Adeline Cirix had been locked away for a week, now. In total, she had been away from Sybil for a week and a half.

The only reason that she knew that specific information was because of the grace of that woman. Selene - "Madam" Selene. It infuriated her to no end - the woman was polite with her, unceasingly, unerringly kind, but aggressive in the most passive of ways. She doubted that most people would even pick up on the ways in which she sought to minimize Adeline's abilities and make her feel caged like an animal.

Though, thinking about it, she was literally caged.

Adeline heard a set of familiar footsteps. Slowly, and methodically making their way toward her. Speak of the devil and she will come. She thought to herself, preparing her mind for that scorching back and forth.

Selene, as she always does, pulled up a comfortable-looking chair. Sitting in front of the cell's bars, she looked through toward Adeline, a disgustingly still smile on her lips. Those damn eyes tore through every part of her, waiting to lash out at any weakness that presented itself.

"Good day, Adeline." Selene chimed out, in the same way as every other time.

"Good day, Selene." Adeline returned, doing her utmost to keep pace with the woman.

"Have you considered my offer any further?" She always rushed straight to the point, but never in a way that seemed urgent. No, her tone made it abundantly clear that she wasn't in dire need of any information that Adeline possessed. "Information on your partner, Sybil, for a reduction of your sentence."

"You know the answer," She spat, "I'm not giving you a thing."

Selene simply stared. A moment later, asking "Why are you possessed of such loyalty to a dead woman, Adeline? Are her roots truly grown so deeply in you?" Before Adeline could even begin to answer, Selene folded her hands over each other, continuing, "It's an odd thing, for one to be willing to die for the sanctity of another who has died. You could very well save yourself by telling me what you know. Instead, you choose to protect her. Why?"

She leaned forward, her smile ever-present, "She was so very dear to you, wasn't she?"

Adeline clenched her fists, her face tightening up with sheer fury. She could not yell, she could not scream and pound and roar or else this woman would have won their exchange. She needed to push down those emotions, push them down and never let them resurface.

Selene, with a simple "Adieu, Adeline" got up from her chair, leaving her alone. Leaving her to stew in that fresh, boiling-hot rage.

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"Good day, Adeline." Putrid, every part of her.

"Good day, Selene." And if she were ever to break out of these manacles and through the bars that bind her? She would rend this woman apart, even if it cost her everything.

"Have you considered my offer any further?" Routine, every part of it a routine. Their first exchanges were always the same, without any variation. It was some twisted test, to see which one of the two would break first. Adeline refused to be the one who broke.

"You know the answer," She said, her voice flat and stilted, "I'm not giving you a thing."

Selene cocked her head to the side, making a little sound to herself - some small laugh through her nose. She was entertained, she hadn't expected Adeline to play along with her little game. "And I believe you in full, Adeline. You're quite the resilient girl. It's impressive, even if I can't quite make out your reasoning."

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The woman crossed her arms together, leaning back in feigned thought. Again, she leaned forward, "Although..." Her lips parted wider, by an imperceptibly small margin, "Perhaps it's because you don't like me?"

Adeline kept still, holding a firm expression. It went beyond dislike - it was a terrible, bubbling, noxious hatred that threatened to consume her. She thought she might start sparking up from it, thought she might burn away from the flames in her heart. This woman brought out the worst in her, made her into a thing fueled by hate.

"I understand your position quite well." She said, "But please, you needn't consider me an enemy. No - I believe that, if we were to learn more of one another, perhaps you would come to find that we have a great deal in common."

Lies flew from her mouth in the same quantity as the air exhaled. And yet, something about it caught Adeline's attention. What could she possibly have in common with this witch?

Against her own judgement, she took Selene's bait, "What do we have in common, then?"

Something in the air changed, the invisible scale began to shift more in favor of Selene than of Adeline - and she could feel it. Her skin buzzed with concern, but it was all she could do to just keep it from tipping further.

"How much did Sybil tell you of her master?" She asked, a simple question. But it always, always started with a simple question. It was a foothold, a point for her to dig her fingers into Adeline and pull her in deeper.

Adeline reluctantly answered, "A few things." That wasn't giving up very much, was it? No, it was nothing.

"I met Morgan when I was young" She explained, "She was a terribly uncharismatic girl, but one with ideals firmer than any I had ever met." Selene sighed, uncharacteristically, and then laughed, glancing over at Adeline.

"You remind me of her." She said, "So... Catastrophically stubborn, even against your own best interests."

Her own best interests? Adeline wanted to laugh in her face. Giving up anything about Sybil would be a betrayal.

"I know how it feels to lose someone like that." She continued, "Gravely familiar with it. But don't you think she'd rather you be alive? If you were to pass, her protecting you would have been for naught - she would have died for naught."

Adeline blinked. Did she just imply what she thought she did?

Once more, Selene cocked her head to the side, "Have I gotten the story wrong? I would be exceptionally happy to receive any corrections. From my understanding, and, from the reports of our Crown Hunters, the girl protected you in Gallwold. Turned one of the unawakened members to cinder in order to do so. Pelted some others with small rocks."

Adeline's eyebrow twitched. One survived, at least, and told the story. At the very least, Selene had the beginning of their journey figured out.

"Which means that, at a certain point, the two of you decided to make way for Tirsollain. Yes? Not a bad plan, considering your association with the Pioneer of Forging." Her smile grew, "I knew Cairbre quite well, too - through Morgan. He once gifted us with a willow cutting. Ah... It was a sight, before she destroyed it."

A willow cutting - it was a common gift in Tirsollain for those starting families of their own. Newlyweds. So, Morgan and Selene were...

"You were married?" She blurted out suddenly, unable to stop her eyes from going wide at the revelation. The woman could be lying, but it felt truthful.

Why did it feel truthful? It was as if, when she spoke of Morgan, that rotten facade fell away. A bitterness entered her voice that wasn't there before. And maybe, just maybe, a longing.

"As married as we possibly could be." She joked, "A fortunate thing that we weren't very oriented toward the populace, otherwise there may have been an uproar. But I'm sure that you understand, with your feelings toward Sybil."

Adeline just stared.

"Were they mutual, those feelings?" She asked.

Adeline nodded. She couldn't help it.

"She fell for the woman whose life she saved." Selene stated, "A romantic tale, but with so many pieces missing. But if one were to illuminate those absent pages..."

"Go fuck yourself." Adeline said weakly.

The woman nods courteously, "Very well" and stands to her feet.

"Adieu, Adeline."