Chapter 54: Chapter Fifty-One – Stirring up Trouble

To Otrea’s credit, she didn’t seem at all surprised to see two goddesses waltzing into her study. She smiled softly and greeted both my mothers with a look of resignation that seemed wholly out of character for her.

“Would you like to take a seat?” Otrea asked my mothers after they exchanged pleasantries. Waving her hand towards the large circular table I’d last seen used by the council during their visit.

“Of course,” Rysa smiled taking a seat at the table. “To get right down to it Otrea. We would both like to extend our heartfelt thanks for protecting our daughter. As powerful as we are, even we cannot manifest on desecrated ground. Without you, I dread to imagine what would’ve become of Bernice.”

“You really don’t have to thank me,” Otrea replied waiting for me to sit down and taking the seat next to me. “Bernice is precious to me. I would’ve protected her regardless.”

“Hmm… Very precious indeed,” Mommy Laura grinned like a cat sneaking up on her prey. “You’ve certainly treated her well, haven’t you?

“Threatening to kill her on more than one occasion, Calling her a pet which is rather insulting. Not to mention forcing her to produce a beverage to show off to your colleagues on the council. Using her to claim the then councilwoman Eurycelia to further your plans of overturning your exile.”

Mommy Laura shrugged. “Honestly I couldn’t think of any list of actions that better prove just how precious you’ve been treating my daughter.”

Otrea paled. “I was unaware she was your daughter during those events. At the time she was just a cute woman who’d upset me by killing my spiders. Forgive me.”

“Really now Otrea?” I could almost hear the purr in Mommy Laura’s voice. And it made me shiver. “You know as well as I do that destroying a summoned spirit’s physical form doesn’t kill it. For you, the great and powerful witch of Ciriczar. All her actions did was set you back a day of effort at most.”

“I’ve lived so long, I must’ve forgotten such a minor detail,” Otrea answered as beads of sweat began to pool on her forehead.

“Really now? You weren’t simply trying to create a situation that Bernice had no hope of escaping? So that you could claim ownership of the cute bunny you found lost in your woods? Make her feel hopeless and then slowly bend her into one of your devoted girlfriends? How despicable.”

“For argument’s sake, the Otrea who did that is now Bernice’s little sister. I am not the same person.”

“Aren’t you? Shifting blame to a child when faced with a force you know you cannot defeat. Tell me Otrea, how many of Eskame’s memories did you copy? What do you know of your actions when uninhibited by memories of the past.”

“I only browsed a few. Right up until Zrysanthene and you left us after my punishment had been administered.”

“Oh? So you remember calling me mommy then?”

Otrea’s cheeks flushed pink. “I do.”

“But you don’t remember all the other little adorable things you did? Begging your ‘Big Sis’ for kisses. Carrying your little plush fox everywhere you went. None of that?”

“I hardly think that should be seen as what I personally have done. They are Eskame’s actions. She is a completely separate entity from me now.”

“Oh? How sad. You see while we are both very grateful for you protecting our adorable Baby Bernie. We still cannot let your actions up until now slide. I was going to make an exception since you called me mommy. You know, my daughters are allowed to bend the rules a bit more than other mortals. But since that wasn’t you, I guess we’re just going to have to go forward with punishing you.”

“You can’t be serious?”

“We can,” Rysa answered. “Otrea Ladnier, for your crimes you are sentenced to ten years polymorphed into an animal form. During which time you will serve as Bernice’s familiar.”

“You can’t be serious,” Otrea gazed at Rysa wide-eyed. “That’s a worse punishment than the first.”

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“And I bet you don’t have any more clones to circumvent it.” Rysa smiled.

“Though if you’ll swallow your pride and call me mommy,” Mommy Laura chuckled. “We’ll commute your sentence.”

“Fine,” Otrea’s face turned a deep shade of red. Taking a few deep breaths she stared at Mommy Laura. “Mommy.”

“Nope nope, that’s just weird. Say it with more childish passion. Try to emulate the little fox, be cute about it.”

“Y-you,” For the first time since I’d met her, Otrea seemed truly flustered. Stammering and fighting desperately to tamp down on the embarrassment she felt.

“You are Otrea’s mommy right?” Otrea finally forced herself to say. Her voice breaking and barely audible.

“Of course,” Mommy Laura grinned. “Welcome to the family Otrea. Now then, there is one other thing I’d like to discuss with you.”

“What is it?” Otrea asked, looking haggard.

“Ellione is Bernice’s birth mother.”

Otrea gazed at me, stunned. Precious seconds ticked by as she studied me. Her eyes scanning from the top of my head down to my toes and back up again. “It’s been too long, she’s too young.”

“Time dilates between the world you sent Ellione to and our own. Every year there is close to eleven years for us. Once you account for the time it took her to meet Bernice’s biological father, and the years Bernice spent there. It all adds up. Just over two hundred years after you sent her away, her daughter appeared at your doorstep.”

“And I treated her like shit,” Otrea hung her head as tears began to fall from her eyes. “I’m sorry Bernice.”

“It’s okay,” I gazed awkwardly at my mothers before giving Otrea a gentle pat on the back. “It’s because of you that I got a chance to be close with Euri, Kyra, and Adelita. It’s because of you that I have a cute little sister. Not to mention you saved my life. As far as I’m concerned you’ve earned my forgiveness a dozen times over.”

Wrapping her arms around me Otrea pulled me into her lap. Rubbing her face against my ears as she squeezed me tightly. She continued to nuzzle me as my mothers laughed until her body froze.

Otrea paled as she gazed up at Mommy Laura. “If Bernice is Ellione’s daughter. That makes her the direct descendant of Circizar’s would-be Queen. She is the rightful heir to the throne.”

“Also makes the current King, who is older than her, her nephew,” Mommy Laura chuckled. “Isn’t time dilation fun.”

“If she… I could return to Ciriczar.”

“You could.”

It was my turn to pale. As the thought of what the women around me were planning chilled me to the bone.

I just want to make coffee! No way in hell I’m becoming Queen.