Well enough, I suppose.

Here it was. The day of liberation- hopefully. The potion was ready, they were able to successfully isolate Rosalind from the misfit boys, and the trio of Earnest, Alesia, and Morgan were about as well-rested as they could be as they began the trek to the misfit boys’ base. On the way to the base, they discussed what they should do with the boys once they had kicked them out of Rosalind’s body. The evidence of dark magic was irrefutable, but was it really the best way to deal with them? Alesia argued for leniency, at least, initially, until she saw Earnest’s barely hidden rage as he argued for apprehending them and throwing them into jail. Earnest didn’t have much contact with the people of Knottori to begin with, other than his initial information gathering on Rosalind when he had first arrived, and as such he didn’t have the same reservations against a harsh punishment as Alesia, who had spent a decent amount of time over the last two days walking around town, running errands. Morgan, for her part, refused to get involved, and Alesia’s unwillingness to be confrontational meant that the group surrendered to Earnest’s desire for **** without much fanfare.

Regardless, the goal here was to rid Rosalind of whoever was possessing her, and no one forgot it as they quickly entered the base while Rosalind was stripping, evidently intent on a masturbation session as per her usual routine. And it was evident that she was still possessed, by the fact that she made no effort to cover up after seeing Earnest, Morgan, and Alesia come into view- and her reaction to seeing the three of them.

“...I don’t think you’re supposed to be here, Earnest.” Her voice contained more venom than Earnest ever thought possible from her. “Would you kindly…leave? I was going to…change.” It was clear that whoever was in her had no idea as to how she was supposed to act around Earnest, and did their best approximation of what they thought an elegant woman would say. Earnest probably would have found this more humorous if it wasn’t his friend being possessed, as he (and the rest of the town) was witness to Rosalind getting absolutely smashed and making a fool of herself last night.

“We know you’re in there, Thomlin. Give it up, we’re here to save Rosalind.”

Rosalind’s eyes widened at this, and any doubts they might have had as to if she was currently possessed or not were immediately removed.

“Listen, buddy, I don’t know what your relationship with her is, or what you think you’re doing here, but whatever it is, it isn’t going to work. All I have to do is beat you, then take out your friends here,” she turned to the women to leer at them, “and then we’ll figure out how we’re going to punish your little group for trying to get involved with stuff that doesn’t involve you.”

Perhaps this little bluff would be more intimidating if the three of them hadn’t meticulously planned for this, and they knew that Ricard and Barnabas had no idea that they were being tailed. As long as they took out Thomlin-in-Rosalind here, it would be child’s play to neutralize the other two misfits, and expel Thomlin from Rosalind’s body. Thomlin’s bluff were just that- bluffs intended to buy time and somehow figure out a way to meet with Ricard and Barnabas to maintain control of Rosalind’s body.

Earnest drew his sword. “I don’t want to have to hurt you, Thomlin, but I can still neutralize you in a forceful way if necessary.”

Uh oh. Thomlin tried a different approach, groping Rosalind’s breast and bringing it up to her mouth in one of the most erotic things Earnest had ever seen. “I-If you let us stay here, I’ll do- we’ll do whatever you want. I know you love Rosalind, well, now’s your chance to do whatever you want to her!” It’s clear that Thomlin felt the walls closing in, as whatever eroticism he was hoping to distract Earnest with was sabotaged by the clear worry starting to creep into Rosalind’s voice.

“If you really knew me, and the relationship I had with Rosalind, you would know that I love Rosalind as an equal to me- for her determination, her discipline, and her commitment to justice. I’ve no interest in seeing her reduced to a common whore!”

The time for bargaining was over. And Rosalind knew it, drawing her own sword to meet Earnest’s. Thomlin was always the strongest kid in the town, able to outmuscle and bully anybody of his age in tests of strength- and Rosalind herself was still in elite physical condition, despite the misfit boys’ influence marginally making her body weaker due to their lack of discipline. However, Thomlin’s childhood fights and scraps were no match for Earnest’s knight training, and with the possession spell that the boys were using leaving Thomlin unable to access Rosalind’s skills with the blade, Thomlin stood no chance. The fight was embarrassingly quick, with Earnest parrying a **** lunge from Rosalind, subsequently disarming her, and pinning her arms behind her back, effectively neutralizing her despite her **** attempts to break free. All knights were trained extensively in combat, and it showed in the utter domination Earnest showed over Thomlin. However, what most knights weren’t trained for was betrayal by their comrades, and Earnest had no defense against the dark magic that shot from Morgan’s fingertips, incapacitating an unsuspecting Alesia, and then immediately knocking out Earnest, unable to comprehend why she was turning on them.

