Valentine led Baroness Constance and her solitary bodyguard across the lobby to where I sat near the fire. Still in the grip of The Long Night, the fire provided the only light to see by. A deliberate choice, of course, as I knew how poor elven night vision was.

Like the other species I'd met, they'd evolved on a gas giant moon, though one with different orbital characteristics. The night they were accustomed to was one where that gas giant was present in the sky, throwing down so much light upon the landscape that it appeared to be nearly day to a human.

So while I could see just fine in the flickering firelight, I watched with amusement as the Baroness, and her guard bumped into multiple pieces of furniture on their way over to me, with Valentine threading her way through by memory.

Constance sat across from me in a large armchair, still wearing a sword, but without armour. Instead, she wore a tunic that fell to the knees. Aside from a little brocade on the chest and a richer dye, it was little different from Phoebe's usual dress. I made out her features with little difficulty. Seeing her up close for the first time, she reminded me of Temerity. At only six feet she lacked the Duchess' stature and was slighter of build, but that's not to say she wasn't formidable. If the Duchess were Wonder Woman, then Baroness Constance here was one of the Amazons. Had I not been born a freak of nature, I probably would have been genuinely intimidated. Even having the size advantage, I didn't particularly want to tangle with her. I'd done some historical European martial arts, true, but that wasn't anything like being an actual knight. If it came to a fight, I was confident of victory, maybe even against the pair of them, but I'd not make it through unscathed.

She had sharp features, with high cheekbones and a strong jaw. Her hair was black and not much longer than my own. Some effort had gone into the style and cut, though wearing her helmet all day hadn't done good things for it.

I sat on a couch opposite her, the fire between us on my left side. Leaning forwards, I rested my elbows on my knees and had my fingers loosely interlaced. I was a little nearer to the fire than she was, but it made no difference. She'd get a general impression of my features, but I knew it would be too dark for her to make out my expression or to follow my eyes.

I waited for Val and the Baroness's bodyguard to get settled. Val came around to stand behind me, with the guard just off the Baroness's left shoulder. The Baroness said nothing, evidently waiting for me to speak first, but I didn't have much to say. So I continued to wait.

I couldn't help but feel awkward, of course, but the cloak of darkness helped me maintain my composure. The moment seemed to drag on into minutes, but I knew in truth that it took only a few seconds of silence for the quiet to become too uncomfortable, and Constance spoke.

"Lord Wallace," she began, "I understand you harbour some animosity for Duchess Temerity," Constance's gaze was momentarily drawn to Val, "I too have some unresolved differences with her. I was hoping I might be of some assistance to you in this matter."

"You want to help me with Temerity?"

"Yes," she replied after a moment's hesitation.

I shrugged, "Then why are you here?"

"I beg your pardon."

I tapped the side of my head, "Temerity wants what I know. She's even made a pretty generous offer to convince me to join her, not that I'm really into it. But I doubt she's going to take no for an answer, hell, you probably know her better than myself."

She began to nod, "That's why I'm here. I have two knights and twenty-two men-at-arms-"

"And how much food?" I interrupted, "I don't have nearly the trouble in the dark that you do. I saw your men quite clearly. Half of them have empty saddlebags, and hardly any of them wear any sort of pack."

"We had to leave Parabuteo in haste, there was not time for such trifles," she replied sharply, "I am willing to put my soldiers at your disposal. All you need do is provide food, lodging, and a place to pasture our horses."

With my elbows still on my knees, I spread my hands, "Do you think I'm stupid? Maybe you're familiar with Simon in his early days. I bet he had a hard fucking time adjusting to this insanity. Maybe you figure I've hardly been here a month and might be easy to coerce?"

"I have come to you in good faith-"

"Hey, I'm not done. You know, I'm usually a pretty helpful guy. Generally, if someone needs help, I'm inclined to give it. But you're here hoping that I'm not clever enough to understand exactly how much shit you're bringing with you. Temerity took the city. I already knew that before you even showed up. So let's consider what you're really offering me. On the one hand," I began, raising a finger, "I lose the biggest advantage I have against Temerity. Namely, I'm not worth the trouble. Yeah she wants what I know, and yeah, she could reach me if she were determined enough. But getting enough people here to force my compliance will be a real pain in the ass, and even if it works out for her, which it might not, I'm not likely to be too cooperative. But if she finds out I'm hiding you and all your little toy soldiers, suddenly I move a lot higher up her todo list. So maybe I won't be the most cooperative if she forces me back to the city, but she's here to finish off her rival, so why not grab the giant along the way? Not to mention that I begin to look a lot less like a neutral third party, and a lot more like an active threat. Second," I continued, extending another finger, "I have to support twenty-five knights and men-at-arms, along with all their horses. Short of all of you showing up in full-plate, I genuinely cannot imagine a group of people that would take more time and resources to support." I raised another finger, "Third, I'm supposed to let in a bunch of strangers, loyal to someone else, and hope they don't get any ideas? You're telling me that you won't wake up one day and decide that your life would be a lot easier if you didn't have me to deal with?"

