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All of Aseara’s clients were on board when she’d contacted them and told them the news and all of them agreed to try and persuade their own friends into her cause without Afsana finding out. There was one client in particular that Aseara had sought out, one who had been quite vocal about his dislike for Afsana. Raelar had even set up a small meeting with Aseara and a few of his closes friends so that she could share her plan and convince them to join her. Many of them had ties to the merchants which was exactly what she’d needed.

The Wind girl quietly slipped into the carriage that had been sent to get her and bring her to Raelar’s residence. He’d organized the whole thing down to the finest detail. Nothing could go wrong tonight. The ride to Raelar’s estate was long; the man lived in one of the wealthiest sections of town. His wife would also be attending, she too curious about the whole affair. Once at the door, she was let in and brought to the main dining hall. Aseara had expected a few dozen people, but this room was filled to the brim with nobles who all turned once she’d entered.

The wind girl had dressed the part to impress. She’d put on her most expensive dress and the most lavished jewelry she could. She wanted to stand out; she wanted to be on the same footing as they were and show them that outsiders could also be equals. In the dim light of the candles that surrounded the room, she did indeed quite stand out. She was like a shining light in the darkness and she loved it. She revealed in the attention, something she’d sorely missed since being demoted. She was here on business though; she needed to impress these people.

“Ah Aseara, there you are!” Raelar wove though the people until he reached her, wife at his side.

“Raelar had told me you were pretty, but I didn’t expect this,” his wife leaned in. “Now I know why you’re his favorite!” She chuckled. “I’m Lorina, such a pleasure to meet you.”

“Everyone please quiet down, this is the woman I was speaking to you about!” Raelar said and the crowd seemed to gather around Aseara.

“First though, we’ll go around and introduce you to everyone. Then we’ll get to business.” Raelar offered Aseara his arm before sweeping her off into the crowd. It was dizzying, meeting so many people, being so polite. She went from one little huddle of people who asked her a few questions to the next and repeated. They did not see her as some low being, she could see the admiration and respect in their eyes. The Oban’s were changing, slowly but it was happening. From the meetings she knew which nobles would support her, those who would need convincing and those who probably couldn’t. She relayed her thoughts to Raelar who promised to take care of it.

She didn’t doubt him.

Once introductions were finished, Raelar gathered everyone up.

“I’ve mentioned very little as to why you are all gathered here today,” he began, sweeping his gaze across the crowd. “And I will let Aseara explain, however I do want to reiterate that everything said here today is to be kept secret regardless of your choice. I fully support Aseara in her endeavor and hope that many of you, my closes friends, will also do the same.” He made a small bow before turning to Aseara.

“First I would like to thank all of you for being here tonight,” gods help her. “Raelar has asked you all here because I plan on forcefully taking over the Red Amaryllis.” Aseara held her hand up, her jewellery clanging softly as she did so to grab their attention once more. “I know many of you must be wondering why you should support a foreigner taking over an Oban establishment that has been a long standing entertainment center for many nobles. To my knowledge the Obans have turned over a new leaf when they joined the other Earthlings, as is seen by the generosity they showed when helping Sauti with the Alkidikes.”

“Many of you do not know or perhaps do not understand the inner workings of the Red Amaryllis and I do not expect you to know so either. However, when its people are stolen from their homeland and fear is the main source to keep people in check… Do you want to return to being known as the slavers?” Perhaps she was taking it a little too far, but Aseara wanted them to feel something. “All the Obans I have known in my life have given me a helping hand without wanting anything in return. They have been generous, loving, and supportive. Afsana however uses one hand to help those around her and uses the other to push them down again.”

“I know many of you are clients at the Red Amaryllis, I know you all have your favorites as Raelar has his. They have become your friends, your confidants, from some even the daughters and sons you never had, they are companions when you need someone; do you not wish to help them? I do not wish to change the Red Amaryllis for the worst; many saw the RA flourish when I was at its head. The RA will never flourish under Afsana’s hand; I want to make the RA a respectable establishment again. I want to have grand dances and plays; I want it to be a cert of creativity instead of a center of fear.”

