It took Atworth some time to understand what was happening. When they and Riven returned to Rampart City, they were surprised to discover that Riven allowed the two to separate, allowing Atworth to check on their animals while she returned to her apartment. It seemed like the perfect opportunity. Atworth could go straight to the castle and tell Andra about Riven’s plans. And yet they didn’t. Because that would hurt Riven. After the encounter with Bessen at the stable, Atworth had gone straight to Riven and told her about the group of rebels. Because that helped Riven.

At that point, they worked out the nature of Riven’s spell. Whenever an action occurred to them, it was filtered through two questions. “Will this hurt Riven?” and “Will this help Riven?” If the answer to the first was yes, the action would not be taken. If the answer to the first was no and the answer to the second was yes, the action would be taken, regardless of what Atworth actually wanted. It was only if the answer to both questions was no that Atworth was free to decide for themselves. This meant that Atworth’s thinking was somewhat sluggish, and they found themselves hesitating constantly.

Melissa seemed to notice Atworth’s odd behavior and kept softly nuzzling their hand as they and Riven—back in her all-black clothing and dramatic makeup and wearing a fresh pair of glasses—followed Bessen to the shack that served as the rebels’ meeting place.

As soon as they entered the shack, they were met with the stares of the gathered rebels. However, it wasn’t Atworth that they were staring at. It wasn’t even Melissa. Instead, it was Riven.

“Oh! Hey, Emily,” Riven said to one woman. “Remember me? Riven? We met at Temple Station.”

She turned her attention to a tiny fairy standing on the table. “And Bookworm! I heard about the academy. I’m glad you made it out alright.” She pointed to a cloaked man. “Aren’t you that incubus I met at the Roolian monastery?” Then a green-skinned woman. “And you’re the rafflesia I met in the woods.” Then a woman wearing labrobes. “And you tried to kidnap me.” Finally, she turned her attention to the final man. “And you tried to kill me. Wow, I know everyone here.”

Though not on the best terms, Atworth observed. They weren’t sure how Riven could be so comfortable around people who had tried to kidnap or kill her.

“You broke into my house,” said the accused kidnapper.

“Oh, great,” said the attempted murderer, “I’m supposed to work with three people I’ve tried to kill? That’s not uncomfortable at all.”

Riven shrugged. “It’s all in the past. We’re all on the same side now, so we can forget about who tried to kidnap or kill who. Or who tried to flirt with who.”

Introductions were made and the rebels explained their plot and its current obstacles to Riven. Atworth paid little attention, instead anxiously brooding over whatever Riven was planning to do with this group. They desperately wanted to send them some sort of warning, but any time a possibility occurred to them, it was immediately put out of their mind so thoroughly that they were never certain whether or not any new idea was one they had already considered. This inability to grasp any idea for a length of time left Atworth in a daze.

“The zombies should be enough to keep the soldiers occupied,” Darren explained, “and I could easily shift a wall to get us inside the castle, but attacking openly like that will mean facing the castle’s mages. I wouldn’t stand a chance against them.”

Riven nodded. “And shifting the wall is too noisy to sneak in, so we’d be facing them head-on with just one mage.”

“Well, two,” Darren corrected. “You’re a mage, too, aren’t you?”

Riven sucked in a breath through her teeth. “Yeah, I’m technically a mage, but the thing is I can’t actually use magic right now.”

Antimony frowned. “Why not? You were able to use it just fine before.”

“I’m currently holding up two enchantments on living people,” Riven explained. “I can’t build up enough energy to light a candle.”

Darren’s eyes widened. “You can sustain two enchantments on living things? That’s impressive.”

Emily cocked her head. “I know what one of these enchantments is, but what’s the other?”

“It’s nothing important,” Riven said casually. Then hastily added, “Well, it’s important enough that I can’t release it, but it’s not particularly relevant to anything you’re doing here.”

Antimony glared at Riven suspiciously. “What is it, Riven?”

Atworth became giddy with excitement that they couldn’t quite display. Riven’s treachery was about to be revealed right now. The rebels would force her to remove the enchantment, Atworth would be free, and Riven’s plans would be stopped before anyone was hurt. And best of all, there was nothing they could do to stop it. Unless…

...as soon as the idea occurred to Atworth, their heart sank and they reluctantly spoke up.

“It’s a charm spell, to keep me from betraying her.”

A gasp ran through the room. Riven gave Atworth a terrified look.

“How could you do that to Atworth?” Bessen said.

“And you all act like I’m a monster,” Darren muttered.

“I thought you preferred to be the bottom,” the incubus commented.

“To be more specific, I should say that it keeps me from betraying all of you,” Atworth continued. “When Bessen invited me to join you, I had planned to march straight to the castle and tell Lady von Ekko about your plot. Fortunately Riven encountered me first. I told her what had happened, thinking she would be sympathetic. However, she believes in your cause, and so she reacted with the first solution that came to mind for her, a charm spell. If she were to remove it, I would betray you all in an instant.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Riven quickly composed herself. “There you have it. It’s unfortunate that I had to do something so awful but, as you can see, it was to protect you all. Naturally, I plan to release Atworth unharmed once this is all over.”

Bessen looked heartbroken. “Atworth, were you really lying to me? You said you didn’t want to help Andra anymore.”

Atworth had to think about this for a moment, to keep their lie consistent.

“That part was true. I don’t feel comfortable supporting the war, but that doesn’t mean I’m okay with rebellion.” They looked down at the floor. “I’m sorry that I lied to you. For what it’s worth, I had planned to ask Andra to show you mercy. I know she considers you a friend, so I believe that she would have released you.”

