Heartstone

Lord Azamont

They herded Orloff and the managers to a stone shed at the edge of the camp and locked them all inside. Then they split into teams of two and three, each with their assignment: capture the nobles and collar them.

Brawny Jacque and his daughter Bleu targeted the Tremblée estate. Arwin, Aoi, and the old man, Harl, ran off towards Azamont's chateau. Others made for different noble residences and aimed to track down members of the village council.

Arwin and his team followed his previous route to the wall surrounding the fabulous garden behind Azamont's house. Aoi tore a strip of cloth from the bottom of her lovely dress and used it to gag the talkative wallflower. With great care, they climbed over the wall, then snuck through the flowers and the puns to the back of the building. Wrought-iron trellis climbed part of the white wall, leading to a black, iron balcony on the second floor.

Aoi, serious and focused, whispered to the others. "There will be guards about. We need to try to avoid them, as well as any staff in the house, or risk bringing everyone down on us."

Arwin was impressed by her determination. Something about their little rebellion had struck a fire within her, and it seemed to burn fiercer with each step they took.

Harl flexed his fingers, then curled them into tense fists. He must have been sixty, if a day, but his lean body was hard and strong from years of forced labour. He had a glint in his eyes and a rakish smile to boot. It seemed that he was also keen on overthrowing the system that had abused him for so long.

Aoi took a step towards the back door and then hesitated. She gave Arwin an uncertain look, a little distrust in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Arwin asked.

She brushed a strand of hair back behind her ear. "Why are you doing this?"

"What do you mean?"

She looked quizzically at him. "I mean, I kind of understand liberating the flowers. It was a dare and two cute girls needed cheering up. But then going to all that trouble to free our people in the collars? And now, helping us take out the nobles and radically change our society?"

"I shouldn't?"

Harl interjected. "What she means to say, lad, is that you're a foreigner. You aren't blue like the rest of us. You have no ties to any of us. So why risk your life for people that don't have anything to do with you?"

He paused for thought. It was a fair question. "I don't know. I hadn't really thought about it much. It just...felt natural? Like the right thing to do?" Arwin shrugged. "Wealth and power inequality hurts almost everyone. Bringing down that kind of system sounds like a good cause, something worth doing."

"So, it's just that easy for you?" she asked with a confused shake of the head.

He felt embarrassed. "These guys are evil. They need to be stopped. I won't be someone who stands around letting evil happen. And, honestly, I really hate people like this." He smiled. "It's nice to feel like I can do something about them. So I'm with you."

She bowed her head in respect. When she spoke next, her voice was iron-hard. "I hate them. And I'm going to make them all pay." Her doubts assuaged, they continued the mission.

They tried the back door, but, cracking the stout wooden portal open, they heard voices and the sounds of a busy kitchen.

Instead, they climbed the cast-iron trellis up to the second-story balcony. Harl managed easily enough. Aoi struggled a bit, but even though both men offered to help, she valiantly struggled up on her own, despite the ungainly long skirt and the heels on her feet.