“This is why I ask for your help, I know many of my colleagues have reached out to you for your support. I only ask that when the day comes that I do need your help for the final push you will all be there.” Aseara glanced at all their faces, she was so hopeful…

“When?” Someone said as he stepped up to the front. “When do you need this help?”

“When the grand dance happens, you will know then.” The Oban turned to the crowd.

“I am tired of being seen as the bad guy and I also know my own favorite has been thrown out and I have never seen her since. She was a friend and I do not wish for this to be repeated to anyone else. I do not want the Oban name to be sullied, we are honorable and we should not let something like this happen within our own walls. We are not beasts,” he turned to Aseara. “I support you.”

Aseara nodded and watched as others began to step forward and offer their help. This had been a good night, the nobles or at least those who supported her and the other workers would stand by her side when she needed it. Tomorrow, she would deal with the merchants.

http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=24907967

The invites had been sent out a week in advance, with the help of a few people they’d managed to get their hands on the list of attendees and made changes to a few names. All of the nobles who had the best spots for the show we’re with Aseara and very few of the ones even attending would be with Afsana. The Wind girl had made sure that the invites did not reach their intended owners if she did not want them there. After so much preparation, Aseara would not let anything go wrong and rewarding the nobles who stood with her was a priority.

The Red Amaryllis had never been as busy as it was now. The stage had needed to be set up with a crew with enough lighting to go around. The dancers had to be separated into groups and each given their own roles and then taught the dances before going into their fittings. Music had to be composed and worked out with the singers. Aseara hadn’t thought it would be so hard to find the perfect music to tell a story. They’d managed it though, and that was left were the details.

Thankfully Aseara had been planning this for a long time and everyone had been working hard before that week. It had been intense but Aseara had fit right back into the leadership role with ease. Afsana and Janeska had let her do her thing, thankfully there was none of their meddling that had gone on which made things easier for her. Her plan was slowly becoming flawless thanks to that and Aseara could not be any happier. Soon, after tonight the Red Amaryllis was going to be hers. The thought both thrilled and scared her, she still wasn’t sure if she would make a proper leader.

As far as Aseara could tell everything was going according to plan. Nuri had even returned, changed and older but in a good way. She’d delivered his invitation to him personally and boy had she loved seeing him. She’d given him a spot in the front row, probably the best view had been given to him. She wondered how he would feel surrounded by nobles again and if he would bring family. She’d told him he could do so, not that she’d recognize them if she saw them. She’d never met his family before, she wondered how that would go.

And here they were. Aseara greeting guests as they came in, shaking extended hands, or kissing cheeks. The Red Amaryllis looked clean and enchanting in the candy light; the whole place was like a large dream. Some minutes before the dance was to begin, Aseara left the entrance and made her way to the back stage. She’d placed someone in charge so that she could worry about the dance and not what was happening backstage. She would still keep an eye on things once her parts were over but until then, she was part of production and she needed to be ready.

It felt odd slipping into typical Wind Tribe colors and clothing, Aseara felt out of place. Once she was done though, she gathered the first dancers who would depict how the fight had started. Gave them a small peep talk before someone came to her and whispered in her ear. Afsana had taken her seat with Janeska, now the real conversation started.

Her skin was coated with a cool slick sheen of sweat, her heart was beating fast and Aseara knew it wouldn’t stop until everything was over. The last few dancers who had been on stage were still sitting down trying to catch their breath while others were handing them cups of water. She couldn’t believe the dance was finally over; they’d made it through alive and well. Except the hard part was only beginning now, the dance was easy; usurping an Oban from her own business which had been around for many years was the hard part. Aseara still had doubts about the whole thing.

