During my third week at the guild, I finally destroyed two golems with headshots using only my bow skills. Much to my surprise, the next day, I finally disarmed Gretel with a short sword during our sparring session. While she pushed me hard in training, I didn’t receive the petty treatment from her I expected. As a trainer goes, she’s pretty good at helping me get better. Spending hours and hours shooting arrows from various places and angles got me to a point of hitting the mark most of the time. My muscle development went along with that since every morning I woke up in pain. Still, I’m convinced she’s nuts, and I don’t trust her as a partner.

  Eva’s attitude toward me remained frosty, but she still did not intercede against me publicly. It appeared she’s willing to work with me as long as I’m useful. It fits her personality. However, I also realized I needed to keep a working relationship with her. Knowledge and resources made the guild vital to my future as well.

  When I walked out of her office after inquiring about poisons, I overheard the rumors about Hansel’s upcoming challenge. No doubt, he’ll want to duel soon, probably as soon as I’m done with the training. I knew I couldn’t match his rapier skills, so my thoughts centered on methods to overcome his advantage. One idea which gained traction in my mind was based upon movies I remembered from the other world. With some luck, Ruby can help me work on how to implement my ideas.

  In the meantime, all I could do was get stronger physically and increase my proficiency with my weapons. So far, the hard training, along with the amount of quality food I received, helped build my body. Another few months and I might actually have some decent power. Ruby commented on my muscle development during our occasional sexual interludes. Finding an out-of-the-way place to enjoy ourselves without interruptions was difficult. However, Rudy learned from the other women in the guild for the best places for our rendezvous.

  For the present, I focused on training and creating new weapon designs, which I stealthily made on parchment paper I ‘borrowed’ from the guild. Luckily, I found an out of the way spot next to Smithy’s shop where I hide my designs in a hole cut into the wall. Once I got some freedom, I planned to find a couple of competing blacksmiths to complete the parts of weapons, which I would finish into their ultimate form.

  Fortunately, I needed little else from the guild in the way of resources. They supplied me with my one set of clothing, which comprised cotton and linen black trousers and a black tunic. Ruby wore a similar type of outfit. According to the guild master, once we started accepting contract work, we could receive the guild’s distinctive long black cape. The oversized hood and accompanying mask provided anonymity when used. Still, the pressure to finish the training to leave the guild tunnels and get regular pay kept me motivated.

  Ruby found a replacement for Hansel the day after our public confrontation. A man named Iron John, who looked like his name implied, accepted the role as Ruby’s trainer. According to my red-haired lover, John disliked the twins, so it wasn’t hard for her to convince him. Large and rugged, John was nearly the size of Smithy. Plus, the man specialized in combat as a former king’s soldier. His sheer bulk made him unsuitable for most contracts that required stealth. But Iron John happily worked as leader for the guild. His security group wore plate armor, and they all looked imposing when they came through the tunnels.

  A few days after Ruby started working with John, I watched Ruby’s development. She could never copy his style of fighting based on his size and strength. Still, he taught her well. Her skills emphasized stealth, speed and unconventional tactics. From what I saw, Ruby was turning deadly with a short sword and her dagger, which she used in combination. When I left, I promised myself not to get on the wrong side of my partner.

  Several days later, the guild master called for me. When I arrived at her office, she made me stand there for quite a while as she finished the paperwork. It didn’t take a genius to understand she was doing this as a petty retribution for my public support of Ruby. Still, I needed to deal with it to get what I wanted. My previous life taught me all about petty and vengeful people in charge. Corporate shills filled the cubicles inside the offices of the companies I worked for. Plenty of the white-collar jerks enjoyed the sense of power they held over others.

  Petty bitch!

  In all honesty, I heard stories from the other guild members, so I kept my guard up around Eva even as I stood there. Not only was the guild master vindictive, but she remained a powerhouse beyond her magic skills. Pushing her too far would cause me to end up in a world of pain, or worse, so I remained quiet.

  When she finally finished, the door opened behind me, and a short tubby woman entered. Her pleasant smile, with a round face and sharp gray eyes, reminded me of a grandmother. However, there are such things as crazy grandmas which forced me to keep my guard up.

  “This is Rosemary,” Eva said with a nod to the woman.

  I looked over at the grandmother and felt a shiver when the woman’s gaze went from icy to warm in a split second.

  “Her nickname is the Queen of Hearts,” the guild master continued. “She’s an expert at alchemy, especially poisons, so she’ll train you in poisons well as show you the types of plants you’ll encounter. While I doubt you have the brain for it, she might teach you some alchemy as well. A majority of our contracts come from alchemists and others who wish for certain species of plants to make their potions and elixirs. For the rest of your time, you’ll focus on this training along with getting better at fighting. After that, you’ll take a trip to the nearby forest. If you can’t handle her last test, you’ll probably die.”

  Rosemary’s frosty stare turned into a sly grin after glancing at Eva. The action told me to expect another surprise. However, I wasn’t paying attention to that when I nodded to the grandmother type. The complete story of Alice in Wonderland came back to me with the woman’s handle. In the story, the Queen of Hearts always wanted to cut off her enemy’s heads. For some reason, I figured that bit of knowledge might bite me in the future.

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  After we left the guild master’s office, Rosemary led me down a tunnel with an off-limit sign hanging from the rock walls. She talked non-stop about her passion for using various plants to create elixirs, poisons and medicinal potions. Rosemary described some basics about mixing plants, controlling temperature, and using magic scrolls. However, most of what she said was beyond me. Still, the knowledge of alchemy she carried implied she knew everything from curing cancer to creating a poison capable of dropping a griffin in two seconds. While I had a hard time believing in such a creature, she assured me the legendary creature, with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle, exists.

