“Soooo, that’s not Neia,” Joan said.

“Yes I am,” the fake Neia said.

“Shush,” Korgron said.

“Definitely not Neia. Also, I’m pretty sure she actually DOES have some demon in her,” Joan said.

“Oh, more than a little,” the fake Neia said with a light chuckle.

“Is that really something you should be proud of?” Joan asked. “That’s a crime here, you know.”

“What, am I going to be imprisoned again?” the fake Neia asked before holding up her hands and showing off the cuffs. “I’ve already been tried for my ‘crimes’ once, it’s not like they can get worse. Besides, things changed.”

“And how is that?” Joan asked.

“Now one of the Chosen is a demon,” the fake Neia said with a smile. “And, judging by the scene she left, an awesome one.”

“Are you sure this isn’t the Neia you knew?” Korgron asked. “She has good tastes.”

“Terrible tastes,” Bauteut said.

“Well, one way to know for sure,” Joan said before motioning to Korgron’s crown. “Would you like to do the honor? Or should Searle?”

“I will,” Korgron said quickly. She then lifted the crown off her head, careful of her horns, and offered it to Neia. “Here.”

“You’re kidding, right?” the fake Neia asked. “Doesn’t touching that destroy the unworthy?”

“No,” Joan said. “You just can’t move it.” She then reached out and put a finger up against it. Even held in Korgron’s open palms her nudges might as well have been the soft breeze of a butterfly trying to move a mountain.

Neia nodded before, before slowly, she reached out with both hands. Despite herself, Joan couldn’t help but hold her breath and watch when the girl tried to pick up the crown. It didn’t budge. “What? How do you even wear this thing? Your neck must be tougher than iron.”

“I barely notice it, to be honest,” Korgron said before sliding her crown back on. “So, not a Chosen. But you are Neia?”

“I am,” Neia said.

“Ugh, this doesn’t make any sense,” Joan said.

“Since when does it with you?” Bauteut asked.

“It makes LESS sense than normal,” Joan said. “There can’t be two Neias. Can there?” she asked before looking to Neia. The girl shrugged. Once more she found her mind considering the possibility that she had, across so many lives, missed something so important.

“I don’t know. I’m the only Neia there ever was, though it wasn’t exactly something I asked for,” Neia said.

“Fine then, where is the Neia we’re looking for?” Korgron asked.

Joan sighed and put her elbows on the table and rested her face in her palms. “I don’t know. She could be anywhere. If she’s not this Neia or… if she’s not Neia at all? I wasn’t prepared for this. Fake Neia, don’t you have a sister or anything?”

“I told you I’m not fake,” Neia said, her tone sharp.

“Fine, other Neia,” Joan said. “Green hair, green eyes, very humble, an amazing healer, good with a bow, good with wind magic?”

“Yeah, green hair and eyes,” Neia said. “That only covers about a third of all elv-- wait.” Neia paused for a moment before, very slowly, a grin formed on her lips. “Actually, I think I know exactly who you mean. Though how you got her confused with me I can’t even begin to imagine.”

Joan lowered her hands, a rush of excitement running through her. “Really? You do? Where is she?”

“Hey now, easy little Chosen,” Neia said with a shake of her head.

“I’m not a Chosen,” Joan said.

“You sure? You sure talk for them a lot,” Neia said before glancing to Korgron. “Err, no offense.”

“Normally she doesn’t,” Korgron said. “But this is kind of her field.”

“Actually, she probably talks for all of us a lot more than she should, Chosen or not,” Bauteut said.

“Focus!” Joan said. “Where is she?”

“So, I think I know exactly who you mean,” Neia said. “But that brings up an important question. What’s in it for me?”

“Your life,” Korgron said coldly.

Neia lightly tapped her cuffs on the table. “Yeah, another few hundred years or so, at best, locked in a cell doesn’t really appeal to me.”

“Maybe you should have considered that before you did this,” Joan said before gesturing towards her. She then paused and frowned. “Actually, now that I think about it. What DID you do?”

“Be born?” Neia said with a shrug.

“No, seriously,” Joan said before glancing to Bauteut and Korgron.

Bauteut gave a shrug. “Corin said a lot of things, but you didn’t seem to believe them then.”

“I assumed you knew,” Korgron said.

Joan glanced back to Neia and tried to think of anything the woman had actually done. ‘Tainted her soul with the essence of a demon’, perhaps. But she wasn’t entirely sure. She was fairly certain there was some demon in this Neia. But the only thing the woman had actually done that she could think of was charming the prince. Considering where she was being held, she could hardly hold that against her.

Joan felt another rush of guilt flood through her as every accusation she’d heard about her Neia hit her. “You’re innocent, aren’t you?”

“I mean, I wouldn’t entirely say innocent,” Neia said. “I’ve done a few things that--”

“You’re not with the Demon Lord, are you?” Joan asked. “Sacrificing the innocent? Infecting the minds of the pure?”

