No Such Thing as Good and Evil

Shade slowly opened his eyes and put his hand in front of his face to block out the sun. He turned his head back and forth and finds he was lying in tall grass on the side of some dirt road. He slowly sat up, stretched his arms out, yawned and brushed grass and dirt off of himself. “Where am I…how did I get here?”

“The carriage dropped us here.” A soft voice said from behind him.

He jumped to his feet and turned around, drawing his black and red daggers from the inside of his robes. He hadn’t sensed anything or anyone around him. A young fairy girl was kneeling in the grass behind where he had been sleeping. “Who are you? And why were you sitting behind me?” he said in a panic.

“I am Faylen, your slave, do you not remember?” The girl replied coldly looking up at him, completely emotionless.

“My slave?” He said confused, putting his hands in his face as some memories from the previous night started to come back to him. “Ugh, I have to stop drinking so much.” He mumbled, then paused for a second, eyes going wide. “Oh god, how much did you cost me?” he said worriedly, looking down at her concerned for how much money his drunk self-had spent.

“One coin.” She replied softly.

“One coin? Were you on discount or something? Going out of business sale?” he replied sarcastically. She didn't answer, and he sighed and sheathed his daggers. He stood there considering what to do as he has never had a slave before, nor has he even considered buying one. He has no need for one and doesn’t particularly care for the whole slavery thing to begin with. He paced back and forth trying to remember why he had bought her, but nothing’s came to mind. He remembered buying her, the hotel, Greg, but not the reason. He looked down at her again. “Come on then, stand up, let me get a good look at you.”

“Yes, master.” She replied, slowly standing up and getting to her feet.

He slowly looked her up and down. “Are you wearing…window drapes?” He said confused, staring at the bright purple’s drapes wrapped around her.

“Yes, you gave them to me.” She replied coldly again.

He sighed louder than before and looked around annoyed. “Of course I did. Well, take them off, let me get a good look at what one coin gets you these days.”

She took off the drapes revealing what was underneath and he looked her over once again. A fairy, blonde hair, perfect hourglass body and well-endowed both top and bottom, with brown, dead eyes and only a small cloth covering both her breasts and waist. “One coin?” he said confused while looking her over, walking around her and staring at every part of her like she was a piece of furniture in a show room. Why was she only one coin? he thought to himself. A girl like this would go for 100s usually, if not more. And why did I buy her? Was I horny? Is that why I bought her, for sex? He then began to panic. Oh god, if she was at a slave auction, how old is this girl? A girl with her…features must be older, but fairies do age differently than normal people. “So…Faylen, uhm how old are you?” he asked nervously.

“I’m not sure.” She responded.

“Well, if you had to guess?”

“20, maybe.”

He sighed in relief. Well, I might be a slaver now, but at least I’m not a pedophile. Also, might answer why she was so cheap. Most female slaves are bought young, usually around 12 or 13 so that their ‘owners’ can have them before anyone else does. Older slaves don’t sell as well as they are considered used goods. Though even still, a girl like her, with her looks? One coin? He pondered to himself. “After I bought you, what happened? Did we do anything?” he asked.

“Do anything?” she said staring at him with her dead brown eyes.

“Oh, come on.” He replied annoyed. “You know what I mean. I’m sure a slave with a body like yours has received lots of training in it. Sex, did we have sex?”

“No.” she replied coldly.

He rubbed the top of his head even more confused now. No? So, was I not horny then? Why did I buy her? “Ok then, tell me everything that happened after I bought you.”

She paused for a beat before answering. “You punched out a window and gave me those to wear.” Pointing to the purple drapes now lying in the grass. He looked down at them shaking his head in disapproval toward his drunken self. “Then you got a carriage and asked for them to take you back to your home, though you seemed to not know where it was. While traveling in the carriage, you began throwing up everywhere. The man driving the carriage pulled over and kicked us out, then took some coins from your pouch for clean-up.”

He quickly put his hand in the pouch and felt inside, empty. “Oh god damnit!” He yelled. “He took all my money, cleanup my ass.” He said throwing the empty pouch on the ground.

“I apologize master.” she said bowing to him. “I was never trained on what to do in that situation, I will try to serve you better next time.”

