The War Chronicles of a Little Demon (Youjo Senki alt)

So some good news. Ch37 is making good progress and should have a release before the month is out. Ch38 is on the penultimate scene with 9k words written.

I also have some work on a new bit of Legionary kit: the Stiletto recoverable, but attritable, air combat golem. It is compatible with existing Fujiwara Heavy aerial torpedo launchers, transports, and storage, and can carry up to four Konoe Light Torpedoes (or equivalent munitions).

---

First by Lexi Kimble, we have a beach party of Tribune Quirinus (standing) with two of her squadron leaders Julia (2nd Squadron; left) and Fabia (4th Squadron; right)

---

Next by PlayerError404, Tauira and VioletBlood in fancy dress.

---

And by Tiffanymarsou, Imperatrix BlackSky in her regalia

---

Also by Duchess SilverFlight and two of her neko maids by Lexi Kimble

---

And also by PlayerError404 we have The Fox Family; seated Reinhild and Uwe with Brabant chasing her daughter Phalia (who has the eggs and is being very helpful)

---

And finally, Tauria doing a mobility test of her new Polyxo Ritual Plate, much to VB's delight by Scitty Kitty

The War Chronicles of a Little Demon

Set in the Diyu Demons verse
A Saga of Tanya the Evil fic.
By Sunshine Temple

Naturally, I do not own Youjo Senki. So here's the disclaimer:

Saga of Tanya the Evil its characters and settings belong Carlo Zen, Shinobu Shinotsuki, and NUT Co., Ltd.

Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.

C&C as always is wanted.

Chapter 37: Future Considerations

The forests of County Larium raced far below us as I flew at mother's wing. Despite our supersonic speeds, the clouds seemed to drift above us, moving with the stately procession of some grand, ephemeral fleet.

"Status check," my Duchess asked over our common channel. The suit-to-suit data feed only gave her my suit's overall condition.

"Systems are green across the board," I confirmed after looking over the status board. My Polyxo's power systems steadily hummed as my Zephyr shot me through the air and the aeroshell of my wards held. The suit gamely took to the high speed without complaint. "And propulsion output is fine, all temperatures and power flows are nominal."

Mother purred happily. "Excellent. With turning radius, climb rates, and now high speed cruise I think we can close out the flight check."

"Confirm," I replied in the affirmative. During the flight we had gone down a checklist of increasing complexity. What had started out with basic suit functionality had stepped up bit by bit.

Flying at the heels of mother's Harmonia, I understood why Gibbs had chosen the air-superiority configuration for my Plate. The Polyxo was hardly a slow suit, even on a poor day or sub-optimal configuration, but it was principally designed with an eye towards versatility as a multi-role platform, deft at wearing any of a variety of hats as the situation demanded. The Harmonia, on the other hand, was purpose built for this kind of aerial ballet, and its breathtaking acceleration and needle-tip turns demonstrated as much.

"Reducing airspeed to Mach Zero Point Seven Five on the following mark," Mother transmitted.

"Understood," I replied.

"Mark," said Mother, and the enhanced optics of my suit let me catch the flaps and feathers on her person flaring slightly, rapidly bleeding off her velocity as they caught the air.

"Mark aye." I carefully flared my own wings and felt the tug of the wind, perfectly keeping distance with Mother's suit. The airspeed indicator spiraled down and the power systems stabilized at a lower output.

"Daughter, perhaps we can check out some of your suit's limits?" my Duchess inquired, her tone light.

I tried to keep the concern out of my voice as my mind spun back to a certain someone else all too eager to test the limits of my equipment, "If you insist…"

Mother laughed. "Oh Honey, I'm hardly going to break your new suit. Trust your mother on this, won't you? I just think we deserve to stretch our wings a bit – all within the flight envelope, of course."

"Well…" Some part of me was still hesitant, but it was hard to deny the words of an expert in the field. I was probably just being unreasonably defensive after my experiences with the likes of Schugel. "I suppose that should be alright."

"Excellent," Mother gave an almost predatory purr. "One moment, I'll update with Bovitar ATC."

"Understood," I said, stealing a sip of water as I went over the suit's systems one more time. It was practically luxurious to be in a new suit.

I had few doubts that the local air traffic control would be fine with nearly any modification to our logged flight plan. In this part of Eastern Province, no air controller was going to critique a pair of noble pilots out for a flight. As long as we didn't stray into any commercial flight paths, impede any military assets, or cross any borders, the sky was ours.

That last proviso was surprisingly challenging not to do accidentally. True to its name, Eastern Province was the House's easternmost point, and bordered House Andromache to the north, House Luxon to the east, and the Gaudia Sea to the south. Borders, consequently, were present in abundance.

"Sending navigational update," Mother stated, a strangely coy edge to her voice. I wondered what she had in mind.

"Aye," I said, accepting the pulse as my map display refreshed. The route seemed normal, almost all casual cruising across a large region and through a range of altitudes.

Dutifully following my Duchess as she began her chosen track, I adjusted my heading to the south and, for the sixth time, dashed out of the boundaries of my domain and into County Aberdeen.

Craw Holler flew past below us. Out from it the rail line went, plunging off southbound in an absurdly straight line for Switchbend and various other destinations along the way. Construction on the line had halted to facilitate the urgent inspections of all the various bridges, grades, stations, switches, and even coaling and water towers, to make sure they were actually up to code.

For no particular reason, of course.

Not that any of that frantic work was discernible from the viewpoint offered by a casual flyby. I could have tapped into the more precise Scrying equipment on the Polyxo, expressly designed for this kind of high altitude recon work, but I already knew what I would find, and I had better things to set my eyes on. Besides, I had done earlier overflights with my Vs to collect such to use in the railway project.

In the distance, I could see Bovitar, with the city, river, Legion, and Fleet Base spreading out in a vast colony squatting upon the plains. Beyond it, the rest of the province stretched on to the horizon. Sweeping my attention, both visual and scrying, across the tableau, I felt I could see the works of the hands of demons upon the entire face of Diyu.

"Busy sky," Mother noted as we neared the province's pillar settlement. That was a bit of an understatement, considering the multitude of dots that swarmed and danced in the distance, but I doubted she was referring to the busy commercial traffic out of Bovitar or even the Fleet operations to the south of the city.

Instead, she must have been referring to the flickering constellation of a multi-Squadron sized training flight flashing by a couple hundred miles to the east of us, out over Luxon Minor.

An exclave on the northern shore of the Great Bazala Lake, Luxon Minor consisted of their land border with Andromache and part of their border with our House. It was a valuable position for Luxon; their clawed grip on both sides of the great lake and mastery over its largest island gave them great authority over that body of water and all the traffic that passed above and atop it.

Should push come to shove, it was highly likely that Luxon would attempt to leverage that control to throttle our eastern trade.

Today, though, Luxon was using their airspace only as a venue for training flights.

"It looks like they're practicing strike missions versus combat air patrols," I noted.

"Likely elements from the Third Strike Wing out from their capital versus the Sixteenth Guards Wing from the Oaris garrison," Mother noted.

I had to agree. The largest city and port on Luxon Minor, Oaris was a major trade link between Luxon and Andromache, and from there, much of the rest of Diyu. Consequently, its garrison was heavily reinforced and highly trained.

As my Duchess updated Castra Bovitar, I took a moment to hydrate before supplementing her report with a few additional details. While we called in our observations, the cloud cover over our heads increased. Eventually it became fully overcast, with flurries whipping past our wings.

I listened with half an ear as Mother concluded the rest of her duties to the House. On the one wing, it was important work that I would be following in the footsteps of. On the other, it was work that I was no stranger to, and flying high above the clouds on this cold and snowy day, it was a siren song that called my mind to drift.

Out of the corner of my vision, I saw Mother give a decisive nod, flare her wings, then abruptly rocket toward me on a sudden intercept.

Instincts carved into my bones whipped into place.

I snap maneuvered to evade and put full power to my wards as I spiraled off course.

A thunderous crack ripped through the air beneath me, as Mother's supersonic trajectory crossed mine.

I flared my wings, catching the howling winds and trying to get an angle on Mother as we screamed by.

The Harmonia suit curved, taking a path that prevented me from getting a clean shot.

Not that I would.

Our suits hadn't been switched into training mode so we could not safely fire upon each other.

Which made this impromptu training a bit strange. "Mother?" I transmitted , keeping the strain of the G forces out my voice with practiced effort.

"Come, Daughter," my Duchess laughed as she maneuvered into position for another roaring flyby. The Harmonia was a formidable challenge, even more in the right talons. "Despite your quite correct statements against duelist mistresses of the air, I know you are... curious to cross swords with me."

I paused for a moment. I wanted to disagree with Mother. However, on the other wing, I wanted to keep flying with her, and wanted to keep learning from her.

My response was to push my Zephyr and accelerate past her.

I felt the spirits of wind dance along my feathers, humming a song that grew into howling, infectious joy.

Mother twisted her Harmonia, her vector rapidly changing as she moved into pursuit.

Looping my trajectory and pushing my Veils, I worked my evasion. Keeping track of Mother's position relative to mine, I did my best to keep her from getting a scrying fix with her Ballista.

I managed to last for a few turns until Mother clicked the comm channel to signal she could have tagged me. Mother rocketed past and it was now my turn to chase.

In blunt honesty, it was not a fair fight. The Polyxo was far from a poor machine. Indeed, it was designed to work almost as well in air-to-air mode albeit with less overall acceleration and rate of climb. I had better scrying systems, and the Polyxo was a bit better maneuvering in the low velocity regime. Combined with my smaller size, in the right conditions I could pull out the edge.I even spent many years training against Harmonia pilots, including the pilots of Caenis's First Squadron.

However, while the Polyxo was able to thrive in the skies, the Harmonia was built to own them. And for all Legate Quirinus was an expert of aerial combat, it was clear that Mother was its mistress. I had known that, intellectually, going into this. But after so many years since we'd last flown together, I'd forgotten just how much of a true terror Mother could be in her Domain.

Whipping through the increasing snowfall and cloud cover, I managed to take the initiative a few times. Only a few.

In this moment, against Mother, I was starkly reminded of the gap between our levels of experience. Even with three years in service as a Legionary Flier, and all the cheating that my prior life as an aerial mage for Germania fighting the Great War could grant me, Mother still had decades of experience blooding her fangs over me. Every twist of the wing, every flick of my tail, every burst of my Zephyr, all of it had me digging deeper and deeper into my bag of tricks as we spiraled through the skies around each other.

Further, Mother used her physical advantages including a greater wing area, the ability to shift her greater mass to change her inertia, and was able to use her longer tail with its larger fins to twist in the air with great alacrity.

However, I was also trying to use every edge I had. While I was more diminutive, that gave some advantages. I was more flexible, I was a smaller target, the same amount of thrust moved me further and faster, and while my wings were smaller than mother's, they were still large for my size, which meant I had less wing-loading per area than she did.
All I had to do was just do more snap accelerations taking sudden high G loading from all sorts of vectors. Thankfully, I was wearing a new and freshly-fitted suit. The Mark 16 Zeta Block seemed to be everything MuArc Amalgamated had promised. At least in the specialized, limited-application, and vainglorious task of one on one close air combat.

Were it so easy, I gasped out a breath, pulling through a turn that all my magic only barely kept me from blacking out. Thrust burning, Zephyr roaring, feathers flaring, all of them to twist me into a tight turn to be exactly where I needed to be.

It was the kind of maneuver Mother simply couldn't have pulled off.

It was also something she'd seen coming from a mile away.

The moment I completed the burn, I saw, too late, the gleam of her horns, and I realized with the click of her comms signal that I'd merely stepped into another one of her many traps.

Still, I was happy to merely be able to keep up at all, and even regain the initiative a few times, against someone with Mother's skill.

"End Ex," Mother transmitted as her speed slowed and she took to a steady heading and angle of attack.

"Confirm," I transmitted, thankful that I did not sound out of breath. Going by the wet feeling of the wrap on my forehead and neck, my inner flight suit had absorbed a bit of sweat. Steadying my own flight path, I took a drink from my water tube.

"Excellent work, daughter," she said, pride evident in her voice.

"Thanks!" I grinned, adrenaline high still burning bright. "You were right; it was great to do some flybys."

"Yes, next time I must remember to have our suits set in training mode so we can do proper air combat and gunnery training," Mother stated.

"That would be good. Maybe next time my Vs can participate," I offered.

My Duchess chuckled. "Yes, they are good pilots and you are right to be proud of them."

"It's not like that..." I coughed as I took position flying at Mother's wing. It wasn't like I wanted to show off to her mother how skilled my fiancees are.

"I'd be honored to train all three of you," Mother assured before the map display updated. "Here's our new course and heading."

Turning around, we flew off on a northern heading. Instead of returning to County Larium, though, our course was to the northwest.

If we continued far enough in that direction, we would eventually fly over a broad peninsula protruding into Lacus Superum.

But before we got to the Ranche Peninsula, we would reach Mother's castle, almost certainly our actual destination. While uncertain about what she had in mind, I was still excited at the prospect of visiting the centerpiece and seat of her power. Contemplating the possibilities of what she could have waiting there for me gave me something to think about as the flight wore on and the cloud cover increased.

"Reducing altitude by five thousand feet," Mother transmitted, her first transmission in ten minutes.

"Confirm," I replied, joining her in stooping below the gathering clouds.

No longer entirely hemmed in by mist and fog, the sky around us brightened a bit as the broad vistas of Mother's province swam back into sight. Though, the increased precipitation had become quite obvious. Looking down at the forests and harvested fields, I could see that the snow had started to accumulate.

"It's lovely," Mother absently noted as she surveyed her domain.

I could only agree.

Our speed lessened to an almost leisurely glide, at least by Ritual Plate standards. We were still flying faster than any normal person could hope to under her own wing-power.

Freshly trimmed in white powder, the hamlets and homesteads moving below us looked picturesque, complete with smoke curling out of chimneys.

The roads had sparse traffic, mostly the occasional bus, lumber truck, or sturdy farm car. Their Stirling engines puffed out thin wisps of smoke in the chill air.

Our flight took us over a meandering river. Where it separated two small villages, each little more than a cluster of buildings around a square, I spotted a group of people flying over the un-bridged river. I'll admit to having some slight nerves watching the procession, given the relative weakness of unpowered flight, and the risk of going into the cold water.

But the only issue the brood had with their crossing was scaring up a flock of dark birds.

