Transmigrated Teri is an ongoing isekai/portal fantasy series about Teri Graves, an embittered middle-age GenX office lady who gets into a massive car accident and wakes up in the world of the fantasy series she loves to hate, The Allisar Fireborn Chronicles. She knows the characters, she knows the plot, and she knows that its all a massive coma dream…except for how nothing is as it should be. Worse? She woke up in the body of the doomed evil stepmother! She escaped a pandemic for this?
Previously: Teri tried to figure out who’s who...
From his hidden perch, Gervyn watched his uncle glide through the opulent banquet hall with a mixture of bemusement and disdain. Ota was a spectacle unto himself, draped in silks so fine they seemed to shimmer with their own light, the vibrant hues a stark contrast to the somber colors Gervyn preferred. Ota’s long hair, intricately braided into an ornate coiffure, framed his delicate features, the epitome of vanity. His uncle’s tall, graceful form moved with practiced ease, every step and gesture meant for the admiration of the lords and ladies gathered around him. He was charismatic and beautiful and stupid as a fish. Gervyn couldn’t help but admire what the flighty airhead had managed to pull off, despite his disdain for what he considered the man’s libertine pursuits.
~ Allisar Fireborn Chronicles, Book 1: Embers of Destiny
“What in heaven’s eye?” A voice said from the door.
Teri looked over to see Vycette throwing herself against a beautiful man. He was dressed in layers of gauzy, silky robes over a light green and intricately embroidered tunic, his long, black hair done up in fanciful braids with beads and elaborate gold pins. He was probably in his thirties, with a strong jaw and captivating looks that were handsome but understated, no one feature standing out but altogether making him arresting to look at. He possessed the same understated, cool, handsome confidence of men like Paul Newman and Hu Ge.
Teri just stared, dumbfounded.
“Uncle Ota!” Gervyn jumped over to the man, who stood inside the doorway, studying everyone while slowly waving a brightly painted and feathered fan in his free hand, his expression one of surprised curiosity. Gervyn was trying to drag him over to Teri, but he had, apparently, planted his feet.
The name rattled Teri out of her daze. “Uncle Ota” had to be Otandiff Allisar, Ferdiff’s younger brother, who was a dilettante and general lazeabout who spent his family’s money on food, wine, and courtesans. The only reason his brother had not cut him off was that he had been a useful tool in spying, since he was always invited to all the best parties of the nobility. After Ferdiff’s death, Ota had drifted around on the fringes of the plot, mostly as decoration and comedic relief, showing up at major confrontations to drunkenly trip over the carpet, until he just flat out disappeared from the narrative in book four.
Fuckin’ Chad had written him as very handsome, but he had clearly undersold it. The man was gorgeous. Although he was not part of the popular character pairings, which mostly focused on the younger generation, he was a fan favorite and people loved drawing him. Yet, not a single damn fanart Teri had ever seen did him any justice at all.
In fact, he looked so unlike the common images of him throughout both official art and fanart, which leaned into “lithe and delicate twink,” that she wondered where on earth her subconscious had found the inspiration for “tall, handsome, and solid.” She was impressed with herself.
“What are you doing here?” she asked instinctively, too flustered to be polite. It was why she had always failed so hard in the dating scene when she was younger. Good to know she still had that going for her in coma-dream-scape-land, she thought with chagrin.
He sauntered forward, Vycette still clinging to his arm and Gervyn still trying to drag him, although he seemed unbothered by their attempts.
“Hard to miss the ruckus, milady, I had to see what all the fun was about!” He came to a stop next to Lady Elisandar, who looked like she had bit into a lemon and was staring at the wall behind Teri. Ota, in turn, was looking at Teri blankly, as if he had already forgotten why he was there.
Robern bowed low to his uncle. “I am sorry, Uncle. I am trying to apologize to Lady Greyrage. Could you take the children out?”
Teri squinted at him, because he was sixteen if he was a day, but she figured that maybe he was trying to get his younger siblings out of her line of fire. Ota would be the only one with rank high enough to force them out of the room, not that he used that rank much outside of poetry halls and brothels.
Ota turned his pleasantly pretty smile on his nephew. “Of course! Let’s go, children!” He grabbed Gervyn’s shoulder hard enough for the boy to grimace, and steered around the twins like a sheep dog, herding them to the door.
