Okay, so here's the deal.

Priscilla wasn't trying to name the platypus, really she wasn't. She had just been thinking about a certain show when she woke up that morning, humming the infectious theme song under her breath when she saw the little bastard. She knew that a platypus probably needed more to eat than mere lettuce, so she had done like the early bird and dug up some worms because she was fairly certain they could eat insects.

The ungrateful bastard bit her, but since he ended up with a joke name, Priscilla found it within her magnanimous heart to forgive him for the slight. Perry's basket was tied to Starlight and they were off once more.

The rest of the day's travel was uneventful, stopping at a village briefly for food. But when Priscilla saw a few villagers whispering as they looked at Sulaiman, she hurried her companions along because she did not want the villagers getting any funny ideas.

When they stopped for the evening, Kavil turned to her with that same expectant look in his eye he had yesterday.

"Up to sparring again?" he asked. She wasn't sure why Kavil was so insistent on getting her and Sulaiman to fight and while it probably wasn't for a bad reason, she still didn't want to go along with his plans so easily.

"I'd like to keep my winning streak alive," Priscilla said, baring her teeth at Sulaiman who rolled his eyes, "so no sparring tonight."

Kavil pressed his lips together in a slight pout when Sulaiman sat down near the fire and pulled out a book instead of arguing in favor for another spar.

"Oh don't look too disappointed," Priscilla said, slinging an arm around Kavil's shoulder. "You and Illnyea need to get your punching skills up to snuff so you can start entertaining Sulaiman and I."

"I already know how to throw a punch," Illnyea said, looking up from where she had been rummaging through her pack.

"About as well as a child," Sulaiman said dryly, flipping a page.

Illnyea scowled and threw a sock at him. He easily dodged without even looking up from his book. Priscilla paused for a moment, satisfaction curling in her stomach as she recognized it as the biography she had got him in Grazda. It always pleased her to see people enjoying things she bought from them because it was the only good thing that came from having money.

But she pushed aside the warm feeling and focused on her goal.

"I'll wrap you two up and we'll get started!"

Priscilla made makeshift punch mitts out of some extra clothes, tied up her hair into a bun so it wasn't flying about, and put them through the paces. Teaching two people at a time was more difficult than one, but Priscilla made a game out of it after she made sure they had the proper form and weren't about to fuck themselves up. She first faced Kavil, having him punch the mitts twice before spinning around for Illnyea to have a go. If they weren't ready by the time she turned around, Priscilla reached out and smacked their arm.

Illnyea's gaze became determined the second time she was smacked, and Priscilla was happy to feel the strength behind her hits. Kavil was less enthusiastic about the endeavor, but he fell into the rhythm with a crooked smile as Priscilla put on her very best "this-is-serious-business" face as she twirled about.

By the time they ended, all three of them were sweaty from the constant exertion and movement.

Priscilla despaired her lack of proper stamina as she breathed slowly to bring her heart rate back down. She really would have to work on her cardio when they got back to Meadowyar and had… the dreaded discussion about the cult.

Kavil gulped down water as Illnyea wandered over very casually behind Sulaiman with an innocent expression on her face. Sulaiman was still nose-deep in the book and tuning out the world with practiced ease.

Illnyea's smile turned wicked as she got into position. She wiped off her sweaty forehead with her palm and dragged her fingers across the back of his neck.

Sulaiman's shoulders went high as he jolted to his feet like a startled cat, turning an outraged face to Illnyea.

"You–!"

"That's what you get for not joining in on the fun," Illnyea said, tossing her braid over her shoulder.

Sulaiman scoffed, opening his mouth to argue, but Kavil darted forward, poking Sulaiman's cheek.

Sulaiman swatted at Kavil, scowling as he held his cheek like it had just been violated as he stuffed his book into his nearby pack. Then Sulaiman glared at Priscilla, as if waiting for an attack from her.

Well, she hadn't been planning on joining in, but when he looked so offended at the mere thought…

Priscilla grinned and laughed evilly as she walked straight for him.

Sulaiman tensed as Priscilla approached, raising both arms. He caught both her hands in his while fixing her with a glare.

