What Little Remains Of Terpsichore Ironheart

"So," Melody said, as we finished up our breakfast. "Emily, would you mind telling me what you intend to study here at the University of Mount Fate?"

"Alchemical Medicine and the Arcane Arts," Emily said. "I still haven't changed my mind; those are going to be really useful for being a Healer."

"I don't disagree with that," Melody said, clearly disagreeing with something else. "But, Emily... I know you're an adult, I know you're your own woman. I know I can't make you do anything. But please, Emily, just consider taking a few courses on the Occult. You don't have to become a Bard, but... Even just the most basic of those skills are invaluable for women like us."

"Women like you," Emily said quietly.

Melody inhaled deeply... but said nothing else, simply turning away.

Interesting. I didn't know all the details, and I'd probably have to spend a while building up more of a rapport with either or even both of them before I could pester those details out of them, but... well, the shape of it was pretty obvious: Duchess Melody was a Bard, who'd used her skills to marry into the aristocracy and secure a better future for her family. Emily, meanwhile, was just as driven and determined, but didn't want to be an aristocrat, and instead chose the path of a Healer- a high-skill, high-prestige job that would secure her a comfortable life on her own terms.

I couldn't know for sure that Emily had ever said as much, but I was pretty sure she had at least thought that she had the moral high ground over her mother on grounds that Emily had "a real job."

"I'm a dabbling Occultist myself, and happen to have a very skilled tutor on tap," I interjected. "I'm sure, at some point in Emily's study of the Arcane, I'll find an excuse to cross-train her in the Occult as well, just to cover all our bases."

Emily shot me a look that was not exactly affectionate, which I pretended to ignore, while Melody simply sighed in relief and patted me on the shoulder.

"Thank you, Sir Ironheart," Melody said quietly. "I know my daughter is in good hands, with you. Now, I'd love to stay and talk for longer, but unfortunately, I have appointments I can't ignore, and Peregrine and I must be going now." She stood up carefully, Peregrine subtly pulling out her chair for her with a touch of magic, and she nodded to all of us. "It was good seeing you all again, and with any luck, I'll be able to visit again soon. Take care, children. Oh, one last thing."

She reached into her bosom with one hand, and withdrew what looked to be a pocket-sized notebook, and handed it to me.

"Joseph, make sure you check this regularly," Melody said. "It is linked to another notebook in my possession, and anything written in one of them will appear in the other. If you need to contact me, or I you, then this is how you will do it. Now, with that concluded, I bid all of you adieu. Peregrine, if you will?"

With a dim flash of blue, and a barely-audible whoof of displacing air, Melody and Peregrine disappeared, teleporting back to Redwater.

"...That guy is good," I said quietly. "It takes a lot of skill to make teleportation that subtle with just Arcane magic."

"Are you going to make me learn Occult magic?" Emily asked.

I winced; she was more upset than I thought.

"No," I said. "If you don't want to learn it, then you don't want to learn it; teaching an unwilling student is beyond me, and I know better than to try forcing the hand of people I actually like."

"What is it with you and Occult magic, anyhow?" Talia asked. "Is it like how his mom doesn't like it? You think it's cheating, or for liars and frauds, or something? Honestly, Joseph, I've never been too clear on why Ariel disapproves, either."

"It's..." Emily sighed. "...I know Mom means well, but... She wants me to become a Bard, just like her, so I can secure the best husband possible, just like her, and advance the family's political aims, just like her. But... But I don't want to be just like her! I don't want to be a spoiled princess who doesn't actually do anything, and freeloads off the peasants who actually keep society going. I want to contribute, to actually help people. That's why I became a Healer."

"She's not doing nothing," I said. "I'm not saying you have to become just like your mother, and I'm not saying you're wrong to dislike the aristocracy, but... Well. If my read on her is accurate, she's just as smart and determined as you are, she just applies it in a different arena."

Emily just looked away, looking like I'd fed her a slice of lemon, and an uncomfortable silence fell over the table.

"...I'm not a Paladin anymore," Faith said, after a few seconds.

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"Wait, what?"

---

I paid the bill in a hurry- the actual total for a pan of enchiladas, a bean-and-cheese burrito, and a glass of milk was only two dollars and fifteen cents, but I didn't bother thinking about it beyond simple orders of magnitude, and just handed the waitress a five-dollar coin before ushering everyone out of the restaurant and back into the van, where Volex was waiting for us.

