The woman's eyes widened as Hannah said their names, which made Beth wonder if they should come up with some names to go by in this world. As she was sure their names marked them clearly as foreigners. Not that she could be sure that foreigners weren't welcome here. She just knew that standing out in an unfamiliar place often wasn't a good thing.
While it would take some getting used to, it also might keep them from drawing unnecessary attention. As, based on this woman's reaction, it was clear their names stood out on their own.
"My name is Lorshith. I am a messenger for the queen," she said calmly.
Beth wondered if she was merely not bothering to say anything about their names or if she was merely going to act as if it didn't matter to her at all. Whichever it was, Beth wished she had some means of finding out without having to try to spy and tail this woman. Especially since Beth had a feeling her own skills at that wouldn't be enough to keep from getting made.
If the Lorshith was going to say anything about their names, it was stopped by the marquis and his daughter entering the room. Lorshith stood respectfully as they entered and Beth decided to do that same, mostly because she didn't want to stand out any more than their names already made them.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," the marquis said as he walked to his seat, next to the head of the table, while his daughter went to take a seat by Beth and Hannah. "Just had to take care of a few matters at the quarantined house."
"Any idea how to stop the plague?" Lorshith asked. "Her majesty recently heard about a rumor that a slave was able to treat the plague somehow."
"Really?" the marquis asked as the servants started bringing in the food. "These two young women also apparently know someone who claims to be able to treat it."
As Lorshith's gaze moved to Beth and Hannah again, making Beth wonder if they'd already dug themselves a hole they wouldn't be able to crawl out of. Although, at least in this case it would at least be more beneficial for them, since it was something that they apparently couldn't do themselves.
"They said that the one who came up with it was taken by the Lost, and don't know where she is," the marquis continued. "I haven't seen if their treatment works yet or not, since their friend only started just a couple days ago."
"I would be interested in talking with this person before I leave," Lorshith said, her tone and face unreadable. "The queen would like to know about this."
"She's staying in the quarantined house, so you can talk with her from the required distance, since the quarantine hasn't been lifted on it yet."
"So, who are these young women you have here, Marquis Denshia?" Lorshith asked. "I don't recognize their house names. Where are they from?"
House names? Beth asked herself. What is she talking about?
"I can't say where they're from," the marquis answered. "They merely came because I was looking for someone to be a personal guard for my daughter."
Lorshith's eyebrows rose in surprise and Beth was feeling like this conversation was going in a different direction than she had expected. As she glanced at Hannah, she wasn't surprised to see Hannah looking baffled as well.
"Really?" Lorshith asked, sounding a little doubtful. "They clearly aren't fighters. In fact, they almost look like young men with how soft they are. They don't even look like they've had to do any real work at all."
–Should we let her know what we can do?– Hannah asked Beth with her magic and Beth could hear the smirk in Hannah's voice that she likely had on her face.
–Might as well.– Beth replied, then shifted to let everyone in the room hear what she said next with her magic. –Appearances can be deceiving. You never know what a person might be capable of just by looking at them.–
"So, what can you do?" Lorshish asked, turning her gaze to Beth.
–Well, I could try to explain, but I like demonstrations better. I mean, it's easy to say something but a completely different matter to show what you can do.– Beth answered while eating. Wondering if she would need to be more blatant with her usage of her magic.
"Alright, what do you have in mind?" Lorshith asked, apparently having missed Beth using her magic when she 'spoke.'
–What would you like us to do?– Beth asked. –We can create a light out of nothing, we can do the same with sound, and then we can also create things that you wouldn't believe that otherwise aren't even there.– Beth stopped talking for a moment, but then quickly added as she just thought of it, partly because she was a little annoyed that Lorshith hadn't even noticed that she was using her magic to speak. –Oh, and we can even talk with each other from a distance as if we were right next to each other.–
If Charlie was here, Beth was confident that she'd be able to hear what their thoughts were and so could essentially communicate with anyone like that from a distance, but Beth was certain that she'd need them to be able to use their own magic to hear their response.
Lorshish's expression was priceless. It was clear that out of everything possible, she hadn't expected that response. Although, Beth couldn't help but wonder if it really was necessary to say so much. As she wasn't sure how much they should really reveal about their abilities. As the more that was known about them, the greater the chance someone who would turn out to be their enemy would learn about it.
After a minute, Lorshish seemed to recover and smiled coldly at Beth. "How about some noises, then? I mean, we are having dinner, so you communicating something to me from another room would be difficult while we eat."
Beth had a feeling she still hadn't noticed that her mouth hadn't been moving as she spoke, but that wasn't that big of a deal for her. She had hoped Lorshish would notice, but since she hadn't, then she wasn't going to stress about that. Not when she had to demonstrate what the messenger had requested out of what Beth herself had offered.
