The spoon clattered against the ceramic bowl, the sound sharp and sudden in the quiet dining hall.
Eris had frozen mid-bite, her hand suspended in the air, her blue eyes wide and locked on Seth's face. For several seconds, she did not move, did not even seem to breathe. The piece of bread she had been about to dip into the stew remained hovering above the bowl, forgotten.
"Work for you?" she repeated, her voice barely above a whisper. The words came out slowly, as if she was testing each one to make sure she had heard correctly.
Seth nodded, keeping his expression neutral and his posture relaxed. He did not want to appear threatening or overly eager. This had to feel like an offer, not a command. "Yes. Work for me. Here, in Fort Renly."
Eris lowered the bread slowly, placing it back on her plate with deliberate care. Her hands moved to her lap, where they twisted together in a gesture that betrayed her nervousness. She was silent for a long moment, her eyes searching his face as if looking for some hidden motive, some trap she had not yet spotted.
"Why?" The question came out flat, but there was an undercurrent of something else beneath it. Suspicion, certainly. But also a desperate kind of hope, the hope of someone who had been drowning and suddenly felt something solid beneath their feet but was afraid to trust that it was real.
"Why did you save me?" she continued when Seth did not immediately answer. "Why would you risk everything for a witch you don't even know? And now you want me to work for you? I don't understand. No one does things like this. No one helps people like me."
Her voice cracked slightly on the last word, and she looked down at her hands, her silver white hair falling forward to partially obscure her face.
Seth leaned back in his chair, considering his words carefully. He needed to be honest, or at least honest enough that she would believe him. But he could not tell her everything. Could not explain that he was from another world, that he had read about this reality in a story, that he knew things about the future that no one else could possibly know.
"I saved you because letting you die would have been a waste," he said finally, his voice quiet but firm. "And because the way this world treats people like you is wrong."
Eris's head snapped up, her eyes meeting his with an intensity that was almost physical.
"Everyone with mana, every majin, is hunted and killed out of fear," Seth continued. "But that fear is based on ignorance. Yes, your powers are dangerous. Yes, they could be used to harm people. But they could also be used to help people. To build things. To protect things. To change things for the better."
He paused, letting his words sink in before continuing.
"Fort Renly is dying. This territory has been neglected for decades, and my arrival here did nothing to change that. The soil is poor, the people are barely scraping by, and we have no resources, no trade, no prospects. I was sent here to be forgotten, and this place was already forgotten long before I arrived."
Seth's fingers drummed once against the table, a gesture of frustration that was entirely genuine.
"I need exceptional people if I'm going to turn this place into something worth preserving. And you, Eris, are exceptional. Your power could be exactly what I need to start building something real here."
Eris stared at him for a long moment, her expression unreadable. Then, slowly, she shook her head. "You don't even know what my power is. How can you be so sure it would be useful?"
"Then show me," Seth said simply.
The challenge hung in the air between them. Eris's hands tightened where they gripped each other, and for a moment Seth thought she might refuse. But then something shifted in her expression, a flicker of defiance replacing the fear.
"You might regret asking," she said softly.
She lifted one hand, holding it palm up above the table. For a second, nothing happened. Then, with a soft whoosh that sounded like wind rushing through a narrow passage, a small flame appeared floating above her palm.
It was beautiful. The fire danced and flickered, casting warm orange light across Eris's face and reflecting in her blue eyes. It was no bigger than a candle flame, perfectly controlled and contained, but Seth could feel the heat radiating from it even from where he sat at the other end of the table.
"Fire," Eris said, her voice taking on a hollow quality. "I can create it, control it, shape it. I can make it as small as this or..." She paused, and the flame suddenly grew, expanding until it was the size of a fist, the heat intensifying. "...or large enough to burn down a building. That's why they wanted to kill me. Because I'm dangerous. Because I'm a monster."
The flame flickered and died, wisps of smoke curling up from her palm before dissipating into the air. She lowered her hand back to her lap, her shoulders hunching forward as if she was trying to make herself smaller.
Seth felt his pulse quicken, but not from fear. Fire. She could control fire. The applications were nearly limitless. Metalworking, heating, defense, clearing land, so many possibilities spinning through his mind that he had to actively stop himself from grinning.
"You're not a monster," Seth said firmly. "You're someone with a gift that others don't understand. There's a difference."
Eris looked up at him, skepticism written clearly across her features. "A gift that could kill you in seconds if I lost control. A gift that makes people want to chain me up and burn me at the stake. Some gift."