"Okay, start from the beginning," I said, as we all sat down. "What happened?"

"So, last night, after we fought Paimon," Faith began, "Hano came to me in a dream. It was definitely him, not just me imagining things, I promise."

"Okay," I said, nodding and gesturing for her to continue.

"Well, he told me that you were lying about being a priest of The Father, and that you were possessed by Paimon's soul," Faith continued. "That you were Paimon now, and that you would go on to conquer the world if you were allowed to recover your strength. And, um... Then he told me that, I, um..." She trailed off, looking down at her hands, clasped together with twiddling thumbs.

"He told you to kill me," I said quietly.

"...Yeah," Faith said, quietly. "And... I..." She sighed.

"Easy, hon," Talia said, reaching up and patting Faith's shoulder a few times, before transitioning into a gentle, one-handed back rub. "You're okay, nobody's mad at you."

"It just... It took me a lot longer to tell him 'no' than it should've," Faith said quietly. "I... I tried to bargain with him, to talk him down from killing you, and no matter how firmly he said no, that I had to kill you, I just... I couldn't turn away from him, until I'd tried everything I could think of. I was... Gods above, I was so close to giving in and saying 'yes,' and... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I'll just- I have to go, I can't-"

"What, you think you're gonna tell your god to kick rocks on my behalf, and I'm not gonna keep you around?" I drawled out. "Faith, I know you're mad at yourself for experiencing a moral dilemma at all, but I need you to understand that I am capable of telling Hano to eat shit because I was raised by a man who hated Hano more than anything else, who gave me a pet that'd die when I was ten just so he could have more time to drill it into my skull that Hano killed my grandparents. You, meanwhile, were raised by Paladins, and dedicated yourself to the ideal of the Paladin so strongly that Hano gave you divine magic before you had any real training at all. I am not even remotely surprised or offended that you struggled to tell him no- what I am is proud that you managed to do it at all."

"You-" Faith's breath hitched in her throat. "...Really?"

"I'm proud of you," I repeated, clearly. "You looked your god in the eye and told him no, because you knew that what he was telling you to do was wrong. That's hard, Faith. So yeah. I'm very proud of you."

"Are you sure about-" Talia whispered, quietly enough that Faith couldn't hear her, but I still could.

Faith, meanwhile, flung herself forward, leaping over the coffee table, to land in my arms, clinging to me tightly as she started to cry.

"It's alright," I said quietly. "I'm here for you."

"I'm sorry," Faith said, face against my shoulder. "I'm... I'm useless now, without my magic, and..."

"Hey now," I said, gently. "You are not useless, Faith." Whispering low enough that Faith couldn't hear, I said, "Talia please get over here and console your girlfriend, I'm scared I'll break her even further."

"I... I am, though," Faith muttered, squeezing me tightly. "I can't... I can't even warm your bed properly, because I'm a stupid lesbian freak-"

"Okay, I'm stopping you right there," I said. "That's Hano talking, not you, Faith."

"Yeah, please don't start spewing a bunch of homophobic bullshit right now," Talia added, as she settled down next to me, wrapping an arm around Faith. "Or ever, but especially not now."

"Now, I was gonna hold off on this, because I didn't want to pressure you, but... there are other gods you can follow," I continued. "Just because you rejected Hano doesn't mean you're cut off from the Divine forever. You can become a cleric again, I promise."

"But... who's gonna take me?" Faith asked.

"Well..." I coughed quietly. "...I mean, I didn't say it'd be easy. But, uh, hey, if it doesn't work out, you could become the group's Bard, so I don't have to do it?"

"Joseph," Talia said firmly.

"Look," I said, dropping my attempt at lightening the mood. "It's... Becoming a cleric is hard. It's going to be hard the second time, too. But... I'm here for you. We're here for you. What kind of asshole would we be if we weren't, after everything we've been through?"

Faith just nodded wordlessly.

"We'll figure something out," I said. "It doesn't have to be today, or even this week. We've got time. We're meant to be figuring ourselves out at this age, you know? And for as long as it takes you to do that, we'll be there to help you through it."

"Really?" she croaked.

"I promise," I said. And sure, I might know exactly what the path of least resistance was for Faith, but I wasn't gonna say it until she was stable enough to-

"You do know that 'paladin' used to mean 'knightly cleric of The Mother, Elven Goddess of Justice, Freedom, and War,' right?" Volex asked.

"...Tell me more," Faith demanded.