The summoning bells echo throughout the Heavens.
Hilde, Penny, and I freeze in place and look at the window. We were just about to start lunch and have our second session, but I think our focus has now shifted. Dashing over to the window, Hilde leans halfway out of it and hums in thought, presumably watching the draconids gather.
Wait.
I pause eating my sirloin. "If the Cathedral is demolished…"
Penny nibbles on an orange slice. Dracofae are omnivores. "They built a new one. And replaced the Seraphim."
"Aw, damn it. Already? So quickly?"
"That's a good thing, Crim-Crim."
"Yeah, yeah. Hilz, are you going?"
"No." She lingers at the window then jingles Scarlet's little bell before rejoining us at the table. "I got an exemption. I've far more important matters to see to, of course."
"Ah, yes, of course, Legend Hildegard." I give her a piece of my lemon peppered salmon. "Wonder what's happening down there. Another attack?"
"Judging by recent events," she says with her mouth full, then swallows and concludes, "that's damn near certain. And I suspect they'll be dispatching my task force again for another potential capture."
"Another?" I snicker. "I'm not certain my experience qualifies as being captured."
"Hush, you. Results mean funding." She snickers too, taking the seat to my left and eyeing the rest of the salmon. "So, what's next, Pens? How can I help?"
"You can't," she states while writing.
"Ah. Well then. I'll just observe."
"Fine." Penny swipes a line across the page, eats another orange slice, and turns her attention to me. "Are you still Wretched?"
I blink twice. "No?"
"Are you certain of that?"
"Um. Yes. I'm certain."
"Noted." She writes a brief note. "Do you suspect you may still be beguiled? By that, I mean… Are you in full control of your own faculties? Or do you think her influence is continuing to affect your decisions, behaviors, thoughts, so on?"
"Yes and no. I have some lingering effects. It seems to be sporadic."
"Explain that. What and when?"
"Oh. Um. Well, Hilde mentioned an invasion being planned, and I… Um. I jumped out the window. In attempts to escape here and inform the Fell. Also, I may be a little… inclined. Towards her defense. Excusing her crimes. Sympathizing…"
"That's nothing unique to being Wretched. They're all very standard behaviors to be expected from a victim of manipulation, which leads me to believe that these lingering effects are nothing more than psychological cognitive distortions. That is to say, they're non-magical in nature. And that means…" She swipes another line and lifts her head to look me in the eyes. "You are indeed cured of the Wretched Overgrowth's control."
I hesitate to ask, "And?"
"Yeah, what? Sorry, Pens."
"And," she sighs and starts writing some more, "Crim-Crim is not in need of magical intervention, she is not at any risk of reversion, and she is totally freed from the Fell's magical control. Therefore, according to your predefined diagnostic parameters, Hilly, she is cleared to be discharged from this facility and transferred to the less intensive secondary treatment program for parole-based reintegration into draconid society. As the rehabilitation department's head of diagnostics and therapies, I'm declaring that immediately effective. Please, sign here, Legend Hildegard."
"Wait, slow down. What?" Hilde stares at the official looking document. "So… So quickly? She just got here a week ago."
"It's very likely she was clear to be discharged all along. You designed this facility to be transient–to confirm or deny whether a rescued draconid is or is not still Wretched, and to ease their acute symptoms from such a drastic change. Crim-Crim is not Wretched. Her acute symptoms have passed. All that's left is cognitive. She needs to be reintroduced to society, gradually and carefully, with frequent therapeutic treatments in the form of directed conversation. Keeping here isolated here is actually detrimental. You'd only be artificially impeding her recovery."
"Hells." Hilde glances at me, expression laced with concern. "Do you… Do you feel the same? Do you think you're ready? You'd need a host or sponsor to look after you. I'd do that for you, but… I don't want you to feel like you're being rushed out the door. I mean, we just got your room set up. And I feel like you've only recently managed to settle in."
I want out. "Um. Maybe. It would be nice to fly again. I do like your place a lot. I think I'd feel safer there than here. Not that I feel unsafe, it's just… Not a home, you know? And we could move all this stuff over to a room in your castle. That'd be nice, right?"
"It would, and you're absolutely welcome. Is that what you'd like to do?"
"Mmm. I think… It's already late afternoon and I don't want to move things around right now. Maybe tomorrow morning? It wouldn't be as much of a rush that way."
"Right. Okay. We can do that." Hilde smiles bright. *We can do that. Tomorrow morning. Sure. That gives me some time to get things prepared. Certainly not to tidy up. My castle is perfectly tidy at all times, of course."
"Oh, of course, Legend Hildegard!" I snicker, smiling too. Okay, I am a little excited. It'll be nice to live with her. I've stayed over plenty, even for weeks at a time, but never like this. "I'm looking forward to it, Hilz… Really…"
"So am I. It'll be fun. Just you and me."
There's a brief flicker in her eye. I know that look. It catches my breath and makes my heart skip a beat. Fixing my hair and slightly shrugging my robe off my shoulder by just a touch, I look away and pretend I don't know what I'm doing as she stares a hole through me.
Hells. She still wants me. That's a relief…
Oblivious, Penny rolls up her scrolls and taps a claw on the document in front of Hilde. Once my discharge papers are signed, Penny seals them with red wax and stows them in her bag. With a cute yawn, she relaxes a significant amount now that business is handled.
"I'm sleepy…"
Hilde titters, "We just took a nap before lunch."
"What about second nap?"
"Oh, what the Hells? Why not? Crimz?"
"So long as we get to squish Penny between us–"
Knock knock knock!
There's a triplet of sharp hits on my cell door and some draconid I've never seen before hurriedly tosses it open. Looking more than a little winded, the gray-white arcane amphithere man gasps for breath before straightening up.
"We caught one, Hildegard! A waspwing tranquil dracofae! She goes by the name of Graves!"
I know that name. Why do I know that name?
It hits me a moment later. I know who that is.
Graves is one of Umbra's personal bodyguards.
And one of my Goddess's most elite assassins.