RD 5 Ch 27

Winnie’s surrender of her troops to me seemed to trigger another of the seals on my stats and abilities.

While my body went through the transformation, I could feel a dozen people checking my growth, eyes scanning my stats and seeing the change. Apparently this moment sealed Simone’s allegiance, as I felt a second gut punch of stats rolled in after the first. She fell to her knees as she rushed to me in a very un-Simone-like manner. Her eyes were full of tears, begging for forgiveness as she stared up at me.

“I’m so sorry Lord Bran. I had eyes, but I couldn’t see, ears but unable to listen. Please, forgive me.” Her lower lip quivered as she looked up at me.

I put a hand on top of her head. “I love you, Simone, and I always will.” My gaze shifted up to the rest of the people around us and, particularly, to Winnie. “Do you believe me now?” I asked, still bent over.

“Seeing is believing,” Winnie smirked and winced. “And something strange is undeniably happening. Why do I have a curse I can’t remember? Why are the Mul Branova nuts unable to recognize you? And finally, why have my people been unable to show me what the outside world looks like?”

“I knew you were a smart one,” I said, quietly pleased this had resolved without my head rolling. I gathered my feet beneath me and stood.

For a moment, I had wondered if my show of weakness would have been my downfall. Winnie was the kind of person who wouldn’t miss a chance to strike, but she hadn’t taken it. That told me she truly believed following me might get her out of her situation rather than severing my head.

And it had helped me that the curse was acting up.

I watched as Winnie closed her eyes meditatively and started breathing in deep.

Simone still knelt before me, looking up through her lashes. No small amount of hope, lust, and desire radiated from her. “Lord Bran, how may the Mul Branova be of service to you?” she asked, her words punctuated with a throaty purr.

“Thank you, Simone. I think I will take you up on that later.” I lifted her chin and used it to pull her up from her kneeling position.

Relief washed across her face as she clung to me, ready to defend me, or perhaps wanting to make sure we were never separated again.

“Ladies, stand down.” I gestured to her people. “I think it’s clear the fighting is done.” I waved them to be at ease.

Circe did much the same, signaling silently with a few hand gestures. Her hardened warriors relaxed at once.

“Well then,” I said, looking out over what were now my new forces. “It’s time to retire from this field and make our plans for Princess Almeria.”

Simone nodded rapidly, eager to please. “Our victory will be swift, Lord Bran. Now that you’re by our side and your strength has returned, she won’t stand a chance.”

I smiled and rubbed the top of Simone’s head. “That’s the plan.”

“My place is close, if you don’t mind,” Circe said with a tilt of her head. “Not to mention, my people can simply make more housing if we need it.”

“You know, I had something else in mind, but perhaps it can wait until after the four of us have discussed our next steps in further detail?”

While they had each given me control of their forces, I wasn’t about to start making decisions without their input. It seemed as easy to take that control back as it had been for them to give it and several of them could just as easily wrest it from my hands.

“Is there more you can share with us about this situation?” Simone asked, waving a hand in the air.

“The whole situation is difficult to explain in full while there are restrictions on our memories,” I said, hoping I’d done enough to earn their trust. “I’m afraid there may be restrictions on me if I simply explain it all to you.”

“Is there something stopping you from telling us everything?” Simone peeped up at me.

“Not so much something explicit,” I said by way of explanation. “The purpose of the instance we’re in is to judge you based on who you are at your core, rather than let you perform for success.”

Circe and Winnie both made noises of understanding. Simone, without a care in the world, simply leaned into me trustingly. Whatever I said might as well become law for her. “You should all trust Bran. Whatever’s happening, he understands it best,” Simone puffed out her cheeks at the other two women.

“Yes, but for him to know my deepest secrets,” Winnie began, her eyes tracking me as we started walking toward Circe’s camp. “He is either my greatest ally or my worst enemy.”

“He knew your greatest weakness and only exploited it to get you on his side,” Circe said. “That should be enough for you to trust him, at least for now. If this is some sort of instance, then the worst case is he takes the entire reward but we all get out alive.”

Her words seemed to sway Winnie considerably. I couldn’t blame the woman for being skeptical. Dealing with the loss of memories is always tough and makes trust hard to gain. 

“If I may be so bold, Lord Bran,” Simone dipped her head. It seemed she was trying to make up for the prior arrangement. “Since the three forces are now allied, I think the most important next step to ensure we understand Princess Almeria’s actions.”

