Chapter 369

Oceane poured expensive looking alcohol into each of our glasses. After the stressful meeting with Sera Faelyn Morrister, we retreated back to the Ruby Vixen.

"That went as well as we could have hoped, I suppose," Oceane commented.

"I'm surprised she treated you with so much hostility," I said.

She nodded. "I was surprised as well. I've never met her directly before, but she must have heard of me through her advisors. I have dealt with Nathaniel several times since you introduced me, but I suppose it's easy to forget how some people look at whores."

"None for me, thanks," Bella said, refusing the glass. "I'm still breastfeeding."

Oceane's eyebrows rose, and she looked down at her glass with a grimace. "Ah, I forgot. I'm breastfeeding too..." She pushed the glass away from herself and rubbed her forehead. "I'm used to talking through this kind of thing with alcohol in my hand. It's a habit."

"Shall I make us some tea, dear?" Grace asked with a small smile.

"Please," Oceane said with a nod.

Morrigan smiled. "It seems like it went well though, right? Fae didn't agree on the spot, but she seemed to be considering it,"

I nodded. "She seemed to be leaning toward supporting us, and there was a lot of support from Tarlkin and Neali. They seemed more interested in the deal than Sera was herself."

"The elves have a lot to lose from a prolonged war without magic. Without it, they represent nearly all Eastern Torlimal's ranged forces. The lack of healing magic also means casualties are higher, and each elf is harder to replace than other races," Torien said.

"I believe her answer was essentially an agreement. She just needs to preserve her image of strength and inform the right people so their egos aren't bruised for not being consulted on such a big decision. Her promise to tell you her decision quickly was a clue about that. It probably helped that the elves were on board already. That would have been the largest hurdle if they didn't seem eager to get in on the magic lessons," Oceane explained.

"So, what's next?" Torien asked.

Grace handed Oceane a cup of hot tea, making her expression soften as she responded, "That was only the first hurdle, though likely the most important one. You're going to have to convince the representation of the other cities to go along with it too, but that should be easy by comparison. Losing land on the frontier will affect Goldenhearth the most, since they are the barony in charge of this region. Unless some of the other cities have strong investments in Traehall, or one of the other frontier towns, most of the other cities will be eager to gain a strong advantage in the war for someone else's land."

"Will it take long to make an agreement like this work?" I asked.

Oceane shrugged. "It shouldn't take long for most of the other cities in Eastern Torlimal, but the elves require a little longer. They're farther away than the other cities, and something like a treaty would require the Elven Queen's personal attention. Easier said than done in a conflict like this. Things might be sped up a little because you are friends with Tarlkin Silvergrove and Neali Tangleleaf, though. I can't be sure about that, one way or the other."

Morrigan nodded. "But if Goldenhearth agrees, we can get started with them before any of the elves are included, right?"

"That depends," Oceane said, taking a sip of her tea. "If you trust the elves in a general sense, you could show Tarklin or Neali your methods sooner than that. It would be a show of goodwill, even though you would essentially be giving up the secret without anything explicitly in return. Alternatively, you could wait to make sure everything is settled before you include them, giving Goldenhearth a head start. The elves might see it as a snub, but considering the war, it might not bother them."

"Which do you think is the right move?" I asked.

"I'm not sure," Oceane responded, shaking her head. "It's up to you. I think it's a gamble either way."

I scratched the base of my horn before thinking out loud. "Cecilia warned me that the elves couldn't necessarily be trusted to have our best interests in mind. Considering the specific people we're dealing with though..."

"Neali helped me with my nature magic a lot while we were in the capital without asking for anything in return," Bella added.

I nodded. "Tarklin has been a good friend to me as well, but... I'm not sure. Considering the scale of what we're dealing with, I would rather have an agreement in writing before I include them in anything. If I teach them in advance of any deals, it would make the deal useless, and we would be relying on their goodwill. If we wait, then even if they're not very generous on their side of the deal for the information, we would still be sure to get something for it. I don't feel confident in making a gamble on their goodwill in the city's name. I would rather have something tangible first."

"They seemed very supportive of the deal at the meeting though," Morrigan said.

Torien shook her head. "That could just be the two of them. Neali is a mage, and Tarklin is our friend. They might want the deal to go through more than the actual queen."

"What kinds of connection to the elves does Cecilia's new girlfriend have?" Oceane asked. "She seems to be keeping secrets."

I frowned and leaned back against the couch with a sigh. "I know who Fellia is, but I don't fully know the relevance. It doesn't seem to be my place to push her on it, though."

Oceane swirled the tea in her cup. "Even though the fate of your city, and potentially the succubi, hangs in the balance? I feel as though we should be chasing every lead we can to make sure this deal works out. If Fellia can help us, shouldn't we at least ask?"

Torien leaned forward. "We could just ask their opinions. Cecilia might have some insight into this situation too. We probably should have already invited her when we returned. We don't need to pressure Fellia to get involved, but maybe we should at least ask if she wants to be."

I sighed. "We could ask, at least. If she doesn't want to reveal herself to the elves, it would be nice to know why."

