Revelation
Julio was quite tired before he got even part-way through the book and after a few yawns, bid Natsuki good-night, returning up the staircase with Sirene. Sirene gestured at another alcove close to the one they emerged from, and with the wave of her hand a door appeared, leading into a bedroom.
"Sorry to say but we'll have to share a bed." Sirene said with a wink. "You don't mind, right?"
"As long as you don't." Julio answered, yawning again.
Sirene smiled and took off cloak and then robe, revealing her toned body. Julio let out a whistle, causing Sirene to laugh and make a couple poses. "How about it?"
"I only just met you today, I could never." Julio said with a laugh.
"Come on, give them a squeeze at least." Sirene urged Julio, gesturing at her biceps.
"Oh alright." Julio said with a chuckle. He was quite impressed, her muscles were rock hard. "You take good care of your body."
"Of course I do." Sirene said. "Let me show you some tricks."
Sirene and Julio discussed fitness routines for a few minutes, before Julio laid down to sleep. Sirene stayed up for awhile longer to do some light reading, but noticed something interesting when she returned to the bed. Julio was in the form of a short blonde haired elf woman, and she seemed to be talking in her sleep. She decided to sit and listen, and found it intriguing.
"You're hiding secrets you don't even know." Sirene whispered, before climbing into the bed as well and quickly falling asleep.
---
Sirene awoke to screams, which was unusual considering she was inside the Curia. Opening her eyes, the short elf woman was staring at her and holding a knife to her throat. A knife? Where did she get that? Marvellous questions for later, she supposed. Slowing down time, she casually removed the knife from the hysterical woman's hands, got out of bed, and slipped on her robe. Once she was dressed, she returned to the normal flow of time, which apparently quite shocked the elf.
"Ah fuck!" She shouted. "You are her!"
"Well this is interesting." Sirene said. She surmised it might have to do with the involuntary transformation she witnessed last night, and chose to remain calm.
"Where in the hell am I?" She shouted at Sirene.
"You don't remember?" Sirene asked. The mystery was growing by the minute and she loved it. "We came here together yesterday."
"The last thing I remember is falling down a hill in the mountains. Where the FUCK is this, Sirene?" She demanded.
"This is quite the change from yesterday. You're in the Shadow Court, in my personal bedroom." Sirene answered, smiling warmly. This however, did nothing to calm the insane woman.
"Your bedroom? You fuckin raped me?" The woman screamed, looking around for a weapon. Seeing none, she snapped the fingers of her right hand, and a knife appeared in it.
"So that's how you got it." Sirene whispered.
"Listen to me. Just fuckin listen to me." The woman said, panting as she considered her options.
"I'm listening. Let's start with a name, because I'm guessing it's not Julia." Sirene said, raising her hands and speaking calmly. This did nothing to calm the woman, unfortunately.
"Who the fuck told you that name?" She asked with a barely contained wrath.
"You did you lunatic!" Sirene shouted back. "You told me that was your name." This seemed to start to calm her down.
"Ah. Just... don't call me that. Never call me that." She said, relaxing slightly. "My name's Tanya. Tanya Torvaris. The fact you didn't kill me on sight tells me maybe there's hope for me yet. However. The Shadow Court? It's fucking real?"
Sirene tensed slightly at that name, but didn't say anything. The Butcher of Kunde. The Facestealer. Lots of unpleasant names for Tanya Torvaris, come to think of it. "Yes, the Shadow Court is quite real."
"News to me, always thought it was a myth. But I see that look on your face." Tanya said, laughing darkly. "Which name came to you first? Life-taker? The Shadow of Fozia? Dead-hand?"
"The Butcher of Kunde." Sirene admitted, sighing.
"Alright Hero, let's sit and I'll tell you a story. After I finish, if you think I still deserve to die, do it without hesitation. Do you understand?" Tanya stated, going to sit in a chair but never taking her eyes off Sirene.
"Fine. Let's hear your story." Sirene said, sitting opposite of Tanya.
"Actually, before I begin." Tanya said, narrowing her eyes. "Just how warded is the Curia against external magic?"
"It would take an act of a God to break in." Sirene said. This seemed to satisfy Tanya, and she began to speak.
"Thirty-five years ago I had the misfortune of being abducted by Baroness Leona Barclay. She was already a master at the magic that ensnared me for 35 years, a horrific application of creation magic." Tanya said, her voice shaking. "It's so insidious and complete that she saw no danger in instructing me how to use it on capture targets, so that she would not personally have to."
"Ensnared?" Sirene asked, her voice serious. This took her by surprise.
"Mindslave is the term we used. Leona would give us orders, and we had no choice but to obey, for our own minds didn't belong to us. Oh on the outside we looked very normal but once I got an order from Leona, that was my primary purpose. We couldn't even think about escaping. Our own minds would dismiss such a thought as unrequired, or even stupid. Over time, we stopped even thinking about it. I even began to-" Tanya paused. She looked up at Sirene, her eyes full of tears. "I enjoyed not having to think for myself! It made me excited! 'Mother can think for me' is a mantra I began to repeat to myself!"
Sirene didn't know what to say. Mind control magic was one of the few crimes in which she actually would kill someone on the spot, and her rage was starting to boil. But she had to know the full story. "So how did you end up in the forest like that?"
"I'm not sure, but I think I've become a liability. The latest man we captured, after he became ensnared in the magical circle of her mansion tried to kill me."
"Spell backfire?" Sirene asked.
"No." Tanya said, shaking her head. "I distinctly remember the words he said to me. 'Mother is displeased with you.' He was a slave, just like me. Whatever the reason, that murder attempt panicked me. I fled the mansion in an instant, not even looking back for a second."
"Tanya Torvaris, frightened?" Sirene asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Interesting, isn't it?" Tanya asked. "But the Butcher of Kunde isn't the real Tanya. That was a monster wearing my skin. I think, and this is just a theory, that triggering my desire to live is what broke the spell."
"This is far beyond me, I'll be honest." Sirene said, sighing. This was complex. Baroness Barclay had to die, but this was a formidable foe. How will she fight someone she didn't even know if she could defend against? What if she got ensnared in that magic the second she entered the mansion?
"Not surprised. Notice I'm still alive though." Tanya said, leaning back. "You really think I deserve to live?"
"That wasn't you, if what you told me is the truth." Sirene said. "But I can't just trust you."
"Good. I don't trust you either." Tanya answered back. "I'd like to fix that, but I only know one way how and I ain't doing that to anyone ever again."
For the moment, they both fell silent. Sirene was admittedly curious about the spell. It was tickling something in her brain, the idea of not having to worry about anything and just doing what you were told. It also concerned her, that she was actually entertaining the idea of being dominated so completely. Why did she feel this way?
Tanya stared at Sirene, completely unblinking. While she had said out loud she didn't want to do that to somebody ever again, words weren't actions. If she took Sirene Ignitis's mind and face of all people, she would be beyond reproach. Nobody would ever know it's her, and she'd be safe. But the rumours of Sirene being protected by the Gods themselves weren't completely unfounded, and so she discarded that thought. Enslaving Sirene instead however, was much more appealing. The Hero of Karand as her bodyguard, and she wouldn't even know she's doing it.
"Wait no." Tanya said out loud. "This is how Baroness Barclay talked herself into it, isn't it?"
"Something you want to share?"
"I was seriously considering casting it on you, just to keep myself safe." Tanya admitted, shaking her head.
"How about we bring in an observer and you do it anyway?" Sirene asked with a smile. She wanted to experience the magic first hand, and had just the someone in mind.
"Are you crazy?" Tanya asked. "Why would I undo it? I'd have the most powerful mage in Karand under my control, forever."
"You might change your mind when you see who the observer is." Sirene said, grinning as she stood up. "Master! A moment of your time please!" Sirene shouted.
Tanya yelped as Eigengrau appeared out of thin air between the two of them. She knew for certain that it was Lady Eigengrau, the Goddess of Death, which proved her earlier assessment of Sirene being protected by the Gods correct.
"Apprentice." Eigengrau stated, looking at Sirene. "You really let your curiosity get the better of you?"
"Tell me why the idea of getting my mind controlled is making me hot and bothered and I'll drop it." Sirene stated matter of factly.
Eigengrau chose to ignore Sirene's demand and instead turned to Tanya. She knew exactly who she was, and seeing her free of her mind prison after so many years pleased her.
"Sirene wants to get a look at the creepy magic Baroness Barclay taught me." Tanya said, giving Eigengrau absolutely no respect.
"I also want to know I'll be released, so I needed you here, Master." Sirene added.
Eigengrau did not show any reaction, but this was perfect. She would finally be able to hammer into Sirene's thick skull that she's just as susceptible to magic as any other human, and that she couldn't and shouldn't rely on Eigengrau to bail her out of sticky situations.
"I am listening." Eigengrau stated, showing no emotion on her face as usual.