Avoiding eye contact with the others, Aseara left the small crowd back up to her own quite room. A few people patted her on the back for a job well done which Aseara also ignored. When Itotia called out her name, she went in the other direction. She needed to be alone for what came next, to think things through and go over every single little piece of her plan. The upper floors were empty, everyone was downstairs changing and getting ready for the small gathering Afsana was organizing after the large dance. It was going to be a big jumble of people and the Wind girl simply did not want to be around them anymore.

The pressure of what she was about to do had slowly been crushing the closer she’d come to this and now the weight was ready to make her tip over. Aseara felt dizzy and dropped heavily into her bed to simply breathe. Was this some sort of panic attack? Maybe, she’d never had one before. She felt heavy and even the oft knock on the door couldn’t rise her from the bed.

“Aseara?” Came the small voice as a young dancer peered into the darkened room lit only by a single candle.

“Yes?” Why couldn’t they leave her alone?

“Are you going to be coming back downstairs? For the announcement?” Clairre was the youngest dancer to have arrived at the Red and Aseara understood that she was probably scared with all the changes that were about to happen. Afsana had been particularly cruel in her teachings and mannerisms with Clairre.

“Come here Clairre,” Aseara held out her arms as if she was calling one of her children. “Join me.”

Clairre hesitated before going over and cuddling in with Aseara. The Wind girl wrapped her up in her arms and sighed, closing her eyes.

“Do you like it here?”

“Hm, well. Afsana yells at me a lot, but you guys take good care of me.” It was an honest answer.

“Do you think I’d make a good leader?”

“I don’t think you’d make a bad leader.”

It wasn’t exactly the answer Aseara had been looking for. Though she didn’t think there would be any good words of comfort anyone could give her to make her feel better. Could she be a good leader and not mess up the whole thing? She didn’t have a single clue. Sure she’d done great in Afsana’s absence, but Afsana had still given her direction in her letters. She’d never been left to run the place by herself and now doubt was crippling her and making her question everything she’d done up to this point.

“Alright let’s go.” Aseara unfurled her arms and let Claiire go, watching her run off giggling and carefree. She was enjoying this whole party thing since she was still training. Would she still be this happy once Aseara took over?

Aseara fixed herself and changed before making her way back downstairs. The party was already in full swing by the time Aseara had set foot on the floor. The halls were all lit by candle, music was playing and she was sure she could hear the flow of alcohol. Nuri was out there, she needed to find him, find comfort and strength for what she was about to do. Could she still step away from it all at this point? Probably, all she had to do was stay silent after Afsana gave her speech, but everyone would know she was a failure, all of their hard work would be down the drain.

The room was full of people and when they spotted her, people crowded her with congratulations and kind words. She thanked them politely, once again avoiding eye contact and searching for the one person she needed right now. Raelar called out her name but she ignored him, she knew he wanted to confirm their plans. She finally spotted Nuri and went to him to embrace him; he was a bit startled but didn’t seem to mind. She finally raised her eyes to him and gave him a soft smile before releasing him. He was another good reason to push Afsana out.

If she didn’t do this, Nuri and she could never have a life together if she wanted to stay in the Red. She would have to give up everything and turn her back on everyone to be able to do so and she simply could not. She liked it here, she liked the Red Amaryllis and wanted to make it better and still be able to have that perfect family. Why should she give up everything for this woman? If things had not ended up as they were she would never have questioned Afsana, without Nuri and Itotia she would never have realised the truth.

Afsana’s time was up.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” Came Afsana’s booming voice, “I am so pleased to welcome you all this wonderful evening to the Red Amaryllis! I hope you’ve all enjoyed yourselves tonight because I’ve got a surprise for all of you!” The Oban turned her eyes to Aseara. “That little whore over there thought she could push me out! Thought you had all my friends in your pocket didn’t you? I’ve got more friends on my side then you ever will sweety! And all of you who conspired with her will be promptly thrown out, no penny to your name with only the clothing on your backs! I’ve got guards coming and unless you all leave right now you will all be thrown out of this establishment!”

