Reni found himself in the estate's living room standing behind Odette, who was sat in the canape in front of him while he held Esperance. Across from them was Renee who sat in the identical canape that faced them.
"He's late," snarled Odette.
"It's not even noon yet. Just be patient and give him a few more minutes," she said, unbothered by the lioness's irritable demeanor. A distant sound of footsteps announced Guillaume as he walked into the living room.
"Sorry I'm late. I had to put a few things away at the last minute."
"It's about goddamn time!" Odette snarled at him.
"You're not late Guillaume, as a matter of fact you're just about a minute early. Have a seat," Renee replied as she motioned to empty space next to her. Guillaume sat down and briefly glanced at Reni, who seemed to avoid looking at him. He felt a bit uneasy being around him after their last fight.
"So Odette, do you mind explaining to everyone why exactly we're all here?"
"As you all know the House of Blanc is holding a Coronation Ball for Princess Enora the day after tomorrow, and as the head of the La Croix family it is my duty as a member of noble society to attend."
"I'm surprised you're even going, to be honest," Renee said as she played with her lighter.
"And why is that?"
"Your family was already struggling with Queen Noyer's reformation. I doubt her daughter is going to be any less aggressive with the push. If anything, she's probably going to be a lot worse."
"Don't worry about that, I have my ways."
"I'm pretty sure I know what you mean. I just hope you're not dumb enough to try, let alone drag us into it," Renee stated, annoyed at Odette's antics.
"What do you need us for then?" Guillaume asked as he glanced at Renee and then Odette.
Odette motioned Reni to give her the baby.
"I'm going to bring the baby with me to show her off to the fellow nobility and I need both you and Renee to keep an eye on her and Reni."
"But why me specifically? Couldn't you just get-"
"Because I said so, Guillaume," Renee said as she glared at him.
There was a brief and awkward silence in the room.
"If I had it my way you would have been gone a long time ago. But Renee stood up for you and made her case. And while I don't care for you at all, Renee has kept this place standing for years. And without her I might not have an estate. So I hold her and her word in high regard."
"I understand."
"But if I catch you fucking up even once, being fired will be the least of your fucking worries. Am I clear?"
"Y-yes ma'am. Crystal Clear."
"Good. Now you and Reni take the baby into town and get her some clothes and supplies. Renee and I need to work out the details on the trip," she said to Guillaume as she handed the baby back to Reni.
"I'll let you know the details later today Guillaume. But we head out tomorrow so make sure you're ready first thing tomorrow morning," Renee said as the three of them left the room.
Renee looked at Odette with a deadpan look on her face.
"You need to stop trying to fuck people."
Guillaume waited outside with the carriage while Reni took care of getting Esperance's daycare bag. After a few minutes Reni and Esperance exited the house and made their way to the carriage.
"You have everything you need Reni?"
"...Yeah."
"A-alright then, let's get going," Guillaume said as he, Reni, and Esperance began to make their way to town.
"So what exactly did you need to get?"
Reni pulled out a folded piece of paper and began to read the contents.
"A week's worth of disposable diapers which is around fifty. Two hundred and fifty milliliters of baby formula, so a liter sized bottle would be fine. Two fifty count containers of disposable wipes, a changing mat and a dress."
"That's not too bad I guess. I'm not really too sure how much that is in all honesty. I never had to buy baby stuff before."
Reni stayed silent.
"...Reni?"
"Yes?" he asked coldly.
"I'm sorry. For everything."
Reni stayed silent for the rest of the trip. Eventually the carriage came to a stop just outside of the shopping plaza. While Reni was getting Esperance out of the carriage, Guillaume secured their spiders and carriage and helped Reni off the Carriage.
"So what's first?"
"I'm just going to get Esperance's dress and have it altered a little bit at Jacques' Boutique."
"I'm not too sure where that is so I guess you'll have to lead the way."
"I can handle it myself. You can go do whatever I guess."
"...okay."
Reni headed off on his own leaving Guillaume alone with the carriage. Bored and defeated he wandered around the block only to find a middle-aged Zebu street canvassing a small crowd.
"Just because we are seeing a lot of progress for our righteous cause doesn't mean we can be content with where we are at. We must push forward. We can not, no, will not, stop until we dismantle the tools of systematic oppression and those who vow to protect it!" The Zebu shouted amongst the crowd. She noticed an unfamiliar face and began to address Guillaume.
