What will you do with her? The child of the Shame - an Apostate - harbored in Serault's woods...
Available actions[]
1.
Imprison her She will be your gift to the Divine; proof of Serault's penitence.
(Uses 1 action)
Result: A change of scenery After all, is it so different? She's just exchanging one prison for another. Stone walls will replace the dell's leafy slopes; iron bars its ring of trees. Her confinement has only become a little more severe. You half expect her to resist with sorcery, but her spells are more suited to taming beasts and closing wounds than battle. She curses you as the cell door closes. "That's the Serault way, isn't it? To lock up their unwanted offshoots! How many other secrets do you have under lock and key, your Grace? Should I be expectin' company?" You leave her to rant. The walls don't care.
You have imprisoned the Anchoress, The Anchoress is imprisoned and handed over to Divine Justinia V to be made Tranquil.
2.
Banish her And hide the evidence that she was ever here...
(Uses 1 action)
Result: Best forgotten You watch as she gathers her measly belongings. "Out of sight, out of mind:" she mutters, "our family motto." She considers the items on the shelf at the back of the cave; she hasn't room to take them all. In the end she chooses the brooch and the doll, then shoulders her pack. You watch as she clambers unsteadily from the dell. She pauses at the crest to catch her breath. Looks left, right. Which way? She snorts. "One's as good as the other when you've nowhere to go." She goes left, doddering into the looming woods. When she's gone you dig up the herb garden and clear out the cave. The book and staff you burn. By the time you're done, it's as if she'd never been here.
You have banished the Anchoress, The Anchoress leaves Serault and all trace of her existence is removed.
3.
Invite her to live at the Chateau Whatever else she is, she's family.
(Uses 1 action)
Result: Serault blood She gapes as you lead her through the château. The bright tapestries; the shining glass. The first time she steps on a carpet, she jumps as if it bit her. Then she grins, and cackles. "Can't have the floors naked, eh? What would the neighbors think? The scandal!" She settles into a room in the Heron Tower. Modest but airy, with views of the forest. "Don't know how anyone's supposed to sleep on something this soft," she sniffs, as she bounces experimentally on the edge of the bed, "but I should like to give it a try." A handmaid brings her new clothes - elegant gowns fit for a Serault - but she prefers her robes. You at least have new ones made. You can't have her ragged. For the most part she avoids your court. The lords and ladies know she's a relative, but no details. They treat her appalling manners as eccentricity. She prefers to spend her days at the plaza, anyway, where she can eat bitter apples from a string bag and watch Serault bustle. Some evenings she eats with you, chewing toothlessly at the hard-boiled eggs to which she has developed a consuming addiction. Afterwards, drowsy from the wine, she drifts off before the fire. A servant drapes a blanket over her. She never thanks you. Perhaps she thinks she's finally getting what she was owed. But (apart from the eggs) her demands are slight. You call on her one day. There's no answer from her room, but the door is unlocked. You look inside. The gowns you gave her hang on the wall like tapestries. The bed is bare, because she's pulled the blankets off and made a nest from them under the open window. You can take the Anchoress out of the dell, but you can't take the dell out of the Anchoress.
You have welcomed the Anchoress, The Anchoress will be brought to the Chateau to live with her kin
4.
Defer your decision There's time, yet.
Return the Anchoress' Dell.
(Uses 1 action)
Result: Deferred It would be wise to decide what to do with her before the Divine arrives, though. The Anchoress picks her nose, thoroughly. She notices you looking at her. "What's going on in that head of yours?" she demands. Her finger is still lodged in her nose.
→ The Anchoress
