"Lady Elua, I have a question."
The second servant’s voice ca from the nearby bench, low and careful. Spoken at a volu ant to not wake a sleeping little girl, even if the conversations around them were already much louder than her. Back straight and knees together, the surface of her lap had beco a headrest for Onya... until she folded herself more like a cat laying entirely across her forr nursemaid.
While El tended to rest in wild positions when fully comfortable, her sister was actually the opposite. She only sought out this configuration in her sleep because nodding off without her well used Ogre doll - packed away in the rucksack - left her seeking it instinctively and settling when it could not be grabbed for. At least if her hair was stroked the right way.
"Should the two of us take a different room in the car instead? I think she will want to rest for a long while more."
Too excited to close her eyes at all the night before, the wait had wholly undone that child’s phantom-energy. Her new white bag, filled with a few personal items from ho on top of everything bought for her recently, was propped on the other side of the bench where her feet wouldn’t kick it. Right beside where Elua and Klaytei stood chatting.
"I would rather have her in reach. Even if it ans you must intrude on my spouse and myself."
"Of course, I’m sorry for the suggestion."
The brunette’s gaze stayed on the sleeping child a mont past the answer.
"In fact, that is the whole of the reason why you are even coming, Aurehl. I will say it plainly in case my parents used simpler explanations. I love my sister past what so would call good sense."
"She looks up to you what so would call the sa."
"...Yes. However, I would also be lying to claim I cannot be pulled clean off of watching over her, as will be needed... by the simple fact of my Qat being in a room with ."
A faint heat that the servant woman did not bother to hide crossed her cheeks. She knew, quite intimately, what the Patriarch and Da of the house could be like and had thought of that as comparison. She had honestly been unsure about taking this trip as ordered, even if the Bloody Duelist whom she admired - far past platonic levels - would be coming to the sa territory quite soon to oversee work on her Guild.
Because while she had no lust toward Ondua er Goltbred himself (and therefore had no reason to be fired all these years), he was a very integral part of what made the beautiful reddish-blonde woman happy. Yet he would be too busy to visit for so ti to *make her happy*... and Aurehl’s complicated and unrequited feelings for her mistress were well and degenerate. Far past any intense monts of petty, *inferior* jealousy caused by so pure ideals on pedestals!
’She will be lonely... which ans I will be lonely...’
And even if her eldest daughter and that forr Yecine were apparently both won proper, as might have once been said to be the core of her taste? She still wasn’t really interested at all in secretly peeking in on any fun monts of theirs. Partly because she was sure there were no crawlspaces she could get away with it in the architecture in that region - but also because neither of them were Yatrel er Goltbred!
"I understand. Your sister will be taken care of."
"You might think you understand, but I am a hopeless case. Do not underestimate . She rely has to be nearby and a grand portion of my attention goes to her as if it is but water finding the natural low place. Onya deserves a guardian that exists for her day-to-day who is not subject to that... particular nature. That is you."
"I appreciate the task, Lady Goltbred."
Elua said this to her knowing full well that this mortal had a set of irredeemable qualities. But the fact of the matter was that her sister seed to be in good hands, outside of that ’unflaunted’ peeking problem. No matter what thoughts ran through the servant’s brain or feelings ran through anywhere else. Though the woman could have done a better job hiding back at the competition ground’s tents...
Frankly she simply didn’t want to think about it at all. Even knowing all about the hidden space that looked directly into her parent’s bedroom... and especially knowing her mother - a forr mber of a construction focused Guild - knew of it too. That had been a *very* short conversation that nonetheless threw *very* heavy chains around that particular talk’s mory.
Outside of resolving to check for cracks, crevices, and *heavy breathing rats* more often than she might ever have done in the past. El couldn’t let the peaceful era keep her from ’growing’ - there were always new things to decide were enemies to your happiness!
"The cultivation matters ahead with her will be mine to manage. While I am indisposed all other matters of her care are yours. And I believe that and so other things will require many adjustnts going forward from your usual work. So prepare your heart for that."
Aurehl inclined her head, not really *understanding* but also knowing so minimal detail from her talk with Yatrel. It was then that Elua turned the rest of the way toward the woman she had actually co early today to speak with. The serious command tone of voice faded, leaving a lighter and sweeter one behind.
"Which leaves us, Klaytei. You should prepare too."
"I am ready to help."
The suitcase the woman had brought along had made that quite obvious. It seed so heavily packed that the brunette had wanted to joke that she had stuffed her lover inside it against her will.
"No. I do not need a minder anymore."
"...Then that sounds a great deal like I am being dismissed."
"It is precisely the opposite. Your official duties are only changing shape. You stop being soone who follows about and beco soone I trust to inform , through ssage or any ans necessary... if a thing crosses your path that I would want to know."
Quickly enough, the novel reading enthusiast began to picture the archetype of the noble protagonist’s trusty aide. Who always seed to know everything and often seed to lead a variety of intelligence gathering organization, in secrecy.
’Sounds like a hassle...’
"My pay?"
