We'll Never Speak of This

Saffron sighed heavily. Currently she was in her room at Fairy Hills, laying on the couch upside down with her legs over the back and her head hanging off the seat. Light from the lacrivision shifted the atmosphere of the space as she clicked through the channels, stopping only for a couple seconds to see what was on before moving on to the next one. There was absolutely nothing of interest airing, but then again there rarely was. Saffron didn’t really care all that much for television. She couldn’t usually sit still long enough to watch anything. The only reason she even owned one was for her video games, which held her attention much easier than shows did, but even games didn’t sound very worthwhile to her at the moment.

It had been a long week of doing absolutely nothing. Aside from her daily training with Vandrad, she had more or less been left to her own devices for most of the week. Mercury had been holed up as she usually was, looking into research on the extraterrestrial from the Dread Masters that had been the cause of the Xocili faking her death. Hosrius and Grubar were busy doing their own things related to that same job, though Saffron supposed she couldn’t really complain about that. While she had been happy for her friends when she heard that they were finally making a move on the target they’d come to Earthland for, the situation had been difficult for her to swallow because she knew that capturing their mark meant they would be leaving the planet. She had been sour for quite a while until learning that they had elected to stay for three more months, despite having Genesis in hand.

But unfortunately, their recent acquisition had only made them more busy, now that they were helping Mercury try to get the drop on Maker. Not to mention that there was now an official countdown until the two would be gone, a reality that Saffron had stuffed deep down under layers of denial. Likewise, Vandrad was equally preoccupied with his own stuff that seemed to involve a mixture of everything going on with Maker and other things that were unrelated and he didn’t really wish to discuss just yet. Saffron respected his privacy, of course, but that didn’t stop her from feeling frustrated.

She’d tried to distract herself with extra training, but she could only slug a punching bag and lift weights for so long before it wasn’t really doing anything for her. She had even tried perusing the job board in the main hall, but all the postings sounded exhaustingly boring. Even the postings on the S board were dull, none of them offering the level of high stakes danger that she craved near constantly. Ultimately, she’d skulked her way back up to her room and elected to veg out in front of the lacrimavision, watching the screen without really paying attention to anything.

“Gods, this is the woooorst.” Shutting off the screen, she practically threw the remote to the other side of the couch. Saffron sat there for a moment, her eyes the slightest tinge of red with annoyance as she just laid there and stewed in her irritation. Eventually, she pulled her iLac out of her pocked and started flipping through various social medias and websites, desperate for anything to fill the bottomless void that was her boredom. If no one was available to spend any time with her, then she would just have to do something on her own, so she started searching to see if there were any events or festivals in a reasonable distance from the guild. The holidays were on their way, so surely there would be something.

Yet there was no such luck. Many of the fall festivities weren’t scheduled to start for several more weeks. There was just nothing to do. Utterly nothing!

Thinking that maybe she could pass some time being productive and cleaning her arm – though it really didn’t need it – Saffron held the mechanical limb out and started searching over it. Opening one of the storage compartments, she flinched as something small but pointy fell out and whacked her on the face. “Ouch..!” With a grumble she picked the item up and glared at it briefly before her expression shifted. It was the business card that Scourge had given her from their spar a week or two ago. The blonde had honestly forgotten all about the ridiculous thing. What kind of loser went around giving business cards when he didn’t even have a business to promote?

Yet she continued to stare at it in contemplation. Saffron certainly didn’t ever intend on going to Scourge for training; Vandrad was her mentor, and she didn’t plan on disrespecting or undermining him that way. But the man had offered for her to contact him if she ever just wanted to shake things up a bit. Had he meant that, or was he just looking for some excuse to use her to nettle Vandrad by getting cozy with the prince’s mentor in one way or another? More importantly, did it really matter? She wasn’t dumb enough to let anyone lead her around in circles like that, playing games. And while he had certainly been a little full of himself, he hadn’t struggled at all to keep up with her sass and attitude, bantering and back talking her in turn.

“Fuck, I really must be desperate,” she muttered. Picking up her iLac again, she begrudgingly punched in the numbers and put the device to her ear, waiting out the rings until the line connected and he answered. “It’s Saffron. I can’t possibly overstate how much I hate myself for this, but here’s the thing, Purge: I am bored out of my fucking mind. Van, Merc, Hos, and Grubar have been caught up in their meetings and missions and research literally all week, while I’ve been sitting on my ass being bored and useless. If I don’t get out of this guild hall soon, I’m gonna lose it.”

As per usual, she was fairly good at playing it mostly cool, but Saffron never had been great about covering up her emotions. Since her eyes made it impossible many times to hide her thoughts, she had simply stopped bothering to attempt subtlety. As such, he would likely hear the unmistakable frustration in her voice from how useless – and frankly, lonely – she was feeling. “You promised me excitement, and against my better judgment I’m calling to collect. So what do you got for me?”

By the all too sweet sound of his voice on the other line, Scourge clearly knew it was her calling, even before she’d started talking. Saffron stated her case and pretty much informed him, rather than asking him, that they were going to do something together. Obviously if he was busy she couldn’t and wouldn’t press the matter, but for the sake of her sanity she was praying that he was willing to bend to her sporadic whims. And much to her delight – and resignation – he was amenable to the sudden plans.

Oh he opened up like he was busy and in the middle of something, and truthfully he was. As Scourge explained, he was leaving near about any minute to go on a rather dubious undercover mission revolving around the slave trade. However, with just a bit of impishness he supposed aloud that it might be more beneficial to have a partner along for the right. “Oh my gods, seriously?” she asked, practically flinging herself upright on the couch in eager relief.

From there she listened attentively as he gave a more detailed explanation about the task, which he had apparently promised another person to be his right hand on, but Saffron had caught him in a giving mood. He was willing to let her take the spot instead. As he put it, there was an enormous slaving operation taking place in Dongxia at some underwater facility. His information told him that the operation had received a sudden and suspicious increase in resources and trade, and he believed that an extraterrestrial influence might be playing a role – namely, Maker. The plan was to be taken down to the city under the pretense of being part of the slaves to be sold in order to investigate the situation from the inside before tearing the entire operation down around its ears. It was going to be high stakes, require a very particular dress code, and would most likely last several days at minimum. She had called his bluff, and he had delivered, so now ball was back in her court.

“Dude, don’t insult me. What kind of woman do you take me for?” she asked him when he brought up the matter of the scantily clad slave attire, her voice dripping with incredulous offense. “Ain’t no way anything you bring me is gonna be better than what I already own. I’ve got the perfect get up for this. Anything else I need to bring or be prepared for?” She couldn’t imagine much else would be necessary, particularly since it wasn’t like slaves would have much, if any, personal belongings. No matter what his response, she was already swinging herself off the back of the couch and moving. “You’re a fucking lifesaver. Give me ten minutes to get ready and to notify the guild I’m gonna be gone for a bit.”

Without even so much as a goodbye, she ended the call and rushed to get everything taken care of. She thought about messaging Vandrad directly, but ultimately decided not to. He was in the middle of more important things, and the last thing she wanted to deal with was a million questions about explaining why she was running off for a few days with Scourge of all people. Better to ask forgiveness than permission, right? So instead she called down to the main desk and ask them to notify the guild leadership that something had come up and she would be gone for a few days, possibly longer, with confirmation that she would be off the grid and unreachable during that time.

By the time Scourge showed up in her quarters, she’d be in the bathroom finishing up her make up. It was a fairly standard studio room with a bed in the corner, a couch and entertainment center, and a tiny kitchenette that was more for keeping and making personal snacks than outright cooking. The room was mostly well kept with only a bits of clutter here and there. Tons of posters were hung around the walls of various rock bands, and there was even a drum set and an electric guitar off to the side.

He would only have to wait a minute or two longer before she emerged from the bathroom, practically vibrating with excitement. Saffron was dressed in a black and white one piece bodice that was simple, elegant, and left very little to the imagination. There were straps and ringlets wrapped up around her legs and a full window plunging past her ample cleavage. She even wore a pair of dainty cloth bracers that were clearly more for fashion than any sort of armoring, as well as a black ribbon tied around one of her biceps with a little bow. What was actually more peculiar was that her mechanical limb seemed to be missing, replaced instead with one that looked and felt very much like real flesh and blood.

“Damn, I look good,” she proclaimed, practically strutting across the room toward him, though her gait was more that of extreme confidence than flirtation. The blonde took a moment to look him over, observing his own attire with a smirk. “Gods, that cape is exactly as extra as you are. I dig it, though.” Giving him a playful grin, she tossed him a nod. “Ready when you are, dude. Let’s go ruin the lives of some deadbeat slavers.”

“Also, full disclosure in advance: If anyone cuts, touches, or even thinks about breathing on my hair, there’s gonna be a scene and it will be bloody.”

Scourge set the standard that the two of them just needed to focus on looking pretty and desirable, and as far as Saffron was concerned that was something she already did every day, so the request was easy enough to fulfill. As for sleeping in a room crammed up with people, she shrugged. “I was in the army. Same thing.”

So with everything settled she ended the call and got ready, giving Scourge a shout to come in when she heard his knock. Or at least, she reasonably assumed it was him. Unlike just about all of her magic using friends, Saffron didn’t have the ability to sense the presence of people in close proximity to her to monitor where they came from or how they arrived, but she couldn’t imagine it would be anyone else. If it wasn’t him, someone was about to be in for a rather sexy surprise as she stepped around the corner, that was for sure. But it was Scourge that she discovered idling inside her room, the man slightly taken back by the sight of her in her attire. He playfully commented that she didn’t look too bad, good enough that surely someone would want to buy her. She met the comment with a pleased grin, the expression a sure sign that she was already feeling more like herself and happy with the shit talk.

