Like thieves in the night, we'll free the slaves of this world!! (Part 3 ~ Improvisation)

"...Sorry, Zeph."

I'd normally try to talk things out, maybe see if I can get her to snap out of it, but... knowing how powerful her spells can get, I don't think I can afford to.

I charge at her, barely flying past a bolt of lightning she fires at me as I attempt to knock the spellbook out of her hands.

She dodges out of the way. She's nimble, for how little martial training she's had. Another bolt of lightning-- is she trying to preserve the house by not using anything stronger?

I charge again, this time trying to lead myself ahead-- pre-empting a dodge.

Gotcha!

She falls back, her spellbook flying between us as I land back to the ground.

"C-C'mon, I know you're still in there...!" I try to appeal to her, now that she can't immediately explode me. "Resist her influence, Zeph! I know you can do it...!"

Not wanting to wait to see if my pleas worked, I rush for the book, grabbing it in my mouth and throwing it out the window-- only for it to bounce back in. Did... did Anson put the barriers back up? I guess I can't call for backup, then.

Zephys slithers for the spellbook at a speed I didn't know she could manage. Not good... not good!

Rather than attempting to match that speed and beat her to the spellbook, I instead opt to try ramming into her directly-- no good getting the spellbook if you can't keep hold of it.

!!

She p-punched me right in the face...! How did she-

My body slams right into the nearby dresser, shattering the glass all over me as I hit the floor. She must've seen my play coming...

As I get back to my feet, I realize she's already begun to cast another spell. My body begins to tingle. What the-

The room's getting... bigger? No wait, she's shrinking me down...?!

Quickly, I rush for the spellbook, but by the time I get there, I've become small enough to fit in the palm of her hand-- a fact I've become uncomfortably aware of as she attempts to swat me down.

G-great... first giant spiders, now giant snakes?!

Narrowly dodging out of the way, I quickly figure it best to flee until I can think of something I can do. My strategies have dwindled tremendously now that I've become too small to outpace her.

I flutter underneath the dresser. She'll have to sweep aside the broken glass before getting to me, so that gives me time to think. She must be concentrating on this spell... right? I hardly doubt she's gonna make it permanent-- if Anson wants my head on a mantle, of course... Then maybe, if I can cause her to lose focus-

!!

She's not even moving the glass?! She almost grabbed me...!

Poor Zephys... I'll have to apologize for all the cuts she's getting right now.

G... Going with the idea of breaking her concentration, what would be the best way of doing that?

As much as I don't like it, the answer's probably 'causing her pain.'

"S-sorry again...!" I warble out with my now higher-pitched voice, standing still for her to try grabbing me again. As she does, I bite her finger as hard as I can, hoping that-- combined with the broken glass --will be enough to snap her out of it.

She flinches, but despite my best efforts, she manages to maintain the spell. In fact, she uses my grip on her against me to pull me out before I can react...!

I should've realized... if she wasn't reacting to the broken glass, what would a miniature dragon biting at her do? She turns me around to hold me by the back of my neck, as if I'm some sort of kitten.

...Actually, this gives me another idea. One I feel horrid for doing, but one I have more confidence will get me out of this mess.

I inhale sharply, and before Zephys can react-- I breathe fire as hard as I can against her spellbook. My small size means it's not as powerful as I'd hoped, but it's still enough to actively catch some of the pages alight.

"N... no nonononono noNONONONONO-" Zephys phases in and out of control over her body from the immense fear of her spellbook being incinerated. Though she's not able to break free, her control of the spell still shatters, causing me to grow back to normal size.

As she's trying to put the fire out before it spreads too far, I take my opportunity. Spinning around, I kick my hind legs out at her, knocking her backwards head-first against the wooden bedpost.

There... there.

Regaining my breath, I quickly stamp out the fire as quick as I can, praying I didn't cause too much damage to her spellbook.

Then, I check Zephys.

Bleeding... unconscious... but still alive. Good.

Time to go after Anson.