"Keep your contract as a helper to the Goltbred house for now, when the house needs hands. Stay with Dima, stay with the Coiled Serpent, and stay close to the city your life is actually in."
"Sounds as though nothing much is changing other than that I will not get to serve you directly any longer."
Elua smiled at her before handing over a heavy token of goodwill. One of the triangular platinum pieces she made within the Exclave... while theorizing what could make a good high-end and coveted currency piece.
"Perhaps. But the subtle difference is that you beco soone *I* keep rather than my parents. Thank you for your service until now. I look forward to seeing what monts of great aide you will be to in the future."
Klaytei stared at the heavy ’coin’, tilting her hand and looking at the quite blue edges. Cobalt as an additive made the tal much simpler to cast, but also left a colored oxide that needed to be acid washed and/or polished off. Which she chose not to do on the thinnest parts for aesthetics. It also made the coin magnetic, which ant so rchants would be quite confused or uncertain if it was a cheap iron piece masquerading as platinum at first. Until they weighed it properly.
If one went even further in the examination, perhaps by using a jeweler’s loupe or in the right sort of sunlight, they would find a bit of iridescent tal sparkle caused by the presence of tiny osmium grains peppering the tal. A feature she included so that, even if smart tallurgists figured out the cobalt ratio, there would still be a solid maker’s mark that others should be fully unable to replicate for a long ti.
The fact that it quite literally made the coins incredibly toxic to try and lt down was a... pleasant side benefit. Osmium Tetroxide ford rapidly when the heated rare-tal was also exposed to oxygen, subliming into vapor and causing almost imdiate coughing and eye watering. As well as the awful feeling of sand scrubbing across your corneas.
Long exposure even risked severe lung damage and blindness. A potential situation that required her conscience - which is to say, Qat’s expected judgnt - to then stamp the Old Tongue phrase for ’do not lt’ on its surface. If anyone ignored that, it was their own fault! A feeling which Klaytei herself could recognize by the bold placent.
"How co this object is quite pretty but also incredibly sinister?"
"Do not worry about it."
"No, I believe I will. I feel like I am holding a piece of history that people will claim I had the opportunity to prevent before it overtook the world."
In a place outside of the knowable cosmos, a Divinity or two - currently being nosy - had brief monts of amusent that the mortal woman had never co to the sa conclusion... toward the baby she once thought ’a little odd’ being so quiet in her bassinet. That very heiress had no plans for world domination, but she also was quite amused.
"You have a very overactive imagination. Please do include those thoughts in any letters you send. Now, go on back to your day. You won’t be coming along with us."
Klaytei opened her mouth, but settled on a nod. Whatever argunts she could think of about already informing Dima that she would be gone for perhaps a month... faded away when she realized sothing. That she could just spend that month so other way. At least for today, it could be fun to sneak around and see how long it took for her to be caught spying on a beautiful cultivator.
’Since I think I am now being retained as a spy? I should train my skills. Yes. No other reason!’
"Am I interrupting the goodbye?"
Two folded twists of grease marked paper were held in one hand, containing sothing fried. Like a bouquet picked carefully... or perhaps trophies recovered from a difficult campaign. Qatrand had tried to get in line at one of the carts quietly, without making a big deal of it, but the owner had recognized her... and insisted she co to the front of the line.
Which saved no ti at all for anyone - because then all of the custors in the surroundings realized that a famous Hero was just shopping alongside them. Where they could be approached and bragged about to! A feature of her Heroism that often made her avoid going out much when back in this city.
"No, it was done with. She has her new task."
"Good. Yours has the special spiced filling like you wanted."
Only after she had pressed food into her swooning wife’s palm... and saw her taking a happy bite before her mood could sour, did the swordswoman’s attention sweep toward the bench. Onya still snored in a way that made the blonde smile. She had caught her napping more than once when she ca to check in on the Goltbreds and just to spend ti in the place that her wife ca from.
Of course, her mirth increased when the brunette leaned into her fra from the side, like a jealous pet. Even though what Qat was really thinking most about... was how her own wife had been laying perpendicular, with her back across the tall woman’s lap this morning when they woke. All good mories she felt worth bragging about much more than her martial deeds had been praised.
She ate half of her own fried bread while waiting then made El eat the other half. Piece by slow hand-feeding piece, devouring instead of the food... the attention of the cute woman - right up until the stationmaster called for last boarding. It was to be a many hours long trip and her stressed mintdrop needed the comfort of feeling cherished far more than she did.
’Not that this is so solo-entry competition where only one of us wins... we work as a team. Though I’m not sure who our opponents actually are?’
Qatrand gil Yecine didn’t care, regardless - and that fact caused a tiny bit of swooning from the Silver Divinity, taphysically grabbing an arm and smacking the back of her peeping-on-the-lower-planes partner while making high pitched happy noises. Partly because they both knew what was coming... thanks to one of their Astralisms and a rule to spoil the future only if it involved lots of Silver Elent to bless unions at.
Just like at two certain disciple’s Exclave wedding...
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