“Hey, are you alright?”
Aila startled, her blank expression dropping for a moment as she seemed to realize she wasn’t alone in just that moment. Glancing up at Jay, she gave a thin smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Yes, I’m fine. Do you think we have time to stop by the market before we return to the temple? I was checking our travel supplies and there are a few items we are running low on. Might as well replenish our stocks while we’re out.”
Jay frowned as she ignored the obvious subject change. An open street in Eldingholt wasn’t the best place for a private conversation, especially when her unwanted guards were so close by, but from what she could see it didn’t look like it could wait. Using her Dys and Syd selves to put a little distance between the guards and Aila, Jay stepped closer to Aila so she could talk quietly as they walked.
“You aren’t fine, Blue. What happened? What did your mother talk to you about while you two were alone?”
Aila’s expression remained cool, though she didn’t answer right away. Jadis gave her time to think, not pushing for an immediate response, but not letting it go, either. When Aila did speak, she did so in calm, measured tones.
“She wasn’t happy,” she spoke quietly. “She was upset that I hadn’t communicated all the details of our… exploits. Actually, she was more than upset. She was furious.”
“I can understand her concern,” Jay murmured, the frown still on her face. “She’s your mother. I’m sure she doesn’t like the idea of you being in any kind of danger.”
“She really doesn’t,” Aila almost laughed. “It was such a fight just to get her to agree to let me go with my uncles. Now… now she’s even less willing to accept things.”
Aila looked up at Jay, her cool expression falling away completely as she frowned mournfully. Her voice spiked with emotion, barely contained as her throat tightened with emotion.
“She wants me to leave you. She wants me to leave everything and come back to Red Tree where it's safe.”
The idea of Aila leaving caused a red-hot spike of anger to surge inside of Jadis, so sudden and so fierce that it nearly made her gasp. She quickly released that anger, letting it slide away and off her mind as it had no place in the situation. Getting upset wasn’t going to help Aila. She needed to think clearly, especially if her cool and logical mistress of magic was having trouble doing so. If Aila was having trouble keeping calm, then Jadis would be the calm one for her.
“You’re an adult,” Jay pointed out, speaking in the slow, precise way Aila normally did. “She can’t force you to go back with her if you don’t want to.”
“No, she can’t,” Aila agreed as she shook her head. “I don’t have to go back. But it’s hard. It’s hard to hear her beg me to return and not… And not listen…”
“She loves you,” Jay spoke as Aila fell silently. “She wants what’s best for you. But she can’t take the choice away from you. That’s never best for anyone. You have to have a choice. You’re a grown woman with your own life, your own ambitions and desires and dreams. She can’t decide what’s best for you. She raised you, she taught you, she gave you the best advice she could have given. But now you’re an adult. You have to decide what you want. And if she can’t accept that, well, that’s just the way it’s going to be.”
Aila was silent for a long time as they continued walking. Slowly, she leaned in close so that her side was pressed up against Jay. Pulling her in a little closer, Jay put her hand around Aila’s shoulder, supporting her.
“It’s easy to say all that,” Aila finally said, the cold air turning her breath to mist. “It’s a lot harder to act on.”
“Always is,” Jay agreed. “Just like with anything.”
“If mother won’t listen, she can’t stop me from doing anything,” Aila spoke quietly enough that Jay almost couldn’t hear her. “But I don’t want her to not be in my life.”
“She’ll come around,” Jay did her best to try and reassure her. “Hopefully she’ll see what a great family you’re a part of and that’ll wipe away all her doubts about your safety.”
Aila shuddered, a pained bark of laughter proceeding her words.
“Gods, she’s going to meet Kerr. And she’ll meet Alex, too. She might throw me over her shoulder and carry me back to Red Tree on foot.”
“She could try,” Jay mused lightly. “I don’t think she’d get very far. Not unless she has a lot of points put into Strength. You probably weigh twice as much as she does, considering the height difference—hey!”
Aila shook her hand after having given Jay a hard smack, the blow probably having hurt her more than Jay.
“You have no idea what class my mother has,” she pointed out with false crossness. “She might have one perfectly suited for kidnapping daughters.”
Jadis laughed at the thought, glad that Aila’s mood had brightened enough that she could joke again.
