Chelsea was in the command tent with Lord Alfred Birque, the High Marshal of the Order of Ruthless Sundering. They were the resident Order of West Pass, and when the banners were called against the ogres, they had come at speed. Having participated in the battle, she knew their valor. Things would have gone poorly without such a capable host of knights answering the call. Her shoulder still hurt from that red bastard flinging her a quarter mile into a tree.

  Lord Alfred had asked her to join him since she was nominally in charge of Lady Biyu, who was to be debriefed, and he assumed Chelsea would want to come ensure the safety of the woman. He probably guessed she also wanted to hear the exile's testimony. Chelsea wanted to do her duty to a member of her retinue, but she also didn't want to be here. When she'd seen the ruin that was Lady Biyu, she'd felt anger and frustration culminating in a feeling of abject failure. There was not a single thing she could have done to prevent it.

  What was really galling was that, as far as Chelsea could tell, she was a side character in Lady Biyu's epic story. She could hear the mocking sing-song of the minstrels, 'And there was the Stoneshield, defending the field, as the Hero Biyu did battle resume!'

  On Sir Stuart's advice, and with Sir Richard's support, she had been avoiding the woman by spending her time aiding the remaining villagers. The stories they told were horrific. May had passed along Lady Biyu's witnessing the ritual, but that was just one of the many fates of the failed conversions, and perhaps the kindest since the victim didn't suffer.

  Lady Biyu had been right. The Wizard, a man whose name was still unknown, had been creating ogres. His research papers were partially damaged in the fight, but what remained had been packed up and shipped to a College of Wizards who could make use of the illicit research. She forced herself not to ponder if the experiments would resume under the Empire's auspices.

  Lady Biyu entered the tent, and Chelsea felt her stomach drop. Her leg was still missing. Anya was escorting her, deftly keeping her from falling when she stumbled. Lady Biyu didn't flinch from Anya's touch, or show any discomfort at being near the Healer. That was new, and Chelsea felt her annoyance flare up.

  Lady Biyu's face was still bandaged, but Chelsea didn't know if that was by need or convenience. Anya had been unwilling to discuss Lady Biyu's status. She wondered if Anya was angry with her. Or, worse, preparing to betray her.

  Lady Biyu nodded in greeting. She was in no position to curtsy or salute, so no one would be offended by the meager courtesy. "Lady Biyu reporting," she said. Her voice was clear and strong.

  "Would it be possible for Lady Biyu to remove her bandages?" asked Lord Alfred.

  Nodding, Lady Biyu took a seat. Another kindness afforded her for being crippled in the fight. Anya remained, helping Lady Biyu with her crutch and bandages. As the bandages were removed, Chelsea was pleased to note that Lady Biyu's face had healed. Her hair was still uneven and brittle in places. Likely she would have to clip her hair short at some point. The contours of her face were as striking and lovely as Chelsea remembered from her portrait. Chelsea heard the High Marshall choke on seeing it. It was Chelsea's first time seeing it in person as well. It was unfair, and any envy she felt for Anya was, for the moment, completely subsumed.

  Anya bowed to Lady Biyu and asked, "Lady Biyu, would you like me to remain?" It was rude to address her, not the High Marshall, but again, Lady Biyu had earned such considerations. Besides, right now Anya was her Healer.

  Lady Biyu gave her a smile, and said, "Please do." Anya looked into that face, and she only smiled politely. That cinched it. Something happened between them. Chelsea was a little unsure why that made her angry, but it did.

  With courtesies completed, the questioning began. Lady Biyu's words were simple and straightforward as she explained what she did, why she did it. She even volunteered what she saw as mistakes or improvements she could make. The woman was as professional a soldier as Chelsea had seen, and she wondered where the woman had learned those skills. When it came to how Lady Biyu disrupted the Wizard's magic, she had called it a secret technique. No more was said about it. Knowledge of techniques was considered privileged information of the Awakened or their organizations, even for the rare unaffiliated Transcendents.

  Lord Alfred looked upset when the story ended. Chelsea just felt numb. She was glad that was her response.

  "Lady Biyu, you have my deepest apologies. When you attacked the Wizard, you disrupted his attacks against us. The moment that happened, if I had better understood what was happening, I would have immediately sent a force to support you. As it was, going to the tower was Lady Chelsea's initiative. I should have done so before we pinned down the ogres." The High Marshall gave Lady Biyu a bow. Anya smiled as though she had been praised. That was more like it.

