The noise of the voices of passers-by, merchants and various vehicles making up the bustle of Rose Street was muffled by the distance and the thick wood of the front door. Aster had just finished putting on her boots and her dark blue waxed linen coat and was waiting with her staff at Anna's side for Hermione to finish tying her shoes. Today was a big day, important enough for her to feel so excited that she could hardly stand still.
For the first time since her return, she was going to accompany Anna into the world outside the calm and protective cocoon of their little country house, which Anna had needed to regain her links with the world of the living. First of all, she was going to introduce her to Nepeta and Samarilis, whom she had warned a few days ago that her next visit would be accompanied by a surprise. She had confirmed that this was a good idea when Anna burst out laughing when she told her about her plans. Then they were going to the Rasseau Moustache hospital to visit Sirius and introduce him to Hermione and Anna. She was a little anxious about this. How was Anna going to take the existence of this dodfather? And Hermione? How was she going to take the fact that the big dog who had spent a few days in their house was in fact a presumed dead prisoner?
"Shall we go?" Hermione asked as she adjusted her jacket.
Aster nodded. "Mum, I know we were more or less servant girls incarcerated at Nepeta's, but she helped us a lot and the sentence we faced on entering the country was kept to a minimum under the circumstances. And many of Ulthar's matagots voluntarily joined the Azkaban assault force." She said with a hint of concern.
It was true that their beginnings in Ulthar had not been the smoothest, but their relations with the matagots had steadily improved over the years. Knowing Anna's vindictive nature, she feared that she would hold her matagon allies to account for the events of four years ago.
"I promise I won't bite." Anna replied with a slight smile, her lips thin and her eyes piercing. An expression that did nothing to reassure her. Suspecting that she would get no more confirmation of her mother's good behaviour with their allies, she opened the door and skipped down the few steps to land on the cobblestones of the alley.
Their house in Ulthar, number five rue des Ronces, was a slender dwelling with stone and brick walls structured by vertical and diagonal wooden panelling, the first floor projecting a good metre over the pavement like most of the other houses in the alley, giving it the air of a covered alleyway. It would have been a problem in terms of light and humidity if there wasn't a constant breeze running the length of it, and the other side of their house gave onto a wide courtyard of shared gardens lit up by the sun almost every hour of the day. The alleyway was quiet, the few passers-by being either those seeking peace and quiet or more or less direct neighbours.
The hubbub came from the wide Avenue des Roses, perpendicular to their rue des Ronces. This was one of the citadel's main avenues, its long body of smooth cobblestones stretching from the mighty bastions of the eastern gateway towards the high spires of the palaces of commerce, justice and the seigneurial assembly. This street, which passed through two market squares and important places of civil life, was almost always overflowing with life and activity. Various stalls had set up shop here to take advantage of the constant flow of potential buyers, and their very presence created even more excitement by attracting people who had come specifically to do their shopping in this noisy thoroughfare.
As their little group left the alleyway, taking the Avenue des Roses towards the main square to reach the Rue Germandrée, where they would meet up with one of the entrances to the Cateris manor house, Aster couldn't help but notice the wide variety of passers-by. Most of them were matagots, a group of guards dressed in baggy trousers with red and white stripes, elegant silver breastplates and long halberds with blades as varied as they were vicious, carrying sabres and scimitars at their waists, walking slowly and steadily down the avenue. Their ears perked up, their eyes on the lookout. A bourgeois-looking family with black fur except for their white paws and throat was entering a bookshop. While an idle young matagot leaned against a wall, licking his paw before tucking it behind his ear and doing it again with a certain air of delight. Many others were running, walking and going about their daily business.
The rest of the passers-by were a diversity of species and beings that Aster could only commend. The majority of the members of the Asphodel were human, or at least special types of human such as vampires, werewolves or lycans. Although the number of truly non-human species was increasing, they were still nowhere near as numerous as in Ulthar. In fact, inviting for more non-human was one of her stated aims when she chose to invite the little Selkie to join the Order's assembly.
Here, in this street, she could see several veela chatting in front of the window of a potion ingredient shop, their large, brightly coloured wings catching her eye. A pair of Fahri Yùjùl had set up shop by the side of the street on a thick carpet embroidered in red and purple, selling heady-smelling spices from faraway worlds. A lapinaur hopped down the street. It was the first time she had seen one of these people with the bust of a human and the body of a rabbit. She was barely a metre tall, her long curly hair falling out from under her postman's cap, her emerald green uniform elegantly worn over her body covered in thick brown fur, standing on her two hind legs as she slid the mail into the letterboxes from the saddlebags strapped to her rabbit back. A vaguely humanoid being with the head and legs of a pink praying mantis, most of his body covered in a large blue cape with green motifs, was buying an ice cream, which, as soon as he had paid, disappeared between his mandibles in less time than it takes to say it. A shiver ran through the greedy creature... surely a case of brain chill.
