Andronicus had left and the demon had stopped talking and was merely twitching on the floor, while Nannade was observing her. The demon’s eyes were full of spite and sorrow, but not looking anywhere, desperately searching for a point to fix on in the darkness before them. Nannade started to question whether the demon had been as false in her promises as she had thought.
“I’m sorry, sister. But penance is pain. I’d like to tell you that it’s nothing personal, but I killed you literally for what you were born as.” She stroked the demon’s forehead.
“Do not shed a tear for that being!” Aaka was crawling from a corner up high. “Her existence is a danger to everything around her.”
“Oh hey, where have you been spying from?”
“I was actually waiting for her to fall asleep so I could try and poison her myself, since I believed you to have failed.” The spider had arrived by Nannade and seemed to give the demon a wide berth.
“Thanks for your confidence!” Nannade ran her fingers through the woman’s long, smooth, golden hair. “You have to admit that I am not entirely impartial to this.”
“STOP THIS! She deserves no one’s sympathy. She already manipulated and abused her powers when she was still a little child. And she was not born human either. She did not have a beating heart yet when the enslaved spirit was forced into a union with her. There was no separation like with you. Why are you so damn sympathetic to her?”
“Because I know her pain. I have felt my own venom. But unlike for me, for her it will not subside or get better.”
Even when professor Alivor arrived in the throne room, she did not stop letting the paralyzed victim know, someone was still with her.
“So. You did it. I heard you played a double play?!”
Nannade might not have had a plan, but she had a partner she could rely on to keep true to the goal.
“Well yeah, I guess I'm a real two-faced bitch. But honest question for you, professor: did you know something like this would happen?”
He paused for a moment, apparently not willing to share all he knew with her. “They told me you’d be a wild card. And as the priest expressed more and more worry along the trail, I knew you’d come in handy.”
Nannade could only scoff. “I guess being useful is the highest honours I can achieve in my profession.” She continued stroking the demon’s forehead and making cooing sounds.
The professor took note of the situation. “I believe an exorcism is required.”
Nannade raised her head. “I’ve never done an exorcism before.”
“That’s what father Syagricus is here for, but your and Aaka’s help will be required.”
“So I guess this isn’t over for me yet.”
“No. Father Syagricus will be here momentarily.”
When he finally did, accompanied by four of the soldiers, in the garbs of acolytes, they got to each of their parts in the ritual. Aaka spun threads of silk over the barely even twitching body, Nannade filled the hall with song and poem to the demon's soul inside the hall, and father Syagricus and his acolytes prayed to Her Holy Radiance to banish it back through the wound it had torn into the world, beyond the veil again, so it might get purified again, while Ssil guarded any possible exit that the demon’s soul might try to take.
They sang and prayed long and the demon’s soul struggled much against its banishment, screaming profanities and pleas into the hall. The windows shook, the door rattled and the even the carpet seemed to be afraid. Nannade could see on the faces of the Acolytes that they were seeing, hearing and feeling such otherworldly things for the first time. This final thrashing and writhing of the demon was powerful enough to be visible even to the least receptive to that which comes from beyond the veil. Aaka’s silken wards, Ssil’s threatening poses, Nannade’s song of refutation and father Syagricus' verses of banishment eventually did the spirit in. It was pushed back through the crystal pool and it closed neatly behind the demon, sealing the entrance without leaving even a stitch in the carpet or crack in the floor.
“What was that?” one of the Acolytes asked as the final scream had echoed throughout the hall.
“A wound in reality.” Nannade stepped up to where the hole was. “Where the veil is already thin, this demon had been pulled through, leaving behind this hole. We managed to close it, it was only small and had not frayed out yet, but a bigger hole would have required a seamstress of rare talents to stitch back up.”
A generous amount of incense and prayers were spread throughout the hall and Nannade left before the smell could settle in her fur and clothes.
She found Olly waiting for her in the antechamber, holding a large slice of bread with sausage and cheese from supper for her. He stood up and embraced her. “You made it right. Thank you.”
