"Miss Claire," Claire heard as she was pulled out of her slumber. It sounded vaguely familiar yet foreign. She panicked and jumped up, nearly hitting the woman in the process. She glanced around until she found the person. "Damn, that was closer than I was expecting."
It was Victoria. Not only that, but she wasn't in the carriage anymore. She glanced around for her party members, noticing a fire a distance away.
"I only wanted a private conversation," Victoria knelt down next to her. "Both Ursa and Jasmine would never let us have that."
Claire could vaguely make out Ana or Elsie next to the fire, so it meant she was still close to her camp. "O-okay, what do you want?"
"You're being followed," Victoria came out and said it. "They're quite competent, too. Jasmine hasn't noticed yet."
Claire blinked and glanced around. "By who?"
"Your reputation is already catching up with you." Victoria didn't have her usual smile or cheery attitude when she spoke. "The trafficking group you fought a few months ago sent out its enforcers. They've finally found your trail."
Claire could feel a sense of dread run down her spine. "The group we fought alongside Firewater?"
Victoria nodded slowly. "I've been running interference and threw them off your trail, but they're catching up. I am under strict orders not to fight while in the Lloyd's lands, otherwise I'd offer more assistance."
Claire glanced at the ground. It'd help tremendously if someone like Victoria could help. "How strong are they?"
"Astrid's level, maybe even higher." Victoria rubbed her chin. "There are also 12 of them."
"H-how do you know so much about-" Claire blinked.
"It's my job, Claire," Victoria finally smiled. It was a brief, half-smile. "I've also been following you for a lot longer than I let on."
Claire's eyes widened. "Wh-why? What could you possibly…?"
Victoria rested her hand on Claire's shoulder. "Anka personally asked me to. All the way back when you first met Master Anthony. It seems She likes your Goddess a whole lot."
Claire blinked, then burst out laughing. It took a moment for her to stop, leaving the spy in an awkward silence. "Well, my Goddess very much likes Anka, too. Uh, They seem to be in a relationship of some sort."
Victoria tilted her head, then let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Seriously? This was all because of a crush?!" Victoria ran her hand through her hair. "I thought it was because of your potential or strength, but a crush makes more sense."
Claire bit back another laugh. "I guess it was."
Victoria shook her head. "Of course. I should have known it wasn't because of your goals. Alice is so right about Her."
"I doubt it was solely due to Anka's crush," Claire calmed herself. "I'm sure She wanted to support my Goddess's mission as well."
Victoria grimaced. "The Gods aren't that benevolent. I've learned their motives are far simpler than for "The Greater Good." Most of the time, it's for petty or selfish reasons that They stumble into doing good."
Claire tilted her head. Victoria was acting completely differently from before. "I-I guess. My Goddess seems to have good intentions."
"When it comes to men's liberation? Definitely." Victoria's smile slowly grew. Her tone and demeanor relaxed. "But giving women cocks? Nah, that's probably just because She thought it was hot."
"Well, it is," Claire mumbled in agreement.
"Maybe," Victoria got to her feet. "But, I'm quite pissed Anka had me tail you for so long because of a crush. I had to skip watching over Toni while he was at your Lady's estate. At least you all have shown so much potential. That makes it somewhat worth the effort."
Claire glanced up at her and pursed her lips. "Um, can I ask a personal question?"
Victoria's smile grew. "Why the act?"
Claire nodded.
"Well, people tend to trust me more when I act all bubbly or goofy. Or annoying." Victoria offered a hand to Claire. She helped pull Claire to her feet. "It was an old trick I used when I was younger. Play the fool, and people will think you are harmless. Loosens their lips and pockets."
"So why do it now?" Claire asked. "I'm sure you don't need to act the fool any longer."
"It's fun," Victoria admitted with a shrug. "I started to enjoy getting on people's nerves and annoying them. Elsie would understand."
"Yeah, not supposed to let you two meet," Claire chuckled. She glanced back at the fire. Whichever twin was on watch was slowly approaching the area.
"Well, too late," Victoria gently pushed Claire in the direction of their camp. "I do need to discuss the group tailing you."
Claire let herself be pushed into the open.
"Fuck!" Elsie jumped back. "Claire?"
"Yeah," Claire glanced back at Victoria, but she was already gone.
"How? I saw you asleep in be-"
"Sorry, Miss Elsie," Victoria was behind her now and was walking towards the fire. "Needed to discuss some things with Claire. And now with you."
Elsie jumped again, this time towards Claire. Claire caught the blond and helped steady her. "What the fuck?"
"Sorry, Elsie," Claire whispered. "It's important."
"Victoria?" Elsie shook her head. "What's this about?"
"Those traffickers sent enforcers after us," Claire gently nudged her forward. "They're following us now."
"What?!" Elsie's eyes widened. "They're following us? But we're heading home..."
Claire didn't even think about that. Could they know where they are headed? Could their village be in danger?
"That is what I want to discuss," Victoria beckoned for them to join her. "I cannot openly help you, but I can help strategize and run interference."
"O-okay, should I wake the others?" Elsie glanced at the carriage.
"If you'd like," Victoria pulled a table closer and sprawled out a map. "Ah, right, I had been meaning to ask. You can talk to your sister through some form of telepathy, right?"
"I-I can," Elsie looked the spy up and down. "I'm afraid to ask how you knew."
"Just a guess," Victoria smiled at her. "Either that, or you two had great intuition for each other."
"Well, Ana's up now," Elsie mumbled.
"Okay," Claire exhaled. She glanced at the map Victoria had out. "What exactly is the plan?"
"There is an old fort between here and Restol," Victoria pointed to a blank spot on the map. "Should be a great place to fortify. It can also obscure my actions with yours."
"So you will be helping us?" Claire furrowed her brow. "But I thou-"
"Did you seriously trust a spy's word?" Victoria giggled. It was much closer to the laugh she had when they first met. "I'm not supposed to help, nor should I. Could cause an internoble incident. But these women have been allowed free rein for far too long. My Lady would want me to risk it."
"Okay," Claire furrowed her brow. It was still hard for her to even read this woman. "Um, so the plan?"
"Fairly simple," Victoria continued. She circled the surrounding area with her finger. "Lay out traps in the surroundings, get them to transform early, funnel them in for Ursa to finish. Pick them off at range if we can."
"It can't be that simple," Elsie shook her head. "We'd need to stall out how many werewolves?"
"12, all around Astrid's level," Claire explained. She glanced at Victoria, whose expression didn't change. "How are we going to do that?"
Victoria glanced behind the two women. "Ah, Jasmine. Exactly the woman I wanted to see."
"What the fuck are you doing?" Jasmine glared at the spy before she walked up to the table.
"We have people following us," Claire explained quickly. She could see Jasmine's eyes widen and her expression break.
"Wh-what?!" Jasmine's voice cracked. She blinked rapidly and glanced at Victoria. "Since when?"
"Bout three weeks," Victoria put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. These women know how to stay hidden. It's not your fault."
"But I shoul-" Jasmine tried to speak.
"No," Victoria dropped the smile. "These women are beyond your level and skill. It's why I'm stepping in. These fuckers want to make an example of you. Show the world what brutal fate befalls people who mess with them. It's only natural I'd step in."
Jasmine shook her head. She did her best to fight off the feeling of failure and focus on the current issue. "Um, thank you, Victoria."
Victoria smiled at her. "Do not blame yourself, Jasmine. Seriously, these women are well-trained enforcers. I'd be shocked if you caught on to them."
Jasmine took a deep breath. "Right, well, what is the plan?"