Fight Like A Girl
Chapter 11
Alliances
AN: I am sorry, again, for the long time between updates. Like I said, things have been really hectic. To answer 'Me''s question, I'm hoping to go to Japan next year, but as I said, there's a million complications. I've finally declared a Japanese major to try and avoid some of them, despite the fact my Japanese skills are extremely dubious, but 'I want to stalk Japanese rock stars' isn't good academic rationale, so.sorry, I'm rambling ~_~. Thank you to everyone for the reviews. You guys are too nice, and make me blush *grin*. As for last chapter's Macbeth quote, now that I'm at home and looking it up again, I realize that line numbers fluctuate. I suppose I already knew that, but hadn't thought about it. In my Folger Library copy, it's on 2.3:139, in my Signet Classic Edition it's 2.3:121, and in my Norton Anthology at college it was 2.3:122. It depends on editions - some delete, combine, or add lines for various reasons. Still, good job 'Me' for catching it. Now that I think about it, it's probably a little bit strange to have three copies of Macbeth lying around, isn't it? ~_~
~~~
When I regained consciousness, I didn't open my eyes right away. I stayed in the warm darkness behind my eyelids and listened to the girls around me. People tend to be more truthful about you when they think you aren't listening.
"Lady Delia's really very delicate, isn't she?" asked one girl.
"She was really good friends Ophelia. She must be so very distraught," commented another.
"She's pretty even when she's fainted!" came another admiring voice.
I fought the urge to smile. I allowed my eyelids to flutter and then open, made my voice weak, and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry for worrying everyone."
"Oh, no worry at all, Lady Delia!" insisted the girls who were arrayed about me, looking with anxious eyes. Only Cybil sat slightly apart, sewing in her hands, the sympathy in her eyes tinged with calculation.
I smiled weakly. "Thank you all, you're such good friends," I murmured.
"Come now, she must be fatigued. Leave, everyone, hurry now," ordered Cybil, standing up and ushering the other girls out. When they left Cybil closed the door, waited a few moments for them to leave the hallway, and turned towards me, her kind façade fading into a knowing smile.
"Clever trick, that faint. I wish I'd thought of it," she said.
My heart sped up as I lay there, and something that tasted of panic tinged my tongue. "I'm sorry.what are we talking about?" I asked, doing my best to seem weak and confused.
She smiled again. "Come now, Delia, there's no need to play that game with me. I know you made yourself faint. I don't believe for a moment your nerves are as weak as all that. I know you led us to that rock on purpose the other day."
"What are you talking about?" I asked, my shock and horror real.
Cybil pulled up a stool and sat as close as a conspirator. "I heard when she told you when she met that lover of hers. I know what your game is."
"I'm sure I don't know what-"
"Yes, the denial game is the safe way to go. You mustn't be tricked into confessing anything. You needn't admit it if you don't want to. Just know this - next time you're extracting secrets, make sure there are no eavesdroppers."
Unsure of what to say, I didn't say anything. Cybil smiled again, a traitor's smile, a murderess's smile, I thought to myself. I immediately quashed such melodramatic notions.
"I'm quite impressed with you, Delia of Eldorne. You've come quite a long way from the uncouth hoyden you were when you first came here. At first I thought that you were another brainless beauty, but then I saw you were clever enough to control a conversation. You had me fooled though. I thought you were senselessly attached to that idiot Ophelia. Now I see that I judged you wrong once again. You are quite capable. I hadn't even time to think of a scheme before you had her caught like a rat. All that was left for me was to cut off the loose ends," she said, snapping a pale yellow thread in her embroidery.
"What do you mean?" I asked. As my mind raced, catching the sinister inflection in her voice, I no longer had to feign a sickness in my stomach.
"Why, we couldn't have her around telling stories, could we? I have no doubt you could talk your way out of it if she said she'd told you of her trysting spot, but it works out better for the both of us if she just.disappeared," Cybil replied with a smile. Her teeth seemed too sharp for a human. For a moment I got the overwhelming sensation I was in a room with a beast, and if I let down my guard for a moment she would tear me to pieces. It was getting harder and harder to maintain my calm façade.
"Disappeared?" I repeated hollowly.
"Of course. Enough of her talk would quite undermine your position, my dear, and I couldn't have that. I have great plans for you, Delia of Eldoren," she promised.
