Singer Sailor Merchant Mage

Chapter 67: The other foot

“You taste injustice, even if it’s fictional, really taste it, it has a way of doing that. Sometimes you can never put the shoe on the other foot.”

Kristen Ashley

“Care to explain?” I had not had the best of nights and asked him to add to his answer. I could not honestly say that I was not feeling a little bit of schadenfreude. Especially now, that he appeared to be forced to answer my questions, much like I had been compelled to answer his. I’d like to think, that in time, I would be the bigger man. But right now, I needed to know what I was working with. Clearly, it wasn’t quite so much fun any longer for Grandfather either, the wheel of truth had turned, now that the shoe was on the other foot. However, fun would not quite be the right adjective to describe my current emotions on the matter, it was more enlightening than entertaining. His answers were infuriatingly slow to begin.

Finally, he began to talk. Grudgingly, slowly, much like drawing blood from a stone, his words came forth. “I am bound by blood to obey.” He gave a short and succinct answer that failed to explain what it meant to be bound, how it could be done by blood, the why, the how, the when, etc.

I was hoping for a little more detail. I had 1,000,001 questions now. He was round by blood to obey me. Why? He certainly didn’t seem to have obeyed my sister, my mother, or my father. Something strange was going on definitely going on here. Why was it just me out of all my family? What made me different to my sister or my mother?

“Why are you bound by blood to obey me?” I asked hoping for a little more clarification. He hesitated here and I realised that I had asked a question rather than giving him a command and he was using the option to stall. I rephrased my words as a command and added to it the extra sentence, “Answer all of my questions honestly, openly, and with significantly more detail.” This could take a while.

I returned to the question, “Why do you have to obey me? Why are you bound by blood?”

Again, a hesitation before answering. But in the end, the binding played out, stronger than him or his mind. “You are the last heir of the Silverwood family, or rather the last lord of the Silverwood noble house, and I am bound by blood to serve the family, however they see fit.” He had given up fighting the compulsion and began to expand on his answers.

Okay, that was a big reveal. Who was the Silverwood family? Where were they from? Clearly not from the Wester Isles. Were they the house Grandfather, it was going to take a while to stop thinking of him like that, had alluded to. What was the deal with him not listening to mother or sister if that was the case?

“What about mother and sister? You certainly haven’t been obeying them!” I added confused by the difference between us. If I was the last Lord then they were the last Ladies. Lady Silverwood had a nice ring to it. But most importantly I needed to work out the command structure here.

“I have to obey the lord of the house, no one else. They are women and the line does not lie with them. Therefore, the command of the house and me does not fall to them.”

That seemed somewhat sexist, and backward to me. But there had been many a feudal system in my old world where women were allowed little to nothing throughout their lives, with wealth, land, and slaves only being passed on to the oldest male descendent. Even in modern times gender differences still existed although somewhat more hidden and less obvious. Sometimes only evident and noticeable in the statistics gathered by companies and countries.

Although bound by blood seemed to be a ridiculously unfair situation to find yourself in any way. So, having a servant or slave, only passed down to the male heir or line seemed par for the course if not particularly progressive.

The question though was why am I the last Lord Silverwood?

What had happened to my mother’s family?

How had she ended up here?

“Why am I the last Lord of the Silverwood family?” I asked digging deeper into my mother’s history and his. What had happened to the family? How had he been bound by blood? What did that even mean?

“When your maternal family’s enemies closed in on your family, 30 years ago, my last order was, to take your mother, and run. To protect her and raise her strong if we were not recovered.” He explained perhaps for the first time in decades, for the first time ever. “I took your mother and we ran. She was only a baby at the time and remembers nothing of this.” He looked resigned to telling his story now.

“How do you know that the Silverwood family fell?” I asked. Surely, some others had survived, cousins, nephews, aunties, or uncles. There was so much to unpack here. My mind boggled at the thought that my mother was a lady, my sister was a lady. I was a Lord even before my patent of nobility had been most recently bought. Did this explain how we had been born able to access more than the six common stats? Was there truly a genetic difference between the nobles and commoners that flowed through the blood to empower their children? I had magic, Aleera had magic, my mother had magic. I had been born with clarity and quickly picked up Charisma. Was it because if our family had survived we would have been born with a silver spoon?

“Why doesn’t mother know this?” I asked already suspecting the answer.

“Aliyah? I never told her.” He confirmed my suspicions.

“Why not?” I frowned. Could I have been born into the lap of luxury? Though she probably would never have met Kaius, if she had been living as a noble, so I wouldn’t have been born at all.

“What good would it do. The house is no more. The knowledge could only endanger her if she had acted on it.” He defended his actions to hide our history even from the child most affected by it. “She was safer, ignorant of the bounty her head or hand would collect, and happier for it throughout most of her life. Bar training and making her strong she has enjoyed living here. Enjoyed meeting Kaius, loving Kaius, and building her family. She would never have had this had her survival been known. She would have been a pawn at best, dead at wor . . .” he hesitated once more, “Well there are worse things than being dead.” He darkly added. What was the wider world like? It sounded safer to build paradise at home than go exploring. But I wanted to see the world someday hopefully I would be strong enough to see it safely.

