Chương 122: Chapter 118 - Setting the Record Straight

"Coming!" Bea replied pleasantly. There was a shuffle from the other side of the door, followed by the click of the latch. Bea opened it with the expression of someone who'd been interrupted.

"What do you want kid?" she asked while opening the door. Chelsea didn't ease into the question.

"So you killed Ivy's brother?" Bea's eyes went wide.

"I-what? Why would you… ah me? Get in here." She stepped back at once and waved them inside. Chelsea entered first, with Freya close behind her. Bea checked the hallway before closing the door, then turned back toward them.

"So?" Chelsea asked.

"Why?" She threw her arms up in frustration. Her shield clipped the edge of her horn making a knocking sound. Bea crossed her arms and leaned back against the door.

"Look. Before you left your little boy toy at the guild who was always sniffing around wherever you sat… well apparently Ivy's brother and that reading leech guy approached him." She pushed off of the door and walked toward the desk.

"Get this. They thought you rejected him so they gave him two teleportation cards to switch out when you accepted your next job. On the other side were two cages and all sorts of fun tools of torture." Bea looked off in mild appreciation and mild disgust.

"Not proper tools mind you. Cheap and amateur." Chelsea went still with her eyes wide. For a moment, she could see it too clearly. A job from the guild being handed over by someone she trusted enough not to question. One step onto the circle, then cages and a slow painful agonizing death where no one in her family could find and save her.

"How did you find out?" Chelsea asked in a whisper.

"Turns out you being nice to everyone pays off sometimes. The poor little shit didn't want his beloved succubus to come to harm. He came to me for help. Why the fuck do you think I was so gods damned chipper that day?" She eyed Freya.

"I can say gods damned, right?" Freya shrugged noncommittally.

"I swiftly killed them, putting them out of their misery cleanly and I definitely didn't torture them for about eight to nine... and a half hours. Then I brought you a fucking goody bag. You're welcome again by the way." Chelsea gasped.

"You said you had a special quest that day. Why let everyone think I did it?"

"Because it was easier of course. You were off doing Valhalla shit and you already confirmed you don't have a guild there so it didn't really matter." Bea gave an unbothered shrug.

"Except you let Ivy think I killed her brother and stole his organs."

"Chels," she said, lolling her head to the side.

"You and her both hated him. Three years is a long time to get over being mad at Chelsea fucking Wixx because of something as insignificant as killing someone she hated. Also, she left almost immediately after finding out so I didn't exactly have time to sit her down and explain how much he cried and apologized for everything he ever did to her." Chelsea stared at her aunt. The worst part was that Bea had not meant harm to Chelsea. Not really.

She'd found a threat, destroyed it, and let the simplest story carry the mess away because she thought Chelsea would be too distant to be touched by it. It was, unfortunately, solid reasoning. It was also exactly the sort of reasoning Bea would think of right away.

"Not a fan of being kicked out and banned from the adventurer's guild but you weren't too far off with your thought process. If nothing else, thanks for keeping us safe." She said through a sigh. She was still upset with her but she just wished she'd at least cleaned up her mess afterward. Had the bodies been burned or disposed of, none of this would have been a problem. But alas... Chelsea stepped forward and hugged her aunt. Bea went still and, somehow, knew enough not to hug back.

It made Chelsea's throat hurt with emotion. Bea… Twisted and demented Bea, had become one of the few people in the house who understood the difference between being offered contact and returning it.

"You're the best aunt I could hope for," Chelsea whispered kissing Bea on the cheek. Bea looked uncomfortable with the tenderness, which made Chelsea laugh a genuine laugh. By the time Chelsea and Freya reached the hallway again, Chelsea had already made her decision. She stopped outside Bea's door and looked toward the stairs.

"What are our plans from here?" Freya asked. Chelsea touched the strap holding her shield to her hand. For a moment, she thought about going back to her room and crawling into bed. She shook her head.

"I need to fix this," Chelsea said. Freya watched her carefully.

"I need to head to the guild and explain the situation fully."

"You're banned from entering."

"I know." Freya smiled a wide smile.

"That's not going to stop you, is it?." Chelsea almost smiled in return. They went downstairs and out through the front doors. The sunlight felt too bright after the manor, and Chelsea hesitated on the top step. Her hand tightened around the shield strap again. She expected people to stare with hatred at the little white demon who'd supposedly murdered seven adventurers and eaten the best parts. Instead, the first person to notice her was their older groundskeeper near the gate.

