The Opportunity

Lirena stormed into her father’s office, much to the shouted dismay of Laura and house staff behind her. The Lord Barton was at his desk, diligently filling out a stack of paperwork when the door was slammed open, but he didn’t so much as look at her.

“I expected you to have something to say once you got back, but for you to lack all decorum in doing so is beneath you, girl,” Nicholai said as he dipped his quill in the ink and continued signing away on the documents.

“You threatened Miss Darlain,” Lirena seethed. “What in the world possessed you to do such a thing?”

“A great many things, all of which I am bound by honor, house, and station to uphold,” he replied flatly as he glanced at a nearby clock. “And given that the Vanguard arrived back before noon and you are barging into my office eight hours later with this matter, I presume I was correct to do so.”

“You had no right. She is… a friend, and a boon to her community. That you would threaten such a person shows a lack of dignity befitting a Barton!”

“Watch your tongue,” Nicholai said, now glowering at her as he finished a page and set it aside to dry. “You make a mockery of this house with your refusal to find a suitor, you harm our family alliances by making off to a pauper’s dingy business, and you dare to speak to me about Barton dignity?”

“I do, for no man of noble standing would be so adamant on so minor a cause. That is the work of a tyrant or a beast,” Lirena said, matching his stare.

“I have tolerated your little duels and adventures only because it is but a matter of time before your ego is felled before someone on your own terms,” Nicholai said, his voice revealing more of the anger he harbored. “Should this farce continue I will be left with no choice but to remove the obstacles that delay your duties.”

Lirena scoffed. “My duty to find a husband of your satisfaction and have his little lordlings? You are not so informed as you believe yourself to be if you think I will have anything to do with such a plan.”

“It is only by the grace of the goddess that you have fought off whelps for this long, but you will find your match both in combat and in marriage, even if I have to arrange for someone to partake in your game myself,” Nicholai said. “We are done here.”

Lirena let her fury gaze on her father’s head for some time before she finally turned away. “It is a boon that you know so much of the Vanguard’s workings, for that is where you will find me should you need me, a meeting that will come all the sooner and to your detriment should your threats against Miss Darlain come to pass.”

Lirena slammed the door behind her and faced a crowded hallway, all looking aghast at the overheard exchange.

Lirena swept her hair back and let out a sigh to calm herself. “As you heard, I will be attending to the Vanguard from tomorrow on,” she said to her mother. She looked to the maids. “Would one of you be so kind as to draw up a bath? It has been quite a long trip and I would revel at the chance for a soak. I shall not need dinner, I ate before my arrival.”

The maids stumbled over themselves to fulfill the order as Laura rested her hand on Lirena’s shoulder.

“Perhaps I can talk to him after he-” Laura began before Lirena cut her off.

“No need. I have said my piece, and if he does not understand, he is a fool and will deal with the consequences of his actions,” she said. “I apologize for the spectacle, but I would like to retire to my chambers now.”

Laura reluctantly nodded and let her go, and Lirena treated herself to a wonderful bath. It would not compete with the festival and Yvonne for the highlight of her day, but it did much to cheer her up from the encounter with her father, as did the familiar comfort of her bed.

The next morning, she waved off the concern of Samuel for a carriage, instead making her own way back to the Zoner grounds. Now a known person to the Vanguard, she was waved through without any questioning, and she went immediately to Commander Walhel’s office, as she had on that first day.

He looked up to note her presence before returning to some paperwork. “Back for more, Barton?”

“As I told you on the way back, I intend to join on future expeditions. I believe Vanessa has vouched for me,” Lirena said, clasping her arms behind her back.

“She did,” Walhel said as he put down his quill and sighed. “So will you wish to be notified of the next outing?”

“Actually, I was hoping I could avoid needing a missive by training here regularly,” Lirena replied.

Walhel looked surprised. “You wish to… train here?”

“Yes. It is better for me to know what the rest of the Vanguard is capable of to better work with them. I have no gifts to offer them, so I need to put in more work to learn how to use the help they may give me.” It was already something she had planned to do, but removing more chances to run into her father was definitely a boon.

Plus, the Vanguard base was closer to the Low ward in case she had free time.

“I… do apologize. Even after one outing, I had presumed you would not be sticking with us,” Walhel said. “Since you already worked with Vanessa’s group, we’ll stick you with them for now and she can give you a full explanation.”

Lirena bowed. “Thank you for the opportunity.”

“No, thank you for the help. It’s hard to find assistance for our job because of the requirements and I should have been more gracious for your request.”

Lirena could only smile. “I’ll do my best not to let you down.”

* * * * * * * * * *

“And how’s the training been going?” Yvonne asked as the waitress brought their food. With the recent boon of vegetables, some pubs were expanding their menus, and for their lunch date, Lirena and Yvonne had both chosen different savory pies with the seasonal vegetables - Yvonne had gone with minced chicken and Lirena had chosen fish, but both were sharing bits with each other for the experience.

It was a few weeks later after the festival, and Lirena had been to several more Zones, all of them much smaller in comparison to her first, and so she easily returned home between missions.