"Mother, what will we be doing when we arrive?" I transmitted.

"I wanted to talk about some Sabers Watch gifts," My Duchess admitted, seeming almost embarrassed.

"Oh?" I wondered what sort of gifts would justify all this skullduggery. From long ingrained habit, I kept scanning my display, the sky, and the terrain around us. We were alone up here, if you didn't count the flocks of birds.

"It's for your fiancee and your mistress. I don't want to give them something that overshadows any of your gifts, or put any pressure on you," Mother explained.

I took a moment to gather a reply. Just what kind of gifts does she have in mind? She can't be shy about anything like the cost, if she's willing to grant me a new suit of Ritual Plate for my Birthday, so it has to be something more nuanced.

Instead of voicing any of that, however, I merely asked, "What were you thinking of?"

"Some jewelry that's been in the family, but it might be a bit presumptuous," Mother replied with a casual air that gave little away.

"I'm sure it's no trouble, but since we're on the way, we can check," I agreed, feeling a bit of relief. Visha had little fixation on such baubles, and while LoveBlood was much the opposite, she knew my gift giving preferences trended more towards the practical.

One upside was that such gifts were likely to be small enough that we could carry them inside our suits on the flight back. Though, sending two RP suits to pick up some jewelry was a fantastically expensive way to go about such an errand.

Then again, I suppressed a sigh, I suppose it's far from the most ludicrous way I've heard of the nobility and brass horns burning money by the barrel for expediency. It's not like I didn't have to run a few frivolous errands for the Brass back in Germania too…

"Glad to hear it daughter, and we can-" Mother paused, and her tone became more serious. "Daughter, your scrying array is more advanced. Kindly execute, a passive sweep to the west, absolute bearing three-hundred-four degrees, range approximately five miles."

"Confirm," I replied, and focused the intake into my Scrying suite. A moment passed as the ground clutter cleared out of the display.

"Birds," I stated. "A rather large flock of them. Dense, too."

"A bit odd, but hardly unheard of for this time of year," Mother replied, though there was lingering concern in her voice.

"Flock is breaking up now," I added, unsure myself. Something tingled in the back of my mind, and I adjusted the data feed to focus on a specific profile. "Processing sensor intake. Huh." My disquiet grew as several new icons popped up on the map. I kept my voice straight. "Sharing returns."

"The crows are certainly out today," Mother dryly noted.

"I'm tracking at least half a dozen flocks. None as large or dense as the one you spotted. Most are actually rather spread out and quite a bit smaller."

"And flying among waterfowl and other birds," my Duchess added, her voice thoughtful. "But when highlighted like this, the pattern stands out."

"Should we report to Castra Bovitar?" I suggested. We were a border province, and suspicious activity could be anything from reconnaissance to prelude to an attack. Adding to my worry was that I had seen more crows and ravens, especially around Jopecott.

"We could still be chasing shadows, but we should investigate," Mother concluded before informing Bovitar ATC of their change in heading. "Veils up."

"Veils up, aye," I confirmed as I put power into my suit's active camouflage system. "Increasing separation," I added as I slowed and adjusted my heading.

One's relative position to your wingwoman depended on many factors, from airspeed to altitude to mission role. In close combat, one wanted to maximize mutual support, where an interceptor role would have further distance to allow for more Scrying coverage, while also sharing defensive capability.

For a reconnaissance sweep, the general rule was that one wanted each suit to act as a separate "receiver" and to use the distance between each suit to compare the two sensor intakes. With only two suits, only one of which had a Gorgon rig, the effectiveness was limited, but still, the distance between us grew until we got into an optimal formation.

"Are you seeing any pattern in the returns?" Mother asked after making sure her scrying intake was being shared with mine.

"I'm not sure." It was hard to confirm that there was any pattern or direction, that there was anything unusual other than more birds being about.

However, as we continued to fly, I focused on that large flock that had caught Mother's eye. It had split, up and each moved in their own nearly random patterns. A couple of the flocks I had been watching, I marked yellow out as they went to trees or I thought were just normal birds.

"You trust those?" Mother noted, observing the shared data feed. "Not much of a return there..."

"Yes, but not out of paranoia," I promised her. "Instead, look… When you contrast the normal flocks versus these other ones... There, see? It becomes obvious."

"Ah... good job." Mother's voice was full of reflected pride.

Strong and skillful daughters, after all, could only come from mighty dames.

If anything the "normal" flocks were more cluttered than the suspicious ones. While the normal flocks were flocking for mutual protection and were looking for food or some place to roost, the other flocks...

The other flocks had a pattern that looked familiar.

"They're searching for something," I declared, the scope of the realization sending chills down my spine and tail. "There's hundreds of birds in at least a dozen little flocks, all searching the western part of Eastern Province."

"They're being directed," Mother concluded.

I exhaled It had to be said. "When I first arrived last week... you were there for me at Bovitar when we changed trains to go up north. The Railway Lady was there, as well as RainsFord the huntress and someone you called Miss Crow."

"I did," Mother stated. "This is more than I expected out of her."

"She said she was a guild-bonded private security agent and investigator. Crow also said she worked for the railway."

"She works for whoever pays," Mother clarified.

"And these are her birds that are looking for something?" I inquired.

"Or someone." Mother's voice was a bit quieter.

My apprehension grew. I had enough dealing with otherworldly beings. The Harp's World mission ended with me learning far more than I wanted to about the Fae. Becoming enmeshed in some scheme of a railway entity seemed to be even worse.

Running away and pretending I had not seen these crows wasn't in the cards though. Not with Mother here. The Duchess had expectations of me as a noble Imperial Heroine.

Not to mention Mother-dearest has her own plans, that traitorous voice whispered in my mind. Her claws are far from clean. She dropped you into this railroad mess and knew the Lady was lurking about.

"The pattern is changing," I observed. "There's a new locus of activity: south-east at about two-fifty-seven degrees absolute. Other flocks seem to be dissipating, with many roosting."

"I guess she found her target," my Duchess said with a spot of resignation.

"Shall we get closer?" I asked, dreading the question. "This particular flock is only a few minutes out at our current cruising speed."

"Yes, put in the new heading," Mother said after a few moments of awkward silence. "Maintain altitude, velocity and Veil. I'll keep ATC updated."

"Confirm," I said as I updated our waypoints.

My spine grew colder as we closed in and the object of the corvids' attention became clear. A convoy of large touring cars was driving down a main east-west turnpike. Going a bit fast for the amount of snowfall, the convoy practically had the road to themselves and, if they continued on that road, would reach the border to Shoreline Province and the waters of Lacus Superum.

And, once on the great lake, the convoy's occupants could go elsewhere in House BlackSky's territory, or to RedStorm, Andromache, or even Elena.

The crows, or perhaps they were ravens, seemed to be following in shifts and kept a fairly sophisticated pattern with reserve assets for when the cars went through intersections.

That implied that Miss Crow, if this was all her work, had some means of communicating over long distance with the birds. Which was the more supernatural aspect, as befriending the intelligent and gregarious birds was quite possible. Like all reasoning beings, corvids were willing to work and trade with others. As long as they were dealt with fairly, they would tell others in their flocks, though woe be to any who upset the birds as they were capable of keeping generational grudges.

That Miss Crow had a network of such size was noteworthy, and had unpleasant implications given the number of crows around Jopecott. Again, presuming this was Miss Crow's doing, it was obvious why such skills would be useful to whoever could pay for them.

"Can you ID the vehicles?" Mother asked.

"They're Mammon Motors," I promptly answered, having already begun looking for identifying marks. "Looks like two sedans in front of an extended model. Hmm, more expensive than my own touring car. Scrying isn't resolving the insurance plates. I'll need to get closer or go to active."

"No need, I can be patient," Mother said, trying to inject some levity into her voice. Then she ordered, "Reduce altitude by two thousand feet."

"Confirm," I automatically complied. Between the weather and Veils, we would still be high up enough to avoid detection but getting a fair bit closer would increase the resolution of our Scrying systems.

The weather continued to worsen as we flew closer. The convoy had begun to slow down as the flurries thickened. At first I thought the drivers had regained their senses and had decided to turn back… but then, instead of turning around, the cars came to a complete stop.

At a railroad crossing.

This railroad was a northward spur from the main Great Northern line that connected Bovitar to Solvia and points to the west. That, I suspected, mattered very little.

All that mattered was that it was an extension of a railroad.

No, I corrected, not an extension of a railroad; an extension of the Railroad.

Almost from nowhere, a train blasted into view, its long horn blaring from the front of a snake of cars loaded with freshly felled trunks. With a jangle of warning bleats and a storm of red blinking lights visible even through the thickening snow, the barriers on each side of the crossing lowered. Not that any through traffic would have been possible, as suddenly, the southbound timber train was there, slashing across the road and entirely blocking any traffic short of the actively suicidal.

Far above, Mother and I slowed and went into a banking turn so as to not overtake the stopped convoy.

The cars stood waiting for a moment and then began to reverse. Given how one almost slipped off the road and almost backed into a coaling tower by the rails and another swerved into a drainage ditch, those drivers had fallen into panic. Dirt and snow rooster-tailed up as the car fought to regain traction and pushed itself back onto the road.

And then, in a flash, the train was gone, and three figures stepped out from behind the coaling tower. One raised a rifle, and the two driver's side tires of the largest car were shot out.

Its two escorts had reversed and shot down the road in the direction they had come, leaving their presumable charge behind.

I zoomed in on the imagery as the scrying intake focused on the scene below. Rainsford the huntress, Miss Crow, and the Lady from the Railroad approached the Mammon Motors car as it tried to slump along the snowy road.

Mother swore. She was seeing the same scrying intake as I was. "You were right; this is Miss Crow... and her employer."

The blonde at the head of the trio cheerily waved. At first I thought it was at the stopped car, but the angle of her arm and her upraised gaze made it obvious. She was waving at us. After confirming she knew she had an audience, the Railroad Lady then nodded to RainsFord. The huntress raised her rifle and fired into the Mammon's hood.

After a few shots, even the car's ineffectual lurching ceased.

The Railroad Lady in her glossy red and black winter clothes gave another seemingly-sunny wave, but I could imagine her red eyes were as hard and cold as the iron rails behind her.

"We are witnessing a crime," I observed. "And, we are still in your duchy," I added diffidently.

"You are correct," Mother sighed. "But if the Lady simply wanted them dead, her huntress would have already shot them."

I held my tongue. There were plenty of nefarious things these three could do without killing someone. Though given what Mistress RainsFord Songstress had told me in the Woodhall Social Alehouse, a simple death might not be what the Lady had in mind.

The front doors of the car opened, and a chauffeur and a maid stepped out. Neither of them had visible tails or wings. The driver raised her arms while the maid opened a rear door.

Two more people made their way out of the car and onto the snowy road. One was a slender woman with an obsidian updo in a tight mermaid-style dress and a thin shawl. She seemed cold, especially how after a couple steps she folded her wings over her shoulders and arms.

The other wore a grey suit and had short hair and shining gold eyes. The exact colors of her skin, hair, and wings were hard to tell via the passive Scrying, but at this low altitude and angle, I was able to make out her face.

She was Dame Laelia BloodStone, the errant provincial comptrollia. When Inspector Focht's team raided her office and inspected the books, they had found that millions of aurei had gone missing in a multi-year scheme starting from the initial planning of the project, a scheme that had involved a myriad of contractors, vendors, and other provincial officers in its fullest extent.
Unsurprisingly, a magistrate had signed a stack of warrants as soon as the conspiracy had been unearthed, including one ordering that BloodStone be brought in under charges of embezzlement, conspiracy, and oath breaking.

I suppose the Railroad Lady could simply be apprehending her to collect the bounty, but I had my doubts that the paragon of progress was quite that civic-minded.

"We're landing. Right now," Mother ordered, already pulling her wings back and dropping in altitude.

"Confirm," I replied. I pushed my concerns down as my Zephyr pushed me forward to catch up to my Duchess. She had more experience, and she knew what she was doing. I just had to trust her.

Fortunately, I had plenty of excess thrust and time to get close to Mother's wing. We plummeted in a steep dive and, at the last moment, rotated our angle of attacks and flared our wings. Our Veils lifted as we came in, our revealing sleek, armored forms.

It took my years of experience over multiple lifetimes to not be distracted by the Railroad Lady looking up right at us and giving a toothy smile.

Air spirits buffeted under our wings, slowing us down, and the heels of our suits hit the snowy road with a pair of soft crunches. Neither of us stumbled, went to a knee, or even had to use our arms for balance as our wings folded back and our deathmasks' flat gazes went over the others in silent judgment.

Behind my mask, I concealed a smile. Being a Soloist in a Legion Ballet Troupe did give one advantage when it came to precision flying.

Dame BloodStone's fear intensified, golden eyes wide and green tail straight. And it was the comptrollia; this close, her short green hair and purple features were readily identifiable.

Her mistress had a cigarillo out and was focused on keeping it lit in the snow with a grim resignation while the two lagomorph servants had backed away and seemed ready to run off into the night. Their tall bunny ears arching back, the maid and driver edged further away. Not that I could blame them. A pair of Ritual Plate had just dropped out of the sky. Snow melted as it hit our wards, with water splattering onto our plate and hissing off of the various projectors and emitters, and air still swirled around us, driven by anxious spirits.

The silence drew out as the disparate parties studied us. With the train just a rattling echo in the distance and the Mammon's engine forcefully shut down the only sounds were the dripping of automotive fluids. The scent of motor oil added pungency to the mix of emotions emanating from everyone, but the most blatant stench was the naked fear emanating from Bloodstone.

While the terror of the Railroad Lady might not be readily apparent, two BlackSkyvian war machines landing war far from subtle. And yet, relief momentarily crossed Dame BloodStone's face when she registered our arrival.

Clearly, she knew enough of the Lady to find a set of RP to be the lesser threat.

Her relief lasted until Mother raised her faceplate.

"Your Grace!" Dame BloodStone bowed and strode closer to Mother. An unctuous, greasy smile crossed her face, at odds with the fevered desperation lighting her golden eyes.

Mother held up a hand, palm forward. "Be silent."

BloodStone froze. Only part of her horror was due to having a ballista projector pointed at her.

"Ah, Duchess SilverFlight, a pleasure to meet you again, a true pleasure," the Lady purred as she circled around closer to us whilst keeping BloodStone fixed in her gaze. "You are looking quite well tonight, quite well indeed."

