“What’s your special tonight?” Adaela asked Dion.
“Oh, tonight, just for you and your ‘someone special,’” he winked at me, not missing my disappointment, “I have just the thing. Are you both okay with surprises?”
I shrugged, letting Adaela take the lead. She nodded vigorously, doing a little shoulder shimmy, “Yes, let’s do that.”
As Dionysus brought back our drinks, I wondered what was on the agenda for this evening. He mentioned that there would be several tastings tonight. I took a sip of the mead. It was fruity, but dry. I couldn’t quite figure out the flavor.
“What is this? It’s really good,” I asked, taking another sip.
“Oh, this is one of my favorite times of the year. This is when the mulberries in the area start to blossom, and they’re only around for a short time. This one’s made with mulberry and maybe cacao nibs? It has hints of chocolate,” Adaela replied as reached for my hand.
“Do you have a favorite from here?” I just wanted to hear her talk more about everything. She could’ve read me theEncyclopedia of the Realms, and I would listen enraptured.
We spent hours chatting about nothing and everything, and it seemed like it went by in moments. We made small talk about food, fermentation, and the benefits technology has had on Earth, plus what it had done for other realms. We talked about its disadvantages as well—namely, the loneliness of being so connected by the convenience of social media rather than proximity to physical presence. We discussed the downfall of capitalism and thePax’s influence on the rest of Earth’s countries. I learned that St. Louis was still majorly ahead of everywhere else in the world in terms of global politics and trade. We talked about borders, and how we hoped one day that they’d no longer exist. That thePax’s influence would eventually become commonplace among all realms. The conversations flowed so easily between us, and it was clear that our goals and values were aligned. It had made us more connected, but there was still so much more to learn about her.
Dinner was the most delicious fish and chips I’d ever had. The breading on the fish was crispy, but not overly battered, and the fish was cooked to perfection. The chipswere the best I’d ever had, too, and I thought fries were just fries. It turned out I was wrong.
The night was like a dream I never wanted to wake up from. The way Adaela’s eyes tracked me, peace radiating off her in waves, made it all the better. It felt like we’d always known one another, nothing seemed forced. As the evening progressed, we’d gotten closer, casual touches and longing looks from both of us, but it’d only been a couple weeks. The butterflies in my belly told me this was going to be something, but my mind and all the years of being alone told me something completely different. I didn’t want to rush this, but I knew folks said that when you met your fated, things progressed rapidly.
I only knew I didn’t want that because Adaela wasn’t ready for it, so I would show her what it would mean to be with me long-term.
We finished up at Cornucopia, and I was about to invite Adaela over to my place when she grabbed my hand and dragged me out to the park across the street from the brewery. The park was dark, and I saw folks hanging out underneath various trees as if it were light outside. One sniff told me they were likely Vampires, ghouls, and various other nocturnal creatures. Adaela was right at home here. Across the way, there were multiple fields where folks were playing modified human sports like baseball and kickball. It was April, so I was sure people wanted to be outside, since the weather was finally starting to warm up. It was still in the low fifties, though. To the thingsthat go bump in the night, the weather didn’t affect them as it did humans. After all, Vampires were technically dead.
“This is one of my favorite parts of the entire city,” Adaela said, watching the Vampire at bat hit a home run.
I pulled her into my body as we slowly roamed our way through the park. “I can certainly see why. It seems like it’s a popular spot.”
“Forest Park is more popular, and for good reason. It’s also a great park, butthispark just feels more community-centered to me. It’s one of the few places we didn’t change when we formally declared thisPaxproperty,” she said as she leaned her head into my arm.
“So, I’m curious, is this city still technically part of Missouri, or even part of the United States? In all the studying I’ve done, I can’t really tell if it’s now its own sovereign nation or not,” I asked.
“Technically, nothing has changed about the city except its governing body. The entire city and county voted to secede from the US and form our own sovereign nation. We gifted land back to the native people from this part of the world and still were able to make space for folks who wanted to be here. The US and the rest of the world didn’t fight us on it. Honestly, I was surprised, because of US policies. I think they realized that not even nukes could get rid of all of us. They realized we wanted peace, but we were prepared to go to war if need be. We may be outnumbered in terms of how many humans live on Earth in comparison to the amount of supernaturals, but we have magic on our side, and the Gods and Goddesses they worship also believe in what we’re doing here. I think that played a large role,” she replied.
“That makes sense to me. I know St. Louis no longer uses money, but I would guess that the city still trades with the restof the world, right?” I was fascinated with how her mind worked, and I wanted to know everything.
“While we do not require money to sustain our people, we do still have production here where we sell goods and services. Our coffers are vast.” Adaela stopped at one of the pavilions to sit at the table and watch the game.
“So what made you decide to start gathering supernaturals together to begin thePax?” I asked, sitting down next to her. I straddled the bench and pulled her into me, resting my chin on her shoulder.
It was quiet here, and I sensed that Adaela was gathering her thoughts to open up to me. I snuggled her more closely, laying my head against the top of hers, and waited.
“I don’t know how much you know about my history. I’m assuming, since you’re well-read, that you know the epic stories of my life. Many of them are true, especially the ones about who I was on the battlefield. What the stories never wrote was the brutality of my father and his cronies. I was always to be the princess who was dolled up, made to endure the politics of the Unseelie court, and the person least expected to have dangerous magic. I trained daily, often passing out from exhaustion, on my father’s orders. If I didn’t do exactly as he asked, he took it out on my loved ones.” She went quiet, and I wrapped my arms around her in comfort. I heard her sniffle. My strong, sweet girl.
“You really don’t have to tell me your story now if you’re not ready. You don’t even ever have to tell me if you don’t want to,” I breathed.
“No, I need you to know, because this is why I am who I am. If this is to ever work, I need you to understand this, as it’s largely why thePaxexists today,” she replied just as quietly.
“Sweet girl, if this is to work, it’s because you and I decide that we’re compatible. That we’ve chosen each other as muchas the Fates have chosen us. Your past matters, yes, but only because of who it’s made you now. I will listen if you want to tell me, but I will never force you.” I nipped at the tip of her ear before nuzzling my nose into her neck.
She smiled sadly at me. “That means a lot, thank you, but I need to tell you something.”
I gave her a quick kiss, then adjusted her back underneath my chin. “I’m listening.”
Adaela began to tell a horrific story of abuse, neglect, and the life of growing up as an heir. She told me of friends who were tortured and killed by her father at Adaela’s refusal to act as his sword. Her story was a history of deception and cruelty that she often got swept away in because her magic demanded it. She was slipping away day by day, and by the time she was several hundred years old, she no longer remembered who she was.
Her last straw had been an ex, named Sabine. Sabine was not royalty, nor was she a noble. She was a maid in the castle. Sabine, this wild, eccentric woman who was forced to dim her light because of her status in the Unseelie court. Sabine was a brownie. They were similar to the lore that many humans had in their fairytales. They had large eyes and ears, and they were almost compelled to clean messes. However, brownies were not small creatures. They were the same size as humans and often were as beautiful as the Sidhe royals were.
Sabine and Adaela were together for several hundred years without the knowledge of Adaela’s father. Sabine would go to war with Adaela as her lady’s maid. They shared quarters, and no one was any wiser. In public, the two of them would act as if they were only close because of their long-term history as servant and royal. Adaela believed that because she was subjected to be her father’s sword, she would be granted access to Sabine.