  Lady Biyu bowed back, to accept the apology. "It is understandable, High Marshall. You could not have known the man was only distracted fighting me. Not dead."

  Lord Alfred bobbed his head. "Indeed. You will be granted honors at our compound. Of course, we will also give you a chance to recuperate. You will be a guest of honor!"

  Chelsea chimed in, "We will be going with them, Lady Biyu. We have to be debriefed there, as well. The Empire will want a report. From there, we will continue east once you have healed." She had hoped it wouldn't sound bitter, but the High Marshall gave her a measured look before smiling at Lady Biyu again.

  Lady Biyu nodded her head, giving a glance at Chelsea. "Actually, High Marshall… you see, my retainer is off on an errand. I would like to stay at your compound while I wait for her. She said she should only be gone a little while, but I suspect it will take longer." She glanced at Chelsea. "We may need to extend our stay a while."

  Chelsea nodded agreeably. Her face was less agreeable. Anya had a small wrinkle in her brow. "I understand, Lady Biyu. May I ask what May will be doing?"

  "She told me she found someone to Awaken her."

  That got her raised eyebrows, but she preempted the questions, "She did not tell me whom or what Path."

  High Marshall Alfred frowned at that, but gave her a nod. "Thank you for your time, Lady Biyu, and allow me to be the first one to welcome you as a guest of my Order."

  When Biyu had bandaged her face and thumped her way out, the High Marshall turned to look at Chelsea. "I am told you have not visited her once during her recovery. Watching you with the villagers, I'm perplexed why that would be. I can see you have an issue with her." His face turned severe, and to underscore his next words he slapped the tabletop with an open palm. "Be an adult, and deal with it. Either confront her on whatever wrong you think she has done you, or put it behind you and comport yourself with decorum."

  Chelsea gave a deep bow, chastised, and left the command tent.

  Chelsea found Anya exiting Lady Biyu's personal tent. Chelsea walked up to her and said, "Greetings Anya. Have you finally manage to capture her attention?"

  Anya gave Chelsea a level look. "I'm her Healer. It is only right that I'm by her side and attentive. Besides, I… I'm thinking I should give up. She doesn't seem to like me. When she went to fight a Wizard, she didn't tell me. You did." The woman suddenly looked very tired.

  Chelsea gave a nod. "I see. I never quite understood why you would pursue her. Putting aside her marriage status, she doesn't seem your type."

  "Tell me, Lady Chelsea, how many women married to women do you know? Or, men married to men, for that matter."

  With a frown, Chelsea considered for a moment. "Just one of my… was he a cousin or an uncle? I don't remember."

  "And your family may as well be nobles. Commoners don't get to be 'eccentric', Lady Chelsea. Do you know why I joined your expedition?"

  Chelsea admitted, "No, I don't."

  "First, you're in charge, and a woman. Second, I made a… poor assumption when I saw you. Women who look the way you do are sometimes advertising themselves as a particular kind of woman. For that, I apologize." She gave a polite curtsy. "Third, my Guild is trying to set up a marriage for me. I left home because I refused to get married to a man.

  "So, Lady Biyu is a lot like you. She doesn't dress or comport herself as a woman normally would. She's not vain about her looks. Like you, she's a warrior first. Unlike you, she isn't seeking a man. If she married me, or just took me into her household, then no one would try to challenge it so they could try to marry me off again. But, she isn't interested. She told me she loved a woman, so that can't be it. She just doesn't like me.

  "If she won't take me as a lover, I'll pursue becoming her retainer. Perhaps she'll decide to give me a manor as a Lord of the Land? Or maybe I'll just be her court Healer. Either way, if she'll protect me from being married off, then I'll do it."

  Chelsea asked, "Why don't you like men?"

  "It's not about not liking men. The idea of them using their pricks on me is just… ugh. On the other hand, I have always liked women. My first crush, my first love, my first relationship were all with women. My parents thought it was a phase. They planned my wedding. When I said no, they said 'you will'.

  "So, I ran away. I love my parents. I really do. They get a little bit of money from me every few months, even now. But I couldn't do it. Then… No, I've made my point, and I don't owe you even this much.

