“Do we tell her now?” Ivy asked.
Chelsea looked toward her.
Ivy was trying to keep her voice steady, but Chelsea could hear the worry underneath it. Celeste had done more damage in a few minutes than Chelsea wanted to admit. Not real damage, maybe. But enough to leave Ivy stressed.
“She’s supposed to be my new confidant,” Chelsea said, “so we may as well spill some of the secrets from my soon-to-be former confidant.”
Ivy looked down.
Chelsea immediately reached for her hand.
“Former confidant,” Chelsea said, squeezing her fingers. “Not my former girlfriend.”
Ivy looked up again.
Chelsea pulled her closer and intertwined their fingers. Ivy’s expression softened, though only a little. There was still pain there. Chelsea hated that. She hated that her life kept asking Ivy to be strong in ways Chelsea couldn’t reward properly.
“Come up to our room,” Chelsea said to Passion.
Passion glanced toward the overturned chairs and scattered equipment, then back to Chelsea. “Are we leaving this?”
Chelsea followed her gaze.
Chelsea sighed. “I’ll fix it later.”
Ivy gave her a look.
“I will definitely fix it later!” She reiterated a bit more firmly. “Hold on,” Chelsea said after a few steps. “Let me switch titles. Celeste is banging on the ability.”
Passion’s eyebrows rose. “Banging on the ability?”
“She can alert me now when she wants control.”
“You have a new title?” Ivy asked.
“An old one,” Chelsea replied. “But I never paid it much mind. There we go.”
The pressure in the back of Chelsea’s mind dulled, and Celeste’s presence became less immediate.
Chelsea exhaled. “Ah, so much quieter. It lets Celeste have more freedom.”
“I’m sorry,” Passion said from behind them, “but who is Celeste exactly?”
“In the room,” Chelsea said. “I’ll tell you most of my secrets.”
The other ten Valkyr and Freya had departed for Valhalla earlier that morning. Passion had been left behind to gain more favor with Chelsea and act as a protector of sorts. Chelsea thought the second reason was ridiculous. Her mom was still in the manor, and Chelsea did not think anyone sane would call her insufficient protection.
Passion followed them upstairs, keeping a respectful distance. Chelsea was starting to appreciate that about her. Passion asked questions, and she watched too closely, but she was trying now.
Once they reached the room, Passion stepped inside last and closed the door.
Chelsea and Ivy sat on the bed together.
Ivy pulled Chelsea into her without hesitation, and Chelsea let herself settle there. She needed the contact more than she wanted to admit in front of Passion. Their legs pressed together, Ivy’s arm wrapped around Chelsea’s waist, and Chelsea leaned into her side.
Passion stood near the door for a moment. She looked uncomfortable.
Chelsea realized why after a second. She and Ivy were not doing anything inappropriate, but they were close in a way that made the room feel private. Passion had been invited in, but she still looked as if she had wandered into something she shouldn’t be seeing.
“So,” Passion finally said after a few moments. “What are these big secrets that your mother threatened the Valkyr over?”
Chelsea lifted her head from Ivy’s shoulder.
“Before that, I want to apologize for my outburst last night,” Chelsea said. “I was having some big emotions, and you just so happened to be in their path. You didn’t deserve it. I’m sorry.”
Passion blinked.
Then she gave a small laugh. “No, it’s fine. You confused the hell out of Suffering and Deceit though.”
Chelsea winced. “Sorry.”
“They were fine.” She replied with certainty.
Chelsea smiled despite herself, then took a breath and tried to shift her thoughts back to the reason they were here.
“Okay. Well, first off, what level are you?”
Passion straightened slightly. “I’m thirty-two.”
She answered right away, and there was obvious pride in it. She had earned that level, and she was proud of it.
Ivy made a small deflated sound.
Chelsea looked at her.
Ivy’s mouth twisted. “I thought I was closer.”
“What level are you?” Passion asked.
“Twent-Six,” Ivy said.
Passion looked impressed. “That is not low.”
“No,” Ivy agreed. “It just feels low all of a sudden.”
Chelsea squeezed her hand. “You’re doing amazing.”
Ivy gave her a faint smile, but Chelsea could tell she was already doing the math in her head. Ivy had a serious gap to make up if she wanted to stand near the Valkyr, and Chelsea knew that would bother her. Levels after thirty slowed down impossibly.
