A New Dawn - Chapter 3 - Exchange of a Prisoner

The days were growing shorter as winter was coming to the Bree-lands. As he made his way inside the mutterings had grown more hushed. People were huddled together in small groups talking to each other and every now and again a glance would be cast at one of the other groups. Newell smirked faintly as he walked through the hall that had more or less turned into a political battlefield. So many of those present were like carrion feeders that were squabbling for a piece of meat. He snorted one soundless snort in amusement and walked to a table where a pitcher of water was stood and gathered it up as he went into the office to find a candle as well. As he had the things he needed, he made his way up the stairs in the Dawnhall, pondering who needed allies just as much as himself. He needed more than a mute who was little-liked by the two former captains from what he had heard. He entered the room that allegedly used to be held by the captain, but had hardly been used since the first one died. A fit room for a captive, and a captive that had tugged at Newell's own heartstrings. He placed the pitcher on the nightstand near the bed, and placed the candle on the dresser in case the girl needed some light. Newell looked at the girl who was turned away from the door. She wore her hood over her head while sleeping curled up on the bed like a cat, almost peacefully. Malnourished as she was Newell had known the girl to be exceptionally quick when she wanted to, and had found her to sleep as if she had one eye open in the cave he found her in. The contract was not a high paying one, yet a contract was a contract and should be done regardless. As he sat down on the bed he wondered why he wasted food and water on a girl who would soon enough be dead. "You're still alive?" he said, before the girl woke quickly, rolled off the bed and unsheathed another small blade from who knows where and sat prepared to pounce like a feral animal. "No... I died during the night" she said almost hissed, and though it was a pleasant voice, it sounded could and untrusting more often than not. Her features, which were revealed to him before, could still be seen hidden underneath her hood. She was beautiful and alluring, with an hourglass figure, and rich golden curls that emerged from under the hood. Her eyes were deep brown, akin to that of a doe, and there was a sweetness over her that could lead many a man to drop their guard around the disarmingly seductive looking girl. He poured a cup of water from the pitcher, giving her a faint smile, if not a cold one. "Are you getting better? You took a nasty tumble off of that horse," he said, with a slight grin on his face. "What does it matter if you are to hand me over to some fat merchant soon?" she said in the same hissing manner as before, a viper's bite really, yet Newell smirked a bit at her words thinking to himself astutely. He knew she wasn't an imbecile after all, but that she had figured this fast that he had other intentions for her was admirable "Actually, I had hoped we'd become a little more friendly by now. Alas... Though I will continue then," he said as he handed over the cup of water to the girl. She snatched it half from his hand, and yet she grabbed onto his underarm drinking like she hadn't had a drink for days on end. Her nails were digging into his skin, almost piercing it, though with Newell found the sensation not entirely unpleasant. He had grown fond of the girl from the time they spent in the cave, and the time he'd spent taking care of her and nursing her back to health. "I.. I had in mind a way for the two of us to part as friends , both with heads intact and well benefitting from the arrangement," he said as the girl drained the cup, looked up and leaned back against the headboard of the bed. A mixture of caution and interest flared across her half-hidden face, suggesting or even daring Newell to go on. "Did you know that when signing up to serve the Bloody Dawn your past is wiped clean in the eyes of the company? The company also happens to need a new leader, and well... I aim to be just that. So you can see how we could help each other out I trust?" he said using a dagger to clean his nails while speaking. "Why would I give up my freedom for you?" the girl said in a defiant voice that was as bittersweet as ever. Newell looked around the room, clearly making a point of looking at the walls and roof. "You think you're free?" he said with ice cold courtesy, before placing the dagger back in his belt. "I am not asking you to sell your life for me. Serve the Dawn to the vote has been cast, make sure I become the captain, and then.. well... then you're free to go," he said with the same cold courtesy, looking her over as he had so often. Her beauty was not foreign to her, that much was clear. She used it when she could, but this time it seemed she had no intention of overplaying her position. "Fine then, I'll help you, you'll help me and I'll go back to my cave" she said with a voice that would not reveal any trail of weakness, even though she had not eaten or been drinking well for a long while. "See, we're making fast friends" Newell said with a grin on his lips, giving her a playful wink as he sat back down on the bed. The young woman removed the hood to show her face that would be near on worthy of the gods but for a small scar. "So I never caught the name" she said, a voice more enticing than when business had been between them. "Sir Newell Blackwood, Captain of the Bloody Dawn" he told her with a grin playing across his lips.