What Makes A Monster - Chapter 18
Three days before the series of events that lead to the death of Leyla’s beloved pet rat, Olivia was summoned to Chennae’s favourite laboratory.
Apparently, Chennae needed to ‘talk’ to her.
Olivia had some idea of what Chennae would want of her. She’d learnt to forecast Chennae’s orders according to the order of her actions; the ones that were visible to Olivia anyway.
She didn’t say anything when she entered the lounge outside Chennae’s biggest laboratory. She went straight to the refreshments cart discarded to a far side of the room and used her hands to brew herself some craszine tea and poured it into a cup. The utensils and crockery in Chennae’s personal labs were of the sturdier sort. They were not as fragile as what was used everywhere else and so Olivia did not need to take extra care not to break them.
She sat opposite to where Chennae was lying and leaned back against the yula grass layered chair and took a sip.
“What rudeness. Aren’t you going to pour some for me?” Chennae complained as she rolled to her side to face Olivia. Her pale face was a mask of innocent expectancy as she arched her eyebrows.
“No.” she answered curtly as she sipped the heavily fragranced liquid. She scalded her tongue in the process, but it healed by the time she next lifted the cup to take a sip. Little hurts like that, she took for granted now.
Chennae scowled and summoned the snacks cart towards her. She used her zorne to pour herself some tea and grabbed it from midair in front of her before sitting up and facing Olivia.
“Do you know why I called you?”
“I have my guesses.”
“Won’t you tell me your guesses?”
“No.”
Chennae pursed her lips as she stared at Olivia.
“I’m willing to let you leave the forest.” Chennae offered.
Olivia paused for smallest second.
Her voice was soft when she asked, “At what cost?”
“Nothing big at all, just accompany Imyra back to the capital and help her out a few times. And fulfil my orders when I send them to you.”
“And you won’t tell me in advance what those orders are.”
“That would take all the fun out of it.”
After enduring several scalds to her tongue, Olivia gave in and cooled the tea down a little. After so many hours of Imyra’s teaching, controlling temperature was no longer a big deal for her. She took a sip. It was too cold. She inwardly cursed.
Olivia asked slowly, “Why do you want me to do this?”
“Because you’re the only one who has the right physical description and capabilities?”
Olivia chuckled mirthlessly as she asked what she had long guessed to be true. “Is that why you picked me? Because I had the right physical description?”
“That too.”
“There’s more?”
“Of course, there’s more. You think I’d invest this much on someone without doing a thorough background check on their suitability?”
“What about my ‘background’ made me so suitable?” Olivia put down the cold cup of tea.
“Oh my, is that curiosity I hear in your voice?”
“Must be something I picked up from Imyra.”
“How lovely! I didn’t expect her to actually be a good influence on you.”
“You never answered the question.”
“Ah, yes, of course. The question of why it had to be you. Child, isn’t it obvious? It was because you wouldn’t break too easily. You don’t feel as strongly as most people. And you’re accustomed to pain and disappointment.” Chennae’s pale pink lips stretched into a smile, “I judged you’d be able to endure it all without going completely crazy. And I was right. Your personality might have changed a little from last year, but you’re still you. I don’t need to keep you locked up in a cell, but you’re not an unthinking zombie either.” After a few moments of silence, Chennae’s sounded genuinely curious, “Say, do you hate me?”
Olivia stilled. She was surprised at the question.
Eventually, she said, “I wonder. I don’t know if I was ever capable of such a strong emotion. I dislike you. My principles demand it, so I will devise numerous ways to kill you, but no. Honestly, I don’t think I hate you.”
Chennae laughed delightedly as she gazed dotingly at Olivia, “And this is why I find it so hard to just dispose of you. You’re so refreshingly honest.”
“Then you could show me the same curtesy. Why do you want to do this at all?”
“This?”
“Send me away with Imyra.”
“Does the why matter?”
Olivia stayed quiet and looked down at her cold tea.
“The why doesn’t change what I want you to do.”
Olivia said after a long pause, “I could take the chance to run away.”
“But you wouldn’t,” Chennae replied with conviction in her youthful face. “I’m your only chance at going home.”
“I could give up on home.”
Chennae sighed with a smile still on her lips and said, “How I wish you would. I am quite loath to let you go back there after all I have invested on you.” She eyed Olivia with her bright green eyes, “But of course, you won’t. I suppose I can’t expect you to get attached to life here at the Residence.”
“So you’re letting me leave and roam this world so that I can get attached to it?”
“Frankly,” Chennae shrugged, “you’re of no great use to me here anymore. I’ve updated as much as was possible of those journals that got lost in the fire. The rest of the experiments are unsuitable for your biology, so I’ll have to procure another subject for those anyway. In terms of practicality you’re quite useless now with your lack of experience and knowledge so I’d rather you went out and experienced life outside the forest and learnt a little. I’ll reconsider jobs after that.”
“I don’t care about being of use to you. I don’t recall ever applying to work for you.”
“Cute.”
Olivia sighed, “I’m sick of you. I’m sick of this place.”
“And?”
“You’re not giving me what I want.”
“What a spoiled thing to say.” Chennae laughed.
“I was originally a spoilt child to begin with.”
