The Divine Gambit Ch. 03

My thoughts were wandering again. I was lost in the disparity between what I thought I should be feeling and how the draconic presence in my mind felt about our situation. The cognitive dissonance was quite bothersome. Hopefully, I would be able to catch my breath and catch hold of my thoughts without being overcome by the being sharing my mind.

~*~*~

Cynthia again pulled into an underground parking garage as her GPS chimed that we were at our destination. I noticed that we were no longer in the center of Philadelphia. The buildings here were, in general, smaller and less densely packed. The green spaces were more regular and sizable. When Cynthia pulled into the building's driveway, I was surprised by what I saw. From the outside, the building was impressively modern in its appearance. This wasn't what I had anticipated from a place essentially handed to me for simply existing.

I had expected a hostel situation, something resembling my freshman dorm room. Instead, I viewed a modern apartment building with surprisingly pleasant architecture and a large grassy communal area. I was impressed, not that my standards had been high. Cynthia parked the SUV, and the four of us got out and located the stairs. Cynthia provided me a key as we reached the floor that the apartment was on, allowing me the honor of first opening the door.

The building must either be new or recently remodeled because everything had a modern black matte aesthetic, sleek and minimalist appearance. It reminded me somewhat of a hospital in that it was completely spotless and pristine, with a faint smell of a chemical cleaner lingering in the hallways. The building wasn't tiny from the outside, but I noticed only four residences on each floor. We climbed to the fourth floor and located the door with the listed number.

I used the key to open the door and was immediately surprised at the scale of the room I was greeted with. The door opened to a spacious sitting area, two couches placed perpendicular to each other. One faced a massive wall-mounted television, and I found myself wondering if there was a single space it would fit in my old apartment. A facade of a fireplace was installed in the wall across from the other couch -- presumably gas or electric atmospheric heating for the room.

Beyond this living room, I could see a full kitchen and dining room. The obnoxiously large table was flanked by twelve seats. A stovetop oven sat next to a double-doored fridge, and elegant black marbled countertops stretched around the room, continuing into a half wall that separated the kitchen from a hallway that continued deeper into the apartment. Four stools sat on the kitchen side of the wall.

I finally took my first steps into the residence, and the women followed me. Cynthia, presumably, knew what to expect and quickly continued into the room. Sam uttered a noise of mild surprise as she entered. Beth was anomalous in her reaction as she released a sharp, shrill noise of indecipherable excitement. She rushed into the room and hugged me.

Patiently, I detached myself from Beth's embrace and continued exploring the residence. I followed the hallway and poked my head into each doorway I found. A massive bathroom was the first room. A walled-in shower, large enough that I could lay down and spread my arms wide and still not touch the perimeter, occupied half of the room. On the other side of the room was a gargantuan tub, large enough for multiple people to comfortably use at once. I could see jets lining the walls. I would absolutely enjoy using that.

The next room was obviously a bedroom. An L-shaped desk with a chair snuggled into one corner, a queen size bed flanked by two bedside tables dominated the opposite wall, with a wooden dresser running along the hallway wall finishing the major furniture. I turned the soft ceiling light on and saw a laptop and a manila folder on the desk. The folder had a sticky note adorning it with my name scribbled hastily on it. Assuming that meant this room was intended for me, I walked further in and glanced in the closet. I found a handful of smart, professional-looking clothes. Searching further into the apartment, I discovered that there were a further seven more similarly furnished bedrooms and a second slightly more modest bathroom.

As I hadn't actually brought anything with me from my old life -- and I had a moment of incredulity at that thought -- I had no reason to linger and unpack personal belongings. With my exploration concluded, I returned shortly to the sitting room. Cynthia was sitting at the dining room table, switching between looking at her phone and one of a set of papers. I collapsed into one of the couches and rubbed my temples. I was mentally exhausted by the insane upheaval I had gone through over the last day. Despite sleeping in the car while Cynthia drove us here, I felt fatigue plaguing my mind. I was anxious about sleeping here tonight -- I had never slept particularly well in new places, and it would be some time before I felt at home here, surrounded by new people in an unfamiliar city.

