"You didn't!" the witch growled. "You have to go back to Draoidh and finish the task given to you!"
Anxious and tasting bitterness of fear as she gulped bile back, Lilette said, "Since I have already threatened them that I was the one who started the rumors, if I go back, chances are that as soon as I enter the wizard kingdom, I will be killed or taken a prisoner." She sobbed and her shoulders shuddered. "It's not that I didn't try. Please leave us. We have nothing to do with Anastasia. Her mother, who is my father's sister, rarely ever came to Óraid. When I met her in Óraid, it was for the first time. Do you think we have any feelings for her or that she has emotions for us? There are no ties. It is empty."
Iona clacked her nails and her pointy teeth. "Yada, yada, yada," she mocked Lilette. "I don't care. We will disguise you and send you back, but you go back. And till then your father stays with me in that condition!"
