I turned and stared at Rebecca. (Patreon)
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"When did you learn Elfmind?" I thought at her.
"All my hopes and dreams are riding on this," she lamented. "Right as things were getting good, you're gonna blow it! Oh, he's looking at me! Does he need my help? Or does he think I'm pretty? I don't know what to do!"
Strange. Now it seemed I was just overhearing her thoughts, as I could with all lowfolk ... but a second ago, I could have sworn she was directly addressing me with Elfmind.
"Look at me when I'm talking to you, sonny!" Mother Didelphis snapped when she realized I wasn't paying attention. "Young people these days, I swear! Now I've got to backtrack to what I was talking about before you drifted off. You were saying you wanted me to be a phony! You want me going around pretending to be a wizened crone, while on the inside I would be naught but healthy bowels and a fully functioning heart, the very antithesis of what it means to be a venerable old hag! Why not go around dressed as a lord while I'm at it? Roaming the land and lying to people doesn't sound very 'seelie' if you ask me. Back in my day, people knew what it meant to be ..."
As Didelphis babbled on, I realized this wasn't good. Rebecca was right. Allowing myself to be yelled at by a loony old bag was making me look foolish in front of my new followers - and what's worse, it was boring them! I should never have let this old crone hook me into an argument. This was one of the classic Wiles; one that would still work even when the wielder's beauty was gone. If I hadn't been so nervous about this meeting, I would have spotted it a mile away! There would be no reasoning with Didelphis at this point; she was only interested in throwing an old lady tantrum. I needed to escape this trap and win back the crowd, and I needed to do it fast!
"They used to respect their elders and betters!" the cantankerous opossum was yelling. "People used to know what good music was! They played harps, not these newfangled lutes that any moron can pick up and -"
I grabbed the finger she was wagging in my face, and transmogrified her into a little girl with pigtails and a lollypop instead of her walking stick.
"This discussion is over," I declared sternly.
"YAAAAAAAHH!" Didelphis shrieked. "What have you done?? My beautiful decrepitude! My sags and wrinkles! RUINED! How can I berate the youth if I'm even younger than them?"
"You lean on your age like a crutch," I stated coldly. "Let's see how you fare without all the excuses it affords you."
"Rebecca told us you were patient and gentle and kind," she whined.
"I have been extremely patient with you," I replied. "But there are limits. I'm not a push-over. You must learn that The White Elf is tough but fair. When you exhaust my patience, then you get to feel my wrath."
I glanced quickly over at the other witches and was pleased to observe that they were absolutely riveted, watching the dramatic scene play out before their eyes.
"Change me back, change me back, change me back," Didelphis insisted, screeching and stamping her feet.
"I'll consider returning you to your original form," I muttered smugly, "once you've learned your lesson. If you want to be old again, then do something to impress me. Think of this as a test of your worthiness to be one of my disciples."