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Yroth had taken her bipedal form again, but unfortunately was still quite a bit larger than her. She stuck a hand out against the sheep’s forehead, holding her back while her other hand held the small black box covered in runes out of reach. “Oh? Is it important?”
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Phaedra went entirely still, staring at the box. “P-please. Yroth, I know you don’t trust me. But don’t. Don’t damage that.”
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Yroth blinked a few times, her eyes narrowing on her before glancing back at the box. “You’re just saying that because of this, aren’t you?”
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Phaedra took the opportunity. Casting a spell to amplify her speed, she was by the dragon in a second. She snatched the box back before turning her back to her and clutching it protectively to herself. She waited, but no attacks came. She slowly glanced back.
Yroth stared at her in confusion. “It’s… a doll?”
Phaedra gulped before, slowly, she nodded. “I’ll show you, but only if you promise NOT to touch it or the box ever again. Okay? Just… it’s special to me.”
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Phaedra nodded. She knelt down on her bed, then gently ran a finger over the side of the box. A quick mending spell repaired the damage where Yroth''s claws had dug into it, and fortunately none of the runes were damaged. She squeezed the box, causing the runes to glow, and the top popped open. To Phaedra''s relief, the box''s contents were also unharmed. She delicately pulled out a small sheep doll.
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Yroth stared at her. “That doesn’t make any sense. Why wouldn’t you get it removed if you know about it?”
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Yroth stared at her and took a small step forward, reaching out a hand to her. Finally, she shook her head. “No. You’re not Medon. You can’t be. Medon was… Medon was calm. Quiet. Reserved. He was--”
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“Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
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Yroth was silent for a few moments before sighing and crossing her arms. “No. That… was a lie. While he was… obviously attracted to her--”
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Yroth went entirely rigid, her eyes going wide. “Ex… cuse me? Her? Why?”
Phaedra squirmed and then shook her head, before finally enveloping herself in a thick ball of wool once more, hugging the box to her chest. “Nope! No! Never mind! We are NOT talking about this!”
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Phaedra groaned and then, very slowly, the wool retracted. She stared up at her. Another test. Of course it was. Just so Yroth could ignore it like the others. Still, though. She supposed there was one thing she could get out of this. Yroth even seemed to be kind of listening this time. Slowly she put the box on the ground, on the opposite side from Yroth. “If… I do this… will you… let me at least pretend to chain you up so Dad doesn’t try to kill you when I take you away from here? Just long enough so nobody can see before I let you go?”
Yroth’s eyes narrowed and her fists clenched. A small tuft of flame came out of her mouth before she sighed. “Very well. I suppose… I can agree to play this… farce. For a short while. I will even acknowledge that if you really desired me to be chained, you could have kept me bound. Now, what did you mean by that? Wanting to be Lilith?”
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After a few seconds she whimpered and buried her face in her pillow. There was no way to not make herself sound stupid.
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Yroth blinked a few times, staring at her. “You… know that Lilith--”
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Phaedra blinked a few times and stared at her. “I… what? Who? Morgana as in like… Arthurian Legends? Or Artemis as in the Greek goddess of the hunt? Annnnd none of these make much sense to you, do they?”
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Phaedra gave another sigh before shrugging. “I don’t know. I think I’d heard of it before. I just always told you that it was just some guy, not to worry about it.” On the upside, Yroth finally seemed to be taking her seriously. Though she didn’t quite get what she was getting at.
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Phaedra blinked a few times and stared at her. She just stared at her. Finally, she took a slow, deep breath. “Did you just say… five… heroes?” she asked in as calm a voice as she could manage. “There are… four more heroes from other worlds?”
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Phaedra blinked a few times before sighing. “You know… I’m… pretty sure four of those are Greek. I… think? But I didn’t actually study a lot of Greek mythology. Some of them sound fairly familiar. I think Dionysus was a god of wine and Artemis was a god of hunting. Aphroditus I think… uhhhh… became… Hermaphroditus? They’re kind of the one I know the most about and even then I don’t know much. Morgana I know a lot about, she was supposed to be the sister of King Arthur, depending on which story. Though originally she was Morgan Le Fey… and… why are you looking at me like that?”
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Phaedra stared at her. “I didn’t even know there were five heroes.”
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