Chapter 35: Chapter Thirty-Three – Night of Misfortunes

“I really don’t understand why she’s acting like that.” Eurycelia pondered. Gazing at Eskame who was clinging tightly to my waist. “I swear I only took her memories away. It shouldn’t have altered her personality much at all.”

“Well it is obvious your spell is having unintended effects,” Harriette grumbled. “So how about you remove it now.”

“I guess I should,” Eurycelia reached for Eskame only to have the girl flinch away. Moving so that my body would be a wall between her and Eurycelia.

“Come on Eskame, she’s not going to hurt you.” I said stifling a sigh and petting the little girl.

“Is it possible her skittishness has something to do with her body?” Kyra asked, “I know when I first awoke I struggled with Adelita’s nervousness. Maybe without her memories to ground her she’s giving in to the persona of a fox kit.”

“The Homunculus doesn’t have a soul of its own.” Harriette replied. “She shouldn’t be affected by it.”

“I don’t think we have the luxury of discounting it as a possibility.” I said pulling Eskame into my lap and latching my arms around her. “Fix her now, Euri.”

Eurycelia reached for the squirming fox child only to halt as the door to my bedroom blew open. From the other side a short woman with blond twin-tails and Mommy Laura stepped into the room.

“Who?!” Harriette adopted a fighting stance, only to have Eurycelia rush in front of her.

“You can’t attack a god!”

“Hello again Baby Bernie,” Mommy Laura laughed, though the look in her eyes was anything but mirthful. “Let me introduce you to the goddess of Order, Law, fate, and cowardice, Zrysanthene. You can just call her Rysa, she knows her name is hard to pronounce.”

“Only your daughter may shorten my name. If the others do I’ll behead them.”

Harriette and Eurycelia both dropped to their knees. While Kyra distanced herself to the far side of the room.

“Is she another primordial god?” I asked, my mind desperately trying to figure out why they were here.

“Could a lesser god have an aura as divine as mine?” Rysa asked, only to have Mommy Laura take her shoulder.

“Baby Bernie can’t see auras yet. I figured it would make her sick so I prevented her from being able to access it.”

“You’re coddling your daughter too much.”

“Not as much as you are.” Mommy Laura sighed.

“What do you mean?” Rysa grumbled. “I am merely upholding our laws. That woman threatened the life of the first child of a member of our pantheon. Her actions deserve death.”

Harriette shook at Rysa’s words, but much like Eurycelia before, she seemed incapable of speech.

“Yeah, yeah, and in your infinite cowardice you chose the moment when she is at her weakest to enforce justice. Even at the height of her power, her ability to rebel was limited.”

“You’re going to kill Eskame?!” My voice quivered as I clutched the little girl in my arms tighter.

“Even better,” Rysa smiled, “We’re going to make her current state permanent.”

“I swear I was going to stay hands-off Baby Bernie,” Mommy Laura shrugged. “I was only going to tease her if that was what you wanted. I didn’t know that Rysa had been watching her like a hawk.”

Rysa moved so that she was standing before us, smiling like a murderous cat. “Otrea Ladnier. For violating your fated lifespan, threatening the first daughter of the primordial pantheon, and attempting to sunder the veil between worlds. I hereby sentence you to live out the rest of your immortal life in the body of your fox homunculus. Additionally, you will have a barrier placed upon your mind to prevent the removal of the [Impose Naivety] spell.”

Unable to understand what was happening in her current state Eskame twisted in my arms and buried her face in my chest. Her little body shaking in terror.

“You can’t do this to her.” I growled. “She’s only in this body because I asked for her help, and she’s only in this state because she trusted me. She’s already made it clear she has no desire to harm me. If you do anything to her now, it’ll be breaking her trust in me. Doesn’t that break some kind of edict among the gods?”

“Her crimes have gone unpunished too long.” Rysa countered. “She is lucky to be allowed to continue living.”

“If you count Eskame as Baby Bernie’s own Oracle, it would violate our unwritten courtesy to one another to harm her.”

“I need her to protect Euri’s life. If you take her away from me now I’ll… cry.”

What could I possibly threaten a god with?

