Sorceress of the Second Sphere

13. Nimue's Justice - Chrys

"He decided not to court me after that incident," Chrys chuckled, carefully plying a brush through the silky smooth blue hair of her new mistress.

As the brush glided through Nimue's hair, Chrys breathed in deeply, allowing the deep smells of Lavender and some other incense, unfamiliar to her, to fill her nostrils. It had always been her greatest fascination, to smell what incense her current mistress preferred to fill her room with. Apart from that one time, a mistress with a severe flatulence problem refused to use any type at all.

"Girl?" Nimue questioned, returning Chrys' thoughts from the strange unfamiliar smell.

"Yes, milady?"

"You talk too much," Nimue commented abruptly.

Stroking Nimue's soft but fine hair, Chrys immediately apologised, "My apologies, milady."

Nimue's eyes, for the first time since Chrys worked on her hair, tore themselves away from her reflection, "Yet, I find your voice somewhat soothing, where are you from, girl?"

"Thank you, milady," Chrys smiled, her dimples quickly sinking into her cheeks. "The Isles of Clover, milady. They are beautiful at this time of the year, especially at night when the sun starts to set and..." Chrys stopped midflow, aware that her words were likely to irritate Nimue.

A small smile could be seen on Nimue's face, "Your name, girl, what is it again?"

"Chrysanthemum, milady."

"Good gods, what type of mother calls a child with that mouthful?" Nimue replied.

"Most people just call me Chrys, milady."

Chrys continued to carefully knead Nimue's hair, aware that the blue-eyed woman hadn't taken her focus away from Chrys' reflection.

"These Isle of Clover, are they within my empire?" Nimue asked.

Her empire? Chrys wanted to desperately call up lady Nimue for her lack of understanding of her position within the Empire, but to do so would be not only futile but likely extremely dangerous.

"They are a group of islands southwest of Ravenscourt, milady."

Nimue's face screwed up as Chrys spoke, "Oh, don't talk of that place. Arnaud has been in a dreadfully bad mood since that ghastly predicament to the west began."

Chrys did everything she could, not to smile. Since travelling to Lionmane, she desperately missed her home at Ravenscourt, and when news of the reserve army laying siege to it had quickly escalated throughout the city like wildfire, she felt like she had been stabbed repeatedly in the heart. When news of Ravenscourt's triumph filtered through, it had given birth to several celebrations in the sewers of Lionmane. As reports of the last remaining Aex-Igh, Loldirr Wraithslayer, started to surface, becoming more than just a myth, Chrys' actions as the Nightengale had gathered substantial momentum.

"In fact, Arnaud has been in a bad mood since that red-haired slut arrived in Lionmane," Nimue commented with a tinge of venom behind it.

Chrys could feel herself holding Nimue's hair a little tighter, while unnatural thoughts of slamming the blue-haired mistress' head on the table seem to gather at the forefront of her mind.

A wave of anger rose inside of Chrys, one that she was not familiar with and it only seemed to compound itself further as the insult to Loldirr rattled in her mind. It was only when Nimue's soft but bitter voice cut across the room, that the thought of the undescribable damage that Chrys wanted to inflict on her seeped away into oblivion.

"Girl, continue with my hair, we have an appointment to attend to soon."

Chrys did all she could, not to frown at the term 'girl', especially after mentioning her name several times already. She was used to being degraded by those who considered her to be less than human, but from Nimue, it seemed to grate at her. Perhaps it was her narcissistic traits, but more than likely it was the fact that she was the complete opposite of Loldirr.