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Tarquin was more than just a little nosy, however, and the walls weren't tall enough to keep anyone determined out. There was a good bit of forested area on the eastern side of the estate, and Tarquin found a suitable place to hide Axis.
"I'll be back before the sun comes up... hopefully," Tarquin told the raptor as he dismounted and dug around in Axis' saddle bag.
He grabbed a long length of rope and a steel hook, then carried them with him to the wall. The wall itself was only a little more than twice his height, and Tarquin managed to climbed a nearby tree to peek over it.
There was a good expanse of land over the wall, and the majority of it looked like farmland. Even in the moonlight, Tarquin could see that it was organized and well kept, and they even had some palms planted at one part of the estate; a tree whose native habitat was thousands of miles away.
There was something else as well: long necks. Tarquin had heard of extremely rich people and kingdoms keeping an apatosaurus as a natural gardener, but it seemed that the Havro owned three of them. All three creatures could be seen roaming around the estate, some of them craning their necks down to bite at the odd sprig of tall grass. The mercenary couldn't even imagine how much it cost to upkeep such a creature in captivity, but if Havro owned three, then the benefit must have exceeded the cost. In the dim light of night, Tarquin could see that the beasts were fitted with riggings, and he assumed that they used the creatures to prune the palms and gather the dates that grew on them.
But that was the least of his concern as his eyes settled on Ashey's tower. There, about a thousand yards from the edge of the wall, her home was right where Vana had said it would be, and the mercenary sighed heavily as he realized that there was no easy way he was going to be able to get inside.
He remembered that Havro had ordered his daughter to be locked in her tower, so he was certain that she was inside, but it was far taller than he ever dreamed it would be. There was a wide balcony built closer to the top of it that would lend itself to his sneaking inside, but even with his makeshift grappling hook, he had no reasonable way to reach it.
"Unless..." Tarquin glanced at the closest sauropod as he winced. It seemed that he would have no other choice but to try and climb atop the beast and somehow guide it to the balcony, but as usual, he had no idea how he was going to do it.
"First things first," he whispered to himself as he crept out onto the limb of the tree and headed toward the top of the wall.
Minutes later, Tarquin stuck to the inside of the wall and made his away to closest apatosaurus. As he made his way further away from the tower, he could see that torches had been lit at the front door, and he was willing to bet that there were at least a few patrolmen nearby.
It was then that he saw the distant bobbing of a torch at the other side of the estate, and it confirmed his suspicions. It made sense that Havro would have some security walking around, but they were probably focusing the majority of their force on the main building. Still, if Tarquin dallied too much, he would almost certainly be caught, because there was scarcely anywhere to hide. If he stayed low, he might be able to creep in some of the taller grass, but there was little of that around, and he guessed that it was because of the overly tall dinosaurs making their way around the perimeter.
Finally, after what seemed like an hour but was probably closer to five minutes, he approached the closest sauropod. The creature was massive, and far longer and heavier than the giganotosaurus he'd fought upon a month prior. Thankfully, the herbivores were far gentler than their meat eating relatives, and the mercenary approached the animal from the side without fear.
"You are quite a large fellow," Tarquin breathed as he looked up at the ultra tall beast. He wasn't even sure that the creature knew he was there, but he moved forward anyway and took hold of the lowest ring in the rigging. Now that he was closer, he could see that there were quite a bit of handholds for him to use, and he climbed the side of the dinosaur carefully, trying not to spook it.
At a certain point, the apatosaurus seemed to know that it was mounted, and it raised its head high and looked about slowly. The mercenary knew that most larger herbivores possessed more intelligence than carnivores, and when he reached the top his settled into the stirrup at the front of the dinosaur's back, "Do you take orders, friend?" Tarquin spoke to himself as he took hold of the leather riggings at the base of the creature's neck and tugged on them gently.
The dinosaur's response was slow, but it was clear that it understood the command. Painfully, but surely, Tarquin was able to turn the creature back towards the tower.
As Tarquin went, he kept his eyes on the torch that seemed to be moving closer to him. At the base of the creature's neck, he was easily twenty feet off the ground, and he hoped the moon wasn't bright enough to expose him.