Aseara froze as a gasp went through the crowd, someone had betrayed them and Aseara thought she knew who. There was no more hiding now; Afsana had let this all play out only to put her foot down at the last minute. It was like time slowed as Aseara stared into Afsana’s crazy eyes. She had to move, she had to stop this. Everything, she’d worked so hard… She had to detach herself from Afsana, she had to be her own woman. She cared for these people, she cared about Nuri, and she couldn’t let this happen. She had to stand up and be the leader they needed her to be. Aseara push her final doubts aside and screamed at her body to move, to step forward and become the person she had fought hard to become.

She had to grasp her life in both hands and all of their lives and yank it away from Afsana.

“No,” Aseara stepped forward and began weaving through the crowd as she made her way to the small stage where Afsana stood upon.

“What did you just say you little sheep!”

Janeska came forward blocking Aseara from passing.

“You’ve been a pain in everyone’s butt for a very long time Janeska, you stopped me before but I’m not going to let you stop me now.” Aseara tried to move past her but the Oban pushed back.

“You’re just a little whore sleeping around with half the nobles.”

Janeska jerked back as a Keldari’s head shot from right next to Aseara’s head. It hissed at the Oban and seemed to get closer until Itotia came into her view and gave her the tiniest smile.

“I suggest you move Janeska, find someplace else to work. You aren’t welcomed here.”

The wind girl moved and stepped up on stage to finally face Afsana face to face.

“You were kind to me younger, but your place is not here anymore Afsana. You are cruel and evil, we are all better off without you. I am not a violent person, I wish for you to leave without incident.”

“I’m not going anywhere! You’re going to have to physically remove me from this place. This is mine, you never worked for it!”

“No I have worked for it, very hard too. Look around, what do you see? The merchants are throwing themselves at me for business,” Afsana cut her off.

“I knew something was up when I stopped getting some deliveries! It was you wasn’t it you little devil child!”

“I have the nobles to support me, or at least more nobles then you have,” Aseara stepped closer to Afsana. “Everyone here is here to support me. Not you, I didn’t think I could step up into your shoes but now I understand that I am not you and your shoes will never fit me. I will carve my own place here and life will be better without you. I know you have money stored away, you can live a happy and comfortable life away from here.”

“I will never leave!” Afsana shouted but her anger was gone, replaced by fear and doubt. Her bluff had been called out, there was nothing she could do.

“You need to leave now. There is no one to support you here anymore, look around. Open your eyes as mine have been opened.” Aseara came closer again, extending her hand towards Afsana. She never saw the slap coming. Her head whipped so hard she thought Afsana might have tried to completely remove it from her shoulders. Her cheek flamed and Aseara stopped moving.

“You are scum, even lower than scum Aseara. If you believe that I will not haunt your every day and dreams you are wrong. Your life will only be filled with misery from here on out.” She turned to everyone. “You’re all traitors and this place will burn before I see it given to some scumbag,” Afsana turned to Aseara. “I know my way out.” She turned to leave but turned back one last time. “Watch over your shoulder Aseara, one day I will return and you will not see it coming.”

Aseara watched as the crowd parted to let Afsana through, Aseara glanced to see where Janeska was but found that she was gone too. Someone would follow both out and make sure they did not cause trouble until they were both out on the street. The wind girl turned towards the crowd.

“Why don’t we return to celebrating,” Aseara straightened her posture and gave them a smile. “I think we’ve earned it.” Stepping down everyone from the Red Amaryllis rushed forward. Many hugged her and thanked her. It was all overwhelming but Aseara knew she had made the right choice and done the right thing.

From now on she was going to be that person they all needed, she was going to make the Red Amaryllis a better place and that life she wanted was finally within her grasp. Perhaps Afsana would return one day, perhaps not. However, Aseara was a different person now, she’d put her doubts aside and stepped up and she was going to be even stronger than before.

http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=24932561

good news

Aseara yawned and blinked a few times to get the sleepiness out of her system. A quick glance outside told her it was well into the night, the only thing left illuminating her office space was the candles she had put out earlier for herself. She could hear the light music from the floors below drifting up to her office space; this was prime time for the Red. Everyone was up and about tending to clients or tending to the Red itself. Itotia was in charge tonight giving Aseara some much needed time off to catch up to the administrative tasks of the Red.

