Chapter 35

All Basta's previous enthusiasm after learning Dafne's true feelings evaporated from his face. He now simply looked uncomfortable with the position she had placed in him in.

"Choose," he said the word with great reluctance, "What exactly are you asking me to do?"

"I'm asking you not serve Capricorn anymore," Dafne said, putting it as simply as she could.

"Not serve..." Basta said, shaking his head incredulously as if he couldn't comprehend such a thing. He scrutinised her face as if searching for some sign of jest. But her face was solemn and he sighed resignedly, "Little mouse, that isn't exactly a small request."

"I know," she said sympathetically, "It's a big decision."

She understood that. She was asking a lot of him. Despite her attempts to convince him otherwise, Basta was still under the impression that Capricorn cared for him like a son. He had served the man since he was an impressionable lonely child and his loyalty was deeply rooted. Basta appointment at the top of Capricorn's ranks no doubt made him feel special, endeared him to Capricorn regardless of the way the man treated him.

Furthermore Basta did not share Dafne's moral abhorrence to his work. Any scruples he might have once had eroded over time, abandoned in his pursuit of Capricorn's approval. Yet Dafne knew he was capable of good. He had proved he could be thoughtful and kind, at least to her. It would be difficult for him to adjust to a life without threats and violence and Capricorn. It was unfamiliar territory but she would be there to support him, if he made that choice.

But the look on his face told her he was far from keen on the idea. His brow was furrowed and his mouth was set in a stubborn line. He wasn't going to bend to her demand without a fight. Dafne braced herself.

"Big? Try foolish," Basta growled, "Do you know what Capricorn would do if I told him I didn't want to serve him anymore? You think he's going to be accepting about it? I'm his right hand person you know. He trusts me more than any else," he produced a set of keys, jangling them in front of her nose, "I'm the one he gave these keys to. These keys are for the whole village. The church, the crypt..."

Dafne pushed the keys away, thinking a little squeamishly about why Basta would need the key for the crypt. But she wasn't impressed by Capricorn bestowing such an honour on Basta.

"You think that means he cares about you, because he gave you a set of stupid keys?" she said.

Basta scowled, irked by her dismissal of an obvious source of pride.

"It proves something doesn't it."

"All it shows is that you're easily placated," Dafne replied, "Capricorn knows that."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Basta said, stowing the keys angrily.

"That you're easy to control," Dafne said, uncomfortable with delivering the truth so brusquely especially when she saw Basta's hurt expression, adding "Capricorn's words, not mine."

Basta looked at her disbelievingly. He couldn't accept that his beloved master would say such a thing. But he had. He had said it with scorn while she had said it with pity. Yet Basta was acting as though she was the villain. She was only trying to make him see the truth.

"Why do you think he gave me to you?" she said.

Basta crossed his arms, regarding her defiantly,

"Because I serve him more faithfully than anyone else," he said with pride in his voice, "You were my reward."

"Exactly, he knows how to keep you eating out his hand," Dafne pointed out.

"Shut up!" Basta snapped, refusing to believe her, "It's not like that. You don't understand."

He had told her this before. That she didn't understand. But she did, she understood better than Basta himself because he only saw what he wanted to see. But she was determined not to back down, despite how painful this might be for him. It was a cruel kindness she was doing, pulling the wool back from over his eyes. She was the one who genuinely cared for him. She didn't want to lose him to a man who felt nothing but mocking contempt.

"Yes I do," she said, "You just don't want to see the truth. Capricorn doesn't care about you. He favours you because it's convenient. He exploits the fact that you love him like a father."

Basta flinched, reacting to her words like physical blows.

"Stop it!" he yelled, "Stop saying stuff like that!"

There were traces of pleading in his voice.

"I know it hurts but you have to see sense," Dafne said gently.

"Sense? You're the one without any sense," Basta said, glowering at her, "So what if what you're saying is true and he... he does feel that way," he grimaced, "You want me to go tell him I won't work for him anymore. You know what he would do? He would..." he visibly shuddered at the thought, "well you know he does to useless people."