"Dammit," he breathed as he saw that the torch was heading right towards him. Most likely, it was just the patrolman making his normal rounds, but there was a possibility that he'd seen Tarquin's outline in the moonlight, and the mercenary didn't want to take the chance. He shifted his weight in the rigging and urged the beast forward as he climbed to the left of the creature. Carefully, so as not to pull the dinosaur in a different direction, he hugged his body to the side of the the mount's neck and waited.
A full minute later, Tarquin glanced down and to the right and saw the torch brightly; far too close for comfort . He froze as he kept his eyes on the torch, and he could see the outline of a man's face. The guard looked to his left, then to his right, and for a few seconds, Tarquin swore that he was staring right at him, but that was before he realized that the man holding the torch up high, creating a perfect blind spot. A tense moment passed before the man turned and walked in the other direction, and Tarquin sighed in relief.
He made his way back onto the top of the rigging and tried not to become ancy as he saw how close he was to the tower. The footfalls of the giant creature thudded dully against the soft earth, creating less noise than he thought it would, and overall the ride had gone much more smoothly than he'd anticipated. Finally, he was almost right beneath the balcony, and he pulled back on the riggings slightly in an attempt to slow the creature.
"Now or never," Tarquin took a deep breath and began to climb the creature's thick neck. The rigging only went up so far, and he hoped dearly that he would be able to at least make it to the edge of the balcony before the apatosaurus decided it wanted to dip again.
To his surprise, the mercenary almost climbed too high, and he steadied his balance as the herbivore began to lower its neck. He let go of the rigging completely and stepped onto the railing of the balcony gracefully before frowning slightly.
"Shit, that was easier than I thought it would be," he whispered to himself as he stared at the thick curtain that blocked the opening to the tower. "Now for the hard part," he pressed his lips together grimly as he took a step forward.
Past the curtain, there was nothing but darkness. Tarquin opened the curtain just a little to let some of the moonlight in, but from what he saw he was standing within a mostly empty attic space. He did see a set of stairs leading downwards, however, and he closed the curtain slowly and crept forward, hoping that he would be able to navigate his way blindly.
The mercenary was no cat burglar, but he could move quietly when the need arose. He inched his way towards the stone steps and placed his hand against the wall for guidance. One step at a time, he descended, his boots thudding with only the slightest sound against the stone. The stairs were spiraling downwards, and he was afraid for a moment that he was going to be creeping around in complete darkness for the duration of his visit, but soon he saw the dull glow of a fireplace bouncing lowly from the bottom of the stairs.
He made his way to the last step and peeked around the corner. There was a low fire burning against one of the walls, more ember than flame, but it was just enough to illuminate the room.
The furnishings were far grander than Tarquin would have thought, and several paintings hung upon the walls that he couldn't really make out. There was a large canopy bed set up onto a sturdy looking steel stand directly in the middle of the room, and he could see the familiar outline of a small framed woman lying in the middle of it.
The mercenary frowned slightly as he made his way forward. Sneaking up on a sleeping woman with the intent of having sex with her wasn't his idea of a good time, but he didn't have a choice. As he came closer to the bed, he could hear the soft sounds of Ashey's breathing, and he strained his eyes through the thin silk curtain to see what position she was sleeping in.
Ashey was lying on her back with her arms splayed out to her sides. Even in the dim light, Tarquin could see that her face was red, and he figured that she must have cried herself to sleep. He couldn't say that he blamed her; she was practically a prisoner in her own home, and since she'd been caught fighting him earlier, it was almost certain that her father would lock her down even more.
At least she's clothed, Tarquin thought with relief as he glanced over the sheer white sleeping gown the girl wore. It felt strange enough staring at the girl while she was sleeping, and her being completely naked would only make him feel like more of a pervert.
Regardless, he had to accomplish his goal, though he was perplexed as to how to best go about it. He thought about simply clamping his hand over her mouth, but if someone had done that to him while he was sleeping, he might actually kill them by the time he realized what was happening. She seemed like the type of woman who would sleep beside a dagger or some weapon, and he wasn't willing to take the chance. Besides that, she'd already had a long, emotional evening, and he didn't want to scare her half to death by pouncing on her.
