Chapter 27: I’ll stay

We headed back to the inn, Lia and I had done it so many times in the alley that my legs were pretty weak. She, on the other hand, looked elated, she was shining right in front of me.

When we arrived, the old man was at the counter.

"She is resting in her room, she took a bath and stayed there," he spoke in a calm tone, but his eyes carried a sense of worry. "I do not know what happened to her, but she has been through a lot," he said to me.

"I know, she was a slave to someone," I stated and headed for the stairs.

"I see, the issue of slaves has been something I wished would be stopped all my life, yet people continue it. All life matters, all life is important," he said.

"Hmmm." I had no full response, so I gave what I had. I walked up the stairs and headed to the room that was opposite ours. I could tell that was the room Mira was in.

I knocked twice and got no response, so I leaned in close and spoke. "Hey, it’s me."

The moment I finished speaking, I heard footsteps rush to the door. Mira opened the door almost eagerly. She stared at me for a few seconds before she finally collected herself.

"Welcome back," she said in a greeting, bowing her head to me.

’She is bowing to me? Why is that? It’s not like I asked her to do something like that at all, did I?’

"Can I come in?" I asked.

"Yes, please," she replied.

I walked in and Lia followed behind.

"You seem better," Lia said first, staring at Mira for a few seconds. Then she stepped back and stood beside me.

I grabbed the chair that was close to the study table, sitting down on it and leaning forward.

"How are you feeling now?" I asked, wanting to know if she was alright.

She stood in front of me as if she was not allowed to sit at all.

"You are not a slave anymore, you don’t need to be so stiff," I said. "It makes me feel kinda controlling."

I needed her to understand that this was not some slavery setting. I wanted her to understand that she was free now and she could become someone better for herself and not for anyone else.

That being said, she was still a match for me to tame, as I still wanted to try and tame her, even if to do that I would need to pull a few mental strings to get what I wanted.

She nodded and walked to the bed, sitting down, but even then she still looked stiff and worried.

"I’m really grateful for you saving my life, I owe you my life," she said and bowed her head forward.

"I barely did anything, you used your own hand and carved out your own freedom," I said to her with a smile on my face. "Like, you really did stab him and kill him, so it’s your win and not mine, you should take that." I proceeded to speak more.

She paused for a moment, staring at the floor beneath her feet. I wasn’t sure what she was thinking about, but I decided to keep talking.

"Have you planned what you want to do now? You are a free person and you can choose to leave now and become whatever you want.

Your old master is dead and you are free to do what you want. I’d love for you to stay with us and help us going forward, but I understand that you have been locked up for a majority of your life and so you might not want it."

She looked at me as soon as I finished speaking. I expected to see a good amount of hesitation in her eyes as she struggled on what to do and I nudged her toward choosing me, but what she said next stunned me completely.

"I want to stay," she said without a hint of hesitation in her voice. This was the most confident she had been since we had begun speaking.

She clenched her fists tight in her thighs and kept speaking.

"I want to stay, so I can serve in any way possible.

I may not be as strong as the two of you, but I am willing to do whatever it takes to help.

The two of you offered me freedom, freedom from a pain that I have felt for years. I was about to die in that alley and you stepped forward for me. You gave me freedom and I choose to use my freedom to serve you."

She stared at me again. "But I want you to promise me one thing," she said.

That piqued my interest because I wanted to know what someone like her could really desire.

"Tell me what it is and if I can help, I will,"

I replied, waiting eagerly for her to tell me what she wanted.

"Vengeance," she said. Then she looked up again. "My master was not the only one that caused my pain. I want everyone that had a hand in it to suffer for what they did to me.

I don’t care how long it takes, but as long as one day I get to watch them die the same way I watched my master die, then my life is yours forever."

’Vengeance, that’s what she wants? That look in her eyes is still there, rage and hate. I guess it’s fair to want everyone to suffer, and I’m going to make sure that she has that.’

"Fine, you can have that, and I’ll make sure that you do because you deserve to watch all of them suffer at your feet," I said to her while flashing a smile. I got up and walked toward her, stretching my hand at her for a handshake.

She looked at it with uncertainty for a few seconds, and then she finally grabbed it.