Chapter 15: Chapter Fifteen – Spinning a Web

The day after the Council meeting Otrea paid me an early visit. Smiling like a pampered cat she sat on the edge of my bed and began petting my ears, pulling me into her lap.

“Lady Otrea?” I questioned her sleepily. Her soft gentle pets threatening to lure me back to unconsciousness.

“I told you if you did well, you would be rewarded.” Otrea smiled, gripping my chin and tilting my head backward. “As far as I’m concerned, you couldn’t have done any better.”

Otrea leaned forward pressing her lips against mine. Her tongue slipping into my mouth unresisted. We kissed for what felt like an eternity before Otrea pulled away. Leaving me involuntarily aching for more.

Well… that was one hell of a first kiss.

“Now then. I have another task for you Bernice.”

“Yes?”

“As you know Eurycelia remained here in our care last night. I would like you to come with me to speak with her. After all, you are the one responsible for saving her life.”

Is that really all she wants? Just to have me go speak with the other councilwoman?

“You look confused.” Otrea traced my lips with a finger. “Was kissing me enough to melt that little bunny brain of yours?”

My cheeks grew hot enough to fry eggs. “I-It’s not that. I just… didn’t know why you’d want to take me along.”

“So you can explain the situation to her of course.” Otrea chuckled. “From what I gather this is something that could happen again if she’s not careful. Perhaps you could tell her what it is she needs to avoid?”

“I understand. Did you want to go now, Lady Otrea?”

“The sooner the better with these kinds of things. You never know when one of the King’s messengers will appear inside my study demanding we release our hostage.”

“We took her hostage?!”

“Of course not.” Otrea sighed, painfully flicking my forehead. “The meaning of what we’ve done and how it is perceived is not always congruent. So we must expect the worst. Now get dressed and I’ll guide you to the guest room where I’ve housed her.”

“Should I wear the uniform from yesterday?”

“You may wear that or the dress that I gifted you before.”

Opting for the black and green mini-dress I’d been gifted before, I dressed before Otrea’s approving gaze. Once I was properly clothed she took me by the hand and began guiding me down the halls in the direction of the study.

The bedroom Otrea had placed Eurycelia in was only a few doors down from the study itself. The door covered in etched gold designs just like those to the study.

“I’ve come to speak with you.” Otrea called, knocking thrice on the door.

“Come in.” The soft song-like voice of the councilwoman called.

Opening the door, Otrea ushered me inside before stepping in herself.

For a second I gazed in awe at the bedroom, decorated more nicely than even Otrea’s own. The bed was lavish and large. All of the furnishings were decorated with gold. And several plush chairs sat around the room. One of the chairs had already been moved to Eurycelia’s bedside, and Otrea quickly pushed me into it.

Wait… why am I sitting and yet she’s standing? Isn’t this supposed to be reversed?

“You look well.” Otrea complimented Eurycelia who was dressed far simpler than she had been the day before.

The young-looking green-haired councilwoman smiled wryly at Otrea before turning to me. “I’m told you are the one capable of explaining what happened?”

“Y-yes.” I stiffened, taking a few deep breaths as my mind scrambled for the words I’d need. “You had a severe allergic reaction to the beverage I served you. Thanks to Lady Otrea’s magic doing what was needed we were able to save your life. Though it is almost assured you’ll have the same reaction if you consume what you’re allergic to again, so it is best you avoid it.”

“And what exactly am I allergic to?” Eurycelia asked raising an eyebrow.

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“I don’t know. I put orange peel, licorice root, and cinnamon in the tea. Are any of those new to you? Have you had any of them before and your throat got itchy?”

“Cinnamon…” Eurycelia trailed off deep in thought. “If I’ve had it before without nearly dying because of it, certainly it couldn’t be the problem.”

“Not true. Most people with food allergies can have mild reactions to things before they have a severe one. This is why if you eat anything and your throat feels a little swollen or you get an itchy feeling you try to avoid whatever it was you ate. If you’ve felt such a thing after eating cinnamon in the past then I can say with certainty that it is the culprit for your reaction.”

“Believe me now Eurycelia?” Otrea chuckled. “She did not poison you or intentionally harm you, she served you the same thing as everyone else. It is your own body that nearly caused your death. Now perhaps you can cancel your truth spell, it is an unnecessary drain on your magic at this point.”

“Truth spell?”

“I struck a deal with Eurycelia. To prove to her you are her savior and not her assassin I allowed her to enspell this room with a [Zone of Truth]. The moment she asked you to explain what had happened, if you’d poisoned her you’d have spilled your plot there. Instead, you began to describe her allergy, and how to avoid it.”

“What is the point of mind reading if you can just force people to tell the truth?”

“The truth spell is a considerable magic drain.” Eurycelia sighed waving a finger in the air. “It is also far harder to learn. Few outside of the council can use it, and so it is not very feasible to base a court system around it. The council has too few members as it is, we cannot be dividing our time any further.”

“Now is there something you’d like to say to Bernice?” Otrea asked. Her lips curling into a shit-eating grin.

“Thank you for saving my life Bernice.”

“And?”

“And what?” Eurycelia narrowed her eyes at Otrea. “What is it you are driving at Otrea?”

“Well as you know I have a Scaleborn among my servants. Though beautiful I’d never meant to acquire her. I simply wished to help out a poor girl in a terrible situation. I was unaware of a very specific law amongst your kind. That those who save your life are owed-”

“You can’t be serious?! A member of the Council of Sorcery subservient to a servant of the Exiled Witch? I would be kicked from my position. The Kingdom of Ciriczar has no such statute, and thus I am not bound to make such an oath.”

“You’re right.” Otrea shrugged. “Of course, I’m certain it must weigh on your conscience. If poor little Bernice hadn’t been snatched up by me before saving you, would you have still refused her? Many of the other Council-members were distraught once they learned Bernice wouldn’t leave my side. They begged her to come to the capital and teach their healers how to save those who succumb to allergic reactions just like you did.”

“They begged your servant to come to the capital?”

“It seems your condition is not a rare one. Many are dying from it as we speak. Only Bernice has the knowledge needed to save their lives.”

“Then…” Eurycelia gazed at me, her eyes widening. “When you said the drink we were served was from another world.”

“Ah yes… Bernice is a woman from a world far removed from our own. She knows of many things beyond what we are aware.”

“And the council… they really begged her to come to the capital?”

“Yes, they did. I ask that you don’t make me repeat myself a third time.”

“Will you not let her go?”

“I will not. Though perhaps if she had a guardian. Someone sworn to her side I would reconsider it.”

Tears began to fall from Eurycelia’s eyes as her shoulders shook. She kept gazing at me with wide eyes before furrowing her brows and looking away. Finally, after ending whatever great debate raged in her mind she turned to Otrea.

“Very well. I will make the oath, if you allow her to come to the capital.”

“Wonderful.”