"It's alright, dear, you're not in trouble," Elara lied calmly. "Just tell me what you saw."

  The elderly woman kept her face carefully passive, with a calculated splash of disappointment and a subtle hint of reassurance mixed in. Her eyes were patient, yet expectant. But beneath the table, her hands were balled into tight, white-knuckled fists. At that moment, she wanted nothing more in the world than to spit fiery venom at her brother for the knife that was now suspended above their necks. What a mess.

  Bella fidgeted, not quite making eye contact with her superior. "W-well... I was cleaning the west-most wing when..."

  Elara had not cared overmuch for Randell's private affairs. Sure, she had been quite curious when he had the specialized enclosure built and made such an effort to keep its contents a secret. Randell was rarely so secretive, so going to such extremes had drawn her attention, but not overly so. Elara was no stranger to keeping information under lock and key, and with the rise of the portvale, more academics were beginning to pursue the study of monsters, especially the scarcer breeds. Keeping his work hidden from potential competition made sense. It was profitable. Stars, she was even impressed at his uncharacteristic foresight. He was always one to keep his head in the sand and pretend nothing was amiss, ignoring the bigger picture and acting as if he lived in a bubble. So, despite her interest, she had respected her brother's wishes and left the matter alone.

  A year came and went without any problems crossing her desk. At least, until a day ago.

  The diplomat had caught on quickly that something was amiss. The normally bubbly and extroverted dretris was no great actor or schemer, so the shift in the teenager's demeanor was a blinding beacon in Elara's eyes. She was hiding something big. The girl, normally quite the gossip from what Elara understood, was suddenly dodgy and reserved, wearing a near-constant conflicted expression. Most of the staff had seemed to realize the same.

  Elara didn't miss the way the young woman made the occasional glance at Julia. Elara understood power dynamics well. The younger one had done something or seen something, and the older servant was keeping her in check. She saw the way the caretaker hovered around the loose-lipped teen, butting into the conversation whenever Bella began to ramble a bit much.

  That begged the question, what had happened? The answer was fairly obvious, given Julia's presence. The door.

  Bella had no formal education and had lived the sheltered life of a distant member of a lesser household; a child born out of wedlock, handed off to another estate as a political alliance as much as to get her out of the way. She wouldn't understand the significance of any monster or beast behind that door. And if she had seen a creature, it wouldn't be internal conflict on her features but an unsettled fear and unease at seeing a monster for the first time. She to talk about what she saw, but was forbidden for reasons she didn't understand.

  Elara began an investigation instantly, a rising trepidation at what her brother might have brought down upon their family. And the evidence was indeed damning.

  Julia had been hired as a caretaker, presumably for whatever animal Randell had kept in the enclosure. She had been forced to sign a magically binding contract of secrecy and was offered a salary triple that of what was standard for her position. A carrot and a stick to keep her lips sealed. While that didn't concern Elara, the next bit did.

  She had quickly stumbled across the ledgers, a list of purchases for toys and children's dresses. There were no children in this estate, and last time she checked, monsters didn't wear dresses.

  Suddenly, Bella's conflicted reaction made a lot more sense. Needless to say, she had confronted her brother in an apoplectic fury, demanding answers. After a very heated discussion, Randell eventually managed to explain the delicate nature of the estate's hidden resident. While relieved to hear that the man wasn't involved in some kind of trafficking ring, knowing that he was still committing form of treason left much to be desired.

  And, of course, she was the one who had to clean up his mess.

  "-and that's everything, Mistress," Bella finished with a nervous bow.

  "Thank you, dear. That was very enlightening."

  Elara glanced at Julia, who was sitting in a chair near the wall, watching Bella, concerned. She was smart enough to know what kind of risk Bella was in for this mess. She likely knew her own life was now on the line as well.

