Gail reached to her toes, stretching her back as Ramon returned to find her feeling nearly as good as new. Her voice was still hoarse, and there was still a small patch of red in one eye, but as with everything else, she had heeled with incredible speed.

At this point, Ramon was convinced that there was something not entirely normal about Gail's physiologically. Something more than just not being susceptible to the plaga. It grated on him that Lord Saddler apparently hadn't seen the need to inform him of this, but he reminded himself that if Lord Saddler didn't feel it important, then it wasn't.

"Well, Miss Crane, I believe it is quite clear that you will be ship shape to begin work in the morning."

"Good!" She reached an arm behind her head to stretch her shoulder, "This room is nice, but I'm ready for a change of scenery, to be honest."

"Your first assignment will be the trolley that leads from the audience hall to the fire chamber."

Gail did a double take, "F…fire chamber?"

Ramon smirked, "It is exactly what it sounds like." He honestly loved the absurdly over the top rooms his castle held, and the fire chamber had been his very own addition as a young boy. It made him laugh now that his advisors at the time had given into such a whim, but it was one of the few joys he had remembered as a child.

Gail's eyes brightened, "I've DEFINITELY gotta see THAT!"

"You will," Ramon assured, masking genuine excitement as he was handed a stack of folded clothes by his right hand Verdugo, "Should your service here continue for long enough, you will see the entire castle."

"Actually…kinda looking forward to it!" She had taken the clothes from Ramon before realizing what they were, "Oh! Thanks for washing these! I wasn't sure I was getting them back."

"They will be appropriate for your working hours," he placed his hands behind his back, "However, I will have the servants bring a selection of appropriate clothing that you may attend dinner in."

Gail cocked her head, "Dinner?"

Ramon gave a light nod, "It isn't often that I am graced with company that retains the capacity for conversation…aside from the link I have with my Verdugos," he motioned to the creatures flanking each side of him, "I intend to take full advantage while you are here."

She nodded back, "Good point…"

"AND it will be one of several times I will be checking in with you throughout the day," he fixed her with a warning glance before clasping his hands together, "Now, if you would follow me to your new accommodations, por favor."

She bowed, the stack of clothes held to her chest, "Lead the way."

The trek to her new room was surprisingly short. They went through the dining room and down a hall to a room that wasn't nearly as cozy and decorative as Ramon's room, but it was large with plenty of storage and not as drafty as one might have thought looking at it. There was a pallet tucked into a corner just beyond which was another door, similar to how his room had had two doors. It made sense that many rooms would have two so as to cut down on unneeded detours in a place so massive.

"This will be the most convenient place for you since it is not far from where I will have you working tomorrow."

"Sounds good to me! Oh!" Gail set her clothes on the table next to her, "Speaking of which here's the contract I whipped up today. I'll just need a John Hancock from you, and we're good to go."

"Contract?" Ramon raised a brow at the old scrap of paper that he was almost certain had once been used to line one of the shoeboxes in his extra wardrobe, "Rather bold of you to think that this is a mutual employer/employee relationship, Miss Crane. You DO remember the circumstances under which you were hired?"

"Still, terms should be set," she offered him the document, "I don't think I'm asking much. Feel free to go over it and bring it back, obviously."

He eyed her suspiciously before taking it from her, the thin paper crushing in his fist, "You realize this is not legally binding?"

"Sure," she shrugged, "but we've gotta start trusting each other sometime. I'm not trying to double cross you; it's all perfectly reasonable and doable. Just have a look when you can."

After a pause, he seemed satisfied with her answer for the time being, and he turned back to the door with his Verdugos, "The servants will bring your toiletries and a bath soon. You will meet me in the dining hall in the morning at seven o'clock sharp," he was about to close the door before he smirked with a start, "Oh! And do be careful! This part of the castle has been known to house the occasional snake now and then."

She scoffed with a laugh, "Joke's on YOU! I like snakes!"

Ramon peered through the crack of the door as he closed it, "It wasn't a joke…"

The door creaked ominously closed, and Gail smiled before quickly getting her pallet situated to her liking. She put out the lantern he had supplied her and got to bed, chuckling to herself. Damn if she wasn't starting to really like the little guy.