“It’s not your fault.” He said, then mumbled “it’s my drunk self’s fault, stupid motherfucker.” He looked around once more trying to figure out exactly where he was. He saw a large pine tree down the path that he recognized and had a general idea of his location and how to get back to his home. He then looked back to Faylen and pondered what to do with her. He looked at her up and down once again. He stared at her perfect body and again pondered why she was so cheap. “You didn’t really answer earlier when I asked if you were on discount.” He said.

“I apologize again master; I wasn’t sure what the question meant.” She replied bowing once more.

“What I meant was, why was someone with your…. features.” He said, vaguely gesturing at her body. “Why would someone like this be so cheap? One coin for a girl as beautiful as you?” Now, for the first time she showed some emotion on her face. Fear? Anxiety? He couldn't quite tell. But clearly the question had brought back some sort of feelings, or bad memories. “Well? I asked you a question.” He said, getting in her face.

“I’m…evil”. She whispered under her breath, looking towards the ground.

“Evil? Explain.”

“They say my soul is evil, corrupted by the devil.” She said softly with some tears welling in her eyes and her face beginning to redden.

“And why do they say that?”

“My wings.” She said squeezing her fists in frustration. “And my echos.”

He looked at her wings. He hadn’t noticed them for some reason. Wings as black as the night, like a vampire. He rubbed his hands up and down them trying to see if maybe she was part vampire, but they felt like fairy wings, smooth and soft. Typically, fairy wings were opaque and some of the more powerful ones are pearlescent with the strongest having rainbows wings. But all black? He had never seen it before. Not only that, but he also noticed she has no echos, not a small amount, he sensed absolutely zero. That must be why I didn’t notice her sitting next to me when I woke up. But how is that possible? Even humans have a small amount of echos. Zero?

This though does answer some of his questions on why she would be so cheap. An older “used” woman who has no echos. So, she wouldn’t be useful in a fight or as a battery aiding a fight. She was “used’ so her body isn’t as valuable and with the rumor she’s cursed, it’s just not worth anyone’s time or money. As he continued to study her wings he continued prodding for answers. “You said you’re around 20, right? If so, I imagine people have run tests on you in the past.”

Faylen, while still looking at the ground clearly frustrated with who she is, and what she is, replied sullenly. “I was brought to many priests, curse breakers, shamans, trainers. Eventually everyone would throw me on the streets.”

“So, you were an orphan on the streets, and eventually slavers picked you up?” he said. She nodded, still looking at the ground, with tears now coming from her eyes. He nodded in acceptance. While he didn't understand how she had no power or why her wings were black, her story sounded very familiar to ones he had heard in the past. This was also probably why he had bought her he thought. His drunk self was curious about her wings and lack of power. But his sober self didn't care nearly as much.

He picked Faylen’s head up with his hand. “Listen, I don’t believe in the gods, or fate or any of that nonsense, and neither should you.” he said sternly. “The people who believe that crap are the very same people who kidnapped, trained and sold you. All a bunch of liars and racists and hypocrites.” He said, then paused for a moment and stared into her eyes, red and glossy from crying. He recognized the look in her eyes, a look he had seen many times before. The look of a person who had given up. He remembered the horrors he had seen in slave training facilities, the stories girls who had been saved told, and stories he’s heard from others about girls who weren't saved. He knew this girl in front of him had been through more than he could ever imagine.

He looked around at the dirt road and sighed. I can’t just leave her here in the middle of nowhere. She wouldn’t last a day. I could take her to a town and give her money. Oh, but the fucking carriage driver stole it all, he thought to himself. He looked at her and sighed again, coming to a decision. “Come on then, let’s go, we still have a good way to go to get back to my house. We’re going to have to fly there.”

“I can’t fly.” she said frustrated.

“Of course not, you have no echos.” He replied. He forgot that flying required echos as it’s a pretty standard thing for beings with wings. As she and him both have wings, in theory they should both be able to fly, but their wings don’t actually flap like birds, the actual flying is from echos.

