Bane Twenty-One - Wrongness

Valeria frowned. There was something wrong.

She was in the library, in the little nook she had with her friends. Across from her, Felix and Esme were sitting on one of the bigger, more plush couches. Esme was laying back, her head resting on Felix’s lap and her legs splayed out over the back of the couch in a pose that would probably lead her to complaining about her back later.

Felix was smiling to herself as she ran a hand through Esme’s hair, the other was holding onto a book.

They weren’t the source of the wrongness.

Valeria stood up carefully, and Felix glanced up. “Just need the washroom,” she said.

Felix nodded and went back to reading and Esme was so wrapped up in her own book that she barely fidgeted.

A few possibilities flitted past Valeria’s mind. Maybe there was another god visiting? That would be nice. Or maybe someone was invading the Land of Monsters? That actually sounded really exciting, but she didn’t think that was the case.

No, the problem was different. She walked through the library, then found a quiet spot to close her eyes and focus. There was something roiling within her core.

It wasn’t cramps or anything like that, it was a lot more magical in nature. The Dark magic she’d been cultivating and using for so long was twisting within her in a way she’d never felt before, and she wasn’t sure what it could mean.

A bit more focus, and she realized that the shift wasn’t coming from within. It wouldn’t have made sense for it to come from her, she didn’t feel anything particularly strong at the moment. Maybe a tiny bit of hunger? No, that wasn’t nearly a strong enough emotion to inspire what she felt.

So the change had to come from without.

Humming to herself, she continued through the library. She noticed that she wasn’t the only one who’d felt something weird. The librarian monsters were pausing in their work and glancing around. Not nervously, but... perhaps wary. Milpiés the centipede librarian was hovering over a stack of books and swaying lightly.

She’d never seen the librarian do that.

Intentions set, Valeria headed out of the library. There were very few things that could affect monsters that way, and few people who could explain why they were acting the way they were. Mom happened to be able to do both, so she determined to find her.

It turned out to be rather easy, though she didn’t find her mom in her usual state.

The Goddess of Darkness was sitting in the living space adjoining her bedroom, and while her dress was neat and she was immaculate, Valeria still had the impression that her mom was somehow entirely dishevelled. “Mom?” she asked.

Luciana blinked. “Oh. Hello Valeria,” she said. The goddess smoothed down her skirt and settled herself. The strangeness to the air faded, and suddenly Valeria was caught flatfooted by the lack of strangeness to the castle’s magic. “Can I help you?”

“Uh,” Valeria said. Now that magic wasn’t feeling weird, she didn’t know why she was up there. “I guess? Just wanted to see how you were doing?”

“I’m well,” her mom said.

Valeria’s eyes narrowed. “Are you sure?”

“As certain as I was a mere second ago, yes.”

Valeria looked around the room. There was nothing out of place except... a book, on the floor. She walked over and picked it up. It was strange for there to be any misplaced book in their castle (except maybe in her own bedroom, but that was normal). The book was older, one of those without a drawn cover. “The Bookkeeper and the Dragon?” she read.

Luciana sat up in her seat. “It was written by Semper... oh, a long time ago. She had a small writing hobby that she picked up for a time. She was naturally quite gifted, but I think the time costs eventually interfered with her duties and she abandoned the hobby.”

“Huh,” Valeria said. She noticed a slot perfect for the book on one of the sitting room’s shelves and slid it into place. “So, what’s it about?”

“A young bookseller who falls in love with a terrifically powerful dragon,” Luciana said. She sighed. “It’s a romance.”

“You don’t like it?” Valeria asked.

Her mom squirmed. “I did. I do. The story... features a dragon who is quite stupid.”

“Okay?”

“Terribly, terribly foolish. It loves the bookseller, but the bookseller is... beneath it. Even as the bookseller grows in power and prestige, and even as they spend time together, share in loved hobbies, and tend to each other in times of distress, the dragon never sees that bookseller as someone she can love.”

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“But she does anyway?” Valeria asked. “Does the book end well?”

“Oh? Yes, actually, it does. They discover a way for the bookseller to become a dragon, albeit a smaller, weaker one, and in doing so they are on more equal footing and their love blossoms. Happy ending, marriage, all that wonderful stuff.”

“Mom, are you okay-okay?” Valeria asked. She crossed the room, then carefully squeezed herself into the same seat as her mom. Her mom was alway so much colder than Valeria, so she wrapped an arm around the taller woman’s back, even if it was a little uncomfortable for both. The proximity made up for it.

Luciana pulled Valeria closer to her side, returning the hug. “Yes Valeria, I promise that I’m well.”

Valeria snuggled closer. Her mom wasn’t great at hugging, so she would do what she could to encourage it when she was in that kind of mood. “So, what’s wrong? Can I do anything to help?”

“I... realised that I might have had a small lapse in my perceptive abilities,” her mom said.

“Uh, okay?”

Luciana nodded. “Yes... On an unrelated topic. That dragon, what would you do if you were in its place?”

“Uh,” Valeria said. “I don’t know. I guess the right answer is to confess or something?”

“I suppose. And if you, as the dragon, realised that the bookseller actually loved you in return and has been merely waiting for you to realise it?”

Valeria blinked. This was a strange conversation. “Then... what’s the problem, exactly?”

“Pardon?”

“The dragon loves the bookseller, and the bookseller loves the dragon back. What’s the problem?”

Her mom blinked. “Hmm, what is the problem... well, I suppose the dragon’s pride might well be injured.”

“By its own stupidity?” Valeria asked.

Her mom’s lips puckered up in an expression that was very close to being a pout. “Valeria, dear, go play with your friends.”

“Um?”

“Oh, don’t worry about me, I’m quite fine. I... merely need to go discuss something with Semper.” Her mom stood, lifting Valeria up as she did only to carefully set her down feet-first next to her seat. Then, after a few tugs to ensure that her dress was on correctly, she strode out of the room.

Veleria was left standing in her mom’s waiting room, utterly confused. She looked around, then with a shrug, crossed the room and plucked the book off the shelf. With the book tucked away, she returned to the library--with a quick stop at a washroom along the way, to ensure that she wasn’t a liar.

When she found her friends, they’d hardly moved at all, though Esme’s limbs were even more tangled than before. “Esme, I need your help,” Valeria said.

“Huh?” her bookish friend asked.

“I think this book has some sort of hidden message in it, and I bet you’ll spot it before I do,” Valeria said. She handed the book over to Esme who blinked, then flipped it open.

“What’s it about?” Felix asked. “And how do you know it has a secret message?”

Valeria explained what had just happened and what her mom had told her about the book’s story.

Felix nodded. “I get it,” she said.

“You do?” Valeria said.

“Yup.”

“Well, what is it then?” Esme asked.

Felix grinned. “I’m not telling you. Figure it out yourself.”

“Felix! Come on!” Valeria said.

“I bet she doesn’t even know,” Esme said.

Felix laughed. “I do! Promise! But I won’t tell.”

“What if I get snacks for you?” Valeria asked.

“Oh, maybe if you wait on me hand and foot for a month, then I’ll consider telling you,” Felix said.

Valeria crossed her arms and considered tickle-torturing the answers out of her friend. The problem with that was it only made Felix more powerful.

Then the magic in the castle shifted again, and even her friends noticed this time. The Disgust in the air, always present and carefully worming its way through the Dark Goddess’ home, shifted to Surprise, then Joy, then a bunch of different conflicting emotions before settling back down all at once.

“Now what’s happening?” Valeria muttered.

This day was getting stranger and stranger.

***