And these were just a few examples among many, not to mention the various mages she could see, many of whom had only retained very few traits of their original species, so much had their appearance been altered by their experiments, or pacts, in the case of the few other black mages she saw. How restricted was the use of magic in countries under ICW rules that she had never come across such overt physical modifications?
"The citadel hasn't changed much since I was last here," said Anna, looking around.
"Have you been here before?" inquired Hermione curiously.
"A few decades ago, at the time of Grindelwald. Ulthar's borders were under threat then and the military presence was much more noticeable, but the spirit of the city was the same then."
"It still seems very militarised to me, though." Hermione remarked, glancing at a second patrol of guards.
"Since what happened to the Alpine matagon kingdoms, Ulthar has never really let its guard down," Anna explained, indicating to Aster and Hermione that they should look towards the top of a rampart overlooking the avenue, where a matagot riding a wyvern with silver-grey scales sat, stoically watching the city.
Aster raised an eyebrow; she had never heard of a matagot kingdom in the Alps. "What are you referring to, Mum?"
"To cut a long story short, the Alpine kingdoms were much larger than Ulthar, and owed their wealth largely to their slave-class society. They exploited all sorts of pixies, humans and minor fairies. It's more complicated than that, but their situation has made them soft and indolent, so much so that when there was a rebellion, they were defeated and cursed. Their current representatives can no longer take their normal form and are forced to take on the appearance of large black cats who carry blessings and curses wherever they go. The factions that were once very hostile towards the matagots are now much less so, but they have never ceased to have enemies and their society has remained bellicose. Today, the threat comes from the kobold tribes and the ICW who continue to put pressure on the hidden nations."
"I suppose it's more prudent of them after the Status of Secrecy War," Hermione surmised.
"Despite all the time we've spent here, I hadn't heard of the Kobolds," Aster remarked with a frown.
"That's not very surprising, they're not a threat to the citadel, but a real nuisance in the countryside and for the miners," explained Anna.
After half an hour's walk, the trio arrived at the high wrought iron gates of the large courtyard housing the Cateris manor house. Less than a minute after their arrival, a large grey matagot with black stripes and green eyes dressed in an elegant tailcoat approached the gate. The gate opened of its own accord in response to a small movement of his white-gloved hand. He stopped a few steps away from her and bowed respectfully. "Lady Karrasinqi, Lady Snow, you are most welcome. Let me guide you, Lord Amarillis, Madame Nepeta, and Nailla are waiting for you." He said, casting curious and questioning glances in Anna's direction.
Nailla would be there! Aster was so happy, she had missed the Forest Nymph so much in the months she hadn't seen her. From the look she exchanged with Hermione, she was as happy as she was.
They set off after the butler, letting themselves be guided into the great hall of the manor where they were relieved of their capes and cloaks before following corridors and detours until the butler stopped in front of a tall door. "Lady Karrasinqi, Lady Snow and companion" he declared in a loud, clear voice before bowing respectfully once more.
Feeling particularly jolly, Aster motioned for Anna to move back a little into the corridor before standing facing the door with Hermione while forcing herself to cease smiling. The faces of Nepeta, Amarillis and Nailla would no doubt be most exquisite when she introduced them to a well-known vampire who had supposedly been dead for four years.
Aster entered the room excitedly; it was the Autumn Room, a place she already knew since she had had to clean it when she was still a servant of the Cateris. The room was round, the walls covered with tapestries depicting hunting and gathering scenes in autumn forest landscapes, with matagots as characters, sometimes armed with bows and slings, hiding from game, sometimes carrying baskets filled with mushrooms, beechnuts and chestnuts. In the centre was a light-coloured wooden table with a set of silver crockery, tea and biscuits already served. Several comfortable seats were set around the table, three of them occupied by their guests.
Nepeta and Samarillis had simply turned to her and Hermione as they arrived, but Nailla had stood up and before she could react, had taken her in her arms, hugging her tightly, going on and on about how much she had missed her and how worried she had been when she had heard about the Azkaban affair. Aster returned the hug, relaxing in the wood nymph's arms, her scent of herbs and meadow flowers a soothing balm. When Nailla released her to give Hermione the same treatment, she walked over to Nepeta and Samarillis.