“And what level do you think I am?” Chelsea asked, pulling Passion’s attention back.
Passion studied her. “The equipment I’ve seen you using appears to be of rare quality, so I would say mid-to-late twenties?”
“Solid reasoning,” Chelsea said. “I have to applaud you, but no. Much lower.”
Passion frowned. “eighteen?”
“Keep going.”
“I don’t think someone much lower could even become a Valkyr.” Passion hesitated. “Fifteen?”
“Chelsea is level one,” Ivy said with a smirk.
Passion looked at her.
Ivy pressed her mouth to Chelsea’s cheek. “A level one who can throw me around however she wants.”
Chelsea let out a small, embarrassing sound and shivered.
Passion stared.
“Joking aside,” Passion said carefully, “is she level fifteen? Or still lower?”
“Oh no,” Chelsea said. “Ivy wasn’t joking. I’m level one.”
Passion let out an awkward laugh.
Neither Chelsea nor Ivy laughed with her.
The laugh faded.
“No,” Passion said slowly. “That’s not possible. There are stat requirements to become a Valkyr.”
“I overcame them with equipment,” Chelsea said with a shrug.
“That’s not how equipment works. You can’t even use any gear if you’re level one.”
Chelsea turned toward Ivy. “Can you reach into my pouch and grab my weapon? Hand it to her.”
Ivy did as asked, though her eyes remained on Passion. She reached into Chelsea’s pouch and pulled out the black stick.
Passion stared at it.
“That is your weapon?”
Chelsea nodded. “It is.”
Ivy held it out.
Passion took it carefully, and the moment her fingers closed around it, her expression changed.
“Use The Eyes on it and tell me what you can see,” Chelsea said.
Passion held the stick carefully. She stared at it for a few moments, her expression growing more confused with each passing second.
“It’s a broken-quality spear?” Passion asked.
“In your hands, yes, exactly.”
Chelsea reached for it.
Ivy took it back from Passion and handed it to Chelsea. The moment Chelsea’s fingers closed around the weapon, it shifted. The short black stick extended, reshaping itself into a spear.
Passion stared.
“In my hands,” Chelsea said, “it’s Rare+1.”
Passion looked at the spear, then at Chelsea.
Chelsea smiled.
Chelsea laughed. “I have a soul-marked ailment and a soul-marked enhancement. The ailment keeps me at level one, and the enhancement lets me increase broken and junk-quality equipment classification to, right now, Rare+1.”
Passion’s mouth opened slightly.
“I’m purposely keeping it there, though,” Chelsea added. “I have some ways of increasing it to, I think, Historic right now. Maybe Historic+1.”
Passion’s eyes snapped back to her. “H-how...”
“Oh, that’s only the first of Chelsea’s many secrets,” Ivy said with a huge smirk.
Chelsea looked at her.
Ivy had clearly decided she enjoyed being on this side of the reveal far too much.
“Tell her how many titles you can have,” Ivy said.
Chelsea sighed. “You are way too happy about this.”
“I suffered through learning these things alone,” Ivy replied. “Now someone else gets to be confused.”
Passion looked between them. “How many titles can you have?”
Chelsea hesitated.
Then she told her.
That led to the next explanation, and then the next. Chelsea laid out most of it, though not all. Some things stayed back. Not because she did not trust Passion at all, but because trust and total access were not the same thing. Adriane had been right about that.
Passion listened without interrupting much.
She asked questions when she needed to. She repeated a few details back to make sure she had understood them. She seemed particularly disturbed by the level one issue, then even more disturbed when Chelsea explained how all of her strength came from equipment, titles, and The Perfect Outfit.
“So,” Passion said after a while, looking at Chelsea more carefully now, “can you hear Celeste’s thoughts? Or can she talk to you in your head?”
“No,” Chelsea said. “We have a title that lets her pound on my ability, which tells me she wants to say something, but without the title, it’s as if she’s not even there.”
Chelsea paused, then looked down at herself.
“Though I know you’re there, Celeste, and even though you aren’t very nice sometimes, I do think the world of you.”
Passion waited.
Nothing happened.