He took a quick look around himself. “Well, I can just carry you I guess.” He closed his eyes, trying to sense if anyone is around him that he can’t see and sensed no one. He then took off his black robe and released the transformation spell he was using to disguise himself as a human, revealing his true identity. Standing in front of Faylen was an 8-foot tall, all black dragon, with bright red eyes, two red horns protruding from the top of his head, huge black wings coming out of his back, as well as a long black and red tail sprawling behind him. He had muscles upon muscles, causing him to look even bigger than he already was. He looked down at himself, now almost naked as the blue tunic and green pants he was wearing underneath the cloak were now torn to shreds as he was much bigger in this form. “I guess I should’ve taken those off first, huh.” He said regretfully. He almost never releases the transformation anymore due to people’s fear of dragons and spends most of his time looking like a human, so what to do before undoing the transformation slipped his mind.

“Dr….dra…dragon.” she whispered with clear fear in her eyes and her voice, slowly walking backwards, now showing the most emotion she had the whole time.

“Oh, come on.” He said irritated, crossing his arms. “You were apoplectic about being bought by some drunk human, you were sad about being cursed and raped and trained and thrown to the trash, but you were never scared. Now you’re scared?”

Faylen while still backing up, tripped and fell to the ground. “Please…Please don’t kill me, please.” She cried.

He looked down at her, now kind of angry. People had always feared him and treated him like a monster, all because he was a dragon. “Kill you, and why would you care about that? You were seconds away from dying when I bought you, and you looked like you couldn’t give two shits if you died.” he said, in a growl.

“My soul, please, kill me if you must, but please leave my soul.” She cried, putting her hand over her chest and looking up at him with a face of pure fear.

Now he understood. It’s not just because he’s a dragon, it’s the type of dragon he was. Certain dragons can sense and remove a person’s soul from their dead body and eat it. In fact, it’s how they get stronger. Shade, being what is called a ‘Lucifer’ dragon, due to the apparent resemblance to demons, is one of those dragons. He can rip the soul out of a dead body and eat it. Gaining a portion of the strength of whatever person he just ate the soul of. The stronger the person, the stronger the soul and the more power gained. This lets dragons become stronger than most beings in the world. It’s also where a lot of the fear of dragons comes from. Almost all dragons though have a maximum strength they can reach, at which point no matter how many souls they eat, they will not get stronger. Shade though, does not. He has killed thousands of people and eaten hundreds of souls and has never reached a ceiling in his strength.

Of course, people of faith believe the soul is needed to go to the afterlife, and if your soul is eaten, you are erased from existence all together. It’s true that once a person dies, their soul slowly fades from existence, losing power over time, which makes transferring to the afterlife seem like a plausible thing that is occurring. The longer someone is dead, the less power you get from eating the soul. But he doesn’t believe that. He doesn’t believe in any religion and just thinks the soul slowly loses power from basic decay after death, and that everyone once they die, is erased from existence forever.

“I thought I already told you; I don’t believe in the gods or any of that crap.” He snarled, looking down at her with his sharp red eyes shooting daggers at her.

She looked up at him, tears in her eyes again. “Please, please I beg of you, don’t eat my soul.”

He crouched down next to her and smiled a devilish smile. “Why would I eat such a useless soul as yours. You have no echos, what would I gain from it? No, I’m not going to kill you, I’m going to help you. Though, I shouldn’t, since it seems even with all the raping and torturing various people of light have done to you, you’re still scared of the dark.” In one quick motion, he wrapped his tail around her and vaulted into the air, flying back towards his house. He flew faster and faster, while Faylen flapped around behind him like paper in the wind. Finally, they reached his house, he landed on the ground and released her from the grasp of his tail.

“Home sweet home.” he mumbled looking at his house. A small wood cabin in the middle of a forest, with no paths leading to or from it. He turns and looks at Faylen who is collapsed on the ground catching her breath. “Exhausted from all the not flying you did?” He said in a sarcastic manner, having already moved on from the anger he was feeling earlier. She though doesn’t respond and is still in shock over him being a dragon. “So, are you just going to sit there all day?” She jumped up to her feet immediately, clearly trying not to make him mad. She shook nervously while he, with his bright red eyes, glared at her. After a few seconds, he turned and opened the door to his house. She though didn't move. He sighed and looked at her. “Well, go in.” he said, pointing inside. She walked past him and into the house, head down, trying not to make eye contact with him.

He walked inside behind her and closed the door. As she stood in the doorway nervously, he looked at her again. Her hair was blonde but looked almost like a dusty brown from all the dirt and had knots and split ends everywhere. “You clearly haven’t bathed in a long time.” He pointed to the bathroom at the end of the hall. “Go clean yourself up and do a good job of it too. I don’t want you dragging dirt all around the house.” He said but then looked down at the ground, where he himself had dragged in dirt from the grass he had been sleeping in. “Well, more than already has been dragged in, I mean.” He said embarrassed.

