Chapter 93: Allowing into your mind

“I will be talking to your sister anyway as I want her to have a look over the Imperial treasury and see what she thinks.”

“I doubt she will like it.” I commented.

“Nor will the people who currently run the treasury, but I have questions that they always evade and my head for numbers is not brilliant. Especially when I'm juggling international relations, military strategies and the rest.”

She sniffed in derision.

“Bankers are bankers the world over.” I commented.

“Ain't that the truth. I wonder if....” She shook her head. “I will think on that.

“Anyway.

“The Lodge are worried about the type of magic that was used to invoke or imitate the “Jack” entity as they can't figure it out and that's making them nervous. They think that that kind of magic is dangerous and I'm inclined to agree. If it helps, My mother and other elder sister approved of Francesca too. They will be in touch with me and I will pass on what I find out.”

I nodded. “Other elder sister.”

“Oh, Triss Merigold.”

“I see.”

“What are you going to be doing?” She asked me.

“We made enemies.” I said. “Kerrass and I, while we were on the road together so we're going to investigate some of those things. We are going to start by going up to Sam's “Kalayn” lands in the north to see about the remnants of the cult that killed my father. Also, we know that Jack didn't care enough and that the Amber's crossing beast is banished but are there any other creatures of that ilk that might want to take something out of our skin. Kerrass also has some other sources that he wants to talk to to see if we can find out more about the type of magic that was used from that angle. Lord Shit-head that tried to use Ariadne as a weapon was using some ancient magic of a type that I don't think people know much about, when he tried to control her. Where did he get it from and was that magic part of that? That's the kind of thing that we're going to be looking at.”

“Travelling over land? You know that I have Sorcerer's that can gate you wherever you want to go right? It's good to be the Empress.”

“I know but Kerrass insisted that we travel overland. Something about some of his “sources” wanting to remain private.”

“Mmm. Witchers and their ways.”

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She got up and dusted off her clothes. “Well Freddie. Good luck. I'll look forward to seeing you again. Apart from anything else, I expect an invitation to the wedding. I really want to see how that story ends.”

I tried for a smile “I suspect that between Emma and Ariadne, most of those decisions are out of my hands and I'm already astonished about how many decisions about my wedding have been taken off me. My brothers have already decided who's going to be my best man and who's going to be performing the ceremony.”

The Empress laughed.

“Besides.” I went on. “You've just informally adopted me as your brother. I would imagine you'll want to stick your oar into the matter as well.”

She put her head on one side and considered me. “I might at that. You would probably be happy with a quiet country chapel wouldn't you.”

“The prospect of eloping had occurred.” I admitted “But now?” I shrugged. “I'll be honest I haven't thought about it very much.”

She nodded. “Well think about it Freddie.” She gave me a hug. It's an odd feeling hugging an Empress informally.

She climbed onto her horse, waved and rode off. Now that I was looking for it I could see several hidden guardsmen moving through the undergrowth.

I returned to my seated position and stared out across the city.

- Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

All told it took me three days to recover after I woke up from my time spent with Jack. Those first days were spent in tears, in pain and resting. On the third day, the anger that I was beginning to feel at the entire circumstance began to overtake and overwhelm what feelings of helplessness and horror that had been controlling me for so long.

I rose, bathed, ate a proper meal and walked out to meet my family to ask them what we were going to do next.

They didn't have an answer. There were no answers. Of course there weren't any answers. We had to wait.

We had to become passive observers in the entire situation while the Imperial investigators continued their investigation.

As I understood it the investigation was continuing in three different directions. The first was that this was still some kind of attack against the Empress and therefore against the Empire. The second was that this was an attack against the Coulthard family. The third possibility was that this was something else. The first move in a play that was still not obvious, something that was still developing with unknown motives and an unguessable end goal.

As I was one of the people being investigated I could only watch on the periphery but I got the general feeling that the third option was the one that people were afraid of.