“Stop right there!” Teri snapped at Ota, causing everyone to freeze, including Theo, who stalled with one paw in the air as if he was some kind of demented pointer.
“Where is your brother?”
“My brother? Lord Ferdiff?”
“Do you have any other brothers?” Teri asked, knowing that he didn’t.
“Yes?” He looked even more confused.
“Wait, what? You do? Who?” She reared back. The books had never mentioned a third brother. What the fuck was her brain doing?
Ota blinked at her like a meerkat.
“Young Lord, the lady has experienced some memory loss,” Doctor Dourwin said diffidently.
“Really? Do you remember me? Do you know who I am? Did you forget about me?” Gervyn asked, waving his free arm around, his expression insultingly hopeful.
“Gervyn, shush,” Ota said, shaking the boy once, hard enough for Gervyn’s teeth to clack as he shut his mouth. His siblings, at least, managed to keep their faces under control. The twins were as still as deer avoiding prey.
“You have a third brother?” Teri pressed.
Ota blinked several times, then nodded slowly. “General Laran.”
“General Laran is your brother?” Teri yelled, then slapped a hand over her face. Suddenly the subplot about General Laran and his doomed romance with Princess Nikodia made so much more sense. Even if it was some new on-the-spot headcanon she had thought up, it just worked. She was slightly pissed off about it.
“His given name is Larantadiff Allisar; he’s the youngest of the Allisar lords. The emperor in all his gracious glory bestowed an, uh, shorter name when he elevated him to High Commander General,” Robern said.
“We don’t see Uncle Laran very often,” Gervyn added, earning himself another hard shake.
“Fuckin’ Chad,” Teri hissed.
“No, Larantadiff,” Ota said, smiling at her genially. He had no right to look that beautiful and that vacant at the same time. She thought fandom was really missing out on his himbo potential, and vowed to fix that when she got back—or woke up, however that worked.
She let out a heavy sigh. “What about your older brother? He’s not around?”
Ota glanced uncertainly at Doctor Dourwin, who responded with a slight shrug.
“He’s out making the market circuit,” Ota said. “He departed five days ago and left me in charge.”
The market circuit was a once-a-year route through the Allisar holdings and vassal lands, which took anywhere from several weeks to two months, depending on the weather and the problems Lord Ferdiff encountered.
“He did not leave you in charge,” Teri countered, quite certain of it.
Ota flinched. “He left me in charge of the social calendar,” he corrected.
That tracked.
Teri took a moment to look around the crowded room. Doctor Dourwin and his minions had retreated to huddle next to the wall near the door, probably angling for a quick escape if “Lady Greyrage” lost her temper. Ota still held Gervyn by his shoulder, with the boy looking uncharacteristically contrite about it and staring at the floor. They were positioned in the middle of the room with the twins not-quite-huddling behind Ota, and looking anywhere but at Teri. Lady Elisandar was next to her chair, discretely holding herself up by leaning against the armrest, glaring at Ota and the children in turn. Meanwhile, Robern had shuffled forward to stand in front of all them, closest to Teri.
Ready for punishment.
She looked directly at Robern, who, surprisingly, looked directly back. He wasn’t a character known for his backbone, but then, his injuries were said to have altered his personality a lot. Teri was currently looking at Robern as canon!Gervyn remembered him: protective older brother and strong, healthy heir to the Allisar title. The boy before the whipping.
The other kids were clustered around Ota, which was actually more surprising. Ota had been portrayed as being very fond of his nieces and nephews, but not very involved with them. His hold on Gervyn, and the twins trusting him to stand between them and their step-mother, suggested something more.
:You’re going to bite the puppy’s nose?: Theo asked helpfully, scooting closer to her on the bed.
:That’s not how humans work.: She closed her eyes and rubbed at her temples again.
Theo examined Robern closely, causing the boy to show his first hint of unease. :I don’t see why not, he hates smelly things. Mouths are smelly. Just give him a nip! It will shape him right up!:
“That doggy daycare taught you all the wrong things,” Teri said aloud, and shoved his face away from her. She focused back on Robern. “But on the other hand, you have a good idea.”
:I know! I’m very smart.:
She sighed. Robern looked very confused.
“You purposefully mislead your siblings, and lied to your tutors.”
Everyone seemed to hold their breath as she spoke.
