With the help of everyone who had been freed, the group was able to clear the ship of bodies, which they tossed overboard. Several of the freed people were also talented chefs. They quickly raided the galley, grabbing whatever food was on hand and using it to prepare a large feast for everyone. Once all of the freed people had chosen a cabin to sleep in, they were called up to the deck to eat.
Several tables had been spread out on the deck. A variety of cooked meats and veggies were laid out in a platter ensemble. Many of the meat dishes were aquatic such as fish, crab, lobster, and so on. The people who'd been held captive for so long, having not been able to eat anything decent in months, were ravenous as they attacked the food.
Caspian and Elincia were also present, sitting at one of the tables as they ate their meal in peace. Someone would occasionally come up and speak to Elincia, either to thank her for saving them or for some other reason, but then they would leave and head back to their eating. Of course, most of the people who thanked her were men. Each one of them was subjected to Caspian's jealous glare.
"Do you really have to stare so hatefully at everyone?" asked Elincia with a frown.
"I don't stare hatefully at the woman, but I have to let the men know not to overstep their boundaries," Caspian said as he picked up a crab leg and broke it apart. The juicy meat from the inside revealed itself, and he took great joy in eating it. Mm. Crab meat dipped in butter was delicious. "You have no self-awareness, Ele. A lot of those men are after you because you're so kind and beautiful. I have to let them know they can't have you."
Elincia's cheeks turned a startling shade of pink as Caspian possessively informed her that he was essentially telling everyone that she was his and they needed to back off. Her joy and embarrassment sang to him through the bond. She wasn't unhappy that he was so possessive. Even so, she still pouted at him.
"Even if they did come onto me, it wouldn't matter." Elincia stared at him with expressive blue eyes. "I've already given myself to you."
"I-I am aware of that," Caspian mumbled as he looked away. "But I still don't like how those men ogle you."
Elincia shook her head and smiled. His cheeks burned when he felt her amusement seep into him. So what if he got jealous by other people looking at her? Wasn't that his right as her husband? If he let these people get close to her, they might think they had a chance and try something. He couldn't let that happen!
"You two are so sickeningly sweet, it's nauseating."
Caspian and Elincia turned to look at Chloe, who was glaring daggers at them from where she sat on the ground. Of course, she was still bound in rope and therefore unable to partake in the food, which may have had something to do with her displeasure. Then again, perhaps she was just upset that these people had raided her galley.
While Caspian wanted to tell this woman off, Elincia stood up from her chair and sat down next to the slave trader. Her posture was very formal. She sat on her thighs instead of sitting cross-legged, placing her hands in her lap, and kept her back erect.
"What is it?" Chloe asked warily when she saw this.
"I wanted to ask if you could tell us what you know about Marquis Hunington and Commander Enriche," Elincia said.
"Ha! Fat chance of that happening." The woman laughed in Elincia's face. "Do you honestly think I'd tell you anything after what you've done to me? You killed my crew, humiliated me, and now you're asking me for information? It seems a little messed up to ask me for something after you've taken practically everything I cherish from me."
"Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black." Caspian didn't stand up. He glared at Chloe from where he sat. "How many people have you stolen from? You work as a slave trader, stealing the livelihoods of others, trampling over the things that are precious to them, and humiliating them by forcing them to wear drab clothing and locking them into cages. How is what we're doing any different from what you've already done."
Chloe couldn't even dispute what he said, so she settled for glaring at him with all the hatred she could must.
"You are so not cute anymore."
"I never wanted to be cute!"
Sensing an argument and wanting to head it off, Elincia said, "Maybe you're right. I won't deny that I've done something terrible to you, but you've also done a lot of terrible things as well. But don't you think this is a good chance to make up for what you've done? If you help me shed light on the marquis actions, we can get you pardoned and you can start over again."
"You really are a naive little princess, aren't you?" Chloe sneered at her, causing Elincia to lean back in shock. However, the ugly look was soon replaced by a contemplative one. "However, maybe you are right. Perhaps it would be a good idea to turn over a new leaf... and given what's happened to me, I can't help but feel resentful toward Hunington and Enriche." The woman paused to contemplate the idea before sighing. "All right. If you can grant me a pardon, I'll help you take down Hunington."