After the three options as to why the thing had happened, there seemed to be two different threads that were being taken up and pursued. The first was the mundane one. The one that basically needed the legwork and the manpower. These were the people that were in the process of searching buildings and boarding trading vessels. They were the people that were talking to ambassadors and making excessively veiled threats on an international scale to see if they could squirrel out some sign of what had happened and why.

They were the ones that asked me the most questions.

They had Mark, Sam, Emma, Laurelen and I, at first in separate rooms but then in pairs and together as we were questioned and probed about everything. So many things. Almost from the day that I was born. They were asking me questions about things that I could barely remember. Things that I hadn't considered. Things that seemed strange and unconnected in my mind. Things that seemed to make no sense but every answer that I gave was noted down carefully by the scribes and the questioners.

I had to go through all of my adventures with Kerrass. Both the ones that I have written about in these chronicles as well as those adventures that I haven't talked about because they didn't seem to have anything interesting to say.

I went through my private thoughts. They questioned me about Ariadne at a length that I found insulting and about my interactions with the Princess Dorn in a way that I found repulsive. More than one session had to be stopped because I became upset and violent. Every time we had to start again after a break, they reminded me that I had done nothing wrong. That they didn't suspect me of any wrong doing. That I was innocent. But then the questions started again and my rage would be banked up and begin to grow and grow until the next time that I exploded.

At one point I remember asking why they didn't just have a magic user of some kind come to read my mind. Their answer was interesting.

“Because they are pursuing their own enquiries.” was the answer.

I didn't pursue it. Nor did I point out that it would save everyone a whole bunch of time if they just knew what was going on in my head. The undertone seemed to be very significant. Someone somewhere had decided that the magical investigation needed to be kept separate from the mundane one.

For the life of me I couldn't tell why it was significant or in what way it was significant.

But it was.

So they kept asking me the questions and I kept answering them until I would begin to get upset and then lose my temper.

I didn't see Kerrass at all in that time.

Then I had another conversation that was both better and worse than the interrogations at the hands of the Intelligence service.

I came into a meeting where I faced five women who were sat behind a table. I was sat in a plain chair, next to me was a simple table with a jug of water, a jug of wine and a cup.

The five women were, in order from left to right as I faced them. Lady Keira Metz, Lady Yennefer of Vengerberg, another woman who was introduced to me as Lady Fringilla Vigo in the middle, The Empress and finally on the right sat Phillipa Eilhart.

The meeting seemed to be chaired by Lady Fringilla Vigo.

“Welcome Lord Frederick,” she said. Her voice was silky, obviously trained and only very slightly accented. I could tell that she was a native to Toussaint despite the black dress that she was wearing when I was more used to the bright colours more usual in the Toussaint court. “Please be seated.” She gestured and I sat down.

“Help yourself to something to drink.”

I caught myself glancing at Lady Eilhart regularly. She didn't seem to be paying that much attention to me though as she was scribbling on a piece of paper while she cross-referenced things to a large book that was propped open next to her. She seemed some how less than she had appeared in my visions. Less.... I suppose...Less of a caricature of herself.

I felt incredibly guilty suddenly.

“Lord Frederick?” Lady Vigo asked, smiling gently. “I understand that you've been through a lot Lord Frederick, but are you entirely well?”

I shook myself. “Just tired Lady Vigo, just tired.”

“And you have every right to be. We will do our best not to keep you but we thought it was vital that we have this meeting as soon as humanly possible. But I hope that you won't take it incorrectly if we express our dismay at the disappearance of your sister. Each of us know Lady Francesca, some of us well, and all of us share your loss keenly.”

It was not the first time that I had heard that sentiment expressed and as always I had to force down a certain amount of rage. How could they share my loss? How could they possibly know what it felt like enough to share it?

I managed to swallow it though.

This time. I had not been as successful in the past, nor would I be again in the future.

“That isn't just in our status as members of the Lodge that we say that,” said Lady Eilhart looking up from what she was writing. “But also on a personal level.” I was astonished. She held my gaze for a couple of moments before returning to what she was doing.

The Empress was looking at the table in front of her.

