At Least One of the Luceros was Happy

Miguel Lucero, 74 years old. 6’4”. Harsh brown eyes and swarthy skin. His head was shaved haven given up trying to deal with his balding hair, but he had an exceptionally well-kempt salt-and-pepper beard and mustache. He was the very epitome of European aristocracy. His clothes were handsomely tailored to the old warrior, not a thread out of place. No doubt in fear of his disapproving gaze.

He stood in his office looking out of the large glass window, crafted from individual small hexagonal pieces. His desk and chair were behind him. The family crest was on the wall above. The walls of the room prominently featured weapons, trophies, and other accolades. Some photographs of note included one of him as a teenager meeting Winston Churchill and another with the Queen herself. Featured less prominently were a few photos of him shaking hands with various U.S. presidents over the years. On his desk, however, he kept what was most important to him close, framed pictures of his children, and their mother. Sarah Williams, a fiery and passionate blond with ochre eyes from Texas, of all places.

He patiently listened to his daughter, Maria. He felt the shame in her voice when she described nearly striking their new charge, the young woman who presently sat outside his office. The gravity of the situation was not lost on him. However, being a father he thought to inject some levity into the situation. He sighed in a perfectly rehearsed manner, it carried the weight of a father’s disappointment before he began to speak... “to think all this could be avoided had I let you adopt that kitten you wanted when you were 12. Now you’re bringing home strays, are you?”

Maria sputtered “I-I... what?!” she was dismayed, “father! This is very serious.”

“So am I, Maria Daniella Lucero...” he knew using her full name always got her attention. Without looking he knew that sound was his daughter clutching the arms of her chair for dear life. He had her now. “Since you feel so guilty over it, I’m giving you a chance to take responsibility. She stays in your room, you see to it she is taken care of, feed her, bathe her, train her, take her on walks and keep her safe” he turned his head deliberately letting his sidelong smile betray his joke, “after all, a pet is a big responsibility.”

Maria was dumbfounded, somehow her father had found a way to assign punishment for her rash behavior and tease her at the same time. His words clearly meant she was now responsible for Jayne’s safety and well-being, she considered it and realized it was only fair... she had nearly taken the girl’s life and broken the Blue pact. But waiting on her? She was the 1st Blade of their chapter, surely at least some of this was beneath her. They had servants for that. “Father you don’t mean... I mean we have servants for a lot of that.” Her eyes softly pleaded with her father.

Miguel turned to face his daughter, his arms folded behind his back, “did I stutter, Daughter?” He arched an eyebrow. “You have a good nature dear, and it’s good you take pride in our order and our family. But there are virtues of knighthood you’ve yet to learn, two of which are charity and humility. This isn’t just about atonement, it’s a lesson. See that you take it to heart and it will serve you all your life.”

Once more she felt defeated. Maria Lucero, 1st Blade of the Darkmoon, heiress to the vast Lucero estates and fortune was to act a servant girl to a lower-middle-class mage that didn’t even know her first spell but was potentially a ticking time bomb. She tried to push the feeling of indignation down. “What about her magic?”

“I’ll arrange for a tutor. After all, I don’t want her blowing up in the house, you’d be cleaning it up forever,” he smiled “now you will not breathe a word of this being your assignment to the girl. She should think and feel as though you are doing this from the kindness of your own heart. As should you.”

“Yes, Father.” was all she could manage.

“Now, why don’t you bring her in and introduce us. After all... you’ve never brought a friend home before,” he knew his daughter’s response before she said it.

“She’s not a f-!” Maria paused and considered what she was just about to say, she felt a tinge of guilt and swallowed, “y-yes, Father.”

Miguel smiled and had a seat at his desk. He knew there was going to be petty bickering with the Watch over this, but he wasn’t ready to consign the girl to their dungeon without her having a chance to come into her own. Plus he thought this might be good for his daughter.

Maria returned with the nerve-shot redhead in tow, “Jayne Bronwen, I present to you my father, Lord Miguel Lucero, Blade of the West, and Chapter Captain of the Americas’ Darkmoon Knights.”

“Please, have a seat,” Lord Lucero gestured towards his guest and daughter.