After a brief discussion about his own outfit, Saffron crying internally over the definition of his abs and lamenting that her stomach didn’t look the same, she gave him fair warning that anyone touching her hair was going to pay the price for it. And truthfully, Saffron wasn’t an idiot; she understood what this was, and understood that the whole experience was likely going to be extremely uncomfortable and violating in a number of different ways. At the end of the day, it was an outright guarantee that she was going to get touched and groped and – knowing her attitude – most likely beaten. Saffron wasn’t like Mercury, who was almost always comfortable with that kind of thing, more than happy to offer up her body for a mission in whatever way it required. The blonde had a very defined line that she would not cross, and if push came to shove she would defend herself rather than submit to anything… perverse.

But, she was still a soldier. She understood that doing a job sometimes deserved personal sacrifice, and Scourge had made it very clear that this particular job would go a long way toward protecting and helping her friends directly in a way that she’d really not been able to do before, outside of Mercury and Vandrad’s disappearances. More than that, while she had only met Scourge once, she had heard more than enough about him from Vandrad, Mercury, Gren, and the others to have a pretty solid idea of what he was about, enough to trust that he wouldn’t ask or expect her to be violated to the point of irreparable trauma for the sake of the job. He assured her that he would ask their hired slaver to make sure the hair was not to be inspected – which frankly made sense to Saffron anyway, cause as far as she was concerned her luscious golden locks would be quite the selling feature and shouldn’t be sullied – and then it was time for them to leave.

Saffron did as he instructed, resting her hand on his shoulder and a brief moment later they had simply popped into existence on a remote beach. Being a bit of a beach enthusiast, she was momentarily distracted by the sight of the landscape, toying in her head how receptive Scourge would be to just… hanging out and relaxing for half an hour to treat themselves before being plunged into a life of squalor, but her gut told her he wouldn’t go for it so she kept the idea to herself.

It was the sound of a woman’s voice greeting them that pulled her attention away, finding a similarly scantily clad companion of Scourge’s standing atop a sea faring vessel that awaited them. Unlike their own garb, hers was clearly some type of armor, though Saffron couldn’t imagine it served much real protection. It had to be magically enhanced in some way to make it viable. Still, the purple haired lady was quite pretty, with a great rack that rivaled even Saffron’s. She spoke with an accent and filtered her talk with words from a language that Saffron was fairly certain was Minstrelian. The woman chastised Scourge, referring to him as Caecilius and playfully berating him for lying about coming alone.

Scourge hadn’t actually told Saffron that he would be going under an alias, nor given her any instructions to not call him by the name given to him by the Dread Masters. But luckily for him, she was observant and frankly more than happy to call him just about any other name. Caecilius was a ridiculously pompous moniker itself, but it at least sounded like a real name and wasn’t edgy to the point of being cringe. He informed the woman that there had been a change in plans due to Saffron’s insistence to the point of begging that she come along. The blonde rolled her eyes but… frankly he wasn’t wrong, so she didn’t really have any grounds to argue it. If a little humility was what it took to escape the dullness and isolation, she’d happily pay up.

But it seemed his friend knew him too well to take his “selfless” actions to heart, accusing him of fabricating a story to his benefit. She then turned to Saffron, introducing herself as Rogier, once Roger, and asking if Scourge had bullied her into the job at hand. Even as Scourge defended himself, Saffron smirked. “At the risk of making myself look embarrassingly lame, his claim is, unfortunately, right on the money. That being said…” The blonde offered her hand to the other woman and, presuming it was given, Saffron came swinging out of left field with the charm, giving a low bow as she held the hand before her face. “So far, the trip has been worth every second of debasing myself.” With a flirty wink, she maintained eye contact and gently kissed the back of the woman’s hand before releasing it and straightening up.

Rogier informed them that the trip would take roughly an hour from her ship, so it was best they get moving. Saffron followed the pair into the vessel and made herself comfortable at her host’s insistence, knowing all too well that the next few days would provide few luxuries or common needs. Saffron picked a couch and flopped onto it, committing herself to grabbing some food once they’d settled for a couple minutes so as not to make herself look like a shameless mooch. Rogier looked her over before offering her compliments and prying for a name. Scourge provided it, having failed to make the formal introduction sooner, explaining only that Saffron was a mage from Fairy Tail. This was of great interest to the woman, who remarked that she may have to visit the place if they housed mages as attractive as Saffron.

The blonde smiled. “You are more than welcome to come by anytime you like. I’ll personally ensure you’re shown a good time.” Flirtations aside, Saffron continued on. “But yes, as Caecilius said, my name is Saffron Remington. I was born and raised in Bosco and joined the Defense Force pretty much right after school. Unfortunately, I suffered a dismemberment during the border skirmishes between Pergrande and Bellum last year, and was honorably discharged, so I decided to do a bit of traveling and that’s how I wound up in Fiore, and with Fairy Tail.”

“Oh, and just to tie things back to something you said earlier, don’t worry about treating me better than him. I know what I signed up for, and I don’t want to compromise the integrity of the mission. Caecilius can vouch that I can take more than my fair share of a beating, and with my attitude I’m certain I’m going to get a lot of them. I hope there’s going to be plenty of buyers that like their slaves fiesty because I am not a good actress and I won’t be able to pass myself off as meek and submissive, even if I tried. So if you have to rough me up a bit, you feel more than free; honestly, you’d be doing me a favor. In more than one way.” She tossed the woman another coy smile.

Saffron had exactly zero idea what Rogier said, but she didn’t need to speak Minstrelian to get the gist. Her confident smile remained until Scourge dissuaded their faux slaver from whisking Saffron off into the night, stating that he was quite sure that sex wasn’t the type of excitement the blonde had been asking for. So the trio instead piled onto the ship and made themselves comfortable as the vessel piloted itself toward their destination. From there Saffron elected to give the spark notes version of an introduction, figuring that since they had an hour to kill they may as well chat one another up.

Rogier was rather looking forward to Saffron being her spicy self, it seemed, not at all worried about the other woman’s abilities if only because she knew that Scourge – as it seemed she did know his real name – wouldn’t have taken her along if he had any doubts. The man himself quipped in that he figured it was his charm that was his biggest selling point, to which Saffron gave an indignant snort. “It’s certainly not your name. I’m all too happy to have been supplied with a different name to call you, cause I can’t take the other one seriously.”

From there, Scourge let it be known that Saffron had requested her hair not be sullied by any of the potential buyers. Much to the blonde’s delight, Rogier was all too eager to acquiesce to the request, stating quite plainly that the golden threads deserved to be treated with the respect and deference they were due. As Saffron had figured, the feature would be quite the selling point. And thankfully, as the seller, Rogier had the power to ensure that the woman was left alone, though it seemed most buyers were likely to be respectful anyway, if only because they wanted to purchase pristine specimens for them to defile later by their own means. “Glad to hear it. I’d really hate to blow the whole operation too soon from some poor sod losing a hand if they get too grabby.”

Scourge treated Saffron to some back story on his and Rogier’s meeting, the Dread Master having come across the woman not long after they had gone through their sex change. According to Rogier, slaving had been a family business that she had participated in under the pressure of familial expectation, but never quite felt right about. Her brother had been all for it, more than happy to take over the reins after the death of their father, but once Rogier had discovered who she truly was it felt wrong to deprive others of the freedoms she herself had been robbed of for so long. Ultimately, she had turned in herself and her entire family, though she’d been surprised with mercy after cooperating with the authorities. Scourge brushed off the comment about the Dread Masters, not making any effort to deny the group’s lack of morality. Now a days, he was more focused on finding others that wanted to fix the wrongs they had done, those who had proven themselves as potential assets. The Masters hadn’t ever understood his insistence on working with Rogier, but neither did they argue it. “Well, I’m glad to hear you got out and that you were able to become the person you always felt you were. That shit ain’t easy, and you have my sincerest respect.”

As the conversation wrapped up, Rogier excused herself to go make a few preparations, though not without an invitation for Saffron to join her. Saffron grinned. “Maybe some other time. I’ll happily watch you leave, though.” With a flirty click of her tongue, Saffron did just that until Rogier was in the other room and out of sight. Then she finally glanced over to the table of food and drinks, getting up to see what offerings awaited them. Now alone, Scourge admitted that he had originally meant for Mercury to be the one to join him on this particular quest, but with the benefit of hindsight felt that Saffron was probably the better choice – if only because Mercury was more likely to have accepted said offer of sex while they traveled.

Saffron rolled her eyes, though she was smirking. “Yeah don’t get me wrong, I love Mercury to death, but she needs to chill her ovaries out every once in a while. I know she’s got a shit past and all, so I don’t begrudge her enjoying her freedom and living in a way that makes her happy, but I think she could benefit from a few higher standards. That, and she’s really narrowing down my dating pool.” Saffron collected a small plate of sustenance and a beer, figuring that she’d probably only be getting water for a few days. As she sat back down, her companion asked if she had any questions before touching back up on the history she’d given of herself, as well as her lack of a mechanical arm.

“Uhh I haven’t really had a chance to think about it too much yet,” the blonde replied around a small mouthful of food. “I never did any kind of undercover missions with the BDF. I was only with them for a couple of years, and the last year or so of that was spent being vetted and tested for the Magia Squad. We weren’t really sure if I actually had magic or not, because I had no control over it and no one could identify it. My last mission was actually supposed to be my final test with Magia before potentially being admitted to the squad. We got the job done, but the truth is I should have died that day. I managed to take out nearly a full squad of Pergrande asshats before I found myself face to face with one of their paladins. She seriously handed me my ass… I got hella lucky. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of time over the next couple days to give you the details if you wanna hear ‘em.”