"Welcome Aster, to what do we owe this urgent request for a meeting. For the past few weeks, it's been impossible to contact you, what's happened?" asked Samarillis.
Nepeta put down the cup she was holding, the amber liquid smelling strongly of catnip, to give him a reproving look. "It would have been nice to have an answer, the Asphodel representatives simply told me that they didn't know where you and Hermione had gone..."
"I'm sorry about that, there was some extremely important business we had to attend to, and we're here to announce the success of that venture."
"You intrigue me, I thought you were simply taking a rest after the crisis in Azkaban..." Samarilis said.
"I won't keep you waiting any longer." Said Aster, a growing smile forming on her lips. She approached the door, poked her head into the corridor and beckoned Anna to come in. The latter stepped forward, looking amused.
As Anna crossed the threshold, there was a sort of blast effect, time seeming to stand still in the room. Samarillis and Nepeta froze like statues, their mouths half-open, the only sound being the cup that had just fallen from Samarillis's hands, spilling its contents onto the table and rolling back and forth with a slight crunch. Only Nailla seemed unaffected, her gaze going from the two matagots to the newcomer, trying to understand their reaction.
Nepeta blinked slowly, before tugging at her whiskers, as if to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Samarillis's tail had grown stiff behind him, its hair so bristly it looked like a long feather duster.
"What's going on?" Nailla asked in a worried little voice.
"I have the honour of introducing you to my mother, Anna Karrasinqi". Aster said proudly.
Nailla gave a little cry and went to hide behind Hermione.
"You were dead... Ulthar's spies at the ICW confirmed it. They'd seen the body, everything had been confirmed..." Samarillis said in a low, serious voice.
"How?" said Nepeta.
Aster felt Anna's hand rest on her head, and she let her head push against Anna's hand as if to ask for more. "My daughter has earned the title of true necromancer. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be in this world any more." Anna said in a soft voice.
A gleam of understanding lit up in Nepeta's eyes. "The little vial you always wore around your neck and never let go of, the little flame, was it..."
Samarillis continued for her, his gaze fixed on Aster, calculating, as if his entire mental political chessboard had just been turned upside down. "... her soul. All this time we've had the soul of the terrible Anna Karrasinqi right under our noses."
"You have created a puppet into which the soul has been distilled? Didn't you?" asked Nepeta in a trembling voice.
It was Anna who answered, her smile revealing one of her vampire fangs. "My dear daughter of Cateris, you underestimate my child. I was not exaggerating when I spoke of a true necromancer. That title can only be given to those who have succeeded in bringing a being back to life as authentically and completely as this."
"Now that you're back, do you intend to take control of the Order of Asphodel? Your daughter has done a marvellous job of starting to rebuild an empire with the potential to become as great as Vlad's own." Said Samarillis, his vairish eyes shining.
"I think you are mistaken, young prince. I haven't had that kind of ambition for a long time now. Asphodel remains in my daughter's hands, I support and advise her, but that's where it ends. She founded this organisation and she must accept the consequences. Contrary to what some people think, my retreat from the world over the last few centuries was not in preparation for a return as magisterial as it was bloody. If the ICW hadn't stuck its nose in my business, I doubt you'd have heard of me again." Aster had moved closer to Anna, leaning her back against her mother's chest. She felt so safe with her... especially when she put her left hand on her shoulder, gently stroking her cheek with her thumb.
At Anna's words, Samarallis and Nepeta seemed to relax. The former let out a tiny sigh. "Well, in that case, welcome to Ulthar Anna Karrasinqi."
Anna nodded in satisfaction. "I believe you wanted to discuss some agreements? You told me about treaties for the free exchange of goods and people... "
"Hermione and I have been thinking about this and we think it's terrible that there's no counter-power to the ICW in Europe. The hidden nations have remained isolated for too long, and without any real, solid union, I don't think there's any real hope of that changing any time soon..." She said, pulling a series of documents from her satchel.
Samarillis leaned forward, a gleam of interest in his eyes.
With Anna by her side, Aster felt more confident than ever.
oOOOo
Sirius strolled through the large courtyard garden of Rasseau Moustache Hospital, a cane whose handle was carved in the shape of a dog's head in his hand, on which he leaned with each step. The weather was fine, and the light filtered through the foliage of the trees overhanging the footpath gave him the impression that the ground was speckled with thousands of tiny specks of gold. A soft, cool breeze ran over the skin of his arms and face, rippling the fabric of his short-sleeved shirt. After so many years in the cold, damp darkness of Azkaban, it was essential that he expose himself to the sun like a big lizard. Madame Vibrisse, his doctor, had told him that he had terrible deficiencies in many types of vitamins, including vitamin D.
