?Why could this not wait until tomorrow morning again?? Ishmerai asked the young, blonde Faerie at his side, casting a less than friendly glance over his shoulder at some of the denizens of Dockside gathered on a nearby corner.

?Because I?m impatient!? She hopped a few steps closer to him, nudging him carefully towards the door with her bandaged left foot. ?Don?t worry so much. I can always beat someone with my crutches if I need to. You know, I did get the barony by earning it.?

He muttered something to himself, stepping forward at the nudge from his lady to open the padlocked doors to the warehouse with the ring of keys he had. She had handed those keys off to him upon their delivery but had strung the accompanying ring on a chain around her neck after making gagging noises, insisting that it looked ?gaudy? and ?made for old ladies?.

The knight gave a glance over his shoulder once more, watching the early evening foot traffic to see if anyone was paying too much attention to them. ?It would have been better in the morning. That way, I could have at least attended the training session with your young ladies.?

?Oh hush. I?m sure Sapphire is doing just fine with them. They need to learn different techniques anyway,? Jewell shut down his rather feeble arguments and hobbled into the warehouse. The knight followed shortly thereafter, pulling the large doors closed behind him and plunging them into darkness, further strengthening his point that the morning would have been better.

?Lights!? the baroness chimed. When that failed to activate any potential spell in place, Jewell juggled blindly with her crutches for a moment, trying to use a thin stream of fading sunlight coming in from under the doors to free at least one of her hands without falling over. Ishmerai beat her to it though, casting a rather simple bit of glamour into the air to illuminate the warehouse under a lovely net of twinkling stars.

?Perfect,? she grinned over her shoulder at him before firmly setting her crutches under her arms and hopping around in a circle to take in the whole thing.

Ishermai moved some trash around with his foot, ?It is rather dirty in here.?

?It?s not so bad.? She started moving towards the offices, gazing up at the walls and ceiling for any structural problems. The roof could use some work. ?Looks better than the mill site did at least. I understand we have that dock out there too,? she waved awkwardly towards the water.

The knight wandered closer to one of the walls, inspecting a bit of graffiti, before he trailed after his lady to the offices. She found a chair within one of them to sit down on, but only after brushing it off with her hand. ?What do you think, Merai??

By the look on his face, he didn?t seem to think much about the whole thing at all! ?You have yourself spread pretty thin already?? he began.

?I know. I know. I don?t need your warnings again. I just need to know what you think about the space and my ideas??

He sighed, rubbing at his temple with his pointer finger. ?Just using it as a warehouse would be easier. Quicker to get started. It would be a good place to keep the shipments for Beyond the Veil and I?Yulna too.?

?Right.? She toyed with one of the crutches, spinning it around. ?But I kind of like the security firm idea a little better.?

?Yes, I know. But please think about how much time and money that is going to take, Mira. You are going to need to renovate this place, which you are not even sure is allowed under the rules governing the barons. Then we will have to find workers, and I do not think your former sex workers are the best choice in this area of town.?

?No, they aren?t,? she shook her head, fully agreeing with that.

?So you will need to find people, and I am not so sure the people who operate in this part of town are the most loyal.?

She shrugged as if that was hardly even worth discussing. ?I will earn their loyalty.?

?How?? he challenged her.

?I will do exactly what I am already doing right now with the girls. It?s working in Old Market, isn?t it? Isn?t it?? She looked up at him and asked again when he refused to concede at once.

?Yes yes. Your plan seems to be working brilliantly. But Mira.. Mira! Please, come back down to the ground from your grand plans and lofty ideas. You still have the hotel to open and manage until you find someone, the mill project with the adjoining warehouse, and I know you are still considering your Royal Rabble madness.? He paused and she scowled at him, waiting for the rest of it. The knight softened his tone just a little, ?I know you are trying to keep yourself busy, keep yourself distracted, but everyone has their limits, Mira. Even you.?

She looked up at the ceiling. Over at the window. Anywhere but at him as she tried to think of how to wiggle out of his argument and get her way. Finally, she sighed and looked at her knight in defeat. ?Fine. We will just do a warehouse business.? Jewell quickly had to kill his smile before it even started by tacking on, ?To start, Ishmerai. Just to start.?

