The Story of the Trees - Sword, Ring, and Crown Book One

Chapter Thirty-Two

The sadistic overlords let us go at three in the afternoon. By then, we were fainting with hunger, and I hoped that The Mystic Fig was a fantastic restaurant. Only the centaur, the faun, and the giant were waiting for us outside when we got there.

"What are you guys doing out here? Why didn't you wait for us inside the restaurant?"

"Centaurs aren't allowed inside," the centaur said.

"None of us are without the escort of a titled Lady." the faun said.

I gave the restaurant a dirty look. The attitude of this city reminded me of the stories of class and caste that plagued human history. Would they let me in, given my background?

"What happened to Artful R- err... I mean the pixie and the Satyr?"

The three of them stared at the ground.

"The constables took them before we could get them clothing. Xavian's mistress retrieved him - he is the Satyr.  Tylas, the pixie, is being held in jail for his attire." the faun said.

"Hah... geez...." I muttered. "Wait. Are you runaway slaves?"

The three men shook their heads.

"Only the Satyr was a runaway. Out mistresses cast us out for various reasons, but the Satyr was hiding. He took a chance in hopes that you'd say yes to having him," the faun said.

I leaned on Dominic as I tried to weigh the pros and cons of my current dilemma. "So, what I'm trying to find out is if you are technically still owned by someone? Will I need to pay someone to set you free?"

They looked at the ground again and nodded.

Okay. So cons? I had to spend money to get these guys on my team. I needed to make them my concubines if I wanted to take them along on my journey. Taking concubines meant letting go of more of my values to save people I didn't even know. Pros? They sounded like they had helpful abilities. They'd be loyal, and they promised to work. I'd have more people and thus more of a chance. Plus, I could help them have a better life. Just because they had the title of a concubine didn't mean I'd have to do anything with them. I could set them free once I did this.

I realized my pros resembled justifications for making a terrible choice more than they resembled sound logic. It also brought up more questions.

"Hey, Luke, how did Marisol and Regina get those new people to be a part of their court? I thought the Becoming ceremony included everyone."

"The Becoming unites the Elect and her consorts. You can enact other bindings with banmuinen and concubines after the fact, in proxy of the goddess, through the blessing each Elect possesses. "

I puffed my cheeks out then released the air in a whoosh at him. "You need to sit with me and tell me all these rules and exceptions at once. Let's do it tonight."

"Very well," Luke said, and there was a spark in his eyes as though that had been his plan all along.

"So..." I looked at the three creatures. "Are you guys hungry? Can we get a table by a window so that —" I pointed at the centaur, "What's your name? Err... not your true name, just the one you usually go by?"

"My name is Brin." He bowed low to me by kneeling on his front two legs.

"Brin — so that Brin can talk to us through the window."

"I'm sure we can, Princess. The restaurant doesn't appear busy."

"Yeah... If I didn't believe that every other restaurant had the same crappy policies, I'd say that we should go someplace else."