Forgotten

Caethya smiled, watching her love tilt her head to the side. Silver hair cascaded over pointy ears, and a barely-visible blue shimmer left a small trail of silver mana hanging in the air from the motion. She could feel Aperio drawing more mana into her body and could perceive the way it spread its way through her, even to the feathers on her wings which caused their blue edges to glow just a little.

The small rituals Aperio used to calm herself were far from normal, but for one reason or another they had a similar effect on Caethya herself. Perhaps it was her ever-changing nature towards the divine, or maybe she had simply spent too much time with Aperio and her love's magic had become something of a calming presence for her. Whether Aperio was aware of this phenomenon or not, she was a constant in the universe and, ever since Caethya had realized what she felt, for her as well.

"I think you should try whatever Guro ends up making," Caethya said as she brushed her hand over Aperio's arm. "It's not like you have to watch your weight."

The All-Mother tilted her head to the other side before giving a brief nod. "I will try it, just like I did with the wine, I simply do not expect to enjoy it." She extended one of her wings, gently wrapping it around Caethya before returning her attention back to Jhila and Orlar. "Is there anything you wish to ask me?"

Aperio had undoubtedly noticed that her parents had gotten just a little more tense after she had made it quite clear that she would rather not talk about her past. Of course, her love had phrased it as a polite request, but the way the air itself had shifted with her words would have made it crystal clear to anyone that she would not discuss such things. It was a decision Caethya understood very well.

Talking about her love's time as a slave would undoubtedly help her work through it, but she knew that that was something which would take Aperio a while longer to be comfortable with.

"I think I speak for both of us when I say that we have a lot of questions," Jhila said, cradling her glass. "But I am honestly not sure where to start."

"Perhaps the easiest would be why you blessed our daughter," Orlar began. "Did you know you would like her, or is that coincidence?"

"Coincidence," Aperio replied with a small shrug. "I do not know what a Soul will turn into when it enters the realm of mortals. In all honesty, I had not expected to run into the mortals that carried my blessing ever again. As for why…" The All-Mother paused for a moment, her voice a little lower and slower as she continued speaking. "There is no real reason."

Caethya recognized that tone of voice from her love. She was not lying, but what she said was not the truth either. Have to ask her about that later… While Caethya felt like she already knew the truth Aperio wanted to hide, her mind refused to offer up what that was, only giving her the hazy feeling that she knew.

"Do other Gods just randomly bless people?" Orlar asked.

"I do not think so," Aperio replied. "It requires a decent amount of mana that most deities would rather not spend on a mortal."

"And you have no problem with that?"

Caethya could not see her love's face, but she just knew that Aperio was currently quirking her brow and trying her best not to ask her parents if they were all there.

"Why would I?" Aperio asked instead, the wisps of her mana that had spread around the room flaring slightly. "I can make Gods."

"Of course," her father replied, shaking his head. "A stupid question."

"It is easy to forget," Aperio replied. "I have noticed that most mortals struggle to truly understand what I can do. I cannot blame you or anyone else for that, however. It does sound far-fetched when I claim that I can simply make a God."

"It does," Jhila said as she sat herself down on a couch, breaking at least a few dozen baseless rules of proper conduct in the noble society. "But nobody would believe me that I can feel your voice in my Soul either. Very bizarre experience, by the way."

"I can only imagine," her love replied, a little more quietly than normal.

Caethya placed her hand on Aperio's stomach, offering the All-Mother a smile when she looked at her. "Perhaps a spar with Mother is a good idea while we wait for Guro to prepare his feast."

Aperio tilted her head ever-so-slightly to the side for a moment before looking at Jhila. "If you truly wish to fight me, we can; it simply will not be as interesting as you think."

"Perhaps not for you," Orlar said before downing the rest of his wine in one large swig. A wave of his hand caused the bottle to fly towards him and he poured himself another drink. "But I can guarantee you that my wife will love it."

///

Jhila smiled as she pulled the last strap of her armour tight. The All-Mother had already moved to the other field behind the estate that Jhila would usually use to do her exercises. It should be big enough to have a somewhat proper fight. If she permits it, that is. The Elven woman was under no illusion that her daughter's girlfriend could simply remove her from existence before she could take a breath, but she had said herself that she liked to fight and ending the spar like that would defeat its purpose.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Orlar asked as she let go of her hair, having finished braiding it. "It seems more than a little risky. What if she suddenly decides she wants more fighting? She could level the entire city."

