Chapter 830 - The Society for the Reformation of Hags Ⅱ

With the letter finished being read out loud, the elderly hag, Perpetua slams her hands in anger against her seat. "The sheer audacity of the Goblin King!" The elderly hag roared! "Does he wish to see us dead! We have enough of a hard time to feed ourselves in society as is without needing to become that much more vilified by society than we are now!" The hags whisper in curiosity at the mysterious contents of the letter that had aroused the ire of one of the council members and the shock of the other two.

"Annis," Melanchtha quietly said as she lowers her hand with the letter in hand, "the offer of the Goblin King cannot be accepted, it will only solely lead to our deaths."

"We are already dead!" Annis fiercely countered. "We cannot mingle in polite society without being spat on or belittled! We both know that things have only worsened with the passing of time! This may be the one shot that we have at redeeming our reputation as Hags and beings as seen as more than flesh-eating monsters!"

"I admire your courage and passion, sister," Indira said with a natural purr in her seductive voice. "However, you are asking that we Hags fight against the Giants-."

A loud gasp is heard throughout the room at hearing the word, Giants. Hags by nature resided in caves and tended often to encounter Giants. Giants did not take for an answer and many a Hag had lost her life at the hands of Giants in the past even until the present day.

"The blood of our sisters still stains the hands of Giants to this very day," Indira continued, "and yet you ask that we lay our lives down for wizardkind?".

"The Giants will cross the channel," Annis ferociously retorted, "and we will once more be their prey along with wizards alike. Where will the Giants seek to reside and hide if not in our caves and in our forests?! We will be the first to fall under their harsh hand before any other! We are already under attack, so what do we have to lose except nothing, sisters?"

It is a startling truth, but one that no Hag can deny. Indeed, it would be the inhabitants of the caves and woods that would be attacked first. The giants would seek shelter there and the first to fall would be the Hags and Trolls that resided there. And they would not be mercifully sent away, but rather eaten down to their very bones.

"Is that true, council?" A young hag with greenish skin and warts asked.

The room grows quiet as the Hags stare with sympathy at Jenny Frogbottom. The poor thing had been a tiny mite when orphaned. Her hag mother had died in a territorial giant attack in the far north across the English Channel when visiting distant kin. The poor mite had been missed during the attack but had witnessed the cruel, brutality of the giant rendering her mother limb from limb, before hungrily consuming her flesh. The terrorized youngling had been found by distant kin before returned to her ancient hag grandmother to be raised.

"I have no reason to believe that the Goblin King's words claim is falsehood," Melanchtha reluctantly admitted. "However, I cannot condone our gathering to battle against the giants. The Ministry of Magic will slay us for causing an uprising."

"The Goblin King promised that would not be the case," Annis Black interrupted. "The Goblin King has never lied to us before and I trust him enough with our lives to bet on this opportunity."

The three council members gaze at each other, before Melanchtha says, "Very well, then we shall put the subject to vote, but first we shall explain in detail the request of the Goblin King." After proceeding to explain the request of the Goblin King, she says, "Each sister please cast her vote in favor or against. I vote NAY."

The hags move to speak against, but the surprise of the hags in the room, the elderly Perpetua lets out a bark of laughter. "We can hide or fight, sisters. I know that am old and I no longer have much fight in me, but I will not hide away like a cornered beast. I say, AYE." She was the first council member to speak in favor of the proposal beyond Annis Black causing many to gasp in shock. It was well known that Perpetua rarely went against Melanchtha's vote, but a clear divide could be seen with the council.

With one of the council members voting in favor of the Goblin King's proposal, the hags on the fence follow in turn. The hags cast their votes, but by the end, the vote is evenly split. Undecided, the last vote belongings to the remaining council member, Indira Grymm.

Indira purses her red blood lips before an enchanting smile appears on her face. "I do not wish to lose more sisters to violence," she sincerely said. "However, we will lose sisters either way. In the past, I have not always seen eye to eye with our sister Black, but I agree with her sentiment that we have nothing further to lose. I vote AYE."

Melanchtha lets out a sigh as the hag's clamor in shock and excitement. Motioning for the hags to quiet down, the room becomes silent as Melanchtha lets out a wary expression. "The sister has spoken and so we sister shall act," she firmly declared. "Send word to our sisters that we will gather and to our kin overseas. If it is a gamble which we seek to partake in, then we will do our best to stock the odds in our favor!"

The hags in the room let out a cry of agreement, before bustling out of the room. Not all the hags were convinced nor in favor of the proposal, but they would obey the majority's vote. Among those departing is the figure of Annis Black, who bears a determined expression. She had plenty of friends among the hags overseas and she knew that many would come to their aid.

With the gathering ended only the three council members remain behind. The elderly Perpetua inspects the beautiful witch and teasingly says, "I thought for sure you would say, nay, witch." It was an old joke between them since Indira's mother looked like a hag but had borne such a breathtaking enchantress.

Indira refrains from sighing in exasperation at the old hag. "If you must know t'was not Annis Black that convinced me, but rather Finny Frogbottom," the beauty quietly replied. "Giants are territorial existences and there are only so many places we sisters can hide. Sooner or later, a tragedy will occur; and if it is fated to be so, I would rather that we make something good of such a poor hand of cards."

"Aye," Perpetua grunted in agreement.

"Although I understand your reasoning, Indira," Melanchtha interjected, "I fear that it is a trap by a trusted ally of the Goblin King."

"Be as that may be," Indira murmured, "the die is cast, and the majority has spoken, Melanchtha."

"So, it has," Melanchtha sighed, before turning away. The thee hags retreat for the evening each lost in their own thoughts. Only time would tell if the audacious gamble would prove to be their salvation or their condemnation.