Amaretto put her hands on her hips. "So let me get this straight then; because of your illness, you saught help and Mother Chime came at your insistence. From there, you promised to help her only if she gave you protection from your own enemies, whom we have heard nothing about as of yet. Am I getting this right so far?"
Mother Chime smiled demurely and nodded her head. "Yes child, you are correct so far."
Amaretto nodded her head once in the affirmative and then said, "So then I take it that the queen is being held together with the power of the inventions of steam?"
Mother Chime's eyes hardened and she spoke with a curt affirmative nod of her head. Amaretto narrowed her eyes at Mother Chime. She knew there was something here that Mother Chime was trying to hide and she was going to reveal it. Actually, Amaretto wanted to do anything but what she was about to do. What she wanted the most however, was to go home and forget that this was ever happening. She didn't want to have been forced on this strange trip. The only reason she agreed to it in the first place... Actually, now that she thought about it, she never really agreed with this whole trip in the first place.
She had a moment where her encounter with La Sorceire flitted through her mind and she realized that she had never actually disagreed to the whole idea in the first place. It made her shudder, but that was not what she was trying to accomplish at the moment. She wanted to go home, and the only way that it was going to happen was if she completed the task which the woman at the Water Mirror had given her.
Amaretto smiled at Mother Chime and then said, "Your power over steam is truly admirable. I am completely fascinated. I must say, how did you create her body?"
Mother chime smiled once more and slowly moved across the floor. As she did so, Amaretto had a flash back to bad cartoon villains. She shook her head as Mother Chime stopped and spoke in her calm voice. "We created the body using higher biological processes and standards."
Amaretto smiled wickedly. "Are you sure you didn't cobble her together like Frankenstein's Bride?"
Katherine scoffed behind her hand and Amaretto could tell that she was trying not to laugh. Amaretto began to slowly move her way towards the bed. Mother Chime however did not look so pleased.
"Are you saying that we had to use a cadaver in order to bring her majesty back to this world?" Mother Chime's voice was a little terse.
Amaretto shook her head. "If that was what it took, and the queen was alright with it, then I am not gainsaying it."
The queen looked a little alarmed at this statement. "We did not agree to occupy another body that belonged to someone else. That's not what you did is it?"
Mother Chime shook her head and tried to plaster her smile back on her face, but Amaretto could tell that the conversation was straining the strange woman. "The body that we gave you was never used by anyone else. It was constructed just for your usage."
The queen pursed her lips for a moment and then nodded her head. "We are pleased then."
Amaretto grinned and looked at Johanna and then said, "How did you manage to transport the queen from one body to another though?"
Mother Chime spoke tersely. "That is a scientific secret that we would prefer not to divulge."
Alice knit her brow and then said, "How were you able to move the animus though? Wouldn't that require a sort of arcane focus?"
Mother chime pursed her lips and then said, "I am going to repeat myself and tell you that I do not do it often and I am saying that we used a biological scientific process."
Alice continued to push. "So then you have found a scientific way to attract the soul and attatche it to another vessel without the usage of the arcane?"
Johanna scoffed. "That would be impossible. You would have to use an arcane device in order to transport the animus into another vessel. In order to capture the animus, a mix between the sciences and the arcane is needed. You would have to use a scientific concept to house the animus while at the same time using an arcane specialty of some sort, thaumaturgy would be necessary most likely in order to move the animus from one vessel to the holding location and then to the new host."
Amaretto was surprised at the basis of knowledge that Johanna had just displayed at that moment. Mother Chime on the other hand seemed a little less impressed. "That is all fine and dandy, but if you do not have the means to use the arcane, then we must find ways to accheive the same result. Thaumaturgical means can mean that they can use a scientific theory to make the same means occur. So that was exactly what we did, while also using alchemical means to make the changes that were necessary."
Amaretto listened halfheartedly while continuing to inch her way towards the bed that was at the other end of the room. Alice and Johanna continued to argue with Mother Chime while the queen and Katherine looked on dispassionately. It was only a short time before Amaretto was able to make it to the bed. The bed itself was made out of a dark mahogany that had a inlays of cherry and teak in it. The large drapery that was laid around the bed was made of several covers of silk. As Amaretto began to pull back the layers of silk on the bed, the queen actually turned around and almost yelled across the small space. "Don't look in there!"