“Making my daughter cry would bring misfortune your way Rysa.” Mommy Laura chuckled, taking a seat beside me on the bed.

“I covered for you when you went gallivanting between worlds, you promised to help me carry out my tasks when you returned. Taking care of Otrea Ladnier is one of those tasks. Her mere existence upsets the balance.”

“Let's say you trap her as a fox, and lock her memories away forever. How are you going to handle her level? It’s not like that has gone away in her current state. Is it not more dangerous to leave a child with such power?”

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“Are you not the goddess of misfortune? Is [Level Drain] not one of the greatest misfortunes you can bestow?”

“It is, though I’ve never used it on someone as a punishment. Normally it is something they’ve brought on themselves, through stupidity, or simply living till their body becomes decrepit.”

“Is allowing herself to fall to this state not a product of stupidity? By your own rules she’s done enough to earn this.”

“My rules can be overturned based on my whims. My current whim is wanting to do as my daughter desires.”

“You could take care of those healers yourself couldn’t you?” Rysa hissed. “Allergies are a misfortune, give everyone the healers come across an attack so they learn their craft on someone other than your daughter’s lover. Then there is no reason to protect Otrea from her punishment.”

“You’d sacrifice countless mortals to punish this one?”

“I trust your daughter has done her job well enough that no lives will be lost.”

Mommy Laura sighed before shaking her head and chuckling. “I don’t think I have many arguments left Baby Bernie. Looks like today is the day that Otrea Ladnier dies.” Mommy Laura paused, reaching out to gently pet Eskame’s back. “And Eskame is born.”

“Just a note though Rysa,” Mommy Laura continued, “[Level Drain] can’t drop her to a natural level for her age. At best I could halve it. She’ll still be level one-hundred. We’ll also have to add her race to the system, so this world doesn’t reject her once her former body is destroyed.”

“None of that is a problem for me.”

“And here I thought I’d surprise her someday.” Mommy Laura smiled bitterly. “Once I let her know Baby Bernie is Ellione’s direct descendant. I guess I’ll hope she spends the time needed to regain those memories.”

“I’m the descendant of a princess from this world?”

“Yeah, a princess who had memories of Earth, and honestly believed her family there would still be alive if she returned. She convinced Otrea to send her home, and Otrea actually made it happen. Even though no mortal should’ve ever been capable of such a feat.”

“Yet another reason she needs to be punished.” Rysa grumbled.

“I’d personally like to give her a medal. It was fun to see the system break a bit. Otrea proves we don’t give mortals enough credit.”

“Is this why you seemed so sure she wouldn’t hurt me?”

“Yeah,” Mommy Laura grinned. “Once she tried something I would swoop down and drop that little nugget of truth on her. Just imagining the look on her face had me laughing my ass off. But Rysa has to ruin my fun. The coward couldn’t let an opportunity go by.”

“Hey! Could you not badmouth me in front of your daughter?!”

“If you wanted to make a good impression Auntie Rysa you wouldn’t have decided to harm her friend. Baby Bernie is going to be salty with you for centuries I’m sure.”

“Seriously?! This has to happen. We cannot allow our laws to mean nothing.”

“We write the laws, we can change them as we see fit. If we make an exception, who is powerful enough to question us?”

“Grr…” Rysa chewed on the tip of her thumb. “You’ll take care of the healers won’t you? You're not going to let harm befall your daughter’s girlfriend.”

“I’ll take care of them.”

“Then,” Rysa looked at me, her eyes pleading with me to agree with her. “Bernice, wouldn’t you rather have a cute little sister? You like her better like this don’t you?”

“I’d feel like it was my fault if you punished her, and I think Harriette would hate me. So no… I don’t want a little sister. Not like this.”

Rysa sighed. “Ten years. We’ll trap her like this for ten years, after which she’ll regain her original level, the spell will be removed, and she’ll have the choice to return to her original body.”

“Is just leaving her alone not an option?”

“No.”

“Five years then.”

“Eight.”

“Four.”

“Alright, fine.” Rysa threw her arms up in surrender. “Five years. Accept or it is permanent.”

“Okay, five years.”