The Ballad of Adler Young, Canto 2.5

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"So," I said, irritably, "are you done? Can I get back to piecing my life together while pretending that my fate isn't being manipulated by a bunch of power-hungry, self-aggrandizing old crones who think they deserve the world on a platter just because they once had pretty faces?"

"Careful with that kind of talk," Lana murmured smugly. "Most of the Sisterhood's high council are still smoking hot. If another agent besides me heard you saying such things, well, it would be bad. That's not a threat. It's just good advice. Plus, what's wrong with beauty? Your insinuation is out of place. The Sisterhood can't be all that bad, because beauty is the standard symbol for goodness everywhere."

"A pretty face can hide an evil mind," I pointed out, quoting the Proverbs of Cellini. "But I'm not interested in debating philosophy with you. You said you would serve me. So am I to understand that you'll go out and spread tales of my deeds, help me find this Skönk femme, and be my direct line of communication with the Sisterhood? Is that right? Or will you stab me in the back like every other Unseelie ally I've had?"

"I was not planning on stabbing you in the back," Lana declared.

"If the Sisterhood ordered you to, would you?"

"Hmm," she mused. "That's a tricky one ... I think it would depend ..."

"That's what I thought," I sighed. "I need a promise from you that you will never harm me."

"You have my word," Lana smiled. "Elves don't lie, you know."

"Not good enough," I said with a scowl. "I need you to solemnly swear."

"That's not very Seelie," she smirked.

"Neither are you," I retorted. "Now swear, or you'll never leave this room. I can keep you in perpetual orgone paralysis. Is that how you want your story to end?"

"That doesn't sound so bad," Lana mused. "But no, my mission is too important. Very well, I swear before Fuma, by oak and by thorn, that I will never harm you, Adler Young. How's that?"

"It'll do. Now then, you said you knew how to handle the time skips, so your first duty is to escort me back to the clearing WITHOUT launching me into the future."

"Sorry, can't do that."

"Why not?" I demanded.

"First, I'm still paralyzed," she explained. "Second, we've moved around and a lot has changed since we came in here. This makes the calculation much more complex. And third, just no."

"You said you'd do anything I wanted!" I exclaimed.

"Yes, but I didn't say I would do EVERYTHING you wanted," Lana grinned. "Anything and everything are very different concepts. Plus you only made me swear I wouldn't hurt you. Getting rid of your pathetic lowfolk parasites certainly will not hurt you."

"CONFOUND YOU!!" I bellowed. "Fine, so I guess you want to stay paralyzed here until you starve to death then."

"I've already explained how killing me would be a bad move," she chuckled with obvious relish. "Plus you would have to stay in here and starve with me. You can't manipulate the Gate well enough to know how long you've been gone. Do you even know how much time it would take for me to recover? For all you know, I might actually be able to get up now. Can you afford to leave me in here unsupervised? I wonder if I can get into the scrying tower? I wonder how easy it would be to break its delicate scrying mechanism? Just because I can't hurt you doesn't mean I can't cause you an endless amount of trouble."

Damn it! She had outmaneuvered me again! Was there no way to escape the Sisterhood's control?

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"Fine then," I snapped. "Out we go. I hope you're happy with the mess you've made."

"I'm quite satisfied with it so far," Lana cackled as I dragged her through the Gate.

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On the ground just outside the dolmen were a couple of baskets and bags of rotten food, swarming with flies. I could barely hold back a tear as I thought of Vernier dutifully bringing them according to our agreed schedule, seeing the previous baskets sitting there untouched, wondering where I was and what had happened to me. It looked like three weeks' worth of food sitting there, but I could have been gone longer than that. Vernier might have simply given up and stopped coming after three weeks of seeing her deliveries going to waste.

"Good," Lana smirked as she pulled herself into a seated position against the side of the dolmen. "You must learn not to rely on lowfolk. You're an elf! Rely on yourself! And on us! Let the Sisterhood supply your needs. We just want to help you achieve your destiny."