Tybalt and his entourage returned to the Twinleaf hut quietly.

  No one was really in a mood to talk during the walk back. Most of them felt a bit low on energy after all the social interaction in the beastfolk village. Tybalt was still full of vigor, but the necromancer’s head was now overflowing with ideas about how he could change the world with the miracle of unpaid non-slave labor.

  Even if the others had wanted to talk, the creak of Tybalt’s cart full of bodies and body parts behind them would have made it difficult to be heard.

  Mariella and Vidalia stuck near Tybalt in a subtle way, their body language conveying how close they felt to him. The fire mage clung to his arm, while the foxgirl held his hand. Kistana stood behind the three of them like a protective shadow.

  Victoria kept a more appropriate distance, and she occasionally engaged her cousin and uncle in sporadic bits of conversation, but she kept sneaking looks at Tybalt when she thought he might not notice.

  Interesting, Tybalt thought. Now that we publicly acknowledged the situation where I’m courting them, she’s acting very differently.

  Before, she had been all polite reserve, happy to serve Tybalt at meal times or help Vidalia take care of him in any platonic way. But she had given no apparent signs of affection or romantic interest.

  She hadn’t even been using his name, instead calling him “Lord Necromancer” like all the other strangers in the beastfolk tribes.

  If Tybalt took a step back from the world of classes and magic that he’d stepped into, it all made sense. Beastfolk culture and Nietian culture were not that different. It wasn’t as if he’d suddenly appeared from another world.

  She had just been playing the part considered appropriate to a chaste, demure peasant girl.

  But of course that meant that he didn’t truly know her at all. She was wearing the same mask around him as literally a million other girls.

  What will she be like, he wondered, when she can just be herself?

  The mystery was frankly exciting.

  When they arrived at the Twinleaf hut, Uncle Edmund and Hayden excused themselves to go and get ready for work. They had dressed in slightly nicer clothing than usual to attend the meeting of the Council.

  “Do you mind if I go inside to change clothes before our walk, too, Lord Necromancer?” Victoria asked. “I won’t be long.”

  “You don’t have to call me ‘Lord,’” Tybalt said. “I’m Tybalt to the people I care about. Please go ahead and wear whatever makes you comfortable.”

  She bowed her head and retreated into the hut alongside her cousin and uncle. Tybalt ordered his undead to begin transporting the dead bodies and chunks of bodies up the mountain, where he kept all his other future experimental subjects. The temperature there was cold enough to essentially stop decomposition, and even if these bodies were perfectly preserved, it would be good to have them all in one place so that random people wouldn’t come across stockpiles of dead bodies. Then the necromancer turned to the women who still surrounded him.

  “Any advice?” Tybalt asked. He looked at Vidalia, Mariella, and Kistana in turn.

  “I know nothing about courtship, my lord,” Kistana said instantly. “In my tribe, matches are assigned by the elders.”

  “You already know what I think,” Vidalia said.

  “Vidalia, do you think Vicky might need help picking an outfit?” Mariella asked.

  “What?”

  “I mean, if it was your first meeting with Tybalt, and you hadn’t decided to dress in your underwear with a bow wrapped around your neck, you’d be nervous about what to wear, right?”

  “Yeah, you have a point,” Vidalia said hesitantly. She looked at Tybalt. “Darling, I’m going to go check on Vicky. If the walk doesn’t go well, you and I can make plans for next time later. I know you’ll win her over eventually whether it starts off well or poorly. It’s only a matter of time.”

  Tybalt nodded. “Go ahead.”

  He and Mariella both watched as the foxgirl entered the hut. Then the necromancer turned to his fiancee.

  “You realize she probably knows why you wanted to send her into the hut, right?” he said.

  “Maybe. Her powers aren’t as omnipotent as you might think. But I don’t mind if she knows.”

  “What do you have to say that she couldn’t hear?”

  “You asked for advice about Vicky,” Mariella began.

  “I did.”

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  “Two tips, sort of contradictory. First, Vicky makes all her decisions trying to be responsible. She thinks of herself as the practical one between her and Vidalia, and she’s not wrong. If you can make her feel like she and Vidalia will be safe and protected in your care, that will help a lot.”

  Easier said than done, the necromancer thought. It’s an unsafe world, and right beside me might be the most dangerous place to be, at least sometimes.

  “And the second thing?” he asked.

  “She feels like she lives in Vidalia’s shadow. My advice is that you have to treat her like an individual. Remind her that she’s important too. A girl- a girl needs her lover to make her feel special. Not part of a package deal with someone else, even if that is a beastfolk custom.”

  “I think I understand,” Tybalt said.

  He meant it. He had spent most of his life feeling the opposite of special. He had also felt the pain of living in the shadow of a sibling who had gifts that he lacked.