Amaretto jerked back away from the bed, but the damage was already done. As she tried to pull away from the bed, she jerked the silk hangings so hard that they ripped away from the bed, leaving the inside to be exposed to the entire rest of the room. The queen hissed and hurred over to the side of the bed and then began to fuss at the covers on the bed. Under the covers, a small woman with graying hair and tightened skin that showed her age. In Amaretto's opinion, the woman had to be at least in her late sixties. The woman looked like she still partially alive and had hundreds of tubes sticking into her skin. Amaretto had an idea that all the tubes were attached to the queen's new body.
The queen fussed over the body, fluffing pillows and tucking the covers under the woman's folded hands. "Can't have myself catch a cold now can we," she said in a low caring voice.
Amaretto looked at the woman in the bed and said, "Is that your old body?"
The queen nodded her head and then said, "It is indeed our old body. We must take care of it until the transfer of consciousness is complete." In an almost absent minded fashion she placed her hand over that of the old body's folded hands.
At that moment, Amaretto felt a twinge of pity. This was obviously a woman ravaged by illness and Amaretto could also see in the queen's new eyes that she was not just a woman ravaged with problems, but a woman who was frantically clinging to her life and trying any means possible to stay alive. Amaretto was almost reminded of a cancer patient when she looked at the queen's old body.
Katherine stepped over and looked at the old woman who was in the bed and then murmured something under her breath. Amaretto looked to her aunt and Katherine rolled her eyes and then said, "Look at her hands."
Amaretto looked at her hands and noticed that the ravaged body was holding something in her hands. Amaretto looked at eh queen as she stood up again and then in a quiet voice said, "May I?"
The queen thought for a moment and then nodded her head in the affirmative. Amaretto moved forward very slowly and then moved the queen's hands to see what it was that the woman was clutching. There, underneath the woman's hands, was a small gem the size of a robin's egg. It was a a bright ruby red and she slowly lifted it up in her hands and held it up to the light and she turned around to look at Johanna and Alice. Alice's breath caught in her throat audibly and Johanna's eyes widened and her voice sounded raw when she whispered the next words out of her mouth.
"The Stone of Communication."
The queen looked up and confusion crossed her face visibly. At that moment Mother Chime took another step forwards and said, "I must say, I tried to get you all to leave in a means most amenable without you discovering the secret to what was going on here. However, I now have come to the decision that you all are not to be allowed here anymore. I cannot allow you to continue to wander here without any consequences. I am sorry but I cannot allow you to leavce here with the secrets that you know."
Amaretto all but cursed under her breath.
Amaretto smiled at Mother Chime and then said, "Your power over steam is truly admirable. I am completely fascinated. I must say, how did you create her body?"
Mother chime smiled once more and slowly moved across the floor. As she did so, Amaretto had a flash back to bad cartoon villains. She shook her head as Mother Chime stopped and spoke in her calm voice. "We created the body using higher biological processes and standards."
Amaretto smiled wickedly. "Are you sure you didn't cobble her together like Frankenstein's Bride?"
Katherine scoffed behind her hand and Amaretto could tell that she was trying not to laugh. Amaretto began to slowly move her way towards the bed. Mother Chime however did not look so pleased.
"Are you saying that we had to use a cadaver in order to bring her majesty back to this world?" Mother Chime's voice was a little terse.
Amaretto shook her head. "If that was what it took, and the queen was alright with it, then I am not gainsaying it."
The queen looked a little alarmed at this statement. "We did not agree to occupy another body that belonged to someone else. That's not what you did is it?"
Mother Chime shook her head and tried to plaster her smile back on her face, but Amaretto could tell that the conversation was straining the strange woman. "The body that we gave you was never used by anyone else. It was constructed just for your usage."
The queen pursed her lips for a moment and then nodded her head. "We are pleased then."
Amaretto grinned and looked at Johanna and then said, "How did you manage to transport the queen from one body to another though?"
Mother Chime spoke tersely. "That is a scientific secret that we would prefer not to divulge."
