Chapter Forty

  Harmony expected Rose to rush out with guards to escort her away or Sir Maxwell, with his oath, taking deyed a to help her, perhaps Lord Tyler or even Ambrosia. That was not the case.

  Serena Vale, the head of the ission, walked out, her show fa, a smile beaming as she stepped into the area projected to all. She even waved one of those gentle waves with a soft turn of her wrist.

  Serena offered her hand to Harmony to help. The dy maid accepted it, and with the issioner’s help, they brought the prio his feet. Vale spoke, not to Harmony, but to the gathered crowd, turning so everyone could g her face. “We’ve all witnessed an astoundi. The games will start shortly as we see who makes it to the finals in the capitol, but how about a round of appuse for our new dy, Harmony White.” She purposefully escorted the neancer, prince, and toad trio back toward the guild’s private room.

  Harmony watched the woman give her skills something to aspire to. Ms. Vale never implied if what the crowd saw was real or staged, creating an air of mystery that would lead to debate. [Poise and Bearing] and [Style and Grace] ached to achieve that in a way that was here as a regur maid where that part of her helped to avoid attention. But she was now a dy maid, and that ge shifted where her skills felt they could be best used. Could she now take attention and deflect it as the issioner had done? Maybe Tyler could lehose awful guides on being a lord and dy books to read again.

  They approached a guild room. It was being abandoned. Most of the bidders were gone, and many were gathering their things or having short words with each other. When those still there noticed she arrived back, most picked up the pace, like scurrying vermin when you opehe blinds to shine a light on them. Not all, though.

  Lady Coodly stood there first to greet her. “Don’t mind them. They simply don’t wish to be remembered by you as trying to buy you when they meet the member of the peerage. I sadly have to inform you that your employment tract has been nullified by this ge. Lords and dies ’t be bound by such things. I do hope we maintain a friendly and productive retionship with each other.”

  “Of course,” Harmony answered half-automatically, slipping back slightly into her differential role.

  “Wonderful.” The matriarch responded. “I’ll have your personal effects sent to you as soon as it be arranged.” Then she nodded goodbye.

  Her old employer turning away hit her i, as she was now unemployed and without a pce to live. She’d steeled herself for new employment after today, but not no employment.

  “You! How dare you!” A furious Rose marched towards her, and Harmony readied [Small Armor] for defense.

  When the hand struck out accurately, propelled by the ranger’s unlocked stats of dexterity and spatial awareness, it snaked out past Harmony, grabbing Prince Adric’s ear with a twist.

  “Ow!” He yelped, shaking him out of his stupor. “Don’t, Rose.”

  “What do you expect me to do, Addy? After you returned from the dead and didn’t tell me! You think your ear hurts. Imagihinking your brother died. And, the dy’s pet prince, rofession even is that?”

  Harmony scooted out from under Adric’s arm, which she’d been using to help prop him up. During a family inquisition, she didn’t o be between the fighting brother and sister.

  Princess Rosaline’s eyes so Harmony at the movement. “I don’t know what my brother has promised or doo you through all this, but let me assure you I’ll do my best to make amends. First, the duke and now Adriow that you’re a dy, that may actually be easier.”

  “It’s not like that, Rose. It’s…” The prince’s words were cut off as his ear twisted further. Rose’s hand had never left the lobe, and she pulled him away.

  “Grrup?” Hyath asked.

  “Oh, no, that’s family trouble. I’m letting him sort that out himself. Makes me almost gd I no longer deal with mine.”

  Ambrosia’s ecstatic surprise hug grabbed Harmony from the side. Of course, who needs family when you have friends? She grumbled internally. And she hadn’t fotten that Hyath had been in on it.

  “I ’t believe it worked. Lady. Harmony. White.”

  She let her friend hug her. She actually hat hug after all the events of the day. “And when were you ever going to tell me this was your pn?”

  “When it worked? I mean, I half-figured you’d have figured it out, as I know you’ve read all the books. I don’t know how much blunter we could get, especially after the lyrie of those songs. It’s not like someone suddenly being a lord or dy ’t happen. That’s what that no-name duke had wanted. I thought you not tellio stop was subtle approval.”

  Oh, so that was the route her friend was going to take. pliments and making her admit she’d missed all the obvious signs if she was going to pin. The beast tamer knew her too well. And if she had figured it out, she would have asked them to stop because of how embarrassingly uhis transformation was. Sure, people tried, and when you evolve your css, there is some ce for heroes, and even the rare mert prince or celebrity, tress into the aristocracy. To bee a lord or dy outside of that, that’s the myth of the hero otlefield suddenly gaining immense power and winning the day, not a maid getting some songs sung about her.

