A small, single occupancy room.

Ila opened her door. Her room was just as she left it except for a note on her pallet.



Ila shuddered and crumpled the note.

Aalyssa followed her inside and closed the door. "Ila?"

Teas sprang into Ila's eyes. "I liked working in the kitchen. I was learning so much and I thought I might have actually been good at it.It's what I really wanted to do."

"And why don't you want to now? Does the note have to do with it?" Aalyssa inquired gently.

"I want to but it's not going to work anymore. I should have known it wouldn't have lasted." Ila said miserably. "Someone who visited me at the Crimson Dove is one of the survivors from the raid, him and his family. He saw me working in the kitchen. He doesn't want me working in the kitchen, he wants me to... do what I was doing at the Crimson Dove for him and his friends. I can't go back to doing that." Ila shuddered.

"And you shouldn't have to," Aalyssa said angrily. "Perhaps I could speak with him. Everyone deserves a chance to do what they really want to."

"He said if I didn't leave the kitchen and do what he wants me to he'll tell all the men that I'm a whore." Ila folded her arms over her chest. "I've kept it secret, I've kept the brand hidden. Almost everyone here has been polite to me but that'll change when the secret gets out."

"He certainly didn't think that plan through. It will make it obvious to his wife that he has been straying. You didn't speak with Aislyn and Brighid about this?"

"He said he had a way of ruining me while keeping himself safe... I met his wife and children before I knew they were his family. His wife is a nice woman and the kids are well behaved. I don't want to hurt them." Ila shook her head. "I didn't think either would want me in the kitchen if they knew I was a whore."

"I've known Aislyn and Brighid for years. You are doing them a huge disservice. You should not judge them just like you don't want to be judged." Aalyssa thought for a moment. "I can't figure out how he would be safe from the wrath of his wife for straying."

"He seemed really confident that he could ruin me without having any harm down to himself." Ila fidgeted with the crumpled note. "He said he would have every man in the keep after me."

"That's some pretty large assumptions he's making." Aalyssa thought for a moment. She wished there was a simple answer. "I can speak with Lord De Vale about putting some guards in the kitchen and main hall. It is probably a good idea anyway until the mermen are stopped for good."

"Would DeVale have to know?" Ila asked anxiously. The last thing she wanted was for him and all the knights to find out about her being from the Crimson Dove.

"No, I can simply say that with mermen still around along with some discomfort of living with men that the ladies don't know."

"How would that make the guards stop Tirto?" Ila asked. "He's not a merman. If he wants to hurt me all he has to do is tell people I'm a whore."

"They would on the lookout for anyone being aggressive toward any of the women in the keep. They could be on the lookout for any sort of tensions between far too many people under one roof."

"I'm not comfortable around most of the men here to be honest, they'd be sensing tension between me and half the people in the keep." Ila said, starting to pace. "And I heard about some of the things that happened to women during and after the raid- I can't be the only one here feeling tense around anyone male."

"You are correct, and it's another reason I think having guards in these areas would be a benefit."

"Aren't all the guards male?" Ila asked.

"It is the only solution I can think of. We can't displace every man here."

"Of course not." Ila fidgeted with the note. "I hope it works."

"I do too," Aalyssa said. "But you need to speak with Aislyn and Brie. They will not judge you."

Ila blushed and shook her head. "I can't. Mrs Gerthrim was angry enough at me when she thought I slept with just her husband... A lot of the men that visited the Crimson Dove were married."

"Nonsense, she wasn't angry at you. She was angry with the man she believed to be her husband. And the whole situation with him being an impostor."

"She was very angry when I tried to explain to her that it wasn't really her husband." Ila said.

Aislyn had just been through several horrors, she had lost her home and most of her children. She was already hurting from him acting like she didn't exist. It was more than she could handle at the time."

"She's still going through horrors! Today a man was so rude to her, kept saying horrible things about her daughter, that she snapped and stabbed him." Ila folded her arms. "I think she's in the dungeon... I think the man she stabbed is dead. I can't tell Aislyn she agreed to take on a whore for an apprentice on top of that."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:54, Sat 28 May 2016.

Aalyssa's jaw dropped. "What? Aislyn doesn't have a violent bone in her body. She's far worse than I suspected then. If this is true, than Brie is really going to need your help. You need to at least confide in her."

Ila shook. "She would find someone else to help in the kitchen, someone with more experience with cooking and less with men."