"We aren't taking down anyone," Elincia said with a small frown. "Our goal is to shed light on his crimes. We want the people to learn about the horrible deeds he's committed so we can bring him to justice and keep him from harming anyone else."
"Right, right. Look, just cut off these ropes, okay? They're beginning to dig into my breasts."
The woman didn't seem to even be listening to Elincia, which caused her frown to deepen, but then she looked at Caspian.
"Caspian?"
"Are you sure about this?" Caspian asked as he stood up and walked over to them and drew his sword. "I don't know if we can trust her after what she's done. This could just be a ploy to make us let her go so she can stab us in the back later."
"Maybe," Elincia acknowledged his words with a nod. "But even if it is, can you say with any certainty that you and I can stop Marquis Hunington by ourselves?"
Caspian grimaced as he realized what she meant. Maybe if all they had to worry about was the marquis, they could defeat him, but on top of dealing with the marquis, they had to deal with Peacekeepers and any mercenaries being employed by the marquis. How could they possibly defeat all those people with just the two of them? It was impossible unless they were willing to disregard civilian casualties.
Chloe grinned as Caspian sliced off the ropes binding her, then stood up and rubbed her wrists to get the circulation flowing again. Once she was sure her arms were in working order, she ripped off the collar that kept her from being able to use Spiritual Evocation. She was still in nothing but a bra and panties. However, the woman didn't seem the least bit bothered by her own immodest appearance. If anything, she seemed to revel in the way several of the young men stared at her.
"I'll be heading to my cabin now," Chloe said as she turned around. Pausing before she left, she turned her head back to them. "Come find me when you're done eating. I'll tell you everything I know about Marquis Hunington and Enriche."
The woman walked off with a sway in her step, but firm buttox bouncing like a pair of bubbles, which caused several eyes to gaze in her direction. Caspian also watched her go. However, unlike the young men who stared at her with lust, his eyes were distrustful.
"Are you sure about this, Ele?" he asked.
"I am." Elincia reached out and grabbed Caspian's hand. "I know you don't trust her, but I... I want to believe that she can help us."
"Why?" asked Caspian.
"Because..." Elincia frowned as she tried to put her thoughts into words. "Because I don't want to believe that a sorceress with the same powers as Lady Sylvia can be evil. Sorceress are created when they experience a traumatic moment that changes their beliefs so radically they become something other than human. That means Chloe also experienced a moment like that." She looked back at the door that Chloe had left through. "I'm sure the traumatic moment that changed her from a human to a sorceress is what caused her to become like this. I want to help her. Maybe if I do, I can help her start over."
Caspian stared at Elincia for several seconds as she looked at him with that determined expression of hers. It really made him want to groan, but he could only shake his head and smile at her.
"You really are naive." Elincia pouted at him and opened her mouth to say something, but she never got the chance because Caspian pulled her into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on her head, breathing in her scent. "But that's also why I love you so much. I hope you never change, Ele."
"Um... mm..."
Elincia didn't seem to know what to say, so she said nothing and allowed Caspian to hold her close.
***
Caspian and Elincia finished eating quickly and made their way to Chloe's cabin. They knocked on the door, which opened and revealed Chloe now dressed in her regular pirate garb. She smirked upon seeing them and moved aside.
"Come on in," she said.
The two entered the room. Chloe shut the door and wandered further in, grabbing a bottle of expensive red wine and filling it up. There were two more glasses sitting on the table.
"Care for some?" she offered, but they both shook their heads, causing her to shrug. "Suit yourselves."
With that said, she sat down in her cushioned chair, crossed her right leg over her left, and smiled at them as she swirled her glass of wine around before taking a sip. The two of them stood silently, unsure of what they should do.
"Well? Don't just stand on ceremony. Sit down." Chloe gestured toward the remaining two chairs beside the table. "There's a lot of information to cover, so you had best get yourselves comfortable."
At the invitation, the two moved over and sat at the table. With everything that had happened between them, they were understandably wary of this woman. She sold slaves on the black market, had kidnapped them, and she had tried to rape Caspian. He was especially wary of her.
"Um, would you mind telling us what you know about Marquis Hunington please?" asked Elincia.
