Eleven

An Unexpected Deal

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The rain was ice on her skin as she ran; her breath coming out in white clouds as she gasped. Her feet were sore and bleeding. Wind tore around her whipping her hair off her and causing her to shiver.

She could hear their shrieks in the distance.
She had been here before, but when?

What was she doing here? She could hear something - the sound of water rushing around her ears.
She had to run.
Nowhere is safe.
Where could she even go?

She clenched her fists and willed forward the ancient power embedded in her.
There was no response.
She was trapped and they were coming for her.
She would die here. Her freedom was gone.

There were so many of them - she could feel them - yet no matter how close they sounded none of them came into her view.
Instead it was just one figure - one eerily familiar figure.

His eyes were piercing against his skin and a scream caught in her throat.
“Ezzie?”
The voice entered her ears, right on top of her. It was familiar, it was warm.
“Ezzie!”
She finally turned her head towards the voice and Quinn stood at the edge of the brush, reaching for her.

“This way! Come this way!”
She did.
She tripped over her own feet as she chased Quinn’s familiar form. She opened her mouth to speak but she couldn’t. Her voice was caught in her throat. She wanted to call to him.

She looked behind her and back only to discover Quinn was farther, but still ushering her onward.
She could see the end of the woods - the end of the storm. Was there such thing? The light shined at her and made her feel safe.

She needed to get there. She was almost there! Quinn was reaching for her in front of it.
Something caught her leg and she fell, screaming. “Quinn!”
“Ezzie!”

She scrambled to catch herself, but the last thing she saw was the ground right before she landed.

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Esmerelda jolted awake and she winced in reaction.

It was too bright, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest.
What was going on?
Where was she?
What had happened to her?

It was a dream. It was only just a dream.
Her vision came into focus on a foreign ceiling and brightly colored walls of yellow and purple. She swallowed hard and her throat ached with dryness.
“Hey, looks like you’re finally coming to.”

The voice was familiar and Esmerelda shot upwards, startled. “Quinn?”
It was him.
When did he get here?
Where was here?

He carefully put his hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down, sitting on the edge of the bed next to her as he did so and placing a mug on the nearby table. “Everything is ok. You’re not in Moonlight Falls anymore. You’re safe.”
Esmerelda shook her head. “Nowhere is safe.”

“Here is.”
She let herself fall back onto the bed she had been lying on and looked around the room nervously. “Where...” She tried to swallow but her throat burned in response.

“You’re in my house, don’t worry.” Quinn reached over and handed her the mug carefully. “Drink this. It’s tea laced with a healing potion; it should help. I tried to put extra sugar in it but… well, healing potion tastes like shit regardless.”
Esmerelda took it from him carefully and examined the contents that steamed up. She could smell the herbs in it.

She should be careful what she intakes, her mind warned her, yet it was Quinn.
For some reason, that made it a lot easier to take. She carefully took in the tea and could already feel the bitter herbs doing their job. Quinn took the cup from her to put it on the table as she felt the relief spreading down her body.
That was, until it hit the spot where she had been impaled and she jolted like she had consumed fire.
She sat up, coughing violently and scraping her camisole up to look at the ancient blue design pulsing where there had once been a pole.

Quinn had moved with her, his eyebrows furrowing together as he placed his hand over the marking. His eyes looked at her hesitantly. “That’s raw magic.”
Esmerelda swallowed as the pain began to subside and she caught her breath. “What does that mean?” She had heard the term before, but never applied to her in any way.
Quinn smoothed his hand against her stomach and they both watched the blue lines fade slowly into her skin until there wasn’t a trace of anything she endured. “There’s two types of magic in the world - well, two original types. Raw magic is one of them, and humans can’t wield it.” He shook his head. “Humans can only use the other type of magic - filtered. It’s less dangerous and more predictable.” His fingers traced over her stomach and confusion filled him. “That’s so strange for you to have those markings… but I suppose it’s not the strangest thing I’ve seen.”

He was examining her a lot closer now and she moved her eyes to the bed. She couldn’t believe she was going to say it. Surely he would figure it out anyways, right? “I… I had a magical artifact implanted in me right after I was born.” She swallowed and bit her lip. “One of Calypso’s many experiments. I was the only one to survive this artifact’s implantation.” She paused awkwardly once again and let out a breath. “I think I was… the ninth they tried it on?”
Quinn let out an exasperated breath, his eyes looking at her face now. “Fucking Essence.” He shook his head. “That’s fucked up.”
Esmerelda pulled herself upward until she was sitting and her voice remained quiet. “Tell me about it.”

