We ain't the types to judge ya's for who you is

Luckily for us, we found Eleanor relatively quickly around a nearby side street, and after checking our surroundings for the hundredth time, we finally proceeded on to the smithy. Making sure the sign was set to ‘closed’ and checking once more than that we hadn’t been followed, the five of us stepped through the door, breathing a collective sigh of relief the moment we knew we were safe.

“Ella… ye saved us…” said the first prisoner, a young man of 18 or so. For a moment I wondered why he seemed familiar, before I realised the wooden figure at the door to Arthur’s shop had been modelled in his likeness. That must have meant he was Elis Amaranthus, Arthur’s son.

“‘Twas not myself who braved deaþ to reskyue you, þough I appreshiate your þanks all þe same. When youre faþer informed me þat it was you who had been sentenced to indenturement, I could hardly leave you to youre fate. ‘Twould have made me an awful eksample of an elder sister, no?”

Eleanor smiled softly at Elis, who then hugged her tightly, his chin resting on her shoulder. Despite sharing no blood, it really seemed like there was a bond of siblinghood between them. For Eleanor, who rarely let her stoic face falter, to smile so easily, they must have been close.

“Ah- my deepest þanks to ye all for freeing us,” said the other man, a shorter chap with no facial hair or muscle mass to speak of. “I am called Alces, I am Elis’…”

“Bottom?”

“Pardon?”

“Ignore that. Think it’s pretty obvious what you two is to eachuva, what with the ‘ole fanfare in the ‘igh street earlier and what ‘ave ya. But never you worry, we ain’t the type to judge ya’s for who you is. Hell, if we was, we wouldna been throwin’ ourselves into the bloody lion’s den to get ya’s out safe ‘n’ sound, would we?”

Alces looked at me in complete confusion, prompting Alice to interject.

“Please ekscuse my companion here, he be’þ… a tad forren. What he meaneþ to say is þat þou mayst speak freely amongst us. We carry no judgement for þee and þy way of lyfe. þou needest not be ashamed of who þou art when þou speakest wiþ us.”

Alces’ stressed expression loosened a little at Alice’s proclamation, and I was reminded just how comforting her presence could be. It was incredible how lucky I was to have her be the first person I met when I ended up in this palace. If it was someone else I might so very well have gone loopy.

Plus she seemed to be understanding my manner of speech better and better, which was a bonus. If there was anyone here that I wanted to understand me, it was her.

“þough I noe not þe lady and þe kweer gentleman, I can attest þat dear Ella is a face to trust. ‘Twas she who helped me come to terms wiþ myne own proclivities, even before my faþer nyue. If she chooseþ to trust þese two, þat is reason enuff for me to trust þem too.” Elis had let go of Eleanor as he addressed the rest of us, seemingly calmer than his very tense lover.

Him trusting us was all well and good, but christ, man, why does everyone keep calling me queer? I was pretty sure I was the only person in the room who explicitly wasn’t queer. Bit bloody rude of ‘em to assume, if you ask me.

“As plesant as it would be to chat like old friends, Arþur can only distract þe priest for so long. When ‘tis faund þat þe Edelweiss men were slane and þe prisoners freed, ‘twill be a grate uproar. We must deside on our next move kwickly, lest we be discovered and all of us hanged. Murder is not a cryme so easily forgiven,” Eleanor reminded us.

Despite the fact that we were safely out of the church and away from prying eyes, the situation was precarious to say the least. With the deaths of three men and the escape of two prisoners being discovered, the whole bloody town was likely to be up in arms before long. Worst of all, the two people with the most probably motive were Arthur and Eleanor, what with their ties to Elis, so the smithy and handicraft shop were far from safe places to hide.

With little other choice, Alice and I shed our blood-stained cloaks and quietly left the smithy in plain clothes, making our way back to the Dragon’s Flagon and keeping an eye out for Arthur and the priest along the way. Luckily, there was no sign of them on the way there, which still left us some time. We made our way to Alphonse quickly, well aware of the steadily ticking clock, and of the dangers of Alice’s face being exposed. Once there, we took Al aside to explain the situation.

Thankfully for us, the old barkeep was as kind as he was rotund, and offered to shelter them for as long as needs be. He also lent us a pair of cloaks that we could use to move around without the two men being seen. That was yet another one we owed to Al, but at the idea of a debt he simply laughed us off and made us promise to patronise the bar when we had time. Making certain no prying eyes were upon us, we also left our bloody swords with him. Blood-soaked cloaks were easy to hide, but if the murder weapons were found in Eleanor's smithy, it would spell disaster.

Without a second left to lose, we made our way all the way back to Eleanor’s smithy, still not seeing a single trace of Arthur or the priest. We could only wonder how long our luck would hold up. After all, the auction was set to take place at 8, and by the complete setting of sun, I guessed that it must have been after 7 already.

Back at the smithy, we passed the cloaks over to the two men and explained the plan. There was much hesitation, what with how dangerous it was for them to be out and about, but we all knew it: this would be our only chance. We had to move now, or it was practically inevitable that we’d get caught.

The five of us left the smithy, with all but me and Eleanor hiding their faces in cloaks. I had to admit we looked mighty suspicious, but cloaks like these weren’t exactly uncommon here, so we hoped to slip by unnoticed.

With the setting of the sun, most of the businesses around that had even bothered to open on a Sunday were now closed. The streets were much emptier than they had been, which meant we no longer had the luxury of hiding amongst a crowd. Hence, I suggested to Eleanor that we split into a three and a pair, with her and Elis walking separately from Alice, Alces and I.

Thankfully, the few people around us didn’t seem to pay us any mind. The darkness acted as a good cloak to keep prying eyes away, and most who did see us merely minded their own business. Interruptions notwithstanding, it seemed like we’d be able to make it to the inn with no trouble.

“Murder! Murder in þe church! þis holy place, it haþ been defyled! Wiþ þe blood of man!” Yelled the priest, bolting out of the church door and proverbially slapping me in the face for getting ahead of myself.

It had really begun to feel like nothing could ever go right for us.