Rebirth and Second Chances

Chapter 64: Reality Check

"Your Highness," Cedric said as he stepped forward to clasp my shoulder, "you might not agree with the law, but to just act and free these people would be considered theft. Do you really want to give the impression that you believe yourself above the law?"

Dammit, he was right. I hated that he was, but he was right.

My bias and aversion to slavery had me acting before thinking. That was going to be a hard habit to break, at least Cedric had become familiar enough and trusted me enough to point out my mistakes, even in the face of my anger. He, no, all three of my Vassals were developing into real assets. And now that they were replacing that bit of fear and awe from our initial meeting into real respect and dedication, their usefulness was only increasing.

"Fego. Do you know who owned these Kelpie?" I asked. It might be too late, but perhaps I could smooth things over with gold. The world may change. The Laws of Nature may be compromised. But some truisms are so fundamental they will never change. Money talks are one of those truths.

"Squires Goylen and Dillon, but I haven't seen them since Knight er I mean Thom was banished," he answered.

"That's because they're dead," Leian informed us. "They were with my brother when you excited the Ascension chamber. They died when Thom instructed them to attack you, in their failed attempt at killing you, your cleansed them with fire," she further explained.

I vaguely recalled the three men that I had burnt and killed when Thom had ordered the attack. I wasn't sure I'd ever learned their names, and that bothered me. How had I changed so much that murder or killing could be accomplished with so little thought, an after-thought, reflection, or regret?

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The changes that made me Sidhe were complex, but this was the first time I was worried that I was no longer really the 'me' I had known in my past life.

I hadn't thought the changes would affect my emotions or identity, but maybe it was time to reconcile my understanding of how I thought I had changed with the reality of how I had actually changed.

I was changed, and it was not just a matter of stuffing my soul into a new body. It was time to admit that the person from Earth, the 'me' I was familiar with was dead, and try to stop projecting expectations on this life based on experiences from that past life. Easier said than done. Just like my decision to think things through before acting hadn't last when confronted with issues of slavery.

The body I now controlled was radically different from my human form. Hormones, circulatory systems, electrical pulses transmitted via nerves were exponentially faster, and this body contained additional organs and magic networks. While true the mind could rule the body, it was just as true that the body impacted and influenced the mind.

My belief and attitude towards slavery, notwithstanding Danu's rewards for my actions, were based on historical and anecdotal knowledge from a world that believed that all men were created equal.

That same world seemed to ignore and disregard every species but man, often hunting or destroying habitats, environments, and animals until extinction occurred. It might be hypocrisy to expect better of these people. Even in the supposed enlightened world I came from, bigotry and racism still existed.

And belief systems could be impacted by endorphins, just as my body responded faster to stimuli, it also had a superior endocrine system that was capable of flooding my bloodstream.

"Do you know if they had any next of kin, Leian?" I asked.

"Parents. Each was an only child. That is normally the case for Seelie," she answered.

"Lohne, contact the Keep and explain what has happened here. Offer my apologies and make known that I am willing to leave restoration with Fego. If they would provide me with a suitable number, I will provide suitable gold to recompense their families.

"But make clear the condition we found the Kelpies in. And that they had been mistreated and apparently abandoned. It would have been cruel to leave them as they were.

"Yes, Your Highness," she agreed. Motioning for Leian, the two women stepped aside to activate communication crystals and begin a series of conversations between the keep and next of kin.

Lohne was able to broker a swift agreement, and thankfully, the problem was quickly settled. The mention of gold smoothed over any concerns or anger the families might have felt. And I had agreed to leave 200 gold in trust with Fego for each Kelpie, effectively buying them. It left me feeling soiled, but since I was freeing them, I managed to reconcile my feelings with necessity. Money for freedom was an appropriate solution, and the sums involved were incidental.

I was about to hand over the funds before Caraid interrupted me. [Did you forget that you were awarded these Kelpie as spoils of battle after defeating them when you exited the Ascension chamber? You are about to pay for Kelpie you already own.]

"These were owned by the people I killed after exiting the Ascension chamber?" I asked. "If that is the case, they became my property when I defeated their owners in combat, didn't they?"

Lohne made another call, contacting Knight Henry, and found that they were awarded as compensation after that impromptu battle. I still handed over the funds to Fego. More as a recompense, death tithes for the dishonored family than reparations for slave trading.

"Your Highness?" Knight Blayney said once the matter had been settled. "We truly are grateful for what you have done here today, but" he paused, uncertain as to how to finish his sentence. He had really only ever seen me angry, so he had no idea how I would behave if I was unhappy or angry with what he wanted to say. It was entirely possible I was just another spoiled entitled Ranked.

Watching me warily for a bit, he finally came to a decision. "About the Herd Lord," he said, determined and bristling with resolve, his spirit rebounding, not yet broken, his new unwavering certainty freed him to look me directly in the eyes, "It would be inappropriate for you to duel or to join battle with him.

"If you were to win and defeat the Lord, then you would leave the herd without a leader. Unless you planned on assuming the Herd Lord position. And if you did that, you would have to duel and kill every male in the colony until they were all dead. None would accept a Seelie or Unseelie as Herd Lord.

"It just isn't done."