“Is that artifact related to why you can shapeshift into an animal? That’s not possible normally.” There wasn’t judgment on his face, which was a surprise. Then again, it wasn’t like she told this story often enough to know how people should react. “Raw magic is the only way that’s possible. Filtered magic… Even if you’re skilled in it, it’s not really easy nor feasible.”

It wasn’t something she tried to show off. It had always been her secret. It had saved her life on more than one occasion. She carefully shrugged and kept her eyes down. “Only a bird - a nightingale.” She steadied her breath as her voice shook. “It’s very difficult for me to control it. When I was younger I had very little control over it, but I got little better with time.”

Quinn sat on it for a moment, his face reflecting deep thought and he slowly nodded. “I had never seen something like that in my entire life… and coming from me that’s saying something.” He paused before his face became more confused. “I’m surprised Calypso doesn’t keep a closer eye on her artifacts.”
Esmerelda bit her cheeks until it hurt before she let out a nervous breath and shifted.
Quinn’s eyes looked at her, seeing right through her and she could feel it. “She’s hunting you, isn’t she?”

She wasn’t in a good place to answer that question. She would crack. No one knew this much about her, minus her papi, and even then she doubted he even really knew this much. She could feel her lower lip quiver and she swallowed hard.
“That’s why you’re always on the move - why you look behind you when you walk, isn’t it?” His voice was so calm as he pieced things together.

Esmerelda fidgeted with her hands and tried to focus on taking normal breaths. Would he throw her out? Would he drag her to Calypso and turn her in? This was a possibility with anyone who knew about it. There was little use in denying it now, she was making such a fool of herself. She should go. She shouldn’t stay in one place so long - how long had she been out, anyways? They’re probably coming for her now.
“Ezzie?”

She jerked her head up to look at him. “I didn’t know they were going to be there.” Her voice trembled as she spoke, yet she was too dehydrated to cry. “I was six when Siren’s Cove was attacked. My home was destroyed. My mother told me to swim so I did. The last thing I remember was I got dragged under… I washed up in Dragon Valley and Casper found me and raised me and everything was fine until I turned sixteen and then they started showing up and people ended up hurt so I ran… It’s… It’s not all the time, but if I ever slow down long enough I can feel them breathing down my neck and I… I can’t. I won’t bend. I won’t go back there… I won’t give up my freedom to be chained to her. Please don’t turn me in… please… I can… I...”

“Ezzie... Ezzie!” Quinn’s hand gripped hers as he tried to calm her; she quieted. “I’m not going to take you back to her, I swear.”
She gripped at his hand a little longer as she tried to breathe normally again, but it was almost too hard. She was so tired of running. Her eyes glanced towards the window in the room, she would need to be leaving soon. She would have to run again. “Where are we?” She whispered as she slowly let go of his hand.

He carefully moved his hand away and cleared his throat awkwardly before speaking. “Dragon Valley.”
Esmerelda felt her stomach drop. “That’s… an ocean away from Moonlight Falls.”
Quinn nodded carefully and moved to stand up, letting out a long breath through closed lips. “Yeah. It is.” He went to go stand by the window in the room.

He had magic. It shouldn’t be that surprising, but teleportation was tricky. Teleporting someone else was even trickier. She had never met someone who was capable of it before, minus the terrible run-ins with Calypso’s followers. She could push that to the side, the main focus was she was in Dragon Valley now. Maybe if Casper was in the area she could find him.
No, she couldn’t do that. She knew he was here but she couldn’t risk drawing more attention to him if Calypso was behind her.

She reached up to grip her necklace reflexively only to find it gone. Her gaze darted around the room as she looked for it. Quinn looked at her curiously before his eyes softened slightly. “Are you looking for your necklace?”
Esmerelda jumped and looked at him with wide-eyes. “It was my mother’s… did you happen to see it?”
Quinn pursed his lips and glanced around before meeting her gaze. “It had a tracker in it, Ezzie.”
She felt her gut sink as nausea filled her. “A… a tracker?”

He nodded carefully. “I gave it to… someone I trust to identify the source, but after everything you’ve told me I think I know who was tracking you with it.”
She felt numb from it all. After a moment she gathered her thoughts and nodded. “I see.” She paused and looked down at the bedding. “Thank you for telling me. That… explains a lot.”

Her eyes glanced around the room and in the corner her shoes and bags were gathered - she could even see the money sticking out of her boot. She slowly pushed herself out of the bed and Quinn’s gaze snapped towards her.

