Chapter 58. Servitude.

Thea's village looked exactly as Nev recalled it. Not a single detail had changed, not a single brick or window was out of place. Which of course made sense considering that she possessed an eidetic memory.

Here was where Everly had confronted the creature, Mister Whisper, and executed it on the spot, before moving on to punish the members of the village council who had colluded with the monster, sacrificing the poorer members of the community in exchange for gold. A literal example of the rich eating the poor.

Nev had to admit that she took considerable satisfaction from the memory. It was true that Everly's main goal in life was to become a dark lord, but that didn't mean she had to excuse the distasteful behavior of the fellow members of her moral alignment. Cannibalism was one thing; everyone has to eat, right? But targeting the young was inexcusable.

"There," Everly suddenly said, snapping Nev out of her thoughts. "Right there. That's where I pulled his head off. He was trying to make some snappy little comments, which annoyed me, so I beheaded him. Then I had Titania flush him into some magma and that was it for him."

"Yeah, he didn't see that coming," Bev nodded. "He kind of reminded me of that dummy in the woods who turned into that big spider. You could tell right away that he was so full of himself."

"Yeah, arrogance is so annoying when other people are exuding it," Nev said. "We're the only ones around who make it look good."

"That's because we're stylish," Bev said. "We are stylish, villainous minxes. Others imitate what we innovate. Word?"

Nev high-fived her fellow duplicate in sisterly solidarity. Then she turned to Everly and said, "So, now what?"

"Now, we put an end to this," Everly said grimly. "Can't you feel it? Trying to hide from our senses? It knows we're on to it. But it's too late. It's cornered..."

"Ohhhh, shit. We're getting spooky now," Bev said giddily. "What do you think? Is it hiding in one of these houses?"

"Undoubtedly," Everly replied.

"So, what should we do? Check them one by one?"

"Are you recommending we split up? In the scary nightmare village of the baby-eating eldritch horror? Bev, please make better choices," said Nev.

"Stop acting like we're not invincible," Bev snorted.

"We're not, dummy. She is," Nev said, pointing a finger at Everly as she spoke. "The best you and I can hope for, is to become reoccurring side characters and potential fan favorites. But that's not guaranteed! Especially if you keep haphazardly waving that death flag around."

"Oh, relax, will you?" Bev said. "We've clearly become a key part of the narrative. And even if we do die, it'll happen in a way that dramatically advances the plot. Like, we'll get killed off by the chief antagonist or something. It'll probably motivate Everly to avenge us."

"That's called being fridged, stupid! You seriously want to get fridged, just to supply Everly with some inspiration? It won't even work, she's a total psycho!" Nev scoffed.

"Hey, she's neurodivergent, okay? That doesn't mean she can't feel. It just means that what she does feel is complete crazy person nonsense," retorted Bev.

"Incredible. l feel like you just made so many people begin rooting for your violent death with just that one comment," Nev said in a stunned voice.

"Huh? What did I do?" Bev asked.

"Shut up," Everly said, interrupting their conversation. "We're not splitting up, okay? We can use our will to erase these buildings from existence and reveal whoever's hiding in them."

"Oh, yeah, we can totally do that," Bev said with a sage nod of her head.

"I mean, obviously. We created this place, after all. Everything in it is ours to command," said Nev with a sage nod of her own.

"We're fucking geniuses. We are genius bitches," Bev said airily.

"The world is our oyster and we're shucking all the clams," Nev replied while assuming a dramatic pose.

"Number one wherever we go!" declared Bev.

"Uncontested beneath heaven's gaze!" mirrored Nev.

It's not a self-destructive urge if I decide to kill them both, is it? Everly thought quietly to herself.

__

One by one, the houses in the village vanished from sight, as Everly and her duplicates removed them from existence. Soon, only one remained. It was the home of the mayor, the head of the village council and the one who'd profited the most from Mister Whisper's spree of terror. Everly had personally cut the old bastard's throat in his sleep and left him gasping desperately for air in his own bed.