Neia frowned and shook her head. “No, I’m not. I’m not stupid, I know what happens to those who do that. I’ve probably infected a few ‘minds’ in my time, but that’s hardly my fault.”

“You have done the ritual though, haven’t you?” Joan asked. “Tainted your soul?”

“Ahem?” Korgron asked, cocking an eye.

“It’s not the same as you,” Joan said. “You were born with it.”

“So?” Korgron asked. “That ritual hardly turns you into a monster.”

“I’ve never seen it not,” Joan said flatly.

“How many times have you seen it?” Korgron asked.

“Err…” Joan said before glancing back towards Neia again, who was eyeing both of them.

“Well? I want to know your answer,” Korgron said.

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea to discuss it in front of her,” Joan said.

“She’s hardly going to be telling anyone,” Korgron said. “Tell me.”

“A few hundred times, okay?” Joan said. “And it has almost always, without fail, turned them into a violent, murderous monster. A few of them almost killed me, okay?”

“Hundreds?” Neia asked. “Just where have you been?”

“A lot of places,” Joan said. “I’m sorry, Korgron. I know once someone is born like that it has a different effect. But turning someone? That’s not--”

“First of all,” Neia said, cutting her off. “I was born like this. I didn’t do the ritual at all.”

That made Joan, Korgron and Bauteut all turn to her. “You were?” Joan asked. “But you were--”

“There’s some demon on my mother’s side,” Neia said. “It was a family secret, mind. Even my father didn’t know. I just happened to be a bit more… apparent than others. I tried to hide it, but well. Corin can be incredibly persistent when she feels there’s a chance for victory. I made a mistake. I would have been fine, though. I had a plan, charmed the little human prince, was biding my time. Then a certain child got involved.”

“Yeah, Joan does that,” Bauteut said.

“It works out in my favor, though,” Neia said before holding up her cuffs again. “You want this other girl, right? I think I know exactly who you’re talking about. What I want is easy.”

“Revenge?” Joan asked.

“Escape,” Neia said. “For me and one other. To the Demon Lands.”

“Why? So you can join the Demon Lord?” Joan asked, unable to keep the accusation out of her voice.

“So I can live my life,” Neia said. “I thought I could be fine here. I thought my position would keep me safe, I was wrong. I don’t want to damn the world, I just want to live free. Not chained up in some sparkly dungeon.”

“Fine,” Korgron said.

“Korgron,” Joan said. “You can’t agree to that! Who knows what she’d do?”

“I’ll send her to Kazora,” Korgron said. “We’ll have people to keep an eye on her and… who’s the second person?”

“A friend of mine,” Neia said.

Joan frowned when she saw that. She couldn’t be sure, but she swore the elf had gone a little red in the cheeks when she said that and averted her gaze for a moment. She was lying, she knew it. Whoever this ‘friend’ of hers was, she was possibly just as dangerous. She shook her head. “Korgron, what if she’s--”

“I think it sounds like a great idea,” Zorn said from behind Joan, making her jump.

“ZORN! When did you get here? How long have you been there?” Joan asked, turning to glare at him.

“Around the time rituals were turning people into monsters,” Zorn said.

Korgron gave a light, annoyed grunt before getting to her feet. “Then we’re agreed. And if we’re not, I hardly care. As the only Chosen still standing and present, I’ll make the decision. Neia, you have a deal.”

“Korgron,” Joan said. “You can’t--”

“I can. I am. I did,” Korgron said before she turned around and stormed off, slamming the door shut behind herself.

“Ohhhh, you made her maaaaad,” Neia said.

“What? What’d I do?” Joan asked.

Bauteut gave a soft sigh. “Oh Joan…”

“What? I’m not wrong! Am I?” Joan asked.

“Well, no, the effects of the ritual are terrible. But she is a demon,” Bauteut said. “It’s hardly nice to say that in front of her.”

Joan sighed and looked towards the door before glancing back towards Bauteut. “Keep an eye on the fake, okay? I’m going to go talk to her.”

“I’m not a fake!” Neia said, her eyes narrowing. “Rude little child, isn’t she?”

“Sometimes,” Bauteut said.

Joan got to her feet and headed towards the door, following after Korgron. Maybe she had been a bit too harsh, but she hadn’t meant to be.

Was it really her fault if tainting your soul with demonic essence was a bad thing?

She barely made it a foot out the door before she realized Korgron was outside, leaning back against the building, an annoyed look on her face. It was pretty clear why. Most of the elves in the street were whispering, occasionally pointing.

“We should talk,” Joan said.

“We should,” Korgron said before pushing off the building and starting to walk. “Come along.”

Joan gave a small nod, following after the demon. A small knot of anxiety welling up in her stomach.

MelodyAvant

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