  "Lady Chelsea, I joined you to avoid an unwanted marriage. I don't love Lady Biyu, but I of all the people I met, I think she's the only one who will let me be an old spinster instead of forcing a marriage convenient for her. Maybe I'm making a stupid assumption, again, but I hope she won't." Anya looked at Chelsea sternly. "So, if she wants me to be the respectful Healer, that's what I'll be. If she asks me to be a whore to noble women, I'll be that too. If she can find a way to get me pregnant without having a man directly involved, I'll happily mother her young. I'm just tired of no one listening when I say I won't marry a man."

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  There was a momentary look of misery on Anya's usually cheerful face. It passed, and she smiled. "Will that be all, Lady Chelsea?"

  Chelsea gave a nod, before she realized something. "You are still in my retinue. Are you going to abandon your duties?"

  Smiling serenely, Anya said, "In the blink of an eye."

  Leon Stoneshield knew himself to be a man with an easily shaken temperament. Or, to be less eloquent, he was a man of few nerves. He spent his youth doing his best to learn how to be laid back. Or, failing that, to at least put on a convincing facade. Most of his peers tended to think of him as a bit of a slacker, and there was a certain tendency among the lesser Knights to hold him in mild contempt. Those who had known him before he became a Knight often remarked how much he had changed, and meant it in a positive way.

  No one liked a man who screamed and shouted when things went wrong. Having a conniption fit or panic attack was downright forbidden, and even dangerous in the heat of battle. But, that was what he was really like, so his relentless pursuit of relaxation and calmness were a necessity. His father had stomach ulcers, palpitations, acid reflux, and bouts of IBS. Sir Leon loved and honored his father, as he should, but that didn't mean he wanted to be like him. He had ample reasons already listed why he should not be. Fortunately, his father was a brilliant strategist of the Order without peer. However, his father was not a Knight, but a steward. He had heard the whispers of other men about the brilliant disgrace his father was, and while he refused to feel ashamed, he did feel all the more determined to be better than his father.

  Presently, his stomach hurt. A lot. He really didn't understand how everyone just accepted that monster's story. The Wizard was at least fourth circle, and while she may have had the shit kicked out of her she had survived! She had even won! That did not happen. She had to still be in the early steps of her own power. Second step? Third? She had been Awakened for three years before they met her, and she had not spent years being trained as a squire first.

  How the hell did a caged bird, if the rumors Lady Chelsea shared were to be trusted, go out and start killing bandits and Goblins like that? She had suffered for it, but Hells, who didn't on their early hunts? He himself had broken an arm as he fought a Spirit Beast. He never went on a sortie alone, however, like this girl did.

  Oh, there were stories like that, but they were only stories! No one ever tells their secondhand account of some stranger using secret powers to flummox a Wizard until they slowly beat the Wizard to death while avoiding a lumbering pile of rot magic.

  Leon took control of himself, and did his special breathing. Forcing his mind to stop, he pictured the face of a girl he liked. That pretty bar maid in the last town would work.

  He needed a drink.

  Then Lady Chelsea had to interrupt him as he staved off his latest conniption. "Hey cousin," she said.

  He frowned at her to show his displeasure at being interrupted. "Hey ho, cousin. Need something?"

  "You just seemed a bit out of sorts lately, and I wondered if you wanted to talk."

  Ah, that was his cousin right there. Honest, responsible, and oh so very noble in that other sense of the word. Usually he envied her, but watching her struggles dealing with the enigma gave him a shot of schadenfreude.

  "How unlike you. Fine, but let's be cousins and not master and subordinate. Chelsea, how the hell do you just accept what that thing did?"

  "Thing?"

  "What is your guess of that Wizard's power?"

  She frowned at that, thinking. "Probably… not the third circle. Fourth? He was able to cast spells on a remote battlefield through a scrying spell."

  He stared at her. "You don't get it? Really? That 'woman' killed a fourth circle Wizard, and she has only been Awakened for three years. Maybe I'd believe it if she got in a lucky backstab, but she used a technique that was either so subtle a fourth circle Wizard couldn't sense it, or so powerful he couldn't overpower it!" He took a breath, calming himself, while Chelsea waited.