"Do you really think Caethya would have chosen her if she was inclined to wipe out an entire city on a whim?"

"No," her husband replied. "But I have dealt with the divine and their supporters more than enough to know that some of them have killed simply out of boredom. They just do not work like we do."

Jhila first grabbed her sword and placed it onto her hip, the enchantment of her armour keeping it in place, before grabbing her trusty spear. Against someone like Aperio, something with a bit more reach was probably a good idea. "You know as well as I do that this has more to do with how strong any one person becomes than anything else. Both our views on life changed as our strength grew."

Orlar let out a sigh and shook his head. "Just know that I do not want you to get hurt."

She smiled. "I know, and I won't."

It had been a good while since she had fought someone so clearly stronger than her. The last time it happened, she had been able to learn a good deal about how to fight.That might not hold true for this spar, as the All-Mother had no need to study technique or be proficient with a weapon. It was just as likely that she would brute force in the fight as it was that she was a master of whatever armament she used.

"Good luck," Orlar said as he leaned in and planted a quick kiss on Jhila's lips. "I will go and help Guro; have to make sure he doesn't go too overboard."

"You do that," she replied, smiling at her husband for a moment longer before turning to leave through the door behind her. "I will go and have a bout with the most powerful being in existence."

Jhila ignored the small grumble from her husband and stepped out of the small armoury they had built into their home, onto the small path that would lead her to the field. After only a couple of steps, however, she could feel a presence wrap around her – one she knew belonged to Aperio. It felt questioning, somehow, and after Jhila had as much as thought about it, she could feel it pull on her, inviting her to hold on. She did, and a breath later she appeared on the large open field in front of the All-Mother.

"I figured it was appropriate to bring you here once you had prepared adequately," Aperio said. "Though, I did expect your husband to come as well."

"He does not like to watch me fight," Jhila replied, unsure if the All-Mother had overheard their talk or not. "Especially not when he thinks I might get injured."

"I already promised Caethya that I will hold back as much as I can." She held out her hand and a swordstaff with a feather-like blade appeared in it. "I will also offer you the use of my weapon, as what you brought will only break if you use it against me." The All-Mother spun the weapon in her hand, its edge leaving a multi-coloured trail that did not play nicely with Jhila's eyes, before offering what the Elven woman assumed to be the handle. "If you can, that is."

Jhila stuck her own spear into the ground and grabbed hold of the weapon, her eyes widening slightly as she felt a bit of her mana being drawn into it. As soon as the All-Mother let go, the Elven woman lurched forward, the weight of the swordstaff not something she had expected.

"I don't think I can fight with this," she said as she held it in both hands and carefully manoeuvred herself into a stance. "Way too heavy."

Aperio let out a sigh, the weapon disappearing from Jhila's hand at the same time. "Alas, it was worth a try." The All-Mother spread her wings slightly and rolled her shoulders. "I will do my best to repair whatever of your equipment breaks."

While Jhila had seen a lot during her time as an adventurer, and was now a general in the kingdom's army, standing in front of Aperio — whose wings were spread behind her, no longer masking her figure — was something else. Whether it was simply an inherent feature of her being the All-Mother or something she did on purpose did not matter, as the effect remained the same and caused Jhila to take a step backwards.

"I will not use magic nor weapons," the All-Mother said as she lowered her stance slightly, "only what my body has to offer."

If it was anyone else, Jhila would have laughed at that decision, but now it was simply a small boon that moved her chances from a guaranteed loss to a most assured one.

"I am ready," she said, pulling her spear out of the ground and holding it tightly in both hands.

As soon as Jhila took a step forward, Aperio vanished, dirt and grass filling the space she had occupied. Her eyes could not track her opponent, but neither did she need to as she felt herself being thrown backwards by the All-Mother's fist slamming into her stomach.

The air left her lungs as she hit the ground and before she could get her bearings, Jhila felt a hand lifting her up by her neck while another pulled the spear from her hands.

"I believe that is my win,

" Aperio said before she sat the Elven woman back down and stuck the spear into the ground before her.

Jhila took a deep breath and grabbed hold of her weapon to steady herself. She wanted to speak, but no words left her mouth as the All-Mother placed a hand on her shoulder. She could feel mana spreading through her body, a pleasant warmth following in its wake, and but a moment later the pain that had slowly begun to claw its way to the forefront of her mind had vanished.

"I had thought I held back enough," the All-Mother said. "Apparently, I was wrong. I apologise."