Aseara glanced down at Orin’s tiny form sleeping in her arms; his siblings were also quietly sleeping in their own bassinets by her desk. It was crazy to think that they were almost a year old. Getting up slowly, Aseara got up from her desk and placed Orin in his own bed as gently as possible as to not wake him up. She still could not believe that she’d had three children all at once. Not many believed it really until they saw all three infants together. She would not have traded it for anything else though, because if she’d had them separately they might have ended up being different.

The Windling checked on her other two children; Nasuri was sleeping with her mouth wide open while Aeuri twitched lightly. Aseara smiled and kissed them all once before getting back to her desk and unrolling another scroll. She placed two weights so it would not roll back up and took out a brush. She had been checking the finances of the Red Amaryllis, but with a baby to hold in one arm it had been a little difficult. Thankfully, there was a never ending list of tasks that she needed to get done and she had been kept fairly busy for the time he had been awake.

Aseara was used to late night hours, the Red did not operate on daylight hours and so for her this was usual. Still, the older she was getting the more she felt she needed sleep. Then again, maybe children did that to you, Afsana never seemed tired when she had been around and she’d never had children. Afsana… The thought struck her odd, she had not thought about that old woman in a long long time. She wondered… she wondered what had happened to her, if maybe some noble family had taken her in and now she stayed far from here.

No, Aseara shook her head. She did not want to start thinking about that kind of thing. Afsana had caused her a lot of grief and she did not want to walk down that path anymore. They were memories she kept at the back of her mind, the same place she kept the memories of her parents. They were kept in the darkest and furthest parts of her mind as to never resurface ever again. She locked them up and threw the key out.

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Aseara jerked awake, the sound of thunder dragging her away from her dreams. The office was cold now, Aseara even shivered. The candles had been blown out and the moon was covered by the dark rolling clouds. A storm was brewing. As much as Aseara tried to squint, she could not see a thing but she put out her hands in front of her and walked over to the windows to close them one by one. It had to be early in the morning, she could no longer hear the music and the Red was as quiet as could be.

Once the windows were closed, Aseara looked out and up to the sky. A thunderbolt flashed and she moved back a little bit. She must have fallen asleep while doing some work. Rubbing her face and then running a hand threw her hair; Aseara moved the bassinets to check on her children. Orin and Aeuri were sleeping, but when she got to Nasuri… Her daughter was missing. Panic gripped her whole body in that moment; she froze, staring at the empty space before looking around frantically. There was no way her daughter could have crawled out from her bed; maybe someone had taken her out?

The Wind woman raced out of her office, she moved to the stairs, going down them as fast as she could to the next floor. A few of the girls were still up and they spotted her and immediately knew something was wrong.

“Have any of you taken Nasuri?” More panic as the girls shook their head. “She’s missing, she wasn’t in her bed.”

There was no time to explain it all, Aseara raced to each door and opened them all by one looking for her daughter. She awoke the whole floor doing so but ignored the questions as she moved to the next floor and repeated the same process over again. By the time she’d reached the bottom, the whole building was alight and in a panic over the missing child. Had someone taken her? Right out of Aseara’s office without anyone noticing? It was hard to believe such a thing was even possible.

Word was sent to warn Nuri who had stayed in the barracks for the night as well as the guards, but Aseara was frantic, borderline from having a breakdown by the time someone sat her down to calm her and handed her a glass of water.

It was no use, the walls were closing in on her and she was having trouble breathing. She needed to get out, to calm her mind and think things through. Aseara rushed out to the gardens and let the cool air wash over her skin. Thunder clashed in the skies again and Aseara opened her eyes just in time to see a hooded figure at the back of the garden holding something. The Wind woman dropped her glass, shattering it in the process as she ran over and stopped a few feet away from the small figure.

