Rue woke up. Her heart racing, nearly falling out of her bed and clutching at her chest. The dream was so vivid, and she was having it more often. The purple eyes. Cold. The pain. It had been three months ago, and all the cuts and bruises were now only a few small scars. She traces over a few with her index finger. Slowly gliding its way across her abdomen and the parts of her wrist where they remained. None of the scars exceeded an inch in length, but still, they were a reminder—a reminder of her freedom from the life she almost had.

  Rue and the other two women who were with her, beylan. Half-human, half-monster creatures. Each woman had been captured and brought to the city for sale for one reason or another. Rue is a twenty-year-old young woman with auburn hair and green eyes. She has fox ears and a fox tail. Her family was the distant descendants of some fox spirit. The name of which was lost to the annals of time.

  The only survivor of the incident was Tara, one of the other beylans. Tara was a harpy with a feathered head rather than hair and two long arms that were also wings. Both of them had survived the attack. They were found by a knight working for a nearby minor lord. He had come because of the loudness of whatever magic that sage had used. They had both been lucky to not only escape slavery but also to be found by a knight and a noble who were both somewhat more tolerant towards Beylan. They had both been granted sanctuary and jobs as maids for the noble. Not something that Rue would expect of a human.

  Rue dressed herself quickly and began her chores for the day. However, she was not fond of the work. This was the most stable route for her. Fetskogan was a country that was not so friendly to “beastfolk” or “spirits.” A land of humans and superstition. Rue and Tara had been lucky that the local patron of the town nearby was of a much more open mind. Their story would not have ended so well if they had been closer to the capital. So here she will remain for the time being. Safe. Free to some extent.

  Rue’s thoughts return to the image still burned into her head—those purple eyes. The knight had told her not to talk about it to anybody, especially not the nobleman. To the humans, sages with purple eyes were a bad omen. They had turned to the way of the witch or something. Rue had wanted to learn more about it, but it was clear that people don’t like talking about it. They barely even tolerated having a conversation with a baylen.

  Rue made her way through cleaning the lord’s manor and making quick but unthorough progress. She was not that great at cleaning. That was more of a skill Tara was good at, but the lord didn’t seem to notice as long as the work was done. His name was Lord Halnket. He was older, maybe in his late forties or early fifties. Rue was not sure. He was a short, plump man with a bald head and a wispy grey beard that he was a little too proud of. He would often stroke it as if in thought. He was a jovial and gregarious man who enjoyed the company of others, but Rue had noticed he was somewhat vain. A proud man, he was primarily self-made. At least, that’s what she had heard from rumors and gossip. Having been the son of a lord and having been born with his title, he had lost his original land and had only recently bought or received this current property within the last decade.

  Lord Halnket has been tense lately. From what Rue has heard, he was in the middle of the works of some treaty with Faruun. The country of the elven. It supposedly involved an alliance through marriage between the lord and one of the elven vismaer. The title for a daughter of a high noble. It was probably one of the reasons the lord was so eager to welcome in some beylan. A show of good faith towards non-human people. This all seems to eat away at the attention and time of the lord and his advisors, allowing Rue to slack off and venture to the edges of the manor.

  After Rue had done her light passover for the day, she snuck out towards the edge of the property. The manor was located in the center of the small town of Tausse. There was a stone wall around the edge of the property that was about ten feet tall and five feet thick. There was a tree near the wall of the southern side of the manor under which Rue liked to take naps. It had a small creek that ran by it. Sometimes, Rue would dip her feet in the cool water.

  As Rue made her way to the spot, she noticed something odd. Where the small creek passed through the wall, the wall became more of a grate than a thick stone wall, and through the grate, Rue could see a boy looking at the property. Pins pricked at the back of Rue’s neck, her tail stiffened. Rue made her way to the grate. Doing her best not to be noticed. The boy ducked out of sight as she approached. She hadn’t gotten a good look at him, but he was fragile and as pale as snow. Honestly, he didn’t seem like a real threat, but what was he doing?

  “Who goes there?” Rue asks, scrunching her face in embarrassment as she says. Who goes there? What is she, some guard on post? Rue’s ears twitch. She can hear the boy breathing. It is quiet but not calm enough to evade her. She crouches down and tries to look at him through the grate, but he is just out of sight.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “I know you’re still there.” She says, leaning down even further. “C’mon, what’s your name?” The boy moves, walking towards the grate where he crouches down. Rue still can’t see his face, but she can see the dirty white tunic he is wearing. She also noticed the ragged brown pants and that he was barefoot. Her heart sinks slightly. This boy probably didn’t have any bad intentions. He was probably just envious of the wealthy estate.

  “I’m Joceryn.” The boy replies. His voice is smooth and slightly deeper than Rue had expected. He probably wasn’t a young boy; he was a young man. If she had to guess he was eighteen or nineteen, he was short, so she assumed he was younger. Joceryn. What a peculiar name. Rue thought to herself.

