Fialla went quiet as Magdalene began yelling. To Sheilah, Magdalene was a mother, but to Fialla, she wasn’t. However, just because Magdalene was not her mother didn’t mean she warranted disrespect, more, she was teaching the both of them, Fialla included, how to live and act in Stormheim society.
So Fialla was a polite guest, followed Sheilah’s lead, and tried to stay out from underfoot.
Fialla wasn’t certain about whether or not she wanted to live in Stormheim society, but as long as Sheilah did, so did she.
Magdalene was angry, but Fialla couldn’t understand why. Toril had come and taken them on their excursion- shouldn’t he have conferred with Magdalene? Or, if not, shouldn’t have Magdalene directed her questions towards Toril?
Just as Fialla reached that conclusion, Sheilah replied with just that. That just seemed to incense Magdalene even further.
Fialla watched Sheilah’s eyes glaze over, which elicited a very tiny smile from Fialla; she too had stared off into space while her mother yelled.
She watched Sheilah adopt an expression of concentration, brows drawing together, lips pursing. Her eyes started moving back and forth, and then, suddenly, there was the thin ring of molten gold- was Sheilah going to use Supremacy on Magdalene?
“Well? Do you have anything to say for yourself?” Magdalene finally demanded.
Sheilah blinked, seemingly coming back to herself. Her look of concentration cleared.
“Right. First, let’s have her head.” She pointed at Andrea and drew her knife.
Magdalene goggled, Andrea yelped, and Fialla stood up.
“Sheilah, I don’t understand.”
Sheilah looked to Fialla, confused.
“Didn’t we already have this conversation?” She asked, puzzled.
“Trust me when I say that I don’t understand this sudden need to take her head.” Fialla replied, concerned.
“...Oh.” Sheilah paused for a moment, and then her eyes refocused, and her gaze shifted to Magdalene.
“Your problem is with father, not me.” She stated firmly. “You two apparently need to work on your communication skills as to who gets the right to make decisions about my education.” She paused. “Also, you have forgotten two things that you need to remember very quickly:” She straightened almost imperceptibly.
“I told you the very first day we met, right? I am an adult. Your anger is misdirected, and your attitude inappropriate.” She paused, shook her head a little, as if she was arguing with herself.
“Second, I agreed to come to Stormheim on my initiative. Whatever arrangements between Davian and my father have been fulfilled; I am free to leave at any time.”
Magdalene grew pale at this, and Fialla was worried. What would be the best path of escape? Would they have to fight their way out? How much would they need to take? She was suddenly conscious of her bow, quiver, and her spear, and began mentally plotting how quickly she could get to them.
Outwardly however, Fialla simply replied, “I still don’t understand what this has to do with Andrea’s head, sister.”
“...Oh.” Sheilah stopped again. “I requested tea. She didn’t bring it. She’s supposed to work for me, but it seems as though her allegiances lay elsewhere.” She looked to Magdalene. “You did say she worked for you and your family, right?” She nodded to herself. “It’s been impressed on me that I need people that will want to work for me. As a person of authority, it falls to me to punish disobedience. Disobedience to a member of the royal family is treason. Treason is a capital offense. A capital crime is punishable by death.” This all came out in a disjointed, rambling mess. “So, before anything else, including arguments with family, justice.”
“Stop!” Magdalene yelled, even as Andrea sank to her knees. “That’s not justice, that’s tyranny!” Magdalene shouted, and Sheilah blushed and licked her lips. “Yeah.”
Fialla pushed Sheilah back a step. “I don’t think that you’re thinking clearly.”
“No, I don’t think I am.” Sheilah agreed. “I thought for sure I was dreaming just a moment ago.”
Fialla gave Sheilah a baffled look. What was that supposed to mean?
“I- I think it’s best you lay down for a bit, Sheilah.” Magdalene interjected. “Or at least take a bath.”
“A bath would be nice.” Fialla agreed, and pushed Sheilah towards the study door.
*****
“You’re not being very helpful, sister.” Fialla complained as she struggled to get Sheilah undressed. Sheilah was, for some reason, preoccupied with something, and that made her difficult to work with. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Sorry. Things are weird inside me right now.” Sheilah replied indifferently.
“You’re definitely weird right now.” Fialla agreed. “What was that you said about dreaming?” she asked, once again trying to get Sheilah’s arm out of her sleeve.
“I didn’t.” Sheilah replied, suddenly slipping out of her dress and pulling it over her head. “- I feel weird, sister.”
“Maybe, but a hot bath should at least help you relax.” Fialla suggested.
“That does sound good.” Sheilah agreed distantly, and then fell on her face in the doorway that led from the dressing room into the bath.
Fialla eyed Sheilah and sighed. She slipped out of her own dress and blew a little fire into the brick stove that the bathtub was over. It was a neat trick that Sheilah had taught her, being able to tap into the powers of the dragonlings and whelplings she’d eaten, instead of relying on the encompassing power of the dragon.
Once the bath had grown warm, she picked Sheilah up, and half-dragged her into the large tub, only once slipping and dunking Sheilah headfirst into the water.
