Chapter One

  This was worse than anything that happened in Naewauld. “NO!” During her long departure from her beaten-up manor on the outskirts of Hazeldown Harmony expected excessive dust, hand spiders, and even gnomes or other vermin to move in, but this! A new excessively rge portrait hung in the reception area, Kelly White, beggar queen of the stage posing regally.

  That wasn't the only thing or person that greeted them upon their arrival "home".

  Bates stared down a mockery of his profession. The new “butler” was an example of Kelly's favorite tools. An actor pying one in her service most likely as a way to get a part in one of 'the queen's' shows. Probably didn't even have a proper employment contract.

  “I'll go let Miss White know you're here.” He announced with acute overemphasis on the wrong sylbles.

  There was something about a profession that focused on removing problems and a css that wanted to kill everything and bring it back to life that defaulted to murderous impulses. Die, die, die, this whole situation needed to die! No, killing everyone annoying was rarely the solution. The ride back had only let her skim the surface of exploring her necrotuned revivalist css and rigorous royal eraser profession. [Keen Investigative Awareness] was helping parse the new from the old and right now it pointed out that this was her mistake.

  Of course, Kelly White was always going to be a problem and it was her fault for putting it out of her mind. Throwing her mother out was appealing, but with the Ascendant Games in three days, the woman would squeeze back in through the cracks while she was occupied. No, a different approach was needed. She was in control, not her evolution. The question was now how to handle this?

  This so-called butler was probably not the only flunky that Kelly moved in with her, but she never liked having too many around. Harmony returned with a bigger caravan than she left with, thanks to her five new contracted servants, and two bodyguards, Nick and Drew, who Throne insisted accompany her, throwing in their employment contracts. No trust for Hemlock there and Harmony didn’t bme her. All of that in addition to Bates and Ambrosia. Only Adric was missing, he was still in Naewauld under the Countess’s tutege for a few more days. Bowe could make the trip between cities in less than a day with his speed. But focusing on the number of bodies she had avaible wasn’t the solution either, merely an accounting of resources. It was time to be brave and move ahead because before forming a pn of attack information needed to be gathered.

  “Are you okay, Harm?” Ambrosia asked.

  “Why do you ask?” Harmony responded.

  “Well, the temperature has dropped and you told me you fixed those issues.”

  Bleeding ashes. [Cold Touch] was radiating out. More of a bad habit than the uncontrolble nature created through pain and trauma from authority’s burdens on her system. She’d forced control on herself so much these past few months that now that she can rex in some respects it seems there are some consequences. Never mind that she was a whole new her, and taller despite what Ambrosia said. Then there was whatever having a vital body meant. The three-day carriage ride hadn’t been the best pce to explore all these things while her mind was still caught up with the problems of Queen Talia. The pn was to do all that self-exploration at home without Kelly, queen-of-the-stage White!

  “I’ve been better. Still getting used to my extra half an inch. Let’s py it cordially with my mother at least until we get whatever the story is.” If she hadn’t said anything there was a chance Ambrosia might have just set her birds on the woman.

  Kelly White stepped into the entryway looking as beautiful as ever, despite her age. The only sign was a streak of white above her left ear and a slight crinkle at the corner of her eyes. While she had many skills that could enhance her beauty, Harmony didn’t detect any of them active. “Oh, Harmony, I meant to write to you and inform you about what was going on, but I didn’t want to distract you. There was all that frightening news about attacks on you. I knew that my pce was here to keep your estate secure. After all, we must have you at your best for the Ascendant Games. The pride of Hazeldown, our homegrown dy.”

  Harmony grabbed onto her skill [Poise and Bearing] and squeezed it with mana and stamina working to bleed any bit of composure out of it. “No time to send me a letter informing me that you've moved into my home?” Anger, despite that skill, fortified itself in her voice, but at least she wasn't screaming.

  Now came Kelly White's acting skills. The flush and sway of embarrassment aimed to be projected on a stage and not how normal people do it. “I knew it would upset you. I only returned after you left to see firsthand how you’ve been doing and living. And when I got here I found journalists rifling through your underwear drawer as though you were hiding things from the public. I had them ejected, but of course, more came and continued to come as news of the Ascendant Games spread. You needed someone here to put a stop to their transgressions and deal with them. You did notice that the road to the manor was clear of any groups of waiting fans or muckrakers. I’ve made it very clear how much you like your privacy.”

  This was from someone who never gave her privacy as a child or young woman. It grated on Harmony to be grateful to her mother for handling gossip vultures picking at her things. She was right that they hadn’t been descended on during their return trip. Kelly White might have as many bad as good things to say about the news machine in Hazeldown, but she certainly knew how to py them like a rigged game of cards she was dealing. Ambrosia’s preference was to send the birds to rain down pain or droppings on them. Bates would stonewall them as any good servant. But actually maniputing them to stay away, that would be her mother.

  Harmony’s skills and instincts punched her in the gut about how now that she’d achieved fame, Kelly White would never go away. As a faceless servant in the Coodly manor, she’d never so much as reached out, apologized, or sent a seasonal present. The only appropriate way to deal with this historical monster was to put it on a leash and make it do tricks.

  “Fine. Your help is accepted. That can be your job, and after the Ascendant Games, we can see about the mother-daughter situation. Since you seem to want to be in my life again that is the compromise I will offer. Bates will set up an employment contract, and we can work from there.”

  Was the relief on Kelly’s face honest? Did she think this was going to be an easy job? Bates and Ambrosia were sure to put her through worse stresses than Agent Maxwell suffered through after his foolhardy evolution.

  “Thank you. Thank you so much. I must warn you, since I have been staying here so long I did redecorate a little, and you’ve already met Crk, the head of my staff. I did bring in a few to help me with my mission here, but only about twenty. They’ll all be happy to join too.” Kelly darted to the manor’s main area, so fast Harmony could swear she picked up a movement skill in the years since she'd seen her st.

  Gnome shit, they were outnumbered two to one. That had been the back-up pn. The giant picture was also clear that there was some redecorating so why would she mention…. She stepped into her manor’s main area, the one she’d rebuilt for simple sturdy elegance. They’d painted over the polished wood. And statues? Mostly of Kelly, but there were a few of her too… how did they… Her floors, the ones she’d spent weeks on, smoothing and shaping, now had improperly patched grooves covering them.

  Matricide was not okay. Matricide was not okay. What had she agreed to?