Was the earth girl actually suggesting getting the Council involved? Bea was its head, it was her call whether to involve the other Regents or not.
It is the purpose of the council to stay the fuck out of everyone else’s business. Bea grit her teeth. Yes, her uncle had tortured her brother’s girlfriend. Yes, Uncle Odrick had tried to usurp the Council from Bea, had attempted a coup at her coronation as its head.
“I will not get the Council involved in this. It’s a family matter.” Her decision was final. The earth girl — Lauren, what a basic name — would have to accept it.
“You’re making a huge mistake.” Lauren crossed her arms and stared straight into Bea’s eyes. The girl’s own darkened into tiny black holes of anger. “Someone in a position of power kidnapped, tortured, and nearly killed a visitor. Don’t you all have rules about that sort of thing?”
“Where would you get that idea?” Annoyance bubbled over and flowed like hot lava down Bea’s spine. How dare this outsider assume she knew anything about their world.
“It’s in all the books. There’s always some rule about hospitality and not killing guests, right, Saoirse?” Lauren turned to her friend.
Earth friends. Saoirse might be in love with Bea’s brother, Tristan, but she was still an earthling too. Not from the Nest. Not born within magic. Bea had to tread carefully. Saoirse was magic. Her ancestor cast the spell that wove the Nest from loose grains of magic in the air and created a whole universe separate from earth. It wasn’t clear if Saoirse could tear the whole place down.
“Even if I wanted to call the Council — which this doesn’t fall under the Council’s duties in any way — they wouldn’t do it. If only because the suggestion came from an outsider.” Bea carefully pulled herself up to her full height, subtly squared her shoulders, before delivering the blow to Lauren. “From you.”
“Just because it’s not you or Tristan or one of the Regent suggesting it doesn’t make it a bad idea,” Saoirse said.
“You’re not even supposed to be here. You’re supposed to be in the east, recovering on Heneli’s island. And you—” Bea pointed at Lauren then, more violently than she intended. “—How am I supposed to explain your presence to everyone here? You’re not magic. You should be dead.”
“You shouldn’t exist at all,” Lauren fired back. “Magic isn’t supposed to be real.”
“Okay!” Saoirse put her hands up. “This isn’t getting us anywhere. This distrust is ruining everything. I need my eyes back.”
“This isn’t some Wicked Witch Council,” Bea said. “This government has kept magic safe for a thousand years. It’s not going to fail on my watch because you said it should.”
“I never said that,” Lauren protested.
“Where are you getting that idea, Bea?” Saoirse asked at the same time.
The girls were right. Bea had jumped from ‘let’s hold Odrick accountable’ to ‘Saoirse wants to destroy the Nest.’ She had a headache.
“I need to rest,” Bea said. “Let’s talk about this after dinner.” With a dismissive wave, she shooed the girls out of the room.
Saoirse had jumped back from Bea’s waving hand, as if expecting to be cut down by a wiggling finger, and pulled Lauren to the doorway.
“This conversation isn’t over,” Lauren said. Glaring at the queen, she allowed Saoirse to steer her from the room.
No, Bea knew. It’s only just beginning.
— jthrill
It is the purpose of the council to stay the fuck out of everyone else’s business. Bea grit her teeth. Yes, her uncle had tortured her brother’s girlfriend. Yes, Uncle Odrick had tried to usurp the Council from Bea, had attempted a coup at her coronation as its head.
“I will not get the Council involved in this. It’s a family matter.” Her decision was final. The earth girl — Lauren, what a basic name — would have to accept it.
“You’re making a huge mistake.” Lauren crossed her arms and stared straight into Bea’s eyes. The girl’s own darkened into tiny black holes of anger. “Someone in a position of power kidnapped, tortured, and nearly killed a visitor. Don’t you all have rules about that sort of thing?”
“Where would you get that idea?” Annoyance bubbled over and flowed like hot lava down Bea’s spine. How dare this outsider assume she knew anything about their world.
“It’s in all the books. There’s always some rule about hospitality and not killing guests, right, Saoirse?” Lauren turned to her friend.
Earth friends. Saoirse might be in love with Bea’s brother, Tristan, but she was still an earthling too. Not from the Nest. Not born within magic. Bea had to tread carefully. Saoirse was magic. Her ancestor cast the spell that wove the Nest from loose grains of magic in the air and created a whole universe separate from earth. It wasn’t clear if Saoirse could tear the whole place down.
“Even if I wanted to call the Council — which this doesn’t fall under the Council’s duties in any way — they wouldn’t do it. If only because the suggestion came from an outsider.” Bea carefully pulled herself up to her full height, subtly squared her shoulders, before delivering the blow to Lauren. “From you.”
“Just because it’s not you or Tristan or one of the Regent suggesting it doesn’t make it a bad idea,” Saoirse said.
“You’re not even supposed to be here. You’re supposed to be in the east, recovering on Heneli’s island. And you—” Bea pointed at Lauren then, more violently than she intended. “—How am I supposed to explain your presence to everyone here? You’re not magic. You should be dead.”
“You shouldn’t exist at all,” Lauren fired back. “Magic isn’t supposed to be real.”
“Okay!” Saoirse put her hands up. “This isn’t getting us anywhere. This distrust is ruining everything. I need my eyes back.”
“This isn’t some Wicked Witch Council,” Bea said. “This government has kept magic safe for a thousand years. It’s not going to fail on my watch because you said it should.”
“I never said that,” Lauren protested.
“Where are you getting that idea, Bea?” Saoirse asked at the same time.
The girls were right. Bea had jumped from ‘let’s hold Odrick accountable’ to ‘Saoirse wants to destroy the Nest.’ She had a headache.
“I need to rest,” Bea said. “Let’s talk about this after dinner.” With a dismissive wave, she shooed the girls out of the room.
Saoirse had jumped back from Bea’s waving hand, as if expecting to be cut down by a wiggling finger, and pulled Lauren to the doorway.
“This conversation isn’t over,” Lauren said. Glaring at the queen, she allowed Saoirse to steer her from the room.
No, Bea knew. It’s only just beginning.
— jthrill
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