What if he just broke it; told Candice he was the master and insisted on being masterful? Candice could say that was Candy’s game, maybe invent new ...rules and keep him guessing. She had all the cards. He had to let it play out for as long as he could stand it.Everything was still going around in his head when he fell asleep.~ ~ ~ ~ ~At three in the morning, the alarm clock under her pillow woke Candice. She carefully removed the metal from her various piercings and replaced the metal. He worked in silence for the next ten minutes, the room quiet except for the soothing jazz coming out of his portable CD player. His hands worked on the area just above her waistline and he asked softly, “Is this where you're stiff?” She murmured her assent. As his fingers pressed firmly into her lower spine, she flinched a little as a small stab of pain shot through her lower back, but almost immediately the pain was replaced by a nice soothing warm sensation that seemed to radiate all. This was all that there was — and it was ending. Her poor wages as a seamstress in a shop didn’t bring in enough to keep her and her young son fed and her father’s small pension would disappear as soon as he’d drawn his last breath. While he’d still been an able man, her father had been a smith, and in a better day long ago, he’d also been a bit of an armorer. He’d taught his young grandson as much as a little boy’s mind and attention span could manage to hang onto until the illness had. They weren't the most expensive, but they were the best for the money they could afford to spend."I was told you were sending the best you had. I was told by the King that your guild was very reputable and that you would send enough forces to help us push them back. Yet all I see are a woman and young girls, children really, who are waiting to die!" said the Commander.He was convinced that this was the last stand for his troops."What is the situation Commander?" asked Anne-Marie matter of.