Valuable Assests

The Afterparty

Crawic is just as I should find him, hands and feet tied together ad to the ceiling and floor, respectively. His eyes were closed, but I can tell by the way he holds himself that he's well awake.

"Wake up," I say as I step I front of him. Peacefully, he rolls his head backward and opens his eyes, offering a weak but mischievous smile.

His eyes twinkled about his head, closely-shaved beard. "Aline," he says at last, "how've you been?"

"You're ever I bad spirits, are you," I marvel.

The man shakes his head, subtly shrugging as well. The movement accentuates the muscled defined beneath his shirt. It doesn't help that his arms are forced to be raised, lifting the muscles to their fullest form. "Not often, my dear," he sings softly, tired. Albite his weariness, everything about him is positively cheery, making it impossible not to smile back.

I take another deep breath before speaking again. "I've been fine," I answer his question now, "and I've found a home elsewhere. Outside of Les Maîtres, that is."

He raises an eyebrow. "Is that so? Ah, I should have expected it, I suppose. You never were satisfied." His double-edged words hurt, even now. "Alas, I need this river."

I exhale. "As do I. Colonel Crawic, if you go out there and tell you Cavalrymen to stop immediately, we will have no quarrel. However, if you decide to keep fighting for this river-"

"You won't kill me," he interrupts, "so what can you really do?"

I focus on ignoring the fact that his shirt is lifted just a little too high with his arms fully extended upwards, revealing an inch or two of skin. My jaw tightens as I speak. "I could hire someone to kill or even torture you, but that isn't what I'm going to do. I will see your alliance with Les Maîtres destroyed, however."

A small laugh sound from his chest, making its muscles rise and fall along with the hem of his shirt. "Not even you can do that. How would you manage to pull that off?"

I hadn't thought that much through. I'm usually pretty good at coming up with things on the spot, but right now, with these distractions... "Oh, let me take this off for Pete's sake," I say, crossing the space between him and reaching up and untying the ropes, letting his drop his wrists to his sides. He rolls his shoulders to loosen them up. I blush at out proximity and back up again, neutralizing my expression. "I can commit any number of violent acts against their property and leave a sign that leads them to you. They'll trace it back and assume you finally decided to try and take their power."

He merely shrugs. "I can warn you that you'd say you'd do that. I can always find a way to prove it."

I shake my head and smirk. "That's where you're wrong. If they know it's me, they'll order my execution. Just as I can't bring myself to harm you, I know you won't harm me, even indirectly.

An oh-so-tempting smirk crosses Crawic's lips at this. "You would have made an excellent colonel," he says. He's almost offering the position to me again, or so his tone suggests.

My men are out there dying by the hands of yours at this very moment and vice versa," I return to the subject sternly if for no reason than to escape that smirk. "You've a choice to make, and quickly."

"I'll tell them to cease their fighting," he cocks his head to the side. Here comes his mischief. "That is, if you'll come back with us to be lieutenant colonel," he offers.

"You're in no position to make demands," I growl in warning.

He shrugs, unfazed. "I just did, dear."