~*~*~*~

By the next morning, Gail was itching to get started on her new project. At least getting back to something that resembled her regular work would make her feel comparatively normal. She was ready almost an hour early and found herself glancing at the clock Ramon had provided for her at least every five minutes.

Finally, at six forty-five she decided it would be a good idea to arrive early. Coming to the door, she wondered if she had been locked in again, but twisting the knob she found she was perfectly free to leave her room. As she peaked through the door, however, she was met with a tall, lanky man wearing a black, hooded robe. Another one of Ramon's brainwashed servants…

"Um…hi!" Gail waved awkwardly as the zealot turned to look down at her, "I'm…supposed to meet your-OUR master in the dining hall," she shuffled around him, testing whether he would express any objection, "Just thought I should be early."

He expressed very little interest, however, muttering something in Spanish, then resuming to stare directly in front of him just as he had probably been doing for hours. What a sad existence… She found herself hoping these people were so baked they weren't aware of anything anymore.

"Alright," she turned to continue down the narrow hallway where she could see one of the long tables already piled with fruits and pastries and various meats and cheeses. As she came around the corner, Ramon sat at the head of the table sipping a glass of red wine, the Verdugos, as usual, standing on either side of him.

Gail hooked her thumbs through the belt loops of her jumpsuit, "Hm! Thought I'd beat you here…"

Ramon swallowed his wine, swirling what remained in his glass with a smirk, "No one beats me at ANYTHING."

She chuckled, "Anything?"

He smirked with a sideways glance, "Well…at anything that is worth my time beating someone at."

"Haha! That's a good way to look at it!"

Ramon gestured with his free hand to the chair adjacent to his, "Do have a seat, Miss Crane."

She obeyed, scooting her chair in.

"And feel free to dig in," he gestured again to the bountiful spread, "Sadly, most of this does not satisfy my own hunger these days. The plaga is quite carnivorous. But I would not want my new engineer developing scurvy…"

"Neither would I!" Gail reached to spoon some strawberries onto her plate, followed by a few different pieces of cheese and what looked to be some kind of cured bacon. "Are those cream puffs?!"

"Miguelito," Ramon nodded, "They were my favorite as a boy."

Gail wanted to scrape the whole platter onto her plate, but she settled for five of them for the time being, "So…you can't eat 'em at ALL anymore? That sucks…"

"It isn't so bad. I simply do not crave them anymore."

"You still drink wine, though?"

Ramon shrugged, glancing up from his glass, "I've wondered myself why that is. I've never been given to drunkenness, and I'm not so sure I could even BECOME inebriated anymore…but I still enjoy the taste."

"I'm not a huge fan of wine, to be honest."

Ramon scoffed, "I had gathered that…"

Gail giggled sheepishly, "I like a sangria, though!"

He sighed dramatically, looking into his cup as he continued to swirl it, "I suppose you simply lack sophisticated taste."

It was her turn to playfully scoff, "I mean, you're probably not wrong," she popped a strawberry into her mouth and bit in, "Oh my god…" her eyes went wide, "thatwasthebeststrawberryI'veeverhadinmyentirelife…"

"Of course it is," Ramon grinned proudly, "They were grown right here in Valdelobos. You won't find better in all of Spain."

"I'll take your word for it on that one!" She bit into another one happily, leaning back to recline at a sideways angle in her chair, which didn't seem to phase Ramon, so she assumed he wasn't a stickler for strict table manners, "So…have you looked at my contract?"

"It so happens that I have," he placed his wine onto the table and held out his hand as the red robed Verdugo produced said contract, "And I DID have some minor concerns."

Gail nodded as she placed a strawberry onto one of her miguelitos.

"You wished to speak regularly with your mother on the telephone…"

She nodded, "I don't want her to worry. If she doesn't hear from me soon, she's gonna get police involved," she tossed her strawberry puff into her mouth, chewing it before continuing, "Not that I think they'll find me; that might actually be to my advantage. But it's a whole mess I'd rather not have my family go through."

Ramon steepled his fingers, "And do you not think that such a call could be tracked?"

