Kingdom Reboot: Rise Of The Conquest System

Chapter 12: Fire And Freedom II

Only Mother Coin's betrayal had changed that plan.

Now Gareth was dead. And these fairies were still suffering and trapped.

Maybe he couldn't undo his selfishness. But he could try to be better now.

"Yes," Aurelius said quietly. "I should have done this from the start."

He unlocked the first cage. A fairy with butterfly-patterned wings that glowed soft pink stepped out carefully, then immediately pressed herself against the far wall. The moment she was clear of the iron bars, her wings folded into her back and disappeared completely.

She stared at Aurelius with wide, frightened eyes. Like she expected him to grab her now that she was free.

"Go," he said quietly. "You're free."

She didn't move. Just stood there shaking.

"It's okay," Sir Roland said gently. "We're not going to hurt you."

The fairy looked between them, still terrified. Finally she whispered something in a language none of them understood and hurried toward the door on trembling legs.

The second cage held a fairy whose wings had been deep purple with flower patterns. When freed, she also backed away immediately, wings retracting into her body. She watched Aurelius like he might change his mind about letting her go.

"You can leave," he told her. "No one will stop you."

She hesitated for a long moment. Then she stepped forward and touched his hand briefly. Her skin was warm.

"Thank you," she whispered in accented Common language. Then she also hurried for the door.

One by one, he freed them all. Each one stepped out cautiously, wings disappearing immediately. Most backed away from him at first, not trusting this sudden kindness. A few whispered thanks before they left. Others just stared at him like they couldn't believe he was real. They all left afterwards though, into the night and trying their luck.

But the silver-winged fairy stayed.

When her cage opened, she stepped out slowly on shaking legs. Her gossamer wings shimmered for just a moment before folding into her back and vanishing. Without them, she looked like a young woman with golden hair and perfect skin, but fragile looking.

She wore only thin strips of silk that barely covered her full breasts and curved hips. Every line of her body was designed to entrance, from the graceful arch of her neck to the long sweep of her legs.

But it was her eyes that held him. Large and frightened, filled with pain but also something that might have been hope. When she looked at him, she flinched slightly like she expected to be hit.

Unlike the others, she didn't back away. Instead, she stared at him with those wide eyes. She'd watched the whole fight. Seen how the other humans treated her and the other fairies. Seen how they talked about buying and selling them like cattle.

But this one had fought them. This one had killed the people who hurt her.

To her, he wasn't like the rest. He was different. Maybe dangerous, but dangerous to the people who had always hurt her.

"Thank you," she whispered. Her voice was barely audible, like silver bells heard from very far away. She didn't meet his eyes when she spoke.

"You should go," Aurelius said gently. "It's not safe here."

"I..." she started, then stopped. Her hands twisted nervously in front of her. "I don't know where to go. I've never... I mean, I was born in a place like this. They sold me when I was little and I've been... been..."

She couldn't finish the sentence. Tears filled her eyes.

"Please," she whispered, still not looking at him. "Can I... could I maybe stay with you? You're not like them. You're not like the others who hurt us."

She glanced up at him for just a second before looking down again. "I'm Lyanna."

She was young. Maybe twenty years old at most. And terrified of everything around her.

Blue words appeared in his vision.

[COMPANION ACQUIRED: LYANNA MOONWHISPER]

[SPECIES: FAIRY (TRAUMATIZED)]

[MAGICAL ABILITIES: UNKNOWN (SUPPRESSED BY TRAUMA)]

[LOYALTY: ABSOLUTE (RESCUE BOND)]

"Stay close," he told her finally. "And try not to get hurt."

Relief flooded her face. She smiled and it was like watching sunlight break through clouds. But she still wouldn't look directly at him.

"Thank you," she whispered again. "I'll try to be useful. I promise."

The words hit Aurelius like a punch to the gut. She was thanking him for basic human decency. Promising to be useful so he wouldn't abandon her.

What kind of life had she lived that freedom felt like a debt to repay?

He thought about walking into this place. Seeing the cages. Hearing Mother Coin talk about buying and selling thinking creatures like cattle. And he'd been ready to make a deal anyway. Ready to ignore their suffering for his own survival.

It was only Mother Coin's betrayal that had changed his mind. If she'd honored the agreement, he would have walked out and left them all here. Left Lyanna in her cage to be used by rich men who saw her as entertainment.

Sir Gareth had died believing Aurelius was worth following and worth dying for. But what kind of man was he really?

The guilt felt like acid in his chest. Another failure to add to the growing list. Another moment when he'd chosen survival over honor and had to be forced into doing the right thing.

Maybe that's why he was helping her now. Not because he was good, but because he needed to prove he could be. Needed to save someone after failing to save Gareth.