"And, of course, your daughter. Countess, lovely to meet you again." The red-eyed woman bowed her horns towards me as she stepped into the light cast by the car's headlamps. Snow swirled around the beams that illuminated the blonde in the red suit, and her shadow stretched behind her as she continued to pace to and fro, studying me.

"I say, is that a new suit?" the Railway Lady inquired in an easy light tone as if we were at a cocktail party.

"Yes, it is. I just got it," I replied, trying to be gracious, as I was loath to exacerbate tension.

"Ah but it's not all new is it, yes? That mask makes quite the statement. Bold and flashy!" Her red eyes critical, she leaned forward. "Rails of gold tying together the topography of your face. Ensconced in such a... modern mechanism... It suits you."

"Um, thank you," I stumbled pondering her words. If, as I theorized, the Railroad Lady was a gestalt of the progress of industry, of logistics, of transportation, then she was the locus of the research, labor, and skill of thousands and thousands of people all placed into something in the shape of a person.

And does that not also describe a Ritual Plate? I thought with a chill. In these suits does the Lady see Mother and I of lesser echoes of her? Does she think this is my true self?

"Not how I would have done it, but you have an old soul." Despite waving away her comment, she gave me a vicious smile. "And I suppose keeping the old with the new, is your way of remembering where you came from and who you've sworn to."

"Thank you. I am very proud of all she's done and was happy to help with her new suit," Mother said, her tone polite but her tail slightly stiff. The Duchess gave me a carefully-measured look.

BloodStone gave an impatient huff, which earned a withering look from Mother.

Bearing a small frown, Miss Crow's gaze went to the sky as a small flock cawed above us. If we surprised her, then that showed some limits to her abilities. RainsFord merely tipped her gaudy hat to me.

The Railroad Lady pulled at her coat as her coal-black heels crunched the ice and snow. "Such an invigorating night," she exhaled, a cloud of steam passing her lips. "Your Grace, may I inquire as to your intentions?"

"May I inquire into yours?" Mother asked, her tone casual.

Glancing at the map on my display screen, I could see why she was so confident. Mother had been making private calls once we discovered something was awry. But for the moment, it was still just the two of us.

The power of the Railroad spread her arms, letting the snowflakes fall on the upturned palms of her blood-red gloves.

The gesture suggested an orator pleading a case before a judge, but nothing about the fires glowing in the Lady from the Railroad eyes betrayed a hint of submission.

"Offense has been offered, a ticket purchased; now, the fare must be collected," she hissed, her fell focus turning entirely onto BloodStone. "All debts owed to the Railroad will be tendered in full."

"She has embezzled tens of millions of aurei," Mother agreed. "She has abused her position of trust and authority for her own gain."

"You have no proof! I did no such thing!" Dame BloodStone snapped, the defiance of the cornered rearing up in what passed for her spine.

The Lady garbed in red laughed, and her laugh was as rich as a plushly appointed carriage, as jovial as the companionship in a club car, as hearty as the full-throttled roar of a steam train's engine.

Then, her tail stilled

She advanced, stomping through the snow seemingly without caring about how she now stood between Mother's aim and the provincial accountant. "I care not for money, you simpering oaf. You could have tipped your snout and stolen as much as you pleased, but you got greedy. You overreached yourself, and in a fit of purest Mammon… You damaged the Railroad. You, a shortsighted paper-pushing glutton of little mind and less utility, made a fool of the rails. You made me a fool," she hissed and spat the last like an overloaded firebox.

I was glad to still be in an enclosed and armored environment.

"And," Mother inquired, her wings stretching idly as if they were merely splitting the bill of a luncheon, "what price will you demand from the former comptrollia?"

The Lady's head swiveled, first from BloodStone to Mother, and then past her, down the railway embankment behind her. An embankment still very much in my mother's demesne. "I suppose," she allowed, "as we are in the Duchy of Argenia, you have the right to ask that.

"I ask the same price I ask of all who wronged me, all who got in the way of progress." The Lady's smile returned, as cold and sharp as a razor. "Offense has been given, Comptrollia Dame Laelia BloodStone. You are charged as an oath breaker and have fled from inquest. If you have rejected the light of the new ways, then I demand redress via the old."

The blonde woman once more exhaled, her breath steaming as her eyes flashed. "It is a lovely night. I will allow you a sporting chance, only one wing will be shot before the chase will begin."

At that, RainsFord purposefully lifted her rifle an inch.

The lagomorph servants and the coiffed mistress had by now retreated almost to the interior of the car.

"You're not going to inquire as to the fate of your staff?" Mother asked BloodStone.

"Why should I care? They'll betray me like everyone else, my other guards fled. And those two have proven to be worthless hoppers," BloodStone spat, petulant in the last.

Duchess SilverFlight shook her head. "Laelia, dear, you make it hard to be aghast at the idea of you being run down until the snow runs red with blood."

"And you and your murderous brat will now just stand there and watch. Did you do the same with all the others? Maybe you did more than watch and you fed on them like the carrion you are?"

The Railroad Lady's grin increased. "Ah spirit! A bit of defiance to color this rather monochromatic proceeding. But no, Dame BloodStone, this is the first such... festivity wherein I have had the pleasure of such nobility attending as my guests."

"And if you knew anything of my or my daughter's history, you would be well aware that you would make poor sport for us," Mother stated, her tone cold.

"The last time I killed in the snow it wasn't for sport." This anathema to public order had drawn enough of my ire that I had angrily flipped the toggle to my external speakers.

BloodStone's tail stilled as my pale porcelain and gold saintly death mask met her golden gaze. "I was shot down over alien stars and had to kill and feed upon the soldiers and commandos of our northern enemy." I tilted my head. "You are simply a craven thief who abused the trust given to you." And ruining my flight with my Mother.

"Lectured by a pretty, empty-headed doll made to parade when recruitment falls below quota," BloodStone sneered, flashing her own fangs. "Did you know one of my daughters asked for your doll for SabersWatch?"

"Did you get her one?" A doll would be a better role model than you. I wanted to add.

"My mate does the shopping. The empty-headed twit already took the girls." BloodStone dismissively waved her cigarillo. The burning ashes drifted into the night. "I suppose I won't find out."

"Not with that attitude you won't!" The Lady stated, amused, stepping back out of the cones of light the two dimming headlamps made. I supposed the Dame kept her car as well maintained as the steam engines.

"What do you care?" BloodStone said as she puffed on the slender cigar.

"My dear embezzlatrix, if I wanted you dead, you'd be dead," the Railroad Lady promised, her eyes gleaming blood-red as her shadows sluggishly moved behind her. "It is not enough for me to kill you and you ilk. The scales must be balanced."

The blonde demon nodded to her two associates. "Misses Crow and RainsFord are very skilled, but they are not perfect. Tell me Laelia, you had the audacity to defraud the Provincial Governor, the executives of two railway companies, no less than half a dozen senators, and-" she bowed her horns to Mother and I, "-sundry landed gentry. Where has that spirit gone now?"

BloodStone dropped her smoke and crushed it under a heel. "So, you dangle hope like a juicy steak to get me to try and run into the woods alone during a snowstorm."

"It's better odds than being tied to the tracks," RainsFord stated, seemingly bored with the current proceedings.

The Railroad Lady turned and gave the huntress a sharp look. "A messy offering, no? And think of the poor conductor! She'll have to stop the train and have the rolling stock washed, and then the train will be running late."

"A messy offering is still an offering," Miss Crow said, her yellow eyes looking over the rest of us with an airy indifference.

Mother rolled her shoulders. "It is a shame there's not enough to go around. Inspector Focht and those she represents are very interested in BloodStone."

The Railroad Lady's chuckle dripped with more pride than a Lord of Hell. "Your Grace, I have little need to collect a bounty. Not that I object to blood-money, of course; I find it more honest than any other kind of currency." Giving her razor smile, she nodded to her lackeys, to mother and I, and to Dame BloodStone and her erstwhile servants.

Mother studied BloodStone as the condemned lit another cigarillo with her power, hands only shaking slightly. "I will tell your wife and children that you at least acted with dignity."

BloodStone laughed, then choked on the smoke. "I will not give that... thing the pleasure of seeing me beg, Your Grace. Nor will I indulge your pretensions to moral superiority. When you steal from others, destroy trains, ships, and lives all to line your pockets you're called a heroine, given laurels, lands, and titles. So no, I'll keep to the social niceties to deny you the satisfaction."

Mother's tail flicked as she moved closer to BloodStone. In her Harmonia, she loomed over the green-haired woman. "Those 'social niceties' are what kept me a legitimate mercenary. When I kill it is deliberate and not through negligence, and it is different to kill in battle, to kill those not of our House."

BloodStone's gold eyes sparkled. "Well, I can't argue that foreigners aren't worth as much."

"Quite, quite," the Railroad Lady once more stepped between the Duchess and her prey. "Jingoism, imperialism, and manifest destiny are all proper motivators for the pace of progress."

"The Imperatrix will stretch her hand from cape to cape and up and down the Spine," Miss Crow intoned, repeating a popular if... aggressive slogan.

Mother sniffed at that before focusing on BloodStone. "You do have a choice."

"Oh? What choice? It looks like I've been railroaded," the green-haired woman seemed inordinately proud of her pun. Not even her flunkies or her exasperated mistress even bothered to pretend to be amused. "Why am I being victimized? I didn't kill anyone. The maintainers could have told the train not to run, the backwater Craw Holler folk didn't have to use substandard materials. Why am I getting the blame? Everyone's turned on me, so why shouldn't I run?"

The Railroad Lady brushed some of the snow off her sleeves and rubbed her hands in anticipation. "Bold to assume that you alone will slake my offense."

"Dame BloodStone, if you feel betrayed then why not name names?" Mother asked. Her tone was pleasant, but by the slight twitch to her tail and the bare stiffness in her voice, I could tell she was more stressed than her emotional output would indicate.

However, the communication we had just received did much to ease her mind.

BloodStone gave a bitter laugh. "Should I abase myself before the provincial court in exchange for what, exile? Flogging like a petty thief?"

The Railroad Lady's attention fell upon mother. "Yes, Duchess, what are you suggesting?"

"Daughter," Mother said, that single word holding such a burden. Of course she was testing me.

When else would she have a chance to observe how if dealt with beings like the Lady? I glumly thought, tail flicking. But... she's not forcing me to take a deal. Mother said it was up to me how entangled I would get with the Railroad. There has to be a way out? And... surely she would step in if I caused offense, but then I'd fail Mother's test.

What leverage did I have? I exhaled, realizing that mother had made a whole list of names, people she and inspector Focht had collected to get leverage.

"Comptrollia Dame Laelia BloodStone, there are others who have laid claim upon you," I stated.

BloodStone looked like she wanted to roll her eyes, but the sharp glare from the Railroad Lady held her back.

"So then," I continued, "with so many liens against your soul, why should your flesh remain whole?"

BloodStone's defiant mask of a smile froze.

"Lady of the Line," I called out, addressing the entity that was not a demon,
the debt owed to you must be satisfied with blood and pain, but does not require death."

"This is so," the creature confirmed, her smile a sleek engine of perfectly machined to a minimum tolerance. "Death is only a waste byproduct and a terminus; life and all its potential is the brightest burning fuel, and blood the seal of contract and page."

"Then let Laelia BloodStone tender her debt to you in the fullness of her life and her flesh unto the brink, past which is death," I suggested. "But there are other valid claimants."

Mother's approving smile and supportive emotional pulse were proof I was in the right direction.

The Lady idly lifted a hand; Miss Crow and RainsFord the huntress tensed. "Your Grace, I do not want to be a poor hostess. I do so rarely entertain guests, after all. So, please, do not force my hand." The Lady gave Mother and I a bright smile, her fangs gleaming in the lengthening shadows as the last fingers of the sun loosened their hold on the sky and the shadows lengthened behind her.

She idly lifted a hand, and Miss Crow and RainsFord the huntress tensed. "Your Grace, I do not want to be a poor hostess. Please do not force my hand."

"I would never want to place you in an indelicate position." Mother bowed her horns. "But, you will allow my daughter to present her proposed solution," she promised, her voice steel.

"My Duchess," purred the Lady, her radiant grin as bright and cold as the headlight of an oncoming express, "even your considerable reach is not beyond overextension. While you speak as the holder of this duchy and as its guardian… You and your saintly spawn are on ground consecrated to a power that supersedes all boundaries, against whom even walls are ultimately powerless. The land itself might be yours… but the easement belongs to the Railroad."

I had to hold my Zephyr back to keep the snow from billowing around us. Ritual Plate were the most vulnerable on the ground.

And then a quartet Harmonia buzzed overhead. The display was restrained. They were subsonic, the suits were still several hundred feet up, there was no use of flares or the like, and the threat of weapons fire was entirely implicit. Mother made sure her pilots were quite well trained.

BloodStone's tail went limp.

"Ah, yes, I can see how earnestly you wanted to avoid... trouble." The Railroad Lady's face clouded as her ruby lips twisted and her inexorable attention returned to me. "Well then, Countess, who else wants Bloodstone?"

"Saturnina BroadHorn, Varinia Fabricia, Juliana Hermino, Petronia JadeBone, Cassia Priscus, Martina Priscus, and Tertia ShadowClaw," I slowly intoned my voice gathering strength with each name. "All died in Craw Holler. All of their kin have petitioned the court of the Duchy of Argenia for redress. As the holder of that same duchy, recognized by your own word, does my mother the Duchess not bear the duty to force payment for their blood?"

"And the Priscus and ShadowClaw families have also petitioned the County of Larium. Not to mention many of those wounded have also submitted petitions," Mother added, keeping her voice even.

Irritation, no rage, flashed across the Railroad Lady's face as her tail curled. "I see. And what redress have they demanded?" she asked, her voice still a hiss.

It was only due to the protection and separation, symbolic as it might have been, of my Polyxo that I was able to keep my calm in the face of the Lady's ire. I glanced at Mother, but she was looking on with pride.

Now, I have to seal the deal. I hope this is right, I thought before giving a quiet prayer, not that I was sure DarkStar would care much about blood debts.

"An Apology," I stated. "That is the statement of redress they desire."

"I see," the Lady exhaled, her anger waning.

"Apology" Capitalized by dint of its importance, near universally understood on Diyu. A simple word for a perilous ritual, an Apology was the ultimate act of contrition.