I fly out for the kitchen as fast as possible, scanning the area in the event I find her along the way. Even if she's not downstairs, if I'm able to take out the barrier again, then I can get Zephys out and call over Crimson to assist.

Barging through the doors, Anson jumps back, having been... preparing tea this entire time?

"H-huh... Perhaps I underestimated you, wyrm." She laughs, pouring tea. "Or, did I overestimate your friend-" I tackle her, pinning her to the ground.

"Shut up, already!"

"Nnngh..." She struggles to break free of me. "Know your place, wyrm... I could kill your friend with the snap of my finger."

So Zephys was right, then. Unless she's bluffing. But... am I willing to take that risk?

...Spellcasters need to use their hands to cast spells, right? So... she's probably being literal.

I grab onto her hands, digging my claws into them. She flinches, but otherwise keeps a straight-faced grin. "Fair point. But, you can't stay like this forever."

"Watch me."

"Okay... you asked for it." She pulls her legs up towards me, and before I understand what she's doing she throws her hips upwards toward me, forcing me forwards off of her arms. She grabs onto my back, rolling both of us over and overpowering me, instead.

"Easier than I thought it'd be. How disappointing." She grabs the kettle, pressing it against my face.

"N-nn..gghhaaaaahhhh!!!"

"Still haven't built up your resistance to heat? You must be younger than I thought." She removes the kettle only to pour the boiling hot water all over me. "Lots of people here like their slaves young, for whatever reason. Maybe it's a matter of having power over them? Or maybe it's their naïveté towards their circumstances. I personally couldn't care less how old my slaves are, as long as they're obedient."

"T-t-there's... a special place in hell... for people like you-"

"Did I say you could speak?" She forces the kettle into my mouth, burning my throat with the remaining liquids. Then, she slams the kettle at full force against my head, dropping it to the ground. "I'll be back. It's in your best interest to stay where you are." She says, hand primed as if to snap her finger.

Everything's burning... inside and out. I'd try and rush for the scullery, but at this point I'm not convinced I can do what I need to without her killing off Zephys. I'll.. just bide my time, everything hurts so much right now.

After a few minutes, she comes back-- collar in hand. "See? I'm a merciful woman. You broke into my house, defiled my property, even attempted to kill me-- yet here I am, letting you live." She hands it over to me. "Put it on-- you were the one who offered, right? And no funny business." Hand primed once again.

...She's really making me do this. I'm sure that behind her calm demeanor she's getting off to this.

...

...

I sigh, and put the collar on.

She snaps her fingers... and my mind goes blank.

"To your feet, wyrm."

I stand up.

The mistress presses the button on my collar.

My information screen appears.

"Hmmm.... What in the world? No information...?"

The mistress frowns. This makes me feel bad.

"What... are you?"

The mistress shakes her head. "Whatever. I'll figure that out later. For now, clean up after yourself. Start with the kitchen here-- the mop's in the scullery-- your favorite place."

I walk to the scullery.

I find the mop.

I grab it in my mouth.

I head back to the kitchen.

I begin mopping up my mess.

"There you go. Nice and obedient, just as I like it. I think I'll keep you like this for a long time, too. You're a feisty wyrm, after all."

I finish mopping up my mess.

"Good! Now for my bedroom."

I return to the scullery.

I return the mop.

I find the broom and pan.

I grab the broom and pan in my mouth.

I walk over to the mistress' bedroom.

I begin cleaning up the glass that I had shattered.

The mistress walks in.

"Wait... what?"

I turn to face her. Am I doing something wrong?

"W-where did the other one go? The lamia?"

I look around.

The lamia is nowhere to be seen.

"Speak."

"I rendered her unconscious. She was at the base of your bed when I left."

She squints her eyes, and looks around again.

She seems concerned.

The lamia hits the mistress on the head with a pan, causing her to fall to the ground.

"Th-that's for turning me against Lady Pento...!"

I enter a combat stance. I must protect the mistress.

"Thank the gods she can only control one person at a time-- how are you feeling, L-"

I charge at her, intending to bite.

"W-woah...!"

She jumps out of the way.