  “And I think you have to take it slower with her,” Mariella added hurriedly. “Not like with me. Not that I’m- um, not that I’m saying I made it easy.” Her shoulders slumped a little. “You kind of just took what you wanted with me, though, and even though I enjoyed that a lot, it was not exactly the traditional way even for our people. Vicky is a traditional girl, and the beastfolk- ”

  “Ella, I get it,” the necromancer said softly. He reached over and pulled Mariella into himself. After a moment of her nuzzling his chest, he spoke into the hair on top of her head. “You don’t think I’d ever judge you for falling into my arms, do you?”

  “It’s not that, it’s that you can’t do that with her. If you pushed her the way you pushed me, she wouldn’t react well, I’m pretty sure.”

  “Right.” He leaned back, brushed her hair away from the front of her face, kissed her forehead, and then caressed her hair. “Thank you for your help. You’re a good girl.”

  He’d just said those last words on impulse, but Mariella blushed intensely and buried herself back in his chest before she found her voice again.

  “I just want this family to work,” she said quietly. “What you said to the Elders, about how my family is probably going to disown me, it was true. You and Vidalia and hopefully Vicky are the only family I’m going to have when that happens.”

  “If.”

  “Yeah.” She sounded skeptical.

  “I love you.”

  She buried her face in his chest again before uttering a very muffled, “I love you, too” in return.

  They weren’t alone for long after that. Vidalia exited the hut in a bright mood and turned Mariella melting into Tybalt into a group hug.

  “She’ll be ready in just a minute, darling!” the foxgirl exclaimed excitedly.

  Two minutes later, there was the sound of movement from the hut again, and all three turned around at once.

  Uncle Edmund and Hayden were there, stepping out, but the necromancer’s eyes were drawn to the woman who emerged just behind them.

  Victoria had transformed.

  She had gone from a dull-colored, loose-fitting, short-sleeved sackcloth dress to something made of a slightly nicer fabric, probably wool. It was dyed in subtle green and blue and fit in a way that highlighted her figure, though the length and sleeves gave it a modest appearance. Despite being Vidalia’s twin, Victoria was noticeably more filled out everywhere, owing to their slightly differing diets- Vidalia having spent years eating less food than her sister because Victoria was the one who went out and labored on their plot while Vidalia mostly stayed at home. Victoria wore reddish makeup on her cheeks and something of a similar color on her lips.

  As Tybalt looked her over, trying not to ogle, she blushed slightly.

  “Do I look presentable enough to accompany you, Lord Tybalt?” she asked.

  “Just Tybalt is fine,” he said after a moment. “And you look very ready to be courted.”

  “Th-thank you,” Victoria said in a light, breathy voice. She looked down at her feet, slightly flustered, until Tybalt stepped closer to her and extended his hand.

  “May I take your hand, Lady Victoria?” he asked.

  “All right, I… I won’t call you ‘Lord’ anymore,” she said quietly, embarrassed. “Since I can understand how that would be awkward in our situation.” She reached over and took his hand in hers while very pointedly looking away from him.

  Now she’s completely the blushing maiden, obviously interested in me and equally obviously trying to act modestly. How exactly did she hide this for the last week? Or is this part the performance?

  “We’ll see the rest of you before the feast,” Tybalt said, looking back at the others. He took particular note of his girls’ reactions. Mariella watched him and Victoria with an expression of contentment. The fire mage was already used to the idea of sharing him. With the progress their relationship had made recently, she was probably feeling extremely secure in her connection with him, even if everything else in her world seemed to be in flux. Vidalia looked a little more conflicted at seeing Tybalt with her twin, but she gave him a nervous nod and smile. Tybalt already knew that Vidalia thought Victoria was the more attractive of the two of them and had more wifely qualities, so there might be a bit of jealousy there.

  The other members of the Twinleaf family seemed to be happy enough with the situation. Hayden was waving with a smile. Uncle Edmund gave Tybalt a no-nonsense look, but he wasn’t scowling, which per Vidalia meant that he was all right with what was happening.

  Kistana stepped forward and started walking after Tybalt and Victoria.

  “Keep back a ways, if you can,” he told her quietly. “Not that you have to be out of sight of us. I just want it to feel like we’re alone.”

  He felt Victoria’s hand squeeze his gently as he said that. He looked at her, and she was still very pointedly not looking at him, seemingly gazing off at the horizon. But he could feel some excitement in her grip around his fingers. Her pulse was a little faster than he thought was normal, too.

  “Yes, my lord,” Kistana replied in a neutral tone. She stepped back to give the two some space.

  “Where would you like to go, Lor- I mean Tybalt?” asked Victoria.

  He chuckled quietly. “This mountain is your home. You know it much better than me. Why don’t I follow your lead? Take me somewhere beautiful. But take me slowly, so we can enjoy the walk.”

  “As you wish.” Her face took on a focused expression for a moment, then she nodded to herself and began to tug him by the hand, going the opposite way from the village.

  “Wait,” he said. “Actually, take me somewhere that’s special to you.”

  Victoria’s expression changed. Just for a moment, there was a hint of a smile. Then she began to pull Tybalt in a different direction.