I quickly released the bow string (Patreon)
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and Burnside's yelp of dismay was abruptly cut off as the Elfshot found its mark.
She stood in a daze for a second, then grinned and curtsied.
"Good morrow, my lord," she murmured hollowly. "Will you take a spot of tea?"
"How do you feel?" I asked.
"Simply splendid, my lord," she burbled, curtseying again. "Thank you so much for asking. Oh! Oh my," she giggled as I prodded her shoulder. "I beg your pardon, my lord, but I fear I may have had too much punch."
She spun around a few times and then sat down on the grass.
"More tea, my lord?" she asked as I squatted next to her. I grasped her wrist to check her pulse, and she turned her head away and giggled. "I could be persuaded, my lord, but what will the bishop think?"
Interesting.
"Will you be all right if I leave you here for a while?" I asked.
"I shall await your return with bated breath," Burnside sighed dreamily. "I shall count the seconds, my lord. Tarry not overlong!"
She waved as I backed away slowly around the dolmen. As soon as I was out of sight, I circled around and peeked at her from the other side. She was humming a tune as she picked clover and braided it into a chain.
Most curious.
It seemed, then, that Elfshot did affect elves - but it affected them strangely. Were there other kinds of Elfshot? Lana had used something incredibly potent on Rebecca; the poor rabbit femme was bedridden and delirious for days. I could not recall my own Elfshot ever having such a lasting effect ... but then again, I never stuck around to observe the aftermath.
Keeping Burnside in sight, I ambled over to where Rebecca was sitting.
"Have you fallen asleep yet?" I asked.
"It has only been a few minutes, my lord," Rebecca replied. "And besides, nobody could get any sleep with you yelling like that."
"Yelling?" I repeated.
"Yes, you were standing at the edge of the circle and yelling into the woods, 'Hey, can you hear this?' and it was nearly deafening. You were using some sort of spell to amplify your voice, weren't you?"
"No," I replied. "I wasn't yelling at all. That was Elfmind. In the face of the evidence, I am going to have to cautiously conclude that you are probably an abandoned changeling."
Rebecca got very excited. There was a lot of squealing and dancing around, and then after she calmed down, I started instructing her in the Ways of the Elves. Most of that wouldn't be of any interest to you lowfolk, and I wouldn't reveal it to you even if it was, so let's just skip ahead to the next interesting part.
Burnside sobered up after a few hours, and was very angry at me. After tearing her lovely clover chain to shreds, she stomped off into the woods to do her patrol.
It was just two days later that something came crashing through the undergrowth. It was too soon (and too noisy) to be Oak Marten, so who -?
Chloe the duck burst into the clearing, half running, half flying.
"Lord Randall!" she quacked breathlessly. "Oh it's terrible! Didelphis has gone mad! She's betrayed us, and the rabbits are on a rampage!"
"What happened?" I asked in alarm.
"Oonagh was arrested for witchcraft, and the rest of us are wanted!" Chloe sobbed. "They're hunting us like animals! I made it to the forest because I can fly .. sort of. Gretchen and Petunia, though, they can't move very fast. I don't think they'll manage to escape. I think I'm safe for the time being. The rabbits don't dare enter your domain, but I daren't leave it now!"
"Oonagh was arrested for witchcraft?" I repeated incredulously. "Isn't she the nice baker lady? She's not even part of your coven!"
"Didelphis accused her," Chloe explained. "She told the magistrate that Oonagh had baked a magical pie which made her young again."
"But that's not true!" I gasped in utter shock.