"It's fine," Jhila replied, placing her hand above her stomach as she felt a breeze brush against her skin. "I didn't know that punching through dragon scales was that easy."

It wasn't the first time her armour had broken — the small loops of chain that held the scales together were a little weak when compared to the rest — but Aperio had not just broken those. A few of the scales were now cracked, even pulverized. Good thing the enchantment still worked…

If she had been hit by that blow without the protection her armour provided, she would be sporting a nice hole that went through her stomach and spine. Instead of that, all she had was some mild discomfort that Aperio's mana had already fixed.

The All-Mother removed her hand and lowered her head slightly. "I will try to repair it, but I do not know if I can recreate what you had before."

"Might as well make her some proper armour," Caethya said as she stepped closer. "That way Mother might last a little longer. Though, you would also have to slow down a little more. I could barely follow you."

///

Aperio let some of her mana flow into the armour of Caethya's mother, replacing the dragon scales she had broken with ones fashioned from the same metal she used for her own armour. If you can even call it a metal…

It might look like that to most people but Aperio knew that it was simply her mana, condensed to the point that it became a solid material. The only part she had to worry about when making something out of it for someone else was if it would perform as expected when she was not around. It should, but she had not yet tested it. The weapons her old self had made did not react to the lack of her presence, so she hoped that this would be much the same.

"I already held back a lot more than I did on Geshwen," Aperio said and took a step backwards to give Jhila some room. "I honestly do not know how much more I can hold back while still fighting effectively."

"You don't have to be effective to be a match for my mother," Caethya said with a slight giggle. "Probably should fight with one arm bound behind your back."

"I think I need to get a little stronger before I ask to spar again," Jhila said as she let go of her spear to stand on her own again. She looked down at herself and raised a brow as the broken section of her armour quite literally regrew itself. "I can't even react to her. By the time I had realised where she was, I was already flying."

"I had thought you were stronger," Aperio said. "Both you and your husband feel a lot more powerful than your mortal peers. It would seem I overestimated your capabilities."

Jhila shook her head slightly. "Perhaps, but if I may speak my mind?" Aperio motioned for her to continue. "I think you are unaware of the extent of your own strength and therefore do not know how much you should hold back when fighting someone you perceive as stronger than average."

The Elven woman stretched her arms above her head and let out a sigh as Aperio heard a distressingly loud pop. "You are obviously capable of operating at our level," she continued, unbothered by the All-Mother's raised brow and slightly tilted head. "You don't break our home by walking in it, nor do you damage the glass that has not been treated in any way. We had other guests that did not manage to control their power as well as you did when trying to drink from a normal glass."

"How?" Aperio asked as she furrowed her brows and tilted her head to the other side. "Do they just grasp everything as if it was their weapon?"

She had no issue not breaking things — not anymore, at least — but that required her to actually pay at least a little attention to it. Doing that in a fight was certainly possible, but it would greatly impair her ability to apply herself to whatever target she had chosen. Though, what she considered to be greatly impaired might just be what was required to have a more enjoyable fight. Even if holding back like that is not enjoyable itself.

"Apparently," Jhila said and shrugged. "But I also can't really comment on that as I’ve never really had such issues."

"If you wish to try again, we can, but I believe your husband is coming to get us."

Jhila's eyes turned a pure white for a brief moment at her words, a rather sizable amount of mana rushing towards the house before she nodded. "Guro has finished his preparations. That was fast, even for him."

Neat, Aperio thought to herself. As far as she could tell, what Jhila had done was essentially a brief glimpse into the world as the All-Mother herself saw it. Just limited to the physical realm.

"Shall we go inside, then?" Aperio asked and offered her hand to Caethya. "I am sure there is more you wish to discuss."

After both Caethya and her mother gave Aperio a nod, the three of them appeared next to Orlar in the small armoury the couple had built into their estate.

The man recoiled slightly before realising who had appeared. "I was just coming to get you," he said. "But I guess our guest noticed."

"I did," Aperio replied, offering a small smile. "I can also already tell you that your cook went overboard. I doubt I will even try a sixth of what he made." If anything.

Orlar gave a very slight nod at her words. "That's fine, the rest of the staff probably won't mind taking care of what is left."

"You three go ahead," Jhila said as she began to undo the straps of her armour. "I'll be with you shortly."

