CH 165: A Knight and her Master

Hannah leaned against the door. The giant woman was deep in thought about her last two weeks. The soreness of her legs from riding nonstop on horseback from their fief. She was thankful for the fact that their territory neighbored this one and Restol was close to their capital.

She took a deep breath, hearing someone approaching her. She looked up to see their hostess approach, accompanied by two identical young women. Hannah assumed it was her daughters since they were twins.

“Hello,” Jess said, bowing slightly. Her daughters followed her lead, revealing a fourth figure behind them.

Hannah flinched upon seeing the woman. She assumed the fourth to be Jasmine. She cleared her throat and focused on Jess. “Hello.”

“My apologies,” Jess said with a warm smile. ”Miss Hannah, we’ll be moving quite a few guests through this area. There will be a lot of noise.”

“That’s fine,” Hannah said as she watched Jess’s daughters move past her. “I’ll stay out of your way.”

“Thank you, but…” Jess hesitantly said. Her warm smile faltered for a moment before she continued. “I do have a request for your master.”

Hannah’s eyes moved from the twins to Jasmine, remembering what Alice said about her. Even Alice’s untrained eye could tell Jasmine was a formidable adventurer. “You must be Jasmine.”

There was a cold professionalism to Hannah’s voice. Jasmine had studied the tanned woman, the multiple scars on her exposed skin. She could tell the woman was very experienced.

“I am,” Jasmine confirmed. She turned to Jess and whispered. “Take care of the boys, I can handle it from here.” Jess nodded. “Thank you. And again, sorry for the noise, Miss Hannah. It seems my daughters helped rescue over 20 boys from captivity.”

Hannah straightened up upon hearing that. She, like many in her Lady’s court, was very passionate about the plight of men. She looked at Jasmine with a bit of shock. A bit of her professionalism faltering, “Really? From who?”

“Band of traffickers. Near our eastern border.” Jasmine said, approaching the woman. “I’d rather explain it to both you and your master. Is it okay if we talk inside?”

Hannah swallowed hard. She was unsettled by the fact that Jasmine didn’t make a noise as she approached her. No creaking or even a scuff of her boot. But Alice trusted her, trusted the fact that she hadn’t reacted to Toni’s blessing.

Hannah hesitantly nodded. She had orders from Alice to let Jasmine mediate, as the other member she spoke to clearly reacted. “Fine. I’d say leave your weapons here, but we have kids passing by.”

“I assure you I left my equipment in the carriage,” Jasmine said with a smile. Hannah doubted that, but trusted in Alice.

She opened the door, cracking it open to check on her master. He was sitting on his bed, staring at the floor.

“Hannah?”

His voice called out to her. Hannah finally smiled, and she opened the door more to speak to him. “There’s a woman here who wants to speak to you. Her name’s Jasmine.”

Her master perked up and got to his feet. His eyes widened, and he rushed over to her. “Jasmine? Really? So they’re back?”

Hannah nodded. She was hesitant to race off to a random village in the middle of nowhere, but it seems that Goddess could be useful. “Yup, seems we had perfect timing.”

“I knew it!” Toni said with a smile. “It was worth riding into the night.”

Hannah opened the door for the woman, keeping an eye on her just in case. Jasmine entered the room, nodding to the knight. “Hello Toni, it’s surprising to see you.”

“Jasmine! Can I call you Jaz?” Toni asked, grabbing at her hands. “Lily called you that, and I really liked it!”

Jasmine nodded. She let him grab her hands and gave him a warm smile. “Yes, that is fine.”

Hannah closed the door behind them. She could hear Jess and the kids beginning to ascend the stairs. “You should be resting, Toni. The ride here was rough on you.”

“I told you that I’m fine,” Toni said, but his expression betrayed him as he winced in pain.

“Sit,” Jasmine said warmly. “We have a lot to discuss, it seems.”

She guided the man to his bed before pulling a chair beside it. She offered another chair to the knight, who declined. She took a deep breath before speaking again.