Taking a swig from the beer bottle, Saffron continued. “Arm is definitely still mechanical. It was a gift from Bosco as a thank you for my sacrifice, finest piece of tech my country had to offer. These days, though, I have people from beyond this world in my corner. Vandrad and Mercury were practically itching to get their hands on it to see how they could improve it, and I wasn’t gonna say no.” With a mental flex, the skin on her arm shifted and was replaced by the robotic one he would recognize. “Vandrad added a few fun features to it, but Mercury enchanted it with her magic. She’s got control over every type of metal known to the universe, including the organic metal that her body is made from. So now I’m able to cloak it when I want to, and it will look and feel like real flesh. Usually I don’t mask it, cause having a mechanical arm is pretty bitchin’, but it seemed appropriate to do so for this mission. While I’m sure some buyers would see it as a big selling feature, I wasn’t sure I’d be allowed to keep it on me if they knew about it, since they might recognize it can be used as a weapon. Plus it felt smarter to keep it in my back pocket as insurance; never let them know your next move, and all.”

Turning the cloaking back on, she held her arm out for him to feel and get a sense for how realistic it truly was. Saffron was sure he’d probably believe her, but she’d want to sate her curiosity in his shoes so she figured she may as well let him. It wasn’t like they weren’t gonna get plenty close to each other the next couple days anyway. “I suppose I should ask if there’s anything specific I should be trying to keep an ear out for, as far as things related your former edgelord buddies. I’m still a bit new to the whole scene. Been doing my best to catch up, but it’s been a bit of a struggle. A lot to take in and process. Also, do we need to craft any kind of back stories? Anything we need to piece together so our information matches up if we’re asked any questions? Code phrases or anything we need to establish? Frankly, it’s your mission, so I’m just following your lead.”

Saffron truly didn’t have anything against Mercury. She greatly enjoyed the Xocili’s company, the two often enabling one another in terms of humor and pranks. The Fairy Tail mage simply didn’t share Mercury’s lusty mannerisms and sexual deviances. Saffron loved to flirt and be charming, and she wasn’t against casual hookups, but it took a bit more than that to get her to actually put out. And truthfully, the Xocili got around so much that it was starting to become a broken record, and Saffron was less and less impressed each time she learned about yet another mutual friend that had succumbed to Mercury’s invitations. Oh, she got it: Mercury was unbelievably attractive, and even Saffron couldn’t deny that the thought was tempting at times. But she simply had no interest in riding the community bicycle, as it were; nor sharing her bed with anyone that had ridden the same bike.

It was Scourge who spoke up to admit that Vandrad’s family had likely been the cause of that, considering their own habits. He seemed to be of the mindset that Mercury wasn’t always like this, and the influence of the du Wolffs had been particularly strong and well received. Vandrad didn’t seem to mind which was the important thing, but he could understand Saffron wanting to isolate herself from the experience. When he claimed to be one of the few that hadn’t yet slept with the woman, Saffron did a small double take. “Wait, seriously?” Her expression slowly shifted from shock to impressed. “Alright, dude. You just went from a six to an eight. Mad respect, then. Are you just like… not that interested in her? Cause the way she talks about you, I assumed you guys had hooked up, or at least would be soon. Not that she’s said she slept with you, its just very obvious that she wants to and that the two of you vibe that way.”

After a brief conversation touching on her recent past, as well as on her arm. He voiced his appreciation that Saffron had thought ahead to hide one of her bigger assets, essentially setting herself up to smuggle a weapon into the operation, though he agreed the sight of the mechanical limb was far more fun and intimidating. From there he answered her questions in turn, stating that Rogier would craft the backstories since she was more in the know about what would make the pair most attractive. In regard to Maker, all he knew was that his former colleague had provided resources to the syndicate, but he had no clues as to the nature of said resources. Rogier would do her part to help by being an ear around the slavers, but chances were that Saffron and Scourge would hear more since people that owned slaves were often very careless about what they said around them. She nodded her understanding. While Saffron hadn’t done any operations liberating slaves, his words did seem in line with what little she knew of such circumstances.

It was then that Rogier returned, having overheard the mention of backstories. She acknowledged Saffron’s less than stellar acting abilities but advised she would need the blonde to make at least a minimal attempt, considering their cover was going to be that she and Scourge were married. Saffron frowned sightly in thought even as Scourge looked to their hired slaver in surprise. He voiced Saffrons thoughts as he spoke up to question the choice, and Rogier advised that married couples were in high demand in the slave market right now, as many of the more perverse buyers thought it exciting to “break” the wives to demoralize their husbands. The sour look on Saffron’s face was evidence enough of how she felt about that, but she otherwise remained attentive as she received the rest of the details. Scourge was to be called Augustus Durus, with Saffron being his wife Isabella. And as part of her backstory, to make it more believable to their true natures, Saffron would be put forth as the spicier of the two, a woman of fighting spirit that had not been easy to capture. She smirked. “Nice.”

Saffron caught the cuffs when they were tossed to her, giving the woman an understanding nod.  “Well, that works for me. I can pretend something like that easy enough. I may as well tell you now so you are prepared if it happens: the reason I say I’m not very good at acting is because I don’t really have much of a choice. My eyes have a habit of changing colors to reflect my mood when I’m experiencing a strong emotion. Red when I’m angry, blue when I’m sad, that kind of thing. So it’s not that I can’t make the effort to walk the walk, it just makes it difficult and pointless to hide how I’m truly feeling at times. It’s something I have zero control over, and I still haven’t been able to determine if it’s related to my magic or not, so even if these cuffs were fully operational it’s highly likely my eyes would still do what they want. So I guess be prepared to possibly have to explain that, should it come up.”

Saffron had experienced plenty of times throughout her life, even presently, where she wished she could veil her emotions like a normal person, but the truth was that wasn’t her reality. Her eyes were in complete control in that regard, and no amount of emotional fortitude had ever put the reins in her hands, so she’d given up a long time ago trying to conceal her thoughts and feelings.

With all that out of the way, Scourge offered to spend the rest of the trip helping in the efforts to get Saffron up to speed on the situation with Maker and the Dread Masters. Sitting back with her food to get comfortable. “I won’t decline. Van does his best to keep me in the loop, but it’s just a lot to take in for stuff that I’m usually not immediately involved in. And probably a lot to summarize. Maybe you’ll have some details he overlooked that I could benefit from hearing.”

They passed the time as such until the approach of their destination was imminent. Saffron whistled as she caught sight of the sprawling underwater metropolis, impressed despite knowing the despicable practices being made within. “What a waste,” was her only voiced lament. A place like that could have been ludicrously profitable as a vacation destination, were it not tainted by human trafficking. With a sigh, she stretched and collected her cuffs, giving Scourge a smirk. “You ready, honey?”

It was of little surprise to Saffron that the only thing standing between him and sex with Mercury was the lack of an appropriate opportunity. He surmised that it was likely to happen at some point but he wasn’t chasing to make it happen, more than patient to wait for a natural opening, as it were. The blonde supposed that was fair, and while it was exhausting to hear about another person that planned or hoped to sleep with the Silver Wolf mage at some point, it was refreshing to hear that he wasn’t so interested as to go out of his way for it.

When it came to the subject about her eyes, he had a thoughtful frown on his face as he gave the matter some thought. Scourge was fairly certain that the ability had nothing to do with her magic. He and Vandrad had a choice in changing the color of their eyes, if an unconscious one. Since Saffron’s ability was beyond her control and based off emotion, rather than magical output, he was at a loss for an explanation, though he was fascinated by the knowledge. Either way, after some thought, Rogier determined that they would simply refer to her as an empath and work the ability into her selling features. “Works for me.” Any explanation would suffice in place of the unknown, as far as Saffron was concerned. Mostly she just didn’t want Rogier to be caught off guard by it and have to come up with something on the spot.

A short trip and an in depth conversation about the shadow organizations later, and they found themselves approaching the infuriatingly named Freedom. Saffron scoffed at the name and rolled her eyes, clearly not impressed by the sick sense of humor of those who had named it. But ultimately it didn’t matter. Freedom’s days were numbered, and soon enough the stain of it would be wiped from the earth. So instead, she moved over to her partner, who teased her back even as he took her cuffs and clasped them onto her. While Scourge was getting his own bindings on, she tapped briefly into her magic, not to cast any spells but mostly just to make sure she could still feel the access to her reserves. Rogier explained that she had put her weapon on a lower setting so it would hurt but not maim or permanently injure, though to any onlooker it would appear to be at full strength. Once they were off the ship she would be slipping fully into her former persona and it would be the last they would be able to speak plainly with her for some time, most likely not until the morning when they would officially be able to “set up shop”. She also remarked that they should be prepared for their sparse lodging to be cold, given how deep below the water they were. Saffron nodded her understanding and readiness, and off they went.

Once they were out in the open, Saffron did her best to look angry and indignant. Truthfully, it wasn’t very hard. The sight of other people around them that were actually slaves was more than enough to sully her otherwise sunny disposition. She made it a point to study their surroundings as they approached a gated entrance, memorizing as much as she could. Rather than join in the line at the gate, Rogier shoved them toward a different one that was closed with a posted guard, greeting the man with all the confidence of one that expected to be recognized. And to her credit, she was. The guard confirmed that her ship had been verified upon its arrival, though he referred to the woman by her dead name. His comment about her supposed face turn was brushed off, Rogier explaining that she had only done what was needed to foist the business from her weak brother, giving the man a dark warning about using her proper name.

The guard was annoyed but sufficiently cowed, opting instead to change the subject toward Rogier’s charges. Thus the back story was fed. Saffron kept an even expression of simmering defiance, practically staring the man down and daring him to try touching her. When Rogier remarked about her being a spitfire, the woman reaching up to stroke her cheek, Saffron turned her glare toward her captor, stubbornly attempting to pull her face out of reach. “You should see what color they’ll turn when I snap your skinny neck off your shoulders,” she informed the slaver hotly. The blonde didn’t shy away from the subsequent smack the comment earned her, her face turning away only from the impact of the blow. Steadying herself with a low growl, she grit her teeth and set her stern gaze on Rogier once more but did not speak again.

