The Divine Gambit Ch. 06

"So, I only got you basic things, like I said I would. Tank tops, shorts, hoodies, and sweatpants, mostly. Things where being a little off-sized isn't a big deal, so if you do that crazy growing half-a-foot act again, we can at least have a few days of clothes for you. Those two bags are yours."

"And the other fifty bags?"

Beth blushed and lowered her eyes to the floor, "I'm sorry, maybe I went a touch overboard. I just didn't have anything of mine here. The clothes that were in the closet already were nice and would've fit -- but I felt like I was wearing someone else's clothes, and I've done that enough for a lifetime if I have a choice. I should've asked you first. I must've gotten caught up in the moment; I didn't realize how much I actually bought until I was carrying them all here."

I kissed her to stop her tirade of apologies. I hadn't intended to chastise, merely questioning why there were so many bags here if only a couple of them were mine. She had replaced her entire wardrobe and brought it to our room. Asking first would've been nice, but in reality, I would have suggested that she do this anyway had I known how she felt. She had been uprooted, moved across the country without any belongings, and forcibly tied to a man she had never met before. Allowing her to spend someone else's money for which I had no current use was of little consequence. I had noticed that the vast majority of the bags contained utilitarian purchases; plenty of plain socks and packs of underwear, several pairs of jeans, a couple pairs of shorts, tank tops, t-shirts, and two hoodies. There was nothing extravagant, nothing that shouted teenage girl splurging on a shopping spree to me. Sure, there were a lot of bags, but it was all fundamental clothes and everyday brands. On top of that, perhaps two-thirds of the things I saw had some kind of sale or clearance sticker, indicating Beth's effort to limit the financial cost.

The dragon suggested reprimanding her further for not recognizing our dominance. I was starting to get a handle on how he thought, so I decided to attempt to persuade him in a way that he understood. Allowing Beth this comfort would make her grow further attached to us, and if she was content with being our first and actively encouraging us to seek out another mate, that was how we wanted her. Admonishing her for overusing our finances, some of which she was entitled to when we uprooted her, to establish her sense of belonging was antithetical to our goals. We wanted her to look marvelous anyway so that others could see how we cared for our mates. I concluded by pointing out that he had intentionally selected her as our first because she was spirited and decisive. Undermining her over those qualities now brought everything he had done so far into question.

Begrudgingly, he tolerated my answers, so I turned my attention back to Beth.

"I completely understand. I just wanted to ask why there were so many bags here if only a couple were for me. I have no issues with you shopping for yourself."

She relaxed, sat on the edge of the bed, and said, "Alright, I was kinda nervous you'd be upset about that. I know I went overboard, and I was really afraid you'd be mad. But, if you're really not, I have some other stuff to ask. Can we talk before going out to dinner? Did Antonin know any more about your bites? How was the lecture with Sam? He said you'd have some training last time; What did you do today?"

She spat the questions out rapidly, giving me no space to answer between them until she finished.

"He knew nothing more regarding the bites but was confident we could find volunteers to experiment on. That wasn't an appealing solution to me, and we left the discussion there. The lecture with Sam was interesting. I learned a significant amount about the world we've joined, but Antonin continuously made barbed comments at Sam's expense. There was a reason for that: I have to make a public appearance tomorrow, and I believe he was testing how I would react to negative comments. He then had us observe another man to learn how to manipulate magical energy into a material object. After watching and listening to his instructions, we tried writing our names on some metal. Very unglamorous, but effective for the real lesson I was there for: I was simply unable to do it alone. Eventually, Sam and I worked together to get it done, you can see the little plaque she made later, but Antonin's point was that despite being treated like an omnipotent deity, I still have limitations and failings."

Beth listened to my explanation before nodding uncharacteristically sagely and pronouncing, "It's good that I told her to go. I wouldn't have been able to help you at all, and you got to connect with her over this."

I laughed softly at the absurdity of her faux-wisdom before asking, "What did you make for dinner with Cynthia? It smelled incredible when I came in."

"She picked up things for chicken pad thai on her way home from the office. She insisted that you would like it."

Interesting. Pad Thai was one of my favorite dishes, but I hadn't talked to Beth or Cynthia about that. The only logical way Cynthia would have any certainty that I would enjoy it was if I had mentioned it to Sam at one point in passing, and she had shared it with Cynthia. That was absurd, though. I hadn't seen either of them in years, and it's not like I had ever had a serious discussion about food with them. There was no way she had remembered something like that, right?

Either way, I answered Beth, "It sounds great, and I'm hungry after failing to engrave my name for what felt like hours. If it's anywhere near as good as what you made last night, it'll be the second-best thing I've ever had. We can put this all away later."

She positively beamed in response to my praise, and I could feel the pride and satisfaction pouring through our connection. I was astonished to find that I could catch hints of actual thoughts over the link. They were distorted and imprecise; much like scanning past the correct frequency on a radio, I got a trace of them before losing them in the vast abyss.