"You mean you killed-"
"Of course not!" she exclaimed, truly offended. "I am a noblewoman. It is uncouth to have blood on your hands. I merely explained to her the options that she had left. Surely you are familiar with the story of Aislynn the Virtuous?"
I nodded slowly, remembering that tale of a girl, Aislynn, who was cruelly raped. Rather than continue to bring dishonor upon her family, she had killed herself. She was remembered as a paragon of virtue.
"Well, they do say 'death before dishonor'. Ophelia knew what she had to do. She's a fool and a coward in some things, but quite brave in others."
My mind reeled. I did not feel actually faint - Cybil was right, my nerves were far too strong for that - but I did lose my head enough to blurt out, "You are a murderess!"
Cybil's eyes narrowed, and I wanted to whimper, but forced myself to sit up and stare back at her.
"No more than you are, my dear, no more than you are. I merely told her a story. Before you throw around foolish accusations remember that I did no more than you, and without your betrayal, I could never have convinced her as I did. My treachery offered her solace - yours was just cruel. Never act as though you are a pure paragon with me, Delia my girl, I know better than that. You are as rotten on the inside as the rest of us. I'm offering you an alliance. You should know better than to point fingers in such a situation."
I took a deep breath. The dream came back to me once more, the memory of holding Ophelia under the water, and I saw the truth of Cybil's words. I was as much to blame as she was. Men like to say that women are overemotional. I myself have always used that assumption to my benefit, but I have never actually been prone to weak sentimentality. Even as I realized my guilt, relived my dream, my mind raced. And so the next words that came out of my mouth were, "What alliance?"
Cybil smiled once more. It still unnerved me, but I refused to let it cow me. "I knew I hadn't misjudged you again, Delia. The truth is that I have a lot I could teach you. My sisters are preparing a place at Court for me quite soon, within the next year, and I could take you with me. I was planning on taking Ophelia, but I can see that you are far better suited. Think of it, Delia - the Court, the most important place at Tortall, laid out for us to conquer."
"That would be early, by at least a year. No one debuts as young as that," I scoffed.
"No normal girl debuts so young, that's true. But my sisters have become great friends of Queen Lianne, and believe that they could get a royal invitation for myself and one other. What do you say to that?"
I was silent a moment as dreams of conquest and power filled my head. I had very little left to do before I was ruler of the Cloisters, and once that was done, I could see myself becoming bored very easily. Power in the Cloisters was useless in the long run. What would anyone of importance care if I was the most important girl in the Mithran Cloisters? No, the Court was the only place that I could gain true power, power that would mean something. There I could meet the King and Queen, the Prince, the important noblemen and women. Why waste time playing for small stakes with children when I could enter the real game at the Court?
And the faster I made my debut, the closer I was to seeing David again.
"And what would you want in return?" I asked.
"Your support, of course. I have seen enough to learn that you are no one to be trifled with, Delia of Eldorne. You will be a woman of power in her own right at Court - is it so unbelievable that I would want your support?"
"You would trust me? After what I did to Ophelia?" I asked, on the verge of laughing.
Cybil did laugh, and responded, "Oh, I don't trust you one little bit, Delia. I have my guarantees on your good behavior. To start with, I know about your little plot towards Ophelia. I could make your life quite uncomfortable with that, couldn't I?"
"So this is blackmail?" I asked her, raising my eyebrows.
"Of course not. Blackmail is so.common. We're noblewomen! This is.an alliance with protection. So what do you say? Will you come to Court with me?" she asked.
Well, there was really only one choice. I smiled, matching her needle- tooth for needle-tooth, and said, "Yes, I will come to Court with you."
Cybil clapped her hands like a delighted little girl. "Lovely! I knew you were a smart girl." She stood up, gathered her embroidery into her arms, and headed towards the door, saying, "You should rest a bit longer, to keep up the ruse. I'll see you in the morning."
With that she was gone, and I lay back in the bed. I had found a match for my wits at the Cloisters, and made a useful alliance. Still, something about Cybil frightened me.she had been friendly with Ophelia for far longer than I, yet could speak so flippantly about her part in Ophelia's death. I doubted Cybil was plagued by dreams. She was what David had been afraid I'd become, had been so relieved I had not become.
David. I smiled. He'd be so thrilled to hear I might come to Court so soon! I pushed the ominous thoughts of Cybil out of my head, reached for quill and parchment, and began a letter right then. I'm coming soon, David, I wrote, so just wait a little bit longer. Then we'll be together. Then we'll show them all.