"Every tool can be dangerous if misused," Seth countered. "A sword can protect or murder. A hammer can build or destroy. Your fire is no different. What matters is the person wielding it and the purpose they choose."
He stood up from his chair and walked slowly down the length of the table, closing the distance between them. Eris tensed as he approached, but she did not pull away. When he was close enough, Seth crouched down so that they were at eye level.
"I'm offering you something, Eris. Not just work, but a place. A home. Protection. You would live here, in this manor, as part of my household. You would have food, shelter, safety. And in exchange, you would use your abilities to help me build something better here in Fort Renly."
Eris's eyes searched his face, looking for deception and finding none. "And if I refuse?" she asked quietly. "What happens if I say no? Am I truly free to choose, or is this just another kind of cage?"
The question was sharp, cutting through any pretense. She was testing him, trying to determine if his offer of freedom was genuine or just pretty words hiding the same old chains.
Seth held her gaze steadily. "If you refuse, you can leave. Right now, tonight, if you want. I won't stop you." He paused, then added with brutal honesty, "But you won't make it far. The moment word spreads about what happened in the town hall today, every village and town within a hundred miles will be on alert for a silver haired witch. You'll be hunted, captured, and killed within a week. Maybe less."
Eris flinched as if he had struck her, but Seth continued, his voice gentler now.
"I can't give you complete freedom, Eris. I wish I could, but that's not the world we live in. What I can give you is a chance. A chance to live instead of just survive. A chance to use your power for something other than running and hiding. And a chance to prove to this ignorant world that witches are not the monsters they think you are."
The silence that followed was heavy with weight. Eris's eyes had grown glassy, tears threatening to spill over but not quite falling. Her hands trembled in her lap, and Seth could see the war being fought behind her eyes. Fear against hope. Despair against possibility.
"I accept," she whispered finally, the words so soft he almost missed them. "I'll work for you. I'll stay."
Seth felt something loosen in his chest, a tension he had not fully realized he was carrying. "Thank you," he said simply, and meant it.
He stood up, offering her his hand once more. This time, when she took it, there was still hesitation, but less than before. He helped her to her feet, and they stood there for a moment, prince and witch, bound now by an agreement that defied everything the world expected of them.
"There's one more thing we need to discuss," Seth said, releasing her hand. "For now, we need to keep your identity as a witch secret from most of the townspeople. The servants here will know, they'll have to, but we'll tell them you're under my protection and that any harm that comes to you will be answered with severe consequences."
Eris nodded slowly. "They'll talk. Servants always talk."
"Let them," Seth said with a slight smile. "Rumors and whispers are different from open knowledge. As long as you're not openly using your power in front of crowds, we can maintain some deniability. And in time, when we've built up enough success here, we can start changing minds about what witches really are."
"That's optimistic," Eris said, but there was the faintest hint of amusement in her voice.
"I prefer to think of it as strategic," Seth replied.
For the first time since he had met her, Eris's lips curved into something that might have been the beginning of a smile. It was small, fragile, and gone almost as quickly as it appeared, but it had been there.
Before either of them could say anything more, there was a sharp knock at the manor's front door. The sound echoed through the halls, loud and insistent. Seth and Eris both turned toward the sound, the moment of tentative peace shattering instantly.
Lyra appeared in the doorway of the dining hall, her face pale and anxious. "Your Highness, I apologize for the interruption, but there are men at the door. They say they must speak with you immediately. It's your chamberlain and the treasurer."
Seth's jaw tightened. 'Of course they're here. I knew they wouldn't let this go quietly.'
"Show them to the study," Seth said, his voice taking on that cold, authoritative edge again. "Tell them I will be there shortly."
Lyra curtsied and hurried off. Seth turned back to Eris, who had gone tense again, her earlier ease vanishing.
"Go to your room," he told her gently. "Rest. I'll handle this."
"They're here because of me," Eris said, guilt coloring her words. "Because you saved me."
"They're here because they don't respect my authority," Seth corrected. "And that's a problem I need to address regardless. This just forces me to do it sooner rather than later."
He could see she wanted to argue, but exhaustion was written in every line of her body. She had been through too much today to have the energy for more conflict.
"Go," he repeated, more firmly this time. "I'll come find you after they leave."
Eris hesitated, then nodded and slipped out of the dining hall, her footsteps soft against the wooden floor. Seth watched her go, then took a deep breath and made his way to the study.
The study was a small room lined with mostly empty bookshelves and dominated by a heavy wooden desk that had probably been impressive once but now just looked old. Roderick and Wilhelm stood waiting, both men's faces set in expressions of barely controlled anger.