They gathered what they could. Sir Edmund found Mother Coin's strongbox hidden behind the wine storage. It was heavy with gold coins - more money than they'd seen since becoming fugitives.

"Sweet gods," Sir William breathed, looking at the pile of golden dragons. "There must be five hundred pieces here."

Sir Thomas collected enchanted weapons from the dead guards. Blessed sabers, lightning whips, and hammers that exploded on impact. Finally they had gear that could match their enemies.

Sir Roland found healing potions in the establishment's stores. Bottles of red liquid that would mend wounds and restore strength. They'd need every advantage they could get.

Aurelius picked up a map that had fallen from the magician's robes. It showed safe houses and criminal routes throughout the city. Information that could save their lives.

"This way," Seraphina said, leading them toward a different exit. "Service entrance. Less obvious than the front door."

Lyanna stayed close to Aurelius as they moved. She wrapped her arms around herself and kept her head down. Several of his knights looked at her with protective instincts, seeing how young and scared she was.

"Easy, lass," Sir Garrett said gently when she flinched at a sudden noise. "You're safe now."

She nodded but didn't speak. Just stayed close to Aurelius like he was the only solid thing in a world that had always hurt her.

They slipped out through the service entrance just as palace guards surrounded the front of the building. Torch light flickered on armor and weapons as Victor's forces prepared to assault an empty building.

"Why was it so easy?" Sir Roland asked as they hurried through dark alleys. "That place should have had better defenses with all the valuables we took."

Seraphina glanced back at the entertainment house. "Criminal establishments rely on their networks for protection. Nobody attacks them because it brings down heat on everyone."

"But we're already outlaws," Sir Edmund realized. "We don't have anything to lose."

"Exactly," Seraphina said. "That's why Mother Coin was trying to use you against her rivals instead of handling it herself. She wanted the violence but not the blame."

"And now?" Sir William asked.

"Now every criminal in the city knows we're not bound by their rules," she replied grimly. "That makes us very dangerous. And very hunted."

Behind them, shouts erupted from the entertainment house as palace guards found the bodies. They'd discover the escape routes soon enough.

"Where do we go?" Sir Thomas asked. His shoulder wound had stopped bleeding but he looked pale.

Aurelius studied the stolen map by moonlight. Criminal safe houses dotted the city like a spider web. But they'd burned their bridge with Mother Coin's network.

"Here," he said, pointing to a mark near the city walls. "Abandoned warehouse in the dock district. Far enough from criminal territory to be neutral."

They moved through shadows and back alleys, avoiding the main streets where patrol guards walked their routes. Lyanna stayed so close to Aurelius that she almost stepped on his heels. Every sound made her jump.

"I'm sorry," she whispered when she stumbled into him for the third time. "I'm not used to... to being outside."

"It's fine," he said quietly. "Just stay close."

"My lord," she said hesitantly. "What you did back there... walking through fire like that... are you...?"

She didn't finish the question. Probably didn't know how to ask if he was human.

"I don't know," he said honestly. "Something changed in me. I'm not sure what."

She nodded like that made sense to her. In her world, strange things probably happened all the time.

They reached the warehouse as dawn light began to creep over the eastern walls. The building was old and partially collapsed, but it had four walls and a roof. More importantly, it was empty.

Sir Garrett posted guards while the others settled in among the broken crates and moldy sacks. Everyone was exhausted from the night's violence.

Lyanna found a corner where she could sit with her back to the wall. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Even in the dim light, she was beautiful enough to steal breath, but she looked so small and frightened.

"We have gold now," Sir Edmund said, counting coins from the strongbox. "And proper weapons. Maybe we can actually make it out of the kingdom."

"What about Sir Gareth?" Sir James asked quietly. He was the youngest, barely old enough to understand what they'd lost.

The question hung in the air like smoke. They'd left their brother's body in that terrible place. Left him among criminals and murderers.

"He died for honor," Sir Garrett said finally. "That's how he'd want to be remembered."

Aurelius closed his eyes and tried not to think about Gareth's last words. *It was an honor.* The quiet knight had died believing in him. Believing he was worth dying for.

The corruption point pulsed in his mind like a wound that wouldn't heal. One point out of a hundred. Ninety-nine more failures until he became something that couldn't mourn the dead.

But sitting in that broken warehouse, surrounded by loyal men and their rescued fairy, he felt something he hadn't experienced since the king's death.

Hope.

They had weapons now. And gold. And maybe Lyanna's magic could help them once she recovered from her trauma.

Maybe they could actually win this war. Maybe they could make Victor pay for what he'd done.

And if the price was his humanity... well, maybe that was a cost worth paying.

Outside, the city began to wake. Palace guards would be searching every building, questioning every witness. Victor's net was closing around them.

But they weren't helpless anymore. They had power and purpose and each other.

That would have to be enough.