After a brief exchange with the guard about another slaver, and doing a quick scan of the slaves for any contraband or magical signals, he waved them through, confirming there would be a cell waiting for them in Lock One. Another growl escaped her as the whip cracked across her back and Saffron shot Rogier a convincingly dirty look before doing as she was told. They passed through a series of narrow hallways and up a set of stairs before finding the cell that was to be theirs. The entire way along, their surroundings were rather well kept and furnished with modern conveniences such as electricity for light and holographic signs. Rogier shoved them into the room and bid them farewell with a kiss before the door shut and locked the couple inside.

The space was, frankly, better than the image Saffron had prepared in her mind. It was a small room, but it had an actual bed in it so they wouldn’t have to worry about sleeping on a cold damp floor. There was even a small, doorless alcove where they would be able to relieve themselves in relative privacy, aside from the obvious cameras placed to monitor their captivity. Scourge openly remarked that he had been expecting worse, drawing a nod from his companion. “I’ve definitely had worse sleeping arrangements in the military,” she agreed. No sooner had the words left their mouths than the walls changed, shifting to become translucent and giving them and unhindered view into the dozens of other rooms in their row, and the slaves within. Despite knowing what she would have to endure on this mission, there was simply nothing one could do to truly prepare themselves for such a horrific and inhumane sight. Even though it was difficult, Saffron forced herself to look long and hard at what she could see, taking in the varying degrees of emotional states of the captives around them. Her irises took on a deep crimson hue to indicate her genuine anger.

Finally, she sighed and relented, the orbs returning to their normal violet shade. Knowing that they were being watched – and supposed to be a married couple – she approached Scourge and slowly wrapped her arms around his waist to hold him close as if seeking comfort. In truth, she was just trying to get close enough that she could speak more quietly to him without the cameras picking it up. “Well, looks like we have some time to kill. How safe do you think it is to talk in here?” She wasn’t sure if the cameras actually had audio recording capabilities or if they were purely visual. She had a couple features in her arm, courtesy of Mercury, that could probably scramble them briefly but since that would potentially draw suspicion Saffron didn’t want to do that unless it was absolutely necessary.

It took Scourge only the briefest of moments to react to her hugging him, the man temporarily thrown off by the out of character gesture of his companion before remembering what they were supposed to be. Then he returned the embrace, holding her close and putting his face close to her head, the man following along with her efforts to mask their conversation. At his suggestion, she carefully flicked her gaze up to the nearest camera, failing to see anything like he was describing with a hole or space for audio to penetrate the glass covering. He went a step further and confirmed that he was very familiar with these types of cameras because they had been utilized by the Dread Masters.

Playing his part he pulled back from her briefly to cup her face tenderly with both of his hands, speaking out loud for the benefit of the cameras in a reassuring tone to promise that the two of them would find a way out. It was all very convincing, and while Saffron certainly more than knew that all of this was a charade on their part, she couldn’t deny that there was something a bit satisfying about being this close to him – and not just because it gave her a better vantage with which to appreciate the tone and definition of his muscles, which she envied. It wasn’t like she was about to go out of her way to make any genuine moves on him, nor was she entertaining any day dreams about the two of them staying close after all this was over. It was more just… she wasn’t going to complain about it, even if he was a bit on the old side for her tastes.

He leaned back in as if to give her another hug, only to inform her that he was aware of a technical weakness in the cameras. It was the only warning she got before he threw himself into a supposed rage, beating against the lenses with his cuffs each in turn. Not wanting to stand around and gawk at him in a way that would draw suspicion to any viewers, she turned around with an angry expression and began beating on the door. “We’re going to get out of here, and when we do, the whole lot of you will be begging for death! You hear me?! You’re all dead-fucking-meat!”

She would continue to pound furiously on the door, equal parts putting on a show and testing the door’s durability. Unsurprisingly, it was unwaveringly sturdy. Even with her magic she suspected that it would be difficult if not impossible to break through. Only when Scourge was finished did she wind down and turn to face him as he spoke to her, leaving an enraged expression on her face for the sake of the cameras but otherwise listening calmly as he explained what he had done. He told her that hitting the cameras at the right angle did just enough damage to interfere with the captioning that it provided back to the security monitors, causing it to incorrectly read lips and take a shot in the dark as to what they were discussing, rather than make any indication that it was damaged. Normally the feat would be tough, but thankfully the cuffs they currently wore were more than durable enough for the task. So, while they would certainly need to move and behave like they were a couple, they didn’t have to worry too much about speaking with one another plainly.

And as far as he was concerned, the presence of the cameras were more or less evidence that Maker had made provisions to the establishment.

“Well, that should be easy enough. There’s only so much fake talk we can ad lib, so at least being able to speak normally is something.” He confirmed that they would have to share the bed to keep up the ruse, but thankfully there was no need to go any further than that, since no one in their right minds would be able to perform under such circumstances. The mission ahead of them was a daunting one, however, as their surroundings indicated clearly. He hoped to cause a crack in the dome that protected the city from the ocean depths, but he couldn’t commit to that plan of action without ensuring there was a way they could protect the slaves in the process.

As he moved to sit on the bed, Saffron followed and joined him, her countenance a bit slouched as if in resignation. She sat close to him as he suggested they pass the time being as comfortable as they could and maybe just get to know each other while they waited for dinner. “Works for me.” The blonde leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. “Alright then, what’s your story? Vandrad told me some things, but not a lot. Just that you two are connected through your magic and that you’re supposedly some kind… clone or reincarnation of one of his ancestors, or something.” Saffron had talked a bit about herself at the start of the trip, in vague details, but hadn’t really gotten the chance to pose any personal questions his way – and she did have questions. She stayed close as he spun her the tale, listening to the explanation of his origins and the broader beats of his journey so far.

By the time he was done, the two had shifted on the bed to a more comfortable position of laying down and holding each other in a more restful manner. It was quite the story, the blonde’s mind churning in thought as she processed everything. “Man, so you were just some… supposedly empty husk for hundreds of years? That’s nuts, dude, even by magical standards.” By her tone, she wasn’t accusing him of being insane or lying to her. At this point she had no reason to believe that he would lie to her. If anything she was mostly just in awe of the knowledge. “Do you have any theories about why you weren’t able to access the Ark until Vandrad did? Or why the power was split between the two of you? More importantly, have you thought about changing your name to something that isn’t ridiculously edgy?”

His tale was complex indeed, though to call Scourge’s backstory “interesting” would be putting it mildly. It was like he had walked out of a damn comic book. There was a lot of information that Vandrad had not included, but whether the information had been omitted because Vandrad didn’t care enough to relay it or simply because he didn’t have all the information was anyone’s guess. It wasn’t like Scourge was a subject of in depth conversation for her and her mentor. Still, it was fascinating to get the low down on his origins and to get to know the man for herself, rather than through second hand accounts from Vandrad or Mercury.

And she certainly wasn’t going to complain about being a sounding board for helping him pick a new name; or for getting to rest up against him. He admitted that he’d never really thought about changing his name now that he was no longer with the Dread Masters. Scourge was what he’d always had since birth, so it was natural for him, even if he admitted it was a bit pretentious. He pitched a couple other names that were equally as ridiculous and Saffron had to turn her face down into shoulder to cover her smile from the camera, though an undignified snort of amusement would reach his ears. By the time she lifted her face back up, her expression was even and collected again. “You joke, but if it were me I’d still pick any of those over the one the Masters gave you. Honestly the one Rogier called you isn’t half bad – Caecilius. Or what about the one you gave Patty… uh… Haran? Hayden? Oh, right, Hasan. Those are both pretty good, honestly.”

He explained that he had given quite a bit of thought as to the circumstances of the Ark and his connection to the former prince. Obviously, the Ragnos line had not been lost over the centuries, so clearly there was some reason why Vandrad had been the spark rather than Gren or any others in the family tree. It could have been his non-Earthland blood, but there earnestly wasn’t any telling, particularly when Scourge knew very little of his own past outside of what the Triad had chosen to reveal to him.

The conversation was cut off by a sound at the door, a smaller latch appearing at the bottom where two trays with food were slid inside. On top of the tray lids were some clean but cheap linens. She stood with her companion and went to her own tray, pulling up the clothes to find a pair of pants and a baggy shirt that only came down low enough on her stomach to be mostly modest. Not that Saffron cared much about modesty even in her own wardrobe. Still, she made a show of looking disgruntled for the cameras before joining him back on the bed for their meals. Honestly, the food was more than she was expecting. The Fairy Tail mage figured she’d be living off bread and water for the next couple days, and they did give them water, but the food surprisingly had a bit of substance. It was hard to go wrong with potatoes, and the corn was at least some added healthy vegetables. “Man, you’d think they could spare us at least a little protein. A girl’s got muscles to maintain.”

Still, she wasn’t going to complain too much about a hot meal. The pair ate side by side, and once they were both done Scourge collected her own tray and set them both by the door. Then he elected to change into the provided clothing, most likely as to keep their “market” outfits clean. Needing very little prompting, Saffron gave a mental shrug and started stripping, showcasing once again that she really had very few reservations when it came to modesty. Off came the bodice and on went the pants and top, perhaps with one or two curious side glances at the man as he was changing. Gods, he had great muscles. Her eyes flashed the tiniest bit of dark green with envy before they swapped back to their usual shade.

Scourge mentioned that he was keen on a small workout, now that there was food in his belly, inviting her to join. “Oh hell yeah, I was just thinking the same thing.” Her vigor renewed, even if she kept it masked for the sake of their surveillance, Saffron laid down on the ground with her feet hooked under the bed and started doing some sit ups. While they got some exercise in, he spoke up once more, asking her a bit more about her time with the Defense Force, and the Magia division in particular. “Nah, I joined up voluntarily pretty much right out of secondary school. I didn’t really have a whole lot of other prospects. Or at least, nothing that interested me. I don’t exactly have the composure for customer service work, and the thought alone of a desk job makes me want to swallow a bullet. Joining the military was pretty much the only thing that didn’t sound awful. I’d keep active and improve myself, and protect my country in the process. The free room and board didn’t hurt, either.”