“What are you doing?” His voice was coated with concern as she slowly got stabilized on her feet.
Esmerelda eyed her shoes carefully as she stepped over to them and grabbed the wad of cash out of her boot. She turned to hand it to Quinn. “Here, take it - for saving my life and risking your own skin. It’s not much, but it’s all I have.”
“And… where exactly are you going?” He eyed her skeptically, not bothering to even look at the cash she offered.

“Not sure yet.” Her voice was rough and she swallowed hard. She motioned with the hand that held the cash, urging him to take it. “Thank you for saving my things… and me. Particularly me. I like living.” She smiled weakly, hoping that might be enough to convince him.
There was silence as he crossed his arms instead, thinking carefully before he spoke. “I think we’re at an impasse then.”

Ezzie smiled, but she wished she hadn’t. She wouldn’t let his stubbornness get him killed. “I’m not going to drag you down with me, Quinn. Please, take it.”
Quinn held up a finger carefully and shook his head. “Just… hear me out before you insist again.” He swallowed before closing his eyes slowly and finally adding. "...Please?"
Esmerelda sighed this time and nodded slightly. There was nothing he could say that could change her mind, but he was going to be stubborn about this.

He shifted with unease and ran an anxious hand through his hair. His head fell back and he looked at the ceiling before he finally nodded again. “You might want to sit down for this.”

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Quinn watched Esmerelda’s face twist with slight confusion, yet her arm dropped and she moved with slow movements back towards his bed. She tossed the money on the bed and sat down.
Was he really about to do this? Why?

He never would’ve done this for anyone else.
He never has done this with anyone else. Has he?
First he told her about his mother selling him and now he was about to divulge this to her too? Was there anything this woman couldn’t pull out of him by just existing?

He could lie to himself and say he hadn’t been preparing for this moment - that the thought of telling her of his past hadn’t crossed his mind.
He enjoyed how simple things were with her and his past was far from simple. He always told himself that if he had it his way she would never need to get dragged into that part of his life.
He knew he had to force it out though and he bit his cheek hard before sighing again. “This is so not how I wanted this to go.” He shook his head before meeting her bright blue gaze. Something in her eyes and the confession she gave him earlier prevented him from backing out now. “Do you remember when we went drinking the first night?”

Esmerelda grinned which made him chuckle lightly despite the weight of the situation at hand. “There are some fuzzy moments, but yeah, it’s still there.” She laughed her musical laughter and he hung his head slightly, trying to resist the laughter. “Why?”
Essence damn this woman, she hit every weak spot in him.

He took a breath and made his face serious again. “You remember… me talking about my mother?”
Maybe she wouldn’t? Maybe this whole speech would need to be reworked? Was he even prepared for that? He had spent ages with this twisting in the back of his head. He had never told anyone this before - he had to do it right, but if she didn’t remember...?
Esmerelda’s faint smile she had been wearing disappeared though and she nodded carefully. “She sold you.”

Quinn swallowed, so she did remember. It was both relief and anxious hesitation that gripped him as he finished the seemingly-finished phrase: “-into slavery.” He paused as he watched her face shift once again, her eyes widening and her lips parting. “To pay off her debts.”
He could tell she was at a loss, yet she spoke anyways. “Who would do such a fucked up thing?”

He tried to shrug nonchalantly because he couldn’t place the strange feelings he got from her reaction. It was just best if he appeared unphased. “My mother.” He looked towards the window and then back again. It had never bothered him before, yet now he felt his throat tightening. “She was a prostitute, and I was just a bad side-effect of her career. It likely seemed a great deal for her at the time.”

Actually, thinking back on it, he really had never spoken of this before to anyone. Why was he doing this now? Why was this relevant to his job? Why was he willingly bearing these unnecessary details out for someone else to see?
He wasn’t entirely sure.

“What a cunt.” Esmerelda pulled her legs up to sit cross-legged on his bed. She cleared her throat and pursed her lips slightly. “Sorry.”
Quinn felt his lips twitch upward. “Don’t be, it’s true.” He moved and sat down heavily on the bed next to her. “Anyways, I was sold and I worked for a majority of my childhood until… events went sour. I pissed off the wrong people when I was sixteen and they dragged me before their master and I was… cursed to a genie lamp for… well… I lost count of how many years.” He cleared his throat and held up his hand. “I promise this is relevant…”

“It’s ok.” She responded simply and he finally met her gaze. Her face was soft and she tilted her head slightly. “I’m listening.”

