An Understanding
The swordsman and the girl made their way to a rather large building made of stone in the middle of a field of healthy grass. There was a river that stretched behind the building. Daryl slowed Stalwart to examine the place. Mallory's eyes got big with excitement. It was the first time she felt that way in quite a long time.
"What do you suppose this place is?" Daryl asked the girl.
"I don't know," Mallory answered, not taking her eyes off the building. "I never traveled this far."
"Hopefully it's an inn," Daryl remarked, approaching the door and sliding off his horse. He took the fruit basket from Mallory and set it on the ground. He grabbed Mallory under her shoulders to lift her off and set her on the ground next to him. Daryl knocked on the wooden door.
Moments later, an elderly woman with squinted eyes answered the door and jumped backwards upon seeing Daryl, more intimidated by his size than the sword at his side, which she did not seem to notice. "Goodness," the lady gasped, putting her hand on her chest and catching her breath, "apologies, sir! I wasn't expecting you to be so tall, and uh..." She smiled uncomfortably at him, choosing not to finish that sentence, and then looked down at Mallory. Her smile faded to a more worried look. "Oh, you poor thing! You look like you haven't eaten at all!"
"Is this an inn, ma'am?" Daryl asked, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, yes, of course!" the lady confirmed, turning her attention back to Daryl. "My husband and I run this inn. We don't get many visitors because we're all the way out in this field. We mainly seem to attract travelers like yourselves."
"How much for a room for two?" Daryl inquired.
"For a day, it'll be twenty tokens," she answered hesitantly.
"Twenty...?" Mallory whispered, thinking back to the inn that only costed four tokens she used to stay at until she ran out of money. She looked up to Daryl to see his reaction.
Daryl reached into his robe. "Alright," he said, completely unbothered.
Mallory's eyes got wide and she looked ahead of herself into the inn. The inn even had stairs to a second floor. She wondered what the bedding was like. Daryl pulled out a hefty bag of money from his robe and started counting out tokens. Mallory gasped quietly. This man really is rich!
Daryl handed the money to the lady. "Thank you, sir," she responded gratefully, "give me a moment to put these away, please!" She went back inside, leaving the two alone for a moment.
Mallory's gaze went back up to Daryl. "What are we gonna do here?" she asked him.
He glanced down at her. "Resting, what else would we be doing here?"
Mallory looked away.
The lady came back with a gleaming smile. "Alrighty, would you like to settle in?"
Daryl motioned towards his horse. "Is there anywhere I can keep him?"
"Oh, yes," she answered, pointing to the side of the building, "right around the corner, there's a stable. You can lead him in next to Charlie. What's his name, by the way?"
"Stalwart," Daryl answered.
The lady frowned for a split second, still smiling. "Oh, that's lovely, sir..."
"Why don't you show her around?" Daryl mentioned, nodding at Mallory. "Get her settled in for me."
The lady nodded and placed a hand on Mallory's shoulder. "As you wish, sir!" She smiled down on the girl, putting her hand on her back. "Come along, dear, and don't forget your fruit there!"
"Oh, right," Mallory replied, almost forgetting about it after being so caught up in the fact that she would be staying there. She picked up the basket as the lady guided her inside. Even the main room was much bigger than what Mallory had gotten used to all those years ago. There was a long couch off to the right side. In the left corner, there was an open cabinet full of wooden and straw dolls on the top. Towards the bottom, there were several, thick books. The floor felt smooth under her feet.
An old man sat at a desk and looked down at Mallory's dirty, nearly skeletal face. He leaned forward with great concern on his furrowed brow. "What in the world happened to this one?"
"Good question..." the lady responded, a more serious look in her eyes. She knelt down next to Mallory and looked her in the eyes. "What's your name, dear?"
"Mallory," she answered.
The lady put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Mallory, has that man been taking care of you at all?"