Taking a deep breath, Beth wondered what sounds she should make. The first thing that came to mind was from the Police Academy movies that she remembered watching with her father. She didn't remember much about them, primarily the one man who could mimic other sounds so perfectly, such as machine gun fire. Although, she doubted it would have the same effect, since she was pretty sure they didn't know what the sound of a firearm would otherwise mean.
The next idea that came to her mind was from the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World movies. Mostly because she could just imagine the roar of a Tyrannosaurs ringing through this dining hall.
Beth wished she could come up with something other than that, but she didn't want to take too long before doing what she'd said she would. Mostly because she didn't want the woman to think that she was merely all talk. She just hoped that it would have the desired effect, since she was pretty sure that these people didn't know what the sound of a dinosaur was either.
"Are you going to make a sound for us?" Lorshish asked with a very condescending tone.
If Beth hadn't known that she would succeed with using her magic this way, she might have been a little worried about how it would turn out. Since she was confident in her abilities, even though she was also certain that she hadn't reached her limits yet, she couldn't help but look forward to wiping that grin off of Lorshish's face.
Without saying a word of warning, Beth let the sound that she remembered the tyrannosaurus making in the movies when it roared. What surprised Beth the most was how it echoed and even shook the table as well as the goblets.
The expressions on everyone's faces, other than Hannah's were as surprised as Beth had anticipated. The only thing she thought she should have done differently was to have lowered the volume a little. The echoing effect wasn't something she had anticipated. As it just seemed to make it louder and a little more realistic.
While Beth couldn't be sure if she hadn't overdid it, she at least could be satisfied that Lorshish seemed to have started looking at Beth and Hannah with a glint of respect. Which Beth couldn't be sure if that was a good thing. Although, at the same time, she couldn't figure out why that wouldn't be a good thing.
However, as focused as she had been on Beth and Hannah, she shifted her focus to something that Beth was confident that had started to have been discussed when she and her friends weren't present. Given she had no idea what the point was in the first place.
"Well, I see you have found some interesting protectors for your daughter," Lorshish commented. "The only question now is if this is in fact your daughter. Like I mentioned earlier, I need proof. Proof that something didn't actually happen to her."
"If the queen has any doubts, she's free to call me to her court and have one of her sorceresses verify with their magic that she is indeed my daughter," the marquis replied calmly. "I'm even willing to bear the expense myself if the queen so wished."
"How would that qualify as proof?"
"As I said earlier, it's not like I can provide proof that she is, just as you can't prove she isn't. All I can do is to stake my name that she is my flesh and blood."
Beth looked at the marquis' daughter. She had no idea why there was this fuss about if this is actually his daughter or not. While Beth didn't know what exactly was going on, she wouldn't be surprised if it involved politics on some level. This topic would just be too weird otherwise.
"You realize if I leave without proof, I'm going to only be able to tell the queen that I wasn't able to verify that she is your daughter. As such, I'm sure the queen will react accordingly."
Beth wished that she knew what exactly was going on as the marquis glared at the messenger. It looked like he wanted to attack her, but held himself back. While Beth knew of the phrase 'don't kill the messenger,' she couldn't help but wonder if this instance would be an acceptable for that kind of reaction. Especially since it looked like the messenger was deliberately trying to provoke Lorshish.
"What would you accept as evidence that she's the marquis' daughter?" Hannah asked suddenly, startling the marquis and Lorshish.
"What?" both asked simultaneously, before exchanging another glare.
"Just what I said, what would you accept as evidence that this girl here is the marquis' daughter?" Hannah repeated.
"What do you mean?" Lorshish asked after a couple minutes, looking confused, as well as a little wary.
Hannah sighed, making Beth smile. Either she really was annoyed at Lorshish's lack of understanding or she was merely putting on an act of exaggerated patience.
"Again, just what I said: what would you accept as evidence that this girl is the marquis' daughter," Hannah said, her tone one making it clear that she was being extremely 'patient' with this woman. Then after a moment, she added, "If you need, I'm sure Beth could heal any hearing problems you might have."
Beth groaned inwardly, putting her hand to her forehead, covering her eyes. Not only did Hannah push Beth out in the middle of this, but she also started poking at this woman, which Beth got the sensation that she was akin to poking a sleeping bear.
However, the woman didn't rise to the bait. She instead looked at Hannah coolly before looking back at the marquis after being quiet and not looking at anyone for a few minutes. Almost like she didn't know how to respond to that. "If you allow me to examine her, I'll be able to confirm what the queen knows about your daughter. If you'll allow that, then I believe I can accept your assertions."