“You’re a real hassle sometimes, you know that?” Fialla asked the sleeping Sheilah. After Fialla had soaked in the water a bit, she went and washed herself off, and then tended to Sheilah, who could not be roused.
Fialla took a grim breath, and dragged Sheilah from the bath, through the dressing room, and into the bedroom. She knew she wouldn’t be able to get Sheilah into the massive bed, so she dragged the human girl onto the mounded pile of Mist Prowler pelts, and covered her up. She went back into the dressing room, dried herself off, and redressed.
After taking a few moments to psych herself up, she went in search of Magdalene. She didn’t normally interact with the older woman without Sheilah, so she felt uneasy and awkward.
She came into the study, and eyed Magdalene and Andrea, who had been in mid-conversation when she entered.
“Sheilah’s sleeping.” Fialla reported, and briefly glancing at Andrea, she looked to Magdalene.
“Who should I ask- speak to-” she corrected herself, “for food?” She asked cautiously.
Magdalene let out a heavy sigh. “Andrea.” She asked, and waved her hand.
“Right away.” Andrea replied, and hurried out of the study.
“I never thought she’d say-” Magdalene began, but shook her head.
“So Andrea works for you, then?” Fialla asked.
“That’s right.” Magdalene admitted, leaning back in her seat and closing her eyes. “Andrea’s trustworthy. There are a lot of important noble families in Stormheim, and plenty of them would love to work for Sheilah, but so many of them have their own agendas that it’s impossible to trust them.” She paused. “I wanted her to help me learn about Sheilah. Her likes and dislikes, her strengths and weaknesses. I only get to act like a mother with her for two more years. Once she’s sixteen, she’s a Princess and I’m a Queen. I missed out on fourteen years of her life.” Magdalene explained simply.
“I could tell you about her.” Fialla replied. “We grew up together in the Redstone. It’s a land that kills the unwary.” She explained. “I come from a very big family. I have seven brothers and sisters.” She paused. “It’s hard for my parents to keep an eye on all their children. I stuck with Sheilah ... ever since I can remember. We learned to survive together.”
Fialla thought back to all the things she shared with Sheilah. “She’s very stubborn. And impulsive. She’s indifferent to a lot of things, but... the things she cares about, she cares very deeply for them.” Fialla barked a laugh. “She can be a real bitch sometimes.”
Magdalene chuckled a little.
“My father- He was able to teach me- tell me what it was like to be a Wildling elf- a slave under the Dark Elves. Even though my mother’s human, it was Sheilah that taught me about my human half.”
Magdalene lifted her head and stared at Fialla. “You’re human? A slave? What?”
Fialla gave Magdalene a flat look. “My father is a Wild Elf. My mother is a woman of the Redstone, a human.” She paused. “The Wild Elves were slaves under the others- the Dark and High Elves. Davian freed the Wildlings from them and led us from... wherever it was we were at, to the Redstone.” She looked down at her hands. “He promised to keep us safe from the Dark Elves. All we had to do in return was work just as hard as they did to survive.” Fialla gave her a wry smile. “It’s only natural that half-elf children would be born from that sort of arrangement, don’t you think?”
Magdalene nodded.
“But we were talking about Sheilah. Losing Caidi broke her. I think she’s still a little broken.” She paused. “There’s also the Dragon.”
“The dragon.” Magdalene repeated.
Fialla nodded. “Sheilah should be the one to tell you about that. But what I can tell you is that being part of the Dragon Clan changes you. All the clans work together, of course, but the Dragon Clan rules over them all.”
Fialla ticked things off her fingers. “She’s stubborn. She’s impulsive. She can be a bitch. She cares very deeply for some things. She’s a little broken. She ... has the heart of a dragon.”
“Dragon dragon, dragon.” Magdalene complained. “You keep talking about it like I should understand.”
“Sheilah would probably explain it to you if Andrea were not around. It’s a sacred thing. Personal. It shouldn’t be talked about with outsiders.”
Magdalene thought for a while. “So to you, I’m an outsider.”
Fialla nodded. “You’re not my mother, my lover, or my family. I don’t have any obligation to tell you anything.”
“And yet we’re having a conversation.” Magdalene observed drily.
“There’s nothing lost by being polite and respectful.” Fialla shot back. “Oh. Sheilah’s oblivious to things, sometimes.”
Magdalene gave her a baffled look.
Fialla frowned. “Andrea is coming back this way, so I’ll be brief: Our clan is large, but spread out. There are gatherings sometimes to meet people, if you catch my meaning.”
“To find husbands, wives.” Magdalene guessed.
Fialla nodded. “Sheilah completely missed the point, and only went to compete in the games.”
Magdalene burst into laughter at that. “I- we have similar things. I did the same.” She leaned forward.
“How do you-” She cut herself off as Fialla turned towards the door.
Andrea stepped inside. “A meal has been prepared for you two.”
Fialla nodded and got up to leave. Magdalene grimaced, but got up to go to the dining hall, herself.