Mallory knit her eyebrows, almost confused by the woman's concern. Through her life as a beggar, she had experienced very few acts of kindness, and they were usually just people who ignored her stealing from them. This woman, though, expressed concern about her wellbeing. Mallory shook her head. "No, he hasn't."
The lady looked at the old man, and then back at Mallory. "Has he been hurting you?"
"No...?" Mallory answered.
"You can tell me, dear," she assured, "I'll do everything I can to get you away from him, if I must."
Mallory raised her eyebrows in realization. "Oh, I meant he hasn't been taking care of me because we just met today. I was on my own for a long time, and he decided to take me in. He's not hurting me. I think..." Mallory took a moment to find the right word for how she felt about the swordsman. "I think he's helping me."
"You do?" the lady asked, trying to understand the girl.
The door swung open and Daryl stood before them. Mallory noticed his sword was gone. She guessed that he put it away with the horse. He looked at the lady crouched next to Mallory and cocked an eyebrow. "Something wrong?" he asked.
The lady looked up at him with a start and responded, "Oh, I was just thinking about making her a new dress. This one's awfully filthy and tattered, you know? I can find her a pair of shoes, too." She looked back at Mallory with a smile. "Would you like that?"
Mallory nodded her head eagerly, with a slight smile.
Daryl lightened up a bit upon hearing the woman's offer. "You're very kind, thank you."
"You're welcome, sir," the lady responded. "We have a tub here, I can bathe her, if you don't mind."
Mallory looked up at Daryl with an expectancy in her eyes that told him she really wanted a bath. Daryl nodded in confirmation. "That's fine," Daryl said.
The woman stood upright and grabbed Mallory's hand. She started guiding her farther into the building. "We'll put the basket right in your room, afterwards," she assured.
"Man, look at ya!" the old man said, examining Daryl up and down from his desk. "No wonder Anna here thought you were a—"
"Daniel!" the woman hissed through clenched teeth.
His eyes shifted in her direction, with an awkward grin on his face. "A...body guard!" the old man finished. "I mean, you're so big and strong, like a tower!"
Anna glanced back at Daryl and kept walking. Mallory looked back at him to see his reaction. The swordsman's gaze was downward and a little sad, like he knew what the old man was implying, even though he had corrected himself. Mallory knew that look, one that reminded her of her father: the look of someone who knew he could never fit in.
Nevertheless, the swordsman looked back up and said, "Thank you. I try to stay in shape." Daryl walked in farther, approaching the desk, while Mallory and Anna turned around a corner and out of the main room. The swordsman looked at the old man and noted, "Your wife is very good with children, I see."
"Oh yeah, 'course she is," Daniel agreed. "Had a lot of experience, y'know."
"You have children of your own, then?" Daryl asked.
"Well..." the old man started, a solemn look on his face. "The first two died when they were young..."
"Oh...apologies, sir."
Daniel shook his head. "Turned out fine in the end. Got a strong young man now! We made sure we didn't lose that one."
Daryl nodded. "A good attitude to have, sir."
"And what about you?" the man asked. "Do you have any children?"
Daryl looked away, thinking about whether or not he should answer truthfully.
"Or..." Daniel started noticing Daryl's gaze turned towards the place Anna and Mallory had wandered off, "is the girl your daughter? That'd be kinda surprising. You two don't look anything alike. Then again, you're both colored..."
"She's not," Daryl answered. "I just found her on the street. I decided to take care of her."
Daniel smiled. "Well, that is a good deed, sir. I didn't get your name, by the way."
"It's Daryl," he answered. "If you don't mind, could you show me to our room?"
***
Daryl waited in his room for about an hour before there was a knock on his door. He had been sitting cross legged on his bed, eyes closed and taking deep breaths. Upon hearing the knock, he opened one eye and answered, "Come in."
The door opened, Anna stepping in with a girl Daryl hardly recognized. Mallory's face looked brand new with all the dirt washed away. Her hair had been straightened and pushed back. She wore a woolen, white cotehardie, and she no longer reeked of the outdoors. Daryl could see her brown skin more clearly now, although it was still somewhat pale from lack of nourishment.
