Chapter Text
Everyone was dead. Her parents, the servants, everyone. Ranaman may not have gotten the exact ending he had wanted, but his revenge had still been almost entirely complete. Daradi had lost everything. She couldn’t even stay in her own home anymore. It wasn’t safe, and she couldn’t bear to look at the bodies. She didn’t know what to do with them, how to bury them.
“Hey,” the Nora woman said. “Do you need help?”
Daradi jumped and raised her gaze from where she’d been staring blindly at the floor. She hadn’t expected the woman to come back. She looked around her ruined home.
“Ah … Uhm …”
“Come on,” the woman said kindly. “I’ll take you to the city. You can … report this … and get someone out here to help.” There was the sound of a Watcher’s scan and Daradi flinched as she whimpered. “And you won’t have to walk alone. Ok?”
“Thank you,” Daradi whispered. The shock was setting in as the adrenaline of the past few hours wore off.
“Get what you need and lock up. I’ll wait out here.”
Lock. Lock up. Keys. She needed keys. She fumbled through her father’s study until she found his large keyring - hanging right by the study door - and stared around as she tried to think of what else she needed. She couldn’t remember. Her mind was blank.
Keys. She had the keys. She left the house and locked the door behind her, then followed close behind the Nora woman - Aloy, she’d introduced herself as - as they walked out of the estate grounds and along the beaten path towards Meridian. She jumped with every rustle in the jungle. Occasionally Aloy would slow down, touch her ear, look around, touch her ear again, then speed up once more.
The mesa grew and grew on the horizon, and the closer they got the more the tenseness in her shoulders loosened. Once they entered Meridian Village, Aloy brought her to the nearest guard. He took one look at her - disheveled, sweaty, makeup smeared all down her cheeks - and gestured for another guard to join them.
“What happened?” the first asked bluntly.
“Machines attacked her estate,” Aloy said when Daradi just started crying again. “Her brother lured them in. Daradi is the only survivor. I took care of the machines, and they took care of her brother.”
“The estate under the Spire?” Daradi nodded, and he nodded in return. “We’ll get people out there. Do you … have a family plot?”
“I don’t remember,” she whispered.
“Do you have a place to stay for now?”
She nodded. Surely she did. She had the keys. There were a lot of keys. The guards were nodding again.
“Alright. It’s getting late. Meet Commander Agenin at the guardhouse at dawn —” He took a closer look at her and clearly changed his mind. “Ah, right after noon prayers tomorrow. We’ll help with everything.”
She shook herself and nodded. “Thank you. Thank you, Aloy,” she said as she turned to the woman. “I’ll be fine from here.”
The Nora woman reached out and hesitantly touched her elbow. “Well … ok. As long as you’ll be ok.”
“I will. Thank you.”
One of the guards walked her to the Great Elevators and rode up with her. She must have been able to convince him that she was more rational than she actually was, because he left her at the top of the elevators and walked off. She stood there, looking around, then picked a direction and started walking. The last rays of the sun were bathing the buildings around her in a warm golden light that would normally have filled her with a sense of joy and wonder, but now filled her with dread at the thought of the impending night.
She needed to find a place to spend said night. An inn of some sort. She knew there was something significant about that, but her mind was a complete blank on the details. So she wandered as the sun set and street lamps were lit, until the sound of women laughing caught her attention. She followed it to a brightly-lit building with streamers all around it and lamps of colored glass bouncing in the persistent breeze across the mesa. There were women leaning out a few of the windows and standing outside, laughing together and calling to the passersby as two city guards lounged on either side of the door.
Daradi sighed with relief. An inn for women, it looked like. It was just what she needed. She wiped at her face as she made her way through the small crowd of men standing outside the front door, trying to make herself at least vaguely presentable.
“Welcome! What can we do for you tonight?” the woman at the door asked with a simpering smile and a wink. Her flirtatious demeanor disappeared as soon as she fully saw Daradi’s face, melting into concern. “Child, what happened?”
Daradi was starting to shake. She hadn’t eaten in almost a full day, in addition to her shock and stress.
“I, I’m sorry,” she whispered. She had just realized she didn’t have any money. “I just need a room for the night, but I haven’t the shards. I can pay you back later. There was an attack … my family …”
She trailed off when the woman held her hand up and looked over her shoulder.
“Najlana, go get Hela.”