"Star six seven, dude, don't y'all have that here in Spain? It keeps you from seeing the location," she stacked a cube of cheese on a slice of cured ham, "Besides, I'll play it real casual. I had an overseas job sprung on me just as my phone broke, and I've had trouble contacting her using my calling card. She won't have any reason to suspect. Not to mention, she doesn't even have caller ID."

Ramon arched a brow, then nodded, "I will look into it and see what can be arranged. I don't even own a telephone, so that will be the first obstacle."

"I appreciate that."

"Eight hour days with breaks and two days off per week I can do, but there will be limitations on where you may spend your time off. As I have said, the castle is not a playground."

"Fair enough," she chewed the bite of meat and cheese, "Mm! Ham's good too!"

"Pay seems low, but that's not at ALL a problem…" Ramon glanced at her slyly as she nearly choked on her glass of water.

"What the hell, man! By all means, bump it up if you're willing to give me more!"

He looked up thoughtfully, grabbing his wine and crossing his legs, "Include my personal errands in your list of duties, and I'll quadruple the price."

Gail did a double take, "You gotta be shittin' me…"

Ramon grinned, "No, Miss Crane, I am not shitting you."

She smiled crookedly, "Why didn't you people kidnap me EARLIER?! I'll happily get choked out again for THAT kind of money!"

Ramon's grin grew as he raised his glass, "To our new partnership, Miss Crane."

Gail grabbed her full glass of wine to raise, "Hell yeah!! To our new awesome partnership!" She downed half the glass before placing it back onto the table. "Oh, by the way, is there some kind of title I should address you by since I'm working for you? My lord or…your highness or something?"

He shook his head with a short laugh, "I'm not one for such formalities. Ramon is perfectly fine."

"Then maybe you should just call me Gail. Miss Crane sounds like a bitchy middle school teacher."

He chuckled again. If he didn't know better, he would have thought the wine WAS beginning to heat up his cheeks a little, "Very well, Gail," he stood, "Shall we begin?"

She stood to follow his lead, "Definitely!"

She trailed behind as he and his Verdugos turned to the room behind him. It was small and rather empty, but much more decorated than her new room. Perhaps it would usually be a social room full of chairs and furniture. In the next room, they followed a raised platform with what looked to be a caged vault below, guarded by a few servants. They crossed through another door, then down a narrow hall and through another where they came to a large, open room. They were atop the balcony that surrounded an empty space below.

"Do excuse the state disrepair," Ramon referred to the broken stone rails that lined the edge of the floor they stood on, "But as you can imagine, this is a centuries old castle, and not all has withstood the test of time. Sadly, our stonemasons have long since lost their skill in the craft. I don't suppose you have any experience in the field?"

Gail shook her head, "Unfortunately not. But if you're desperate, I could give it a shot. I have a basic understanding of how it works, and with some trial and error, I could maybe make something happen," she chuckled, "I wouldn't wanna lessen the property value, though."

Ramon waved a dismissive hand, rounding the corner to another long hallway, "Property value is of very little concern to me. This castle will never belong to an outside buyer, and I somehow doubt many will appreciate my eccentric tastes."

Gail shrugged, hands in her pockets, "I like it actually! It's gothy, but you've got some bright areas like the garden. It's a nice balance, and it's got a great view. Even if the locals can get a little squirrelly."

He laughed, "Then perhaps we have more in common than I had thought…unless you merely mean to flatter…"

She shook her head vigorously as Ramon reached the door to the next room, "All of my flattery is one hundred percent true. I don't like paying fake compliments, even if I'm trying to get something out of someone."

"And what do you wish to get out of me, Gail?" He tilted his head toward her in genuine curiosity, hand resting on the doorknob.

"I don't know," she shrugged casually, "I think I'm good for now. I'm still alive, and I've got some pretty sweet accommodations," she smiled down at him, "All thing's considered, I'm pretty content."

Ramon gave a dry look, but the amusement was apparent as the corner of his mouth twitched, "Well, I am overjoyed for you…"

"Thanks!" She followed after him through the door, and the first thing she noticed was the blast of heat that hit her immediately. Directly ahead, she saw the cause. About fifteen feet into the room, there was a stone barrier and the other side dropped down out of view, and only a platform with large gears on either side clearly intended for locomotion sat at the unrailed edge in the center. She couldn't see it, but the bright orange glow that was cast from below was clearly from a pool of lava.

