Chapter 492: Not Just One Thing
"Ollie, none of us are just one thing," Ashlynn said, startling him out of his inwardly spiralling thoughts. Picking up a loose twig from the ground, soft scratching sounds filled the air as the witch began to sketch a simple circle in the frost-covered dirt at her feet.
"Sometimes, I’m Lady Nyrielle’s Seneschal," she explained, carving out a piece of the circle. "As her Senescahl, I’m expected to attend to matters during the day while she hides herself away from the sun and can’t interact with the waking world. At those times, I speak with her voice to execute her will, or I act on my own, but always on her behalf," she explained.
A Seneschal was the first among all of a vampire’s servants, standing even above their progeny, but it was always a subservient role. As Nyrielle’s Seneschal, she might be second only to Nyrielle within the Vale of Mists, but that was an authority and position that flowed entirely from her bond with Nyrielle. For some people, that would be enough to define their entire being, and no purpose could be greater in their lives, but Ashlynn’s life was far from that simple.
"Other times, I’m the Mother of Trees," she added, carving out another piece of the circle."I’m responsible for my own coven, and I walk the world with authority no less than the High Lords or True Vampires of the Eldritch world. The magic that flows from that shapes me in ways that are hard to describe, but I can’t deny that becoming the Mother of Trees has changed a part of me in ways that run just as deep as the blood bond I share with Mistress Nyrielle."
"And I’m still ’Lady Ashlynn’ from Blackwell County," she said as she carved out yet another piece of the circle. "I still plan to seize control of Lothian March when I deal with Owain," she added, her voice growing momentarily hard as her eyes narrowed at the thought of her rapidly approaching reunion with her former husband.
She supposed that a part of her circle should be labeled ’avenging ghost’, but doing so would only distract from the lesson she was trying to give. With a deep, shuddering breath, she did her best to clear away her lingering resentments and focus instead on what she wanted Ollie to learn from her example.
"All of these things are parts that make up the whole of who I am," she said, tapping her comfortable Traveling Hat and smiling at the young man. "Witches are used to wearing many hats. Heila is the Willow Witch, the famed Willow Whip and Champion of the Arena in the High Fen, and she’s also my lady-in-waiting. She’s all of those things and more."
"Arena Champion?" Ollie said, blinking several times in confusion as he looked at the elegantly dressed lady-in-waiting who stood less than half his own height. "Willow Whip?"