“But I wasn’t officially a mage when I joined. The only magical ability I had growing up was my eyes, and that wasn’t really something that would be helpful in a career. If anything it was a pain in the ass cause I had to deal with people always knowing how I felt at a glance. I got over that eventually. I always knew I was a bit sturdier than most and seemed to have crazy high endurance, but no evidence that it was possibly magic related until I joined the Defense Force and started really pushing my limits.”

Disentangling herself from the bed, Saffron turned on her stomach and started to do some push ups as well, using only her flesh arm to carry her weight and leaving her mechanical arm resting at the small of her back. “Once we realized I had magic, the BDF was all over testing me. I started training a lot with the Magia squad and going on missions with them so they could evaluate me and try to help me unravel the mystery of my abilities. Unfortunately, we were never able to put any pieces together. My magic didn’t fit any description of powers they’d ever heard of, and without an experienced trainer to guide me I was left to struggle and master it on my own as much as I could. All I knew was that the more I got hit, the harder I hit back, but I didn’t understand anything else about it.”

“So, I never officially made it to Magia. Without being able to fully – or mostly – control my abilities, it was hard for me to be reliable. And I was also a potential liability, though they still put a lot of effort into trying to hone me into a viable option. They had a long term plan to get me on the squad eventually, but Pergrande changed all that. Lost my arm, and the only reason I survived was sheer fucking luck; stumbled across a Pergranti rifle half buried in the snow and managed to shoot the paladin before she could finish me off. After that, they offered me the chance at the honorable discharge and I took it. Sat around moping and brooding at home for a few months before my dad bullied me out of my funk, and once I was comfortable with my new replacement limb I decided to travel around to see if I could learn more about my magic. Not really sure what the odds are that I wound up joining up with Vandrad’s guild, but he recognized my magic immediately. It’s insane how much control I’ve gained in the last year.”

Saffron sighed when Scourge informed her there was likely a reason why they hadn’t been given any protein, a comment that had brought him some audible amusement. “If they think I’m rebellious now, just wait until tomorrow. If being feisty is going to be my selling point, then I’m going to make sure to turn some heads. I sure hope Rogier is ready to deal with me, cause I’m not going to make it easy on her.”

They ate their small but warm meal in relative silence, both content to simply get in a meal. When that was over they got in a small workout, with Scourge continuing to chat her up a bit as they did. He asked her a bit more about her time in the Bosco Defense Force and Saffron gave him the short and skinny of it, or at least as short as she could give by way of summarizing the tale. They had plenty of time, and she certainly wasn’t trying to avoid any details, but she also didn’t want to bore him by going on and on about herself. And the truth was that Saffron had really never been a woman with any concrete ambitions. She enjoyed working out and maintaining her figure in the interest of vanity, and she liked to think she had a good and compassionate heart over all, but there was nothing that drove her day to day, nothing that filled her with an overwhelming sense of passion and dedication. Most things she did was just for the sake of avoiding boredom at all costs, and joining the army had really been little more than just that.

Yet it had been that almost thoughtless career decision that had eventually brought her to where she was now, in a guild with a mentor that understood her magic and could help her actually hone and control it. Scourge agreed that Vandrad was an excellent teacher, though he was much better at teaching others than pushing himself. “You’re not wrong. Even he admits most of his growth the last couple years was because of Mercury constantly pushing and pestering him, but at this point I think they know each other’s tricks so well that they’ve kind of plateaued with each other in that regard.”

Saffron honestly was impressed with herself for being able to string a couple complete sentences together. The moment he had adjusted his workout to get up on one hand with his legs in the air and do slow push ups from a position that had his core fucking rippling. Her eyes had almost bugged out before she’d managed to reign herself back, remembering that as his supposed wife she’d likely be more than aware he was capable of such feats. She worked on keeping herself under control as he went on, explaining how Vandrad’s magic was affected by his emotions, which was not a plight that Scourge had ever been affected by to any great extent. But the former prince’s experience in the army had given him much experience in pushing others, crafting a fine leader and teacher out of him almost in spite of his more antisocial tendencies. Even Scourge could tell that Saffron had done well under Vandrad’s tutelage, with what little exposure to her he had, and knew that she would only go further still.

“That’s the hope, at least.” She watched out of the corner of her eyes as he switched positions once more, holding up his body with his arms alone while his legs were crossed in the air before him. He informed her that he felt her physique likely contributed a lot to honing her abilities. He had always theorized that the physical state of one’s body played a large role in the effectiveness of utilizing Energy Monarch, and felt that Saffron’s existence only served as further proof toward his thesis. With the knowledge of her own abilities he’d began to wonder how many other versions of their magic existed, and in what various ways they were related to one another, if any, remarking that perhaps Patricia would have some worthwhile thoughts on the subject.

Saffron stood to her feet, her face schooled into submission, though her voice was rife with teasing. “You really don’t need to butter me up, you know. You’re already my husband.” Jokes aside, she glanced around the room before her gaze fell back on the bed. With a mental shrug, she pulled the furniture slightly away from the wall before lifting the foot of it up above her head. Resting it against her shoulders like a barbell, the blonde proceeded to do a few squats, finishing off a full body workout. “I honestly couldn’t say, but if my existence is any evidence then I’d imagine there has to be other versions of our magic out there too. I’m not exactly anything special. I wasn’t raised under abusive and strict circumstances, none of my ancestors were ancient warlocks or demi gods or anything else that might explain how I got this power. So unless there’s some mysterious secret about my family tree that’s been lost over the ages, I’m not really anything more than some random girl that got lucky.”

Frankly, that seemed to be the theme of her life lately. Saffron really wasn’t sure how comfortable she was with that reality, despite how much it had come in handy on a number of occasions. But it just felt… cheap. Like she hadn’t truly earned what she had. Oh, she had put the work in and knew that she had only come this far because of her own efforts, but the how and the why of her inheriting the magic she had, as well as her not only still being alive but also finding one of the only people on the planet that was likely capable of helping her… many days, she honestly just wasn’t sure why fate seemed so insistent on dealing her winning hands for no apparent reason. She felt… unworthy, in a lot of ways.

“Also, what the fuck kind of workout routine do you run, and what’s it gonna take for me to get your core strength, cause I’m about to strangle you in a jealous rage. Your abs are just fucking ridiculous, and I can’t tell if I’m impressed or aroused or if I hate you, or some weird mixture of all of the above.”

Shortly after, they elected to call it quits with the work out, not wanting to build up enough of a sweat to ruin their sleeping clothes. Still, Saffron opted for a shower, wanting to keep herself as clean and presentable as possible for their big day tomorrow. “No point in being shy, so you may as well just join me if you’re gonna take one.” She went into the little alcove that served as their bathroom and turned on the water to a reasonably hot setting before stripping out of the rags that had been provided to her. Stepping inside, she allowed the hot water to soak her thoroughly from head to toe, rinsing the small film of salt off of her body before she stepped aside to let him do the same.

She did her best to keep her eyes from wandering but damn was it difficult, especially at such close range. He had a body that she could only dream of attaining as a woman, if only due to the structural differences between the bodies of men and women. Saffron took the time to lather up her hair with the washing substances that had been provided, making sure to take great care in cleaning and treating the golden locks. Once that was done, she moved on to washing her body. “Mind getting my back?” she asked him. Presuming he agreed, she’d turn around, pulling her hair in front of her so it wasn’t in his way. “I’ve given it some thought, by the way, and I’ve decided that for the sake of authenticity I will allow you and you alone to touch my hair during this mission. It only makes sense, considering our cover. Just be gentle with it, or else I might have to kick your ass again when this is all over.” She turned back toward him a little, her face toward the wall where there weren’t any cameras to catch the shit eating smirk that she tossed him over her shoulder.

Saffron hadn’t truly meant her commentary to sound like she was putting herself down, or that her existence as a relative nobody was a bad thing. She didn’t need to be “special”, though in retrospect perhaps a large portion of her words were coming from a place of insecurity against the grand status of the people currently in her life. Scourge chastised her all the same for diminishing herself, telling her that she didn’t need to have violent or noteworthy origins for her gift to have meaning or significance. The way he saw it, it was entirely possible that her place in the world was simply yet to come, and she’d just been given the gift of working at herself on her own time before really needing to use her power.

She was quiet for a moment as she considered his words, taking them to heart more than she was expecting herself to. “I suppose that’s a fair way to look at it. Only time will tell.” The blonde certainly wasn’t brushing off his words, but it wasn’t something that they were going to get an answer on that day, nor the next, or possibly even for several more years, if ever. As such, there really wasn’t a reason to linger on the topic. So instead she changed the subject, demanding some insight onto his workout routine so she could try to improve herself. Scourge let her know that he simply put a great amount of focus on calisthenics over muscle building. While muscle building was great, there was more to physical strength and agility than mere mass.

He waved her closer, as Saffron finished up her squat routine, setting the bed down and scooting it back into place. Scourge slipped a familiar arm around her waist, keeping with the theme of their deception, taking her hand and putting it right on his abs. Despite being all too interested in admiring his physique from a purely objective and educational standpoint, at such close proximity it would likely be impossible for him to miss the slightest hint of pink in her eyes, the color not fully overwhelming her violet irises. More, there was a brief ring of pink at the center of her eyes around her pupils that bled out into the purple, and then it was gone. She allowed herself to run her fingers along his abdomen on the front and sides per his guidance, feeling how there was practically no layer of fat at all beneath his skin in those areas. “Shit dude, I’m always open to suggestions for other exercises. I’ll happily take you up on that one.”

