541 CH 501: NEGOTIATIONS (1)
[I, Medea Asmodeus, hereby declare the opening of a Public Trial. All the Members of the council are summoned and anyone late or absent will be punished.]
When the voice of Medea spread through Salem, all the witches looked up at the sky as the space seemed to be cut into thin lines and a platform slowly spread.
Even without anyone saying anything they could recognize the magic of Freya in action. Furthermore, on the platform that was literally created in space, trees started to bloom and slowly morphed into chairs and tables,
'Persephone.'
The breath of the witches slowly became hurried as they finally understood who had actually spoken the first time.
Medea Asmodeus, the witch of Time as well as the leader of the council.
Many of the younger witches only knew of her by name or through their study of history.
Even after Medea came back, she had been rather meek and did not show any imposing stance.
This though — This was completely different.
The members of the council, hidden between the normal witches or speaking with Ten or with One were all startled.
The voice of Medea directly reached their minds and they had the impression that at the slightest refusal to comply, they would be immediately frozen in time, unable to act until she judged otherwise.
In the end, they all started to fly up to reach the platform that had been created.
.
.
.
The moment One landed she immediately walked up to Medea who was sitting at the head of the table.
The table was rectangular rather than round as it usually was during the meeting of the Council— This too was a silent message.
Looking away from the table, One finally asked what was on her mind.
"Elder sister, could you explain what is happening? I believe we decided to hold a closed hearing in a few days for the negotiations."
Her voice was even, showing no particular feeling but there was a clear remonstrance in it.
The other members of the council who also landed were unable to keep such a straight face. Many of them were openly dissatisfied with the way Medea just threatened them.
To this — Medea simply smiled,
"It seems like all of you guys have forgotten who really holds power in the council."
She sighed and placed her hand down. All the witches only blinked once but then they realized that they were all seated.
'Time stop.'
It wasn't hard to realize what just happened and this was all the more frightening.
As if unconcerned by their reaction, Medea continued,
"The first rule of the council is that I have the absolute power of Veto and that any of my decisions can overturn any decisions made by the councils."
The witches were startled and looked at each other, remembering that this was indeed the case.
Ever since Medea came back, rather than wielding her power, she had been trying to keep the peace and not disturb the system.
She tried to convince them through words rather than force because of the guilt she felt and they had taken it for granted.
A few of the witches muttered, wondering what they should do. Now that Medea decided to stop playing nice, there was very little they could actually do that wouldn't be considered insubordination or rebellion.
The feeling of being completely helpless was not new for them. But for many, it was a wake-up call.
This reminded them of another simple reality that they had forgotten because they had ruled the place for so long without any input from Ambrosia or Medea.
Salem may look like a democracy.
It may even act like a democracy based on meritocracy.
But at its core — It was an absolute Monarchy.
The power they had was simply bestowed to them temporarily on a whim to keep the illusion of equality.
For all her gentleness and meek attitude —Medea was not their equal.
They confused her kindness with weakness and underestimated her too much. Even forgetting that she was in fact the leader.
The witches shared a look.
They were all very intelligent and their minds moved fast. They knew that…
No matter what was the result of these negotiations, the system will forever be different.
Unlike the other witches, Befana, or Simple One stayed calm as she observed the arrangement of the table. She was one of the oldest witches alive and she was also a direct student of Persephone.
She, more than anyone, knew how deadly and powerful the four Witches could be. She also knew how powerful and vicious Medea could be in the past.
‘As I thought. Nature can hardly change.’
Medea was a beast. Someone who moved on their one whim with no cares. Her personality changed because of all those years of self-imprisonment but it was only a matter of time until The True witch of time came back.
‘Still, this arrangement is interesting.’
She was seated at the left of Medea while Number 10 was at her right. From there they were clearly arranged in opposite ways. From 10 to 6 and From 1 to 5.
Finally, the other end of the table was completely free.
During a negotiation, the form of the table where all members were seated was very important.
A circular table implied equality between all members while a rectangular table implied a clear hierarchy. The most important place was obviously the ends of the table.
Each end represented a side and the two sides were equal or antagonistic. All those on the sides were just that — Side characters.
It was a rather simplification of the matters. But Befana knew that she did not need to think more about it.
Step~
Here, high in space, it was incredible to even hear something akin to someone stepping on the ground.
But — They were sure they all heard it.
Whoosh~!
Some of the witches groaned while many lowered their hats to hide their expression of surprise as an overwhelming aura filled the space.
The chair was pulled and a young man took place at the other end.
He was a handsome young boy and had a genial smile on his face, giving the impression that he wouldn’t even hurt a bug.
But all of them could feel it. Even Befana, despite all her composure, could not stop the goosebumps on her skin from spreading.
They had a simple feeling. It was as if all of them were nothing but herbivores standing in front of a true Predator.
“Hello, ladies. I believe it’s time for us to have a great discussion.”
None of the witches could answer, but thankfully the aura swiftly vanished as soon as it came.
“I am sorry. It seems like I should have controlled myself more. I did not expect this simple release of power to make all of you so uncomfortable.”
Though his words were sweet, it was easy to realize that he simply insulted them by saying that they were too weak.
A few witches clenched their fists but they realized that there was nothing they could do. Once again any illusions they may have had about Sol being weaker than them because of his age were completely dispelled.
“Now that the Prince of Lustburg is present, I hereby declare the start of the negotiations. May we all discuss for the betterment of Salem.”
It was a bombastic start but the tone was clear. No punch would be pulled.
