Simmer: Or, The Second Life of Callis Wardwell, Witch

PART 2: HUNTING THE WREN

"I thought princesses smiled and wore pretty dresses."

Callis snorted. Agatha swung her foot haphazardly backwards and kicked her.

"Having a hard week," said Agatha blithely.

"Is your prince dead?" asked Tisiphone.

"Tisiphone," cut in Iphigenia smoothly. "Go and find your Mother, and tell her we'll be down for lunch in about twenty minutes."

"Aww, Grandmamma, I'm hungry, can't it be less time..."

"Fifteen minutes, then. Go on..."

Tisiphone sloped off, casting Agatha one last curious look–

Then she kicked Lancelot, darted out of the door and was gone. From somewhere on top of a cabinet, Reaper laughed.

"What is it with all the brats picking on me?" demanded Lancelot, clutching his shin.

"Never children sense an easy target like sharks in bloody water," said Callis. Grumbling, Lancelot flung himself down in some ancient chair. At Iphigenia's sideways glance, Agatha uncertainly took the one closest to the desk, and Callis sat behind her, looking narrowly at her mother with some sort of warning that Agatha couldn't quite parse. Iphigenia blinked slowly at her, then got up and went to a samovar in the corner, next to a row of steaming cauldrons. Agatha turned in her chair.

"Whose kid is Tisiphone?"

"She's Ismene's daughter," Callis muttered. "She's a complete clone of her mother. I'm sure I have permanent dents in my shins from how many times she did to me, what Tisiphone just did to Lancelot."

"Ismene seems... calmer than Eris, though."

"Yeah, seems." came Reaper's voice, as Iphigenia returned, with a tea-tray.

She handed Agatha the first cup, and Agatha heard Callis exhale. Was it something that passed for approval, from Iphigenia? Agatha didn't know, just took it with a mumbled thank you and clutched it with both hands. Maybe she should have been nervous, at being handed something to drink by the Grand Duchess Unspeakable, but she was tired, and it was hot, and no one was making her use a saucer.

"Made us use saucers at Good." she whispered to Callis as Iphigenia turned her back. Callis sighed.

"No etiquette to grapple with, here. Mother uses them, but it's a power play." She definitely knew Iphigenia could hear her. "Proves her hands are steady."

Iphigenia turned back to hand Callis hers, then Lancelot, then got her own. Agatha looked down and realised she was gripping the teacup as if it was going to turn out sentient and run from her. Then again, you never knew, in the Woods.

Iphigenia sat down, drank, and then just looked at them, for a minute. Agatha shifted nervously, and Callis got her a biscuit to distract her, an unfortunately effective tactic that Agatha suspected had worked ever since she could eat solid food.

She heard a light thud, and turned to see that Reaper had jumped back down to their level. She offered him a quarter of her biscuit. He snorted and took it, then jumped onto the back of Callis's chair and sat there, eyes narrowed. Some sort of pressure in her chest, one that Agatha had barely noticed, eased, watching them sitting there like they had for as long as she could remember. She'd felt so alone, for the past few months...

Her nose prickled, and she bit her tongue, but thankfully, Iphigenia had finally decided to start talking;

"There is still no obvious news from Camelot. Guinevere was brought in, but it wasn't by force, and she looked unharmed, I'm told. I suspect they told her Tedros was ill. Tedros hasn't been seen, but servants have still been bringing him meals, so as far as the castle is concerned, he is at least still alive..."