There was a long, rather painful silence hanging in the air as Leola watched the two lovers gaze upon one another. Slowly, Aventus rose to his feet and Minette took a small step backwards.

"Aventus," she whispered, staring at him. "I - I didn't know you'd be here."

"You know all the work I've been doing with the Princess," Aventus murmured, staring at her dumbfoundedly. "Why wouldn't you expect this? What are you doing here?"

"I…" Minette stammered, looking quickly away. "This is my life, Aventus…"

"I thought that inn was your life," said Aventus, taking a hesitant step towards her. "You - this? This is what you do when you're not working?"

"And when I am…" Minette whispered, hanging her head.

"I can't believe it," Aventus said. He was facing away from Leola, his attention turned towards Minette in the doorway, but Leola could imagine the look on his face right now.

"I'm sorry, I - I should have told you?" Minette said, but it was more than clear to Leola that she was simply trying to figure out the right thing to say to keep him from becoming more upset.

"No, telling me wouldn't have made a difference," he said, his voice suddenly becoming cold. "By Talos, Minette, I loved you - I kissed you! I shared my bed with you and all the while, you were sneaking off to - to eat human flesh for the fun of it?"

"Aventus, let me-"

"No, Minette, stop," he snapped, beginning to move forward. "We're done."

He all but shoved past the blonde as he left, and everyone was staring. Minette's face was streaked with tears, and she stared after him for a moment.

"Minette?" asked Eola in a soft voice.

Minette turned to face the table, and in an instant, her gaze fell upon Leola. Her devastated, heartbroken expression shifted into one of pure rage, and she pointed a finger at the princess.

"This is all your fault," she hissed, turning on her heel and storming out of the cave. Erith's hand came to grasp Leola's and she gave a quick squeeze.

"It's not your fault, Leola," Erith said softly.

"I - I know," said Leola. "Will Aventus be okay?"

"He'll be fine," said Erith. She turned to face Eola. "I'm sorry that happened. We didn't know, we had absolutely no idea."

"It's fine," Eola said, simply smiling. "How could you have known? Perhaps now the girl will learn where her loyalties should lie."

The brown-haired Breton woman at the door finally spoke up, as if reminding everyone that she was still there. "What exactly did I just witness?" she asked, frowning. "Human flesh?"

"Now, now, there's nothing to be concerned about," said Eola with a wave of her hand. There was almost a singsong quality to her voice when she spoke, and Leola could see the effect that it had on the Breton. "Why don't you come over here and lie down? It's been a long walk, you must be exhausted."

"I - yes," said the Breton, beginning to walk in Eola's direction. The elderly woman rose to her feet and moved towards the altar near the head of the table. "Yes, such a long walk…"

"Of course it has been," Eola said. "You do look so tired. Here, you can lie down and rest your eyes until it's time for supper."

"Yes, yes of course," the woman said. She moved to lie down on the altar, and in an instant, she was asleep. A smirk was on Eola's lips.

"Princess Leola? As our guest, why don't you come and do the honours?" she asked.

"Oh, I - I couldn't," Leola said quickly, her eyes going wide. "I'm just here to talk, not to…participate?"

Eola laughed, shaking her head. "I am only joking with you… I couldn't force you to join us against your will, for how could you ever learn to enjoy it if I did? No, if you ever decided to join us, it would be your decision only."

"I…oh," Leola breathed, nodding. "Right. Okay."

She turned away as Eola lifted her dagger, cringing as she heard the distinct sound of the blade puncturing the woman's body. She felt Erith again give her hand a reassuring squeeze, but she couldn't help questioning what she'd just heard. Who was this woman, this stranger who'd just been sacrificed so the cult of Namira would have a meal?

"Lady Namira," murmured Eola from the front of the room, bowing her head. The rest of her words became an incoherent mumble, as though she whispered to Namira in a private conversation between the two of them. Leola looked towards Erith curiously, but the other woman had nothing to say, as uncertain about this as Leola was.

"I hope Aventus is alright," Leola said to Erith in a soft whisper.

"I told you, he will be," Erith replied in as low a voice. "Aventus is strong. He'll pull through. He'll be waiting for us back at the palace and everything will be fine."

Leola sighed softly. She could only hope that Erith was right. Erith had known Aventus much longer than she had, so it made sense for Erith to be so certain.

"Leola," said Eola, looking towards her.

"Yes?" asked Leola, perking up slightly.

"Namira will give you her piece of your mother's soul," Eola answered with a smile. "You might want to step outside while we fetch it for you, though - she's placed it inside of our victim, sort of a competition for us to see who will be the lucky one that finds it for you."

"That's sick," Leola murmured without thinking, her eyes widening immediately as she realized what she had said. "I'm sorry," she said quickly.

"No, no, I understand," Eola said. "I don't blame you for how you perceive us. I only ask you to maintain your half of our bargain."

"You have my word," said Leola.

"Excellent," answered the grey-haired woman before her. "Then do step outside, give us some time - I'll come out with it once we've retrieved it for you, and you can add it to your collection."

"Of course," Leola replied, rising to her feet. Erith stood with her and took her by the hand, and together, they quietly left the cave. Though neither of them said it, it was more than clear that both of them were pleased to be out of there.

"I'm half surprised Aventus isn't out here waiting for us," Erith said, turning and wrapping her arms around Leola's narrow waist.

"You said he'd be at the palace, that's where he'll be," Leola said, sliding her own arms around her lover.

"I know, I know," Erith said, pressing her forehead against Leola's. "I can't imagine what he's going through right now."

"I know," Leola murmured in agreement. "That's just horrible."

"Minette's a bitch anyways," Erith said, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, I'm not surprised she eats people. It seems like the kind of thing she'd do."

Leola giggled softly. Before she could reply, though, she heard a sound behind them. As she turned, she saw that it was just Eola clearing her throat to get their attention.

"That was easy," Eola said, holding up the tiny purple shard. "It was in the stomach. Shocking."

"I, er - is it cleaned?" Leola asked, and the older woman laughed.

"Yes, I wiped my hands and then cleaned it off," Eola said, holding it out to her. "It's safe for you to touch."

Leola drew nearer, carefully taking the shard between two fingers and examining it. "Thank you, Eola," she said softly, looking at the older woman. "This means a lot."

"Your promise means a lot to us," Eola answered, smiling. "Stay safe, princess. Have a good night."

"And you," Leola agreed with a nod before Eola turned and disappeared into the cave to enjoy the rest of her dinner party.