“Ah, Hela’s busy right —”
“I don’t care. Go get her now. This is an emergency. Come in, my lady,” she told Daradi in a far gentler voice, her smile soft. “Sorina, please get the lady something to eat and drink, and a washcloth. My name is Quabora.”
She sat Daradi on a small majlis couch in a room just off the main one, settling next to her and brushing some of her sweat-sticky hair behind her ear.
“I’m … I’m Daradi …”
“That’s a beautiful name.” Quabora took her hand and squeezed it. “Hela will be down in a moment. You’re safe here. What —” She cut herself off and shook her head. “No, I don’t want you to have to repeat yourself. Thank you, Sorina.”
Sorina sat on her other side and made sure she ate and drank while Quabora gently wiped her face off with a damp washcloth. Daradi broke down sobbing at their kindness, and Quabora sighed and gathered her in her arms, pushing her headdress off to stroke her hair.
“Oh, darling …”
“Alright, what’s the emergency?” a husky alto voice asked. Daradi looked up at the thick-bodied, dark-skinned woman walking up to them, a robe pulled over herself and her bosom bouncing as much as her curls. Sorina moved over so she could sit next to Daradi.
“Child, what happened to you? Did a man do this?”
Technically, yes, but Daradi knew what she was asking and shook her head. The wine was slowly calming her.
“Quabora?”
“I don’t know. She just showed up like this, asking for a room for the night. She said there had been an attack, and her family …”
Hela nodded. “I see. Men or machines?”
“Both,” Daradi was finally able to whisper. “My brother … set a machine lure … everyone is, is …”
She broke down again, only able to nod when asked if the attack had been reported. She barely heard Hela order a room be freed and a bath drawn up, then she was helped upstairs, past the curious gazes of the men and women in the living area, and Hela herself undressed her and started bathing her. The hot water helped, but she couldn’t stop her tears.
“I’m so sorry,” she hiccuped hoarsely. “I haven’t any shards right now to pay you.”
“Pay me for what, dear?”
“The room.”
“… Oh. Yes. The room. Don’t worry yourself. You’ve been through a lot.”
“Thank you.” She wiped her nose. “This is a lovely idea.”
“Mm? What is?”
“An inn for ladies.”
“An … oh. Yes, it is. Very lovely.”
“Fathers must be so relieved that their daughters and wives have a safe place to stay in the city.”
“Oh, yes,” Hela murmured, fingers stroking her scalp as she washed Daradi’s hair, “we keep the men quite satisfied here.”
“I … I have to see the captain of the city guard tomorrow, after noon prayers. I haven’t any clean clothes …”
“We’ll wash your dress. Ah … Why don’t you come and go by the back entrance for now? I’m sure you don’t want to be around a lot of people right now. You can stay as long as you need.”
“You’re so kind. Thank you.”
“Being kind is my specialty.” She helped Daradi stand, then dumped more warm water over her to rinse her off. “Come on, get out.”
She was toweled off and bundled in a warm nightgown, then settled into a large, comfortable bed. Hela leaned over and kissed her forehead with a warm smile.
“You get some rest, darling. We’ll wake you in the morning.”
Daradi wasn’t sure she would be able to get any sleep, but she nodded anyway. She was exhausted, but couldn’t sleep, as she’d feared. The horrible events of the day kept replaying in her head - the initial attack, the screams of the fieldworkers and her mother as she’d been checking on them, of her father locking her in the pantry, him killing the Watcher and then the Ravager’s cannons, the long hours spent sobbing in the dark pantry until the Nora Aloy had arrived, the reveal of Ranaman’s betrayal, hiding back inside again until the fighting had ended …
She didn’t know when the memories stopped and the nightmares began, but she was eventually woken by someone gently shaking her shoulder. She opened her eyes with a start. Hela was smiling down at her with a tray of food and wine at her side.
“Time to get up, dear. Your dress is clean, and I’ve breakfast right here. I’ll take you to see Agenin myself.”
She was thinking a little more clearly than the day before. She gave Hela a tiny, shaky smile as she sat up.
“Thank you so much. I can repay you —”
“No need, dear,” Hela interrupted her gently. “You need help, and I’m able to give it.”
“I …” Hela raised an eyebrow and Daradi sighed in defeat. “Thank you.”
“Good. Come, eat.”
She just wanted to curl up and sleep again - sleep forever. There was an aching hole in her chest and gut that was filled with nothing but pain. She could barely move. Hela had to help her with everything, but she didn’t seem to mind. After she was presentable, Hela walked her to the guard station.
