109 – Deduce

“So, then,” the ash-haired woman in front of Saffra said, her lava-orange eyes narrowing in scrutiny at Lady Vivi. “What game are you playing?”

Saffra’s mentor met the demanding tone with a blank expression. “What game am I playing?”

A scoff. “Please. You clearly don’t know who you’re dealing with. As if I would fall for such an obvious ploy.”

“I don’t know who I’m speaking to. Maybe we should start there.”

The gray-haired woman paused, then seemed to grow embarrassed, despite the hostility she’d opened with. “You are correct. That is the proper place to begin. No reason to skip formalities—I apologize. Lady Ember Caldwell; a pleasure to make your acquaintance. And you are?”

“Ember Caldwell,” Lady Vivi repeated flatly. “You can’t be serious.”

Lady Ember looked taken aback, then annoyed. She crossed her arms and looked down her nose at Lady Vivi. “It’s a perfectly normal human name. Why the incredulity?”

Saffra’s thoughts blanked out. ‘…a perfectly normal human name’? Echoing the words in her head didn’t make them sound any less unnatural. Who would phrase it like that?

Her first instinct was suspicion. A human would never utter that series of words in self-defense, especially when the name really was one nobody should blink twice at. Saffra wasn’t sure why Lady Vivi had in the first place—obviously Saffra was missing context.

Saffra dismissed the obvious explanation. No, it wasn’t evidence that Lady Ember Caldwell was a dragon in disguise. Dragons were ancient immortals, wise and fearsome in every regard. For this woman to appear as an adult—if just a young woman—she had to be ten times that in true age.

And no two-hundred-year-old would be so obvious about deception, especially when so much was on the line. It was an undeniable truth that dragons almost never appeared in mortal lands. Stories were just that, and even those stories talked about how rare it was. The Dragon King ruled with an iron fist, and he had ordered his kind to leave mortals to their own devices. If one of their race did violate that standard, even or especially with good reason, then the dragon in question would never be so… so bad at her job!

Saffra’s thoughts flashed to her mentor, who herself was a multi-century-old being who had behaved in questionable ways at times. She shook herself. Lady Vivi was an exception. Actual wizened existences were more like Archmage Aeris: graceful and thoughtful in all ways, their many years providing them peerless wisdom.

Saffra had made this mistake once; she wouldn’t make it again. An adventurer who couldn’t learn from their errors rarely survived the first year in their perilous choice of career. Only an idiot would assume a dragon in disguise when more plausible explanations existed, and ‘more plausible’ meant nearly any other conceivable possibility in this instance.

She just… wasn’t exactly sure what alternate theory to land on.

“It’s nothing,” Lady Vivi responded after a long pause. “I know someone with a similar name. It caught me by surprise. So, I heard that you’ve been asking around about me.”

An immediate harrumph. “I’ve been looking for a demon of your description, yes.”

“…of my description?”

“What? You think I haven’t seen through your ruse?”

Vivi met the response with a bewildered expression. She clearly had no idea what Lady Ember was implying, and Saffra didn’t either. Saffra suspected there were going to be a lot more confusing statements before this conversation ended.

Would she be a bad apprentice to admit she was looking forward to whatever nonsense was about to follow, though? Saffra felt a bit like dead weight following Lady Vivi around, but at least there was never a quiet moment.

“Indeed, you’ve clearly underestimated your opponent,” Lady Ember said, flipping her long gray hair back with a haughty swish. “The woman I seek left Prismarche weeks ago, headed for Meridian by all reports. And yet here you are? Very interesting.” She leaned forward, eyes sharpening on Lady Vivi. “Explain yourself.”

Saffra’s mentor again paused—this time because inventing an explanation for that discrepancy wouldn’t be easy. Lady Vivi could hardly say she was teleporting between cities, not unless she wanted to reveal her identity. Long-range spatial warping was the pinnacle of mortal magical ability. Archmage Aeris had claimed to be capable of such, and Saffra believed him, but a spell that powerful would surely strain him to his limit. If archmages could teleport between cities on a whim, there would’ve been far fewer large-scale disasters over the years.

“You think I’m lying?” Lady Vivi asked, finally.

“Think? Don’t assert such disgraceful uncertainty onto me. I am never anything less than utterly convinced in all that I do or say.” Lady Ember sniffed. “So. You were sent to me as some sort of trick, perhaps? A less formidable woman might have been fooled.” She gave a sympathetic look. “As always, you lost at the outset. As all men or women do, when I am their opponent.”

Lady Vivi opened her mouth, then closed it.

“What.”

“Nevertheless, I will hear what you have to say,” Lady Ember continued. “Elaborate. Though keep in mind that I won’t believe a word you tell me.”

Lady Vivi stared at the woman. Lady Ember adopted a long-suffering, patient expression, as if she were doing Lady Vivi a favor. Vivi turned to share a look with Saffra. Saffra could feel her own eyebrows perched in her hairline; she was almost impressed by the sheer attitude of this woman. The arrogance bleeding from every word was borderline comical, at first blush almost an intentional farce. And yet… so clearly genuine.

And what kind of creature is famously arrogant, Saffra? bubbled up a sarcastic voice. She stuffed the dissenting part of her consciousness away, retorting hotly, Plenty of people are like that. The Headmaster, for one. Hardly proof of anything.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“You’ll need to tell me, first, what I need to explain,” Lady Vivi answered at last, voice tinged with exasperation. “All I know is that you’ve been looking for me. I came to see why.”

“Hmph.” The woman’s eyes narrowed. “Seeing how I have reason to believe that you aren’t who you say you are, why should I reveal my motives?”

“How else can we…?” Lady Vivi began, frustrated, then sighed. She touched her temple, as if she’d developed a sudden headache. “I’m definitely who you’re looking for, Lady Ember.”

“You meet the description, there is no denying that, but that’s not enough proof.”

“I could leave, if you want?” came one of the more impatient responses Saffra had heard from Lady Vivi.

For whatever bizarre reason, Lady Ember perked up at that. Then she wilted. “No, sadly, I cannot allow that.” Her brow furrowed and she crossed her arms, scrutinizing a baffled-looking Lady Vivi. The woman twitched as an idea hit her. “Ah! Yes, I know. This is obviously a situation that needs further contemplation. Indeed, I would be irresponsible to not properly ruminate over such a development, and be certain I understand what’s happening. So in two days—no, three!—you will come and speak with me again, when I am better prepared.”

A long silence passed between them.

“Are you serious?” Lady Vivi asked.

“As I said, I am never anything but. Also, I should remind you: you don’t know who I am, or what my purposes are. Was it entirely wise to immediately turn yourself in to me?” She shook her head disapprovingly. “Yet more proof this is a cunning ruse, don’t you think? Few people are so reckless in unknown situations.”

Lady Vivi, once more, stared at the woman.