Alice knit her brow and then said, "How were you able to move the animus though? Wouldn't that require a sort of arcane focus?"
Mother chime pursed her lips and then said, "I am going to repeat myself and tell you that I do not do it often and I am saying that we used a biological scientific process."
Alice continued to push. "So then you have found a scientific way to attract the soul and attatche it to another vessel without the usage of the arcane?"
Johanna scoffed. "That would be impossible. You would have to use an arcane device in order to transport the animus into another vessel. In order to capture the animus, a mix between the sciences and the arcane is needed. You would have to use a scientific concept to house the animus while at the same time using an arcane specialty of some sort, thaumaturgy would be necessary most likely in order to move the animus from one vessel to the holding location and then to the new host."
Amaretto was surprised at the basis of knowledge that Johanna had just displayed at that moment. Mother Chime on the other hand seemed a little less impressed. "That is all fine and dandy, but if you do not have the means to use the arcane, then we must find ways to accheive the same result. Thaumaturgical means can mean that they can use a scientific theory to make the same means occur. So that was exactly what we did, while also using alchemical means to make the changes that were necessary."
Amaretto listened halfheartedly while continuing to inch her way towards the bed that was at the other end of the room. Alice and Johanna continued to argue with Mother Chime while the queen and Katherine looked on dispassionately. It was only a short time before Amaretto was able to make it to the bed. The bed itself was made out of a dark mahogany that had a inlays of cherry and teak in it. The large drapery that was laid around the bed was made of several covers of silk. As Amaretto began to pull back the layers of silk on the bed, the queen actually turned around and almost yelled across the small space. "Don't look in there!"
Amaretto jerked back away from the bed, but the damage was already done. As she tried to pull away from the bed, she jerked the silk hangings so hard that they ripped away from the bed, leaving the inside to be exposed to the entire rest of the room. The queen hissed and hurred over to the side of the bed and then began to fuss at the covers on the bed. Under the covers, a small woman with graying hair and tightened skin that showed her age. In Amaretto's opinion, the woman had to be at least in her late sixties. The woman looked like she still partially alive and had hundreds of tubes sticking into her skin. Amaretto had an idea that all the tubes were attached to the queen's new body.
The queen fussed over the body, fluffing pillows and tucking the covers under the woman's folded hands. "Can't have myself catch a cold now can we," she said in a low caring voice.
Amaretto looked at the woman in the bed and said, "Is that your old body?"
The queen nodded her head and then said, "It is indeed our old body. We must take care of it until the transfer of consciousness is complete." In an almost absent minded fashion she placed her hand over that of the old body's folded hands.
At that moment, Amaretto felt a twinge of pity. This was obviously a woman ravaged by illness and Amaretto could also see in the queen's new eyes that she was not just a woman ravaged with problems, but a woman who was frantically clinging to her life and trying any means possible to stay alive. Amaretto was almost reminded of a cancer patient when she looked at the queen's old body.
Katherine stepped over and looked at the old woman who was in the bed and then murmured something under her breath. Amaretto looked to her aunt and Katherine rolled her eyes and then said, "Look at her hands."
Amaretto looked at her hands and noticed that the ravaged body was holding something in her hands. Amaretto looked at eh queen as she stood up again and then in a quiet voice said, "May I?"
The queen thought for a moment and then nodded her head in the affirmative. Amaretto moved forward very slowly and then moved the queen's hands to see what it was that the woman was clutching. There, underneath the woman's hands, was a small gem the size of a robin's egg. It was a a bright ruby red and she slowly lifted it up in her hands and held it up to the light and she turned around to look at Johanna and Alice. Alice's breath caught in her throat audibly and Johanna's eyes widened and her voice sounded raw when she whispered the next words out of her mouth.
"The Stone of Communication."
The queen looked up and confusion crossed her face visibly. At that moment Mother Chime took another step forwards and said, "I must say, I tried to get you all to leave in a means most amenable without you discovering the secret to what was going on here. However, I now have come to the decision that you all are not to be allowed here anymore. I cannot allow you to continue to wander here without any consequences. I am sorry but I cannot allow you to leavce here with the secrets that you know."
Amaretto all but cursed under her breath.
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