"No fucking way, you can't just spit in our fruitcake like that."
"Did you take a hit to your head?"
"Sonera, you can't!"
Venrith seemed greatly unamused by the protest, jerking her face towards Yrix as if she were expecting some form of retribution for the girls' insolence. However, none came. The Arch-Flayer was assured of Sonera's offer more than anything.
"A challenge is a challenge." Yrix extended her hand towards Sonera. "You will keep it close to your heart."
"Indeed, you will." Venrith snorted.
The large Numeth drew her hand inward, motioning for Sonera to follow the giant into her shuttle. Lunae was the first to take a step forward, piquing the interest of Anya. She needed nothing but her face to convey the defiant request Yrix had grown accustomed to.
"Let her watch." Yrix shrugged, glancing at Venrith.
"So long as the trial proceeds, keep your pet at your side. It matters not." The Numeth turned away. "But I will validate the legitimacy of this project. The Emperor deserves the truth. No more fickle distractions."
Lila could feel the internal strife of the Consortium, even with her limited political savvy. Something about the way the princess was being ignored was tipping her off. She began to question whether the girl's authority was even legitimate.
"Oh...shit." Lila kicked the dirt at her feet. "Not again."
Anya clasped her hand against her chest, looking up at Yrix just before the Arch-Flayer departed.
"Hmm," Yrix crossed her arms, pausing for a moment. "Fine. But don't cry to me if they don't much care for you."
"Yay!" Anya clapped her hands. "I choose...her!"
Ivy's eyes widened. A bitter taste crawled down the back of her throat. And in that moment, she wanted to fight.
"Excuse me?!" The heiress scoffed.
The idea crossed her mind - but something blotted those thoughts with lethal intent. There was a shadow behind the princess, cloaked and invisible, yet potent in its grueling fleck. Ivy knew then that any attempt at refusing the princess would be suicidal, and not just because of Yrix.
She felt helpless, objectified, and painfully at home with her feelings. This was how she lived for years. And not even Lila could change that.
"Uh." Lila stammered, placing herself at Ivy's side.
She knew better than to make a scene. One could even say Lila was petrified. But she had to stand by her partner.
"Hmm, primitive. Your mate?" Anya cocked her head to the side.
Here we go again.
Beyond the threatening presence of what protected the girl, she carried a certain level of cunning in her step. She paced around her interests with equal amounts of curiosity and foresight, ostensibly taunting them to reveal their most fascinating aspects. It was the sort of sinister scheming Yrix had taught.
And in that regard, Ivy knew exactly what she was dealing with.
And why Yrix was so keen on this meeting in the first place.
The heiress chose her next words carefully, "My pet."
"Naturally." Anya nodded, her jewelry jingling as she swayed.
Man...
Lila lowered her gaze. She knew what Ivy was up to, yet it still stung. It was better to appeal to the idea that the princess was a peer and not an alien master. But it hurt.
"We won't be using my Aerie for this." Yrix motioned towards her other students. "Let's go our separate ways. Leave the other students."
Venrith nodded. Between her authority and that of the Arch-Flayer, there wasn't much need for Anya. Like a machine in perfect unison, the arrangement of Consortium soldiers split into three different columns, each prepared to serve the new assignment.
"I can't believe this," Lila whispered into Ivy's head. "How did we get here? After everything."
Ivy took a deep breath as Anya wrapped a pale hand around her fingers. "Just relax. We can't cause any trouble. It will put Lunae in danger. Once Sonera goes to work, she's all on her own with Yrix and that elephant."
"Shit."
The other students were swallowed up by the procession, herded back into the Aerie without another word. As for Sonera, she needed no guide for her destination, walking with silent confidence up the black shuttle ramp. Lila half expected things to go awry from there. But to her surprise, it didn't.
Yrix disappeared with Lunae in tow, and after another loud performance from the shuttle, all that was left was the rustling of the leaves in the air.
"So-," Lila raised a finger, trailing behind Ivy with a frown.