It wasn’t what he expected, but then again he never imagined his story was actually interesting to listen to. He took in a breath and steadied himself. Maybe this won’t go so poorly after all? It was refreshing to not be surrounded by pity like he expected he would be. “I speculate it was… I’m not sure, about a thousand years or so I spent in that lamp? Fuck, I have no idea. Time was just… fucked up in there.” Everything was fucked in there.

Esmerelda was shaking her head. “Shit… I can only imagine.”
Quinn tried to shrug again, but the validation was nice. Really nice. Gods dammit he needed to keep it together. “This is the part that’s relevant.” He swallowed and mentally shifted his focus away from the feelings that gripped him but he was stopped when he met her eyes.
Esmerelda smiled softly. “Are you still pissed about it?”

“About… the lamp?” Quinn looked at her confused. She nodded and he shrugged again. Yes. Yes he absolutely was. Internally he resisted clenching his fists as he tried to shove it away. “I mean… not really. Why?”
“Damn… how the fuck do you do it? I would’ve stayed pissed about that until I died one day - probably out of anger or some shit.” Esmerelda’s lips twitched up into a slightly joking smile, yet there was also something serious behind it.
He tried to resist it but he ended up laughing. The tension in the room deflated and he grinned. “Tempting, very tempting... but I like living, too.” He repeated her words back with a grin. Revenge was best served cold anyways.

She gave him a smile back and resumed her listening face. “Sorry, please go on.”
Quinn nodded and cleared his throat. It was easier to push away whatever it was that haunted him now. “I was released from my enslavement to the lamp in exchange for service.” He paused as walked through exactly how he had practiced this in his head. Of course, back when he was doing that it was all hypothetical.
Esmerelda’s face clouded with a little bit of concern and Quinn felt his gut sink. Would she start to back out now? He had trouble reading her face as she tilted her head. “Service… like… slavery again?”

He relaxed a little at the question and shook his head. “No, thankfully. It was… priesthood.” It was harder to say the word than he imagined and he immediately looked to her face to watch for change. There was none, she was still listening intently. “I was freed by the God of Magic and Insanity in exchange for becoming his first priest.”
Her eyes widened and it was then he could see it start to sink in. His fists clenched instinctively as he watched her process emotions through the changes on her face. Finally she took a breath. “Holy shit.” Her brows furrowed together then and she brought a finger to her lips. Her eyes had a distant look as she pondered something and she began nodding. “Yeah, that actually makes a lot of sense now: the disguises, the foreboding conversation about your boss, and the fact that you teleported me here…”

Her gaze flickered back to him and Quinn stared at her dumbfounded. This was not at all how he imagined her reacting. He couldn’t help it, he had been afraid of the reaction she could’ve had - it’s why he hadn’t told her before. This woman really was befuddling.
She wasn’t obsessing over the power he would have, nor was she inching away, shaking at the thought of who he worked for. She was busy acting like this was just some casual conversation they were having.

He couldn’t help but laugh at the reaction. “You once asked me if my tattoos hurt. I can answer that honestly now.” He tapped along where it sat on his shoulder. “They were a side-effect of the priesthood ritual.” It felt so natural to have the conversation with her, delving into territories he never shared with anyone else.

She leaned over to look at the exposed tattoos on his arm with curiosity. “What did you have to do for the ritual?” Her head looked up and she pursed her lips. “Oh, sorry... that’s probably inappropriate to ask.”
Quinn immediately shook his head. “Not at all.” He felt lighter the more they spoke. “I had to drink insanity and get locked in a pitch black room for a long period of time. You know, easy stuff.”

Esmerelda snorted slightly and broke into laughter before trying to pull her face serious again. “You know… I don’t think…” She laughed before trying to become serious again. “... I don’t think that drinking insanity is recommended.”

He laughed suddenly, rubbing his face with his hand. He tried to resist grinning unsuccessfully. “Really? I can’t imagine why. Perhaps you should try it sometime?”
She shook her head as she laughed until they quieted again as Quinn tried to get himself back on track. Esmerelda’s face had grown serious as she studied the bed below them. “Why?” When she looked up she could see his curious gaze and she clarified. “Why did you risk all that for me? Isn’t stepping onto a battlefield that’s not yours an act of war?”

She was almost too well-versed in this and he swallowed, shrugging again. “Yeah, but that’s only if they catch you.” He leaned back slightly and tried to look casual, yet he had no idea how she’d take the next statement. “You remember when we split up in Midnight Hollow because I had a job? That was actually me going to threaten Calypso.” He spoke quickly. “My master is sick of her shit.”
She paled at the mention of Calypso’s name. “That sounds dangerous.”
Quinn shook his head reassuringly. “That’s the thing, Ezzie. I’m dangerous to her. She wouldn’t be stupid enough to try to challenge me - she knows she’d lose and it would be painful for her, not to mention humiliating.”

