Alice Angel of Mercy

On the way home, I kept falling asleep in the back of the wagon. We would keep hitting bumps and I would be jostled awake. If the hole or stone was big enough, I would awaken as I landed from being tossed up in the air. The trip made me miss cars with their shocks and comfy seats. After we finally made it home, I was so bleary eyed from being awakened dozens of times, I did not even notice that our door was fixed until it didn't push open. My dad must have been busy fixing the house while we were relaxing at the farm. I shot him a grateful look as he walked behind me with my mom. After being let in I made my way to my room and promptly collapsed.

I decided when I woke up to spend the morning making potions. I now had new ingredients. When I pulled up my interface and selected alchemy, a list appeared. Most of the list was greyed out because my level was not high enough but after checking the search feature with the ingredients, I saw a few that I could make. The stretchy rats, for example, could make two types of potions: a low-level regeneration type healing potion and a contortionist potion that made the person who drank it able to reshape their body for a brief period.

The pollen, on the other hand, was usable for both charm enchantments for items and potions. The enchantments that could be placed on things were mainly used by women to make themselves look prettier to the opposite gender. The potions were used to take advantage of another person and were called love potions by the men. Women had less savory names for them. They allowed somebody to take advantage of the person that drank it.  I settled on making the regeneration potions. While I think the charm potions would probably sell well, I just could not justify people using them. I ignored the contortionist potions simply because I don't think they would have a high demand. I will save the pollen. If I could get a few more ingredients I could make an anti-charm potion.

Once I had decided, I selected that option and began. Following the images that appeared before me, I soon had a dozen little vials filled with low-level regeneration potions. It was around lunch time when I finally finished.

Making my way downstairs I saw my mom cleaning up from making lunch. It looked like it had gone cold with neither my father nor myself being around to eat. My father sat slumped near the front door, a sword sitting across his lap. His eyes were closed, and I could heard soft snoring coming from him. Was he there all night? He must have been exhausted. What a sweet man. I quietly joined my mom and let him rest his eyes.

"Mom, any chance of going to the market today? I made some potions to sell." I saw her eyes light up when I mentioned the market but she looked at my slumbering dad and hesitated. I quickly continued, "It does not have to be now. Maybe closer to dinner. We can find out exactly when the transportation should arrive and then eat out."

My mom smiled and agreed, "Ok, and we need to get you some pretty clothes as well. Something that brings out your eyes. First impressions are important and you need to look your best when you get to the capital." Her voice held something I could not make out. She definitely was acting weird. This is the second time since I have been here that she wanted to spend money on 'pretty' clothes. Durable and long lasting were the two criteria she had mentioned before so when she mentioned pretty alarm bells were going off in my head. I did not know what to say so I just left it alone.

I reheated the lunch my mom had made. Ever wonder when you would miss a microwave? When you had to start a fire, dump the food back into the pan, heat it up slowly, and then after you ate clean the pan and restock the wood. I wonder if there is a spell for 'nuke food'. Sigh, probably not. I ate my food feeling a little glum. To cheer myself up, I was looking at my sheet and daydreaming about possible spells I might get. It wasn't until I was about done that I noticed that I had a '+1' in luck?! When did that happen? I had to scroll through my combat log files to find it. Scrolling backward I first saw '-1 luck failure to save comrade' and then two '+1 luck saved comrade'. Looking at the other entries the pluses were for when I saved Kevin and the negative was when I left Leo to be spider food. It looked like karma or some cheesy story where good was rewarded and evil punished. I could not say that I minded but it did make me wonder. What if a bad guy saved his other bad companion; does he get 'luck' and why was it called luck? These types of thoughts kept me distracted for most of the day.

Mom woke up my dad once the day had progressed to about when we would get dinner started. With a start he jumped to his feet and then grabbed for his sword which had clattered to the ground since it was not on his hip. I pretended to be busy and not notice. He quickly grabbed his sword and also pretended it did not happen. Giggling at his puffed up chest and hero stance he took after getting his sword, my mom quickly informed him about our planned shopping trip. He refused but she whispered something into his ear and after looking in my direction nodded and agreed.