“Are you trying to negotiate with me?”
“There’s no other reason for me to follow your orders. If you dislike it so much, you can kill me.”
“Ah, but you know expensive and difficult I’ve made that.”
“Exactly.”
“I could use coercion.”
“I might finally break.”
“I might like to see that.” Chennae pursed her lips for some time before allowing a grin to stretch through her mouth, “How about a reward, then.”
“You know what I want.” Olivia told her doubtfully.
“Yep. And I’ll give it to you. I’ll get you go home.”
Olivia froze.
“You don’t want to?”
Olivia looked up with hooded lids, “You can definitely let me go home?”
“If I could bring you here, there’s no reason I couldn’t take you back.”
“What’s the catch?”
“There are so many.” Olivia’s frowns deepened, but Chennae added, “None of which that will stop you from arriving ‘home’, however.”
“What do you want in return?”
“Obey my occasional orders, work hard at being my honourable ambassador and stop Imyra’s path to the Throne.”
“Not aid?”
Chennae shrugged, “She says she doesn’t want to be Empress and I don’t care. Go to the capital, live the life of this world for a while, see civilisation’s wondrous sights and just wreak havoc. What you do best. That’s all I want from you. Just give me an entertaining show to watch.”
“…”
“The Selection of Succession is going to start in earnest soon. With the identity I’ve prepared for you, you’ll be given the honorary rights of an Advocate as well as an Imperial if you really want to, you could potentially even apply to be a Candidate yourself. But unfortunately, I know you and I doubt you’d willingly do that. But who knows what fate has planned for you. I only know my own plans for you.
“Anyhow, you will have double the vote for the Throne’s Succession and as an honorary Advocate. You will set your Advocate’s Challenge to each of the Candidates. I’m not too interested in that, so you can do whatever you want with that. Make your own plans on who to fail and who to pass. Your inner sadist will find it fun, I’m sure.” Chennae laughed, thrilled at her own ideas.
“I don’t understand any of what you just told me.”
“No worries. I’ve written everything down, well, I’ve had Unani write everything down for you.” a thick tome flew out from a shelf and slammed down onto the table in front of them. “Study this well on your journey to Rozalh. Oh, on your journey you will be learning court manners also. Imyra will teach you. I can’t have you embarrassing my name too much.”
“Court manners?” Olivia repeated.
“Yes. But don’t be too earnest about learning it. We also can’t have people thinking Chennae’s disciples lack in eccentricity.”
“Wait, disciple? When did I become your disciple?”
“When you brought Imyra back and made me concoct this whole scenario. You can only blame yourself.”
Olivia scoffed, “Were all your disciples originally abducted from their homes and Frankensteined?”
“What a funny question. I don’t have disciples. I have attendants. Sometimes promoted to assistants. And if you want to know their histories, you’ll have to ask the girls themselves. Now don’t get soppy on me. You are only a disciple in name, for the Imperial court to recognize you as a legitimate ambassador. I’m not going to start treating you like a star pupil.”
“I’m about the last person to expect such a thing from you.”
“Good. As long as we understand each other.”
“Yes.”
“Oh and Zuran is supposed to come along, follow your orders and protect you, or at least, that’s what he’s been told to do, but… protect the boy, will you?”
“You mean, Zuran?”
“Uh-huh.” Chennae nodded.
“That’s unlike you. You sound almost concerned with him.”
“I wouldn’t be happy if such a pretty face suddenly met his demise, for sure, but I’m not the one who cares so much. It was Lazevere who asked when he heard I planned to send you out into the world. He thought it was about time the boy learnt some feelings. But he didn’t want his beautiful little disciple to die in the process, so here you are. His protector.”
“Of all people, you want me to teach him feelings?”
“No, no, my expectations aren’t that high,” Chennae laughed, “You don’t need to teach anything. He’s supposed to just learn those things while being around people he knows in the outside world instead of slinking around like a loner the way he usually does. The boy has no real friends out there, in case you didn’t know.
“And…Don’t you think it’ll fun? Three emotionally challenged pawns out on the battlefield of the Selection of Succession.” Chennae gave a delighted laugh, “It’s the stuff of epics. This is a rare opportunity, Olivia. I’m giving you the chance to be a Thronemaker. If you think Imyra’s fit to be on the Throne, I’ll even give you leave to go against her wishes and make her Empress. I’m leaving everything regarding the Succession to you. Manipulate the hell out of it. I know your father has taught you plenty of politicking. The only thing you’re not allowed to do is leave before I allow it. If you do, I’ll hunt you down and show you what real pain is. The kind of pain that’s worse than death and you know all about the pain of death, so it needs no elaboration.”
There was a long pause as Chennae waited.
Olivia finally spoke, “But if I do do all of this, you’ll really let me go home.”
“Yes.” Chennae nodded magnanimously.
“So I’ll only have to stay in this wretched empire until the next successors of the throne are announced then.”
“Depending on how well you follow my orders, of course.”
This came from Chennae so despite all her explanations of how easy it would be, this was a minute chance. Olivia was grasping at fragile straws. But there were no other straws dangling about to grasp at. Olivia had no choice but to take it.
“I will agree to it then. Please put it down in writing.”