The guard outside looked at them and snorted. “Making house calls, Hela?”
“That’s Lady Hela,” she said primly, “and that’s actually a decent idea.” The guard groaned. “But no, Lady Daradi is here to see Agenin.”
“Don’t you have your own guards to handle this sort of thing?”
Hela stepped up to him with narrowed eyes and her hands on her hips, ample breasts pressing against his armor.
“Look, Felanot, the lady is here to see Agenin about her entire family being murdered. She is expected. You go get him right now, or by the Sun, I will cause a scene.”
His eyes went wide behind his helmet as he started nodding quickly.
“Oh, she’s that lady. My apologies. Please, come in.” He stepped to the side after pushing the heavy wood door open. “I will get Agenin right away. You, get the ladies refreshments.”
“Yes, sir,” the servant he’d spoken to replied before hurrying off.
“I’ll be back shortly, ladies,” he told them with a brief bow before turning on his heel and leaving.
“Thank you,” Hela told him sweetly as she and Daradi sat. “Men are such cowards. They think they’re all high and mighty, but they buckle under the slightest amount of feminine pressure.”
She was very pleased with herself, and Daradi was a little in awe of her. More than a little - she herself would never dare to stand up to a man like that. She kept quiet and just held Hela’s warm hand until a tall, barrel-chested man stepped quickly into the room and over to them, sitting across from them and running a hand through his curly blond hair before picking up a quill pen and some parchment from the table.
“Lady Daradi. My condolences for your loss. I’m Commander Agenin. My men told me about your situation last night, and I dispatched some of them this morning to retrieve the bodies. Do you have a family plot?”
He was speaking shortly, to the point, but there was kindness in his voice. Daradi nodded.
“Ah, yes. At … at home.” Hela squeezed her hand. “I don’t want Ranaman buried there.”
Agenin smiled with no humor. “Oh, I’ve had run-ins with him before. He’ll be given a criminal’s burial, you have my word. I understand that this is very painful for you right now, but would you like to be there for the burial?”
A sob caught in Daradi’s throat. “I … I should … but the machines …”
“We’ll guard you well. Have you anyone to stay with right now? Other family? Friends?”
“Ah … I’m … Lady Hela is letting me stay at her inn right now …”
Agenin’s eyebrows went up as Hela coughed delicately.
“I see.”
“She’s still in shock,” Hela put in. “I’m certain she has places she can stay, but she’s welcome at the inn until she’s ready.”
Agenin was taking notes and nodding. “Thank you for your kindness, Hela. I will make sure that you are properly compensated.”
“Thank you,” she murmured.
“Your father had businesses, if I recall, yes?” She nodded. “Do you know who he left them to?”
“Me,” she whispered. “He trained me from the start.”
“Alright. If you need an escort to go back to your estate to retrieve things at any time, I’ll leave orders for the guard to do so. You have but to ask.” He looked down at his notes with pursed lips. “The good news is that we don’t really need an investigation - Ranaman took care of that himself. We’ll look into where he bought the lure, but that needn’t involve you. His debts, however, do concern me. Do you know if there’s any reason for his … associates … to come after you for them?”
Daradi looked down and sighed. “I don’t know. He’s dead, so I would think - hope - that they would leave it at that …” The look on Agenin’s face had her drooping. Hela pressed warm tea into her hands. “Then yes. He’s always - was always - in debt. I have no reason to believe that he wasn’t as of yesterday.”
“We’ll try to verify that. In the meantime, I would encourage you to not go out at night, keep to populated areas, and get an escort if you need to go back to your estate or somewhere alone. If anyone tries to get what he owed from you, report it immediately. I don’t suppose you know who any of his associates are? No? That’s fine. I think we’re done here, then. Do you need assistance with your business ventures for the time being?”
She’d never done anything without her father, other than collect rent. “Ah …”
“I’ll have Avad loan me someone to help,” Hela said. Daradi looked at her in surprise as Agenin sighed. “What’s he going to do? Frown disapprovingly at me? Ask me if I care.”
“You just … tell the Sun-King himself what to do?”
Hela flashed her a grin. “Of course. I have lunch with my uncle twice a week - he works in the palace. I’ll tell Avad tomorrow.” She hummed and tapped her lips thoughtfully. “Actually … no. I’ll just tell my uncle. Avad has too much on his mind right now, what with Ersa’s death and all.”