She would have fallen asleep standing, had he not sat down on one of the cushioned benches immediately. Instead, she fell asleep on his lap.
After he awoke her again sometime later – the sky had already turned dark – she gladly ate what he had brought her, safe for the cheese.
“I don’t like cheese. It doesn’t sit well with my stomach.” But the sausage was aged and dried well, just as she liked it.
“The past few days have been horrible.” He finally broke the silence.
“I know.” She stroked his knees.
“But now I feel empty and hollow.”
She closed her eyes again and took his scent in. Both of them were in dire need of a bath. “Me too. Let’s just stay here for a while.”
“I can’t come with you to Northbridge. After this is done.”
“I feared as much. I can’t follow you to Sturreland either.”
“I know.”
“You could probably sell your services for much coin on any ship. Maybe even the Vigilantia.” He said that last part with an absent smile. “And in time, even enrol in Northbridge university.”
“Please keep spinning that dream.” She stroked his chest.
“I don’t know whether my father would approve of you. He wants me to marry into another noble family. He really likes to spit in the face of my mother’s grand uncle.”
“Who’s that?”
“Head of the house Teccarno. He was furious when I was found to have the arcane gift. Typical noble bickering and their laments about marrying into commoners' families.” His smile turned nasty. “It was fun at first. Now my father’s just being petty after being mistreated by that old fart for so long.”
“Oh there’s lots of land in Sturreland you could claim. And maybe, if it’s all the same to you, you could marry into house Hitollarn and every other night, I could drop in from the forests through the window.” She kissed him on the cheek with a kittenish smile and a coquette wink.
“I already see that I can’t hold you.”
“You’re already holding me.” She reminded him and pushed her face against his chest.
“For now.” he held her closer.
“For now.”
They remained like this until a servant of the palace arrived. Her clothes were bloodstained and did not sit properly, but she was visibly eager to do her duties to the best of her abilities.
“Miss Nannade, I am to lead you to your chambers. The mage may also go to the mages’ quarter.”
The two followed her. Nannade’s chambers was a luxurious bedroom, not unlike the one Nannade had snuck through earlier. The bed was big enough to offer comfortable sleep to an entire family. She got settled in with the little she had and the servant led Olly to the mages’ quarters, but he soon returned with a knock on the door.
Shehad no qualms spending the night with him, both of them were too tired to do anything but fall asleep nestled together.
The next morning saw breakfast served in the dining hall, much smaller than the throne room, but still able to house the entire platoon two or three times over. Everyone seemed alleviated but exhausted, as if a large burden had been taken off of them. Olly had gotten up earlier than Nannade and sat with his comrades and when Nannade wanted to sit with him, professor Alivor took her by her arm and sat her down next to himself.
“We’ll have an important meeting after this. The leaders of the expedition are to prepare the island for the rest of the forces to take over and we need to hand out tasks. Your attendance and advice will be required.”
Nannade merely nodded silently as she took her fill from the bread basket on the table. She glanced over to Olly and occasionally, he glanced back, waving to her, but deciding to remain by his comrades. She decided to catch him after the meeting.
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She was led into a sort of council chamber. The other leaders as they had gathered on the Vigilantia were already present, welcoming her with a soft cheer. Andronicus greeted her with an especially warm smile, but Nannade could tell that it was hiding something else. All stood around a table shaped like the island itself, plans and reports already laid out.
“My men are still sighting the documents and books in the castle.” The professor said. “But it seems like we can already start handing out new texts of laws to the villages and the capital. The central government will yield soon.” He turned to Nannade and offered her a chair at the table and she sat down. “Your task will be observing nature and determining how long this land will take to recover. Can you already tell us anything about how it will most likely look here in the coming years?”
Nannade felt all the eyes dart to her. She adjusted her pose on the chair and thought for a moment. “This year’s harvest will still be plentiful, but it might very well be that the coming years will be tough. The land will have to recover from the heavy strain, its life force is worn thin and turned caustic in many places. But those are just guesses based on what the druids have taught me.”
