Chapter 21: Peace Negotiations
Vincent hadn’t returned yet. But we were still talking.
"I’m sorry. I understand your dilemma Ren. You have to marry and marry well. You have been bracing yourself to marry a man to produce an heir. And with Countess Fiona, you realized that you could marry a woman and not be miserable for your entire life. At worst you would need to rent the services of a gigolo to get an heir. I have no such demands placed upon me. Commoners don't have the same stress to produce an heir. My parents want grandchildren, but we don't have titles or ancestral power to protect."
"None of that makes this fair to you Amy," I said.
"No, you're right. It isn't fair. What it is, is the price of admission. This is how your life will be. And if I want to be a part of it, I have to pay the price of admission."
"Who is paying the price of admission to what now?" Aunt Cecile said, shuffling into the Smoking Room.
I flinched. Now Vincent couldn't leave the gray room, not until we could get Aunt Cecile out of the smoking room. But worse, Amy was sitting with me. There was no way to play this off as platonic. Amy stiffened beside me, her back straightening, her eyes widening.
"Lady Cecile," Amy said, launching to her feet, "May I get you a cigar?"
"No dear. I'll get them. You enjoy the time off your feet."
"Oh no, I couldn't."
"Karen is being a good girl and taking her great aunt's advice. So, you stay sitting before I smack you."
"I’m sorry, Lady Cecile," Amy said, sitting back down. Looking at me, she whispered, "What was her advice?"
I cringed. Then I whispered back, "Let's say she approves of our current topic of conversation."
Amy went white as a dime store vampire, "Does she know?"
"We're sitting together." I said.
Cecile lit her cigar and began to walk back towards us. I heard a whisper of a door creak and looked. Vincent peered out from behind the door. Trapped. Aunt Cecile shuffled to a chair opposite to us and sat down, "Now Karen, we need to talk. Because your folks have their eyes on social standing. And you need somebody thinking about you.”
“I do?”
“You've always been a piece of work Karen. You've never been mean to me. And I may be the only one. You were even catty to Lynn. Before all this, I thought it was because you were afraid of me. The big bad old matriarch with the power to see what you're doing. Now I'm not so sure."
"Auntie," I started to say, but she raised her free hand.
"I'm old. I need to get this out, or I'll forget it. You never told anybody that you were straight. Absolutely true. You never said you were. But you only ever dated boys. Or, and let's be honest here, we only ever saw you dating boys. And that is a different thing, isn't it?"
"Yes, Auntie." I said.
Cecile sat down and inhaled a lungful of cigar smoke. She exhaled and looked at me.
"Was it your uncle arranging for a female suitor that got you thinking? Because that would be my guess. You never thought that was an option. You assumed that your kid had to come from your husband. And then you realized that wasn't true."
"I was thinking about Countess Fiona, yes." I said.
"And so, I'm thinking you weren't so angry at the world. The world didn't feel as much like a prison. And you let yourself think about being happy. And you liked it. And then you wanted more of that happiness. So you decided to take a chance and change. So, how close am I?"
It was a plausible cover story. It did a tidy job of explaining all the craziness that happened as a result of me waking up in the rival's body.
"It's close enough for the moment, Auntie," I said.
"Good. Now where is that Vincent boy? I know he's somewhere he's not supposed to be. Nobody needs to spend that much time squatting. At least they don't unless they're losing their intestines in the process."
Amy put a hand to her mouth and suppressed a gag. I remained silent.
Auntie continued talking, "You were always mean. But you were never bad. You never broke rules. You never betrayed people. You were nasty. But you were honest. And I don't expect that the honest part changed when you went nice. So, I need the truth from you. You got attacked by six unknown assassins, and you're only alive because of your countess. Did you know the city guard has no idea who those six men were? No records. No guild memberships. No badges of service. No gate papers. No writ of travel. Nothing to tell who they were. That's not unheard of, but it is strange. And you, wandering around with this pretty little thing, using her object read. Your uncle may think you were looking for a hat. But I know better. And now, your friend is missing, and you don't want to say where he is. You're up to something child. And I want to believe it's something good. But right now, I don't know."
I sat and thought. Aunt Cecile was never used in the game. But the designers had intended her as a hint giver if the player got stuck. They had written her to be a good person. I took three deep breaths and considered. What could I tell her?
I removed the badge of service, "Auntie, catch."
I tossed the badge, and she caught it. She looked it over and nodded, "It's one of our service badges. What makes that notable?"
"Before the six assassins, a Hyperborean werewolf attacked me. And it happened immediately after I delivered my apology. Countess Fiona dispatched it. But we recognized the werewolf as being Wulfric’s bodyguard. And he was wearing that badge of service."
"And that's why this pretty little thing was using her gift for you."
I nodded.
"What did you find?" She asked.
I sighed, "You won’t like this Auntie, guaranteed."
"What does that have to do with anything?" She asked.
"Okay. It led us to father's study."
"And how does your missing friend figure into this?"
"He's a clairvoyant," I said, "He found two areas warded against his clairvoyant gift. Which isn't bad on its own. People do that for security. But Amy's object read indicated something. The werewolf who tried to kill me received that badge from an intermediary. But the person associated with my father's study was the real source."
"So, you wanted to know what he was hiding," She said.
I nodded. "The object read also indicated that the werewolf used that badge to access the castle. Then they smuggled boxes into the Octavian Catacombs."
"Well, that explains the study," She said, "I'll go have a look myself."
Vincent opened the door leading to the Gray Room, "Of course. May I show you Lady Cecile?"
"Ah, there you are. No need to kiddo. This is my house. And I've been playing politics longer than- well longer than you. You won't get into the safe without the key. And Giles has that. But the bookshelf, that's easy. Come have a look."
I stood up and discovered that I wobbled much less. Amy steadied me, but she didn't need to hold me up this time.
"Excuse me. I guess the cigarettes are helping," she said.
"I'll carry them with me," I said, “It’s not tobacco, is it?”
Amy shook her head, “No, alchemical herbs only. I don’t know anymore than that though, I’m sorry. That's all the alchemist said when I picked them up.”
I nodded and took a drag on my cigarette, “Well that’s something.”
Vincent was speaking to Aunt Cecile, "I can see it with my clairvoyance. But I can’t figure out how to open it."
He pointed at the bookshelf. Aunt Cecile shuffled up to the shelf and grabbed a book. I noticed the spine read, "The Catacombs."
"Really Auntie? The Catacombs. That seems a touch obvious, doesn't it?"
"It's worked for more than a hundred years. Now you three get out of here. Somebody might catch you. I’ll have a look in the catacombs.”
Read more in "Daughters of the Digital Empire," Available soon!
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