“So, he’s invited you to a get-together.” Miss Emily said, resting her head on her hand as she lay on the sofa. The clinic was empty. I found that very suspicious. And that wasn’t even all that was suspicious.


    “You don’t seem surprised.” I noted dryly.


    Miss Emily raised an eyebrow at me. “Are you?”


    I just stared at her. “Of course. I was quite surprised by the welcoming committee waiting for me.”


    “You really didn’t expect the City Lord to call for you? Did you really think that he would just leave you alone?” Miss Emily actually looked surprised by that, staring at me with shock clear on her face.


    “I…not like this.”


    “What did you expect then?”


    “A few quests to see if I was serious, perhaps a few supporters placed to gain my trust -”


    “You overestimate them. And yourself. The City Lord and Guild Heads aren’t here because they are capable. They are here because their family didn’t want to see their faces anymore. The kind of planning you are speaking of is played between dukes and emperors.”


    “Where every player has a dozen tricks up their sleeve and a single offense can lead to war. This is an unnamed town under a lake. You are just a Rank 3. The City Lord is afraid of what stands behind you, not of you. Why would he be afraid of someone that does not pose a threat? Do you think you can defeat a Rank 4?”


    I winced. That did make sense. And I had considered that point of view. I just hadn’t expected him to be so forceful about it after being quiet for so long.


    “But why make an enemy of someone he does not need to?” I asked as a shift in the mana drew my attention. A shift that seemed too small to have actually been sensed by me, and yet I did it anyway. There was something helping me. A power present in this place, perhaps.


    Miss Emily’s eyes looked behind me as I tensed, sensing the shift grow until it became an actual presence. A powerful presence that I did not recognize.


    “Cause he is a fool, ain’t that right?” she asked, smiling as she acted like she hadn’t sensed the presence. I followed her lead. Calling the presence out would be foolish. That person thought they were being sneaky. And they seemed powerful.


    Telling them that we knew their presence might cause them to attack instead of just sneaking around.


    “Now, I presume ain’t got any other clothes?” Miss Emily asked, raising both eyebrows as she looked at me. I looked down at my body, staring at the clothes that I had been wearing since I arrived here.


    Not a bit of dirt on them. I was sure they cleaned themselves magically. But they still weren’t appropriate for a ‘get-together’.


    “No, I don’t.” I said. “I don’t suppose you know where I can get them?”


    Miss Emily opened her mouth, her eyes shifting once more to look right behind me. I tried not to tense. I hadn’t noticed a difference in the presence, but I was sure Miss Emily was better at this than I was.


    How was I sensing them, anyway? I couldn''t even sense Elena when she used her spell to hide, but now I was suddenly sensing this powerful presence? I couldn’t tell just how powerful, but they had more mana than me. That much I was sure of.


    “The City Lord.” Miss Emily said after a long pause. “The boy sells clothes if asked. For three golds a piece.”


    I coughed. “Three golds?! That’s—is there perhaps a cheaper option? A tailor in town, perhaps?”


    Miss Emily gave me a sad smile, her eyes widening as she shook her head. I frowned, unable to understand what she was trying to say.


    “There ain’t no tailors in town.” she declared. “At least none that can serve you, your grace.”


    I looked at her in confusion, wondering what she was getting at now. There was clearly something she was hinting at, but could not say because of the uninvited guest. This was a really bad time for a guest to come.


    I had a few questions for her myself.


    Miss Emily groaned, rolling her eyes as she stood up. “I am sure I can find something that would please you, your grace. I do not have much to give, but I am sure not many would dare judge a royal. After all, do we all not live to serve the royal family?”


    I tilted my head. More words. More hints about what she actually wanted to say. What I heard was just the words ‘royal family’ over and over again. I paused, going over my thoughts once more.


    Miss Emily had mentioned the words ‘royal family’ over and over. Was someone from the royal family spying on us? Or maybe the royal knights? I gulped. This was bad. If the Old Lady had found me, well, she would not hesitate to kill off someone that could threaten her son.


    Or maybe it was Lord Adrien, or one of his supporters. That was…better. And made more sense. Perhaps they had reached a decision in that meeting of theirs.


    I simply smiled like I knew what she was talking about, still trying to piece it together.


    “Please, come with me.” Miss Emily said, leading me into her office. I followed, trying to sense if the presence had followed.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    The second she closed the door, the presence seemed to grow stronger, Miss Emily going very, very still as we waited for something to happen. Then it disappeared.


    Miss Emily stood there for a second, as if making sure the presence wasn’t returning before she spoke.


    “Is it gone?” I asked.


    “Yes.” the woman said, sighing. “I suppose they lost interest.”


    “Who was that?”


    “I don’t know.” Miss Emily answered.


    I just stared at her. “That wasn’t the impression you gave outside.”


    Miss Emily rolled her eyes as she walked to her chair and sat down. “Have a seat, I am sure you have questions.”