Bessen said nothing. She just stared at Atworth in disbelief.

“Anyway, you have plenty of ways to sneak into the castle. You don’t need to attack directly,” Riven said.

Darren shook his head. “Bookworm’s powers can’t transport anyone else, and our demon friends can’t carry any passengers, either.”

Riven waved a hand dismissively. “You don’t need to get any more than the three of them inside. We can take the castle easily.”

----------------------------------------

Three nights later, at midnight, an attack commenced in Rampart City. Zombies appeared in several locations around the city, slowly shambling after anyone they encountered. The guard attempted to put a stop to them, but they found difficulty getting organized when orders were late in arriving from the castle. The guard’s commanders, awoken by alarms, found themselves tied to their beds with elaborate webs of string and threads, tied tightly and in enough quantity to make it impossible to rise. Those with long enough hair even found their locks painfully tied to the headboard.

A servant was sent to rouse the mages, but discovered that they were sleeping so deeply that nothing would awaken them. Shattered flasks were found in each mage’s room, and the servant later claimed to have caught sight of a winged man passing through a wall.

Further chaos erupted when an enormous flower sprouted suddenly from the castle’s outer wall. Vines and roots erupted wherever guards stood, wrapping them and pinning them to the ground.

A particularly large root pushed open the gates just as Riven approached, followed by the remaining rebels and a large cadre of zombies. As they entered the castle, they were discovered by one of the remaining guards, who quickly surrendered before Bessen’s axe.

Atworth disconnected from the rest of the group and headed for Andra’s quarters. It seemed that in the chaos, no one had bothered to awaken her, so she woke up to the sight of Atworth and Melissa standing over her.

She seemed more annoyed than anything. “Okay, what’s going on?”

Atworth realized they weren’t sure how to explain. “The short explanation is that I’m with a group of rebels and we’re taking control of Rampart City. I’m supposed to take you to Riven.”

Andra groaned. “Raven’s here? Let me guess, you ran into her in the Fae Realms and she cast a charm spell on you?”

Atworth supposed there was no harm in telling her the truth at this point, with Riven’s plan so close to completion. “Yes.”

“And she’s probably planning to betray the rebels at some point because her real plan is to hand the kingdom over to her demon friend and then let herself be turned into a servant?”

“More-or-less.”

Andra sighed. “Alright, let’s get down there and watch this drama play out. Can I put on some clothes first?”

That, Atworth realized, could be a trick. “No.”

“Fine. I look amazing in my pajamas anyway.”

Atworth led Andra, under threat of tiger, to the zombie-littered throne room. Riven lounged on the throne and the other rebels shared uncomfortable glances. It was rapidly becoming clear to them that Riven had taken complete control over the rebellion.

“Andra,” Riven said as her former teammate approached. “You really screwed up this war, didn’t you?”

Andra stared at Riven defiantly. “What are you doing, Raven?”

Riven laughed derisively. “You still can’t get my name right, can you?”

“Let me guess, life in the Fae Realms didn’t work out the way you wanted and now you’re going to let a kingdom be conquered so you can live out your sexual fantasy?”

The other rebels shared another set of suspicious glances. For a moment, anger flashed in Riven’s eyes, but she quickly calmed herself before she spoke. “I’m planning to end the war, Andra. Something you failed to do.”

“You won’t be able to hold the city. The guard will organize and retake the castle.”

Riven shook her head. “You have no idea how many zombies our old friend, Darren, has. You’d have to recall the army, and I only need to hold the city long enough for Comtesse Ember to arrive and claim it. With Rampart City under her control, the alliance will shatter and the war will end.”

“That is not the plan,” Antimony objected. Finally, the rebels were realizing what they had done. “We’re going to negotiate peace, not hand the kingdom over to the demons.”

“It is the plan now, I’m afraid,” Riven replied. “Consider yourselves conquered.”

“And what makes you think we’re going to listen to you?” Darren scoffed. “You can’t even use magic right now.”

Riven gave a small gasp. “Oh, right, I forgot about that part. Atworth, I’m going to release you from your enchantment. You can tell them all how you lied to protect me, if you want.”

She held up a hand towards Darren and whispered an incantation. A pink light shot out and struck him.

Atworth didn’t immediately feel any difference, but they decided to test the limits. “Melissa.”

The tiger crouched, preparing to pounce on Riven. Bessen brought her axe to bear.

Riven held up a hand. “I would advise against that. Darren here will protect me with his life. You recall what he nearly did to Nightingale?”

Bessen reluctantly lowered her axe and Atworth called off Melissa.

“I thought so,” said Riven. “You don’t want to hurt me. After all, we’re friends. Darren, please have your zombies escort my friends from the castle.”

The zombies began to move, surrounding the group.

“Riven, wait,” Andra said frantically. “Maxine and Drake disappeared. You have to find out what happened to them.”

She slowly backed away as the zombies herded the group towards the door.

“Maxine?” Riven replied incredulously. “Who cares about that magic-hating snob? She can handle herself. And I have no idea who this Drake is.”

“Drake is Maxine’s child,” Andra protested.

Riven’s eyes widened, showing signs of sympathy for the first time. “Oh. Yeah, you’ve got it, Andra. I’ll find out what happened to them.”

As the group was forced out of earshot, Atworth heard Riven talking to Darren. “I wonder what happened to the king and princess? Do you think they escaped through a secret tunnel or something? I hope they have fun trying to rally people when the demons take over.”