At that point they were finished and ready to move on, and while Saffron had pretty much already forgotten about being attracted to the man she still opened the door for him to join her in the shower. Was it wildly bold? Yeah, probably a little. But it wouldn’t be the first time Saffron had showered with a man simply for the sake of cleaning. Hell, in the military she’d had to bathe pretty often with both men and women, and so far as she was concerned this was just another mission, and Scourge was just another comrade, albeit one she could interact a little more freely with. Plus she knew it was pretty standard for many couples to shower together, so while they probably wouldn’t have drawn suspicion taking separate showers, it was more believable in her mind if they did so together. And once again, she wasn’t going to complain about seeing him in more detail.

He wasn’t even a little hesitant to help her clean her back and voiced as much, earning a small eye roll from her but not one that was without amusement. Then, she revealed her decision to allow him to be more direct with her coveted hair, provided he treated the locks with the respect they were due. Scourge smirked back at her and didn’t waste a moment in capitalizing on the opportunity, filling his hands with shampoo and proceeding to give her a meticulous scalp massage. “Hrrrgn…” she groaned, her form involuntarily slumping a little as she did her best not to turn into complete puddy. “You are so abusing your privilege… but I’ll allow it.”

The message went on for several minutes before he finally released her and she had to try not to stumble back under the water to rinse the soap out. Suffice it to say, she was plenty relaxed for going straight to bed, which seemed to be his plan as well. She took the sorry excuse of a towel that he offered her, drying off her body before taking a couple minutes to rub as much of the water out of her hair as she possibly could. Saffron could have killed for her enchanted brush back at home that was magicked to dry her hair as she brushed it, sucking out all the excess moisture without damaging the follicles with heat like a hair dryer would. For tonight, she would simply have to make due with sleeping on damp hair and letting it dry overnight. Thankfully, there were basic hygiene affects in the bathroom, including a hairbrush, so she hung her towel up next to his and carefully combed all the knots out of her hair so there would be less tangles to deal with in the morning.

By the time she came back in the main part of the room, Scourge had already crawled into bed without any clothing. Saffron wasn’t generally one for sleeping in the buff, but the thought of putting the rags back on after working out in them was less appealing, so instead she chose to follow suit. “I sure hope not. I can sleep under a lot of conditions, but I don’t sleep well when there’s lights on.” She looked around briefly but couldn’t find a switch anywhere, so ultimately she gave up and crawled in. Only once she was also in bed did the lights finally shut off. “Well, that’s not creepy at all.” Saffron definitely wasn’t a fan of the idea that even the lights were monitoring her, but at least she’d be able to get some decent sleep. She snorted at his teasing about cuddling. “And here I thought you’d be one of those guys that liked a woman being the big spoon.”

Either way, she snuggled right up and made herself comfortable, the bed not as terrible as she’d thought it would be. Though in truth, the fact that they had an actual bed instead of a bare floor without blankets was still surprising. She didn’t even bother trying to preoccupy her mind, fully content to feel his warmth against her back and enjoy the moment, seeing no reason not to. It still took her a bit to fall asleep, though that was mostly because her mind kept drifting forward to the morning ahead of them and the excitement and action it would surely bring. It was like trying to sleep the night before going to a theme part, but with more violence and danger in store. But eventually she drifted off and managed to get some rest.

They were given an abrupt awakening from lights flicking on in full. Scourge groaned and blinked away the invasive brightness, commenting out loud about how rude the interruption to his sleep had been. Saffron was equally as annoyed, but years in the military had trained her to be a bit more of a morning person, and she was more or less awake and alert instantly. Sitting up a bit to see that it was only Rogier, the blonde yawned and eased herself up to sit on the side of the bed with a stretch. “Ain’t nothing rude about the sight of a beautiful woman first thing in the morning,” was Saffron’s only contribution, giving Rogier a tired smile. Thankfully, as their slaver explained, the cameras weren’t operational at the moment as they were usually shut off after lights out.

Saffron snorted at Scourge’s playful lament that they could have had a little fun in the dark, standing to her feet and rolling her eyes. “Keep dreamin’, buddy.” She hadn’t really noticed Rogier’s look at him, but he must have received one for he very quickly doubled down on the comment being a joke, affirming that Saffron would have dealt with him rather swiftly if he’d gotten handsy. The Fairy Tail mage stretched her arms and legs a bit to get her blood flowing, pointing at him with a small snap of her fingers to wordlessly confirm his assessment.

She took her clothes when he offered them to her, listening quietly as Rogier explained the plan. The mornings were a bit hectic from the way she spoke, which meant they’d more or less be getting right into the thick of the excitement. The two of them would be staged for viewing and Rogier would do a little question and answer segment for potential buyers. From the sound of it, she expected quite a few offers. The apparent couple already had a reputation to live up to, and Saffron was more than ready to deliver. “Perfect, cause I plan on exceeding expectations. Gonna give them a run for their money. That’s your only warning.” She flashed the woman a playful wink as she finished pulling on her clothes. Once she was properly attired, with only a moment to adjust the girls so they were properly on display in the bodice, she gave a thumbs up. “Ready when you are, hot stuff.”

Rogier assured Saffron that she was more than ready for whatever tricks the blonde would pull, and with a quick affirmation they were off. Their slave driver gave them a sound whipping of encouragement to get into the back of the vehicle that awaited them, after Scourge and Saffron made a small show of contemplating rebellion, though the whip didn’t actually hurt at all this time around. It was about a fifteen minute ride to the market, and upon their arrival Rogier brought them to a finely crafted stage. With some resistance to play up their parts, the two presumed slaves were chained to the podium with only enough slack to allow them a little room to move so their limbs wouldn’t go numb and rink injury.

While normally standing in place all day would sound utterly awful to the Fairy Tail mage, the purpose for their mission overrode her usual impatience. Even remaining in place had its benefits, as she was in a perfect position to see most of the room quite clearly, allowing her to keep a steady eye on their surroundings. During their down moments, Saffron had plenty of time to analyze the room, its layout, its occupants. She looked for anything of even remote interest, doing her best to memorize the place and taking note of anything that looked like it could be worth investigating, as far as Maker’s involvement was concerned. Additionally, she tried to see what ideas she could come up with as alternative ways to take the place down when they were done, though so far Scourge’s idea of simply popping the protective bubble separating the city from the ocean seemed the most satisfying, provided they could get the slaves out safely.

But of course, she couldn’t spent the whole time strategizing. While Rogier wasn’t going out of her way to draw buyers to her station, unlike her peers, just about every potential buyer she did interact with clearly had more than a passing interest in the couple. Yet she rebuffed near about every offer that was made, finding one reason or another to keep her stock for the time being. Still, plenty came to view them, with several even getting more close up inspections. It wasn’t difficult for Saffron to play the part of the spirited captive. In truth, the sight of so many people that were willing to use their money to treat people like property did make her well and truly angry, so it was no stretch at all for her to maintain a stony, defiant expression, nor to make searing comments or genuinely test the limits of her shackles when the opportunity presented itself.

Soon enough, lunch presented itself and this time they were graced with glorious protein. Saffron felt like quite the champion for how well she hid her excitement over the meaty meal. Once their stomachs were full, it was once again back to being on display, and it was this routine that they wound wind up following for five whole days. It was a long time to do little more than stand around, and despite the importance of their quest, Saffron found it more and more difficult to keep herself focused as the days went on. She managed to maintain her composure quite well, but surely Scourge was getting to know her well enough at this point to recognize that she was losing her patience from feeling like they weren’t making much of any progress. Nearly an entire week they had been at it, coming up almost empty handed. It was frustrating.

Ironically, it was Scourge himself that was probably helping her the most. The evenings were easily her favorite part of the day when they were released back to their little hold and could get some exercise in, the former Dread Master taking the time to give her some ideas for new workout routines. He would quickly find what Vandrad himself had discovered long ago: that Saffron liked to complain about the effort, but her actions were almost completely contradictory to her words, the young blonde an exceptionally determined and focused trainee almost in spite of her claims at laziness. They got to know one another rather well during that time, and before long they were able to move and play off one another quite effortlessly, which would likely only be to their benefit in the long run.

Despite Rogier’s claim that the cameras were turned off at night, the pair discussed it and decided that it was safer to maintain the illusion of being a married couple. For one, there was no confirming that what Rogier had been told was actually true, but even on top of that it wasn’t like they were ever totally out of view. There were plenty of slaves in nearby holdings that could see into their room, and any one of them might have been more than happy to rat them out if it meant they could earn some comforts. Saffron wouldn’t even have blamed them. So they elected to continue the ruse, just to be thorough.

And perhaps to torture their hormones a little.

At the end of the fifth day, things were proceeding as normal until someone approached Rogier. After a whispered conversation, the couple was loaded onto the transport as per usual. However, unlike all the previous days, it took no time at all for Saffron to put together that they weren’t going back to their usual hold. She threw a confused look at Scourge but otherwise said nothing, knowing that they were not in a position to talk about it, nor was Rogier in a position to answer questions while out in the open. But as their journey took them to more and more extravagant locations in the city, the blonde was starting to hazard a few guesses.

Eventually, they found themselves being ushered into a large home. Once the door was closed behind them, their slaver let out a sigh of relief and was finally able to confirm that they were going to get the chance to make some real progress. With a little prompting from Scourge, Rogier explained that they had caught the eye of someone called “The Master”, who was interested in purchasing the two of them. It seemed he was a bit of a legend for his loose coin purse, and it was the type of deal that Rogier likely would have killed for back when she was more seriously involved in the business.

It must have been true, because merely being an object of interest for this man was awarding them quite a few perks. They were to be well taken care of that night in order to make sure they were at peak appeal for the man the following day. Rich baths and foods awaited them both, with Rogier assuring Saffron that the help would not touch her hair and that she was more or less free to deal with the breaking of that understanding however Saffron saw fit. But the true reward would be the opportunity to enter the man’s palace. If what they were looking for was anywhere, it would be there.

