Ophelia woke up in a spacious bed, she bathed, she dressed and then she sat down to a hearty, and decadent breakfast of coffee, pancakes, toast, five kinds of pastry, ten  kinds of meat, oranges and some manner of savory porridge.

Most of which would remain on the table, cold and uneaten, save for some of the toast, and all of the coffee.  The food was kept to one half of the table with the other half being taken up by stacks of periodicals.  

These were all the newspapers and magazines that Ophelia read at least once a week to gain better insight on the public's view of what was going on in the world.

She’d pay special attention to the opinion pieces and editorials, just to check that the Ministry’s manipulation of the press was going smoothly.

The next three hours  were  taken up by some stretching, some martial exercises, and some quiet meditation to keep her cultivation from stagnating.

Then the hour after that was spent in a psychic conference call. With Ophelia checking in with all of the Supervisory Agents and Managers that directly reported to her.

It was only after this routine was finished that Ophelia acknowledged that she was ‘supposed’ to be on a break. Taking a few precious days to unwind and get her head on straight.

Then there was another psychic call, and all thought of trying to relax was was pushed to the wayside.

“Uh huh...Uh huh...Okay. No, no, that’s fine. I don’t mind coming down. Give me a few days to settle some things and I’ll get back to you.”

*****

Two days,  five hours and twenty two minutes later she found herself in a large office, that smelled of cinnamon and acetone. The office felt more like a bedroom than an office, a place made entirely for the comfort of the owner, rather than any professional purposes.

Which of course made Ophelia several different kinds of nervous, especially when she considered who the owner of the office was. Especially when she considered that she’d not yet figured out, the reasons for last month’s gross indiscretion.

The door opened and in walked the feather haired, bird-kin woman with the bright smile, overly genial manner, and cold, wary, eyes that were strikingly familiar.

Possessing the same calculating mien that Ophelia saw every day in the mirror.

“Oh, Ms.Delphi, how nice of you to come and see us down here in Garland.” said Edna.

Ophelia felt herself smile, fake as it was, the smile that that yellow haired girl wore, was surprisingly infectious.

“Not at all, not at all. I heard your William wanted to chat, and I had some time on my hands...and here I am.”

Edna took a seat, and a sip of the  coffee that had been sitting on the desk, as if it there wasn’t even the slightest possibility that Ophelia might have slipped something into it.

“Mhm...Awfully, accommodating of you.”said Edna.

Ophelia waved the words aside.

“Think nothing off it, dear, I’m sure you know how it is. Even with a busy schedule one ‘must’ try to find time for their friends.”

“Yes…’friends’.” said Edna. Putting a little extra emphasis on that last word, stretching it out as if it were some quichy foreign phrase she was trying out.

“....Well Anyway, I’m here, I don’t suppose you know what Willam wanted to talk to me about?” said Ophelia fishing, because there was always an element of uncertainty when it came to the good folks of the Bone Tree Company.

Edna frowned, looking plainly apologetic.

“I’m sorry, we kind of expected you, two days ago, Billy’s not here right now.”

Ophelia startled.

“What?”

“Sorry we didn’t expect you to come through, the old fashioned way and things came up.  We actually were kind of wondering if there was something wrong with the N-Gate system that we set up for the Ministry.”

“N-Gate System?” Ophelia frowned and then  she looked inwards searching through her memory and the Ministry's mental network for any mention of an ‘N-Gate’ system.

Eventually she just gave up and asked Dennis who was still at the Ministry’s main offices, filling in for her as Head Administrator.

Ophelia sighed when she got the answer,  was both excited and disquieted as she realized that Ministry and the Bone Tree Company were now even more capable of mobilizing forces at any point on Monde and at any time.

With plans in the works to expand this capability, though she wasn’t entirely sure where they could take it from there.

She found herself smiling sheepishly because she didn’t know what face to make.

“In full disclosure I’ve been out of the office for a bit, so I suspect that the new installation you mentioned, happened while I was out. This is the first time I’m hearing of the new system.”

Edna, smiled.

“Ah...seems even the great and omniscient Ministry is still just a bureaucracy in the end.” chuckled Edna.

Her tone light-hearted, and joking though her eyes were still as watchful and calculating as before.

Ophelia fought her frown, and swallowed whatever riposte was sitting on her tongue.

“....So you’re saying he’s not here right now?”

“Yes, indeedy. But he should be back soon.”said Edna.

“How soon, is soon?” asked Ophelia.

“Anytime between five minutes and five days.” said Edna.

“That’s a wide range for arrival times. Don’t suppose you could narrow that down a bit?” said Ophelia.

Edna shook her head, looking playfully helpless, her palms upturned as she shrugged her shoulder.

“....Sorry.”

“Mhm...that’s okay I guess. I am the one who showed two days late, after all. I don’t suppose you could tell me what he’s doing, while I wait?” said Ophelia.

Deciding right then and there that she ‘would’ be waiting. Though she wasn’t entirely certain as to her own motive for doing so.

Edna shrugged again.

“Sorry, I honestly don’t know sometimes. Our Billy tends to always have more than few irons on the stove at any one time and that’s become even more the case as of late…” said Edna.

*****

Now this was the point where Ophelia was supposed to excuse herself, the apologies and pleasantries had been exchanged and since the man himself wasn’t there, she didn’t need to be there either.

Except there was a curiosity and feeling of rare opportunity.  For whatever reason, Ophelia felt like she should throw her line in the water one more time.

*****

“So...how’s it feel to be an official regent?” asked Ophelia.

Edna’s face rapidly shifted colors, growing paler and darker in quick succession, her look briefly turning gloomy before resuming its trademarked cheeriness.