“We asked you here today, not to dissect the events or what led to them.” Lady Vigo began, “We are well aware of the magical things that led to the “Laughing Jack” attacks and we are doing our best to properly investigate them as well in the hope that it will give us further leads. Not only to help us find Francesca but also to find out about the people that are doing these things. The magic that was used to force that poor man to do those things was utterly alien to our understanding and we need to investigate. But that's not what this meeting is about.”

I was about to open my mouth to speak but she forestalled me.

“This meeting is about the entity Jack.” She told me. “We are aware of the magic that was used to enable you to communicate with the creature. We know the ritual and it is noted down in our records. However what it did not do was act the way it should have done.

“So the purposes of this meeting is to figure out what went wrong but also so that we can learn more about the entity itself. We would like you to tell us about your interactions with him, as factually as you can manage. At the same time we would ask that you allow one of us to enter your mind so that we can assess what was done as well. The difference between what your words might tell us and what you might have seen or felt can be telling as sometimes that can help us tell if there is anything missing from your account. Do you agree?”

I considered. I desperately wanted to say no. I didn't want to relive those moments.

“I agree,” I forced myself to say.

“Good.” Lady Vigo took care to keep my gaze locked. “Do you have a preference as to who you allow into your mind?”

“No,” I will admit to answering before I had chance to second guess myself.

Lady Vigo nodded. “Phillipa, if you wouldn't mind?”

Lady Eilhart finished the thought that she was writing and nodded as I shivered.

“This doesn't hurt Lord Frederick.” Lady Eilhart said firmly but not without sympathy. “If you should feel any pain or discomfort then know that I will feel it too as I will be making notes of these things. It will be recorded in this book. Do you have any questions?”

“Would I be able to have a copy of what we talk about?” I asked.

“That would depend.” Said Lady Vigo, “On what we determine is safe to be released.” She tried to soften her words with a smile. “We don't want some layman or unprepared person accidentally letting Jack loose on the world after all.”

I nodded. I sensed that I wouldn't get any further than that. Lady Eilhart muttered a phrase and her quill left her hand to dance over the paper and I felt a gentle but firm presence in my head. It was like a pressure just behind my eye.

“Then we will begin at the beginning. As defined from the moment that Lady Yennefer started her summoning.”

Not the most pleasant afternoon I've ever spent. But it was far more gentle than the interrogations that I'd had earlier. I gave my account. They asked infrequent questions to tease out extra details and things that I had forgotten.

Then they went back over and made some more notes before the pressure behind my eyes seemed to vanish.

Then there were some more questions but this time it was asked of Phillipa Eilhart.

I nearly fell off my chair when Lady Vigo asked me if I had any questions that I wanted to know the answer to.

“Well Lord Frederick.” Lady Vigo finished leaning back in her chair after checking that there were no more questions to be asked. “An interesting tale to be sure.” She had another look up and down the table although I noticed that she spent most time looking at Yennefer and Madame Eilhart before turning back to me.

“We have a proposition for you Lord Frederick.”

I felt my mouth hanging open in astonishment. “Oh?”

“Yes. You and Jack seemed to agree that you would write a book on the subject of him. We have discussed the matter...”

It occurred to me then that the significant looks were them all talking via telepathy.

“... and we agree that such a book is important. However we would suggest that you would only be able to provide part of the story. We wondered if you would like to collaborate with one of our number on a treatise on Jack to hopefully help prevent future mishaps and to spread a bit of understanding.”

My mouth hung open again.

“Such is the way of a scholar.” I said.

“Excellent. Then you shall write those parts of the book about the being itself and we shall provide those chapters to do with the magical theory involved. Do you have any objection to Lady Yennefer as a collaborator?”

“Uh no?” I wondered if she was being punished in some way.

“Good then, it's settled.”

The women rose and I realised that the meeting was over. The Empress had been summoned out of a side door by a message earlier.

“I'll be in touch to discuss the book.” Yennefer told me as she passed. “I would do so now but I think you've had enough for one day.” She smiled slightly and pushed her hand through her hair. “Get some rest Lord Frederick.” She left.