The plan was to sell the potions first and with that in mind my father took us to the most popular shop. When we got there the whole building was in ruins. People were milling about talking about what they saw. Piecing the story together was not actually very hard because the person that did it was not subtle at all so there were many witnesses. An hour ago a man in a blue and white uniform showed up, kicked out everybody using force when needed, and then cast a spell that smashed the building flat. He then walked off toward the restaurant area. My dad had a complex look in his eye. I knew why. When I registered for the dungeon all the Royal Academy students and teachers wore a blue and white uniform. Now somebody from there just trashed a building and he was sending his little girl to a place that had such powerful people. He was worried.

I patted his hand and smiled at him. "So, umm second-best shop?" I wanted to distract him. I crossed my fingers, hoped it still stood and let him lead me to it. The building was still there and super busy. I saw the people working there sweating and running around while a man stood behind the counter with a huge smile on his face. I let my father lead. He was the one that got me the ingredients and books before, so he was more familiar. At least I assumed so.

When he got up to the counter, he greeted the man as Larry. When I took a better look, I noticed that under his expensive clothes he had chiseled muscles that the thinner materials were meant to show off. Larry was obviously a man that was proud of his body. After my dad finished introducing me to him, I pulled out six regeneration potion vials. I tried to give him my best smile and started to try to sell them. With my permission he took one, smelled it, let a drop fall out onto his hand, and after staring at it for a bit said, "six copper per". I tried to haggle my way to profit and ended up with seven copper for each one. I left the shop with four silver, two copper coins and a '+1 haggling' notification. I think I got scammed.

My mom then pulled me into a dress shop. The dresses my mom picked out for me made me blush. She pushed me into the dressing room and had me try them on. With most of them I had so much skin showing, and the others were made of thin fabrics that showed my body through them. I was not going to work at a brothel damn it. I managed to have her put back the see through ones at least but she made me get the others that, while covered the important bits, did not cover much else. With a "This is the fashion at the capital" and "You look so pretty in that" I ended up with an arm full of clothes that did not have a lot a weight to them. I calmed myself down. It was not like I did not go swimming. I have worn trunks and no shirt as a boy and saw girls in bikinis. "It probably will not be so bad," I kept repeating to myself. Before I left I bought a better fabric to remake my cloak. It was a soft and a light blue. I figured I would use a school color so I did not stand out.

After bagging it all, I noticed that my father was not around. He had slipped away during while I was trying on the clothes. Mom said that he went to inquire about when the transportation to the school. While we waited for him to return my mom had me try on a few more pieces, but in the end, we did not get them. Once he was back, I asked if I could go get enchanting supplies to redo my cloak. My mom was happy to get rid of the old one so quickly agreed. A familiar site greeted us when we got over to the area. There were not many people about because it was getting later but a mushed building could be seen. Armed men were sifting through it, looking for things to take away. I recognized a few of them from the people that were searching for me while I hid in the forest and I quickly hid inside my cloak and behind my dad. I pulled on his arm and he stopped long enough for me to tell him that those guys worked for the Duke. I held tight to his arm to ensure so he did not walk over there. After a minute we headed in a different direction. We headed through an alley and made it to a much smaller shop where I spent a silver buying enchanting stuff. I haggled and ended up raising the price from nine copper because the lady there did not like "my pretty face and smart mouth". I left dejected. I did not even get a plus to the haggling skill.

I'm done; shopping stinks. With that thought in mind I let my parents lead me to where we would be eating. There was a crowd down the street, and I could make out rubble where a building should have been. Seriously? I saw the fat Duke outside of it yelling at his guards. From this distance I could not make out faces, but one of them had the same body type and hair that Leo's dad had and I wondered if that was where I saw him. I did not want to risk getting close enough to find out.