Dafne did unfortunately.

"It wouldn't come to that," she said.

"Why? Do you think he'll let us live here for nothing in return?" Basta said, shaking his head at her, "If you think that you're not the expert on Capricorn you claim to be."

"I have no doubt that he'll be very displeased with you," Dafne said, "With me as well. But we'd be long gone before he found that out."

Basta looked at her uncertainly,

"What?"

"We would leave," Dafne said, "We can't possibly stay in the village. Like you said, our lives would be at risk if we did."

"Leave?" Basta repeated, his voice small like a child's, "And go where?"

Dafne shrugged,

"I don't know. Anywhere," she said, "It doesn't matter. Anywhere is better than here."

Basta looked down at the ground sullenly,

"I thought you liked living with me," he said, his voice quiet with disappointment.

"I do," Dafne said, "But we can live together somewhere else. Somewhere where it's safe for me to walk around outside."

"You think anywhere else is going to be safe?" Basta said tensely, "Do you think Capricorn won't send men after us? He'll want to make an example of us. Punish us. He'll have Cockerell and the others hunt us down, wherever we are, and bring us back."

"So we'll go so far away they won't find us," Dafne said.

Basta didn't look reassured at all.

"Do you know where that is?" he said, "This isn't even Capricorn's only hideout. He has others. He has more men than what you've seen."

This insight was troubling but Dafne wasn't about to let this deter her.

"I'm sure he doesn't have worldwide influence," she said.

"Even so," Basta conceded, moving on to his next concern, "what am I going to do with myself? You might not like what I do little mouse. You might hate it. But it's all I'm good for. I'm not good at anything else. Do you expect me to sit twiddling my thumbs while you clean other folk's houses? I'd die of boredom."

"I'm sure you would find something to do," Dafne said.

"Yes like what?" Basta pressed her.

He did have a point. His specific skill set was not really suited for legitimate employment. She couldn't think of anything off the top of her head.

"I don't know," Dafne said helplessly.

"You don't know," Basta drawled, "You've really thought this plan through haven't you?"

"So I haven't worked out all the details yet," Dafne said defensively.

Basta threw her a look of exasperation,

"You haven't worked out anything except that you want to leave and you're trying to blackmail me into joining you."

"I'm not blackmailing you Basta," Dafne said indignantly. She wasn't trying to manipulate him like Capricorn. He was free to make his own decision. "This is the only way we can be together."

"According to you," Basta said sourly, "We could stay here and be together. The only thing stopping us is silly conscience of yours."

"If you loved me, you would respect my silly conscience," Dafne said angrily.

"How about how I feel?" Basta argued, "I know you hate what I do but I have no problem with it. You hate the village but I like living here. I like my life. You're asking me to change that just because it doesn't agree with you. How is that fair?"

"It's not a matter of fairness," Dafne said, "It's about doing what's right. Because what you're doing to other people is wrong."

Basta pinched the bridge of his nose frustratedly. He had heard this from her countless times. She knew it annoyed him but it couldn't be avoided. He might not agree with her, he might not share her disgust but he had to understand that she couldn't be with him if he continued his criminal activities.

He sighed, irritation giving away to weariness.

"Wrong or not, it didn't stop you from liking me," he said.

Dafne sighed,

"But it's not why I like you," she said, "I know you didn't warn Sara because you felt it was wrong. You would have gone through with the kidnapping if I hadn't found out. But I did and you cared about me enough to do something. That was really selfless of you, not to mention brave," she placed a hand affectionately on his cheek, "It shows your capable of doing the right thing even though you only did it for me. It's this side of you that makes me want to be with you. It's the part of you that's sweet and thoughtful, that wants to protect me and not see me cry."

Basta cupped his hand over hers, closing his eyes.

"It is awful when you cry," he said, "And I've seen a lot of people cry and not felt anything."

The last part he probably should have kept to himself but Dafne chose to ignore it.

She leaned towards him and pressed her lips to his. She felt him start and his eyes snapped open, wide in shock.