"The rite fits, does it not?" I pressed. "Her hands are yours, those appendages that defrauded those whose cause you champion, as are her arms and her legs. Likewise her horns, her wings, and her tail. One eye too, and likewise one ear, and also her nose. A pound of flesh torn from her left breast, and a pound from the right also.

"Leave us only her, her life, and the mechanisms she will require to betray her confederates to us. With that, both of our debts will be honored, and her bond redeemed. There are many who would make a claim to her to take their flesh, let them."

It was a simple solution, a modification on the classic Wisdom of Solomon. If two claimants assert control over a single asset, divide it equally between them. In this case, rather than simply cleaving the disputed property in half, I had offered a split along mutually beneficial lines, and it would be BloodStone's victims who would be doing the cutting.

"You would have me submit myself before those commoners?" BloodStone demanded, incredulous and still, despite her circumstances, haughty beyond the station she had betrayed. "They'll tear me apart!"

She was not exaggerating. In an Apology, the aggrieved party could do anything to the penitent, who would have to bear the scars of their ordeal unhealed and in their fullest extent. Assuming, of course, that the penitent survived their contrition.

"At least with the Lady, I'd have a chance to not bleed out on the snow!" BloodStone waved at the shadowy trio. "Just hand me over to them and have done with it!"

Flashing me a smile, Mother stepped right up to the condemned. "That all depends. If you tell Inspector Focht everything, if your testimony is found to be sufficiently valuable, if enough of the money is recovered from wherever you and your confederates might have stashed it, then maybe... just maybe, you will live to bear the scars of your misdeeds. After all, did you not say you were as much a victim as those on the platform? Once your Apology is tendered in full, perhaps you could claim to have been next to those unfortunates that day in Craw Holler. Or at least imply as much."

BloodStone's cigarillo shook before she got it back under control."Maybes of a lifetime spent as a maimed cripple more marked than Caine are what you offer? You can do better, Duchess."

The Railroad Lady narrowed her eyes. "This ill-suits the portion of service I would receive; she is mine."

SilverFlight turned to the blonde. "Madam, we are still in my duchy, and my people also demand recompress. As my daughter asked: will you deny them their blood?"

The Lady seemed to weigh things. Contemplation sat oddly on her face, a moment of stillness ill-suited for such a forward-sprinting being.

"Please consider our offer," I opened my mask and bowed my horns to the railroad entity. The blowing snow felt cold on my face, the scents around me intensified, and without a display before my eyes, everything felt closer and almost intimate.

RainsFord tipped her hat to me and the two servants bowed, their long ears drooping. I tried to give the latter two a reassuring wave, which was challenging given hardware I was encased in. But I wanted to make it clear that they were not guilty merely for being retainers. If they had committed some other crime then let the Inspector have them, but neither myself or my Mother had an interest in sending a message on proxies, not when we could get BloodStone in our pocket.

Giving me a cold, critical gaze, the Railroad Lady lifted an eyebrow. Even face to face with the thing masquerading as one of us, she was hard to read. Covetous pride echoed from her and seemed to reflect out from her as if she was the locus of every rail on Diyu, but the subtleties of her expression, if there were any below that perfect, burnished surface, were lost on me.

Inhaling, I straightened and lifted my face to meet the entity's furnace eyes squarely. "Consider the banal villainy that caused offense. Graft and greed had resulted in a railroad accident. Many were hurt, many were offended. And here is a blood rite where the public, that is a wronged commoner, can take a ritualistic 'justice' against one of higher station such as Dame BloodStone. Is that not the smooth function of the law's glorious machinery in full action? The same law that facilitates the… Progression of civilization?"

Said woman glared daggers at me. The hate and fear roiling off of her was even more intense without my mask or my suit's systems moderating things. I suppose she disliked being made an example of.

Cool anticipation was all RainsFord's mien. To her, killing was simply part of a night's work, and the only worry in her was when she looked at the Railroad Lady or my Duchess. Clearly, the huntress did not appreciate getting caught between the interests of two such high status people, each a potential threat and client in one

Miss Crow was... this close she seemed distracted and almost flighty. Her presence was.... scattered. How much of her did she leave in her birds? But compared to the Lady, the yellow-eyed mercenary was familiar. On this lonely road, the Railroad Lady was a distant figure. Her emotions, as blunt and base as they were, echoed behind her up and down the rails.

I latched onto comforting and familiar emotions as Mother smiled fondly at me and pressed my point with her own words. "I understand the worry that the actions of the rabble or mob could impede the roads we all follow and lines we ride. But, consider that this sacrifice is not being seized by midnight hands but offered, by one of the nobility and the one into whose hand the land is entrusted. This is not a mob action nor the hurling of red meat, but a ritual that, by being petitioned and consented from the Imperatrix via her proxies, negates a threat to the power structure. This is no vigilantism, this is civilization at work. With her blood, Dame BloodStone shall lubricate the smooth functions of governance… including the rebuilding and repair of the Craw Holler station and line."

My spine shivered. I was pleased to have her approval, but I was... disquieted by her proposal. Apology could be a very bloody affair, and Mother was using it to her own advantage.

"Yes, yes, that satisfies you very well. But what of my sacrifice? Progress must be maintained." A touch of petulance entered the Lady's voice, but it was merely a prelude to the inevitability of hot iron on cold steel.

"The punishment is up to the aggrieved party is it not?" Mother's purple eyes looked over Bloodstone with all the warmth of a butcher studying a fresh lamb.

"You said I might get out of this!" BloodStone screeched, clearly caring little for appearance's sake.

"I said you could have a chance. For more than a chance will have to earn it," the Duchess corrected, her tail flicking. "One way or another you will redress your sins, to the satisfaction of all parties involved."

"Sin?" BloodStone laughed. "Is that why you brought your war nun daughter? To bless this farce?"

"I could be persuaded to make a sanguinary pact," the Railroad Lady said in a too casual voice for such a dangerous offer. "Countess, you proposed that the condemned would have her value extracted, no?"

"I would be very careful in who one makes such a pact with," Mother cautioned, her gaze was upon BloodStone but by the emotional pulse she gave out and the way her tail lingered in my direction, it was obvious who the advice was really for.

I had to keep from laughing. My armor showed how I was thrice obligated. It bore the marks of one sworn to the Imperatrix's Legions, a novitiate in the Sisterhood of Our Hallowed Lady, and the Ritual Plate itself came from monies freed due to my fealty to the Duchess of Argenia. In terms of pacts, my loyalty was already mortgaged three times over.

BloodStone had stepped back and was leaning onto her car. A hand clawed at the glossy bodywork.

"I respect the old ways, as do you, but you are a being of progress," Mother stated to the Lady. "Would a pact in the oldest laws still hold as binding in your eyes?"

The rails almost sang as the blonde entity gave a... satisfied sigh. "I can hardly be one to stick in the past... not when a more modern, more effective way is proposed, now can I?" her question was followed by a cruel smile with hungry red eyes.

I idly wondered what the Lady was before the invention of the railroad. Surely, she did not spring forth when the first boiler was mated to wheels and driven on rails tied to sleepers.

My own breath steamed up as I idly clasped my hands. Cold blood turned to cold-bloodedness. The vessel may have changed, but the spirit filling it like water was the same.

"I'm surprised your guise isn't one of war," I noted, and then froze wings still, aghast that the words had passed my lips.

Bearing an expression that was a good simulation of disappointment, the Railroad Lady inspected her nails. "Come now, Countess. You can do better than that! Think, my dear think! You have a marvelous brain honed by veritable lifetimes of experience."

My gaze went past her to the still structure of the coaling tower and the rails it fed. Rails that crossed all of Diyu that supported transportation, industry, civilization. War, peace, exploitation, exploration, commerce, charity, and conquest, it all came on the rails.

And it all came with a cost.

"This is a token, you don't just want BloodStone and her ilk because they offended you, but because they..."

"Oh, it is more than that, but you have the shape of it," the blonde woman arched her back and stared up at the snow drifting down. "Few can appreciate the complexity of it all. Fewer still can run the actuarial calculations. But you, my Countess, are very familiar with the price of Progress. Oh yes."

Tribune ShadowWhisper, of my instructors at the War College, said I had a knack for logistics. She was of the view that war was more than technical, arcane, or martial strength. That it was the industry, the organization, the distribution of resources. And in war, everything was a resource.

Ledgers, shipping manifests, and tables of organization were the features assembling a cleanly banal face, an unremarkable mask placed atop the visage of ritual sacrifice on a titanic scale, industrialized and optimized and perfected for efficiency and yield. ShadowWhisper was right, I had lifetimes of experience on how war consumed.

As war was politics by other means, war had to be supported by society. War required bodies and bullets. Directly or indirectly blood was the cost.

Perhaps the technocratic Germanian officers of my second life were a bit more honest about the nature of war, if less clear-eyed on the nuances of diplomacy, than the government of my first life. Perhaps my current life was a blend of bracing openness of blood sacrifices while also clinging to honor and glory.

But in every life, in every polity...

The systematized killing of people was... what we did.

Sensing my disquiet and the Lady's attention, Mother shifted her stance putting herself between the blonde and I, and tilted her head.

The Railroad Lady lowered her head to look upon us. "Fear not, your spawn is already claimed. And by one properly bloody-handed."

Did she mean the Archangel? The Imperatrix? Or DarkStar herself? I was reminded of VioletBlood's little flights of fancy where she imagined me at DarkStar's right hand wielding a silvery sword.

"How lovely, the little saint has a bright future in more murder! But what about me?" BloodStone asked, her voice increasingly shrill as her cracks spanning the shards of her control shivered ever wider.

"...How droll," the Lady gave a dead-eyed chuckle. "Duchess, are you sure you want to take her sterling company?"

My Duchess gave her a curt nod before turning to BloodStone. Opening a side compartment, Mother pulled out a thin blade out from her suit. "Dame Laelia BloodStone, I must have your word, your bond that you will submit to Apology before all those who have petitioned the noble courts of Argenia and Larium."

"You ask for my bond? One who is charged as an oath breaker?" Bloodstone's tail actually swished in amusement.

Unsheathing the knife, Mother's armored boots crunched the snow beneath her. Even in standby, her wards flickered with power. "The oath is not for me, it is for you. You need to take my mark, and take it willingly."

"What choice do I have?" BloodStone sneered. "Abase myself and hope that the common rabble finds me beneath their vengeance? If I were to take your mark then I want more."

"A guilder who inspected, and signed off on the train's brakes is still missing..." I offered, then turned to the Railroad Lady. "Or so I presume. We haven't heard any news about any newly discovered bodies… I think?"

Frustration blossomed on the blonde's sharp features, and the rails behind her partially whined as if a freight train were inbound. "Yes, that particular associate of mine has yet to be acquired," she stated, each word drawn out in a sharp hiss.

"Perhaps if you can help Inspector Focht or Mother find her, then you might improve your standing," I offered Bloodstone. "Perhaps enough to get the Imperatrix's Mercy. Mother and I would petition her Court in Silvana."

Mother gave me a slight nod of consent. I could call upon at least one Daughter, doubtless Mother had more connections with the Imperial Court.

The condemned's bloodshot golden eyes had a mixture of horror and animal cunning. BloodStone now seemed to give me as much wariness as Mother or the Lady. The Mercy was no euphemism. She would submit her life to the Imperatrix, and thus, that would be one thing that could not be taken in Apology.

She would survive, perhaps with only an inch of her life, but would exist at Imperatrix BlackSky's pleasure. Someone with BloodStone's skills could be made useful.

"There is always a choice," My Duchess murmured. "You can try your luck with the Lady. You might just escape the huntress. Or you can take my mark and submit to our court." Runes on the silver blade began to glow with a soft violet light as mother cast a spell.

Rubbing her forehead, BloodStone's emotions twisted and swirled. Fear warred with a hope built of self-regard and denial, but she could see a light at the end of the tunnel, a light that was not a train's headlamp. "Well, put it like that and it hardly seems like any choice at all," she licked her lips and held out her hand. The palm was not the most comfortable or practical place for such a mark, but that was the point.

Holding it like a stylus, SilverFlight's blade bit into the woman's right palm. BloodStone hissed and clenched her other hand while a sigil was cut into her flesh. Blood welled until Mother idly tilted the palm. Ruby red drops fell to the ground and bloomed bright in the snow.

The Lady sniffed as if that was the bare minimum.

My Duchess lifted the still-glowing knife. Snarling, BloodStone held her palm. The shallow cuts were already knitting together, but the healing power flared with mother's magic. Angry red scars remained, highlighting the swirling sigil.

Watching the snow fall, BloodStone stared at her hand with resignation.

Pushing down a measure of pity, I stepped towards Mother. Lifting my arm, I gave her a pointed look, my question unspoken.

Mother's approval was blatant. She had wanted me to watch, to learn, but by the shake of her head, she did not want me to mark the condemned myself.

I was conflicted. My Duchess may not have planned to do this tonight, but between having some of her pilots on standby and carrying a ritual athame in her suit, she had been prepared.

I should not be surprised. Narvos had shaken her. One of her friends had been taken and twisted, her support killed. It had caught my mother unprepared and forced her to place me in such danger. I was not the only one who had spent the intervening years making contingency plans.

However, Mother's plans were...

My eyes went to the mark on BloodStone's flesh.

All the proper rites and traditions were being observed. BloodStone had submitted. She would have time to testify. The decision, while not exactly freely made, was nonetheless hers. But was it anything but a choice between the murderous force she knew and the one she did not?

Not wanting to fall too deeply in thinking about such choices, I turned away from the woman.

Her Mistress had moved to the two servants. Based on the swishing tail and upright ears, they seemed a bit more relaxed. The machinations of Dames, Ladies, and Graces were mercifully above their pay grade.

"I'll have one of my Spatha come and pick everyone up." Mother looked up at the sky. "After checking in with ATC about weather conditions."

And bring more of her mercenaries, and maybe some more RP, I thought. While Mother's close protection detail of four feline maids was back at my manor, she had more women under arms in her employ.

"Yes, we don't want to have another transportation accident. That would not do, not at all," the Railroad Lady laughed.

"I shall contact you with the details of the Apology when a date for the rite is chosen," Mother promised the Lady. "As an aggrieved party you have the right to appear and submit a claim against her, either in person or through a bonded proxy."


"I shall look forward to the appointment." The Lady's furnace eyes gave BloodStone a last covetous look.