We went in to eat at a lower priced restaurant. This would be the first time I would be eating out and I tried not to get my hopes up. I began to envision how good the food would be and if it would give buffs because it was made by a skilled chef. Ok, I was getting excited and by the time I sat down I was almost vibrating in anticipation. Oh, how great the fall was. After we ordered and got the food it was about the quality of a modern fast food diner. It was better than my cooking but not by much and definitely worse than my mom's cooking. Which I told her to make her smile. There were no buffs, just the bill. We paid and began to make our way home.

We made it about a block before the men that had been by the Duke popped out of the alley we were passing. I got a better look and it was Leo's dad. No wonder he was a jerk with a father that worked for such a man. I stood in the back and did not say anything. I mimicked my father and drew my weapon. There were only six this time and I was pretty sure that between us we could mop them up. The guy in front began to speak before he got out, "The Duke.." My father began to glow as I began to silently cast. Aid was first then the light armor spell. "would like.." he continued and I cast coat of arms on him. His coat of arms was different than mine and had a tiny angel in front of an earth golem that stood next to little gusts of air. I could make out figures standing behind the golem, but they were indistinct. It glowed and stuck itself to his shirt. "to invite you to meet..." The man continued and I cast the armor spell onto myself. I just needed to keep my father in the fight and protect my mother, so I focused more on him and moved myself in front of my mom. "with him." The man finished without batting an eye.

What is with these people? Kidnapping failed so they think asking was going to work?! Why did he not start with invitations? Hell NO! was going to be my answer but my father asked, "Why?" before I could voice it.

"He would like to apologize for the misunderstanding and compensate your daughter for the distress this misunderstanding caused." He smoothly answered. This guy was as short as my mother so about 5'3" but his skin which I took as tanned was actually a very short fur. Was he a type of beastman or something else?

"It is getting late perhaps another day." My father's voice was tinged in anger and I could see him trying to remain calm. His sword never lowered as if he was expecting an attack at any moment.

"Very well, I shall relay your message. How … disappointing." And with that sentence and turned around and left. His cronies followed him without hesitation.

I did not let my spells down until we got home. My adrenaline was making me jittery. "ok, what was that about? Why did they not attack us like last time?" my questions started right as the door closed.

My father hugged my mom because she started trembling and her face was pale. He still answered without letting her go, "I am not positive, but I think those buildings were the duke's and the academy was sending him a message to leave you alone. I do not know if they mean us harm or not so I am unsure what their next move will be tonight, we will sleep in the same room and block the doors just to play it safe." I nodded because that guys last sentence sounded like it came out of a mobster movie right before the extras were removed. Yup safety in numbers. I suggested setting up watches "for practice" so my mom did not freak out. My dad nodded and took up the first watch.

***

"Sylvia, I have done what you asked, and the businesses are destroyed. I did see his men approach one of the student candidates that we will be taking to the capital. Should I deal with it?" The man's monotone voice reported the news as if he was discussing the weather.

"No Kyle, let us see if he learned his lesson and more importantly if the child targeted has the skills required to join us." She laughed after she finished speaking. Glee could be seen in her eyes.

***

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" hollered a man in a custom suit stood behind his desk. The anger on his face did not take away from his beauty but instead added to it like it was always supposed to be there.

"Why I am simply hear to pay my condolences." A lady in a pure white dress stood there. Her face a mask of calmness. " Your new venture… Sadly, you did not think it through."

"Wha.. What are you going to do?" the man's face lost its anger as if it was never there and other than the stutter in his voice at the beginning, quickly took on a calm tone.

"Me or him?" She looked up when she finished her question.

"Either!"

"Neither of us need to make a move, Mictlan." Only a sweet scent was left in the room with the man.

The man sat down behind his desk, "What did she mean 'neither'? Blasted woman!"

***

"My Lord, the child's father said 'perhaps another day' but I believe that means never." The short man reported, "Shall I continue with the next course of action?"

"Yes, immediately! When my father finds out I will be unable to give you commands so make sure she is dead at all costs." Angry yelling of "worthless son" could be heard coming down the hall. "Go now do not be seen. She cannot reach the capital alive if she is really a royal." The duke waved his arm in dismissal.