Before he could recover, she pulled away out of nervousness. It had been easy to steal a kiss with his eyes closed.

"Why did you do that?" Basta asked her in surprise.

"I wanted to," Dafne said with a smile.

"Oh really?" Basta said with a raised eyebrow, "This isn't just another tactic to persuade me?"

"Did it work?" Dafne asked.

Basta laughed,

"Maybe," he said, "But I suppose that's not what you want to hear, is it dear heart."

Dafne shrugged,

"It's better than no," she said, looking at him beseechingly.

The humour drifted from Basta's face.

"You know it would very dangerous leaving little mouse," he said.

"I know but..." Dafne began but Basta cut her off, putting a finger to her lips.

"But nothing," he said, "If something went wrong, if..." he paused, his expression troubled, "If you got hurt or..." his finger distractedly left her lips to brush a strand of hair off her face, "I promised I'd keep you safe remember?"

"I'm not safe around Capricorn," Dafne said.

Basta drew away from her with a sigh,

"I know. I know."

He spent a moment in contemplation, bouncing agitatedly on his feet.

Then he became still.

"Let me think about it," he said to her, "Can you let me do that?"

Dafne nodded but did so a little uncertainly. She wasn't sure whether to trust him. What if he was saying this merely to appease her for the time being? Perhaps he hoped she would drop the matter. Or was he trying to buy time because he had no intention of leaving the village and didn't want her to find out?

"As long as you do think about it," she said.

"I will, I promise," Basta said, "How about this, give me a month to think it over."

"A month," Dafne said disappointedly. Monster Night would have definitely come and gone by then.

"It's a big decision dear heart," Basta said.

"I know," Dafne conceded. At least he was considering the proposal instead of rejecting it outright. This was a good sign surely. "A month it is then."

Basta looked relieved by her acquiescence.

"Good," he said, "Do you think in the meantime we could..." he trailed off nervously.

"We could what?" Dafne asked.

"We could... be together," Basta said, adding hastily, "I know you said we couldn't until I made a decision but don't you think we ought to try it to see it if it works."

"You mean like a trial?"

Basta shrugged,

"I guess so," he said.

He looked at her hopefully.

Dafne contemplated the idea. If she agreed, it meant that she would be waning in her commitment to her ultimatum. But this was an opportunity to see if they could make a relationship work. It might turn out that they were simply incompatible as a couple. It was probably better to find that out now rather than later.

"I suppose we could," Dafne said, "But in the end you still need to make your choice," she added warningly as she watched the flood of enthusiasm on his face, "In a month's time if you decide you want to stay and serve Capricorn, I'll break it off with you regardless of any feelings I have. I guarantee that."

"You might actually enjoy being with me here so much you'll want us to stay," Basta said optimistically.

"Don't count on it," Dafne told him, "I've made up my mind."

Basta sighed,

"Yes I know. You're such a stubborn thing."

"Like you're not?" Dafne scoffed. Then she shook her head, "You really think this is going to work? You and I?"

"It will be interesting to find out," Basta said, taking her hand, "So what do you say, little m-Dafne, will you be my lady?"

Dafne couldn't help but be moved by the formality.

"Well when you ask me like that," she said with a smile, "Okay yes."

The words had barely left her mouth when Basta pulled her into his embrace with a roar of delight, drowning out her cry of surprise.

"I have a lady. I have a lady," he chanted happily.

Dafne smiled at his excitement, though she couldn't move given how tightly he was holding her.

She was grateful when he relaxed his hold, pushing her back a little so he could see her better.

"Little mouse..." he said affectionately.

Dafne laughed at him. He looked so endearingly ecstatic.

"Yes?" she said.

"We should go tell Silvio," he said, shaking her in his impatience, "Come on, let's go tell him."

Silvio is going to be very confused, Dafne thought as Basta pulled her eagerly towards the house.

To be continued...

Edit note: Originally it was a week instead of a month but I figured a month was more likely the timeframe Basta would ask for given he doesn't want to make the decision at all.