Completed Careful Planning

[Ayviss]

19th of Fall, 514 AV

It had been two days, and Ayviss had been working too much to actually think about anything. If she didn't know there was no way Hollard could know what she was thinking, the half blood would be sure her owner was asking her to work nonstop exactly so she wouldn't have time to plan anything.

However, Hollard eventually left to do some work, and there was a new slave in training, another woman, who was now learning how to prepare the simplest dish. Soup. Ayviss knew very well how to do it, being probably the only thing she could do well in the kitchen, and she could help the other, but there were more important things to do. She needed to think.

So she waited for the front door to close, before going to the kitchen and looking inside. The woman was pretty, a blond human with deep brown eyes. She looked up, her face twisted in pain, and Ayviss saw the blood dripping in the sink, the idiot probably hurting herself with the knife.

"Help me? she asked, smiling a little. Ayviss shook her head.

"If I do, you will regret later on. Trust me."

The half blood left, knowing the other would be too occupied with the soup to pay attention on anything else. Ayviss walked to the office, knowing the door wouldn't be locked. Most books were about slaves and training, and a few about cooking, and the important documents were locked inside the drawers, so Hollard hardly ever felt the need to actually lock the door. It wasn't like Ayviss had too much time to spend in there, anyway.

However, now, it was a place she could think, a place she was sure she wouldn't be interrupted by the other. Besides, her own room was out of question. Malak was there, a shadow that couldn't quite shut up, and it would certainly distress her. Ayviss had noted that the shadows tended to hang around places that would entertain them, or suit their tastes, and the office was a quiet one, one where plans were discussed in secrecy. The shadows there would probably like to listen and learn, and not talk.

And she was right. The shadows moved, noticing she had entered the room, but stayed quiet. Most of them didn't pay attention to her, since she wasn't really anyone important. But there were ones, like Malak, who just liked to talk to everyone they could. And since Ayviss suspected there weren't many marked ones around, she was the one that had to listen.

x

[Ayviss]

Ayviss walked to a chair and sat down, looking at the plain wooden ceiling. She knew she wanted freedom. Only imbeciles thought it were best to live shackled to any kind of rules, tied down to any kind of people. She had, once, and it only hurt her. So she desired freedom. The power to go where she wanted, do what she wanted, be what she wanted, without the need to answer to others. She didn't want to have anyone above her, no one who could order her around. Yes, freedom would be sweet.

But while she was sure she could be free of Hollard, would she truly be completely free once she left the house? No, she wouldn't. She was weak. Not weak minded, but she had no strength, she didn't know how to defend herself, how to attack, how to achieve the power she desired. She had no power.

Her hand traveled to her shoulder, and she almost felt the black triangle between her shoulders. The mark of Akajia. She didn't know the name of the mark, only that it allowed her to speak and see the shadows. Allowed her to see a secret world very few could. And, for that, she was more than grateful. She had a power. A huge one. She only didn't know how to use it. Yet.

Licking her lips, Ayviss closed her eyes. She would win Hollard's trust, she would make him fall in love with her. The half blood knew she could do it. Her owner was lonely, unable to court a woman and terrible at it, if the times he brought one to the house and it ended before they could even go to the bedroom. Hollard only needed to trust her, and then, she only needed to show that she cared, and he would fall for her. Then, she would hurt him so deeply that he would never trust anyone again. Served him right, for what he had done to her mother and Dia.

Tears threatened to fall, and she closed her eyes, hard. She was past this. She had mourned her mother for years, and her way of mourning Dia was this. Revenge on the man who had killed them. Crying wouldn't help.

"What is the matter, lass?"

Ayviss raised her head, looking at the shadow below one of the bookshelves. The one that used to stay below the kitchen table. The half blood felt tempted to ask what it was doing there, but decided against it. The shadow wouldn't tell her.

"Nothing." she answered, hating how her voice cracked.

"Humans cry for nothing, now?"

"I'm not even human." she said, and then frowned. Why did she say something like that, anyway? However, the shadow interest was picked, as it moved closer, settling bellow the chair.

"What does that mean, lass?"

"Half blood. Half Dhani, half human." she answered, and then, the tears escaped, and she furiously whipped them away. That was exactly why she hated to be tied down to other people.

"Oh." the shadow said, simply. "What are you doing here?"

"Revenge." she said, low, angry, and the urge to cry left her. Her fingers pressed against the chair, and it felt terrible good to confess her plan to another. It felt that everything was real.

The shadow remained quiet, but didn't leave its spot under the chair.

x

[Ayviss]

It took her a few chimes to regain her composure. And then, she looked at the ceiling again.