“Yes master.” She replied nervously, then turned and walked down the hall and into the bathroom.

He turned and walked into the kitchen. He opened a cabinet, grabbed a bottle of whiskey and a small glass. I need a drink he thought to himself. He poured himself a drink and began sipping on it. He then took off his ripped clothes and tossed them in the trash. He then walked from the kitchen and to the bedroom, which was next to the bathroom.

As he walked in, he could hear Faylen in the bathroom whispering to herself in a panic. “Dragon, a dragon, I’m going to die, he’s going to eat my soul.”

He sighed. “Some things never change. Though I guess I deserve it.” He said somberly, looking at his wall. His wall was littered with swords and shields and various other items stolen from people he had killed. “She thinks I’m some savage killer, and well, she’s not exactly wrong.” He chugged the whiskey in the glass, then opened his closet and grabbed some clothes that are sized for his dragon form. A basic white tunic and black pants. He threw them on, then walked back to the kitchen. He put the glass in the sink and grabbed the whole bottle of whiskey. He walked back to the living room where he sat down on his dragon sized brown leather couch and put his feet up on the wooden table in front of the couch, then began drinking.

Finally, after about an hour, or 3 bottles of whiskey for Shade, the bathroom door opened, and Faylen walked out, naked and dripping wet, hair now a golden blonde. “Umm…there were no towels or clothes in there.” She said sheepishly, looking down at the puddle the water dripping from her was creating on the floor. He looked over at her from the couch and didn't speak for a second. He didn't know if it was the alcohol or the fact he hadn’t had sex in a long time, but he doesn’t remember anyone looking as good as she did.

“God damn, even if you are cursed by the devil, I know many people who would take the risk to get with you.” he said, looking her up and down while finishing off his 4th bottle of whiskey. He got up from the couch and started walking towards her, she flinched, but as he was about to get to her, he turned and went into the kitchen. Then came out with another bottle of whiskey and moved back to the couch, opening it up and drinking from it. “Guess I should have thought about towels and clothes before sending you to the bath, huh. Well, the towels are on the right side of the closet in the bedroom, which is right next to the bathroom. I’m much bigger than you, one of my shirts for when I look like this should be like a dress for you. They’re on the right side of the closet as well. Also take an extra towel and dry up all that water, I don’t need the floors rotting away.” She nodded then turned and started to walk into the bedroom, but before she went in he spoke again. “Also, FYI, the doors in this place aren’t very soundproof.” She paused nervously for a second, eyes widening, hen, she disappeared into the bedroom.

A few minutes later she returned, now wearing a single shirt that went all the way down to her knees. The shirt was black with a skull on it that said, “The devil will have your soul.” He cringed at the sight of it. Why did I used to wear that… He thought to himself. “I’m going to assume that shirt hasn’t helped change your mind about the whole me eating your soul thing.” She didn't respond. “I’m going to take that as a yes. Though, I have many shirts in there, why did you choose that one?”

“It was right next to the towels.” She replied softly.

He nodded. “Fair enough I guess.” He said, then downed the rest of the whiskey and placed the empty bottle on the counter.

“I have finished drying the floors. Is there anything you would like for me to do master?” she asked anxiously.

“Yes, could you get me another bottle of whiskey?” he replied with a burp.

“Yes, of course master, which cabinet would it be in.”

“All of them.”

She left the living room and walked into the kitchen. He then hears cabinet after cabinet open and close repeatedly. “What’s taking so long!” he yells. She then entered back into the living room with 3 bottles in her arms and tears welling up in her eyes.

“I’m sorry master, it seems you may be out of whiskey, I couldn’t find any. I brought a bottle of gin, vodka and rum for you to choose from.” She said with dread in her voice, placing them on the table in front of the couch.

He looked at the 3 bottles then back at Faylen who winces. “I agree being out of whiskey is sad and all. Hell, it’s a borderline tragedy, but it’s nothing to cry over, we can just buy more.” He said, then opened the bottle of gin and took a swig. Then he laid down on the couch and closed his eyes.