He still wore the rope that he'd brought with him; it was suing around his midsection. It was a thin, strong length, plenty long enough to make a rigging, and soft enough to make intricate knots. Tarquin didn't particularly want to tie the sleeping girl to her own bed, but the position she was lying in was lending itself to such an end, and she wouldn't be able to hurt either of them if she woke up with a start and she was bound.
Hesitantly, Tarquin readied the rope and looked over the girl with a frown, Well, better get to work.
Ashey's sleep was fitful and forced. She had indeed cried herself to sleep, and when sleep finally came it had come as a hard demand. She'd exhausted herself in the fight against the mercenary, but her emotional anxiety was far more tiring than the fight. She'd bathed and had her wound properly dressed, and the entire time people were watching her. Her father's aids, bodyguards and servants; even when she was taking a bath there was a woman who was there to make sure she didn't try to sneak out. She was so tired of being treated like a child, and her father's increasing insanity was quite literally ruining her life.
But there was nothing she could do, seemingly, about any of it. When sleep fell upon her at last, she thought, briefly, that it might be better if she never woke up.
Despite her last brooding thought in waking consciousness, Ashey did wake up. Slowly, orange light was cast upon her eyes, and the smell of plain tallow candles filled the room. She remembered letting the fire die down before she climbed into bed, so how could it be so bright...
She inhaled sharply through her nose as she realized that there was something in her mouth. She opened her eyes and tried to move her limbs, but they gave only a little, and a sudden panic filled her as she began to thrash.
"Calm down, you'll give yourself rope burn."
She stopped all at once as she heard a familiar voice. Her eyes widened. She looked to the left, then to the right, and she saw the outline of a man through the sheer material of the canopy. She tried to scream through the gag, but all that came out was throaty garble of incoherent noise.
Tarquin threw aside the canopy's curtain and crossed his arms, "God dammit, woman, I said calm down!" He drew closer to her and grabbed her shoulder, "I'm not going to hurt you, so stop thrashing around. Neither one of us wants me to get caught here, so calm the fuck down."
She glared at him as she felt her heart thudding in her chest.
"It's a good thing that looks can't kill," Tarquin commented as he let go of her shoulder. He felt around the side of the bedframe before moving his hand beneath her pillow. Not much to his surprise, he felt the slender handle of a dagger, and he drew it out and held it up, "Ah, so you do sleep with a knife. You wanna know why the hell I tied you up? This is why," he said as he looked down at her once more. "Now, I'm gonna talk for a minute and you're gonna listen, and if you decide to be reasonable then I'll take the gag out and we have a civilized conversation."
Anger and helplessness coursed through Ashey as she stared at the opponent who'd bested her, and she looked away from a moment as she fought away fresh tears.
Tarquin sighed heavily as he sat at the edge of the bed. He faced away from her deliberately, and he stared into the dull embers of the fire, "I didn't have much of choice in coming here, and I want you to know that if there was any other way I could have done it I would have. Your father threatened me, and he's expecting me gone by morning. He put a watchman in front of the inn, and I have a sneaking suspicion that when the sun comes out and they don't find me there they'll definitely be out looking for me. Vana told me where your home was, and I used one of the long necks to sneak in, if you were wondering," he paused, "I'm here to collect on my end of the bargain, but before that, we have some things we need to settle." He turned toward her and looked into her eyes, "If I take that gag out of your mouth, will you promise not to scream?"
Her eyes narrowed, but she nodded once. There would be no point in drawing attention to the presence of the mercenary, even if he was there to do what they'd agreed upon.
The mercenary nodded in turn and placed his fingers on the gag, "I'm trusting you to honor your word..." he said lowly before he wrestled the piece of cloth out of her mouth.
Ashey breathed deeply as the unpleasant aftertaste of the gag left her mouth, "Untie me at once!" She hissed through clenched teeth.
