Aidan gasped, shocked at the many revelations in Nina's memories, some more obvious than others. Before he had time to absorb it all, more memories came flooding through like a tidal wave, hitting him before he could catch a breath.

The location was an empty hallway, and Nina was currently being confronted by the man from the forest, the Committee representative Boden, who stood with his chest puffed up in a show of authority, looking very much like an enraged porcupine. "Enough with your lies and half-truths Nina. Tell me where you were! And do not dare say you were on the outskirts of the city because I had people looking for you everywhere!"

Nina bit her lip to stop herself from smirking. The man acted tough now but that was far from the case when he ran away with his tail tucked between his legs the moment he was threatened by Frida! She mused, 'He will not fall for an all-out lie, but a half-truth will still suffice. Besides, I want answers to questions too, and ruffling Boden's feathers will be quite entertaining.'

"Very well," she answered flippantly, "I went in search of Frida, the witch with the power to curse."

Boden immediately stilled, eyes growing wide. "How do you know of her?" His voice now lacked the pretentious air from before.

"I heard of others talking about her, but I was unsure if it was all hearsay, so I decided to find out for myself."

"You could have asked me."

Nina smiled sweetly but her intonation was in contrast, "Well, I am sure you would have answered." His mouth drew a straight line at her sarcasm. Ignoring the disapproving look, she continued, "Since you have given me the option, then tell me, why does she shun others? How is she not working for the Committee?"

"She does not shun others, it is civilized society that shuns her," he countered while making a show of looking disgusted, "after all, why would we want to hire someone with a Dark Talent?"

Nina inwardly mocked, 'Liar!' Outward mask of calm still in place, she queried further, "Dark Talent? I have never heard of such a thing."

"It is a rare form of nature's mistake, an abomination that should have never been allowed to exist. A Dark Talent user is the epitome of all things evil because they require living sacrifices to perform their magic. The life force of these sacrifices is used instead of the energy reservoir that we use."

Her brows dipped in confusion, "So does Frida lack an energy reservoir?"

In spite of his irritation, Boden smiled, pleased at how fast the young witch had figured it out. "Indeed, she has none, yet she still has the ability to wield magic. Can you see how dangerous she is? She can absorb the life force of anyone around her, snuffing their lives out in an instant!"

"I just assumed the reason for her banishment was because of her ability to curse others."

He scowled at her as if her words were blasphemy, "The Committee holds no prejudice against any witch based on their Talent. We would have made sure she was trained not to harm."

'The Committee this, the Committee that. You truly are their best mouthpiece, Boden,' Nina inwardly scorned.

"I will only warn you once, Nina. You are not to visit Frida under any circumstances. Disobey, and I will have you escorted everywhere you go."

Nina lowered her head in meek pretense, already planning her next unannounced visit to the unsuspecting redhead.

***

The memory faded to nothingness before a new setting flickered into view. Aidan surveyed the painfully plain surroundings of the small room before noticing Nina seated in one of the chairs by the small wood table not far from a rough-hewn stone oven. Pots and pans hung from a horizontal rod above the hearth nearby.

'We're no longer in Nina's memories, which means we're finally in Frida, John's ancestor's memories,' thought Aidan, his gut feeling telling him the final reveal was near.

As Frida bustled about, Aidan had a better view of the room they were in. It was tiny and spartan, the only other furniture besides the table and chairs being two sets of straw beds, one a single and the other a double, placed in a corner. What surprised him though, was the quality of the furniture itself. Each bed came with a headboard, something Aidan hadn't expected to find in such a rural setting. Not only that, the headboard, as well as each leg of the table and chairs was elaborately carved, exhibiting the maker's impressive skills.

"Where is everyone?" Nina asked.

"Merida is probably taking a stroll in the woods. My husband and daughter are near the smokehouse preparing the meat for curing."

Not bothering to lift a finger, Nina watched dully as Frida emptied a small sack full of salt into a large wooden bowl, all the while throwing the young witch a dirty look.

"What?" Nina finally asked, catching on to the vibe.

Frida followed the salt with another small sack of brown sugar, stirring the two in the bowl, "You sitting there like a queen bee while I work my arse off is what!"

"Tell me more about your abilities and you shall have all the help you need."

"What more can I tell you? You saw it happen, did ya not?"

"All I saw was a werewolf passing you some coins and then pricking a finger and dripping blood on a small stone before clasping your hand, muttering something inaudible after which the pig standing next to you keeled over dead."

Frida dusted her hands, "So what else is there to say?"

"I know you used the life force of the pig because you lack any inner energy reservoir. But how do the words spoken by someone end up cursing another person in another world?"

"No idea, little chick."

"I told you not to call me that."

"And I told ya not to bother me but here you are, showing up whenever it pleases your fancy. And why are your questions so stupid anyways? Have I asked how your Talent makes you invisible?"

Nina had obviously been hanging around often, Aidan concluded as he listened to their conversation. Although Frida sounded annoyed, her emotions told him a different story. The redhead was secretly pleased to have the extra company.

"Make yourself useful and carry this bowl," Frida ordered in a tone that suggested refusal was futile. With a snooty flick of her hair, Nina grudgingly stood from her chair, but instead of picking up the bowl by hand, she used her Talent to move it along.

"Show-off."

"And I say if you have it, use it." Ignoring the redhead's snort of derision, Nina asked, "What is the stone for?"

"It has nothing to do with cursing. It is for Merida."

"Oh?"

