What Do We Do with Him?

"Lady Livie tortured me for days on end. Her favorite tactic was getting me riled up and then seeing how much damage I would do. I would wake up covered in animal blood or other things I would rather not think about.

Sometimes I could recall pieces of the memories, but mostly my mind was a blank for the time that passed." Gela patted the Kitsune around his neck as he spoke, finding comfort in her icy warmth.

Once the former assistant had begun his tale, the Empress and the others began to relax. In contrast to the wild beast that had attacked them before, the creature before them resembled a child's stuffed bear.

Gela sighed. "Eventually they brought Dania to the camp in the mountains. Taran was very upset with Dania for disposing of the rest of the snow bear blood and destroying her notes. He became enraged when she claimed not to have a key to read the notes that she got from her sister."

"Dania did see her sister then…" Aurora mumbled.

The last time the Empress had heard from her daughter, Mairwen was heading to see the female scientist's sister. It was the last contact they had had before the mirror went silent.

That was more than a week ago. However, Aurora was unwilling to lose hope. Until she knew for sure, the fiery-haired woman would assume everything was fine. Worrying did not help anyone.

"Even with Dania's constant begging, Taran would not give in. He forced her to use my blood instead of the bear's. She pretended to do what Taran wanted, but constantly whispered that she would try to find an antidote. Dania could hardly look at me. She was so ashamed." Gela wiped a tear from his eye, a low rumble echoing in his chest.

"You care for the scientist," Brinn noted. She had seen enough human interaction to notice the ache in the creature's voice.

Nodding, Gela sighed again. "I admire her very much. Dania is truly inspiring. I only wish Taran didn't have that hold on her."

"Hold? You mean she is in love with him?" Zan knew that the couple was technically engaged, but Mairwen had insisted that the engagement was forced.

Gela's small eyes opened in surprise. "Far from it! He loves her...well as much as a narcissist like him can love another person, but the feeling is not mutual. Perhaps it is better to say that he is in love with possessing her ability."

"Despicable," Alvar had not met the man, but he severely disliked Taran based on this description alone. The he-elf had allowed Brinn to free Aurora from her forced engagement to Ithel many years before.

Alvar had done it not just because he cared for Brinn. Rather, he knew it had been the right thing to do.

The abominable growled. "Despicable indeed. Dania doesn't love him. She probably admired him as I did once, but that time is gone. The hold he has is some leverage over her. I think it has to do with her family. Taran just kept reminding her to keep 'them' safe and that she was doing good work for humanity." Gela's nails dug into his paws.

"Be careful!" the doctor ordered. "I don't want to have to stitch up another spot on you!"

While the former assistant had been telling his tale, Phileas had been able to remove the arrowhead and patch up the wound. Gela had only seemed like he was going to go wild once, but the kitsune tickled his nose with her fluffiest tail and caused him to sneeze back into his right mind.

Relaxing his hands, Gela inhaled through his cold black nose. It was the thing that had changed the most about his face other than the white hair. With it, he could smell the little fox as well as all the mortal creatures around him and the needles of the Whispering Forest.

All of it brought him some peace. His mind eased, but was not completely unburdened.

"What ended up happening with your blood? I guess Dania did not find a cure." Nurlan knew from experience that getting out trauma was one way to heal. He could see that Gela was not finished talking but had seemed to lose his place.

"The blood? Ah, yes. Under Taran's pressure, Dania made a new concoction with healing water. It did not go as planned. The volunteers turned into mindless brutes under the perversion of the elixir. That is, the ones who didn't die fighting against it."

The experiments had taken place inside the large tent away from prying eyes. Gela could still see each of the faces of the men and women as they realized that the promised power was a lie. The contortion of their features gave him a glimpse of what had happened to him.

It had been pure torture. Whether they survived or became mindless, Gela's horror was the same.

"Stop!" he had cried until his voice had gone hoarse, but in the end it was the lack of volunteers that made Taran give up his quest.

"When Taran ran out of willing victims, he decided to move. The camp was constantly running out of healing water and carting it in was cumbersome. Dania was claiming she never had enough. So Taran moved half the troops under his control to a lake in the far north.

After some debate, he left the other abominations behind, but took me in case I was needed to further the research. I was not sad to leave Lady Livie behind. I never want to see that woman again."

"I don't blame you." Reyan shivered. Because the entire story was giving him the creeps, he had managed to stay silent up to this point. "Not that this Taran fellow seems like a better option."

Gela chuckled dryly. "Indeed he was not. When we arrived and made camp, Taran ordered his men to gather blood from predators including wolves. It did not take Dania long to recreate an elixir with the canine blood. They are closely enough related to bears that the measurements were not so different in the end. I know she delayed as long as she could, but in the end, at this new camp the wolfish abominations were born."

"Ah yes, the wolves." Aurora rubbed her cheek at the memory. "One of them nearly ended my life."

"I am most sorry. I am glad you are still here." Gela felt intense sadness at the thought of this woman coming to harm, but he could not let the emotion take over. "After the success with the wolves, Sir Taran found he no longer had use for me in the camp. It was obvious that Dania was very attached to me and was distracted by my presence. Whether pride or jealousy drove him, Taran had enough. He planned to have me moved away, but Dania caught wind of it."

"I am sure you brought her a lot of comfort," Aurora could tell by the affection in his voice that there was likely a mutual attachment between them.

"I hope I did, but I almost wish I hadn't. Because it caused the woman to do something foolish. Rather than risk Taran disposing of me, Dania snuck in during the night--I don't know how she escaped Taran's guards--and released me from my shackles. It sickens me to think of what lengths she may have gone to in order to get that key...

She set me free and told me to run. I did not get far before my escape was discovered. Taran's men have been hunting me ever since. I thought I had found a safe place in this forest, but even here they found me eventually. Some wolf abominations and their new lizard cousins chased me over the barrier but were unable to follow me.

Foxie found me when I almost died in the ice storm at the top of the mountain and has stayed with me ever since. After that, I scared the horsewoman and was attacked by the eagle people before coming back here where you found me."

Gela's tale, strange as it had been, was now complete. The relief from being heard was freeing. He held out his hands.

"You can arrest me now." He announced with resignation.

"Arrest you?" the Empress was confused.

"You said you were hunting me for information about the wolves and lizards. I was in league with them, although not intentionally. You are obviously some mighty task force." Gela had noticed their military prowess. The burly man in particular seemed like he had seen many hard-won battles.

"We are a task force, I suppose," Aurora's face lightened. Had she not tasked them with finding the 'Abominable'? Her mighty band did look formidable. "While we did come to capture you and find out what you know, I do not think arresting you would do any of us any good."

They were silent for a moment. Zan cleared his throat. "So, what exactly do we do with him, Your Majesty?"

"Your Majesty!?" Gela's furry eyebrows raised. The woman with the blue-flecked eyes certainly had regal bearing, but he had not considered who she might be.

The firery-haired woman dipped her head. "Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier. I am Aurora, Empress of Valiant." She pursed her lips and turned to her Chief Councilman. "We do the only thing we can do with him, Zan. We help him."