Jayne had a sense of deja vu at that, but she was too mentally and emotionally tired to protest. Even the splendor of the estate didn’t warrant a surface response through her malaise. However, Jayne was pretty sure this was way beyond a ‘mansion’. It was a fucking fortress. The centerpiece of the courtyard, though she supposed one could call it a keep, was an old antebellum plantation-style house. It had been reinforced and fixed up, the interior modified as needed but the front outside left largely untouched. There were however extensions added to the building, including a tower and what Jayne was sure they would call a chappel but to her, it looked more like a small cathedral. The complex itself was situated at a bend in the river to where it had water on three sides leaving only one route by land in and out. There was a dauntingly large gatehouse one had to wait for the guards to open before you could enter. There were four other structures of note.

One was a long but thin gothic revival style building, it looked like a parody of a church but Jayne was able to catch a glimpse inside on the way by, it looked like some sort of meeting hall she thought it resembled pictures she’d seen of the House of Lords in the UK. Adjacent to it was a nicely kept apartment-like building, likely where guests stayed if they filled up bedrooms in the main house. Across the courtyard was a building that certainly didn’t look as nice but was fairly well kept, she thought those were the servants’ quarters. Next to it was a similar building but had what looked like a training field on one side, confirmed by guards who were presently sparring, and on the other side appeared to be some sort of firing range. That had to be the guards’ barracks. Overall the entire thing looked like it was Westminster meets the Old South.

She wondered where she’d end up staying... silently she prayed she didn’t wind up locked in some dark forgotten dungeon somewhere underground. Jayne was interrupted by a snapping of fingers and a gentle tug on her arm, it was Maria trying to guide her to a seat. “Oh no... did I space out again?” Her face flushed red in embarrassment as she let herself be led by the woman who had tried to kill her not even an hour ago. “I apologize... Lord Lucero?” She asked questioningly, not sure how to address the man.

He chuckled softly, “it’s quite alright. It seems you haven’t been having a good day so far...” he paused to gauge Jayne’s response.

Jayne thought back to Tasya, Sade, Anri, and Cecilia, even Miss Mallor had shown her some sort of sympathy, or affection. Which was honestly something she hadn’t thought the woman capable of until today. Then she spared a glance at Maria and the building they were in. “It’s had its ups and downs.” The weary redhead managed a faint smile, resigned to the fact that right now her fate was no longer in her own hands. “I’ve only made this far due to the kindness of strangers,” she admitted, “thank you, by the way, Lord Lucero.”

He tsked lightly, “Sir will do just fine. But it’s good you can find the good even in the most difficult of times, and that you recognize and appreciate others’ efforts. It’s a good attitude, hold onto that.” He paused and considered his next words carefully, “I give you my word, while you are my guest no harm shall come to you. If you decide to leave, so long as you bear that ring, our knights, and sentinels will be called to your aid if you’re in danger, with the exception of the Watch. There is an agreement you see... between all major players in and around Emberburgh. We cannot directly oppose them without breaking that agreement. You may have heard it mentioned a few times, it’s called the Keepers’ Accord and it is basically the only thing ensuring we don’t have an all-out war in the streets. It also keeps the town a neutral place, a bit like Switzerland if you’ll forgive the analogy, allowing considerable underground trade and business.”

Miguel leaned forward and rested his forearms against the edge of his desk, with his finger clasped together, “I’m afraid I grow tired of the sound of my own voice... but I’ll try to give you a brief explanation of the Watch since I’m sure you’ve heard that name-dropped far too many times now. They believe that they are the only thing that stands between humanity and the corruptive elements of the supernatural. What happened with their seers was a tragic accident, however, it has left them blind right now. You, Jayne Bronwen are an anomaly they cannot afford to ignore. To be perfectly honest, none of us can. Beyond any self-interest, our order and the Sentinels are bound to protect whoever possesses one of those rings by an ancient pact. Just be aware some may try to use you towards their own goals.”

Jayne nodded taking all of this in or at least trying to. Her world seemed to be changing by the hour.

Lord Lucero rose from his chair and suppressed a yawn, “it’s getting late, I’m old and talk too much” he said jovially. “I will arrange for a tutor to help you with your new... condition. My daughter will be glad to answer any other questions you have,” he glanced at Maria, “show her where she’s staying and make sure she gets something to eat. Then go do whatever it is you young girls do together,” he grinned, teasing his daughter.

Maria for her part just looked at him as he showed the two out of his office, “really, dad?” He pretended to not hear that as he started to walk to his chambers.

Jayne on the other hand managed a stage voice, “yes, I’m sure we’ll be painting each other’s nails in no time,” she said drily but with good-natured sarcasm.

Lord Lucero didn’t look back, he only laughed and said loud enough for them to hear, “see, she gets it!”