Daradi shook her head. “No, this isn’t something worth involving the palace in.”
“Oh, nonsense. Agenin, give me that.” She took his pen and the parchment before he could hand it over, writing a quick message on it before folding it up. “You, Felanot. Be useful for once and take this to my uncle. Right now.”
He didn’t even look at his commander for permission as he took the note with pursed lips and left. Hela smiled at her.
“Don’t worry about it, dear. Avad is always happy to help, especially with reasonable requests like this, and my uncle knows that I wouldn’t ask for something if I didn’t think it was warranted.”
“But he’s the king.”
“Good of you to notice.”
Agenin laughed. “My lady, I can assure you that His Radiance won’t find this an unreasonable request at all. He may well not even notice - Marad has a good deal of leeway to do as he pleases. This is a minor enough request that he may not even tell Avad about it.”
Daradi still wasn’t convinced, but the message had already been sent and she couldn’t do anything about it now. So she sighed, and nodded.
“Alright. I appreciate your help. Thank you.”
“Oh, it is my absolute pleasure.”
Her words were willed with enough innuendo that Daradi was vaguely surprised that all of their clothes hadn’t spontaneously fallen off. Agenin was shaking his head, clearly used to it. Then Hela stood and held her hand out to Daradi.
“Well, come alone. I’ve work to do, and I’m behind. Agenin, darling, do tell Felanot that he is an absolute pile of bung and not welcome for a week.”
The commander laughed again as he walked them out. “Your wish is my command.”
“By the Sun, I hope so.”
Daradi murmured a farewell and walked out arm-in-arm with Hela. “Are you sure that asking your uncle for help won’t be a problem?”
She got an almost motherly pat on the hand. “Of course, dear.”
“I just … I feel bad for asking.”
“You aren’t. I am.”
Daradi sighed, and as soon as they were back at the inn, lay down. It was barely midday, but the morning had exhausted her. She curled up on her side and stared at the wardrobe on the other side of the room, trying not to think about the previous day and failing. Even crying herself to sleep didn’t help - the nightmares started and didn’t stop until she was gently shaken awake.
“Daradi, darling, the accountant is here.”
“Uh?” The room was lit with afternoon sunlight, and Daradi rubbed her eyes as she sat up. “How long was I asleep?”
“Only a few hours.” Hela was grinning. “I told you that my uncle would help. He sent someone right away. Are you well enough to see him?”
She supposed she had to be, and nodded. Hela helped her get presentable, then opened the door and ushered in a squat, heavyset man in circular spectacles, holding a thick leather folder, a quill pen behind his ear.
“Balsoon, this is Lady Daradi. Daradi, Balsoon.”
“A pleasure to meet you,” he squeaked as he took and kissed her hand, “but a sorrow to meet you under these circumstances. My condolences for your loss.” He opened his folder and took out an envelope with the seal of the Accountant’s Guild, as well as a thinner envelope that was sealed with the official wax stamp of the king, handing it to her. “My credentials and letter of recommendation from His Radiance himself.”
“He means that my uncle wrote it, then put it in front of Avad to sign and seal,” Hela put in as Daradi opened it. “He probably didn’t even notice.”
“That’s comforting,” Daradi muttered. True enough, the glyphs of the letter and the glyphs of the king’s name, while both elegant, were still distinctly different.
My esteemed Lady Daradi,
I hope this letter finds you in good health. I was deeply saddened to hear about your family's tragic passing. Please accept my condolences.
During this difficult time, I would like to offer you any assistance you require. I have dispatched a contingent of the city guard to assist with your resettlement in Meridian - they will escort you back and forth as needed, and you need but to speak with Commander Agenin when you need them. I have also made my most trusted accountant, Balsoon, available to assist with your finances until you or one of your own advisors can take over.
If there is anything else which would ease any difficulties you might experience, do not hesitate in sending correspondence at once. The Sundom will take care of its own.
May your night be over and your dawn come soon,
Sun-King Avad
She really wanted to scream, but had no real reason to. Where had the king’s help been while her family had been murdered? How had the Sundom been taking care of its own then?
She didn’t realize that she had crumpled the letter into her fist until Hela was gently unclenching it. She was shaking. Hela sat her down and poured her some wine, and Balsoon nodded in a sort of bow.
“I am, unfortunately, experienced in this sort of situation,” he told her gently. “Anger is not uncommon. I take no offense.”
Daradi just looked down and nodded.