Ivy leaned closer to Passion and lowered her voice a little. “Oh no. Chelsea can talk to her. Well, we can all talk to her. Celeste was trying to get a rise out of me earlier with what she was saying.”
“Oh?” Passion asked. “How so?”
Ivy’s expression tightened for half a second before she smoothed it out. “She knows the next three years are going to be hard, so she was saying things she was going to do with you.”
“With me?” Passion asked.
Chelsea covered part of her face with one hand. “Celeste is kind of horrible.”
“You don’t need to worry about Havoc and me,” Passion said. Then she corrected herself quickly. “Sorry. Chelsea and me. We have servicer golems back at the hall.”
Chelsea lowered her hand slowly.
“I’m sorry,” Chelsea said. “We have what at the hall?”
“Servicer golems,” Passion replied.
Both elf and demon stared at her, waiting for her to explain.
Her face started to color. “They are mindless, human-looking constructs. Well, they are not really creatures, because I don’t think they are alive. They’re used to keep Valkyr satisfied sexually.”
Chelsea stared harder while Ivy’s eyebrows lifted.
“A big issue with Valkyr is that we are not allowed to get pregnant,” Passion continued, already sounding like she regretted every word. “So the hall supplies servicers.” Passion went redder. “Oh. Uh. When we get to the room, you are going to see, uh...” She covered her face with both hands. “Oh gods.”
“What?” Ivy asked.
Passion spoke through her hands. “The Valkyr of Passion.” Passion lowered her hands enough to continue. “I get made fun of a bit for it, but the other Valkyr all have one. Some, I’m pretty sure, have never used theirs or maybe once or twice.”
Chelsea waited.
Passion grimaced. “I have five.”
Ivy’s eyes widened.
Chelsea’s did too.
“They get used every night,” Passion said quickly. “In fact, last night was a challenge going to sleep without them.”
“Oh, wow,” Chelsea said.
Passion pointed at her. “Don’t say it like that.”
“No no. I’m not judging.”
Ivy made a small sound and looked away, clearly trying not to laugh.
Chelsea tilted her head. “I thought you said that wasn’t really your whole thing?”
“It’s not!” Passion said, still red-faced. “It’s only about an hour of my day. Once I’m done, I’m good.”
They both stared at her again.
Passion slowly lowered her hands into her lap. “What?” Passion asked.
Chelsea shook her head. “Nothing.”
Ivy pressed her lips together and looked down.
Chelsea leaned back against her, fighting a smile. “I’m just suddenly much less worried about Celeste making Ivy jealous with you.”
Passion frowned. “Why?”
Ivy finally lost the fight and laughed into Chelsea’s shoulder.
“That makes me feel so much better!” Ivy exclaimed.
Chelsea turned to look at her.
“Get one of those,” Ivy said. “Or two. Or ten. That will help you get through the three years.”
Chelsea blinked. “Ten?”
Ivy ignored that part. “Wait, do they make girl ones? Chels is still... well, she...”
Ivy stopped herself.
Chelsea knew exactly where that sentence had almost gone.
Her face warmed immediately.
There were plenty of secrets Chelsea had shared today, but her virginity was not one of them. She did not need Passion knowing that particular detail, especially not after finding out Passion apparently had five golems in her room and used them every night.
Passion frowned, clearly trying to follow the unfinished thought. “Oh. I don’t know. I’ve never asked. Maybe? None of the others have a female servicer.” She looked between them. “Does it have to be female?”
The two looked at each other
They did not speak for a few seconds. They only exchanged small smiles, tiny shoulder shrugs, and the kind of silent conversation Passion clearly did not know how to read.
Chelsea finally cleared her throat. “Uh, yeah,” Chelsea said. “I’d be OK with that. I’m pretty sure a girl one is going to be a need.”
Ivy nodded with great seriousness.
“I will see what I can do to make that happen.” Passion said.
“Thank you,” Ivy said immediately.
Passion watched them for a moment, still red-faced from the topic, then seemed to decide moving on was best for everyone. “So, are those all of the secrets?”
“Did you need more?” Chelsea asked.
“Nope,” Passion said. “Summoned champion who can use historic gear at level one. That’s enough for me.” Then her expression fell with distress.
Chelsea noticed.
