Gabriel Post Chapter Nine (Patreon)

A/N Assuming you freed Caliban and talked to Gabriel afterwards.

When the old Warden had died, dozens lined up to take his place.  They vied for the role as if it were sport, laying laws down with no real jurisdiction and placing the market in a militant venue of opposing sides and rule.  Gabriel, had not wanted the job.  They had not been one of the ones to come forth while the old Warden’s body was still cooling.  Gabriel, in fact, had liked his current position. That is until it had all gone south.

In the end, the role of the Warden fell to Gabriel because there was no one left. The market was desperate for order and the lawless districts that had been running amuck and treating their sectors as if they were king, were quickly brought to heel.  It left Gabriel sitting on the so-called throne.  He never did take the warden’s office though. He had renovated one of the cells inside the main hall. Anyone who escaped had to go right past his door.

He looked around that office now, as if somehow it would be changed. The market itself felt as if it had shifted that night and it left Gabriel looking into every corner, trying to find the noticeable changes that he could feel lingering in the air.

Caliban was gone.

It was an odd sentence to say and he supposed he should probably tell Reese. Eventually. Neither of those men had any notions of love with each other but they had filled some sort of void that Gabriel had not understood.  Not that Gabriel understood much, he was finding.

“Warden?”

Gabriel’s eyes snapped up. Hazel Albright stood in the doorway to his office, a basket of something delicious in her hands.

“Ms. Albright. Did something happen?” He was up and out of his seat, rounding the desk with fear easily written across his face.  While he didn’t know Hazel well, she was one of the kinder souls he had ever had the pleasure of knowing.  For Hazel to leave her shop, something dire had to have transpired.

“Well,” she started, “I think we both know something did happen.” She gave him a weak smile and Gabriel paused.

“I assume you have been filled in.”

“I have.  I also got told about the dressing down you received and thought maybe you could use some muffins.”

Slumping against his desk, Gabriel crossed his arms in front of him. A shield, of sorts.  “That is very kind of you but I assure you, it is unnecessary.”

“So you’re not taking into consideration what they said to you?”

He was.  He was far more than he should admit. Acknowledging that he had done wrong all these years was a bitter pill to swallow but one he thought he could endure. But fixing it?

“The market has always been a certain way, Ms. Albright. You know this.”

“Please, after everything we’ve been through couldn’t it be Hazel?” She set her muffins down, unwrapping them and placing one next to him on the desk. She would not push him to eat, but the request was clear.  “And yes, the market has always condoned things like the docks and the auctions. The flesh pits. But it doesn’t mean it has to.”

“We are a nexus point, Ms. Albright. We must respect that what some cultures deem wrong others do not.”

“We are a nexus point. You are right. But we are a nexus point that has our own set of rules.  Why are we catering to everyone else’s?” Sighing, Hazel reached out, patting Gabriel on the shoulder awkwardly.  He startled a bit. It was clear the two of them were acquaintances that never would have run in the same circle if the circumstances had been different.

“I cannot just overhaul an entire system,” Gabriel said softly.

“I believe that because you are a Warden, that is exactly what you can do.”

When he looked at her, he found no judgement. Hazel’s mother had been harsh and had nearly brought the market down with her.  She was well aware of the bitter truths of the Night Market. Yet, she held firm to what she believed was right.  Gabriel didn’t know if he could say that any further.  He had never actually sat down and considered if he viewed his actions as right or wrong.  He supposed, he was simply someone that had inherited a title and was going through the motions of the previous ghosts who had walked his path.

“Ms. Albright, do you think you could do me a favor?”

She perked up at that, looking both startled but pleased. “Yes. Of course.”

“I have a feeling I will be working very long hours in the future.  Ones that will take me well into the night.  And there is a certain someone we both know who will most likely show up with food.  Could you please give them a pay raise so they are not wasting their money on me? And in return, I could pay you handsomely for the endless amount of wakeful tonics I will be requiring.”

Hazel laughed, hiding it behind her hand, her eyes shining bright.  “How about I just send over some meals with them and an enchanted rune to keep everything fresh?”

“That would be beneficial.”

“Strictly off the record, of course,” she said. “Since we aren’t supposed to have magic.”

“I do suppose that bit of hypocrisy is going to have to end as well.”

“Maybe just don’t go on a witch hunt for those of us that can easily still do it,” she suggested.  He nodded at her solemnly. She had played the game well for so many years, he owed her an overturn of policy. “Well,” she said, brushing her hands off on her skirts.  “I should be getting back. If there is going to be a bit of restructuring, then I suspect I can sell the spells that truly need selling instead of doing that behind shadowed doors.”

“Do you wish to reopen apothecary alley?” he asked. “We could see about riding it of the spirits and having people come back in to set up shop.”

Clearing her throat, she smiled at him nervously. “I don’t think the spirits will be a problem for much longer.” Then, nodding towards her muffins, she turned to take her leave.

“Hazel,” he called after her.  She paused at the door, looking over her shoulder.  “Thank you. You are a kind soul for being a daughter of the market.”

She smiled softly at him. “And you are a good man for having fallen from the Knowing.”

She let the door shut behind her with a gentle click.  While Gabriel, began drafting a report to send out to his lieutenants, and a plan of action for the ones who would defy him.