The first thing Saffron did after breakfast was go talk to her mother and try to convince her to let up on further punishment for Nimue. "Winter and I hit it off a month ago," she said, "and Nimue wanted me to be happy. That's why she set things up last night to ensure Winter chose me and not her. You'll still get your grandchildren, and the council will get their master race off to a good start."
Ivy sniffed. "Very well," she said curtly. "I do not know why you're defending your sister, but it seems she has learned her lesson. I'll withhold further punishment for now, but you tell your sister she is on notice from this moment. I will be watching her very closely over the next few days, and if she puts a toe out of line, no plea will prevent me from letting her know just how far she has fallen from grace!" She sighed, the fire dying from her eyes as she studied her daughter. "You will do well," she said, smiling affectionately. "And your children will be all the more blessed. Nimue was only ever going to be a flawed vessel, but in a way, I am glad things have worked out the way they have. Her children would have been rebellious and troublesome like her, so it is just as well she is not the one bearing the children who will one day save us."
Saffron nodded her understanding, but inside, she was seething with rage at the role she still had to play until her future children were born. "I'll let Nimue know about the warning," she said."I'm sure she's learned her lesson, and if she does anything more, I'll be sure and let you know." After I've mitigated the damage, the sun elf girl added to herself quietly.
"I know you will," Ivy told her. "I have always had faith in you, and I know you'll do the right thing."
But as Saffron left, Ivy's smile slid off her face, revealing the scowl she'd been forced to conceal. She knew Saffron wasn't as compliant as her manner suggested; she'd jumped too readily to Nimue's defence over last night's disastrous presentation. Ivy made a private note to herself to ensure Saffron and Winter made their home here rather than setting up in their own house where Winter could set up protections to stop his mother and future mother-in-law from interfering in the lives of his future children. He had a tongue that could coax the birds from the trees, but Ivy was a skilled mage, and her lips curved in a cold smile as she began running through a list of all the wards she could put up to stop her future son-in-law from using his powers against her. That he would be marrying Saffron and not Nimue really was just a blip on the radar so far as Ivy was concerned; in the end, it didn't matter who the mother was. So long as the council got its treasured children, nothing else really mattered.
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Nimue let out a long breath, letting herself sink to the bottom of the pool, rather than face the consequences of last night's actions. She'd done the right thing, she told herself, as her lungs emptied, but now Ivy was furious with her, and Nimue swore silently. Ivy and Marigold had promised she'd suffer intensely for what she'd supposedly done, and as Nimue let herself rest at the bottom of the pool, lungs almost empty, she knew they'd be out for revenge despite Saffron's promises. It was almost enough to make her want to stay at the bottom of the pool forever, but the lack of air and pressure in her lungs forced her back to the surface, where she took a long breath before going under again. Her sisters, she knew, would now suffer, as Marigold had grimly promised last night, and that wrung a silent, underwater sob from Nimue as she sank to the bottom again. She'd wanted to protect her sisters, but now she'd gone and ensured their fates were now entangled in the dark wiles of the council.
Once more she found herself struggling for air, and she surfaced again. This time she rolled over and floated on her back, looking up at the sky, wondering if her sisters would ever find it in their hearts to forgive her. More to the point, she wondered if her parents would find it in their hearts to forgive her. She hoped so - forest elves were a clannish lot, and they never let feuds and fights blow out of proportion - but even so, she had a bad feeling that, even if her family did forgive her for her actions of the night before, her unborn nieces and nephews would come to suffer as a result. There was no sense telling herself that Saffron was the one destined for Winter - in the eyes of Ivy, Marigold, and Chika, directing Winter's attention to another girl, no matter that the attraction was real, had been a Very Bad Move.
But would it have made a lick of difference?
Nimue had no idea, so she did the best thing she could, and let herself go under one more time. Water was a sacred resource according to forest elves, and as Nimue let herself sink to the bottom once more, she vowed to find an answer somewhere in the blue depths that cradled her, even if she did nearly drown again. But almost drowning was better, in some ways, than facing the wrath of three women she'd been foolish to cross, even in an unintentional way. 106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgXurWCcevW
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