I get ready to charge again.

"S-sorry, Lady Pento. I'm sure you understand."

The lamia casts a spell on me.

I cannot move.

I struggle to break free.

An animated armor approaches.

It bows to me.

"L-Lady Commander... I apologize profusely for not being of use to you here...!"

"She did great even without you, though-- we'd probably be in much more trouble without her..."

The armor looks towards the mistress.

"Anson Slader... hmmmh. I shall be quick-- not that you particularly deserve it."

It places a knife to the mistress' throat.

...

Clarity returns to my mind; I promptly fall to my knees in shock.

"H-holy... shit...."

That was... t-too much...

Zephys crouches down, pulling me into a close hug.

"I'm here for you, Lady Pento. Both of us are."

I sniffle, staring into Zephys' eyes, needing something to recenter myself with.

"I-I-I was conscious through all of that... It was awful..."

...My breathing's become ragged, hasn't it? I didn't... I d-didn't expect to be so shaken up by this.

"I know... I know." She speaks softly, rubbing the back of my neck.

"H-how are you so calm...? You w-were being controlled too-- you even tried attacking me!"

Zephys sighs. "It's not the first time something like that has happened to me, as Sir Crimson can attest." A nervous smile. "N-not that it wasn't still terrifying, of course...!"

Crimson kneels down beside me. "What matters now is that you're free of her control now, La- ..." He stops himself, placing a hand on my back before correcting himself. "...Pento. Deep breaths, please. In..."

I inhale.

"And out..."

I exhale.

This process repeats a couple more times, before I'm eventually able to calm down.

"I... I'm going to start praying to Cala more, I think."

"Be mindful of your company when you do so, Lady Commander."

"Mmm." I throw off my collar, not wanting that awful thing touching my scales any longer than it already has.

Then, I approach Anson. I wonder... Her pajama top has a pocket....

Of course. Her keyring was exactly where I had feared it would be. I pull it out, holding it in my hands.

"We got it...!" Zephys claps.

I laugh a bit. "It took far longer than expected, but yeah." My mind wanders, however. "There was a trapdoor underneath the bed, though. Let's check it out before we go."

The three of us push the bed off to the side, unveiling the trapdoor. It's locked, but we have the keys... hopefully.

...

...

There we go.

"Y-you don't suppose anyone's down there, right?" Zephys asks.

"Only one way to find out." I pull the latch open, revealing...

A basement... completely filled with gold coins.

All three of us go wide-eyed.

"I-It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that Anson would not trust her money to a bank, but seeing it all here..." Crimson looks exasperated.

"A-all of it... for us? W-we're rich..!" Zephys looks as though they're just about ready to go swimming in the sea of gold. She pulls out her pocket dimension bag.

"Not just yet." I interject.

"Huh?"

"We let the ex-slaves take from it first-- enough for them to start new lives. Then, we can take whatever remains."

"A-ah... right, right." Zephys laughs a bit. "I got a bit carried away, sorry."

"You're quite kindhearted, Lady Commander." Crimson beams with pride.

I smile, if only for a moment.

"Is something the matter?"

"I... I've got a favor I need to ask, before I forget." I lower my head. "I'm... not good at this sort of combat thing. Not at all."

Zephys speaks up, reassuringly. "W-we've survived this far...!"

"Barely." I sigh. "It's nothing too big. I just..."

"I want to be trained. Physical combat, spellcasting, et cetera. I'm going to ask Exgrave and Elioxus about it when we get home, but I need to get better. I don't want to be a dead weight for my own army, y'know? I want to be a jack-of-all-trades, just like Exgrave."

I'm... tired of everyone picking up after my slack. I appreciate it, but I feel so useless.

Crimson bows. "Your will is mine, Lady Commander. We'll commence as soon as you're ready."

Zephys lowers her head. "I-I'll try... ... No." She beats her chest, drumming up confidence. "I'll do my best. Your will is mine, Lady Pento."

I chuckle. It's fine when Crimson says that, but it feels weird when Zephys does it too.

"Anyway. Let's free some slaves."