Beth rolled her eyes before she could stop herself. Whatever this was about, she had a feeling that the messenger hadn't offered this as an option before. Though, while Beth wasn't sure what Lorshish meant by 'examine,' she felt like whatever the problem was had been resolved. Even if she didn't know what the issue had been in the first place.
Especially since if the messenger had been looking for an excuse to claim that the marquis' daughter wasn't his, she wasn't sure what that might mean. As she couldn't help but wonder if this tied in some way to the enemies the marquis had mentioned when they'd first met with him.
_
Beth felt like she needed to observe Lorshish's meeting with Amelia. She couldn't put her finger on what the problem was, only that she knew she couldn't trust her. Much like she knew she couldn't trust Ralph to not play pranks. Especially when it was a bad time to do so.
The sun had barely started to rise over the horizon as Lorshish knocked on the door to the quarantined house in the back area of the castle. Beth had once gotten a small glimpse inside and had seen that it was equipped to handle several people at once. Which made her wonder just how serious this plague was. Or if there were other diseases that they had concerns about, even if it wasn't to the level the spotted plague seemed to have been put.
Beth watched from about twenty feet from Lorshsh. Part of her worried what this woman might try to do to Amelia, while another part just wanted to watch something entertaining. If Ralph was there, she was certain he'd be able to make it very entertaining, but the marquis had asked them to not let Lorshsh kow about Ralph, Tim and Wes, so, that wasn't possible. Although, Tim and Wes had assured Beth that they'd make certain Ralph stayed out of sight, when she had expressed concern that Ralph would sow himself just because he was asked not to.
Which, naturally, Ralph objected to.
"Did you bring the supplies I asked for?" Beth heard Amelia's voice call out.
"Uh, no," Lorshish replied, sounding a little unsure of herself. "I was here because I wanted to ask about what treatment you're using for the plague."
"It's nothing that big, it's just a topical," Amelia replied, making Beth wonder if she was busy with something. As typically Amelia wasn't like this.
"If it's all the same, I'd like to be able to talk with you about this directly," Lorshish pressed.
Beth had to admit, this woman didn't give up. Even in the face of Amelia's ultimate distracted state.
"Would you be able to wait a while?" Amelia asked, starting to sound a little irritated. "I'm kind of busy with something."
"I wish I could give you time, but I need to leave before long. Even if you could spare a minute, I'd really appreciate it."
"Cinder, let her in," Beth heard Amelia say, her tone expressing just how aggravated she was getting.
Beth couldn't help but be a little surprised at that. Normally it took a lot for Amelia to get to that point. Which meant that she really had to be working on something that she really wanted to concentrate on.
The door opened a couple minutes later, Cinder beckoning for Lorshish to enter. Though, the woman didn't move at all. Which Beth couldn't help but feel a little amused about.
"I can't enter," she said simply. "If I do, then I won't be able to leave for a month, and I can't afford any delay."
"Well, if you want to talk with me, you're going to have to delay at least a few minutes," Amelia retorted. "Otherwise you're just gonna have o leave disappointed. The choice is yours."
Beth wished she had some popcorn right then to eat while enjoying this whole scene play out. While she didn't expect Lorshish to leave that easily, she still felt like the most entertaining part was yet to come. Especially with how annoyed Amelia was getting.
The more time went by without Amelia coming to the door, the more impatient Lorshish seemed to get, although she at least seemed to contain it rather well. More than Beth would have expected.
Then when Amelia finally came to the door, Lorshish didn't say anything or even move. Beth wasn't sure what this wa about, but she had a feeling that this was likely due to what everyone around here had mistaken Amelia for.
"Lady Milyah, all reports said that you had died," Lorshsish said respectfully, much to Beth's expectations.
"Ugh," Amelia groaned, looking like she was ready to start hitting people if they called her that again. "Not this again. I keep telling everyone, I'm not her. My name's Amelia."
"If you're not her, then you have a very remarkable resemblance to her," Lorshish said, not sounding very convinced in Beth's opinion.
"Anyway, what did you want again?" Amelia asked, clearly wanting to steer the subject away from who she looked like and how she wasn't her.
"Ah, yes. You said that it was a topical that you made to treat the spotted plague, right? What's a 'topical' and how did you make it?"
Amelia sighed, looking like she wished she had pretended to not be available. "First, a topical is something that you put on the skin, which will absorb it that way. Second, I made it by putting a mushroom in water and boiling it. Then the water became the topical," Amelia replied, her tone telling Beth that Lorshish better not expect to get any clarifications about the process, or any other details about that.