Seth closed the door behind him and moved to sit behind the desk, a deliberate choice that forced them to remain standing like supplicants before a lord. Neither man looked pleased by this arrangement.
"Gentlemen," Seth said coolly. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this evening visit?"
Roderick stepped forward, his hands clenched at his sides. "Your Highness, we need to discuss what happened today. The decision you made regarding the witch. It was reckless and dangerous, and it has put the entire territory at risk."
"Has it?" Seth asked mildly. "How so?"
Wilhelm cleared his throat, his tone attempting to be reasonable even as anger simmered beneath it. "The people are frightened, Your Highness. They believe you are harboring a monster under your roof. There is talk of unrest, of people leaving the territory for safer lands. And beyond that, there are legal concerns."
"Legal concerns," Seth repeated, his voice flat.
"Yes, Your Highness." Wilhelm pulled a rolled parchment from his coat and laid it on the desk. "According to the old laws of the kingdom, if a lord acts in a manner that is deemed against the interests of the realm, the citizens under his rule may petition the crown directly for intervention."
Seth's eyes narrowed. "And I suppose someone has already drafted such a petition?"
"The town council convened an emergency session this evening," Roderick said, and there was a note of satisfaction in his voice that he did not quite manage to hide. "They voted unanimously to send a formal complaint to the capital. The messenger leaves at first light."
'Thirty days,' Seth thought immediately. 'That's how long it takes for a messenger to reach the capital from here. Thirty days before my father hears about this and decides whether to intervene.'
He kept his face impassive, not allowing them to see that their news had affected him at all. "I see. And you came here to warn me of this out of the goodness of your hearts?"
"We came to give you a chance to rectify your mistake," Wilhelm said. "Send the witch away. Publicly denounce her. Issue a decree reaffirming your commitment to the kingdom's laws regarding majins. Do this, and we may be able to convince the council to withdraw their petition."
"May be able to convince them," Seth repeated softly. "How generous."
Roderick leaned forward, his hands pressing against the desk. "Your Highness, please. We are trying to help you. If the king intervenes, if he decides you are unfit to rule even this backwater territory, you will have nothing. You will be stripped of your title, your lands, everything. Is one witch really worth that risk?"
Seth stood up slowly, his hands flat on the desk, and leaned forward until he was eye to eye with Roderick. When he spoke, his voice was quiet, but it carried a weight that made both men take an involuntary step back.
"Let me make something very clear to both of you. I am the lord of this territory. Not you. Not the town council. Me. And I will make whatever decisions I deem necessary for the good of Fort Renly, regardless of what frightened peasants or ambitious bureaucrats think about them."
"Your Highness—" Wilhelm started, but Seth cut him off with a gesture.
"I am not finished. You seem to believe that threatening me with my father's displeasure will make me bend to your will. But you forget something important. My father already sent me here to be forgotten. Do you truly think he cares what happens in this miserable corner of his kingdom? Do you think he will waste time and resources investigating a complaint from a town that barely appears on maps?"
Seth straightened up, crossing his arms over his chest.
"And even if he does, even if he decides to remove me from power here, what exactly do you think will happen to Fort Renly? Do you imagine he will send one of my accomplished siblings to take over? Will my brilliant sister Liora abandon her position in the capital to govern a failing territory? Will my charismatic sister Astrid give up her diplomatic missions to live in this place?"
He paused, letting the implications sink in.
"No. If I am removed, Fort Renly will simply be absorbed into the neighboring territories and you will all become someone else's problem. Someone who will care even less about this place than I do. So go ahead. Send your petition. See what it gets you."
The color had drained from both men's faces. Wilhelm opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. "Your Highness, we never intended—"
"Get out," Seth said softly. "Both of you. Now. And do not presume to enter my home uninvited again. If you have concerns in the future, you will request an audience like everyone else, and I will decide whether or not to grant it. Am I clear?"
"Yes, Your Highness," Wilhelm mumbled, already backing toward the door.
Roderick looked like he wanted to say something more, but one look at Seth's face made him reconsider. He bowed stiffly and followed Wilhelm out of the study.
Seth listened to their footsteps retreating through the manor, heard the front door open and close. Only then did he allow himself to sink back into his chair, his hands coming up to rub at his temples where a headache was beginning to form.
'Thirty days,' he thought again. 'I have thirty days to make this work. Thirty days to prove that keeping Eris was the right decision. Thirty days to turn Fort Renly into something successful enough that even the king can't ignore it.'
It was not much time. But it would have to be enough.