Before leading Caethya and herself away, Orlar stepped closer to Jhila and placed his hands on her hips. The two of them closed their eyes and brought their foreheads together, remaining like that for a long moment. Aperio could not help but stare, as she could both see and feel them exchanging tiny bits of mana in a manner that looked awfully close to Caethya's approach to telepathy. The only difference is that they need physical contact.

It was something she could investigate later, as for now she had a not-so-small dinner to enjoy before leaving for Earth. And I should try to make a good impression on her parents.

To some it might seem silly that she, the All-Mother, wanted the approval of some puny mortals, but those people would be the same that laughed at her wish for a normal life. Something she hoped she could get a small taste of on Earth, if one ignored the fact that she would be half of the entire Elven population of that world.

///

Caethya sat down next to her love and across from Orlar, then eyed the seat next to her father. It wouldn’t be long before her mother would join them and she would have to tell her parents that they would leave for an as of yet undetermined amount of time. Or that it's another world.

The All-Mother leaned forward slightly, the wing Caethya was resting against moving slightly with her. "May I ask a question?"

"Of course," her father replied and began to pour tea for everyone present, starting with Aperio as custom demanded.

"Are you scared of me?"

Her father remained quiet for a while, finishing the pouring of the tea before speaking. "I am, not because I fear what you might do but because of what you are, and what that represents. Your association with our family will draw the attention of people we likely cannot deal with on our own."

"I assume you mean other Gods that would seek to somehow use your family to get to me?" Aperio asked, continuing after Orlar nodded. "If that happens, I can assure you that they will not be around for long."

Caethya placed her hand on the small of Aperio's back as the tiny wisps of mana her love had not bothered to hide flared at her words. The mere suggestion that someone would go against her family seemed to be enough to anger the All-Mother. All things considered it was probably a good thing, as it meant Aperio would aid them should the worst come to pass, but also begged the question of who would gain from such actions.

"I don't think we have to worry all that much about that," Caethya said. "The deities that actively disliked Aperio are no longer around and the mortals that do hold a grudge can't really do anything. Nor do they know about us."

"Perhaps," her father replied. "But it is still a fact that your actions will have repercussions for us, and perhaps even the kingdom. I wouldn't be surprised if His Majesty asked for your presence before him, to test if you are still his subject."

Caethya grabbed hold of Aperio's hand with her free one, causing the All-Mother to close her mouth and not speak. "I stopped serving him after he declined my request despite having done everything he asked," she replied. "If he wants to see me, he can go through the guild like everyone else." She took a breath, a smile flashing across her face as her mother entered the room.

"Perfect," she continued. "I have to inform the two of you about something. I will be away for a while and won't be able to write to the two of you as regularly as I did before."

"Oh?" Jhila asked as she sat herself down and picked up her cup. "And where are you going?"

"Very far away," Caethya replied, unsure if the knowledge of other worlds was something she should reveal to her parents.

"I can deliver letters," Aperio said as she turned to look at Caethya. "That should not be an issue."

"All-Mother mail," Jhila said with a small laugh. "What a luxury. I would still like to know where the two of you are headed, however."

"Another world," Aperio said, her voice as even and smooth as always. "I have to verify something and Caethya wished to join me."

"Another world?" Orlar asked. "Like one of the moons?"

"A little further away," Caethya said. "And not really reachable for mortals."

Orlar took a sip of his tea, Caethya following suit a moment later. Nobody spoke before Jhila shook her head and broke the silence. "I wager that it's not something we should know about?"

"Perhaps," Aperio replied with a small shrug. "I do not care if the two of you know, as Caethya trusts you, but I also do not know what the knowledge would do to you."

Caethya looked into her cup at the words. She knew her father well enough to know that the knowledge of other worlds filled with magic and sciences he knew he could never reach would be something he despised, but she also knew he was smart enough to have already figured that out.

"I think both of you already know what it means," she eventually said. "I just wanted to let you know so you don't get worried if you don't hear from me for a while."

"You have been out searching for her for over six years, Caethya," Orlar replied, shaking his head slightly. "Our worry ran out when you wrote to us that you killed a basilisk."

"She killed a basilisk on her own?" Aperio asked and looked at Caethya. "What level were you when you did that?"

"A bit over two hundred, I think," she replied, not quite sure why her love seemed impressed by that. Chances were good that Aperio didn't even know what a basilisk was. "Why?"

"Killing a monster so much stronger than you is no small feat," her love replied, a somehow both stupid and adorable smile plastered across her face. "I find that to be admirable."

