"Well, I don't think all that will be necessary. I'm sure a simple no would have sufficed," Circe replied quietly to Mina's grim words. As she spoke, she covered her friend's hand with her own, her fingers curling gently around Mina's in a gesture meant to reassure her.
"If only that stopped her," Mina said bitterly. "She takes offense both when I don't show up and when I dare to show my face." She released a quiet sigh, one heavy with long-standing resentment and exhaustion, all of it directed toward Lady Kaelith.
Their heads were bent close together in conversation, largely oblivious to the rest of the room. Around them, the other women mingled in clusters, their voices rising and overlapping, loud enough to drown out the quieter exchange Circe and her friends were having.
"Then we could always teach her a lesson," Elara suggested with a glint of mischief in her eyes.
She was immediately met with Mina's sharp rebuke.
