{lisa}
The palace gardens were, as usual, fragrant and colorful, with exotic flowers blooming in carefully manicured beds.
lisa stood before Zephyra.
She raised an eyebrow, her nose twitching slightly as she caught a familiar scent.
[Is that... Isabella's perfu?] lisa thought, her red eyes narrowing as she studied the court sorceress. Zephyra's raven hair was slightly disheveled, and there was a faint flush to her cheeks that hadn't been there earlier.
lisa shook her head, pushing the thought aside.
[... Well, whatever. Focus. You've got bigger fish to fry.]
"So," lisa began, her tail moving behind her, "I learned a little bit about it. The Shadow Mage plot, I an."
Zephyra's athyst eyes widened slightly, her interest piqued.
"Oh? And what exactly have you uncovered?" She asked quietly. lisa made a ntal note to keep the sa volu. The walls had ears, after all.
lisa took a deep breath, steeling herself.
"Well, you already know that the 'sickness' isn't really a sickness at all. It's Curse Magic, targeted specifically at nim."
Zephyra nodded, her expression grave.
"Yes, we've established that much. But I sense there's more to your discovery."
"Fuck yeah, there's more," lisa said, her voice low and intense. She glanced around, making sure they were alone before continuing. "The queen, Zephyra. She's not just working with the Shadow Mages. She is one."
The court sorceress's jaw dropped, her usual composure cracking for a mont.
"lisa, that's a serious accusation. Are you certain?"
lisa's eyes flashed with determination.
"Completely. My guess is she was probably planted in the court, ordered to seduce the king or sothing and it worked out." [At least, that's what would have happened in all my favorite novels growing up.] "And there's more. The Shadow Mages' plan? It's not just to cause chaos or weaken the nim population. They want to wipe us out completely. Every single nim in the city.
This 'illness' is just the beginning."
Zephyra's hand went to her mouth, her eyes wide.
"By the gods," she whispered. "If what you're saying is true, they're planning..."
"Pure genocide," lisa finished grimly. "Yeah. I can't let it happen."
The two won stood in silence for a mont, the weight of the revelation hanging heavy between them.
Finally, Zephyra spoke once more.
"Hm... Our options as to how to tackle this are unfortunately quite limited, though. We can't exactly march up to the king and accuse his wife of being a Shadow Mage without proof. That's treason."
A slow, sly grin spread across lisa's face.
"That's where my plan cos in. And I'm gonna need your help to pull it off."
Zephyra raised an eyebrow, intrigued despite herself.
"I'm listening."
lisa leaned in close, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.
"I'm going to seduce the queen."
For the second ti in as many minutes, Zephyra found herself speechless.
She blinked rapidly, trying to process what she'd just heard.
"I'm sorry, you're going to what now?"
"Seduce the queen," lisa repeated, her grin widening. "Get close to her, use- say a few sweet things, and then... well, my hope is that I can cast enough doubt in her mind that she'll just... call it off." lisa shrugged.
Zephyra cocked an eyebrow.
"lisa, darling, that's... incredibly vague. Are you sure you can pull that off, even?"
"Of course I can! What, you don't think so?"
"Pardon , I just never took you to be a seductress like that," Zephyra giggled. "A tad flirtatious, sure. Charming, certainly. But not... Well, color intrigued. Let's say for a mont I'm on board with this odd plan of yours.
How exactly do you intend to get close enough to the queen to... do whatever it is you're planning?"
lisa's grin turned positively wicked.
"That's where you co in, oh illustrious court sorceress. I need you to pull his majesty away from her. Then, I'll just walk up to her and handle the rest."
Zephyra's eyes widened, a spark of excitent igniting in their athyst depths.
"And once you're alone with her..."
"I'll work my magic!" lisa finished with a wink and a gyaru peace.
[Literally.]
Zephyra mulled it over. Finally, Zephyra nodded, a smirk tugging at her lips.
"It's weird," she said. "Definitely not what I would have thought of. But... if you're sure that could help sohow, I guess..."
lisa bounced on her toes, barely containing her excitent.
"So you'll help ?"
"I suppose I should," Zephyra nodded.
The plan was in motion.
---
lisa paced back and forth in the palace's opulent hallway.
The marble floors glead beneath her feet, reflecting the ornate chandeliers hanging overhead. Portraits of stern-faced monarchs lined the walls, their eyes seeming to follow her every move.
[Fuck, this place is intimidating. So. Many. Knights!] She thought, trying to calm her racing heart as she looked around.
Zephyra stood nearby, her athyst eyes tracking lisa's movents.
"Alright," she said, her voice low and urgent. "Let's go over the plan one more ti."
lisa nodded, taking a deep breath.
"It's simple. You grab the king and drag him off to the gardens for so bullshit 'urgent magical matter' discussion. While he's distracted, I corner the queen and... well, do my thing."
A wry smile tugged at Zephyra's lips.
