>>19842587>>19842590Valari sees Elyssa Laurentine flinch when Nicole speculates on what could have happened if she came here with ill intent to the Queen, and start to react. But then she herself is struck by what Nikki says next.
>[“And the cute one with the reddish hair? From the way she’s been looking at me, I think she’d much rather fuck than fight.”]>"WHAT!?!?..... I-I-I'll have you know, have a SWORN OATH and a deep, abiding sense of loyalty to my Queen and this Kingdom, and, and....."Her cheeks and ears are burning; she feels that she's bringing a disgrace to her duties, and her station, while her liege and her mentor look on. (And Nicole said she was cute.) Elyssa reads her embarrassment effortlessly, and smirks.
>"Valari, please," Elyssa says. "Sometimes I get the feeling you're not aware of the impression you give to other people with the way you act." She shakes her head, then glances at Nikki with a sympathetic frown. "Now, Nikki: perhaps your friendship with the Queen is more familiar and prone to this sort of banter than I would've guessed, but I must STRONGLY encourage you to cease this sort of talk. The Queen is herself formidable, as you acknowledge, and furthermore it is my sworn duty, and Valari's, to take ALL threats to her seriously." She shrugs. "But provided that you were telling the truth about your close friendship with Her Majesty, I assume it would be a trifling matter for her to have a copy made for you of the relevant passages of that book you've got there. There shouldn't be any need--">>19836836Valari recalls the Queen's admonition that the time for privacy is over, and the words burst unbidden from her lips.
>"There's two souls inside her."Valari blurts it out. Elyssa looks at her like she's crazy.
>"There are two spirits in this woman, Nicole. It is not a possession; she is fully in control of herself. And both the spirits are her..... at least, I believe it to be so. But there are two of her, in one body." 