Chapter 11
Alliances
AN: I am sorry, again, for the long time between updates. Like I said, things have been really hectic. To answer 'Me''s question, I'm hoping to go to Japan next year, but as I said, there's a million complications. I've finally declared a Japanese major to try and avoid some of them, despite the fact my Japanese skills are extremely dubious, but 'I want to stalk Japanese rock stars' isn't good academic rationale, so.sorry, I'm rambling ~_~. Thank you to everyone for the reviews. You guys are too nice, and make me blush *grin*. As for last chapter's Macbeth quote, now that I'm at home and looking it up again, I realize that line numbers fluctuate. I suppose I already knew that, but hadn't thought about it. In my Folger Library copy, it's on 2.3:139, in my Signet Classic Edition it's 2.3:121, and in my Norton Anthology at college it was 2.3:122. It depends on editions - some delete, combine, or add lines for various reasons. Still, good job 'Me' for catching it. Now that I think about it, it's probably a little bit strange to have three copies of Macbeth lying around, isn't it? ~_~
~~~
When I regained consciousness, I didn't open my eyes right away. I stayed in the warm darkness behind my eyelids and listened to the girls around me. People tend to be more truthful about you when they think you aren't listening.
"Lady Delia's really very delicate, isn't she?" asked one girl.
"She was really good friends Ophelia. She must be so very distraught," commented another.
"She's pretty even when she's fainted!" came another admiring voice.
I fought the urge to smile. I allowed my eyelids to flutter and then open, made my voice weak, and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry for worrying everyone."
"Oh, no worry at all, Lady Delia!" insisted the girls who were arrayed about me, looking with anxious eyes. Only Cybil sat slightly apart, sewing in her hands, the sympathy in her eyes tinged with calculation.
I smiled weakly. "Thank you all, you're such good friends," I murmured.
"Come now, she must be fatigued. Leave, everyone, hurry now," ordered Cybil, standing up and ushering the other girls out. When they left Cybil closed the door, waited a few moments for them to leave the hallway, and turned towards me, her kind façade fading into a knowing smile.
"Clever trick, that faint. I wish I'd thought of it," she said.
My heart sped up as I lay there, and something that tasted of panic tinged my tongue. "I'm sorry.what are we talking about?" I asked, doing my best to seem weak and confused.
She smiled again. "Come now, Delia, there's no need to play that game with me. I know you made yourself faint. I don't believe for a moment your nerves are as weak as all that. I know you led us to that rock on purpose the other day."
"What are you talking about?" I asked, my shock and horror real.
Cybil pulled up a stool and sat as close as a conspirator. "I heard when she told you when she met that lover of hers. I know what your game is."
"I'm sure I don't know what-"
"Yes, the denial game is the safe way to go. You mustn't be tricked into confessing anything. You needn't admit it if you don't want to. Just know this - next time you're extracting secrets, make sure there are no eavesdroppers."
Unsure of what to say, I didn't say anything. Cybil smiled again, a traitor's smile, a murderess's smile, I thought to myself. I immediately quashed such melodramatic notions.
"I'm quite impressed with you, Delia of Eldorne. You've come quite a long way from the uncouth hoyden you were when you first came here. At first I thought that you were another brainless beauty, but then I saw you were clever enough to control a conversation. You had me fooled though. I thought you were senselessly attached to that idiot Ophelia. Now I see that I judged you wrong once again. You are quite capable. I hadn't even time to think of a scheme before you had her caught like a rat. All that was left for me was to cut off the loose ends," she said, snapping a pale yellow thread in her embroidery.
"What do you mean?" I asked. As my mind raced, catching the sinister inflection in her voice, I no longer had to feign a sickness in my stomach.
"Why, we couldn't have her around telling stories, could we? I have no doubt you could talk your way out of it if she said she'd told you of her trysting spot, but it works out better for the both of us if she just.disappeared," Cybil replied with a smile. Her teeth seemed too sharp for a human. For a moment I got the overwhelming sensation I was in a room with a beast, and if I let down my guard for a moment she would tear me to pieces. It was getting harder and harder to maintain my calm façade.
"Disappeared?" I repeated hollowly.
"Of course. Enough of her talk would quite undermine your position, my dear, and I couldn't have that. I have great plans for you, Delia of Eldoren," she promised.
