I kept worrying that the woman riding next to me would die, and that I'd have to break the news to Valentine, and I wouldn't know what name to give her of the woman who had valiantly died saving me and the slaves I had rescued from the estate. Evans had rescued from the state? But Lady Rusulla had rescued us too, getting us past Lady Selt... it was a bit complicated, I guess.

What I should be worrying about, logically speaking, was that Princess Adeline's people would catch us and we'd die... but that was rather foolish too. If Princess Adeline had foreseen recapturing us, we probably just weren't strong enough to fight fate... which actually gave me increasing hope as to our safety as we rode along. If we reached Princess Asperia's harem and got Eve's body back into working condition, we were probably safe.

It was just getting towards dusk, when I saw a few people riding horses, only one of the horses was huge, as was the catperson riding it... no, not just a catperson, a tiger woman! I threw back my hood and waved both my hands excitedly.

The woman next to me said "Valentine" to herself, softly, a hint of awe in her voice... and soon enough the horses were upon us, and we came to a stop.

Valentine vaulted off her horse, all excited smiles, and pick up me and Miravel in a big hug. "You're all right!" She looked at me adoringly for a moment, and then set me down and kissed the woman's cheek. "And thank you, Miravel."

Miravel! That was it!

I felt a tug on my sleeve, and looked down at one of the other cloaked riders, and saw familiar face underneath it-- Sasha's face. I laughed a little, relaxing a bit... I already felt safer, with Valentine and Sasha to protect me.

"Mistress Eve," said Sasha softly, "can we speak alone for a moment?"

I took her hand and lead her off a little ways, until she gave my hand a squeeze and I stopped, looked back down at her.

Mistress-- that is, Sasha was looking up at me with wide eyes. "Can I have my body back?"

"Um, well, you can... but it's not very good right now. Miss Carrion got rid of all it's power, and I can't even cast magic in it."

Sasha looked me over for a moment. "Null should fix that. Lay down."

I lay down on the grass looking up at her. I felt despite her composed face, she might be a little upset, but my eyes drifted closed...

I opened my eyes to see Mistress Eve looking down at me, and I started crying almost immediately, I was so relieved she had come to save me.

Mistress Eve leaned down close as she stroked my forehead, and whispered in my ear, "If you ever try a stunt like that again, Sasha, I will find new kinds of torture to teach you just how much you fucked up."

"I... I couldn't save you, but you could save me. It was necessary." Even through the tears, I could see that Mistress Eve was glaring down at me, and I whimpered softly.

"Even you found your way out of there, do you think I couldn't?" Eve's words were terse, almost hateful. "And do you think I'd be able to live happily if you died?"

"I'm sorry, Mistress Eve... I just... I couldn't let Miss Carrion hurt you. It was foolish of me, and I'd do it again, even if it means you'll torture me."

Mistress Eve positively glowered, and then started laughing, and shook her head, smiling down at me possessively as she traced a finger along the side of my throat. "I think, Sasha, that I've made you actually too loyal."

"I'd do this sort of shit before you did anything to me, just being the 'Hero'. Even in my own world, sometimes... I'm not very smart. And for you..." I didn't know how to live without her, either. All of my safety was in the palm of her hand.

Mistress Eve picked me up and pulled me close to her. "Well... thank you for coming to this one, regardless. You'll have to tell me everything you learned, so I have a better chance against Miss Carrion next time."

I cleared my throat. "Um, actually, she's kind of dead."

Mistress Eve blinked, and stared down at me.

I smiled a bit at having thrown Eve for a loop. "No, like, head straight off of her body, dead for real for real, I think." I got a bit nauseous thinking about it. She had been so alive, and then dead, and I had held her hair and there was still blood dripping and it was making me nauseous and sad-- if Miss Carrion had been a better person, she could've been allowed to live, maybe.

But she wasn't.

Overthrowing society as it was would require a lot more deaths, too, probably....

Mistress Eve looked somewhere between proud and just plain embarrassed, searching my eyes and mind. "I... you pulled that off? Wait, Evans? Who's Evans?"

"Just a butler, as far as I'm aware?"

Mistress Eve shook her head. "That can't be right." She picked me up and carried me back to the group, looked over to Evans for a moment. I looked over to him too. Our savior, I guess?

Evans looked a little uncomfortable at the attention, and then bowed to us.

He had switched sides because I had let loose the secret about freeing the slaves being a core of Princess Asperia's policy, but now that he was here, rubbing elbows with the powerful in a way that he was actually noticed, he was clearly uncomfortable.

I smiled at him reassuringly. "Mistress Eve was just telling me about what you did... maybe Princess Asperia will let you turn into a girl and join her harem?"

Evans looked even more blindsided. "While that's very flattering, I couldn't possibly...."

Mistress Eve shrugged. "You saved my life. I'll figure out how to repay you somehow."

Evans bowed again. "That's most magnanimous of you...." He paused, but thought better of speaking.

"No, you're, right... we should be on the road again. All but one of us, at least." Mistress Eve walked towards the carriage, opened the door, and hauled one of the servants out, dragging her by the front of the dress-- fuck, I didn't know her name, either. "I did you warn you all we had someone who could read minds here, and the consequences of coming here with the thought of betrayal. You could've at least concealed it better."

The servant, a fox-woman with tired-looking eyes, turned pale white and stared up at her, trembling.

Eve shrugged and settled her hand around her neck. "Any last words?"

She tried to find her words, but couldn't. Or maybe Mistress Eve just wasn't letting her talk.

Please don't, I thought at Eve. She's had a horrible life too.

"...No, Princess Adeline is not the only way forwards for this country. And no, Princess Asperia is not lying... that one I can personally guarantee you." Eve paused for a moment. "I think I'll let you live, for now. Maybe I'll need to cut out your tongue and sell you into slavery... but if you survive until slavery is ended, one day you'll be free despite your treacherous thoughts." She released the servant's throat, and patted her on the head as she crumpled to her knees.

I started to squirm out of Mistress Eve's one-armed carry-- maybe if I could comfort her, and become close to her, I could help her see the right way of things-- but Mistress Eve slid her other arm around me too and held me in place. "You have your own much cuter things to answer for, Sasha. Don't worry, I'll give Dian here a chance to rethink where her loyalties lie." She looked over to Evans. "...help her into the carriage?"

Evans went over to help the woman to her feet. "Your magnanimity knows no bounds, O Mighty Hero."

Mistress Eve stared down at him for a long moment, then smiled. "Eve is fine. You did save my life, after all."

She walked back to her horse and deftly leaped up onto it, settling me in front of her as her lips pressed down close to my ear. "I've spent a lot of my free time on this mission thinking of all the things I'd like to do to you... and I've had more ideas now that you're in my arms again. I hope you're ready to utterly surrender your body to me."

I couldn't find the words for a moment. Mistress Eve could be horrendously kind or horrendously cruel to me... but she'd protect me, and keep my mind somewhat intact, probably... it was terrifying being in Miss Carrion's power, and pretty scary having power myself, too, albeit in a different way.

I relaxed back against her as I tried to mentally just let go of all my anxieties, eyes tearing up as I did my best to just utterly trust and surrender to her... things were so much simpler when I just had to obey her. "...yes, Mistress Eve. Thank you...."