“Thank you for the vote of confidence,” Elena replied, dryly.
“You’re welcome,” Bella said, just as dryly.
Elena scowled at her. “You want to watch that sense of humor, young woman, or you might find yourself apprenticed to a Godmother. Yes, of course, that was one of the first things we tried. So whatever it was that turned him into a werewolf, it was not The Tradition. The Tradition might be making use of him to put you through hoops and over hurdles, but does not seem to have a lot of interest in Sebastian.”
“Isn’t that comforting,” Bella replied sourly.
Elena’s scowl deepened. “It should be. There is no place in the Maid-and-Monster story for the Maid to turn into the Monster herself. None.”
“Oh — ” Bella replied, then “Oh!” as the import of what the Godmother had just told her struck her.
“Exactly. The Tradition will turn itself inside out to keep you from changing. Even if Sebastian had been infected by the common sort of werewolf, you are not in danger of being infected in turn.”
The news struck her like a blow, but one that brought joy instead of pain.
“In fact, I am going to advise that they not even bother to lock you up tonight, or at least, not in one of the cells.” Elena frowned. “I would rather you weren’t anywhere near him, in fact. I am very much afraid that if they do lock you up near him… Sebastian will be goaded into more activity than usual. You may not be in any danger of turning into a monster, but you are in danger of being eaten — or at least, having your throat ripped out.”
“Oh…” Bella gulped. “Is that the story about how the werewolf always kills the ones — ”
“Sebastian knows that one, too, which is why I am sure he is trying very hard not to like you too much.” Elena sighed. “Where are you in that mausoleum they call a Manor?”
“I’m down at the end of a murder-corridor with two other suites, both empty,” she told the Godmother.
“Pick up the mirror and take it out the door, and point it where I ask you to, would you?” Bella realized at once that the Godmother wanted to look for something, and obeyed without question.
To both their satisfaction, Elena located the trigger for lowering and raising a very stout grate of iron bars at the end of the corridor. “Drop that before moonrise tonight,” the Godmother ordered. “Just in case. I doubt he’ll get free, but there’s no harm in making sure you have an extra defense besides the door in place. Back to your room now. I have the salve, and there are a few other things I want to caution you about.”
Watching the Godmother push the jar of ointment through the mirror wasn’t as unnerving as Bella had thought it would be. She wondered if a similar sort of magic connected the boxes that sent her letters to her father and his to her.
“Tell Sebastian that you know about The Tradition now, and that I told you. He knows, of course. Most magicians who are allies of Godmothers do.”
“So Granny — ” she began, then blinked. “Wait. You mean I’m your ally?”
“Very much so.” The Godmother nodded. “Your value to me just rose by quite a bit. Now, just because you know about The Tradition, that doesn’t mean you’re immune from it. Far from it. You may not have the sort of power coming to bear on you that — oh, say, a seventh son or a Princess does, but now that you’ve gotten tangled up with Sebastian, you’ve definitely gotten its attention. The fact that you can see magic and you are coming into your power decades early tells me that. The one good thing about this situation is that there are so many different Paths this could take. The Tradition is probably very confused right now. So, I want you to be extremely careful and use these new abilities of yours, and practice the seeing of magic as much as you can. I suspect you’ll be able to feel a buildup of Traditional pressure, or see the magic, when you’re in a situation that’s going to give it a Path to put you on. And if — more likely when — that happens, before you do anything, remember to think — try to remember if what is happening to you at that moment, or what could happen to you if you do something, resembles a story. And then, if it does, remember just how that story ended. Then decide if that’s the way you want things to turn out — because they probably will.”
Bella rubbed her temple. “This is not at all comforting.”
“Would you rather I hadn’t told you?” the Godmother demanded.
Bella shook her head.
“I thought not. All right, use that ointment, go tell Sebastian about our discussion, tell your servants you are taking supper in your room and lock that miniature portcullis down before sunset turns to dusk.” The Godmother nodded. “And tell your servants that the Godmother says you needn’t be locked up with him. The best thing you can do right now is keep The Tradition as confused as possible.”
Not at all comforting, Godmother, Bella thought, as the image faded out. Not at all comforting.