The Collector and Her Steed

Chapter 22

As the last few streaks of sunlight were snuffed out as the sun dipped behind the mountains, Heisenberg walked out of the factory with Mira on his back. She had her legs wrapped around his hips and her arms loosely wrapped around his neck. He had his hands cupping the underside of her thighs to keep her from falling. Luckily with the fear of whatever lurked in the night, most of the townsfolk were in their homes ready to settle down for the night so Heisenberg didn't have to worry about people gawking at them.

Making their way through town, Heisenberg ducks into the small field of wheat in front of Luiza's house to make sure no one saw them approaching the house. Heading up to the gate, Heisenberg eased Mira off of his back so they could slip through the gate. Helping her up the stairs leading to the front door of the house, Heisenberg kept behind her so she would be the first one that would be seen.

Knocking on the door, Mira called out, "Luiza it's Mira, I wanna talk about something." Stepping away from the door, Heisenberg gently grasps her hips to help keep her steadied. After about a minute the sound of a lock unlatching was heard and the door slid open.

Peeking her head out, Luiza smiled at the sight of Mira. "Oh dear, we've all been worried sick. No one saw you for a week, we all thought something happened to you. Someone said they saw you heading to Heisenberg's factory and all of us suspected something happened with him." The older woman clearly hadn't noticed Heisenberg standing there as the sliver of light from the open door only shone on Mira.

Clearing his throat, Heisenberg chuckled. "Now Luiza, you make me sound like a complete monster." Slightly moving Mira to the side, the side of his face was now in the light, showing off his dazzling smirk.

Luiza's face instantly paled and she stumbled for words. "I-I didn't mean it that way, I just meant that it's very rare when someone returns from visiting with one of the lords. I never truly believed you would bring harm upon her, I had my faith in mother Miranda to protect her." Turning her attention back to Mira to try and end the awkward situation, she continued. "Now, what is it that you wish to talk about? Here, come on in you two. I just set a kettle on for some tea." Stepping aside, she ushered them inside.

The two walked in, Heisenberg helping keep Mira steady as she walked. As Luiza watched the two, a concerned look grew on her face. Leading them through the hallways, she led them to a cozy gathering room. A fire was burning in the fireplace, keeping the last shreds of the night chill of spring at bay. "Please, sit down and make yourselves at home. I'll be right out with some of that tea." Hurrying herself, Luiza exited the room and made her way to the kitchen.

Once Luiza was out of hearing distance, Mira lightly smacked Heisenberg's arm, "You didn't have to scare the poor woman like that, she was only saying what the village was thinking. You lords do have a reputation of making people disappear. Especially Dimitrescu from what I've heard."

"Hey, I don't make people disappear unless they trespass and even then I usually give them a fucking warning Mira. I'm not a complete monster. The super sized bitch uses people as maids until she grows bored of them and turns them into dinner, or her famous wine. The psycho doll just makes people hallucinate until they die from insanity. The moronic freak tries to experiment on people, but he rarely gets a successful lycan from them." Putting on a playful pout, he continued. "I just stay out in my factory, using the corpses the others are done with. I'm completely harmless."

Rolling her eyes, Mira slightly pinched his arm to get him to shut up as Luiza returned with three mugs and a kettle. Setting the mugs down on a table, she poured the tea before setting the kettle down. Motioning for them to sit, she watched as Heisenberg practically carried Mira over to the chair that was offered to her. Once Heisenberg was sat, she sat herself down and looked over the two. "Alright, so what is it that you wanted to speak about Mira?"
"Ah well, I mostly just wanted to stop by and show you that I'm doing fine. I just had an accident when I decided to sneak into the factory so I've been out of commission since the accident. It'll be a while until I'm fully healed and can go back to running the pub, so I wanted to just give you the heads up since I know a lot of people turn to you for information. Heisenberg has been seeing to the healing process himself since he is the reason I was in the factory, but he had nothing to do with the accident itself." Mira glanced at Heisenberg occasionally as she spoke, making sure she didn't accidentally strike a nerve.

Nodding as Mira spoke, Luiza looked between the two. It was very strange seeing Lord Heisenberg taking on an almost caring nature with her, since he was known to be the coldest of the lords and no one had seen him even want another human around. "Well, I'm glad to see that you're doing alright now Mira. Do you mind me asking what the accident was? It seems like it must be absolutely dreadful since you appear to need Lord Heisenberg's assistance with walking."

Looking at Heisenberg, he gave a curt nod to tell her it was okay to talk about the accident. "Ah well, I went into the factory looking for Heisenberg because I needed to speak with him about something. I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking and fell into a machine that drilled through my side. It missed my vitals but did a number to my muscles and flesh. I lost a decent amount of blood so I'm still pretty weak despite the healing process going smoothly so far." Reaching over to the mug placed in front of her spot, she scooped it up and took a sip. "If it wasn't for Heisenberg finding me, I would most definitely not be here having this conversation."

Luiza's eyes widened as Mira spoke about the accident, nearly choking on her tea at the details. Composing herself, she set the mug down. "Well it is very fortunate that Lord Heisenberg found you in time. It would be such a loss to the village to lose such a bright, young soul so quickly."

"Yeah, I'm glad he found me when he did." Looking over at Heisenberg as she sipped her tea, she smiled. "I'm sure this situation will hopefully make the village see him as less of a monster. He may look scary but he's caring on the inside." Giving him a quick wink, she smiled watching him shake his head while trying to contain a chuckle. "We don't want to impose too much on you Luiza, we should be heading out. Besides, I need to stop by the pub to do something before we head back to the factory. It is getting fairly late and I truly don't want to keep you up too long. Thank you so much for your hospitality Luiza, through all of this."

Smiling, Luiza nodded her head and reached out to touch Mira's hand gently. "Of course dear, I know it's hard for villages like ours to open up to newcomers but by now I know everyone has already grown to enjoy you being here. I'm glad you're safe and that despite the accident, you are doing alright." Looking over at Heisenberg, a stern look grew on her face. "Do put up safety precautions at your factory please, I'd rather not see Mira in this state again and it appears that she will be at your factory more often now. I am glad that you've finally found someone that has helped you open up more. It's a pleasure to see you outside of your factory by choice. You appear much happier."

All of them stood up at the same time, Heisenberg lifting Mira to her feet and wrapping a protective arm around her. Luiza led them back to the front door, walking slowly for Mira's sake. They all said their goodbyes respectfully before Mira and Heisenberg headed back out into the dark night.