Chapter 758: Princess

“Are you Lady Jadis?”

Syd paused as she was about to take a bite out of the scrumptious-looking puff pastry she had plucked from one of the tiered trays. Actually, taking a bite was the wrong wording, since the tiny morsel was too small for her to do anything but eat it whole. Maybe Eir could daintily turn the confection into two or even three elegant nibbles, but not Jadis. No, none of the finger foods that had been laid out in eye-catching arrangements were of a size meant for a giant. Not that Jadis was complaining. From what she could see and smell, everything looked like it had been made by a masterclass chef, and she was going to enjoy the delectable tastes regardless of portion sizes.

In fact, that had been Syd’s whole purpose in politely slipping away from the small crowd that had gathered around her selves, her companions, and Princess Lynn. The conversation thus far had been pleasant, surprisingly so. Considering how much her husband hated Jadis’ guts, she had expected Lynn to be at least a little stand-offish towards her, perhaps even going so far as to publicly snub her like the villains in one of those Victorian era novels that she had read in the past. Instead, Lynn had been warm and friendly, not only to her, but to Alex and to Hope.

Then there was Lady Vanessa Brunholt.

Jadis had not been surprised to see Lady Vanessa in the small herd of noblewomen who were at Princess Lynn’s side. She was the daughter of Duke Colgrave, after all, and the duke was one of the chief supporters of Prince Hraustrekr. There were five other women clustered around Lynn who gravitated to Vanessa, and as Jadis was introduced to them all, she realized that they were the wives of other dukes and margraves who were heavy supporters of the first prince. That they would all be so close to Hraustrekr’s wife was no shock at all. However, there were also several women who were in the closeknit gathering who were the wives of dukes of the opposing faction. Namely, those who would prefer Prince Kestil took the throne. In fact, Jadis recognized one woman, Duchess Linnea Umberlund, as one of the most outspoken supporters the second prince had. And yet, despite Linnea being a vocal leader in the opposition party, she sat right at Lynn’s side, sipping tea and chatting congenially with the princess.

All of that was to say, while there was no particular awkwardness in the air, Jadis still felt a bit stifled by the crowd, especially when she caught the occasional calculating glance from one side or the other. So, with dual intent in mind, Syd had left the gathering so that at least one of Jadis’ bodies could take a breath and focus on something infinitely more appealing to her than politically charged conversation: Food.

However, as Syd stood with a sweet-smelling pastry raised to her lips, poised to take a bite, it seemed that she would have to wait to taste the bounties of the palace’s kitchen. Hraustrekr’s daughter had found her.

Turning away from the table that had been laden with colorful treats and self-warming pots of tea, Syd looked down to see a tiny girl staring up at her. She was, unmistakably, the same nine- or ten-year-old child that Jadis had observed playing in the private garden with Emperor Somerulf a few months ago. Even if she hadn’t seen the girl before, Jadis still would have presumed her to be a member of the royal family. Her hair was the same shade of blue as her father’s was, her eyes were the same green, and she had a golden hue to her skin. Yes, she was obviously a half-elf, but the elven side of her was strong. The girl looked like a tiny, cute, and innocent version of her father.

“I am,” Syd answered the princess’ question gamely. “Or one of me, anyway. Were you hoping to speak with me? Or one of the me that is over there, with Princess Lynn?”

The little girl blinked at her, confused, before turning to look at where her mother and the rest of Jadis was.

“I don’t know,” she admitted after a moment. “What’s the difference?”

“Well, the difference is, you’d be talking to the me that’s over there, rather than the me that’s over here. That wouldn’t really make a difference to me, since I’m still me regardless of where I happen to be at any given moment, but it might make a difference to you, since I’d be over there and not over here, and so the same would be said about you. Would it make a difference to you if you were over there rather than over here?”

The look of utter confoundment on the kid’s face was so perfect that it took every ounce of willpower in Jadis’ bodies to stop herself from bursting out into laughter. However, through supreme effort, Syd managed to keep her face straight as she patiently waited for the princess’ response.

“I… would still be me?” she hesitantly replied to the existential conundrum that Jadis had just dropped on her. “Because I’m always me?”

“Makes sense to me,” Syd nodded. “I know I’m always at least one of me. So, now that we have established that I am me and you are you regardless of where we happen to be, who exactly are you?”

“I am me?” the girl blinked at her. Then, with a sudden dawning realization overcoming her expression, she took a step back and performed a polite curtsey. “Good day to you. My name is Princess Astra Alfhilderunn.”

“Good day to you,” Syd swept one arm to her waist and bowed halfway bent over. “My name is Jadis Ahlstrom. But you can call this me Syd.”

Astra seemed to accept that explanation readily enough, though whether that was because she had been previously told of Jadis’ three different names or if she had just become inured to Jadis’ weirdness from the brief conversation so far was anyone’s guess. Since the girl was so much shorter than Jadis, she was standing several feet further away than normal and yet was still craning her neck back to look up at Syd. To make their meeting easier, Syd dropped to one knee, not at all concerned about grass stains on her new fancy pants. Then, realizing that she still had the tiny puff pasty held between thumb and finger, she quickly popped the treat into her mouth before smiling Astra.

“You like epleblomster, too?” Astra asked as she watched Syd.

“Apparently I do,” she agreed after taking a moment to savor the deliciously tart and sweet treat. “I didn’t know until just this moment.”

