As soon as the door to her study closed behind her, the cheerful smile on Lady Snow’s face dropped like a lead weight. She staggered across the polished white marble floor and collapsed into her chair, exhausted. Her facial muscles were sore from holding that same expression for hours, and she desperately needed a massage. But instead, her usual vice would have to make do. She reached a hand towards the liquor cabinet that sat behind her desk and grabbed a bottle of red wine and a glass. Snow filled the glass and downed half of it in one gulp, giving a sigh of relief as she did so.

Miraculously, the day’s demonstration had gone off without a hitch, despite her assistants harassing her about the risks. But Snow was out of time, and she was confident in her abilities. Good thing too, or the situation could have quickly gotten out of hand.

A sudden knocking at the door broke Snow out of her thoughts. Swallowing quickly, she swept the bottle and wineglass out of view, then checked her appearance in a small pocket mirror. Satisfied with what she saw, she waved a hand towards the door.

"Enter," she called out on a sing-song voice. The door swung open and in walked her assistant Thomas, followed by three men dressed in strict red military uniforms. Thomas bowed to Snow slightly as he announced them.

"Lady Nancy, General Garbitsch, General Eisen and Major Degurechaff are here to see you."

Snow allowed her usual fake smile to spread across sore muscles once again. "Generals! And Major of course! What a delight to see you again. Please have a seat; would you care for a drink?"

General Eisen, a stout gentleman with a square face and a walrus mustache waved off her offer as he sat down.

"No, thank you Lady Snow. We've come to discuss the results of your research."

"Oh please, call me Nancy," answered Snow easily, ignoring the man's gruff tone.

Major Degurechaff, a short young man with tousled blond hair and blue eyes, gave her a look of confusion. "Pardon me; I understood that witches dropped their real names when they graduate from apprentice to witch."

Snow gave a tinkling laugh. "That is an old tradition, based on a myth that witches could be controlled by their birth name. No, I prefer a more modern and… friendly approach."

Garbitsch shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Unlike the others, he was tall and thin; a sallow faced man with a dark receding hairline.

"Yes, yes, that's all well and good but that is not why we're here today," he barked. "Lady Snow, I'm sorry to say but your demonstration was, to put it lightly, a disappointment."

Snow's expression remained unchanged, but under her desk her fist clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her own skin.

"Could you perhaps explain what you were disappointed by?" she asked politely.

"We hired you for a very specific purpose. One, might I add, that was intended to be top secret. You have already broken that part of the agreement."

"My lord-" started Snow before Eisen cut her off.

"We were looking for a super soldier! We gave you exclusive access to the body and you assured us you could make my boys immortal!”

"Instead we get this strange witchy mumbo-jumbo. I knew we should have given this project to the mages," continued Garbitsch.

Unlike the others, Degurechaff offered a placating smile. "You see La- Ah, Nancy, your demonstration, while impressive and undoubtedly useful, is not quite what the Imperial Army was hoping for. We can hardly inject your… compound into our own soldiers can we?"

Snow took a deep breath. She could feel the Imperial army and all the opportunity it brought slipping between her fingers. She needed to convince these men, and convince them now.

Just like Cerise would have done.

"My lords. I appreciate the feedback you have brought me, but may I remind you that the only sample you brought me was a partially decomposed corpse. Considering the circumstances, what I have managed to synthesize is already an enormous leap in progress." She quickly held up a hand as Eisen and Garbitsch both opened their mouths.

"I of course don't mean to imply that the Imperial Army has not been anything but supportive, but with the current resources available, this process takes time. What I have demonstrated today is that the theory is possible; now it only needs to be refined. No other Magicologer could bring you the same results this quickly. Not any other witch, and certainly not with any other field of Magicology." She directed her last line towards Garbitsch.

“Lady Snow, I’m sure you understand the significance of a project like this,” grumbled Eisen. “The Emperor’s eyes are watching closely, and despite what you may have accomplished we cannot afford any more delays.”

“Of course, My Lord. I will not provide baseless excuses or ask for more time; I am fully committed to pleasing His Majesty. However, to make this dream a reality I need more than a corpse. I need a living sample.”

“Well, that is simply impossible-” started Garbitsch but Eisen cut him off with a wave.

“Continue.”

“The compound I produced is effective, but unrefined. While I can refine it on my own, it will take at least another two years to do so. However, if I had access to a living Blessed I could do so much more in less than a quarter of the time. Not only could I refine my compound in a matter of weeks, but I could easily synthesize new compounds with far greater properties, perhaps even stronger than the original Blessed themselves. You will have something even better than a super soldier.”

The Imperial officers paused and glanced at one another, seemingly trying to come to an unspoken understanding. Then Eisen turned back towards Snow.

“Wouldn’t things just go quicker if we allowed more researchers onto the project?”