  The house representative pondered. This whole fiasco was a political nightmare. If word of this got out, the entire household would be leveled. Elara initially planned to get rid of the bloodthirsty hatchling just so they could have plausible deniability. It wasn't a person, it was a monster. It didn't matter what happened to it. But, much to her shock, the man had nearly gone ballistic at the thought, proclaiming he intended to at all costs. He threatened Elara directly if any harm came to his little pet project. Even the idea of merely selling the beast or releasing it into the wild was beyond him. She couldn't understand his irrational behavior and put a bookmark in that for later investigation.

  If getting rid of the... living in their mansion was no longer on the table, Elara's next instinct was to make Bella disappear. Perhaps a small 'accident' on the way home. She had contacts and could make it happen. But after a bit of thought, it wasn't so simple.

  First off, Julia clearly understood the situation. If Bella disappeared, Julia would immediately know what had happened. She didn't believe the caretaker would say anything; her family had been living in the servant's quarters for the previous six months. She wouldn't risk her own family so easily. Nonetheless, it was still a loose end that would need to be dealt with. Could she make them both disappear? Again, yes, but that was already suspicious. And what of the rest of the staff? They'd know something was up, they already were interested in Bella's odd behavior. She'd need to fire them all, and that would rouse the attention of the rest of her hermit family from their private studies.

  Second, Bella was still a member of another household, even if an undesirable one. Her death would undoubtedly cause tension between the two houses, and the inevitable reprisal was just as likely to unearth any secrets Elara managed to bury. Perhaps more so, given some of the secrets she made 'go away' in the previous years. Randell rarely took his role seriously. Someone had to keep their faces clean and coffers full.

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  The option to remove the ditzy dretris was still there, but she put it in her back pocket for a more opportune time.

  Elara considered a magical contract but instantly dismissed the idea. The seventeen-year-old social butterfly was barely level three. Even if she put a hold on her entire Essence pool, losing it all would be barely a tickle for her. She had few ambitions and was plenty young enough to start from scratch without any real setbacks. Her lack of drive also meant bribery would have little effect.

  Of all the people who had to stumble across this skeleton in the closest, it just had to be her. Elara seethed internally, trying another approach.

  "Dear, have you told anyone else about this?" Elara asked with concern in her tone that was only partially an act.

  "Um... Not... anything important..." The maid didn't meet her gaze.

  Elara began to speak once more, knowing her Silver Tongue ability was hovering around her lips, pouring Mana into every word.

  "Well, you see, this is a bit of a problem, Miss Bella. Rythica is a sweet young girl, one who came to our generous House in the middle of the night with help from a stranger, seeking shelter from an abusive family. They were terrible people, and she suffered a lot during her time with them." Elara's expression turned to one of pity and great distress. "Her parents are dangerous people. Incredibly high-level hunters. We're sheltering the poor child here and keeping her safe from those horrible, horrible people. But we cannot let anyone know of her presence. Absolutely . If word gets out, that poor, innocent child..." Elara shook her head.

  Bella wore a horrified expression. "What?! Oh, little one... Is she... okay?"

  "You understand, don't you? I imagine you saw it in her demeanor, right? That look of a cornered animal, untrusting, hesitant. You can tell things were hard on her. Just imagine how bad things would be if those monsters found her once more. And if you let word get out... It would be your fault she was dragged back to that nightmarish place. You would be the one responsible. How can I trust that you won't betray that poor little girl? Can you even keep such a big secret?"

  Bella's guilty-child stance instantly shifted to horror and self-recrimination. "What?! No! I mean, yes, I can keep it a secret! I-I didn't know that's what-"

  "Even so much as hinting at her appearance would be enough to draw their attention. Rythica is a species known as a... vaneguin. They're incredibly rare in these parts of the continent. The barest whiff of her description, even in passing, would make her location clear to the skilled hunters. No one else knows about this, so the weight of her life is entirely in your hands."

  Bella straightened her spine. "I swear on my life I would never let anything happen to that poor girl!"

  "And, what about those people you already told? Didn't you say you mentioned something to a few people?"

  "I haven't said anything important, no details, just hints. But I'll take care of it! I promise!"