Mere moments after I had sat down, Beth was cuddling up next to me, her slender legs curled underneath her and her shoulder buried against my chest. I instinctively reacted and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her against me. She cooed appreciatively at the contact. Cynthia joined us, sitting on the other couch, while Sam sat at the far end of the one I was on.

Without opening my eyes, I addressed them. "It's a nice place. Pretty large for me. Seriously, there are like ten bedrooms here, each comparable to my old apartment. What's that about?"

Cynthia responded, "Sometimes, we're required to relocate entire families or clans. They don't take kindly to being separated into ten different homes all over town on the first night in a new place."

"I guess that explains why this place exists, but why assign it to me?"

"Well, that brings us to our first serious discussion. Would you be comfortable with Sam and me staying here for a while? I don't mean to impose, but it's not like we had planned this trip either, and it certainly would be convenient to be close to you as we help you transition into the magical realms."

"That sounds good to me. Still leaves half the rooms empty. Maybe I'll sleep in a new bed every night and only make the sheets once a week." Beth giggled at my juvenile remark.

"There's another reason for it, probably. For now, I have some information about who you'll be meeting with tomorrow. The legal advisor Aisling has sent is to become your..." She paused for a moment "... How should I put this? 'Professional Advisor'? 'Legal Representative'? A vampire lawyer by the name of Evgenia.

"She's an official representative of the Queen's government, assigned to be your financial assistant and judicial confidant. I guess Aisling sees you as important enough to necessitate it. Imagine that you are the secretary of state on a business trip to Japan. You'd have a translator and local culture guide helping you with your everyday activities. That's my job, getting you used to the world you're in now. You'd also have an official attache from the Japanese government, someone to help you with official meetings, hotel accommodations, and business ventures in their country. That is what Evgenia will be assisting you with."

"So she's here to report my activities to the government because I'm too important to just let walk around on my own. Cool. Cool. Cool."

"That's a disfavorable way of putting it, but probably not incorrect. She will almost certainly update her superiors on your behaviors and activities, given the opportunity. Her superior would likely be the local vampire lord, who would relay answers to Aisling rather than Evgenia reporting directly. Although, as a government employee, she may answer directly, depending on how her contract is worded. Without asking all of them or fishing for information, we'll probably never know the exact structure."

"You said she's a vampire? What does that mean? Do they drink blood? How much of the folklore is real? Silver and garlic and running water scare her away?"

Cynthia laughed softly, amused at my curiosity. "She could drink blood, but she's almost certainly been forbidden from drinking yours as a part of her employment agreement. Vampires require routine blood consumption to sustain themselves and larger quantities if seriously injured. Still, it's handled pretty well by human blood donation or voluntary consumption from a regular host. The rights of humans and vampires concerning feeding have been contested in the courts of the seats somewhat regularly over the last fifty years. A portion of her salary will, quite literally, be paid in blood."

"Ok, so she won't be snacking on us. Anything else I should know about vampires beforehand?"

"I don't think there's anything pressing. She will be able to explain for herself when you meet."

"And she'll be here for how long? I have to meet with the archivist as well, but we didn't exactly confirm a time."

"She's almost certainly receiving her instructions now and will facilitate our meeting with Antonin since she's coming here as a member of Aisling's government. If she knows no more than we do when she arrives, in the worst-case scenario, we can petition for a meeting at Aisling's next open court session." Cynthia then paused a moment before she sighed in annoyance and continued speaking, "Actually, you may be required to attend outright as a council member. The council comprises Aisling's personal advisors and the house leaders who wish to preside over interspecies disputes. Aisling might want you on the council to make others wary of troubling you by elevating your status, or she might want you to avoid the council to keep you out of the public's mind for the time being."

"Security by obscurity isn't exactly a well-supported doctrine."

