The guards had been sent from the room to secure the area and look for any possible interlopers. Teyva knew that they wouldn’t find anything, it wasn’t that kind of an attack, but it was better to be safe than sorry. The timing was inconvenient but she had at least three members of the Four in the city proper, only Conrad was too far away to respond immediately. She shifted a bit as Azrael knelt down next to her, blinking her eyes and trying to shake off the stupor that had come with the episode. Her eyes flicked up at the sound of her daughter’s voice. Damn it.

Stella stood atop the ledge that overlooked the theatre of court, she’d sheathed her sword and was staring down at her with those big yellow eyes. Don’t look at me like that. Teyva reached down to the ground and pushed herself up by one of her sub-arms. She ran her fingers through her hair and forced the unease out of her system, she had to. She met Azrael’s eyes and her First General nodded quietly before stepping back as Teyva got to her feet, gently refusing Yaga’s offer to help. She could stand on her own. She looked down at them and then down at her hands, she reigned in her expression of disgust.

Teyva’s body had shifted partially back to her true form, the disguise of [Alter Self] weakened by the strange seizure. Yaga only came up to just beneath her breast, her arms that were so slender and delicate in her ‘face form’ as she called it had more than doubled in thickness, toned muscles showing clearly underneath snow-white glittering skin. Her second pair of arms crossed tightly and her taloned fingers tapped a little against her shoulder. She cast her gaze back up at Stella and smiled at her, “What?”

Stella pressed her lips together and her eyes cast down to the ground, “I felt it.”

Teyva canted her slightly elongated head to the right, her second pair of eyes narrowing below her first set. “Come again? What do you mean you felt it?”

“Mother, you were in so much pain, it was like my heart was stopping,” Stella managed, gripping at her shirt, “Why are you laughing it off like it was nothing?”

Teyva’s arms fell to her sides and she cleared her throat, “I’m fine, so are you, it passed didn’t it?”

“It’s not fine!” Stella practically shouted, “I heard you fall! What if-”

“Azrael,” Teyva said stiffly, “Assign a detail to watch Stella, if she had an episode like mine then I want eyes on her.”

Azrael nodded, “Of course, I’ll pick the wardens for it personally,” the First General said with a sharp bow.

Stella’s shoulders fell, “Wait! What? That’s not-”

“Stella,” Teyva said evenly, “Can you keep your head or not? You cannot panic when something like this happens, you have to take a breath and find a solution.”

Stella froze, the young woman-Teyva had to admit that she was looking more and more like a woman every day now-stared at her mother in confusion for several seconds, hackles raised. One of Teyva’s eyes glanced over at her status bar, the cooldown on the malady that had stricken her had barely moved. That was a good thing, though she would have to time the distance between episodes if she was to keep it under control. She turned her attention fully on her daughter who crouched down and reached up behind her head, pulling on her neck and letting out a fierce breath to calm herself.

“If you’re going to panic and jump to conclusions then you need to be watched and protected for your own sake, Stella,” Teyva said, “You’re training with Azrael because you want me to trust you with more, right?”

Stella nodded quietly, not meeting her mother’s gaze.

“Can I trust you?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” Stella said, sitting down on the ledge and letting out another breath. No you aren’t. She still looked at Teyva with those big eyes, the trickle of fear and apprehension in the back. Teyva ignored the sensation of her skin crawling, she’d never looked weak in front of Stella before, not like that. Stella rarely saw her more monstrous form either. Teyva exhaled and drew up on her mana, casting [Alter Self] and feeling her shape shrink further and further down until she was back to her ‘face form’.

Teyva scratched the back of her head and turned to Yaga, offering her an apologetic wink. Her lover shrugged and shoved her hands into her pockets, walking over to the steps leading up to the throne and sitting down. Teyva crossed her arms and looked over at Azrael, “Nevermind the whole guards for Stella thing.”

“I figured you were just making a point,” Azrael said quietly.

Teyva resisted the urge to chuckle and glanced at the status effect again, “Someone cast this, somehow,” She said, “I wonder…”

She pulled up her combat log.

Unknown [PlayerID: SimoneB] has broken [Stasis Curse]

Unknown [PlayerID: SimoneB] has triggered an effect directed at you!

[Unknown Entity] has cast [Legacy of the Fallen Queen] on you.

“Call Paraklytus,” Teyva said quietly, Azrael turned away and raised her finger to her temple, her eyes unfocusing as she dipped into the party chat. “Journey? Come here please.”

I just laid down!

“Journey!”

Fine!