She would need a poison potent enough to paralyze Hollard but let him remain conscious. She knew there was something out there like this. After all, poisons had been her passion. Her mother had been able to smuggle a few books for her, and she learned much from this. Maybe enough to carry on with her plan. Nevertheless, this was something she would need to look up on, although it would have to wait. She could then steal whatever she wanted from him, and leave. Or maybe...

Her eyes traveled to the table in front of her. The locked drawer. Maybe there would be a document she could get that would damage Hollard's reputation, or put him in danger. She smiled to herself. If she could open the lock...

Nodding, Ayviss laid back on the chair once again. She could train how to open locks. Her mother had said that her father used to do it, with simple items they found around. Maybe she could try... But later, now, she needed to plan other things too. Then, after everything was done, what? Training with the dagger was definitely something she needed to do. But she would also need a job.

Her chest tightened a little. What she wanted to do? As much as she loved poisons, it was a limited work, something that wouldn't allow her much. Maybe... Maybe she could do other things? Things she liked to do, that people gave her money to do, but that would also allow her to be on top. Ayviss bit her lip, unsure on where to go from now.

Getting up, she walked towards the door, noticing that the shadow followed her. She closed the office once again, before heading up to the kitchen. Dagger, lock picking and earning Hollard's trust. This would do for now. After she was free, she would buy herself a tent, work with something until she had enough money to leave the city, and go, without looking back. In the meanwhile, maybe she could work as a mercenary. Learning secrets, doing different jobs for different people, learning about them enough so that she would always have the upper hand. Learning secrets and strengthening herself.

Because once she escaped, she never wanted to be captive again.

x

[Ayviss]

"Hey." Ayviss called the blond woman, and she turned towards her. "Can you give me those hairpins?"

"What for?" she asked, seemed genuinely confused. Ayviss didn't answer, only waited, her eyes glaring at the other. Finally, the woman looked back to her work, seeming a little uneasy. "Yeah, fine. But only if you help me here."

Ayviss glared at the other, before groaning and pushing her lightly away from the cutting board. She had just peeled a single potato, and it was a terrible job. The half blood wasn't the best cook in the world, but she was at least a little more competent than this girl.

Taking another knife, she began to peel the potatoes, taking just the smallest amount of care so they wouldn't come mostly off with the skin. She worked alongside the other slave, her eyes focused on her hands, although she knew that the shadow was still looking at her. When she had become interesting to it, she didn't really know.

The half blood cut the potatoes in cubes, after a quick glance at the recipe, and then took the onion and chopped it, as quickly as she could. She hated onions. They tasted great, but she couldn't stand the uncomfortable feeling in her eyes.

They worked, in silence, the blond sometimes sending glances to her, but Ayviss kept facing forward, her face hard and unwelcoming to any attempt at talking. Finally, after all the vegetables had been taken care of, the girl reached for her hair and handed her three hairpins.

"Here. Ah... Thanks for the help. I can take it from here."

Ayviss cleaned her hands, took the hairpin, and left, not once sending a glance to the other woman. She walked through the corridor, and stopped in front of Hollard's room door. The keys to all the house were inside. If she found the one to her own room, and practiced unlocking it without the key itself, maybe she could unlock the drawer with the documents. Of course, she could always grab the keys to the drawers, but those, Ayviss was sure Hollard kept somewhere else, somewhere she had no idea where. It would be too risky to count on them to open the drawers when the time come.

Her hand was on the handle, when a shriek made her turn, eyes glaring with anger and annoyance.

"What do you think you are doing? Are you crazy? Master will..."

"Do nothing." Ayviss growled, shoving the other woman hard against the wall. She approached her face, anger visible in her features. "You will be out of this house in a week or two, at most. You will never be affected if Hollard finds out about the key. So you will shut up and not say a word. Otherwise..." she let the threat hang for a while, before approaching her face even more, her words nothing more than a whisper. "Do you know some snakes drink blood?"

The girl paled so much Ayviss thought she would pass out. It was a lie, of course. Even if Dhani did drink blood, which Ayviss didn't know if was true or not, she wasn't a full one. She ate just like any other human. But she couldn't risk the girl talking. Hollard rarely locked her door. He wouldn't even notice the key was gone. So the only problem was the girl. Not anymore, apparently.

The blond nodded, fast, eyes wide with fear, and Ayviss let her go.

"That was a little cruel, lass." the shadow stated, although there was no hint of judgment on its voice. Ayviss supposed it couldn't care less.

