Bound At Heart

Mission

Ilyana ventured to the corner of the kingdom where she met René.

Approaching the village, she found out that life had been restored there despite winter's frost had taken hold of the land she had once healed. The lesser people of the kingdom had found their homes and began rebuilding. Although Ilyana's compassionate heart begged her to better the situation, her mind told her something else. Drawing attention to herself wasn't a good idea, knowing that word of her and her abilities are spreading and it was the last thing she wanted. She tied Cherleene to a nearby tree alongside the treeline, thinking it best for her to walk the rest of the way.

Pulling the hood over her face for extra precaution, she ventured into the village. She used her memory to recite where Ronan's household was. She slowed in her step in surprise to see that the home she remembered was the same home that stood before her. No one was here. The interior was rummaged and right outside the back door lied a grave, which made Ilyana nauseous.

She turned and peered outside of the front door's archway only to be startled by a haggard woman who stared intently at her.

"You lost, child?" the woman's raspy and degraded voice held kindness.

Ilyana thought it best to ask, "Where is the family that once lived here?"

The elder's eyes dropped their gaze to the floor, which made Ilyana's eyebrows twitch in confusion as her heart was pounding in her ears.

"They haven't returned. I fear Bennett had got to them."

The name sounded familiar to Ilyana. "Bennett?"

"Bennett always bothered the family ever since they moved here... Rumor has it that they paid him 'taxes' for them to keep their land. That man is involved in nasty business."

"I hate to trouble you madam, but do you mind telling me more?"

The elder's eyes now contacted hers. Greed filled them as Ilyana understood that a payment had to be made for information. She expected as much. She pulled a silver coin from her pouch and placed it in the haggard woman's open palm. The elder looked for any suspicious onlookers and beckoned Ilyana to come closer.

Ilyana leaned in as the elder whispered, "There is another rumor that Bennett is involved with illegal slave trading. I fear that the family you search for are the Silvas. Bennett had a... special relationship with a woman in the family and that's why he was so keen on keeping a close eye on them and wanting them for himself. I think that they couldn't pay his taxes this month, and now they are paying the price."

"Bennett," Ilyana had to make sure she had the right man, "A trusted partner with the Faethyra mining business? He's also known to be a plantation owner?"

The elder nodded, "Just so. He is a man that'll play dirty, miss. I best recommend not to pursue this family."

It was a warning she didn't heed but nodded once and replied, "Thank you for the information. Goddess bless you."

She walked away from the village and heaved a long sigh. Clifton Bennett was one of her father's trusted business partners. Bennett handled all shipments and transports of the medicinal gems to the company's trusted retailers. Ilyana knew that the man owned a plantation to have another source of income on the side, but slave trading? That was made illegal in Bennett's grandfather's generation. Although... she knew that the trafficking of slaves remained as a custom in distant kingdoms. It's in those kingdoms where the social hierarchy was very evident and the selling and buying of slaves was a functioning system of trade. It only supplied a source of income, but how fair was it?