The Wisterian

Chapter 37: Acension

Briar Oakston flops over for the millionth time, staring up at the ceiling of her tent. Ugh. Perhaps she was a bit too harsh on Rowan. She could have made time to explain about tomorrow, but instead they- and that was, well, both their faults. She knows she overreacted.

It's such a crucial night, and the pressure got to her is all. So much has happened in the last five months or weeks, for Rowan at least. Damn the Old Salt Road. She just wanted to spend however long they still have, together, before her forager leaves again. She swears, if she ever gets a hold of her mother...

At least all the minor crises of the day were handled, the pirates reluctantly recruited for battle, the fake Ainara under lock and key, the flint imposter fed to the forest, and all the battalions have their marching orders.

With the pirates guarding Everly, she should be perfectly safe tomorrow, and other than making a priority of finding the real Ainara, she only has two things left on her docket. An apology to Rowan and a swift fist straight to Archeron's dangling-

"Briar, wake up! I've got a live one for ya."

"What fresh hell is this?" Briar pops upright, swinging her legs to the floor. "It's the middle of the night dude!"

Reed pushes a hooded woman with her hands bound behind her back into the middle of the room. She clears her throat as if to speak. It sounds both haughty and familiar.

"Imara?" Briar exclaims. How the hell did she find them, and more concerningly, why is she wearing a hood? The seven hells must have frozen over.

"In the flesh." The muffled but still arrogant answer raises even more questions.

"What the fuck is she doing here Reed? I had the orchard completely locked down."

"We caught this spy wandering out in the fog, my liege."

"Oh, you can fuck right off with the liege shit, bunny boy."

"Spy is such an ugly word. I am more of a...helpful defector." The woman sounds bored as if she's said this many times already tonight. "You know, changing sides?"

"And how do I know you aren't both spies?" She raises her eyebrows skeptically. It does have precedence.

"Should I say the thing again, about what Rowan told Hazel?" Reed averts his gaze and makes a face like he would rather do anything but that.

Briar makes an exaggerated gagging noise and curls her lips in disgust. "No. Absolutely not! I will cut you."

"Good, I already brought her to see Rowan. She's one hundred percent real, for all that matters. Could still be a spy though." He muses.

"Remove her hood." She orders Reed. "Talk." She orders Imara.

Imara Nyasi looks down her nose at them, snooty despite her smudged makeup and unusual lack of jewelry. She hardly looks like herself at all.

"The castle is disgusting. Fix it." She arches an accusing eyebrow at Briar. "Is that not what you Oakston's do, maintain the castle and such?"

Her eyes linger on Briar's arm muscles a beat too long, and she flashes an Arachne-type wink. "Love your new look by the way."

Gods she must be desperate to allow for flattery. "Let me get this right. You snuck out of the castle...to tell us that it's gross? And what exactly do you expect me to do about it?"

"I am genuinely exhausted of waiting for you to grow a pair of ovaries. You must reclaim the kingdom and make the necessary repairs."

She shifts a bit, sighing dramatically.