Passion looked toward Chelsea’s pouch. “Those pieces you picked up yesterday. You’re going to break them, aren’t you?”
Chelsea gritted her teeth and nodded. “Unfortunately, yes.”
Passion looked pained.
“If you looked at the stuff I wear right now, you would laugh,” Chelsea added.
Chelsea stood and walked over to the desk. One by one, she began pulling her current gear from her pouch and setting it out.
The longer she worked, the worse Passion’s facial expressions became.
The gear was awful.
“That is the saddest bunch of junk I think I’ve ever seen,” she said.
Passion picked up the helmet and inspected it. Her brow furrowed. “What is with this one?”
“That’s actually the head of a greater dragon,” Ivy said.
Passion paused.
Chelsea smiled.
Ivy continued, “Chels shrank it by putting it on her head.”
Before she could ask the obvious question, there was a knock at the door.
“Chels, are you two ready yet?” Adriane called from the hall.
“Oh, one second… Mom!” Chelsea yelled.
She moved quickly after that. She undressed without ceremony, went to her drawer, and grabbed the guild uniform shirts for herself and Ivy. Then she grabbed the pants from the desk and pulled one of the shirts on.
The fabric immediately shifted into the form-fitting version.
Chelsea looked down and sighed.
“Ivy, switch me.”
Ivy took the other shirt, and they quickly traded.
Passion watched with open curiosity. “What’s the difference?”
“This one requires level five,” Chelsea explained as she pulled on the correct shirt.
The shirt stayed exactly as it was.
“It’s a perfect fit.”
Passion stared. “Fascinating.”
Chelsea pulled on her shredded chainmail pants next. The moment they settled into place, they changed into perfectly fitted pants with her usual leather inseam.
Passion’s eyes followed every part of the transformation.
“So fascinating,” she said again.
Chelsea gave Ivy a look. “She is going to say that a lot, isn’t she?”
Ivy smiled. “Yeah. I remember being fascinated too. She probably will.”
Chelsea approached the line just before releasing everyone for jobs.
The guildhall was already busy, but the line quieted faster than usual when people saw her coming. A few adventurers straightened. Others leaned around the people in front of them to get a better look. By now, most of them knew her routine well enough to recognize when something was different.
Chelsea stopped at the front of the line and folded her hands in front of her.
“Good morning, everyone,” she greeted.
The remaining conversations faded.
Chelsea took a breath.
“So, I have some news.”
That was all it took for whispers to start moving through the group. Chelsea could see the concern forming before she even said the rest. Some of these people had only spoken to her once or twice. Others came through her line every day. A few had started bringing friends because having someone read the jobs properly had changed what work they could safely take.
Chelsea had not expected to care about the line this much. But as most parts of her life in this new world, she did care about them. She noticed that Adair and Easton’s group stopped coming around. Chelsea was completely OK with that. Her guess was they went to one of Junstruce’s other cities for work, or maybe a different kingdom altogether.
“As most of you know, I recently became the Valkyr of Havoc,” she said. “This means that I am to join the other eleven Valkyr in Valhalla.”
The murmurs quieted.
Disappointment moved through the line. A few people looked toward each other, and someone near the back muttered something Chelsea could not quite hear. The reaction hit harder than she expected. She had known they would be inconvenienced. She had not expected them to look sad.
Chelsea raised both hands gently.
“Wait,” she said. “My mother will be taking over my job for a while. If you know anyone who can read, the Wixx family will pay five gold per day, in addition to the guild salary.”
That brought the whispers back immediately.
Five gold per day was a solid salary. Chelsea understood that. It was meant to bring someone out of the woodwork. She needed this handled before she left, and if the normal wage was not enough to pull a literate person into the job, she was more than willing to make the offer unreasonable.
“I will train them on how to do the job,” Chelsea said. “If no one shows up before I leave, then my mother will take over training them.”
That seemed to settle a few of them. Not all. Some still looked worried, and Chelsea could not blame them. Change was unpleasant even when someone promised to manage it carefully.
She let herself look over the line.
There were faces she recognized now. People who had been suspicious of her at first. Some who had tried to avoid looking directly at her horns and others who had learned that she would not mock them for needing help. People who had started to say good morning like they meant it.