“I’ll send two of my best to keep an eye on the princess,” Winnie agreed before Simone could offer, a spark of competition blossoming between the two.

I nodded, glad to see they were already thinking about next steps and cooperation.

***

I found myself back at Circe’s camp, though the mood was markedly different from the last time I’d been present. Simone was curled up in my lap like a cat that hadn’t seen its owner in decades, pressed up against me and refusing to be anywhere else.

I’d traded out my office for what was either Circe’s own residence or that of one of her more established elites. The place was solidly built and decorated for as much comfort as could be expected for a traveling army. I spotted soft rugs made of animal hides that were likely local kills as well as decorative treasures that had been collected over years on the road.

“Collecting trophies, are we?” I asked, touching one of the gaudier pieces, a gilded codpiece that suggested I had a very impressive package to protect.

“Oh no, that’s far too small,” Circe joked, returning to the room with several bottles of wine.

Simone glanced up from where she lay in my lap and made a lazy grab for one of the bottles rather than risk her spot. “And how would you know that?” Simone asked.

“There’s a very obvious answer to that,” Circe smirked, sitting down next to me and handing me a bottle while entirely ignoring Simone.

“The last thing I need is you two fighting,” I said before their glares could spark and burn this place down.

Simone snatched one of the other wine bottles away from Circe, then fumbled as she tried to figure out how to drink while remaining in my lap because there was no way she was getting up after Circe’s comment.

Once Winnie slowed her perusal of the various trinkets, her gaze settled back on me. “Now that we’ve got the pleasant pleasantries out of the way, why don’t you explain what’s going to happen next?” She was doing better after several rounds of meditation.

I slid the cork out of my wine bottle, took a swig, and handed it to Simone to hold. 

She looked distraught with two bottles, then decided to take a sip from mine. Her face flushed as if she’d done something indecent.

“Now we have to deal with Princess Almeria,” I said. “Which can go one of two ways. We kill her and this all ends and we go back to our normal lives outside this instance, however she brought an army with her who’s currently waiting outside. The other option is to get her to submit to me and resolve the instance.” I paused for a moment, but luckily a bolt of lightning or a curse from the heavens didn’t strike me when I mentioned life outside the Trial of Kings; I was grateful for that.

“Capture or surrender is preferred,” I continued.

“But if there are no other options, we can kill her. It just means we’ll have to fight an army when we get out of here?” Circe asked.

“That about sums it up,” I added, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand and taking another sip.

“Is there anyone else we need to protect in here?” Circe asked her eyes growing distant.

I grimaced. “No. Besides the five of us, everyone else is a figment of the instance.”

Simone reared back as if slapped. “That something is wrong with my memory is believable,” she said, “but you’re telling me all the Mul Branova are monsters, like in an instance?”

“Essentially,” I winced, knowing Simone would not like my words. “I know it’s hard to believe, but we’re all in a special kind of instance. It is testing us for a reward.”

“And why are your memories still intact while ours are not?” Winnie asked suspiciously.

“Don’t look at Lord Bran like that,” Simone snapped at her.

“It’s fine,” I said, holding up a hand to stall the fighting. “The truth is I already completed the instance once myself, then came back to try and help the rest of you.”

Circe looked suspicious. “That means you finished this on your own? Or did you kill everyone else?”

“Well, I completed mine without others also in the trial,” I said, not sure how deep to go.

“Don’t forget he’s taking a dominant role in this one,” Winnie said. “He has to be in charge. That means he’s taking the biggest reward here, if I had to guess.”

I winced. “Yes, I think that’s the case. But you won’t walk out of here with nothing.”

“Lord Bran deserves whatever he’s getting, and we’ll get our piece,” Simone rushed to defend me. “Besides, my quest changed. Now it is to support Lord Bran to victory.” With her actual memories of me gone, I was more myth than man.

“My quest says to follow Bran Heros to victory,” Circe added. “So I’ll still finish the quest, just a different one. I expect the system will reward us.”

Winnie’s eyes sharpened. “I’m to support the mortal enemy of the Demon King. I do hope you solve my troubles when it comes to this curse, even if it means I finish second in whatever is happening.”

Simone looked like she was about to throw a tantrum, then popped to her feet and grabbed both our wine bottles with one hand. “Both of you can figure out how you feel. I need to converse with Lord Bran in private. My decision is clear. I’ll follow him to the ends of the earth.”

“You mean fuck him, right?” Circe called after us as Simone quickly dragged me down the hallway.