And then the blonde seemed to dismiss the oathbreaker from her mind. Running BloodStone down in the snow was simply a desire on her list and a negotiable one at that. "Well, I wish you the most fruitful proceedings, your Grace," the Lady bowed her horns to Mother at just barely the proper angle and for just long enough to not be offensive.

Maybe the Railroad Lady was more upset at her due being delayed, I thought, before those red eyes fell upon me.

"And Countess, please do call upon me if you have any more... troubles with your county's development. I'm sure we must all agree that we cannot allow the construction to fall behind schedule."

I gave her a level look. "I will do my best to ensure the line is a proper obeisance, in all ways."

"With most, such a pledge would be hollow hedging," her red eyes flashed as her teeth gleamed in a cold smile. "But I know your body of work. I am confident you will do all that is required; you are such a driven young woman."

I managed to not give Mother a nervous look.

The Railroad Lady laughed. "Yes, progress must not be held back; no matter who stands in the way."

She gave BloodStone a last, dismissive look, turned on her heel, and walked back into the night. Miss Crow crossed her arms and followed while RainsFord shouldered her rifle and tipped her hat at me before sauntering after the other two. The trio went to the coaling tower, stepped behind the cylindrical base, and...

The rails sang and the emotional emissions of three women simply faded.

Mother exhaled, tension leaving her wings. "Daughter, I am sorry."

"I accept your apology." I put on a smile. "This was an opportunity we had to take."

"I'm so glad that the high nobility can get something out of my pain." BloodStone snorted and went back to leaning on the ruined car. Pulling her coat over her shoulders again, the mistress went back to her and whispered into her ear, but was pushed aside.

Mother and I shared a look of shared disdain. She then went to the servants and the mistress. "Don't worry; I'll be taking the three of you in. I'll make things very comfortable until you get new positions."

Left unstated would be that they would be separated from BloodStone and interviewed before being released. I suspected my Duchess had people on staff to conduct such questioning. Inspector Focht would also be notified and doubtless, she would have questions for all the involved parties.

Including Mother and I.

One of the servants mentioned that there were blankets and a supply of water in the car. Understandably, they had greater concerns earlier in the night, but with the Railroad Lady giving her leave, they could focus on other concerns. However, no one wanted to go into the car to get out of the weather. I wondered if it was superstition or some ill-omened fear.

Gold eyes narrowed and tail limp, BloodStone stared at her hand. Her wings ruffled in the night air.

"If you think you can out-fly six Ritual Plate when four are already in the air, then by all means, please, give us a challenge," I stated, with no measure of jealousy. I would much rather be up in the air flying coverage, having a simple mission. Instead, I was dealing with this frustrating morass of schemes, and all due to the greed of this traitorous accountant. Slipping control, my own Zephyr flew out, blasting all the snow that had accumulated on the stalled car and dumping it at BloodStone's feet.

Embarrassed, and reining in the spirits, I turned away, my wings whipping around me. At least the wind and snow were easing up.

My Duchess stepped next to me, using her own Zephyr to give us a bit of privacy. "It's okay, dear. Sometimes I forget..." A bit of guilt flashed across her face. "You're still very young."

"Mother!" I managed to not stomp a foot. That wouldn't help dissuade her that I wasn't still the orphan broodling she was giving flight lessons.

"I'll handle this. I'll see to the interviews and all the logistics of... containment. I've been too much of an imposition already, you're supposed to be on holiday leave," her tail curled at the admission.

I held in that I'd already surmised as much, but the gesture was heartfelt. I did not even want to think about all the challenges posed by the need to keep BloodStone properly secured until her payment could be fully extracted. Yes, she seemed pacified now, but she had proven untrustworthy in the past and might decide that risking an escape would be preferable to facing her victims' mercy followed by questionable service to the Imperatrix.

Mother's wings wrapped around mine for a moment.

The embrace ended and Duchess SilverFlight straightened herself, dismissed the sound baffling air spirits, and scanned BloodStone and the three servants.

The condemned woman sneered but kicking at the snow around her kept her mouth shut. I suppose the gold-eyed woman had realized that breathing around Mother and I was a privilege.

Staring back at her, I stepped into the waning beams of the Mammon motors car. The battery must be on the last legs as the headlamps were now casting light of a pale silver color.

BloodStone went back to inspecting the scar on her palm. Pity emanated from her, but it was all directed inward, not once had she considered how her actions hurt others. I would not lower myself to the Railroad Lady, but I had no trouble comprehending why someone would want to kill such a self-righteous and self-absorbed person as BloodStone.

"Daughter, I have support craft incoming, could you please watch the map for me?" my Duchess asked, cutting off my train of thought.

"Yes, Mother," I lowered my mask and took a sip of water. The display reactivated, and I reoriented the map as I checked in with the four Pilots flying overwatch and merged their scrying intake.

From the north east, in the direction of mother's castle was a VTOL flying under escort of another Flight of Ritual Plate. However... there was another VTOL approaching from the south east. That heading suggested the aircraft came from Bovitar.

I relayed my observations to Mother.

The Duchess shook her head. "I shouldn't be surprised. Inspector Focht almost certainly has friends at Provincial Air Traffic Control."

BloodStone only lifted her head slightly at that.

"Duty never ends," I remarked. "Will it be any trouble?"

"Focht is a smart woman, and I will be sharing any testimony," Mother replied, not quite answering my question.

We stood together for a few minutes. I went over to the BloodStone's mistress and the two lagomorph women to make sure they were warm enough and to reassure them that the VTOLs would be here shortly and with them would be heated cabins and more food.

"Your Grace this is Solv Two, we have visual confirmation on your location. We are coordinating a landing with Eastern Three," one of mother's VTOL pilots transmitted over the channel Mother was using.

"Confirm, setting landing beacons," Mother said as she lit flashing lights on her suit. I stepped to the other side of the street and did the same.

The wind increased as two Spatha VTOLs descended out of the snowy sky. One of the light aircraft was in Mother's purple livery bearing familiar sigils on the side doors, and the other in Eastern Province markings.

Spotlights came on before they landed and once their gears touched onto the road mother's troops exited as one while a handful of PCE officers disembarked the other.

At their heels came Inspector Focht, holding her black homburg hat firmly in place to keep it from blowing away in the downwash. Face stern, she still bowed to Mother and I.

Focht's tail swished when her eyes fell on the despondent BloodStone. "Your Grace, when you pledged your support, I did not expect you to take such a personal interest."

After bowing in turn, Mother shrugged her armored shoulders. "I'll be happy to discuss the details. There should be room on my Spatha if you want to come along. I know you have to do things like secure the car and other such details."

Behind my mask, I sighed. We still had a long night to get everything squared away, but the end was in sight.

+++++

As pleasant as visiting my Countess's manor was, I was a baroness missing my own, admittedly smaller, fief. Fortunately, my Countess was understanding and had agreed on a trip to my family's lands, the Barony of Lilla.

It was a perfect chance show Tauria my fief and, more importantly, give her a chance to relax. I stole a glance at the blonde heroine as our touring car crested a final hill.

A chain of stone cairns followed the ridgeline. The larger spirit-callers were topped with compact windmill blades that would turn prayer wheels lower in the stone structures. I was pleased to see that they all lazily turned in the wind, despite the winter snow. I would have to talk with my seneschal, Miss Patricia, to make sure everything was properly cared for. The wintering orchards and greenhouses that were on either side of the trade road were also key to my land's success. This infrastructure was vital for the economic health of my barony.

A bit of movement caught my eye. While my Zephyr were gamboling about the car, Tauria seemed preoccupied with her own sober inspection of the cairns to notice her own spirits joining in. I smiled, my Zephyr were happy because they recognized that they were returning home; I wondered what brought such joy to my fiancee's spirits.

Spotting a familiar sight, I nudged Tauria with my wing to get her attention before she dipped into her all-to-often dour thoughts. "And that's Missy Palmer's grove. Oh they've got a new greenhouse and repaired the north water tower. Her family provides rootstocks for half of the alchemists east of the capital to graft their cultivars onto," I explained, my tail swishing.

Two of our servants were in the car's front row, their ears upright and twitching as they pointedly did not eavesdrop.

"Do many alchemists grow their own plants?" Tauria asked as we passed the farm bearing a familiar logo with a tree growing out of a hand.

The array of large blue-glass greenhouses and a collection of barns and other outbuildings were quite productive, and it was good to see the farm was growing.

"Some! There are a lot of useful potions and chemicals that come from magically enhanced plants. There's all sorts of tedious cutting, drying, separating, and refining." I waved my hand dismissively.

"It sounds like a lot of work," Tauria noted.

"Exactly! But a lot of these plants have been arcanely bred so they don't exactly make the best of seeds. Not all but enough, and enough of those can be grown from cuttings."

"Hence making more plants by grafting cuttings to rootstock?" the blonde inquired; her mind always worked fast.

"And compatible high quality roots for the common alchemical plants are quite lucrative. Relatively small volume, but high yield," I gave a sharp smile. "My family invested in Missy Palmer's mother in my grandmother's time."

"Does the Palmer farm only do rootstock?" Tauria asked as we drove past a series of orchards with the occasional collection of farm-houses that were not quite large enough to be a hamlet, and only one of which had a tavern.

"Nope! In proud Lilla tradition, the Grove has a still and makes herbal bitters and other digestifs."

"Oh! That's what you have with your wine after dinner," Tauria exclaimed, her adorable face lighting up in recognition.

I couldn't help but give a ladylike laugh. "Took you long enough to remember the label on a bottle?" I teased.

Tail flicking, the Countess looked out the window in an attempt to hide her pout.

After taking a moment to appreciate her clumsy attempt at subterfuge, I followed her eye and looked up into the blue cloudless sky. "Still upset about yesterday?"

She gave a casual shrug. "Mother has been very busy with her... guest. We should be thankful that we got to fly with her two times in the last week." There was a note of despondence in her voice, and she tried to put up her emotional shield. That wouldn't do.

"It was good learning from her. I think we impressed her; even the Islander Girl was at the top of her game. And this time we were there with you just in case," I added, giving a toothy grin while pushing down any anxiety. My poor Countess had her own worries, it wouldn't be good for her to feel mine.

Tail curling, Tauria rubbed her hands. It was easy to feel that she was also concerned that we might run into something... untoward during flight training. "You are right LoveBlood, Mother is very proud of us."

"That's why the Duchess came back with three of her own pilots and had Flight versus Flight level training. And we rose to that challenge!" I confidently said, to assuage my Countess's fears.

Obviously, my confidence and Tauria's pride were justified. Duchess SilverFlight was not one to rest on her laurels, and she made sure her own pilots were skilled and experienced.

After quietly murmuring a prayer to herself, Tauria exhaled. "Fine, I was looking forward to the training scenario Mother had planned for yesterday. And it was nice to not have any crows to worry about, especially as our suits were in training mode."

"There were contingencies, and we've got time, the Duchess will reschedule," I gently put her hand on hers. That she was allowing contact was good, but she still liked to retreat when she felt overwhelmed.

I sighed, perhaps talking through it would alleviate concerns, "Your mother's been very busy."


Tail curling and looking smaller than she really was, the diminutive blonde nodded. "I know. BloodStone's testimony has broken open the investigation. Focht and Mother have new names, accounts, and offices to investigate."

"Is a date set for the Apology?" I inquired. The Apology wouldn't be the end of the sordid affair, but it would provide clear assurances to the Countess and her people.

Tauria shook her head. "There's still a lot of negotiations going on. BloodStone is leveraging her knowledge, but it's only a matter of time."

"I wish I could do more. No one in my Barony has standing, and I wasn't even there when you ran into the... Lady." That Tauria had returned so unnerved from both her recent meetings with the Lady was disquieting. Our operation to return an artifact to its rightful owners had produced less emotion from her. I looked out through the windshield. The two servants had given us our privacy.

"I was happy Mother was there, but I did miss you and Visha having my back," Tauria said, trying to reassure me in her confident, if direct way. "Besides, you've been a great help. Your negotiations with the drow matriarch were key to the spur line project's success."

I decided to indulge her and allow her clumsy deflection.

"They've only pledged to build two bridges in their territory. The surveying hasn't even started, let alone the digging. We can celebrate after they sign a contract, assuming everyone can agree on the toll price," I added and tried to not sigh. Trusting in my noble skills, the Countess had put a lot of responsibility upon my wings.

"We have plenty of carrots to offer. Plenty of landholders are taking up the spirit cairn grants, and well loans. We also have some electrification access to offer," my Countess said.

Eyes teasing, I smiled, flashing my fangs. "This is the downside of having such a sprawling fief, Countess."

"Well. now we can go relax at your home," Tauria declared.

My wings flexed ever so slightly at her compliment. She really was looking forward to relaxing with me in my home! And home was not far away. "Exactly, we can relax! There will be no deluded hillfolk in my barony to interrupt us."

"Like how Mother had to cancel our third training flight with her?"

"Yes, that inspector called in your mother and a flight of her RP for that raid yesterday..." I trailed off, trying to keep in my jealousy at not being invited. We could have flown a simple show of force sortie.

"Mother is fine," Tauria said a bit testily. "No one got hurt, Inspector Focht was being cautious, justifiably so given how isolated some deep woods folk can get." I could tell the pious little countess wanted to pray about how that situation had been, miraculously, resolved without firing a shot.

But Tauria was so very sensitive about coming off as self-righteous or dogmatic. Which was amusing as she was quite comfortable being a martinet when it came to military discipline

"Better than those heretical cultists deserved," I said, affirming the blonde's zeal. I did not want to upset her any further. "First they deify DarkStar, and then they harbor fleeing criminals?"

"They turned the guilders over." Tauria pointed out, her tone terse.

It was a good thing that Provincial Contract Enforcement Inspector Focht had used a gentle touch with that commune of heretics. It helped that they were harboring outsiders, ones who had broken faith, and I was certain that, after everything was sorted out, Focht would have gone to their mean outlander church to give a prayer for thanks and, on her way out, by pure coincidence, pass by the commune's alms box to make a donation. "And I'm not sure they're a... you know, cult."

By the deep conflict on her face, I could guess her internal conflict was between the side of her that submitted to ecclesiastical authority versus the side that submitted to civil and military authority. After all, if those hill folk were a truly dangerous cult, then surely the Provincial governance would have dealt with them?

"I note you didn't deny their heresy," I teased, addressing the key concern to her.

"DarkStar is no god!" Tauria hissed, her eyes flaring blue and silver with anger.