    I looked at her, warily taking a seat. “A few. But first, who was that?”


    Miss Emily sighed. “I really do not know.”


    “Then why did you make such comments before?” I demanded.


    “Cause Story magic told me to.”


    I froze, staring at her as I tried to make sure that I had heard right.


    “Did you not have a conversation with my ‘cousin’?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.


    “So you already know about it.”


    “Know?” Miss Emily scoffed. “I think you shall find that I know far less than I claim to. But yes, I did guess he would do something like this.”


    I narrowed my eyes at her as she continued.


    “I wanted to see how your Story would react. And I think you will find that it is far easier to let someone else describe you when your own tale is as confusing as mine.”


    “And perhaps you would rather not lie too? After all, I did have to gain this information from elsewhere. You would not be responsible if some of it was false.”


    “That is helpful, yes” she said as she leaned forward. A teacup and kettle appeared out of somewhere onto the table before her.


    I stared at her for a few seconds, wondering where I should even start.


    “So you…know about Stories?” I began.


    “Know?” Miss Emily laughed. “I think I just told you that I have one, young prince. Why it is the reason I am what I am.”


    I leaned forward. The woman was being far more open than I had expected her to be, and I intended to take advantage of it.


    “The Witch in Green.” I stated.


    “That is what my Story was called, yes.” Miss Emily said. “I go by Miss Emily now.”


    I looked at her, trying to convey my confusion with my expression.


    Miss Emily just laughed at that. “Oh, you really do know so very little about Story magic, do you not?”


    I continued staring at her. “And I suppose you are going to teach me?”


    “I do not know.” she said. “Just like I do not know why I said what I did outside, and how I do not know the answers to your questions. At least most of them. Story magic isn''t big on answers, if you haven’t gathered that yet.”


    “Yes, that does seem like something it does.” I asked, still suspicious. “So you’re saying that this is all Story magic’s doing? That you didn’t plan any of it?”


    “Oh, I have plenty of plans.” she said. “I am the Witch in Green, the Duchess that cannot cast a single spell. I have but two powers, and they are planning and knowing things I should not. Story magic may give only a feeling, but even that can be more than enough.”


    “Even if it is annoying to have to act like you had a plan all along.”


    Miss Emily poured the contents off the kettle into the teacup and then gulped them down in one breath.


    “What do you mean?” I asked.


    Miss Emily looked at me with an expression that seemed to hold far too much sadness. “I think you shall understand that in time. Or perhaps I shall explain it to you. But not now.”


    “Why not?” I asked, suspicion creeping into my voice as she stood up. Was some convenient excuse just gonna pop up from somewhere?


    “The party is in five minutes.” she declared.


    “The party isn’t till tonight.” I noted. So there really was an excuse. I wasn’t sure I was buying her ‘Story magic planned this’.


    “And it is almost 6.” she said, pointing to the clock. “That’s nighttime in the Continent of Life.”


    I turned to look at the clock, and of course, it really was five minutes to six. I stared at it for a few more minutes, wondering if Miss Emily had planned it like this. I just couldn’t figure her out.


    Just about every time I tried to make headway with her, I just seemed to have more questions.


    “Did you make this happen with Story -” I stopped, gaping at the woman. And what she was wearing. “How did you change clothes so quickly?”


    In the seconds I had been looking away, she seemed to have become a different person. The old clothes that barely seemed to hold themselves together were gone. So was the tired face.


    In its place was a face that could have belonged to a grandmother, but only if that grandmother was a queen. For that was how she looked. An old queen that really loved the color green.


    Miss Emily was dressed in a long, glittering ball gown made of what had to be some form of magical material. The kind that didn''t stick to her body, even in this place. A ball gown made of forest green that came with two pairs of very long gloves in a slightly darker shade of it. A staff was held in one hand, made of what looked like old wood.


    I was more than surprised that this attire had just appeared on her in seconds.


    “If you are supposed to have a power, then you have it. That is a rule of Fae magic.” she said. “I am supposed to be a witch of many forms. And so I am. Now come, I fear there is little time to change. And I am sure you need to prepare before this get-together.”


    I followed her, realizing that I had once again lost all initiative when dealing with her. That seemed to happen a lot too.


    “Wait, why are you coming with?”


    sc


    In a room in the Alchemist Guild. A boy with blonde hair looked at the mirror with a blank expression on his face.


    “Come now.” another boy said, running a comb through the previous boy’s hair. This boy had white hair and purple eyes that paired well with the cruel smile that occupied his face.


    “I need you to make an expression, my dear, or my dear brother will not be fooled. I do need you to get close to him, you know?”


    “Of course, Lord Leif.” the blonde haired boy replied in a voice that could have belonged to a robot.


    A slap rang across the room as Leif glared at the boy, mana pouring out of him and into the boy’s head. “Do it properly. I do not like failure.”


    “Of course, my lord.” the boy replied, a smile appearing on his face as he replied. “I shall do what you ask of me.”