  Harmony leaned into the hug. “Fine, but no more secrets.”

  “This is also going to make the best bald ever!”

  This was her friend’s moment of fame, and the neancer cmped dorotest. The band was shooting their singer looks, signaling to get over to them, so Harmony wiggled out of the embrace. “You go do that.”

  Ambrosia skipped off to the band. Max and Len were holding Rose back from a fling Adric. The st few clusters of people who’d shown up for the au were departing. The band worked oing their instruments in their carrying cases. At the same time, Ambrosia tested out a line of lyrics or two. From the ter of attention to, well, the dy maid was unsure what to do with herself. The crowd roared. Another battle was eng.

  “Grrupt.” A warning from her familiar seeped through their bond, quiet and subtle.

  Harmony tensed, all the same, too many surprises. The danger was here, but not the physical threat of loomih. Tyler, free of his gran, made his way nervously toward her. The instinct from years of difference cshed with the reality of her new jobless state. [High Kick] suggested a nice boot to the head.

  The young lord moving in for a hug didn’t help, and Harmony fended him off with her palms fag him, a chill radiating around her. Not that Tyler seemed to notice. “Harmony, we be together now. Gran ’t even objeow that you’re a dy. Our love doesn’t o be a secret any longer. I’m going to the capital to plete my training and want you to e with me.”

  “Our love? We?” Harmony couldn’t keep the ice out of her tone. She could even see her breath fog up. [Cold Touch] pulsed with a numb indiffere would be too easy to let that skill strangle all her emotions. Yet more annoying than Lord Tyler was the frost she could taste on her lips and the knowledge she’d gained while at her training pond. Authority was simply es and beliefs lending power to you. She could feel their emotion buzzing like background noise, affe, love, and desire, so it would be easy to shut off. Instead, she used her unlocked stat of e to take those warm emotions, even the mispced ones she kyler had for her. With that authority, she smothered the skill and the inations that supported it. I’ll deal with that ter, she told herself as she tried to let her feelings open up.

  “I di-didn’t mean t-too...” Tyler started to stutter, and Harmony knew she had to act or the boy would break.

  “Tyler, that’s sweet.” She blinked bae surprise at the new warmth in her voice, even if the tone was closer to ohat you’d use with a child or pet. “But, I was your employee. You don’t really know me. The extra favors we did for each other were more than a little transaal. I have admired your thirst for knowledge and the uems with it. But there is no love, or we. Perhaps we start with a new friendship that involves fewer lingering gnces while I’m dusting your shelves. One where we both try to live up to our potential. I’m not sure I leave Hazeldht now, dungeon and all, but I wish you all the lu the capital.”

  “But…” He tried.

  Harmony could feel him being flicted through the authority he grao her. Less belief, less power, she wasn’t sure. More things to deal with.

  “It’s okay. I believe in you.” The simple, cliche answer in an attempt to end the versatio a surge through her about his beliefs. Just ig, she told herself. You know very little about authority and how to ma. He’s leaving anyway, and well, time to ge the topic. “I’m afraid I’m at a loss for what to do now that I’m out of a job and bee a dy.”

  “Oh, the kingdom makes allowances for that. Si usually happens when citizens evolve, there is a process wheering evolution ges.”

  “Oh, thank you.” It was a struggle not to curtsy or, on the flip side, kick his shin a few times for his awkward decration of love. Instead, she tried to be positive and dy-like, the way she’d watched Lady Coodly and others behave thousands of times.

  Sileretched betweeyler clearly hadn’t pnned what to do if his “our love” gambit failed. He gave an awkward bow, signaling he’d finally given up.

  “I promise to write to you.” He said as he walked away.

  After Lord Tyler had left the room, Harmony finally let herself defte a little, all the emotions on the idiocy of it all running through her.

  “Grrupt?” Hyath asked.

  “Oh, I don’t think I did too bad. That robably my least stressful flict of the day.”

  Prince Adric, looking harried, walked over and grabbed Harmony’s hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

  A look over showed both Len and Maxwell talking to a sobbing Rose. “What did you do now?” She asked him.

  “Nothing. I’ve dohing. That may be the problem, but if we wait any longer, journalists and fans will be at every exit by the time we leave. I suppose you don’t have a ge of clothes to make you less reizable?”

  Harmony khe outfit she arrived in was done for, so she only returned a gre. Her pet wasn’t wrong about what they could walk into and the stand-out nature of her armor.

  “Hyath, go hunt til your heart’s tent and find us ter.” He was just as noticeable.

  Uanding, the shadow toad slipped into the shadows looming behind a throne.

