My Good Friend, The Villainess

2 - Early Morning Escapades

[ hello everyone! it was recently brought to my attention that some readers have had issues pronouncing the names of the characters of this story. i aim to make my stories accessible so i'll be posting pronunciations for character names in this author note. hope you enjoy today's chapter!

Adalira Polachade - (ah-duh-leer-uh) (poh-lah-chade)

Cressida Lauressier - (kreh-see-duh) (law-res-see-er)

Ebele - (eh-beh-leh) ]

When I woke up in the morning, I was still holding on tight to Cressida. My head was tucked under her chin and her hand was still in my hair, I could feel it tingling in a nice way on my head. The sun wasn't up yet, I could tell because there wasn't any light coming through my bed's curtains.

"Oh, it was all a dream..." My whisper poured out into the warm air and my body finally relaxed. Cressida was right here. Everything was just fine.

"A vision, not a dream, child."

"... Ebele?"

"Yes?"

Oh. Oh no.

"But I... I thought you were-"

"Just a part of your dream, child? No, I'm very much real. It'd be rather irresponsible to leave your own devices after promising you my help, would it not?"

Ebele's voice reminded me of tea pouring from a spout, smooth and calming, but a bit scary since it could burn you at any moment. I wonder if they could burn me.

"I guess so. Does that mean that... That Sida is going to-"

"Before you continue your line of questioning, do know that you can just think to me rather than talking aloud. You wouldn't want to wake her up, would you?"

I let out a gasp and covered my mouth with both hands before moving my head slightly to look at Cressida. I can feel her breathing against my ear, slow and steady, so she shouldn't have woken up. I wait for a bit, waiting for any movement from her before relaxing again when I'm sure she's still asleep and returning my attention to Ebele. I make sure to keep my mouth closed and hands over it, thinking through my next words.

"Am I the only one who can hear you?"

"In this space, yes. There aren't many humans alive or that will be alive that will be able to hear me."

"But what are you?"

"I believe that I told you that you'd learn that in due time."

"Oh, right. Then, Sida..."

"Cressida Lauressier, at the age of 22, will be publicly hanged for attempted murder. Let it be known that she did, in fact, try to take someone's life. There was no mistake on that end."

It still doesn't feel right to hear in my head. The words put together still don't make any sense, but I understand what they mean. But something must have happened to Cressida, something terrible, to even make her consider such a thing, much less act on it. And we're 8 now, so that would mean...

"In 15 years, Sida's going to try and kill that girl. Miriam Sulon, that man in the suit said her name, right?"

"That is correct."

"But 15 years is such a long time, anything could happen from now to then. How am I supposed to know what to change so she doesn't try to do that?"

Ebele lets out something that sounds like a laugh and a whistle at the same time. "That's where I come in, child. Although I cannot tell you everything, I can give you hints. Most of the answers to your questions will have to come from your own research and deduction."

"Deduction?"

"Your ability to think and draw conclusions from facts you already know, child."

"Oh. Then the things I can draw deductions from are what you've already told me?"

"Yes."

"Then can I ask another question?"

"You just did, dear. But of course, although I can't ensure that I'll be able to answer it."

"I can understand why I don't want Sida to die, but why do you care?"

Ebele goes quiet at that, which probably means that it's a question they can't answer. I don't understand what the limits of their answers are though. They can talk to me and only me through my mind, they seem to know everything going on, and they don't have a body. It's like trying to grab a cloud.

"The most I can say is that her living another day affects many more lives than just yours."

That's more of an answer than what I was expecting. It makes more sense the more I think about it too. In truth, it's strange that Cressida and I are friends in the first place considering how different we are. My papa's a man who owns a lot of land and rents it out to farmers and other people, which makes him a gentleman. Cressida's papa is a 'peer', a duke. It was by chance that our mamas met when they were both pregnant and became close friends in the capital. Not to mention she's an only child, which means Cressida is supposed to be the next duchess...

"Does Cressida get a younger sibling?"

"No."

"Hm... Oh, then what about Miriam? Who exactly is she?"

"Can't you find that out yourself?"

"Can I? ... Oh, I can."

In the library there's a few books with records of important families in them. If the Sulon family is in one of them, maybe I can guess why Cressida might go after her! But first I must get out of bed. Carefully, I move out from under Cressida and give her a pillow to hold instead, pulling the blanket up over her to make sure she stays warm while I'm gone. She gets cold easily, after all.

After putting on my slippers, I tiptoe over to my dresser and grab the candle and its holder. "Just enough to see, please." I whispered into the wick. It began to glow in a low golden color, just bright enough for me to see ahead of me. I look back over my shoulder and give a silent wave towards my bed. "I'll be back in a bit, Sida."

And I'm out the door on my tiptoes.