I stood by myself as Keira Metz and Lady Vigo stood talking to each other. Lady Eilhart was gathering up her things.

It took a bit of effort but I managed to screw up my courage and approached her.

“Lady Eilhart if I may,” I forced out.

“Mmm?” She collected everything into a satchel and hugged the book to her chest in the manner of a school mistress.

“I wanted to apologise Lady Eilhart.”

“Whatever for?” She seemed genuinely astonished.

“My vision?”

She seemed confused for a moment before chuckling in a deep and throaty voice.

“You're talking about casting me as the villain in your hallucinatory melodrama.”

I felt myself bridle. “I'm not sure I would put it quite like that.”

She laughed again and I was surprised at how musical it was.

“Lord Frederick, you were trained as a politician and a courtier when you were younger yes?”

“I was.”

“Then surely you are aware of the benefits of a carefully cultivated false reputation.” She sighed. “We have all lost a lot Lord Frederick. Far too much. If you had told me where I would be now, even ten years ago I would have slapped you for cracking a bad joke. I have seen a lot and have been betrayed by many. I have been offended by many more than that. You were not in control of your hallucinations Lord Frederick and I have carefully cultivated an attitude that inspires fear rather than trust.”

She grasped my shoulder.

“I know that I would never betray the Empress. She is too important on so many levels. But that doesn't mean I won't fight her tooth and nail, if I have to or if it's about something I need or want.”

She smiled.

“I liked your sister too Lord Frederick and if she can be found then I will find her. If she can't be found then I will find the people that did this and I will help you end them, on behalf of that poor man that was forced to do the crime if not on Lady Francesca's behalf. This is one of those few circumstances where an out and out wrong has been committed and it must be righted. After years of moral ambiguity it's actually quite refreshing to have it this way rather than having to live in the moral grey areas.”

She touched my shoulder again and moved past me leaving me to pick up my jaw from the floor.

-

It was Princess Dorn who found me next. Sleeping Beauty herself made her own way up the trail to come and find me.

I had changed my viewpoint a little so I could watch out for Kerrass. My suspicion was that as he had told the Empress where to find me, he also might have told a number of other people. A suspicion that was born out by the arrival of Princess Dorn.

She was dressed in a simple dress, devoid of any of the ornate stitch-work or ornamentation that she usually wore. There was no make-up and no jewellery but there was no disguising just how beautiful she is. She walked up, holding her skirts in one hand to where I had already risen to greet her. She also wore a hooded cloak to keep the rain off. When she saw me she stopped moving for a movement, I couldn't see much of her face yet as it was hidden inside the hood. She was carrying one of those folding stools in her other hand.

After a little while, she seemed to make her mind up and approached me.

“May I join you?” she asked after another long period of staring at my face. Her voice seemed hard and brittle to me.

“Please.” She unfolded the stool and perched on it, adjusting her cloak and hood so that she could see me and I her while also doing her best to stay dry.

The gentle rain had begun again a short while after the Empress had left. In all honesty I found that I was enjoying it. I felt as though the world was being reborn in some hard to define way and I had spent a bit of time turning my face towards the water and letting it wash over me.

I might pay for it later when I needed to clean myself up but right then and there it felt good to do so.

I sat before her, crossed my legs and rested my back against the tree. It was a little horrifying to discover that I was no longer as limber as I was and was grateful for the extra back support.

“I'm sorry,” she began. “I should have thought to bring you a seat as well.”

I smiled at her. “If the worst thing that happens over the coming weeks and months is that I should get a muddy arse, then I will be doing quite well.” I was trying for a laugh but it seemed that she was beyond that.

For someone who is, justifiably, thought of as one of, if not the, most beautiful women in the world, the Princess looked absolutely awful. She was always pale but somehow she looked sickly pale at the moment. Huge dark rings under her eyes and those same eyes were bloodshot as though she had been weeping a lot. Now that I was looking for it I found a small tremor in her hands.