The following morning, I did what I could to get everything set up for Ashley’s new life. Unfortunately, that included calling my associate Jills. The issue with Jills is that he’s one of those people who… don’t agree with their assigned body parts. Jyles Rossbane, Jills for short, hated being a man with such passion that he was once hospitalized for an attempt at self mutilation... Those ended after he met Margey. I’d be fine with that if he was just another cross-dresser, but he was kind of unsettling with how often he tried to make passes on me. He also was almost offensively homoerotic, to the point that many others in his local community felt he was faking it for attention. Never the less, he did what I needed him to do every time, without fail.

I went to a local call box instead of calling from the house, safer and more secure that way. It wasn’t crowded, and the early morning meant there was less chance for someone to overhear me. I dialed Jills’ direct number and waited for about a minute.

“Yeelloooow?” came the sing-song voice from the other end.

“Jills?” I asked, concerned at first since it wasn’t in his normal pitched falsetto.

“Is that my Bexy-poo? Dahling, how are you doing? IS this a call for pleasure or are we going to be a grumpy business man today?” His voice changed so suddenly, almost scaring me.

I sighed, “It’s business again, but you might like this.”

“Oh, poo.” I could hear the disappointment in his voice, “Fine, let’s hear it.”

“Need your help freeing a slave and getting her set up in a new life.” I said quietly, keeping my eyes open for any suspicious passer-bys.

“Oh?” His voice shot up again. “And what is this slave’s name? Are they cute?”

I chuckled a little, “Her name’s Ashley Timet. He’s a timid little thing, cute enough, but I imagine she could bloom under your… supervision… into a fine young woman. I’ve got tickets lined up, she’s paid for in full and will have a decent starting purse, I just need to know that you’ll get her status as a slave rescinded.”

“Mhm… and what caused her to become a slave in the first place?” Jills asked, curiosity creeping into his voice.

“Parental gambling debt, if memory serves. Dad or stepdad owed a guy and sold the girl when her mum passed on. I kind of stopped listening when I had heard she was just a kid, the rest is fluff.” I said, my voice taking on a cold edge.

I heard a scratching noise on Jills end before he started up again.

“What’s the current owner’s signed name?”

“Why, if you must know, the name is Jyles Rossbane. Heard it once, reminded me of someone who could get this girl free and stepping in the right direction.” I teased.

A giggle.

“You always did like to save some steps. I assume you’ve got all the paperwork I’ll need from her, and the fee for nullifying the slave contract?” Jills asked.

“Do I ever send you these broken little bits without all the accessories? I’m even throwing in a change of clothes she made me get myself so you can chart my growth on that creepy wall you have.” I said back, referencing his odd obsession.

The smile in Jills’ voice was very present, “Lovely. Now if you’ll get her on a ship this evening, she’ll arrive sometime next week. I’ll have Margey keep an eye out for the dear. What did you say she looked like?”

I described Ashley in detail and made all the final arrangements before hanging up.

Returning to the safe house, I roused Ashley and we got her all ready to go. We then went to the port, found the most innocuous airship bound for Ytralia, and got her a seat in business class. I made sure she had money for everything she would need, went over how to keep others from deceiving her or taking her money, showed her how to hide her money from wandering eyes, helped brace her for any conversations she might be forced into, and did everything in my power to get her ready to go before walking her to her seat.

“Margey will be at the skyport to meet you. You’ll know it’s him by the scar over his right eye… and his red or blue romper. Make sure you tell him he looks fantastic, otherwise he’ll get offended. He’ll take you to Jills’ and you’ll be all but free at that point.” I said softly so only she could hear me.

“But what if they… try to…” she squeaked, her concerns were very evident.

“You couldn’t find a better set of gay men in the whole of Ytralia, they’re not going to touch you without your permission… or even with your permission really.” I said and smiled.

Just then the whistle for last boarding and disembarking came.

“I’ve got to go, but I know you’ll be fine. Think of me once in a while.” I said and sauntered away from Ashley Timet for the last time.

I paused once I cleared the gate for the skyport and took a moment to ponder my next move.

On the one hand, I could totally go south and see if that feregon is still causing a ruckus. Might get me a decent chunk of change to fix this debacle’s expenses.

On the other hand, I could check where that little idol girl was headed and take her up on that really chill body guard position.

But on the other, other hand, I could also hop any one of these ships and head off into an adventure elsewhere.

The sound of a commotion on the street brought me out of my ponderings. A man was dashing by with what appeared to be a woman’s handbag. The woman in question had fallen to the ground, an open leg wound was visibly seeping blood. I sighed, debating if I should do the right thing or not, eventually reaching a middle ground.

I picked up a sizable rock from the street and threw it with an extra boost of wind magic. The rock found the man’s spine and embedded itself about three vertebrae from the tailbone. He fell like a sack of potatoes, and I walked off. Now, if another burglar stole from mister paralyzed from the hips down, I was not getting involved.

“Very good; for an amateur.” Came a voice out of nowhere.

I looked around, not certain if the voice was from inside or outside of my own mind.

“Most people would say I’m a little overpowered with a move like that.” I said quietly.

The voice came again, this time I could tell it belonged to a female. “Only the average would call that anything better than novice.”

I took a breath, figured that the voice was likely in my head, and spoke quietly again aloud.

“Then give me direction. Where should I head? What road will give me power?”

A small gust of wind blew past me, down the alley ahead, and banked around the corner.

“That girl attracts the wrong crowd, maybe you should take her up on that offer?” the voice said moments later.

I stepped forward, following the path toward the safe house, toward Reina, and sighed.

“If you keep giving me advice on how to get stronger, I might not mind you sticking around. Till death do us part, yeah?” I said quietly, shaking my head.

“Death would be only the beginning for us, my sweet.” The voice chimed and vanished.