"The fire chamber, I presume?"

Ramon turned, clearly not having acknowledged that the lava was even there, "What? Oh, nonsense! That's just a lava pit. The other side is the entrance to the fire chamber."

"Oh…"

She followed close behind him as he brought her to their destination. The room extended into a tunnel, and the same concrete railing from the lava room surrounded the start of a rail track and an ornate gondola. Set to the side was a simple wood table with a large toolbox.

"Wow! You weren't kidding when you said tram!" She approached the cart, running a hand along the side, "This is some advanced technology for such an old castle."

He placed his own hand on the beautifully sculpted gold detailing, "The third castellan, Gregorio the Architect, is responsible for the majority of the castle, and though he had not found a way to make them work to his liking in his lifetime, the framework for these systems were his doing."

"Wow! What a legend!" Gail was unzipping her jumpsuit and tied the sleeves to hang at her waist, revealing a ribbed white sleeveless tank. Ramon noted the heavily detailed rattlesnake tattoo wrapped around her arm and extending onto her right shoulder. "Kids should be learning about this guy alongside DaVinci," she bent to take a look at the undercarriage.

"I'm certain my ancestors preferred it that we remained unknown to the test of the world. They were-" he cut himself off at the loud creaking and scraping of metal. Gail was now standing with the front end of the gondola lifted four feet in the air, supporting it with only her arms.

"Well, I can definitely see that there's some serious wear and tear on the wheel treads. I'll either need a lathe to reprofile them, or we'll need brand new wheels."

When there was no answer from Ramon, she glanced down at him, to find him staring at her bicep. "Oh! Heheh! Uh…sorry…" she squatted to set the cart back onto the tracks, "I always forget that my strength is so freakish… Should have given you a heads up."

Ramon shook off his dumbfoundedness, feeling a strange sensation in his stomach as he realized he had been staring at her like an owl, "Ahem…it seems…you have certainly entered the correct line of work…"

She exhaled, hands on her hips, "Yeah, I don't like to brag, but…I'm…admittedly a bit of a hoss."

"A bit…" he nodded with a cough before looking to the wheels she had been examining, "I would imagine that new wheels would be our easiest solution."

She gave a shrug of her shoulder, "Seeing as you've got more money than you could possibly know what to do with, it probably is. BUT maybe we should know the full extent of the damage before making any final decisions."

"An excellent plan!" He clasped his hands together, "Shall I leave you to your work then? I will send someone with lunch at noon. Should you need anything, alert one of my servants, and they will inform me."

"Sounds like a plan!"

He turned to leave before Gail called back to him, "Hey, Ramon?"

He turned to readdress her, and she smiled softly, stepping toward him, "I just…wanna thank you again for everything. If it weren't for you, I almost certainly wouldn't be alive, so…thanks!"

She extended a hand to him, and after recovering from the surprise of being thanked, he took her hand to shake it, "It pleases me that I have rescued you from such a fate," he looked up to appreciative, black eyes and felt the sincerity in them, "It would have been a waste for your end to come like that, and I am happy that Lord Saddler saw this as well."

"Huh! You and me both!" Gail opened the toolbox, and her eyes brightened, "Ooo. Nice selection here..."

Ramon tilted his head with a light sigh, and after a few seconds, he fidgeted awkwardly, noticing the long silence, though Gail had not, as she rummaged through the tools.

"Well…ahem! I will leave you to it, then."

"Ok!" She was now examining a large handsaw, "I'll be here when you get back."

"Of course…" he gave a light bow before turning to leave, Verdugos in tow.

He swallowed hard, heat coming to his face as he quickly retreated. What in the nine hells WAS she? The only creatures in his castle that should have been able to lift that cart were the two Verdugos at his sides. Certainly she looked strong, but surely no human being should be able to lift that much weight.

The thought occurred to him that she could have easily overpowered the couple of zealots he had been leaving at her doors. No. She was no normal human at all. Clearly, whatever this was was the reason Lord Saddler had wanted her and the reason she hadn't taken to the plaga.

And she knew. There was no way she didn't. She was still holding things back from him.

No matter. He would get the truth out of her. Only in time.