“You may be wondering why I even brought up such a distant event,” Constance continued, not bothering to hide the smirk which had settled across her features.

“Uh…” Emma was very confused and had no idea how to respond.

“I assure you it is leading somewhere!” Constance sighed and sat back, crossing her right leg over her left and leaning into the chair heavily, setting her cup of tea in her lap while staring at Emma over her knee. “The first thing I need to do is apologize for my behavior last night.”

“No! There’s nothing to apologize for!” Emma insisted, waving her hands dismissively. “It’s ok!”

“You are very kind, Emma,” Constance sighed, shaking her head, her long brown hair gathered into a pony tail behind her swishing back and forth. “But it’s not ok. I imagine I came across as rather frightening. Thinking back on it, now, I sounded like a zealot. You know, those people down in the River District on the street corners with crazed eyes screaming about a brewing apocalypse and the end being nigh and all that.

“Honestly, they may not be completely wrong, but I had no right to go to those lengths. The fact is, we are all here for different reasons. Pay alone isn’t enough to do this job. You have to have conviction. Kiley’s entire family was slaughtered, and their farm razed to the ground by one of the Seeker Squadrons the Archon employs to enforce her will.”

“No,” Emma gasped, covering her mouth, and shaking her head in denial.

“The Seekers follow at least some protocols here on the main island to maintain the illusion of adhering to the pact between the Imperials and the Order. In the provinces, such as the Western Isle where Kiley’s from, they do what they want, when they want, with virtual impunity. The worst part is the Imperial forces largely turn a blind eye to what they do. The Legion doesn’t concern themselves with local matters and many of the local lords and their guards are either complicit in the Seekers’ activities or are too afraid to step in. The Hunter Squads…well, in some cases they’re just as bad as the Seekers.

“Eva’s mother was one of the ‘volunteers’ for the batteries. She got paid quite a bit and did it for a number of years for one of the local lords down south in Whitecliff.  The money helped Eva’s family buy a small fishing boat and they were beginning to make their own way without the need for the money she got from the batteries. Her mother was less than a month from the end of her final duty when she vanished. No word of where she was, no investigation by the Order’s local outpost, or the Empire’s. She simply went off to the batteries one morning and never returned.”

“W-What of you?” Emma asked quietly. Constance sighed deeply, laying her head back on the chair for a moment before her eyes sought out Emma’s once more.

“Do you remember when I told you I had two older sisters?” Constance asked quietly. Emma nodded. “Well, the little worm my parents had married my sister Eunice off to lost a lot of money gambling in the parlors in Sundal. Eunice was always a cheerful girl. Eager to help, eager to please, eager to be…useful.

“I’m not sure if she volunteered or that swine of a husband of hers volunteered her, but she went to work in the batteries in the mansion of one her husband’s ‘friends’ to help pay off his debt. Most likely the man he’d lost the money to in the first place. I always suspected it was a con. I think the man swindled her husband to get his grubby hands on my sister.

“Eunice was the prettiest of us. Big, soft doe eyes, delicate features, a beautiful face, and body… Well, anyway, unlike Eva’s mother, my sister did come back after her duty in the batteries. But she wasn’t Eunice anymore. She was broken in both body and mind. All of the things which had made Eunice her were gone. She never smiled. She never spoke except in hushed, panicked whispers. She was afraid of everything. Breathing itself was difficult for her and coughing fits left her gasping and shaky. Whatever happened to her in the batteries had scooped my sister out and left a human-shaped husk in its wake.” Constance looked skyward, her thumb playing absently on the rim of her cup.

“Oh no,” Emma whispered, tears slipping from her eyes and down her cheeks.

“The worst part for me,” Constance continued, not hearing her, “was nothing was done about it. No inquiries were made. Neither the Order nor the Imperial representative did anything. My sister’s husband was ‘adequately compensated’ for the living doll which had come back to him, and Eunice jumped off the roof shortly before I graduated from the academy. The world continued on, the incident was washed away like dust in the streets during a rainstorm and my sister simply ceased to exist.” Constance shifted her gaze to Emma and sat upright quickly, placing her tea back on the table and grabbing Emma’s hands in hers. “Why are you crying?”

“I’m so sorry for you allll!” Emma sobbed brokenly, her shoulders shaking from the force of her tears.

“Oh, Emma!” Constance whispered rushing around to gather the smaller girl in her arms, tears springing to her own eyes as she cradled Emma gently. “It’s this, right here, that I’m zealous about.”

“I know nowww!” Emma wailed, clutching Constance’s sleeve in her gloved hand as she cried.

“No!” Constance put her hands on Emma’s cheeks and stared at her intently. “This! You!”

“I-I do-don’t un-understand,” Emma managed, her lower lip quivering as she began to cough and hiccup from the force of her sobs.

“This is what I will protect! You!” Constance continued. “I work for the Empress, but only a fool would believe the throne and the nobility that make up the bulk of its power base are any better than the Order at the end of the day.”

“H-Huh?” Emma managed through the headache her tears were bringing about. “A-Aren’t you an Imperial…er…p-person, though?”

“The Empress has no interest in doing away with the batteries. She has empathy toward the plight of those forced to endure the hell, but the nobles would never let her do away with the system itself. She needs those nobles on her side, so she will have to choose the prudent course. Maybe she would try to enforce more ‘humane’ conditions, but that is like putting a bandage on a broken leg. When everything is said and done, it’s still broken. And so is this entire system.”

“We didn’t get to where we are by being weak,” Constance continued seriously, staring into Emma’s eyes intently. “Kiley is the most powerful Weaver I’ve ever seen, and I am quite an accomplished Summoner on my own. Even though Eva may not be quite as proficient at her discipline as we are, she is still head and shoulders above the average Controller. We are the equals of, if not better than, any others at what we do.”

“Ok…” Emma murmured.

“But even combined we are like a gentle summer breeze to a hurricane when compared to you, Emma,” Constance held her with her eyes, searching Emma’s face.

“B-But…” Emma began to protest.

“I know! You don’t know how to use your power!” Constance cut her off. “Let us help you! Let us serve as your guides and companions in your journey to learn!”

“I-I don’t understand,” Emma shook her head in confusion.

“We were sent to bring you here and keep you safe,” Constance sighed. “Not out of concern for your well-being, but as a way to keep you hidden until the Empress figured out a way to use your power against the Order.”

“W-What?” Emma stared at Constance, a trickle of fear running down her spine.

“The Empire and the Order are two sides of the same coin, Emma. The Archon already knows about you. I don’t know if she knows where you are yet, but I suspect she may. At least I promise she is hot on your trail. Empress Celeste can’t simply invite you to a royal ball and introduce you like some precious Duchess which just came of age.

“She has to figure out a way to use you at the right time for the maximum effect to weaken the Order and get the people on her side. Once that happens, she will march to war against the Order and try to use your power to crush the Archon once and for all. In the end the names will change, but the rot that is the batteries and everything they support will remain at the core of the Empire.”

“I’m scared,” Emma murmured.

“I’m not trying to scare you,” Constance smiled, holding her hands tightly. “I’m trying to tell you that, no matter what, we will support you! Not the Empress! Not the Order! You, Emma!”

“B-But aren’t you talking about rebellion, Miss Constance?” Emma whispered quietly, eyes wide and afraid.