"You are a menace," Sulaiman hissed as she pressed her weight forward. He adjusted his grip so their fingers intertwined as he had a better grip on her.

"I'm the best," Priscilla said right as the other two launched their attack.

Kavil and Illnyea both wiped their palms on Sulaiman's cheeks, startling him so hard he stumbled backwards, tripping over his pack and pulling Priscilla down with him. Illnyea was able to dodge out the way but Kavil fell too as he failed to catch Sulaiman, so they landed gracelessly in a dogpile. Perry let out a noise that sounded suspiciously like mocking laughter from his place across the fire.

Priscilla began to laugh at the absurd situation she found herself in, leaning her head against Sulaiman's chest instead of craning her neck up.

"You were so worried about Priscilla," Illnyea teased smugly from the sidelines, "that you forgot about the menace that started this in the first place."

There was muffled laughter from beneath Sulaiman that indicated Kavil was still alive.

"You–" Sulaiman began to say but suddenly stopped and Priscilla looked up, raising a lazy eyebrow. He was flushed and as soon as she met his gaze, Sulaiman began looking towards the sky.

"Get off of me," Sulaiman snapped, letting go of Priscilla's hands and attempting to push her off ineffectually.

Priscilla freed herself from the pile and stuck out a hand for Sulaiman. But he ignored it, rolling off Kavil with a fierce glare that was undercut by the redness of his cheeks. Kavil couldn't stop laughing when he saw the expression and Sulaiman threw his hands in the air, muttering, "Why is the platypus the only one who knows how to behave?"

The next day was more of the same, though Sulaiman did join in to help train Illnyea and Kavil, muttering, "I refused to be attacked by you three again." Perry watched them mess around in a way that made Priscilla feel like the platypus was judging them, but he sighed and tucked his bill under his tail when she eyed him back.

They finally made it back to Meadowyar around early afternoon the day after. A sense of dread had slowly built up within Priscilla as each hoofstep brought them closer to the city and the conversation she didn't want to have.

Illnyea was currently traveling on Sulaiman's horse, which Priscilla was grateful for. Since Perry was the only one close enough to hear, Priscilla had tested out different ways to present the information. Over and over, she practiced what she was going to say, pausing in between each phrase to ensure that blood wasn't rising within her throat. The last thing Priscilla wanted was for her friends to think she was cursed because it'd make them all worry unnecessarily.

Meadowyar was the same as they had left it, though the season had settled more firmly into fall as a cool wind brushed over them. The city was bustling as they traveled through it, people traveling through the market district with arms laden with goods, families strolling through the meadows on the northside, and adventurers headed towards the guild with battle scars and triumphant expressions as they dragged along their hefty sack of materials.

The guards at the manor's gate perked up at the sight of Illnyea, who sent them a smile. It wasn't as bright as usual, Priscilla noted, but after a few days of traveling, Illnyea was probably just tired.

Mr. Ordan rushed out of the manor moments after they dismounted their horses at a speed that Priscilla had never seen from him before. The tension drained from his shoulders as he first looked over Illnyea and then Priscilla and he slowed down to a respectable pace.

But his gray eyes hardened as he looked beyond them and saw no other trailing through the gates.

"The rest of the caravan…?" Mr. Ordan trailed off as Illnyea's shoulders went tense. Mr. Ordan breathed in slowly before stepping forward to rest a hand upon Illnyea's shoulder. He waited until she looked up to say, "I am so very glad that you returned home alive, Miss Illnyea."

Illnyea blinked a few times, her eyes going shiny as she whispered, "Thank you, Mr. Ordan."

Mr. Ordan squeezed gently before locking eyes with Priscilla.

"The bozos in charge around?" Priscilla asked, tilting her head towards the manor. Illnyea let out a choked sound and Sulaiman sighed, but Priscilla saw the way Mr. Ordan's lips twitched upwards before he affected a blank expression.

"Mr. and Mrs. Thornewood left yesterday for an unexpected business trip," Mr. Ordan said. "Their associate was waylaid in the south, so they traveled to meet them."

