The side panel of Quip opened up to reveal three guards dressed in the bright purple militia outfit of the Viess family. Two held long Energon Rifles, and Alec could tell by the faint residue steaming from the barrels that they were primed. Odd way to welcome a guest. The third, who seemed to carry himself with an officer's demeanour, had a nervous look on his face.

  "The Baroness has asked you to bring the prize to the main Gazebo." The guard glanced at the boy and stumbled over the word prize. Something seemed off here, but the Aamaranth itch drove Alec forward. He stepped down the running board. Quip extended, the boy missed it. He pitched forward; faster still were Alec's reflexes, and to his strength the boy was a feather. Alec set him down gently. The speed and precision had the guards halfway through, aiming at Alec, before the Officer waved them down.

  "Walk easy, boy, I've got a deal that's got us both covered." Alecs' voice was a whisper in the boy's ears. The youth stood tall, and Alec admired the determined look on his face. The guards took up posts on either side, with the Officer bringing up the back. The music from the party grew louder as they neared a gate in the security perimeter of the Baroness Veiss' estate.

  The party was in full swing. The Baroness dressed her servants in sheer nets, the kind used to filter the grape-berry wine. It left little to the imagination, much to the joy of the wealthy attending the party. Alec knew what it was to be ponied around for the pleasure of others. He diverted his eyes so that at least one person at the party gave them dignity. The youth in cuffs could only gawk. "How little he's seen of this world," Alec thought to himself. Even in servitude, this boy's experience was now as vast as the horizon compared to the rural life he came from.

  Alec took some comfort in thinking that, at the very least, this boy would get to experience some of life for the years he had remaining. Although he hoped he would be spared the indignity of parties like this. A drunk got a little too close to the boy, and Alec, admiring the restraints and the boy. Alec was ready to act, but the official-looking guard stepped in.

  "This is the personal property of Baroness Viess". The guard didn't have to threaten, reach for his weapon or posture in a threatening way. Despite how inebriated the man was, he understood the implications. The drunk broke off midway, sobering near completely out of fear of Baroness Veiss' harsh repercussions.

  The crowd seemed to part as Alec's armed escort entered the central courtyard. Near an entire squad of the elite forces the Baroness employed, the Baroness stood in the courtyard. Nearly thirty people lounged near a large Grape-berry Tree. The white bark stood stark against the black security walls. The purple leaves coating the ground and drifting in the wind added an odd serenity that Alec found even more off-putting.

  As they entered the courtyard, the group lounging seemed to quiet, and the Baroness, viewing herself, stepped out of the small crowd. She was a tall woman, gaunt and harsh-featured. She was in an official-looking dress woven from fine purple silk. She raised a small monocle to her eye and looked first at the youth and then to Alec.

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  "As we planned, unharmed and ready to disappear into a life of hard labour." Alec pushed the boy slightly forward toward the Baroness. The eager itch in his arm was begging to be resolved, and it took up a spot in the back of his usually completely aware mind.

  The Baroness strutted around the boy as if admiring a new possession, but the look on her face implied it was the wrong model. "Alec, you are a master of revenge, the power of precision that plots to perfection?" Her tone was overperformative and mostly for the sake of the wealthy party lounging behind her.

  "I am," Alec's tone was bored; he'd done this show so often. Why the wealthy need so much pomp around circumstances, Alec found to be quite normal in the baronhood, he would never understand.

  "Tell me, my daughter, those years ago. When she was struck by," she gestured in disdain to the youth, "this man's father. The boy's eyes opened in shock, and he looked dumbfounded from Alec to the Baroness. "In such an accident, is it painless? Did my daughter suffer?"

  Alec didn't like where this was going. It did not fall in line with the deal he thought he had retained with the Baroness Veiss. In all his years dealing with them, Alec knew better than to challenge them in their own homes. His eyes scanned the Elite forces surrounding the courtyard. This was not his time. He was glad he had asked Quip to keep the engine hot.

  "It's tough to say without being there," Alec tried to deflect. He saw the hardened look in the baroness' eyes and the joy in her onlookers, and Alec put the pieces together. Suffering now was inevitable, and this boy was about to directly feel the wrath of the petty wealthy elite. Alec sighed in resignation. As much as he would want to change things, this was the way of the world. In that moment, Alec chose to mitigate his own suffering, Aamaranth, purpose. "It's likely."

  The words echoed in the silent courtyard like crows condemning a hanged man. The Baroness smiled an awful, wicked smile and snapped her fingers. A guard produced a whip, used on the boys' homework for corralling the dreaded ratfillo. She waved Alec off to the side and resigned herself to the fact that he had moved. The Baroness stepped back, and then a crack split the air. The crack was followed by a painful scream and then tears of the poor whelp, Alec, who had been coerced by his own existence to bring to this wretched place.

  Crack! Crack! This time, the sounds of pain and whip were punctuated by the ruling elite in attendance, making noise to marvel and admire. None would defy the Baroness. A few more cracks pierced the air, and Alec saw the boy fall into a fetal position. The youth was doing his best to bite back the pain and stare in defiance at his oppressor. His best wasn't good enough. When he broke, he stared at Alec with a look of condemnation he had not seen in thousands of years. Before he knew it, he had stepped forward.

  There was a sharp intake of breath from the onlookers as the Baroness had a look of pure mortified shock. Alec tried to recover, consciously taking control of his movements and pulling his mind back from the plastic bead and child he once knew. "He's not gonna be of much use as a servant if you keep going much further. That was our deal." Her eyes were pure cold hatred. Alec knew the deal had changed.