“What was your last order?” I asked to clarify his position and the orders he had been working with. Even if they could have been clearly interpreted differently he had clearly continued to follow them.

“My Lord’s last words were. ‘Hurry, take the child. Run as far west as you can. Protect her and raise her strong. We will find you.’ These were the last orders I was given and I have been acting on them ever since. We fled west as far as we could to the coast. Hunted through forest, valley, and town. We struck out to sea sailing south as fast as we could before finally turning west once more and setting off through the archipelago. This is the furthest west of the compass kingdoms you can go. I could take her, no further. They never found me, neither enemies nor family I eluded them all. Burdened by a baby, they never found us. The house must’ve fallen or else they would have come to find us, to claim us, to bring us back. The house is fallen and we are alone.” He paused contemplating the fear of his flight, the horror of being hunted not by beasts but by monsters in human form. The journey sounded long and taxing. Was our family even from Ponente? It did not sound like it if they had travelled that far south.

After collecting himself from the recollection he continued, “We may be alone but we are safe and secure here on this island. She is protected and I have raised her strong. I’ve done my job. Obeyed my final command, painful as it has sometimes been, an order without end. I will follow it till my dying day.” He answered somehow conveying the resolve of orders followed above and beyond the call of duty. An order and duty that had perhaps twisted and warped his actions over time.

I tried to imagine what life would be like being bound to a cause forever. A course not of my choosing that I had to sail over the horizon and beyond. If it wasn’t his choice had he always resented it? Had he always resented us as much as he had been driven to protect and make us strong?

It was impossible for me to say. But it wasn’t impossible for me to ask. The question was whether I dared. Although the urge was strong the emotions that he kept buried were strong and violent. I was unsure that I wished to unearth them and bring them to light.

“Would you like to talk about how that made you feel?” I cautiously asked carefully wording it as a question rather than a command. While I had been angry about the manner in which I had been forced to talk about my past, the act itself had been cathartic to actually speak out loud to someone no matter how infuriating they were about the burdens I had been carrying. To be seen. To be heard for who I was.

“No.” His refusal was blunt and to the point.

Were his private feelings on the matter and the orders he had to protect us and to raise us up to be strong the reason for his unreasonable behaviour? I would need a psychology degree in order to unpack all the emotions that had been pent up in his refusal. But it was possible that his conflicting orders had resulted in the seesaw of affection one minute and attempting to power level us the next. I decided it was safer to stick to the pertinent information and move forward. How would this affect the family dynamics moving onward?

I did not want to tell the rest of my family of my hidden past. I was happy as I was with the current family dynamics and didn’t want to change them.

I was equally sure that he would prefer me to be the only person able to order him around. I certainly would not have wanted to hand a hypothetical collar and leash to any person let alone more than one.

“If I don’t tell anyone about you and your past, will you keep mine hidden in return?” I asked.

While I could have made it an order, I had just felt how violating that had been and if I was going to build a better working relationship with the man. I had to start somewhere closer to equality even if the equality was more fictional than fact.

“Yes, that would be acceptable.” His answers were still short and concise now that he was not following an order to add as much detail as possible.

But I needed to know more about how he would continue to act once we returned.

“What will you do from now on?”

“I will continue to protect Aliyah, Aleera, and you. I will continue to make you all strong.” He answered still bound by commands thirty years old. Maybe it was time to change those orders. Give everyone a break from restraints, restrictions, and orders 30 years out of date. Orders, that if I changed them, no longer needed to be followed. Primarily give one another a break from each other if we wanted it.

I did not feel wise enough to word this correctly so I decided to crib Asimov’s three laws. But before I began I thought it would be a good gesture of sincerity to gauge his opinion first.

“How would you feel if, as the last Lord Silverwood, I modified those rules?” I asked.

“How would you change them?” he cautiously almost fearfully asked. I supposed that no matter your circumstances there is always a certain fear of change that no matter how bad your situation it is always possible it could get worse.

“I would after putting in provisions for my family’s safety. Set you free to consider other options outside of protecting us and making us strong.” I stated my thoughts on the matter. I wasn’t willing to risk removing all restraints on the man who was so much stronger than us all. Especially if the orders were the only thing keeping us safe at night. Despite being around him for over a year of earth time. Tonight’s conversations proved that I hardly knew the man.

“I would be happy to be free from my old orders.” He cautiously possibly optimistically replied.

“Okay.”

I hesitated, hoping that this would not cause problems further down the line. That being said protect and make strong had not kept us from physical or emotional harm. So I had my fingers crossed that my wording would not make anything any worse.