As a result, regular walks outdoors were an integral part of his treatment. Not just for the vitamins... whatever that means, but also for his motor skills, years of being almost immobile in his cell having led to muscle atrophy. So he walked every day, leaning on his cane and pausing for a few minutes at each bench to rest and avoid further injury. At first, he was always accompanied, either by Doctor Vibrisse herself, or one of her assistants. This was only the fifth time he had been allowed to walk alone. Still, he wore an enchanted bracelet on his wrist, which was supposed to warn Vibrisse immediately if anything were to happen.
The garden of the Rasseau Moustache hospital was a marvel to him. It was so vast that he usually couldn't see the walls. The landscaper who had laid it out had his full respect, the gently curving paths stretching harmoniously over the curves of miniature hills, the tall trees providing shade and coolness along the way, and forming scattered copses that flattered the retina. The various pools and ponds lined with gorse and covered with water lilies, in which he could regularly see the silvery sheen of fish scales moving just below the surface. And the benches... rounded, detailed structures of wood and cast iron of incomparable comfort, on which he had often found himself dozing off for a few hours, lulled by the wind in the foliage and the birdsong. All this made each of his outings a great pleasure.
What's more, the garden was also a kind of large herbal and medicinal potager, whose scents and colours gave rhythm to his walks.
But in all of this, the most important thing was surely the company. The garden was very popular with all the hospital's patients, so meeting interesting people was not uncommon. The only thing he missed was human company, given that since his arrival he hadn't met a single human... Apart from his goddaughter perhaps, but then again, could she even be called human?
His legs were beginning to ache again, each step more difficult than the last. The bench wasn't far off... Oh! A smile spread across his face. Tapeta was sitting on the bench in question. He walked over and sat down next to the matagot. She was in her thirties, maybe a year or two older than him, and had to come to hospital every week to receive treatment for a congenital bone curse. It was an old curse that had afflicted her family and she was unlucky enough to be a carrier, despite the generations separating her from the origin of the curse. She was charming, gentle and had the soul of a poet. Her striped red coat matched her large green eyes perfectly. Today, she was dressed in a long pale blue dress with a few frills and a pretty green bow tie about twenty centimetres before the tip of her tail. She had a book open in her lap, but her gaze was lost in the distance, her eyes unconsciously following the flight of a chickadee.
They had crossed paths several times, and it was now several weeks since he had been forced to admit to himself that he was beginning to grow feelings for her... who would have thought that an old Grimm like him could ever feel this way about a feline. He was courting her, or at least trying to, because at the moment she didn't seem very receptive to his advances.
She hadn't noticed him, too absorbed in her daydreams. Then an idea occurred to him. With a wry smile, he took out his wand and conjured a small yellow canary, which he placed on Tapeta's lap. He watched with amusement as the pupils of her eyes grew sharper as she stared at the canary. Then, with a vivacity he didn't think she was capable of, she struck the conjured bird with one paw, causing it to dissolve into a small cloud of coloured dust, remaining suspended in the air for a moment before disappearing.
Surprised, she looked around, her gaze meeting his. "Sirius!" she exclaimed. "I didn't see you coming. Was it you who made the bird?"
"You looked like you needed a distraction." He laughed.
"You're right, I'm lacking inspiration at the moment." she sighed.
They chatted for a few minutes, Sirius both happy to spend time with her, and frustrated to see his attempts at seduction fail one after the other... Tapeta was still as blind to his advances. Perhaps he was going about it the wrong way? Maybe he should find out more about Matagonian culture if he were to have any chance...
Their discussion was cut short by a crane of folded paper coming to rest in the palm of his hand.
"What is it?" Tapeta asked, looking over his shoulder.
Sirius unfolded the letter, a feeling of joy and intense happiness filling his heart. If he was in his Grimm form, he was sure that the beating of his tail would create a rush of air. "I've got a visitor! My goddaughter, according to the way the message came out."
Tapeta gave him a big smile.
"Go on, don't keep her waiting!"
Sirius nodded and straightened up, placing a kiss between Tapeta's ears without thinking, before heading off towards the reception of the main building.
The rest on the bench had done him a world of good, so he had no trouble reaching the large grey and pink stone building. He slipped inside, greeting the staff as he went. Given the wide variety of specialists his case required, he was known to almost all the departments.
