Anne observed the anxious Clow holding the Decree as if she was an interesting wild beast. The girl was clearly arrogant, as the name demanded her to be, but she was too inexperienced. In fact, the only two weapons that could tie the storeowner’s hands, her name and the Decree, had been played directly without any contra part.

As if the Gods were orchestrating the whole thing, the only Clow with who she would dare to try the craft on had appeared in the bookstore unaccompanied. Better yet, the young woman had forced her hand, which meant Anne didn’t have to hold on. Naturally, coming too strong would only push the Yana away. This kind of play was two parts enticing and one part deception. But most important, it was a game of two, so she would have to pretend that the Clow was holding some power over her.

“The holomancer… What a pleasant surprise. I’m sure you have your reasons for using the Decree, but may I have a chance to talk about your craft?” Anne stated calmly. Instead of discrediting the Decree, she went directly for the girl’s soft spot.

Yana snickered and almost dropped the Decree in surprise. Not even a laugh would shock her at this point but mentioning her craft was truly unexpected.

“You… may talk.” The Clow answered hesitantly. It could be part of the ploy but she couldn’t do much to enforce the Decree in case the other party refused to comply.

“If the rumors are true, you’re not very loved by the court…” Anne started cautiously but still earned an angry hiss from the Clow. Still, she continued:

“Which is a shame, because they can’t see the true nature and potential of your craft.” The statement offered grounds for a blasphemy charge, not that either of them cared.

Now was time for the moment of truth. Either the Clow would bite the bait or turn away from the opportunity. The net was crudely threaded and cast. Anyone would see what Anne was trying to do. But nothing of that mattered, because even the possibility that the storeowner might know some unknown fact about her craft would create a one-time opportunity that Yana couldn’t risk losing.

“Keep talking…” The Clow said in an authoritarian tone. She didn’t have any illusions of actually controlling the other woman, but her ancestral arrogance spoke louder.

The truth was as Anne guessed, Yana knew the other woman was trying to trick her into dismissing the Decree, but she couldn’t risk it. Even the slightest chance that she wasn’t doomed with an inferior craft would be worth walking into a trap. She had been fighting alone for so long, and for the first time in her life, someone finally said what she wanted to hear. How many times had she dreamed of discovering that others were actually envious of her power? Deep inside she knew that the storeowner would just sputter some flattering mixed with nonsense to make her feel better, but what was wrong with that?

On the opposite side, the bookmancer was threading an intricate net to catch the Clow. She would lay the trap beneath the illusion that she was trying to desperately convince Yana in exchange for survival. A well-hidden trap behind an obvious one was a specialty of Anne’s.

“Have you heard of the ‘Purple Sword’?” Anne said with the right touch of mystery. Before anything, she needed to add credibility to her words.

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“Granduncle?” Yana asked instinctively. She wasn’t expecting that.

“One of the rare front-line warriors of your family. A true champion of the Clows… He was holomancer too.” She embellished the tale before dropping the bomb. Storytelling Anne was on.

“Impossible!” Yana immediately refuted. She didn’t think the woman would take her for stupid.

“Oh, but he was... Your elders just saw fit to leave that detail out of their stories. Why do you think a Clow would put himself at risk by fighting at the front lines? Besides his dazzling purple bright slashing down dozens of enemies in battle, have you ever heard of any mention of his craft?” The bookmancer revealed one of the Clow secrets as if she was teaching a copper spell. The hook was ready, the girl just needed to take a few more steps…

“That’s… Why would… It doesn’t make sense, I don’t have any combat abilities…” Yana unconsciously admitted without realizing that she could be losing an advantage.

“Exactly because of his craft, he learned the way of the sword. Then, as a master, the Purple Sword combined simple illusions to confuse his enemies while raining down death on the battlefield. Instead of drowning in his own misery, your ancestor used the craft to kill more enemies than any other Clow. His name grew so big that your family couldn’t hide his deeds, so they hid his ability.” She finished the story by adding a drop of drama.

“So…” Yana muttered confusedly. Her expression changed as if something had clicked and she realized the truth.

“So, for them to respect me I just need to learn how to fight and kill hundreds…” She said sarcastically.

“Not necessarily… The only respect that matters is the one you give to yourself. But, there are many ways your craft could grow…” Anne said while adding a little bit of advice. Some things could only come from oneself, but any effect her words might have would push the girl a little closer to a better place.

Seeing that the Clow had recovered from the revelation and was back to being arrogant, though more trusty of her words, Anne continued:

“The key lies in understanding the principle behind your craft. You’re taught that it’s all about illusions, and that will only take you so far. Let’s make a simple reflecting exercise, can you explain how your power works? How do you craft an illusion?” She explained before asking. The next step required involving the Clow in the discussion. Learning from personal experience was always more ‘solid’.

“I…” Yana hesitated for a moment but decided to continue. Being a trap or not, she had already gone too far.

“I use my magic to change how people see things. It’s like I put a cover over a target, not to hide it but to change how others see it.” The Clow explained. There was a hint of pride in her voice, this was the first time someone had shown interest in her craft.

“And that’s the cue. You don’t create images, you change how others perceive the world. The key is perception, not illusions.” The bookmancer explained. While Yana understood and even agreed with it, she couldn’t see how it would change anything. But Anne was ready for that confusion.

“Can your illusions move? How far can you cast? Let’s use this chair as an example, how far do you have to be to cast an illusion over it? And if you leave the room, does the illusion stays or disappears?” The bookmancer asked.

The holomancer hesitated again, the other woman seemed more like an interrogator than someone who could help.

“It can move, but it’s difficult... The further away, the harder it’s to cast. I can leave the room… but I can’t maintain the illusion from too far.” She explained cryptically since the questions touched on a few details that she wanted to keep a secret.

“So, if you cast the illusion over the chair and hide behind the counter. How would you know if it’s active and if it’s working?” Anne didn’t mind the half-answers and just continued asking.

“I… can feel. There’s a connection between me and my illusions… And when you look at it, I kind of feel it too. It takes more power when people are looking.” The holomancer explained with some uncertainty. She ended up revealing more than she was comfortable with but the unexpected situation had placed her in an odd position.

“What if you could move your illusions more… ‘freely’ and then ‘see’ the world through them?” Anne asked with an alluring smile.

Her work was done and another customer was caught.