The rest of the way back to the temple, they discussed what Aila had and hadn’t told her mother and father, both in letters and during the private conversation she’d had with her mother. Jadis’ supposition had been pretty much spot on: Aila hadn’t wanted to discuss too many sensitive details in an unsecured letter. Further, she had known her mother would be upset and had wanted to break any news of the battles she had been in slowly and gently. She figured being able to directly answer any questions would be far better than writing a letter and letting her stew for weeks, if not months waiting on a reply. Jadis wasn’t sure that Aila was correct on that, since having some information was better than having none at all in her opinion, but she wasn’t going to argue. Aila knew her mother better than her, that was certainly true. And from how Senta had reacted from the letter sent by Gerwas and Ludwas, Aila probably had a point.
One thing that Jadis did make clear to Aila was that in the future, she wanted to have some kind of heads up as to what had and hadn’t been said before seeing her mother. Jadis wanted to support Aila, but not having information made it hard to do so.
“Of course,” Aila agreed readily. “I… wasn’t thinking straight. I should have discussed everything with you the moment I knew they were coming. I just… didn’t want to interrupt your time with the others. Honestly, you haven’t had much time to relax and you need some time to not be stressed, and everyone else needs time to be with you. I can’t monopolize your time.”
“This whole multi-partner thing is tricky,” Jay sighed. “It’s going to take some working out to get right. But I promise you, no matter what the situation is, I want to know about anything that might be bothering you right away. The same goes for everyone. I’m going to have to make sure they all know that, too, actually. Bottling things up isn’t going to help any of us, not in the long run.”
“Fair,” Aila nodded. “Speaking of, what are we going to do about the dinner tonight?"
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, we have the restaurant set up and all of that, but how are we going to handle introducing my parents to… well, everyone? I’m at a loss.”
Jay looked up at the cloudy winter sky, then shrugged expansively.
“I dunno. Start with their names and go from there?”
Aila sighed heavily as she slumped against Jay.
“This is going to be a disaster.”
“Maybe,” Jay agreed. “But we’ll figure it out. Can’t be worse than fighting a possessed dragon, right?”
“You don’t know my mother very well yet.”
Once back at the temple, Jadis took some time to dress up. The restaurant Aila had booked was one of the fancier ones in the city, which was saying something considering they were in the capital. She’d gotten the recommendation from Aurea and the high priestess had assured them that the high-class establishment was one used to handling unique guests. A whole room had been reserved just for them, so they wouldn’t have to worry about anyone staring or bothering them, and the staff wouldn’t cause them any trouble either. Even if the servers had reservations about waiting on a Demon, they wouldn’t drop their mask of professionalism.
“Are you sure you want me to come?” Sorcha asked again as she fussed with the bodice of the dress she’d been given to wear. “This seems like a kind of important dinner and I don’t want to intrude…”
“Of course I want you to come,” Syd smiled at the tiny goblin. “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want you there.”
“Yes, you should definitely come,” Aila added as she made some last-minute adjustments to her hair. “You’re officially dating Jadis now, aren’t you? Even if you aren’t committed yet, you should still be there.”
Sorcha mumbled something under her breath that Jadis couldn’t quite hear, but it sounded suspiciously like she was complaining about going to a restaurant where a single plate of food would cost more than her entire pack of belongings.
“That dress is beautiful on you, by the way,” Syd complimented Sorcha sincerely. “It really suits your hair.”
“Oh, ah, thanks,” Sorcha replied awkwardly as she continued to fiddle with the bodice. “You don’t think it’s a bit too much?”
“Not even a little,” Syd assured her.
“Looks sexy as fuck to me,” Kerr grinned as she threw in her two cents. “Better be careful wearing something like that, actually. Jadis might need to take you to the bathroom for a quickie before dessert.”
“No she will not,” Aila said primly, pointing one finger at Syd. “You’ll do nothing remotely like that tonight.”
“Hey, of course not!” Syd exclaimed as she held her hands up defensively. “I’m not crazy! That’s Kerr’s idea, not mine!”
“And you!” Aila frowned as she whirled on the grinning therion. “Behave yourself. Don’t you even think of going under the table tonight or I’ll cut off your horns!”
“What happened under what table?” Bridget asked, unfamiliar with the scandalous event Aila was referencing.