Edna smiled, but it was all teeth and slightly feral. A proper lycan smile.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Mhm...I can’t say its much different from what I was already doing with Lloyd, and Albrecht.”

“Fair enough. Though I suppose you know you’ve startled quite a few people.”

Edna sighed, not even bothering to disguise the sound.

Her mind went back in time to the a week ago, when Elena, tracked her down in the elevator.

*****

“Just, what did you do?!” said Elena.

“Huh...I haven’t done anything?” said Edna. Confused and distracted as she used her mental construct to skim through a set of files before a big meeting.

“Okay, what did you say to Billy?” said Elena.

“I didn’t say anything to Billy. I haven’t seen him all day actually.” said Edna.

“Well that’s odd then, because I’m pretty sure that you and I are only one’s who could ever  make him go back to Garland again.”

Which was the point where Edna stopped reading the files, blankly staring at Elena.

“What happened? He didn’t kill everyone did he?”

“What!? No?...At least I don’t think he did. He just took it over, first he kidnapped the sleeping queen. Now he’s declared war on all the surrounding areas.”

“What?! Why?! Why would he do that?! This wasn’t part of our plans!” said Edna.

“I don’t know? That’s why I’m asking you, numpty.” said Elena. Rolling her eyes.

Edna was about to round on her, but she was too busy, try to figure out what might have set Billy off. She honestly couldn’t think of anything.

“I...I just said, that maybe we should go check out Garland, and maybe stop the people from Bullying our family back home.”

Elena, nodded, as if she’d heard exactly what she’d expected to hear.

“And you didn’t use any specifics or anything, or say that ‘you’ want to handle it? You know by yourself?” said Elena.

She’d figured it be a small thing, Edna now had enough personal wealth from what the company paid her, and her company shares, that she could easily pay off all the family's debts.

And a personal visit,  accompanied by a few shades and a few of the Thousand Ghosts would have been enough to intimidate the rival families into backing down.

It was a plan that was so simple and obvious that she hadn’t thought to speak of it.

“I...No...Oh, shit.”

For two entire years before they actually became friends, the girls were a little more like his bullies. Sending their sickly, younger cousin on whatever errands they could think of in exchange for being ‘friends’.

Making him wear dresses because even then he was pretty enough to pass for a girl. And just basically treating him like a cross between and servant and a toy.

And the little boy ate it all up because he was achingly lonely and painfully shy at the time.

The relationship would change a few years later, seeming to just sort of happen, as is often the case with children and friendships, but there was one day that Edna would always remember.

The day that a locket that Edna’s mother gave her was lost and the soon the boy two went missing. With the family only finding him one day later, covered in dung and snow, his hands half frost bitten.

Which was just the first time that she’d learn that if it concerned his friends, William Percival Maddoc did not know the definition of the word ‘half-measure’. Forget knowing the definition the boy couldn’t even spell the word.

“Shit…”

“..Ah...now she’s getting it.” said Elena, with a harrumph.

“Shit! This is bad Ell! Real Bad! Shit...”said Edna. At the same time that she felt aggrieved at herself for overlooking this highly foreseeable outcome, she also felt more than a little peeved with Billy.

Generally people changed with age. They grew up, they matured, they gained common sense.

Billy on the other hand, had apparently remained the same child that would eat beetles for a smile,  nearly die of pneumonia, and would do anything, absolutely anything they asked.

It was actually quite frightening really, because now he had all this power and magical knowledge. Edna remembered her own dark lines of thought during her worst days and shivered as she considered the possibilities.

He was like one of those evil genies the fairy tales, except in reverse. Doing his best to fulfil even the vaguest request, to the askers apparent intent.

Not that she’d intended to have him go and scourge the countryside.

Elena interrupted Edna’s  ruminations. Rolling her eyes and opening an N-Gate with a snap of her  fingers.

“Go.” said Elena.

“Go?” said a startled Edna.

“Before he conquers the entire countryside for you and the Great Kingdoms start eyeing us all funny, go and make him stop.”

“Oh...right…”

“Duh…”

*****

By the time Edna reached Billy Garland’s borders already included nineteen of the nearest neighboring kingdoms and all the lands therein.

Fortunately they were just lesser-kingdoms and small duchies. Fortunately Maellan just happened to be deeply indebt both with the Bone Tree Company and various other members of the EITC and they were also just unprincipled enough that they could be bribed to let the matter go.

*****

Edna eyed the other woman, watching as the Ministry Administrator gauged her responses. She locked down all her expressions and inner grievances. Choosing not to think of all the work she now had to do, to put her new ‘nation’ in order.

Or the fact that she and Billy still needed to have a very long talk about proper communication and not going off to try and ‘fix’ her and the girls’ problems without talking it over first.

For while it was actually quite a very good, very final fix to put off all the Maddoc’s enemies by making the Maddoc’s head of the kingdom, it was also, very abrupt and expensive.

Costly. And not just in money, because they’d now have nations eyeing them, watching them, because the bite they’d just taken out of Maellan, plus the technical control they held over Albrecht and Lloyd was enough to place them at around the same level as a Great Kingdom.

*****

“Well...in any case considering our statuses, it’s not like its all that unusual that we’d take our hometown, for our own.” said Edna. Smiling.

“Folk, snatch little plots of land for themselves all the time.”

Ophelia smiled, as well.

“I suppose that’s reasonable, but what comes next?...Are you sure you guys are ready to run a kingdom.”

“Naturally...we have something planned for that.” said Edna. Only half bluffing.

Ophelia prepared to hear out the girl’s bluff, she wasn’t expecting what would come next.

“We’ll just have you folk do it…After all, that ‘was’ the point of this little meeting.”