Priscilla scoffed, rolling her eyes. Of fucking course they went off on a trip to make them more money while their daughter was in mortal danger.

"Useless bastards," Priscilla muttered before letting out a sigh. "How long until they get back?"

"I believe they should return in four days if there are no complications."

Not as long as Priscilla would like, but at least she wouldn't have to deal with them for a few days.

"Thanks for letting us know," Priscilla said, clapping the man on the shoulder. "Would you mind asking Bella to get some dinner started for us? And prep the rooms for our friends here?"

"Of course," Mr. Ordan said, bowing his head. "I will also send a missive to Arnold to inform him of your continued survival and safe return of his enchanted items."

"You're the fucking boss, Mr. Ordan."

The man chuckled, shaking his head. He nodded a goodbye to everyone before he walked back into the manor at a much more sedate pace.

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Illnyea was staring at Priscilla, glancing confusedly between Priscilla and Mr. Ordan's back.

"When did the two of you get so close?" Illnyea asked as she shifted Perry's basket on her arm. The platypus was sleeping again, dead to the world. Priscilla idly wondered if the little bastard was going to have a growth spurt soon.

"We bonded over the realization of poor life choices and the stupidity of Cian and Idalah," Priscilla said with a shrug as she hoisted her pack onto her back. "Now, let's get everything put away, eh? I'd like to eat Bella's cooking as soon as possible."

After Priscilla removed everything from her pack and took a bath as Illnyea demanded they all do before, Priscilla ran a critical eye over her closet. She had gone over it briefly when she first got to this world, but she hadn't had a chance to go over it in depth. For dinner that evening, she needed something that was flattering but not too formal because she doubted anyone else was going to put much thought into their outfits besides it being clean.

Staring at the closet while wondering what to wear, she was filled with a sense of nostalgia.

When she first started designing clothes with Mr. –– and starting learning more about fashion, she very quickly started forming Opinions ™ about what she liked to wear. With a ridiculous allowance, she was able to make any fashion dreams a reality. That meant when it came around to attending events, she often bugged Mr. –– to come help her decide what to wear because she had too many good options. He rolled his eyes and sometimes suggested the most hideous outfits, but he always showed up every time she needed him.

Finding the right outfit was like donning armor, the clothes giving her an artificial sense of confidence to get her through the evening.

"Hey, Asha," Priscilla said as she pulled aside an extravagant gown with gold and red embroidery depicting a sunrise over cold mountain tops, "should I wear this tonight?"

There was a moment of quiet incredulity before, "Master, it's just dinner, not a ball."

Priscilla fell into the rhythm of presenting Asha with ridiculous options just so the artifact could shoot them down with increasing sharpness. Maybe it was wrong trying to have Asha fill Mr. ––'s role, but she wasn't strong enough to stop.

She decided on wearing a short-sleeved calf-length dress made of a shimmering dark gray fabric with mulberry purple flowers subtly dyed down the side. She decided to wear a sensible pair of flats because boots didn't really go with this aesthetic. The outfit was completed with her pair of fingerless gloves because every other pair she had were light in color and could get stained by food and there was no way that she was leaving Asha behind.

Priscilla sat at the edge of her bed, not ready to go out and face her friends just yet because it meant she was one step closer to the conversation she didn't want to have. She tilted backwards, bouncing lightly as she hit the mattress and her wet hair spreading everywhere. The blanket and sheets smelled like they had been freshly washed. Maybe Mr. Ordan was secretly psychic and knew they were arriving today, but it was probably more likely that the bedding was cleaned on a regular schedule.

"Are you nervous, master?" Asha asked, breaking the quiet.

"I'm so fucking nervous I'm surprised I'm not a pile of sweat on the floor," Priscilla said, staring up at the gauzy canopy that had someone appeared on the four post bed since she was last here. It was a pretty shade of green, like a meadow in summer.

"How much are you going to reveal later?" Asha sounded nervous, voice cracking towards the end.