A scribe noted down her words and they moved on. As the decision most important to her, she was tasked with writing a first report. The church and university had decided to not leave the country to its own devices again. The church would bring scribes and lawmakers to govern the island until men and women here had properly awoken from their long nightmare and returned to sanity under Her Holy Radience’s guidance. They would also bring in some harvest maidens, mediums sent by the church to help with farming in the lands especially faithful. Exactly for these Nannade was supposed to write the reports. It would take well over a dozen days before she would be released from her contract, but if the weather did not play along, she might have to stay the entire winter. She would not be able to spend every night in the castle with Olly, whose job it was to catalogue all the texts, books and magic artefacts of the palace alongside his comrades. Instead, Nannade would have to wander the wilderness to seek for more signs of how the nature here was doing.
For most of the discussion, Nannade felt barely present, yet she was called upon for many comments. It was odd, her expertise was barely ever asked before, only her ability to recite Garetas' plans or Elissa’s lessons.
When she finally was able to leave the council chambers, she sighed in relief and started to wander the palace halls. Most of the servants had returned to their duties in freshly washed clothes, but when Nannade came to where the battle had been, she saw the extent of the death and sex that had happened here. Many men and women still seemed to be as odds with the returning reality. She decided to seek out Ionna and after asking the other members of the Ordo Militaris, found her to be sitting on a balcony, watching the landscape with sergeant Carellus at her side.
“Ser Andronicus has given me leave for the rest of the deployment!” she told Nannade with a smile. “I shall have my dream for now.”
“I’m happy for you two. I’d offer to do the rites for you, but you wouldn’t want that from a heathen, would you?”
Ionna shook her head with a “thank you” on her lips.
She left the two to themselves again and sought out her own happiness.
Olly was sitting in the dining hall with his comrades. They congratulated him when the young girl came closer. One expressed disapproval, but Olly did not seem to care and gave Nannade a deep kiss in front of all of them.
Their days were filled with their own joys. She’d spent one to three days camping in the wild, turning over leaves and rocks, questioning the few wild animals she could find, trying to convene with the slowly returning and shy spirits and feeling the flow of life force return to a feeble balance. He would wait for her and after supper they’d talk and lay in each other's arms. Their remaining luggage arrived from the Vigilantia and Nannade continued on her work in project. The stitching and embroideries took shape and covered almost the entire cloth. Olly marvelled more and more at Nannade's skill with thread and needle.
She sang lullabies for him or played them on her flute, and he brushed her fur morning and evening. They made their dreamy plans. She knew she could get her teacher to enrol her in Northbridge university. She had always wanted her freedom, now she knew what she wanted to use it for. She could even see herself paying for the tuition if she could take on contracts herself, although she did not tell Olly about any such contracts. There were many things he didn’t need to know about for now. She’d manage to squeeze another life in between lies and secrets for now, everything else came later.
He on the other hand already wrote letters to his father. He knew the old man would be disapproving and disappointed, but from the words Olly chose to bring to paper, Nannade already learned to respect the man.
The days passed along and Olly's comrades started to refer to Nannade as “wife of Olybrius”. She didn’t mind, even knowing she’d never be able to be wed in the eyes of the spirits of Sturreland. They would be most displeased with such an infertile union. She didn’t care anymore. She was already an affront to nature. Let her be the hand of pain and death, she needed no life but the one Olly and her would share. After all, she could remember much more of what Garetas and Elissa had taught her than her birth parents, and there were still slave children in need of freeing. Olly seemed to be happy with that option too.
Late into their stay, she finalized her project. Ten feet long the serpent’s banner fell, in pure white of tough linen and the dark red of her own hair. She giggled and twirled on her toes in the middle of their shared bedroom. She sang a song for Ssil and felt the serpent take hold of the cloth, but it failed over and over again.
“What is it?” Olly asked while watching her face become more and more disappointed. “Isn’t it working?”
She let go of the banner and looked at every crease as it lay motionless on the floor. “No... something’s missing. This is not it.”
