Rhian

If you think Strauss had it bad at sea, be glad you weren't there to watch Sebastian Vonsinfonie reduced to a sad, sobbing sack in the corner of the cabin. Those Things don't eat, so it seemed his body was trying to throw up its stomach. Over and over. Violent-looking dry heaves between bouts of shivers and cold sweats. Look, it wasn't pretty.

On the bright side, Random Father said it was basically normal behaviour for Those Things. Nothing to worry about. Also, seeing as he couldn't be arsed putting up with the whining and the whimpering, he spent most of the trip upstairs on deck with the Nav. As for me? Sebastian said he didn't want me seeing him in such a sorry state, so I slept. A lot.

When it was time, the Nav parked the embark in a grotto, and the four of us worked our way up the shore. Once we hit the forest, it was another long walk until we reached the secret door to the secret lair, all covered up in sticks and vines as if that was fooling anybody.

"How is Palisade not so far up your arses right now?"

"We've been assaulted before, but not for a few years now," Random Father said. "The last time was a small Amali force and a handful of Strachan."

"Strachan and Amali, huh. How'd that turn out?"

"A few losses here and there, last ones standing on their side surrendered. Quiet ever since."

So, the only actual, reasonable answer as to why the lair hadn't been blown up yet by a boatload of snooty Celestian was because Kelly, Faust, and Hall had to be protecting it. Since finding out about their alliance, so many things were clicking into place. Why they always stood up for me at my trials. Why they always stood up for Strauss at his. Why Faust sent Michael to Amalia—not because he'd done something naughty I wasn't aware of, but because we needed his skills and whatnot.

We'd probably be dead if it weren't for all the head-lopping, let's face it.

All that to bloody say: high chance Kelly and Faust ordered an attack on the lair, told them to make the results believable and to bow out early, and to report back that everything was handily taken care of. It's what Kelly would do, and I know that on account of before she was Councilwoman, she was my favourite teacher.

Anyhow. By the time we stepped through the shitty secret door, Sebastian was still looking a bit queasy, but at least he didn't need me holding him upright anymore.

Not far behind the leaf door was a locked door. When we stepped through and into the common room, all those Partisans who were quietly going about their business rushed over and crowded around like a flock of hungry seagulls. I should know. I fed one once.

There were Partisans of all six races, and there were mixes of just about every kind, including a tall, skinny giant with pitch black hair—Endican and Celestian, I reckoned. They were all excited to see Random Father.

Meanwhile, Sebastian started to perk up around all the jubilation and whatnot.

"All right, everybody back the fuck off," Rhydian said.

Everybody scattered.

"Right, good," he continued. "Now, somebody go 'round and get the others."

While someone left to go 'round and get the others, the ones still there seemed to finally notice me and Sebastian. Reckon they all knew Random Father well enough not to bother asking questions yet. They stared. I stared. Sebastian adjusted his crumpled, crooked suit.

After a while, a few more people filed into the common room. In particular, a pretty lass with dull brown hair worked her way up to the front, looking tired and anxious. I caught a bit of a stink face from that one, then again, I hadn't bathed in a few days.

And then, a trio I recognized.

The rusty-haired Strachan—Bells. The burly, sensitive looking man with a magnificent, braided beard—Markus, as per Strauss's description and whatnot. And the Celestian with the crooked smile, Matteus bloody Rizik. I tossed him a two-finger salute when he looked my way, and he trapped the air between his hands and brought them together in a fist to his heart.

I rolled my eyes.

Then, Riz set his sights on Sebastian.

In case you've forgotten, Riz knew him as Vincent Delestade from that one time in Delphia.

He grinned, and Sebastian winked.

"First of all," Rhydian started, "this is my daughter, Rhian. This day forward, you're to think of her as an extension of me. What she says goes, and that's the way of things. You'll also be listening to Andrei Strauss from now on—"

"Andrei?" the mousy brown-haired lass asked. "Is he here?"

Riz, Markus, and about a dozen others looked around.

Rhydian shook his head. "Not this time."

"So, wait—what's going on?" someone, somewhere asked.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"You'll know what you need to know on a need to know basis," Rhydian replied. "Business as usual for now."

The crowd seemed fine with whatever.

"Second of all," Rhydian continued, "this is Sebastian Vonsinfonie."

Every eye in the audience was on him now. Reckoned he was used to that. Reckon he lived for that. The man straightened his posture and gave the adoring fans a little bow.

The adoring fans who either stood there stunned or started laughing.

Awkward.

"Sebastian Vonsinfonie," someone, somewhere said. "The Sebastian Vonsinfonie?"

"Yes," Sebastian answered. "The Sebastian Vonsinfonie. Not dead—never have been. Well, not for more than a few minutes, anyway. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances."