In the large reception room, not far from the counter, was Aster, and when he saw her he almost turned into a Grimm, carried away by joy. But he stopped himself when he saw that her girlfriend Hermione was beside him. She still didn't know about his Grimm form, and he wanted to be in control of this revelation. Behind them was a tall, relaxed-looking woman, holding Aster by the hand. It was impossible to put an age on her.
Aster was the first to see her, and she pulled her two companions in her direction by the hand, exclaiming: "Sirius!"
"Hello Aster. I presume you're Hermione, Aster's told me a lot about you, and who have I the honour of meeting?" He said, hoping that Aster would not expose the fact that he had spent a few days in their intimacy in the form of a grimm.
But he was not so lucky... "Hermione, this is Sirius, my other godfather, you've already met him, but only in his Grimm form, the big black dog who spent a few days at the house."
She said with a big innocent smile, as if this little declaration hadn't just put his life in danger in view of the incandescent looks that Hermione and the lady accompanying them were giving him.
"I... I..." He didn't have time to explain, Aster leading the small group towards the gardens and gossiping about how much she loved going there and how it was one of the most beautiful gardens in Ulthar... Sirius felt sick. Neither Hermione nor the woman had taken their eyes off him, staring at him as if he were some kind of criminal of the worst kind, and this time not on false charges.
Their little group found themselves an outdoor table in the shade of a beech tree, Sirius being forced to sit between the lady and Hermione.
"So, now that we're out of earshot, Sirius, I'd like you to meet Anna Karrasinqi, my mother. Mum, this is Sirius, my godfather..." Sirius saw his life flash before his eyes, and he ran out of oxygen, his diaphragm no longer responding, if he wasn't already dead, he soon would be. Aster had succeeded in bringing her mother back from the dead, and he would perhaps be her first victim...
he didn't have the chance to leave without suffering, Hermione having cast a discreet spell from under the table to prevent him from losing consciousness.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr Sirius Black". Anna said with a smile that was too big, her eyes reduced to two murderer-like slits.
"A pleasure madam..." He murmured.
"Why were you at our house in your dog form?" Hermione asked accusingly.
"I, I was there waiting for Aster to find me a place at Rasseau Moustache..."
"Why didn't you say anything?" Hermione asked Aster outraged.
She shrugged. "I didn't want to introduce you to my godfather at his most pathetic. He's barely recovered from Azkaban."
"Mr Black, I hope your conduct, whether in canine or human form, has been beyond reproach. Wasn't it?" Anna said.
Sirius felt a large drop of sweat roll down his forehead. Was he going to survive this encounter? "I swear on my life and my magic that I was the most well-behaved Grimm during my stay with Aster!" he hastened to say.
Anna still looked suspicious, but at least the murder had left her gaze.
"What are you two talking about? He spent all his time sleeping at the foot of the bed and by the fire." Aster interjected with a frown, her gaze darting back and forth between Anna and Hermione.
"Nothing dear, just making sure your godfather is worthy of the title." Anna said.
Hermione glared at Aster. "Aster, don't ever do that again. I want to know who you're inviting into our house. No more secrets, is that understood?"
"Yes, Hermione..." Aster replied, lowering her head, before a flash of mischief crept into her eyes and she jumped up from her chair to climb onto Hermione's lap, leaning her back against the latter's chest and taking both her armsto wrap them around her waist like a belt before placing a kiss on the bottom of Hermione's jaw. Hermione had turned peony red and seemed unable to articulate what she wanted to say.
Feeling suddenly embarrassed to be watching, Sirius tried to concentrate on Anna. "Aster had told me so much about you, I mean, she told me everything really... after all, there wasn't much better to do in Azkaban. I mean... how did she bring you back?"
"By being a real firebrand and risking her life far too many times..." she sighed. she sighed.
"I recognise her there." Sensing that Anna didn't seem to want to broach this specific subject, he tried something else. "What do you intend to do now that..." he hesitated over the word. "...you're back?"
"Are you scared?" She smiled ominously, making him swallow, a shiver running down his spine.
"I am." He admitted.
Sirius gasped as she laughed out loud, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "I wasn't expecting such frankness... A frightened grimm, how funny."
"You..." he sighed, swallowing his pride. "So you intend to conquer the world? Crush Europe in your iron fist? Spill the blood of nations?"
"None of that, I'm too old for that kind of bullshit. I'm leaving the helm to my daughter. I'm here to give her support and love, of course, but not to lead some absurd project of conquest. No, I'm going to reopen my mechamagic business and reconnect with old friends. It's Aster who insists on parading me back and forth."