Caethya could only lean back and sigh as her mother began to tell the oft-told tale of her adventuring daughter. Most of the things Caethya had written about in her letters home had been grossly exaggerated at the time. Still, she could not help but smile at the enthusiastic way her mother told the stories, and how eager Aperio seemed to hear them. Her fear this meeting somehow going wrong could finally be laid to rest. Now we just have to see how we get to Earth…

///

Adam rubbed the bridge of his nose as he looked at Mister Penbrooks. "Are they all like that?"

"Who?" the man asked, offering a slight smile. "The divine?"

"Yes."

He shrugged. "Some are like that on purpose, but our esteemed Creator simply forgets how strong she is sometimes. As far as I know, that has always been a thing."

"And who told you that?" Adam asked.

"Ah, you see, I know a few people," the owner of the House of Healing said. "But this information comes from my brother. He is reliable.

"In any case, you wanted to ask me about leaving for a while? I assume Aperio and Caethya asked you to accompany them?"

"Yes and yes," Adam replied. He hesitated for a moment longer before he let out a sigh. "They want to visit my home and while Aperio has made it clear that I do not have to accompany them, I feel like I have to."

"So far, the All-Mother has been a woman of her word and I don't think that will change any time soon." He pulled out the chair Adam usually kept under his desk and sat down. "The real question is if you want to go back there or not.

"I cannot say I know how travel between worlds works," he said. "But from what I have heard in my time, it can be very jarring to return. Mostly because of the unequal passage of time, I'm afraid. Either almost no time has passed while you remember being away for years, perhaps, or the other way around; though you've only spent a month on this world, your home is now in the next millennia."

"How many [Veil Walkers] have you met?" Adam asked.

He had never told Mister Penbrooks that he had come from another world, but the man had somehow known it as soon as the All-Mother had brought him here. Adam doubted Aperio or Laelia had told him, but with what Adam had overheard Mister Penbrooks speak about, the [Veil Walker] had long assumed that Mister Penbrooks knew a lot more than he let on. Doesn't help that he never tells anyone his first name. Even Laelia calls him Mister Penbrooks.

"Half a dozen that I am sure of, and probably a few hundred more where my evidence is mostly circumstantial," the man replied with a smile on his face. "Some are easy to spot. Lack of common sense, above average abilities and, sometimes, the weird thought that whatever culture they came from is inherently better that what already exists on a world."

Adam could not help but give a laugh at the words. He had read more than enough books in which that had happened. "I can only imagine."

"I am sure you can," Mister Penbrooks replied. "In any case," he added, "the question still remains. Do you want to return?"

Silence reigned for a moment, Adam not replying as he tried his best to truly think about what he wanted. He knew that he was not keen on meeting his parents again; not keen to have to pretend to be someone else again. The only reason he wanted to go back was a kind of morbid curiosity to see what had changed, to see how long he had been gone for.

A form of time dilation between worlds had been a staple in fiction, but he had not really given it much thought before Mister Penbrooks had mentioned to him it was quite real. He was inclined to believe the man, as he had yet to hear him tell a lie of any kind.

"I think so," he finally said. "But I also know that all of this comes with a heap of complications. We don't even have Elves, and neither Aperio nor Caethya are inclined to hide themselves. The former would rather fight her way through people than hide her ears."

"I would wager there is a reason for that that neither of us will ever know," Mister Penbrooks said. "But that also does not matter now. You are only responsible for yourself, not the All-Mother and her girlfriend. They are perfectly capable of fending for themselves."

"That's what worries me," Adam replied. "My home is… a lot weaker when compared to Verenier. At least, I think so. There is no magic like we have here, no levels, and no System that governs it all." He let out a sigh. "I cannot help but think what might happen when Aperio sets foot there. For all I know, it could usher in an apocalypse as the System spreads there and does what it couldn't for who knows how long.

"She is a walking fountain of mana," Adam continued, rubbing the back of his neck, "and Earth doesn't seem to have an awful lot of it. Even if it’s good to have it, too much of a good thing is still bad."

"So you are worried about your home world and not about yourself?" Mister Penbrooks asked, shifting slightly in his seat. He did not wait for a response and simply continued. "Commendable, but ultimately foolish. Now that she has returned, it is only a matter of time before she begins to spread her System to the worlds that are lacking. If anything, her being present for it would be better for everyone involved." He hesitated for a moment before he pulled a very yellowed book from the inside of his robes and held it out towards Adam. "I heard you call the world Earth; this should help Aperio and Caethya with the languages."