?Of course. Just to start.?

?It?s perfect.? Jewell smiled as she explained, ?We?ll take the one or two worthwhile people who haven?t worked out so well in Little Elfhame because they?re just a bit too rough around the edges, and we?ll place them here instead. They?ll fit right in around here, and they should be trustworthy enough to watch the warehouse. Bam, everyone is happy!?

?I am not happy.?

?You?re never happy.? She countered with a roll of her eyes.

?Oomph,? she let out involuntarily as her head slammed back into the brick wall, dilapidated Dockside buildings towering above. Jewell was alone with her three assailants--who she had quickly labelled One, Two, and Three--feigning fear. ?I swear, I didn?t mean to cause you any trouble!?

?That?s what they all say, sweetheart.? One cracked his knuckles.

?We?re out of a job because of you!? Two asserted, shoving his finger in her face. The Empress Baroness resisted the temptation to push it away.

?Yeah,? Three agreed stupidly. ?And we don?t like it!?

?So we?re here to teach you a lesson about messing in the affairs of Dockside, understand? Consider it a personal greeting from the Blockade Runners.?

She tried to step forward, peering down towards the mouth of the alleyway as if expecting someone. ?Oh no honey,? One shoved her back again, ?no one is coming to rescue you. Our pals are already taking care of your little knight friend.?

Jewell slumped back against the wall at that, her face suddenly pale. ?So, did your friends happen to tell you how I became Baroness of Dockside before they sent you out to deal with me?? she asked timidly.

One and Three shared looks and lewd gestures, laughing, while Two reached out and caught her cheek with a right hook, ?Shut your stupid whore mouth. I?m pretty sure we all figured it out.? Her head smacked back against the wall, dazing her enough to weaken her knees and send her sliding down towards the ground, a giddy laugh escaping her lips.

?Pull her back up, Ralph. Hitting her once ain?t gonna count as roughin? her up. They?ll never pay us.?

When Ralph, formerly known to Jewell as Two, stepped forward to grab her shoulder, the Baroness sprang up to meet him, the bit of lead pipe she had grabbed off the ground in her hand. Startled by her sudden movement, he stumbled backwards, but she was already on him. The smashing, two-handed blow to the temple sent him sprawling. Without wasting time to make sure he stayed down, she turned on the other two. One was closer and grappling for a knife at his hip. The crack of the pipe on his wrist ended those dreams in a flurry of screams and curses.

Three had initially held back, but he came at her now. She ducked his wild haymaker, slamming the pipe into the side of his knee. When he stumbled to the side, she took a crack at his ribs and then a final blow to the back of his head as he fell to his knees. Spinning about, she thrust the pipe into One?s gut as he rushed her, using his own momentum to drive it deeper. His hands circled the lead as it stuck right where she put it, blood streaming from the wound as he collapsed to his knees.

?It was kind of like that,? she admitted. ?Only it took longer.?

Jewell collapsed into a chair in the living room of the Dockside baronial manor, kicking her red shoes away from her in irritation. Her feet hurt, her mood was sour, her dress and hair stunk like smoke. Dealing with warehouse fires had not been on her list of things to do tonight.

Raye and Kal?s surprise party, drinking her weight in tequila, and a Royal Pain bout win over Deathcake. Those had been planned and well enjoyed!

?You should try to get some sleep, Mira.?

She rubbed at her forehead. ?No no. I need you to go get Janel.?

?Sleep, Mira. You have a long day before you, IFL duels, and the challenge this evening. The matter can rest for a little while. Janel is more than capable of picking up the trail in a few hours, after you have rested.?

?No. Making a public statement isn?t enough. I want to find out who did this. Now.?

?McNair and Nadeer.?

?Are you sure??

?Yes.? They walked back towards the baronial manor, arm-in-arm down the streets of Dockside. It made it so easy to whisper this way as she leaned against him, her voice low and intimate. ?You know the drill though. It can?t be traced back to me.? She even gave a breathy little laugh, ?Make sure they burn down a few others too so no suspicions are raised.?

