash gave no response but a snort. "But," Amell quietly continued, "I'd be proud... If you had been my daughter."

A far from little snore echoed through the cold night streets, and marked him as alone in his thoughts.

"I don't know if your Goden watches over you. I don't know if he can hear me, but... Choose someone else. Someone worse, or someone better... Just let her go. Please, this life isn't for her."

It is a noble thing, to protect and to shelter. It was his deepest wish, and there was nothing he wouldn't have given up, as he sat beneath those frigid stars with her, to give her a chance at freedom. If only he had known what she knew, that Ash hadn't been chosen. That the life wasn't meant for her, but someone... better.

The winds unsettled, and the time had come to make the long and lonely trek home.

There is pain... There is shame... and then there is the pain of not remembering what caused such shame. A blanket of rough cotton had been lovingly draped over what she quickly realised was her undressed body in the middle of the common room. She might have moved to hide herself more thoroughly, had her head not bore the weight of a star.

She could have lay there, utterly inanimate, for seconds – or hours – before the most terrible of noises clashed out. It was singing, and laughing, and everything accursed and evil. It was the most dire of insults, spoken in a voice so loud the gods above and the deviled souls below must have had to cover their own ears for fear of the volume.

Then the actual clanging started. Iron on iron, like a terrible drum. It could have sounded like combat; had it not so blatantly been done with the purpose to annoy.

Sheer spite granted her the strength to roll over just enough to catch a glimpse of her beloved little sister, Evara, and her moderately tolerated colleague, Sujin, clashing together woks and pans. The genuine and beaming smile might have been endearing, had it not been so vile and cruel.

"Good morrow!" They both sang in the highest pitches their screeching voices could manage.

Ash was aware enough now to properly cover herself, but the effort of sitting up soon after proved too much for her delicate constitution. Bile mounted up in her throat and made ready to storm the breach.

She did not waste a word, before running off to the nearest toilet and releasing the nights mistakes deep within. The sound must have bounded through the halls, as Evara quickly came in behind Ash.

It must have been a sight to behold. Ashtik, the Black Heretic, covered in naught but a blanket and black steel gauntlet, violently vomiting in a borrowed toilet.

She felt Ev stroke a gentle hand over her bare back as her other hand moved away the stray hairs that clung to her face.

"Here," Ev said. She placed her hand more firmly against Ash's back as her eyes took on their golden hue.

"No," Ash spluttered. She gently pushed Ev away, but the effort caused a new bout of sickness. "Don't waste your energy... on a hangover," Ash managed to get out between sicknesses.

"Don't be silly," Ev protested. "I need you better so I can hear about this Cara." A bright beaming smile caught her rosy little cheeks. The name rang in a familiar way, but was not so clear in her mind as to warrant the due embarrassment. "Besides," Ev continued. "I need to practice if I ever want to get stronger."

Ash might have argued or resisted, had the healing not been so powerfully soothing. In moments, what had been agonising became easy. What had been the verge of death, became a mild headache and what had been her happy little sister, now became a sack of beans collapsed against her back.

The power that had somehow allowed her to heal a mortal wound in Sujin was truly gone. Now, the minute of exertion had left her utterly inert. Ash was still proud, however. A minute was much longer than she had previously been capable of.

Ash took her baby sister into her arms and carried her off, into the common room. She set her down delicately in a mound of cushions and stroked back some of her hair.

"Sis," Ev meekly whispered.

"Yeah?"

"You stink."

"Love you, too."

"Have no fear! Eggs are here!" The booming voice of the old warrior bellowed. He marched in from the kitchen, four plates spread along his arms.

Ev jolted up in an instant, sniffing deeply. "I smell bacon," she declared, seemingly without a trace of her signature fatigue.

She bounced up and hopped across the room like a little rabbit until she set herself down at the table, patiently awaiting her meal. Ash wrapped the blanket more tightly around herself and sat at her sister's side. The boys sat across from them, though there seemed a clear tension between the two. Ash chose to ignore the suspicion and instead turned to Amell's bright face. "Did Evara lessen your hangover too?"

"Nope, I cured my hangover the old-fashioned way... By not getting one," he smugly said. "Now eat. The grease will help whatever is left."

Grease, at least, was plentiful on her dish. The six rashers of bacon seemed to float in it, let alone the fat sausages that lay within the sauced beans. A layer of oil sat atop of the tomato paste where the sausage had rolled as the plate had been placed.

She took up the strange Forgeland version of a fork, and prodded at the first sausage.

"Are you gonna eat that?" Ev quickly asked.

Her entire plate was empty, not a spec left to clean. She must have licked the sauce away, rather than waste even an ounce of food. Ash couldn't help but laugh before she agreed, "probably not. I'm still a little timid. Here." She handed the plate over, and again, it was gone within a blink. Ash thought she had been quick during the tourney against Amell, but she had nothing on Evara versus a strip of fatty bacon.

"My compliments to the chef," Ev giggled in an inappropriately lady-like way after her rabid display.

"I shall pass that along," Amell chuckled. The laugh seemed forced, painful even. Everything about him seemed a little sluggish, in fact. He toyed with his food more-so than devoured it, like Ev did. His eyes seemed heavy and bagged as they slowly and randomly moved around the room.

"I'll fetch some water for you, Spinny." He rose in a way that would be fitting for a man of his age, had that man not also been a titan of physicality. He all but waddled towards the kitchen, never looking back.

"Spinny?" Ev scoffed.

"Excuse me a sec," Ash whispered. She stalked out of her chair and into the kitchen behind the old man. He keeled over the counter and wiped a bead of sweat from his brow.

Ash swiped a pair of pans and snuck just behind his back.

BANG, BANG, BANG rang out in a steel chorus. If he was so energised as to jump, he'd have left his skin behind as he landed on the roof above them. It was as agonising for Ashtik as it was for the old man, but it confirmed what she already knew.

"Not hungover, my ass!" She cackled.

He had no words, but for a gasping breath as he tried to steady his pulse.

His hand scampered over the countertop behind him, where he found a single potato and launched it, with murderous intent, towards her head. She managed to duck away, and slid back into the common room.

"Ash, did you do this?" Ev gasped. Ash walked over, checking her shoulder for the old man's potato assault. Evara and Sujin were hunkered over some strange workbench that Sujin had mounted on one of the smaller tables. Within, rested Amell's burst breastplate.

"Oh, yeah," Ash said.

"H- Fucking... how?" Ev demanded.

"Well, I... punched it."

"You punched through an inch of hardened, enchanted steel?"

"Mhmm."

"Neat."

"The damage is severe," Sujin stated as though it wasn't obvious, "But I can fix it."

"Really?" Ev doubted.

"Indeed, observe if you wish." He pulled out a pouch of jade green powder and set it atop the workbench. He then drew a set of strange tools in a leather binder. He pulled free a single scalpel like instrument and set it against the broken steel. It sliced through the metal like it was butter.

He cut around the hole, removing each jagged and bent edge. Once the broken parts were in hand, he placed them into a small cup and sealed it shut with a runed lid.

He drew out another tool. This one was like a flute, only the jade powder was placed in the top and a small stick strummed along its length. With each stroke, a little dust filtered through the bottom of the device. He traced along each crack and shatter, sprinkling the dust precisely over each part.

Sujin then drew a large leather chest piece. He placed it beneath the metal and allowed it to fill in the gap Ash had punched. Then he took up the cup of steel shards, and released a small tap. Molten steel poured over the leather mould and made the shape of a breastplate. As the molten steel came into contact with the jade dust around the hole, the green powder erupted in a quick flash of flame. Once it settled, a green seam filled each crack and held the breastplate together perfectly. Sujin removed the leather template and presented the finished piece.

"There we are, stronger than new!" He proudly said.

"Just like that?" Ev doubted.

"I make it look easy," he grinned, "In truth, this took a decade of careful study to do."

"We are lucky to have you then," Ash said.

"Thank you, Ashtik."

"So, what are you two up to today?" Ash asked.

"Well, I thought I'd visit an old friend. The Ducissa. I might say she would want to meet you, Ashtik. She would be a great ally when you go to meet the king," Sujin said.

"I, erm," Ash stammered. Some part of her knew that she should go, but the rest of her wanted nothing less. The idea of meeting some noblewoman would turn her stomach at the best of times, and this was far from the best of times. Her plans of spending the day asleep in the great baths seemed much more desirable than some stuffy meeting.

"Go, Ash. You need all the help you can get, and the most powerful woman in the largest city in the world seems like a pretty helpful friend to have," Ev said.

"It's something you'd be better at," Ash insisted.

"She'll want to meet the Champion, not the Champion's little sister. If I go, it'll be something of an insult. Seriously, I know you'll hate it but you have to do it."

"Fine," Ash acquiesced. "And what will you be up to today?"

"Rosie told me about the arch healer down at the courts. Apparently, she'll do free lessons for anyone with a talent for healing magic! I was thinking that I'd go down and ask for a lesson, if that's okay?"

"Fine," Ash said with a forced smile. "But promise me you'll tell her about what happened in the forest before she teaches you any spells."

"I swear it."

Sujin placed his jade powder away and turned to Evara with a warm smile, "We journey in the same directions, then. We should walk on together."

"Absolutely," Ev agreed. "But if you're meeting the ducissa, Ash, go get a bath."

"Sounds like paradise," Ash sighed.

"Just don't take all day again."

Ash grunted in annoyed response, but she managed to rise and make away for the baths.

"Amell!" Evara called out.

"Aye?" He replied from within the kitchen.

"What are you up to today? Want to join me at the chapel?"

"As... entertaining as a day of silent prayer sounds," Amell chuckled as he entered into the common room, "I was planning on gathering some materials for our journey to Raven keep."

"Very well, but make sure you are all back by the twentieth hour. I want to have a group meal before we're forced to move on from here."

"A group meal?" Ash snickered. "Tell me you aren't cooking."

"I can cook," Ev said, abashed. "But Rosie said she'd help."

"Who?"

"Sister Rose, the maid they assigned to me," Ev explained. "Did they not assign one to you?"

"Oh," Ash grunted. "Yeah, Mei. I forgot about her."

"You two get maids?" Amell asked with a bite of humour. "Where's my maid?"

"They must have assumed that you were Ash's man-at-arms. You're just too common for service, I'm afraid," Ev said in her haughtiest tone, sticking her nose up to the two men.

"Common?" Amell repeated in feigned shock. "I'm the only actual nobleman here."

"I don't think nobility counts when your queen declares you a traitor," Ev smirked. "Or when you look like... that."

"What's wrong with how I look?"

"Don't get me started, I've got a full day planned and much too little time to tear your ego apart."

Amell tried for a smile, though Ash couldn't help but notice him stroking a hand through his overgrown stubble and shaggy hair.

"Do I look that bad?" He asked of Ash.

"I'm wearing nothing but a blanket and vomit, its best I keep quiet. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm dying for a bath."