Page 43 of I Ran Away to Evil #3

A Distractable Legend

Julian

“It all started the day my ex-husband beat me to death,” Gerda the Bridge Troll explained, delivering that bone-chilling statement with a casual smile.

Julian tensed, grateful he wasn’t holding anything as he felt his nails bite into the flesh of his palm. Henrietta was less fortunate; the Dark Lady was holding a huckleberry biscuit from the snack tray. She turned the pastry into powder.

“ He did what? ”

“[Cleanse].” Keith waved a hand to help tidy up the mess before asking, “I’m assuming you were not living in the Dark Enchanted Forest at that time?”

“The Baldorin Mountains,” she explained, reaching out a comforting hand and placing it on Henrietta’s arm. “I told you I was divorced.”

“You didn’t tell me what happened before you were divorced!” Henrietta laid her own hand on top of the troll’s. “But don’t mind me, go on.”

The Dark Lady said so, but the second Gerda turned away to continue her story, Henrietta shared a look with Keith.

Julian felt no pity for whatever she’d do to the fool who had harmed the bridge troll.

At this point, he should have reminded Gerda that she was meant to be answering security questions and not the details of her love life, but he wanted to hear Gerda’s backstory. He was invested, as was everyone else.

Madame Potts was a legend. A distractible legend.

“We’d wed until death do us part .” Gerda took a sip of her tea. “And when he tried to protest the separation, I threw him off a mountain. That’s when I left for the Dark Enchanted Forest.”

“Good riddance,” Henrietta stated. The Dark Lady picked up a new biscuit and stuffed it in her mouth.

“Larry the Bridge Troll was retiring, and I was looking for a home.” Gerda’s face softened. “He taught me everything I needed to know to open up the [Bridge Troll] skill tree. My foresight came later.”

Their Royal Highness asked, “Was that around the time you made your first Crystal Cast?”

“Yes.” She scrunched her nose, drawing Julian’s attention to her white freckles. “While I was questing in the Dark Enchanted Forest, I found the Master Cast Crystal and used that to start forewarning everyone about important upcoming events—such as Your Highness’s death.”

“And my guild leader’s death,” the royal added. “And the dungeon breaks.”

“What about the helpful tips?” Henrietta asked. “Like the broken respawn points or where to get buffs?”

“I overhear a lot of things on my bridge,” she replied. “And I have some dungeoneering knowledge.”

Rowen’s lips tightened into a line, and Julian wondered if she wasn’t telling the whole truth. The fox didn’t interrupt her, though, simply grabbing a scone for themselves.

Gerda was already moving on to the next part of her story.

“Anyway, anything I discover that might be helpful I try to work into my podcast—Madame Potts Cast, I mean. The problem is that today, there was no way I could’ve fixed everything with a simple Cast.” She stopped talking, and her silence spoke for itself.

Gerda had only been caught because she’d chosen to save them.

Julian broke the quiet. “Miss Gerda. You said you found the traps because you saw them go off?”

“Yes?”

“Then did you also see the traitor who put them there?” He tried to keep the anger from his voice.

“I did not.”

His mother spoke then. “Julian, I’m sure Miss Gerda would have told us already if she knew who it was …”

The bridge troll visibly flinched. “Your Grace,” Gerda said to his mother, “the reason I haven’t brought up my suspicions is because they are just that: suspicions.”

Calisto nodded. “You mean Master Thomas?”

“You knew?” Gerda looked shocked and then contrite. “Of course you knew.”

“The boy is an all-powerful mage who was the last to enter the sanctuary before you.” Calisto sipped her tea, finishing off the last of it and placing it down firmly. “He might be strong … but he’s terrible at overestimating his own brilliance.”

Their Royal Highness started leaking pressure back over the room. “ Thomas is a Blackfog spy?”

“No,” Gerda said firmly enough to draw everyone’s attention back to the troll. “He’s not a spy.”

“Is that Madame Potts speaking?” Rowen demanded, “Or another suspicion?”

“As Madame Potts,” she stressed, “I can promise you that Master Thomas is not a Blackfog spy … and—”

“And?”

The troll fought with herself, like she wanted to say something but couldn’t, then let out an aggravated sigh.

“There are grounds enough to arrest him,” Julian offered. “I can do it now—”

“Wait!” The troll finally gave in. “I’m trying to find the words to convince you to leave Thomas alone because his future must stay the same!”

Julian couldn’t agree. “If he hurt my family, then I don’t care what his future should be. He will answer for his past now .”

Gerda stood up from her seat, looking over every single person in the room. When she spoke, she pitched her voice just enough that it sounded like he was listening to a real Madame Potts’s Cast.

“ If anything happens to Master Thomas during the Masquerade, then North Sumbria will fall to chaos .” Gerda turned to Julian. “And you will die.”

Their Royal Highness frowned. “She speaks the truth.”

“I do.”

His mother lifted a hand to Julian, who instinctively took it. She braced to stand, and he realized just how exhausted she really was. He stood with her to act as a crutch.

“I cannot promise the future, Miss Gerda,” Grand Duchess Calisto told the troll, “but for now, North Sumbria will listen to your advice.”

Julian knew what that meant—the master mage was free to walk around as if nothing had happened. It didn’t sit right with him, but there wasn’t anything he could do once his mother had made her will known.

“Thank you, Your Grace.” The troll bowed her head, her braid slipping delicately over her shoulder. It hung to her thighs, so she wrapped both hands around it to keep it close.

“And Miss Gerda?”

She straightened at her name.

“I’ll send someone to check on that bridge after the festival. In the meantime, I hope you have a good stay in the Coral Palace.”

Gerda’s white freckles blushed a soft and surprisingly endearing shade of pink.

“Now, if you will excuse me, everyone, I am going to congratulate my daughter and her wife.” The duchess allowed Julian to escort her out, leaning heavily on his arm for support.

“To the dining hall,” she ordered; he didn’t argue.

The luncheon wasn’t the official reception, it was simply a gathering after the ceremony to offer Julia and Chloe well wishes.

The ball tomorrow evening would act as the official reception and toast for the newlyweds.

He quietly passed his mother his last advanced mana potion, and she downed it before walking into the dining hall. She was a stubborn woman, smiling through a mana burn headache.

She came, she greeted, and she even managed a piece of cheese.

After ten minutes, Julian put his foot down and made an excuse to get his mother off to her rooms and straight into bed. He didn’t want Chloe to have to revive her new mother-in-law on her first day in the family.

Despite her grumbling, Julian summoned a healer to check over Calisto’s health, then plied her with another mana potion before leaving her to rest.

And then, he went for a walk.