“Well, some were hesitant at first, but between the help I’ve been giving and a showcase of my skills, they relented. Training with them is interesting, they can’t use magic, but some of them have talents that feels like it,” Lirena said, eagerly using a fork to bring a chunk of pie to her mouth and smiling as she savored the taste.

Since the festival, Lirena had taken a shine to the fare of the Low ward. She was used to the fine foods available with her, but her trips to see Yvonne and the rations she had as part of her outings had more than prepared her for the differences in cuisine.

She told Yvonne in a previous outing that she actually enjoyed Low ward cooking more - something about it was refreshingly simple and let more of the ingredients present themselves over the various spines that adorned her noble dishes.

Yvonne nodded. “I’ve watched Gaz and the others train from time to time. Bring the right tools and set of gifts and I suppose a Touched could put on a big enough show to make a passing similarity.”

“Have you ever seen actual magic?” Lirena asked.

Yvonne thought as she finished a bite. “I saw some when I was younger. The mages were on hand in case they needed to remove our Zone, but they were ultimately ordered to keep it. So I only saw a little bit in their preparations.”

Lirena sighed. “Same. Just the Zone Erasure. I suppose they keep other magic in areas where it needs to be.” She shook her head to clear her thoughts. “Apologies, I distracted myself. We were talking about the training! So as I’ve been going to the Zones and practicing with the Touched, I’ve come to learn about a lot of gifts you all share. Sensory things and the like.”

“Ah, our sight and sixth sense for our element. Pretty handy out there, I imagine,” Yvonne said. “Don’t have much use for it here in the city, though.”

“But you can still do it? Sense things touching the earth and similar items?” Lirena asked, suddenly serious.

Yvonne could only tilt her head a bit in confusion. “I suppose so?”

Lirena shifted her feet under the table. “Could you tell which foot it was?”

“Wha-hold on, I wasn’t ready.” Yvonne said and closed her eyes. “Alright, do it again. I’ll play this game of yours,” she said with a smirk.

Lirena shifted her feet again, keeping them close together so sound wouldn’t give away the answer, but in contact with the simple stone flooring the pub used. Yvonne pointed on the left or right to indicate the answer - with perfect accuracy.

“Amazing!” Lirena cried.

“It uh… is nothing, really. Any Earthtouched can do it,” Yvonne said as she opened her eyes.“That may be true, but it turns out the Vanguard don’t have a lot of Earthtouched in their ranks compared to other Touched,” Lirena said.

“Gaz mentioned they don’t get a lot of Earthtouched recruits either. A lot of us probably put our gifts to other uses,” Yvonne said before taking a drink from the mug of ale. Apparently Watertouched were able to make clean water for the Upper Ward, but no such luxury was afforded to the Low Ward, and no one living there had the gift to make up for it.

“Which puts us in a bit of a bind with the next Zone…” Lirena said.

“I’m guessing an Earth one from the topic,” Yvonne said.

“Exactly. Quite a dangerous one, at that,” Lirena said. “There’s something there called a Wraith, and hunting it is going to require more Earthtouched to cover the area. So we’re looking for volunteers for this one trip. Paid expenses, of course.”

“Sounds like a nice gig for whoever…” Yvonne stopped herself. “Wait, you’re not asking me to…”Lirena grinned. “I am!”

“I would love to help, but I have my shop to run. Community needs me, and while I have enough to take some time off, it’s still a risk.”

“What if the pay covered your normal earnings from a typical week?” Lirena asked. “Whatever that might be.”

Yvonne thought for a moment and gave a number.

“For a whole week?” Lirena asked, her eyes widened in surprise.

Yvonne ran her fingers through her hair and looked away bashfully. “I do alright for myself.”

I’ll have to make sure to at least double that if she agrees, Lirena thought to herself, better understanding the wealth disparity from that one number.

“If I can arrange payment that is satisfactory, would you consider joining us?” Lirena asked. “It’s not a combat role, but I’m told Wraiths can still be dangerous.” She tossed her hair back and smiled teasingly. “Of course, I’d do all in my power to protect you.”

Yvonne chuckled. “I’ll… consider it. I’ll need to make sure there are arrangements made if my services are needed while I am out if I should go. And I guess I’ll probably have to ride with Gaz’s group.”

“If you do, we’ll at least have the camps in the evening - that’s when I’ve been talking to the Commissioners,” Lirena said, but quieted some as she continued, and traced a line in the grain of the wooden table. “I do hope you can come. It’s not a pleasure ride or anything, but it’s a lot of time I would get to spend with you.”

“I… will make every effort to,” Yvonne said. “I would… welcome the extra time.”

“I look forward to our date with the Wraith then,” Lirena beamed.

“You have some interesting ideas of what to include on dates,” Yvonne chuckled. “Best finish that pie before it gets cold.”

Lirena looked at her partially eaten plate. She was so lost in the idea of getting to be with Yvonne for days at a time that she had nearly forgotten about lunch.