Although he didn't know if this statement was sincere, Sirius felt relieved. He didn't want to have to go to war with Aster, or follow her into a war waged by a crazy ancient vampire.
"What about you, Sirius? Any plans once you've recovered?"
"I find it hard to imagine the future. All my friends are either dead or traitors, my acquaintances are convinced I'm a mass murderer who died in Azkaban during the battle. What family I have left is allied with Voldemort, and the Black name is as tainted as it is dying. I'm thinking of keeping a low profile and liquidating the Blacks' possessions so that Voldemort's allies can't get their hands on them. I wouldn't be surprised if Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy started trying to empty the Blacks' vaults. I'll have to do it before they do. Once that's done, I think I'll make myself a new identity within the Asphodel. From what little I've seen of it, I'd fit in much better there than in the Ministry's magical nation of Great Britain. Fuck them all, the House of Black will disappear without a single crumb being left for the vultures."
He was surprised to see Anna give him an approving look. "It's a good thing to get your affairs in order. And what better way to make a fresh start than to be dead in the eyes of everyone who doesn't matter to you."
"It is indeed a golden opportunity that I intend to seize." He smiled, his bitterness evaporating with the little attachment he had left to his past.
"Sorry to interrupt, but Aster said she'd like us to get some ice cream." Hermione said, clearing her throat to get their attention.
"Anything for my goddaughter." He smiled.
oOOOo
Ethan was anxious. It was the first time that Aster Karrasinqi had called an extraordinary meeting of the Asphodel Council. After her extraction from Azkaban, she had isolated herself with her advisor Hermione to recuperate, delegating the running of the order to the council and communicating only by letter. In the days that followed, the members of the Order who were most sensitive to fluctuations in the surrounding magic had felt waves, intense vibrations in the magic throughout the island. Something big had happened, and it was almost certain that Aster was involved, if not responsible.
The atmosphere in the room was a little tense, with everyone fearing that Aster had shown herself to be... changed by her time in Azkaban. Apart from Basileus, the old squib remained unperturbed, concentrating on his accounts. Even Asmodée seemed worried, perhaps fearing scathing criticism of her battle tactics during the assault on Azkaban. Arnold, leader of the Lycans and representative of the Werewolves, sat upright in his seat, staring at the door, hardly blinking.
Mimosa was visibly nervous, sitting to his right, sorting through her documents again and again. She and he were supposed to give a long report on recent events and their consequences, and Mimosa seemed almost too stressed to speak.
Enéa the Selkie and Xenophilius looked around them, unable to understand the reason for the tense atmosphere. For his part, Snape stood straight and stoic, like a dark statue in his high-backed seat. The only one not at all affected by the strange anxiety-inducing atmosphere.
Fortunately for their nerves, they only had to wait a few minutes before the door opened wide to reveal Karrasinqi and her adviser Snow entering the room. He stood up to greet them, but when he saw the person behind the head of the order, he froze, a wave of horror and terror sweeping through him like an icy wind.
He wasn't the only one in this situation. Enéa, transformed into a seal, was trying to flee, Xenophilius was lying on the floor, unconscious beside his chair, Arnold had stood up, his hair bristling, his gaze fixed on the newcomer. Asmodée had jumped out of her chair and dropped to her knees, as if facing a queen. Only Mimosa and Basileus seemed unaffected by the situation. The former did not recognise the newcomer, the latter barely lifted his nose from his accounts for a moment. Even Mr Severus Snape, a relatively new member of the ruling circle, seemed shocked... in his own way. An eyebrow barely raised on his impassive face.
As if nothing had happened, Aster declared in a clear voice by way of greeting! "Hello everyone! Meet Anna Karrasinqi! Yes, that's the one! Please give her a warm welcome as the newest permanent member of the Council!"
"How?" murmured Ethan. It had been years since THE Anna Karrasinqi had been declared dead.
"Mistress! It's a great joy to see you again." Moaned Asmodée with undisguised pleasure.
"I should have known it would be harder than this to get you to bite the dandelions by the root." Basileus grunted.
Ethan noticed that Mimosa's gaze darted back and forth between him and Anna, bearing a silent question. He nodded almost imperceptibly, and Mimosa widened her eyes even more, beginning to tremble.
"Get up, Asmodée!" were the first words spoken by Anna. The vampire slowly got to her feet, a terrible gleam in her eyes fixed on the ancient warlord.
"My non-life at your service." She whispered in a silky voice.
"If you wish to honour me as you did in the old bloody days, serve my daughter as you served me." Anna said, motioning with her head for Asmodée to sit back down. She immediately obeyed with military rigour.