Mallory looked around the room with wonder on her face. There was a window on the wall ahead of her. The sunlight lit the room up with warmth. Her eyes were wide as she looked at the size of the bed across from Daryl's that she would be sleeping in. It almost looked big enough to fit two adults, and the sheets were a pure white. The mattress was full and looked comfortable enough for her to sleep in for the rest of her life.
Anna chuckled, looking at Daryl and motioning towards Mallory. "Good as new, wouldn't you agree, sir?"
"She looks much better," Daryl noted, "but we still need to do something about her health." Daryl knew that Anna was not obligated to do much more than give them a room for the day, but after all she had done for Mallory already, Daryl figured she would not mind assisting with sustenance if she could.
As the swordsman expected, Anna nodded and said, "Yes, sir, I'll prepare you both a dinner for two tokens."
A two-token payment was very cheap for dinner, especially at an expensive inn like this one, but Daryl imagined that she was charging him for his share, not Mallory's. Daryl got up and paid his two tokens. "Thank you," he said.
"You're welcome, sir," Anna replied, "I'll get right on it for you!" She looked down at Mallory to smile at her one more time before she left them alone. She walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.
Daryl looked down at the fruit basket Mallory held in her hand. The basket looked as full as it had been since he got it. He was sure that Mallory would have eaten something from it by then. In the instance, though, it was like she had been entranced ever since she laid eyes on the bed.
"Go ahead," Daryl told her, motioning toward the bed.
She looked up at him for confirmation, to which he nodded. Mallory quickly sat on the edge of the bed, bouncing around a little and setting the fruit basket on the floor in front of her.
Daryl pointed at the basket as he went to sit down on his own bed. "Eat," he ordered.
She grabbed an apple and bit down on it quickly, some bits of it dropping from her bottom lip to the floor.
"Slowly," Daryl demanded.
Mallory nodded and continued eating the apple at a slower pace. Daryl watched her patiently the whole time, while she ate the entire, bright red pome, even the core of it. With her last gulp, she looked back at Daryl, wondering what else he would ask of her.
"I want to come to an understanding," Daryl started. "I want to make clear what I expect from you, and what you should expect from me."
Mallory wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and nodded. There was a cold look in Daryl's eyes, making her question what it was he was getting at.
"You're here because you want to find your father," Daryl explained, "so I'll let you know right now that I have no intentions of acting fatherly towards you. Don't expect me to be a stand-in for him, understand?"
Mallory stared at him for a moment, and then looked down and nodded.
"In return," Daryl continued, "once we start your training, I expect you to obey me as your master and address me as master. Any sort of rebellion will be met with consequences. Unpleasant consequences."
Mallory remained silent, a few strands of hair falling towards her face. She pushed it back irritably, since she had gotten used to it being tangled and in the same place all the time.
"I have about twenty-eight days left to introduce you to my boss," Daryl explained. "During this time, I want to get you healthy, because I don't think my leader will take too kindly to me presenting him with a bag of skin and bones. Honestly, I'm hoping we can stay here for the rest of the time. Anna seems to care deeply for you. What do you think?"
Mallory rubbed the bottom end of her new dress. "I like her."
"Good," the swordsman replied. Daryl stared at the girl for a moment, narrowing his eyes. "Do you know how old you are?"
"Twelve," she answered. "I was four when they took my father."
"Twelve..." Daryl repeated, and then asked, "Have you bled yet?"
Mallory raised an eyebrow. "Bled?"
Daryl sighed. "Never mind, then." This is going to be harder than I thought. Daryl shifted his eyes around, and then asked, "What was your relationship with your mother?"
"I barely remember her," the girl answered. "She left my father when I was really little. Daddy told me she left because of him."
"His gambling problem?"
Mallory nodded with a furrowed brow.
