"Oh no," (Patreon)
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Zandar blubbered pathetically. "Please tell me you didn't do that. Did you?"
"Did I?" I taunted. It wasn't nice, I admit, but she deserved to squirm for a while. "Oh my, oh my, I wonder where I left our darling wee babe. Oh wherever could the princess be?"
"YOU BASTARD!" Zandar yelled. "I'LL KILL YOU!"
"Kill me?" I answered with mocking indignity. "That's a fine show of gratitude after I helped you out with those villagers."
"YOU TOLD THEM TO HANG ME!" she exclaimed.
"Would you rather have been burned?" I retorted, not expecting her to really understand the huge favor I had tried to do for her, in spite of her blatant disrespect.
"Now, regarding the princess," I continued, as I floated serenely down from my tree. It was a pretty impressive effect! Unfortunately it was completely wasted on Zandar, who didn't even seem to notice. "The daughter of the King of Faerie is far too important to trust to the whims of Fate. You may rest assured that she is safe from your baleful influence."
I landed a few paces from Zandar and looked her over. She was bleeding from dozens of wounds, and would probably collapse as soon as the adrenaline wore off.
"Instead of worrying about that," I suggested, "you should tend to yourself. You really look a fright."
She clenched her fist, but I had the advantage of Adoyret Sam's combat training. Without her hammer, Zandar was no threat. I stared at her abdomen, which compelled her to look down, and as soon as she saw the extent of her injuries, she began to sway.
"I bid you farewell til next we meet, my darling," I said with a sarcastic bow as Zandar tottered and fell over into the grass.
How long would it be til she revived? I needed to decide what I should do with her. The idea of this vile femme running free to commit all kinds of evil upon the world made me uneasy. It was impossible to kill her, not permanently ... and I had to admit that, even as evil as she was, I couldn't bring myself to kill the mother of my child. We'd had venery together! That had to count for something!
I climbed back up the tree, where I could mull over this problem while watching Zandar from a safe distance. I considered my options. I could imprison her; she had been sealed up in a cellar for hundreds of years and emerged none the worse for wear. And therein was the problem. If she somehow managed to escape, then she would become a truly implacable enemy. Might she still have a role to play in the grand scheme of things? Fuma worked in mysterious ways...
By a wild coincidence (or was it?) as this thought crossed my mind, I became aware of someone bumbling through the woods, headed straight for the spot where Zandar was lying.