The knight smiled as if she had something incredibly endearing. He tucked a bit of blue hair back behind her ear before leaning down to whisper sweet nothings in her ear. ?I am not stupid, Mira. It will be done just so.?

It was several hours and one question from Ishmerai regarding why she had even bothered to put her hair up later that found Jewell standing in the office of the Dockside baronial manor, pouring over a map. ?We can use the warehouse here and here.? Her perfectly shaped nail pointed out the locations on the map. ?Those should be good enough to start with. We can also use downstairs, but they?ll need to be cleared out for the Overlord Challenge on Monday night.?

?I am sure we can make other arrangements by then if necessary. Do you want to set anyone up in Little Elfhame??

She shook her head, ?No. I?d rather keep people contained to the baronies for now if I can.?

?What about the other barons??

Jewell wrinkled her nose. ?I will speak with them. I guess. For now, let?s just get the materials to these two warehouses and the tents set up in Battlefield Park. I want everyone who isn?t on active duty this afternoon and evening to be working on this.?

?Of course.?

She snatched up the to-do list and moved for the door, Ishmerai at her heels. ?Let?s not forget to get someone to put some spells in place too. It?s going to be cold tonight.?

?Right.?

?And I guess we should warn people about the ghosts, huh??

?Probably wise.?

It was well past noon when Jewell showed up in the barrister?s office in Little Elfhame. It was much nicer than it used to be when The Empress first descended on the run-down neighborhood and made it her own. The floors were covered in rich carpets imported from the Lands, the chairs were leather, the desk a well-polished mahogany, and instead of a colossal mess of paperwork, there was order and neatness.

The improvements were largely due to the smart assistant Jewell had insisted Lamont hire a few months ago. Her name was Marta. She was sitting in the small anteroom of the office, bent over her desk and she marked up piece of paper. Her long, blonde braid kept falling over her shoulder, only to be swatted out of the way. She stopped what she was doing when the door opened, smiling pleasantly at Jewell, ?Lady Empress! We were not expecting you today.?

That was understandable. Jewell allowed Ishmerai to handle as much of her business interests as possible, but the knight was in Faerie. Not for the first time did she seriously consider hiring an assistant for herself. An assistant would have meant that she did not have to leave Kal after breakfast or try to look presentable when all she really wanted to do was curl up with a book and let her side heal. Even with the wards, the spot where Sabine had really driven that dagger in stung acutely.

?I lost my barony last night. Is Lamont busy? I need to speak with him about the holdings in Dockside.?

Even if Lamont had been busy, his schedule was suddenly quite clear and Jewell was comfortably seated on one of those nice leather chairs with a glass of scotch in hand less than five minutes later. The drink was mostly untouched as they spoke.

?I suppose the work on The Mill site just increased in priority,? the barrister observed accurately.

?Unfortunately. I would have liked to have held onto the barony a bit longer, but with events escalating in Faerie, perhaps it is just as well.? Lamont was not privy to all the details regarding the situation in Faerie, but he knew enough. ?Circumstances as they are, I?ll need them to move a bit quicker with the penthouse area.?

?Of course. I am sure they can get that done for you even with the recent changes to the layout.?

Jewell smiled. ?I would not like to wear out my welcome where I will be staying, but there are always other people I can impose upon. I?d prefer the work be done right, even if it takes longer, rather than rush them.?

?Naturally. What about other matters in Dockside??

?I am not done with Dockside. Not yet. Fortunately, there?s enough time to move all the merchandise out of the baronial warehouse and into the ones we acquired from McNair and Nadeer. It should be done by Thursday morning at the latest.?

?And you plan to keep those holdings??

Jewell shrugged. ?For a little while at least. Except for the ships. Ishmerai was right; I decided I don?t want them. I?m going down to Dockside later today, after meeting with the contractors.? She glanced at the clock, calculating. ?That should give everyone enough time to be a few drinks in but not falling down drunk.? She was grinning as she looked back to Lamont. ?I think the best bet is to see if the captain?s are interesting in buying the ships from me.?

?That could work out well for both parties,? Lamont agreed. ?We will have to make sure they can actually pay, though.?

?They wouldn?t dare cheat me,? The Empress scoffed. ?Not if they want to live long.?