"You mean you killed-"
"Of course not!" she exclaimed, truly offended. "I am a noblewoman. It is uncouth to have blood on your hands. I merely explained to her the options that she had left. Surely you are familiar with the story of Aislynn the Virtuous?"
I nodded slowly, remembering that tale of a girl, Aislynn, who was cruelly raped. Rather than continue to bring dishonor upon her family, she had killed herself. She was remembered as a paragon of virtue.
"Well, they do say 'death before dishonor'. Ophelia knew what she had to do. She's a fool and a coward in some things, but quite brave in others."
My mind reeled. I did not feel actually faint - Cybil was right, my nerves were far too strong for that - but I did lose my head enough to blurt out, "You are a murderess!"
Cybil's eyes narrowed, and I wanted to whimper, but forced myself to sit up and stare back at her.
"No more than you are, my dear, no more than you are. I merely told her a story. Before you throw around foolish accusations remember that I did no more than you, and without your betrayal, I could never have convinced her as I did. My treachery offered her solace - yours was just cruel. Never act as though you are a pure paragon with me, Delia my girl, I know better than that. You are as rotten on the inside as the rest of us. I'm offering you an alliance. You should know better than to point fingers in such a situation."
I took a deep breath. The dream came back to me once more, the memory of holding Ophelia under the water, and I saw the truth of Cybil's words. I was as much to blame as she was. Men like to say that women are overemotional. I myself have always used that assumption to my benefit, but I have never actually been prone to weak sentimentality. Even as I realized my guilt, relived my dream, my mind raced. And so the next words that came out of my mouth were, "What alliance?"
Cybil smiled once more. It still unnerved me, but I refused to let it cow me. "I knew I hadn't misjudged you again, Delia. The truth is that I have a lot I could teach you. My sisters are preparing a place at Court for me quite soon, within the next year, and I could take you with me. I was planning on taking Ophelia, but I can see that you are far better suited. Think of it, Delia - the Court, the most important place at Tortall, laid out for us to conquer."
"That would be early, by at least a year. No one debuts as young as that," I scoffed.
"No normal girl debuts so young, that's true. But my sisters have become great friends of Queen Lianne, and believe that they could get a royal invitation for myself and one other. What do you say to that?"
I was silent a moment as dreams of conquest and power filled my head. I had very little left to do before I was ruler of the Cloisters, and once that was done, I could see myself becoming bored very easily. Power in the Cloisters was useless in the long run. What would anyone of importance care if I was the most important girl in the Mithran Cloisters? No, the Court was the only place that I could gain true power, power that would mean something. There I could meet the King and Queen, the Prince, the important noblemen and women. Why waste time playing for small stakes with children when I could enter the real game at the Court?
And the faster I made my debut, the closer I was to seeing David again.
"And what would you want in return?" I asked.
"Your support, of course. I have seen enough to learn that you are no one to be trifled with, Delia of Eldorne. You will be a woman of power in her own right at Court - is it so unbelievable that I would want your support?"
"You would trust me? After what I did to Ophelia?" I asked, on the verge of laughing.
Cybil did laugh, and responded, "Oh, I don't trust you one little bit, Delia. I have my guarantees on your good behavior. To start with, I know about your little plot towards Ophelia. I could make your life quite uncomfortable with that, couldn't I?"
"So this is blackmail?" I asked her, raising my eyebrows.
"Of course not. Blackmail is so.common. We're noblewomen! This is.an alliance with protection. So what do you say? Will you come to Court with me?" she asked.
Well, there was really only one choice. I smiled, matching her needle- tooth for needle-tooth, and said, "Yes, I will come to Court with you."
Cybil clapped her hands like a delighted little girl. "Lovely! I knew you were a smart girl." She stood up, gathered her embroidery into her arms, and headed towards the door, saying, "You should rest a bit longer, to keep up the ruse. I'll see you in the morning."
With that she was gone, and I lay back in the bed. I had found a match for my wits at the Cloisters, and made a useful alliance. Still, something about Cybil frightened me.she had been friendly with Ophelia for far longer than I, yet could speak so flippantly about her part in Ophelia's death. I doubted Cybil was plagued by dreams. She was what David had been afraid I'd become, had been so relieved I had not become.
David. I smiled. He'd be so thrilled to hear I might come to Court so soon! I pushed the ominous thoughts of Cybil out of my head, reached for quill and parchment, and began a letter right then. I'm coming soon, David, I wrote, so just wait a little bit longer. Then we'll be together. Then we'll show them all.