"Miss Chelsea!" Chelsea was taken aback by the warm greeting.

"Hi." The man grinned.

"Good to see you back home, Miss." Chelsea gave a small wave because she didn't know what else to do. They passed through the gate and headed toward the main road. Chelsea stayed close to Freya at first, waiting for the mood to change once they reached more people. A woman selling fruit at the corner clapped her hands when she saw Chelsea.

"Miss Chelsea Wixx! Oh, look at you. Back already?" Chelsea stopped because the woman had already started filling a small paper sack with sugared berries.

"I uh… I can't actually eat those."

"I know, dear. They're for whoever you want to make happy today." The woman pressed the sack into Chelsea's free hand before she could object. Chelsea stared at it.

"Thank you." They walked on. Freya said nothing, but Chelsea could feel her watching. The next interruption came from two children darting out from a side street. One of them wore a knitted cap too large for his head, and the other carried a wooden toy sword. They stopped several feet away, not out of fear, but because they were trying very hard to look respectful.

"Miss White Demon!" the boy with the cap called. Chelsea froze. She thought he was being rude at first by calling her that, then she saw his smile.

"Hello."

"My sister says you made the house get fixed." Chelsea looked down at him.

"Did she?" He nodded seriously.

"She says the roof doesn't drip on her blanket anymore." The girl with the toy sword lifted it slightly.

"Are you really a Valkyr now?" Chelsea looked at the sword, then at the girl's face.

"Yeah." She replied simply with a smile The girl's eyes widened with open admiration.

"I knew it." Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Chelsea swallowed. She had thought the town would be afraid and turn on her after the Bea stuff. She had forgotten that relationships meant more than rumors. They had children who slept under roofs she'd paid to repair. They had merchants who remembered a demon girl who said please and thank you. Relationships had people who'd been treated kindly when Chelsea had no reason to gain anything from it.

The city had known her before the accusation. By the time they reached the busier street near the guild district, Chelsea had been stopped four more times. Each greeting felt… weird. The world was not reacting the way she'd prepared herself for, and Chelsea didn't know how to react in kind. Freya finally spoke when they turned onto the street leading to the Adventurer's Guild.

"You look surprised." Chelsea held the paper sack of berries carefully against her chest.

"I thought everyone would see me as a monster." Freya's expression stayed calm, but her eyes were soft.

"You spent a month teaching people how to see you. One accusation doesn't erase every moment they saw before it. Something tells me not a single person in this kingdom truly believes it was you. Not really. Even your mother and…" She seemed to get that look again on her face. That too-happy face. It wasn't that Chelsea didn't like seeing it on her but she wanted in on the joke.

"Fiona. I bet they never actually believed it either. Sure they were surprised but did they believe it?"

"Ivy? She… left…" Chelsea looked away before that could make her cry in the middle of the street.

"Ivy was emotional after hearing her brother had just been killed." The Adventurer's Guild rose ahead of them. Chelsea had entered that building so many times that part of her still expected to walk in, find Henry, and grab the stack of unsorted jobs. Now she was banned and her membership had been dissolved. Several adventurers stood outside near the entrance. Chelsea slowed when they noticed her.

One man she recognized from reading requests stared a little too long, and Chelsea felt herself bracing for the accusation. Instead, a woman with a bandaged forearm smiled.

"Chelsea Wixx. Back from being a Valkyr?" Chelsea blinked.

"I am." Another adventurer near the wall laughed.

"Good to see you, kid." Chelsea stared between them. No one called her murderer or reached for a weapon. She took a breath. Then she stepped toward the front doors, waiting for one of them to stop her. No one moved. Freya remained at her side. Before Chelsea could reach for the handle, it opened from inside. Willow stood in the doorway. Her expression tightened the moment she saw Chelsea. There was guilt there. Chelsea lifted her chin.

"I need to talk to you." Willow looked past Chelsea for half a second. Her eyes found Freya. The guildmaster did not know who stood beside Chelsea. She was too disciplined to stare, but the instinct was there. Anyone with sense could feel the weight of the woman at Chelsea's side. Something far older than the kingdom they stood in or even the guild. Then Willow looked back at Chelsea.

"I imagine you do." Chelsea waited and Willow stepped aside.

"I'm banned, remember?" A few of the adventurers outside were silent, watching the exchange. Not everyone had known that part, apparently. The woman with the bandaged arm frowned toward the guildmaster. Willow's face tightened.