  When I asked how she ended up in the guild, she went quiet for a moment. But we turned into an area filled with tables of flasks and bundles of plants, letting her change the subject back to my training. As we walked down the twenty tables covered in various types and colors of flora, it finally hit me how difficult this next stage would become.

  By the end of the second week learning from the Queen of Hearts, I was ready to back out. My degrees in history and literature were useless when trying to identify plants by various parts of their leaves, stems and flowers. Worse, the enormous book used by my teacher came with a language I couldn’t read. Because of that, I felt like nothing more than a grinding assistant much of the time. I spent a lot of time grinding down the dried plants into dust. Still, the pictures in the book allowed me to identify plants and make up my own notes on their identity and the processes Rosemary used. She remained patient while she explained her steps to create the various elixirs used by the guild. I slowly learned the basic processes and the types of herbs and plants. Fortunately, she didn’t ask about the unfamiliar letters I used in my notes.

  Otherwise, I continued training on the sword and bow shooting, which made the days go quickly. Ruby and I spent our off hours together, and she introduced me to some of her new friends. It appeared our blow up with the guild master put a few people on our side. Ruby saw this as an opportunity. She brought out her charm in full force, which I soon discovered when another couple came over to our table.

  After they introduced themselves, they took a seat at our table. Rampion and Sorrel weren’t identical twins, but they looked alike with matching clothes and shared sad green eyes and a round nose. Rampion, the male, stood a few inches taller than his sister and sported a massive chest and biceps. However, Sorrel had a thin frame with a straight figure and a flat chest.

  “Thank thee. We overheard some rumors and grew curious about you.”

  Sorrel appeared as the leader, and she scrutinized me after she pulled next to Ruby. Her brother remained silent, sitting next to his sister. For me, I remained thankful that the translating spell I purchased from the toy store made my life easier to understand the conversation.

  “I’m sure many things are coming from people who don’t like our attitude,” my reply came as I glanced around the area.

  Knowing smiles appeared on the twin’s faces at the comment.

  “Aye, you and Ruby have made enemies. But I’ve heard you’re building a new weapon. Ruby says you’re a nobleman. Still, you killed a powerful man in the kingdom before coming here.” I caught her glance at her brother. “You have our thanks.”

  My puzzled expression looked the same as Ruby’s.

  “I don’t understand the reason for the gratitude.”

  “Gilbert the Bastard was the man who kidnapped our mother, Rapunzel.”

  Her statement made me choke on the mead I was drinking. After I finally recovered, I apologized. Later, I learned the reason behind their hatred of Gilbert. Their story also told me that another fairy tale didn’t match my original world. I knew the tale of Rapunzel stuck in a tower with her long blond hair, which allowed the prince to climb into the tower.

  According to the tale I knew, the prince married Rapunzel, and they had unnamed twins while living happily ever after. Apparently, the reality inside this world was that Rapunzel found herself in the same situation as Ruby. kidnapped her off the streets. The bastard held on to Rapunzel in the second story of his house until she was pregnant. Since the twins’ mother was so beautiful, Gilbert liked to have her sit on the balcony facing the street for everyone to see her. Eventually, when she became pregnant, he released her. She and the twins never knew a happily ever-after life.

  “That’s tough. I understand why you thanked me,” I said. “You have my sympathy, since no one bothered to kill him earlier. However, I’m curious why you came to the guild.”

  “It’s complicated,” Rampion declared in his deep voice.

  Sorrell reached over and patted him on the arm. The man looked ashamed at his sudden outburst.

  “Let’s just say we needed to hide from Gilbert,” she said with a sigh. “However, I’m not so sure now. You’ve taken our place as enemies of his family.”

  Understanding the deeper meaning, I rolled my eyes at her words. Even I understood they carried a blood relation with one of Glennot’s noble houses. While birth from a commoner woman didn’t guarantee a claim to the dead man’s estate, it would throw a monkey wrench into the other heirs. Worse, there were other bastard children out there.

  “I’m not sure of the law here, but it appears an enterprising noble might sponsor Gilbert’s bastard children to claim inheritance. At least to get some money out of it.”

  I glanced over at Ruby, who appeared confused at the idea. In her mind, the strict separation between commoner and noble always remained. Sorrell grinned at me.

  “I see you have some larceny in your, Covan. Those were my thoughts as well.” Her expression faded.

  “However, we’re now attached to the guild. Worse, we have no ties to a rival noble house.”

  With several taps of my fingers, I considered the problem.

  “From what I’ve heard, wealthy merchants might benefit you to make such a connection. Perhaps that’s something we can work on together. Ruby and I are looking for partners to join us in our coming venture. We should keep in touch with each other about the future. We have some ideas which should do us well. If you and your brother become part of our team, you might create those connections you seek. There’s no guarantee, of course.”

  “Partners with someone you’ve just met. That seems a strange offer,” she replied in genuine surprise. “How can you trust us?”

  “I trust Ruby’s judgement,” I told them with a shrug.

  My partner’s face turned red with embarrassment, but my comment wasn’t just for show. Ruby had a knack for picking out good people. I’d be stupid not to use her ability to help me survive in this place. Plus, we needed the support of others within the guild.

  ‘One step at a time’, I told myself.

  While nothing more came out of our conversation, when we finished, I believed we could eventually find the twins a supporter for us. Since Ruby was my only friend, I will welcome others if we found them trustworthy.