Even if I could keep that from happening, I'd be a prisoner in my own fortress. Unable to leave for fear of Constance taking over. Fuck that.

"And on the other hand," I continued before she could answer, "I get... what? I deal with this load of bullshit and get what in exchange? Hell, if you'd come alone, I probably would have said yes. But instead, you dragged half a platoon of horsemen with you. No way in hell that Temerity doesn't find out where you are, if she doesn't know already."

She slammed a fist down on the arm of the chair, "It is not a mere matter of survival, do you not see that? She has taken Parabuteo from its rightful ruler, have you no sense of justice?"

"It is a mere matter of survival," I countered, "You're not going to take the city back with twenty-five of anything. Right now your entire plan is to stay alive, so that maybe, sometime in the future, you might be able to gather what you need to take a crack at reconquering the city," I yawned and leaned back against the couch, "That's why you came here. Caniforma doesn't want you. You've got even less to offer them than you do me, and it'll just inflame tensions with Parabuteo. Same goes for Pelignos. So that leaves you with two options. You could petition Simon for help, but we both know how that'll go. He'll turn you and your knights into puppets, and send your men-at-arms away," I threw up my hands, "That's assuming he even cares, which he might not."

"A foe looms on the border, and you would do nothing?"

"A self-entitled noblewoman looms on the border, and I'd prefer not to turn her into an enemy," I corrected, "Think about it from my perspective. Say you were the one with the fort, and I showed up suddenly with a bunch of soldiers, trouble hot on my heels. Would you let me in and pledge yourself to my cause?"

Constance did not reply immediately. Instead, she turned her head to gaze into the fire. After a moment, she spoke, "And were you in my position, what would you do?"

"I'd never be in your position," I replied honestly, "I don't want to rule a city, I hardly want to be in charge of the hotel. What I want is for everyone to fuck off and leave me alone so I can go on awesome adventures and learn magic. But if I had to choose? I'd find somewhere safe to leave the men-at-arms," I nodded at her guard, "maybe keep the knights around, I don't know how fond of each other you are, then I'd be free to do what I wanted."

"What I want is my city back," she growled through gritted teeth.

"Have you tried wanting something else?"

"There was a time I'd have your tongue cut out for addressing me so. You seem incapable of even showing the most basic level of respect for my station. Is this how humans receive their guests? Offered neither drinks nor food after their travels, instead, they are led into a darkened hovel to plead for what any other society would deem basic hospitality?"

"Constance, you're fucked," I stated, "It's as simple as that. Justice and hospitality are pretty dope, but you've got to be alive to appreciate them. Like I said, if things were different, maybe I'd try to help out. But my first priority is to take care of the friends I already have, before making new ones. You can stay till morning on Last Light. Then you need to leave."

"You will provide quarters until then?"

"I'll let you camp out on the hill and not throw anything at you till then," I clarified.

"I am a Baroness. Would you have me sleeping out on the cold hard ground for days? We don't even have any tents."

I felt for her. She'd been kicked out of her home and was on the run with little more than the shirt on her back. It wouldn't be long before her men, armour, and horses became a burden. Twenty-five horsemen without any support staff weren't much of a fighting force, and we both knew it. But she was a noblewoman and stuck in her ways. She was clinging to the life she knew, and it was going to kill her.

"I'm not letting a bunch of soldiers into my fort. I'm sorry."

Constance stood suddenly, "I'll not forget this."

An ottoman, hidden by shadow, undermined her show of storming away when she tripped over it. Constance maintained her footing, if not her pride.

I waited until she'd left the building to rise and follow her, watching from the windows to ensure they took no detour on the way to the storm drain.

Val sidled up behind me once the pair had left, and wrapped her arms around my waist. She peeked out around me, and I absently stroked her hair.

"What do you think?" I asked softly.

"It's not the manner I would have handled it in," she replied, "But I agree on the details, and don't see how it might have gone differently, however you handled her. The Baroness isn't likely to recognize it, but you were as kind as you could be, in your own direct and unsubtle way. It was a little disappointing, honestly."

I patted her hair, "Maybe we should get a drink before we go relieve Cassius and Phoebe. You seem thirsty."