"Don't talk," Ivy snapped, biting the girl's mind. "Trust me."
They began to argue, using their bond to hide away from Anya, who seemed none the wiser.
"What are you talking about? Is this some rich girl bit I don't get?!"
"Just...trust me."
Lila crossed her arms and bit her lip. It was the first time she had felt the urge to argue with Ivy for what felt like years. And in many ways, that made her uncomfortable.
"Well, that worked out nicely." Anya stretched her arms up into the air, taking a refreshing breath of unburdened air. "Auntie Yrix is always looking out for me."
Ivy feigned her camaraderie, "You mean she got rid of that big old oaf?"
The princess giggled, "Exactly."
Lila felt like a watchful servant, piecing together all the clues she could find. The current theory was that Ivy was being scoped out as some sort of peer, both for her pale skin and for her heritage. But if royalty was all Anya could see, why wasn't Lunae on her radar?
Or Alia, for that matter. Something was off. But Ivy believed she could handle it.
"There's no heckin'-way she flew all the way over here just to make a gal pal," Lila complained.
"Ssh," Ivy barked before switching to her audible voice. "Are we bound for your ship?"
"Oh no," Anya wheezed playfully. "I've been stuck in there for far too long. I'll just deploy a picnic."
You've got to be joking.
Lila felt the sudden and desperate urge to fling herself into the phalanx of Daregen that surrounded her. The very idea of having to play tea party when she already felt so degraded was, in many ways, unacceptable. But at the very least, it was a curious affair, and she didn't have to fight.
That sort of thing was left for Sonera to deal with.
"I can't believe she just...took the bait like that. All on her own, too." Lila confided in herself. "Is she really that desperate to protect us?"
The Earthling was so buried in thought that she nearly missed the royal ship in front of her as it began to unfold at its smooth port. The transformation process nearly reminded her of the plastic and blocky toys back home, and how they'd often unfurl into new and tacky arrangements.
"Oh," Lila gasped.
Ivy seemed none too impressed, having seen such feats from her father's personal flagship. However, unlike her sterile and frankly haunted home on Callisto, Anya's picnic pavilion was much more brutalist in nature, containing obsidian ramps and angular pillars. Nearly every inch of it, much like the ship it came from, was decorated in the prideful symbols of her people.
The culture of it all was admittedly richer than what Ivy was used to. But to her credit, she was still far more familiar with the arrangement when compared to Lila, whose jaw was still dropped. The little Earthling had only just finished being impressed by the bunker under Yrix's office. And that was a dusty afterthought at best.
"Tea?" Anya looked back at Ivy, tugging the heiress along as her bare feet ascended the black ramp.
"Sure." Ivy raised her eyebrow. "Not sure what kind you have but-."
"It'll be a surprise."
Lila tried to follow the girls in, but was stopped by a firm cord around her forearm. Turning to see what had assailed her, the Earthling nearly yelped as a white Canere came into view. It was the pilot of Anya's vessel, and for an unknown reason, the creature was intervening on her behalf.
"Holy shit." Lila froze in her tracks, staring at the glistening armor that wrapped around the tall alien. "I...don't want your smoke. I promise."
She knew enough about cast systems in the Consortium's warrior culture to understand that gold probably meant the highest rank, and therefore the strongest stock.
"Pets have to stay outside, I hope you understand," Anya smiled at Ivy.
The heiress looked away from Lila in shame before the words escaped her mouth.
"Yes."
"It's cool." Lila bluffed. "I'll...just hang with Mr. tentacle over here."
She pouted like a dog in the rain, taking a seat on the grass with her back to Ivy. At the very least, her rejection gave the Earthling some time to reflect. Without aliens and nightmares. And without Ivy.
"So." Anya took a seat on a black chair whose surface was shaped like a spoon. "What's your name?"
"Ivy. Ivy Tessellation." The heiress bit her tongue.
"I'm Anya. Anya Azenath. Pleasure to meet you."