"You are not entering as a member. You are entering at my invitation." Chelsea stared at her, took one breath, then stepped inside. The Adventurer's Guild smelled exactly the same. Chelsea had expected the familiarity to hurt, and it did, but not in the way she thought it would. It felt less like being pushed out and more like finding a room that had kept her favorite chair. People looked up and people's conversations thinned just like good old times. Chelsea's shoulders rose slightly.

Her fingers moved toward the shield strap before she caught herself and forced her hand still. She had walked through this hall countless times. She knew the counter. She knew the tables. She knew the board where jobs were posted and the scratches on the floor near the wash area from adventurers dragging monster parts inside before someone yelled at them. Then a man near the back lifted his cup.

"Welcome back, Miss Wixx." Someone else echoed it.

"Good to see you, Chelsea." It spread in small pieces, not loud enough to become a cheer, but warm enough that Chelsea had to look down for a moment. Willow watched the room settle, then turned toward the stairway that led to her office. Chelsea followed and Freya came with her. Once inside the office, Willow shut the door behind them. Chelsea didn't sit. Freya remained near the wall with her arms folded, calm and silent.

The office looked much the same as it always had, though the stacks of paper were higher than Chelsea remembered. One pile near the edge of the desk had red wax seals on several reports. Chelsea knew what those were before Willow touched them.

"You dissolved my membership and banned me." Willow sat behind her desk, then seemed to reconsider and stood again.

"Yes."

"You told Ivy that you investigated her brother's death and concluded it was me." Willow's expression changed.

"I told her the findings of an investigation dealing with her only blood family member in the city, yes." Chelsea's anger rose quickly enough that Freya shifted beside the wall. Just enough to remind Chelsea she was there. Chelsea breathed through it.

"You knew me, Willow."

"I did and I knew you had access to means most adventurers don't." Chelsea laughed once. It came out colder than she meant it to.

"Money."

"Money. Proxies. Contracts. People willing to do things because Chelsea Wixx asked nicely or paid better than anyone else in the city." Chelsea looked away. That was the same point Adriane had made, and hearing it from Willow made it a bit more difficult to dismiss. Power had not only changed what Chelsea could do. It changed what people believed she could do. Willow continued more quietly.

"Seven adventurers were found dead. Tortured. Mutilated. Missing organs you are known to eat. All of them had personal history with you. One of them was Ivy's brother. The estimated time of death placed it near your departure to Valhalla. I had to act."

"You could have asked me."

"You were in Valhalla."

"You could have visited my mother and had her write me!" Chelsea threw her hands up, and yelling. Her frustration at the simple cold answer bubbling over.

"I did talk to your mother." Chelsea went still. Willow reached for one of the sealed reports, opened the top drawer, and removed a folded copy of a letter.

"I visited Adriane. I told her what evidence had been found and that the guild was taking temporary action until the investigation finished. I asked if you had any explanation. She replied that you were unreachable and that she did not believe you were responsible." Her mother hadn't mentioned that part. Of course she hadn't. Chelsea had been in Valhalla, breaking in herself. Adriane had probably decided the whole thing was ridiculous, and tried to shield Chelsea from it until there was something useful to say.

"That still hurt Ivy."

"Yes," Willow said with a sigh and a small nod. The answer was immediate. Chelsea looked up.

"I know it did. I know it hurt you too. But I also know what would have happened if I had left your name active while adventurers believed you were hunting their own. We had three parties asking to take retaliatory contracts against Wixx properties within the first two days." Chelsea's eyes widened. Willow's voice hardened.

"I denied them. All of them. Then I banned discussion of revenge postings entirely. The dissolution was public enough to make people believe the guild was handling it. That kept idiots from trying to handle it themselves and truly getting themselves killed." Chelsea had not expected that. She thought that Willow just haphazardly did an investigation and closed it as 'Chelsea did it.' The anger did not vanish. Willow's gaze moved between them.

"You said you needed to talk to me. I assume that means you have something." Chelsea nodded.

"Aunt Bea killed them." Willow's face did not change much. That was probably why she was guildmaster.

"Beatrix Wixx?"

"Yes." Chelsea's tail flicked once. Willow folded her hands on the desk.

"Why?" Chelsea hesitated. She could not just throw Bea under the bus and call the problem solved. Bea had killed them. Bea had also saved Chelsea from something that might have been worse than death. The order of those facts didn't make this simple.