  "You say she has that Sacred Beast's blessing, right? Is it really something so powerful that she could do that? I thought it was a minor blessing!" Another set of deep breaths. "And that skill she used on May. The one that feels like a blessing. Either she's lying, and she's breaching into the first stages of godhood, or there is something seriously wrong. Stuff like that, it doesn't happen. Not like that! If she had collapsed the tower onto the Wizard? I could buy that. But fighting that bastard? And winning!?"

  He took another calming breath, and then leaned towards his cousin and whispered, "She fucking terrifies me."

  "Those are good points. I get that. Just remember who she has killed, and why. She killed bandits to save May. She killed Goblins to help defend a village and avenge a poor boy. As for that Wizard, she killed him because she despised him. I don't think anyone would blame her for that. You remember the way May explained how vehemently Lady Biyu felt about him."

  "Yes."

  "So, why does she scare you? Grandfather is a god, and you don't seem so afraid of him."

  "She isn't supposed to be a god, Chelsea. She's a caged bird. A little noble girl who was sequestered to her room all her life. That kind of thing, that makes people strange. Not in a good way, either. Hells, she became the disciple of a serpent and apparently lived with Elves for three years. There is something wrong with her. And she kills far too easily. Like a hardened soldier of years, not a woman of nineteen."

  "She's a poison aspect. Her Path is combat and death, yet she uses it to, if not save people, then to kill dangerous people. If the threat is removed, then people are saved. Yes, it isn't great that she lived among Elves for three years. But look at it this way: if she could live with the traitors for years without incident, shouldn't that indicate that she has restraint?"

  He sighed. "Like we would know if there was an incident. You are making assumptions, there.

  "Also, you think she shouldn't have taken the Wizard on alone. Even though you know most of us would be dead if she has restrained herself, you still think that. Right now, you're thinking that she did the right thing. You just can't make yourself believe it. So, hey, I have a question for you."

  "What?" she asked.

  "What is the difference between all the Knights you know, including you and me and even Alan, and her?"

  "She's a noble, and she's keeping secrets she shouldn't. She's also shirking her duty," said Chelsea. "Of course I'm pissed. She has duties to attend to, and here she is off having my adventures." Her jaw clicked shut.

  He stared at her. "Right. That makes a lot of sense. She isn't being the good little noble sitting in her mansion and administering land. Instead, she's killing Goblins, rogue Wizards, saving fair maidens, and doing the things you've dreamed of since we were playing Knights with sticks."

  "Yes. It's stupid, and I know better, but it's hard not to feel like she stole my adventures from me. And this is after we started following her because her life already sounded like a story."

  "Hey, you did get an epic fight with the ogres, right?" Leon asked, trying to cheer Chelsea. "And you got off better than the monster did even after you took a punch. What, a broken rib versus loosing a leg and a face?"

  "You should curb such talk, Leon. She is likely to take offense if you keep speaking that way. Then that fear of yours might just come true and make an enemy of her."

  "It is disappointing instead of offensive, Lady Chelsea," said Lady Biyu as she hobbled up to them. Anya was still attending to her. Leon wasn't sure why Anya was into Lady Biyu. Well, he did get the idea of a woman wanting to join a noble house. Wasn't that the most common stories women liked to talk about? No, it must be the rumored face. He prayed to never see it. He had given offerings to Gunthar to shield him.

  Leon felt surprisingly calm, faced with the possible ire of the monster. "Still, that is not something one should say to another's face, and I apologize for it, Lady Biyu." He gave her a bow.

  "Lady Biyu, do you know what you want to do when we reach West Pass? North? South? I'd like to go south, I haven't been to the Southlands yet. We still have a few months of travel before winter comes," Chelsea asked.

  Lady Biyu looked at Chelsea for a long moment before answering. "May has asked a god for a favor. I assume there will be a debt to settle."

  "Lady Biyu, what are you running from?" Chelsea asked. Leon shifted back away from the women. He noticed Anya was about to do the same, until she noticed Lady Biyu teetering a bit. "You also need to stop throwing yourself into fights that are out of your weight class. Why, exactly, did you think it was wise for you to go after a Wizard?"

  Lady Biyu looked down at her leg. "I should have done better," she said, as though that was the fault she should be admitting to.

  That was too much for Leon. He had tried to remain polite, to keep his growing hysteria under control, but that was too much. "Done better?" He clutched his stomach in fear of a sudden ulcer. His stomach was churning. "You shouldn't have been able to kill him at all!"

