The Vampire & Her Witch

”Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.” Heila’s light, musical laughter spilled past her lips before she could hold it back, startling both young women and leaving Cossot wondering if she’d said something wrong. ”When the time comes, if it ever does, Sybyll will tell you,” Heila reassured them.

”And you don’t have to worry that feeding a vampire is something horrible or painful,” she added as her cheeks turned a faintly rosy shade of pink. ”It can actually be very, um, pleasant. But what I want to ask you to do is something harder.”

”Many villagers in the Vale of Mists, as well as servants, soldiers, and all manner of common folk have made offerings to the vampires of the Vale,” Heila explained. ”But what I want to know is if you can give Dame Sybyll a greater gift. I want to know if you’re willing to dedicate your life to her service.”

”Dedicate my life?” Cossot repeated with a frown. ”As what? As a maidservant? I can’t think of anything else I could do for her, other than maybe being a meal for her. I, I don’t have many great skills beyond entertaining. I don’t think she needs anyone to advise her on which wines are favored by her guests and...”

”It doesn’t matter what you know now,” Heila interrupted. ”All that matters is what’s in your heart,” she said, reaching out to tap the young woman just above her humble bust. ”I was a nobody when I became my Lady’s chambermaid, and I felt like I’d barely done enough to redeem my blunders when she named me her lady-in-waiting.”

”But my lady and Dame Sybyll have a lot in common,” Heila said as she glanced toward the crimson-haired vampire who seemed to be deliberately ignoring the conversation she was having. ”My lady was all alone in the Eldritch world. She had the Lady of the Vale and other vampires, but once the sun rose, it was just me and Georg, the Master of the Kitchens. She was the only human in that whole castle, and even though she never complained of it, I know that the loneliness and the isolation took a toll on her.”

”But, Dame Sybyll isn’t alone here,” Roseen pointed out. ”This is her home. She’s come back to Hanrahan. We’re her people, so she won’t ever be alone.”

”Except that she will, Roseen,” Cossot said as she put together the clues Heila had been spoon-feeding them. ”She’s the only vampire here, and by tomorrow, there will be people who are afraid of her. In another two or three days, some people may even form a mob outside the gate with torches because they’re afraid of her and the army she brought...”

”They’ll take advantage of her kindness,” Cossot continued. ”She won’t kill them... she might not even speak to them. But seeing the people she fought so hard to return to suddenly rejecting her...I can’t imagine how much that would hurt after everything she’s already been through.”

”But the fact that you can even think of those things says that you’re a very special person, Cossot,” Heila said with a gentle, reassuring smile. ”That’s why I want to know if you can dedicate your life to serving her. I know it’s sudden, and you don’t have much time to think about it, but it was sudden for me too,” Heila said as she remembered the night she’d been assigned as Lady Ashlynn’s chambermaid.

Zedya had tricked the servants, asking who among them was willing to tend to a human noblewoman who would never become one of Lady Nyrielle’s vampires. They had to be prepared to serve this strange intruder in the Vale of Mists every bit as well as they’d tend to Sir Thane of Sir Marcel, but in addition to that, they would be expected to tutor the woman in all of the different things that it meant to live in the Vale of Mists.

Then, as if that hadn’t sounded unappealing enough, Zedya threatened that if the strange woman was ever unhappy with them, Lady Nyrielle would be willing to kill the offending servant on the spot. In the end, it hadn’t quite come all the way down to drawing straws, but Heila had volunteered to spare the others from facing such a terrifying duty.

”I’ve watched you both tonight while you watched Dame Sybyll,” Heila added after the tension of the moment became too great even for her to bear. ”I could see respect, admiration, sorrow, and rage in your eyes when you listened to her story. Even if you’ve only just met her, I can tell that you care for her.”

”Wouldn’t anyone?” Cossot asked in surprise. ”I mean, she’s... She’s the most amazing woman I’ve ever seen. No one could stand against her. Not the Church, not the Baron, not anyone. And even though she had Lord Jalal at her side,” she said. ”She wasn’t depending on a man to come claim justice for her. She did that all on her own, with her own strength. That...”

”That’s something you want for yourself,” Heila said with a knowing smile. ”Not because you’ve ever been wronged the way she has, but because you don’t ever want to be... And because you don’t want to see her wronged again. Am I right?”

”Yes,” Cossot said, looking to Roseen to see if the other woman felt the same way.

”I, I don’t know that I feel as strongly about Dame Sybyll,” the curvy young woman admitted. ”I’m impressed by her. Maybe even a little inspired by her. And what she went through,” she said, blinking back hot tears that suddenly filled her eyes as she remembered all the wrongs Dame Sybyll had endured. ”No one should ever have to go through anything like that again.”

”But, if you ask me if I’d give my life to serving Dame Sybyll,” she said hesitantly. ”I’d sooner promise to stay with Cossot, to keep her out of trouble. I can work loyally for Dame Sybyll,” she added quickly, lest the horned witch misunderstand. ”But the feelings that you’re talking about... they just aren’t as strong in me.”

”It’s fine that they aren’t,” Heila said with an understanding nod. ”Feelings take time. But since your feelings for Cossot are strong enough to remain by her side, then maybe that will be enough for you to get through what’s coming next,” she said.

”If you truly want to serve Dame Sybyll, then you have to face the meeting that is about to take place,” Heila warned them. ”The things you hear may shake your faith in the Church if you are devout believers,” she cautioned the young women. ”There are secrets that most people aren’t ready to learn, but we have to talk about them now. If you’re going to serve Dame Sybyll, you have to prove to her that you can carry the burdens of the secrets she holds.”

”And... there may be violence as well,” Heila said. ”Loman Lothian killed people on both sides of the battle tonight, and he has to face justice for his crimes,” the diminutive witch said firmly. ”So, if you’re prepared to face what’s coming, knowing that Dame Sybyll may still reject your service in the days to come, then drink the potions I gave you and come with me.”

”And if you want to go home instead,” she started, only to shake her head and laugh as both women drained the small porcelain bottles to the last drop. ”Good,” she said instead. ”Then follow me. You won’t have to say anything and it’s unlikely you’ll need to do anything until the end, but it’s important that you watch closely and listen carefully to everything that’s about to be said...”