We returned to the inn, Lucas was supposed to come meet us as soon as the sun rose so we could talk. Honestly, I don't know what to do, I feel lost.
As soon as morning arrives, Lucas is at the entrance of the inn holding hands with a younger child and two more around him. He says that they didn't want to stay in the shack, but I understand that he brought them in the hope that I would buy things for them to eat, in fact, it is very easy to understand his intentions.
-"Well, we still haven't eaten anything, how about we go in and eat something?" Kael says to Lucas with a smile.
-"Hm, no need, we just came to talk!" Lucas says, his face red.
-"Sure, but I insist, let's go." Kael says as he goes back inside the inn.
As soon as we enter, I ask the maid to serve whatever breakfast is available for the children. To avoid seeming strange, I ask for a drink for myself, which I force myself to drink even though it tastes horrible.
Francis would be proud of the boy; despite having a questionable attitude and actions, he has a kind heart. While the children eat, a man at a nearby table seems to recognize Lucas and approaches. Before he can grab Lucas, I grab his hand.
-"What do you want, sir?" I ask as I get up and easily push him back.
-"That brat stole from me, you'd better explain or I'll call the guards. They aren't so lenient with thieves!" the man threatens.
I take out some silver coins and throw them at the man. He seems offended but picks them up and leaves. It looks like the coins are running out, so I'll have to venture out tonight.
When the children finish eating, I talk a little with Lucas, telling him that before leaving Rouen he can come to me for help whenever he needs, and if he wants to come with me he just has to say so. Then I take the remaining coins and give them to him: 10 silver coins and 2 gold coins.
The day ended quickly and the night embraced the world, as soon as Léa and Gabrielle are sleeping I went out into the street. Although it is night the streets are still very busy, it seems that it is tomorrow that the Maid of Orleais will be burned.
On the outskirts of the city I see some people trapped in cages, they look like homeless people probably trapped to be sold as slaves. I can count at least 15 people on guard. Silently I start killing one by one, the action is so easy that it has long since ceased to make a difference.
I take all the coins I can find, both in the bodies and in the hut in the center of the camp. As soon as I feed on one of the bodies, I open the cages of the people who are sleeping and disappear into the darkness.
When morning comes and Léa wakes up, she looks at me while I read a book.
-"Where did you go during the night, brother?" asks Léa curiously.
-"I just went to borrow some coins from people who didn't need them!" says Kael calmly.
-"Are you learning to talk like Lucas?" says Léa with a smile. "What are you going to do about Lucas?"
-"Hm, I don't know. I'll help as much as I can, but in the end the help I can give is somewhat limited, and even if he comes with us, he won't really be better!" says Kael.
-"Brother, is today the day the woman will be burned alive? Some people say that she was actually sent by the devil, but others demand justice for her!" says Léa. "Do you think it's true?"
-"Hm, I don't know, maybe it is or maybe it isn't!" says Kael calmly.
-"I have already seen several monsters, I doubt that she's one!" says Léa while looking at her feet. "Human or not, monsters hide behind smiles while burning the world in the name of justice!"
Those words stayed etched in my mind, yes, in the end the line between "Hero" and "Monster" is almost nonexistent.
I tell Léa to stay in the room with Gabrielle and leave them some silver coins. As soon as I leave the inn, which is now empty, I head to the center of the square where several people are now looking at a stake with several logs of wood and straw around it.
I see the guards bringing a young woman and tying her to the stake, I am still surprised by the sheer cruelty humans have towards their own kind.
As soon as they set fire to the straw, the flame quickly spreads and engulfs everything around the woman. The moment the flames touch her legs, everyone hears the screams of pain; people in the audience cry, and even some guards refuse to look in the direction from which the screams come. As I see that most people are looking away from the fire, I quickly appear from behind and step into the flames, which burn my clothes. Some people who were looking in the direction of the fire are shocked and fall to their knees.
As soon as I grab the more-than-half-burned body, I disappear toward the forest. The screams stopped, and the body on the burning pyre vanished as if by a miracle, carried away by something that shone in the sun, at least according to what the rumors would later say.
When I reach the forest and lay her body on the ground, I can feel life leaving the woman's body. For a moment I struggle against my conscience, not knowing how to proceed, whether I should curse her to my fate or let her embrace death.
With little time to think, I simply lean in and bite her on the arm. As soon as I do, I look at the body; life continues to leave until nothing remains. Every heartbeat has stopped, and the body begins to grow cold as if life had never existed there in the first place, and then, her eyes open, looking directly at mine.
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I was in doubt about Joan, I wasn't sure if I would let the story continue on its path or interrupt it. In the end, this is just a fictional story, so why not? Would Joan at the stake have died from the burns or from lack of air? Regardless, it was a horrible fate.