  “Nice to meet you Joceryn. I’m Rue.” She replied with a sweeter tone, feeling slightly bad for being aggressive towards him. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m just admiring the view.” He tells her, “The maple tree is lovely, especially at this time of day.” Maple tree? Is that the tree I like to sleep under? She thinks to herself, looking back at the tree.

  “Do you come here often?” Rue asks curiously.

  “Sometimes.” He says to her. “There are a lot of great views in Tausse.” He pauses momentarily before saying, “You’re a bit odd-looking. Where are you from?”

  Rue’s ears flatten against her head. She clenches her teeth. She doesn’t know why that got her, but it was annoying. “I am from Dwallia,” Rue replies shortly.

  “Dwallia? That’s quite a long way south of here.” He replies with a distant tone as if lost in thought.

  “So what if it is?” Rue replies aggressively.

  “Why’d you come all the way up here? There isn’t much in Tausse.” Rue is caught slightly off guard by this. She thinks of how to respond.

  “It wasn’t my choice.” She says eventually.

  “Oh… so why are you in Tausse?”

  “That’s none of your business,” Rue tells him shortly.

  “Oh, all right then,” Joceryn replies innocently. There is a moment of silence that passes between them. Joceryn asks, “Do you come here often?”

  “To the grate?” She asks, confused.

  “More like, do you often come to this part of the property?”

  “I guess,” Rue replies, unsure why he is asking.

  “Well, maybe next time I come here, you will also be here, and we could talk some more,” he says to her. Why would he want that? Rue wonders. He’s a strange man.

  “Maybe.” Rue replies, “We’ll see.”

  “All right, see you around,” Joceryn says before getting up and leaving.

  Rue stands up. How strange. She thinks to herself. I should tell someone about this.

  Rue makes her way to the castle. She is not sure who she should tell. Though the lord was friendly, they were not on good enough terms to speak to each other like this, but she needed someone with some authority. Walking down the halls, she spots Sir Jyeong, the knight who had come across her and Tara after the incident.

  “Sir Jyeong,” Rue calls out. The knight turns to her.

  “What is it, Ms. Rue?” he asks, stepping towards her. He is a tall, muscular man with ginger hair, a short, well-maintained beard, and blue eyes. His cheekbones are well-defined, and his face is quite gaunt. He has a very striking appearance. He has a calm and relaxed demeanor. He is not someone quick to anger and is quite reserved and disciplined.

  “There was this man by the grate for the creek at the southern wall,” Rue tells him. “He was looking into the property. I am unsure what he was doing, but it was suspicious.”

  “That’s a bit concerning,” Jyeong says, scratching his beard and thinking. “Did you get a good look at him? Any discernible features?”

  “No. I didn’t really get a good look at him. He stayed out of view.” Rue replies, “He wore worn-out clothes. Pretty raggedy.”

  Jyeong things for a moment. “Maybe it’s not that big of a deal. Probably just some urchin from town envious of people of higher status.”

  “That’s what I was thinking as well.”

  “Did he say anything concerning? Any personal information?” Jyeong asks, “I’m not that concerned, but it would be nice to put my mind completely at ease.”

  “Hmm.” Rue thinks for a moment before saying. “He didn’t reveal much. All I think I learned was that his name is Joceryn.” At the mention of Joceryn’s name, the color seemed to drain from Jyeong’s face. His eyes grew wide.

  “Did you say Joceryn?” He asks, “That’s quite the unique name. You’re sure he said Joceryn.”

  “I’m pretty sure,” Rue replies uneasily. Why? Is there an important Joceryn I should look out for?” she asks. Jyeong quickly composes himself, but his stare is distant and in thought.

  “No, there’s nothing to worry about. Leave it all to me.”

  “Are you sure?” Rue asks, “’Cause it doesn’t sound like nothing.” She says suspiciously.

  “Yes, it’s fine.” He tells her, “Just don’t bring up that name, especially around Lord Halnket.”

  “Wh-”

  “Drop it, Rue. I’m serious.” Jyeong interrupts. “Lord Halnket has had problems with a ‘Joceryn’ in the past. We don’t need him worrying about this right now. He has bigger problems to deal with.” He says sternly. He turns and walks away briskly. Muttering something under his breath.

  No way this Joceryn she had just met has caused a problem for Lord Halnket. He is so young. They must be thinking of a different Joceryn… right? It was a peculiar name, but there was no way that the man she had just met could have honestly caused Halknet such a problem in the past. Curiosity bit at her mind. She had to know more. Why was Jyeong being so secretive about this? Why could she talk to people about it? Rue was sick of being left in the dark because humans didn’t want to explain their logic.

  Rue’s mind keeps returning to the strange man and Jyeong’s strange reaction to him as she roams the halls pretending to do her work. What could he have possibly done to make the composed Jyeong freak out?