“And reveal the existence of the Blessed to even more people? My Lords, I understand that knowledge of them is not only a state secret, but also new and not well understood. It would take far longer to train them on my research, and the project would be pushed back another 6 months at least.”

“You say as such, but three hours ago you were showing off your research to the entire Academy!” snapped Garbitsch. “I could arrest you on the spot for betraying state secrets!”

Snow widened her smile; she was waiting for this accusation.

“As we speak, spies and messengers are racing across the continent to bring news of my demonstration to foreign leaders. I intended for this to happen for three reasons. Firstly, the state of the compound that I showed off is completely different to what we’re aiming for. This will throw off our enemies to the true objective of the project. Secondly, it will worry foreign countries that would dare consider raising their swords against us. They will reconsider hostilities and it may even incite them to act rashly, leading to my third reason: drawing out enemy spies. They will be even more driven to steal my work, allowing us to set some traps.”

And I can raise my reputation as a leading member of the Academy, she added internally.

The three military leaders stared at her in silence. Even Garbitsch had his mouth hanging open. They then swiftly coughed and looked away, trying to cover up their surprise; clearly Lady Snow had put in more thought than they had assumed.

“I see you have put plenty of… thought into this Lady Nancy. Truth be told, I am glad that we chose you for this project,” answered Degurechaff.

“Nonetheless, it was reckless. You should have asked for approval first,” grumbled Garbitsch, managing to find something wrong with her again.

“Enough of your whining Henry,” snapped Eisen. “I’ve heard enough. Very well Lady Snow, I will grant you the access you seek. A new Blessed and their twin has been found in the Empire.”

Snow couldn’t stop her eyes from lighting up. This was incredible news.

“However. I will only grant you access to them on certain conditions. You claim this compound of yours can be improved? Show me proof. I will give you three months, and if you manage to refine it by yourself even somewhat, I will hand you the twins myself.”

Snow steepled her hands, thinking. This was a difficult requirement.

“Give me five months and I guarantee it.”

Eisen shook his head.

“I appreciate a woman who can bargain, but the Emperor’s patience is limited. Take it or leave it.”

It wasn’t great, but it could be worse. She would manage. Snow nodded her head with a smile and leaned over to shake the General’s hand.

“Very well. Thank you for your faith, my lords.”

After a few more pleasantries and minor details, the men finally left her in peace. As soon as the door closed behind them Snow once again deflated into her chair. She leaned back and snatched the half empty glass of wine from its hiding spot.

Those pompous idiots. All they give me is the bloated corpse of a teenager and they expect me to instantly conjure up miracles.

Snow snorted into her glass, her frustration boiling over.

They didn’t even preserve the damn thing properly! How the hell am I supposed to recreate immortality from a dead body?!

But loathe as she was to admit it, Snow needed them. Without their support her dream would be nothing but exactly that: a dream. But now that the Army had set a time limit things would only get more difficult, even more so now that her bear had mysteriously turned to tar.

Now that was an infuriating loss. Even if the bear had never listened to her orders, it was by far the most powerful of her test subjects and she didn't even know how it was destroyed. The panicked little girl had only blathered about a monster exploding out of its side, which was ridiculous. Unless there really was a creature that preyed on the undead? Snow shook her head, frustrated; despite the advancements of human civilization, there was still too much they didn’t know. Strange unholy creatures could be spotted prowling the woods, only to never be seen again. Shapes and voices crept in the shadows of the wilderness and those that went looking for the things hidden in the depths of the world either came back utterly changed or not at all. It wasn’t totally unbelievable that her bear had fallen victim to such a creature.

Sighing, Snow stood up from behind her desk and with her wine glass in hand, walked over to the right side of the room. There stood a large alcove which contained an enormous portrait of a middle-aged woman. 10 feet high and 6 feet wide, the painting utterly dominated the space, but despite that the woman in the painting had a warm smile. Her long hair and tender eyes were of a lush pink colour, and her delicate expression seemed to suggest a gentle forgiveness. But there was also something powerful about her; her posture was straight and her eyes seemed to blaze with energy; an energy that showed she was willing to fight and destroy for what she loved. In essence, it was the face of the mother of an empire. Attached to the extravagant golden frame sat a plaque that bore the words Witch-Queen Cerise Ripuarii - Hero of the Empire (Unknown - 1484) “May she unite us all under her watchful strength.”

Snow didn’t even notice the tension leaving her shoulders as she approached the portrait. Holding her glass close, she stared up at the warm expression.

“I bet you had to deal with plenty of fools in your time as well. Probably more.” She raised the glass to her lips and took a sip. “I wonder how you dealt with them…?”

Snow shook her head, her long white hair bouncing about.

“I suppose being in love with the Emperor helped. They couldn’t exactly do anything to you while he was on your side. How long will it take me…?”

She couldn’t help but stare at the Witch-Queen’s face, an expression of admiration and longing on her face.

If only I could have met you one more time…