"You young brother, how are you feeling this wonderful day?"
"I- I'm fine?" Guillaume replied nervously as the eyes in the crowd slowly locked onto him.
"Fine. Fine? Why not great? Why not blessed? Why just fine?"
"I'm just dealing with some personal stuff. That's about it."
"Oh come on now, you look like you could use a shoulder to lean on. Lucky for you the gods have heard your call and sent you my shoulder to lean on."
"Um, no thanks. I don't even really know you."
"It seems that I forgot to introduce myself. My apologies, my name is Symone. Symone Byrne, Abolitionist and editor in chief of the world-renowned North Star Publication."
"Okay?"
"And what might your name be good sir?"
"Guillaume. Guillaume Bernard."
"Ah. What a wonderful name."
"It's just a name. I don't really see what makes it anything more than that."
"A name is more than just a name people address you by. It's how you will carry yourself, and not just what you are, but what you become."
"And what does my name mean exactly?"
"A brave, strong guardian."
"Yeah well that's not me."
Symone takes Guillaume's hand and pulls him a small distance away from the crowd.
"And what makes you say that?"
"I'm just not sure I want to talk about it."
"Do you want to know what my name means Guillaume? God's listener. I won't judge you or anything. But you look like you could use a stranger to talk to," Symone said in a calm and soothing voice.
"I have a friend that's in a bad situation. And everything I do seems to make it worse for him, and I don't know what to do. My friends want me to abandon him but I can't. It doesn't feel right."
"I see. What does your friend want you to do?"
"I don't know. He won't talk to me. And I don't think I could blame him if he never does."
"I'm pretty sure if you gave Reni time he'll come around."
Guillaume grew very suspicious.
"How do you know about Reni?" he asked cautiously.
"Every abolitionist in Zara knows who Reni is. The real question is, do you?"
"I don't really know what you mean."
"He's very valuable. So valuable in fact that if anything were to happen to him, the la Croix's empire would be financially destroyed. Sure you would be out of a job, but they will never be able to recover."
"I don't really understand, what makes him that well known and valuable. I thought he was just a regular slave."
"He's the son of two of the most prolific conductors the movement has ever seen. The number of bounties that were on their heads still make me jealous to this day."
"Conductors of what exactly?"
"The underground railroad. It's not really an actual railroad mind you. It's more of a network of people who have the means and are believers in the movement who help traffic slaves out of countries like Dyaxis, Vesku, and Yaken and into safer countries like Galos that can remove their branding and let them practice magic."
"That's a thing?"
"It is. Although it's not really as prominent as it was decades ago. The progress we've made in legislation and the thoroughness of Veskian government mostly reduced our numbers by quite a lot."
"Do you know if there's anyone still in Dyaxis that could help get Reni to Galos?"
"There is but..."
"I think this could be what I needed! I know how I can help Reni!"
"I don't know if you can. The only routes that we have left that aren't being scouted are too dangerous for people who have no experience with it. And I'm not exactly as nimble as I used to be so finding a decent conductor will take some time."
"How much?"
"Maybe a year, year and a half. That's not even including getting around the estate's guards and deterrents which would add even more time to properly plan things out."
"What if he wasn't at the estate? What if he was at Nordeaux?"
"We don't have any routes near the capital anymore. The only way you'll be able to get to the shoreline for the pickup is to go through the nearby forest that's southeast from the capital. And that is just way too dangerous for people with no fighting experience."
"I have experience! I can do it!"
"In wilderness survival as an estate guard?"
"It's part of my training!"
"If you say so. I'll tell you what, meet me here tomorrow at noon and I'll get a map and instructions drawn up for you."
"Thank you so much! You won't regret it!"
"When did you say you wanted to do this again?"
"The day after tomorrow!"
"That might be a bit too soon but I'll see what I can do."
"Excuse me ma'am," Reni said as he approached the counter with his daughter in one hand and two different color dresses in the other.
"Yes, how can I help you miss?" The young black-faced impala asked.
"I'm not too sure which one of these dresses would look best for my daughter and I wanted to get a second opinion," Reni asked as he set Esperance on the counter and showed the sales associate the two dresses. One was an organza dress made out of purple cloth and the other dress was a white christening gown.