  Elara locked eyes with Julia in the distance, a clear threat in her eye, daring the servant to contradict her. "I'm sure Miss Julia will help verify everything I said, of course. She's been keeping the exact details of Rythica's situation a secret as well. She understands what's at stake."

  The nanny met her gaze, resigned, and bowed deep. "Yes, Mistress Elara."

  "And you'll help Bella clean up any potential leaks? And I trust you understand why you will never leave the door unlocked again, ?"

  "Yes, Mistress."

  "Good." The elderly woman clapped. "Then please, take care of it before anything happens. It is essential you act quickly and discreetly."

  As the two servants made to leave, Bella practically sprinting, Elara called out once more. "Miss Julia, if you'd aid me for a moment, please? I'd like to meet your charge."

  So, this pet monster was capable of speech, huh? If she wasn't allowed to dispose of it, well, it was always best to understand the tools ready at one's disposal. Didn't she read somewhere that high-level vex had natural telepathy? That was Interesting.

  Rythica reset the tiles for her memory game once more. She carefully studied the arrangement of the pieces before tilting the board to hide the tiles. She had grown to like this game since she had first been introduced. The challenge of it had grown addicting. And while she still couldn't finish a match flawlessly, she was getting closer with each passing day. The first move was sadly a failure, and she flipped the tiles back down with a scoff. She made another move, a match this time.

  After clearing about half the board, the reinforced doorway opened, and two figures stepped inside. Rythica glanced up and, alongside Julia, stepped in another figure she was unfamiliar with. Rythica rose to her feet slowly, a small hiss already building. The newcomer had entered alongside her most loyal follower, so the princess didn't believe that they were an outright enemy. Otherwise, Julia wouldn't have led them directly to the hive queen. But given the tenseness of her minion's shoulders, the intruder wasn't exactly an ally, either. Were they prey, then? If so, why bring them here instead of hunting them directly? Rythica kept her stance tight, glancing at the nanny for any context clues.

  "Feisty little thing, isn't she?" the maybe-prey cooed. Her cold eyes briefly studied the memory game Rythica had been playing, storing that information away for later.

  "Yes, Rythica is very strong-willed, Miss Elara." Julia's head was lowered in subservience.

  Rythica's blood boiled at the act. The very idea of someone commanding drones infuriated her. "Who?" the small queen chirped, demanding to know who this strange being was. But then, the being turned and looked at Rythica, and in those eyes, Rythica saw something familiar. It clicked into place. This was no prey,

  The elderly human looked down and put on a plastic smile. "Hello, little one. You must be our resident hive queen, yes?"

  Something tingled in the back of her head, and her instincts . The flavor was wrong. Like she had just heard something spoken for the first time in her life, but in a language she didn't recognize. Another mind had touched hers, ever so faintly. It wasn't a message, it wasn't a command. It was merely a suggestion to comprehend the verbal words in a new way. Her instincts parsed the intention behind the magic naturally before letting the feeling wash away without affecting her. She didn't understand it, but the sensation was undeniable. Rythica's head whipped back so fast she nearly gave herself whiplash.

  Something inside of her quivered, as if finally feeling something she had never known she was missing. The feeling was wrong, cruel, and manipulative, but at that moment, Rythica couldn't help but sink to her knees as she experienced a sensation that teased at a hollowness inside of her that she didn't even realize she had. Had she been human, she would have described it as feeling a firm embrace for the very first time in her life, even if she knew the other being intended no warmth behind the gesture.

  Rythica trembled in the presence of the fellow hive queen, one that surpassed her. A mix of emotions whirled through her. Fear, reverence, longing. Her head was a mess of conflicting signals. She felt the density of the magic behind the mental suggestion, and it was far more than the young vex could bring to bear without sacrificing something vital. The level eight Vex Hive Queen stared up at the level sixteen Diplomat.

  "Am queen... You queen..."

  The question remained: was this queen from a competing hive or an extension of her own hive? And if so, where did that leave her in the food chain?

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