Thunder struck the skies illuminating the dark gardens and the face of a ghost.

“Afsana…” Aseara stared at the Oban eyes wide.

“You look like you’re doing quite well for yourself,” Nasuri gave out a cry and Afsana gently tapped her bottom in a rhythm while cooing at her. “Beautiful daughter you have, she would do quite well as a dancer.”

“Give her to me,” Aseara approached closer hands extended out as if to take the child but Afsana moved back.

“Now now Aseara, not yet.” She flashed a smile at the Wind woman when the lightning flashed again.

“Please, don’t hurt her.” Aseara extended her hands out again. “She’s done nothing to you.”

“Quite right, you’re the one who’s sinned you little traitorous dog. Bit the hand that feeds you, I should have put you down sooner.” Afsana spat the words. “I’m going to get my revenge though, going to start by taking everything you love away slowly and make sure you have nothing left.” Afsana laughed loudly.

“Leave my children out of it you old hag!” She could not be afraid of Afsana, she had beaten her once and she would do it again. Furious, Aseara lunged for Afsana who moved back but was not fast enough. The Windling caught onto her daughters blanket and jerked her to get her away from Afsana. It away Nasuri who began crying loudly throwing a fit. It became a tug o war which Aseara eventually won as Afsana turned her attention on beating on her rather than holding onto the child. Aseara moved back towards the house and to be shoved forward to the ground by Afsana.

Curling, Aseara tried to protect her daughter as they fell, turning on her side as she hit the ground. Afsana climbed onto of Aseara and the Wind woman tried to push Nasuri as far away from her as she could. By now however, with the crying baby and Aseara’s screams people had started to take notice.

Aseara felt a pain slicing through her hip and she cried out.

“I hope you’ve cherished those children Aseara! You won’t be having any more once I’m done with you!” Aseara tried to fight back, pushing at Afsana as she yelled at her. She tried to move back and away to get closer to the house and her hand touched the broken glass from before. Grabbing a piece, cutting her hand in the process Aseara jabbed back at Afsana. She cut her on the arm and hands a few times before she finally was able to get away from her.

Two men suddenly burst into the gardens, followed by others. They rushed over and grabbed both women to illuminate them. Someone yelled for a doctor, Aseara’s head was swimming, her vision dimming but she knew their uniforms, these were guards. Afsana continued to yell, someone wrapped her up in a blanket and carried her but she wasn’t sure who it was. She called out her children’s names, a face she vaguely recognized kiss her forehead, a flash of purple was also by her side and she knew that was Itotia.

That meant everything was okay.

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When Aseara woke up the next morning, she barely remembered what had happened. But her children were by her side and she calmed down immediately. The doctor was there too, speaking to her softly.

“I’ve patched you up so you should take a few days to rest,” he gave her a smile but it was an odd smile. “You suffered from blood loss, she stabbed you a few times and I think you also cut your hands on some glass. You will live, which I can’t say the same for the women who attacked you.

“Where is she?”

“Dead, died in jail this morning. I believe she put in everything she had in trying to kill you. It almost worked…” he paused. “You will be forever marked by these events,” he pointed to her crystals. “I can’t explain it, but it doesn’t look like your health has been too affected. I’ll let you rest now; your husband is in the room next door if you need anything.” He gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder before leaving her.

Aseara could feel where Afsana had stabbed her, she could barely move. From her bed however, she could see her children and that was all that mattered. Aseara settled in bed and breathed in deeply. She didn’t care about the crystals; all she cared about were her children. And now Afsana was really gone… For her it felt like she’d lost another parent again. The tears came and Aseara cried out trying to stifle it. Aeuri called out and she extended out of her bed as much as possible to grab him and laid him on her chest as she tried to control her breathing.

She would never leave her children.

back in pt. 1

http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=24998995