"If your mind is set, there is nothing I can do to change it. But it is up to you to explain to Brie why you're leaving the kitchen."

"I'm sure whatever I tell her will be easier than telling her I'm a whore." Ila shrugged.

Aalyssa frowned at Ila. "If you're well, I should return to the healing room.

Ila unhappily took off the apron Aislyn's daughter had sewn for her. "Your patients must need you... I'm sorry to have taken up your time."

"You were in need. Don't ever feel you're being a bother, Ila."

"Thank you." Ila's eyes glistened as she neatly folded the apron.

Aalyssa sighed, wishing she had a better answer and a way for Ila to stay in the kitchen. "What will you do now?"

"I don't know. I don't think he'll let me stay in the kitchen. I don't know what he's going to do but I know he's going to make it difficult for me. But I won't go back to being a whore." Ila said vehemently. She had an inkling of what she could do but hoped it would not come to that if she could find another way.

"I wish I had a better answer.  I know you enjoyed working in the kitchen."

"I loved it there." Ila said. "But whores don't belong in kitchens."

"Stuff and nonsense!" Aalyssa exclaimed. "You are letting fear and this man control you. It is no way to live."

"If it gets out that I used to work at the Crimson Dove he won't be the only one wanting to kick me out of the kitchen, and do worse." Ila said. "Who wants a whore cooking their food?"

"I fail to see that it matters," Aalyssa scoffed.

"I met women who managed to get out of the Crimson Dove. They wound up right back there because it was all they could do for a living." Ila said. "No one would let them do anything else. One managed to get hired on as a maid in a house... When the couple found out where she used to work the husband expected her to do more than clean and the wife basically treated her like dirt."

"Then the only answer might be to relocate you in a different village. Far from here or Portside."

"I don't think I can get far enough away. So many ships go through there I've probably been with men all over the world." Ila said in disgust.

"Then I am fresh out of answers," Aalyssa said.

Ila was out of answers too, except for one. The tower.

"You helped me... Now your patients need you." Ila said resignedly.

Aalyssa nodded and reluctantly left the room.

Ila looked around her room. She was not safe here anymore, Tirto knew where she was staying and would be back. Either she had to get a lock, find some way of keeping that door shut, or move to another room. Ila thought maybe moving to another room and getting a lock would be a good idea, if she didn't wind up using her tower idea before turning in for the night.

Ila left the room, trying to think of a good excuse for no longer helping in the kitchen.

Ila hoped Tirto was telling the truth about going to the garden. She picked up her pallet and put it against the door, hoping it would at least slow Tirto if he tried to get in. She went through her meager possessions, the only blouse she had was the one she was wearing- the one with the sleeve torn off. She found a handkerchief. It was stained but it would have to do. Ila folded the handkerchief and awkwardly tied it around her right arm to cover the tattoo. It looked conspicuous but hopefully it would do until she could get Millie to sew on a new sleeve.

Ila pulled her pallet aside, she peeked out her door. The hall was empty. Ila left her room and hurried out of the dormitory.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:09, Fri 22 July 2016.

Difyr knocked on Ila's door. When there was no answer she tried the door, and let herself in. She frowned at the state of the room. Ila was a very neat person, it was not like her to leave her pallet askew and crumpled parchment on the floor.

Juniper said nothing and followed suite, carefully ducking under the door frame into the room. The rooms mess reminded her of how her cabin on the ship was kept.

"Ila normally wouldn't keep her room this way." Difyr said, worry creasing her brow.

Juniper used her foot to push aside several books, taking a moment to examine them.

" Where could they be?"

Besides the room looking disorganized it did not look like there was a struggle or anything, Difyr did not see any blood or other fluids anywhere.

"I don't know," Difyr said, then added worriedly. "Ila may try to take her own life."

Those last few words hung in the air for a moment before Juniper spoke again, this time a little more somber.

"Lets avoid that. Where would she go?"

"She wasn't in either of my rooms, or the kitchen, so I expected to find her here." Difyr thought for a moment. "She tried to throw herself off a balcony once so maybe up high, like the walls."

"If thats the case then lets get to her quick. Is this behavior common of Ila?"

Difyr hurried out of the dormitories to the closest access to the wall. She shook her head. "No, but she has attempted it in the past... Something has happened that might make her try again."

Juniper matched Difyr's pace and followed her path to Ila

To Inner Walls->