Priscilla frowned and brought up her hand to stare at the artifact as she examined their bond more closely. Asha's emotions were muted, like the artifact was trying its best to keep them contained, but it hadn't fully shut down like before. There was trepidation and anxiety with an undercurrent of fear that alarmed Priscilla.

"Do you want me to keep you a secret?" Priscilla asked quietly.

There was a brief flash of relief in their bond and then shame trickled in like creeping darkness.

"I don't want you to have to lie to them…" Asha whispered, voice trailing off as the artifact's emotions betrayed it.

"But you don't want them to know," Priscilla finished the thought, drumming her free hand's fingers along her stomach as she considered that. Asha was still grappling with its new memories and clearly still distraught over the new information. Priscilla didn't want to upset Asha when its mental state was still so fragile and she knew that Sulaiman would definitely question an artifact associated with the cult, probably not thinking twice about trying to pump Asha for information.

But Priscilla had already spent the last few days preparing herself to come clean, and she didn't want to keep another secret when she was already unsure how revealing this one would go.

"How about this," Priscilla began slowly. "I'll tell them I have an artifact with limited shape changing capabilities without mentioning your sentience or that you're a legend killer. Maybe some day we'll introduce you, but there's been enough close calls that someone's going to catch our spike-on move eventually."

Asha mulled it over and Priscilla deliberately tuned out their bond, wanting to give Asha space to think it over without feeling judged.

"I think that'd be okay," Asha finally said. "Master, I'm sorry that I–"

"Hush," Priscilla commanded, dropping her arm back onto the bed. "You don't have to apologize to me unless you're secretly plotting my demise."

"I'd never consider such a thing!" Asha said indignantly.

"Then we're all good."

A knock at the door made them both fall silent.

Priscilla sighed and rolled to her feet. Before she opened the door, she took a deep breath, tossed her drying hair over her shoulders and put on a wide smile she didn't believe in.

"I don't know about you all," Priscilla said, closing the door behind her, "but I'm ravenous."

Priscilla briefly spoke with Mr. Ordan before the dinner to ask for privacy after the dishes had been taken away. The butler had looked at her for a long moment but he didn't pry, simply nodding and saying that he would see to that and complimenting her on her outfit.

Dinner was as high quality as always and Priscilla wished she could have taken more time to enjoy it and savor the flavor, but it felt tasteless as she shoveled it down. Anxiety had made her stomach queasy and her tongue felt like a lead weight in her mouth. Sulaiman sat next to her, glancing at her every so often with an insistent question in his black eyes and Priscilla knew exactly what he was thinking.

But she wasn't going to be a coward.

There was a lump in Priscilla's throat as she pressed her hands flat against the table while clearing her throat. Kavil and Illnyea paused in the middle of their discussion about exploring the gardens with Perry later, glancing towards her.

"So there's something I need to talk with you guys about," Priscilla said, trying to go for a matter of fact tone and knowing she fell flat when Kavil frowned and Illnyea straightened.

But Priscilla couldn't falter, she had to keep stumbling forward like a boulder hurtling down the side of a mountain.

"You all know that before we started fighting with The Starving One," Priscilla continued, "that I had a conversation with her."

"Yeah, you were distracting her," Kavil said, his eyebrows furrowing a little deeper as Priscilla swallowed hard, letting the press of the wood against her fingers ground her.

"That's not the only reason," Priscilla said delicately. "I… I wanted to learn more about who she was affiliated with because… because I suspected I knew what organization that was backing her."

"What organization?" Illnyea asked. There was concern in her eyes, but her face remained open and trusting and it made Priscilla feel worse.

"It's a cult, of sorts, " Priscilla said, picking her words carefully, "that takes interest in those with talent, especially those who don't have strong ties to their surroundings, and sometimes… they make sure their recruits have no home to return to. They appeal to people's base desires and instincts to encourage total devotion to their leader, a man that is only referred to as The Apostle."

"Like The Starving One," Illnyea said slowly, realization dawning in her gold eyes.

Priscilla nodded. "I confirmed she was acting on his orders, though she didn't say exactly what they were trying to accomplish except for summoning monsters across long distances."

