Imago Ch16: Tea and Treachery (Patreon)

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The portal dumps L into a pillared bathhouse, although the basin at the centre is filled with glimmering aether instead of water. The moment she’s dragged through, the light fades to reveal a solid stone wall where once was Helios’s estate. The suddenness of the change leaves her light-headed and dizzy.If the others feel it too, they aren’t eager to show it. Scooping Astraea into her arms, Fili strides into the pool. "F-Fili...I can walk…”"Rest, little sprout. You need to recover." Fili says, gently lowering her into the glowing liquid.  L splashes through the shallows after them, but Fili stops her with a withering glance.  "Puck, take Lyra and prepare tea for the setting room."L flinches, stung by the dismissal. "Can't I do anything to help here?""Yes, can't Lyra help here?"  Puck mimics plaintively from the top of the steps. “Puck.” Fili growls."On it, Lady Fili!"  The satyr salutes, then snatches up the chain and begins to reel L in."W-wait...!"  Astraea protests. Fili lowers a gnarled arm between them, cutting her off.  "It’s okay, Astraea.” L calls over her shoulder, struggling to maintain some kind of dignity and balance. “I'll be in the next - " She slips, splashing below the aether. It takes a moment to regain her footing. L scrambles out of the pool at Puck’s side, sputtering and glaring.“Stop.""Just following orders."  Puck grins, swinging the length of chain.L starts to protest, but bites her tongue instead, forcing control into her words.. "...where's the setting room?"“Now, now!” Puck reaches up and tweaks her ear. "Kitchens first!"  He turns and strolls jauntily toward the far wall, the chain still firmly clutched in his hands. Puck gives a section of the wall a quick rap with his knuckles, and a door-sized section of stones slide apart, exposing a small passageway. L gives one last glance back at the dryads, wishing she could stay, before an unceremonious tug pulls her inside the dark corridor, the aether already beading off her body.Clusters of glowing mushrooms give just enough light to navigate the winding passage, even with Puck leading the way at a scamper. Turning here, straight there, then around a corner. Trailing behind, L pulls her wings in to keep them from dragging along the sidewalls. Even with Fili's mutable form, she’d struggle to fit through a place like this. It can’t be anything other than a servant’s passage.Puck cheerfully scrambles up a ladder, forcing her to follow. It's not easy with her wrists chained, but she manages with a flutter or two. Glancing around the dark, she frowns. The tunnel looks exactly the same as the one she entered. “Hold on. Isn’t this where we started?” Puck snickers.  “One might think so.”  He turns to the wall on his right, knocks twice, and a door slides open in a blaze of hot red light. It’s the kitchen, complete with towering shelves and a hearth big enough to roast an ox. A harried-looking brownie turns a quartet of pheasants on a spit while a nymph with iridescent beetle wings clambers above along the cupboards, tossing packets and bottles down to her. She catches them effortlessly, carefully sprinkling the contents over the birds and feeding the fire. L can’t help but note that, unlike herself and the beetle-nymph, the brownie wears no chains whatsoever.Neither look up as Puck swaggers into the kitchen. L follows a step behind. Her antennae drink in the warm kitchen scents - rosemary and roasting meat, sour vinegar and sweet liquors.  She smiles wistfully, struck by a sudden wave of nostalgia for the Glade. Trystan would go mad for these shelves."Tea for the lady!"  Puck announces. The nymph flits over to a drawer and pulls it open. The sound shakes L out of her reverie."Will he know what kind - ?" She starts. Puck clicks his tongue and points up. L looks just in time to see the beetle-nymph dropping a bottle. She makes a panicked dive for it, fumbling at the smooth glass glass.  Her cuff catches the bottle’s neck, sending it spinning from her hands. It shatters across the floor in a spray of dried leaves and crystalline shards. Puck lets out a low whistle. “Excellent form.”"I'll get it." L winces, but the cook is already pushing her aside, broom in hand, sweeping up the mess. She sighs, resigning herself to a lifetime of being shouldered aside by brownies. A pointed cough draws her attention, and she looks up to see the nymph waving a second bottle toward her. He flicks his antennae questioningly. “I’ve got it.” L grumbles. The beetle eyes her sceptically. “I said I’ve got it.” With a shrug and a clatter of chitin, he lets go. L lifts her hands, holding them like she’s about to catch a ball - but the bottle hits her hand at an angle, teetering heartstoppingly on her fingertips. The chain twists like a living thing, getting in the way. She yelps -  Puck's hand darts out and snatches the bottle out of the air."Lyra, you helpless thing. You're just so clumsy."  Puck smirks, placing the herbs safely on the counter with a magician’s flourish. "What would you do without me?"“Let’s see you do it with your wrists chained together!“ L snaps, rounding on Puck.The kitchen goes silent. The brownie and nymph watch her the way they might stare at a wild animal -  the brownie clutching her broom, the nymph clinging to the shelves. Even Puck has gone quiet.   L steps back, her lips pressed together in a thin line. She closes her eyes.  