“Never you mind,” Aila said as her face reddened. “It’s not important because there will not be a repeat. Understand?”
“Sure, sure,” Kerr agreed without sounding particularly sincere. “I promise my hands and my mouth will stay firmly above the table.”
That wasn’t the most reassuring of promises coming from Kerr, but Aila didn’t seem willing to press the matter. They didn’t have the time for any further debate, anyway. They all needed to get moving if they were going to make it to the restaurant on time.
Jadis took a moment to look over her three selves, needing no mirror to do so. Her bodies wore even fancier tunics than the ones she’d been given by the temple so far, these ones a rich blue color with silver trimming. Her selves also wore dress coats in a fashion that reminded Jadis of the military suits that Vraekae favored, though these weren’t quite so severe. The outfit was a test run for what she’d be wearing to the ball Eir’s parents had arranged, and so far Jadis liked the feel.
Sweeping her gazes across her girls, Jadis was happy to say that everyone looked gorgeous. Aila and Kerr had both gone with dress suits in a similar style to Jadis, though Aila’s was red and Kerr’s was green. Eir had gone with a dress that hugged her curves in ways that stirred Jadis’ interest, but the gown was far from inappropriate. Eir simply wore the outfit well, giving her a naturally regal look. Thea had gone with an actual military suit that bore the white and blue colors of the empire, one that denoted her previous employ in the army. Sabina and Bridget had both worn dresses, though to Jadis’ surprise they were of a different style from the ones she had seen most other women in the empire wear. Sabina had on a dress that almost looked like a toga, leaving one shoulder bare, and with lots of folds in the fabric. Bridget’s dress looked more like something Jadis had seen in medieval picture books; dark blue in color, the dress had a square neckline and a belt that hung one long end down her front. No massive sleeves though, at least. Sorcha’s dress was a cross between Eir’s and Bridget’s, the main difference being that while she had a tight skirt like Eir, her bodice was a lace-up design that pushed up her breasts to enhance her cleavage. As for Alex…
“Alex, promise me, you will keep these clothes on until we get back, alright?” Dys pleaded with the disgruntled Demon. “It’s polite to keep your clothes on when in public.”
Alex squirmed, the backless dress she’d been given a mix of blacks and blues that matched her coloring. It was the most fabric Jadis had ever managed to get the Demon to wear at once and Alex was not happy about it.
“Pointless…” Alex complained as her fingers picked at the material.
“I promise you, it isn’t pointless,” Dys sighed. “It’s about making a good impression. We want Aila’s parents to like you. They won’t like it if you sit down at the table in the nude.”
“Well, Aila’s father might like it, but that’ll just cause more problems,” Sabina joked nervously, then quickly shut her mouth when she saw the look Aila gave her.
“Promise me, okay?” Dys insisted as she took Alex’s smaller hands in hers.
Alex frowned, a purposeful action on her part since facial expressions took effort for her, but she slowly nodded her head.
“I Promise…”
“Okay, are we ready to go?” Aila called out after hearing Alex make her promise. “Everyone have their coats?”
A chorus of affirmatives echoed in the room, though Jadis had to voice a negative as she realized she’d forgotten one part of her outfit.
“Almost forgot about these,” Jay said as she opened up the jewelry box to reveal the necklaces she’d been given by the jewelers Nedrick and Olga. “I think this occasion is special enough to justify a little sparkle.”
As Jadis slipped the necklaces on, Aila frowned and asked a question.
“Did you get them checked yet? By a high priest?”
“Jadis did arrange for all of the items she had been given during the temple greeting event to be checked. I did so myself with High Priest Aimery’s assistance,” Eir chimed in. “We found nothing amiss with them or any of the other items that Jadis brought back.”
“Good,” Aila nodded in appreciation.
“I can be responsible,” Jay grinned at Aila. “Sometimes.”
“And if we want to keep being responsible,” Dys said, “then we need to get our coats on and go! We have a curfew to contend with so we definitely don’t want to be late for dinner.”
“My lady?” Syd asked as she offered Aila an arm. The height difference made it somewhat awkward, but Aila made it work as she placed her hand on Syd’s arm.
With a deep sigh, Aila nodded her head.
“Let’s go and make our second round of introductions.”
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