Slumming It

[Erebus]

Regan, if she’d had the audacity, would have turned and walked away from Dagger. She would take Keely with her. They would return to their lives and not speak of the strange man that had inquired about Keely’s lineage.

She twisted her apron between her fingers and could not keep herself from jumping when Keely knocked over a plate and all the food on it. With a distracted air, the girl dropped to one knee to pick it up, eyes still focused on the pair. Whatever the man had said was distressing her mother, but it was not something she was going to stick around to watch – not when Regan looked at with such a pained expression.

Once Keely had retreated to the opposite side of the Inn, Regan sighed. “Though you don’t seem to recall it as vividly as I do – I remember being with you for a full moon. Nearly every night you came here. Soon after you returned to your life above all this,” she gestured to herself and then their shabby surroundings, “I found myself sick in the mornings. And nine turns later, I had Keely.” Her face darkened. “You figure it out from there.”

[Trillian]

A moon, about 16 to 20 turns of seasons ago, which was a bit of an ask from his memory. He believed her though, he had to, the girl who might be his blood looked like the product between him and this woman. Whatever features were missing from him had obviously been taken from her mother.
 
"Sounds likely," he agreed, confirming her words. "May we discuss this further, at a time when you do not have to distract your attention between your daughter\'s heritage and baked goods?"
 
He was annoyed that such a paltry thing as bread would take a priority over his family line, but in the back of his mind he understood what kind of life these people led. He wasn\'t blind to the bruises usually found on the women that worked here, and not necessarily given them by the custom, considering the type of man that owned this place.
 
He said this in a very polite and most charming manner, figuring he better not buy this woman\'s time like he had bought their daughter\'s. This woman had pride, and would likely throw the coin back at him (and no doubt the girl would scrabble to pick it up). He didn\'t think less of either one of them for either reaction. He was in a very sober frame of mind.

[Erebus]

She looked at Dagger, crestfallen. This man had the power to rip the roots of her life away from the ground, then burn the tree she had worked so hard to maintain. Wanting to continue the conversation only enforced this conclusion.

Regan knew, however, that if Dagger did decide to take Keely from her, that she would be offered opportunities she\'d never even imagined. This, not money or prestige, was what made her explain to the Lord that if he waited until the tavern area of the Inn was closed, that she would be willing to meet and discuss Keely with him then.

Her daughter deserved better than the Inn.

She waited, hands now hopelessly tangled in the strings of her apron, for Dagger’s response.

[Trillian]

The Lord had nothing better to do, so agreed to this request.  He would wait, he would have a few drinks (but not too many) and have a think.  He didn\'t think to request the girl\'s name, as this was unimportant for now.  A few moments later he would think of it, but he dismissed her with a nod and then leaning back in his chair, getting comfortable.
 
No more did his roving eye wander over the young woman\'s form.  Now he was clenching his jaw every time she was reached for, in an attempt to be fondled.  How quickly his opinion had changed.

[Erebus]

The night passed uneventfully. There were no brawls that required Balkan to show off his brawn as he tossed men out two at a time. Instead, he cornered Keely’s cousin in the kitchen, the one she planned on fattening up, and bellowed at her for accidentally knocking an entire barrel of ale over in the basement. Keely wisely escaped to the room she shared with her mother after all patrons save the mystery man were gone and the Inn as spotless as it could possible be.

It was after her mother told Balkan in between his ravings there was one patron left that she had to speak to that Regan came from the kitchens, damp rag in hand. She wiped her neck with it, then her face, and finally hands. It was a pity that the calluses on her fingers couldn’t be wiped away as the flour had been.

“We’ll have to make this fast. Balkan will want to lock up soon,” she said as she took the seat her daughter had frequented only a few hours ago.

[Trillian]

He could make it fast, most certainly. He\'d had time to review his speech, so that he could present it as effortlessly as possible. In the space of a few hours he had made his mind up about the rest of his life, and his daughter\'s as well.
 
He nodded at the request, took a breath - held it a moment, surveyed the woman in front of him (still not really remembering her) and released it in a manner of a man who is focussed.
 