"Well, well," Bev said to the others. "Looks like our little friend has decided to take residence in the…uh…mayor's residence."

"I don't remember voting for this fiend," Nev said disapprovingly.

"This is why I don't approve of the concept of democracy," Bev said. "When the people choose their own leaders, situations like this can often arise. Really, it's for their own good to withhold the option from them."

"Agreed," said Nev. "A leader who can't elect themselves through overwhelming force and intimidation, is probably a sucky leader. If I were running for mayor, my slogan would be you have no choice."

"Is it crazy that I thought the exact same thing?" Bev said happily.

"Not even in the slightest--," Nev began to say, when Everly suddenly stomped her foot and sent a wave of destructive motion crashing towards the house, totaling it completely. Nev had been standing in front of her when she attacked and barely managed to avoid being struck by the shockwave.

"Hey! Friendly fire, much?" Nev shouted at Everly, as she stood and dusted off her clothes. "That was at full force! Were you trying to remove my skin or something?"

"Oh, no, you were in the way, how awful, I'm so sorry," Everly said indifferently as she walked past the other girl to examine her handiwork. The house was now an utter wreck and it seemed very unlikely that anyone inside of it could have survived.

"So, I don't even get an apology?" Nev asked as Everly continued to sift the wreckage.

"For what? You were quick on your feet, weren't you?" Everly retorted.

"Stay classy, original me," Nev muttered while Everly resumed ignoring her and continued searching for their target.

"Heh, we're such a hot mess," Bev snickered while giving Nev a sympathetic clap on the shoulder.

"Yeah, but clearly some of us more than others," Never said darkly.

"Do you think we could take her?" Bev whispered conspiratorially.

"We wouldn't stand a chance, she neutered our powers," Nev replied.

"Yeah, I get that, but for some reason, I still feel certain we could beat her if we worked together," Bev said.

"The only reason you feel that way is because we're extraordinarily overconfident," Nev chided her. "Face it, we're the Dunning-Kruger Effect with boobs. We mostly get away with it because we're usually all-powerful. But if you take away that power, then what you're left with is…I don't know, religious conservatives at a Burning Man."

"If God didn't want hippies to use all that peyote, then why did he make it taste like candy?" Bev mused.

"That was such an interesting weekend we spent hiding under our bed," Nev nodded. "Euphoria was such a bad influence on us."

"I would have broken Nate's legs and chained him up in the basement," Bev said casually. "You don't need mobility with a face like that. You just need to be available."

"I bet he'd cry pretty," Nev concurred. "Sound's hot."

"Ohhh, that's a great idea for a memory palace scenario! Holodeck, meet holo-dick," Bev tittered.

"That is so demented," Nev said dreamily. "Hey, you gotta let me watch, okay?"

"Watch? Bitch, you're tagging in!" Bev declared.

"Hoo-ra!" Nev said giddily.

They high-fived each other once more to symbolize their growing friendship. Truly, the bonds between duplicates ran deep.

Suddenly, the wreckage of the mayor's home began to shift. As though something beneath it were beginning to stir.

"Hey, did you guys see that?" Nev asked warily.

"Uh, I've been staring at it for the last ten minutes while you two have been having your little bonding session, so yes, I've noticed it," Everly said grumpily.

"Daaaaw, is poor original Everly feeling a little jealous of her duplicate's burgeoning womance?" Bev asked her.

"She's clearly envious of our sympatico homosocial vibes," Nev said. "But it's not like we're excluding you! There's plenty of room for more on this train! Self-love is self-care, Everly."

"I can't believe I'm literally trolling myself," Everly said with a confused shake of her head.

"Is that what we're doing?" Bev wondered. "Well, I guess it makes sense—ACK!"

Bev squealed in alarm when a hooded figure suddenly darted forth between her and Nev and held a blade at her throat.

"Back away. Do it now, or she dies," said the girl holding the weapon. "I promise it'll hurt."

"Well, that's quite a threat you're making there," Everly said with an amused smile. "Although, in all fairness, I must warn you that it's not a very effective one. She's been working my last nerve for a while, haven't you, Beverly?"

