The Viraaz troops brought around a few of the Evans carriages as Marix took Eilownia through the house.

"I don’t really remember any of this. Just bits and pieces." She said as she touched the walls and looked up at the paintings.

"You were very young when you were thrown out, right? It didn’t sound like it was a very pleasant day either." Marix watched as she picked up a vase and examined it.

"I was. How did you know?" She placed the vase back on its pedestal and headed up to her childhood bedroom.

"When I was looking into if you were a spy or not, I questioned one of your old maids that left shortly after you arrived...." He furrowed his eyebrows at the sight of the ’bedroom.’

It truly was a storage closet. Especially now.

The bed she’d once slept in was just a bare frame with boxes piled up on either side.

Suddenly, Eilownia gasped and ran over to one of the boxes.

"What is it?" Marix took a step inside, his voice laced with concern.

She tossed the ones on top of the second to the bottom off and pulled up a tattered blanket.

"My blanket!" She hugged it tight to her chest as tears formed in her eyes, "I thought I’d lost it. I want to bring it and use it for our baby!"

A soft smile spread across Marix’s lips, "I think that’s a great idea."

As they walked through the house, she couldn’t help but feel more and more uncomfortable.

If he had loved her, if she had been legitimate, would the large room down the hall from her father’s had been her bedroom? Would she have shared meals with him in the dining room and laughed with him about things?

The beautiful antique armoire that stood in his bedroom, would she have a similar one to keep all of her dresses in? Would he have bought her more dresses than she could ever dream of?

"I don’t.....really have any connection to any of these things."

Marix nodded, "You don’t need to have a connection. You can take whatever you want. If you like it, its yours. Everything here is yours. How about the study? Why don’t you take a look at some of the books in there? You love to read, don’t you?"

With a small shrug of her shoulders, she headed into the room that held Lord Evans’ secrets.

Yet, all she could think of were all of the times she was dragged down into the dungeon through that secret passage and tortured.

She shook her head before even entering. "It all feels too foreign to me. I don’t want any of these things. I don’t want to go in here again either."

"I understand. You don’t need to. Let’s get out of here. Do you want to go look at the Evans Estate Stables? Or would you rather just go to the carriage?"

She thought for a moment.

Evans Estate Stables? She didn’t even know they had horses on the property, let alone an entire stable full of them.

"Alright. Let’s go look. I want to see what it looks like."

Standing outside, fiddling with her hands awkwardly, was Aleiza. She watched as the troops loaded up the carriages while standing a decent distance away.

"Aleiza!" Marix shouted, stopping to wait for her to turn around.

She jumped at the sudden call of her name and turned around, "Yes?!"

Marix nodded towards the troops, "Your first job – Help them load the carriages up. Listen to everything they say and follow their instructions."

A smile spread across her face, "Yes!"

Marix waited until she was with his troops, helping to pass boxes up to those on top to secure, before continuing to the stable with Eilownia.

Her eyes widened as she inhaled sharply. It was a large white stable with deep red trim. It smelled earthy and sweet as they approached.

The stable was on the other side of the house, probably to ensure that the horses didn’t chew on or ruin any of the gardens.

Huge horses with sparkling coats and neatly brushed manes filled the stalls and for some reason she couldn’t help but feel like they were staring at her like she didn’t belong there.

Their stalls were clean with fresh hay and full buckets of water.

"What’s wrong?" Marix asked, noticing a frown that had come over her face.

"Even the horses were treated better than me."

"Lord Evans certainly was all for sho-" He was cut off by Eilownia suddenly darting towards one stall in particular.

Standing tall at the back of his stall was a gelding that looked like muddied snow. He eyed Eilownia and Marix nervously as they got closer.

"He’s beautiful~!" She cooed, her eyes practically glittering with enthusiasm.

Marix stared at his build and shape, "Andalusian. Dapple Grey. Beautiful coloring, beautiful breed."

Eilownia held her hand out, trying to beckon him over but it was no use.

"Do you want him?" Marix smiled, "I think you two would be a great pair."

She smiled wide, "Yes! I love him!"

Marix called over the stableboy and commanded him to tie the horse to the carriage, that Eilownia would be taking him.

’The Horse of Kings? How beautifully ironic.’ He chuckled as Eilownia’s smile grew even bigger.

"Are there any other horses you want? There are quite a few fine breeds here." He noted as he looked around the stalls, "Strong."

She shook her head, "I just have a pull to that one. I don’t know what to do with the others. You can have them I guess. Or....I don’t know what to do with them?"

"Well. A few of them can be added to the Viraaz army. Large, strong. Their posture is wonderful as well. Their back strength must be incredible."

Eilownia smiled, "You know a lot about horses~"

Marix shrugged, "I suppose. I took an interest in them when I started learning about the mounts for the army."

"What will you do with the rest?"

He rubbed her back, "The rest we will find new homes for. Does that sound good?"

Eilownia nodded, "I hope they find wonderful new homes, just like I did."

Marix leaned down and pecked her lips, "I will make sure of it."

By the time they returned to the carriages, Lord Evans’ body was already covered with a cloth, obscuring him from view.

A few of the servants were gathered around, watching as the troops were carefully lifting the potting bench and securing it to the roof of one of the carriages.

Most of the staff were pretty much unfamiliar to her. It seemed since she had escaped through the hole in the wall that Evans had seen an increase in his rapid staff turnover rate.

Yet, there was one who caught her eye. A male who looked to be in his mid-30s. He had dirty blonde hair and a slight limp.

As he shook his head and turned to head into the house, Eilownia raced up and grabbed his arm.

"Wait! I know you. What happened to the old maid that used to bring me my meals? She stopped coming shortly before the annual Spring Ball. Do you know where I might find her?"

The man yanked his arm out of her grasp and balled his fists.

"Her? She tried to help you. Got caught putting away savings for you. Lord Evans didn’t appreciate that she would use the salary she got from him to spend on you." He practically spat in her face, causing her to lean back a bit in surprise.

Marix headed over after observing their body language.

"Is there a problem?" His tone was laced with threat as he stared at the servant.

"No sir." The man hissed as he started to walk away.

"W-Wait! What do you mean? She was caught saving money for me? She wanted to help me leave? Where can I find her now?!"

Eilownia tried to chase after him and press for more information, but Marix stopped her, gently grabbing her arm to keep her anchored in place.

He took her to the carriage, a solemn look on his face as the image of the finger bone he found in the dungeon flashed in his mind.

"Marix, wait. I want to ask him more-"

"Some things are better left unanswered. I don’t want you riding, I want you to stay in here and rest comfortably. Aleiza, you ride in the carriage with her."

Aleiza nodded and jumped inside, beckoning Eilownia in.

Eilownia stared at Marix and sucked on her lips for a moment before popping them open, "We’re going to have to go super slow down that rickety road again aren’t we?"

Marix smiled and nodded slowly, "Even slower so you don’t get jostled around."

"Can’t I just ride with you and the carriages can come later?"

"No chance. You’re going to ride in there where you’ll be as safe as you can be."