"I would like to provide her with the lifestyle that is her birthright. I understand that she\'s been with you a long time, but now I would like her to catch up on the education she has been denied and the social standing that she deserves. I would like to recognise her officially as my daughter, and take her to my estate, where I can ensure that she will be well-brought up." He held up a staying hand. "I\'m sure you\'ve done your best, but you can\'t afford to give her what I can. That is simply a matter of fact, not judgement." His sharp gaze pierced the woman before him, intending for her not to deny him. "A couple of questions, what is her name, and how many winters have passed for her?"

[Erebus]

Regan had caved in on herself when Dagger told her exactly what she hadn\'t wanted to hear. Oh, she\'d known it was a possibility he\'d want to take Keely from her, had even decided that she would allow it to happen in the time she\'d had to think about it, but that did not make the idea hurt any less.

She looked tiny as she huddled in the chair, sadness clear in her face and posture. "I understand. We work. We die working. I don\'t want her to look back on her life and know she never had a chance to get out of this hole." Her lips slid into a smile. "You want to take a nameless and ageless child into your care. Lord Dagger, you never fail to impress." She remembered now why she had fallen for him as quickly as she had some nineteen winters ago. He was a noble. He was untouchable. But he\'d allowed her to do exactly that.

Her features had softened as she recalled sweet memories and it was the fact that his question remained unanswered that called her back to the here and now. "Her name is Keely. She just reached her eighteenth." Regan\'s wit stood out in her next comment, "You might be biting off more than you can chew."

Especially since it wasn\'t likely Keely would go willingly with Lord Dagger.

[Trillian]

He thought about the extortion he\'d already been faced with, and even though the girl had not been subtle about it, he could teach her how.  Blackmail was a trait he unfortunately found admirable.
 
"I might have an idea," he replied, but it was doubtful he had a clue.  "I will give you the grace of a few days to say your farewells, but don\'t think you\'ll never see her again."  He looked around the inn, briefly, and said the next few words as though the idea had suddenly struck him (though he\'d been planning it for a long time).  "You know, I could find you an easier position in life to this one.  I have many contacts."
 
His gaze flashed as he waited for her to take the bait.  He would come through on his promise of course, but there was a motive beyond a gracious heart.

[Erebus]

Where Keely would have demanded to know why Dagger was making such an offer, her mother simply accepted it as good fortune. She was a trusting woman, optimistic, and always tried to see her way past an angry face to a good heart. The woman even thought Balkan, paired with someone that would beat him right back, could be saved. “I would like that very much,” she said without hesitation. “If you have a contact that would put me near Keely, I would like it even more.”
 
That she would not have to deal with the aches and pains of tavern life would be plenty, however.

[Trillian]

He nodded at her request but it was unlikely she\'d be too close.  Dagger wanted her influence to be away from the girl, who would likely be crying out for the preferred attention of her mother.  He would have to be strict, because the girl was older and likely unruly.  He wished futilely that he\'d spied the girl before she saw her tenth winter, but this was all he had to work with and therefore he would ensure he got results.  If her mother had raised her with a strict hand, then perhaps the transition would not be as painful.  Otherwise, the child would be wailing.
 
"I shall return on the Day of Worship," he promised, which was in three days time, and no businesses traded on that day under law of punishment.  Only the farms could perform their tasks, and even then, during a limited time of day.  "I\'ll send my carriage to collect you both and bring you to the estate for some lunch, after morning services."
 
He gave her a moment to add a question or conversation, but was eager to depart.

[Erebus]

Regan, however, had no other questions to ask. In Dagger’s opening speech, he’d answered them all. Keely was to be given a new life and she’d still be able to see her daughter on occasion. It would be very hard to go from living in the same building to a sprinkling of days during the month, but it would be best. Regan understood that as well. She shook her head and stood. “On the day of worship, then,” she agreed. Then sighed. Only long enough to coax Keely from yelling her frustration to sullen agreement.

It was good Dagger was prepared to leave, for in the kitchen doorway was a scowling Balkan. From the distance, he didn\'t know it was a lord that hung around his cook, otherwise he wouldn\'t have made any noise about it being ten minutes past closing.

[Trillian]

He thanked her, and stood to leave, glancing once at the innkeep glaring at him, then moved fluidly past the furniture and out the door, where the snow was still fluttery and the wind had a harder bite in the depth of night.  The walk home was a long one, but much needed, as he contemplated what was to be.