Eva reappeared in a secluded hallway and stumbled, bracing herself against a wall.

It took a lot of effort to appear that omniscient and that all powerful. Truthfully, she’d only been able to watch what occurred between Anne and Duke Marshal because she’d spent a lot of time preparing the belfry the night before. And then performing that many teleportations in one day, not to mention the other spells she’d cast to intimidate the Duke…

Eva felt something trickling from her nose. She instinctively wiped it and her hand came away covered in blood.

“Pushed ourselves a little too far today, have we?” The Bishop stepped forward out of the shadows and offered a handkerchief, a gentle smile on her face.

Eva snatched the handkerchief from her. “How did you find me?” she asked, wiping away the blood.

“I know the sorts of places you go when you don’t want to be found,” said the Bishop. “I know how you think. Because I’m the one who taught you to think in the first place.”

Eva scoffed.

“Now, I want you to tell me, what in the Goddess’s name you were trying to pull here,” asked the Bishop, no longer smiling. “Did you do it on purpose?”

“Which part?” asked Eva.

“The hood falling down!” snapped the Bishop. “The ‘revelation!’ All of it! Did you share some of the forbidden knowledge you’ve gained over the years with the Saintess? The knowledge that I graciously allowed you to acquire after I caught you all those years ago reading books you should never have known existed? Is this your idea of retaliation? Payback for something as petty as a busy schedule? Are you trying to embarrass me?”

Eva smirked. “I never told Anne anything,” she said. “She must have figured it out on her own. Perhaps all those centuries of church propaganda weren’t all that effective after all?”

The Bishop glared and took a deep breath, clearly readying a tirade, but Eva didn’t let her get further than “How dare you?” before taking a step forward and interrupting.

“As for whether I used my magic to pull down Anne’s hood, revealing her species to the world?” Eva shrugged. “Who knows? What difference does it make? What exactly are you going to do about it?”

“I’m going to tell her that you’ve been faking her miracles all these years,” said the Bishop, refusing to back down.

“No, you won’t,” said Eva, taking another step forward. The Bishop was taller than her, but Eva grabbed the front of her robe and pulled her down so their faces were closer. When Eva spoke again it was a whisper, or perhaps more of a hiss. “If you tell her, she’ll leave. And after what she just announced to the world? She’ll take a good chunk of your believers with her. Same if you denounce her as a heretic and kick her out. Any step you take now will turn her from a Saintess into a prophet. And how do you think your little power struggle with the Emperor will go if you’re suddenly embroiled in a new power struggle with a whole new sect?”

Eva let go of the Bishop, shoving her a little so she stumbled back a step. “Sure, if you tell her, you’ll ruin everything I’ve been working so hard for all these years. It will essentially be the end of my life. But I’ll be sure to return the favor.”

The Bishop struggled to come up with a response. “Not everyone will believe her words,” she said, finally.

“Enough will,” said Eva. “Enough for it to be a thorn in your side for years to come.”

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“Well, I can’t just tell everyone what she said was the truth!” said the Bishop. “The church can’t endorse that! We’ll lose even more believers that way. You can’t undo centuries of hatred just like that!”

“Do you remember what you told me once, when I asked you why the church hid the fact that the Goddess is an elf?” asked Eva.

The Bishop was rubbing her head, clearly exhausted by this conversation. “No,” she snapped. “I can’t be expected to remember every little thing I’ve ever said to you in my life.”

“You said that the Goddess is perfect and immortal, but humankind is weak and mortal,” said Eva. “So in order for the church to do the most good for the most people, sometimes compromises had to be made, in order to meet the people where they were.”

Eva patted the Bishop on the shoulder and smiled kindly. “So why don’t you give the Saintess a few days off, let her lie low for a while, and then, when the news has had time to settle in, we can see where the people are so we can figure out where to meet them, hmm?”

----------------------------------------

“I… I don’t understand,” said Edrea, who was back on her feet physically, but not so much mentally.

Corvina smiled reassuringly, and gestured behind her. Nia and Helen had both slipped in after Corvina, largely unnoticed. Nia took a step forward, while Helen just sidled her way around the room until she was standing next to Agis.

“Doesn’t my lady have an excellent sense of dramatic timing?” Helen whispered to Agis.

“I don’t think anyone’s going to beat my sister on dramatic moments today,” replied Agis. “Although I’m not so sure that’s a good thing.”

“This is my friend, Lady Nia Lowmal,” said Corvina. “She’s the daughter of the ambassador from Quellinia. She has prepared papers for you to safely emigrate there.”

“If you’ll just follow me this way,” said Nia, gesturing with a flourish. “We can have you in Quellinia by lunchtime tomorrow.”

“I have to flee the country?” asked Edrea.

“Of course you don’t have to,” said Corvina. “As I see it, you have three options. First, you could fulfill your contract with my father and help destroy the Sacred Forest. Second, you could break your contract with my father, save the Sacred Forest, and be executed as a traitor. Or third, you could flee the country, save the Sacred Forest, and live a long and happy life.”

Edrea looked far from happy.

“Alchemy is far more respected in Quellinia than in the Wyernwolf Empire,” said Nia gently. “There will be many opportunities for you there. And Lady Corvina has generously agreed to supply the funds to get you started with a small shop in the capital city there.”

“Consider it an investment,” said Corvina. “I may ask for a small return someday.”

“I suppose I have no choice,” said Edrea, miserably.

“Excellent,” said Nia. “And you may want to consider taking up smoking. The tobacco in Quellinia is excellent. I hear it’s great for relieving stress.” She winked at Corvina before showing Edrea out of the room.

“What is going on?” asked Anne. “You expected all this to happen?”

“More or less,” said Corvina. “I knew this miracle would be the final push that would lead Edrea to confess. Although I hadn’t expected you to announce that revelation like that. Luckily it worked out in our favor this time, although it may make things slightly... complicated, for a while.”

Anne didn’t know what to think. Obviously, she had known already that Corvina was an excellent schemer. And it was pretty hot seeing one of her plans come together like this, with all the little pieces falling into place. But Anne couldn’t shake the image of Edrea Baines throwing herself on the ground, looking so terrified and miserable. It all seemed… just slightly unnecessary.

“So you already knew about the plan to destroy the Sacred Forest,” said Anne.

“Of course,” said Corvina. “I was the one who hired the alchemist, after all.”

“Why couldn’t you have just told me about it yourself?” asked Anne.

“You wouldn’t have believed me.”

“Yes I would have!”

“Well you shouldn’t have believed me!” said Corvina. “We only met a few weeks ago! And everyone knows I’m the most powerful political agent for your greatest enemy. But I thought… if you saw me so thoroughly dismantle my own scheme, and if you heard the details yourself from an involved party… well, then I could prove my sincerity to you.”

“You’re sincerity in what?” asked Anne.

Corvina carefully got down on one knee in front of Anne, and held her hand out to her. “Saintess Anne, when I first met you it changed my life. I always thought I had no choice but to fulfill the role I was assigned by my father, but you showed me that we all can choose who we want to be. If that’s the case, than I choose to be on your side, not the Emperor’s. I want to live my in support of you and your causes. Please, Anne, allow me to pledge myself to you.”

Anne looked into Corvina's eyes, which were sparkling up at her with such beauty and intensity that Anne's mind immediately went blank.