“Any spirit not wanting to call that banner home is a fool. It’s beautiful and made by – and from – the most beautiful girl I know.”
She had to smile at that remark. “Stop your stupid flattery.”
She wrapped the banner around her arms and across her neck. At least it could still keep her warm. And the double-sewn cloth with the snakeskin in between could actually hold off a few cuts she imagined. She’d figure out the issue later on. Probably would need more of her own life force imbued into it, then Ssil could take hold of it, move it, hide from spying eyes in it without having to enter Nannade’s spiritual body, as long as the cloth had contact to Nannade’s body. For now, she embraced and kissed Olly and he pulled her in closer, letting his hands wander all over her. She had come to enjoy it, the pleasure in his face, the deep breathing every time she dug her claws in, the convulsions and twitching under her hips. He was disappointed at not being on top, but he understood her fears. Maybe, one day, she'd be able to let him. But for now, she told him of the basement, her collar, her mother, her rescue, and he understood it all. There would be a better time to tell him of the serpent or anything else.
It was late on a late autumn day when Nannade found Ser Andronicus sitting on a balcony and watching the setting sun after another long day.
“You have been reclusive, Ser. Is anything the matter?”
“I think you can drop the 'Ser'. You’ve seen me in there, two-faced witch.”
“I have to admit I'm not sorry for using you as unknowing bait.”
He turned around and looked her in the eyes as she took place on the balustrade. “It’s not about that. I know I would have told her if I had known I was merely bait. It's deeper than that. I am weary. Glory and greatness, I already had those. This conquest was no grand victory. Sure, they’ll call me a hero here once the priests and preachers of Her Holy Radiance get here, but I know this land was worn thin. The forces were exhausted, nobody was even willing to fight.” He adjusted his pose. “Maybe those men taking the servants as their wives was the right thing to do. This island will need strong men with strong faith in the coming years.”
“And you. Everyone seems to be planning their future here, on the threshold of a new life, you too?”
“I will return to the monastery. It is time for me to train the next generation of warriors, generals and holy men.”
“Ever the faithful.” She smiled to tease him.
“Oh, little girl, how I envy your youth. Once you have been on this path for as long as I have, you cannot leave. I thought I'd seek an honourable death in glorious battle. If I fell, so be it, let my opponent send me to Her. But that would be of little use. If I had fallen here, the cult had maybe not fallen.”
“So you saw the use in your life, rather than your death.”
“The Andronicus that stepped on the Vigilantia's deck would have called me a coward.”
“Don’t worry. I’m a lying, conniving, thieving, abominable coward and I learned to live with it.”
Andronicus scoffed at her. “I lived a life in the light of Her Holy Radiance, I can imagine living in sin is easy if you also intent to hide in the shadows. And you better do, the church would see you hang without a second thought. Just because you killed another demon, doesn’t make you any less of an abomination. But still I draw breath, you not having disposed of me alongside her to minimize the threat. You can’t be that afraid of me or them.”
Nannade knew what he was getting at. She could have easily destroyed all evidence, had Aaka not been there. But Aaka wasn’t reason she kept her fangs and blades sheathed. “The very heathens that raised and taught me wanted me dead at one point for being an abomination. There’s no need to get rid of you. You couldn’t kill me if you tried.”
“Return to you dark forests and stay there. Then you might live a long life. I’ll even allow you to take that poor mage and do your dark and dirty deeds with him.”
She shook her head. “My death and pain won’t stay in Sturreland. Who knows? Maybe I'll even learn at the holy college of Her Holy Radiance in Fulgopolis. Just to tempt my luck.”
He again scoffed. “I’d put the rope around your neck myself if I caught you there.”
She got back up. “Well Ser, I have a 'husband' to return to. Little time is granted to us. And he intends to use it for many a dirty deed with me in the luxurious chambers before its end.”
“Flaunt your sins, maybe it will lead to repentance.” He called to her before she could close the glass door to the balcony. She did not answer to it.