Cynthia sighed again, "No, but it might be a decent short-term plan until you're more up to speed -- a couple of months at most. It's not like you would have any pressing issues to adjudicate as the only dragon. Some other realm might have a particularly clever oracle looking for obscure awakenings. They could identify that you are here and send a dragon to liaison with you, forcing you to acknowledge them as the house leader in this region. That's a lot of assumptions, though, the biggest one being that someone who identifies you correctly could convince one of the few of your kin to come here just for that."

"So eventually, I get to be a public leader representing... literally just myself. Cool. More pomp and circumstance. Lovely. Sounds exhausting."

"Indeed. Unfortunately, since you've been deemed important enough, there will almost certainly be regular public appearances in your near future."

"Hopefully, showing my face will be enough. Makes me a bit uncomfortable. Not like I have anyone to represent."

Both Sam and Beth shot daggers at me with their eyes. Evidently, they saw themselves as members of my house despite not being dragons. I could live with that, actually.

"I am certain you will find a way to persevere." Cynthia rose from her seat with a comforting smile and addressed all of us, "I am going to retire for the evening. Don't dally too long; tomorrow will be longer and more exhausting than today."

With that, she left the room. The three of us sat silently for a while before Sam nervously made a statement.

"Hey, J? Thanks for letting us stay here. That's pretty cool of you. I'm... I'm happy you awakened."

Without giving me a chance to respond, she also fled the scene to find her own bedroom. Her statement left me confused. Beth and I spent the next few minutes sitting in silence, where I was trying to wrap my mind around why this massive change in my life would make Sam happy.

Eventually, Beth asked a question without lifting her head away from my chest. Her tiny voice lifted up and provided a hint of her insecurities. "Can I sleep with you again tonight?" I could smell the anxiety she had tried to hide. She was terrified of being rejected, brought to a faraway place and abandoned by the only connection she had made. I hadn't given her any reason to have that fear -- someone else had trained her to expect it.

I attempted to maneuver my way through the inevitable minefield. "You don't want your own room?" See, I wasn't rejecting her. I was offering something that was hers and hers alone.

Beth held me tighter as she responded, "You make me feel safe and cared for. I'd like to stay with you." She giggled slightly and added, "I'll use a room for my stuff after you buy it for me. Not like I have anything now."

"At some point, we'll have to sit and talk about this. Not tonight. Even with Cynthia doing all of the driving today, I'm exhausted. I can't imagine that you're much better."

She untangled herself from me and leaned back so she could look directly into my face, her eyes wide with surprise and tentative joy etched on her face. "You mean I can stay with you?"

"Even if I said 'no,' would you let go and find your own bed?"

She let go of me and looked down at her hands dejectedly while sitting up and separating herself from me, sliding a foot away down the couch. The disappointment in her voice was palpable, with the excited, spunky, and tough tomboy replaced by a shattered and battered shadow. For the first time, I missed her bony hips digging into me as she sat in my lap. "I'm sorry. I'll leave you alone."

The 180-degree shift in her emotions was painful to observe, and the smell of self-loathing and anguish was nauseating. She hadn't seen my comment for the playful teasing I had intended it to be -- just as a precursor to a gentler rejection. She wasn't the valuable guide to a mystical new world or the childhood friend who returned from the mists of time; she was just a little parasite connected to me out of her own will. Why would I ever show her any favor when she had so little to offer?

I don't know where these thoughts came from, but I could see how she saw herself for a moment. Maybe I was a monster; the thing in my head conspiring to destroy her old life and claim her for ourselves, with all the care and foresight of a child impulsively deciding on a toy in a shop. At that moment, the insecurities of the scared girl in front of me reached my humanity.

"Beth, I was teasing you because you have barely left my side all day. I wasn't trying to get rid of you, just trying to inject some levity where I could to try and keep myself sane." I grasped her hand with one of my own and found her eyes slowly lifting up and bouncing between my own. She was cautious and withholding herself, scared I was just playing with her for amusement. I continued, "You can sleep with me if that's what you want. I'm sorry my careless words hurt you."

