After Tristan left, I hung around the guild until late evening, talking with Baba and Pele—the two who usually gave me bread and water. There were others too. Bryson, an attendant. Victoria's sister, Emma—more stray than member—who had no real function except showing up to fight with Baba about how filthy he was.
Their fights were always comedy gold.
But I loved Baba and Pele's conversations most. They gave me a window into this world which I barely knew.
"It's really hard to picture you as a soldier, Baba." I laughed after hearing how he'd saved a countess's daughter back in his soldier days. They fell in love, but their difference in status blocked any chance of marriage. In the end, she was married off to a duke.
Baba shook his head. "It's a mad world we live in, Cade. You can't have anything—nothing at all—unless you matter. You either gotta have the balls or the power."