Earnest awoke with a violent jolt. It was a painful sensation, coming to after being forcibly knocked out- about as far from the gentle sensation of slowly coming back into consciousness one got while waking from sleep. He had been knocked **** before, during the occasional harsh training session, but the splitting headache that accompanied this situation was something he could never get used to.

Head pounding, he stood up shakily and assessed the situation. The potion was still on his hip- that’s good. Alesia was there- still ****. He should check on her, right after…yes, Rosalind was still there! Time was of the essence- he ran over to her nude form and checked if she was still breathing. Luckily, she didn’t have any significant wounds that he could see- it appeared she was still **** from when Earnest neutralized her. Another glance around confirmed that Morgan was also nowhere to be found, nor any of the misfit boys. That… was a problem, but the main priority here was getting Rosalind and Alesia out of the base. Bringing the potion to Rosalind’s lips, he gently had her drink the potion, and the effects were instant. Her eyes fluttered open, and Earnest could physically feel an aura of dark magic creep over him- hopefully the result of Thomlin’s soul being ejected back to its original body. She was visibly flushed and confused, but the pensive look on her face quickly gave way to what looked to be relief after seeing Earnest- before being replaced by sheer embarrassment as she realized her state of undress. Earnest had to put his hand over her mouth to prevent her from yelling.

“R-Rosalind! I know this is really confusing, and disorienting, and… well, crazy, but I need you to get dressed and we need to get going. If we stay here any longer, things will get very bad. I need you to trust me here.”

Once he saw her shake her head “yes” in response to that, he removed his hand from her mouth and turned to Alesia, allowing Rosalind to get dressed. Thankfully, it looked like Alesia wasn’t cursed or anything significant either, as she woke without much effort on Earnest’s part. He did feel like someone was staring intensely at him- probably Rosalind- but perhaps that was to be expected after the situation she had just found herself in. Alesia awoke in a similar manner to Rosalind- a short burst of confusion followed by a flustered expression due to Earnest’s close presence, but Earnest simply repeated the same explanation that he gave to Rosalind to Alesia, and soon Alesia was up and ready to head back to town- albeit, with Earnest supporting her due to the splitting headache she was nursing as well.

Despite being in poor shape, it looked like their main objective was finished- and so the trio, with Morgan replaced by Rosalind, returned to the inn much to the confusion of what few townspeople were in the inn at the time. They saw the three of them limp up the stairs, and as was to be expected- rumors began to propagate. But such things didn’t matter right now. All three of them needed rest, and so they each retreated to their rooms- Rosalind to hers, Earnest and Alesia to theirs- with a promise to explain the situation once they had woken up. Rosalind looked at Earnest and Alesia entering the same room with an expression that Earnest couldn’t quite decipher- but his head hurt too much to care. The feeling of the soft bed enveloping his body as he quite literally collapsed into the sheets alongside Alesia washed away any concern he might have had, with the promise of a brighter tomorrow shepherding him to a far more relaxed sleep than the night before.

After some much needed rest, the three of them met in the tavern below, doing their best to ignore the pointed stares and poorly hushed gossip floating around them as they ate. They had their own whispers to worry about, as Rosalind attempted to prod as much information as possible as to what exactly was happening, before being sated by a promise to explain upstairs, hopefully free of any but the most dedicated eavesdroppers.

And so, returning to the room that had served as Earnest and Alesia’s “honeymoon suite” and base of operations, the two of them (but mostly Earnest) explained the situation to an astonished Rosalind. Thankfully, Earnest had the tact to gloss over the parts where he saw her masturbate, but the deep blush that spread across Rosalind’s face meant that she certainly must have understood that he saw her in those intimate moments. Both Alesia and Earnest got to witness the full range of emotions that Rosalind could express on her face, from the aforementioned embarrassment, to anger, to the deep sense of betrayal she felt, and everything in-between. Rosalind still looked very much in a daze after Earnest wrapped up the explanation, and could only really muster one question after a long pause to regain her composure.

“So…um… you two aren’t getting married?”

Now it was Earnest and Alesia’s turn to be flustered, as Earnest denied the accusation with perhaps more forcefulness than Alesia preferred. Following Earnest's denial as Rosalind turned her gaze from him to her, she (very reluctantly) confirmed to Rosalind that she was, in fact, not Earnest’s fiancee, although she would be retaining his services after he attended the exhibition he was representing the 7th company at. She left the “retaining his services” part intentionally vague initially, but the edge of hostility that graced Rosalind’s face at the ambiguity of their agreement quickly persuaded Alesia to clarify that he would only be helping out as a shopkeep, not as a male prostitute… a denial that coaxed a raised eyebrow from Rosalind and a look of sheer confusion from Earnest. Alesia was certainly not the most tactful of people, to say the least.

Awkward misunderstandings aside, the three of them still had one very big problem to handle despite the apparently successful liberation of Rosalind- what happened to the misfit boys and Morgan? Preparing for a fight, Rosalind and Earnest prepared to breach the room that Morgan was staying in… before finding the room almost spotless, save for a note signed by Morgan herself.

“Dearest Earnest, Alesia, and Rosalind,

Congratulations on a successful mission. I regret having to leave so soon after its completion, and on such poor terms, but the conversation before we entered the base warranted this course of action. I have taken the boys with me, to reform them and possibly make them into productive members of society, instead of condemning them to a lifetime of prison at best, and hanging at worst. The three of them are in my care- do not worry about them, they have already explained the situation to their parents and we have left Knottori. Do not chase us, as I have laid spells to confound any attempt at tracking me. Instead, enjoy your victory, and help Rosalind recover. The potion I created with Alesia is going to leave her significantly weaker than usual for the next few weeks. Perhaps you can reconcile your feelings with her over that time.

Love,

Morgan.”

Earnest did his best to cover up the last sentence as he read it, but Rosalind was always the faster reader, and the slight blush she had as he attempted to subtly take the paper out of her sight only confirmed it. Recomposing themselves while flanked by a somewhat confused and concerned Alesia, the three of them… immediately went to track Morgan and the misfit boys. A query to the tavern owner didn’t give them any information as to their whereabouts, unfortunately. And it appeared that the boys had, indeed, explained the situation to their parents and said their goodbyes to them. And there also weren’t any fresh tracks leading out of town that matched the party of four that Morgan and the misfit boys should have left…

All of this just raised more questions. Morgan’s letter reeked of falsehoods and half-truths, but at the same time- all the information that Earnest, Rosalind and Alesia could verify supported the claims in the letter. And Earnest did suppose that he never really got to know Morgan that well, so it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility for her to do something like this…And her reasoning seemed sound enough.

Perhaps most importantly, though, was the fact that there wasn’t anything that could be done. Informing the parents that their children were joining a heretic practicing the dark arts, that the boys had possessed and corrupted Rosalind, would be more trouble than it's worth, and probably would end up with Earnest and friends being ran out of town for inviting such a dangerous person into Knottori to begin with. They could try and raise an alert to the knights of the kingdom and other authorities, but such information would take far too long to disseminate- by the time people knew what to look for, the four could be far out of the Kingdom’s reach. All of this alongside Alesia’s surprisingly earnest support and belief in Morgan’s intentions led the trio to eventually, reluctantly, decide to do nothing. Rosalind was already feeling somewhat under the weather, a stated effect of the anti-possession potion they had her drink, and so getting the three to Lindow, and making Rosalind comfortable while she recovers was the number one priority.

With Rosalind’s freedom gained, albeit in an awkward, messy fashion, the three set out from Knottori for what they hoped to be the last time, leaving behind a village perplexed by the strangers who had left as quickly as they came, carrying with them only their essentials and an excess of painful memories.