Still as cheerful as ever, almost vibrating on the spot, Aster introduced all the members of the Council of the Order to her mother, taking the time to reassure Enéa enough for her to return to human form and bringing Xenophilius back to the world of the awakened. Ethan couldn't help but feel swollen with pride when Aster introduced him to the most terrible vampire in European history, second only to Vlad the Impaler himself, with high praise, emphasising his seniority and unfailing loyalty even through the hardest of times.
As Aster went to sit down in her huge high-backed chair, Anna following to sit on her left, Councillor Snow cleared her throat. "Before we proceed with the agenda, are there any questions?"
"How?" Arnold growled. "The whole world saw you dead, are you really who are you..." He didn't have time to finish his sentence before he found himself thrown to the other side of the room, lifted off the floor by Anna, who held him against a wall fractured by the force of the impact with a single hand clasped around the poor lycan's throat. He struggled weakly, blood at the corners of his mouth, his throat crushed, his head ready to jump from his neck like a cork from an overshaken bottle of champagne.
"Mum, you can let go of him, I think he's understood. Arnold is an important member of the council." Aster said, looking unworried.
Ethan swallowed as he saw Arnold slide down the wall and crash to the floor, convulsing and coughing, croaking a litany of uninterrupted apologies, revealing countless deep cracks in the heavy grey stonework. That Arnold did not die instantly spoke volumes about his constitution and Anna's mastery of her strength.
The room was so silent that Ethan could almost hear the dust falling to the floor as Anna returned to her seat, this time skirting around the table instead of leaping over it. Once she had sat down again, she spoke in a calm voice as if nothing had happened. "I'm lucky enough to be able to join you thanks to the efforts of my daughter." Her tender smile towards the head of the order was in complete contrast to the terrible violence of just a few seconds ago. "I'm proud to be able to call my daughter a true necromancer. That's all you need to know about it."
Murmurs of astonishment and admiration filled the room... Dumbfounded, Ethan couldn't take his eyes off Aster. A necromancer... not just the kind of necromancer who animates corpses and torments the souls of the dead. She was a true necromancer, one of the few to have succeeded in the prodigy of restoring life to a being in its entirety, without any disruption to its essence that he could see. By blood, who was Aster really? His theory that she was in fact a centuries-old vampire transformed too young was becoming more and more credible. He didn't seem to be the only one with similar thoughts, as Asmodée's view of Aster had suddenly changed. Whereas before there had been admiration and a hint of defiance, the latter had evaporated and been replaced by deep fear. Arnold, who had meanwhile managed to get back to his seat, seemed just as shaken. As for Mr Snape, he had paled to the point where he suspected that the man could not glow in the dark.
He felt himself starting to comment on the impossibility of the thing, but chose to keep quiet, Anna was facing him in the flesh, what other proof did he need. It was Mimosa who interrupted the murmuring. "Welcome Mrs Karrasinqi, it's an honour to meet you. I would, however, like to know what role you have been assigned within this assembly."
Ethan was grateful, Mimosa had masterfully diverted Anna Karrasinqi's attention to a subject that needed addressing anyway. Now that one of the oldest vampires in the world was among them, the person whose name Aster had used to gain the credibility needed to set up the order. What did this mean for the future of the order? Was she going to head it? Had Aster founded the order just to create a place of power for her mother's return? If so, he feared what the future would bring. Fortunately, Anna's answer allayed his worst fears.
"I'm past the age where I was still interested in power games. I'm only here as a consultant to help and advise my daughter. I'm pleased to see that she seems to have gathered the right people around herself."
After this statement, the atmosphere gradually relaxed, allowing the agenda to be followed. Anna remained silent for most of the time, content to listen to her daughter discussing the Order's problems and projects with him and the other members of the council. Asmodée was proud to present the success of her mission to infiltrate agents in the Ministry of Magic, receiving Aster's congratulations with undisguised pride. Or Mimosa reporting on the establishment of the Order's network of clinics and hospitals. Xenophilius asked whether it would be a good idea to make public Anna's return and Aster's status as a necromancer, but with the advice of Anna and Hermione, Aster decided to allow Xenophilius to announce that Anna had simply been injured all this time and had finally recovered sufficiently to join the Asphodel people without risk.
Basileus spoke at length about the accounts and the results of economic cooperation with their allies, confirming Ethan's impressions that the Order of Asphodel was doing better and better economically.