"It was the only way to keep her from talking."

"Hmmm." the shadow mumbled, and Ayviss had the impression, once again, that it was evaluating her. It wasn't really comfortable, so she ignored the shadow and opened the door.

x

[Ayviss]

The room was one she had seen a few times before, enough to feel familiar, but still hostile. She hated that room. Ayviss sighed, before sending a glance over her shoulder, making sure that the slave girl had returned to the kitchen. She also didn't hear anything. Hollard was still gone, but she had to hurry.

Making sure not to touch or bump into anything, Ayviss made her way through the room, trying to figure out where the keys could be. They weren't utterly important - keys to the house's rooms. Near the bed, there was a small table, with a drawer. Ayviss approached the furniture, and opened it, carefully and slowly. She doubted Hollard would even think that she had dared to go into his room, specially since he was so sure he had trained her well, but still, she didn't want to leave any kind of clue behind. If he discovered that she had stolen a key, everything she had been doing would be for nothing.

Inside the drawer, a few small books, and letter's envelops. While her curiosity was picked, Ayviss knew she had to control herself. When she was ready to execute her plan, she would have time to read the letters. For now, it was too risky. The half blood looked at the letters one more time, before sighing and closing the drawer, with as much care as she had opened it.

Ayviss sent another look around the room, looking at the huge wardrobe, and then at the table on the opposite side. The table had a long drawer in it, but Ayviss knew, because of the times she had sat on it, writing letters Hollard ordered her to write for him, that the drawer was kept locked. If the keys were there, she was out of luck. However, she had never seen her owner put any kind of keys inside it, so they probably were at the wardrobe, despite it being a quite weird place for it.

She opened the lower drawers, searching below the clothes and socks, but there was nothing there either. She sighed, her frustration beginning to show, but Ayviss closed her eyes for a tick, took a deep breath and raised. She didn't have much time, and to get careless then wouldn't do her any good.

Opening the doors, she began to search among the personal things inside. There was a jar full of coins, and Ayviss had to look away quickly, so she wouldn't feel tempted to take it. Not yet. There were a few other things, but no key either.

Frustrated, she took some steps back, after closing the wardrobe. Ayviss bit her lip, thinking for a while before looking at the top of the furniture. It wasn't so tall that she couldn't reach it, but she couldn't see it either. But maybe…


The half blood reached up, and smiled to herself when she felt her hand touch a metallic object. She took it, smiling even wider when she saw the keys. Now, she only had to find out which one of them was the one to her own bedroom, and return the others before Hollard got back.

She could easily do it.

x

[Ayviss]

Walking to her room, she tested each of the keys, before finally finding the right one. The half blood smiled, separating it from the others, and hiding them below her mattress. It would be a really stupid hiding place, but Hollard never really entered her room, just staying on the door and trying to find something wrong with the place. And lately, he hadn't done even that. Ayviss supposed he was truly beginning to trust her, and she wouldn't complain.

Her heart accelerated when she heard the front door, and fear of failure made her unsure what to do next. However, she needed to act fast, otherwise she would get caught. Running as silently as she could to Hollard's room, she put the remaining keys on the top of the wardrobe again, and exited the room, closing the door carefully behind her. She could see Hollard take his coat off, and the woman took a few steps forward, so it would seem like she was getting out of her own room.

When her owner looked back, his eyes met hers, and Ayviss could feel a slight doubt on them. She only nodded, though, greeting him, and Hollard nodded back, before entering the Kitchen, probably to evaluate the slave's work. Ayviss let her breath out, closing her eyes for a moment so she could calm her racing heart. It had worked, it was all that mattered.

Is that all part of your plan to escape, lass? the shadow murmured to her, and Ayviss looked at it, smiling back.

Why don't you find out for yourself? the half blood asked back, and the shadow grumbled something she could not understand. It didn't matter. Ayviss' smile grew, and she walked towards the living room, ready to do whatever job Hollard would ask of her next. Soon, very soon, she would be free.

x

[Monarch]

Monarch



You have pleased your King!

 

Ayviss

XP

• +1 Negotiation, +1 Intimidation, +2 Planning, +1 Meditation, +1 Stealth, +3 Observation

Lores

• Desire: Be Free At All Costs, Plan: Seduce Hollard and Break Him, Cowing The Easily Cowed, Judged by the Shadows, Keeping a Secret from the Master

Notes

• An excellent submission! I particularly enjoyed Ayviss trying to work out her plan step by step, and how much delicate care was paid to snooping around Hollard's belongings. Keep up the good work!

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