"Eloquently said. Are you sure you're ready for this?"
lisa's red eyes flashed with determination!
"Ready as I'll ever be. It's not exactly 500IQ stuff, but sotis the direct approach is best, right?"
"What's an IQ?"
"Never mind. I'm saying, that sotis, you don't need sothing huge and convoluted to succeed. A simple approach gets the job done a lot of the ti."
"I can agree with that," Zephyra nodded. "Who knows? The simplicity might just work in our favor. The queen won't be expecting such a brazen move."
[Or she'll see right through it and have executed on the spot,] lisa thought grimly. But outwardly, she just grinned.
"Alright then, let's do this shit!"
They made their way towards the throne room, lisa's heart pounding with each step. The guards at the door eyed her suspiciously, but Zephyra's presence seed to quell any objections they might have had.
As they entered, lisa found King Aldric and Queen lara sitting upon their thrones, engaged in quiet conversation.
They looked up as Zephyra and lisa approached, their expressions a mix of curiosity and poorly concealed disdain.
"Your Majesties," Zephyra said, bowing low. "I apologize for the interruption, but there's an urgent magical matter that requires Your Majesty's imdiate attention, sire."
King Aldric frowned, his bushy eyebrows furrowing.
"Can it not wait, Court Sorceress? We were in the middle of-"
"I'm afraid not, Your Majesty," Zephyra interrupted, her voice taking on a note of urgency. "It concerns the stability of so magical barriers protecting an outpost."
"Barriers? Outpost?" The king blinked in a way that scread "we have those?"
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"Indeed." Zephyra nodded. "If we don't address it now, the consequences could be... severe."
The king's eyes widened, and he quickly rose from his throne.
"Very well, lead the way."
As Zephyra ushered the king out of the throne room, lisa caught her eye. The court sorceress gave an almost imperceptible nod before disappearing through the ornate doors.
[Show ti,] lisa thought, turning her attention to the queen.
The instant the king was out of sight, Queen lara regarded her with thinly veiled disgust, her lips curled into a sneer.
"Well, nim," she said, her voice dripping with contempt. "I take it this," she gestured between them, "was the point of this little diversion? Well, what is it you want?"
lisa took a deep breath, steeling herself.
lisa's eyes darted around the opulent throne room, her gaze lingering on the armored knights standing at attention along the walls.
Their hands rested on the pomls of their swords, ready to draw at a mont's notice.
[One wrong move and my head's gonna be rolling across the floor,] lisa thought, suppressing a nervous chuckle. [Let's not fuck this up, shall we?]
She turned her attention back to Queen lara, who was eyeing her with undisguised contempt.
lisa took a deep breath, focusing on her pheromones. She concentrated, willing them to flow toward the queen in an invisible, intoxicating stream.
It wasn't as powerful as the spell she'd created, but it would get lisa's foot in the door.
"Your Majesty," lisa began, her voice low and smooth, "I wanted to discuss the... unfortunate situation affecting my people."
As she spoke, she watched the queen closely, looking for any signs that her pheromones were taking effect. At first, there was nothing. Then, almost imperceptibly, the queen's nostrils flared.
Her eyes, previously narrow with suspicion, widened slightly. A faint flush crept up her neck.
[Gotcha!] lisa thought, fighting to keep a triumphant grin off her face.
"Ah yes, the plague," Queen lara said, her voice slightly breathier than before. "A most... regrettable circumstance."
lisa took a step closer, increasing the intensity of her pheromones.
"Indeed, Your Majesty. It's been so difficult for my people. We're at a loss as to how to proceed."
The queen shifted in her throne, crossing and uncrossing her legs. Her eyes kept darting to lisa's lips, then away again.
"Yes, well... these things happen, I suppose. Nature has its way. Surely, nature will provide the answers as well."
"But surely there must be sothing that can be done," lisa pressed, leaning in slightly. The queen raised a brow, but it was probably because of lisa's pheromones that she, lisa, wasn't being killed right now. She could sll the queen's perfu now, a heady mix of exotic flowers and spices. "Perhaps if we could discuss the matter more... privately?"
Queen lara's breath hitched, her pupils dilating visibly.
"Privately?" she repeated, her voice barely above a whisper.
lisa nodded.
"A walk through the halls, perhaps? Away from prying eyes and ears. I have so... sensitive information that might be of interest to Your Majesty."
For a mont, the queen looked torn. Her gaze flicked to the knights, then back to lisa. Finally, she nodded, rising from her throne with a grace that belied her flustered state.
"Very well," she said, trying to inject so authority back into her voice. "We shall walk. But Sir Galahad will accompany us. For... propriety's sake."
One of the knights stepped forward, his armor clanking softly. lisa bit back a curse.
[Shit, a chaperone. Well, one's better than a whole fucking room of them, I guess.]
"Of course, Your Majesty," lisa said smoothly, offering a small bow. "Shall we?"
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