"They were going to kidnap me and torture me," Chelsea said. Willow's expression became more… hard. Strangely on an elf her size and shape, it came off more cute. Chelsea told her the rest. She told Willow that Ivy's brother and Easton had given teleportation cards to someone in the guild. She told her Bea found out, handled it, and let the city blame Chelsea because Chelsea was already gone. By the time she finished, Willow's face had gone cold. That look was not cute.

"Who did they give the cards to?" Chelsea swallowed.

"I don't want him punished."

"That depends on what he did."

"He brought it to Bea because he didn't want me hurt." Willow held her gaze for a moment, then walked to the office door and opened it.

"Henry." She yelled to the open air of the guild hall. Chelsea's heart dropped. She knew. Of course she knew. Everyone knew how he felt about her. A few seconds passed before Henry appeared at the doorway, pale and wide-eyed. He froze when he saw Chelsea.

"Miss Wixx." He looked guilty. Terrified too, but mostly guilty. The poor boy had probably spent months thinking his attempt to save her had somehow caused everything that followed. Willow stepped aside.

"Come in and close the door." Henry obeyed, though he looked as if he might faint before reaching the chair. Chelsea softened her voice as much as she could.

"Henry, I'm not mad at you." His eyes reddened immediately.

"I didn't know what to do."

"I know." Chelsea nodded.

"They said you denying me should be embarrassing and I should want revenge." he said, the words rushing out.

"They said all I have to do was when you too a job if I gave you the cards they would take revenge for me. I thought it was wrong. You were always kind to me, Miss Wixx, and they didn't know I was the one who… rejected you." He looked down at his lap in embarrassment. Willow closed her eyes. Chelsea stepped forward slowly. Henry stiffened, but not from fear of her. More like he expected punishment from somewhere and did not know which direction it would come from.

"You saved me," Chelsea said. Henry looked up at her.

"What?"

"You saved me. If you'd given me those cards, I would've used them. I trusted you. That means your warning probably saved my life." Henry's face crumpled. Chelsea wanted to hug him and immediately hated that she was not sure if she could. She glanced toward Freya without meaning to. Freya's eyes softened but she did not move. This had to be Chelsea's choice. Chelsea held out her armored hand instead. Henry looked at it for half a second before taking it. His hand shook.

"Thank you," Chelsea said. Henry nodded quickly, wiping at his face with his other sleeve. Willow's voice was controlled when she spoke again.

"Henry, did you keep anything? The cards, notes, anything they gave you?" He shook his head.

"Very well." Willow said, "That's all we need. Thank you." Henry hurried out. Chelsea watched him go. Willow closed the door more gently this time.

"That may be enough to reopen the investigation."

"Enough to reinstate me?" Willow looked at her.

"Not yet. But eventually, yes." Willow continued before she could speak.

"But enough to suspend the ban while I review the matter personally." Chelsea blinked.

"Does it mean I can come in again?" Willow's stern expression softened slightly.

"I am sorry, Chelsea." Chelsea did not know what to do with that. She had wanted an apology from someone. Willow? Ivy? She wasn't sure. Still, it was something.

"Thank you." Is all she managed. Amber The words appeared and were… wild. Where did they come from? She somehow got the Blessing of Freya? How did she do that? It even came with a nasty little title when she assigned it. The Battle God's Chosen? Hell… yes! Amber Wixx the Battle God's Chosen! It even gave five strength. Which became six because of the blessing. Did every baby get a blessing from some apparent god? She could move more freely inside her warm sack. But she was terrified too.

She didn't want to hurt her mother or be born too early. She wasn't sure if this world had a way of handling preemies. She decided to just get rid of the title altogether. Probably for the best. But after she was born? If Amber could smirk she would. Slowly sleep took her. Slowly, the darkness of her amniotic prison gave way. She was… floating? She could see! And the constant thwum of her mother's heartbeat was missing. It was like that feeling after your last hiccup. Your body still anticipates it.

Amber looked around at her setting. It looked like a Viking beerhall or whatever they called them. There were taxidermied creatures on the wall and dark wood everywhere. She noticed tapestries. Eleven… twelve of them. Finally, she stopped. She wasn't alone. Someone was staring at her. There was a giant face in the sky. Its eyes were glowing like old-school TV static. And… she… she was definitely a she… She was crying.

"Hello there." Miss Sky-Face finally said after after a few dozen seconds of just crying.