“Do you want me to go first, or do you want to go first?” She asked Toni.

The man took a moment to think. He really wanted to speak about his findings at their Lady’s estate. He let his excitement die down, seeing the seriousness in Jasmine’s voice.

“I-I think it’s best if I go first,” Toni said hesitantly. “You seem to have quite a bit on your shoulders. My news may help…”

Jasmine tilted her head. “Sure. I do have a lot of questions to ask.”

Toni nodded his head. He took a deep breath and started with the heaviest news. “I found Ryley.”

Jasmine nearly stood upon hearing that. She was shocked to hear that name. Hannah moved to intercept her, thinking she was attacking. Toni waved her away as Jasmine calmed down.

“H-how do you know that name?” Jasmine said, her voice trembling. She let her emotions take over, but she began to calm her breath.

“I met him,” Toni explained. He took a deep breath before getting into his story. “We played at your Lady’s estate. He’s a butler there…”

Jasmine sank back into her chair as Toni continued his story. He told the assassin the whole story of their Lady. How Toni met Ryley and how he had been treated. Jasmine’s blood was boiling by the end of it.

“That’s why I’m here,” Toni finally ended his story. “I-I want to join you. To help in any way possible to free him…”

Jasmine stood up and walked to the window, seeing the church in the distance. She took a moment to think about how Claire would react to this news. Also, she’ll have to explain her party’s uniqueness to the man and his retainer.

She let out a long sigh. “If you wish to join us, then I have something to explain…”

“I know about your Goddess,” Toni said. “How she empowers your classes. Anka told me!”

“Did she tell you about Claire’s gift?” Jasmine asked. The excitement in the man’s eyes faltered for a moment.

“Gift? You mean Her power?” He asked, tilting his head.

“Not exactly,” Jasmine shook her head and looked to the knight. She took a moment to think before just saying it. “Claire’s Goddess is the Goddess of Virility. She blessed Claire with a male appendage. And she blessed us with the same gift.”

Hannah’s expression faltered. Her mouth fell open with shock, mirroring her master’s. The two were doing their best to comprehend what the woman said as Jasmine continued.

“Joining us isn’t that simple,” Jasmine said, studying the muscular woman. She’d be an asset to their party, a more stable frontline to support Claire. “If your knight joins us, she’d be given the same gift. But for you… I’m not even sure.”

“Wh-what do you mean?” Toni asked as Hannah sat beside him. She was still struggling with what the assassin had said.

Jasmine shrugged. “We have no idea what our Goddess’s gift would do to a man. Could have no effect, or you could gain female genitalia… we just aren’t sure.”

Toni gulped. “A-Anka didn’t explain that…”

Hannah looked at Toni. She promised his mother to protect him, but she wasn’t prepared for this. She didn’t know if she was ready for this. All she knew is she’d follow her master’s orders.

“That’s not all,” Jasmine said, causing them both to stare at her. “We have an unconventional relationship as a party. Claire recruited us both as a party… and as lovers. The same would be expected of you two.” Both of them gulped. The knight was so caught off guard by this. Her stoic expression finally broke. She glanced at Toni, who was heavily considering it, judging by his expression.

“Um, I-I don’t know,” Toni mumbled. He wanted to save himself for Ryley, but he needed to join Claire. “The lovers part is…”

“A lot,” Jasmine finished for him. “I know. It’s a hefty decision with no clear cure or turning back.”

“That and…” Toni hesitated, lowering his voice.

Hannah broke into a smile, remembering her master’s crush. She exhaled slowly and stood to meet Jasmine. “My master’s heart is already spoken for. Funny, since it’s your lover’s brother.”

Jasmine blinked. She looked at the sheepish man and scoffed. “Of course it is.”

Hannah was the first to laugh, quickly followed by Jasmine. The tension finally broke between the two.

“Gods,” Jasmine said, recovering. “I think that’ll be fine, Toni. Seeing as the twins… well, that’s another thing you’d have to get used to.”