I held up a hand, placating my fanatical fiancee. A key dogma to her was that while DarkStar was a person worthy of great veneration and honor, and that She would return to us, She was not a god.

"Sorry, sorry, I shouldn't have set you off," I apologized as Tauria breathed in and seemed to murmur a prayer under her breath.

"It's okay," Tauria said, seemingly a bit relaxed after centering herself. "This whole railroad thing is growing more and more frustrating. We're supposed to be on leave, but the second I arrive everything gets put in my lap. Who knew that land administration would be so frustrating?"

I gave her a long stare before shaking my head. "It's easy to forget you weren't born noble. Oh, Xanth Orchards reroofed their barn."

"What's that supposed to mean!" Tauria's wings, ruffled and my Zephyr retreated a bit at the tone.

"You're not asking about the barn?" I waved off her little tantrum. "Ah well. Things happen, and we have to be flexible. DarkStar's blood, you'd think being in the Legions would make you a bit less rigid."

The two servants in front exchanged a look and kept quiet.

"I am not rigid!" Tauria glared at me, her tail flicking. "You know what happens to Flight Commanders and Squadron Leaders who get set into rigid thinking."

For a moment, I wondered if she was going to pull rank or imply that she had far more experience than I with regard to military matters. I had learned to accept how my Countess, my Prefect Centurion, acted as if she had some deep well of experience.

Though, it's not really an act, is it? I thought to myself. Even as a cadet, she was no greenhorn.

"There's more to life than combat. And outside of an RP you're almost stogy; I was hoping this vacation would help you loosen up," I laughed, then gave a coy smile. She could have her secrets; even to those closest to her, the Countess was a very private young woman.

"That's the real reason I approved of your mistress. With the Islander Girl helping me, we can almost get you to do more than just being a dutiful noble, nun, and soldier," I said, trying to help ease her mind.

Crossing her arms, Tauria's Zephyr picked up on her irritation and fluttered around her. "Then Visha not being here must be a real burden."

My tail snaked around hers as my smile grew. "That's all part of being flexible. And family is important to her, I respect that," I assured, signaling that I knew Miss Shadow was a valuable part of this relationship. "It is funny that a gaggle of commoner fishmongers will get to sightsee across the empire before either of us."

"Maybe for our next leave we can go on a trip? The full circuit. Not just New Florentia to Bovitar, but also down south to Cape Niflhel and back," Tauria offered, her face flushing bright red at the very romantic gesture she had proposed.

I squeezed her hand and released my tail. "Promise?"

She nodded, though she wouldn't meet my eyes. "It would be good to see more of the House."

"Doubtless you also have a list of museums, monasteries, and research parks to visit. Oh, and ballets of course," I teased, leaning a bit more in front of her.

"You like those too!" I could tell she had to control herself from crossing her arms and looking away in a pout.

"I do, but I know you'll find all of the stops that cover those things. So I'll look for things like opera and fashion. Visha will like to hear about this trip." I sat back and sighed at my inadequacy and lack of planning. "If I had a phone in my manor house, she wouldn't have had to stay back at yours."

"Mine's had a phone for all of two weeks," Tauria assured me. "Your manor is scarcely lagging behind."

It was only a bit of help. Phones were the latest thing and all ladies of status were getting lines to replace their old telegraphs and even older crystalline radios. I had let my barony fall behind the times.

"I know, but I feel like a poor hostess for not being ready," I said, keeping my noble bearing. "At least my cousin will be able to share a ride with the Islander Girl when they come over tomorrow."

"LavenderFang does seem a bit over-stimulated," Tauria admitted. "With visitors from the orphanage arriving, I hoped having some girls her own age around would help."

I smiled at her concern for the only family I had left. Being raised by surrogates, LavenderFang had a challenging childhood and was still a bit prickly. Unfortunately, this translated to issues socializing with the common citizenry.

Maybe she'll find her own orphan Imperial Heroine, I thought to myself, my grin growing before I laughed. "Those are fine, even your little cousins Talia and Liata aren't too much to her."

"Those two can be a handful," Tauria smiled.

Away from the Two Terrors, as my fiancee liked to call those broodlings, it was easy to laugh at their antics. Lately, they had found their way into the chapel's bell tower, and it had taken their mothers, and the rest of the family besides, to get them down and keep the other broodlings from climbing the chapel's ladders after the errant pair. The two had convinced each other that climbing the highest point around the manor would let Liata find her own Zephyr.

Between the orphans, the kits, Castilian ArgentShroud's daughters, and the girls Doctrix RedWing had brought over, Tauria's manor house was quite full. Tauria was quite happy to have her Mother Clementia and a couple other sisters helping organize events to keep everyone busy, and resume regular services in the chapel. Services that the Countess was front and center for, often giving her own sermons, singing of hymns, and textual study.

Tauria did make services a far more enjoyable affair. She had the rock solid devotion that allowed her to get philosophical in her theological analysis without showing an ounce of doubt.

I gave her a reassuring smile.

Tauria was still worried about having to host Castilian ArgentShroud and her staff for the holidays, but Duchess SilverFlight had already made it clear where she would be spending SabersWatch with us. The Duchess was making a statement of her intent and protection by gathering as much of her family and forces around us.

The Countess should have been heartened by this gesture. Especially as Miss Shadow's family would be arriving shortly and thus would also be protected.

"It's the kitsune. The kits are fascinated with her wings. I guess feathers fascinate the little foxes," I laughed.

Up in the front row, the servant's tails swished. Watching, Tauria nodded along. "It makes sense. If a clowder of broodlings can get entranced by fluffy tails, so why not kits feel the same for fluffy wings?" she asked, finding a small pout on my face.

"But you've got feathers too, so why aren't you always followed by little foxes?" I teased.

"I am, sometimes," Tauria pouted, crossing her arms and folding her wings over her shoulders.

"Maybe they were told not to? To not bother you of course," I offered and focused my attention on the servants in front.

Head Maid SunShower gave a small shrug while Driver Brabant coughed.

"Yes, they're just being polite," Tauria agreed. "LoveBlood, Visha has to stay back to make a phone call, but LavenderFang could have come with us."

Shrugging, I idly fluffed my hair. "I suppose you're right. Oh well, but this way we can have a nice drive, and the Islander Girl won't be alone. Though after that call maybe she would want some privacy. I don't really know about large families," I admitted, my mood lowering.

Tauria sent me a comforting emotional pulse, reassuring me that I was now part of her family.

My tail swished. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised her family could directly receive a call; it seems like every hotel has a phone now too."

"Well, hotels in the capital at least have phones. And this call is important to Visha; they haven't talked in a long time. She'll catch up and come over tomorrow, so she won't miss the ceremonies."

"Yes, yes, Silvana is very modern, and I did book the Shadow family in a rather lovely..." I coughed, cursing my slip up.

"LoveBlood, did you give that family of fishmongers a SabersWatch present?"

"Of course I did, and I have some proper gifts waiting for them here." I blushed at being caught. "Oh look we're here!"

My barony was compact and had only one settlement of note. Said town became visible as we rounded a turn. Below us, the last few orchards and farms gave way to the old town wall.

The stone structure had been partially disassembled over the years, but even when it was complete, the walls were far too small to be of any real defensive value in the modern Epoch. However, it had been repurposed with prayer wheels, banners, and engraved towers to suit one of the barony's key sources of income.

Less than half the size of Tauria's county seat, Lillaton was a lovely town. White stone with orange roofs peeking through the snow, the buildings were mostly two stories. Though a few buildings near the center of town had three or even four floors. In almost all buildings, the upper floors slightly overhung the ground floor.

Red banners with the silver four-pointed DarkStar were over the mostly symbolic town gates. Leading up to the gates where rows of garland strung trees stood as a rustling honor guard of decorative accouterments culminating in foxfire glowing lights strung up around the arch itself.

Crossing the gates and the line of prayer wheels and stones, my Zephyr swirled and pressed up against the glass with easy calm and joy. I tried to have them comfort Tauria's slightly more anxious spirits.

I took Tauria's hand again, and my tail swished as I gave it a squeeze.

It was good to be home.

Driving into town, the car's tires drove on the swept-clean cobbles. Decorations were also in many of the windows. Our chauffeur carefully navigated the car around carts, golems, and trucks.

"The decorations look good this year," I noted with satisfaction. I had been gone for too long. "I hope the Commercia Guild didn't spend too much."

"Market fair seems lively," Tauria twisted her head as we drove past a plaza that had been filled with stalls for various foodstuffs, trinkets, and games of chance. The baronial choir was singing in front of a drained fountain that had been strung with lights, streamers, and stars. A beer garden had a side of the plaza with its tables warring for space with those setup in front of a cafe and a bakery.

"Oh yes, I suppose the festivities were moved up earlier," I shrugged; Miss Patricia would make sure things would be done properly.

"The town's more Martyred Lady than Hallowed?" Tauria asked. Our sect celebrated Saber's Watch near the end of December, whereas Martyred Lady, the sect Lucia belonged to, celebrated the holiday slightly earlier in the middle of the month.

Which was the compromise we had worked out: in two days, we would have the Martyred Lady observance here on the fifteenth, and then come back to Tauria's county with plenty of time for the Hallowed Lady observance.

"Maybe a third of them are that sect, half are Hallowed, and the rest some flavor of other. Most of those are Reformed Asatru who came down from Andromache a few generations back," I explained, looking around my town with eager interest.

Tauria smiled. Clearly, she appreciated all the hard work that had gone into Lillaton. It was more organized and prettied up than the more no-nonsense, workaday Jopecott.

"The people seem very proud of their home," Tauria said, as the car slowed to a crawl to avoid any revelers.

"As they should be! The economic value of our spiritual and botanical output has allowed Lilla Barony to stand as its own administrative division, as opposed to being a mere part of a larger county," I proudly said before coughing. "Though the Duchy we're under will change in a few years."

Nodding, Tauria was thinking about the implications of our future. With the advancement of golems, artificer flight systems, alchemical pharmaceuticals, and processes, my barony had become even more of a valuable hub.

However, the vast spirit ranches of Celia and Atrax Provinces were still where the bulk of such spirits were sourced for Fleet, Legion, and civilian needs. Thus, while my barony was valuable, especially for Bovitar and Eastern Province, I had to admit that it was relatively minor in the grand scheme of things.

"There's a lot of potential here," Tauria eventually said, thinking about our future.

Smiling, I bowed my head at the compliment.

"Given your neighboring counties were backwaters even by the standards of this province, I suppose there's some room for your barony to, one day, grow into a full county," Tauria said as we passed between a pair of churches.

On my side was the pale dome of the barony's church of the Order of Our Martyred Lady. Where on Tauria's side was a Church of the Hallowed Lady Order in its full Gothic Revival splendor, stately with stone engravings and lofted towers.

"Maybe that's something our daughter can tackle," I said, my tail curling around hers. "Our second, obviously."

Freezing momentarily yet visibly, Tauria's precise, sharp mind ticked over and again went to work. After we were wed, heirs would be required. At absolute minimum, we would need one daughter to inherit County Larium, and one to inherit Barony Lilla. But, that was only the absolute minimum. Heirs and spares was more than a pithy term.

A key part of our marriage agreement was that, while my barony would fall under the aegis of SilverFlight's Duchy, the new Baroness of Lilla would be one of our daughters.

By the way my Countess exhaled and relaxed herself, I guessed she had come to the same conclusion I did.

We would have a brood of our own. If we survived our term of Legionary service, we, including Visha, would be mothers.

"Tauria?" I asked, but my horns told me her exact feelings. I squeezed her fingers with both of my hands and pulled her arm close to my chest. "It's okay, I know motherhood is... a lot, but we have time. Time to learn and to... heal."

"Duty to the Legions first," Tauria nodded, relieved that I shared some of her trepidation. Though Tauria was more confident than I.

I leaned my head on her shoulder. After a time of just taking comfort in supporting her, I realized that the car had stopped.

"Mistresses?" Head Maid SunShower asked with a gentle cough. "We've arrived."

Tauria looked out her window. I followed her gaze to the Baronial Council building. About the same size as the county building in Jopecott, it was a lovely, heavily ornamented neo-Baroque structure dating to the Third Epoch.

"That's not where we're going," I laughed. "Though the Baronial Council building has a lovely wine cellar in the basement."

"It's... big," Tauria noted.

I managed not to roll my eyes. "Not everyone can have a separate courthouse and the space is also used as a guildhall."

"Apologies." Tauria held up her hand and exposed her neck in submission. "Where are we going?"

My grin expanded as I gently turned her head so that she was looking out my window. Opposite the government building and on a small rise was a white manor in the beaux arts style.

A sleek two story affair with a pair of small wings, my manor was a compact and elegant affair as opposed to Tauria's chaotic, sprawling compound. Each window was lit up, and foxfire crawled along the edges of the manor, highlighting the building's lines in sinuous green and silver illumination.

The gates were open, and a familiar procession was already making their way down the driveway.

A trio of maids, all as familiar to me as older sisters, emerged. I smiled at which three Patricia had managed to bring back: Suzette, who had been my hairstylist growing up, BirchTalon, who helped fit my gowns over the years as I'd grown, and Agina, who had grown to be recognized as the best cosmetologist in the barony.

Good, my former governess had everything set up for tonight.

Wearing smart black on red uniforms with silver trim, the trio was led by Miss Patricia herself. Like her, the maids carried large silver boxes. A stern woman with curled silver horns framing a white bun, Miss Patricia wore a severe yet prim black dress with a silver embroidered white sash. Her skin was a pale green, and despite the controlled expression and stiff tail, her pale blue eyes lit up when they met mine.

"Oh, what does Miss Patricia have…?" I wondered aloud, eyes fixed on the box cradled in her arms.

"Lady Patricia BoneWing, your seneschal?" Tauria politely asked as Miss SunShower got out of the car to open her door.

"She was my governess first; it seemed wise to appoint her to a new post once I joined the Legions as a cadet," I said after Brabant, the chauffeur, helped me to my feet.

Freed from the confines of the car, Tauria's bell shaped dress poofed out, sprung by her Zephyr pushing her white petticoats. She preened as Miss SunShower adjusted the ruffled layered white overskirt atop the red shoulderless dress.

Wings fluffing out as her spirits also flared the large lacy cuffs to her sleeves, the maid fussed over the big red bow over one hip before finally depositing a big floppy be-ribboned hat atop my Countess's head.

