War Of Men

Merari

'Wait up, I want to get to know weird feral lady better,' Merari squeaked.

'Pot kettle black,' Arcane muttered under her breath.

It happened when they were only a few steps away from the palace entrance. The quality of the lighting changed. It developed a red hue that seemed to swirl around, slowly forming a woman's body. Merari glanced at Arcane; was she seeing this? Based on the fact Arcane hadn't stopped walking yet, it didn't seem likely. By the time Merari returned her attention to the divine presence, it had already taken the form of the countess. Merari found herself panicking.

'Don't let anything seem amiss.'

Merari knew she couldn't risk speaking to herself, so she tried to think extra loud. Sure, because random spirits randomly appearing is one hundred percent normal. Sorita was the soul spirit, perhaps she could read minds.

The countess rolled her eyes. 'Look, I'm here to give you one last warning. You might as well suggest the same to your friend, the more the safer. You need to run, now. The further, the better.'

What, like a marathon?

'No, you imbecile. You need to leave this palace and never come back. That way she'll never get what she wants.'

Who's she?

But Sorita was already fading. Perhaps she believed an ominous she would make Merari take things more seriously. Couldn't she see she was just setting up a mystery Merari wanted to solve? Then again, this was a spirit. Wasn't she meant to take her words seriously?

Arcane was observing Merari with a raised eyebrow. Merari quickly caught up with her. When they were heading through to the Eseterrian's living quarters, Merari filled her in.

'I'm starting to think Sorita doesn't even know what she's trying to warn you about,' Arcane criticised.

'I might ask Medea what she thinks. Yesterday, she told me she knew...' Merari took a moment to savour Arcane's surprise. 'If I did go... Would you come with me?'

'Merari, you know I trust you and love you, but I can't say the same for Sorita. Have you heard her myths? They're something else.'

Merari sighed. 'You're probably right.'

'Hey, you can still ask Medea, I'm just not sure running away's a good plan. I mean, have you ever not had servants? Merari, can you even cook?'

'Of course I can!' Merari lied.

Coincidentally, they reached the dining room when the topic of cuisine came up. As predicted, Nancy was inside, as was Sabrina.

Lunch was the most magical meal in Merari's eyes. Whenever somebody arrived, servants would bring them a freshly cooked plate of food. Merari longed to know how there was always food ready.

'Where are the others?' Arcane asked Sabrina.

'Emilee's eating with Lavia's family and Kaya's discussing things with the Chèr. I think Medea's doing work, whatever that entails,' she reported.

Arcane took a seat and turned her focus to Nancy. 'How long do you plan on staying?'

'Not much longer... I just... The Chèr's helping me figure out where to go from here...' She prodded at her food unhappily.

'Can't you go back to what you were doing before?'

Nancy shook her head grimly. 'Now that I've confessed to having been the old Chèr's lover, there's no room for me in the order. I was just beginning initiation, but he saw me and... It's hard to say no to powerful men.'