The princess’ eyes were then drawn to the table next to them, her interest in the pastries clear. Syd was just about to offer to fill one of the plates for her when Astra turned her attention back onto her with obvious difficulty. The way she stared was so serious that Jadis had to wonder what exactly the little was going to say next.

“Do you make airships?”

“My company does, yes,” Syd answered truthfully. “The idea was mine, but I don’t have the skill to make the enchantments or the ships themselves. My companion, Sabina, is the genius behind their design. And there are many people who work for us who put the ships together.”

Astra seemed to accept that explanation with great thought, her eyebrows squeezed together as she nodded her head slowly.

“Are you married to a Demon?”

Syd’s smile didn’t slip from her face at the suddenly much more touchy question, but she did have to take a second longer to answer. She wanted to be completely truthful, but she also had to remember that she was speaking not only to a child, but to the child of a man who she considered hostile to her, if not an outright enemy. Anything she said to Astra would likely be heard by Hraustrekr. Jadis had no interest in playing politics, but she didn’t want to say anything that would give the first prince a reason to be offended, either.

“We’re bonded,” she finally replied. “We haven’t had a marriage ceremony yet, but we will eventually. For all intents and purposes, though, we are married.”

“Even though she’s a Demon?”

“Yes.”

“But you fight Demons, like my father.”

“Yes.”

“But not Lady Alex.”

“No.”

“Because she’s a good Demon?”

“That’s one reason, yes.”

“Why else?”

“Because I love her,” Syd answered instantly.

The idea of loving a Demon definitely caused Astra to pause her onslaught of questions, at least for a moment. As Syd watched the girl think that particular proposition over, she waited to see if anyone was going to intervene in the conversation she was having with the young princess. By that point, Lynn had certainly realized where her daughter was. After all, Jadis was sitting with Lynn and the others, and the older princess had gathered her five-year-old son to her side for an introduction. That meant that Astra was likely going to be called over as well.

Then there were the guards.

Jadis had not failed to note the palace guards who stood nearby, their usually unobtrusive presence a little more apparent than it had been moments ago. And of course, there was the nanny. An elf dressed in the uniform of the domestic staff waited patiently on the edge of their meeting. She looked like a caretaker, but Jadis had been around so many powerful people for so long that a few observations had rubbed off on her. She knew the difference between a servant who was standing at attention and a warrior who was standing poised and ready to act at a moment’s notice. Whatever the woman’s official title was, she was definitely more than just a babysitter.

As it turned out, it was neither princess nor nanny who intervened in the conversation between Jadis and Astra, but a devil in a purple dress.

“Jadis! I knew that dark blue would suit you. Oh, you look so devastatingly gorgeous in that suit,” Svana swept up to Syd with her usual grace and charm. “And your lovely hair! Who did you get to style it so beautifully?”

“Hello Svana,” Syd grinned as she stood. “You look quite stunning yourself. And you should be proud, too, because Eir did my hair.”

“Of course she did,” the noble elf smiled knowingly before turning to face the waiting princess. “And good day to you, darling little Astra. Every time I see you, you’ve grown taller and more beautiful.”

“Thank you, Lady Aedraheill,” Astra curtseyed again. “I’m very happy to see you again, too.”

“Was the dress I sent to you for the winter solstice festival to your liking?”

“Yes ma’am,” the girl nodded enthusiastically. “It’s very nice.”

“Good,” Svana smiled before turning her attention to the gathering where the rest of Jadis and Princess Lynn were. “Now, I didn’t mean to interrupt your conversation, so I will leave you to your talk. I’m going to give my greetings to your mother, Astra.”

“Actually, would you mind walking Astra over there with you?” Syd said as she motioned at the half-elf. “Lynn is asking for her right now.”

“How do you know that?” Astra asked as she looked up at Syd with suspicion.

“Because I’m over there talking to your mother right now, remember?” Syd pointed out. “That’s me, right there.”

“Oh,” the girl frowned as she looked over to the gathering, then back at Syd. “But I wanted to talk to you more.”

“Did you want to talk to the me that’s here? Or the me that can be anywhere else?”

“I wanted to talk to the me—I mean, the you that is not where my mother is, because she will tell me to stop asking so many questions,” Astra answered with a child’s bluntness.

“Mm, that’s fair,” Syd nodded along in understanding. “But your mother is asking for you, so you have to go. And I will still be me over there, and I’ll answer any questions that you ask. Plus, Alex is over there, too, and she will answer your questions if you ask her nicely.”

That caused Astra’s face to light up with excitement.

“I want to talk to a Demon!”

“Then you better not miss your chance,” Syd nodded towards Svana, “and walk with Lady Aedraheill.”

“Yes!”

With eager excitement, Astra accompanied Svana on the short walk over to the gathering, while the princess’ nanny and guards followed silently in their wake.

“Cute kid,” Syd murmured to herself before casting her eyes down at the table laden with pastries for a second time.

The single bite of the epleblomster, or whatever it was called, had only made Jadis that much hungrier, and Syd was intent on piling up as many plates as she could juggle with as many of the treats as she could balance on them before returning to her other selves. But first, she had to try one of the cream-topped little tarts that smelled like cherries and cantaloupe.

“Lady Jadis.”

Syd paused, the tart only a few inches from her lips. Closing her mouth with a click of her teeth, she looked down to see a young woman of an entirely different sort staring up at her.

“May I have a private word with you?” Elodie Brunholt requested with a serious expression.

“…which me are you asking to have a word with?”

“Pardon?”

“Never mind.”