"What exactly is this dress for?" The sales associate asked as she looked between the two.
"It's for a gala."
"Oh, then you want to go with the purple one instead of the white one. It's the only one out of the two that's appropriate for a gala."
"Why would the white one not be appropriate?"
"The white dress is a christening gown. And those are usually worn for religious ceremonies. Galas aren't usually religious so that was a bad idea to go with that one. The purple dress is an Organza style dress. Those are usually the go-to dress for galas. Also I thought your baby looked cuter in purple."
"I don't believe I got your name miss?"
"Everest. Everest Clematis. And you are?" she asked as she reached out her hand.
"Reni," he said as he shook her hand.
"And who might this cute little thing right here be?" Everest asked as her attention turned to Esperance.
"Her name is Esperance."
"That's such a pretty name!" she said as the baby started to wiggle around in Reni's arm and began to cry.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't do anything wrong did I?"
"No no no, she's just getting restless. We should probably get going," Reni said as he began rocking the upset infant.
"Well don't let me distract you or anything, I'll see you two around," she said as Reni headed out the door before heading to the counter.
"I almost forgot to pay for the dress. Do you do alterations here?"
"We do, but there's no real reason to do alterations to infant clothing since they usually outgrow the clothes in a few months."
"Oh, okay. Well I guess we'll be heading off then," Reni said as he and the baby left the building.
"Now where to next? Well on second thought, I think I should just drop this off at the carriage before buying anything else," he murmured to himself as he made his way back to the carriage.
After a few minutes of walking, Reni made his way to the carriage only to find no one there. He looked around the immediate area for Guillaume but couldn't for the life of him, find the bovine.
"I guess he found something to do I guess," he said as he put the dress in the carriage and looked at his list.
"I guess the next thing I should buy is the formula and mat. I think the grocer's market should have it. But that's a bit much for me to carry with the baby," Reni mumbled to himself as he looked at the list.
"Maybe I can help?" Guillaume asked as Reni was caught off guard not by his demeanor, but his surprise stealth.
"I guess," he said reluctantly.
"Lead the way!" Guillaume said as he followed Reni to the Grocer's Market.
A few minutes of awkward silence passed by as the Grocer's market began to come into sight.
"Reni?"
"What?" he asked annoyed.
"If someone could help you be free, would you let them help?" Guillaume asked eagerly.
"What?" Reni asked confused at the question.
"I mean, if someone could free you. Would you let them?" Guillaume asked a lot more clearly.
Reni suddenly stopped walking and turned to Guillaume with an irritated expression.
"Why are you asking that Guillaume?" Reni asked cautiously.
"I just was wondering. I guess."
Reni took a brief moment to think about the question.
"...Yes. But only if I take my daughter with me," he replied with conviction.
"But why the baby?"
"Excuse me?" Reni asked defensively.
Noticing that he may have accidentally touched a nerve with him, he rephrased his question to the hyena.
"I... I didn't mean it like that, I was just trying to figure out why wouldn't you leave her with Odette? She's not really like you, she can't be a slave because she can't do magic. She can just have a normal life."
"She's my daughter, and I'm not going to abandon her and let Odette do whatever she wants to her," he said angrily to Guillaume.
"T... that makes sense."
"Why are you asking?" he asked curiously.
"Because I might have a way to get you both out of here," Guillaume said excitedly.
"And how exactly would you do that?"
"Well I found this guy who says he's part of some group that frees slaves. And he sort of knew about you so I thought he might be able to sneak you out of the country."
"I don't want anything to do with this," he said as he once again headed towards the grocer's market.
"What? Why?" Guillaume asked dumbfounded by Reni's statement.
"It sounds suspicious Guillaume. Really suspicious."
"What's suspicious about it? He just wants to help. Not everyone is out to get you Reni," Guillaume said frustratedly.
"Just go back to the carriage and leave me alone," Reni shouted.
Guillaume, defeated, headed back to the carriage as Reni and Esperance entered the grocer's market.
A few minutes later Reni exited the market and reluctantly headed back towards the carriage where Guillaume was waiting for him.
"Hey. You got everything you need at the market?" Guillaume asked softly as Reni set Esperance in the carriage and Guillaume took his bags.
"I believe so," Reni said as Guillaume began their quiet drive back to the estate.