Kavil had been staring at the table as he took in the information, his frown growing deeper and more concerned as Priscilla spoke.

"Was…" Kavil paused, meeting Priscilla's gaze with a look on his face like he hoped he was about to be proven wrong. "Was the reason you came to my village because of this cult?"

Priscilla's nails dug into the table and she couldn't help but hesitate, trying to find the right way to say the words because just thinking about saying yes without any caveats made her throat tighten.

"I guess I never did ask why you showed up, so that might be on me," Kavil said as he leaned forward, his eyes going tight. He wasn't quite glaring, but the tilt to his head showed Priscilla Kavil wasn't happy. "Were the bandits that attacked us part of the cult?"

"Yes, technically," Priscilla said, trying to not let her breathing go out of control as she told herself that giving into the voice in the back of her mind to run away helped no one. "But I left as soon as I learned about them, I swear."

"So you did know about the attack," Kavil said.

Priscilla nodded jerkily. She had to somehow get this all back on track, back to the script with the phrases that were safe to say.

"I–"

"Did you know about the doppelganger too? Are they part of the cult too?"

Priscilla's breath caught in her chest and she flinched.

"I…" Blood tickled the back of Priscilla's throat and she knew she had to be careful because she could feel how things were so close to disaster. "I knew that the person that killed Frean was good at infiltration and probably had ulterior motives. While I suspect they're a part of the cult, I didn't really get to ask them about it."

"Then was I being targeted by the cult, if the doppelganger was part of it?" Kavil asked, his tone sharp and pointed. "Was I the reason my family was attacked and Frean was murdered?"

Kavil's voice was trembling and Priscilla flinched. Words were failing her but Kavil must have seen the truth in her gaze as he leaned back, a shadow crossing over his normally bright, copper eyes. He looked at her like he didn't know who she was anymore.

"Why didn't you tell me, Priscilla?" Kavil asked quietly, the hurt in his voice needling like broken glass. The disappointment in his gaze was profound and stole Priscilla's breath. "You had so many opportunities and you stayed silent until now."

Priscilla opened her mouth and was unable to articulate herself. It was getting harder to keep a straight face, she was blinking too fast and her chest was starting to shudder in an effort to keep from hyperventilating.

Everything was going wrong and she didn't know how to fix it.

"We both had agreed to keep it from you," Sulaiman spoke for the first time since Priscilla had started this cursed conversation. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his expression was pinched.

"So you knew about this too," Kavil said with a voice oddly free of inflection, his jaw clenching as he slowly shook his head. He stared at the table with vacant eyes. "Huh. Guess I should have known, you both showed up together after all."

Sulaiman let out a short sigh, fingers digging into his biceps. "At the time we thought it was best to protect you from the knowledge because you had just gone through a traumatic experience."

"I don't need to be protected," Kavil snapped vehemently, saying the last word like it tasted like acid in his mouth, "I'm not a child you need to coddle."

"I didn't want to hurt you," Priscilla said, her voice coming out weak.

Kavil's copper eyes had gained the sheen of tears and his lips quivered from repressed emotion. "If that was your goal, you've failed."

Priscilla recoiled from how empty Kavil's voice was, recoiled from the way her worst fears were coming true – and it was all because of her actions, not because of anything the original had done.

Kavil abruptly pushed away from the table as he let out a harsh laugh.

"You'll trust me with your life," Kavil said, his voice choked as he wiped at his eyes with his fists, "but you won't trust me with the knowledge to decide how to live my own."

Kavil whirled around, his chair clattering to the ground.

"Kavil, please–"

Kavil cut an angry, baleful glance at Priscilla before he threw open the door and stormed out.

"How did you know about the cult?" Illnyea asked quietly and Priscilla ripped her eyes away from the door.

"They…" Priscilla swallowed, trying to keep herself from crying and knowing that desperation was painted across her face. "They tried to recruit me, but, but I would have never joined them, Illnyea, you have to believe me."

Illnyea looked stricken by the news, glancing between Sulaiman and Priscilla with wide eyes.

Then, she too pushed away from the table and fled from the room.

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