Charon stared at Richard.

"Thankyou."

Again Richard found himself reeling as Charon took him by the elbow and steered him in the direction of the front door. His mouth opened and closed several times but his brain was still struggling to catch up with what was happening. Charons reaction wasn't what he'd been expecting and now to top it all off she thanked him for the information, usually she was trying to torture him in one way or another. Charon opened the door and stood politely to one side as Richard took a step outside before turning back to her a strange expression on his face.

"Um...why haven't you tried to kill me yet?

Charon raised an eyebrow.

"Did you want me to?"

Richard held his hands up as though he were defending himself.

"NO! No! No, not at all it's just a bit strange....."

He gave her a sideways glance as he said it not sure of himself at all any more. Charon looked up at the sky and then into the tree line, her gaze finally finding Richards face again.

"Life is a strange thing and I'm going to be living it for quite a while to come. I want that life to be full of decisions, made of my own free will. I don't want a future where I'm kept shackled in a dungeon and fed only when Mortis sees fit, I've been there and done that once already, I'm not looking forward to the prospect of reliving that particular nightmare. The problem I have is that even though you distrust me, I've had to put my trust in you and your brother and whether you like it or not I'm working for you and your futures all lie in my hands. I'm afraid that for the forseeable future our destinies are intertwined for some time to come."

Richard almost laughed right in her face, almost because he then saw her face and he could see she was in fact deadly serious.

"Riiiiiiiiiight. Have you turned into some mad psychic now as well?"

Charon laughed and then took a deep breath.

"I wish. It's a shame you know, I really did love you once."

She smiled lopsidedly, watching him closely.....