Tea Time: Farewell

A moment in time wherein Sylf and Ephraim have tea, talk espionage, and Sylf tells Ephraim she must be the one to leave.

Timeframe: Rebellion

"I don't like this plan, at all." Ephraim sat back in his chair, shaking his head. "It's too risky."

"This is our chance," Sylf emphasized. "If we act quickly, we can expose Denalia and the Silver Thread. With you presenting the evidence, you can take the throne."

Ephraim breathed deeply, his lips pressed together tightly. "Yes, but at what cost?" he asked.

Sylf frowned impatiently. "High risk, high reward."

"I've never known you to take those odds. Neither has Tommy," Ephraim said pointedly. "If he were here—"

"Well he isn't, is he?" she said, her voice becoming cold and hard.

Ephraim held her gaze, his face now a mask of control and authority. "We should wait for him to return before we make a move."

"I don't think you know me as well as you think you do, Your Highness," she snarled. "I have taken high risk gambles to great benefit and detriment before."

"Such as?"

She paused. She felt the edge in her wear a little as she said, "That night I took you through the sewers, I didn't have to take you to my home. But I did."

"For Tommy's sake, if I recall." His voice was soft, but his gaze was still sturdy and all-knowing.

Sylf gripped the sides of her chair tightly. "I helped you for his sake. I brought you to my home because I—because I wanted to make sure you were safe." She looked away from him and stared at her now cold tea. "But it was a considerable risk to expose my location like that."

There was a heavy silence before Ephraim softly asked, "And the detriment?"

Just thinking about it made her furious all over again. "Raizen. And that ended with me losing the row house and everything in it on top of landing in the city jail."

"Which you escaped, thanks to Tommy," Ephraim added. Tomlyn also had help from her neighbors, Agnes and Eamon, but Ephraim didn't know that.

"My point, is that sometimes, the risky decision is the right decision. If you always play it safe, you'll never get anywhere."

"This is too risky, Sylf!" Ephraim exclaimed. "I cannot gamble your life like this! We should send a different hound. The Pointer or the Beagle. Just, someone else."

Ephraim wasn't completely wrong. It was a highly risky and difficult task. But, the mission also required someone who had her level of skills, which, of the hounds in her web, there weren't many. Tomlyn was the obvious and easy second choice, and the Pointer wasn't a bad option either.

But Sylf needed this mission. She needed out of this palace that was suffocating her. To escape her rooms where Tomlyn was everywhere and nowhere. To escape these infernal tea sessions that she used to look forward to so much…

Sylf had one more card to play. It would hurt Ephraim, but she was going to do what she always did: survive. She lowered her voice so she sounded soft and wistful, an act that was so much easier to do than it should have been, as she said,

"Is it your Web Mistress that you fear for, or is it me?"

Ephraim looked taken aback, his mouth slightly open. Then, his golden eyes cast downward and he sighed heavily, his whole body seeming to sag. He looked miserable, like a puppy in the rain.

But his anguish only made her angry. He was doing this to himself. He was the one who professed feelings of love or other such nonsense, only to turn her away because he wanted a partner to stand by his side. That was something she could never be, and he knew it, so why bother bringing it up at all? She couldn't recall another moment where he had been so caring and equally cruel.

Sylf pushed the bitterness and sting that always came with that memory out of her mind, forcing herself back into the present. "I am the best. It has to be me to do it right. To minimize the risk," she said. He didn't say anything, so she pressed her advantage. "Ephraim, this is your chance to do things your way. To win on your terms. We all know you don't want to call your banners—the success of this mission is how you do that."

He sighed again and he looked up at her warily. "I just wish that Tommy were here too. It doesn't feel right sending you out on a mission like this without his counsel."

Indignation flared in her. "I didn't realize you had so little faith in my decision making," she spat.

"No! That's not it!" Ephraim protested hurriedly. "It's just, I like listening to both of you on matters like these. I always feel…balanced. Tommy's open to riskier moves, whereas you are are usually risk averse. Between the two of you, I feel like I can find a solution in the middle."

"Sometimes, there is no middle option."

"I know, I know!" He said irritably. Ephraim sunk back into his chair, resignation coming over his features. "Fine. I approve sending you out on this mission to Last Shade." He looked exhausted and worn. Sylf didn't like seeing him that way, even if she drove him to that point.

In a collected, but gentler tone she said, "This is the right call, you'll see."

Ephraim didn't look reassured as he eyed her warily. "And you're sure it has to be you?"

"Of course," she snorted. "I'm the best. It can only be me."

At that, his lips pulled into a small smile. "I know." With a huff, his demeanor shifted, his whole body seeming to relax. Smiling at her mischievously, he asked, "Shall I blow on your dice before you go?"

Sylf frowned at him and he added, "For luck?" His cheeks colored slightly as he added, "Tommy always has me—" He stopped, realizing what he was saying. "Never mind," he said quickly.

"I have no need for luck or prayers," Sylf said, coolly. She stood, but Ephraim remained sitting.

"When Tomlyn returns in the next few days, make sure to keep him by your side. He can run things in my absence," she instructed. "And use this time to court Lady Caterina. We need everyone to believe that you two are serious about each other if we want to discredit her father and prop her up in his place."

"I know, I know." Ephraim sounded like a sulky child being scolded, and Sylf couldn't help but feel amused. The sight warmed her, just a bit.

She continued, "My hound in your palace will keep their ears to the ground during the gap in my absence and before Tomlyn returns."

Ephraim frowned up at her. "And do I finally get to know who your hound in my household is?"

Sylf smirked at him. "I'm surprised you haven't figured it out already."

He smiled a little. "I have a few suspects in mind."

"Well, then you'll just have to wait for my return to see if you were right all along." Sylf raised her arm over her chest and inclined her head towards him, the salute and as much of a bow that she would give him outside of a formal ceremony. "Ephraim, I'll take my leave now." She turned to leave when she heard him say,

"Be careful."

Sylf glanced back at Ephraim and she felt her resolve waver. He was trying to keep his composure, but he was looking as though he longed to jump out of his seat and take hold of her. Then, noticing his white-knuckled grip on the chair's arms, she realized he did. He wanted to pull her into his arms and prevent her from leaving, but he was holding himself back.

She felt an ache well in her. Why didn't he get up and take her hand? Why wouldn't he pull her into his embrace? Why did he refuse to be bold time and time again? Would being with her really be so bad?

Something cold settled in her. Of course it would. She was Ephraim's Shadow and that wasn't good enough. Just as simply being Tomlyn's Shadow, and nothing more, was enough.

"I will," she promised quietly. The urge to run, to escape, was screaming in her. "You be careful too."

He nodded and she tore her gaze from him, stalking away. She had to get out. Get back to doing what she was good at, what she thrived at.

Sylf wasn't just going to just take this mission. She was going to claim it, master it, own it, and destroy them all. When she was through, Ephraim would sit on top and it would be done.

And after that? She didn't know, not anymore.

One thing at a time. Denalia, the Silver Thread? First, they were all going to meet their undoing.

That's a wrap for the ficlets from the past! Technically this is complete, but I'll leave it open for our Night Out romp and the Christmas fic too :)