"About your father's kidnapping then," Daryl started, "what were the men like? The ones who took your father?"
Mallory jerked her head back a little, not expecting him to ask about that. "They were all big and strong. They wore these yellowish clothes, and they all had the same symbol—"
"Symbol?" Daryl interrupted. "Were they part of a guild?"
Mallory tried to jog her memory, despite how much it hurt to remember. "I remember my father mentioned something about a Hunters' Guild..."
"Hunters' Guild..." Daryl pondered. "I don't know too much about them. Was he taken at that guild's headquarters?"
"No, it was the axe place." Mallory felt somewhat silly for continuing to refer to the place as that.
"Axe place?"
"I mean..." She tried to remember what the place actually was. "It was a place for the Craftsmen's Guild."
"Your father was taken by a guild at another guild's headquarters? How? What were the hunters doing there?"
"They were having these big, gambling games at that place," Mallory explained. "Anybody who paid could get in."
"Still," Daryl continued, "it doesn't make sense why the craftsmen would just allow that sort of thing at their headquarters. Perhaps they're partners...?"
That is when Mallory remembered the one-eyed man's words: "We make such good partners, after all."She balled her hands into fists and clenched her teeth so hard that a vein bulged out of the side of her head. "Eagle Eye..." she hissed.
"What's that?" Daryl asked.
"It was him," Mallory explained, getting angrier by the second. "He's the one who took him. He was partners with the old man who led the Craftsmen's Guild."
"Eagle Eye..." Daryl said under his breath. "What did he want with your father?"
Mallory felt her eyes get misty. "They were gambling in this stupid game. My father would've won so much money if it weren't for Eagle Eye. He wanted the money so badly for us, he bet his own life, and then..." Mallory was fuming at this point, and she yelled, "And then he lost! And now he's their slave!" Mallory panted out a couple of tears.
The hunters and the craftsmen are partners. The head of the Hunters' Guild is a man named Eagle Eye. Her father belongs to the hunters. Alright, this should be enough information to figure out the rest from others.Daryl looked back up at Mallory after digesting the new information. "That's good enough for now. You can stop crying."
Mallory sniffled and wiped the tears from her cheeks. She tried to gather her breath.
Seeing her cry like that, Daryl was reminded of that image: the boy kneeling down, reading that book. He squeezed his eyes shut to push it out of his mind. I can't be warm with her. I can't. Just let her know why you're doing this. Don't get attached."Mallory, listen," Daryl started.
She looked up at him, eyes still watery and slightly pink.
"I chose you to be my apprentice because you remind me of myself from a long time ago," he explained. "My master took me in and trained me, and I intend to do the same with you. I could've chosen one of that merchant's sons, but if I'm being honest with you..." Suddenly, Grace came to his mind, and how overlooked her skills were as a member of the guild. "I'm getting tired of arrogant men making their way into the guild. Not only that, but I know you won't give up, because it's for your father's sake." Daryl's eyes shifted away, as he prepared himself for what he was about to say next. "I had an apprentice before you, and..." He sighed with his eyes closed, and then opened them back with sternness. "Things didn't work out, but listen...." Daryl got up and placed a hand on Mallory's shoulder. "I won't make the same mistakes with you that I did with him. Our connection will be through training and only training. Understand?"
Mallory's neck hurt as she had to stare directly upwards to meet the gaze of the man who stood over her. She nodded with agreement.
Daryl took his hand off of her. "Good." He went back to his bed and sat in a cross-legged position. "This next month may seem like a relief for you but know this: once you're healthy enough to begin your training, it'll be so intense you'll wish you were dead."
Mallory's eyes got big with fear, but once she began to think of her father, she was able to nod back at Daryl. Daryl closed his eyes to meditate, and Mallory reached down into the fruit basket to begin peeling away at an orange. As she began peeling the orange, she took the silence to think to herself. It doesn't matter how hard it'll be. I'll do it for Daddy.
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