  The prince led her down the Colosseum’s hallways like he’d memorized them. A few turns, and they went from the eborate path to pin utility halls. From there, a ste room had extra uniforms stacked ly o bins holding stained and soiled outfits spttered with blood, monster shit, and rips. When the man started ging into one of the male uniforms, Harmony stowed her armor and peeled off the shreds of her oime gift. The uniforms here were almost as modest but were not as high quality. Their fabric itched and chaffed a little, enough to cause a spasm of worry that she’s bee one of the picky dies.

  She couldn’t use her skills to ge his appeara could rub dirt on his face. As for herself, she adjusted her skin tone and the cut of her cheekbones and gave herself bllets again. Together they snuck out through the building crowd of gawkers, journalists, aed citizens eager to glimpse the source of the wild rumors that were just starting to spread like wildfire.

  For five days, they hid in inns. The inhe quality ones with private libraries that lent copies to patrons. Harmony took that time to rex. A vacation from the drama, with books to escape into.

  Prince Adriaged himself, so she didn’t o take him for walks. Always mysterious errands that o be run. tess Maye, Adric’s Auntie, showing up in town didn’t ge anything. Guild master Hemlock still hadn’t returned. And every time she mao get within earshot of a on room, she could hear her name being sung, paired up with an ever-growing list of ridiculous feats by local bards. It made her miss Ambrosia, and her profession itched from ck of use. Five days cooped up, and she needed a vacation from the vacation.

  That is why she leaped at Prince Adric’s offer of a private carriage ride. “Why ’t you tell me where we are going?” The trip took them out of the city but wasn’t going down anywhere but an rown dirt road

  “It’s a surprise.”

  “I hope your aunt didn’t arra. I don’t uand why she doesn’t want to meet me.”

  “She expihat the political ramifications are too much for her to be seen to be involved. “

  Harmony suspected that it was more as though she didn’t want to put a face to the person that might o be executed. At this point, she figured her popurity and whatever strange agreement Hemlock was w on was the only thing keeping her alive.

  Hyath nuzzled her side from the seat o hers, assuring that everything would be all right.

  The carriage wheeled to a stop ending the bumpy ride over rough ground. Stepping into the midday sun. An abandoned manreeted her. Peeling paint, broken windows, the pight call full of potential, or a haunted house. But, no neancer worth their salt would ever be afraid of that.

  “Our new home. Sure, it needs some work, but it beats hiding at inns or visiting the unity estates for new lords and dies.”

  Harmony looked at her pet and tried to pull information from their bond to check if he was joking. He wasn’t joking.

  “I know what you’re thinking, but I got help. I mao get a pair of employment tracts at a dist. As much as this peeds some love and care, please trust me that this will work.” Then The Lady’s Pet Prince gave Harmony his puppy dog eyes. He’d yet to divulge the details of his new profession’s skills to her, but she wondered if manipution of her was one of them. It was so hard to say no to that look from that beautiful, too-perfect face.

  “Fine.”

  He gave aed leap and, after settling down, cpped twice.

  Old doors creaked open. Harmony added oiling the hio the list of things growing in her mind to make this pce livable. The inside was dark, so clearly, all the glow stones o be recharged or possibly even repced. A rising thud, almost like heavy boots, rose out of the darkness, and Harmony pictured the floorboards needing work too. She hoped Adriaged to get this pce cheap.

  A familiar face stepped out, revealing the thud as a e. “Bates!”

  “Lady White.” He said with a bow.

  Harmony couldn’t take her eyes off the head butler. The idea of Lady Coodly going without him or letting him go was impossible for her. Yet, Adric had somehow ma. What were that old matriarch’s pns?

  Bird song from the woods distracted her musings. Yank, a small beak, pulled at her hair. The Lady maid’s eyes were forced to search out. Ambrosia was quietly standing oher side of the door with a smug smile.

  “You!” was all Harmony mao get out.

  “I implored to be released, as my music career has been taking off in Hazeldown. She met me in the middle and passed my tract along as a favor, so I could stay here rather than go to the capitol with the rest of the staff. It’ll be an honor to serve you, Lady White.”

  Screw propriety. Harmony tackled her friend with a long hug. A little bit of the loneliness gnawing on her eased away. Unburdened, her profession awakened, eager to take oask of getting this old manor in w order.

  Prince Adric joihe hug like aed pet, squeezing Harmoweewo taller people. A warmth inside her sparked, and she reized it as hope that everything would end up alright.

  -The End of Are.

  Author Note:

  Yes, Harmony's story is tinuing. There are 10 chapters of the arc up on Patreon. New skills, new problems, new locations. The adventure tinues.