There was a flicker of movement and a bending of the air followed by the sudden appearance of the winged woman. She stepped out onto the ground, as regal as ever, and cast her eyes over her surroundings. She looked up at the weary looking Stella and then at Teyva. She put her hands on her hips and stared Teyva down, not even bothering to ask her what she wanted. Teyva let out a sigh and tapped her foot. Around them, the tension seemed to fade a little as the situation was handled.

“SimoneB,” Teyva said and Journey held up her hands.

“You know I can’t reveal to you specifics about one who is called.”

Teyva frowned.

“Yes, you own me, I’ve accepted that-for now-I remind you that nothing is immortal in Orum,” Journey quipped, “I still have to obey the rules that Cycle has set for us. You agreed to them as well.”

“You’re right, nothing is immortal in Orum,” Teyva warned and looked up to Stella. Stella was effected by this as well, she couldn’t let that stand. What the hell does a stasis curse have to do with Rani anyway? She rubbed her temples and sighed, “What starting quest is this person on?”

“They deviated, a customized chain,” Journey offered, “They did arrive in the midst of a pitched battle between your manikins and the border guard about twelve hours ago.”

Teyva’s eye twitched, “They’ve been here twelve hours and they’ve done more than the entire Adventurer’s guild has managed to do against me in five years,” She exhaled, “Azrael I want this person found.”

Azrael nodded, “I’ll go send a message to our spies in the guild,” she said and slipped into the ground, vanishing.

“You know, deviating from the intended quest chain, unleashing powers they shouldn’t be toying with, causing problems for the entity overseeing the quest portion of the cycle, sounds pretty familiar now that I think of it,” Journey mocked, drifting over Teyva’s shoulder. She lowered her voice, “It’s about time another you showed up to stir the pot, yes?”

“You’re dismissed, Journey,” Teyva said patiently and the greater being let out a small snort as she vanished into thin air. Teyva reached up and rubbed the bridge of her nose, turning to look at Yaga. “We’re pushing the schedule up, we need to secure the badlands sooner rather than later.”

“You’re going to the badlands?” Stella asked, wide-eyed, and jumped down from her perch. “Can I come too?”

Teyva practically jumped, she’d been so laser-focused on problem-solving she’d let Stella’s presence slip from her periphery. She cleared her throat as her daughter grinned up at her, a knowing look in her eyes. Teyva smirked down at her, “You did that on purpose, little rascal.”

“Well, can I?” Stella pressed.

“Take my only daughter who might experience dangerous fainting episodes into what could possibly be a war zone if things go Conrad’s way?” Teyva tilted her head thoughtfully and looked down at Stella, “You tell me, what do you think? Would you take a rilkling with you to a baroth den?”

“How tough is the rilkling?” Stella shot back.

Teyva laughed and reached out to rustle her daughter’s hair, “I can’t take you, Stella, as much as I would like to, I need you to be safe,” She said, crouching down a bit and placing a single kiss on the girl’s forehead.

Stella deflated a little, “But mom!”

“No buts,” Teyva said, holding up a slender finger, “The only reason you aren’t arguing harder is because you know it’s the right decision. You’ve grown up a little more.”

Stella crossed her arms, “Sari says that I’ll hit adulthood by the end of winter.”

“Hopefully this’ll be settled by then,” Teyva said, “And you can come with me on my next expedition.”

Stella sighed but nodded, “Yes mother,” she looked out of the corner of her eye at Yaga who shook her head and sighed again. “May I go to my room?”

“You don’t need my permission, sweetheart, go on, I’ll visit you later,” She pat Stella’s shoulder as the girl turned and darted up the steps, disappearing behind the throne and into the royal floor riser. Teyva remained silent for a while until Yaga approached from the side to offer her a comforting hug. Teyva rested her chin on the woman’s shoulder now that they were closer in height again. Yaga pat the back of her head.

“You did good. She needed to hear that from you,” Yaga said softly.

“Didn’t feel good, I’d promised her she’d come with us on our next expedition, whatever it was. I feel like I’ve let Stella down,” Teyva rubbed her head, “Rani keeps coming back to haunt me, even after I destroyed her. We need to nip this in the bud and quickly.”

“Put me on the task once you have a location,” Yaga said, “I’ll make them pay, whomever did this,” her voice was like ice but it somehow made Teyva feel warmer. She pulled back a bit and pressed her head against Yaga’s, nestling in a little and nodding. They were about to go a bit further when the doors flew open and Paraklytus glided in.

“Majesty I’m he- oh, dear me,” Paraklytus said, holding up his bony fingers over his non-existent eyes in a pointless gesture.

Teyva let out a groan of exasperation while Yaga laughed, “Get over here Perry, we need to talk.”

The lich inclined his head, “Yes, I daresay we do.”