Saffron’s face was scrunched in thought and distaste, though the source of her expression wouldn’t really be clear until she finally spoke up. “Who the fuck bathes in honey?” she asked. “That sounds awful. And counterintuitive. Milk I can kind of get to a point, but honey? If they want me to smell good or some shit, just give me a few spritzes of perfume, for fuck’s sake…”

Rogier’s own relaxed demeanor was enough to tell Saffron that they more than likely weren’t being watched in this home, though she did still give a quick glance around to make sure there weren’t any cameras. When her eyes yielded nothing, she elected to be extra cautious and activated a minor setting on her robotic limb. While the limb itself still maintained its fleshy appearance, a small holographic image like some kind of watch appeared on the back of her wrist. She studied it for a moment before flicking it off. “Well, they don’t have anything up in here by way of magical or technological surveillance. I know Maker’s a bit of a son-of-a-bitch when it comes to his tech, but I’d be surprised if he could mask anything from Mercury’s tech.”

Since it seemed they were safe and alone for the moment, Saffron elected to make herself comfortable. “I definitely won’t say no to a beer.” Taking whatever Rogier offered her, she easily flicked the cap off with her thumb and threw the metal bit away, plopping down on a couch and taking a hearty swig. “Man, this job might make me an alcoholic in a way that playing a soldier at war never did. Don’t get me wrong, I love water, but having nothing else for nearly a week straight is just depressing.”

“So, this ‘master’ person. What can you tell us about him? He’s clearly some kind of celebrity around here. Is there anything we should know before we’re face to face with him?” If they were going to try to put together some plan of action, now was the time, when they were sure they could speak freely. Saffron wanted to know what to expect from their buyer, particularly if they were going to be competing for his interest with another slave.

Saffron wasn’t even a little impressed by the idea of having to do something as pretentious as soaking in milk and honey, and it seemed she wasn’t the only one. Scourge explained a bit of the chemistry, primarily noting that the process wasn’t as… sticky… as one might believe, since the honey would melt. But otherwise, he agreed that it seemed a bit of a waste, particularly given that they’d just need to be rinsed off afterward again with water. Rogier clarified that it was less of a bath made for cleaning, and more a soak to give one’s skin… flavor?

“Blech…” Saffron shuddered openly at the statement, her skin crawling at the one and only obvious insinuation she could draw from it. Even Scourge rolled his eyes.

Making herself comfortable with her beer, Saffron asked about the person they would be meeting, trying to get an idea of what they should expect. Unfortunately, it seemed Rogier didn’t have a lot more than rumor and legend to pass along. The master was the son of the man who had founded the vile organization, and had inherited the business at some point, though he handled things different than his father. Namely, he was courteous enough to actually purchase his slaves, if one could call it courteous to funnel money into an economy that would eventually find its way back into his own pockets. Rogier herself had never met the man, as none of her stock had ever been of interest to him before. All she knew was his reputation as a glutton with an undeserved ago and not much in the way of appearance.

It wasn’t exactly riveting news, but truthfully it wasn’t all that concerning either. Saffron wasn’t terribly concerned about the man or anyone in his employment, with the only cautionary exception being what ever tricks the man had been provided by Maker. She had enough confidence in herself to know that she could handle the job, and if there wasn’t anything she couldn’t take care of, she was sure that Scourge would have no problem filling in the gaps. She couldn’t say whether his claim to being stronger than Vandrad was true or not, but at the very least he was equally as skilled. She knew what Vandrad could do, so that was all she really needed to trust her partner. Scourge voiced their shared frustration over how slowly things had been progressing and how this event would, hopefully, finally see them to some progress. Bouncing off Rogier’s comments, he even admitted that the reason it had been so difficult to get the information they needed was probably the fault of him and their allies. He, Mercury and Vandrad had put quite the wrench in Maker’s plans, and revealed more than the man had been happy with about his identity, and the consequence likely had been Maker taking steps to keep an extra lid on his movements.

No matter how things ultimately went down, it seemed, as Rogier put it, that tomorrow was their big day. They would maintain the cover long enough to confirm whatever they could, and then they would finally be able to sink this horrible place to the bottom of the ocean floor. They would stay with Rogier for the evening, even benefitting from getting a chance to have their own rooms and beds for a change, which was… well, something, Saffron supposed. She had weirdly grown accustomed to having a warm body next to her at night, a comfort she hadn’t really known for a couple of years, but she supposed she couldn’t really complain. The blonde did grin wide at Rogier’s wink and invitation. “Can’t say I haven’t day dreamed about it a little. Sadly, I don’t think it will go over very well if I show up tomorrow smelling like anything other than creamed honey.”

That would probably take a lot more explaining than any of them wanted to give, though truthfully Saffron was just being more flirty than anything else. She wasn’t exactly the type to jump into bed with someone she barely knew to begin with, but more than that she simply wasn’t the type of person that believed in mixing business with pleasure. This was, first and foremost, a job. While she could take small pleasures here and there to flirt or chat and be casual, she was more focused on the mission than anything else for the time being.

They only had to wait for another half an hour or so before the servants arrived with the needed supplies and Saffron resigned herself to the experience. She took great care to tie her hair up above her head where it wouldn’t dip into the milk mixture. She took her sweet time about it too, playing up her role as the hot headed and rebellious wife by not immediately and with all haste follow instructions. But ultimately she did obey, stripping down and sinking into the opaque liquid with a haughty grimace befitting a woman of her supposed station. In truth, the overall experience was all she needed to know that the life of absurd wealth and pampering just was not for her. It wasn’t necessarily as physically invasive as she’d been expecting, mostly because the servants were very focused on just doing a job and not taking advantage of either of them, but it was still uncomfortable having other hands scrub her down like she wasn’t a grown adult that new how to fucking clean herself. Frankly, the most annoying part of the process was simply how long it took. Saffron was all down for a nice long soak in a bathtub, or even an extended shower after a hard workout, but an hour was simply ridiculous.

They concluded with a rinse of water that had been scented with some kind of flowery perfume. After giving the water a sniff and a scrutinizing glance, she wordlessly took down her hair and allowed them to include her hair in the rinsing process, though if any of them got too close to actually handling the locks they would be sufficiently warned of their impending peril through a sharp glare. Luckily for the servants, they were all obedient to their instructions and elected not to risk their livelihoods by tempting fate. The perfume wash wasn’t her usual schtick, but at the very least the scent they had chosen was pleasant, so Saffron could live with it. Dinner followed the bath, and the Fairy Tail mage was much more enthusiastic over that experience. They were given a healthy portion of fresh vegetables, rice, and a deliciously cooked steak. It took all of her willpower not to drool over the meal.

The three of them spent the evening relaxing and enjoying a few rounds of cards, which was a nice break in the routine as well. Saffron was always more than happy to be social in just about any capacity, and after five days of basically standing around and accomplishing not a lot else she was more than happy to seize the opportunity to be active, even if it was just casual.

Soon enough Rogier took her leave to get some rest, and the two mages followed suit. Saffron retired into her room and changed into a clean white chemise that had been left out for her use. She knew herself well enough to know that she wasn’t going to be able to fall asleep right away, so rather than lay there tossing and turning for a bit, she elected to veg a little. Sitting up against the headrest with the blankets pulled up over her lap, she flicked open a small panel on her arm where Mercury had had the forethought to install a small screen and put on an episode from a campy horror series she’d recently gotten into.

She was only a couple minutes in when there was a light knock at her door. With a small frown, Saffron paused the episode and collapsed the screen back into her arm. “You can come in.” For a moment she was concerned that Rogier was going to try her hand at talking Saffron into spending the night with her, but to her surprise – and mild relief – it was Scourge. He entered the room and shut the door quietly behind him with an odd look on his face that Saffron couldn’t quite decipher. Her frown deepened. “Everything all right?” she asked, unable to conceive a reason as to why he’d be there unless some matter of importance had come up.

Boy, was she ever wrong. As he launched into his carefully crafted excuse of all the reasons why he should keep up with their ruse and continue to sleep next to one another, Saffron’s expression quickly morphed from concern to a confused stare that did nothing to hide her growing amusement. When he finished, she just looked at him for a second or two, not really putting a whole lot of effort into fighting off the teasing smirk that was practically clawing its way up her face. “Buddy, if you wanted to cuddle, all you had to do was ask. This isn’t high school.”

Shaking her head with a smile and a slight roll of her eyes, she waved him over. “Alright, come on.” Saffron scooted over to one side of the bed to make room for him. “But when Rogier asks questions in the morning, you’re the one who gets to answer them. Also, I hope you enjoy horror flicks, cause I’m finishing my episode. The token couple just snuck away from the rest of the group to be hormonal and I can’t wait to see how it gets ruined.” She flicked the small screen back out of her arm, where the show was still paused where she had last left it. Once Scourge was settled, Saffron let out another final snort of amusement at his expense before tucking herself up against his shoulder and resuming the video.

“I’m not sure what your definition of a ‘functioning member of society’ is, but I’m pretty confident that it’s different from mine.” With what was earnestly very little true consideration, Saffron relented and invited him to join her, making room inside the bed. She informed him that it was up to him to answer Rogier’s questions in the morning, and Scourge insisted that she not invoke the woman’s name too much lest it summon the woman and put both their endurance – and that of the bed’s – to the test. He then admitted that he didn’t have a whole lot of exposure to digital media for most of his life, though even he knew that couples in horror films that ran off by themselves were almost always asking to be killed. Either way, he was amenable to her conditions, the two of them cuddling up and resuming the video.

Saffron was all too happy to answer his questions about the clip as they came up, explaining whatever context he had missed from prior scenes and episodes. He continued to prove that he had a very similar sense of humor as her, finding almost all the same scenes entertaining as she did. It was refreshing. Saffron had a lot of friends, though most of them were kept at a casual arm’s length. Despite how outgoing and blunt she was, the Fairy Tail mage rarely let people in past the walls that she did have. And those walls were so thickly covered in layers of extroversion and humor and seeming openness about her past that most people didn’t even realize she had them at all. It had been an extremely long time since Saffron had simply been physically close to a person for the sake of being close. She’d forgotten how much she enjoyed it… not that her most recent memories of such companionship were all that pleasant to recall.

