In concubine Soo Hebin’s palace there were three gardens.
While all of them were spectacular, maintained immaculately, and often a source of envy for the other concubines in the palace, there was one of the three that was more hidden than its sisters.
This particular garden lay on the west side of Soo Hebin’s palace, and while it was still well cared for, it tended to embrace overgrown beauty more than the others.
Lattice walls with climbing star jasmine vines created all sorts of secluded seating areas. Some of these areas had small round tables with wooden chairs. Others had large marble daises with tall vases filled with fresh flowers every day. Others had fountains, and some had statues.
As whimsical and delightful as the garden was, its beauty was more or less a secret. As when one first stepped outside, they would merely be met with a tall row of leafy hedges that did nothing to boast its wonders at a glance unlike the other two that, with a single step out the double doors, sprawled its wonder out for whoever gazed upon it.
Soo Hebin respected that her secret garden was the best area for her to meet with officials, lords, and other people under her employ that she didn’t necessarily want anyone to know about, but… It irked her a little to not be able to show it off.
At least, that was what Aradia, the first witch, daughter of the Gods surmised as she sat in a particular corner far away from the remote wing of the palace that Soo Hebin had stashed her in.
It was a beautiful, sunny day. The wind rustled the leaves, it was neither too hot nor too cold, and Aradia was reading a very interesting missive from the Coven of Giong’s leader.
“There was a symbol of a witch left at the crime scene by the docks. A symbol that there is no record of… Wasn’t that princess that Soo Hebin disliked odd for not having a symbol? Isn’t it possible that she developed one?” Aradia asked aloud while lowering the missive and lifting her icy eyes to Ansar.
Her faithful servant still knelt on the gravel in front of her. “You would know best.”
“Hm.” Aradia set the page beside herself on the wooden bench she was seated on. “Sit over there, Ansar. I want to speak my mind to you before Her Highness seeks me out.”
There was a subtle twitch in Ansar’s mouth before he raised his warm gaze to Aradia.
He then proceeded to obey and seat himself down in the chair she had gestured to with her chin.
“My brother is here in Zinfera. I feel it. And that incident at the docks tells me he has another witch helping him. The assistant that sent a missive to Soo Hebin… Yun? He said there was a dark mysterious man married to Elisara, and that they had a son.”
Ansar’s eyebrow arched. “Which is the devil? The man or the child?”
Aradia shook her head slowly, her eyes drifting downward. “I don’t know. What was reported to the coven and to the emperor, was that the devil had been reduced to ash and disappeared, which leads me to at first think it is the child. However…” the first witch paused while settling back comfortably in her seat and crossing her legs. “They could have lied. Maybe they said he died and kept him as a prisoner for information. I couldn’t see what happened when he was allegedly killed in Troivack.”
“What makes you think it’s a lie?” Ansar leaned forward interestedly.
“The descriptions of the shadows. If he’s a child, he can’t use his abilities yet. He probably can’t even re-”
“Your Holiness?” The distant call came from none other than the very concubine Aradia had been hoping to avoid.
As a result, she rolled her eyes, shared a telling look with Ansar, and responded, alerting the concubine to her location.
A few short minutes afterward the concubine appeared, dressed as extravagantly as possible.
Soo Hebin wore a long white dress with gold leaf patterns. The skirt underneath that added volume was black, and peaked out from underneath, while the sleeves were cut wide and loose so that the concubine could slip her hands in the sleeves as she walked gracefully.Her hair was piled high and adorned with an assortment of gold pins with rubies and diamonds…
In contrast, Aradia was clad in all black. The loose pants she had acquired, the long silk coat, and even the black corset she wore, were black, and unlike the concubine, she didn’t wear a speck of jewelry.
The concubine regarded Aradia’s unconventional appearance and relaxed posture with only the barest of eyebrow raises before she proceeded over to the other chair in the space, and lowered herself down.
“I have news,” she announced coolly.
Aradia knew the concubine hated not having anyone to prostrate themselves for her; it was amusing. It was times like this she occasionally had a vague inkling of missing her brother… As much as Aradia defended humanity, even she wasn’t blind to some of the worst characters. They used to laugh together at some of their awful antics.