Beth and I returned to the living room, where Sam was showing off the sheet of metal we had produced earlier to Cynthia. Beth bounced over to get a look herself. Both Sam and Cynthia tensed, and I could taste some of their apprehension over Beth's reaction. Sam turned and began apologizing, but Beth interrupted and reminded her about our morning discussion.

With the situation successfully diffused, Cynthia told the three of us to sit while she went to the stove, serving plates of food.

Cynthia promptly delivered the plates to the four of us already seated and joined us with her own. The mealtime conversation was largely Sam gushing over how incredible it had been to experience enchanting. The reverence she exuded began to make me uncomfortable. Everything she said about our lecture was framed to elevate my contributions while downplaying her own. It was apparent that, in her mind, I was the only reason we had accomplished the task. She completely glossed over how she had made any progress before we collaborated or how I was utterly unable to inscribe anything.

What was more intriguing was how Cynthia acted like this was completely expected. If Cynthia was wholly unfazed by her daughter's reaction to being around me, this must not be far from ordinary. I wondered just how hard it had been for Sam in the past if this was how she had wanted to act. It was hard to combine Sam's effusive, nearly worshipful behavior with my memories of the indifferent, withdrawn, cool girl I had known. It gave me a question to ask the next time I talked to Antonin.

As we ate, I made a conscious effort to commend Beth and Cynthia for the delectable meal they had created. Cynthia joined my endeavor, attributing much of the meal's qualities to Beth. I could feel how much the words meant to her over our bond. She tried to minimize her contributions, but I could feel how undeniably honored she was to have received praise.

When the meal neared an end, I spoke up, intending to break the news of my appointments.

"I learned two things while with Antonin today. I'm required to make an appearance at Aisling's court for her to publicly announce that I'm here. Antonin said she won't be sharing details and will be acting as if I'm a temporary foreign dignitary. After that, I have to meet with one of their security officers to have some kind of physical exam and training evaluation."

Surprisingly, Evgenia said, "I was told about the court appearance. Aisling asked me to arrange for you to be there around 10:30. That doesn't give us much time to get you dressed for it."

Beth leaked some confusion over our bond and asked, "That's not very early in the morning. Why do you think there's not enough time?"

Cynthia fielded the question, responding, "If James is being revealed as a dignitary, he is expected to appear as one. He doesn't have anything formal or extravagant enough to wear, and we lack an appointment with anyone to resolve that issue."

Evgenia reasserted herself, "Actually, we do. I have an acquaintance who operates a clothes store in the city. I had Aisling's office request an appointment for 8:00. We should try to be there a few minutes early, but she should be able to handle garments for everyone."

I relaxed into my seat, "That's wonderful. Thank you so much for your preemptive actions. That will certainly make tomorrow easier. I wasn't even told there was a dress code."

Evgenia responded, "Well, there isn't an actual code. If the goal is to make you look like a representative from afar, you should dress like one would."

I nodded, "That makes sense. I might need to acquire exercise clothes and will need some other equipment for working with the security officer. That doesn't need to happen today or tomorrow, though. I'll know more tomorrow after my meeting, and what Beth picked out for me today will be fine to wear. Evgenia, Cynthia, do you know any more about this appearance I have to make? I was pretty much just told to show up."

Cynthia apologized, "Sorry, I'm afraid I cannot be of more assistance. I've been fairly well removed from the political process here."

Evgenia said she knew more about it, as she had gone through a similar process when she came to the region. She explained that the open court sessions were much like attending a church mass blended with a town hall meeting. Everyone of consequence would appear, and there was a lot of time spent gossipping and meandering with the other attendees. The leaders of the houses acted as representatives and advisors to the Seat, and the majority of them would attend. The 'open' part of the open court allowed Aisling to handle any allegations or conflicts that the public wished her to mediate.

She described her experience and how two farmers argued over livestock grazing on another's property. At the end of every session, Aisling would announce the next session's time and give any announcements or proclamations that she needed to. That was when we needed to be there, as she would introduce me as a visiting representative and request my loyalty while in the territory. Our verbal agreement was non-binding and largely performative but still valuable for demonstrating our deference if nothing else.

Evgenia quickly ran out of practical tidbits to offer and returned to her previous strained state. I found that curious. While talking, she seemed to relax somewhat, but as soon as she was done contributing, she iced over and appeared distressed. I really hoped I could get to the bottom of that soon, but I was at a loss for how to approach the conversation.

With our conversation petering out, Cynthia collected the soiled dishes and began to wash them. Since we had to get up relatively early to get to our appointment, and I had no other plans for the evening, I returned to my bedroom. Beth followed me, and we put away the clothes she had purchased together. True to her word, the things she had bought for me were generic casual garments. They might work for the exercise training course I had been volunteered to undertake.

I quietly got ready for bed and laid down afterward. Sam was watching television quietly in the living room, but everyone else appeared to have retired to their bedrooms. Beth curled up into my arms, pressing herself firmly against me. In contrast to the previous nights, it was gentle and intimate. As we drifted off to sleep, she whispered to me.

"I love you, James."

I felt horrible that I wasn't comfortable yet saying it back.