“You are hereby banished to work in the stables as a low-ranking stable-hand for a week,” she said, watching as Robern’s face traveled through fear to disbelief to horror as she spoke. She gave him her best smirk. “Enjoy mucking out the stalls.”
:Horses are awesome. Why is this his punishment?: Theo cocked his head.
:Humans generally hate the smell of manure, and you said he hates stinky things. Unlike you, he’s not going to wallow around in shit for fun.:
:That was ONE TIME!: Theo barked at her in punctuation.
Robern seemed to be frozen in confusion, but rallied himself after a moment and bowed low. “Thank you for your graciousness and mercy, milady.”
She flapped a hand at him, and when he didn’t move, pointed toward the door. “Go on, then. I assume you don’t need an escort?”
He practically yelped, “No ma’am!” and fast-walked out of the room. His siblings looked longingly after him for a moment, then back at Teri.
“I know you three are supposed to be in lessons right now,” she said, not actually knowing any such thing but figuring that if she was wrong, no one would tell her.
“No, afternoon lessons were canceled.”
No one would tell her except Gervyn, the boy with no sense of self-preservation. Even Ota looked pained by his exclamation.
“But we should definitely do some studying!” Aurguth said loudly, grabbing both Vycette and Gervyn’s arms and dragging them along. “Off we go to the library! Where we will study diligently! Thank you, milady!”
Vycette nodded obligingly and Gervyn rolled his eyes, but the next moment saw them being towed out the door, followed by the pitter-patter of feet breaking into a run in the hallway.
“At least she has some common sense,” Ota said as if it was a genuine compliment. He had already re-opened his ridiculously ornate fan and was languidly fanning himself with it.
“If only that ran in the family,” Teri replied without thinking, but stopped short of apologizing, which would be out of character. Anyway, she wasn’t wrong. Neither of the Allisar brothers was what anyone would call “bright.”
Except that there was a smart one, she remembered sourly. Fuckin’ Chad was probably saving that for a big reveal in the final book, given that General Laran had been an important but mostly off-screen presence throughout book four. She wondered what, exactly, his role was going to be, if that was the case. Heretofore, he had been a loyal and aggravatingly competent minion to Emperor Nikodosis.
“Larantadiff got all the brains.” Ota smiled happily as he said it, which made Teri think he probably was happy about it, since that meant not much would ever be expected of him.
“So Laran’s the baby?”
Ota blinked at her while mouthing the word ‘baby,’ but then shook himself. “You don’t remember?”
“As the doctor already mentioned, Milady is still suffering from amnesia, milord,” Lady Elisandar said with the resigned air of someone who was very used to reminding Ota of things he was told five minutes earlier.
“Oh! Right, right.”
“I don’t remember,” Teri confirmed. They stared at each other for a long moment before she broke. “So General Laran is your brother?”
Ota shook his head. “Yes, as I said, he’s the youngest. He went off to the army to find fortune and fame. I am, alas, the spare! Constrained by my position to stay close to Fer,” he said tragically, using the fan to hide half his face.
“Sure,” Teri said with a nod. It was nominally true, for all the Ota used his position to be a playboy, and was not directly in the line of succession given Count Ferdiff’s four children. “So, why are you here, again?” She gestured at the room in general.
He looked startled by the question, then glanced around, apparently forgetting that all the kids had already left. Lady Elisandar actually rolled her eyes at his antics, while Doctor Dourwin was visibly trying not to.
He rallied, though, turning a winsome smile her way.
“Of course I was concerned about my dear sister-in-law!” He flapped the fan a bit, then moved it to cover the lower half of his face again. “I’m so glad you are doing better! And with such a…unique…familiar now!”
:What is it with you?: Teri thought at Theo, who shrugged, yawned, and laid down to nap.
“Thank you,” she said as dryly as she could.
“We appreciate Lord Ota’s concern! So very kind of you to interrupt your important planning for the spring ball!” Lady Elisandar finally spoke up, and spoke very loudly, while rounding on Ota, who fluttered backwards and nearly ran into Doctor Dourwin.
“Of course! Of course! Well, ah, I suppose I should be going now! More planning to do! Goodbye!” He followed the kids’ escape, although if he broke into a run in the hallway, Teri didn’t hear it.
NEXT: Suspiciously Generous
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