“Princess Elisara was spotted in a town north of Bani. She escaped using her magic and headed west. They tracked her for two days, but couldn’t tell where in the Kaphe Forest she wound up going. She may have rerouted to try to go to Haewon, or simply decided another long route to take to Bani. She most likely thinks she can go to her former family for assistance,” Soo Hebin explained with a nearly indiscernible stiffness.
Aradia almost smiled.
She hadn’t been told the full details about the princess, but something about her certainly made the concubine nervous. It was quite interesting…
“She was alone. So either her husband and child fled somewhere else, or were waiting for her in the forest.”
Aradia considered this. “The edge of the Kaphe Forest north of Bani is more or less in the middle of Zinfera. Your princess is leaving herself a great many options, and forcing you to spread your resources thinly.” The first witch didn’t hide her high appraisal of Elisara.
The more she irritated the concubine, the more the woman was prone to letting things slip.
Sure enough upon hearing praise for the princess that Soo Hebin had tried to destroy countless times, Soo Hebin grew even paler, and her nostrils flared. “I am keeping the imperial soldiers in a ring around Gondol. If that brat thinks she is going to come and claim the throne, devil at her side or not, she will not succeed. However…” Soo Hebin trailed off, a superior glint in her eyes appearing. “I have also heard that there has been an official notice that Her Majesty Queen Katarina Reyes and her mother, Duchess Annika Ashowan, are on their way from Daxaria.”
Aradia stilled, then smiled widely. “Oh, how interesting that is. Why isn’t her father coming in light of my escape?”
“It is because of your escape that he is staying behind in Daxaria. In the event you attack their kingdom personally.”
Aradia scoffed. “I’m shocked they aren’t aware I’m here. Though it makes perfect sense for them to send the Daxarian queen here what with our history. I take it the Coven of Aguas is sending their own representatives?”
Soo Hebin took her time answering, and Aradia could tell it was because she was attempting to assert dominance in the conversation.
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“They are sending their former coven head Mr. Kraft, and a knight who is allegedly going to return to Daxaria in three years to begin the process of taking over as the Captain of Military for Daxaria.”
“I see.” Aradia’s eyes drifted toward the midafternoon sky with its brilliant blue hue and the fluffy clouds drifting by. “I’m expecting the coven leader of Giong to come visit me soon. Together we will start talking about collaborating with your men to look for my brother.”
Soo Hebin’s outrage seared forward in her expression. “Why did you summon them without speaking to me first?”
Aradia’s eyebrows shot upward in mock surprise before she let out a soft laugh.
“Soo Hebin.” The concubine’s teeth grit at being addressed so casually by the first witch. “Those are not your people. The covens were my creation, and they obey me. And the only other entities that would have authority over me, would be my parents, the Gods themselves.”
There was an eerie note in Aradia’s voice that sent an ethereal echo through the air.
While she couldn’t see it, Aradia was quite certain that Soo Hebin’s hands were trembling within her sleeves. Regardless, she resumed speaking to finish her point. “You are a mortal. You do not command me, and while you may have thought you commanded my people, that is a very serious misconception I’m afraid was born out of your ego.”
Soo Hebin’s eyes bulged, but after a moment of staring murderously at Aradia’s calm expression she lifted her chin.
“If I am nothing to you, then leave. I do not need your help.”
Aradia’s smile was toying. “Gladly. I’ll go to the coven, reveal my presence, and alert everyone you helped free me.” Aradia stood, her hands finding her pockets as she stepped lazily over to the concubine. “I’ll also share the fact that you have been abusing my creation, Witch’s Brew, and have been dosing your dear emperor for years in an effort to control him. Then I’ll even go an extra league and talk about how the only one you truly feared as she was the rightful one to the throne… Was Elisara Taejo.” Aradia inclined herself ever so slightly as she stared down at Soo Hebin. “Shall I show myself out now?”
The concubine was visibly struggling not to shrink back into her chair, when a voice called out.
“Mother! Mother your servants said you are out here! Whatever could you be doing here?” A male voice called out, and Aradia straightened just in time for a young man in his early twenties to appear. He wore a long plain royal blue coat that he had tied around his waist, and had a tidy bun pinned atop his head.
While he didn’t have any adornments, the quality of the silk spoke of his wealth.
“Mother, I was wondering where we decided we were going to host my birthday this year!” the young man all but whined to his Soo Hebin.
Aradia cocked her head to the right.
The young man was handsome… As long as he didn’t talk. With a sharp, square chin, broad cheekbones and wide, brown eyes.