“Is there anything else you would like me to do master?”

“I don’t know, clean the house or something.” He replied tiredly, waving his hand in the air, and fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes back up, Faylen was kneeling right next to his face, mere inches away. “Holy shit!” He yelled, jumping up to his feet, but he lost his balance from being intoxicated still and fell to the ground.

“Are you ok master?” she yelled, jumping to her feet as well and rushing over to him.

He pulled himself up but wobbled a bit still. “I’m fine.” He moaned. “How long was I asleep for anyway?” He asked rubbing his eyes.

“I’m not sure, an hour or 2 maybe.”

“Ok, and why were you sitting right next to my face?”

“I finished cleaning the house as you asked and was awaiting my next orders.” she replied nervously. “Should I not have done that?”

He looked around at the house, now spotless, windows gleaming and floors sparkling. “Did you think I could give you orders in my sleep?” he replied sarcastically.

“I was trained to wait on my hands and knees for my master.”

“Yea, I’m not sure they meant that literally…” Though maybe they did, I’ve never trained a slave. He thought to himself.

He stumbled back over to the couch and sat down. He grabbed the bottle of gin, which was full, causing him to tilt his head confused. “You spilled the other bottle when you fell asleep. I cleaned it up and got you a new bottle.” She said with clear fear still in her voice.

“Oh, uhm, thank you.” He replied surprised. Then he leaned back on the couch and took a swig while staring at the ceiling.

“What would you like me to do now, master?”

“I don’t know.” He said tiredly, then takes another swig.

“Am I not useful, master?” she said nervously. He though didn't respond and just kept drinking. “You know, I can be useful in other ways master.” she said slowly walking over to him, then kneeling in front of him. “I heard what you said about me, and I’ve seen the way you’ve looked at me.” She said unbuttoning his pants. “I’ve been trained in many things, including how to service men. I can show you I’m useful.”

“What are you doing?” He said annoyed, finally looking down at her.

“I’m going to show you why you shouldn’t kill me, that I’m worth more keeping alive then killing and eating my soul.” She responded shyly, but with an odd determination in her voice.

“We’ve already been over this, I’m not going to kill you, you don’t need t…” But before he can finish, his dick was already in her mouth. “Oh my god!” He moaned in a yell as his toes began to curl and he became wide awake. He sat there unable to sit still as she bobbed up and down. “Who the fuck trained you!” He moaned loudly.

She paused for a second. “My former owners brought in succubae to train me hoping that it would improve how much I would sell for.”

“The one coin you sold for must be a horrible return on investment.” He joked. He looked down at her debating what to do. “Oh, fuck it.” He said taking a large swig of gin. “But there’s one condition to us doing this, you have to drink as well.” he said, pushing the bottle of gin in her face.

“If that is your wish master.” She replied nervously, then slowly took the bottle and took a swig from it, then began coughing uncontrollably. “That tastes worse than your dick.” She said mid cough, then her eyes went wide realizing what she had just said. “No, I’m sorry master! I didn’t mean…”

Shade though just started laughing hysterically. “You know, they say the worse it tastes, the better you feel. That could go for my dick as well.” He said with a wink.

Over the next 2 weeks, Shade drank and had sex with her constantly. Trying every kink and position he ever wanted to try. He bought her various outfits to wear. Some just basic lingerie and some of characters and people he dreamt of sleeping with. He had her cook and clean and tend to the house as well. Eventually though, they ran out of alcohol and the nearest tavern was closed for the day, leading him to sober back up.

He lay in bed naked with a terrible hangover. He stared at the ceiling and groaned. He dragged himself out of bed and over to his closet. Why did I sleep naked? He thought. He looked around his closet and all the clothes had been cleaned, ironed, and organized. What? He thought confused. I don't even own an iron, do I? He shrugged and threw a pair of jeans and a black tunic on, then headed to the kitchen. He immediately went to the cabinets, opening one. Empty, no alcohol.

“I’m sorry, the tavern was closed when I went out, I can make sure to get some next time.” Faylen said, now with much more vigor and confidence in her voice. She put down a hamper and began to fold some shirts, all while wearing a sexy maid outfit.

He just stared at her. What the fuck, why is she still here? He thought.

“Is something wrong master?”

“What…. are you doing?” he said confused trying to remember the past couple of days.