He sat there for a few more minutes, gathering his thoughts and pushing down the anxiety that threatened to bubble up. When he felt composed again, he stood and made his way through the manor, looking for Eris.
He found her in one of the upper floor guest rooms that Lyra must have prepared for her. The door was slightly ajar, and through the gap he could see her standing at the window, looking out at the night sky. The moon was nearly full, casting silver light across her pale hair and making her look almost ethereal.
Seth knocked softly on the doorframe. "May I come in?"
Eris turned, startled, then nodded. "It's your house."
"It's your room now," Seth corrected gently as he entered. "At least for as long as you choose to stay."
He moved to stand beside her at the window, following her gaze out to the stars scattered across the darkness. For a while, neither of them spoke, the silence comfortable rather than awkward.
"They came to threaten you, didn't they?" Eris said finally. "Your men. Because of me."
"They came to try to threaten me," Seth corrected. "There's a difference. And it wasn't because of you. It was because they don't want to accept that things are changing here."
Eris wrapped her arms around herself, a defensive gesture that made her look younger than her seventeen years. "I've been running for three months," she said quietly. "Ever since I awakened. I was working in a bakery, just a normal girl trying to make enough coin to survive. Then one day the oven wouldn't light, and I got frustrated, and I just... made fire appear. Right there in my hand."
Her voice had taken on a distant quality, as if she was seeing the memory play out in front of her.
"The baker saw. He started screaming, calling me a demon, a monster. I ran. I've been running ever since. Sleeping in forests, stealing food when I could, hiding whenever I saw people. I thought... I thought when they caught me here, that was it. That I was finally going to die."
She turned to look at Seth, and in the moonlight he could see tear tracks on her cheeks.
"Why are you doing this? Really? You could have let them kill me and your life would be so much simpler. You could have just looked the way and no one would have blamed you. So why risk everything for someone like me?"
Seth was quiet for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "Do you know what it's like to be called trash your entire life?" he asked. "To have everyone around you constantly remind you that you're not good enough, not smart enough, not talented enough? To know that your own father looks at you with disappointment and wishes you had never been born?"
Eris's eyes widened slightly, but she did not speak.
"That's been my life," Seth continued. "The trash prince. The failure. The embarrassment to the Arannis bloodline. I was sent here to be forgotten, to rot away in obscurity where I couldn't shame my family anymore. And for a while, I accepted that. I let myself believe that they were right, that I was worthless."
He turned to face her fully, his expression intense.
"But I don't believe that anymore. I'm not trash. I'm just someone who hasn't had the chance to prove what I can really do. And neither are you. You're not a monster, Eris. You're just someone who was born with power in a world too afraid to understand it."
A tear slipped down Eris's cheek, and she brushed it away quickly. "You really believe that?"
"I do," Seth said firmly. "And I'm going to prove it. We're going to prove it, together. We're going to turn Fort Renly into something that matters, something that the kingdom can't ignore. And we're going to show them that witches aren't the enemy."
Eris laughed, a shaky, wet sound. "That's insane. You're insane."
"Probably," Seth admitted with a slight smile. "But right now, insane is all I've got."
They stood there for another moment, the moonlight washing over them both. Then Eris took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders, something shifting in her posture. The defeated, broken girl from the town hall was gone, replaced by someone who had just found something she thought she had lost forever.
Hope.
"Your men said something about a petition to the king, didn't they?" she asked. "I heard them talking as they left. How much time do we have?"
"Thirty days," Seth said. "Give or take."
"Thirty days to make me indispensable," Eris said, and there was a new strength in her voice. "Thirty days to prove that keeping me was worth it. Think we can do it?"
Seth felt a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I think we'd better. Otherwise we're both going to end up as very attractive corpses."
That startled a genuine laugh out of Eris, short and surprised but real. She looked at him, and for the first time since he had met her, there was no fear in her eyes when she looked at him. Just determination, and maybe the beginning of trust.
"Alright then, Your Highness," she said, and there was the faintest hint of teasing in how she said his title. "What's the plan? How do we make Fort Renly prosper in thirty days?"
Seth's grin widened. "Well, for starters, we're going to need to figure out exactly what your fire can do. And then we're going to put it to work in ways this territory has never seen before."
Eris held out her hand, and a small flame appeared dancing above her palm. The orange light reflected in both their eyes as they looked at each other, two outcasts bound by circumstance and choice.
"Try not to burn the town down in the process," Seth added.
The flame flickered higher for just a moment, and Eris's smile turned mischievous. "I'll try," she said. "But I'm not making any promises."