The Bounty Hunter

Chapter Twenty One

Chapter Twenty One

The next morning she awoke to a maid opening the long curtains and the morning sun streaming in through the windows; with a smile the maid turned to her and said, “Breakfast is in the dining hall Miss and is ready when you are; the Master also asked me to tell you that the seamstress is coming today to measure you for new clothes, I believe he is coming around noon.”

“Okay, thank you,” she said as she blinked in the bright light, “I will be down in a minute.”

“Would you like me to help you dress Miss?” she asked with a curtsey.

“I am sure I can dress myself thank you.” Safita stretched and pushed back the various covers and eiderdowns which were layered on her large bed, stretching her arms up. It was the best night’s sleep she’d had in a very long time but she was still unused to the extravagant softness of the mattress and the many things which were piled on top of her.

“I have been given the honour of being your maid Miss so it would please me for you to let me help you,” she said.

“Well… this is all rather new to me, I do, however, promise that if there’s something I cannot do that I will ask for your help. As it is I think it would help me adjust if I were to be able to do some things for myself; I am not used to being helped to do everything you see,” she said, trying desperately to be kind to the young girl who was looking at her earnestly with large brown eyes. It was disconcerting to be responsible for someone other than herself but, having experienced the worst of life during her time, she decided that, if it was in her power, no one else would. “Would you… would you mind telling me your name?”

The girl started, her eyes widening in surprise before she opened her mouth silently, mouthing words which didn’t come. “It’s-it’s Amae Miss,” she replied eventually with another curtsey before retreating and leaving Safita to dress herself.

Even the foods laid out for breakfast were richer than many of the things which the people of the Outlands lived on, even the bread was sweeter and less coarse and Safita found that, although she enjoyed eating them, the richness and spice of the food was beginning to make her feel ill. As she bit into the pale pink flesh of a juicy fruit Nell sat down opposite her, his customary wide smile shining back at her. However as he looked at her it shrank infinitesimally and he cleared his throat, as if gearing up to say something very important. “Saf,” he began, “I couldn’t be happier that you’re here with me but it has just occurred to me that we might have need of some kind of story as to your history; it has been many years since you were last seen and, although I can just introduce you at the palace as my sister, people would begin to wonder where you had been-”

“Wait Nell,” she cut in, “why would you introduce me at the palace?”

His smile returned again for a moment as he said, “I am not just Nellin Rivers any longer, I have been made the head of the Guild of Merchants and had a Lordship bestowed upon me a few years ago. Despite my not living on the first tier with the majority of the elite, I am invited to all of the occasions and events which take place there, though I believe some think me rather odd for remaining here.”

Safita’s mind froze as she tried to process this information; as she did so she was hit by a sudden bolt of jealousy – all these years she had worked, had slaved away, to support him after nearly being executed and here he was, having waited just a month or so longer than she, and instead of the hardships she had seen, the fighting and the hunger and the sacrifices she had made to support someone she had believed was alone in the world, he had been raised in luxury, cared for and supported; instead of learning to fight and how to survive the streets he had sat in comfort and learnt about literature and arithmetic, geography and history and for once, for a split second, she hated him for it. It had taken her everything to get to where he was, she had lied, fought, betrayed, buried her nature so very deep that she despaired of ever finding it again, given everything up and here he sat, reaping the rewards of his work, work which was built on intelligence and acumen, work which barely demanded anything; a small voice in the back of her mind reminded her that she too was reaping the rewards of her work and it was this small voice which reminded her that he was family, that he was everything she had worked for and that family stuck together, took care of other. She had done it for so many years and now, just as Nell had begged, it was his turn; the night before he had sworn that, if he had his way, she would never want for anything again and it was instances like this which struggled against the bitterness and jealousy which sought to overwhelm her, reasoning with her that, however different they might seem, however far apart their lives had driven them, they were still family and they were all they had left in this world. “You really have done well for yourself, haven’t you?” she said proudly, convincing herself that she was pleased her brother had led the easy life she had never had. “Though why they would think you odd for staying here I don’t know; I do, however, remember you saying that you were not a close friend of the palace when I first arrived,” she teased.