“Laundry?” She replied. “Don’t you remember last night, when we were going at it. You came so hard it shot across the room and into the basket of clean clothes, so I had to clean them again. Honestly it way my fault, I should’ve been able to swallow it all, the succubae didn’t train me on serving dragons.” She laughed.

“I…. what now? You should’ve…what?” He said embarrassed.

“No reason to be embarrassed.” She laughed again. “It’s not a big deal, cleaning is part of a maid’s job. As is serving my master.” she said seductively, walking over to him and grabbing at his groin.

“Whoa!” He jumps surprised.

“What, what’s wrong?” she said concerned.

“I’m just…give me a second.” He replied. Then closed his eyes to think. Some memories from the past few weeks flood to him and he shuddered. “Sorry, my memory is a bit foggy; I just want to make sure we are all on the same page here. I bought you as a slave, brought you back here, and made you cook and clean and sleep with me?” he said anxiously.

She nodded. “You also made me drink quite a bit as well, saying life was more fun drunk. You said drinking would help drown the bad memories I have away.” She paused and frowned. “I don’t think that part is true, but I appreciated the thought.”

He closed his eyes and clenched his fists. I’m going to kill my drunk self. How much of a piece of shit can I be. Fucking a slave, after all I’ve seen slaves go through, I bought and used one. I brought her here planning to free her, giving her some money and a chance at life, and instead I… He thought, looking over at her in the maid outfit.

But then befuddlement washed over him. He stared at her intently with his bright red eyes blazing into hers. She looked back at him with no sign of fear or anxiety. “Are you not scared of me anymore?” he asked.

She looked at him with a smile. “I hadn’t really thought of it until now, but I guess not.”

“Making you sleep with me over and over made you no longer fear me?” he probed confused.

She looked up clearly thinking, then replied. “I don’t think its that exactly. But in a way. You’re quite the jokester when drunk, and very creative in bed, always wanting to try new things and roleplays.” She laughed. “You were very passionate about the roleplay part, always pretending like it was the real thing. It was quite funny.” She then frowned “Though the time you wanted to play doctor, had me lay on the bed naked, then entered the room, told me I had a terminal illness and was going to die, then left the and fell asleep on the couch wasn’t as funny.”

He put his head in his hands. “What is wrong with me.” He mumbled.

She then smiled again “Oh, and then there was the time…” she started to say.

He cut her off though. “You know what, I don’t want to know.” He pauses and composes himself. He looked at the empty cabinets and sighed. “Nothing I can do now but move forward.” He said walking past her and leaving the kitchen. He walked into his room, grabbed 2 pouches of gold out of the dresser, then headed into the closet, grabbing his black robe and daggers off of the shelf. Then grabbed a few more outfits that would fit better when he was in human form and stuffed them in a leather bag that was conveniently placed right by the door, more than likely by Faylen. He threw the bag over his shoulder then walked back to the front door where she stood.

“You don’t need to go out, if you must have it now master, I can go back to town and find a different tavern.” she said, dropping the shirt she was folding back into the basket of clothes on the ground, and beginning to grab the things she needs for a trip.

“No need.” He replied. “I’m not going to the store to buy one or two bottles: I’m going to be gone much longer than that. I’m going bar hopping and maybe town hopping, depending on how the bar hopping goes.” He said embarrassed, thinking of all the bars…and for that sake towns, he had been kicked out of during his escapades.

“Then what would you like me to do in the meantime? I can keep the house clean for your return, is there anything you request me to do as well? Any outfits I should procure?” she replied anxiously.

“Well actually, Faylen, today’s graduation day for you. Your services are no longer needed. I’m going to set you free.” he said proudly, kneeling and putting on his boots, tying the laces. As he said those words, he felt good, expecting a thankful response, smiles, and tears of joy. Though when he looked up, he was surprised to see her standing at the front door, with shock and horror on her face.

“Did I do something wrong master?” she asked, dropping the bag she was going to use to carry the booze to the ground.

“No…” he replied confused. “If anything, I’ve done many things wrong. You’ve been great, the best slave I’ve ever had. Well, the only one I’ve ever had.” he said under his breath.

“Then why get rid of me.” She cried loudly with tears welling in her eyes and her hands now grasping her chest.