At the end of the part of the meeting dealing with international relations, Mr Snape, who had so far remained silent, apart from giving his opinion on the new taxes on certain potion ingredients, stood up and remained silent until everyone's gaze turned to him and Aster beckoned him to speak. "Miss Karrasinqi, I have a proposal to make to improve our relationship with Hymgaabal."
"I'm listening." Aster said curiously, her intense green eyes fixed on Snape, one of them shining with an unearthly glow.
"I happen to be very close to Madame Sarah Malbois, a French veela who is willing to spend a few weeks in the lands of the Order of the Asphodel as the diplomatic envoy of the European veela flocks and of Hymgaabal."
Ethan felt his jaw nearly drop. A veela agreeing to return to Great Britain? After the horrors of just over a decade ago? Unbelievable! If Snape was telling the truth, this would be a golden opportunity to make Hymgaabal one of their most loyal allies.
"Really?" exclaimed Aster with excitement visible on her smiling features. "When do you think you'll be able to organise a meeting? When do we start arranging it?"
"It so happens that Madame Malbois has asked to come here today to discuss the matter." He said with an almost embarrassed look on his face. At least, that's what Ethan thought he saw on the Potions Master's impassive expression.
"Send her in, so she doesn't have to wait any longer," Aster said before ignoring everyone and running across the room until she reached the large ogival door opening onto the waiting room normally reserved for Council queries. She opened the door, having to stand on tiptoe to reach the handle, which was far too high for her.
"Is it my turn?" asked a soft voice from the waiting room.
"Yes..." Snape sighed, staring at Aster with a strange look on his face.
A few seconds later, Ethan saw Aster Karrasinqi frozen, face to face with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her fine, aristocratic features displayed magnificent, piercing violet eyes and long, jet-black hair that fell to the middle of her back. Large black wings with iridescent plumage enveloped her figure, dressed in a long, deep emerald-green gown embroidered with silver flowers and vines. After a few seconds of silence, the woman Snape had introduced as Sarah Malbois dropped to her knees and came up to Aster's level before hugging her, their leader returning the hug with vigour.
"What the..." Ethan heard Anna ask Hermione, Hermione didn't answer, her gaze fixed on Aster. The silence in the room was deafening, the eyes of all the members, even Basileus, not leaving Aster's form half hidden in Madame Malbois' wings.
"Miss Karrasinqi?" the little Selkie dared to ask. Her voice had the effect of breaking the spell, Aster slowly detaching herself from Malbois.
"Malbois is a friend," she merely said. Ethan doubted that this was the exact truth, given the look Malbois gave her, and the fact that he would have sworn a few minutes earlier that Aster didn't know that name.
Malbois was invited to come and sit next to Snape, and it took record time for Aster to write a series of orders to make Malbois' stay in the Asphodel as pleasant as possible. At times, Ethan was distracted by Malbois' nectar-flavoured aura, but he managed to keep a cool head, no doubt thanks to the fact that Malbois was no doubt doing her best to contain her aura. Half an hour later, Malbois left with Snape to take up quarters. As everyone started to get up to leave, Aster cleared her throat.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm pleased to announce that Asphodel finally has its own apparition cover. Our members are no longer dependent on the Ministry to use this mode of travel, and they are no longer under surveillance! Anyone with a permit granted by the Asphodel transport sub-council can now travel in this way." she exclaimed, holding up a small, round, engraved metal plate. She raised it into the air, made a quick downward gesture, as if pulling the threads of the universe, before disappearing and reforming at the other end of the room in a murmur of swirling wind. After a few seconds of stunned shock, a wave of applause and joy shook the room!
The greatest controlling force of the Ministry of Magic in Great Britain is not its aurors or its hit wizards. No... Its real power lay in the control of apparition cover. The most powerful ritual magic created in the bowels of the Ministry's Department of Secrets provided a two-dimensional plane covering a large part of Great Britain. Any wizard or witch with an anchor in this plane via a permit could jump and teleport instantly anywhere as long as the zone was authorised by the Ministry and the level of accreditation of the permit gave access to it. Thanks to this, the Ministry could teleport its forces wherever and whenever it wished in order to consolidate its power. It was only thanks to this control over the cover of apparition that the Ministry had withstood Voldemort's forces for so long during the Dark Lord's rise to power a decade earlier.
But now, Aster Karrasinqi and the members of the Magical Research Council had found a way to create their own apparition cover, out of sight and out of control of the Ministry of Magic. Another major step towards Asphodel's self-sufficiency as a nation. Ethan was blown away by the implications of such a thing. And judging by the burning look in Aster Karrisinqi's eyes and the pride in her mother's, this was only the beginning.