Adam took the book, the word 'dictionary' entering his sight immediately. He opened it to see which language it was for, as the cover only marked it as a dictionary. Much to his surprise, he found an index that listed various languages he had not heard about but were almost definitely native to Verenier, as well as nearly every major language from Earth.

"How?" he asked, picking the section for converting between Common he knew was widely used in Ebenlowe, and English.

"I don't know how it was made, just that it has been around for a while," Mister Penbrooks replied. "It comes from a library that a [Veil Walker] built once upon a time and seems to be capable of translating essentially every language into another. That should be plenty for Aperio to get at least a passing grade in whatever she will need. I have seen mortals learn a language in a day, I am sure she can manage."

"She can," Adam agreed. "It only took her a few hours to grasp the basics and that was just by listening to me and Caethya point to things and naming them. She also somehow figured out words that she could not have known the meaning of."

Mister Penbrooks gave a laugh at that. "She is the Goddess of the divine. The universe obliges her whims, even if she is not aware of her own wants. Trying to understand more than yourself is not something I recommend. The depths of oneself are more than enough to keep you occupied for a good many lifetimes."

"I am pretty sure someone told me that already."

"It bears repeating," Mister Penbrooks replied. "For one reason or another, most people always seem to be focused on what another can accomplish and not what they can do themselves. A universal flaw that we all need to work on." He laughed again. "But we are not here to have philosophical debate, the question still is if you truly wish to go."

"Would you go if you had the chance?"

"Most assuredly," he replied. "But I am also a very different man than you are."

"I guess I can always have her send me back if it doesn't work out," Adam mumbled to himself. "Just need to figure out how get the two of them some form of identification."

He had no experience when it came to any form of fake identification, but it would seem he would need to figure that out in the near future.

"See, making a decision wasn't so hard. You just need to stop second guessing yourself."

"Second guessing myself is what I do," Adam said as he lowered his head into his hands, muffling his voice as he continued to speak. "If I didn't, I probably wouldn't have even made it far enough to end up here. More often than not, my gut feeling would have gotten me into trouble."

He could hear the robe of Mister Penbrooks rustle slightly before an almost inaudible sigh filled the room. "I apologise," he said. "But you can rest easy in the knowledge that that will not happen here."

"I know," Adam replied. "Doesn't make it much easier for me, though."

"Perhaps a trip home will help with that."

"Maybe it will," Adam replied, sitting up straight again. "Thank you for the talk, Mister Penbrooks."

"No problem," the man replied as he stood up. "If you need my help again, feel free to ask at any time." Before he left the room, Mister Penbrooks turned around and smiled at Adam. "And you can call me Kario, no need to be so formal all the time."

///

The estate was empty — a sight Jester had gotten used to by now, but hoped would change soon. His plans had been set in motion and if the rumours that had begun to spread through the Order of Inaru were correct, both the Eternal Empire of Zeltar and the Beastkin Tribes would be in a state of turmoil for a good while. The perfect time to expand.

Most people would no longer trust the Vinmaier name alone, but Jester had called in enough favours to make that a non-issue. Sure, it would take some time, but he would get where he wanted to be. Also need to get a new name…

In the past, he had always looked up to his mother, but with recent events her actions had done nothing but stain the good name of their family. That was not something he could ever fully fix, merely mitigate for long enough.

"Lita," he said, the Beastkin appearing by his side a moment later. "It's time to remove that enchantment."

"Do we have to?" she asked, a subtle yellow glow shining through her eyes. "I like the voice! With it, I am never alone."

"I would be a fool to assume that the All-Mother does not know about your… affliction, and I would rather not have her come here, remove it from you and kill me for it."

"Can I keep the voice?"

Jester shook his head. Ever since the trial — if one could really call it that — Lita had been telling him more and more about a little voice she heard in her head. It had to come from the [Mark of Slavery], but that was most definitely not supposed to happen. Perhaps it was due to the nature of Lita's enchantment that these issues had come to be.

"I don't think you can," he finally said. "And it doesn't matter either. What I want is important, not some voice in your head."

"Of course," Lita replied, the glow somehow dancing across her eyes. "Whatever you say is law."

Yes it is. If his plans worked as he wanted them to — and the All-Mother did not interfere with his perfectly slave-free ideas — there would be a lot more people saying exactly that in the future.

"Let's go."