“Your new orders are; first that you may not injure my family, known as Kaius, Aliyah, Aleera, and myself, or second through inaction allow us to be harmed. Third, you must follow direct orders from myself and consider favourably my family’s requests except where such orders and requests would conflict with the first order. Other than that you are free from all past orders my family may have given you and are free to live and speak as you see fit.”

As I gave him his new orders I watched carefully as he shifted. Initially, he hunched as three more orders were added to his condition, bound by blood. But then suddenly he straightened seeming an inch or two taller as he was finally freed from orders 30 years old or older that my ancestors had forced him to follow. How many orders had he been operating under?

There seemed to be a stunned look of wonder on his face as he stretched his body. I could easily see how anyone would be afraid of being found out and used once more. Content to stick with the pain already felt and understood. Unwilling to risk being given tighter chains even if the individual in question could free him completely.

I had not gone that far and maybe never would. It would take a lot of time to build trust. Time to get to know who he really was without the rules of the past directing his actions. Had I made a mistake? Only time would tell.

Hesitatingly he asked, “Well, Kai what now, my lord?” seemingly surprised by the words coming out of his mouth.

“Home. Bed. Tired. Don’t make me regret my actions tonight.” I winced as saw him shiver at the command spoken carelessly, and without thought. I would have to watch what I said or at least how I said it. Careless commands would be cruel to be given to one who had to follow them and I couldn’t believe that I had never noticed his response before. He had managed to avoid suspicion magnificently but then without being aware of the possibility how could I have possibly known. “Sorry,” I murmured referring to my careless comment as he picked me up.

“Peace, Kai. We will all need some time to adapt. Your family will . . .” he paused remembering the specific wording of his new orders, “remain unharmed and I will be freer than I have been in decades. I’m sorry too, but grateful for the freedom. You won’t regret it.” Were his last words as he magically sealed the door behind us and entered a tunnel home.

Looking inwards as I was carried home once more I was not surprised to find some changes. Despite the relatively short time since yesterday morning, it felt as if I had lived a month in a single day. As if the tide had come in and out for a full moon, uncovering new truths with each wave leaving me washed out but washed clean, worn smooth by the sand of the shore.

Level: 11

Name: Lord Kai

Experience: 308,050/ 409,600

Age: 15 months, 2 weeks, 2 days, 2 hours

Health: 1180/1180 Stamina: 550/580 Mana: 1210/1210 Psi: 1210/1210

Trait: Long-Lived, Fast Learner, Super Senses, Source of Mana, Quick Witted

Vitality: 118

Endurance: 28

Strength: 28

Dexterity: 34

Senses: 121

Mind: 121

Clarity: 101

Magic: 121

Charisma: 22

Luck: 2

Free Points: 30

Skills:

Tier 1: Time sense (LV 30) Listening (LV 30) Meditation (LV 39) Swimming (LV 32) Humming (Lv 27) Sneak (Lv 22) Whistling (Lv 27) Singing (Lv 27)Drumming (Lv 25)Running (Lv 17) Acting (20) English (Lv 15) Spanish (Lv 15) Japanese (Lv 15) German (Lv 10) French (Lv 7) Dodge (Lv 11) Breath Control (Lv 12) Sight (Lv 15) Scent (Lv 15) Detect (Lv 15) Taste (Lv 15) Bussola (Lv 7) Draw (Lv 4) Climb (Lv 7) Calligraphy (Lv 5) Mathematics (Lv 10) Decoding (Lv 6) Lie (Lv 10 -> 12) Knife Skills (Lv 5) Trading (Lv 14) Sailing (Lv 6) Appeal (Lv 3)

Tier 2: Sense Mana (LV 38) Eavesdrop (LV 28) Memorisation (LV 22) Composition (Lv 22) Recall (Lv22) Pain tolerance (Lv 13) Piano (Lv 20) Violin (Lv 20) Trombone (Lv 20) Saxophone (Lv 20) Linguistics (Lv 16) Translation (Lv 16) Stealth (Lv 12) Quick reflexes (Lv 27)Haggling (Lv 5) Misdirection (Lv 5 -> Lv 8) Order (Lv 2)

Tier 3: Echolocation (LV 26) Expel Mana (Lv 37) Absorb Mana (Lv 31) Mana Manipulation (Lv 29) Ignite (Lv 15) Freeze (Lv 10) Boil (Lv 11) Bargain (Lv 10) Gale (Lv 17) Deception (Lv 1 -> Lv 3) Melt (Lv 10) Command (Lv 1)

Tier 4: Material Manipulation (Lv 15)Mana Drain (Lv 20) Parallel Processing (Lv 15)

Tier 5: Mind fortress (Lv 17)

Skill experience: 2700

Origin experience: 0

Combat experience: 0

Crafting experience: 0

Trading experience: 0

Popular experience: 10,000

I was tired, it was time to sleep. But I waited. Still cautious until I was silently replaced next to my sister from where I had been taken. A silent nod from a man, not my grandfather, but still a forced part of this family, as he departed. What would the morrow bring? I felt the elixirs dexterity depart and succumbed to sleep.