"No, I don't think I will," Tarquin replied quickly. "You might have another knife stashed somewhere, and I'm not keen on the idea of getting stabbed in the throat because you're in an emotional tiffy. You've had a shitty night, I get it, but we need to get a few things sorted."
She held in a growl as she tested her bindings slightly, "I lost, you won: I know what you want, so why can't we just get it over with?"
Tarquin never took his eyes off of her, but he could see her slight muscle movement, "It's one length of rope; the more you struggle, the tighter the bindings become." He took a deep breath and blinked for several seconds, "We had a great fight... hell, it was an amazing fight. I never questioned whether or not you were going to keep up your end of the bargain, and I am sorry things have to happen this way. I wish we had more time, but I have no intention of raping you. I know that if I did, it might make you feel a little better about the whole situation, but I'm not going to give you the satisfaction of being the victim here."
Ashey shook her head, "What are you talking about? I..."
"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Tarquin cut her off as he gave her a serious look. "You wanted me to kill your father. You thought that just because I'm a mercenary, I would be used to spilling a little blood here and there, but what you were asking for was straight up murder. I would have done it, of course, if I had lost our fight, but his blood still would have been on your hands. I kill soldiers, Ashey, and other fighters. I'm not going to sit here and try to justify the reasons I kill, and quite frankly, I don't give a damn about the overall morality of it, but the people who died by my sword knew what they were getting into when they decided to fight in a god damned war. You might be a virgin, but you are far from innocent, and I'm not going to allow myself to be your personal moral scapegoat in all of this."
Ashey was unable to hold back her tears as she scowled, "You think I want him to die?" She closed her eyes for a moment as she let her head fall back onto her pillow. "He's sick, and I don't see him getting any better. Am I supposed to just stand by and watch him spiral into madness while he drags the rest of us down with him?" She squeezed out another bitter tear. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry I even mentioned it, but this..." she took a deep breath as she opened her eyes, "This isn't living, Tarquin! With each day that passes, I die a little more, and my entire future is laid out in front of me!"
"I understand, but that comes along with the responsibility of deciding to take someone's life," Tarquin replied with a flat look. "Some people can bear the burden more than others, but most can't bear it at all, and it consumes them. If I am able to help solve the race crisis, then you might be able to more easily find your freedom, but if you think having your father killed is the right thing to do, than you have to be able to live that decision."
"Yes," she replied hollowly as she licked her lips. "In any case, my life will be over soon enough."
"What do you mean?" Tarquin asked as he lifted his eyebrow.
Ashey looked away from him, "You're going to take me, and it's very likely that I will conceive your child. You will be able to go abroad and brag about it, and I will be left with the aftermath. My Father will be outraged, my career will be over, and I will..."
Tarquin began to chuckle as she shook his head.
Ashey's eyes narrowed in anger, "You laugh at me?"
"No... I'm sorry," Tarquin shook his head as he tried to keep his laughter at bay. "It's just that, Crizet said something along the same lines, expect she was far less dramatic about it. Listen, Ashey, I have no interest in bragging about my sexual conquests, and I sure as hell wouldn't be going through all this trouble just to tell everyone I slept with the great Ashey Neilson. I'm not even going to take your virginity, but you've got to cooperate with me."
"I don't understand... how are you not going to take my virginity?" The girl looked legitimately confused.
"According to the goddess, I don't need to. I just need to... put the magic inside of you."
Ashey blinked before her face turned completely red, "Ah...oh."
Tarquin nodded as he scratched his head, "Yeah. the other thing is that, hm, how do I put this... you have to be somewhat...invested."
Ashey grimaced, "What the hell does that mean? Are you saying that I have to be in the mood?"
Tarquin gave her a queer look, "Afraid so. It won't work otherwise."
The young woman felt like screaming, "Excuse me for saying so, but I'm not in the fucking mood! I'm locked inside of my own home, tied to my own fucking bed, and..."
Ashey stopped talking as she felt cool steel against her cheek. Tarquin was holding the flat of the girl's pillow dagger against her skin, and she froze as a strange mixture of emotions came over her.