  Chelsea glared at him before returning her attention to Lady Biyu. "Find a Knight and send them, if you need to kill a Wizard. Go home. Get married. Have children. Then, if you must, travel. See Shadow Gate or the Southlands. Do all the things you want to when you've finished your filial duty."

  As she spoke, Anya grew increasingly bleak in the face. Leon noticed Chelsea growing conflicted at Anya's expression, but she continued to the end.

  "You want me to be in that little room," said Lady Biyu slowly. Her voice was low, husky, and angry. "You know, I did not hate my parents growing up. I never knew them, and while I knew they were the reason I was in that room, they were abstract to me. I think, Lady Chelsea, that I hate you. You might be the first person I have ever hated, other than the Wizard." The tone was grim, and her eyes sparkled from above the veil she wore. "I find I do not like feeling hate very much."

  "Why won't you do what you're supposed to?" demanded Chelsea, her voice rising. "And why are you speaking like I'm the villain here?"

  "My parents exiled me. Maybe, they never acknowledged and loved me. To whom do I owe this duty? Where shall I return to? Other people want my duty. They can have it."

  "You had no obligation to fight for those villagers, or to kill that Wizard. It could have killed you," said Chelsea heatedly. The women glared at each other. "You are being reckless."

  "I had the power to try, and I didn't save anyone." She was quiet for a moment. "It was my domain. I had to kill the Wizard. I did kill the Wizard. Some people survived. Did I want to save them? Yes. Am I glad they are saved? Yes. But I did not do it to save them. I did it… because no one deserves to have their life taken away like that. My life was taken away, in my youth. If Master did not pity me, I would be like them. It made me angry. So, I did it as retribution for the dead." Suddenly she stumbled, a hand going to her head. Anya caught her, holding Lady Biyu against her while her face furrowed in concern.

  Before her sudden spell, Leon was sure that his cousin was going to take a swing at Lady Biyu. Usually his kindhearted cousin would show concern, but with Lady Biyu her face twisted into something bitter. "If I have to stand between you and danger, so be it. Just look at you. So broken your body is failing. You aren't made for this, Lady Biyu. You should give it up."

  Lady Biyu, her face pained, said nothing, but she glared at Chelsea. Leon thought she mumbled something, he thought he saw her lips move, then she turned and with Anya's help stumbled away.

  "Excellent job, cousin," said Leon. "I'm sure she'll be the perfect demure young lady, going off to have many sons and a few daughters."

  Chelsea glared at him. "I think I've had enough of being cousins, Sir Leon."

  He gave a polite bow while his stomach churned. "I think she has had enough of you, milady. She may flee us. Or, tell you a truth or a lie about the debt Miss May has incurred so that you will leave her be."

  "I just have to have her swear to the veracity of her words," Chelsea said.

  "Surely, that will win the fair maiden's heart." He saw the look on her face. He bowed again. "My apologies, Lady Chelsea."

  The next day they held funeral rites for the Ogre Maker's victims. The gemstones Biyu had seen were soul traps; gems intended to hold souls. The gems would be destroyed, and funerary rites performed by the tower to send the trapped souls to Judgment. High Marshall Alfred held the ceremony as the highest ranking person there, although Biyu and Lady Chelsea were offered the opportunity in deference to the former's status as a hero, and the latter to her station. The status of Hero was ancient, coming from before the founding of the Three Kingdoms.

  Given her nature as a demon and not wanting to deny the worthy dead the Heavens, Biyu demurred citing her injuries as a reason. She could not perform the services with the dignity due to the wrongly slain, who deserved the best that could be offered to beseech for the intervention of the gods on their behalf at Judgment.

  Biyu did come to watch as the rites were performed. Yet, despite her lack of participation, she could feel her power swelling. Alarmingly, she felt the winds of passage, and souls snag against her Divinity before being disbursed to the east. It was only a small number, but she was certain that some ten souls failed to unsnarl themselves and were trapped in her developing Hell. Biyu consoled herself that they were likely to be Lost Souls if they were drawn east by the smoke.

  The gems took time to destroy, as rites were performed for each as it was crushed, and there were over five hundred total.

  When it was over, the surviving villagers were escorted back to camp. Some saw Biyu and recognized her. They gave her polite greetings that she returned before being helped back to her tent by Anya.