"What can I say? I enjoy being provocative," Beverly admitted. "It's a character flaw we should work on. Not that I believe we have any actual character flaws, mind you."

"Honestly, I think we're perfect the way we are," Nev said.

"I kind of hate you both, but I also kind of concur," Everly admitted.

"Shut up! SHUT UP!" the girl yelled. A vein throbbed visibly on her forehead, so intense was her anger. "You like making everything into a joke, don't you, Everly? Nothing matters except for your personal amusement, is that right? Well, to hell with you!"

"Oh, she's mad. I think she's really mad, guys!" Bev chortled.

"Heh, it's like watching a squirrel trying to intimidate a pit bull," Nev sneered.

"I think they've got you there, Thea," Everly said to the hooded figure.

"Huh. So, you finally figured it out," Thea said, as she let the hood of her cloak drop down. "I bet you must feel awfully clever right now."

"Well, it was the 'me' over there who put it together first," Everly said, nodding towards Nev. "Once she pointed out certain discrepancies about our memories of this day, it became obvious what you'd done. This village, the monsters, the storyline ripped straight out of an old Stephen King movie. You made the whole thing up as a cover."

"It was true we killed a troll that day on the bridge," Nev said. "And we did see a body floating downstream. But everything else was complete bullshit. Like, why would we fish some random body out of the river? Why would we even care?"

"Yeah, that's definitely not like us," Bev concurred. "And how would we have been able to give you a perfect resurrection without a copy of your mind? That's not how it works!"

"Oh, but where you really went overboard was when you had us altruistically rescue your village with no interest in a reward. You seriously think I'd just leave the gold behind? Thea, I don't even need it, but I'd still take it with me on principle alone. I'm a terrible fucking person."

"Then there was the part where we'd remember things that we couldn't possibly have seen, like when you were chased out of the village and then you later on fighting Whisper's relatives," Nev said with a smirk. "How would we even know about that? You were being too clever, kid."

"All so you could pump my head full of remorse," Everly said with a growing frown. "You little idiot. Did you really think you were going to get away with it? Why didn't you just pull a Freddy Kruger and kill me in my dreams? That, I could understand. Did you simply not have the guts for vengeance?"

"I-I don't want vengeance!" Thea cried out angrily. The dagger she held at Bev's throat began to tremble violently as she spoke. "I want justice! I wanted you to feel true remorse for what you'd done and to seek punishment and redemption! That's what Fenneth wants!"

"Wants? Present tense? What are you babbling about, Elemental?" Everly demanded.

Now Thea began to laugh.

"You really don't understand anything, you selfish monster!" she yelled. "In the instant, before you snuffed out her life, I took in everything that she was. Her memories, her thoughts and feelings, everything that made her who she was, and then I fled into your mindscape while you were distracted by your awful deeds!"

"Why didn't Eris stop her?" wondered Bev aloud.

"Oh, don't you remember? Everly pulled her out into the real world and messed her up for some stupid reason. Utilizing those great people skills that she's known for," Nev said with a sneer.

"Shut up!" Everly said. "I had a great reason for disciplining Eris at the time!"

"Oh, yeah? What was it?" Nev asked her.

"…I don't remember," Everly admitted.

"It's cool, I don't really care," Nev admitted as well.

"God, all of you, you're just so awful!" Thea said furiously.

"Yeah, well, that's us in a nutshell," Everly said with a shrug. Then she snapped her finger.

Before Thea could react, vines shot forth from the ground and wrapped themselves around her, binding her limbs and forcing her to drop her weapon. In moments, she was made completely helpless.

"Ha!" snorted the now-free Beverly. "Nice try, dummy. But this is the memory palace. Everything in here exists according to our will. One of its most basic features is that nothing can harm us! Oh, looks like you dropped something," she said as she reached down and picked up Thea's discarded dagger.