"You're so polite. I almost don't know what to do with you treating me like this," Chloe said with an amused look. She sighed when Caspian glared at her, leaned back in her chair, and took another slow sip of wine. "Let's see... Marquis Hunington. I suppose the first thing you should know is that the current marquis wasn't the person who originally started this slave trading operation. It was actually his grandfather. Marquis Deadric Beliath Hunington the II. He was a ruthless man who was well-known for his disdain towards those less fortunate than himself. He was also the one who brokered the smuggling deal with me. That must have been... oh, about one hundred and fifty years ago if I'm not mistaken."
Chloe's eyes became glazed over as she reminisced about the days she'd had back then. Caspian and Elincia had no idea what she was thinking about, what sort of memories she was reliving, but they were sure they didn't want to know. After awhile, the woman came back from the past and gazed at them.
"The current marquis is Francis Beliath Hunington. He's not as cunning nor as ruthless as his grandfather, but he is very sly. The man has been able to avoid having his slave trading operation discovered by the Sorceress Council because all of the people he kidnaps are those who live in out of the way towns and villages. He sends his mercenaries across Arcadia, has them kidnap people from all over, and then smuggles them here, where I take them and sell them in other countries. Since the kidnappings happen from all over the country, there's no way to trace it back to him. To be honest, I'm surprised the Sorceress Council even managed to catch wind of it."
Caspian now understood why Marquis Hunington's operation had remained undiscovered until now, but at the same time, that didn't tell him what he wanted to know. Leaning over the table, he pierced Chloe with a stare.
"What about his mansion? Have you ever been there?"
"A few times," Chloe admitted. "I haven't been there recently, but I was there a few months ago when the marquis requested my assistance in subduing Clarissa. It seems she had somehow discovered the marquis slave smuggling operation and began snooping around."
"What happened to Clarissa?" asked Elincia.
"She was still alive the last I saw of her." Chloe paused to sip her wine, signed, and then gave them a seductive smile as amusement flashed across her eyes. "Marquis Hunington has lusted after Clarissa for many years. I wouldn't be surprised if he's keeping her locked away somewhere so he can use her as his personal lovetoy. She has one of those anti-sorceress collars on her, so she can't use Spiritual Evocation, which means she's about as helpless as a baby lamb."
Worry shot through Caspian, but it wasn't his worry that he felt. He glanced over at Elincia as the girl bit her lip. Even though she was naive, she also understood what it meant to be the slave of someone like the marquis.
"What about Enriche?" asked Caspian. "What can you tell us about him?"
"Hmph!" Snorting, Chloe set her glass down. "Enriche is nothing more than a greedy fool. He has no real qualifications as a commander. The reason he was able to reach such a high position is because he comes from a subsidiary family of the Huningtons. The marquis put him in charge specifically because he's easy to control. All he wants is money."
Caspian tapped his finger against the table. "So we probably don't need to bother with him right now. If we can bring the marquis activities to light and rescue Clarissa, we can deal with him easily enough. The problem will be getting the marquis to confess his crimes."
"It might not be as hard as you think." Chloe grinned at them. It was a very fierce look. "Whenever he is cornered, the marquis' lips become quite loose. He loves to brag as well. If you can put him in a position where he's forced to confront you, he'll spill the beans on everything he's done up to this point. It will be even better if you can rescue Clarissa and have her confront him."
"Okay. So we rescue Clarissa and have her confront the marquis." Elincia bit her lip. "But what about his confession? It won't mean anything if we can't let the people know about what he's been doing."
There was always the option of them telling the people about the marquis illegal activities, but Elincia understood that at this moment, the Sorceress Council did not have the clout it used to... and that was her fault. Because she was an elf. Her presence had caused distrust to fest in the hearts of the people. If she were to come up and tell them about the marquis slaving operations, there was a chance they wouldn't believe her.
As the two of them pondered this problem, Chloe filled her glass with more wine and swirled it around. She brought the wine to her nose and took a gentle sniff, then sipped it, sighing in relief.
"I actually know how you can get the marquis to confess his crimes to the entire city himself."
Caspian and Elincia went back to staring at her.
"How can we do that?" asked Elincia.
Chloe chuckled a little and licked her lips. "Tell me, do you know about the public address system the marquis likes to use when making announcements?"
***
Caspian and Elincia have joined forces with Chloe! Will everything turn out okay, or will the two of them find out that they've struck a deal with the devil?
Please let me know if you find any misspellings or grammar mistakes. I'm sure there are plenty.
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