The thwarted contract

"You're a fool if you believe that." Adora spoke from the corner of the room, half covered in shadows. 

The men sitting around the table turned to look at her. Even sitting, they seemed to look down on her. A servant doesn't speak, she could hear them thinking. "Lord Nicholas," a graying man said the name with respect, "Has promised us everything we could hope for in this contract. We would be a fool to not accept it." 

Adora shrugged, "As you will, sir, but I know him better than any of you and I say again, you would be a fool to accept it."
 
Another man, younger than the first, stood up, "You go too far, girl. Remember your place." 

She knew she was treading on dangerous ground and kept her mouth shut. 

The man looked at another man at the table, "Teralis, keep your servants in line if you don't mind. She is your bodyguard, not our adviser." 

Teralis stood up, his grey eyes slowly looking at each man, "Forgive my indulgence, gentlemen, but I think we need to at least hear what she has to say. Adora, come here." Adora immediately went to stand behind Teralis. He sat down and gestured to the table, "Go ahead and say your peace."
 
Adora bowed slightly, "Forgive my earlier impertinence, sirs. I was out of line, but I felt I had to speak out. Otherwise, what I've seen happen to other towns would happen to you. Lord Nicholas is my father. He is a very cunning man and he wants power. To get it he will blackmail or corrupt anyone he has to. And he is a master of contracts. He writes them with carefully hidden loop-holes that he will exploit later. He comes in looking like a savior, but soon you find that he has become your Master. But by that time, he has too many connections and is dug in too deeply to get rid of. Better to say exactly what you want than to just assume you both agree on certain points." Adora suddenly felt ashamed at her forwardness, bowed quickly and backed away from the table.
 
The men looked at each other in silence for a long time, then they all began to talk at once.
 
"What if what she said was true?"
 
"How can we trust her?"
 
"Is she reliable?"
 
"She is only a servant after all."
 
Teralis stood up and silence is achieved once again. "Gentlemen. I believe I can vouch for Adora's reliability. Lord Nicholas is her father, yes, but he is also more than that. Adora is not my bodyguard by choice. She is a slave. I bought her from her father."
 
"Ridiculous! Lord Nicholas enslaves his own daughter? Why?"
 
Teralis shrugged, "Who knows, but I think that gives her some knowledge about how he works and how cruel he can be."
 
The men thought this over and their talks resumed. They had much to discuss.
 
******************

Adora knelt in front of her father and waited. It had been a wonderful six months since she was sold - temporarily - to Teralis. Suddenly an immense evil presence entered her mind. Not again, she thought. He filled her mind causing her to collapse to the floor, no longer able to control her body.

Nicholas walked through her mind, opening all doors to her thoughts and memories. Adora moaned and felt her helplessness & vulnerability weigh down on her the more he searched.
 
"Did you interfere with the contract signing?" Gone was his voice of charm and eloquence. Now she heard only threats. She couldn't tell if he spoke the words aloud or in her mind.
 
She knew that he knew the answer already, having searched her mind but he wanted to hear her say the condemning word.
 
Yes. The word came to her mind unbidden and unstoppable. His presence began to seethe.
 
"I see. Why? Show me what happened."
 
Instantly the memory unfolded in her mind. Once again she was in the room with the men sitting around the table. She heard her words and her thoughts. She could not stop the memory once it was asked for. The memory faded and once again Adora was in the blackness of her mind. "I see." Her father's voice was almost a whisper. Her blood ran cold. He gets quieter the more angry he gets. "Obviously my training nor Flagg's is working. Perhaps Mori can convince you." 

Adora blood froze. No, father, she pleaded, I... she broke off. She could think of nothing to talk him out of this punishment. 

"Perhaps you should have thought of that before you spoke up."
 
Nicholas pulled out of her mind and Adora was once again aware of her surroundings. She was lying on her side on the cold marble floor, but she could still not move. This always happens when he enters my mind. I'll be able to move again in a little while. She heard footsteps and saw Mori's feet step in front of her but she could not look up at him. She was not sure she wanted to. What is he going to do? The thought gave her chills and she desperately wished she had just kept her mouth shut.