Breathes in the crisping aroma of the birds, mingling with the sharp tang of dried herbs from the broken jar. The lightning-crack of Helios' magic still echoes through her mind."I'm sorry. I’m just… Lady Astraea is hurt.""Is that why you've been shaking since we returned?” Puck lifts an eyebrow. “Shaking since… what?”She looks down at her hands. They’re trembling. Even the chain to her manacles has a slight sway to it. Puck settles a hand over hers, something that could be concern behind his eyes. Leaning forward, he whispers sagely.“I understand how…emotional nymphs can be."  L grits her teeth and wrenches her hand free. This is still helpful, in a way. It’s giving her something deeply, viscerally frustrating to focus on.  "Thank you. I'm glad you understand."Puck pinches her cheek. “Ow!  H-hey!”"Don't fret, little nymph. Robin Goodfellow is here to look after both you and Lady Astraea." "Lucky us." L shuffles back out of his reach. "Looking after…?  What does that mean?"Puck begins to snicker. “Puck!”"Not telling!"  He says and grins up at the ceiling. L scowls, shaking her head as if to dislodge the thought. It’s already found its footing, though, worming its way into an explanation. She peers closely at him. "Is… that how lady Fili knew to intervene?  You followed us and then told her what was happening?"Puck’s eyes dart back to her, and he lets out an exaggerated sigh."I'm really such a charitable soul.  It's my biggest vice, you know." "Unforgivable." L lowers her wings slightly, and she gives him a little nod. "The world should shun you for it.""Oh, believe me, it does."  He nods somberly.  "It does."L stifles a laugh, looking down at her hands again.  "So. Tea. How do we do this?"Puck gives L what might be the most sincere smile she’s ever seen. "Well, it helps if you don't drop it on the ground."

Tea brewing is more involved than L expects. It's a far cry from the electric kettle at home, a bit closer to what she's seen Trystan do with his distillations. For all his silliness, Puck executes it with a deft hand. Heating the water temperature just so, using the right filter, measuring out different ingredients, adding in a bit of cool water first, mixing in with a whisk made of some deciduous plant, and finishing it with a heavy cream he tips in with a flourish. The completed drink has a heavy scent of juniper and bergamot. It’s a pleasant enough fragrance, if a little more floral than L prefers. But then again, she’s not a dryad. Puck hands her a tray loaded with a pair of plates, saucers, and a bowl of what smells like candied woodsap. He takes the tea and cups himself, for once without commentary, and leads her down a bustling hallway. A couple brownies hurry along, joined by several nymphs, all male. None of them stop to talk.  They don’t even give her a second glance.As Puck does his trick with the wall, L keeps the plates carefully balanced. Her thoughts drift lightly. Never truly settling. Never moving far from her worries.Unlike the hewn stone and glowing mushrooms of the servants passage, the setting room is gilded and ornate, with decorative windows that rise into the rafters several stories overhead. Thick woven rugs line the floor, reclining sofas line the room, and a blue-tinged fire crackles in the hearth. Everything is open and expansive and lush, and beyond the window all of Xylia stretches below.Fili and Astraea are talking quietly by the fire, Astraea laughing slightly. L hesitates in the doorway, taking her in.  She’s dry and alert, and in a fresh pair of clothes. At least physically, she’s recovered.Puck swings the doors open wide and L enters a step behind.  Fili gives them an idle glance, as Astraea visibly brightens.  She moves to stand, but Fili puts a hand on her shoulder.Puck puffs out his chest.  "Sorry for the delay, mistress. Lyra is out of practice in the kitchen." "Yes." L says, refusing to rise to the bait.Puck gestures to the table, and L carefully places the plates and saucers, one in front of each dryad.  Setting the bowl of woodsap between, she gives Astraea a hesitant glance. "Feeling better…?"  L asks, barely above a whisper."Why are you addressing her?"  Fili interjects, her voice stabbing like an icicle. "I w-was only-”"Only what?"  Fili says. Her branches creak, rustling and growing as her eyes glisten with fire.  “Don’t tell me you were actually concerned.”"Fili, please."  Astraea says, lightly touching her arm. The willow looks to Astraea, and settles back into her seat. L lets out a breath. The tremor in her chains has returned."Puck, you are dismissed.  Lyra, you may remain. Attend to your Keeper.""Good luck."  Puck whispers as he brushes past. L nods, not trusting herself to speak, and drifts around the edge of the table. There’s no space left on the couch, but someone’s placed a suspiciously large pillow on the floor at Astraea’s feet. L’s jaw tightens. She settles down on her hip, drawing her legs to her side and letting her left arm rest on her thigh. Astraea’s hand rests on her shoulder, and L relaxes at the warmth that radiates through her body. Reaching up, she interlaces her hand with Astraea’s."... as I was saying."  Fili says, taking a sip of tea. "The humanists are struggling to maintain what position we have. I am happy for your sake that you found her, but it would have been better if you..."Fili looks into her cup, branches creaking. "Astraea, you know that I love you, don't you?"