“I’m not getting rid of you.” He responded in an even more confused tone. “I’m freeing you, as in no longer a slave, free to do whatever you want.”

“Please, don’t get rid of me, I don’t want to go back.” She begged.

“I’m not returning you to those slavers. Hell, you only cost me one coin, I’m not sure what they would give me for you anyway. I’m freeing you, your free, to do whatever you want.”

“Please, I’ll do anything. I can’t go back. They’ll take me, I can’t go back, I can’t go back!” She said on the verge of completely breaking down.

Shade, was now no longer confused but instead, agitated at his situation. He looked around the room, and putt his hand to his face. How could freeing a slave somehow be so hard? He thought she would look at him and thank him, maybe even hug him. He was going to give her some gold and send her on her way. He was hoping to be looked at in a positive light, sending her off to the rest of her days while he went and got shitfaced again. But instead, here he was, by his front door, trying to convince his slave to no longer be his slave.

“Not everyone who is weak is a slave, Faylen. Most humans are not. You could go be a maid like you were for me, or a farmer, or go to school and learn some trade. Just go be somewhere that isn’t, well, here.” He said annoyed.

“Please, please” she begged, grasping her hands into a fist and bowing. “They did terrible things to me, please I beg of you.”

“Ok, And I also did terrible things to you? I mean, just look at what you’re wearing.” He said gesturing to the sexy maid outfit she was still wearing and apparently planning on wearing into town.

“They did worse.” She cried, still bowing her head, fists clenched.

He put his arms out with palms to the sky in an annoyed fashion. He looked up at the ceiling shaking his head, wanting to yell at the gods he didn't believe in. “Faylen, I’m not going to sit here and have a ‘who's a bigger piece of shit’ competition with your former masters. There are many people out there who are good people, better than your former masters, and certainly better than me. Not everyone is scum, you were just unlucky. I’m trying to offer you a change in that luck, why won’t you just fucking take it.” He said, frustration growing in his voice.

She though fell to her knees and continued to beg , completely inconsolable. He looked at her, crying on the floor, which made him think back to when he first met her. She only showed emotion twice, fear when he turned into a dragon, and crying when she was remembering her past. Whatever they did to her must have been awful, He thought. He walked over to where she knelt. “Stand up.” He said. But she didn't move. “Stand. Up.” He said again in an authoritative voice while also releasing some echos to create a menacing aura.

She stood up and looked at him, continuing to whisper “please.” under her breath.

He calmed down and looked at her earnestly. “Faylen, no matter what anyone tells you, you are not evil or the spawn of the devil. I would apologize for the things I did to you, but well, what good does that really do. So, Instead, I will just wish you all the luck in the future. Faylen, I free you from my service.” He placed his hands on her collar. The gem in the collar glowed, then went dark and the collar fell to the floor making a loud clanking noise. Even with no echos, he could sense the connection between them was now gone. He then placed a large bag of gold in her palm.

“No!” she yelled, but he opened the door and pushed her out, then slammed it in her face. He turned around and thought about what he said when he released her, I free you from my service? I couldn’t think of anything better? He went to finish packing all the things he would need for his escapade while also thinking of better send-offs he could’ve said and will later convince himself he did say. When all the sudden, he sensed something. Echos, lots of them, an overwhelming amount right outside his house. How did they get there, and without him noticing. He ran over to the door and flung it open, only to find Faylen still standing there, now facing the forest, but having not taken a step.

“Faylen?” he said confused looking at her. She turned back around slowly and looked at him, but didn't speak, still sniffling with eyes red from tears. The echos are coming from her? He looked down and picked the collar back up, then placed it back around her neck.

She smiled. “Thank you, thank you!” she went to hug him, but he pushed her back.

Now you hug me huh. He thought to himself in a sarcastic voice. “Stand still.” He said, putting his hands on the collar. The gem in the collar glowed again, and he could feel their connection restored, but no Echos. None, not even the slightest trace, as soon as he re-connected with her, they disappeared, vanished into thin air. He then un-linked himself from her again. All the sudden, it felt like a tsunami of echos were coming from inside her. “What is going on here?” He linked and un-linked over and over again, but the results remained the same. When she’s a slave, no echos, when she was free, an insane amount. Who is this girl, and what is wrong with her? As he stood there staring at her smiling face, perplexed, he realized something. This, this is why he had bought her.