"I'll go find Miss Cecilia and Miss Fellia and ask them to join us, then," Grace said before leaving the room.

I looked over to the baby pen on the floor of Oceane's office, where the three babies continued to play. They were pretty social and surprisingly quiet for how old they looked. Granted, all three of them looked much more developed than a baby their age would be, but even toddlers could be noisy.

Soon, Grace returned with Cecilia and Fellia and sat on a third sofa that Grace had pulled over from the edge of the room. She then offered them tea or alcohol, and both of them asked for just tea.

"How did the meeting go?" Cecilia asked.

"Better than I hoped," I said, before explaining what had happened to the two of them. I then led into the issue with the elves and explained the trouble we were having.

Cecilia shook her head. "As much as I would love to just trust them, especially the Silvergroves and the Tangleleafs, I agree that you should wait until you have something in writing from the queen. I don't think she will be offended by being made to wait, but I've seen the queen slide out of deals this way before."

Again, Oceane was the one to broach the subject. "Miss Fellia, I was wondering if your connection to the elves might be of some use. Lilith didn't want to make any promises, and hasn't given me your last name, even though I know you have one, but I am curious if you would be able to help."

Fellia shared a look with Cecilia before sighing. "I will tell all of you, but I'd like for it to be kept within this room. I have more loyalty toward this family than my old one, so I'd like you to understand that while I explain a bit more about my situation."

Oceane nodded. "Of course. You are a succubus, as I am, and we have both taken an oath to help Lilith. Though it can be a bit difficult for me to remember sometimes, as you say, you're a succubus before you're an elf."

Fellia smiled, apparently happy with the recognition. "My full name is Fellia Winethorn. I don't know how much you know about the elven families, but the Winethorns are considered one of the eight elven great houses. My family has a lot of influence, especially in the southern region of the Northern Greens, but I didn't hold any power directly when I was kidnapped."

"Couldn't you speak with Feylaria Winethorn then? Convince her to help us out?" Torien asked.

Fellia frowned. "I could, but the problem is, the people who kidnapped me and sold me into slavery weren't humans or beastfolk... they were elves. My... my own people were the ones who burned me alive and sold my charred body to a slaver. Cecilia told me that everyone thought I had been murdered by demon cultists, but that wasn't true. The elves who sold my body didn't expect me to survive, but that slaver saved my life, buying me on the edge of death in an attempt to earn a profit. They hoped to restore my body so they could sell me for ransom, but over time, they gave up after many healers failed to make me recognizable. I was too damaged to fix, and eventually I was brought to the... the hidden room in Torlimal City to be further t-tortured and... used by people who enjoyed hurting slaves..."

There was a long silence that followed her story. The innocent sound of the children playing was the only noise in the room as we processed what she had said. After she recomposed herself, she continued. "I am not afraid of my immediate family, the Winethorns. I don't think that they were the ones who tried to kill me. But I do not trust any other elves, and I'm... scared of interacting with them. I would even be afraid of Cecilia if she weren't a succubus like us... I don't know who to trust. I don't know who tried to kill me or why. They went through a lot of effort to make it look like demon cultists, so I think it could have been related to my place in the family. I may have been selected to head the house someday in the future, but to go this far to kill me is... it's extreme."

She turned to me with a sad smile on her face. "This is why I'm so grateful for everything you've done for me, Lilith. Taking me away from that place, healing my body, making me me again. I owe you everything. I will... I will talk with my great aunt and ask her to support you if you can get a private meeting with her. But I do not wish to meet with any other elves, unless they're also Winethorns. I know she won't meet you without guards, but asking for her to be guarded only by members of her house will be a reasonable, if odd, request."

I licked my lips. They were dry after everything she told us. "Are you sure you want to meet with her? Now that I know more about what happened to you, I don't even want to ask you to do that. You don't have to help us with this if you don't want to."

Fellia smiled, but I could see the pain in her eyes. "I want to help. This is the first time you've ever really asked me for anything after saving me from that place. This situation is also... it's something that I know could give you a legitimate reason to bring my great aunt Feylaria here. She is one of the few people I still trust enough to speak with. If I want to know what happened to me, I think she would be one of the few who could find out... So please, ask the elves stationed here to summon her to negotiate. She would be an appropriate person to negotiate with anyway."

I sighed. "Okay. I think Tarklin might be a little confused by my request, but I'll do it. Thank you, Fellia."

Fellia smiled and nodded her head. "Thank you for giving me a way to repay you. I know you have never asked, nor expected, a reward for your deeds, but it means a lot to me that I can do this for you."

She turned to Oceane and gave her a small bow as well. "I apologize for not being more forthright about who I am, after the times we've met, when Cecilia and I traveled here, but I hope you can understand now why I've kept my identity to myself."

Oceane gave her a soft smile. "No need to apologize. I'm sorry for being distrustful of you. I should have treated you as the family you are. I was a beastfolk long before I was a succubi. It can be a bit hard to trust other races for me sometimes."

"I understand the feeling well," Fellia said with a nod.