“It has been a genuine pleasure getting to know each and every one of you this past month,” Chelsea said. “I hope we can make the most of the next few days.”
She smiled at the crowd and nodded.
“That’s all. I can start taking people.”
4 days later
“Chelsea and Adriane,” Willow called after the last person in line had been helped. Chelsea looked up from her paperwork and saw the elf motioned for the two of them to follow.
Chelsea gathered the last of her teaching materials from the table and tucked them into her pouch before trailing after Adriane. They climbed the stairs and entered the guildmaster’s office. Chelsea shut the door behind them, and the three took their usual seats.
Willow folded her hands together on the desk and was quiet for a moment.
“First, let me say, I truly am sorry to see you go, Chelsea.” She cleared her throat slightly. “I know it may seem like... well, never mind that. I mean it. I’m sorry to see you leave, and I wish you luck.”
Chelsea blinked.
“I... uh...” She looked around the office, then back to Willow. “Thank you? You are talking to me, right? Like, you definitely meant to say that to me?” She glanced toward the empty corners of the room. “There isn’t another Chelsea hiding in here somewhere?”
Adriane closed her eyes, already knowing where this was going.
Willow simply stared at her for a second.
“Yes, I am talking to you.” Willow replied sternly.
“Ok. Sorry. Was just making sure.”
A tiny smile threatened to appear on Willow’s face before she forced it away.
“Down to business,” she said, deciding not to acknowledge Chelsea’s antics. “The demon convoy arrived outside the city walls early this morning. They are sending a human delegate into Junstruce to handle the first meeting. According to the report, he should already be somewhere inside the kingdom.”
Chelsea sat up a little straighter.
“You will probably be called for before long. It may be worth going home and making preparations.”
“Thank you for letting us know,” Adriane said. “Is there anything else? Guards? Escorts? Any information on who they’re sending?”
Willow shook her head. “That’s all I have. The report wasn’t very detailed. Just that they had arrived and were requesting a formal meeting.”
Adriane gave a single nod. “Understood.”
The two stood to leave.
Just as Chelsea reached the door, Willow spoke again.
“Chelsea.”
She turned back.
“Good luck. Seriously.” Willow looked down at the stack of papers on her desk before meeting Chelsea’s eyes again. “You’re a good kid. Don’t go dying to something mundane like a manticore or a wyvern.”
Chelsea smiled.
“Thanks, Willow. That means a lot.”
The guildmaster didn’t answer. She had already gone back to sorting through reports and contracts, but Chelsea noticed she was reading the same page she had been looking at when they stood up.
The two of them left the office and headed back downstairs.
The guild hall was quieter than it had been a few days ago. The lunch rush had not started yet, and only a handful of adventurers were milling around the job board or eating at the long tables. Their usual corner was still occupied by Ivy, Passion, and the new reader they had helped hire.
The older woman looked completely at home behind her stack of postings. Her little bookstore had closed only three months ago, but from the smile on her face every time someone handed her a notice to sort, Chelsea was fairly sure she had found the perfect second career.
She looked up as Chelsea approached.
“Miss Wixx! I organized the herb gathering contracts alphabetically. I thought that might make them easier.”
Chelsea beamed. “That is amazing. You’re already making this place run better than I ever could.”
The woman looked ready to cry from the compliment.
Chelsea quickly helped gather up the remaining jobs they had been working through, stacking them neatly while Ivy tied them together with a bit of string.
“Ivy, Passion,” Chelsea said, unable to keep the excitement and nervousness out of her voice, “they’re here. The other kingdom.”
Passion’s posture immediately straightened.
“The demon convoy?” she asked.
Chelsea nodded. “Willow said they arrived this morning. They’re sending a delegate.”
Ivy looked from Chelsea to Passion. “Do you think they’ll call for you today?”
“I don’t know,” Chelsea admitted. “Maybe? I guess it depends on how much paperwork is involved.”
She set the last stack down on the table and looked across the guild hall while everyone was talking.
Then she froze in place. A man had just stepped through the front doors. She knew that face.
Not well, but enough that it tugged at something in the back of her mind. He looked a little older than she remembered, a little more worn down, but there was no mistaking him.
Chelsea stared for another second before it finally clicked.
“Gerard!?” she blurted out.