"Playing with knives is dangerous, kid," Nev said as she stepped behind Thea and began running her fingers through her hair, before she suddenly gripped it savagely and pulled her head back with a vicious tug. "Maybe we need to teach you a little responsibility?" she murmured into her ear.

"Please don't hurt me," Thea trembled. Fear had displaced her anger and the bravery it brought with it.

"Ohhh, you know we want to be an accommodating hostess, sweetie, but that might be too tough a thing to ask," Bev said as she gently began pulling the edge of the dagger down Thea's cheek. "You see, we really want to hurt you."

"It's not like you have anywhere to go, or any chance of escape," Nev grinned.

"So why not stay and play with us? You're so pretty, and we have so many sick fantasies," Bev whispered, as she ran her finger along the wound she'd made and licked it with a smile of delight.

"Please…please, I'm all that's keeping what's left of her alive," Thea sobbed. "If you kill me, Fenneth really will be gone."

"If? Ha! Did you hear that, Nev? This silly thing said if we killed her," Bev laughed. "Can you believe it?"

"Hopes springs eternal in the hearts of the foolish," Nev chuckled. "So, are we going to take turns? Can we flip for who goes first?"

"I'm not flipping for anything, I'm the one who found the knife," Bev said.

"Oh, come on! I know you, once you get going, there'll barely be anything left for me," Nev pouted.

"I promise not to touch her eyes, her ears, or her tongue," Bev offered.

"Oh, phooey," Nev said unhappily. "Well, I guess I'll take what I can get."

"Both of you, knock it off," Everly said as she stepped between Bev and Thea. "I've had a sudden burst of inspiration. We're not killing this little parasite after all."

"What? Everly, what the actual Eff are you talking about?" Beverly said angrily. "You were the one who wanted to kill this moron more than anyone. Now you're backing down just because she's playing the Fenneth card?"

"Yeah, are you sure you're not going soft or something? What's the deal?" Nev asked. "We're the same person. We are LITERALLY the same freakin' person. I want to kill this little gnat, so I know that means you do, too. So, why the hell are we holding back?"

"Preach, woman, preach!" said Bev. "Everly, I have such a metaphorical murder boner right now, but you're really blue-balling my nonexistent balls! What's with the sudden self-denial?"

"THINK ABOUT IT," Everly said, barely able to hide her frustration with how stupid she could be sometimes.

"What are you talking about—Oh. Oh. Okay, that makes sense," Nev said begrudgingly once she realized what Everly was getting at.

"Is someone going to share, or am I going to keep standing here referencing genitals I don't have?" Bev asked impatiently.

"Bev, what's the one thing even we can't do?" Nev asked her patiently.

"Disrespect the Wu-Tang clan," Bev answered at once.

"What's the other thing?"

"Cast healing magic."

"Ding-Ding," Everly said. Then she pointed at the captive Thea. "Now, what kind of elemental is this?" she asked her fellow dupe.

"A light elemental," Bev said.

"And who did she once belong to?"

"Fenneth."

"And what was Fenneth's specialty?"

"…Oh. Okay, I reluctantly concede your point," Bev said in defeat.

"Exactly," Everly said. She stepped towards the helpless Thea and placed both of her hands on the sides of her face, forcing her prisoner to meet her intense gaze. "You're mine, now. Forever. Get it?"

Tears poured from Thea's eyes. But she nodded.

"Good. I'm glad you understand," Everly said happily. "What's your name? Your real name, that is."

Thea hesitated to speak. She fought the urge to answer Everly's question and resisted the urge to show obedience. But when she looked past her new mistress and saw the wicked expressions worn by Nev and Beverly, she knew she truly didn't have a choice.

Giving in to Everly was the same as betraying Fenneth. But being killed by her would have been the same as letting Fenneth die all over again. And that was no choice at all.

"I'm Discordia," the elemental admitted before bowing her head in shame.

"Discordia, huh" Everly grinned, sounding the name out as though she were tasting something sweet. "I like it."

The vines surrounding Discordia vanished, causing her to drop clumsily to the ground. Everly then extended a hand to her and helped her rise to her feet.

"Welcome to the family."