“I know I've caused trouble…"  Astraea says.Fili picks up the younger dryad’s cup, holding it out to her. She clasps it in both hands and sips, then frowns miserably into her reflection. Fili shakes her head, leaning over to brush a little of Astraea's hair out of her eyes. L doesn't know how much dryads go in for the concept of family, but the gestures between mother and daughter are all there. And there’s apparently no love lost between the elder dryad and Lyra. She frowns, wondering. Could Fili be the answer they’re looking for? An overprotective mother, secretly interceding on behalf of her daughter?  But then, Fili would have known Astraea would go in search of Lyra, and if Fili was trying to protect Astraea, then why let her travel to the market?  No.  It doesn’t add up.L returns her attention to the conversation, quietly listening in."I hate seeing you so sad, little sprout.” Fili murmurs. “Thanks, Fili.” Astraea mumbles. “You’ve always been very patient with me.”"Patient? Oh little one, there was always so much pressure on you, right from the start.  You remember my reservations about the whole affair.” “Oh, I remember.”  Astraea laughs her exasperation into her tea mug. “I remember.”“But you were so happy with her! I had to give in. I thought with you so committed to the idea, maybe it could be a seed of something. Beginning with a sapling… surely it would be seen as less threatening?” “And yet… here we are.” Astraea adds glumly.“Oh, sprout.”  Fili reaches over and places her hand on Astraea’s shoulder.  “You couldn’t have known Lyra would abandon you like that."“Abandon?” L looks up at them, startled. She can see the mirror of her expression in both of their faces - more at the act of speaking than the word itself. "I never abandoned her.""You.”  Fili snaps, the air crackling and the hairs on L’s arms prickling. “Left." “But…” L forces herself to stare Fili in the face.  "We don’t know if that was by choice.""Of course." Fili laughs, half exasperated. "The memory loss.""What does that - "Fili’s hair lashes out in golden vines, snaring around L, tightening over her mouth and cutting off her breath. Panic spikes through her, and she strains her wings, struggling. It only seems to make Fili angrier. "Everything, you albatross!" The dryad shouts, dragging her close Her grip tightens, like she’s barely restraining herself from crushing L.  "The dryadists see you as a symbol of our failure! And they’ve stopped bothering with subtleties. All thanks to that bloody memory loss, they have every excuse to 'train' you to be as you should be!  Setting an example for us all!""FILI!"  There’s a splash of light to her left. Astraea’s suddenly interposing herself, halfway into her tree-form. The older dryad wavers, hearing the fear in Astraea’s voice. Slowly, she uncurls her hair, dropping L to the ground in a crumpled heap. As Astraea hurries over to L, Fili turns her attention to the open window. There’s a flash of movement - a small golden bird, darting guiltily from the eaves. Fili’s hair lashes out, snaring the creature, swiftly crushing it - and when it uncurls, there are no bones, just fluttering wisps of aether. She smiles grimly, closing and locking the window.  “As if our fall was not already complete."   She gives a forced, bitter laugh.  "They still send their spies."L sits up, coughing.  "Fili… w-we’re on the same side. You’re angry, I understand, but we need to work together - " "I want NOTHING to do with you." Fili turns, her body towering higher, the lights in the room dim as her radiance grows. “Fili,” Astraea says, standing alongside L and gripping her hand. “No matter what Brother Evander says, Lyra is not my Kept.  She’s my partner.  So please stop punishing her for her past mistakes and listen.”A cloud passes over Fili’s eyes. "Will you stand even against me, little sprout?”Astraea holds her gaze.  "If you threaten the one I love again, then yes. I will." Fili takes a step back, dwindling and folding in on herself until she's almost human-sized. She collapses back into the couch, exhausted, massaging her temple with her right hand. When she speaks, the words pass her lips like a dying breeze."... why did you return? You should have remained in Annwyn. Was that not your plan?"The electrical tension in the air ebbs. The willowy woman suddenly looks very small and very old, wrung out by mere existence. In the short time L has known her, Fili has threatened, insulted, dismissed and manhandled her. But she’s also perhaps the only dryad in all of Xylia who’s an ally to Astraea, and that means something.“You say you’re a…a ‘humanist’?”   L asks.  “As were you,”  Fili cracks an eye, a flash of irritation reigniting,  “once.”L looks at her hand. At the downy grey blanket. The false skin over her own.  She tightens her fist and turns to Astraea.  “We should tell her. All of it.”“We… what?”  Astraea fumbles.“All of it.” L reiterates. “Unless you think we can’t trust her.”  “Sprout…?”  Fili asks, lowering her hand and leaning forward, her exhaustion giving way to curiosity.  “What is all this? Are you hiding something?”Astraea sucks in a breath, casting her a quick nervous smile.  "... if there is anyone in all of Gwyllion we can trust, it's Sister Fili." Reaching into her pocket, Astraea retrieves the key to the glamour and slips it into L’s hand. The little nymph looks down at the piece of metal."... Lady Fili…”  L starts.  She lifts the key. Her hand steadies.“The nymph you knew as Lyra…” L inserts the key in the lock. She gives it a little twist. “...never came back." 