Still preening, she gave me a smug look as Brabant merely had to drape a red fur-trimmed coat over my wings and shoulders and handed me a pair of kidskin gloves. Both matched my red with silver piping evening-dress. It was a bit blatant to dress in the colors of my Barony, but this was a special occasion.

I gave Tauria a cocky smirk.

After giving us a moment to assemble ourselves, Lady Patricia bowed her horns before going into a curtsy. "Prefect Volantes Centurion Countess Tauria Magnus DiamondDust, novitiate of the Order of our Hallowed Lady and Imperial Heroine, it is a pleasure to have you as our guest. On behalf of the household staff, accept our thanks for your engagement to our young mistress."

I held back a smile as Tauria tried to look noble, but ended up just looking stiff as her full name was read off. It became very difficult not to laugh when her Zephyr lifted up and sprayed fine snow in a reasonable approximation of sparkles.

Then with a less formal smile, my governess gave another bow. "Volantes Primus Centurion Baroness VioletBlood, welcome home."

"Lady Patricia! It is lovely to see you," I cheered, running to the taller woman, my heels clicking on the cobbles.

Tauria stood by a bit awkwardly as I embraced Lady Patricia, who managed to put down her box. After the hug, I turned to see that the crowd from the plaza had drifted over, with many of the locals watching us.

Tauria's smile turned wry when my maids opened their boxes and started pulling out a selection of familiar plush dolls and books. Though unlike at most toy-stores, the majority of this selection were dolls with redheaded curls, not that the blondes and brunettes were not underrepresented.

Tauria approached my seneschal with her kitsune following closely behind. "Thank you, for hosting. It's lovely to finally meet you. VioletBlood had spoken with great affection about you. Please forgive my delays in finally meeting you all, we've only just been able to come back to Eastern Province." So speaking, she bowed her horns to the pleasantly surprised woman.

"You honor us, Countess. All us Lillains were heartened to hear of your betrothal to our Baroness as it was an ideal match in several ways and gladdens us to see the affection between you two," Lady Patricia said, pitching her voice to carry.

I took a bare moment to collect myself.

"Thank you! It is good to be back! I'm sorry that my duties have kept me away from you for so long; such is the burden that has fallen upon the wings of every Baroness of Lilla. But by DarkStar's grace, I have returned from bringing the Imperatrix's justice across the Spine with my Countess at my side," I cried, taking Tauria's hand in mine and lifting it in celebration. "Alas, our time together will be short, but do not be sad. No! Be merry, Citizens! We all have much to celebrate and will make the most of the time we have together!"

My declaration was followed by my maids handing out the dolls, books, and treats. I then took one of the boxes and personally started handing out blonde dolls to excitable broodlings while giving my fiancee a smug look.

For her part, Tauria waved to the happy crowd. The people of Lilla were very fond of me. And why not? My family had ruled the barony since the Third Epoch and had volunteered to defend the barony and empire, continuing to do so until the family was nearly snuffed out in service to the House.

I kept on a smile as the crowd cheered. Bowing and chatting with the locals, I did my best to stay stoic and rise to the occasion. This was important to my citizens.

After some time, the crowd was politely dispersed back to their revelries with promises that we would be attending various services and events. A couple of my maids helped my own staff remove the luggage from the back of our car. There was a slight reluctance from the foxes as if they wanted to stay in Tauria's shadow.

We were then escorted up towards the entryway of my baronial manor. The doors were opened ahead of us, showing the familiar, minimalist interior.

Stretching out one of her feathered wings over my shoulders, Tauria kept my wings from shivering in the somewhat drafty foyer. She was being a bit dramatic, as Tauria's manor house was colder when we had first arrived. I suppose the sparse and quiet interior was a contrast from the cheering crowds, revelry, and mirth on the outside.

Tail swishing, I looked around with comfortable familiarity and an easy smile as I thought about getting my art supplies out of storage. Having proper tutoring, I did have some measure of training. "Ah, it is good to be home, Lady Patricia," I said with a smile.

"Shall I have a fire lit in the drawing room while dinner is prepared, Chef SpringBounty came back for your stay and is making your favorite?" my former governess asked.

"That would be wonderful," I cheered as I took Tauria's arm. The drawing room was very cozy. "Tauria, you'll love it, SpringBounty was my childhood chef, she has a restaurant in town, and she makes the best strudels and tortes."

"That does sound lovely," my Countess smiled. Her spirits lightened, and more than just the idea of good food, her emotions were open, revealing how much she cared for me.

End Chapter 37

The Duchess is doing her part to help train her youngest daughter into the finer points of noble intrigue. Don't worry next chapter will have Tauria's other mother give her some training, after our countess's visit to LoveBlood's barony.

Thanks to Ahuva, DCG , ellfangor8 , Green Sea, Larc , Readhead, metaldragon868 , WhoWhatWhere, and ScarletFox for checking and editing this chapter. And Special thanks to Metal Dragon for working though challenges to really upgrade the Mother/Daughter bonding flight time. Also to Readhead for the great work on sharpening the Lady from the Railroad's dialog. And to Scarlet Fox for the chapter title and the idea of having the final scene be in VioletBlood's POV.

Related to that an omake will be posted with that same scene from Tauria's POV to show how a difference of perspective can reframe things.

Chapter 38 has been written and the draft is being edited and Chapter 39 has been started.

There's also about a dozen pieces of art ready to post. On a variety of designs and characters.

Tauria POV Omake for LD Chapter 37

Here's the second scene of chapter 37, but this time the POV is Tauria instead of VioletBlood

+++++


Smaller than my county, the Barony of Lilla was a compact fief. Much of it seemed spread before us as my touring car crested a final hill.

A chain of stone cairns followed the ridgeline. Many were large enough to be topped by compact windmill blades that would turn prayer wheels lower in the stone structures. That they all lazily turned in the wind, despite the winter snow showed they were well cared for. Which made sense, spirit-calling was one of Lillia's specialties. Curiosity raised, my zephyr perked up where VioletBlood's became excited with what must have been a familiar sign of home.

As were the wintering orchards and greenhouses that were on either side of the trade road Brabant was driving us down. Sitting in the front passenger seat, Reinhild was alert, her ears upright and twitching.

Next to me VioletBlood was happily pointing out the local sights, her tail swishing. "And that's Missy Palmer's grove. Oh they've got a new greenhouse and repaired the north water tower. Her family provides rootstocks for half of the alchemists east of the capital to graft their cultivars onto."

"Do many alchemists grow their own plants?" I asked as we passed the farm, something about the name and the logo with a tree growing out of a hand seemed familiar. It seemed productive enough with an array of large blue-glass greenhouses and a collection of barns and other outbuildings.

"Some! There are a lot of useful potions and chemicals that come from magically enhanced plants. There's all sorts of tedious cutting, drying, separating, and refining," VioletBlood waved her hand dismissively

"It sounds like a lot of work," I noted.

"Exactly! But a lot of these plants have been arcanely bred so they don't exactly make the best of seeds. Not all but enough, and enough of those can be grown from cuttings"

"Hence making more plants by grafting cuttings to rootstock?"

"And compatible high quality roots for the common alchemical plants are quite lucrative. Relatively small volume, but high yield," My redheaded fiancee gave a sharp smile. "My family invested in Missy Palmer's mother in my grandmother's time."

"Does the Palmer farm only do rootstock?" I asked as we drove past a series of orchards with the occasional collection of farm-houses that was not quite large enough to be a hamlet, and only one of which had a tavern.

"Nope! In proud Lilla tradition, the Grove has a still and makes herbal bitters and other digestifs."

"Oh! That's what you have with your wine after dinner," I exclaimed as the recognition hit.

"Took you long enough to remember the label on a bottle?" VioletBlood teased.

Tail flicking, I looked out the window.

VioletBlood followed my eye and looked up into the blue cloudless sky. "Still upset about yesterday?"

I gave a casual shrug. "Mother has been very busy with her... guest. We should be thankful that we got to fly with her two times in the last week."

"It was good learning from her. I think we impressed her; even the Islander Girl was at the top of her game. And this time we were there with you just in case," VioletBlood added, giving a toothy grin that covered her anxiety.

I could hardly blame her for being concerned that we might run into something.... untoward during flight training. "You are right LoveBlood, Mother is very proud of us."

"That's why the Duchess came back with three of her own pilots and had Flight versus Flight level training. And we rose to that challenge!" VioletBlood bragged, though there was an edge of humility to her voice.

Admittedly, my fiancee's pride was justified. Mother was not one to rest on her laurels, and she made sure her own pilots were skilled and experienced. I exhaled. "Fine, I was looking forward to the training scenario Mother had planned for yesterday. And it was nice to not have any crows to worry about, especially as our suits were in training mode."

"There were contingencies, and we've got time, the Duchess will reschedule," VioletBlood put her hand on mine. "Your mother's being very busy."


Tail curling, I nodded. "I know. BloodStone's testimony has broken open the investigation. Focht and Mother have new names, accounts, and offices to investigate."

"Is a date set for the Apology?"

I shook my head. "There's still a lot of negotiations going on. BloodStone is leveraging her knowledge, but it's only a matter of time."

"I wish I could do more. No one in my Barony has standing, and I wasn't even there when you ran into the... Lady." VioletBlood looked out through the windshield. The two kitsune in the front were doing their best to give us our privacy.

"I was happy Mother was there, but I did miss you and Visha having my back," I reassured her. "Besides, you've been a great help. Your negotiations with the drow matriarch were key to the spur line project's success."

"They've only pledged to build two bridges in their territory. The surveying hasn't even started, let alone the digging. We can celebrate after they sign a contract, assuming everyone can agree on the toll price," she added with a sigh.

"We have plenty of carrots to offer. Plenty of landholders are taking up the spirit cairn grants, and well loans. We also have some electrification access to offer."

Eyes teasing, VioletBlood smiled. "This is the downside of having such a spawning fief, Countess"

"Well, now we can go relax at your home," I offered.

By the way the redhead's wings flexed ever so slightly, I suppose town was just around the next bend or the next one. "Exactly, we can relax! There will be no deluded hillfolk in my barony to interrupt us."

"Like how Mother had to cancel our third training flight with her?" I asked.

"Yes, that inspector called in your mother and a flight of her RP for that raid yesterday..." VioletBlood trailed off barely hiding her jealousy at not being invited. Of course my bloody baroness wanted to fly a show of force mission.

"Mother is fine," I said a bit testily. "No one got hurt, Inspector Focht was being cautious, justifiably so given how isolated some deep woods folk can get." Support missions where no one fires a shot were far more preferable than the alternative.

"Better than those heretical cultists deserved," VioletBlood spat. "First they deify DarkStar, and then they harbor fleeing criminals?"

"They turned the guilders over." I pointed out simply relieved that the Provincial Contract Enforcement Inspector used a gentle touch when visiting that commune. Inspector Focht was an integrant woman. If she could avoid angering the locals and giving them a way out, she would. "And I'm not sure they're a... you know, cult."

Both my preceding distrust of entities such as Being X and my adherence to the more Orthodox Church of DarkStar wanted to use the word cult. But... if they were a truly dangerous cult then surely the Provincial governance would have dealt with them?

"I note you didn't deny their heresy," VioletBlood smugly stated.

"DarkStar is no god," I hissed. It was a key point of dogma, that while DarkStar was a person worthy of great veneration and honor, and that She would return to us, She was not a god. DarkStar had not created Diyu or any other world.

My fiancee held up a hand. "Sorry, sorry, I shouldn't have set you off."

"It's okay," I tried to relax. "This whole railroad thing is growing more and more frustrating. We're supposed to be on leave, but the second I arrive everything gets put in my lap. Who knew that land administration would be so frustrating?"

VioletBlood gave me a long stare before shaking her head. "It's easy to forget you weren't born noble. Oh, Xanth Orchards reroofed their barn."

"What's that supposed to mean!"

"You're not asking about the barn?" The redhead waved that off. "Ah well. Things happen, and we have to be flexible. DarkStar's blood, you'd think being in the Legions would make you a bit less rigid."

The two foxes in front exchanged a look and kept quiet.

"I am not rigid!" I glared, my tail flicking. I had spent far more time than her in the military and I was plenty flexible! I just also liked things done the proper way. "You know what happens to Flight Commanders and Squadron Leaders who get set into rigid thinking.

"There's more to life than combat. And outside of an RP you're almost stogy; I was hoping this vacation would help you loosen up." the Baroness laughed then gave a coy smile. "That's the real reason I approved of your mistress. With the Islander Girl helping me, we can almost get you to do more than just being a dutiful noble, nun, and soldier."

I crossed my arms. "Then Visha not being here must be a real burden."

VioletBlood's tail snaked around mine as her smile grew. "That's all part of being flexible. And family is important to her, I respect that," her tone was sincere but there was a bit of jealousy. "It is funny that a gaggle of commoner fishmongers will get to sightsee across the empire before either of us."

"Maybe for our next leave we can go on a trip? The full circuit. Not just New Florentia to Bovitar, but also down south to Cape Niflhel and back," I offered, trying not to flush.

VioletBlood squeezed my hand and released her tail. "Promise?"

I nodded. "It would be good to see more of the House."

"Doubtless you also have a list of museums, monasteries, and research parks to visit. Oh and ballets of course," she teased.

"You like those too!"

"I do, but I know you'll find all of the stops that cover those things. So I'll look for things like opera and fashion. Visha will like to hear about this trip." She sighed. "If I had a phone in my manor house, she wouldn't have had to stay back at yours."

"Mine's had a phone for all of two weeks," I assured her. Telecom on Diyu was well behind my first life, and roughly on par with that of my second. With the major difference that magical communications were far more integrated among the Diyu Great Houses. "Your manor is scarcely lagging behind."

"I know, but I feel like a poor hostess for not being ready," VioletBlood pouted. "At least my cousin will be able to share a ride with the Islander Girl when they come over tomorrow."

"LavenderFang does seem a bit over-stimulated," I admitted. The poor girl seemed more and more overwhelmed as my manor house filled up with guests. "With visitors from the orphanage arriving, I hoped having some girls her own age around would help."

Though maybe a spoiled noble and a bunch of orphans might not make for the best match at least until an orphan catches Lavender's eye by being a Heroine, a cynical voice whispered in my mind.

VioletBlood laughed. "Those are fine, even your little cousins Talia and Liata aren't too much to her."