More stunned silence until everybody began talking at once. All the while, the lass with the mousy brown hair seemed to be trying to get Random Father's attention. He nudged me with his elbow and jerked his head toward the corridor on the other side of the room.

So, obviously, that's where we went, leaving Sebastian behind to deal with the crowd. At Random Father's urging, the brunette followed us into an office where Rhydian offered me the important chair.

The lass took a seat across the desk. Random Father hovered beside me.

"Maryse," Rhydian said. "Good seeing you."

"Yeah, but we have a problem."

Strauss told me all about Maryse. Some manner of hokey mind doctor who'd awkwardly come on to him, followed everybody on their trip to Amalia for some boring reason, and was supposedly captured by Palisade or lost at sea.

Didn't look captured or lost at sea to me.

"Did Andrei tell you what happened?" she asked.

We nodded.

"He could have killed me," she said.

Random Father had a sit on the armrest next to me. "Lad did what he had to under the circumstances, Maryse."

"The Amali bodyguard they were with didn't get so lucky."

Poor sap. If Faust were the one to have sent him, he might've been someone we could trust. More than that, he was one of us, and that was always sad as hell.

"All right," Rhydian said. "What's the problem, then?"

"We have a Palisade Navigator prisoner right now."

Aye, that was a problem.

"I manipulated her sense of direction against the compass until we'd arrived at the island," the Delphi continued. "Then I put her to sleep and dragged her here. We've been waiting for you, Rhydian, keeping her in a cage in the lab—did Andrei tell you about that, too?"

We nodded.

Maryse leaned back against the chair and crossed her arms. "Well, I don't know what kind of counter-telepathy methods they teach at Palisade, but it was too easy."

"Hasn't been the same since Vivienne Delaterre retired to Amalia to sell clothes," I said.

Maryse shrugged.

"Where's her head at?" I asked. "She pissed?"

"That's putting it lightly. I've been trying to sway her, but—"

"Right," Rhydian said. "That everything?"

"Yes, that's everything."

"Out you go, then," he finished.

But I wasn't finished, so I added, "Fetch Sebastian and Riz."

Pausing after standing, the Delphi asked, "That really is Sebastian Vonsinfonie?"

We nodded.

"Wow, okay—yeah." Another long pause afore she also nodded, spinning around to leave.

So, a Celestian prisoner. Good stuff. I looked to Random Father who rolled his eyes and shook his head.

It wasn't long afore there was a knock on the wall and a gruff, "Come in," from Rhydian.

Sebastian and Riz closed the curtain behind them, and Riz offered the chair to Sebastian.

"What a fantastic foundation you've built for yourself, Rhydian Sinclair," he said. "I'm incredibly impressed—more than I'd imagined I'd be."

Riz, standing behind Sebastian, pointed at his head a few times and mouthed, "Sebastian Vonsinfonie."

I smirked.

"So, we have a problem, Rhydian said.

"The prisoner?" Riz asked.

Right on the nose.

"A prisoner? My, my. What sort of prisoner?"

We caught Sebastian up to speed, who then nodded thoughtfully.

"We have three obvious options, but we'll go over them anyhow," Rhydian said.

"First is to kill her," I explained.

Random Father grunted. "Next, send her back and be ready for the consequences."

"Aye," I said. "And third is to keep her captive."

Sebastian held a finger up. "Where you see three, I see four options, my friends. And the fourth is simple. Say the word, and when you send her back to Palisade, I will see to it she doesn't remember any of this."

"Valid. You can't send her back with what she knows," Riz said. "Oranen, she—yeah, we're not ready for that storm. I grew up with this one, though. I think she's loyal, but so was I once."

The man had a point, and I told him so. There was a reason I wanted him there. "Fuck sending her back with what she knows. And we can't kill the lass for doing her job—we're not that."

Riz and Sebastian nodded. Random Father grunted.

"But we're not keeping her prisoner forever, either. That's just annoying for her and for us."

Option four was, to be perfectly bloody honest, the most humane and the least damaging. Nobody's dead, nobody's prisoner. See, if we sent her back with her memories, the lair would be wiped clean in a week flat, if we didn't all clear out first. But before option four, there was option five. I was a bit shocked they hadn't already tried it.

"We're gonna talk to her," I said. "Me and Riz. Riz mostly."

"Maryse already tried integrating her," Random Father needlessly reminded me.

"Aye, but we're not Maryse who, by the by, just finished melting her mind and kidnapping her. Also, Maryse grew up here, didn't she? She doesn't really know what it's like for us, does she? By the time we're done with her, if the pain in the arse still isn't seeing it our way, we'll have no choice but to proceed with option four."

Silence, so.

We talked to her. Riz, mostly.

She saw it our way.

Problem solved.

Probably.

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