Eventually, the two went to bed, Scourge once more falling asleep faster than Saffron, who had to do her best not to overthink on her excitement for the upcoming day’s events. Her body woke instantly upon feeling Scourge shift to get out of the bed in the morning, though she continued to lay there with her eyes closed for a couple minutes longer. A minute or two after he left, she finally pried herself out from under the covers and got dressed, making sure her hair and teeth were both brushed. Then, she walked out of her room, alert and ready to go for the day, and entirely unsurprised by the scrutinous look that Rogier gave them both. There was a quick exchange between the two before Rogier glanced at Saffron, who shrugged when the woman called Scourge on his bluff. “Hey, don’t look at me. It was all his idea. I just decided to take pity on him.”

At the very least, Rogier seemed to understand that the two of them hadn’t done anything untoward without her. “Nah, he’s not that lucky. I don’t put out on the first date.” She gave Rogier a grin and a little waggle of her eyebrows when the woman implied that she and Saffron would have to take a rain check on some alone time. Then, it was time to go. When their slaver admitted that she wasn’t prepared, Saffron merely hit her fist into the palm of her other hand, the very picture of a woman full of energy and excitement. “Let’s do this!”

The trio piled into their respective places in the carriage, taking a new route through the city toward the grandiose and ominous looking building at the center. Saffron waited patiently as they went through the security checkpoints, looking as surly and rebellious as ever, putting up a bit of resistance as they exited the cage only to be whipped into submission by their supposed handler. Her gaze was everywhere as they passed through what was essentially a palace, taking an elevator up to the top floor where they were escorted through a large set of double doors. The room was designed to practically be a throne chamber, which did very little to impress Saffron.

Her eyes practically went straight to the master, the blonde giving a grimace at the sight of him. The very thought of being a slave to a man like him sent shivers of disgust down her spine, particularly at the thought of what he most likely used many of his slaves for. However, he was not the only one in the room. In addition to the other slaves and guards already in attendance, the other slave that the master was looking to purchase was already there with his own handler. He was an odd looking individual, though not necessarily unattractive, with a muscular structure that she envied and spiky white hair that stuck out in two different directions from the top of his head. He looked entirely disinterested in being there, almost like he was more bored than anything else. It was… certainly strange, but ultimately Saffron wouldn’t get enough time to put much thought into it.

With a dirty look at the guard that was directing them, Saffron stubbornly hesitated for a brief moment with obeying the wordless command to hold out her arms. It was only when Rogier moved to reach for her whip that the blonde relented with a dignified huff. Unfortunately, the chains they were hooked up to in the room would actively cancel out her magic. Saffron immediately felt her connection to her ethernano sever, which was annoying but not altogether surprising. It would certainly make things a little more difficult, but for now she chose not to worry about it. They’d have to disconnect the tethers eventually. Plus, if needed, she was confident that she could break through the cuffs with minor effort if she used her robotic arm, which wouldn’t be affected by the bindings since it wasn’t inherently magical.

Rogier made her introduction, all but prostrating herself at the master’s feet, much to the pudgy man’s delight. Before he could say anything, however, the other slave cut him off. Saffron blinked in confusion and turned to stare at the man, who was eyeing Scourge with familiarity. When he voiced that he recognized Scourge, the former Dread Master stammered briefly for a response before a guard attempted to reprimand the slave for disrespecting the master.

Everything that occurred afterward happened so fast that Saffron barely had a chance to process any of it. Before she knew it, the guard was dead, his head rolling along the ground as his body slumped to the floor, his blood stained upon the other slave’s hand. It occurred to her that he was equally as “enslaved” as they were, though she had no time to think about the implications of that knowledge. She listened in attentive silence as he explained about someone that had made Scourge’s identity known to him. He didn’t say who, but Saffron would have bet her drum set that it was Maker, particularly with the context clues he gave Scourge. What followed was a small info dump of context, and Saffron’s eyes flew wide open when she realized what he was saying.

“What the hell..?” she stated, only a beat behind Scourge’s own exclamation. The man introduced himself as Seberg Tiri, even as he eviscerated two more guards with little more than the stroke of his hand, explaining that Maker’s instructions had been to dispose of Scourge immediately should their paths cross. He questioned where they had been held, the answer to which seemed to indicate that they had avoided some kind of fate. Choosing to ignore them for the time being, he turned his attention toward the master. Saffron shot Scourge and Rogier a questioning look as she attempted to decipher what their next move was. They had prepared for a lot of things, but someone recognizing Scourge was not one of them.

Following their lead for now, she stayed put for the moment, though she readied herself to test the strength of her chains as a moment’s notice. Unfortunately, her mental preparedness was undone by the sight of the slaves in the room taking on a faint red glow around their eyes, their bodies convulsing briefly like they were suffering from some kind of affliction. Rogier sprung into action immediately, snapping her whip around the man’s arm, presumably at full strength. The man merely glanced at the ensnared limb with a bored comment about Rogier’s lack of strength before rushing her. He punched her so hard that she went flying backward to become embedded in a wall. “HEY!” Out of instinct, Saffron moved to rush toward the fallen woman, only to be swiftly reminded of the very short leash she was on, barely able to take much more than a step before the slack in her chains was completely gone.

With a growl she turned back to the scene before them, her military discipline overriding her desire to throw caution to the window and start delving out beatings. Saffron forced herself to follow Scourge’s example, remaining in place and waiting for him to give her a signal. Seberg explained to the master, who was quivering in fear in his throne, that his slaves were currently revolting under Seberg’s control – a notion that Saffron would honestly have been fine with, had the slave had any kind of choice in the matter. A sliver of superhuman strength or no, they were being treated like puppets, and it was an atrocity that Saffron simply could not stand behind, not after everything those poor people had already been through. It was the price that the master’s benefactor – Maker – had determined would be paid for the master not compensating him for his efforts.

The scene that followed was horrifically gruesome, though in truth Saffron’s pity well for the fat man was as dry as the sand dunes of Desierto. She forced herself to look away as Seberg returned his attention to Scourge. He acknowledged that the Dread Master was powerful, stating that he wasn’t going to take any chances. Saffron readied herself, sure that Scourge would give her a signal at any second to act.

Instead, the world practically crawled into slow motion as she witnessed her companion being impaled faster than he could respond, Seberg’s slaver running him through with an energy blade that was protruding from a robotic limb. The man’s body began to enlarge before their eyes, his skin flaking away to reveal a fully mechanical form beneath. Saffron could only stare in shock as the robotic figure withdrew its blade and punched Scourge so soundly in the chest that he was sent out of the window, his chains shattering under the pressure of the blow as he crashed through the glass and began to plummet.

“SCOURGE!”

Baring her teeth in rage, her gaze flicked back to Seberg when he addressed her, eyes a vivid crimson. “And you’re a fucking dead man,” she shot back defiantly. Despite the violence done to Scourge, Saffron was reasonably certain her companion was far from down from the count. It would take a lot more than that to take out Vandrad, and as such she had faith that Scourge would pull through. But in the meantime, she was now the only remaining object of this psychopath’s attention, and if she wanted to survive long enough to see Scourge’s return, she was going to have to focus on her own safety for the time being. The moment his body shifted, Saffron moved to intercept the blow as much as she could with her own hidden synthetic arm. However, rather than attack her his blow was dealt to her own chains, allowing her freedom of movement, her magical reserves flooding back into her senses.

Her body was up and in a grounded defensive stance before the shattered bits of metal had even hit the ground, yet he did not press his attack. Instead, he informed her that he had chosen to give her a chance to fight for her life, wanting to see what kind of power she possessed. Saffron scoffed, unimpressed. “Oh great, you’re one of those lame assholes. Believe it or not, buddy, I didn’t come all this way and live like a slave for a week just to help your thin grasp of self esteem. You want validation? Get a fucking therapist.”

Angry as she was, Saffron wasn’t about to play his game. At least, not by his rules. “I’ll fight you, but it ain’t gonna to be for my life. It ain’t even gonna be for Rogier or Scourge, though you’re gonna answer for that, too – and for stealing the one payoff I was looking forward to getting from this mission. Man, all I wanted out of today was to beat the shit out of that slave trading asshole, but noooo you had to show up and ruin everything with your cliche edgelord bullshit and your seriously stupid haircut.”

“But I heard what you said earlier. You were there when Vandrad was stuck and imprisoned on Rhaegar. I’m just gonna go out on a limb and assume you were loyal to that whiny little child that you called a king. I heard all about what he did to Vandrad’s family, and to Vandrad, and that I take personally. Xavier may already be rotting in hell with all the Ashdyn tyrants whose footsteps he followed, but you’re right here, and from the sound of it you were plenty complicit.” Saffron adjusted her stance, settling in to prepare herself for battle as a deadly serious expression settled on her face. “My name is Saffron Remington. Vandrad du Wolff is my close friend and mentor… and on behalf of him and his family, and every du Wolff that suffered and died at the hands of your shitheel, hypocrite of a king, I will gladly kick your pompous ass.”

She had barely finished speaking her promise before Saffron exploded toward him, the ground cracking beneath her feet from the pressure of her movement. The moment she was upon him, Saffron would pepper him with a flurry of blows that was focused more on speed than strength, looking to get a read on his reaction time and get in close so as to get the brawl in full swing. She had no doubt that he was stronger than her, but that mattered very little to the blonde. The gap in their levels would only last as long as it took for him to start hitting her in return, and she had every intention of making him pay for his part in the injustice that had been rendered upon the du Wolffs. This was no fight for her life.

This was vengeance.