“Jum, I told you to wait for me in the center garden. I have business to finish up here.”
At being reminded that his mother was in fact talking to other people, the prince at last noticed that there was a seemingly young Daxarian woman standing over his mother, and a Daxarian man lounging in a nearby chair.
“Who are you?” he asked bluntly.
Aradia squared herself to the prince her stare unblinking. “I am a guest of your mother’s. And you?”
The look of confusion mixed with indignation brewed on the young man’s face as he glanced to his mother questioningly before responding.“I am Prince Jum! The next emperor to the throne! Son of Her Highness Soo Hebin, and–”
“Ah. Jum it is,” Aradia turned on her heel and glided back over to the bench before seating herself down.
She looked at Soo Hebin, still smiling pleasantly while she glared back at Aradia.
At least she hasn’t tried to stab me outright yet.
“My dear,” Soo Hebin looked away from Aradia with great difficulty. She may have been wanting to see if she could simply kill the first witch with the acidity in her stare. “Please go inside and wait for me there, I need to finish this meeting.”
“But that woman–!”
Soo Hebin raised an eyebrow at her son, silencing him instantly, making him turn with slumped shoulders to trudge away.
Aradia would’ve bet money watching Jum behave like a petulant child was irking the concubine horribly.
“What is it you want Zinfera’s coven for, exactly?” Soo Hebin fired at Aradia, her gaze once more boring into the first witch.
Aradia let out a long suffering sigh as she looked at Ansar who merely bowed his head under her attention.
“I’m going to announce that witches have no business being nobles or leading countries, and then I am going to use the coven’s influence to find my brother and send him home.”
“The last time you did this you started a civil war and still failed,” Soo Hebin reminded with no small amount of satisfaction in her derisive tone.
The first witch remained unflappable. “True. But I wasn’t only trying to accomplish those two things back then. Back then I was trying to lend power to the Troivackian queen to improve the gender inequality of the kingdom, while also crippling her effort to restore the coven in court. I was also busy trying to overpower my brother with blunt force and magic with humans and beasts.”
“So then how do you plan on returning the devil to the Forest of the Afterlife?”
Aradia looked at Ansar, and again, smiled while answering. “We’re working on that. But I’ll need the coven’s full cooperation.”
Soo Hebin rose to her feet, her body angled toward the exit.
Aradia watched the burning ire simmering in every inch of her proud being.
“Your Highness?” Aradia called out politely—as a small gentling gesture of peace.
The concubine didn’t look in any way placated.
“You will be free of Princess Elisara, and by the time I am finished, Daxaria’s economy will be weakened. You can boast spearheading the resuming trades that will happen as a result. Remember, this is a partnership.”
Soo Hebin turned back to face Aradia directly, her shoulders straight as she peered down at the first witch with every ounce of superiority she possessed.
Unbothered, Aradia continued. “If you start attempting to be a tyrant, you will have the same end as Aidan Helmer. I’ve seen it time and time again. In life you will have partners, and you cannot lord over them all. Tread carefully.” Aradia loosely clasped her hands in front of herself and watched the concubine’s emotions flex in complication before she turned on her heel, and stalked away without another word.
Aradia looked back at Ansar who was rubbing his mouth while hiding a smile.
“I never knew you to have a sense of humor,” Aradia noted wryly.
At this Ansar smiled more obviously at her. “My apologies. I simply am… euphoric to have you back with us.”
Aradia looked tenderly at the man, then stood to make her way over to him. Once in front of Ansar, she lifted a hand and gently touched his cheek. He stared up at her adoringly.
“I can’t feel love, Ansar. But if I could, you would have all of me. As it is… Guard yourself, my darling.” A shadow of pain passed through Aradia’s eyes as her mouth quirked regretfully.
“Now, tell me what you’ve learned about the other princes and princesses. That idiot son of Soo Hebin’s shouldn’t so much as breathe on that throne.”
Ansar bowed his head, his warm expression dimmed, but not entirely dissolved, as he then proceeded to relay his findings to his mistress.
Aradia eventually seated herself as she listened to his voice, and while still absorbing the information, leaned back her head to enjoy the birds that sang around her…
It was a rare moment of peace, but with the arrival of Katarina Reyes, she knew she was going to have to prepare quite a bit to properly receive the queen of Daxaria.