"Merida's Talent allows her to store the memories of others, by blood freely given. The stone I collected holds the memories of that werewolf client. You know how weak Merida is. She will likely never leave this forest. Even a trip to Onirique is too much for her to handle. It is a good thing her Talent sets her free, at least for a while."

"Has no Healer been even moderately successful at curing her?" Nina asked this even after she herself had tried healing Merida.

Frida shrugged, "Fergus and I have done all we could, but no, nothing."

They walked towards two small huts not far away, one used for storing cured meats and the other for smoking them. Frida's husband, Fergus had just completed butchering the pig while Kella, their little girl of nine or ten sat on an uprooted tree branch watching, her long burgundy hair almost touching the ground.

"The curing mix is ready," Frida informed her husband, a man of few words who answered with a grunt of acknowledgement. His muscular arms flexed as he hefted the large meat pieces about with ease.

As the family began salting the meat, Frida snuck a glance at Nina, wanting to say something but unsure if it would ruin the mood. Finally unable to stop herself, she subtly asked, "How is that handsome prince of yours? I have not heard you utter a word of your secret rendezvous in a while."

Nina pouted at the mention of Lucius. "He has been terribly busy ever since I shared my Talent with him, but at least his father's opinion of him has improved tremendously. He has promised to bring me to Riogven in a few years, once things have settled down and his family are more open to the idea of us getting married."

Frida shared doubtful looks with Fergus while trying to find the correct words that would not provoke the young witch into behaving like a defensive, prickly hedgehog."Ya know, and I am not saying this to be hurtful or anything but that boy's got a past to 'em that is hard to handle."

The young witch distractedly began drenching her slice of meat with the salt-sugar rub, "I know. He already told me every sordid detail of his past because he does not want there to be secrets between us. I believe him when he says he has changed."

Unlike Frida, her giant tree trunk of a husband was painfully straightforward with his words. Fergus spoke slowly, voice a deep baritone, "Does one change so easily?"

Nina smacked her hand down hard on the wooden workbench surface, sending several of the meat cuts bouncing before they landed back on the table, sprinkles of sugar-salt grains falling off the flesh and creating a transient white dust cloud. "And what would a blundering, brutish, brainless bulk like you know of Lucius! You know nothing of his disposition or qualities, repeating only the hearsay of others who have jealousy and ill-intent in their hearts!"

Little Kella ran and hid behind Fergus, fearful of the sudden outburst. Frida reined in her own emotions and tried to placate the other woman as carefully as possible, "Calm yourself, Nina. All we are saying is you could try opening your eyes and ears a little. You rely on his words alone and it worries me because I honestly care for you, I really do. You are like a little sister to me."

Nina's breaths were still heavy as she forced a curt nod, before turning away, "If you need me I shall be with Merida."

The next memory change happened so quickly, Aidan hadn't even realised it was happening. Frida was seated by Merida's bedside, gently replacing the cloth on her sister's forehead with a cool one. The younger sibling was in deep sleep, her face still flushed from the mild fever that had suddenly sprung upon the delicate woman.

"It is rare to see a full-grown witch suffer so much from illness," a voice behind Frida said softly. A woman's voice. Frida rose and went to sit across the voluptuous vampire beauty named Gloria. Aidan immediately recognised her as the vampire whom Lucius had gone home with on the night of the fancy party, the one in Wisten's memories.

Frida made a clucking sound of regret, "It is rare, although it runs in my family. My gran on my ma's side, and her father before her too." The vampire handed a blood-stained stone to the witch who slipped it into her apron pocket. Frida offered to make the vampire some tea which she readily accepted. While the water boiled, Frida told her guest, "Fergus has gone to collect firewood. He will be back shortly but unfortunately for you the only company available till then is me."

"Oh come now, Mrs Camdan, you make it sound like a bad thing."

Frida chortled before saying rather self deprecatingly, "No need to butter me up Lady Gloria, I know an unrefined woman when I see one, and that includes my own reflection!"

"I assure you, the thought never crossed my mind. Now, your husband on the other hand," Gloria cheekily said, earning a raucous laugh from Frida. "It astounds me how someone so towering and huge can create the daintiest, most exquisite jewellery I have ever seen!" The vampire was full of praise.

"He has hands the size of tree stumps yet no one is a better craftsman than my Fergus," Frida answered proudly. "He is a good man. A good husband and father. I am lucky to call him mine."

"Indeed, Mrs Camdan, I envy you. I have yet to find a man who will look at me the way your husband gazes lovingly at you," Gloria said with a wistful sigh.

"Now, now Lady Gloria. One as young as you should not lose heart! There is someone out there who is tailor-made to fit you like a favourite pair of gloves. Ya just need to give him time to find you."

"I shall look forward to that day," the vampire said with a lively laugh. Keeping up the small-talk, Frida ventured to ask, "Is your jewellery for a special occasion, Lady Gloria?"

"Yes, it is! The King has invited members of the aristocracy in Riogven for his grandson's thirtieth-day birthday celebrations. The boy prince is third in line to the throne. Everyone who is anyone will be attending and I must not be outdone!"

A sudden sinking feeling overcame Frida as she asked with as much nonchalance as she could muster, "By golly, this sounds exciting....Who are the lucky parents?"

"Who else but Crown Prince Lucius and his wife, Princess Rosellile. The crown prince is the king's only son, after all. Daughters and their heirs have no right to the throne," Gloria said with a hint of sour disapproval that was utterly lost on Frida who was distractedly thinking that fears had a way of becoming reality in the blink of an eye.