The Ballad of Adler Young, Canto 2.5

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>Adler: You are very pleased to see Burnside working with the ixies to clean the forest up of all that black cloth debris. Surely this is a step in the right direction. You're absolutely sure you'll have Burnside as a well-adjusted, non-homicidal member of society in no time! Ah, but you can work more on that later.

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I beamed with inner pride as I watched Burnside and the Ixies cleaning up the area inside the stone circle. It was quite pleasing to see her co-operating with others to do something useful. Perhaps with enough guidance in this direction, she could eventually become a sane, cheerful, non-murderous member of society. Perhaps she could even become Seelie!

It wouldn't do, though, to get too far ahead of myself. There would be plenty of time for meddling later. Crowding her or making too much of a fuss could ruin the moment, so for now I decided to leave Burnside to her self-appointed task while I checked on Vernier.

Your precious damsel needs your attention. Ask how she is feeling.
>Vernier: You've calmed down enough to be self conscious and embarrassed.

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"How are you feeling?" I asked, deftly cutting myself off before saying "my sweet."

"I am truly sorry, sir, for that unprofessional outburst," Vernier sighed glumly.

"Tut tut!" I tutted. "It is I who should apologize. I have been utterly thoughtless in the way I piled responsibilities on you, willy-nilly! I took your help for granted. Running a business, managing a cult, delivering my food, keeping track of my enemies, fighting an information war, and dealing with two hostile organizations is a lot for one lowfolk person to deal with."

"Oh sir, you needn't apologize," Vernier protested. "I volunteered for this. I also deliberately fostered the impression that I could handle any assignment you gave me ... Is this reclining couch really necessary?"

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"Yes yes, of course," I insisted. "You need to lie back and relax and be totally honest with your feelings."

"Where did this thing come from?" she asked, as she inspected the couch. "Did you conjure it from nothing?"

"Not this time. This actually came from the Royal Palace. Some of the finest Floozies in Faerie have had attacks of the Vapors on this couch, so it is proven as a great piece of furniture to bask and unwind on."

"Floozy?" Vernier repeated indignantly. "Is that how you think of me?"

"Certainly not," I retorted. "You have potential, but Floozies undergo rigorous training and must be certified by the Academy. But that's beside the point. We were talking about your troubles, and I admit it was foolish of me to put all my resources in one place. This placed undue strain on you, and was destined to fail no matter how much honest effort was put into it. The new plan we came up with is a much better one. You shall spread stories of my deeds and rumors of fabulous rewards for those who serve me and do good works in my name. This way we can create a vague, decentralized following that cannot be quelled with a single well-aimed blow."

"That is precisely why I should apologize to you, not the other way around," Vernier interrupted. "It should have occurred to me that-"

"Stop right there," I commanded. "I am in charge of this operation, therefore all blame rests squarely on me. The well-being of my followers and the stability of our organization is ultimately my responsibility. I appointed you to a position roughly akin to a high-priestess/administrator which makes you, in effect, just a high-ranking underling. I personally authorized the hair cult, and the goals toward which they worked were of my own muddle-headed design. I put them in a volatile situation and then left them without guidance when the crisis came."

"Yes, but-" she started to say.

"After listening to your life story," I persisted, "I am heartbroken to learn that you are convinced this is yet another failure that you are responsible for. Stop for a moment and consider this: Might it be possible that by obsessing over your failures, you are unable to see anything else? I speak from experience here. I have done the same thing in my darkest moments. Are you focusing so hard on your failures that you have forgotten all the times you actually succeeded in helping someone?"