After a moment of contemplation where she waited for the inevitable rejection I never gave, she launched herself back into me, hugging my chest hard and babbling incoherently in thanks for my acquiescence. "Thank you, thank you. I'm sorry; I don't want to make you uncomfortable. You just make me feel so safe. I won't be in your way -- you won't even know I'm there."

I had to interrupt her after she made that comment. "Beth, if I didn't want to know you were there, I wouldn't have invited you. C'mon, let's go to sleep." I wasn't going to tell her how enticing her demands of contact were last night. It was enticing because of how out of character it had been -- reinforcing it would shift the behavior to in character. I liked her, emotional scarring aside, as she was. Peppy, cute, stubborn, and assertive when she needed to be, but still undeniably young and naive in many ways because of how fast she had grown up. She never got to ease into the changes and learn how to be an adult with a safety net of familial support like most people -- she simply had to do it and every misstep bordered on catastrophic failure. It was incredibly endearing that she let me through her tough outer shell. My only concern was how many more shells remained before I met the true Beth.

The beast chipped in with his unsolicited opinions. She was undeniably human, terrified of being left behind. Since she was our mate and therefore we would never do that, we were a great match. A dozen comments flitted through my fatigued mind. Primarily that he had literally advocated abandoning her this morning for a pile of old metals. That was followed quickly by scolding him for treating her like an object we were playing with. She was a person, and we needed to take thoughtful care in acknowledging her opinions and desires.

Two rooms in the hallway had lights leaking underneath closed doors. Sam and Cynthia had claimed rooms next to each other, across the hallway from my bedroom. I found myself undressing in that room while my mind wandered. I hung my shirt and pants over the chair to the desk, reminded myself that I would need to look at the folder with my name on it at some point, and turned around.

Beth stood there, stripped down but clutching her clothes in her hands in front of her. She was practically shielding herself with her garments, hiding from me behind them. She timidly set her clothes with mine and then scampered to the bed to slip under the covers. She was wearing the same bright pink, lacy underwear she had been in last night because, of course she was. She never had the chance to get any of her belongings.

"You could have your own room if you'd be more comfortable," I offered. I still felt like I was taking advantage of her, even though she had, in no uncertain terms, begged to be here with me.

"I'm not going anywhere, and you are going to join me over here right now." There was the assertive girl I was coming to cherish. Even if she was worried about me seeing her tonight, she wanted me next to her.

After turning the lights off, that's what I did. In the dark, under the concealing mask of the sheets, Beth pressed against me, returning to claim the position where she had spent most of the day. She took one of my arms and wrapped it around herself. I was spooning her while she adjusted how we were connected.

"You weren't nearly as timid last night. What caused that?"

"Sam."

What on earth could Sam have done to have damaged Beth's resolve so much? I was with them almost the entire day, and Sam certainly hadn't done anything I had seen. Of course, that didn't mean that Beth didn't invent something out of her insecurities to put herself down.

I fished for an explanation. "I'm sorry, I don't quite follow what you mean by that." I felt somewhat obligated to console her, but I also wanted my little firebrand pixie back. Then I recognized that thought as mirroring the possessive ambitions of the beast in my mind and was disgusted with myself.

Beth twisted and turned in the bed so that she was facing me. Her face was an inch away from mine, and in turning to talk to me directly, she had somehow made laying together even more intimate than it already had been. Our noses bumped slightly, and I could feel her breath on my face.

"She's just so beautiful. Her skin is perfect, and her eyes are so light and blue, and have you noticed the rest of her? I guess I just saw her trying to get your attention today, and she is just so hot and, oh my god, her curves! She's just so feminine and womanly and wonderful, and how could I possibly keep your eyes on me if she was here? She knows you and likes you and is independent and resourceful and strong, and oh yeah, she's also a witch. I'm sad and small and boyish and can't hold a part-time job, forget about any magic."

Ahh, so Sam actually hadn't done anything at all to upset Beth. Beth simply felt threatened because an attractive, seemingly available woman would invariably be in our presence for the foreseeable future. Beth had compared herself to Sam and, with her distorted perception, had found herself lacking in every area. Even going along with her uncharitable analysis, there was one specific area that she had ignored.