Gertrude, heroically resisting the urge to put this brat in his place, plastered a patient smile on her face.

"It's good to be skeptical, and you're probably right in a sense. The Moonlit Queen had something we needed, and wanted an irritant that she couldn't take care of herself out of her forest. If we won, she'd lose something she'd spared little effort to get and gain something of legendary value. If we lost, she'd get a show."

Well, Gertrude could think of [i]one[/i] thing that might get him to shut up and listen.

"But as important as skepticism is reason, perhaps moreso. If I told you that the first Roses, each at the height of their strength, could vanquish the midnight hunt... you'd believe it to be possible, wouldn't you? It would be close, it would be exciting, but they would win in the end. I won't say that we're their equal now, but a good mage can make up the difference. A [i]great[/i] mage can exceed it. Before the bout, sir Fionn was gifted a blade as light as a feather but as sharp as an obsidian edge by one of the Moonlit Queen's attendants. He'd lost his own blade in his final assault on the serpent."

Dumbarse.

"But for the rest, I enchanted each of their weapons to strike hard and true. It would allow each of them to fight at a level above their own. We also had Tyaethe on our side, and as one of the original Roses herself, I think it adds credence to the proceedings. Especially since she kept the leader of the hunt occupied. Who, but our beloved Yaya, could hold the line at the edge of dread Rozenalt's blade? Aye, that same bogeyman from childhood stories innumerable was at the helm. And each had a score centuries-long to settle."

She was pretty sure [i]that[/i] would gain the rotten princeling's interest.

---

"...What about me made you think I wouldn't do it, Yaya?" Gretchen chided as she pressed her head closer. It was an arrhythmia, to be sure, but there was something else too. She grabbed Tyaethe's waist to keep her steady as she listened.

"More than one is possible with Yaya's mana as a battery, but it wouldn't be a good idea. This is very experimental, and I'd have to test it a bit more. If I force your heart to work normally for too long at once, you might have an adverse reaction when it goes back to how it usually is. One bout is about as far as I can go before I become uncertain of your safety."

Gretchen closed her eyes as she pulled Tyaethe as close as she could. Her heartbeat was so bloody [i]odd[/i].

"It's beating so fast," Gretchen teased, knowing full well it was because the woman was a vampire, "is there a girl you fancy nearby, perhaps?"