Chapter 37: Sins of the Past
The guard captain's office was what you would expect from someone of his stature. Sword racks and a suit of armor belonging to the city guards could be found if you turn your head left and right. One might fancy the room authoritarian, which would make sense since the stoic man before the sitting couple is giving that air.
"I take great pride in my job of keeping this city safe. Since all sorts of races and cultures intersect here it would be best to weed out ANY potential problems before they become a full-blown inconvenience to the general populace."
The man introduced himself as Captain Odjour. The person at the top brass responsible for keeping Elaria's peace and order. His armor has a golden hue, signifying his position. His brown hair well-kept and he has a twirled mustache that would make everyone want to peel it off. Maybe not everyone, but at least Ellamir does.
"And what does all of that shit have to do with me?" Ellamir dauntlessly questioned the guard captain's monologue.
"Ellamir! Can you not!? We are speaking with the captain of the guards!"
Had their chairs been close to one another, Antani would have already pinched Ellamir's side for showing a total lack of respect for a person that could very well throw her in jail.
"That's alright, miss Antani. I am used to dealing with ruffians like her."
Ellamir's eye narrowed with hostility, glaring at the guard captain. "You did not just call me ruffian. Take that back or I will rip that pompous mustache of yours from your face."
(Oh, Gods above.) Antani facepalmed, shaking her head. At this point it would be a miracle if her lover didn't end up between the bars. Since Ellamir was showing no effort, the task of successfully extracting Ellamir out of the guard captain's office had just been thrown into her lap. She had to admit that it was a herculean task at that.
"What she is trying to say, Guard captain sir, is that whatever it is that she is being accused of - she is most likely innocent. She has no time to commit crimes with us always by each other's side."
The guard captain listened as he twirled his mustache, likely deliberate to provoke Ellamir. Which he could tell was working by how Ellamir's eye twitched.
"Mind flayer dust, made from grinding illithid tadpoles into powder. A drug said to be 10 times more potent than pixie dust. Those who took it said that the high it provided was so great it felt like they were traveling to another universe. Recently, we've had an influx of the said drug into the city. Ellamir, would you happen to know something about this?" Odjour inquired, his gaze as stern as he tried to wring out the answers he was looking for.
"I…ugh…I know nothing!"
Living with Ellamir long enough, Antani already knew most of her lover's quirks. Because of her headstrong personality, she would always value honesty even to the point of being brutally so. In hindsight, it makes Ellamir a bad liar. Antani would always know if Ellamir was second-guessing herself or if she was outright lying whenever she would stutter.
"Ellamir, are you hiding something from me?" Antani's brow crossed as she gave Ellamir a stare down.
For Ellamir, Antani looking at her as if she wanted to grill her was more intimidating than the guard captain could ever hope to be. But it wasn't enough to make her spill the truth. Ellamir feared that if she did, Antani would wholeheartedly despise her.
"R-ridiculous! There is nothing for me to hide!"
"Ellamir, tell me the truth. Now!"
Unable to withstand Antani's pressurizing gaze, Ellamir caved in.
"Alright, fine! But promise me first that you won't get mad at me."
"Don't worry, I won't. We've already been through a lot, I think I could handle whatever you throw at me at this point." Antani haphazardly reassures Ellamir with a soft smile. What the dark elf was hiding was probably something minor. Unworthy to even make a fuss about.
Ellamir breathed in deep, and then exhaled as she told them all. Her secret? One heavy enough to collapse their relationship under its weight.
+++
"What!? You kicked us out of our land so you could sell drugs!? I can't fucking believe you!" Antani shouted, the revelation was so major that her face was filled to the brim with fury.
Apparently, the land of the Amazons had a mind flayer nest underneath. Its destruction brought about by Zorla herself, whose sinister plan was to dig a hole large enough so she could directly transport the 'goods' from underground directly to the surface.
"You promised you won't get mad!"
"How could I not be mad!? You hid a secret that big from me!?"
"I didn't hide it, there was no opportunity to bring it up!" Ellamir's mistake was trying to omit the information from Antani for as long as she did. For she knew how ludicrous it was that your now lover kicked you out of your home land only for her to run a drug trafficking ring in its place. Luckily, her bastard of a mother didn't appoint her as the head of its operation.
Captain Odjour coughed, calling for the attention of the now bickering lovers.
"Please, save the fighting for when you're both out of my office." The captain turned towards Ellamir to verify her statement. "You are not the one distributing the drugs? But that is what the captured dark elf told us."
"That's not possible, I am currently on the run. However, I won't deny the fact that the role was supposed to be mine, until mother gave it to someone else, Shahira."
Although furious, Antani's desire to keep her lover from getting imprisoned still prevailed. Testifying for the dark elf's innocence.
"It's true, captain Odjour. Our circumstances had led us both to flee from our family. There is no way that Ellamir is in league with her mother in this mind flayer dust business."
The guard captain twirled his mustache once more. The couple before him are both platinum adventurers, with the amount of gold they could earn and their very reputations at stake, surely they wouldn't be dumb enough to turn to drug trafficking? Unpleasant as she might be, he thinks that Ellamir was telling the truth but that would mean that the dark elf that they captured was lying.
Odjour would need to consult guild master Caduceus about two of his prominent adventurers linked in drug trafficking.
"You two are released until further notice."
Just as they got up to leave, Ellamir tried to hold Antani's hand only for the Amazon to yank hers away. A painful sensation in her chest made itself known to Ellamir. With her every word ignored, Ellamir could only walk in silence next to Antani as they headed back into their apartment.
+++
As soon as Ellamir closed the apartment door behind her, Antani spewed all of her rage, shouting with the wrath like an erupted volcano.
"Are there any other major secrets that you are hiding from me!?"
Ellamir would have preferred a calmer tone, but it was better than hearing nothing at all from her lover. She was never good at diffusing situations like these, she was raised only to overpower those that weren't her mother or her sister, her coldness borne from her sadistic race and stature as a princess. Naturally, this would lead to her telling Antani to 'shut up'. Yet, she instinctively knew that it would prolong their fight, when all she wanted was for them to make up.
"Look, I apologize for keeping it from you. That was the only one, I swear! I just…"
"You just what!? You just didn't think I deserve to know what happened to our land!?" Antani's voice was deafening, her anger obviously clouding her judgment.
"I just didn't want for you to hate me, like you do now."
Ellamir's moist eye along with her anguished expression was enough to revert mount antani back into its dormant state.
With her mood now calmed, Antani wrapped her arms around Ellamir's waist whilst bumping her forehead over Ellamir's own.
"I lost my temper, I apologize as well. Look, I don't hate you, I was just surprised by how wild it all was."
To make sure that Ellamir felt her sincerity, Antani's lips touched Ellamir's softly. A soothing kiss to drive away the anxiety wedged inside Ellamir's chest, tenderness replacing it right after.
"Now, let's discuss how to clean that reputation of yours. No lover of mine is going to be mistaken for a drug peddler."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone