A Letter

It had been nearly a year since the assassination, but Rebecca was still surprised to see a letter arrive from her, from Sirene no less. She was less surprised to see it written in Old Rozen. This must be important, she thought to herself.

"Thank you courier." Rebecca said to the man who had delivered it. "I'll triple your fee if you tell me where she mailed it from."

"Duchess I'll tell you that for free." He replied. "Stonekeep, she's seized control of the half-demolished Castle and won't leave."

"Oh she's a fun one." Rebecca stated, a knowing smirk on her face. "You may leave, Mister O'Malley will pay you."

Heather and Hamlin entered the library as the courier left, and Rebecca beckoned them over, waving the letter in her hand. Joining Rebecca at the table, Hamlin spoke first.

"So who's it from?" He asked.

"Sirene Ignitis. She's written it in Old Rozen, no less." Rebecca answered, flipping the letter around to show Hamlin and Heather. "Either it's important or she's showing off."

"With her? Could be either." Heather offered, pulling his pipe out of his smoking jacket. Striking a match against the table, much to Rebecca's annoyance, Heather lit his pipe and took a few puffs from it before continuing. "Suppose it is important. Then what?"

"Then the Hero and the Villain will work together once more." Rebecca replied smoothly, turning the letter back around. "This grammar is awful." Rebecca continued, making a face.

"It's not like she had a formal education." Hamlin pointed out. "However, she might be doing it to-"

"Annoy me. What else?" Rebecca finished with a sigh.

Rebecca tapped her foot against the floor as she read the letter. It rambled quite a lot and reminded her a bit of a certain Goddess she once met, but kept that thought to herself. The claims were astonishing though, and merited immediate investigation. What intrigued her though was the strict instructions that no rusalki may ever enter the place she was going to show her.

"Hamlin." Rebecca stated as she continued to read.

"Yes Duchess?" He asked, his hands still folded on his lap.

"Have you ever heard of the... blast it is this the actual place name?" Rebecca continued, confused. "I suppose it is. The... Shadow Court?"

"The Umbra Curia? Of course. I spent thousands of years trying to find it." Hamlin responded, his face stern.

"Sirene claims I've inherited it. Or rather, the Ashen Empire has." Rebecca said, looking up.

"It's real?" Hamlin asked, raising his eyebrows. This was quite unexpected. He never did find it, and eventually wrote it off one of many myths from the lost Republic.

"What is it?" Heather asked, leaning forward.

"Hrm." Rebecca said, looking down at the letter again. "Sorry to say but it says here rusalki specifically are banned from it. Some sort of spell even older than Sirene. However, what it is is quite something. History books described it as a Shadow Government of sorts, a cult, a lost library, everything you can imagine. But its location is never mentioned except in passing, saying it was under a large city inside the Rozen Republica, but the city name always seems to be missing from every text."

"Do I detect the not so subtle hand of Sirene in this?" Hamlin pondered, smirking. "She's had over a thousand years to bury that information."

"So who's going with you? Obviously I can't." Heather asked, changing the subject as he inspected the inside of his pipe. He made a face as he checked his jacket pocket and discovered he was out of tobacco. "Blast."

"Heather if you don't stop lighting matches using my furniture I'm going to chop your hands off." Rebecca said sternly before Heather could even say anything else. "As for who I'm bringing, a few weeks ago I would have said Victoria, but... well..."

Rebecca, Hamlin, and Heather all sat quietly for a moment. It brought Rebecca no joy to have executed Victoria for her crimes, but leniency for your friends is the path to chaos was Rebecca's position.

"What about Miss Catherine?" Hamlin asked.

"I promised Kate I'd never ask for anything else ever again, Hamlin." Rebecca said, shaking her head. "You know, I have half a mind to just go by myself."

"Why don't you?" Heather asked, raising his eyebrow. "This is clearly a private matter."

"You know, that might be for the best. If I leave the rest of you at the manor, we can say I caught some illness and will be resting for a few days." Rebecca said, forming a plan in her mind. "Hamlin get my travelling gear, I'll be solo for the first time in over a century."

"Of course, Rebecca. You're leaving tonight?" Hamlin asked. Rebecca answered with a nod.

---

Sirene continued to wander the destroyed castle in awe of the destruction Rebecca caused last year. She wasn't aware there was a mortal mage on all of Karand that was this powerful, and it pleased her. The plants had continued to grow out of control long after Rebecca had left, and the castle looked like it had been abandoned for hundreds of years because of it. A sudden crash signified another section of it collapsing under the sheer brutality of the plants.

"So this is the wrath of the divine creation mage." Sirene said with a whistle as she observed a marble statue crushed into dust by vines. "Damn Becky you're a real piece of work. You're definitely the right person to inherit it. Maybe it'll do better the second time around, huh?"

Eigengrau arrived silently to join Sirene in the castle, and while her face was as emotionless as ever, her tone was very slightly animated for a change.

"You are sure?" Eigengrau asked, crossing her arms and staring at Sirene. "The Ashen Empress?"

"Who better to inherit the final legacy of the Republic?" Sirene asked in a mischievous voice, the grin on her face a mile wide. "It's been hundreds of years since anyone besides me has walked the halls of the Curia. The ancient automatons stand ready and waiting for orders."

"It was you who contributed to its collapse, Apprentice." Eigengrau pointed out. "I wonder, will you ever be truly free of Tanya Torvaris?"

Sirene inhaled slightly. That was a name she hadn't heard in a very long time. But her Master was right, even now hundreds of years later she still finds her thoughts wandering to Tanya, from time to time. Eigengrau had assured her Enrapture was dispelled all those years ago, so then why did she still think of that tragic woman some nights with a wistful sigh?

"Master..." Sirene started in a gentle tone.

"There is something waiting for you inside the Court." Eigengrau stated, moving along.

"What do you mean?"

"Tanya left you a final gift inside the Curia. Inside Natsuki's chambers. She put it there with your help and broke one of her own rules to do so. She commanded you to forget."

Sirene wasn't sure what to think. She knew Eigengrau was a liar, but for a change she was hard to read. Natsuki was definitely her favourite Archmage of the Curia over the years, and there was a reason she never revealed where his private library was located and left it untouched. She hadn't been to the Curia in over four hundred years, she supposed.

"I will return later, Apprentice. Rebecca will be here in less than an hour and I do not want her to sense me." Eigengrau continued, turning to leave.

"Wait." Sirene said, and Eigengrau stopped. "Did... did Tanya love me?"

"You know the answer to that already, and have for a thousand years. Good tidings, Miss Ignitis." Eigengrau finished, resuming her walk.

Sirene sighed. She knew she wouldn't get a straight answer from Eigengrau. But then, in a way it was an answer. Thoughts for another time.