Cervato - Girl On Fire (Part 1 of Cervato's Saga)

The Choice

The letter had come at a time that she was questioning her loyalties. The built up frustrations inside her warring against her love of the Vanguard had caused many outbursts. The additional threat of her own demons was causing paranoia. Nothing was taken in without the filtered lens of suspicion. Staying in one place would only contribute to a quick death and guarantee that her family within the Vanguard would be pulled into the mess.

Lord Drake Griggs. How long had it been since she'd last seen the man? The man was comparable to a small norn with a heart of gold. His baking skills were reknown as she'd tasted many a delectable cupcake from the avid traveler. Briefly, she'd known him in her days with House Zwe, toting a child who'd been abandoned. The wedding to Jane had been exquisite and intimate. They'd briefly passed one another at various social functions, only exchanging common courtesies.

Yet here in her lap was a letter from the man. Asking her to come to his estate. To discuss matters of presumed importance.

It was late as the candlelight flickered on the wick resting upon the end table of the small cottage's couch. Ti'lay was sleeping in her quarters. Her gaze cast over to her own bedroom door that was shut and locked and lingered before she glanced back to the letter. The wool blanket on her lap fell as she rose from the couch to pace about the living room.

Over and over she read the contents of the missive. If one had been watching Cervato, they'd have thought she must be dizzy from how many tours of the living room she made, walking in circles around the couch. Eventually, she paused at the end table where the candle rested and held it barely above the small flame.

She was a soldier first. It would be selfish to abandon everything she had come to know and love with her family in the Ebon Vanguard. The Sergeant had sworn an oath as the Krytan obtained citizenship over a year prior to the last Stronghold of Ascalon. Would she really forgo all of what she had worked so hard to build? The flame barely licked across the bottom of the letter before Cervato rescued it from the impending death.

The woman picked up the candle, carrying it with her to a small desk. Finding a spare quill and ink, she penned a shorthanded reply that would be sent to the Griggs estate the next morning.

She would be selfish.

For she would not risk the lives of those she loved just for the sake of her own.