"...and that’s all of it."The room is silent. A silent ticking of artificiary undercuts the crackling fire. From the moment Fili saw her true form, to the last word of her story, she’s held her silence. Taking each part of it in.  Watching her."Human..."  Fili says in a far-off voice.L toys with the saucer. "Half human.  Half human and half nymph."Fili stands, holding out her hand. "M... may I?""Oh!”  L is a little startled by the earnest intensity in Fili’s voice. “Y...yes?"Fili takes L's arm and extends it, lightly caressing the soft human flesh.  Feels between her knuckles and along her rounded black fingernails.  She touches L’s side lightly, where a nymph’s secondary arms would be. L holds very still, uncomfortably aware of how different Fili’s attitude is. Fili takes her by the jaw, tilting her head back and forth, lightly touching the side of her face. Observing her ears. Taking in the whites of her eyes. "... remarkable.”  She says in hushed wonder.  “Truly remarkable.  I always wished to meet a human, but never thought the day would come."“Half human.” L reiterates. The irony of hearing this from a magical tree-woman is not lost on her. "W..." Fili hesitates, bashful. "What is it like?"“What is what like?”“To be human.”L thinks for a bit.  “Vulnerable.”  She answers. “In some ways. Less so in others. But to be completely honest… not so very different.”Fili releases her and steps back, running her hand over her mouth.  "You are both in tremendous danger."“We know…” Astraea says quietly."That's why we returned." L follows. "To find out what really happened the night Lyra left. To put an end to all this."The dryad shakes her head.  "No, you don't understand. If the dryadists discover that you are human, there will be panic. Evander’s hand will be forced. You will be seen as the most dangerous object in all of Xylia - “"Dangerous?" L says indignantly.Fili holds up a hand.  “And there is a further complication.” L’s mouth snaps shut.   “What…?”“Now that you have returned, Evander…” Fili lightly touches Astraea on the shoulder “...has revoked Astraea’s right of passage.  You have no way back to Annwyn.  No way to save your friends.”"...what?" L whispers, her eyes going wide.  She shakes her head. "No. No, we have to go back."  She starts to breathe faster. "We have to go back! Ian, Neith - they're counting on us - "“Fili. Please.” Astraea’s gone pale. “We can’t abandon them.” "Calm yourselves."  Fili says, her eyes darkening. She nods and kneels down, one hand on each of their shoulders; old bark, gnarled and powerful, something warm humming beneath the cracked surface.  "... I will secure your exit.  I do not know what influence I still hold, but I will use it. For now, continue your investigation. It is possible that your goals might serve both our ends."L nods, still shaken, clutching the glamour in her hands.  Astraea draws her close, and L pulls into a tight hug."We’ll find our answers.”  Astraea whispers.Fili nods gravely, leaning down to brush L’s antennae back.  “I have invoked the right of claiming. Lyra - L -  must stay at my estate tonight.  Sister Astraea, you may stay as well.  We have much to discuss, and maybe by morning we’ll have a clearer way forward."Fili touches the glamour, one finger tracing the copper band. "But for now… and every day forward, keep yourself concealed.”Even in this world, she has a binder to keep her hidden.Safety first.L lifts the choker back to her neck, snapping it into place. As a phantom wind whips her hair, she smiles bitterly, blinking back unshed tears. Fili’s estate, Cordelia’s warmth, Helio’s viciousness and the whole blazing, enchanted city…It all melts away, vanishing like her face as Lyra’s features twist into being.  All she can think of is the trusting, sad smile on Ian’s face as she walked toward the portal. And behind him, dozens of promising, watchful eyes. Cold and hungry. continue reading ->

Finally, L seems to have someone in power she can trust with her secret - even if Fili has complicated problems of her own. So long as this time, she’s found someone trustworthy…secrets are a little bit like bottles that way. Sometimes you need to break a few before you can hold on to them. Thanks as always for reading, and be sure to leave your top three picks for Heart’s illustration this chapter! Join us next time on October 4th for our next installment, in which L goes on an unexpected trip with Xylia’s least predictable resident…~Hark