"Those two can be a handful," I smiled. Sharing LoveBlood's mirth was easy away from the two terrors. That they had found their way into the chapel's bell tower had been a moment of anxiety for me and my sisters. And it took all of us to keep the other broodlings from climbing up the ladders.

Between the orphans, the kits ArgentShroud's daughters and the girls RedWing had brought over, the house was quite full. I was more than happy to have Mother Clementia and a couple other sisters helping organize events to keep everyone busy, and resume regular services in the chapel.

As Lady Castellan, Mother's heir, ArgentShroud also brought her own staff. I was a bit worried at having to host her for the holidays, but our Duchess had already made it clear where she would be spending SabersWatch. Part of me suspected that mother had more of my sisters come over as a way to bulk up the security around the manor.

It was nice to have the place fill up, even if only temporarily, and this was before Visha's family arrived.

"It's the kitsune. The kits are fascinated with her wings. I guess feathers fascinate the little foxes," the redhead laughed.

Up in the front row my maids' tails swished. Watching, I nodded along. "It makes sense. If a clowder of broodlings can get entranced by fluffy tails, so why not kits feel the same for fluffy wings?" I asked, finding a small pout on my face.

"But you've got feathers too, so why aren't you always followed by little foxes?"

"I am, sometimes," I replied, not crossing my arms.

"Maybe they were told not to? To not bother you of course," VioletBlood offered and for once her attention went to the two people in the front of the car.

Reinhild gave a small shrug while Brabant coughed.

"Yes, they're just being polite," I agreed. "LoveBlood, Visha has to stay back to make a phone call, but LavenderFang could have come with us."

The redhead shrugged and idly fluffed her hair. "I suppose you're right. Oh well, but this way we can have a nice drive, and the Islander Girl won't be alone. Though after that call maybe she would want some privacy. I don't really know about large families."

I sent her a comforting emotional pulse. I could relate to her situation, even if I was, technically, now part of a large family.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised her family could directly receive a call; it seems like every hotel has a phone now too."

"Well, hotels in the capital at least have phones. And this call is important to Visha; they haven't talked in a long time. She'll catch up and come over tomorrow, so she won't miss the ceremonies."

"Yes, yes, Silvana is very modern, and I did book the Shadow family in a rather lovely..." the Baroness coughed.

"LoveBlood, did you give that family of fishmongers a SabersWatch present?"

"Of course I did, I have some proper gifts waiting for them here. VioletBlood flushed. "Oh look we're here!"

VioletBlood's barony was small enough that it had only one real municipality. Said town became visible as we rounded a turn. Below us the last few orchards and farms gave way to a settlement that had a town wall of all things.

The stone structure had been torn down in places and was far too small to be of any real defensive value in the modern Epoch, but the prayer wheels, banners, and engraved towers showed that it had been repurposed to suit one of the barony's key sources of income.

Less than half the size of Jopecott, Lillaton had a storybook charm to it. White stone with orange roofs peeking through the snow, the buildings were mostly two stories. Though a few near the center of town had three or even four floors. In almost all the upper floors slightly overhung the ground floor.

Red banners with the silver four-pointed DarkStar were over the mostly symbolic town gates. Light glowing with foxfire had also been strung up around the arch. Leading up to the gates and inside where rows of garland strung trees.

Crossing the gates and the line of prayer wheels and stones my air spirits swirled and pressed up against the glass with a tinge of anxiety while VioletBlood's Zephyr comforted them with their easy calm and joy.

VioletBlood took my hand again and her tail swishing she gave it a squeeze.

Driving into town, the car's tires drove on the swept-clean cobbles. Decorations were also in many of the windows. Brabant carefully navigated the car around carts, golems, and trucks.

"The decorations look good this year," VioletBlood noted. "I hope the Commercia Guild didn't spend too much."

"Market fair seems lively," I twisted my head as we drove past a plaza that had been filled with stalls for various foodstuffs, trinkets, and games of chance. A choir was singing in front of a drained fountain that had been strung with lights, streamers, and stars. A beer garden had side of the plaza with its tables warring for space with those setup in front of a cafe and a bakery.

"Oh yes, I suppose the festivities were moved up earlier."

"The town's more Martyred Lady than Hallowed?" I asked. My sect celebrated Saber's Watch near the end of December, where Martyred Lady, the sect Lucia belonged to, had the holiday earlier in the middle of the month.

Which was the compromise we had worked out: in two days, we would have the Martyred Lady observance here on the fifteenth, and then come back to my county with plenty of time for the Hallowed Lady observance.

"Maybe a third of them are that sect, half are Hallowed, and the rest some flavor of other. Most of those are Reformed Asatru who came down from Andromache a few generations back," VioletBlood explained as she looked around her town with eager interest.

I could hardly blame her. It was clear that a lot of work had gone into Lillaton. It looked quaint, almost saccharine compared to the more no-nonsense, workaday Jopecott. Perhaps this was key to the barony's self-identity?

"The people seem very proud of their home," I said, as the car slowed to a crawl to avoid any revelers.

"As they should be! The economic value of our spiritual and botanical output has allowed Lilla Barony to stand as its own administrative division, as opposed to being a mere part of a larger county," VioletBlood smugly said before coughing. "Though the Duchy we're under will change in a few years."

I absently nodded, trying not to think about the implications of that bit. With the advancement of golems, artificer flight systems, alchemical pharmaceuticals, and processes VioletBlood's barony had become even more of a valuable hub.

However, the vast spirit ranches of Celia and Atrax Provinces were still where the bulk of such spirits were sourced for Fleet, Legion, and civilian needs. Thus while Lilla was valuable, especially for Bovitar and Eastern Province, it was relatively minor in the grand scheme of things.

"There's a lot of potential here," I said, as thoughts about her future, our future, loomed large.

Smiling, VioletBlood bowed her head at the compliment.

"Given your neighboring counties were backwaters even by the standards of this province, I suppose there's some room for your barony to, one day, grow into a full county," I said as we passed between a pair of churches.

On my side was a Hallowed Lady Order Gothic Revival Church, stately in its engraved stone and lofted towers. Across from it was the pale dome with its clean yet pugnacious lines of a church of the Order of Our Martyred Lady.

"Maybe that's something our daughter can tackle," VioletBlood said, her tail curling around mine. "Our second, obviously."

Every part of me froze. We were wed to marry. Daughters, heirs, were expected. One to inherit County Larium, and one to inherit Barony Lilla, at the least. Part of the marriage agreement was that while the barony would fall under the aegis of my Mother's Duchy, the new Baroness of Lilla would be the daughter of me and VioletBlood.

And mother was practical minded enough to insist on heirs and spares. I would have a brood of my own. I exhaled and tried to unclench everything.

"Tauria?" VioletBlood asked, but her horns told her exactly my feelings. She squeezed my fingers with both of her hands and pulled my arm close to her chest. "It's okay, I know motherhood is... a lot, but we have time. Time to learn and to... heal."

"Duty to the Legions first," I nodded, relieved that she shared some of my trepidation. Though LoveBlood was more confident than I.

VioletBlood leaned her head on my shoulder. After a time of just taking comfort in her support, I realized that the car had stopped.

"Mistresses?" Reinhild asked with a gentle cough. "We've arrived."

I looked out my window and saw across the road a governmental building in the neo-Baroque that emulated the late Third Epoch. Its ornamentation and scale surprised me as it was as large as the county building in Jopecott.

"That's not where we're going," VioletBlood laughed. "Though the Baronial Council building has a lovely wine cellar in the basement."

"It's... big," I noted.

My betrothed rolled her eyes. "Not everyone can have a separate courthouse and the space is also used as a guildhall."

"Apologies." I held up my hand and exposed my neck in submission. "Where are we going?"

VioletBlood's grin expanded as she gently turned my head so that I was looking out her window. Opposite the government building and on a small rise was a white manor in the beaux arts style.

A sleek two story affair with a pair of small wings, her manor was a compact and elegant affair as opposed to the sprawling compound I had been deeded. Each window was lit up and foxfire crawled along the edges of the manor, highlighting the building's lines in sinuous green and silver illumination.

The gates were open and a procession was already making their way down the driveway.

A trio of maids in black on red uniforms with silver trim was being led by a stern woman with curled silver horns framing a white bun. Unlike the others, she wore a severe yet prim black dress with a silver embroidered white sash. Her skin was a pale green and despite the controlled expression and stiff tail, her pale blue eyes lit up.

Many of the maids were carrying large silver boxes.

"Oh, what does Miss Patricia have?"

"Lady Patricia BoneWing, your seneschal?" I politely asked as Reinhild got out of the car to open my door.

"She was my governess first; it seemed wise to appoint her to a new post once I joined the Legions as a cadet," VioletBlood said after Brabant helped her to her feet.

Freed from the confines of the car, my bell shaped dress poofed out, sprung by its white petticoats. Summoning my dignity, I suffered Reinhild adjusting the ruffled layered white overskirt atop my red shoulderless dress. Then after checking the flared cuffs to my lacy sleeves, the maid fussed over the big red bow over one hip before finally depositing a big floppy be-ribboned hat atop my head.

I did not give VioletBlood a jealous look as Brabant merely had to drape a red fur-trimmed coat over the baroness's wings and shoulders and hand her a pair of kidskin gloves. Both matched her red with silver piping evening-dress. I almost kicked myself as it was only know when I realized she was dressed in the colors of her Barony.

Noticing my attention, the redhead gave me a cocky smirk.

After giving us a moment to assemble ourselves, Lady Patricia bowed her horns before going into a curtsy. "Prefect Volantes Centurion Countess Tauria Magnus DiamondDust, novitiate of the Order of our Hallowed Lady and Imperial Heroine, it is a pleasure to have you as our guest. On behalf of the household staff, accept our thanks for your engagement to our young mistress."

Then with a less formal smile, she gave another bow. "Volantes Primus Centurion Baroness VioletBlood, welcome home."

"Lady Patricia! It is lovely to see you," VioletBlood cheered as she practically ran to the taller woman, her heels clicking on the cobbles.

I stood by a bit awkwardly as the two embraced. Glancing back to the street, I saw that a crowd from the plaza had drifted over with many of the locals watching us.

My smile turned wry when the maids opened their boxes and they started pulling out a selection of familiar plush dolls and books. Though unlike at most toy-stores the majority of this selection were dolls with redheaded curls, not that the blondes and brunettes were not underrepresented.

With their hug concluded, I approached the Barony's seneschal "Thank you, for hosting. It's lovely to finally meet you. VioletBlood had spoken with great affection about you. Please forgive my delays in finally meeting you all, we've only just been able to come back to Eastern Province." I bowed my horns to the pleasantly surprised woman.

"You honor us, Countess. All us Lillains were heartened to hear of your betrothal to our Baroness as it was an ideal match in several ways and gladdens us to see the affection between you two," Lady Patricia said, pitching her voice to carry.

"Thank you! It is good to be back! I'm sorry that my duties have kept me away from you for so long; such is the burden that has fallen upon the wings of every Baroness of Lilla. But by DarkStar's grace, I have returned from bringing the Imperatrix's justice across the Spine my Countess at my side," VioletBlood said, taking my hand in hers and lifting it in celebration. "Alas, our time together will be short, but do not be sad. No! Be merry, Citizens! We all have much to celebrate and will make the most of the time we have together!"

Her declaration was followed by her maids handing out the dolls, books, and treats. LoveBlood then took one of the boxes and handed out blonde dolls to excitable broodlings while giving me a smug look.

I waved to the happy crowd, taking in the mythology of it all. The people of Lilla seemed to love their young baroness. And why not? VioletBlood was a photogenic and talented pilot, who had also secured an Imperial Heroine for a wife, and was the next-to-last of a line that had ruled the barony since the Third Epoch. Her family had volunteered to defend the barony and empire, and had done so until the family was nearly snuffed out in service to the House.

Meanwhile, I was merely handed a County as a prize for being an especially lethal little Legionary Flier. The citizens of the County of Larium respected me; where those of the Barony of Lilla loved their baroness.

Smiling, I let LoveBlood have the moment as the crowd cheered. This was important to her. Bowing and chatting with the locals, VioletBlood was doing her best to stay stoic and rising to the occasion.

After some time the crowd was politely dispersed back to their revelries with promises that we would be attending various services and events. A couple of VioletBlood's maids helped my own staff remove the luggage from the back of our car.

We were then escorted up towards the entryway of the baronial manor. The doors were opened ahead of us, and in contrast with the beautiful adornments on the outside, the interior was starkly minimalist, even cold.

Given how even my insulated wings were shivering at the literal chill of the somewhat drafty foyer I stretched a wing out to put over VioletBlood's shoulders to help keep her warm. The lighting was low and while the artwork and furniture was few they were all of high quality. I was reminded of my first visit to my own manor, which I suppose war proper; both buildings had lain dormant for years. Sill, it was quite the contrast of the cheering crowds, revelry, and mirth on the outside.

Tail swishing, VioletBlood looked around with comfortable familiarity and an easy smile. "Ah, it is good to be home, Lady Patricia," she said with a smile.

"Shall I have a fire lit in the drawing room while dinner is prepared, Chef SpringBounty came back for your stay and is making your favorite?" the former governess asked.

"That would be wonderful," VioletBlood cheered as she took my arm. "Tauria, you'll love it, SpringBounty was my childhood chef, she has a restaurant in town, and she makes the best strudels and tortes."

"That does sound lovely," I smiled, my mood brightening at the idea of good food, a comfortable room, and time with someone I very much cared for.

End Omake

This hopefully is a fun extra that shows how perspective can change things just a bit. And the differences between how Tauria sees herself and how others see her.

This scene was first written from Tauria's POV but ScarletFox suggested the change to VB. And as the chapter was being edited I tried to make this a fairplay shift, by keeping the dialog and actions the same.

And we got this in just before April Fool's Day!

Speaking of the art that was mentioned earlier, there are a couple pieces that could be considered... foolish.
(Don't worry there's still quite a few more pieces to post)

---

First by Scitty Kitty we have this delightful piece of Talia showing off her newest friend to her aunt Tauria (with a background added by WhoWhatWhere). Don't worry it's just a plushie spider, probably.

---

Lady Adriana "Milly" Melisande has had some challenges in her life, most recently the loss of her mate IronTalon over Harp's World, but, as this fun piece by PlayerError404 shows, Milly's vivacious and playful personality comes out through her mourning. And she is happy to share her hobby of frilly dressup. Meanwhile Lucia is just happy that this time it's Tauria who has caught Milly's eye.