Esmerelda smiled weakly at him. “That must be nice.”
“Yes, so the only logical conclusion is for you to stay with me.” He cut to the chase.
She looked at him, stunned. “W-What?”
“I have a spare room I don’t use. My house is untouchable by Calypso, as is the surrounding area. You move in here, stay here until you’re healed up - or rather, until the end of the war. Give things some time to cool off and we can reexamine the situation from there…” He carefully offered.

He could see an incoming refute reflecting in her eyes and he, in turn, prepared a counter argument for her refute. She opened her mouth yet paused before finally coming up with something to say. “What’s the catch?”
Quinn smiled somewhat weakly. Why did he have a feeling this was coming? She was so careful with herself - with reading between the lines. He stood up from his bed and held out his hand. “Can I see your hand for a minute?”

Esmerelda looked partially amused as she skeptically brought her hand into his.

He gripped her hand and pressed his thumb into her palm, carefully transferring a bit of his magic there as he moved his thumb slowly across her hand. He fortified his house beyond what was reasonable and into what may be considered absurd, as such anyone who stepped in either had to have permission or granted access lest they face all of the traps he laid out. “There, now my house won’t attack you.”

She immediately pulled her hand back and touched where he had left his magical mark as she resisted laughing. “...Attack me?”
“Yes, you asked about the catch - my house is trapped to all hell. My spare room is a tad on the small side, and I can’t cook to save my life so I live on takeout and mooching off my nephew who cooks. Occasionally the boys will drop by - my nephews I mean - and cause mayhem at all hours but they’re good kids and usually pretty amusing.” Quinn watched as Esmerelda slowly brought herself to her feet, eyeing him carefully.

He gave her a smirk before shrugging finally and continuing. “As for what you really mean… I expect absolutely nothing for you to stay here. Your room will be yours; I will not enter it unless I have express permission. Just treat this like you’re renting from someone.”
“I can’t just mooch off of you.” She immediately began.

“You’re not.”
“How much do you want in rent? I mean… if we consider this...” She started to fiddle with her fingers. “Do you want to do it daily or weekly? Monthly? You can take that money as a down-payment, I suppose. How would you want this to work?”

Quinn continued smirking. “You don’t need to pay me rent. I certainly don’t need the money, but I can already tell you won’t be satisfied with that as an answer so I’m going to skip to the next proposition to save some time. $10 deposit and 5% of whatever it is you earned every month for as long as you want.”
Esmerelda was shaking her head. “At least 40% every month until the end of the war.” She countered.
He laughed slightly. “Ezzie, I don’t need your money-”

“-and I’m not going to stay here for free.” She crossed her arms, standing closer to him and staring him down. “40% monthly.”
“7%.” He shot back, their staring fest trying hard not to turn into grins.
“35%.”
“5%.” He outright laughed. “-and you can cook if you feel up for it.”
She clenched her fists, scowling a little and his grin only widened. “Quinn!”
“I. Don’t. Need. Your. Money!” He cleared his throat to stop himself from laughing more. “5% and you can cook when you feel up for it. I won’t go any higher.” He reached his hand out. “Can be broken at any time, preferably after Calypso and Ambar are done being assholes. Deal?”

She stared at his hand, holding hers out before she stopped, hesitating. “5%... I cook… no other strings attached?” Her piercing eyes met his nearly drying out his throat.
Quinn shook his head. “No strings attached.”
She continued staring at him skeptically. “Nothing sexual?”

He felt his eyes widen and he resisted scowling. “Fuck no! Do I look like some asshole who would pimp you around like that? You’d be my housemate - free to come and go as you please with anyone you choose to; if you choose to.”
“Just as friends?” She clarified, eyeing him curiously.

He cracked a grin. It was strange imagining himself with a friend. He actually liked the idea. “You seem to think I’m only interested in a sexual relationship and not about the real prize here: Ezzie, if you can cook something other than take-out then you will have my loyalty and friendship for the rest of forever.”

Esmerelda laughed her musical laughter and finally took his hand with hers. “Fuck it, you have a deal.”

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Playlist

"Gramr" - Hellblade Soundtrack
"The Dog Days Are Over" - Florence and the Machine
"Runnin' (Lose It All)" - Naughty Boy